Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: Comics, dc, marvel

DC Through The Eyes Of A Marvel Zombie – The End Of The Road by Heather Kenealy

Heather Kenealy, a self confessed Marvel Zombie, concludes her journey to the dark side, reading all the launch issue of DC's New 52.

And yes that is her on the right folks. In her Hallowe'en get up, working at Universal Studios…

This is the last of them, folks. So far, DC hasn't won me over to their whole line, but my All Marvel All the Time banner has been lowered a little, and the Distinguished Competition has found a couple of places in my pull list. How many of this week's haul will join them? We will soon see!

All Star Western
Writer: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Moritat

Gotham City, 1880s, Prostitutes are being murdered by the Gotham Butcher. The only clues are the word "Fear" written in various languages, and a sighting of a man with a skull ring with one of the women before she died. Doctor of Psychology, Amadeus Arkham, and the mysterious bounty hunter Jonah Hex reluctantly team up to find the Butcher when the crimes strike too close to home. But in the rise of this new city to rival all the other greats in this developing world, the strange pair soon learn that this evil leads straight to Gotham's wealthy elite.

Admittedly, I did not expect to see Gotham City in a western comic, but that seems to be the point. In the 1880s the glory days of the Old West are as antiquated as the Confederate Uniform Jonah Hex wears, and the scarred old soldier knows it. Throughout the book, as he launches into Dodge City style bar fights, and rough and tumble tactics to get the information he needs, he is shadowed by Arkham, whose new civilized world sensibilities find him a relic and a danger. It's a skillfully done juxtaposition, wrapped around an intriguing Jack the Ripper meets the Skull and Bones mystery.

Story: 5 out of 5 stars

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Writer.

There can be a tendency when writers do "period pieces" that the dialog reads stilted and Oh So Proper. There is a bit of that here, but only where it fits. Jonah talks in a suitable drawl, and while I am not a fan of having accents written out, his "Ah'm gonna kill ya" speech patterns doesn't go overboard into the territory of parody. Everything is like this in this book, in perfect balance. There's enough action to satisfy, with enough story to keep the reader interested. Arkham has a sickly mother to care for, Jonah refuses to remove his confederate uniform, familiar names pop up, Wayne, Cobblepot… It's an intricately woven tapestry, and I can't wait to see the whole picture.

Art: 5 out of 5 stars

Moritat, Artist. Gabriel Bautista, Colorist.

The art perfectly matches the story. The human figures are stylized, but not to the point of looking like caricatures. Everything is colored in a sepia toned wash that is a staple of westerns, but the line work and detailing is so precise that you don't miss the flashy colors or lighting effects like you might find in a story set in more a more modern era. The cityscapes are like looking at old tintypes, and the storytelling is so easy to follow that the eye flows evenly from panel to panel.

Overall 5 out of 5 stars

All in all, a perfect marriage of art and word. This book will eventually, I understand feature back up stories of other western characters but right now, this book focuses strictly on Hex, and that's good enough for me. I'm interested to find out more about the secret society and how they figure into this murder, and hopefully find out the history behind these obvious patriarchs of some of Gotham's most famous and infamous families.

*****

Aquaman
Story: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Ivan Reis

Aquaman's had enough of the jokes, and the mockery. He's not accepted in Atlantis because he's half human, he's no one's favorite hero, because all he does is talk to fish. After stopping an armored truck heist, trying to grab a lunch, and educating a blogger about the true scope of his powers (it's not just talking to fish, honest,) Arthur returns to the shore to tell his beloved Mera that he wants to quit this superhero stuff. But, scary fish people have risen from the deep looking for a meal, and when they happen on a bunch of fishermen, well, my guess is that Aquaman will not stay out of the tights for long.

Hey, I happen to like Aquaman. I know he's been through some strange incarnations, long Jesus hair, a hook hand, mockery on Family Guy, but I always liked him on the Superfriends. This book is a new take on the character and if Johns can give new life to him like he did for Green Lantern, I think that the days of riding around on an giant seahorse might be over.

Story: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Geoff Johns, Story

There is no denying that Johns is a good comic book writer. He has a good sense of story, of pace, he knows these characters and how to update them without losing the core of who they are. Unlike some of the reboots that either go too far and drastically change the fundamentals of the iconic DC roster, or don't go far enough and make it impossible for a new reader to pop in, Johns skillfully gives us an Aquaman who is not only relatable to the newbies, but familiar enough for the vets. The minus a half point is because it does seem a little awkward to have Aquaman stop a crime and then a few pages later complain that he doesn't want to stop crimes anymore, but the badassery shines bright in this one.

Art: 5 out of 5 stars

Ivan Reis, Penciller. Joe Prado, Inker. Ron Reis, Colorist.

The real beauty of this art are the expressions Reis gives the characters. As the thieves rain a hail storm of bullets at Aquaman, a single shot draws a trickle of blood, and the look that he gives the shooter before he grabs him out of the truck and throws him through the windshield of a parked car needs no speech bubble. I didn't know Aquaman was bullet proof, but who cares, it looked awesome. The book is filled with nice moments like that, expertly done pencils perfectly inked and colored brightly without being garish. Let's face facts, this is not a costume that would win any Best Dressed hero awards, but in the hands of this art team, it works, oddly, it works.

Overall 4.75 out of 5 stars

If you ever bypassed an Aquaman book because the character was lame, definitely rethink that. I know I am. Welcome to the Pull List, Arthur. Also this book has scary fishmen who look just like those creepy pictures of the icky things that live at the bottom of the sea! Google Blobfish sometime. I am never going in the ocean ever.

*****

Batman: The Dark Knight
Writer/Coplotter: Paul Jenkins
Penciller/Coplotter: David Finch

Nearly late for a benefit, Bruce Wayne expounds on the nature of fear, as usual. Then he is accosted by the typical hard nosed internal affairs guy who wants to know who Bruce funnels money to in the Gotham PD in order for them to bank roll Batman. Rescued by Jaina Hudson, the daughter of a diplomat who seems to have forgotten to put on pants, there is some awkward flirting, then off goes Bats to stop another riot at Arkham. Recognizing that Two Face wasn't amongst the rioters, Batman goes after him, only to find him monstrously grown and claiming he is now One Face.

Of the how many Batman titles in the reboot this is the weakest. By virtue of it coming last, it feels like we have seen this already. Another benefit? Another Arkham riot? Or is this all part of the same story as in the other books? There is no mention of any of the Robins in the book, so are any of them going to exist?

Story: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Paul Jenkins, Writer/Coplotter

The writing is fine, but like I said, it just seems like the other Batman titles covered this territory before. I learn nothing new, and while I normal don't point out lettering problems. But in the flirting section, Bruce says, "Flattery will get you everywhere." and Jaina echoes it, but I think the letter placed the emphasizing bolds in the wrong place. "Flattery will get you everywhere." I think it should be "Flattery will get you everywhere," instead. She's saying that the flattery benefits Bruce. To place it where the Letterer did, only says the exact same thing as Bruce. It is a small quibble, but the fact that I noticed it took me out of the story.

Art: 4 out of 5 stars

David Finch, Penciller/Coplotter. Richard Friend, Inker. Alex Sinclair, Colors.

I'm not a huge fan of this scratchy style of art. Finch knows action, and he knows anatomy, but the overly lined art work makes it look too sketchy for my taste. However, the opening establishing panel of Gotham City reflected in the harbor looks like an impressionist painting. Monet's Water Lilies in an urban cesspool. That panel alone gives this book 4 stars instead of the 3 I was planning on. And, as I said before, clearly Jaina forgot her pants. I imagine Finch was attempting to draw a mini dress, but the design of the character makes her look like she is cosplaying as Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Also, can anyone enlighten me? Was the panel where Batman finds the girl in the bunny suit an homage to something else? It looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place it.

Overall 3.75 out of 5 stars

The weakest of the Bat books in the reboot. Unless it ties in somehow to the intriguing story brought up in Batman and Nightwing, I might just skip this one.

*****

Black Hawks
Writer: Mike Costa
Layouts: Graham Nolan

A multi-country black ops team fights some bad guys, and seem very worried about nanocites. The bad ass chick falls into industrial waste, and then seems to get some sort of heat powers that freak her out. Elsewhere, a bad guy with nanocites is blown up by some lady who is even more of a bad guy. But that's not even the big problem. Someone has posted their logo on the internet. The covert operation is not so covert anymore.

GI Joe or the Howling Commandos did this better. This book is filled with the standard characters that are used in these kind of crack squad of military elite stories, with the interesting exception being the Irishman, who is from the Ukraine, but still wears the "traditional" bright red muttonchop and flatcap combo that is a comic book standard for those from the Emerald Isle.

Story: 3 out of 5 stars

Mike Costa, Writer.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this book but neither is there anything spectacular in it. I'm a little curious as to why this story was chosen to be rebooted. Is there a previous title for this team because I don't recall it on the shelves. The characters feel like they've been done before and, like I said, done better.

Art: 4 out of 5 stars

Graham Nolan, Layouts. Ken Lashley, Finisher. Guy Major, Colorist.

The art in this is very interesting, and I wonder how the Layouts and the Finisher work together. I'd be interested to see in-progress pages from this team. The pacing and storytelling is done really well, and the panels have a cinematic look to them, but there is a basic flaw in a story like this. When the characters are all in similar uniforms there needs to be some obvious differences, and while this is accomplished in close ups, when the characters retreat to the background, the art team tends to sketch them in vague lines and colors. I don't know these characters, I need visual clues.

Overall 3.5 out of 5 stars

Not a bad book… just not a very good one.

*****
The Fury of Firestorm
Coplotters: Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Yildiray Cinar

Terrorists, looking for some sort of God Particle Device, kill a family in Istanbul, then a scientist before showing up to a school where two boys, one black and a brain, one white and a jock are having the most forced argument over race ever written. Then, as the terrorists shoot innocent bystanders, the smart kid brings out the God Particle device, and shouts "Firestorm!" which turns the two boys into what the subtitle of the book calls, "Nuclear Men." They squabble in a stilted, forced dialog for a while while perfectly and instantly knowing how to use their powers, then they merge together and become a much bigger Nuclear Man, that calls itself FURY!

I gave Gail Simone credit for Batgirl, suggesting her writing was maybe hampered by the need for the reboot, but this book? Yeah, there is no excuse for this. I expect much much more and get so much less.

Story: 2 out of 5 stars

Gale Simone, Writer

I don't know how much of the flawed nature of this book lies on Simone's shoulders and how much on Van Scrivner's, but as a team they just don't work together. The plotting is so heavy and so implausible, that I'm really wondering if this is some sort of test, DC. I mean, I've read fan fictions with more believable dialog, and action. The fight between the boys, Jason and Ronnie, is so clearly done with some sort of agenda, and the terrorists are just indistinguishable cliches. Then, here's the topper. These two boys, 17 years old at the most, when they combine to form the giant flamey version of themselves, actually call the the girl watching, "Sweetcheeks." Really? Sweetcheeks. Do young hip kids use the word Sweetcheeks these days? Or does combining their forms combine their ages as well?

Art: 3 out of 5 stars

Yildiray Cinar, Artist. Steve Buccellato, Colorist.

The art is adequate, another case of nothing special. The design of the two different Firestorms is predictable in that they are merely reverse color schemes of each other. Fury is just a bigger version of the single heroes. The terrorists have no distinguishing characteristics here either. But anatomy and storytelling both show some degree of skill. Too bad, Cinar didn't have a better script to showcase his talents.

Overall 2.5 out of 5 stars

Before I went to Comic Con, when the descriptions of the New 52 were released, my friend asked me to ask DC why they were ruining Firestorm. Now I know what he meant. Sorry, Jeff, your favorite character has been mishandled badly.

*****

The Flash
Story and Art: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato

A tech symposium attended by Barry Allen and his date Patty is crashed by terrorists (a recurring theme in these books it seems) who steal something called a Portable Genome Re-Coder. Donning his costume in an instant, Flash chases down the thieves, and reclaims the device, falling from a helicopter with one of the bad guys, who he puts through a window to keep him from dying on impact, but when he gets back to his civilian identity, a police forensic scientist, he learns that the terrorist died after all. To make matters worse, when the criminal's mask is removed, it's revealed to be a childhood friend of Barry's. Learning that Manuel's DNA was somehow altered, Barry is surprised when the dead man shows up at his house the next day, and leads him in a run to a whole hoard of Manuels!

This is a really fun book, it feels as if I am missing something. It really works with the art though, this art and writing team really meshing on their vision for this story.

Story: 5 out of 5 stars
Art: 5

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, Story and Art

This book is remarkably light hearted, which is a credit to it, because the tone could easily take a bad turn considering that Barry, at first, has to deal with the thought that the Flash may have killed someone, and then, to make it worse, he might have killed an old friend. But it stays away from melodrama, and manages to keep an old fashioned feel to it, charming and simple. The girl reporter, for example, introduces herself as "Iris West, Central City Citizen," like the dialog from an old radio serial.

The art continues the trend, with simple linework, and a fairly muted color palette, except for the brilliant red of the Flash's costume, and the shine of the yellow lightning that accompanies his power usage. The art is skillful enough that at the end, when the multiple Manuels are revealed, I am instantly able to tell that's what I am looking at, and not some poorly drawn mob that has the same face because the artist only knows how to draw the one. Well done.

Overall 5 out of 5 stars

The Flash I am most familiar with is Wally, not Barry, but I'm on board for this one DC. Keep it this fun and quick paced (see what I did there) and I'll just hang on tight and enjoy the ride.

*****

Green Lantern: New Guardians
Writer: Tony Bedard
Penciller: Tyler Kirkham

After a brief retelling of his origin, Kyle Rayner of the Green Lantern Corp is off doing his Green Lanternly duty, using his artistic skill to sculpt his willpower creations to save a falling crane. But all over the universe, the rings of the various spectrum corps are abandoning their owners, decommissioning their respective lanterns, often with fatal results. When all the rings show up claiming to have chosen Kyle, he not only has to deal with the problems of seven rings of power sweeping around, shouting his name, but also the fact that the rings' prior owners are none to happy to find him in possession of their power sources.

Strangely, this book went by so quickly the pacing of the story, I thought I may have skipped pages. Turns out I didn't, it was just that much of a page turner.

Story: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Tony Bedard, Writer

I wasn't impressed with Bedard on Blue Beetle, but this is his book right here. He brings it, making this so interesting, like I said, I couldn't stop reading it. My one quibble and this is a veeeeery small nitpick. How did the Lanterns that died let their team mates know the rings left them so that they could show up to slap Kyle around? The Star Sapphires or the Indigo Tribe makes sense, but why would a member of the Sinestro Corp or the Red Lanterns care if one of their follows lost a ring?

Art: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Tyler Kirkham, Penciller. Batt, Inker. Nei Ruffino, Colorist.

I really enjoyed the art in this book, the various colored rings give it a very shiny and pretty range of lighting effects. Art is crisp and clean, inks are dark, Kyle's design is sharp. I disagree with the kid that his costume looks like a bib.

Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars

Not the best of the Green Lantern books, but, that's not really a put down. Geoff Johns, who practically reinvented the title, of course will have the top tier. This book is nicely done, and beautifully drawn. Its a recommendation from me. Pick this book up. You won't regret it.

A good end to the evening. I'll be back tomorrow with some books with Magic and/or Monsters in the title, and, of course, the new Superman!

Six more number ones to get through, then, I'll give the final tally. Will my DC pull list reach double digits?

I, Vampire

Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov

Artist: Andrea Sorrentino

Mary and Andrew, two vampires, argue about who they are and what they do. Andrew wants them to co-exist with humanity, claiming they don't have to be monsters. Mary embraces the demons and will leave terror and death in her wake. As he tries to destroy her soldiers, flashing back and forth to their last conversation, Andrew realizes he is overwhelmed and outnumbered. Thousands of vampire soldiers are answering to Mary's call, and the city teems with the dead and the undead.

Every vampire story in recent years has dealt with this argument. From Interview with the Vampire, to Twilight to True Blood, the "do we have to kill just because we feast on human blood" argument, and no new territory is covered here.

Story: 2 out of 5 stars

Joshua Hale Fialkov, Writer.

A slow start to the final six. This book is the same cliched "tortured soul" stuff that keeps coming up in vampire tales. We're supposed to identify with this poor Andrew who regrets his predatory nature and root for him in his strive for redemption, but honestly, he just comes off as a whiner. Also, and I am not sure if this falls under Art or Writing, but the colors chosen for the two different off panel speech bubbles is too close a shade, and it is difficult at time to tell who is speaking, because both characters have identical voices. This is another book I have no back knowledge of. Are these existing characters in the DCU or a new story to capitalize on the shiny emo vampire craze?

Art: 4 out of 5 stars

Andrea Sorrentino, Artist. Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist.

The art, however, is beautiful, and saves this book. Backgrounds appear to be taken from photographs and manipulated in Photoshop, which is a technique that can be over used, but here is done to perfection. The color palette is sombre as one might expect, the character design makes heavy use of hard lines and deep shadows. Everything is overlaid with a texture that makes this look like old film or parchment, giving that sense of age that a story involving four hundred year old vampires should have. The main flaw, I think, is that the characters do have a bit of a generic look to them, and their cover images play too heavily on the Team Edward "I'm so hot because I am so tortured" trope.

Overall 3 out of 5 stars

Not a bad book, not a good one. It's like a fancy sugar dessert. Pretty to look at and tempting to eat, but in the end melts away without any substance, leaving nothing but a taste in your mouth. Hopefully this story will pick up and something will actually come of this, but honestly, this could just be any story in any universe, just a passing mention of Superman to tie it into the DCU. I don't read Twilight. I don't really care about anyone here, so I'm passing on this title.

*****

Justice League Dark

Story: Peter Milligan

Art: Mikel Janin

As the world around them dissolves into weirdness, Madame Xanadu begins to summon those who can actually do something about it. The Enchantress is losing her mind, and even the Justice League can't stop her. Shade the Changing Man, John Constantine, Zatanna and others of DC's mystical contingent begin to converge, but can the mad help the mad?

Not gonna lie, no idea what is happening in this book, but damned if I don't want to find out. Magic books are always so very trippy, and DC has a huge roster of some of the strangest and trippiest magic users in comics.

Story: 4 out of 5 stars

Peter Milligan, Story

Honestly, the main flaw in this book is the size of the roster. Unlike the writers did in the JL Comic (Justice League Light, I guess), Milligan chose to introduce us to the whole team in one issue. Shade with the illusion of a lovelife. Zatanna refusing to take Batman's warning that she's not ready. The thirty four duplicates of June Moone. All of them are give rushed backstories, if even that, and they move into place like too many pieces on a chest board. You have some time, Mr. Milligan, and you have a very strange story to tell. Let us enjoy it. Some of the dialog seems forced too. Wonder Woman shouting, "Superman, you're being cut to ribbons!" My guess is he knows already, WW, thanks though.

Art: 5 out of 5 stars

Mikel Janin, Artist. Ulises Arreola, Colorist.

The art is another one of those bright and beautiful styles, everything has a weight to it, without seeming too heavy. The figures and character designs are fully fleshed and have a three dimensionality to them, a fully rendered feel to it. Considering the strange tone to the book, the art could easily have gone off the rails, but strangely, it doesn't.

Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars

I don't know how willing I am to shell out three dollars every week for this book, but it is definitely a good one to read in the shop. If you like the magic stuff, this is a great place to start.

*****

The Savage Hawkman

Writer: Tony S. Daniel

Art: Philip Tan

Carter Hall is trying to rid himself of the "curse" of the Nth Metal which makes him Hawkman. But the suit has other plans for him. After an explosion and blackout that should have hurt him more than it did, Carter returns to his cryptozoology job, assigned to translate some symbols found on an alien shipwreck. But the aliens in the ancient craft aren't dead, and black ooze from the wreck consumes the scientists and the salvage team. Suddenly, the Nth Metal emerges from Carter's very muscles and transforms him into the Savage Hawkman! But is he strong enough to beat the energy consuming Morphicus?

Story: 4 out of 5 stars

Tony S. Daniel, Writer

This is not an easy book to jump into, as even Carter doesn't entirely understand the Nth Metal. However, once you just accept that he is going to turn into Hawkman and just let the story unfold, it actually picks up nicely. The dialog flows well, for the most part, and Daniel lets the art tell enough of the story that we don't have endless lines of text bubbles. I'm not sure what kept Carter from being Hawkman, but I'm still strangely happy that he's back.

Art: 4 out of 5 stars

Philip Tan, Art. Sunny Gho, Colors.

Like I mentioned in the story section, the art really tells a lot of the story, so it's good that this art is done well. It has a very painterly style and even though there is the occasion difficulty in telling what exactly is happening, it still serves this particular story well.

Overall 4 out of 5 stars

I was never really keen on Hawkman, but this is actually pretty good. Not add to the pull list good, but read in the shop good, and so I recommend this book, but only if you are a big Hawkman fan. If not, wait for the trade to come out and get it then.

*****

Superman

Script and Breakdowns: George Perez

Pencils and Inks: Jesus Merino

The Daily Planet has been bought by a shady but powerful global media conglomerate and Superman is none too pleased. He has nothing to say about though, and little time to mope because suddenly from the half finished astrodome, a fire monster comes and reeks havoc until Superman manages to get it into outer space. Did the rise of this monster somehow tie into the War Horn (as seen in Stormwatch #1) or is worse yet to come?

Ok, where do these Superman titles all fit into continuity? I think it is Action, then Justice League and lastly Supes, but to be honest I really have no idea.

Story: 4 out of 5 stars

George Perez, Script and Breakdowns

The book is ok, I really like the idea of Superman being a little sulky about the Daily Planet being demolished, and it fits with this new more in-your-face Supes that we've been seeing. His marriage to Lois has been rebooted away, and he is again a swinging single… well, single at least. Though this is still in many ways the same Supes as in Action, Perez knows how to handle the characterization, unlike Morrison's hackjob. But the story itself is wanting something. Great characters without a good story just as bad as lame characters muddling good stories.

Art: 3 out of 5 stars

Jesus Merino, Pencils and Inks. Brian Buccellato, Colors

There's something about this art I don't like but it's not coming to me exactly why. I like the slow pan away from the Daily Planet building, and the cityscapes are lovely, but I just sort of found the art to be intrusive and awkward in many places, and Lois is drawn so unmemorable and generic, I wasn't always certain it was her. The panels also seem too small and cluttered.

Overall 3.5 out of 5 stars

I wasn't thrilled with hipster Supes, and while he's matured a little the story falls flat and doesn't ring true. Someone carelessly done, and basically just redundant, making me wonder why we need yet another Supes title.. A must ONLY if you are a diehard fan.

*****

Teen Titans

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Penciller: Brett Booth

Young Metahumans are showing up everywhere, from the brash Kid Flash, who recklessness causes devastation when his backdraft turns a small fire into an inferno, to Wonder Girl who can fly and has super strength. The shady organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E is rounding up all the teens, but Red Robin, Tim Drake, former Batman sidekick is hot on the case, and he'll be founding his team before they do… unless N.O.W.H.E.R.E. does something drastic… Like unleashing the Superboy.

This is a new Teen Titans, definitely. The characters might be familiar, but the attitude is not. In this new DCU, metahumans and superheroes are not yet the norm. Teen Titans addresses this simply and cohesively.

Story: 4 out of 5 stars

Scott Lobdell, Writer

It's hard to realize that this is the same writer of that horrible Red Hood book. Here the sole female character showcased so far is actually handled with respect. She's a thief, sure and the narration boxes snark at it a bit, but once she uses her powers she kicks butt and Tim is in awe of her. The characterizations of all of the characters are done well. Tim is very much Batman Jr. we expect him to be, Kid Flash is cocky and arrogant, Wonder Girl has anger issues. But it still seems the book has a ways to go before it really kicks off.

Art: 5 out of 5 stars

Brett Booth, Pencils. Norm Rapmund, Inks. Andre Dalhouse, Colorist.

I loved the art in this, dynamic and well done. Heavy use of color and light effects, clean lines, no scratchiness at all. Yeah, the figures and faces are a little stylized, but its done in a way that doesn't take away from the story. Storytelling is nice and the whole thing is very easy to understand.

Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars

You see, Lobdell, it is possible to write a good story without turning a beloved character into an emotionless, oversexed goldfish.

*****

Voodoo

Story: Ron Marz

Art: Sami Basri

Voodoo is a stripper and the first time we see her she is crawling around on her hands and knees for money. Two agents argue over her, and Smug-Douche-Male-Agent clearly doesn't recognize that Tough-As-Nails-Female-Agent has the hots for him. Strippers bond, because they are all just working girls trying to pay for babysitters or college, but Voodoo is standoffish. Then, SDMA buys her for a private lap dance and accuses Voodoo of being an Alien… Which she is. So she claws him up and then takes his place to go meet TANFA.

Apparently the reason this books exists is to loosely tack a plot on some soft core porn… I mean, character studies. If the Voodoo creature can take any form it wants, why would it choose to be a stripper.

Story: 2 out of 5 stars

Ron Marz, Story

There was a story here? Honestly, this book reads like the script from any movie about strippers mashed together with any movie about cops, and then there is a monster in it. By the time the monster shows up, I no longer care.

Story: 4 out of 5 stars

Sami Basri, Art. Jessica Kholinne, Colorist.

The art is pretty, and the coloring on Voodoo and the other Strippers gives them a soft fuzziness to their skin, and makes the book very inviting. But every pair of eyes in this book is dead. Not one speak of warmth or humanity in them, not a single emotion. A good comic artist could fix that. See Aquaman for example. Honestly, the art is the saving grace of the show, dead eyes or not.

Overall 3 out of 5 stars

What does DC have against women? I have no inclination to buy this book again. I am done.

So, the DC reboot ends with a dud. Shame really.

Ok so what is my grand total?

Pulls: (17 titles!!!)

All Star Western

Aquaman

Batman

Batman and Robin

Detective

Flash

Green Lantern

Green Lantern Corps

Grifter

Justice League

Nightwing

Red Lanterns

Resurrection Man

Suicide Squad

Swamp Thing

Teen Titans

Wonder Woman

Read in the Shop: (11 titles!)

Action

Batgirl

Batman: The Dark Knight

Batwoman

Blue Beetle

Catwoman

Deadman

Green Lantern: New Guardians

Mister Terrific

OMAC

Supergirl

Pass: (24Titles)

Animal Man

Batgirl

Batwing

Black Hawks

Captain Atom

Deathstroke

Demon Knights

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

Fury of the Firestorms

Green Arrow

Hawk and Dove

I, Vampire

Justice League Dark

Justice League International

Legion Lost

Legion of Superheroes

Men of War

Red Hood and the Outlaw

Savage Hawkman

Static Shock

Stormwatch

Superboy

Superman

Voodoo

Well, that's it for me! The DC reboot wasn't a total success, but all the books are flying off the shelf, so someone's doing something right.

WHEW, 52 DC books in a month. Now, I am going to go read the stack of Marvel books on my desk. I feel like I'm coming home.

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