Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: batgirl, batman and robin, batwoman, Comics, dc, demon knights, frankenstein, green lantern, grifter, huntress, legion lost, mister terrific, Penguin, Resurrection Man, suicide squad, superboy

Fourteen Thoughts About Fourteen DC Comics – Batwoman, Batman And Robin, Batgirl, Huntress, Penguin, Legion Lost, Green Lantern, Demon Knights, Superboy, Suicide Squad, Resurrection Man, Mister Terrific, Grifter and Frankenstein

Twleve issue threes and two issue twos, the DC relaunch is starting to bed in. Which is probably why so many books try to do a little something different this week.

Resurrection Man is into its third issue and already it's adding a kink to the premise – this time our hero does not return from the dead with a new power – at least not right away. He goes somwhere else on a little soujourn, and his return is not pretty at all. Seriously, we're talking a reprise of last week's Animal Man #3. But at least when he does make it back to the land of the living, there's an upskirt shot waiting for him. See, it is worth living after all.

One thing I was struck with, watching the Green Lantern movie, was how good Mark Strong was as Sinestro, how he should have been the lead character in the movie, and what the hell is this Hal Jordan guy hogging the screen when Sinestro was getting short shrift. It really does appear that Geoff Johns thought the same way, and here every chance he gets, Sinestro gets to fill the screen and deliver bold, brash and very angry lines. The man in charge, the man with a plan and the only character in Green Lantern #3 you'd actually have any time for. With Doug Mahnke channelling his inner Bolland beautifully. More, more, more. Kill Hal Jordan off again, you can take the HEAT.

In Frankenstein, Agent Of S.H.A.D.E. #3 they fight an entire planet. Hellboy and the BPRD never did that. Alberto Pontecelli portrays this in a gloriously sketchy, messy style which, while using about as much ink as Mike Mignola, is a world away. Literally.

In Grifter #3, our soldier-turned-conman-with-a-mask tackles an alien lieform that can only distinguish one human from another human by the smell of their spine. That sentence there is why you should still be reading this comic. Although if you're a Wildtorm fan of old, be warned of the death of a fan-favourite character…

Huntress #2 does have the ability to go from climbing walls with a grappling hook at night, to something straight out of Sex And The City. I feel a TV pitch in the making here. And MArcus To really does a good Gary Frank impression in places too.

Just checking that Demon Knights #3 is still a T book. Yup. Well, this issue goes beyond Detective Comics #1. To the extent that other creators have been complaining that… that they aren't allowed to do this sort of thing. Violence, sexual politics, religion and very bad things happening to people. You know, if you want a message from Demon Knights it is that in general, things have gotten a lot better in the last thousand years.

And while Legion Lost #3 may not go quite as gruesome as Demon Knights, it makes up for it in explicitness. The panel below? That's really tame. Don't read this comic while eating. Or before you are going to eat. Or and time afterwards. Look,  just start a starvation diet now, okay? T rating my arse.

Really disappointed with this Mister Terrific #3. Art issues seem to have led to a style that used computer sourced backgrounds with a heavy shadowy line art that seems completely at odds. It's a jarring art decision that may save time but leads to a rather annoying reading experience.

Penguin: Pain And Prejudice #2 continues its look into the deepest darkest child scretes of Copperpot. With an art style half way between Dave McKean and Jim Cheung that's haunting and melancholy.

In Suicide Squad #3, Harley Quinn lives up to the possibilities her new costume brings. Easy access.

In Superboy #3, we get closer and closer to a full admission that we're dealing with a fullblown Gen 13 Caitlin Fairchild… and by the end…

Gail Simone seems to make comment on the Starfire and Red Hood And The Outlaws with a little well places graffiti in Batgirl #3. While using the very contriversy behind the relaunch of Batgirl as a thematic movitaion for the main caharacter in this arc, she also manages to drop in a sly dig on the third page…

It's never actually said in this issue of Batman And Robin #3. But do Bruce Wayne's actions regarding Damien in this issue mean that he is intentinally using him as bait to lure out the bad guy, rather than the surface actions which suggest the opposite. Chess strategy is laid out in this issue by Alfred, is he following in his master's ways?

Batwoman is consistently the most beautiful of the entire DC line, and issue 3 is no exception. The back and forth between delineated light and dark, clear line filled with flat colour and a painted look remains stunning, especially when it occurs on the same panel, such as below. I find JH Williams III work heartbreaking to look at as it is to read, and even a reduction in the amount of double page spreads in this issue is fine, because you also get what you;ve been clamouring for. A kiss. But between whom?

Comics courtesy of Orbital Comics, London.

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