Hold onto your hats, folks! This week is a big’un. I’m going to tell you right here and now, the Return of Bruce Wayne was sold out by the time I got to Crossroads, so I’ll be reviewing it next week.
This week started off strong with another amazing issue of Zatanna. Paul Dini is really on a hot streak with this title, let me tell you. This issue, all Zee wants is a little sleep, but that’s not going to happen with a Nightmare Imp crawling around in her head courtesy of her newest foe, Brother Night. It’s a good issue, and I’ve officially decided to start picking it up. Dini, you magnificent bastard, you got me again.
The Rise of Arsenal issue #4, a reaction review: …oh god, no.
Roy Harper has flipped his shit, ladies and gentlemen. He reminds me of Miller’s ‘goddamn’ Batman at this point, and I’m crying. I’m crying for the man that was once my favorite hero. Roy honey, I’m sorry, but Lian isn’t the only one that’s dead and gone now.
The second issue of Legion of Superheroes didn’t wow me. It was alright, but it didn’t really have the same oomph behind it that the first issue did. It focused mostly on the cleanup of the Titan debris and finding a place for the Titanian refugees to stay. Xenophobia plays heavily throughout this issue, and it’s sort of neat to see both sides of the issue through Earth-Man’s eyes.
I sort of wish I’d followed War of the Supermen now, because I’m totally lost. All the Kryptonians are dead? Okay. That’s news to me. Kara is undergoing a name-change as she gives up the mantle of Supergirl to become Linda Lang full-time. Yeah, that’ll last. Oh, and what’s this? Bizarro-girl? Okay, I’m intrigued. Next issue can’t come fast enough, I say.
There’s a new team on Power Girl, and it shows. The first 12 issues were serious, yes, but they also had a popped-out style and humor to them. The writing was great, the art was amazing, it was a great team for Peeg. Ask anyone, I’m not a Winick fan. He’s a good writer, but i find him too often writing to depress. And he’s done it again. I’d been waiting to see what Max Lord had in store for Karen, who’d also been a part of his JLI for a time, and now I wish I’d never wondered. I’m just so…I can’t even say anything. There was a time that Max was one of those characters that I hated to love but now, there’s only hate. Starrware is bankrupt, and Max may or may not have kidnapped Karen’s head of finance in order to make it happen. The storyline looks interesting enough, but I hope to god that Winick is off the title after the story is over.
And speaking of Maxwell Lord…Generation Lost is officially my nerdrage book. I love it. I hate it. I hate that I love it and love that I hate it. Some may remember that we lost Dimitri, the JLI’s Rocket Red, during an OMAC attack back in Countdown to Infinite Crisis. But you know what they say; when one falls, another will rise to take his place. But enough about the new ‘true’ Rocket Red, whom Booster aptly nicknames Captain Communism, let’s bitch about Max! A terrible thing is happening to dear old Max. Like Aquaman has only been able to communicate with dead fish, Max seems to be accidentally killing people with his mind control powers. Okay, I like this plot twist. I like it a lot. And let me just say, you can tell that Judd Winick has been reading all the JLI backissues to work on this title. I’m still not a fan of his writing, but you know he’s been running all the dialogue by Keith Giffen. You just know. The dialogue and character interactions all have an old-school JLI feel to them, and I couldn’t be happier with that.
That wraps up the books for this week, folks! I picked up a few backissues of Waid’s run on The Flash that I can’t wait to dig in to. This is Touch of Grey signing off until next Wednesday. Peace!
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