A Sunday Comic Books Review

Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Feb 15th
• Aquaman #17 - Yay, another panel of people celebrating Aquaman with unbridled joy. I am terribly amused at such scenes, as I always imagine myself in them somewhere. That said, the rest of the story is fairly straightforward - Aquaman searching for the problem, getting past the obstacles without hurting innocents and then... well, I'm not really sure what that last panel represents. I guess I'll find out next week.
• Justice League #15 - Oh joy, more time travel shenanigans. With people's history being wiped or about to be wiped depending on the view. And some other bits from previous issues brought back to confuse us more. And a new character - a timeless watcher - who immediately made me think "the ultimate Mary Sue" before I clamped down on that. The next few issues are going to have to work hard to get me to like this story, I think.
• Green Lanterns #17 - Ah, the development I was hoping/waiting for happened. I mean, it was kind of telegraphed from the start, but Simon could have gone a different way with it. Overcoming great fear was interesting - both Jessica and Simon have had to deal with it, in entirely contrasting situations. Eh, this was a decent issue.
• Teen Titans Go #20 - Two stories, as usual - one about bad love poetry and the other about spring break. I liked the Aqualad appearance in the spring break story. I also like the appearance of Aquaman and Mera on the cover, although they are obscured by the title on the finished book.
• Doctor Strange #17 - Not a big fan of the artwork here, although it works well enough for this type of story. The underlying concept of Mr. Misery using Wong to find how to hurt Stephen the most is brutal. A good issue, with a very *ahem* strange guest-star at the end. Next issue is going to be odd.
• Doctor Who 10th #3.2 - Ah, more mental control fighting. At least we didn't spend another entire issue inside the illusion - just most of it. And I'm amused by what it looks like from the outside when they break free. It's another ok issue, but nothing to write home about. Barely enough to blog about.
• Forever War #1 - Confession time. I've never read the book. It's in my to-read pile, and has been for some time, but I've not actually gotten to it yet. So this comic book is going to be my first experience with this story. So far, so-so. It's a standard "training" story, in which everything is brutal and people die in horrible ways. Just as we get to where the action apparently is, the book ends. But hey, it's a comic book - that's sadly normal.
• Feb 22nd
• Batman Beyond #5 - Lots of revelations in this one, including the fact that Terminal attracted entirely the wrong kind of attention by claiming he was going to bring the Joker back. It's a pretty intense issue, with lots of action to back up the revelations. But it's enough to make me wonder about all the timelines and the odd changing and crossing of them.
• Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 #2 - With Bruce successfully fighting both Nazis and assassins as a child, no wonder (pun not intended) he becomes a hero in the future. I loved the classic Wonder Woman story, but I'm curious to see how Batman can bring in the modern, or at least the 1966 version, of Wonder Woman into the tail. The timing of everything is more than a little confusing.
• Future Quest #10 - Now that they've got all the pieces of the puzzle together, the only thing that remains is to figure out how they fit and then - boom, battle the evil and save the world. I'm really enjoying how each character gets enough time for us to learn what their strengths and powers are, and how they relate to the current crisis. It's a pretty good series for something based on old children's cartoons that weren't really meant to stand the test of time.
• Scooby-Doo Team-Up #23 - I'll admit to being not very familiar with Quick Draw McGraw and El-Kabong, but it's not hard to pick it up from context. In fact, it would be terribly difficult to not pick it up. This was pure silliness all the way through, and it worked. I admit to rolling my eyes and giggling at the same time.
• Astro City #41 - A beautiful story. There's a touch of the ongoing thread in there, just enough to make the reader say, "wha-?" but not so much that the story is ruined or strained by it. The explanation of why the city was renamed is very nice in context. It's clear that heroes are never as well treated as they could be, but that's because the public is fickle and sometimes cannot understand the reasons for certain things that happen. I like the way this book forces me to think.
• Star Trek/Green Lantern V2 #3 - Manhunters who haven't betrayed their programming yet? And Sinestro leaving Larfleeze as a Lord of Klingons? I'm just not sure how this is likely to turn out, but in combination with the newest Red Lantern, things are not looking good for the side of the light.
• Back To The Future #17 - Marty and Doc have to find a way to short-circuit the past, and so they go to the start of their problems to make things right again. And, as is often the case, leave their enemy better off than before. A nice conclusion to this story. If it is the conclusion.
• Dirk Gently: Salmon of Doubt #5 - Well, this issue explains quite a bit about Bart, actually. If her powers are disrupted, she can be "aimed" in the wrong direction - which is what happened in the tv series. And it was all due to a friend of Dirk saying the wrong words at the right moment. Or the right words at the wrong moment. Hard to tell. This is getting really strange, which is saying a lot when referring to Dirk Gently. I do believe Douglas Adams would approve.
• Doctor Who 3rd #5 - A typically quick finish to the story, as technology overrides everything. I love seeing Jo successfully explain the Doctor and friends to a lady in the past. All throughout, fun stuff. I could hear Jon Pertwee and the others saying their lines. The ending was a neat little way of keeping the universe insane. All-in-all, a good book and a good storyline.
• Rough Riders: On The Storm #1 - It's a pull-the-team-back-together issue, and as such has only a little action worth talking about. Edison's train car and method of bringing people on board being the main one of note, along with the recruitment of Monk.