Posts tagged The Return of Bruce Wayne

Female empowerment week? I think yes.

November 11, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oh, what an adventurous week this will be! Ten titles, no Marvel, and the end of a series that, frankly, I really didn’t give half a rip about anyway! Shall we begin?

My boyfriend read The Return of Bruce Wayne before I did and told me not to bother. I…did not listen. But instead of really reading, I just glanced through. It was pretty generic, from what I saw. Lots of mentioning of holes (a little part of me kept cracking ‘that’s what she said’ jokes. I’m so ashamed.), Hal Jordan being a douche, etc. Sorry, Grant. I’m giving this one star, would not read again.

Knight and Squire, on the other hand…it’s like Paul Cornell said to himself, “Hm, how British can I make this series before it becomes too British and people drop it from their pull lists?” I think you’re almost there, honey. I mean, I’m kinda fluent in the utter nonsense (thank you, Louise Rennison) that British writers can come up with, but even now…I think he’s just making stuff up. I’m not dropping the series, though. It just has that perfect mix of action and comedy that keeps me reading.

I think my eyebrow was quirked the entire time I was reading Welcome to Tranquility. I couldn’t help it, I just…god damn, Gail. Tommy and Derek were in love once? I mean, I thought what he had for her was a creepy obsession or something. And Seresa may be parapalegic? Or, if she gives up the ghost, Vengence of the sidewinder spirits? Holy moley. And Tommy was..? Good god, woman, don’t you tease me like this! Augh, cliffhangers, my one true weakness! Next time, Simone, next time..!

So, Emerald Warriors is quickly becoming my favorite incarnation of Green Lantern. Why? Just…read the Guy/overseer interaction in the atmosphere. That’s probably the funniest damn thing I’ve read in weeks. Also, I know how I’m all ‘Blue Corps, yay!’, but the Red Lanterns are really starting to grow on me. Bleez in particular, because she’s just…from all the stuff we know about her, she’s pretty much a Libby with a heart of gold…except she’s technically evil? I dunno. The metaphor derailed itself. End result, Emerald Warriors is awesome, pick it up if you can.

Batgirl, anyone? While Babs shall always be my favorite Bat-lady, Steph gets props for being a strange yet awesome combination of her, Dick, and Tim. She’s a lady that cracks jokes and worked her ass off to get where she wanted to be, and that deserves a bit of respect. See, this is why I’m afraid of colleges, people are always dying of something. Cloaked men chasing a science major and murdering him? Just a normal day on campus, nothing to see here.

Red Robin: Oh, hey, Cass! Where the hell have you been for a year? Also, a little shout out to the Teen of Steel. Apparently his colors aren’t the only thing Tim’s got on him. (“They call me ‘Superboy’..? That’ll be news to Conner…”) Cass turned down the Bat! Okay, I’m kinda psyched about that. Maybe there’s hope in her being the new Nightwing after all… Ha! And Tim gets his own sexy, sexy enemy. His own Catwoman, if you will. Ack, stop with the fruit throwing! Her name is Lynx for pity’s sake! Also, Bathugs! They are certainly the best kind of guy-on-guy hugs to have (just ask Superboy). Oh my, Tim. You’ve certainly learned well at the knee of Dick, you manslut you.

“But I wanted to beat up Nazis!” is probably the greatest excuse in time travel, please excuse the pun, history. So, anyone wondering when General Glory would pop up in comics again? No? Well, too bad, here he is! And…he’s off his rocker in a major way. Y’know, I hope DC chooses to keep Rani around, her interactions with the Carter family are just too adorable for words. “Please don’t call me Boppy.” You know you love it, Rip.

Generation Lost was hella depressing this week. Basic synopsis: because Max Lord is a bastard and Nate is a good soldier, Magog dies and Max’s life is fully restored. What. The fuck. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here. Ohh, wait. Max had to kill Magog to stop a war that would decimate the world from happening, I remember now. Y’know, I just had a thought. Would people on other worlds remember Max? Manga Khan, Kyle, who I don’t think was on Earth at the time of the mind wipe (unlike Guy), even Starfire and Adam Strange. Would any of them remember him? I mean, aside from Booster Gold and Power Girl, I don’t think he’s shown up in any books other than this one. Is he a contained subject? Or is the entire universe doomed to forget all about the guy who is kinda aspiring to be Hitler? And before people get up in arms about that comment, think about it. His entire purpose for being evil? Rid the world of superheroes from other planets, or with ridiculous superpowers. He didn’t want to kill Ted, he wanted Ted to join him because they’re both fully human. Except, Max isn’t fully human. He had mind-controlling powers, and then he was a cyborg. That’s another thing that I don’t think was ever explained. How did Max go from being a nonpowered cyborg to being human again? Did he clone himself or something? What’s the deal, DC? Ugh, I’m giving myself a headache, next book.

R.E.B.E.L.S.: The book that goes there. Seriously, I think I may like this series better than any other (set in space) not only because of the writing, but because of the art. Claude St. Aubin and Kevin Sharpe have made Starfire look better than she has in any series since her appearances in The New Teen Titans. And yes, I’m counting the art in the early issues of the Titans book in there, as well as how Ed McGuiness drew her in Superman/Batman. I’ve never been a huge Starfire fan, something that was cemented by the cartoon, but it seems to me like she’s never been more feminist or had more integrity than she does in this series. I’d never expected to describe a woman whose sole reason for living used to be Dick Grayson as a ‘feminist’, but god damn, Kory. Way to go. Also, and this is a major SPOILER ALERT, last page, are those a bunch of tanks of Czarnians?! Holy shit.

God damn, Gail. I know I’m taking the lord’s name in vain an awful lot this week, but can you blame me? Huntress vs Shiva, and Helena is still alive? The art kinda threw me for a bit of a loop, in that it wasn’t the best. Kind of like a watered-down version of something Francis Manapul would draw with his unnatural hand. But good god on the mountaintop, can Lee and Melo do a fight scene. It was that alone that redeemed the art for me. Gail, I’d gush more, but I honestly can’t think of anything that I haven’t said a hundred times before. You’re an earthbound angel, lady.

Well, that was my week in comics. For anyone who cares to check it out, I’ve started a weekly thread in the Comics board on Gaia Online’s forums called The Appeal of Fandom, which flows a lot like this here blog. Only, instead of being a breakdown of books, I examine popular things within comic fandom. It’s all pretty simple, but fun! I’m actually going to go check in on it now, see y’all next week!

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If this week got any bigger, I’d have to start cracking jokes

October 21, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is this a big week? Does the pope have a balcony? Fourteen books this time around, god help me. Well, let’s just jump right in.

The fail train rides again! Actually, and I’ll deny saying it later, this week wasn’t terrible. With the exception of the Firestorm pages, this issue combined the few things I like about Brightest Day. The J’onn story has been keeping me on the edge of my seat, and it really came to a head now that he’s confronted psycho Martian chick, D’kay D’razz. She’s the exact meaning of the term mindfuck and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but check out the issue yourself for the twist of all twists the last five pages. A brick was shat.

What is it about the Bat-women that rocks so hard? Of the Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots that have come out so far, only Batgirl and Catwoman have been truly excellent. I’m not a Batfan, really I’m not, but something about the Dark Knight’s leading ladies always reels me in. You go, girls. You go.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is the Commissioner Gordon one-shot. Jim has never been one of my favorite Bat-guys, but he’s pretty badass for a powerless man in his 50’s. Even though the issue was written by Adam ‘Sonuva’ Beechen, I dug it. Go ahead and check it out, if you’ve got the time to spare.

Legion of Superheroes is finally getting good for me. I think it was all the Green Lantern stuff and Earth Man-centric issues that were spoiling it for me. Legion has always been about having a large, rotating cast of characters, not fixating on just one or two. Anyway, rant over. I’m gonna call this issue “couples a-go-go”, because everyone is making out. Seriously, this issue was full of romance. Shady and Earth Man, Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl, Gim and Yera, Garth and Imra, Ayla and Salu…no, seriously. It was a cute nod to the Pre-Crisis Legion stories where they were lovers. Hopefully this is canon again, the Legion needs more lesbians.

I don’t normally pick up Superman/Batman. I mean, I get backissues from conventions and tent sales, and my boyfriend buys the trades, but I don’t follow it regularly. I may have to, though, if all the issues are as funny and interesting as #77 was. Any Supergirl/Robin teamup is worth picking up, but a Kara/Damian teamup? Oh, yes please. My only complaint is that he never once calls her fat. He calls her an alien constantly, though, in true Dami fashion. I love that kid.

Justice League is growing on me again. I haven’t read anything from the main JL series since Cry For Justice (BOOOOOOOO), but since starting last month, I’m cursing the fact that I can’t seem to put it down. The Crime Syndicate of Amerika is back, y’all! Also, Tangent Earth Green Lantern makes an appearance. I’m telling you, I’m getting some heavy JLA-esque vibes from this current arc. I hope I’m wrong, because that arc of the old JLA series sucked. This issue, while text-heavy like whoa, was actually pretty readable. Let’s hope this trend continues.

I haven’t followed Gen13 for two issues now…so what the hell happened?! Last time I checked in with them, the Gens were in, like, the frozen wastelands, and Roxy and Grunge were going into space. I’m totally confused. Ah, well. Next weekend is the tent sale at Tate’s, and backissues that aren’t under the tent are half off inside the store. I’ll go grab them if I can’t find them outside, and hopefully clear up my confusion.

Is it just me, or are the Teen Titans stories the only decent ones in the Holiday Specials that DC puts out? Unless you plan on spending $5 for one story, I suggest skipping it.

Reading a Grant Morrison book is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could be the best thing you’ve ever read. On the other hand, it could be so completely nonsensical that your head does a 360-spin trying to keep up. I think the entire latest issue of Batman and Robin was just a lead up to the fact that Dr. Thomas Wayne is actually, wait for it, Dr. Tommy Elliot. Big shocker, right? Tommy is a notorious face-stealer, and they share the same name, so…ahem. Moving on,

Remember how I said that Bat-ladies could do no wrong? Well, I feel the opposite for Superman’s supporting female cast. Lana Lang is a lovestruck bimbo, Cat Grant is a self-possessed bitch, Supergirl is the new DCU emo kid, Power Girl is being written by Judd Winick (WINIIIIIIIIICK), Lois Lane spent 50 years trying to get Superman to marry her…I swear, the only decent female character that’s come out of the Supercast recently is Bizarrogirl. And maybe Mercy Graves, who was badass in the Infinity Inc series post-52. If there is one thing I can say about this issue of Supergirl, it’s that it was drawn incredible well. The page comparing Supergirl and Bizarrogirl was superb. And that last page, with Cat Grant? Mascara tracks have never looked so good.

Power Girl confuses me. It looks like Judd Winick (WINIIIIIIIIICK) has been taking banter cues from Keith Giffen, but aside from that…is Peeg hitting on her new info man Nicco? What’s with the lady-reveal on the last page? Seriously, who the hell is she. Looks kinda like a badly-drawn Atlee, except she’s supposed to be a Kryptonian. I’m gonna write this issue off as “Confusing as Hell” and call it a day, mmkay?

Is there anything better than seeing someone slug Sinestro? In a Green Lantern series, no. In Green Lantern Corps, maybe. In a final page splash shot? You bet your ass there isn’t. I love Green Lantern Corps. Tony Bedard is honestly one of the coolest comic writers I’ve ever met, if not one of the best comic writers DC employs (sorry, Gail). His natural element seems to be space, because he was obviously born there. Don’t believe me? No one but a star-traveller could write space stories this well, I’m convinced. This new arc is going to be focused around Soranik and Kyle (didn’t I predict that?), and the weaponers of Qward. Looks promising, I can dig it.

Okay, so, lemme get this straight. The Steve Rogers that invited Deadpool to be part of his team last issue was an imperfect clone built by a man named Doctor Bong?! Seriously?! Deadpool, you have a terrible taste in friends. Next issue.

Hey, some of you may have heard of this comic-turned-movie from a couple years ago? About a kid that made himself into a superhero in a setting like the world we live in? I think it was called Kick-Ass? I have the first issue of the second series in my hands. Care to come along for the ride? Two words for you: Justice Forever. What is it, you ask? A TV show? A comic series? No, my friends. It’s the main plot of the new Kick-Ass series, the superteam he joins. Yes, an honest to god superteam. I’m going to stand up in a minute, and I won’t be surprised at all if I find a brick on my chair.

Well, that’s this week in comics, ladies and gents. I myself have a date with Gaia Online’s Exchange forum. Hope to see you all back here next week, same time, same place. Peace.

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I don’t wanna lick a doorway!

October 14, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Holy cow, big week. I’m not even kidding. Fifteen books, you guys. And all of October is looking like this. Well, let me just crack my knuckles and get down to it.

It wouldn’t be the horror month without a return to Blackest Night. I know, even with Brightest Day halfway over, we just can’t seem to let this putrid corpse lie still. Untold Tales of the Blackest Night features a handful of stories from behind the scenes of the series. You have your longer stories, like the Donna Troy turning into a Black Lantern and the Scarecrow embracing fear fully upon recieving his Sinestro Corps ring, and then there are the one/two page stories, like the Rainbow Raiders thing. They never even got to face off against the Flash, the real Flash, not counting the time Johnny Quick and Power Ring fought them while disguised as Flash and Green Lantern back in JLA, and they drank poison and died. What the hell, man?! I am disappoint, DC. The Animal Man story was pretty kickass. He was a White Lantern for a time, too? Sweet! Oh, and then there was this thing about Lyssa Drak escaping from the Book of the Black, so I think we’ll probably be seeing her again soon in Green Lantern Corps.

The Return of Bruce Wayne is back, holy crap! We’re approaching the home stretch, folks! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this…to end. I’m not a Batman fan by any stretch of the term, but I’ve been reading this series to keep up with the things that will be happening with the Batfamily members I do like. Bruce has made it all the way to…his childhood? In the days following his parents murders, no less. It’s an interesting concept, but I’m a little disappointed that big Bruce never got to meet little Bruce. That would have been cool.

I’m just going to combine the three Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots into one review, mainly because I’m feeling lazy. Bruce Wayne on Dick Grayson: “He is poetry in motion, calm, confident.” We get it, Bruce. Your boner for him is HUGE. So, Bruce is god now? I mean, I’m sure people have been thinking he’s god for awhile, but the Redone-shot is pretty much confirming it. I’m not sure I can even finish reading this, you guys. I just…I’m not digging it. This isn’t even Brightest Day quality bad. The Batgirl one-shot is the only one I’m buying. I mean it, even if it takes me a month to get it. It’s on my list. Steph slaps Bruce across the face! It was awesome!

Adventure Comics is such a sweet book. I mean that in both the d’aww version of sweet, and the awesome version of sweet. Where else are you going to get to see Legionnaires help the Kents raise a barn? Or Brainy as a ‘human’? I swear, if it didn’t have that shitty Atom second feature, this would be up there on my list of top books.

Holy Mothra! That sonuvabitch killed the Coyote Kid! But…wasn’t he already dead? Welcome to Tranquility isn’t my favorite of Gail’s books, even though it originally appealed to my undeserved sense of Golden Age-nostalgia, but this is just…you can’t kill the dead. It’s impossible. There’s nothing alive left to kill. But Derek, he managed it. He ripped off limbs. And he may have killed Seresa Lindo. He tried to rape Minxy Millions. Gail, you’ve created a monster. You’ve created something that shakes me to my very core. Thank you.

Knight and Squire starts this month! Only six issues, but I’ve been looking forward to it for soooo long. Something about British heroes just tickles my fancy in the best of ways. It seems like these are going to be six done-in-one books about superhero life overseas, and I’m just fine with that. It’s definitely a change in pace from the other minis that have been coming out lately. This first issue involves an altercation in an old pub protected by truce magic. It was an interesting read, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in that sort of thing.

So long as the Green Lantern title doesn’t focus solely on Hal Jordan, I think I can stomach it. This issue we meet Adara, the triple-beaked pedo bird of hope. Why is it a pedo? It’s host is a 14-year old girl. We also get to see a bit of relationship angst between Hal and Carol, which is just so nice. Hear the sarcasm? But the real star of this issue is Larfleeze. Somehow, Larfleeze has gone from loathed ultra-hoarder to woobie of the DCU. He’s even going to have his own Christmas special, if you can believe it. You go, Larfleeze!

Oh no, Guy. Say it ain’t so. Last issue, he was gonna get purged of the red. This issue, he isn’t, all on Bleez’s suggestion. There’s honestly very little I can say about this issue. It was…alright, I guess. And it’s kinda cool to know that the Big Bad is planning on steering the willpower train of the universe via telepaths, but it just didn’t wow me. Sorry, Emerald Warriors.

I see what you did there, Generation Lost. And you thought I wouldn’t notice that the dreamstate human personification of Gold looks more than a little like our dear Booster. Also, Max Lord a sociopath? Really, DC? You’re trying to say that the fast-talking lord of the schmooze is a sociopath? I don’t believe a word. What? What is this? The Metal Men have combined Voltron style to form a giant monster? Sigh, okay. I’ll buy it. One last thing: badass Ice? Probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, pun so very much intended.

Oh god, I can’t stop laughing! I hope we have this creative team on Booster Gold forever. This entire issue, from the eating and regurgitating of chipmunk!Ted to Booster crossing himself and praying (and isn’t he supposed to be an athiest?) before socking Estrogina in the gut…it was all too brilliant. Go buy this comic, I command it of you.

Well, that was this week in comics. Sorry it’s a half-hour past deadline, my internet was out. I was quite angry. Do, do I still have to lick a doorway? Guys? Er, this is Touch of Grey saying goodbye for now, and please don’t make me lick a doorway.

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A big week while I’m…weak

July 28, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , ,

The ToG Blog’s unofficial motto is thus; Updates every Wednesday come hell, high water, or that time of the month! I’m sick as a dog, y’all, but that’s not going to stop me from bringing you folks the good word.

I love Green Lantern Corps. That may surprise some of you, as my feelings for most Green Lantern characters are less than pleasant, but I jsut can’t help myself. It’s a fun book, and it’s currently being written by Tony Bedard, two things that keep me tuning in. GLC has reached it’s 50th issue, but instead of interrupting the current storyline for some unneeded double-size issue, it’s just business as usual, and I like that. Kyle, Soranik, John, and Ganthet are still on Grenada, fighting Alpha Lanterns, and I say god bless ’em for it. The issue’s end also gave us a sneak peek at the new Green Lanern: Emerald Warriors book coming out next month. I got a glimpse of Guy being Guy, and that settled it for me. Heck, I may give Hal the boot to make way for him!

The Return of Bruce Wayne is two issues from over. That should make me happy, as only the first issue had caught my interest so far, and I’m not a Batman fan, anyway but you know what? I enjoyed this issue. I enjoy most things set in the Old West, and this was no exception. I mean, this series is effectively making Bruce Wayne bigger than Jesus, the Beatles, and sliced bread combined, but whatever. Let him be the new comic Messiah, I’ll just nod and pretend I give a damn.

Newsflash! Bombshell and Aquagirl fight tentacles before being digested by a giant sea monster!

…really, DC?

I haven’t been on the Teen Titans fan train since they killed off Eddie, but even that little piece of what-the-fuckery is making my head spin. This Wyld monster is kinda reminding me of the Cloverfield beastie We’ve seen it, what? Once? And it was about as unimpressive as anything I could think of. The second feature is getting better, though. As far as second features go, this Coven one is eons ahead of the Ravager one. I’m still pissed about what Zat’s fondest wish was translated as, but hey, what can you do?

Gotham City Sirens’ new artist doesn’t sit well with me. But hey, at least the story is good, right? Next to Gail Simone, Tony Bedard is probably my favorite writer DC has right now, if only because he’s one of the few good writers out there. The new storyline looks like it’s going to be another two-parter, focusing on Poison Ivy this time around. Let’s see, if the pattern hold, the next arc will be about Harley, followed by another Selina story. Let’s just hope they get a good artist onboard soon.

Oh my god, Green Lantern freaked me out this month. Okay, say you take one Hector Hammond and splice him with a greed entity. What do you get? The creepiest thing the comic world has seen since, hmm. I’m going to cite Wicker Sue as pretty creepy, but nothing quite gave me that skin-crawling feeling like the splash page of Skyman/Everyman revealing to Natasha Irons that he’d been chowing down on her boyfriend. And you know what? Hector/Ophidian is still creepier. At least Larfleeze writing to Santa Claus gave this issue a much-needed moment of d’aww. Even if we were all d’awwing for different reasons.

I don’t know what weirds me out more about Lex Luthor, the fact that he built himself an android Lois Lane to act as his moral compass, or the fact that in a self-imposed fantasy about being Superman, he just rips open his shirt and goes to fight. No costume, just…rips open his shirt. I’ve only recently started picking up Action Comics, and I’m probably not going to continue once Lex is no longer the star, but I like this story.

Holy crap. And the award for best rescue from a crashing helicopter goes to…Barry Allen! I think this is the first actually cool thing I’ve ever seen him do. Before the hate starts, I love Barry Allen. I love all the campy stories from the 60’s and 70’s. I loved his relationship with his Rogues, with his wife, with his sidekick. And now I love how we finally get to see him be the badass Geoff Johns keeps telling us he is. One final thought; Is it wrong of me to want to see what evil Iris Allen would look like? Because while Mirror Mistress sounds like the name of a disco ball dominatrix, you know Manapul would end up giving her a hell of an awesome costume.

I’ve got goosebumps. What if, to save the entire world from a war that would destroy it, you only had to take down one man? That’s what the sixth issue of Generation Lost is about. Kill Max Lord, save the world. Let him walk free, doom the world. It all boils down to that. This issue is all about Captain Atom’s magical explosion-based trip to the future, where everything is like the Old West and Power Girl is a hag. Yeah, you read that right. Honestly, I’m intrigued. Next issue cannot come soon enough.

Well, that’s all for this week, you guys. I think I’m gonna take a nice shower, drink some orange juice…then shoot myself in the head to get rid of all this damn congestion. If I survive, I’ll see y’all next week. This is Touch of Grey signing off.

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