Comics

Batman and Robin #4

/ / Comics

batman-and-robin-new-52-4-coverAlthough I’m still disappointed that Damian has been rebooted back into the little shit he was when he was first introduced (basically erasing all the progress the character had made working with Dick Grayson and Stephanie Brown) I will give writer Peter J. Tomasi credit for finding a way to play on the character’s insecurity and rebellious nature.

One of the things Batman and Robin has done well is to give us a Batman from his son’s perspective. As the reader we know why Batman is protecting and sheilding Damian from certain things, but from his perspective it looks like Batman is a stubborn ass.

I’m less thrilled with Nobody and his connection with Henri Ducard. Although he does offer Damian a tempataion, we know, despite all his flaws, Damian isn’t likely to give into his baser desires this early in the New 52. This means despite being handled with some skill (although the opening diatribe in the drive-in is pretty awful) this arc ultimately has nowhere to go. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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New Avengers #19

/ / Comics

new-avengers-19-coverAfter teasing us on several fronts for months issue #19 delivers on a number of levels. We get the first public appearance of Norman Osborne‘s new Dark Avengers (although off-panel), Daredevil is finally part of the team, and the first steps to determining whose side Victoria Hand is truly on.

The action is relatively light, but Peter Parker isn’t the only one obsessing with the reemergence of Norman Osborn and Jessica Jones shares her fear with Luke Cage that Osborne will make good on his threat to go after their baby.

New Avengers is always a title that works best dealing with the small character-driven moments rather than big epic battles. An exception to this is the truly dreadful scene (that seems to drag on forever) between Squirrel Girl and Daredevil which is incredibly painful to read. The entire sequence feels clumsier than a production of Shakespeare staring Kevin James and Mandy Moore.

It’s not the best issue of the title we’ve seen this year, but the latest issue of the title does have its moments. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #4

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atomic-robo-vol-6-4-coverSomeone is playing with our robot hero. First they laid a trap for him in space and then shot him down. Only through a dangerous mid-air rescue did out metal friend survive. Robo’s pals were able to trace the communication for the attacks to a sub-station controlled by a shadowy government agency known as Majestic 12. And they’re not done yet.

Issue #4 opens with Robo and his team under an attack from an army of Majectic 12 operatives complete with helicopters, armored transports, and tanks. Severly outgunned Atomic Robo and his pals spend the first half of the issue on the run before eluding their pursuit long enough to enlist the help of a convoy of truckers – for science!

Thanks to the help of some low tech trucker know-how, Robo is able to trace the signals back to Hashima Island (where Louis and Martin are about to land). With one issue left (enclosed in a giant crate on his way to the island) Atomic Robo will have to save his friends, uncover the truth behind the conspiracy that wants him dead, and save the world. Best of the week.

[Red 5, $3.50]

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Comic Rack

/ / Comics

It’s a new week so it must be time to talk about comics! Welcome to the RazorFine Comic Rack boys and girls. Pull up a bean bag and take a seat at feet of the master as we offer you this quick list of all kinds of comic book goodness set to hit comic shops and bookstores this week from all your favorite publishers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Archie, Dynamite, Image Comics, and others.

This week includes Avengers, Batman, Birds of Prey, Blue Beetle, Captain America, Captain Atom, Cobra, Dark Shadows, Daredevil, Fables, Ghostbusters, Hellblazer, Invincible, Justice League, New Mutants, Nightwing, Planet of the Apes, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Savage Dragon, Supergirl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Uncanny X-Force, Young Justice, the first issues of The Activity, Formic Wars: Silent Strike, The Immortal: Demon in the Blood, William Shatner Presents: Man O’ War, and the final issue of Star Wars: Knight Errant – Deluge.

Enjoy issue #159

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Green Lantern #4

/ / Comics

green-lantern-new-52-4-coverIssue #4 picks up right after the cliffhanger from last months issue. Sinestro‘s plan to destroy the Yellow Battery by sending Hal Jordan inside of it has failed, but (despite what the final panel might have teased) Hal Jordan does survive.

Both Sinestro and Jordan are jailed separately. Jordan is thrown into isolation until the last of his ring’s energy has disapated. Sinestro, after hours of torture from his former followers (whose attempts to remove the green ring prove unfruitful), finds himself caged with survivors of a world who blame him for its destruction.

The issue has some moments including Hal’s final construct and his risky (and, as so often the case with the New 52 version of the character) somewhat ill-thought out plan of escape which leaves us with yet another cliffhanger.

It’s not a great issue, but it is a step up from last month that leaves us still in the dark what the long term plans for Sinestro’s role in the New 52 are to be. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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