Comics

Beware the Batman #2

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Beware of the Batman #2Expecting an eminent threat from Professor Pyg, Batman, Alfred, and Katana split up to protect likely targets. Capturing the super-villains minions, the heroes are unaware that his true target is a vacationing CEO and his family.

I’ve never been a big fan of Professor Pyg, but the various misdirection employed by writer Matthew K. Manning works well here and the villain’s motives certainly fit his profile. I was also very impressed with the art by Dario Brizuela (who also did the awesome Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #1) who takes some liberties with the cartoon’s all-black costume by adding some much needed grey, and gives us some cool sepia-colored origins panels for each of our three heroes.

Brizuela’s panels make this one worth grabbing (even if it is a story about the ridiculous environmental terrorist Professor Pyg). I hope to see more of his work both here and on Scooby-Doo! Team-Up. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #9

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #9The latest issue of G.I. JOE: Special Missions centers around one of the least heroic members of the team, Bildocker, whose uncanny ability to scavenge, locate, and trade for necessary ordinance and intel is matched by the overweight desk jock’s lack use in the field that certainly separates him from his more heroic teammates.

With Dial Tone along for the ride, Bildocker soon finds himself in way over his head in the bayou’s as a trip to an old friend to get what Roadblock and Mainframe need for their latest mission gets the pair attacked by Cobra troops and in a fight for their lives far from any back-up.

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #9 is an interesting issue because it reminds us that there are many jobs various JOEs are called on to do and not all of them are as heroic as those on the front lines. He may not fit the mold, but Bildocker is a vial member of the team. Although we only get a single issue for his story, I wouldn’t mind seeing Bildocker pop-up again sometime down the line. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Nova #10

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Nova #10Nova #10, which also marks the 100th issue of various Nova single titles over the years, features on the troubles of being a modern day teen super-hero. The main story deals with Sam Alexander coming to terms and joining the New Warriors, while also taking time to insult his new friends and head up to the moon to complain to the Watcher.

The issue’s back-up story features a conversation between Sam’s mother and his principal over the increasing number of unexplained absences. The conversation is set against Nova’s latest space adventure far from home. At $5 the comic feels a bit overpriced (and while the gallery of every previous Nova covers is nice, it’s also filler to boost the issue’s page count making it appear you’re getting five more pages of story than you actually are).

Even with these complaints, the issue works as both an introduction to the character for new readers as well as continuing Sam’s various struggles with being a hero and finding his place in the larger Marvel Universe. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $4.99]

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Transformers: Regeneration One #96

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Transformers: Regeneration One #96Victorious over Bludgeon and Soundwave, and with a new leader in Rodimus Prime, the Autobots turn their attention to the four looming threats Primus warned the new Prime about: Galvatron (who is spirited off to safety by a Unicron cult), the mysterious Jhiaxus (who makes a shocking return to Cybertron), the Dark Matrix creature, and Spike Witwicky.

It will be interesting to see these various threats play out, either individual or if there is some kind of convergence that drives them to a tipping point. The future of Shockwave and Starscream, as well as the Dinobots and the ancient Transformers who have returned to the surface of the planet for the first time in eons, and what role they are to play also remains uncertain.

Although I’m a bit uncertain of the Spike and Dark Matrix creature subplots, Transformers: Regeneration One #96 does a good job of wrapping up the loose ends from the last arc and setting up several new threats for the Autobots moving forward. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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The Shadow #20

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The Shadow #20The severed finger with a ring very much like his own in a box leads The Shadow to the frozen plains of Sibera to seek out an old acquaintance who knew the man as “The Dark Eagle” long before he adopted either the name Lamont Cranston or The Shadow when the mysterious figure worked as a member of the Seventh Star (a secret intelligence organization for the former Tsar of Russia) who, like The Shadow recognizes the ring as the mark of the organization.

The search for an inmate of a Russian prisoner sends Cranston into the woods after a killer for information about the “White Tiger.” Armed with more knowledge than he arrived with (and a depressing look at the fate of two men he once considered colleagues), The Shadow’s world tour continues to the Himalayas in search of answers.

After an issue off, artist Giovanni Timpano returns to the title with a style that fits the cold and darkness of the setting and storyline as our hero journeys into a mystery linked to his shadowy past. Worth a look.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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