Comics

Nightwing #9

/ / Comics

nightwing-new-52-9-coverNightwing battles his great-grandfather William Cobb, the greatest of the Talons, and tries to save Mayor Hady from assassination as “Night of the Owls” continues. During the bloody battle which Nightwing barely survives we get Cobb’s backstory and his reasoning for joining the Court of Owls.

Although the battle between Nighwing and Talon works, the flashbacks take up far too much of the comic (you’d almost think Cobb was the comic’s main character). Neither Dick Grayson, nor the reader, really needs this amount of back story for the Grayson’s zombie assassin ancestor.

The Court of Owls storyline, which started in Batman, is working far better in than title than most of other Bat-titles it’s spread to this month. In terms of “Night of the Owls” this tie-in certainly isn’t a must-read to keep up with the main story, but for fans of Nightwing the action may, may be enough to still warrant picking it up. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

Nightwing #9 Read More »

Winter Soldier #5

/ / Comics

winter-soldier-5-cover“The Longest Winter” concludes at the Winter Soldier and the Black Widow are able to stop Lucia von Bardas‘ plans to launch missiles from Doctor Doom‘s secret nuclear silos using the codes the Latverian monarch programmed into his Doombots.

With their tenuous alliance with Doctor Doom, Bucky and the Black Widow are able to take down Bardas and the second Soviet sleeper agent trained by the Winter Soldier, Dimitri. However, the Red Ghost alludes capture, and the fate of the third sleeper agent is unknown.

A good conclusion of the arc that still leaves a couple of threads let unanswered. It also marks the returns of the Red Ghost’s army of gorillas with machine guns (c’mon, who doesn’t love that?). There’s plenty of action and even an ending that gives Bucky some of his beloved solitary brooding time (along with a quick assassination at the end). No, he’s certainly not Captain America anymore. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

Winter Soldier #5 Read More »

Captain Atom #9

/ / Comics

captain-atom-new-52-9-coverWhile searching the future for the cause of the end of the world Captain Atom comes to face-to-face with the destructive god-like force known as Chrono Mota and he’s shocked to see the unintended effect his time on Earth has had on those he’s saved.

While Captain Atom finds little war and bloodshed he’s at a loss in trying to process the fact that he’s become a god to those like Ramita and Mikey Parker. Mikey has become a doomsday prophet ready to destroy and remake the world in his name, and Ramita has become a warrior using the power unknowingly gifted to her to help those who can’t help themselves.

But it’s in the final pages where Captain Atom looks into the heart of the time-space paradox and world killer known as Chromo Mota that he learns the truth about his own future and the destruction of the Earth.

Another good issue of the series that gives us some answers but raises even more questions. Now that Atom knows what his future holds, the question becomes how will he use that knowledge, and what can he do to prevent it? Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

Captain Atom #9 Read More »

Red Hood and the Outlaws #9

/ / Comics

red-hood-and-the-outlaws-9-cover“Night of the Owls” continues as the Red Hood finds himself in Gotham doing a favor for Batman and protecting Mr. Freeze from an man brought back to life as an assassin. The irony of the situation isn’t lost on Jason Todd.

As Todd gets reacquainted with his hometown, and deals with his conflicted feels with helping his former boss who he is adamant he now hates (although it’s clear his feelings are far more complicated), Starfire and Arsenal try to keep Freeze under control so the Red Hood can deal with the Talon sent to kill him.

Although I’m not thrilled with the redesign of Freeze or the conclusion of the Red Hood’s battle with Talon there are several nice moments here including Kory’s reaction to being attacked by Mr. Freeze, Todd’s inner struggle and walk down memory lane, and his confrontation with Batgirl in the comic’s final pages. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

Red Hood and the Outlaws #9 Read More »

Atomic Robo Presents Real Science Adventures #2

/ / Comics

atomic-robo-presents-real-science-adventures-2-coverThe latest Atomic Robo series gives us four more short stories. Two are continuations from the opening chapters from issue #1 as Atomic Robo trains with Bruce Lee and The Sparrow and Scarecrow fight off Nazis during WWII.

We’re also given a pair of separate stories. The first involves an Atomic Robo impostor who gets a team killed while trying to capture the apparently invulnerable Yonkers Devil. The final, and best story of this issue, finds Robo attacked by Thomas Edision and the ghost of Rasputin while trying to study for finals.

Although all four stories are fun The Sparrow is still missing a certain robotic hero to liven things up, and it certainly feels like it would have been better served told in more than a few pages at a time (honestly, I’d completely forgotten what happened in this story in issue #1). Sadly, the killer robotic dogs on the cover don’t make an appearance in this issue. Only the Rasputin tale stands out and I would have gladly traded the pages of one of the other stories to have this one fleshed-out a little more. Worth a look.

[Red 5, $2.75]

Atomic Robo Presents Real Science Adventures #2 Read More »