Stryder's Favourite Comics - 3/28/2012

Wow it's April all ready!  Game of Thrones is back on TV, and The Avengers will be out in theatres before we know it!  Not to mention all the other summer movie fare!  Looks like a busy year!  Of course, it's NEVER too busy for COMICS!!

Superman #7 - It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a new creative team!!!  Yes, the new creative team debuts for Superman this month and provides a shift in mood for the Man of Steel.  Gone are the more cartoon-y pencils and dialogue....this version of Supes is more mature and more in keeping with the rest of the New 52 universe.  Not to say that it's gotten suddenly dark, just that it seems much more grown-up than that first 6 issues.

Right on the first page we have both a grittier and a more heroic looking Superman than we've seen thus far shielding a mother and young boy from lasers capable of damaging a brick wall...selling me on the pencils immediately!  Superman goes on to battle some type of battle droid and eventually the being who sent it, an alien (I guess) calling himself Helspont of a race called Daemonites.  You can tell he's the bad guy because his face is a big glowing skull.  Seeing as He-Man is not around, he has decided to hassle Superman instead!  This of course causes lots of trouble for both the Man of Steel and his alter-ego, Clark Kent, who will now have to explain to Lois why he let her down, AGAIN...Okay, I'm teasing but actually this issue was pretty cool!  I'm quite interested in issue #8!

Oh one other thing of note...we learn a neat thing about Superman's costume in this issue.  It is "Kryptonian Biotech" and can metamorph itself from an undershirt into the full costume.  Makes more sense than having all that stuff just stuffed under his jacket...Looks cool too...keeps the iconic pull-open-the-dress shirt pose!  Nice!

Of course there's more after the JUMP!  There ALWAYS is!

Aquaman #7 - This month's issue opens on a veiled woman running through the jungle in Brazil, being hunted by a man in body armour and a weird, bug-like helmet.  There's a chase, there's an explosion, there's a body and there's a stolen artifact!  Incidentally we KNOW this guy is the bad guy because not only does he kill the girl, he tells her that when he is done he will travel to Tehran and kill her husband and children for good measure.  The woman (whom we find out is named "Kahina the Seer") calls out for Arthur as she dies.  The man replies "Arthur cannot help you now.  Arthur will lose everything he cares about.  Just as I have."

The first time we see Aquaman and Mera, they are doing random good deeds for sailors, as there's a massive storm over the Atlantic Ocean.  Our aquatic allies assist ships back to shore, saving the lives of a large number of sea-faring folk, as is their wont.  I think this is to remind us that they ARE, in fact, the good guys, as shortly thereafter, Arthur and Mera go to visit a Dr. Shin....apparently an expert on Atlantis, only to be attacked by a different woman, this one with a black panther at her side!  She battles with Mera for a bit but it soon comes to light that she and Arthur go way back...she's here to see and KILL Dr. Shin, believing that he is the one who had Kahina killed.  Our murdered is given a name - "Black Mantis".  The thing he stole is a "Relic of Atlantis" and this all has something to do with a group that it looks like Aquaman once belonged to known as "The Others".  What happens?  Tune in next month!

Batman The Dark Knight #7 - So last month I thought Bane's mask had red glowing eyes.  Now I think Bane's ACTUAL eyes are glowing red!  What did this new formulation of Venom do to him??  Well, he SAYS it makes him smarter, and it definitely makes him much stronger than I've ever seen him.  He even did an "Incredible Hulk" jump in there!!  The only question is...is he stronger and smarter than Batman?

Well, okay, that's not the only question.  We also get to find out what happens to the Flash, who is still trying to run out the poison in his system with Superman following along behind to...offer moral support?  That's basically all he does.  Nice to see them both though...thanks for stopping by!

Incidentally Poison Ivy looks HOT when drawn by David Finch.  Makes me wish he did pencils on Birds of Prey too.  Story-wise this book is struggling a bit, but the pencils do look pretty!

The Flash #7 - Oh Barry.  It may be true what they say...nice guys DO finish last.  The Flash is still trying to stop Captain Cold, who is looking for revenge because his sister is dying in the hospital.  Cold, like all of Central City's residents, blames the Flash due to the EMP blast from a few issues ago.  We know that this blast was caused by "Mob Rule" but the people of the twin cities believe that the Flash caused it, as well as all of the death and destruction that went along with the massive power failure!

Also, lately, when Barry runs too fast, wormholes have been opening up in time and space.  It's pretty dangerous.  Well, so is standing around watching Captain Cold and Flash battle, because Barry's girlfriend Patti nearly dies.  Flash has to run fast enough to open a wormhole in order to try to save her.  Said wormhole threatens to swallow alternate love interest Iris West along with some of her friends.  Can't win for losing, can you Barry?

On the plus side, there may be a solution.  We'll find out more next month.  Oh and in between all this battling and trying to save hot girls, Flash also has time to charge up some batteries and re-energize the hospital where Cold's sister is being held.  She's gonna be OKAY!  All of this idiocy was simply overreaction on Captain Cold's part.   Poor Barry.....

Teen Titans #7 - Tim "Red Robin" Drake discovers that N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is about to execute Superboy and guilt trips the rest of the Teen Titans into a rescue operation.  Since Superboy recently kicked all of their collective butts, they were understandably reluctant to rally to his aide.  However, when Tim threatened to try the rescue himself, they rallied around HIM.  I guess this, by default, means they admit to being a team together and being led by Red Robin.  Progress!

Of course it doesn't mean anything when their rescue attempt, despite some bright spots early on, appears to have faltered by the end.  It may be that they've only successfully delivered N.O.W.H.E.R.E. more prisoners.  Furthermore, this could all be Tim's fault for stopping to both check the computer system and get a lecture on relative morality from Solstice, whom he then may have ditched?  It seemed pretty sketchy.  I'm sure we'll hear more about it next episode, assuming they all live!

Oh one thing about this issue....they tease a big fight between Wonder Girl and "Ravager" (aka Rose, the white-haired girl from Superboy) that apparently takes place IN Superboy #8.  Sadly, that isn't out until next month and now Titans has stolen that issue's thunder...I know how both the Ravager/Wonder Girl fight and the next issue of Superboy are going to end!  Poorly timed, DC...

Oh speaking of Tim Drake...I also just finished reading the recently released trade paperback Red Robin: 7 Days of Death.
 

I'm not going to go into the plot, which covers a ton of ground...just going to tell you that if you're a fan of Tim at all you should pick it up!  It's my favourite TPB since Flashpoint, and I tend to buy at least 2 or 3 a month.  It's not really required reading, as the New 52 means that at least parts of it were negated (for example, the Teen Titans in this TPB no longer exist).  However, it also made me officially admit something I've suspected for a LONG time.  Tim Drake = My FAVOURITE Robin!  Red or otherwise...Sorry Dick, Jason and Damien!

Well that's about it for this week!  Tomorrow's New Comic Day yet again, so you can look forward to hearing about Action Comics, Detective Comics and Green Arrow!  Into the #8's!  See ya then!

Oh yeah don't forget to check out my latest entry over at Stryder's Dementia.  It's has more to do with my fascination with the formation of memory than with God, really...