Comics

The Lone Ranger #13

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The Lone Ranger #13In another stand alone tale, the Lone Ranger and Tonto’s travels take them to the Northern Colorado Territory where the pair take on Melton Coy who makes his money by selling Chinese women to the discerning buyer, for the right price. After scoping out the operation undercover, the Ranger and Tonto ride into town to take down the entire operation.

Before the day is done the women will be freed and on their way with enough silver to begin their new lives far from the town which allowed such wickedness to continue and is burning to the ground behind them.

The issue works well providing a villain that almost makes the Lone Ranger loose his temper. There’s also a couple of nice scenes where the Lone Ranger earns the womens’ trust first through his badge and later through a single silver bullet. That final piece also ties into the issue’s opening scene at an Antiques Roadshow where a woman with family heirloom and a legendary story about her grandmother’s grandmother adventure with a masked man helps set the stage for what follows. For fans.

[Dynamite, $3.99]

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Batman Incorporated #8

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Batman Incorporated #8Let’s get this straight before discussing the awfulness that is Batman Incorporated #8, I’m about as far as you can get from a Grant Morrison fan. The comic writer certainly has his devoted followers, but although I think he can sometimes create something worthwhile completely outside of DC continuity (All-Star Superman), most of the time I’m sick to death of his overly-complex (and at times nearly incomprehensible) stories which force well-established characters into roles that don’t fit them in order to create a “definitive” version of the characters purely to serve the man’s massive ego.

Back in 2006 Grant Morrison introduced the character of Damian Wayne, the offspring of Batman and Talia al Ghul. Rather than use existing Batman stories which laid the groundwork for the character’s existence (and he couldn’t even be bothered to read until his version had been published), Morrison made up his own convoluted tale involving genetic manipulations and clones. And so Damian, the genetic (but not quite biological) offspring of the Dark Knight and the daughter of one of his greatest enemies was born.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #19

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18Your enjoyment of the current storyline of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is most likely tied directly to your feelings about the Neutrinos. The latest issue continues the Turtles adventures in Dimension X as the foursome agree to help Princess Trib and her forces rescue her parents who have been captured by General Krang.

As Leonardo and Raphael split up to help the effort, Michelangelo drafts himself as the Princess’ protector, and Donatello works to help Professor Honeycutt with the one weapon that could turn the tide of their war with Krang.

The comic also gives us (not nearly enough) scenes of Karai‘s own mission as the Shredder‘s daughter sneaks onto Burnow Island causing mischief and mayhem on Krang’s home base on Earth. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #19 isn’t bad, but it’s an awful lot of Neutrino politics and set-up for a battle that’s barely begun before the comic comes to a close. In fact you could probably skip this issue entirely and not skip a beat picking the comic up again next month. For fans.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Fables #126

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Fables #126Although Bigby and Stinky‘s road trip to find the missing cubs continues, the majority of the latest issue of Fables centers on Snow White dealing with the completely unexpected return of Prince Brandish who takes over the castle and plans to kill Bigby, murder Bigby and Snow White’s children, and then finally make Snow his wife (as he believes is his right under the law).

This isn’t a great issue for the women of Fables. Although she finally shows a single moment of spunk, Snow White is basically nothing more here than your basic damsel in distress for the entire issue. And Brandish makes short work of Briar Rose whose attempts to stick up for her friend gets her bitch-slapped into unconsciousness by the chauvinist pig.

Fables #126 also includes a story centering around Beast, the Blue Fairy, and Geppeto that I found a little hard to follow. It obviously involves a contract between the Blue Fairy and Geppetto, but what the Beast’s role is (not to mention the complete absence of Beauty) was a little hard to follow. Hit-and-Miss.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

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Justice League of America #1

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justice-league-of-america-new-52-1-coverNearly everything about his comic comes from a ridiculous premise and bad (and do I mean BAD) ideas. After having cancelled Justice League International, and still desperate for a second Justice League team working inside the DCU, the New 52 launches their brand spanking new Justice League of America.

The premise is simple (and basically ripped off nearly completely from Justice League Unlimited with all the best parts taken out). Amanda Waller (who’s lost a lot of weight since the reboot) and Steve Trevor decide to put together a team they can control, market, and use as a last result if the real Justice League goes bad.

Under that premise you’d expect some heavy-hitters. After all, if these guys are the last line of defense against Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the rest, you’d expect some top-shelf talent. You’d be wrong. Instead Waller and Trevor put together a laughable list of C-list and D-list heroes who’d struggle taking on Keith Giffen’s Justice League Antarctica, let alone the current New 52 version.

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