“Bane takes Charge”

So, here we are at issue #14 of the Secret Six. The big question is whether this series is primed to finally disappoint its readers? We at Jimmy in the Garden, myself in particular, have been quick to sing the praises of this book. In fact it has constantly been rated in my top five books for over a year now. You have to assume at some point, that even the best book is going to have a let-down issue. Is this the one?

The answer is absolutely, postively “NO!!!” Believe it or not, this series continues to ROCK! This is the final part of a five part arc that finds our villains trying to free a group of Amazons, stop a troop of government sanctioned slavers and not to kill one another. Will they succeed? I wouldn’t bet against them!

I sit here trying to figure out what makes this book so darn good. It is simple really. The characters are always consistent and their characterization is never and I mean NEVER compromised! These villains are portrayed for what they are and they haven’t been changed to make them become more reader friendly. Deadshot could at any moment kill anyone. Ragdoll is a complete fruitcake. Bane will fight you to the death, etc…

Now next issue has a guest writer. Maybe it will be the issue that lets me down…

4.5 out of 5

The Robot JLAer in his own series!

This series is a six issue one that focuses on the Red Tornado, a character created in 1968 by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin.

For those not familiar with the character, I will provide a little background.  Tornado was created by the criminal scientist T.O. Morrow in a plot to destroy not only the Justice Society of America, but also the Justice League.  After Morrow’s plan failed, Reddy became first a member of the Society for a short time and then he served a much longer stint with the League.  Later on it was revealed that he is the Air elemental of earth and that still seems to be the case in this issue.  He later found his way on to teams like Primal Force and Young Justice.  He is currently once again a member of the J.L.A. when this issue begins.  Now, on to the review…

To be honest, I only got this book to see where they (D.C.) are going to take this hero.  I have a passing interest in the Tornado, but he is not even close to being a favorite of mine.  Like a lot of characters, in the hands of a skilled writer, he could become so much more than he is.

The issue had a lot of action in it with the introduction of some new “siblings” for Reddy and there was some neat little quirks added to his personally.  Something was missing to make this a really good book.  The story kind of jumped around a little and some of the story seemed to be missing.  There just was too many pages given to the Red Volcano and not enough given to the Red Tornado looking for his sister.  It’s like the creators of the book were doing everything they could to convince the readers what kind of of a badass he is.  I hate to tell them their jobs, but sometimes more of something does not make it better, especially when it feels forced.

This book is written by Kevin Van Hook and penciled by Jose Luis.  This is not a team that I’m very familiar with.  Luis art was not bad at all and shows a lot of talent.  The writing dialogue wasn’t bad either but they just didn’t hit it out of the park with this issue.

In this business, you have to do something to stand out from other books, especially a first-issue.  I hope that the next issue is better, but I’m afraid that this issue might keep causal readers from sampling the additional 5 issues left in the mini.

2.5 out of 5

Superboy romanizes Wondergirl!

This issue starts off with a bang as we are treated to the reformed team of Lex Luthor and Brainiac.  This is a classic team-up and they have always come off as a great counterbalance to one another.  There is some definite ground work being laid here that promises to have repercussions for all the Super-Titles in the future and also New Krypton as a whole.

We then shift gears by going back to Smallville. As a continuation, we find Connor trying to rediscover his life after returning from the dead.  While he’s working on his “to-do list”, he is surprised by his true love showing up at the front door.  This story slows the book down some, but not in a bad way.  This section is all about characterization and not about action.  I don’t think they should do this every issue, but I can handle another one do establish the future stories of this book.

This issue ends with Lex finding out to his surprise that his “son” is still alive and the shot of surprise on his face is priceless.

The back-up story is a personal favorite of mine being the Legion of Super-Heroes! It is very enjoyable if not lacking action just like the main story.  The revelation to Lightning Lad by his brother is a shock to long time fans and I am very interested in the conclusion of this in the future.  I guess my biggest gripe and one I’ll have every issue is the shortness of the back-up story.  Give the Legion back its own title please!

All in all, a good book but I hope to see the pace of the story pick up and some more action be interjected into it.  Future issues in previews look very promising with Superboy-Prime looking to make an appearance as well as Red Robin.

4 out of 5

In issue three of Blackest Night, Geoff Johns’ epic battle of the Ring Corps gains momentum.  The Indio Lanterns, whose role and powers have been up to this point a mystery, reveal their skills and battle plan.  The full page spread of the Indio Lanterns’ explanation of the origin of light and the various rings’ power is sharp.  The fate of the new Firestorm and his joined partner is a great moment.

Ivan Reis’ artwork gives Blackest Night a true blockbuster feel.  His panels are expertly details and graceful in their transitions.  His effects are dynamic and convey the action with authority.

My one grip is the Black Lanterns’ cheesy dialogue.  The poorly written tongue and cheek banter lessens the Lanterns’ terrifying nature.  Elongated Man is squeezing Green Lantern like a boa constrictor as he quips, “We were never really tight, were we, Hal?”  It works with the Joker, not the undead.

The event is living up to the hype.  Unlike the rambling Final Crisis, Blackest Night is delivering an immense story with a clear plotline.  The vast cast of DC characters are smartly being integrated into a cohesive tale.  I want more.

4.5 out of 5

“Locked-out of the Batcave but still in the fight!”

This issue opens up with the start of a new storyline.  It seems that with Arkham Asylum destroyed, that it will be up to the Outsiders to track down the escaped criminals and lunatics.  There assignment, to recapture three of the worst escapees: Killer Croc, Clayface and Mr. Freeze, is presented to them outside the now off-limits Batcave by their contact Alfred Pennyworth.  With all the upheaval in the Batman universe, the team is going to have to temporary operate without a base of operations.  The team then proceeds to break into smaller units to pursue their own individual targets.

Though we get to see a page a piece of the teams looking for Croc and Clayface, the second half of the book is dedicated to Owlman and Black Lightning going after Mr. Freeze.  Now I rather enjoyed this team-up and I’ll have to say that watching Owlman and Lightning driving across the Arctic Circle reminded me a little of Watchmen.  The action and resolution to this story was good and I was very entertained by it.

Over all It was a good, solid read in an entertaining book.  I have to say that I’m happy with the over-all quality of this book and I hope it has a good long run in the future.  This book could have easily collapse by the lose of Batman in it but it has continued to entertain the audience and even improve.

4 out of 5

“Another Titan Dies!”

Well the title says it all.  Before I even get into the story, I have to ask:  Is there some kind of mandate at D.C. that insists that everybody that writes this book must kill off at least one Titan?  I, for one, find that when you kill off characters just to kill them, you remove any type of positive impact for any book.  Most times it is meaningless death for the(Very limited) shock value.  And when it happens in a Titans book, it has gone to the point of being a “So what else is new?” point.  And with that being said, no matter how well the story is written or even executed, it just has a diminishing effect.

Now I’m wondering if the creative team and/or D.C. wanted to create some roster spots for the soon to be rejoining the book; Superboy and Kid Flash characters.  If that’s the case, just have a few of the team quit or something else. Death in this book just hurts the book.

The one positive thing that I did like, was the sub-plot with the Calculator and his imprisonment of Kid Eternity.  That I did find interesting. I want to see more on that subject in the future issues.

The back-up story is chapter three of the Ravanger story.  This story was just ten pages of action and I enjoyed the change of pace from the front story. It was solid and I hope it continues to be.

One final note to D.C. Lets try something different for a change.  Let’s publish a Teen Titans and for that matter a Titans book that tell good stories, have good art, and that they don’t feel the need for cheap gimmicks and shocking covers to try to garner readership!

1 out of 5

“Justice!!!!!”

The second issue of this seven issue series opens up with Green Arrow and Green Lantern in Gotham reminiscing about the “thought to be deceased” Batman.  (Everyone out there knows he’s still alive, right?)  From there it proceeds to a fight between two more of our heroes on Blackhawk Island and then a conference with Jason Bard with the Green Team.  The Atom and the Golden-Age Flash are surveying the destruction at the Flash Museum.  With the arrival of Supergirl and Captain Marvel, most of the team is present.  All of which is a set-up for whatever the main story will be.

I love James Robinson.  He is a very skilled storyteller and has a great deal of comic book knowledge that shows in his writing. He respects what past writers have done and builds upon it.  But, I have to say that after two issues of build-up, I hope we are in for a real blow-up next issue.  I think this book will suffer if it has another issue of set-ups.

I really enjoy Mauro Cascioli’s Art and how realistic it makes the characters look.  It is definitely a welcome change from the norm.  It has a real world feel to it.  I also enjoy the back-up origin of The Atom and a look at his publishing history.

In conclusion, I like the issue; I like the heroes involved in the story; and I like the creative team.  I hope my expectations are continued to be met and, hopefully, exceeded in the future issues.

3.5 out of 5

“The Girl of Steel from Earth Two!”

For those of you who listen to our podcasts, you know this comic book is one of Jimmy’s favorites. You’ve heard his rather unique reviews of this series. Now that the fourth issue has come out, I have taken it upon myself to take on this title.

To start out, I want to go on record as stating that I might not have all of her appearances in comics in my collection, but I have a good healthy chunk of them. I have her first-appearance in All-Star Comics #58; her early appearances in the original Showcase comics; all the Justice League of America / Justice Society of America crossovers she was in; and her four issue mini-series from the 80’s. I watched her be mishandled as a character for years. I watched her go from being an Kryptonian to an Atlantean and watched her be severely de-powered. I read when she become pregnant, only to have the child vanish from the comics shortly after its birth. I watched her being told not to drink sodas and be stuck in the Sovereign Six comic. And though D.C. has tried to “fix” her in the last few years, she still has a lot of work that needs to be done to her to get back to where she started at in the 70’s.

Now, on to the book itself. The first three issue arc is over, so we start this issue with a fresh storyline. I take it that the Terra is going to be part of her supporting cast and I’m okay with that. The story shows Kara’s daily life and I like the way Powergirl takes care of the wayward teenage with the magic book, without just punching everything in sight. The story ends with an explosion outside of Kara’s new apartment and a call-to-arms for Powergirl to investigate. Again, that’s all fine for me.

But… I want something more for this title. This is a character that could be a huge hit for D.C. if someone would just go for it! Clean up her back story. Get her in to some gripping storylines with some real consequences. Make her a force in the comic book world. Showing her at the movies and renting apartments is great, but some of us have waited DECADES for this character to live up to her potential. These type of stories won’t do it.

What I find surprising about this book is that it has such a good team. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are one of my favorite writing teams and Amanda Conner is on the top ten artist rankings published by Wizard! With this type of talent on the book, it should be twice what it is now.

If this title continues the way it is now, it might have an alright run. It might even last a few years. But, when D.C. is done publishing it, it will just be another forgotten series that is found in the bargain bins at comic shows.

2 out of 5

“The Million Dollar Return of Batgirl!”

I’m going to start by saying that I’ve always liked the character, especially the Barbara Gordon version.  Actually, I guess you could say that I also liked Cassandra Cain a lot too.  I collected all the issues of the last Batgirl book.  A book, which I might add, was very good for the first couple of years before it went downhill at the end of the run.  I even picked up the last mini-series that just got released not that long ago.  Even with all that, I have to ask: “Do we really need another Bat-related title right now with all the other new ones that have come out?”

It doesn’t help that that the Spoiler is starting this issue as the new Batgirl.  To begin with, I have never really felt anything for the Stephanie Brown character.  It’s not that I dislike her, so much as I don’t care about her.  That hurts the book for me right away.

It was nice to see so many guest stars and both of the former Batgirls.  I also liked the way that they tried to tie this title in with the rest of the Batman titles.  I thought the story writing was ok and the art did its job in serving the writing.

I will go on record to say that if they keep Miss Brown as the new Batgirl and don’t do something radically different with this book, it wont make it for more than 12 issues.

1.5 out 5

“The Return of the Silver-Age Flash continues!”

We are now up to the fourth issue of Barry Allen’s return and all I can say is that I am absolutely loving this book!

The art alone raises the story up a notch.  Ethan Van Sciver is drawing his ass off in this book.  His level of detail is extraordinary and he is fast becoming the master of super-speed pictures.  He must spend hours upon hours working on this book over what is normally done on a monthly title.

The story is great and it has boiled down to where it should go: a showdown between Flash and Reverse-Flash.  The return of Max Mercury is a welcome thing, because he’s a great character, though I wish we could have gotten Johnny back as well.  I guess you can’t get everything you want!

By the end of the book, I was looking for the next issue in my to read stack.  Sometimes a month between books sucks. Bring on issue number 5!

5 out of 5