This is a quick pellet review of superhero comics released world wide today. The review is from the top of my head and written on the train ride to work after reading them before.
Batman #3 - This book should be titled Detective Comics, Batman is in pure detective mode throughout as both he and we discover more and more about the Order of the Owl and its ties to both Gotham and the Wayne family. I can't discuss too much more without breaking down the mystery itself which is well done and building so perfectly. There is little action to the book and I could care less honestly. The artwork is strong and goes from being the right kind of moody to showing the light of Bruce Wayne perfectly. 4/5
Justice League #3 - Now this was a fun and entertaining comic. While Green Lantern keeps acting like a tool with Batman, Superman, and the Flash kicking ass and acting professional during their fight with the Parademons, the bulk of the issue focuses on Wonder Woman and the creation of Cyborg. The Wonder Woman stuff is great and shows off both her compassion and bad assness which is very welcome. When Wonder Woman joins the fight there is some good interactions with the characters which makes up a lot for the decompression feel of the story. The character who appears on the final page, and how they proclaim they should be leader made me smile and want to read the next issue. The art is well, it is Jim Lee, it is well done and dynamic, exactly the quality you expect. 5/5
Nightwing #3 - we continue to dig deeper into Dick's past with the circus while dealing with the death of the owner and apparent life long protector of Dick. Dick seems to be one to run from his past a bit or so is accused as such by former friends. It is a very interesting look at the most under explored side of his life, the circus life outside of just his family. While Nightwing's fight in the middle of an issue with a former circus friend now turned hitman/hitman liaison, was pretty well thought out and artfully done it left me a bit baffled. I take it the guy knew it was Dick in the suit, I mean he grew up with the guy and it isn't hard to tell otherwise with that mask if you know Dick Grayson, but why did they fight? Just because he didn't want to admit he didn't know who it was who killed the circus owner? Seems forced for the sake of needing a fight scene and introduce a (throw away?) character who has ties to the main character's past to add some "depth". The character interactions are what makes this issue worth while, the people of the circus feel like fleshed out characters and the flashbacks work well to strengthen that. The reveal of who hired the killer is a bit out of a procedural cop show, but still works for the purposes of the story. The artwork is well done and capably shows Nightwing flying and fighting while also working well for all the character work being done. 4/5
Red Hood and the Outlaws #3 - This book continues to read as fan fiction gone wrong. We are without random Starfire sleeping with people or her being more scantily clad, but it still is far from a good or compelling issue. Apparently Arsenal has been suicidal for years now, and once tried to use Killer Croc as a means of suicide, what!?!? This kind of stuff made me not care for the character in the first place, so not happy it continues. Also confused how he was Green Arrow's sidekick when it seems like GA is still new to the game in his own book. Really the only thing that was enjoyable in the issue were the last few pages featuring a young Jason Todd as Robin being too sick to go out on patrol, it is heartwarming and the opposite of what I would ever expect from this book. 1.75/5
X-23 #17 - when did this book become so much fun? X-23 (or Laura) is hanging out with Gambit who is back to being a charming and dangerous Cajun once again, she has an odd but flirtatious relationship with Hellion who doesn't come off as a complete tool while still keeping some of his assholish qualities, and she now baby sits for the Future Foundation! The story is pretty simple, discussion of the previous adventure and other issues of the past are discussed, Hellion and Laura have an aggresive and odd flirtatious fight/discussion, Gambit acts all suave and bad ass, and then Laura meets with the Invisible Woman and starts baby sitting for Franklin and Val Richards who just want to use a small nuclear explosive to go back in time to pet a dinosaur. What follows is traditional Adventures in Baby Sitting fair, a boy (Hellion) wants to come over, the kids get into trouble (something big and scaley arrives via Val's messing around with technology) and the parents are currently none the wiser. The cover even is an homage to the movie Adventures in Baby Sitting which is what made me pick up the issue in the first place. Speaking of the art, it is great. The painted style works so well for the book and the characters are crisp and the facial expressions are spot on making the dialogue superfluous at times to read the book. The pure fun and the interesting interactions in the book make me want to read more which is saying a lot of a book about the female clone of Wolverine. 5/5
American Vampire #22 - What does a vampire hunter in the 1950s look like? If you said leather glad teenage greaser than you are correct? In this issue we meet Travis Kidd who is part vampire hunter and all around cool rockabilly punk that easily wins you over and escapes the cliche both his appearance and the first few pages of the comic paint him in quickly. He is smart, crafty, and well still quite a punk, but it is so well done I can't fault it. I haven't read much of this series as I'm a bit tired of the umpteenth upswing in vampires in pop culture, but after reading this issue, I am wanting to see more of it. This story takes place in the 50's and seems to have a focus on a single and new character, feels like a perfect jumping on point to me, and for you as well, after the last panel you will be craving the next page like some poorly crafted and horrible joke I can make about vampires and blood. 5/5
Aquaman #4 - Aquaman and Mera fight giant sea monsters deep in the sea, and it is awesome. This issue is fast paced and the art is both gorgeous and perfectly tuned to make you feel like you are under water, also giant sea monsters! Plus we get a new member of the Aqua family who is a bit furrier then you would imagine. What else is there to say? You want to see a super hero fight monsters and be impressive while doing it then read this book! Now if we can drop this whole meta thing where random people in the comic think Aquaman is lame like he is commonly seen in the real world. Sorry if any of us saw someone who could breath water, throw around giant boulders, and command fish we would not make jokes about them to their faces. 5/5
Captain America #5 AND #6 - For whatever reason Marvel is releasing two issues of Captain America this week, adding to that the release of a new Captain America and Bucky and it is definitely Cap's week to end the year. These two books end one story line and then begin another. #5 feels a bit weird and anti-climatic, mostly because I don't know how we got here and just see the resolution, while #6 is building along nicely to a fun and interesting plot as it begins the "Powerless" arc. But both books do work together very well, #5 leads into 6 so eloquently in both plot and character they could easily have been a single, although oddly paced single issue. While 5 wraps up Captain America's fight with Codename Bravo which does seem like it will have deeper ramifications, and has a strong emotional finish for some supporting characters. Issue 6 shows off those ramifications and goes about illustrating how Cap is dealing with the previous story and what is next for him, the cast, and the villains as well. I would say 6 is the stronger of the two, but 5 has more emotion. We will give it a combined score this week, since Marvel had to finish the year with so many issues of Captain America out, which really I won't complain about one bit. 4/5
Scrambled Circuits #3 - This is a mini comic about a robot named Primus who is a stand in for the creator of the book. Primus deals with a variety of things from moving to the desert after the passing of a loved one to feeling awkward to trying to draw the best hand turkey, and each one is told with an honesty I heavily envy. Every story in this comic is compelling and well thought out, some end on a joke, others serious, but each one has a meaning that seems to connect them and as I said before, an honesty to them. The art compliments this perfectly, it is far from an idealized comic style when considering main stream work, but each panel seems to so effortlessly capture the moment and gives a feeling of immersion to the reader it makes me wonder why more books don't work look like this. There is a bit of a plot line going on in this book that seemed to lack in the last issue, one of possible romance that I wish was expanded upon, but just like the life it was based on, sometimes these things take time to properly reveal themselves and only in works of fiction do they all time out perfectly to make for the expected arcs. I highly recommend giving this book a shot, or any of his others, which can all be found here. 5/5
