Comic Book Case

Aquaman #45 (.........)

So Aquaman ends up on a planet courtesy of his new and really cool powers from Poseidon and . . . . . . .  it's not important. Cullen Bunn, who has been writing this book has announced he is leaving the book due to a series of negative criticisms and possible death threats. With that in mind I'm just going to talk about his run in general using htis issue and my experience with Bunns other work including this one. This story is something I do like in that it has a really interesting idea that he is currently using in another book I we've talked about here, parallel worlds. If you recall, Green Lantern: Lost Army is a book where the Lanterns minus Hal find themselves in a universe in the past that will ultimately be destroyed to create the one they used to live in. This is a good idea but I feel it wasn't that good a blend for Aquaman as he deals with Thule, a group of people from a different Atlantis, especially since Bunn wants to us it to introduce Mera's twin sister Siren and have a story told mostly in the past. Bunn was able to do this better in GL by having the flashbacks be about John Stewart's life and him relating those events to the current day. Ultimately the best thing about Bunns work has been his use of internal dialogue for Arthur, which he has done excellently in Sinestro, a book I feel he is doing swimmingly. The biggest problem with his book was how long it took to really get going and how weird the last issue was where Aquaman has sex with Siren who pretends to be his wife; her twin sister. It was awkward, cliched, and poorly handled and I honestly think he had a bigger plan for that but that issue did seem to be the nail in the coffin. This issue add another unnecessary layer to the story, aliens on another planet paying some sort of role that I feel is more distracting than helpful. I see why people don't like it, but I do find it distasteful that fans have essentially shamed a man into quitting. At least I have Sinestro.

Batgirl #45 (at least this had Dick Grayson)

So we had a nice wedding scene that probably should have been a better part of the story itself. All this really showed was how far Barbara and Dick's relationship has gone or not gone and that was pretty much it. An interesting one shot issue but if you hadn't read Grayson and read his return issue you really are missing some stuff about what is happening. This issue tries to handle their relationship with some gravitas but this was honestly better when Gail Simone did it in her take on their relationship in this books previous run. I was really hoping this book wouldn't have been so romance heavy which is stupid considering a wedding but it was just dull and possibly my least favorite book of the month. Next month's issue proves to be interesting but this is just forgettable.

Justice League, the Darkseid War: Batman (BAT-GOD MEANS BAT-JUSTICE!)

Batman is now a god. Atop his Mobius Chair, Gotham City feels a new brand of justice under the watch of the Dark Knight. Now using the chair to show him crimes that are about to happen he interrupts crimes before anything can be done and takes them to the GCPD........ or the South Pole . . . . . . . .  or Paradise Island. It's interesting to see what Batman could become with the power of a god but it is more interesting to see what happens when he goes back to Crime Alley the day his parents were killed, as the bullet that kills his mother phases through his hands, even a god cannot change the past. That is what really makes this book awesome.There is also some fun stuff involving Joe Chill but I won't go into that. The only problem I have with this is where it takes place within Batman canon, normally I don't care but a LOT has happened in Gotham lately. Gordon has no suit and Alfred has both hands and with him planning to take on the Joker next I can't help but wonder if all this sets up the events of Death of the Family.

Sinestro #16 (NICE/AWESOME)

Sinestro and Black Adam are an awesome duo and their meeting in Forever Evil was one of the best parts of the whole series. While a bit on the nose that Sinestro would know Black Adam had some history with the Paling it was nice to see more of Sinesto taking actions to deal with them. I find it hard to see Black Adam happy, especially with what happened the last time he was happy in the series 52. Sadly there isn't much to the issue other than a look into what Black Adam has been doing since the Crime Syndicate was defeated and it looks like he's doing pretty awesome ruling his own country and it does help show that Sinestro and Black Adam do have a certain respect for one another that even Soranik found strange, though she may be a bit smitten with Black Adam. It is nice to see someone whom Sinestro does genuinely seem to like in a non condescending way and it makes sense considering how similar they are. The reveal that the Bishop of the Paling that Black Adam fought was a Guardian of the Universe was a fun and interesting reveal and I kind of wonder what this means in the long term. Are all the Guardians Sinestro killed capable of becoming members of the Paling and if a Guardian is a Bishop, whose in charge?