Comics

Starfire #1

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Starfire #1Starfire is a difficult character to get right (you need look no further than the backlash Red Hood and the Outlaws created). The new series by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti seeks to strike a difficult balance of the sweet yet still highly-sexualized Tamaran princess turned slave turned hero. Going back to basics, the writers embrace Starfire’s fish-out-of-water tendencies used so well on Teen Titans Go! by transporting Starfire to Key West to begin a new life post-Outlaws.

Starfire #1 is quite a fun read. Although there’s nothing all that special about the story of Starfire meeting the local sheriff and a few of the townsfolk, there’s a twinkle in the character’s eye that has been missing in comics for some time. Emanuela Lupacchino’s art certainly helps sell the vivacious character who is equal parts innocent girl and strong woman.

I enjoyed Palmiotti’s work on Ame-Comi Girls (a female-character-driven title I was sad to see disappear for DC’s digital line-up) and the team-up with Conner seems to be a good match. I’m curious to see where the pair and Lupacchino choose to take the character from here. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Arrow Season 2.5 #9

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Arrow Season 2.5 #9A ghost from the Queen Family comes calling in the latest issue of Arrow Season 2.5 when Caleb Green, the son of a man laid off from Queen Consolidated years before whose fortunes quickly dropped from bad to worse, comes looking for revenge against the son of the man who ruined his life. Oh, and did I mention, he’s also completely out-of-control and super-charged on Mirakuru?

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Arrow Season 2.5 #9 Read More »

Samurai Jack #20

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Samurai Jack #20Although it has far less of our title character than any other issue of the series, Samurai Jack #20 is a fitting end to IDW’s comic adventures of the time-displaced samurai. Set years in the future, the issue centers not on Jack but a scribe named Mako (in deference to the actor who so brilliantly voiced the Jack’s nemesis in the cartoon) who has spent his life gathering stories of Samurai Jack.

On the eve of Jack’s latest, and largest, assault against Aku, Mako luckily runs into someone that not only has firsthand knowledge of Jack but who can lead him straight to the legendary warrior’s camp not only allowing Mako to hear countless new stories of Jack but also meet the man himself.

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Bat-Mite #1

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Bat-Mite #1Created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff way back in 1959, Bat-Mite has given the Dark Knight Detective his share of headaches over the years. An imp from the Fifth Dimension who believes himself to be Batman‘s biggest fan, Bat-Mite is usually more trouble than helpful when he shows up.

The first issue of the new six-issue mini-series sees Bat-Mite banished from the Fifth Dimension to Earth where it’s unclear, other than the power of flight, just how much of his near infinite abilities the character still possesses especially when he’s so easily captured by the villainous Doctor Trauma whose plans the imp ruined while taking the Batmobile for a spin (over a cliff).

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bat-Mite who I remember fondly co-starring on The New Adventures of Batman when I was younger (a show that hasn’t aged as well as I’d like). I have no problem with the character getting his own mini-series but this toned down version without his abilities feels like a shadow of his former self. For fans.

[DC, $2.99]

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Batman Beyond #1

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Batman Beyond #1Spiraling out of the events of Convergence and Future’s End, the new Batman Beyond ongoing series stars Tim Drake trapped in a future where Gotham is the only known city standing after Brother Eye‘s attacks. Picking up the mantle of Batman following the death of Terry McGinnis, Tim Drake begins protecting this new future Gotham which is similar to that of the television show but different in several important ways beyond just the identity of the man behind the cowl.

The truncating of the Bat-Family’s chronology in the New 52 reboot left a glut of former and current Robins all roughly the same age and not enough room for each to operate. Mercifully released from that regrettable Teen Titans title, I would have preferred Drake to have spun off his own book in the present but this at least affords him the opportunity to prove himself in new ways. Drake plus the Batman Beyond Universe, with a more dystopian feel, is an odd mix, but writer Dan Jurgens (at least initially) sells me on the concept while artist Bernard Chang shows he has what it takes for the series’ unique visual look. I’ll be curious to see where things go from here. Worth a look.

[$2.99]

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