Monday, December 19, 2011

New comics 12/14/11

Batman the Brave and the Bold #14 - A nice heartfelt tale featuring Batman teaming up with the lesser known Ragman who is feeling the poor neighborhood he protects does not get the attention it deserves. What follows is a simple but well written story of crime attacking a small down on its luck neighborhood, a super hero regaining his faith (Ragman), and a quick history in Hanukkah all with Batman! It felt like a lost episode of the sadly cancelled tv show, which suits me fine. 4/5

Demon Knights #4 - We interrupt the invasion of the evil horde army for a long vision quest and mini origin of the Shining Knight, female knight who witnessed firsthand the fall of Camelot. This makes for the best issue of the book so far and makes me wish Cornell would just focus on one character (like the Shining Knight) instead of trying to spread the love around so much and make all of these interesting characters seem less than they need to be. All the characters have their own voices and could make an interesting lead of a book but trying to give everyone screen time is taking away from showing why each character is important and cool. Plot wise little happens in this issue though we get a ton of back story on Shining Knight, Camelot, Merlin, and the Holy Grail which makes up for any plots lacking. The dual reveal of who is going after and has gone after the grail is also well done, that along with the last page makes me want to see what happens next now, always a good sign. 4.5/5

Pigs #4 - Torturing someone for information has become a story telling fall back in the last decade or so, yet in this issue it is used as a back drop to show off characters and makes you quickly care about those involved (excluding the obviously corrupt and sick man who is being tortured). The focus of the issue is Travis a member of a mercenary group (I think) and why he doesn't want to kill and some of his childhood. It makes you connect with him quickly and the others as they interact with him. After all the history is given and the interrogation is over we move to another forceful questioning involving other characters and a reveal that may change everything. Now I have never read this series before this, but with a single issue I feel I have a good grasp on the characters, a general series premise, and I am invested in both what happens next and how it impacts the characters. Otherwise known as, exactly what a single comic should do. 5/5

The Ray #1 - Now this was fun! The preview they ran for this comic do it no justice. Want an interesting reaction to gaining super powers? Want an Asian super hero who isn't a stereotype? Want Spider-Man level quips and alter ego sub plots that are just as interesting as the super hero bits? You can find all that and more here! We quickly meet the new Ray, who was stuck with the title by the media, and see how he got his powers as well as gained control of them thanks to his New Age parents and meditation. Did I mention what the Ray fought in this issue? Giant telepathic jellyfish that fly! Yeah, you read that right. The flaws of the issue lie in the last few pages setting up the next foe, they are disjointed, weird, and I had to read them twice to figure out the reveal, also the giant flying jellyfish were barely part of the issue. Minor complaints in the long run, for such a good issue. 4/5

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