Teen Titans and Green Lantern both got delayed, boo.
Battle for the Cowl Commissioner Gordon
! Not too bad. Battle for the Cowl has been especially fun because it's let us see how all of the characters in Batman's life respond to his death in different ways. In this case, it was very exciting to see Gordon and the GCPD decide to have some balls and try to be effective on their own which we haven't really seen since the outstanding Gotham Central. Ever since the OYL jump and the Central cancellation, it feels like the Gotham police were forced back into their nameless cops who need Batman's help for everything role. It's nice to see them being capable again, or at least making an effort to be.
JLA #31
! Wow I actually really enjoyed this issue. The biggest problem with JLA has been that the book has been driven entirely by continuity and McDuffie (and to an extent Meltzer) really hasn't had the opportunity to take this book in an interesting direction.
! McDuffie really shines with small character-driven moments, and this book is chock full of them. You really feel for Dinah as she struggles to keep the JLA together. Every scene feels natural, and the JLAer's reasons for leaving are all understanable (except for Diana's) I'm actually curious about where the book is heading, and I like all the characters in the lineup right now so I might follow this book for a few more issues to see how things go.
! It was also really nice to see the characters adress the problems that fans have been having with this book from the start. Hopefully this issue is meant as a starting point, a new jump on point that takes the team in a new more successful and more entertaining direction.
! Shane Davis did a great job with the art, even though he obviously got confused betwen Diana (Wonder Woman) and Dinah (Black Canary) on the very first page.
! On the one hand it sucks that there isn't a single Big Seven representative on the team except for John Stewart (who actually does something once and a while in this book, thankfully) but on the other hand this is a good thing. The way DC is running lately, this book would NEVER be able to get off the ground unless it didn't have any major ties to other books mucking things up.
Oracle: The Cure #1
! Art was great, writing was good, but I had a few problems:
1. Gordon takes time to go have a fancy dinner while Gotham is in ridiculous unrest? In Battle for the Cowl it seemed like the city was in the middle of a warzone, but here it just seemed like crime rates have gone up a little bit.
! 2. I hate that Babs Gordon is probably gonna end up back as Batgirl. It's a mistake no matter which way you look at it. Hopefully this is all a big red herring for something else, but they keep on making Barbara "fail" and keep on bringing up how she dislikes the wheelchair.
! McDuffie handled Barbara properly in JLA this week, why is it that ever since Simone left BoP Barbara's done nothing but whine about her failures and her newfound (mischracterized) hate for her chair.
! Looking past that though, the issue was pretty good. It's more where this book is obviously heading that is the problem.
Thunderbolts #130
! Not too bad, but not great either. Definitely lacked the funny that Deadpool has, and since I have no idea who the Thunderbolts are I really didn't care about any of them.
! The last page was great though.
The Incredibles #1
! Great art that really reminds you of the movie, and really good writing too. It was simple, it is a kids' book after all, but it was still very entertaining and provided a great set up for the mini series.
! It's really cool seeing this characters in action again, and so far I'm enjoying this mini!
! My only gripe is that the first issue has FOUR covers. FOUR. They should've have done the 4 covers across the 4 issues, but NOPE instead it's FOUR covers for ONE issue. Normally I'll pick up 2 covers if it makes a big picture, but I'm not gonna buy 4 copies of the same product just for completion's sake. I just got the cover with Jack Jack 'cus he rocks
Superman #686
! Not too bad. I'll stick with this book for a little while, to see where it's going, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up sticking around for the long term. Andrew Robinson is a GREAT writer and he's been doing a great job with this book ever since he took over. Similiar situation with the Bat books, seeing how everyone deals with Superman leaving but handled in a different way.
! Overall just loving the Super books in general, it all feels very cohesive but each book is still doing its own thing. It's great!
! And Renato Guedes' art is AMAZING. DC needs to make sure Guedes stays on this book for years and years to come because his art is simply stunning! It's very detailed and "artsy", very different from typical comic book art, but it still feels appropriate for the book which is a hard task. Sometimes there are artists who are really good but just don't fit super hero comics, but this isn't the case at all.
Wonder Woman #30
! LOVED this issue. We really got to see Diana kicking ass and taking names, and I loved how all the villains in this issue had this fear of her that stopped them from doing anything. Simone has done a great job showing all the different sides of Diana, and this time we got to see her more vengeful side which even Diana tried to keep under check. Her torchering Cheetah and then going after the Society were all badass.
! Can't wait to find out who Genocide really is, or rather whose body Cheetah used to make her with.
! Then we have Steve Trevor's return which was sick. Etta Candy fighting with all she had against the lasso and against Genocide was badass, I love what Simone is doing with Etta, making her a strong independant female who's more than just Diana's "fat friend."
! Achilles is finally here! I can't wait to see him in action, and the scene where Zeus created him was pretty epic. Love how he was born out of fire which will have an affect on his personality, and the comparison was made to how Diana was made out of clay.
! The scene with the Amazons reuniting with Hypollyta was great too.
! All this build up, the Amazons returning, The Olympians being born, Achilles being created, Genocide capturing Etta, the destruction of the DMA, Diana's lasso being stolen and used against her, it's all building up and next issue (if the cover is any indication) we'll start to see the fall out of all of this.
! Simone's WW run has been kind of hit or miss, but this story arc she's really been bringing it!
! And Aaron Lopresti's art is outstanding, it feels like his art gets better with each issue.