Weekly Comic Review for 6/12/13
More comics…
All-Star Superman Special Edition #1 – This was a free comic that was released this week. All it actually is is a section of the All-Star Superman graphic novel. The only ads in the book are Sears ads, which isn’t surprising given the major product placement in the Man of Steel movie
Batman #21 – Zero Year – I’m not a real a Batman fan but the manager of the local comic shop where I get my books recommended it. I figured I’d at least give it a try. The books takes place just as Batman is starting up. His costume is still pretty rough and almost everyone thinks Bruce is dead. (He disappeared to train.) Alfred is still his faithful butler. You meet his uncle who is a Kane (Bruce’s mother’s maiden name). (This makes me wonder if Batwoman is actually related to Bruce… and if she was pre-New 52.) There’s a backup story on how Bruce learned to drive as “creatively” as he does. He was trained by a criminal. It’s an interesting story, especially if you’re a Batman fan. Not being a fan, I enjoyed the issue but not sure if it’s enough to read the rest.
Demon Knights #21 – The quest for the grail finishes. Jason and Vandal Savage go in looking for the artifact and find that and a lot more (like a flying carpet, the pelt of the Nemean Lion, and the Horn of Plenty), Jason finally gets revenge on both Etrigan and Savage as he escapes with the grail. He uses it to blackmail Lucifer into breaking his bond with Etrigan and, in the end, leaves Savage alone in a battle beyond his skill. With the title just about done, I have to wonder where they will go from here. This is a great title. I’m really sad to see it ending soon.
Green Lantern Corps #21 – Jon and Fatality team up to investigate a meltdown on a planet that is related to a group of mysterious aliens that even Jon’s ring can’t recognize. Meanwhile, Salaak has a crisis of faith in himself which is shared by some of the Green Lanterns but Soranik comes to his rescue. At least to rescue him with enough time to face Larfleeze. And to make matters worse, a bunch of new recruits get their rings but they are not too happy about it. (See Green Lantern #21 for some references to this.) In the end, we find out who the mystery aliens are. Yes, we have our earliest reference to the Durlans.
Grimm #2 – We get to see Nick’s mother go through her torture and start to escape. Meanwhile, Nick and crew get involved with the local rebellion and we find out more about the mysterious Grimm. (Not as much as Nick does though.) It’s not bad but a bit slow really.
Harbinger Wars #3 – Things start coming together in Las Vegas and not in a good way. The psychic twins connect up but things get lost in their weak link which leads to some terrible miscommunication. Each side thinks the other side is evil and they need to save the other side’s kids. This causes a battle between the Renegades and Bloodshot. If this wasn’t bad enough, H.A.R.D. Corps joins in and shows how bloodthirsty (and in some cases, just psycho) they are as they start killing the kids without a second thought. Not a real big fan of them. It’s an interesting storyline but I get sorta sick of the whole “good guys end up turning against each other because of a misunderstanding” storyline.
Superman Unchained #1 – Yes, it’s another Superman title. First, we start out in Japan in 1945 where a being breaks out of a dropped bomb. We don’t know what happens next as we jump to modern day with Superman. Superman saves astronauts in a falling satellite, blames Luthor (because he’s got to be the cause of everything), and then investigates another fallen craft. We find out the people related to this craft actually have a super being in their control too and it’s the one from Japan and he’s got some weird electric eagle thing on his chest. Who knows who this is or if he’s good, evil, or just a tool so far. Either way, the only thing that was really interesting was him. Superman was just too boring.
Not many of the titles really caught my interest so that makes my top 3 easy: Demon Knights, Green Lantern Corps, and Harbinger Wars.