Thursday, February 11, 2010

Batgirl #6, Justice League: Cry for Justice #6 & Outsiders #26

Alright, I don't have much time to do these reviews, so hang on, this is going to be a brisk ride through comic book land. Before I get into the new stuff, I have to say, I've been reading the Brave and the Bold mini-series from 1999-2000, which was written by Mark Waid and starred Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, and so far, it's been some pretty good stuff. But like I said, I only have a limited amount of time to get these reviews done, so enough about that, let's start these reviews up! Oh, and I apologize in advance if these reviews are worse then usual, but like I said, I'm on a schedule tonight!

Batgirl #6: Writer: Bryan Q. Miller. Pencils: Lee Garbett.

Steph wakes up in the back of an ambulance after being shot by the thugs who kidnapped her classmate, Fernando Garcia. Luckily for Steph, the bullet only grazed the side of her head, so all she has to show for getting shot in the head is a bandage and a headache. Getting some assistance from Oracle, Steph breaks out of the ambulance, dons her Batgirl outfit and head to police headquarters, where she proceeds to spy on a conversation between Batman and Commish Gordon. The two discuss the events surrounding Fernando's abduction, and Steph is jumped by Damian, who is angered that she was spying on Bats. The two begin to fight, which leads to Batman angrily ending the fight, as well as banning the both of them from helping him solve the case of Fernando's disappearance due to their childish behavior. Needless to say, neither one listens, and they decide to work together, as Steph follows a hunch she has about Fernando's girlfriend knowing more then she was letting on. After a quick interrogation, the two discover that Fernando's father owes a load of gambling debts to Roulette, and that she intends on collecting by sending her minions after Batman, where her gamblers can place bets on which bad guy is going to kill Batman. This issue closes with an injured Bats crawling through the streets while being pursued by some of Roulette's goons.

Whew, one review down, two to go! This was a very good comic, from the story, to the artwork, to the dialogue. Not only that, but once again, I thoroughly enjoyed Damian in this comic! I don't know how Bryan does it, but he seems to be accomplishing the impossible, making Damian tolerable. You put Damian in any other comic, and I'm spitting blood like a Red Lantern, but whenever he's in Batgirl, I like him... Weird. Anyway, this was a very good comic that I'd be willing to recommend to anybody.

Score: 9 out of 10.I actually liked Damian in this issue... A lot. That's as sure a sign of the apocalypse as any.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #6(of 7): Writer: James Robinson. Artist: Scott Clark.

This issue opens with Supergirl revealing that she has figured out that Captain Marvel is actually Prometheus in disguise. With his charade over, Prometheus sheds his CM look, and launches into an attack on all of the members of the JL, taking out in quick order: Supergirl, Zatanna, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Black Canary, Starman, Hawkgirl, Guardian, Hawkman, Dr. Light, Vixen, Donna Troy, Hal Jordan, Firestorm, Starfire, Green Arrow and the Atom(WOW...)before he makes his way towards his destination, the teleportation room in the JL Watchtower. Upon arriving at the massive teleporter, he encounters Jay Garrick and the Shade(!). He makes quick work of Jay, and after some slight difficulty, he manages to take down the Shade. With nobody standing between him and his prize, Prometheus walks towards the teleporter, but is attacked by an enraged Donna Troy, who proceeds to beat the HELL out of Prometheus in an Amazon rage. Before she crosses the line, the Shade snaps her back to her senses by telling her she'd best stop before she is branded a murderer by her friends. From there, the scene shifts to the heroes, now recovered, questioning Prometheus on what his master plan is/was. Prometheus happily explains that he was intending on teleporting all of the heroes various home cities into several other dimensions, where they would remain lost forever. This issue ends with Prometheus explaining to the heroes that in the event he was captured, he had a back-up plan which involved massive bombs hidden throughout several cities which would explode unless he was released, with the first bomb blowing up in Green Arrow's hometown of Star City!

After last issue, I was just about ready to write this mini-series off, but wow, this issue sure changed my mind about that! Prometheus was a beast, single-handedly taking out pretty much the ENTIRE JLA without really breaking a sweat... Now that's how you make a villain look strong! The story was much better, with Prometheus finally explaining his master plan, as well as his back-up plan, plus as a bonus, no archers were maimed during this issue, which is always a good thing! I've got to say, poor Ollie is sure taking it on the chin this mini... First his sidekick/"son", Roy Harper has his arm severed, then his hometown is blown up! Jeez, if that were to happen to Hal, he'd be running amok, destroying the universe! I honestly didn't expect to be saying this, but this was a very good comic. It was so good that it almost washed the bad taste of the last issue out of my mouth... Almost.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.See, it's like I've always said, NEVER piss off an Amazon!

Outsiders #26: Writer: Dan Didio. Pencils: Philip Tan.

Alright, this issue is going to get the real short form treatment... Geo-Force and the Outsiders are now operating out of GF's kingdom of Markovia, and GF and Katana are acting a bit on the unhinged side, thanks to their Blackest Night experiences last issue. Katana repeatedly tries to murder criminals during a mission she's on with Black Lightning, and GF basically acts aloof and snobbish to his teammates. Once all of the Outsiders are back in Markovia after completing their various missions, GF holds a press conference, where he announces that Markovia has entered into a non-aggression treaty with New Krypton, and this issue ends with GF introducing his "friend" Eradicator to the press and his shocked teammates.

Sorry about the brief review, but I really do have to finish this post up in the next 15 minutes or so... I actually liked this comic a lot more then I thought I was going to. I'd heard some... let's say less then flattering things about this comic, so I was expecting the worst, but thankfully, my fears were unfounded. I like GF as a royal jerk, Katana as a wildcard, and the rest of the team trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I for one will be looking forward to the next issue.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.So instead of getting Superman, we get his lame double/Kryptonian weapon/whatever the hell he is now, the Eradicator... Uh-huh...

3 comments:

  1. Damn dude, they made Prometheus into a beast, and Donna was whooping some ass man.

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  2. This was the most positive review of Outsiders I've yet to read. I was actually going to buy it until I found out that a.) Phillip Tan didn't even do the whole issue and b.) it wasn't Superman that joined. I looked at the last page at the store, and I just thought "what a cop out."

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  3. JT, JL: Cry was WAAAAAY better this month then it was last month. Without question.

    Yeah Kello, the Eradicator cop-out ending was pretty annoying, but it wasn't the worst thing that could have happened, and to be honest, I kind of enjoyed, aloof, regal Geo-Force in this one. I'll at least buy the next issue.

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