X-Men: First Class Trailer!

Everybody loves X-Men in one way or another.  We’ve enjoyed all the movies except the third one which was a classic case of a story getting so big there wasn’t any substance.   Wolverine was silly, but fun and so I kept my expectations low for First Class assuming it would be the same.  After the seeing the trailer though, my expectations are higher and I’m looking forward to the 60’s mod take on X-Men.  Hopefully, I won’t be disappointed.

Captain America Trailer!

Okay, so here is where I show my ignorance of the Marvel world.  I’m a DC girl, I think that’s pretty clear, but it doesn’t change the fact that I have high hopes for the current reign of Marvel films that are ultimately leading up to The Avengers.  I think Thor looks fun and Kenneth is a great director (leaving out the musical travesty that shall not be named).  I don’t know a lot about Captain America, but from the trailer and the pictures that I’ve seen, it’s going to hold it’s own, and Chris Evans deserves a better chance in the superhero world.  The Human Torch is dead, long live Captain America.

A More Rugged Superman

Say it loud and proud my friends, Zack Snyder is a casting genius.  Henry Cavill, the adorable Brit who deserves way more acclaim than he’s currently been getting, is the new Superman.  It’s snoopy dance central in the Zappone house today!

Flashpoint Frenzy

On Friday, DC announced the titles that will be included in the upcoming event, Flashpoint.  Paul and I agree that while it has a similar theme to Elseworlds (blech!), Flashpoint has a lot of potential.  The most recent Flash comic was actually a a rebirth issue about Reverse Flash and gave me a huge new appreciation for the character.  The story details Eobard Thawne’s life, but every time he plays second fiddle to another person, he goes back in time and gets rid of them.  Sometimes this method works to secure his future and sometimes it doesn’t and he has to go back again to make further changes.  This issue is the basis for Flashpoint and instead of doing one-shots, DC is going to do three issue mini-arcs.  All of the titles included pique my interest, but the three that jump out immediately are: Deadman and the Flying Graysons, The Secret Seven, and Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager. 

Flashpoint itself will be a five issue arc while the titles of the of the mini-arcs include:

FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: DEATHSTROKE & THE CURSE OF THE RAVAGER #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: THE OUTSIDER #1-#

FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: PROJECT: SUPERMAN #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: FRANKENSTEIN & THE CREATURES OF THE UNKNOWN #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: SECRET SEVEN #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: EMPEROR AQUAMAN #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: WONDER WOMAN AND THE FURIES #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: LOIS LANE AND THE RESISTANCE #1-#3

FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST #1-#3
FLASHPOINT: THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT #1-#3

Sad News for Bat Fans

I’ve been counting down the days to February when the first issue of Batwoman was supposed to be released.  Now I find that the release date has been pushed back to April, will the frustration never cease?  The waiting continues…

Reviews

American Vampire

Issue #11

Written by: Scott Snyder

Art by Mateus Santolouco

This issue finishes up a short arc about Pearl and Henry in their new life, and a nasty run-in with some bootleggers. I really liked this arc, it was really nice to get the story back to the core of the series, Pearl, even though the Las Vegas story of the past few months has been really interesting.

The action ran high this issue, with fill-in artist Mateus Sanotlouco ratcheting up the ultra-violence to the extreme. The energy was kinetic and jumped right off the page.

I also really liked the continued story of Hattie, Pearl’s roommate from the first arc. Scott Snyder is really developing a really strong supporting cast, which makes the comic much more layered and interesting.

Overall, American Vampire is consistently one of the better comics on the shelves, and let’s hope there are many more issues to come.

 

Batman: Streets of Gotham

Issue #19

Written by: Paul Dini

Art by: Dustin Nguyen

(I know this came out last week, but I wanted to review it since there’s so little time left!)

This Hush storyline has been so great, I can’t believe they canceled this series. The whole storyline is just so pulpy, I want to go out a buy a fedora. The different perspectives on Thomas Wayne’s past and the glimpse into Joker’s beginnings in Gotham have a disturbing quality to them. I find myself wanting to believe only the best about Bruce Wayne’s parents, and seeing them as human beings with flaws is actually physically uncomfortable. This is the kind of story that makes Paul Dini shine for me, and makes me almost forget how much I dislike his work with Poison Ivy.

There are only a couple issues left, and I will definitely miss this series. Thank goodness I’ll get my Dustin Nguyen fix in Batgirl.

 

Detective Comics

Issue #873

Written by: Scott Snyder

Art by: Jock

 

This issue is the conclusion of the Black Mirror storyline, and while I have really enjoyed this story I felt like it ended rather abruptly. Dick has to escape from the evil gas baddies with a little help from the infamous crowbar, which made me a little wistful for Jason Todd. What can I say? I’m a sucker for the Red Hood. But I digress, the hallucination scene was fun, I’m always up for a little Babs/Dick drama.

What I thought happened a little too quickly was the final battle scene. It took me a second to get my bearings on how Dick knew exactly where to go and how he got there so quickly. I guess I just couldn’t go that far with the whole suspension of disbelief thing. But it was a fun romp and I liked how Etienne Guiborg was suddenly a monster and how it was explained away perfectly. A little silly but a smashing romp all the same.

 

Justice League: Generation Lost

Issue #18

Written by: Judd Winick

Art by: Joe Bennett

 

When I first opened this issue, the first words that came out of my mouth were, “Whoa, look at Power Girls hair!” Then Paul informed me that I should actually read the page and realize that we were not in the present.

This issue was PAINFUL! And I mean that in a good way. I don’t like seeing Power Girl abused in this fashion by that bastard Max Lord! But, good news my friends, I think the madness is finally over and Power Girl is on the team, never to forget again.

Poor Jaime! Let’s talk about some more horrible abuse. What does Max want with Blue Beetle? Paul and I disagree on what’s to be Blue Beetle’s fate.  Paul is sure that Jaime is going to die, but I just can’t see DC doing that, especially considering there’s a television show planned for him. We’ll just have to see.

In terms of Generation Lost though, this was a great issue.

 

Teen Titans

Issue #91

Written by: J.T. Krul

Art by: Nicola Scott

 

Rose Wilson is such a bad ass! I used to think that I only liked Damian when he was around Dick. Their dynamic balances out Damian’s crazy, but the Damian/Ravager dynamic works just as well, and the scene where they are discussing their psychotic parents is priceless. Rose won’t put up with any of his crap, but can also identify with him which makes their relationship a unique one…and makes Damian less obnoxious. He was almost charming in this issue.

The Cassie/Conner issues were to be expected. I have to say, I’m not digging on how Cassie is being drawn these days, her features are a little softer than normal.

Bart got a little saving action in and we’re all set for the Red Robin crossover. Tim and Damian together without proper supervision is always an interesting ride.

The Long Awaited End

Buffy Season 8
Issue # 40
Written by: Joss Whedon
Art by: Georges Jeanty, Andy Owens, and Michelle Madsen

The end of Buffy Season 8 came and went last week and I’m sure many people thought I would let it go unnoticed, but no.  Truthfully, I needed to stew on it for awhile because I found it frustrating on a number of levels.  First and foremost, because of how desperately I wanted to dislike it, and I didn’t.  Secondly, because while I was happy that it the writing crew brought back simplicity there were a few moments that I didn’t find very believable in terms of how the characters responded.  Let’s just jump right in shall we?

I’ve been very vocal with my main complaint that the story got too big and I’m not going to even go into the Angel/Twilight travesty again.  With the last issue there was a MAJOR time jump *did I mention SPOILER ALERT*, months in fact, so that we were able to see how each character settled in after the war.  The whole issue felt more like an epilogue and I liked that about it.  All the magic in the world is gone and Buffy is on everybody’s hit list, both literally and figuratively.  She’s back to working on her own, patrolling and saving people from everyday baddies.  Giles is gone of course and while I didn’t agree with the whole reading of the will scene, I understand the reasoning behind it.  It solidifies Buffy’s calling and returns her to her comfort zone.  I'm not happy with where Angel is at the moment, but what else were they going to do after the aforementioned travesty?  He was always broken, but now he is BROKEN.  I’m really curious about where the writers are going to take Willow in the next series.  I appreciated the reference to her techno-genius, which had really fallen by the wayside and I love that part of Willow.  I’m not so thrilled about the new love interest, if you missed that part you should go back and look at it, because it’s…odd.  Xander and Dawn are all domestic and by gum, that’s what Xander deserves.   And Spike is Spike which was so refreshing. 

The writers brought the story back to its roots in preparation for Season 9 and I hope that they continue on this path with our beloved Scooby's.  We’ve already been introduced to a new villain as well as how Buffy is going to deal with the other slayers who feel betrayed by her and are making her life miserable.  I’m not going to say that my faith is restored, because I don’t think I will ever recover from the giant Muppet gods, but I’m staying positive.  So now we wait.  I will either throw my hands up in the air and roll my eyes to the heavens in bafflement or I’ll really like the direction Season 9 takes, either way I know I will enjoy myself.