Comic Reviews for 5/23/12

Another week with a new writer on one of my favorite books that delivers a great first issue, we see Deadpool with his new look and powers, and I check out the first issue of a new monster book from IDW. In general, lots of good stuff from last week!

Comic Reviews for 5/16/12

Aside from Avengers Academy, I read all my independent titles first this week, finding them much more enjoyable lately, although the “Big 2” still have some good stories coming out. I also decided this week that I’m done with Blue Beetle since I find the story and changes to that character disappointing. That said, this week continued Night of the Owls, which I have nothing to say about this week, Marvel’s Exiled crossover continues to be lots of fun, and Avengers vs X-men heats up.

Comic Reviews for 05/09/12

Listed below are brief reviews of last week’s comics where I discuss elements of the stories I like. It was a busy week, but since it was my birthday, I’ll take it as a present from the comic book industry. Two DC crossover/tie-in events are in full swing, Captain America and the Punisher are kicking ass, and I’m glad I decided to check out one more issue of Supreme.

Comic Reviews for 05/02/12

Another week of comics looked at here, and since all of them were exciting, it didn’t take me long to get them all read. This week’s worth of comics started exciting things like Earth 2 in DC Comics, more of Night of the Owls, and the next wave of Valiant comics. I also checked out Daredevil outside of its crossover with other Marvel books, I began another Marvel crossover, and Avengers vs X-men heats up.

Comic Reviews for 04/18/12

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I’m beginning to drop more titles from DC Comics. Last week, I decided to drop Action Comics, Stormwatch, and Deathstroke, even though I said this past month I’d be staying on them all for at least another issue. However, circumstances have made it easier to drop them now instead of waiting. For last week’s comics, Night of the Owls began in two of the Batman books, I checked out The Shadow, and I decided to drop another DC Comics title.

Comic Reviews for 04/04/12

Last week was a good week, and I wrote a brief review looking at each issue’s story for every issue I picked up but three. This week, we had Avengers vs X-men kick off with its first issue, I picked up a fair amount of Image comics, and I include two digital-first comics I purchased last Wednesday.

Comic Reviews for 03/21/12

Another week of brief comic reviews that are more my personal thoughts than anything else. Not every issue I picked up got a review this week, and that’s not because I didn’t enjoy them, but more like I really didn’t have much to say except, “that was good; can’t wait for the next one”. With that said, this week saw the end of my favorite miniseries in a while, an over-hyped twist in a couple Batman books, and the debut of the new Billy Batson from DC Comics.

Court of Owls in Batman So Far (#1-5)

Well, another issue of Batman came out yesterday, and high praises and top reviews are popping up on numerous comic websites. Since I won’t be checking it out until at least tomorrow when the comics arrive at my door step, I haven’t read #6 yet but decided to reread the story arc so far. I’ve enjoyed it, but I wasn’t happy with #5 and not sure what #6 has in store for me.

Last month, I read Batman #5, going through the motions of turning it upside down and seeing Batman succumbing to madness. At the end, I just didn’t like it. I got on the Internet to voice my opinion and see what others had to say, and I was astounded to see high praise for it, including 5 out of 5 reviews and iFanboy’s Pick of the Week. Just about everyone was mentioning how great the issue was, some claiming it was the best of 2012 (keep in mind this was still January). I let them know what I thought, and although I agreed with someone saying it was good not to see Batman always 20 steps ahead, I think this story is showing him to not even be in the same league, though he should be. I just recall Grant Morrison’s Black Glove story where that group works to destory Batman’s psyche and fail, but this guy in an owl suit is more than pulling ahead. I just don’t know about it.

Nevertheless, everyone loved it; I was the only one who didn’t. So, just now, after getting more editing on my book done, I dug out Batman #1 through #5 and reread it. Verdict says I still don’t like #5, but I must say #3 is my favorite. The arrangement of panels and pacing of the story in the end reminds me so much of the first comic I picked up and read: Batman #652. I’ve got to give high praise to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo for that ending, but they didn’t include Batman rising from the ashes like a phoenix as James Robinson and Don Kramer did; oh well.

At the end of #5, I’m still missing the magic but that’s okay; I tend not to be one for trends at the start. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo still have more stories to tell, including #6 and the Court of Owls crossover starting in May. As long as it ends on a high note, I’ll be fine with this road bump, and will join the chants of high praise for Batman. But until then, like the owls, I’ll be watching (but won’t strike those who whisper ill of me hahaha).