Secret Six #19 (DC)

"I was thinking what it's like to be abandoned and tortured and abused and forgotten. When your life is so worthless that your only degraded value to anyone is when your pain gives them amusement, and the person entrusted to care for you sees you as more disposable than used tissue. But then I thought . . . . . .'I wonder what it's like to ^%$# a butterfly?'"~Ragdoll


Writer: Gail Simone (♥!)
Artist: Jim Caliafiore
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Daniel Luvisi
Editor: Sean Ryan

(Misconceived: Part 1 of 4 of "Cats in the Cradle")

Comic Book Week: March 10th, 2010.

This book is NOT for the weak of stomache! X-P

Gail Simone (*♥*) is the funniest woman alive. And apparently very disturbed as well. Having said that, Secret Six is one of the best mainstream comics on the market. For those who don't know, it stars William Blake, Catman, former Bat foe and current absolute hunk of beef ( :-9 )...........somehow; Floyd Lawton, Deadshot, also former Bat foe and Suicide Squad survivor; Scandal Savage, renegade daughter of Vandal Savage; Jeanette, basically a revamped (& much cooler and better dressed) Silver Banshee; Peter Merkell, Ragdoll, the most wonderfully twisted villain ever recreated; Bane, another Bat foe that I never cared about until he showed up here to be a surrogate father for Scandal; and possibly temporary member Lori Zechlin, Black Alice, who can absorb the magic powers of any magic character, one at a time.

Originally organized by Lex Luthor, calling himself Mockingbird, to fight the Alexander Luthor organized Society (it was all part of the Infinite Crisis.............ya had to be there), the team stayed together to become mercenaries, lead by the new Mockingbird, who turned out last issue to be Amanda Waller, the leader of the Suicide Squad. Whew! I need a glass of water!

Anyway, if you know all this, great. If you don't, it doesn't matter, because all you need to know is these guys are bad guys, and they are completely irredeemable. They kill people in the funniest & baddest ways possible. And no one is more surprised that I love to read about it than me! But they always come through for each other.

This issue is the first part of a 4 part story that looks to pit Catman ( ♥! ) against his teamates. The whole issue leads up to the "villain", who has to be REALLY villainous to be a villain in THIS book, setting this fight up. But along the way we get Ragdoll saying some outrageous things (see above), Black Alice (a minor) hitting on Ragdoll (who had his "man-bits" surgically removed), and Bane somehow being Bane but better. And I think Jeannette may be becoming my new favorite character! She kicks patootie! ☺

Oh! & ex-member Chesire puts in an appearance............doing what Chesire does best.............killing people (I suppose Arsenal/Red Arrow/Roy Harper mite say something different! ☺)!

The artwork is great, though not quite as good as when Nicola Scott (*♥*) was on the book a couple of months ago, but I think this Caliafiore guy may have a future ahead of him! ☺ His style's a little more angular than Nicola's, but perhaps that makes it a little less jarring for some of the more violent scenes that have to be drawn.

The colors are dark but still expressive, & the letters are serviceable (which is what they should be!).

Since it's the first part of a multipart story, it's hard to comment without spoilers, but I know I'll be back next month for the next part. You should be too!

So let's give this one..............

RATING: 9 ragdolls out of 10

Since you're probably like everyone else & wonder how Catman (:-9) became a hottie, here's a link to DC's new origin for him: http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/heroes_and_villains/?hv=origin_stories/catman&p=1. Mite help!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #33 (Dark Horse)

"I think they're f#@%ing."~Willow Rosenburg

Script: Brad Meltzer

Pencils: Georges Jeanty

Inks: Andy Owens

Colors: Michelle Madsen

Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt

Cover Artist: Jo Chen

Executive Producer: Joss Whedon (!♥!)

Associate Editor: Sierra Hahn

Editor: Scott Allie

Comic Book Week: March 3rd, 2010.

This isn't what I was going to review this week. This is the middle of the "Twilight" arc, and I said several weeks ago I was going to review the whole arc together. And everyone already knows the identity of Twilight, Season 8's "Big Bad" (hint: he's the *hottie* that doesn't look like Billy Idol). But this book screams to be reviewed. The story's good--even above average. The artwork is Georges' best so far on the series. The cover is some of the lovely Jo Duffy's best work. But what cinches it? The first ever Dark Horse/Buffy/DC/Marvel/Star Wars/IDW crossover.

Scott Allie deserves a raise to be able to pull that together!

As I said, the story is strong, picking up from where it left off last month, with "Superg#irl"-Buffy exploring her new powers and their nature--that she "sucks" them from dying Slayers. Andrew, Giles, and Faith are captives of Twilight in a facility designed in Andrew's geeky dreams. And Xander (♥!) and Dawn are an item. From here we quickly spiral into the story, where Giles almost immediately figures out who Twilight is, and the two reveal that, as with all of B's adventures there's more going on than meets the eye, and Giles knows about most of it. Then, Buffy attacks and Twilight unmasks. And Willow utters this week's quote.

It's fast paced and exciting and has great moments for comic book fans. Maaaaaaaybe not so much for fans of the aforementioned Billy Idol impersonator (yah, yah, I know, Billy Idol stole his act), but I'm not. I don't dislike him but A............oops! Almost spoiled the non-surprise!

I should just add that the coloring & lettering on this book is some of the best being published today!

I've been buying the non-Duffy covers the last couple of months, because the "tribute" covers have been soooooo good, but this Duffy cover is AWESOME!!! ♥!

There are still 3 more issues in this arc, so this book alone is not completely fulfilling, but overall it was my favorite read of the week. Soooooo...............

RATING: 8.5 non-descript images out of 10:

One final note: I thought I would be reviewing Marvel's Girl Comics this month, because it does have many of my favorite creators in it, but.............it just wasn't the best book this month. Mostly it suffered from "Compendium-itis"--lots of good things that don't really fit together. Fingers crossed for issue 2 (which I found out will have the talented Faith Erin Hicks, whose independent work hasn't hit the big time yet, but honestly reminds me of Darwyn Cooke in it's intricate simplicity).

Wonder Woman #41 (DC)

"Did she just punch me into Canada?"~Princess Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman)

Writer: Gail Simone (♥!)
Artists: Chris Batista & Fernando Dagnino (miscredited to Aaron Lopresti on the cover)
Inkers: Doug Hazlewood & Raul Fernandez
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Aaron Lopresti
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Brian Cunningham
(Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston)

Comic Book Week: February 24th, 2010.



Trying something new this week.......let me know what you think!

So I was torn a little this week. Batman & Robin #9 (Bat-Wing.......yum! ;-9) was really good, but that "Canada punch" put Di over the top! (B&R was really better taking #8 from last month and telling the whole story)

This issue was also continued from last month as the children of Ares (from the previous arc) have been wandering through Washington DC making good people do bad things. And at the end of the previous issue the latest victim is Power Girl. After a brief interlude with the new character Achilles, we jump right into the WW/PG smackdown! Usually, I'm not a fan of *ahem* "cat" fights, but this ISN'T a catfight.......it's a war! It's exciting and suspenseful and powerful and emotional. It's everything a showdown between the two heaviest hitting ladies in comicbookdom should be (okay maybe Shulkie might object). And after the fight's over, things actually get a little boring, even if they wrap up quickly (with a spanking!........NOT OF PG OR WW!!!!).

The art of Lopresti is missed........his replacements aren't quite up to his level. Not sure who drew what, but I think Dagnino draws the main WW/PG story, and does exceptionally well with the fight scenes, but dies off in the quiet times. The framing secondary plots appear to be Batista and are quite stunning.

The coloring and lettering blend nicely.

All in all I enjoyed this story, but the first half was better than the second half, and a shout out to Black Canary (and her previous appearance) is always appreciated.

RATING: 7 invisible planes out of 10 (lol!)

Again, let me know if you like the slightly different format. And READ BATMAN & ROBIN #8 & #9!!!!! Grant Morrison is a genius!!

xoxoxoxoxoxox! mwah!

Supergirl #50 (DC)

"This week's topic: Supergirl--Hero or Menace?"~Ron Troupe.

Appropriate.

That quote actually comes from the backup story by Helen Slater (writer.....&, let's face it, the "!" on the cover was not really required), Jake Blake (OTHER writer), Cliff Chiang (artist, *luv him*), Dave McCaig (colorist), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer). Just to get it out of the way, the backup's pretty good (especially the art), but it's just your standard, everyday backup story.......doesn't really mean anything, but doesn't hurt anything either (and the quote pretty much sums it up.......& the question doesn't get answered in case you're wondering! 8-( ).

The main story by Sterling Gates (writer), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal & Mark McKenna (inkers), Nei Ruffino with Pete Pantazis (colorists), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer). So we have a tangentially appropriate tale called "Queen" connected to the "World Against Superman" storyline, but quite well tied to the current Supergirl storyline where Lana Lang recently died of an unknown chronic disease. And anyone who knows Lana's history might be able to guess to what the "Queen" title refers.

In brief, Supergirl, with the help of Gangbuster (who I get) and the second Dr. Light (where'd she come from), must save Metropolis from a threat created by Lana Lang's death. Then, Supergirl realizes she's not a human being and leaves Earth for New Krypton.

Not trying to spoil the story, it doesn't doesn't sound great, but it's actually quite well written with respect to the plot. Even the characterization is fine, but I just can't accept that Kara is a 17 year old girl. I realize she's actually from an advanced race, but she just seems too mature and educated for the character to even exist......why bother?

The artwork is perfectly acceptable, if not spectacular (to be honest, I did prefer the art in the backup story).

There is one unforeseen development with Lucy Lane (Lois' sister?), who died quite definitively several issues ago (she was the new modern age Superwoman), that kicks off and ends the headline story.

One more note: the cover is by the late Michael Turner.......it's quite definitive and pretty. Turner had a very distinctive style that worked well on his own characters, but had a certain sameness (read: thin-as-rail-ness) in female characters he hadn't created. Having said that, the more I look at it, the more like it.

Although I was hoping for something a little more feminine.......

RATING: 7 "S"-shields out of 10

For anyone that follows me on Twitter, you know I may be a little prejudiced, but I really think that this was pretty well done. In case I'm a little out of perspective, here's a great Supergirl website (maidofmight.net/) and my favorite Supergirl video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcbXApjPOAY) to make up for it.

Marvel Heartbreakers (One-Shot) #1 (Marvel)

"It was a drunk and stormy night . . ."~the narrator.

Comic-book week February 3, 2010.

So last week, I said I would try to review a Marvel book, and that the last Marvel book I really enjoyed was ♥ Nextwave, Agents of Hate ♥(by Stuart Immonen and Warren Ellis, btw).

Sure enough, this week, out of nowhere, I find Marvel Heartbreakers, a one-shot with Tabby Smith (Boom-Boom) of Nextwave on the cover. I flip it open and see artwork that looks suspiciously like the aforementioned M. Immonen, written by his wife, Kathryn. I think awesome.

I bought it.

Oops.

Okay, it's not that bad, but really, is this honestly what Marvel thinks of women?

The book contains 4 stories, that I could review separately, but I think an average rank is only going to help this patchwork mess.

The cover is by Mike Del Mundo and is kind of fun........it did pull me into buying the book. ~:-(

The first story is a Spider-man/Gwen Stacey/Mary-Jane Watson story, "A Chemical Romance" by Kathryn Immonen (writer), Elena Casagrande (artist), Nathan Fairbairn (colorist), and Jeff Eckleberry (letterer). The story's the strongest of the 4, with a flashback tale of the Marvel 616 (the "normal" universe, not the "ultimate" universe) Gwen Stacey and Peter Parker in university, into which Mary-Jane somehow wanders (not that I'm complaining........I'm on the MJ side of the cart--and this story reminds me why Gwen's kind of boring.........NOT DESERVING-TO-DIE BORING, just boring). Actually, none of the 3 characters really show up much, as 2 airheaded bimbos (trust me, I'm being generous) steal Gwen's chemistry notes and cake recipe and create artificial life............what?....................(oh! & the art is decent, but only looks like Stuart Immonen if you don't look closely.)

The second story is "Tabitha Smith & Elsa Bloodstone in: Super Boys! [sic]" by Rick Spears (writer), James Callahan (artist), Nathan Fairbairn (colorist), and Dave Sharpe (letterer). It's the lovely ladies of Nextwave talking about boys in the woods and then blowing up Frankenstein's monster. Yep. That's it. The art's kind of rough but serviceable. The writing's.........well, let's just say Rick Spears doesn't have a great handle on writing a teenage girl. And unfortunately, Tabby & Elsa are supposed to be adult women.

The third story is a Dazzler/Beast story entitled appropriately enough, "Beauty & The Beast: An Epilogue". It seems to take place back in history sometime around when the Beast, Angel, and Iceman were in the Defenders, probably just about to form X-Factor. The story are Hank (the Beast) and Alison (Dazzler) discussing their past relationship.........which I have to admit I didn't know existed. So I googled it and I'm not sure it did, and really not sure it would have been in the past of when this story took place. Once again, the art is serviceable, but why is Beast bouncing around while carrying on an intimate conversation? And where is Dazzler picking up sound waves to generate light, when she and Beast are alone in a room not talking or moving?

The final story is a Snowbird (who even remembers Snowbird from Alpha Flight?.......she was killed even before killing Alpha Flight became the in thing to do!) vehicle called, "Animalia" by Karl Bollers (writer), Harvey Tolibao (artist), Emily Warren (colorist), and Troy Peteri (letterer). Snowbird (let me just say that what little I know of this character I generally like) whines about her love life then kills some evil gods after a lovers quarrel. Or at least I think that's what happened since the artwork is a little muddy.

There's a final pinup by Lara West and Emily Warren depicting the ladies from all the stories. It's cute but, personally, there strikes me as way too much cleavage for the target audience ♀.

So overall it looks like Marvel was trying to take some stock stories and capitalize on the success of Marvel Divas; Model's, Inc.; and Girl Comics. Sadly, Marvel forgot the first two haven't been that successful and the last hasn't come out yet (although I do look forward to it!).

So, for Tabby Kat..........

Rating: 5 "Tick-Tick-Boom"s! out of 10

I actually read Siege #2 this week too, and it was better than this book, but not enough to make me feel guilty about not reviewing it! The first issue of the BTVS "Twilight" arc, though, was AWESOME!!! X-D! I'll review the whole arc together when it's over, I think. :-<>

Detective Comics #861 (DC)

Well. I'm not sure what to think. What does it mean when a comic-book is this good and still a let down?

Oh! Almost forgot the quote: "Perfectly executed, if I may say so myself--": some random would-be super villain about to be kicked in the head by Batwoman.

For those not in the know, the past few issues of Detective have starred that media darling Batwoman, while Batman Junior has been covorting around the other Bat-books. Batwoman gained the spotlight by being a lesbian in tight leather. Or at least the first lesbian in tight leather to star in a comic-book. You know......besides Catwoman for a while. Or Ghost, I think. Or Xena in some specials.

Media doesn't really pay attention to anything, does it?

But, I digress. Aside from being a useless stunt, Batwoman--Kate Kane to her friends--is actually quite an interesting character. Released from the military for telling when they asked, Kate decided she needed to be a soldier somehow, so she decided to become part of the "Bat-army" after being "saved" from a mugger by Bruce Wayne/Batman (she didn't really need his help.......).

In "Cutter (Part 1 of 3)", series author Greg Rucka is joined by Jock on art (replacing regular artist JH Williams III), and tells the story of Batwoman and Dick Grayson (;-9)/Batman racing time & each other to catch a serial killer.

Being the first of three parts, the story is only starting, but shows promise........really a given for any story by Rucka. There's not quite enough character development for me, but seeing Kate hold her own against Gray-Bats (again.....:-9) is good enough for the moment.

The artwork's by Jock, so of course it's good.......except it unfortunately fails to live up to Williams' work. But the dark and angular style is probably more suited to the gritty serial killer story anyway.

The colors by David Baron and letters by Todd Klein are great (it's hard to judge good color & letters, since the best are the ones that go unnoticed). And, just so I can gush over him some more, Williams does provide that glorious cover........even if it only hints at Kate's existence (but Gray-Bats is always welcome--;-9).

And one more thing......note that Bette Kane, namesake of the original Bat-Girl and cousin of Kate and re-introduced only a few issues ago, plays a big role in this issue......but might be short lived.

So quick review this week.........

RATING: 7.5 paparazzi cameras out of 10

But wait! Why so short?

Well, because Detective Comics has one of those "Second Features" that takes up half the issue, that's why! :-D

And that second feature is also a gay woman......but without the leather: Rene Montoya, the Question. With guest star, and leather wearer, the Huntress.

"Pipeline". Story by Rucka. Art by Cully Hamner. Color by Dave McCaig. Letters by Jared K. Fletcher.

You know I just realized: 1 book, 3 female leads.......not 1 female creator. Huh!

Anyway, I personally like the backup as much as the lead. But then I've always had a soft spot for the Huntress.......I like the dichotomy of a vigilante who's a mafia princess, a cross-wearing Catholic who's willing to kill the bad guys, a superhero(ine X-P) by night and school teacher by day.

This too is a multipart story, so not much happens in this issue, but the art's pretty and the ladies show off their brains while getting chastized by sidekick Aristotle ("Tot"). All in all, it doesn't hurt the main story, so rather than rate it separately, consider the 7.5 above to be for the book, not just the story.

And since I've been pretty DC heavy so far, I'll try to find something from Marvel I want to read next week (Models Inc. has pretty covers, but nothing's really interested me since Nextwave.......).

Power Girl #8 (DC)

"BY THE THRITY-FIVE [sic] GODS OF GALAFON'S RINGS!": Vartox of Valeron, Hyper-Man.

Meh.

(In best Captain-Kirk-like-if-he-were-a-she-like-in-that-1-mind-transfer-episode,) Comic-book date: January 20, 2010. Kara's log: entry #3. Color me.......(dramatic pause).........disappointed.
☹

I guess all good things must come to an end. Ew! That sounds dramatic! No, I just mean I've done 2 glowing reviews, and I was giddy to pick up one of my current favorite books this week. Power Girl has been consistently a joy since the first issue. Amanda Connor's artwork in particular is fun and light and expressive and bouncy and sexy without being racy (take notes, boys!). And this, imho, has been Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray's best gig as cowriters to date.

But this issue, "A Groovy Kind of Love"?

Meh.

The story started last issue, of the journey of sexmachine Vartox the Hyper-Man (♂) to woo our girl Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr (♀) to repopulate his planet, continues and concludes in this issue. The story started sort of cliche and keeps it up with cheesy puns like the "Pregno-Ray" (XP) & "Fertilizor" (lol-not!).

The story's not BAD, just.........meh.

The art's technically as good as ever, but since the story doesn't really go anywhere, we don't get to see the divine Ms. Connor let loose like she can (see: "Supergirl" in Wednesday's Comics ♥♥♥♥♥!). The color (Paul Mounts) & letters (John J. Hill) are perfectly acceptable. Even the cover's not up to the fantastic work from the past 7 issues. Unfortunately, this issue's like the typo in the quote at the start: it seems like a mistake, but I can't be sure!

In honor of Power Girl's most famous assets.......

RATING: 6 "unmentionables" out of 10

One more thing! How do you like my new background? Thanks to "The Velvet Cyclone" (you can shower praise to him on Twitter @VelvetCyclone......but only if you want too! He's got a swelled head as it is! ;) ). xoxoxo