Comics

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #5

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #5Season Ten’s opening arc comes to a close as Buffy and the Scoobies fight Maloker (the Old One responsible for creating vampires) who has taken over Dracula‘s body. With the help of a very tall building and giant-sized Dawn, Buffy is able to halt the demon’s rise, but it takes Xander‘s quick thinking to truly save the day.

The conclusion of “New Rules” resets Xander’s odd relationship with Dracula while also forcing the Scoobie’s one-eyed member into finally dealing with his relationship with Dawn the fallout of which leaves them both bruised but ultimately better off (at least for the time being).

The main takeaway from the arc (featuring the co-writing duties of Buffy star Nicholas Brendon), other than getting to see Xander and Dracula back together again, is the importance of the Vampyr tome which now controls the mutable laws of magic and which Buffy can trust no one but herself and her friends to keep safe. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #13

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures #13The latest issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures offers a pair of strong stories highlighting individual characters while also including the final chapter of the origins of the LEGO Turtles who face and defeat the Shredder.

In the opening story April puts both her smarts and ninja training to work when attending a school field trip at the zoo where she discovers the Kraang have plans to mutate all the animals into their new mutant army. Alerting the Turtles, but unable to wait for their arrival, April proves capable of dealing with the situation on her own earning the praise of the team.

The other story included features an injured Raphael ignoring Splinter‘s repeated orders to rest his shoulder. It takes Raph getting buried alive while taking on some leftover Mousers for the Turtle to finally learn his lesson. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Batman ’66 #13

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Batman '66 #13Collecting two rather than the usual three issues of the digital series (meaning there’s no back-up story following the two-part tale this month), Batman ’66 #13 features the Dynamic Duo taking on on Hollywood when a dark and grim television show begins depicting the Dark Knight Detective in a way that begins to affect how both criminals and law-abiding citizens view Batman and Robin.

Reversing the idea of the 60s television show helping to lighten-up Batman (with the help of the Comics Code) from his grimmer roots, the story has a certain flair although I don’t expect “Bat-Business” to actually catch on as a favorite catch phrase. The first-half of the story works better me than the wrap-up as the Hollywood producer turns out to be your typical Batman villain (attempting to kill the Dynamic Duo live on-camera).

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Star Wars #19

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Star Wars #19The first-half of the series finale brings Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca together for one final adventure before Dark Horse looses the rights to the Star Wars universe to Marvel. Introducing a character from Leia’s childhood as a deep-cover agent with whom she hasn’t spoken in years, Star Wars #19 puts the core characters on board the Millennium Falcon for an unusual rescue mission of an operative who may haven intelligence vital to the continued survival of the Rebellion.

Offering a cameo from everyone’s favorite robotic bounty hunter IG-88 while teasing us as to Leia’s relationship with the young woman, writer Brian Wood sells a story which, like the series, will be truncated despite the quality of the work.

Much like Boom Studio’s terrific Darkwing Duck series, another Disney property doing well is forced to end to be gobbled up by Marvel. No doubt Marvel will be more interested in putting out a Star Wars comic, but will they find a creative team as invested in these characters? I have my doubts. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Velvet #6

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Velvet #6After a short hiatus, the second arc of Velvet begins here with Velvet Tempelton still on the run after being branded as a traitor. However, the spy has more on her mind than simply clearing her name. With the knowledge that the man she loved, and killed under orders (shattering both her life and career as a top ranking field officer), was likewise framed, Velvet has more than enough incentive to return home and begin her own counter-offensive.

Continuing the Cold War spy-story feel of the first arc, Velvet #6 features our heroine return to England, recruit an asset to help her investigation, and begin creating a list of suspects, one of whom is likely ultimately responsible for the deaths of a pair of men she cared and destroying her career within Arc-7 twice.

The brash actions taken by Velvet over the course of the issue, particularly in the final few pages, won’t earn her any new friends in the spy organization still chasing her, but as long as she remains one-step ahead of her pursuers Velvet at least has a chance. Worth a look.

[Image, $3.50]

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