Hal Pictures Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!: August 2013

Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!

Now with Guy Gardner's Seal of Approval!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Vacation!

Woohoo!  I'm off for the rest of this week, and Labor Day!  Off to the wilds of north-west Connecticut to Limerock for the races.  It simply happens to be the prettiest race car track in New England...and possibly the world.  But that's only my opinion.

Too bad for all the kids going back to school...but I know some parents who are probably thanking their lucky stars.  I know this, because I used to be one of them.  Bwhahaha!

So, everyone have a lovely and safe holiday weekend, and see you on Tuesday!

This incidentally, doesn't have much to do with anything...but it sure is purty.  And gosh, I do miss most of these people.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Just Because

Once again it is Tuesday, and I don't have a single thought in my head.  Tuesdays will do that to a person.  So...I give you Guy, in all his sleepy sleepy glory.


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Sleepflying with the ring! 

Oh Guy.  I don't think even Hal has ever done this.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Slightly Delayed Reviews

Yeah, yeah, I took yesturday off.  But it certainly was a heckuva a nice week!

Batman '66, #2

I think that this is the one that is released on-line, but I don't know how to do all that new-fangled computery stuff, and besides, I'm old-school.  I want a book that I can hold in my hands.  So I have to wait a little longer, but gosharootie, it is worth it!  Jeff Parker writes, and incredible Ty Templeton draws, and it brings back so many halcyon memories of my childhood.

We have the Penguin who has his own iceberg in the middle of Gotham City harbor, and he's setting himself up as the ruler of his own little fiefdom, courtesy of Mister Freeze.   Submarines, flying umbrellas, Bat-Boats, and more fun than you can shake a stick at.  This is fabulous.

Batman and Nightwing #23

Batman continues to suffer over the loss of Damian, going over the whole scenario in the Batcave on one of those recorder/virtual reality thingies, while Alfred pleads for him to knock if off.  Fortunately, Dick shows up, and decides if he can't talk any sense into Bruce, he will join him.  And it works!  Fortunately, Bruce finally seems to be seeing the light, and Dick is able to get him to calm down and see reality. 

This is a good thing.

And then Alfred takes a turn with the virtual Reality, because he is also suffering, since he let Damian out of the Batcave in the first place, and he relives what happens, and what would have happened if he had just been able to keep him from leaving.  Bruce comes back, and realizes that he isn't the only one who lost a son, and he and Alfred have a deeply moving bonding moment.

I have to admit that this one made me tear up.  Peter Tomasi has a definite talent for tugging at my heartstrings, and Pat Gleasons artwork is as sublime as always.  Man, this was good.

Batwoman #23

And speaking of good,  this issue is a bit of the calm before the storm, as things get set up for the confrontation between Kate and Batman.  The machinations of the D.E.O., Flamebird's perspicacity, and Kate and Maggie's  devotion are revealed, and it is pretty fabulous.

Birds of Prey #23

Well,  A bunch of Bad Guys have shown up and rather easily taken the whole group prisoner.  The young member of the Baddies, has these psionic powers, and has incapacitated them all, and they are living their most fervent desires, with Condor mooning over Dinah, Dinah mooning over her dead husband, and then apparently over Condor, Barbara experiencing the perfect Norman Rockwell family life, and Strix back in her childhood.  She is the one who figures it out, and she and Batgirl manage to escape.  Dinah and Condor aren't so lucky, he is especially in trouble since what seems to be an old girlfriend is in with the Baddies.  And Dinah makes a fateful discovery!

This wasn't bad.  Wasn't great, but not bad. 

Demon Knights #23

I was supposed to get this last week, but my store didn't have it for some reason.  This is the final episode of our Medieval Justice League, and I am sorry,because I have really enjoyed this book.  It was a little different, it had the Demon in it, and I like the Demon, and heck, there was a bit of humor mixed in with all the mayhem. 

Giants have attacked, looking for the black diamond or the Grail, and our trusty group goes out to try and hold them off, while Xanadu and  Al Jabr launch an attack from the air.    They actually release the black diamond, which makes the giants all crazy, while Vandal Savage is busy urging them on, because as usual, he has betrayed his former companions.  It's what Vandal does! 

Jason calls up the Demon, and a lot of nice fighting goes on, and it has something of a...happy ending!  The Grail and the diamond cancel each other out, everyone is healed or at least in one piece, and Savage is gone, and Jason comes back, although he is a bit surprised that it worked, and Lucifer's plan is thwarted.  I will miss this book...but it is nice to actually have a happy ending once in a while too.

Fables #132

Rose Red has decided to create a new Round Table, which for the moment consists of a couple of folding chairs and a card table in the woods.  But you have to start somewhere, and she sends the Fable birds to all the lands, to find heroes.  Peter Pumpkin eater doesn't want to join, but Bo Peep does.  And Reynaud the fox of course.

Meanwhile, Prince Brandish has come back to life, because he managed to secure his heart somewhere completely safe, so he can never die.  Doctor Swineheart is quite intrigued by this, he tried it, but it didn't work.  We find out more about Brandish, and gosh, what a vile little creep he is!  Rose Red also hears that he is back among the living, and takes...steps. 

She's a girl after my own heart.

Green Lanterns: New Guardians #23

Well, Relic has gone off to the new planet of the Blue Lanterns, because it makes sense to extinguish Hope, when you are planning on annihilating everything.  Adara, the entity of the Blue Lantern is now dying along with the rest of the Lantern entities, and flies off to join them, leaving St. Walker, Warth and the others up a creek without a paddle. 

Fortunately, Kyle and his crew show up in the very nick of time.  They keep trying to convince Relic that they don't have to fight, but he is being awfully enigmatic, and hinting at stuff, and it's not working.  Carol tries to stop him with love, but it doesn't work, because he is fighting OUT of love...or something.  And the new Guardians seem pretty awkward at this whole thing, he is able to talk to each of them telepathically, and tells them all something Extremely Important...and they fold like a deck of cards.

Warth gives the last of his power to Kyle...and says that All Will Be Well.

Except that it won't.  Dang.  I like Warth.

I haven't really taken to this book as much as to the other Green Lantern books.  I don't particularly like Kyle and Carol jaunting around together, he ought to be with Guy, and she ought to be with Hal, but that's just me.  The Guardians seem fairly ineffective, and Kyle himself doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot.  This is all leading up to the newest crossover with "Lights Out".  That only took what...six months?  Sheesh.

This is ok.  Not great, not terrible.


Justice League Dark #23

Well, the art is very pretty.  Basically this is one huge long fight scene.  Wonder Woman has Pandora's box, which makes her go crazy,  Shazam tried to get it but it made HIM crazy.  I can't help but think that the original Billy would have been sweet enough not to fall for this.  At first it seems as though Zatanna can get everyone to calm down, but not for long and the box is making all of the various Justice Leagues fight each other.  And finally, Xanadu reveals that it is actually...a doorway...and Evil Alfred is there to open it.

I can't say that I am really all that into this story.  It is leading up to the whole Villains Month stuff, and I am not particularly excited about that either.  I also don't care about DC's stupid covers that won't be shipping, the whole thing seems like a self-inflicted debacle.  If it all leads to DC going back to the REAL Continuity however, I will be cheering.

As it is...not sure yet.

Wonder Woman #23

Damn I do like this book.  It really hasn't much to do with the real Wonder Woman, but for a twisted look at Green Mythology it is a hoot.  They are back from their little visit to the New Gods, and are fighting a new God of their own, the vile and nasty First Born.  Diana is tired of being Ms. Nice Goddess, and takes off her bracers, which brings out the Berserker in her, and she and First Born go at it...but only after War decides to bring a few of his armies to the fight.  It is quite a spectacular moment really.

Orion tries to help, but gets the crap beaten out of him, while Zola and Hera are trying to help each other.  Hera has really grown in this book. 

Diana can't beat First Born, and realizes that giving into her baser nature isn't who she really is.  War takes over, but he can't beat him either...until Diana runs a spear through the both of them.  War is dying, but he applauds her tactics.  She is heartbroken, and First Born is furious, because apparently now she will be the new God of War, not him.

Hades shows up to take War to his realm and Hera says goodbuy, and Diana picks up War and they go out to the boat with Charon.  She doesn't kill First Born however, and he's lying on the floor...and Apollo shows up. 

I am dying to see how this all goes.  But dang...I liked War!  At least he went out with a bang.  

Great stuff, and the Cliff Chiang artwork is to die for.


Daredevil #30

Now that I finally started picking up this book, I can't get enough of it.  It is great! 

Matt's former girlfriend (?) Kirsten McDuffie,a former asst. D.A. shows up uninvited to fill in for Foggy, who is still in the hospital.  And then this...Alien appears out of nowhere, and begs for Matt's help, and asks to be taken to the Avengers.  This all seems like a reasonable request, and Matt is about to do so, when who should show up but the Silver Surfer!  And he is pissed. 

He attacks the nice Alien, but accidentally puts some of Matt's staff in harms way, which makes him mad, and of course then he and Silver Surfer start to fight.  Fortunately before things can get out of hand, they decide to actually talk before they kill each other, and Matt discovers that the nice friendly Alien is anything...but.

So, they have to go chasing after him, and this is my favorite part of the book,because Daredevil manages to convince the Surfer, that as a native New Yorker, he knows where to go...and HE gets to fly the Board all through town.  The Surfer is a bit skeptical, but Matt is having the Time Of His Life!

Eventually they find the Alien over at Stark Industries, pulling the same scam, and they manage to capture him, but not before he whispers somethng in his ear.  It is all just fabulous.

Finally, I managed to get my greedy little hands on an art book by none other than Mark Schultz.  I LOVE Mark Schultz!  I have the first two collected books of the Xenozoic Age, which are completely fabulous, but I don't know if there was ever a third!  Anyway, the artwork in this is completely gorgeous, and I am pleased as punch to have found it.

So...a simply sensational reading experience all around.  Some really incredible books, and some that if not incredible, were at least solid decent comic book stories.  I'll take that any day!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Absolute Nonsense

So, you all remember my theory that most of the Romance Comic book covers have Hal on them.  Occasionally Guy shows up.  But mostly Hal.

I don't even remember where or when I managed to snag this, but I find it to be utterly hilarious.  Once again, Hal has to come up with an excuse.

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Seriously Hal?  That's the best you can do?

For all I know this could actually BE a Green Lantern issue!

Oh Hal.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Green Lantern Corps #23

Well, color me as blue as a Guardian...but the latest bunch of Green Lantern books have been...GOOD!  I am so happy.  I love it when my books are good.

Green Lantern Corps has been concentrating on John Stewart, and the latest batch of rookies.  John was a bit harsh about this particular bunch, and took them off on what was supposed to be a fairly routine mission, only to encounter a cadre of Khunds, who have decided to take advantage of the power vacumn left by the Guardians.  They are running their own little protection racket, and the Lanterns, are too few in number, and frankly have image problems at the moment, thanks to the aforesaid machinations of the late unlamented Guardians.

Not to mention that their rings keep turning off at very unfortunate moments. 

Back on Oa, there is a certain amount of grousing going on amongst the surviving Lanterns, and a bit of sniping at each other.  Poor Salaak is paranoid...and probably with good reason, but he is seen as a toady of the Guardians, so nobody is cutting him any slack.  Kilowog has Salaak's job now, and he's not too sure he's cut out for it.  Nobody really seems to think that Hal has what it takes to run the Corps...and they're probably right.  There is even a bit of nostalgia for the Guardians, they may have been evil, but gosh darn it they made the trains run on time!  Or words to that effect. 

John and his crew of rookies, manage to actually escape from the Khunds, and the rookies seem to be finding their feet as it were.  Meanwhile, Yrra had been taken captive by the Durlans, who also have plans for the Universe in the absence of the Guardians, and even though her ring is also having problems, she manages to escape as well.  She uses her "tether" to get her to John.  John gives her to Soranik.  John also seems a bit ambivalent about just what happened on Mogo.

Men.

And finally, Kilowog, Salaak and John discover that the problem behind their rings lack of power, is the lack of power in the battery!  It's not a boobytrap left by the Guardians, at least not on purpose...but Ion, seems to be weak and out of sorts.  And then all of the other avatars of the rings show up and proclaim that they are all dying, and they're going home.

Well!  That's a fine how-do-you-do! 

The art is nice, that is a particularly good looking John, incidentally.  The story is interesting, and has my attention, and I'm pleased at the direction that the Green Lantern books seem to be going in.  That's always a good thing.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Thursday's Reveiws

And what a very nice week this was!  Although I just found out that Demon Knights is ending with this issue, and although I have been reading it for the entire run, my beloved store didn't...HAVE any issues!  I hope that their order gets filled next week, because I've enjoyed the heck out of it.

But on to the books that I did manage to get.

Batman #23

More of Year One coming from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, and I am really loving this, which is something I never thought I'd say about a Bat book.  Capullo's artwork is rather gorgeous, and Snyder's writing isn't too bad either.

Bruce has been beaten to a pulp...pretty literally, and his uncle has a run-in with a young Eddie Nygma, that doesn't turn out too well...for his uncle that is.  Bruce's penthouse is blown up by the Red Hood and his nefarious gang, and Bruce is stabbed and shot and beaten, and in pretty bad shape, but manages through sheer stubborness and determination to drag himself to stately Wayne Manor, where he is patched up by Alfred.  And then he drags himself downstairs and has a few hallucinations, and there is a...bat on the bust and...oh, it's pretty cool really.

Batman:Li'l Gotham #5

I love this book.  Gosh, how I love this book.  You actually have characters that I am fond of, like Damian, and Cass I think, and oh heaven's, there are...tacos.  You just can't beat tacos. 

Constantine #6

Well, old John is hovering between life and death, with perhaps an emphasis on death, when he encounters some of the people he has screwed over, over the years, and naturally, his latest victim/friend isn't particularly happy.  Also other sorcerers are avid to annihilate him, and machinations are brewing.  I still miss Hellblazer, but this isn't terrible...in fact I actually rather like it.

Justice League of America #7

Well, the cat is out of the bag about Amanda Waller's attempts to take over or get rid of the old League, and her new League, and they all team up, and meanwhile, Wonder Woman is running around with the Justice League Dark, and Dr. Psycho is being....bad.  But J'onn J'onnz settles his hash rather neatly. 

Naturally everybody is fighting, and Superman looks pretty awful, and Batman really doesn't do all that much.  Simon Baz can't figure out how to get into the House of  Mystery, because as Flash points out...he's no Hal Jordan. 

*snicker*

Catwoman figures out that asking politely works quite well.  Bad guys show up and frankly, it is all a little on the chaotic side, but Doug Mahnke's art is appreciated as always.  And there is an explosion or two, and Wonder Woman ends up with Pandora's box, which probably will lead to some problems.

I can't fully decide if I should just wallow in all of the cross-over insanity of all of this, or simply back away.

Thor: God of Thunder #11

And so we come to the conclusion of the whole GodBomb story, and it ends with a bang!

Sorry, sorry.  I probably shouldn't have typed that.

But young Thor and old Thor are pleased that middle Thor...OUR Thor is the one who figures things out and wins out in the end.  The art is simply gorgeous, and the three Thors are a whole lot of fun actually. 

Saga #13

Oh Saga..I missed you so. 

Actually not a whole heck of a lot goes on, but it goes on SO nicely!  Marko is depressed because his dad is dead, Alana is tired because of the baby,and Marko's mom is a tough old bird and getting through her problems.  The Will is having hallucinations about the Stalk, his old girlfriend, who tells him he should move on, and there is sexual tension between he and Gwendolyn that will probabl be addressed sooner or later.  And the little Slave Girl gets a name, which is a good thing. 

Also, Marko and Alana et al, all land on the world of D. Oswald Heist, who wrote that book that brought them together, and their first encounter with him is...hilarious.  After the attack by the skeletons and stuff. 

If you are not reading this book...then you SHOULD!


Oh, and Green Lantern Corps was pretty decent too!  More on that tomorrow.

Not a bad week at all!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Getting Back to Basics

And around here, that means Green Lantern Butts.

And here is one that I just recently stumbled upon.

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Oh Kyle. 

I did adore that first uniform that you wore.  AND you have such a lovely pair of buns.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

What the Hell, DC?

Arrgghhhh!

Are you trying to rip my heart out DC? 

I just read that they canned Kevin Maguire from the upcoming Justice League 3000 book.  I was going to GET that book...based solely on the fact that Kevin Maguire was going to be drawing it!  I LOVE Kevin Maguire!  He is one of my favorite artists.

Apparently they wanted something that was "darker" 

Well, fuck that.

I'm sick and tired of "darker".  I want bright, I want light I want humor, I want FUN!  Why is Daredevil, Young Avengers, Journey Into Mystery and Hawkeye my favorite books at Marvel right now?  Because they are quirky, and hilarious, and beautifully drawn, and witty and damned well-written, that's why!

How much more darkness can we take, for Pete's sake?  DC has managed to kill off practically all of my favorite characters, dumped their entire UNIVERSE to make a more modern and compressed one, and managed to lose all of the characterization and zaniness from some 75 years of comics in doing so.  Why does DC want to be Marvel from the 90's?    Why does DC want to be Marvel at all?  Keep with YOUR strengths and heroes.  I know that you are going solely for the 18 to 35 Male sector of the market, but you know something?  Those young male readers probably wouldn't mind something hip and fun and quirky either! 

Seriously, that is one depressed sad bunch of editors and suits you have there DC.  Have any of the things that the Powers That Be come up with in the last couple of years actually...worked?  Firing your best writers and artists by e-mail, running rough-shod over your creators and generally pissing off some of the greats in your profession is a monumentally STUPID thing to do!  The wonks who make the decisions obviously don't even read comics, and have no understanding of things other than the bottom line...but they are messing up your bottom line in a fundamental way. 

You will probably never get those glory years back, because you have done such a good job of chasing off everyone who isn't in your increasingly narrow focus group.  Get Kids, get Women, get old Guys, get everyone you possibly can!  Make DC a haven for creators, and your books will fly off of the shelves!

And for the love of God, get Kevin Maguire a decent job! 

Sheesh!

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Dagnabit!

Once again my fershlugginer computer has died.  I swear that my house is a veritable computer graveyard.  Well, instead of dragging it back to my trusty PC fixer-upper guy...I think that I am going to make the jump to a laptop.  What the heck, do I really need a giant 3 cubic foot sized monitor anymore?  Or a giant tower thingie? 

I think not. 

And I have wi-fi now!  I am so with it. 

I don't play games, so I don't need some giant sized laptop with ginormous memory. I blog, I surf and I listen to my music. Occasionally check my bank balance and read my e-mail once a week if I remember.  Would one of these Google Chromebooks be sufficient?  Does anyone have any advice?  Anecdotes?  I'm such a luddite when it comes to computers.

But I still miss being able to go on.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Just General Kvetching

I can't really complain about the weather, because it is absolutely gorgeous.  But naturally, that won't stop me from being generally in a funk.  Some of this may be due to the fact that the new comics don't come out until tomorrow.  For me, Tuesday is always the most miserable day of the week, and I see no reason to change that opinion.

I have complained about my boss in these hallowed pages once or twice...or maybe a lot...before, referring to them as Doug and Dinsdale, Springfield Mass's version of the infamous Piranha Brothers.  Dinsdale of course is my bete noir.  It occured to me today after about twenty minutes of nonstop cursing...and that was while he was with a buddy in his office...that Dinsdale is a variation on a Smurf. 

Yes, a Smurf, those adorable little blue critters that use the word Smurf to describe anything.  It can be a vowel, a noun, or an advective.  Dinsdale does that with the word Fuck.  Constantly.  Incessantly.  Occasionally creatively, but not usually.  I'm not a prude but after  a continuous barrage of this, it does start to wear on one. 

Creative swearing is an art, and one that is sadly waning nowadays.  As with everything else, our Founding Fathers were far more eloquent in their invective.  Not that kids today will be able to read anything by our Founding Fathers, because they don't teach cursive anymore.  And no, cursive doesn't mean cursing.  Unless you are really really good at it. 

And in the area of general complaining...I'm NOT really looking forward all that much to the All-Villains month coming up from DC.  It's been done before, and I wasn't all that thrilled with it then either.  It isn't because I don't like Villains...I DO...at least some of them.  It is also very very difficult to tell a story without one.  And I do think that DC has some of the very best Villains around.  But that doesn't mean that I want to have nothing BUT Villains...unless it is done very carefully, and I'm not sure that it sounds that way to me.  But what do I know, I haven't even read these stories yet, so I am guilty of over-reacting and being a negative Nelly,which is something that I always abominate in somebody else, so I should add hypocrisy to my feeling of general malaise today. 

But I think that they are going to have something with the Rogues, which is a good thing, because I like the Rogues.  A lot.  But man, I sure do miss the Secret Six by Gail Simone.  Deadshot just hasn't been the same.  Or Bane.  And God, I miss Catman and Ragdoll and Jeanette and Scandal and yes, even that Shark Guy, who was quite amusing with the Six. 

I like Hector Hammond for some reason.  Possibly because I can understand why he is so hung up on Hal Jordan.  I mean, who isn't?  I'm awfully tired of the Joker, but I like the Riddler, and the Penguin.  Sinestro is a great villain, mainly because a bit like Doctor Doom, he doesn't think of himself as a villain, and he does everything with a certain grandeur.  I like grandeur in a villain.  Or humor.  Or a really good schtick, like Carface, who only appeared once for a couple of pages in Birds of Prey, and hasn't been seen since, but he really SHOULD! 

You know?  I think that I've talked myself into a better mood!

Comics!

Saturday, August 03, 2013

Red Lanterns #22

Let me just state for the record that when I heard that Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi were leaving my beloved Green Lantern Books...I was worried.  And filled with consternation.  Uneasy even.  I had become quite used to having some of the best writers and best artists working on my favorite books, and I LIKED that.  Having these new guys...well, I am a creature of habit, and I didn't know what to expect.

My fears are laid to rest.  

Damn it, this was a good book!  I enjoyed the last issue, where Hal had Guy go and infiltrate the Red Lanterns much more than I expected to...and with this issue, I am firmly behind Charles Soule, the new writer, who is doing amazing and amusing things with Guy Gardner.

Last issue, despite his own misgivings, Guy...as a good Lantern, goes ahead and does what Hal wants him to do, which is join the Red Lanterns to find out what they are up to.  Naturally, he told Hal what could happen...and naturally Hal ignored the warnings.  I would imagine that eventually Hal will...regret that.  But Guy not only joined, he beat the crap out of Atrocitus and took his ring! 

But putting on a Red Ring can really mess you up, as Zilius Zox so eloquently points out, and Guy is in a bad way.  Bleez wants to leave him as a mindless blood-spewing weapon, but Rankorr, who met Guy earlier has a better idea, and dumps him  into the  blood lake on Ysmault, which eventually restores Guy's brains.  Bleez isn't happy about this, but the rest of them seem fairly resigned. 

In his usual fashion, Guy says hello to his new buddies, and lays a few ground rules, and then points out that they are stuck living in a virtual hell hole, and does anyone else feel that this sucks as much as he thinks it does?  They all raise their hands.  He also points out that they don't necessarily NEED a leader, and since there are only a few of them anyway, maybe they could just do things by committee, and possibly improve their lot at the same time.  Again, they really can't argue with him, and therefore, go out and hijack a pirate ship...because why the hell not? 

Oh Guy. 

For the first time, the other Red Lanterns are actually showing some personality, which is nice.  Guy as usual has all of the best lines, and still manages to show off HIS unique personality.  Soule seems to have a pretty good grasp of Guy's character, which is always a nice thing.  The art isn't bad, and gosh...it was a pretty great issue!

I'm so happy.

Friday, August 02, 2013

Slighty Late Reviews

You know, for a Fifth week, this past Wednesday was actually pretty fabulous!  Thank Goodness for Annuals!  I love Annuals!

And so we go.

Batman Annual #2

Gosh, I liked this.  Scott Snyder is actually turning me into a Bat Fan...which is something that I never thought I would say.  Although, to be sure, Batsie isn't really the Hero of this particular tale.  That honor actually falls to a brand new, wet-behind-the-ears recruit at the notorious Arkham Asylum.

Batman shows up, handcuffed and ready to try and escape, so that he can give them feedback on their security.  But in the middle of all of this, young Eric, a brand new orderly from Metropolis discovers that not all of the inmates at the Asylum are super-Criminals.  There is one elderly lady, named the Anchoress, whose crime was actually more of an accident, and who is there because she is a penitant.  Unfortunately for her, the newer and flashier inmates get all of the attention.  This is a state of affairs that she atributes to Batman...and to be quite frank...she's right.

So, she's out to make Batman's life as miserable as he has made hers, and she has the powers to back it up.  She plays some brutal mind games with him, but you still feel sympathy for her, and young Eric is the one who manages to get her calmed down,and to get help for her, which is all that she wanted.  Batman looks like a bit of a thug, which is an unusual take, and one that I was interested to see.

Great Stuff.

Batman Inc #13

Well, here is the final confrontation between Bruce and Talia, as seen through the eyes of Jim Gordon, and with Bruce Wayne  beaten up and a bit broken down, telling him what happened.  Leviathan is going to town, and all of the various Bat Guys are running around doing their Bat thing, and Bruce and Talia have their last battle, and between the kissing, the poisonings and the sword fights, it is pretty spectacular. 

And just as she is about to win, who should show up but Jason, who gives her the box, in exchange for Bruce's life...and Talia thinks she's won.  Except of course, she hasn't, and who should show up but Kathy Kane, who shoots her right between the eyes!  Woohoo! 

Also, there is Batcow.  I love Batcow. 

And that's it, except that Talia's and Damians bodies are stolen by none other than Ra's al Ghul, and that is how Grant Morrison leaves his toy box...neatened up and ready for the other kids to play...which is rather nice of him, actually. 

Also great stuff.

Flash Annual #2

Double Woohoo!  Barry and Hal!  Finally! 

There is a bit of a flashback, with Barry trying to save some kidnapped children, when he runs across Hal, who is doing the same thing.  They are initially a bit startled to run into each other, but manage to work together rather nicely, even encountering some Aliens who are the ones kidnapping the kids, for their Arena.  They manage to get the kids and get out of it, but Barry discovers that Hal did some fast talking, and the two of them end up getting kidnapped themselves, to fulfill the promise made by Hal, way back when.

Barry is not particularly happy about this...but hey, that's how Hal rolls.  Hal is also running the Green Lanterns now and figures this is a good way to finally take this bunch of miscreants down. So they do the usual "fighting to the death in the arena for the amusement of the masses" thing, and of course are doing pretty damned good, till they find that they can't fight together.  They take Hal out of the mix, and Flash's powers are failing, and things look pretty dismal.  Fortunately, Hal actually USES his brain and his willpower, and makes his Ring, to to...Barry! 

Barry is a bit overwhelmed by the power of the ring, but uses his Flashy powers to get up to speed on how it all works, and with every bit of willpower that he can summon...blasts the giant Bad Guy right in the nuts.

It is spectacular.  Heck, even Hal is impressed. 

The rest of the Lantern Corps shows up, and puts the handcuffs on all of the baddies.  Hal and Barry do a bit of bonding,and Barry realizes that there is a lot more to Ring-Slinging than just standing there and pointing.  I always enjoy it when one of the other heroes realizes just how difficult it is to control a Green Lantern ring.  Very very few people can actually do it...so I'm rather impressed that the Flash was able to do a well as he did.

The art is cute, and the story is fun, and I love these sorts of stories.  There is also a nice second story at the back, with Barry zipping around doing his thing, and how all of his actions intertwine, which is always nice with a speedster.  Again, an  excellent book this week.

Red Lanterns #22

More on this tomorrow...but I have to say...I was all worried about the change in writers, and I have to admit that there is NOTHING to be worried about.

Daredevil #29

To all of the people who told me to pick up this book...I finally did, and it is sensational!  Chris Samnee on the art, and Mark Waid on the story. 

More Sons of the Serpent stuff, all kinds of mind games, and betrayals, and just cool cool stuff going on.  I never really liked Daredevil all that much, because he seemed like such a Gloomy Gus half of the time, but THIS Daredevil, is a bit on the swashbuckling side. 

It's...fun.  Damn, I missed fun!