Comics

Green Arrow #1

/ / Comics

green-arrow-1-coverI don’t know whether to giggle or groan. Green Arrow has always been a thinly-veiled modern day Robin Hood, but I guess the veil is gone completely now.

Oliver Queen is living in the forest (but still wearing his costume and mask), forever exiled from Star City, taking down any baddies who come his way, robbing the rich to feed the poor (I’m not making this up). Then you have this panel promising some Merry Men to help him out.

Had the entire issue been more lighthearted and campy this new path for our hero may have been easier to swallow. Instead the series seems to be stubbornly stuck on the path laid down for the character in the best-forgotten (and never, ever, mentioned again) Cry for Justice mini-series. I can’t help wonder if writer J.T. Krul is having a good laugh at all of our expense.

[DC $3.99]

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Detective Comics #866

/ / Comics

detective-comics-866-coverHave I mentioned how happy I am to have Batman back in Detective Comics? Although the story itself is only so-so I like how Dennis O’Neil gives us a case that’s been bothering Dick Grayson since he first put on his Robin booties, and one he can now finally close as Batman.

Plus I love the flashback art from Dustin Nguyen. I’m even willing to forgive the mistake of Batman’s costume not fitting the period (Batman hadn’t yet added the oval when Robin first hit the streets).

Throw in Robin’s first encounter with the Joker and I’m pretty happy. Definitely worth a look.

[DC $3.99]

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Hulk #23

/ / Comics

hulk-23-coverAfter skipping the last three issues of this title (seriously, I just couldn’t take any more) I decided to pick-up this one given the promise of answers considering the origins of the Red Hulk. Does this issue provide those answers? Yes. Do they make sense? Well…

The entire comic is from the perspective of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, and one thing I did enjoy was the stylistic choice of recreating different panels in the comic style of the age in which they originally took place. In order to achieve this the comic called on the talent of several artists including Sal Buscema, Ian Churchill, Mike Deodato, Ed McGuinness, Tim Sale, and John Romita Jr.

I just wish the story was as well thought out as the art. After the explanations are over there’s still plenty of head-scratching to be done over the questionable logic involved in Ross becoming the Red Hulk, Betty becoming the Red She Hulk, and all the rest of the nonsense we’ve had to put up with for months. Even with its “revelations” it’s certainly nowhere near good enough to justify the $5 price-tag. Hit-and-Miss.

[Marvel $4.99]

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Superman #700

/ / Comics

superman-700-coverTo be honest I haven’t been a regular reader of Superman for a very long time. Much like Batman #700 this issue gives us three tales, though here they are unrelated.

The first guest-stars the Parasite in the long awaited reunion of the Man of Steel and Lois Lane. The last is a grief stricken woman laying a planet-sized guilt trip on our hero causing him a level of introspection that seems odd given the length in his history (you’d think he’d have come to grips with such circumstances decades ago).

But it’s the middle story, guest-starring a young Dick Grayson as Robin, that works best. There are some fun moments including Superman trying to save Dick from Bruce’s wrath by quickly doing his homework and the Batman’s message to Clark in the epilogue. Worth a look.

[DC $4.99]

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