Weekly Comic Book Discussion 7/31/2008

[CandidGamera]

Here it is. Light week for me..

Teen Titans just suddenly got a lot more interesting, though.

[rikc]

I'm really, really liking Marvel 1985. The art is beautiful.

[ArizonaTeach]

I'm really, really liking Marvel 1985. The art is beautiful.Is it? I got turned off by a kind of dull first issue, the fact that it wasn't fumetti (although I don't know if it would have worked), and the fact that Mark Millar is the devil. So I didn't buy any others...guess I'll wait for the trade if it gets enough recommendations.

[Krokodil]

Justice Society of America Annual #1--What? Gog's favors might have some kind of Mephisophilean catch to them? Say it ain't so! Sweet art by Ordway.

Thor #10--Loki-as-a-woman is a much better villain than the classic version!

[JThunder]

Teen Titans is indeed getting interesting.

And the JSA annual? Yow!

[CandidGamera]

My JSA Annual got misplaced by the comic shop, but I should have it next week..

[JThunder]

The following doesn't strike me as very consequential, so I'll dispense with the spoiler warnings.

In Trinity, we learned that Nightwing has his mask rigged such that he can destroy it with a low-grade voice-actuated explosive. What I want to know is... WHY?

Being prepared is one thing, but under what circumstances would someone anticipate the need to destroy his mask if it ever falls into enemy hands? I imagine that he'd be a lot more concerned about being unmasked than about preventing anyone else from possessing the mask.

Okay, one possibility does come to mind. I suppose he could be concerned that someone would perform DNA testing on the mask and discover his identity. Frankly though, with all the blood and skin samples that the Gotham sentinels must have left all over town, I would think that safeguarding the mask would be low on their list of concerns.

[E-Sabbath]

Nightwing has a comm system in the mask, too, and IR vision and what have you. Someone gets it, they can penetrate the Oracle and Batman network, and possibly locate the Batcave.

[Love Rhombus]

On the other hand, someone might imitate his voice or mentally order him to explode it, and his head would be gone. That would be amusing.

JSA annual was sweet. I especially liked the bonus portrait at the end.

Blue Beetle was pretty eh.

Green Lantern was excellent as usual.

Ms. Marvel was a disappointment, but I keep hoping.

Picked up the Union Jack trade. It wasn't as good as I hoped, but it was entertaining.

[Kamino Neko]

In Trinity, we learned that Nightwing has his mask rigged such that he can destroy it with a low-grade voice-actuated explosive. What I want to know is... WHY?

One simple reason could be that the batfamily's communicators are in their masks. Which, given how such things are shown to work in the DCU is a good way to figure out where each member is - and, given that the Batcave, Cloisters, and Oracle's HQ are also in the network, who they are.

Reign in Hell - Awesomesauce. The backup with Dr Occult was a little confusing, but in an interesting 'I'm sure it'll make sense by the end' way. (And it had the Dead Dibney Detectives.)

Madam Xanadu - Holdover from my stack last week...but I must mention that combined with RiH, it makes a joke of the repeated statements that the DC/Vertigo divide is still in force, since both not only use Etrigan, but name him explicitly. And, of course, the Stranger playing a major role here so soon after his last DC-branded appearance in Shadowpact. (Not to mention Destiny in B&B.) It becomes pretty clear it's a matter of certain characters being off-limits, not a general ban on the same characters being used under both imprints.

Skrulls vs Power Pack - Van Lente is still good, but, like the recent Sumerak penned books, it suffers from not being pencilled by GuriHiru, except for the covers. I love the form the commanding Skrull took. Didn't they already use the Mini Marvels they used in this a few months back, though?

Wildcats - I'm actually quite torn on the fact that the WSU heroes failed to hold off the Armageddon, but, I'm happy with the book. Maybe not enough to keep up on it, but...happy.

Huntress - It cracks me up that Helena still doesn't know Bruce wasn't involved with Nino Angelo and the mayor at the end of the story. My main complaint that Catwoman was rather oddly used. I get why she was used as she was, but...esh.

Cyborg - Eeeeeeh. It's improving, but it's still not really enjoyable.

New Dynamix - Would have been more awesome if it had ended before the rest of the Armageddon did, but...I love Halo, and Rocket, and Greymalkin, and some of the villains, so...

[JThunder]

Nightwing has a comm system in the mask, too, and IR vision and what have you. Someone gets it, they can penetrate the Oracle and Batman network, and possibly locate the Batcave.Okay, that makes some sense to me. The IR scanner wouldn't compromise the Bat-family, but the comm system conceivably could.

Still, why place the comm system in the mask, of all places? It seems to me that it would be best to build it into a throat-mike system of some sort.

[Kamino Neko]

Erf...forgot two books. >_>

Blue Beetle - Got two issues at once, since I'd missed the last one. I liked last months even better than this month's - awesome little one-off, with a clever (though not entirely surprising) twist. With this month's, I really love the 'title fight', both conceptually, and in execution. (But, dudes...you're fighting over being Hellhound? Not exactly A-list guys. Or B-list. The anthro totally should go with Jaime's suggestion. Anubis would rock the house.)

JSA - I'm disappointed, actually, that it'll be finishing in the main title...I miss annuals that finish the story themselves. I don't see anything in this story that implies maliciousness on Gog's part - just the kind of good-intentioned mistake that one has to expect from a deity portrayed like Gog has been. I love the two-pager of the team portrait being painted by Norman Rockwell. (Or rather, of the team relaxing after NR finished the painting.) Sandman nodding off...Ted telling off Tommy for having a smoke, Jesse and Rick's little PDA...Cyclone scolding Frankie...it's all beautiful.

[Love Rhombus]

JSA - I'm disappointed, actually, that it'll be finishing in the main title...I miss annuals that finish the story themselves. I don't see anything in this story that implies maliciousness on Gog's part - just the kind of good-intentioned mistake that one has to expect from a deity portrayed like Gog has been. I love the two-pager of the team portrait being painted by Norman Rockwell. (Or rather, of the team relaxing after NR finished the painting.) Sandman nodding off...Ted telling off Tommy for having a smoke, Jesse and Rick's little PDA...Cyclone scolding Frankie...it's all beautiful.

I assumed the painter was just doing them as a still collection, and they were actually moving around while he was doing it. Kind of how everyone in a portrait looks much better than they probably were in real life.

[Kamino Neko]

I assumed the painter was just doing them as a still collection, and they were actually moving around while he was doing it. Kind of how everyone in a portrait looks much better than they probably were in real life.

He's signing it, so he's clearly done. Although the above interpretation does fit with the idea that it's a reference to this painting (http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Norman-Rockwell-Triple-Self-Portrait-Posters_i311841_.htm).

[Just Some Guy]

I got my The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus in the mail finally. I knew this thing would be large but the book is HUGE! It's about twice as thick as an Essential or Showcase volume. Flipping through it I can see the reproduction quality isn't the greatest but I'm going to be going through it for a long, long time.

[Love Rhombus]

He's signing it, so he's clearly done. Although the above interpretation does fit with the idea that it's a reference to this painting (http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Norman-Rockwell-Triple-Self-Portrait-Posters_i311841_.htm).


Hmm. You may be right. They all just seemed kinda bored and impatient, so I really wasn't sure. I like how Hawkman can't decide between a sword or his mace. :)

[Kamino Neko]

Yeah, Carter's awesome in the pic, too. Looks torqued to have a woman who's not a reincarnation of Chay'Ara in his lap. >_>

Onto other books...

Robin - I think Tim's going off his nut, and Steph's sudden return is not actually helping. RIP isn't advancing, really, outside of Batman, proper...this and the Hush storyline in 'Tec might be good stories in their own right (we'll see), but they don't really seem to be parts of RIP, so much as separate, peripheral stories.

Teen Titans - Devil's recovered. Nice. I won't miss Ravager, unlike most people I've seen. I like the current lineup, and I'm looking forward to Static joining...eventually.

Astonishing X-Men - OK, THIS is the jumping on point that the Giant Size should have been. (Dammit, special issues should be jumping on points, not jumping off!) I'm not entirely sold on Ellis's characterization - particularly Emma, Hank and Logan - but I'm enjoying it...the art, especially.

newuniversal 1959 - Nice. Very nice. I like the Tony Stark appearance (and this is from the guy who complained about the 616 namedropping in the main series...) No Starbrand in 1959?

[E-Sabbath]

I got my The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus in the mail finally. I knew this thing would be large but the book is HUGE! It's about twice as thick as an Essential or Showcase volume. Flipping through it I can see the reproduction quality isn't the greatest but I'm going to be going through it for a long, long time.
Yes. You are. Prepare for eyestrain. I'm about 300 pages in. It's worth reading, but... man, it's dense.

[Lightray]

Finally got time to read and post here. sheesh.

Trinity - I'm liking this the more that the bad guys and good guys are actually doing stuff, rather than talking or philosophizing to set up the storyline concepts. All I could think with Robin's mask was that, at some point in time, the Mad Hatter had done that old Batman tv episode where he stole Batman's cowl... and Dick didn't want to have to go through all that bother.

Blue Beetle - solid.

JSA Annual - w00t! The two-page spread for the painting was great (but, where is the flying monkey from?). Even better, though, were the little details of the JSI headquarters -- the pictures on the hallway walls with PG in them, the Golden Age map of Krypton in her room. Great stuff.

[E-Sabbath]

The monkey is from the latest issue of JSA, and is Cyclone's pet. Thunderbolt made it the costume, and it seems to like it.

[CandidGamera]

Picked up the JSa Annual on Sunday.

Loved it. Almost perfect. Except..

Well, it's worth noting that Power Girl gets her own name wrong.

She's Kara Zor-L, not Zor-El. :D

[Just Some Guy]

She's Kara Zor-L, not Zor-El. :D
That's how you know she's the fake. :D

[JThunder]

The monkey is from the latest issue of JSA, and is Cyclone's pet. Thunderbolt made it the costume, and it seems to like it.And the monkey doesn't actually fly.

[Kamino Neko]

And the monkey doesn't actually fly.

Not under his OWN power, anyway. Maxine can make him fly.

[Lightray]

How the heck did I miss a flying (sort-of) monkey??

Also got Green Lantern. Ready for the re-telling of the origin story to be over, please.

[Mister Rik]

How the heck did I miss a flying (sort-of) monkey??

Also got Green Lantern. Ready for the re-telling of the origin story to be over, please.
I dunno - I like the way they're tying it into this "Blackest Night" storyline that's been developing. It's a good way to show that the Blackest Night isn't just the latest, big threat - it's something that's been brewing for a very long time.

[E-Sabbath]

Patsy Walker, Hellcat, is shaping out to be the most awesome story of the last four-five months, with some really _gorgeous_ art that demands strict attention. It's fantastic. No, literally, fantastic.

I mean, where she grabs the mayan calendar by the tongue and tells it to shut up while the car is still doing sixty down the middle of the snowfield? Beautiful.

Especially since she got out of the driver's seat and 'came back there' like our parents always threatened to, to do it.