Comics

Detective Comics #21

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Detective Comics #21For the past few months Detective Comics has been the strongest of the Batman titles so far, and consistently better than Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo‘s Batman. Sadly, that’s not the case here. Snyder’s regrettable creation of Harper Row, a hipster street kid who DC Editorial seems to be fast-tracking as the next Robin, at least was limited to one Bat-title. That’s not the case anymore as like a virus she has begun to spread to other titles.

Aside from Harper Row’s appearance, the comic also focuses on a odd story about a love from Bruce Wayne’s past who is some kind of shadow assassin named Penumbra. Her introduction is awkward, as is the resolution (or lack of) where she apparently falls to her death a second time only to return home in disgrace. The only part of the story of interest is the suggestion of the person controlling that guild of assassins. It appears the New 52 seems ready to reintroduce Ra’s al Ghul.

The comic also contains a forgettable back-up story involving Kurt Langstrom who believes he may be responsible for a series of grizzly murders. Pass.

[DC, $3.99]

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Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1

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Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1The Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual picks up the recent storyline as a mind-wiped Jason Todd returns home to the secluded island with Starfire and Arsenal only to begin investigating the past he worked so hard to forget. Yeah, nobody saw that coming. Sigh.

The annual gives us a pair of notable guest-stars first being Arsenal’s mentor Green Arrow (who is way too young to have trained someone Roy’s age, making for some incredibly awkward flashbacks). The second is far more interesting as Chesire is introduced as one of many assassins looking to cash in on the bounty on Jason Todd and his friends. Although she’s unsuccessful, she does pave the way for the next wave of killers who include Bronze Tiger. With the title going to such lengths to reintroduce old characters I have to wonder if this is the title where Catman might make his return.

A whiny blank slate Jason Todd is about as bland as it sounds, and although Chesire’s appearance works the issue has a hard time determining just how many powers this new version of the character actually has (she can phase, now?). Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $4.99]

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Morning Glories #27

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Morning Glories #27The second season of Morning Glories begins here with Casey‘s return from the past thanks to Hunter and the older Jade resetting the timeline. If you think that means things are going to be less complicated from here on out, you haven’t been reading this comic. After convincing they younger version of herself and her parents to enroll in Morning Glories Academy, Casey steps out of the cave with the memories, but not the mileage, of those experiences to punch Miss Hodge squarely in the jaw.

As the older Jade explains the new status quo to Hunter, the game pieces have all been reset to the their original places but the rules themselves have been completely out the window. What happens from here on out with Irina, Abraham, and the saving or destruction of the academy will largely depend on what Casey does next.

For a Morning Glories comic issue #27 is pretty straightforward. We also get to interesting features at the back of the comic including summary and supposition from “Professor Meylikhov” and a cute recap of the first season. Worth a look.

[Image, $3.99]

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Earth-2 Annual #1

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Earth-2 Annual #1I haven’t given Earth-2 much thought since its first couple of issues, but as the series’ first annual promised a new Batman I decided to give it a shot. Despite the cover featuring the new Batman, most of the comic actually centers around Al Pratt and his role of a soldier for the World Army since an atomic accident game him the power to grow big and hit enemies with an atomic-powered punch.

The story moves around too much for my taste as we go from Pratt’s exposure to various flash-forwards of his career dealing with the agents of Apokolips. Despite taking up 80% of the comic it’s actually less interesting than the introduction of the new Batman (whose identity isn’t revealed here), and various other storylines touched on involving Hawkgirl, and Big Barda and Mister Miracle.

For those like me who haven’t been keeping up with the events of Earth-2, the annual does a fairly good job of getting you up to speed and teasing you with reasons to think about picking up the title. Given it’s emphasis on Pratt’s story I’m not sure it’s worth picking up on its own but it has me considering paying a little more attention to what is happening in the monthly title. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $4.99]

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The Shadow: Year One #3

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The Shadow Year One #3The Shadow: Year One continues as the vigilante’s war on crime heats up, Margo Lane confronts the man posing to be Lamont Cranston, and we learn that The Shadow isn’t the only one with the ability to cloud men’s minds who is working behind-the-scenes to use the gang war to his advantage.

Of the various developments in The Shadow Year One #3 the most important is Margo learning her suspicions about Lamont are true and finding herself caught up in a world the former call girl was ill-prepared for. Writer Matt Wagner uses The Shadow’s recent saving of another new minion in his network to reinforce the fact that The Shadow is now responsible for Margo as well.

I had been assuming up until this point that he mysterious voice pushing the rival gangs into battle was that of The Shadow. This issue reveals the identity of a new villain, Dr. Zorn, whose abilities are eerily similar to our hero (although his methods are quite different). Worth a look.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

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