Comics: I'm Back, Baby!

A few months ago, I discovered Hoopla Digital, an app where you can check out digital items from your local library. There are several apps where you can do this, depending on which ones your library uses. But the big deal with Hoopla (at least for me) is that they specifically mention comics as one of the things you can borrow. Well, the selection is pretty damn impressive. There's no Marvel, but just about every other publisher I can think of seems to be represented. It's not perfect, but free is not something to be sneezed at. Anyway, I've been reading comics. A lot. Here's a few.

I caught up with Saga, and I'm happy to say it is still just as good as I remembered it being.  I haven't been following comics for a couple of years now, so I don't know, but I would still put my money on Brian K. Vaughn being the best damn writer in the medium. You're never quite sure where he's going to take you, yet it always makes sense. The characters are alive in ways that very few can manage. Although, I will say a big part of his success is also his ability to choose artists that can make those characters breathe. Fiona Staples can draw these really beautiful characters that captivate. It's easy to get caught up in her work from a distance, but one reason I really enjoy digital comics more than paper now a days, is that you can focus on details in each panel in a way that you (or at least I, and my old eyes) can't on paper. When you do that in Saga, you'll notice the subtlest hints of facial expression that are not typical of the medium. It's as if these were just freeze framed at very specific moments that only a real observer of humanity would know to choose. And she does. And it comes across in a way that makes you know exactly what these people are thinking and feeling at every moment, regardless of the words. I can't stress enough how everyone should read this book.

Because I'm a sucker for Elseworlds stories and it was free, I decided to give DC's Injustice: God's Among Us a try. I read 5 volumes of this shit, hating it and myself along the way at various points. Yet, I will likely read the next volumes when and if they become available on Hoopla because now I gotta see it through. To be fair, the first volume is a complete shitshow, but it does improve as it goes on. A little. Inconsistently. Without a doubt, this is the most inconsistent art I've ever seen in anything. One page will be filled with scribbles and then out of nowhere, there's a panel that looks amazing, like it was dropped in from another book. The "writing" is what you'd expect from a book that was thrown together just to justify a video game. It's ultimately nothing new. "What if Superman went mad and became a dictator" may not have been done outright in exactly the same way as this, but there have certainly been elements of all of this in other stories from Red Son to a bunch of other glimpses into alternate universes over the years. What I take most offense with in the whole story is the portrayal of Wonder Woman as almost a blood thirsty Lady Macbeth that at one point says she will be whatever Superman needs her to be. Fuck. That. Shit. I can't wait to finish reading this garbage, though. Like reading trashy novels, I guess.

What if you could stop time by having an orgasm? That's it. That's the premise of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky's Sex Criminals and I would never have expected to love this book so much. I gave it a shot and, much like Saga, I was instantly hooked by how alive these characters are. And also, it's fucking funny. Without being immature, although, sometimes it is on purpose and that's funny too. But it never defaults to lowest common denominator humor like I would have expected. It's always smart without being pretentious or loosing the comedy. There's a lot of meta stuff going on with characters addressing the reader and background jokes like crazy. I have to admit at first Zdarsky's art didn't seem like my cup of tea, but I got over that by like panel 3 or so when (again, thanks to digital) I could really see what he was doing in the fine details. It totally makes sense now that this book has won so many awards. Read this.

Comics of the Week - No More New 52

The last week of the New 52 was not as strong as the rest. This week gave us I, Vampire, which I only picked up after some buzz was generated on the webs, and wish I hadn't. Not sure what the story even was, to be honest. Also, Savage Hawkman, which is filled with plot points that defy even a glancing logic and the introduction of Venom into the DCnU. I wish I could say I read Superman #1, but I have yet to be able to finish it. So many words! Many of them redundant. Then there's these 3. . . .

Aquaman may seem like a lame hero, but when you really look at his powers, he's not lame at all. His body is adapted to withstand the intense pressure of the bottom of the deepest ocean, which results in him being nearly invulnerable and super strong when on land. As he points out in this issue, he does not talk to fish, but rather can telepathically connect with parts of their brain to get them to act. This part of their brain is shared by humans, and in past stories he's been able to cause seizures in humans. In short, Aquaman can kick your ass. Easily. Still, he never gets any respect. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis have put a comic together that manages to address all the jokes and still make Aquaman a powerful, compelling, character. I laughed out loud several times reading this, and each moment lead to another moment that dispelled the joke and showed Aquaman as the tough guy he's supposed to be. I don't know if the humor of this issue can be maintained throughout a series without coming off as one note, but I hope they find a way. This was just fun superhero comics like nothing else I've seen in the relaunch.

Francis Manupaul is an artist with a capital A as far as I'm concerned. His style perfectly matches the kinetic energy of something like The Flash. There's also an element of design in the layouts of this book, particularly in the title page, that tells you he's not just thinking about his figures, but the whole package. This book is beautiful to look at. The story, though, is not that great. The dialogue is pretty clunky and redundant in spots. I really wish that Manupaul was just the artist on this book instead of co-writer with Brian Buccelato, who I am not familiar with at all. With a better writer this book would be special, like the first few issues of the last Flash ongoing series. Instead, it's just an OK story that you can't take your eyes off of.

I happen to agree with the criticisms of last week's Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws as being objectionable representations of women, though I think the point was made and some of the critics are now just overstating their concerns. What's interesting is that one of the criticisms was what would little girls think when seeing naked, blank, Starfire posing and having sex in a book that was rated T for Teen. Valid point. However, there's also violence to consider. This week gave us Fury of Firestorm #1, also rated T for Teen, which opened with a brutal scene in which a young boy watches terrorists slit his father's throat before his eyes. I have no problem with violence in my comics and I hate censorship. However, it's interesting that the violence in this issue, and really in most of the new 52 books, hasn't been brought up by the same critics of the sexuality.  Are they not troubled with that same little girl reading this book? It seems to me there's a double standard when showing concern here, particularly when this book is co-written by Gail Simone, a female creator, and Ethan Van Sciver. The book itself, possibly, has the potential to deal with race issues, but unfortunately, the story seems a little convoluted, at least so far. I still think the potential is there and I hope this book evolves into something more than this first issue, but (and I never thought I'd find myself saying this) I hope they tone down the violence as I think the possibility of having the main characters discuss race relation issues in a realistic way, is one that should reach a wider audience.

Comics of the Week

One good thing about the DC reboot is that, at least this week, it was a great week for comics. That's not to say everything was a winner, but it was interesting and varied with a good chance that something would stick. Fresh takes and good set ups.

The thing about Grant Morrison is that while he can go to really trippy, surreal and nearly impossible to understand places, he can also get to the heart of what makes a character tick in a mythological sense. With Action Comics #1, he is going to the roots of Superman and doing what no one has been able to do in who knows how long now. For years I've heard (and often said) that Superman was irrelevant, too powerful, outdated, boring, etc. Something had to be done to make the character interesting again. Many attempts have been made to make him hip and relevant, but they all just tried to modernize him and mostly missed the point entirely. Morrison goes back to the forgotten roots here, giving us a Superman on the streets, without all his god-like powers yet, living on the edge in a world that fears him. From the pieced together costume to the attitude, I think this is the right way to develop the character into something that can once again be a character we can relate to. As expected, this is one of my favorite #1's and I will definitely be reading this each month.

Speaking of Morrison, his run on Animal Man in the 80's is a prime example of how a creator can take a character you normally may not be interested in and hook you. But now it's Jeff Lemire's turn and he not only brings it, he brings it to another level. This was easily my favorite of the #1's this week, and as the internets can attest, I'm not alone. Lemire is one of the best writers working today and this is a perfect example of what he does. It's a superhero story, it's a family drama, it's a horror tale, it's all of that and more. Right from the opening prose section that gives us a background on the character in a way that doesn't feel forced, it's clear Lemire is bringing a little piece of the meta aspects of Morrison's run, but making it his own. By the last page, it's something else entirely that had me say out loud "Yeah, I'm in." The art by Travel Forman is also a standout. It's clean and odd and beautiful. It makes you uneasy and captivates you all at once, which is perfect for this material. I almost didn't pick this up, because although I like Lemire, I'm not a huge Animal Man guy, but now, I can't wait for the next issue.

When the reboot titles and creative teams were announced, my biggest disappointment was probably that Scott Snyder was off Detective Comics and moved to Batman. As I've said, his run on Detective is legendary already. Instead, we get Tony Daniels, writing and drawing Detective Comics and based on his work on the Batman title before the reboot, I was not excited. I have to say, this issue was better than that. His art was never the issue, and here it is good as always, if not better. It's clear, however, that he either is getting better at the storytelling or his editors have stepped up to address some of the previous problems. The story itself is a basic Joker vs. Batman affair, with the Joker in his serial killer persona. That's all well and good. The last image is what is apparently setting something up that really could be interesting even if we have no idea at this point what it could be. Overall, though, this issue is definitely geared for the new reader. Some of the dialogue, for those of us who know Batman and have read him for years, comes off a little hokey. To someone who's never read Batman, though, I could see it working. I can't fault Daniels for that, but this may not be my Batman book. Still, I want to see where he's going with the Joker here.

Here's a book I only read because of the creator, and almost didn't. Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing may or may not hook me on the character, but that doesn't mean I won't be reading this book. At this point, if Snyder publishes a grocery list, I will consider reading it. I can't even really put my finger on exactly what makes his work excellent, but I think it's a combination of elements. Some writers you can say they are really good at this one thing, whether it's overall emotion, character, a specific genre, action, etc. With Snyder, it's a complete package type of thing that just stands out somehow. His work is somehow character driven and plot driven at the same time. It's brimming with mood and emotion and things happen organically. It doesn't hurt that he's paired with great artists who can tell a visual story with all the elements, like Yanick Paquette does in this issue. Like Animal Man, this is a horror story, but it is more than that. The word is that this will actually cross over with Animal Man and the idea of Lemire and Snyder working together on a big story boggles my mind. I'm on board with this.

Comics of the Week

I loved 100 Bullets. I didn't understand all of it, but I think part of what made it brilliant was its shear complexity. The other thing that made it brilliant was its all out grittiness. It was a book that was never easy on the violence, and that violence was never gratuitous. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso strike again with Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance #2. It would be one thing for them to write a Batman story, which they have, but here they give us a different Batman altogether, in a world that is not held to the same rules we're used to. This may be the best Elseworlds Batman story ever told.

In the Flashpoint world, it was Bruce that was murdered in Crime Alley, setting his father, Thomas on a path to become a different kind of Batman. But this Gotham is also much grittier than the Gotham we're used to, if that's possible. Here, the line separating good guys from bad is so blurred that Thomas Wayne employs both Jim Gordon and Oswald Cobblepot. By the end of this issue, we see exactly how blurred those lines are. It's a moment that you almost see coming, but is still shocking because of just how far the brutality went just before it. Azzarello and Risso never pull their punches.

As expected, this book's biggest strength is that it ultimately has nothing to do with the main Flashpoint story. This is about the world of this Batman, and it's a world that is rich in detail. While we see familiar characters show up in unexpected ways, it's clear there is depth behind each one. It isn't a spot the characters situation and instead leaves you genuinely wondering what brought them to where they are. And it's because of this depth that I have one problem with this book: that it will end. I can only hope in the months after the reboot that they come back and do further stories in this continuity.

Meanwhile, in the main Flashpoint book, we finally see what Kal El is like in this world. I like the fact that it is such a different take on the character. I don't doubt that before the series is over he'll wind up being much closer to the Superman we all know, but for now, it's a fresh take. I've always said the best Superman stories are the Elseworlds versions, and while this isn't as great as the Batman book, it could still lead to some interesting developments, particularly in exploring the relationship between the two characters. Ultimately, though, the Flashpoint book is mainly just good concepts, with mediocre execution. What it does have going for it is that the main points of the event take place in the main book.

Fear Itself #4 was much better than the last 3 issues, with more of a sense of things happening in the pages of the book itself. Particularly, the return of Steve Rogers as Captain America. However, for events to actually matter after 4 issues might be too late. I'm still not sure what the event is actually about, and I'm not sure that would be different if I were reading all the tie ins. Yes, this mysterious Serpent character from Odin's past has unleashed a bunch of hammers on the world and now several characters are running around, possessed, causing chaos with said hammers. But that's a just a set up. Four issues in, I should understand the stakes and what it's all really all about. So far, it doesn't come across any different than any other time someone has wreaked havoc on the Marvel U. Not helping matters is an X-Men tie in Uncanny X-Men #540 that not only did not tell me anything about Fear Itself, it brought the X-Men story to a grinding halt. Absolutely nothing happened in this book, which is a real shame since I was getting into the world of the X-Men for the past couple of issues. Now, I'm not so sure I need to pick up the next one. At least not until Fear Itself is done.

Thor - Loki's Story

One thing that Smallville had going for it, from the beginning, was a great villain in the form of Michael Rosenbaum's Lex. Interestingly, what I found best about Thor was also the villain. Tom Hiddleston's Loki was an ambiguous mix of sympathy, trickery, treachery, ambition and who knows what else, but never just simple evil. Thor's brother has an appropriately rocky arc in the movie, ending in a great father and sons moment that I think nails the essence of all three characters.

Granted, I have never been a big Thor fan, so I don't know the details of how it all plays out in the comics. But I do know Loki is a trickster and tricksters are not easily understood. I only hope his potrayal in the Avengers movie doesn't flatten the character into a purely evil villain. He's much more interesting and real if he retains the sense of being misguided in his attempts to be accepted by his father and his jealousy of his brother. It should not be a simple line that separates him as the bad guy.

The rest of the movie was ok. Maybe this was more of a fan movie, in the sense that it would appeal more to those that are already fans of Thor. I'm not going to run out and read the comics, but it was entertaining, none the less. Although there was somewhat of a love story here, anchoring the movie with the father and son relationships was the right move with something that is coming straight from mythology. And this father son dynamic was another similarity to Smallville. This is simply because Thor and Superman basically tell us the same story: how to become men.

Smallville Finale

Smallville. Often maligned. Apologized for. Guilty pleasure. Simple pleasure. It all applies to the overall opinion of the show or even to one person's views on the show. I think if you boiled it down, you'd be left with about 5 seasons worth of good episodes out of the 10. But, in the end, even the not so good episodes, in context, would have to be called fun. The finale falls somewhere in there as a good representation of the whole series.

There was a lot to like about the finale. The tension was there from the start, as you wonder if the whole series would end up being a comic book Chloe was reading to her son. Or will enough characters get killed to essentially reboot the series back to the Superman continuity we know? Thankfully, it wasn't all comic book, although it was teased a couple of times that it might be. But coming back to the comic book in the end did leave me with one big issue. If Clark is Superman and his identity is a secret, how is there a comic book out that tells his story? Sure, Chloe never refers to him as Clark when reading the comic to her son, but come on. That's a bit much, even for a character that relies on fooling everyone with a pair of glasses.

The best part of the finale was the best part of the 10 seasons of the show. Michael Rosenbaum as Lex, and his conversation with Clark was spot on. It was exactly the right way to wrap up the Lex and Clark relationship that began with episode 1. Lex's hatred of Clark is complex. It's built on jealousy, but not a pure jealousy. Lex also feels betrayed, and really, he's not wrong. At the end of the day, Lex wants to be the best human alive. He wants to be the hero and if in order to be that, he needs to instead be the villain, then so be it. It's easy to trace all this to Lex's relationship with his father, which makes him the perfect foil for Clark. Removing Lex's memories, however, was handled a little clumsily and out of left field. And, ultimately, I'm not sure it would have been necessary. I don't think Lex, as the character evolved on the show, would have gained anything by exposing Clark's secret, and instead would have gone out of his way to keep it to himself. Of course, he would have also made Clark's life a living hell on a level we hadn't seen before in the series. Flashing forward to show President Lex, and knowing the comics, we know he does this anyway.

And that flash forward at the end. . .We cut back to it at a good point, and for a second I thought they were going with the series was a comic thing. Chloe's last scene before this, she did a bit of a Dorothy goodbye with Clark and Oliver and said "see you in the funny books" with a Chloe smirk. She wasn't seen again, with no explanation. It was obviously done this way to make us think what I thought, but instead of being clever it just stands out as bad and totally unnecessary since it doesn't pay off. Also at the end, Clark bumps into Lois and calls her Miss Lane, nervously, which they then play off. But it also doesn't make sense. It's one thing for them to role play the Miss Lane thing, but surely everyone knows they were and are to be married.

The very last scene was a nice a touch, with the running Clark to Superman change on the roof. It could have been shot a little better, since what we got seemed a little bit stiff to me, but the idea was good. Ultimately, what I realized from this finale is that this series and most, if not all, hero stories are really about becoming a man. Much was made about how to move forward without letting go of the past. Much was made about fathers and sons and influences. And they resolved the issue I had with him selling the farm (which I wrote about here). All of it, leading to him accepting his past and future to become Superman. It would have been nice to see this version of Superman continue into comics or a movie, with the same focus on Clark rather than Superman. But with the flash forward putting us in a pretty close approximation of regular continuity, there is no longer much point to that. Still, it was fun. And no Lana, which would have been a downer since that was, to me, the weakest part of the series over the years.

Action Comics 900

Superman's return to Action Comics in #900 has been getting a lot of press for the one little back up story where he renounces his citizenship. Personally, I don't see why that is so controversial. He's Superman. He's not even human. Much more interesting is another short story that appears in the issue by Damon Lindelof and Ryan Sook, titled Life Support.

All Star Superman

Superman: Birthright

In just about every version of Superman's origin, Jor El was alone in trying to save Krypton and building the ship to send off Kal El, his only son, was a last ditch effort to preserve Kryptonian culture. The obvious question here is how much of what he did was really to preserve the culture and how much was just a father trying to save his son. In the Action Comics piece, Lindelof gives us a different take on it that raises new questions and casts a different tone on what the rest of Krypton may have felt towards the end.

Action Comics 900

Jor El has to outsource the creation of the life support module for the ship. He brings in a man to do the job and has to explain to him why it is needed. The story is a little ambiguous about how much the man knows going in to this job interview. It seems like the rumors of the end of the world are out at this point, and there is a certain gloom hanging over the planet. Jor El is the only one that knows for sure, and he clarifies it to the man that the world is ending. Asking him to help save his son, in order to preserve everything they are is a big thing to ask. Why Jor El's son and not someone else's is not an issue that is brought up in this short piece, but it is something that I would love to see in an expanded version of this story. One assumes Jor El, who in this appears to be the head of a corporation of some sort, would have to contract several people for different aspects of the ship and the technology that carries the vast amount of information.Would he have to convince them all that Kal El is the right one to send? What if they refuse?

Action Comics 900

The most compelling aspect of this story is the man he contracts and his reaction. It's not that original to portray people at the end of the world or just being resigned to some horrible fate. But in this case, it's that, plus the concept that he has now agreed to save someone else's child. That in order to do this, he won't be able to spend their last few days of life with his daughter.The last few panels of the story were very moving in this context. I say, again, I would love to see an expanded version of this story. I think it hits a very human place.

 

Action Comics 900

Brightest Day, Dim Ending

Brightest Day came on the heels of Blackest Night, supposedly to help reintegrate the resurrected characters back into the DCU. Some of the series worked well to do this, introducing new characters along the way. But the final issue squandered what was built up over the year and sold the main characters short in favor of what was basically a DC marketing ploy.

The best parts of the series involved Deadman coming to terms with his life. Here was  character that I never really cared for, suddenly becoming compelling and vital. Over 23 issues, we followed Boston Brand on his journey to determine who the real guardian of Earth would be, often believing it would wind up being Boston himself. By the end of it, his fate is not just tragic, it's completely cruel and unnecessary. I understand that once a character gets what he wants, there is no conflict and the story is basically over. So, if we want to continue to see Boston Brand be vital, then he has to lose something by the end of Brightest Day. However, what we got instead was a return to exactly what he was before Brightest day started. So, ultimately, DC could have just left the character alone if this is what they intended all along.

Of course, the big news of the series was bringing two major Vertigo characters back into the regular DCU. Mind you, this did not happen until the last 2 issues. Before that, there was really no clue that these characters would be appearing. One of them only shows up as a teaser in the last 2 pages of the last issue. A few months back, Lex Luthor encountered Death of the Endless, another major Vertigo character in the pages of Action Comics. It's been argued that it was out of context, and I don't agree with that, I think it was in context, but at the very least, it didn't take a whole maxi series to bring the character in. The same thing could have been done with the other two characters (I'm trying not to spoil it, even though it's all over the Internets anyway). There was no reason the characters couldn't come back in the pages of any of the current DC books. Maybe Superman could have bumped into them on his walk across America.

So, Brightest Day is over and now we head into DC's big event of the Summeer, Flashpoint. Like most events, this is being hyped as changing the DCU forever. Well, that remains to be seen, and although I'm skeptical about the outcomes of big events, Flashpoint does seem like it could be fun. Time travel, alternate realities, what's not to love about that?

Manga for the Comics Guy - Gantz Vols. 11-12

If Gantz is like a video game, then the themes being explored in these volumes are larger than a simple Sci Fi story. What lengths will players go to, to get the high of the game? At what point does violence in a game affect a player in the real world? We've heard all the arguments before. Here, it's not in your face, though. But it's hard not to think of it when a massacre at this scale happens and we get lingering shots of the very real victims.

We're also still on the trust train, watching the threads come together. Characters that were introduced, like the strange fighter and the kids with super powers, come into play here. What will happen to them in the Gantz world remains to be seen. What I really want to see is what the super powers have to do with Gantz.

 
For a section of story that had so much going on, there's not really much to say. I think this is because the threads are still not apparent. We have the pieces in place but not not enough is revealed yet to really understand where it's going. We know Izumi was hellbent on getting back to the Gantz room, where he had apparently already earned his 100 points. His victims are there with him, but they don't yet know who he is. That alone is enough tension to propel any story forward, without all the mysteries about Gantz itself. There are so many questions of what comes next right now, that it's mind boggling.

And, speaking of what comes next, many great comics out today. No surprise by now that I'm excited for the Walking Dead, but also, Action Comics 900 sees the return of Superman to Action Comics. Morning Glories #8 may reveal some more about Morning Glories Academy. FF #2: Doctor Doom joins the FF!?  Good week for comics.

Smallville - The Kent Farm

I continued to watch Smallville all these years because I realized that the way to look at it was as a reinterpretation of the Superman myth instead of as some kind of prequel that shows what happened before he became Superman. When viewed this way, it really opens up the show for you. It's almost like an Elseworlds story, which usually are the best Superman stories anyway. So, I've been able to accept all the little things everyone has griped about over the years. I did tune out for all the soap opera like back and forth with Lana in the middle seasons, but that's another issue. Superman myth wise, though, this latest episode, so close to the end, did something I find a little problematic. He's selling the farm to move to Metropolis.

To me, this is a much bigger departure than meeting Lois when he's a teenager or Chloe or Green Arrow in terms of changing who Superman is. I get that the idea is that he is letting go of his past to become a man and Superman. They go to great lengths in the script to point out that things and places aren't memories and that Clark is Clark with or without the farm. That he is the man Pa Kent raised to be. Those are all great ideas, but they miss the mark in this case. A big part of Superman's heroism is that he'd much rather be on that farm than anywhere else, but he chooses to go to Metropolis so he can do the greatest good. He doesn't leave the farm because it's the best thing for him as a person to let go of the past and grow up. His reasons for leaving are beyond his personal growth and are not about letting go of anything. As a matter of fact, he goes back to the farm whenever possible. He chooses to be human and the farm is the symbol of that choice of his humanity. He has his Fortress of Solitude, and I would argue the farm is his Fortress of Humanity. For him to sell the farm lessens his grounding to his humanity. In the case of Superman, the farm is not "just a farm."

The farm is a touchstone, not just for Clark, but for everyone around him. It's a place where all the insanity of the suprehero life can be left behind. To end the series by discarding this, I think, sets Superman on the right path for the wrong reasons. Without the farm to go back to, there's nothing to remind him of why he does what he does in the first place. And with all the other heroes that Smallville has introduced, the same will apply.

Comics of the Week - So Far

Maybe I unknowingly left the best for last, but I have 3 books left to read this week and I still haven't been knocked out by anything. They haven't been horrible (for the most part), but they haven't wowed me either. Here's some of what I've read.

Superman #710 - I actually stopped reading it several pages in and skipped to the ending to get to the point. Bruce and Clark in the past, with a retcon of how they first met, before they were Superman and Batman. The problem is, we get a different version of their first meeting every so often and it just becomes the same thing over and over again. Let's move on.

Batgirl #20 was solid, with a couple of fun moments, but not nearly as much fun as it has been in previous issues. This wrapped up the two part arc started last issue, with Stephanie and Proxy on their own in a brand new, high tech HQ courtesy of Batman Inc. This may actually be the best issue of the week for me, so far. Batgirl has really come into her own and now is a contender in Gotham, without Oracle watching over
her. She's grown up and I look forward to reading more.

 
Red Robin #22. Tim Drake is a badass. Really, that's all you need to know. There have been better issues of this series though. However, there are some really great moments that detail just how much of a badass Tim is. Overall, it was solid, and no complaints. I can't say I was blown away by anything though. In coming issues, he'll be dealing with Ra's al Ghul, which was great fun the last time it happened when this series first started.

 G.I. Joe Vol. 2 #0. Yeah, that numbering can be a little confusing. This is basically an intro to what's to come in IDW's G.I. Joe line after the death of Cobra Commander. They are starting all the numbering from scratch, which I'm not sure is necessary. However, this line of books has not disappointed me yet. This wasn't a full issue, though. It was several small preludes to the new series, tying directly from the previous titles. Not enough to sink into in any story, but certainly enough to whet your appetite or get a feel for what this is all about. I am really looking forward to the full 

relaunch in the coming months.

Manga for the Comics Guy - Gantz Vols. 7 - 8

There have been many epic battles in comics. Superman vs. Doomsday comes to mind. That lasted four full issues of nothing but battle. Invincible # 60 did almost the opposite by having an entire crossover event contained in one slobberknocking issue. Right now, though, I hold up Gantz as the king of epic battles. This fight started in Chapter 61 and went all the way to Chapter 93, with nothing but bloodbath throughout the whole thing. Here, Kei sums up what reading Gantz does to your brain.

It's become clear now that there is no safety in this series. This appears to be a theme with the things I like to read (see Walking Dead). The Gantz world may have virtual reality undertones, but the stakes are all real. People died in this issue in rapid succession, in bloody ways, and each character death was increasingly important. The thing is, it would be easy to dismiss the mayhem as gratuitous, if not for the great character moments peppered throughout. I think my favorite was the Pretty Boy and the girl that was stalking him. When we first met them, before they entered the Gantz room, he was constantly trying to get away from her and she was always just out of view, hair draped over her face. It was kind of funny, actually, how nobody noticed her most of the time. During this battle, little by little, you realize, along with the Pretty Boy, that he actually cared about her, possibly because she was the only connection he had to his "real" life. These characters were not just filler. They had depth. You want to know more.

Although Kei has been the hero up until now, here, he winds up in a position of needing the others. Lucky for him, they rise to the occasion. Just when you think all is lost, it gets turned around. And just when you think it's turned around, all is lost. There is so much back and forth with the tide of this battle that it's hard to keep from panicking as you read it. I think I was sweating the whole time.

I have to say, Gantz has taken it's place among the best things I'm reading, and possibly the best things I will have read when I'm done. I have a feeling I'll be caught up with it very soon as I am growing more and more anxious about what is going to happen next with each chapter. I'm not sure how my mind will be blown further by it, but I'm pretty sure it will. And speaking of mindblowing, but in a different way, today is new comics day and out is Axe Cop Bad Guy Earth #2, by Malachai and Ethan Nicolle. This is a crazy fun comic, written by 6 year old Malachai and drawn by his 30 year old brother. The first issue was among the most imaginative things I've ever read. It's just out there fun and I highly recommend it.