Comics

Detective Comics #37

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Detective Comics #37After taking down a delusional Mad Hatter, Batman turns his attention to a crime that Harvey Bullock has been persuing for weeks without any real leads other than graffiti left as a signature for each crime. The death of a Wayne Enterprises’ executive brings the detective and Batman both to Wayne Tower just in time to discover what explosive situation Anarky has left for them.

After a couple of months off, Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul return to Detective Comics with the opening of this new arc. I’ve never been a huge Anarky fan, but the villain does have his uses especially if (as this issue suggests) this is the first time he’s been active in Gotham City.

The method which the super-villain uses to turn the office building into a bomb works (at least for a Batman comic book), although we still don’t know why he has chosen to target a building full of Bruce Wayne’s employees or what Anarky’s end game might be. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Secret Six #1

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Secret Six #1Spring of 1980. That’s the first time I picked up a comic book, and the first Batman story I ever read was Batman #323 which featured both Batman and Catwoman being bested by lesser-known villain known as Catman. Needless to say I was an immediate fan. Sadly, the following two decades weren’t kind to the character who resurfaced in 2005 as the break-out star of DC’s Villains United giving birth to the first iteration of the Secret Six.

With the new Secret Six #1 Gail Simone returns to the comic (along with her run on the original Birds of Prey) which made me a lifelong fan of her work, albeit through the craptastic lens of DC’s New 52 filter. Playing on similar themes of the Six being brought together and controlled by an unknown master called Mockingbird, Secret Six #1 opens with Catman being kidnapped and locked-up with a group of five others and tortured by a mysterious voice who wants answers to a question that has yet to be asked.

The first issue doesn’t sell me immediately on the series, but (unlike so much of the New 52) doesn’t immediately turn me off of beloved characters, either.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #40

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #40Pitting three of the four Turtles, Angel, Alopex, Slash, and Old Hob‘s new mutant band up against Rocksteady and Bebop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #40 demonstrates just how formidable a pair the two mutants are as the group is at best only to fight Rocksteady and Bebop to a standstill (even after dropping a building on their heads).

Those waiting for a full-on action issue won’t be disappointed, although the far less action-packed subplot between Casey and April’s father grows the relationship between the two characters but mostly gets in the way of more awesome action. The extended fight sequence is great, and Donatello‘s own actions at the end of the issue foreshadow unusual days to come, but I’m most happy with the return of Alopex who has apparently found her home in the city with Angel. The panels between the arctic fox and Raphael are ridiculously cute and I’m hoping we’ll see far more of her in the future (along with a toy!). Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Samurai Jack #14

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Samurai Jack #14In the latest issue Samurai Jack is tested to prove his worth by the forces who initially crafted the magic sword. After its destruction the various entities have returned to judge whether or not the hero is worthy to have the damaged weapon restored and returned to him.

Filled mostly with Samurai Jack being put through the paces in various different ways, “The Quest of the Broken Blade” is fast-moving if a bit montage heavy feeling very much like the middle fluff of an ongoing story arc (which of course it is).

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #9

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #9The storyline of Andrew attempting to resurrect Tara thus unintentionally powering and Old One and sealing the fate of all mankind comes to a close as Buffy and Spike hold off the creature while Willow is forced to argue against bringing the love of her life back to the land of the living.

In a TV series and comic which has already brought back multiple dead characters (Giles, Buffy, Spike, Angel, Fred as Illyria, and ghost version of both Wesley and Anya) it seems fan favorite Tara doesn’t make the cut and like Joyce reminds us that some deaths are permanent even in the Buffyverse. The big takeaway of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #9 is Willow admitting out loud that resurrecting Buffy, for whatever reason, was a mistake and one that she doesn’t plan on repeating.

In the midst of the action the comic continues to pull Buffy and Spike together teasing the possibility of reuniting the couple. And although Andrew admits to his bad judgement he doesn’t exactly learn from his lesson as the final panel foreshadows more trouble on the way. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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