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:

• Oct 24th
• Titans #28 - A Drowned Earth tie-in, with Garth as a main character. The Heroes in Crisis storyline feeds into this one as well, since Titans apparently died in that (hard for me to take any superhero death seriously, sorry). It took me WAY too long to figure out who Steel was, otherwise it was a mostly ok story with some good moments. It showed Garth's powers and referenced the Titans as they were, so I thought it was decent.
• Batman Beyond #25 - This is a perfect jump-on issue, with lots of backstory and explanation of what has been happening in this version of the DCU to get to this tale. A little bit of classic Batman along with the new, and lots of references to the past. A good one to pick up if you just want to know what Batman Beyond is about.
• Scooby-Doo Team-Up #43 - Thanks to watching the Doom Patrol show, I knew what was happening when the Mystery Machine ended up on Danny the Street. It also gave me a good idea of what was happening throughout the rest of the book. I'm not sure if this is the strangest team-up these guys have done, but it's definitely odd.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 #2 - Um. Wow. Ok. That was remarkably confusing and a whole lotta fun. I'm not entirely sure what I was reading there, but by the end I was just enjoying the ride and ignoring the plot, such as it is. I suspect fans of MST3K would enjoy this, as would fans of old comic books.
• Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men #3 - Oh, I had a feeling about that dog. I didn't have the advantage the Wise Dogs had, though, of being able to smell him as well. Still, I had a distinct feeling, no doubt based on subtle clues the artist and writer provided, that they were walking into a trap. And it turns out they knew it, too. So how is this going to play out? I can hardly wait for the next issue.
• Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #7 - And Sakai nails the landing. This final issue was mostly one big battle over a book, but OH what a battle. And what an outcome! I never suspected, not even for a moment, that final revelation. Of course, if anyone could have pulled it off, it would have been Ishida. Wow. Fantastic. Get this series.


• Oct 31st
• Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1 - I want to like this. It's a crossover featuring Mera! But, it's really not that great. The art is weak and the plot is depressing. There's just not a lot here for me to enjoy beyond Aquaman and Mera. There's even a timing conflict with Titans. I'm tired of stories that are about world-threatening horrors. I just want GOOD stories.
• Heroes in Crisis #2 - Yeah, so when I read the first issue I didn't register who had died. And I'm still not sure who was supposed to have perished. And some big part of me rejects this entire storyline, because the heroes/villains supposedly killed off will no doubt be back soon enough. So I'm just not sure how to react to this thing. I just find myself sighing and hoping it leads to some interesting story, because so far I'm not impressed. Um, is it mean of me to say Lagoon Boy's death is no big loss to the DCU?
• Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1 - I really don't know what kind of story I was expecting with a crossover like this, but it was NOT this story. This was excellent. Huckleberry Hound was less a character than a sounding board, but it made for a good story anyway. I don't really know that much about John Stewart's Green Lantern, so I don't know how much of this is canon in the current DCU, but it worked as a story and it worked for the character. Good stuff. I did not read the back-up story.
• Archie Meets Batman '66 #4 - This is a stark contrast to the dreary Archie 1941 that I'm also reading. But then, anything involving Batman '66 has always been great, particularly when Jeff Parker is writing it. This issue gets Batman/Bruce Wayne into Riverdale and also shows off how resilient Jughead, of all people, actually is. And no, that's not the Bat-signal. I never thought I'd see a Jughead signal.
• Stranger Things #2 - Oh man. When I watched the first season, I wondered how Will had survived there. This comic series gives some answers, and shows how it looked from Will's side. It's terrifying. I really need to go watch the second and third seasons some time, too.
• Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror #1 - I am not a big horror fan - at least not of gory or gross horror. Thus, the first story in this book really does absolutely nothing for me. The second story made me squee, though, using certain iconic characters the way it did. Now, full disclosure, I planned to only order The Wrong Earth and Captain Ginger from Ahoy Comics, because they were the two that appealed to me. This book got added to my list only because they accepted a story from me, and it was due to be printed in an issue of this title. So I figured I had better read the whole series. Despite not really enjoying the, um, atmosphere of the first story, I'm glad I got it. It may not be completely my cuppa, but it's certainly not bad.

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:

• Oct 10th
• Plastic Man #5 - Greatest cover ever. And the first page summary confirms what I thought I knew about the previous issues. Of course, that's all turned upside-over on the next page, but what do you expect from Plastic Man. This is a fun issue that sort of pushes a reset button. Now how can this all get wrapped up in one final issue?
• Scooby Apocalypse #30 - Of all the changes in characters, the one that I can't abide is Scooby becoming eloquent? Ok, right, that's just strange beyond any normal level of strangeness. As for Daphne, this doesn't look good for her. And what is going on with Scrappy? Who has he been obeying all this time?
• The Wrong Earth #2 - Wow. This is way better than I was expecting for a second issue. I honestly expected the hero to wonder what happened, not to figure it out immediately and then work out how to deal with it - but it makes perfect sense. This is a very smart hero in both universes. The pathos of Dragonfly while talking to Stinger was great. And Dragonflyman showed he's more sinister than he lets on. Three good single-page text tales, a fun little back-up comic... almost too much to handle. Well worth checking out.
• SpongeBob Comics #85 - A typical issue. I liked the opening story, in which Sandy solves a problem she couldn't have known existed. Otherwise, just the usual fun.


• Oct 17th
• Justice League #10 - Ah. An Aquaman-heavy issue. I'm still not in the least bit interested in the overall arc, but there's a handful of interesting bits in this, including the history of Arion. The art is very nice. Of course, it's the start of another crossover, which is annoying, but that's what you get if you read comic books.
• Aquaman #41 - Following on directly from the Justice League story, this is all about Mera handling her second big crisis as Queen (if you count the Suicide Squad and their nuke as the first). There's a lot of set-up in here, but it's done as the story progresses, which makes it nicely readable. Mera comes across as determined, smart, and strong. Right up until the final pages, at which point I'm questioning her judgement. I'm not sure about this crossover, but I'm interested in what happens to Mera.
• Green Lanterns #57 - Oh thank goodness. It ended.
• Shuri #1 - I literally know NOTHING about Black Panther beyond the movie. It's not a character I ever found interesting. But after seeing the movie, Shuri was someone I wanted to know better. And so we ordered this series. Bonus was the author, whose other work I like. So, it's a solid little first issue with enough context given in the usual Marvel ways that I understood what was happening. I do wonder about the situation with T'Challa and his buddy, though. This ought to be a fun ride.
• Archie 1941 #2 - I want to like this, but it's moving WAY too slow for my tastes. I mean, it's only five issues and Archie finally bothers to enlist at the END of the second issue? I'm just not sure what to think.
• Captain Ginger #1 - I didn't know what to expect with this, except cats. In space. And that's what I got. Lots of cats in space, dealing with the death of their feeders and in a war with a mysterious species. It's a strange story and definitely caught my imagination. Like all Ahoy comics, it's a bulging package, with text tales and interviews and extras. Definitely worth checking out if you like cats and/or space adventure.

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:

• Sep 26th
• Heroes in Crisis #1 - Interesting way to tell the story. I was getting annoyed at it, then Harley said a few words, and suddenly I had to go back and reread. Which one is the villain? Ok, I'm not thrilled with it, but I am intrigued.
• Batman Beyond #24 - There is quite a large cast in this book now, with all the years of the show and the comic. So I forgot who Mel was until she showed up in costume. Interestingly, Jack isn't wrong about Batman. A satisfactory end to this story.
• Archie Meets Batman '66 #3 - This is incredibly fun, and actually shows Jughead using some initiative. Admittedly, he had some serious motive, but still, I don't generally see him taking action. I enjoyed the abbreviated Batman tale, too. Amusing way to avoid having to write all those literary clues. This is still very good.
• Scooby-Doo Team-Up #42 - The writers were really monkeying around in this issue. It was rather disjointed, but still managed to be more fun than a barrel of gorillas. I had the solution figured out early, but only because I've read a few Congo Bill stories and had a suspicion. Totally goofy fun.
• Fantastic Four #1 - A nice introduction, showing two members of the FF trying to get on with life after the rest of the team has vanished. I don't know how or when they vanished, but everything was given enough context to work despite my lack of Marvel lore. I actually kind of got chills on the final splash page of the main story. The back-up story was a bit Doom-y, and ended too abruptly. Funny one-pager in the back. Not a bad issue.
• Stranger Things #1 - This story tells what Will went through on his side of the universe during the first season, and it actually is a really good start. The cliffhanger is particularly strong.
• Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men #2 - Wow, a human who can communicate with them! The only one we'd seen wasn't exactly able to pass as normal. Thrilling stuff. A bit gross, but still thrilling.


• Oct 3rd
• Justice League #9 - A slightly interesting bit with Wonder Woman and Aquaman, but overall, still more blah.
• Green Lanterns #56 - Really? Two guys without their rings, one up from his deathbed? This is just awful.
• Fantastic Four #2 - It's like the Bat-signal, only a teleporter across the multiverse. I'm not entirely sure what this group of teenagers is, although the book makes it clear what they've been up to. As for defeating their enemy - I'm not sure that's possible if she really is what she claims to be. Fun stuff.
• Doctor Strange #6 - Well, that mystery got solved quickly and kind of boringly. Still, the story has moved on to another level, and it has possibilities. And as long as the ghost dog is around, the book is improved by an order of magnitude.
• Ripley's Believe It or Not! #1 - This is basically the cartoon with much longer stories told in a nice narrative. Being a Fortean, I was already familiar with all the tales in this book, but the presentation was nice enough that I didn't mind at all. It's a good package for a single issue, and probably would make an excellent gift for a child with a yearning for the bizarre. I wish I'd had it as a child.

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:

• Sep 12th
• Plastic Man #4 - I'm pretty confused by this book, but I'm still enjoying it. How is that possible? The Aquaman hot dogs made me laugh out loud... I suppose it's the quality of the jokes despite the story being a bit opaque.
• Suicide Squad #46 - Yay, villains with morals taking on nasty bad guys! Mera asserting her authority! King Shark making jokes about eating crocodile! And I haven't even mentioned Harley Quinn's nonsense! Another solid issue in a goofy crossover.
• Scooby Apocalypse #29 - Did we just see Fred Jones become a big bad? This has set up quite a serious moral dilemma for Daphne. Still not my childhood Scooby, but still an interesting Elseworlds version of it.
• The Wrong Earth #1 - I rarely complain that a comic book has too much content, but this comic book has too much content! A main story, a back-up, a letter column, two creator Q&As, a short story by Grant Morrison, and even a one-pager comic. And all of it good. The main story's high concept - of a superhero from an Adam West Batman type world changing places with his counterpart from a much darker world - is fantastic, and nicely realized. I'm looking forward to reading more.
• Archie 1941 #1 - Huh. Pretty much all set-up, and really depressing set-up at that. Good art, but man, this was a bummer to read.
• SpongeBob Comics #84 - Not much to say on this one. Typical issue, overall. I really liked the Ocean Facts piece on barnacles, because, while I knew what barnacles are intellectually, seeing the imagery with the simple description helped me actually understand what they are. It's always good to learn new stuff.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 #1 - I'm not a huge MST3K fan, and so I was somewhat unfamiliar with the cast of this issue - but at least I know who Tom Servo is and found his role in this to be hilarious. Moving the snark from movies to comics is a fun idea, but I'm not sure they'll be able to sustain the momentum for a full six issues. I guess I'll have to read and see.


• Sep 19th
• Aquaman #40 - Harley is just so good in this. Ridiculous and yet compassionate when she has to be. Cruel but silly. No wonder she's become so popular. As for the rest... poor Carl. And Waller is just the woman she's supposed to be. I like the conversation at the end between the two "queens". Ha. Good stuff.
• Justice League #8 - Still completely crap, but there's some nice Black Manta characterization, so it wasn't a complete waste.
• Green Lanterns #55 - Nope. I just... no. I don't buy it on any level. Not impressed.
• Teen Titans Go #30 - Note to self: never play word games with Raven. This was a fun issue with two amusing stories, including one about going to great lengths to make a vegan burrito. A good issue.
• Doctor Strange #5 - Huh. So now we know who the narrator is, and everything about the stupid use of language makes more sense. Still not feeling it, much, but it's an interesting twist I honestly didn't see coming.
• Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #6 - This is just excellent. So tightly plotted, such an interesting plot, bits of history woven into the tale. It's fantastic. I finished this issue and nearly dove into my stack to read the next (and final) issue right away. Usagi Yojimbo is consistently the best comic book available. This storyline is no exception.