So... Three years after being introduced with much fanfare, Batwoman finally gets her own feature (and cover) in this week's Detective Comics. For the character who is supposedly DC's most prominent gay character, her profile has been extremely low. Heck, Obsidian gets more panel time. Not to mention Renee Montoya, who has assumed the identity ( Read more... )

OK, when you run an issue of people reacting to a major event, it's customary to do so *AFTER* the major event has been printed. ( Read more... )

So DC's Final Crisis has come to an end. And while there is much about the story that I like, both my overall reaction and the sales numbers as compared to Marvel's Secret Wars tell me that this event was ultimately less than a complete success. There are numerous reasons for this, including several things that probably didn't impact the success ( Read more... )

Last month's issue of X-Men: Legacy was the first of Carey's run (both before and after the title change) with which I've been truly disappointed. It's long been accepted wisdom that Juggernaut's redemption the only positive element in Chuck Austin's otherwise execrable run on Uncanny X-Men and later X-Men. It was well executed, gradually ( Read more... )

Seriously, DC. WTF? You bring back Spoiler after treating her horribly. Chuck Dixon essentially uses the plot that fandom had long since settled on as how to bring her back. Tim's having trouble dealing, which makes perfect sense. There's something weird going on with Spoiler and Batman where Batman's giving her secret missions, which makes a ( Read more... )

Normally I wouldn't spend the time to comment on two consecutive golden age comic issues. But Daring Mystery Comics #2 is effectively a completely different series from issue #1- the two issues haven't a single feature in common. If anything, #2 is even more of a mess than #1, lacking any feature as strong as Joe Simon's Fiery Mask. Simon ( Read more... )

Timely Publications exploded onto the comics scene in late 1939 with Marvel Comics #1, a book that introduced two of the most popular and unusual characters of the Golden Age: Carl Burgos's Human Torch and Bill Everett's Sub-Mariner (who still gets the occasional mini-series today). It also had a pretty solid range of backup stories, from the ( Read more... )

This week we came to the long-awaited Uncanny X-Men #500. Long awaited not just because it's a very impressive anniversary number (despite issues 67-93 being reprints), but because this issue finally delivers the new setup we've been waiting for since Messiah CompleX. The timing was a bit odd, there, but I guess they felt like they needed the ( Read more... )

It's no secret to those few folks who read this LJ that I was, all in all, not a fan of Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men. It had its good moments. The dialog was snappy. John Cassaday and Laura Martin's art was gorgeous (although I still prefer Quitely's design for Beast). But the pacing was dreadful, some of the plots were dodgy, the big ( Read more... )

In which Joss Whedon's much delayed (and overly prolonged) storyline comes to an end. Looking at this issue purely on its own merits, this is really quite good. Snappy dialog (of course) and, within the framework of Whedon's own viewpoint, good character work as well. The beginning does feel a bit indulgent in a "let's have Joss Whedon write ( Read more... )