Comic Book Case

Doctor Strange #4 (War isn't coming to magic, it's here!)

Doctor Strange gathers other magic users to discuss what has been happening and I really feel that this should have been either done a bit later or been a bit longer. After reading "Scarlet Witch" it does feel again like we are looking at two stories that could have crossed over rather easily. Strange is proving to be a fun book as we find Steven remembering his training and watching him eat. The exposition never feels wasted as it helps the story move along. I like the idea of the books in the Sanctum Sanctorum dying due to the source of their magic being destroyed and that Zelma is there serving as a sort of sidekick in Wong's mysterious disappearance in the middle of the issue, apparently for his own secret reasons. I love the designs of the machine tigers/wolves and whatnot, they are both interesting and menacing as they provide not just a cold detached threat as a machine but also a primal threat with the animal motif.

Scarlet Witch (MINOTAURS AND THE IRISH?!)

I said before that this book is the darker equivalent to "Doctor Strange" due to the tone and color but also because of Wanda as we see here. This book just makes you want to read more about her as with this and the previous issue we see that she's been put through the ringer, her reflection showing a more withered and tired individual paying the cost of her magic. Where "Doctor Strange" showed us more of a story with magic being in danger through the weirdness and danger, Scarlet Witch shows us pretty much the same thing but through murders and magic users cheating magic. It's a bit hard to figure out exactly what Wanda's magical powers pertain to in regards to Strange who seems to be more physical with a few limited spells where Wanda relies on a multitude of different groups of witchcraft. If you aren't reading both of these I think you are missing out on something dark, weird, and wonderful. 

Mighty Thor #3 (Lokiverse!)

This was more fun than it felt it was moving a story along. I didn't know what to expect when all these Loki's showed up or if Foster would believe current Loki when he said he wanted to help. It was nice to see her remember all the times Loki messed with her to get to Thor and it is nice to see that not even Loki knows who she really is though that may have changed at the end. What really does make this issue is two things, Jane Foster's dialogue as she deals with the bombs and Loki's interaction with the other Lokis who say he is fooling himself about wanting to be a good/better person. Since I've been reading "Loki: Agent of Asgard" I have to say I like the idea of Loki being a kind of Rumple Gold from "Once Upon a Time"; a character that wants to change but can't escape his nature regardless. 

Superman: Lois and Clark #4 (What do you mean it isn't Valentine's Day?)

The first part of this just felt great, seeing Lois and Clark just hanging out again as husband and wife though that felt like it was trying to be an awesome Valentine's Day scene but I'll admit it isn't that kind of mushy. It is nice to see Jon being the kind of child Lois and Clark would have, trusting but willing to question anything doesn't make sense to him. Where Intergang didn't feel like a real threat at this point, the fact that they have found Lois and her son on the street and kidnapped her publisher makes it more real and does build on the previous attack more. Clark dealing with Blanque was interesting enough but I think it kind of takes more of a back seat to the mystery of his fading powers.and the resolve that I love seeing in Superman. However this all fails to impress when compared to what Jon finds in the newspaper, the identity of Superman being revealed!

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 (So the Turtles are screwed?)

Where the first issue was more focused on putting everyone in place but here we get a lovely bit of action in Batman vs. the Turtles which was awesome! That was easily the high point of the issue but the rest didn't suffer for it save for the part where Leonardo says that Batman was studying them like a Detective, it was bit too on the nose. I do like that in addition to the Shredder we find that the mutagen that made the Turtles is breaking down and will revert them and Splinter back to nomral if they stay in this dimension too long. Splinter was easily the best character here with him breaking up the fight with Batman and then spying on him to lead his sons to the cave. Other than the fight scenes what makes this issue is Michelangelo whose humor helps calm serious scenes down or just reflect how excited the fans are whether it be the fight or the giant dinosaur in the Bat Cave. 

Earth 2 Society #8 (Amazons and Power Struggles? YAY!)

Kendra has been kind of an odd one in this book and she's been a mystery since
"Earth 2" began. I don't think we ever have a moment where we know EXACTLY who she is so her finding the Amazons and Fury living in hiding may be the push she needs to flesh her out. At the same time I do love what is going on in Neotropolis with our heroes as well as Sandman and Captain Steel just assessing the situation and trying to keep things peace between other cities/nations. There is an interesting back and forth as it seems Alan doesn't want to use military force in order to keep the peace but Val mentions that there is growing number of people who don't like "Wonders" like Superman, Green Lantern, etc. seeing them as the reason for some of the troubles. It's interesting enough and it is nice to see this story focus on the situation as opposed to some big world ending event. With the threat of war breaking out between two cities over energy, Amazonia being revealed and someone terraforming animals we seem to have our real first story with this book coming and it seems promising.

Starfire #8 (BOUT TIME!)

Starfire and Dick Grayson spend a good amount of time together in this issue really just getting to know each other again, which may have been more of a way to tease "Titans Hunt" than anything else but I don't know. Both of them admit that the other has changed though where Dick says it to Starfire, she only acknowledges it to herself that Dick has changed a bit. Right off the bat the two agree that they aren't in love and they don't have any desire to really get back together (last issue and this issues cover regardless) and I like Starfire's dialogue here as she reflects on her past with Dick and how it was necessary to leave that part of her in the past. Sol on the other hand has a good moment with a girl whose been crushing on him for years and we see that he really does care about Starfire and sees the two of them as people trying to find themselves again. Seeing the last few pages of this issue really felt earned as Sol has been dealing with the loss of Maria and Starfire dealing with her own past as the two share a passionate kiss. Good show Sol.

Batgirl #47 (Now your just somebody that I used to know)

So Batgirl and I just aren't jelling like we used to. I think it's that this new creative team that took over after Simone just isn't for me or what I liked about Barbara Gordon overall. This new team had me on and off with it's fun dark imagery and using Barbara's childhood as a means to tell a story but other than that it just seems too bright for what I like from the Bat Family. I was also a bit upset with how little she is involved with Gordon as Batman or even Bruce but we got a nice issue with her effectively dumping Dick Grayson. I did like seeing her with Spoiler and Blue Bird though. Ultimately this book has failed to keep my interest with stuff that just isn't for me, especially when it seems that we are going with the same plot from the first story, someone or something is messing with Barbara's life with something involving her brain while she is dating someone. This isn't to say it is bad, I can't argue with the number of people who like it and I envy them for that but I just don't see the point of spending money to read something I can't really enjoy.

Wonder Woman #48 (WHAT?)

It's a bit weird when I say I'm dropping "Batgirl" but not this book and it's primarily because for all the issues I have with the book, I've always liked the ideas it presented like an Amazon Civil War or someone trying to take Diana's godhood from her. Though poorly executed these ideas are great, it's like the prequel trilogy of "Star Wars". This issue has Diana trying to track down bio terrorist who wants to kill the president for what America did to her parents in Russia. This Doctor Poison (.........ok) seems to be able to use poison to kill or control people so she seems a bit like Poison Ivy, just not as awesome and yes I'll be picking up that book next month. What doesn't work is the ending where we see Zola waking up Hera to tell her that Zeke has been poisoned and it seems Doctor Poison may be responsible for it. The question is how did Zeke got poisoned when he was nowhere near Russia let alone Doctor Poison. A bit weird but an interesting mystery though it doesn't make much sense if the target was Zeke and possibly Wonder Woman, why waste resources with a ruse as big as killing an official when the only person you needed to distract was Wonder Woman as opposed to the League. Hopefully the interesting mystery will pay off better than the last story.

-On the note of the last story with Aegeus and Eirene tied in with Zeus and Donna Troy, why didn't we use the man who survived the slaughter on Themyscara? Cause that would have made more sense. Instead of some random guy who we can't care about, make it Anastasios who is approached by Eirene to take away Diana's godhood. This brings both Diana and Donna into the story closer as Diana deals with her failure and Donna her guilt and even makes sense with Anastasios who could conceivably steal from Hephastus and he even fits Eirene's speech about the necessity of war. -

Doctor Fate #8 (Interesting)

Early on I had an issue with the art but it grew on me and I had no idea it changed until I was halfway through the book. With Khalid having defeated Anubis (in his own realm no less) and stopping the flooding, Khalid seems to have things under control, saving old churches and people of various other religions and those religions powers thank him for it. It is nice to see him focus on that and not talk about things like his school work cause honestly that got on my nerves sometimes. I liked how Bastet helps Khalid out by calming his girlfriend down a bit and I love how Khalid and his father are working together or at least the two are sharing this secret. I don't know what's really going to happen but I did look ahead and it turns out that we may be getting some JULIUS CAESAR in the future. 

JLA #7 (Timey Wimey and War)

So now we head towards the climax as we find out what Rao is actually planning on doing and what he has been doing for the longest time. Using Superman, he plans to turn everyone into Kryptonians and will feed off of them like he usually does but this time they will be feeding off those Kryptonians under Earth's yellow sun.This issue has more Rao than any issue so far. We have Rao talking to Superman and Rao talking to Hal and . . . . .  Rao and it's really awesome and a bit confusing to an extent but in a good way. It's also nice to see Aquaman and Wonder Woman doing something, WW having become Mt. Olympus in the absence of the other gods and has armed both her and Aquaman to go deal with the threat of Rao in the ARMORY OF THE GODS! At the end of it this does kind of go back to what Bryan Hitch said in an interview about this story, how people want to believe in gods to fix their problems and we see this not only in other issues but in the conversation between Superman and Rao. Rao is willing to give everyone what they want (no disease, crime or war) but in exchange he saps their life force from and that's where his power comes from. In it's own way it's the give and take of a god who finds his power and existence from people who believe in him.

Sinestro #19 (Everybody wears the Yellow!)

This issue was hilarious and once again provides with the dialogue Sinestro and I swear either DKR Bane or "Game of Thrones" Tywin Lannister needs to read it to make it better. The Paling seems unable to consistently gain ground on the Sinestro Corp but it is really only due to Sinestro's planning and experience that they aren't all wiped out. He seems entirely prepared for what happens, using the Manhunters, Saint Walker, and even Indigo Tribe teleportation to gain edges in the battle. I think if there was a problem with this is that like the rest of this run it seems Sinestro is pretty much completely in control of what happens though for good reason. It never feels forced that Sinestro has an ace up his sleeve or overly hokey. It reminds me of when Sinestro invaded Earth and though he lost he accomplished his goal which was always his plan.

Aquaman #48 (By Cullen!)

After giving this story one more go through there were only two issues that really didn't work here and it was the reveal of Mera's sister and Arthur in space. Cullen Bunn's run on this book was not Geoff John's level but it was still better than anything this book had after Johns left though it's hard to tell since Bunn was essentially booed off the story. It's hard to tell if this arc was supposed to be longer because the ending does feel a bit rushed. But to see Aquaman working with the League again for the first time since the Atlantis Invasion was fun but the story did feel a bit rushed. Maybe I wanted a kind of all around villain like Arthur's half brother or the first King of Atlantis but it feels like this story could have gone at least one or two more issues. I did like how Arthur showed up from last issue, just being a badass summoning sea monsters, saving the people of Atlantis and Thule by sacrificing Poseidon's blessing. Overall this story was good, a bit confusing in the beginning but it kept me interested and I wished we could have gotten more from it.

Batman #48 (wow)

So I don't know if I ever said it, but I'm not a fan of Snyder using the Joker. It's not because I think he's bad with the Joker, far from it but every story with the Joker that he does seems like the be all end all. Maybe that's just what the Joker himself has become as one of the greatest villains in history, he can't just have a simple story. This does what I've liked best about this particular arc, focusing on Bruce over Gordon as he and who we assume WAS the Joker talk about change and the lake. It's rather appropriate that it is a combination of the Joker and a Gotham City in trouble that gets Bruce going back to the cave. But what really sells it is the last panel with Alfred trying his hardest not to answer the door, to not let Bruce in because the last thing Alfred wants is for Bruce to want to go back to the cave, to go back to being Batman. This isn't to say that what Gordon is doing is bad as I've said before, and this issue is more about Bruce and Bloom as Bloom terrorizes Gotham City and offers the people a way out through the seeds. 

On another note, it seems this will be the last arc for Snyder in this book as he will be going to write "Detective Comics" so he is stopping his work on /'Batman" to write on a Batman book.

DC REBIRTH

So Dan Didio recently tweeted REBIRTH as a way to announce a sort of reboot of the DCU. While we don't have a lot of details it is said to happen after the 52nd issue of the main line books which makes sense because of the Darkseid War and the Anti-Monitor. This is done primarily to create a universe that will apparently be closer to the films but I don't know if that's such a good idea as interesting as it sounds before the film part. Didio says that it isn't a reboot but a "rebirth" and what that means sounds like we are going for something similar in a way to "Secret Wars" which didn't really reboot but restarted the line with new writers and a new direction.

My only issue is with the rumor that the books will be released bi-weekly so every two weeks we will have a new Batman issue and I don't like that. As "good" as it sounds it would make it harder for people to manage books, it would be like the GL series having stories that span five different issues. Other than that I am willing to give it a try. I'm also willing to give the new Flintstones and Johnny Quest books.

*Images are property of DC and Marvel Comics.