Batgirl

Ame-Comi Girls #2

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Ame-Comi Girls #2The latest issue of Ame-Comi Girls concludes the Brainiac arc as Wonder Woman, Power Girl, the Flash, Steel, Catwoman, Batgirl, and Robin work with Duela, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman to stop Brainiac’s attempt to drain all the intelligence from the planet Earth.

There’s plenty of action in the first-half of the latest issue as the second-half of the comic deals with the fallout of the women defeating Braniac and the logistical problems of trying to form some kind of Justice League.

There are some interesting ideas in the later-half of the comic dealing with vigilantes working with the government (especially when two of them are minors), but (like the final few pages of the Braniac story involving Power Girl nearly coming to blows with Wonder Woman while trying to help a poisoned Supergirl) the writing seems rushed with panels, or even whole pages, missing. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that two-issues worth of story were crammed into this one book. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, 3.99]

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Ame-Comi Girls #1

/ / Comics

Ame-Comi Girls #1The all-new Ame-Comi Girls series picks up with the last one left off with Earth’s heroes (or to be more specific the all female Ame-Comi versions of them) united to stop Braniac‘s attack on Earth. As Wonder Woman battles a Supergirl corrupted by the influence of the machine that destroyed her home world, Batgirl tries to foil Braniac’s schemes with nothing more than her wits and smart phone.

After realizing Braniac’s plans to destroy the planet the villainesses join the heroes in fighting off the robotic soldiers and trying (unsuccessfully) to destroy the machines which have risen from deep in the Earth from transferring all human knowledge off-world into Brainiac. Meahwile, at the center of the Earth the right fight takes place as Power Girl, after convincing the mechanical beings living in the Earth’s core to help, takes on Braniac one-on-one.

Although Brainiac’s master plan seems more than a little ridiculous (even by Silver Age standards) this first issue is full of action and some humorous moments (such as Duela‘s amusement of Wonder Woman’s attempt to stab every problem into submission). Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Ame-Comi Girls #2 (featuring Batgirl)

/ / Comics

ame-comi-girls-2-coverI will admit the entire idea of Ame-Comi Girls is goofy as hell, and that’s part of the charm. One thing in short supply since DC Comics launched their New 52 is accepting and embracing the fact that comics are supposed to be fun. From the digital comics that were based on the anime-inspired figures from DC Collectibles, the Ame-Comi version of the DCU is female-centric, and in this issue features Batgirl and Robin facing off against Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and the villainous Duela Dent.

The writing isn’t great, although it’s better that many of the New 52 books from the past year, but one thing it delivers, oddly enough given its set-up, is easily recognizable characters. We get the basic archetypes for Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and (the original version) of Harley Quinn. Catwoman seems to be based off a more current interpretation, and I would have preferred by Robin to be blonde and named Stephanie Brown, but I’ll take what I can get.

The comic’s major weakness is its choice of resurrected best forgotten C-list character in Duela Dent. That said, there’s still plenty of fun to be had, and quite a bit of story jammed within the pages of the comic. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Birds of Prey #4

/ / Comics

birds-of-prey-new-52-4-coverIt takes more than half the issue but Batgirl finally joins the team. The addition of Batgil may mean good things for the future of the comic but it doesn’t do much to help out here as the story is still stuck in neutral with invisible ninja assassins and super-secret scientists planting bombs in peoples heads.

Birds of Prey is a comic I want to like but now for four months it’s given me little reason to do so. The addition of Batgirl isn’t the only change that needs to be made on this title. We still know next to nothing about Starling, Katana remains a one-note character, and I don’t see how Babs sticks around for a team that includes Poison Ivy as one of its members.

The good news is Batgirl works well here, especially with Black Canary. It’s good to see the Babs/Dinah team back together. Now if we can just figure out a way to get Zinda Blake and the Huntress to replace Poison Ivy and Katana we might, might have something. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Nightwing #4

/ / Comics

nightwing-new-52-4-coverAnother of DC Comics New 52 titles goes off the rails. We know we’re in trouble from the very start when the comic is opened to find a that Trevor McCarthy has replaced Eddy Barrows as artist for this issue. Aside from not knowing what age to draw Dick Grayson (a common problem in Bat-books this month) McCarthy’s art is certainly slick, but he seems to be suffering from the same affliction of Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane in wanting to draw characters in awkward angles in big splash pages regardless of whether it helps tell the story (or makes sense).

The story is also confusing as Batgirl comes to town asking for Nightwing’s help (after telling him to stay away just one month ago). I don’t know if the writers’ were going for a Buffy/Angel homage here, but it’s impossible not to see the similarities with “Sanctuary” and “The Yoko Factor.”

The villain is an undeveloped stand-in for Clayface that comes off disappointing that the pair deal with without too much trouble. The more looming threat of a villain who knows Nightwing’s secrets is mentioned but instantly discarded.

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