Batman #10 - The "Night of the Owls" is over but Batman's business with the Court of Owls is NOT. Mayoral candidate and seemingly decent guy Lincoln March managed to give Batman a lead to the identity of at least a member or 2 of the court before being assassinated by a Talon last month. Now a dishevelled, obviously still hurt and clearly overworked Dark Knight is on a mission to bring them down for good! No one toys with Gotham City the way they did!
Well that's just the beginning of this issue. It's pretty impossible to write any more without revealing some major spoilers! Something goes down that had me exclaiming in disbelief! ("I don't believe it!" I exclaimed)! You won't believe it either. Scott Snyder has earned his place amongst all-time great comic book writers with New 52 Batman, and he's obviously FAR from done...
Oh, I can't tell you about the next part of the Jarvis Pennyworth story either, but it also was quite fascinating! I will say that little 3-year-old Brucie is cute. Poor little guy just hasn't got a clue what the future has in store for him...
This issue is awesome. Just look at that cover! One of the coolest images. Well, if you're not buying Batman yet, I don't know what else I can do to sell you. If you buy just ONE comic a month...
Batman's awesome and there's more of him, and lots of everyone else too after the JUMP!
NEW!! Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1 (of 4) - "Oh sweetie, you're too young to hate. Wait until you're older and the world gives you a good reason. Trust me, it won't let you down."
Haters gotta hate and there's a lot of it seemingly going around for this next instalment of the Before Watchmen saga. I'm not really sure why. I thought it was a fairly well done tale of a young kid who's getting abused (both subtly and not-so-subtly) in her home life by an over-domineering, secret keeping parental figure (her mother, of course, the FIRST Silk Spectre). A girl who doesn't fit in socially with ANYONE...a totally isolated lifestyle. A girl who KNOWS things are all messed up but who is pretty much powerless to affect her life at this point. What does she do? Meets a cute boy and runs away with him! He's the only person who's been particularly nice to her so far in her short life-span...what ELSE is she going to do?
It's a sweet story of hope amidst despair, and one which I suspect will turn to tragedy pretty soon...an interesting look into the younger years of a girl who eventually becomes both super-heroine and screwed up girlfriend of a godlike being later in life. What could allow her to be that secondary of a character in her OWN LIFE? What gives her the strength to break out of that role eventually and seek happiness on her own terms? The seeds of these events should be found in this miniseries. So far I think they're doing a good job of it!
Although if you're not into character and backstory and want straight into action, this probably isn't your comic...
Batman and Robin #10 - What starts as simple bickering between Damian and Tim "Red Robin" Drake turns into something more this issue...a point of pride...a method of proving something...Damian Wayne has a plan to prove to his father, to his fellow Robins, and mostly to himself that HE is the best Robin ever!
Damian calls together all three previous Robins...Dick "Nightwing" Grayson, Tim Drake and even Jason "Red Hood" Todd!
"Day or night, when you least expect it, I'm going to defeat you at something you feel unbeatable at...Then I'm going to take something personal of yours as a memento and hang it in my room."
Damian's statement is strangely intimidating but also SUCH a ten-year old thing to say...Can he do it? Wait and see! Whether he succeeds or he fails I'm finding it fascinating watching all these former and current side-kicks interact! It's easy to think of Robin as sort of cookie-cutter, but each of these characters has a very distinct personality.
Meanwhile it's revealed that the other Robins aren't aware of exactly how high Damian's body-count actually is. They know about at least one of his "accidents" but no one is aware of exactly EVERYTHING except perhaps for Bruce and Alfred...this could be one of those times when keeping secrets costs the Bat-Family...it's a dangerous game they're playing.
Oh they also cut to a villain named Terminus who has nefarious plans for Gotham. He doesn't do much this issue, but he looks posed to strike next month! Stay tuned!
Green Lantern #10 - The Secret of the Indigo Tribe concludes this month, as Hal Jordan and Sinestro have to fight their way through an alien landscape filled with the villainous members of the Indigo Tribe, now released from the light that was stopping them from being the heartless killers they truly are! All this to convince one ancient little alien dude to rebuild the shattered Indigo light and help them carry out Abin Sur's old plan and stop the Guardians before they turn to evil and disband the Lantern Corps!
We get to see how a powerless but pissed off Sinestro is STILL a force to be reckoned with! We also learn that perhaps the Indigo light isn't so bad after all, as it appears at least ONE of the criminals forced to don an Indigo ring has reformed because of it, even when the light's gone out! However, can the same be said for the other members? What of The Black Hand? What of Sinestro Himself? Can he really be a hero once more?? The lives of Hal Jordan and maybe everyone else in the Galaxy may very well depend on it...
Batgirl #10 - "Well, here's the thing. Sooner or later, every cape in Gotham has to ask themselves...am I being a jerk right now?"
Barbara Gordon is feeling a little guilty for beating up poor teenagers for trying to steal cars from rich jerks. Why is she bothering? Well, the carjackers have taken hostages a few times and she can't let that go on. However, when one of the carjackers stumbles into a BEAR TRAP left hidden at the exit and loses a leg over it, things have gone TOO FAR! Who would escalate to this extreme?
We don't have to wait long to learn...a new group of vigilantes has arrived in Gotham. They call themselves The Disgraced. Not only do they use amputation as a weapon in the war on crime, they want Batgirl to JOIN them...you know, or DIE! Let's see how THAT works out for them...
Oh, there's also a cool cameo by Lois Lane this issue! She's in Gotham to interview a rich socialite named Charise Carnes. A girl who wants to use her family money to make Gotham a better place. A girl who's family was brutally murdered. A girl who...may have murdered her family herself? Lois Lane seems to think there's a good chance...
Superboy #10 - After the events of The Culling, Superboy finds himself waking up on a deserted island with no-one around but Wonder Girl! Gee, what a tragedy! To bad she's still mad at him for beating her up across half of New York City a few months back. Oh, and where can the rest of the Teen Titans be? They were here a minute ago!
Well, it turns out that the island that the two super-teens find themselves on is a little odd. For one, it's shaped like a question mark. Oh, and dinosaurs walk upon it! Did I forget to mention the dinosaurs? It's no big deal...we are talking about Superboy and (don't call her) Wonder Girl!!
This issue is great as it really marks the first time that Superboy deals with someone BESIDES N.O.W.H.E.R.E. personnel on a truly human level. He can relate to Cassandra in ways that he couldn't with his former colleagues. In the same vein, Cassie is still very guarded and secretive with her "friends" in the Titans....however there's some nice moments here that make it clear that these two have more in common than they'd like to admit! Ah, how sweet to see the beginnings of youthful love blossom amongst the Tyrannosaurus Rexes...IF Cassie can forgive Superboy for that whole beating up thing...
The Ravagers #2 - Caitlin Fairchild and her three N.O.W.H.E.R.E. escapee companions, Ridge, Thunder and Lightning, are stuck on a rapidly melting chunk of ice in the middle of a freezing cold Pacific ocean with no land or help in sight. This is the LEAST of their concerns as Harvest has sent his number 2 man, a villain known simply as the Shadow Walker! "He was Harvest's first recruit...and will not fail."
It seems that Harvest isn't too concerned with the rest of the meta-human teens from the Culling being released, but he DOES badly want Caitlin dead! He's also annoyed that Beast Boy managed to escape, too, and wants him BACK! Unfortunately, Beast Boy and Terra took off together last issue and no-one knows WHERE they went...they'll get no warning that the hunt is on...
Still not too sure about this book...in some ways it's pretty dark and interesting, particularly the villains. In other ways it seems a little too cliched. Also, I feel like I already get enough "meta-teen drama" between the Teen Titans, Superboy and Batman and Robin...still, you know me...they have till issue #6 at least to get me properly hooked! Good luck!
Suicide Squad #10 - The Squad finds themselves once more working alongside Harley Quinn this issue, and no one's too happy about it. She DID start a prison riot, beat them all up and escape, lead them on a dangerous chase through Gotham city and of course use Deadshot as a prop in her crazy dealings with the Joker's face skin. Of course, she claims she's all better now! Well, that may or may not be true, but when you have a bomb in your head that will blow up and kill you for disobeying, you work with who your boss tells you to work with...no matter WHAT they did...
Harley (actually she wants to be called "Harleen" again, apparently) is pretty grateful to Deadshot, actually. She knows he's the best shot on the planet. That he shot her in the gut and yet she LIVED is no accident. Even if he doesn't want to admit it.
Not only does Deadshot have to deal with this awkward situation, but yet another successful mission may be ruined by the TRAITOR in the Squad! Don't think we've forgotten....one of the members is working for Basilisk on the side (they're the BAD GUYS...wait...aren't Suicide Squad bad guys? Well whatever)! We still don't know who the traitor is, but they ARE messing a lot of things up.
In other news, Yo-Yo, who has been living in King Shark's lower intestines for the last few months, is out and PISSED OFF at Amanda Waller who apparently knew all along (of COURSE she did). He should be pissed off that his super-villain name is YO-YO. Yikes! I'm sure we've not heard the last of that situation either...the drama continues to unfold! Never a dull moment on a team of barely controlled super villains, is there?
So that's it for my week! Of course, New Comic Book day is only a few short hours away, and another 7 comics await me, including Before Watchmen: Comedian, Wonder Woman, Nightwing and more!
And as always, there's more Stryder's Dementia for the unwary net surfer to digest...now taking suggestions on how to put off the end of the World!!
Peace and love Pursuants of Fruitlessness!! See ya next time!
Cheers for the Ravagers review, I've not heard of it and I'm curious to check it out.
ReplyDeleteNo problemo! Thanks for reading!
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