Thursdays Reviews of Wednesday's Comics

That...waws an unusually full week. I LIKE that it was a full week. And some interesting books were certainly out.

Flashpoint: Abin Sur #3

Well, it is comforting to know that the Guardians are douchebags in ANY universe. And that Sinestro turns against his bestest buddy and mentor, not to mention brother-in-law, and chops his hand off, and in any number of ways, proves to be A Bad Fellow. But not to worry, although the Guardians cut off Abin's Green Lantern powers, he has just enough to help out, then die, and then be reincarnated as the White Lantern. I don't fully understand how all of this is going to work, but I assume it will all make sense in the end. Which is approaching rapidly.

Batgirl #24

I don't usually pick this up, but heard good things about it, and the good things were TRUE! The story is fun, and the art is adorable. Stephanie confronts her no-goodnik father, aka the Cluemaster, who has been hiding in plain sight, in prison. He's taken up botany, and it turns out to be Black Mercies, which is NOT something that you want to play around with. Stephanie has some of the requisite hallucinations, but still manages to beat the fantasy, and the pictures of what she was experiencing are simply wonderful. The one with Barbara as a Green Lantern, Stephanie as a Blue Lantern, and Damien as a Red Lantern are my favorites...of course. But it's ALL good. I hope that Stephanie isn't going to go into comicbook limbo like so many other characters in the relaunch.

Batman: 80 Page Giant

Man, I just am such a sucker for an 80 page giant book. I don't even LIKE Batman that much, but still, this wasn't a bad book. Not every story works, but most of them do, and it has some nice artwork, and it's always fun to see stories from new people. Love that cover.

Fables #108

Well, the North Wind, has taken out the Big Baddie, at the cost of his own life, and now they are looking for a NEW North Wind...amongst Snow and Bigby's kids no less. Bigby's brothers aren't eligible, mainly because, as the little winds point out...they're just assholes apparently. There are some nice subplots brewing, with Rose Red, not to mention the former Mrs. Spratt. As always, Fables is an excellent read.

Retroactive: Flash

Wally! More Wally! It's always nice to see Wally. I like Barry, but I like Wally too. I'm also concerned that he's going to be disappearing shortly like so many OHTER characters. The story is a bit convoluted, and there are aliens, memory loss, Linda a Kil%gore, but what the heck. It's Wally!

Green Lantern Corps #63

More on this tomorrow.

Justice League of America #60

This was basically just everything wrapping up. They are all quitting and riding off into the sunset. Supergirl quits, Donna quits, Jade goes to hang out with dear old dad, Bill is headed back to Africa, where he's going to hang out with the myriad superheroes of all the various African countries, which I thought was a rather neat touch. Mikaal is fed up, and even Dick is hangin up his Bat Boots. Oh, and Jesse is pregnant. There is a lot of refrerences to stories that we never actually saw...but still, at least they all get some closure, which isn't a bad thing. So...not terrible.

Retroactive: Wonder Woman

Oh, God, I loved this book to death. Etta has a group of young teenaged girls, and she gets Diana to help out mentoring their club. She puts them through their paces, and they end up learning not to be so shallow, not to mention a lot of other valuable life lessons, and it is all done in a very charming manner. I LIKE this Diana. I like her a lot. they also end up saving a bunch of stinky BOYS! This was a hoot and a half, and I recommend it highly. In fact, I wish that I could read a Messner-Loebs Wonder Woman book each and every month.

At one point, Etta thinks that Diana is pushing the girls too hard, so Diana stops. and lets them do what they want, including playing with dolls. She picks up Ken and has him address Barbie, in my absolute favorite bit from the story.

"Ha! I Ken, am home from the masculine world of work. Wife, feed me while I ogle your bulbous femininity. Display for me your subservience for I am the Man."

One of the little girls points out that Diana is..."sooo terrible at playing house."

I just cracked up.

Tiny Titans #43

Yes, I've started getting this because it is just too cute for words. I do hope that DC isn't going to discontinue it either.

Journey Into Mystery #626

The lone Marvel entry on my list, but it is certainly pretty darned fabulous. Little Loki is still out trying to save Thor, and using his considerable skills and wiles, and I'm loving it. He fools Surter, he fools Odin, he fools EVERYONE! I love this version of Loki So Much.

So, a pretty decent week altogether.