ACTION COMICS #987 DC COMICS
OMG! WTF! And other expressions of disbelief and aggravation! After months of teasing us, this is what we get?! No spoilers but it’s gonna be hard. With the comic world buzzing with guesses of the identity of Mr. Oz, (my favorite was Ozymandias from Watchman …OZ get it?!) The big reveal here falls flat on its face. Another case of been there, seen that as well as a certain theme involving a former box office smash movie left me shaking my head in disbelief. And then wrap it all up in a shiny flippy image cover brought back acid flashbacks of the 80’s-90’s when comics sucked. Total disappointment. I give it 4 out of 10.
HARLEY QUINN 25th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 DC COMICS
Yes, I know we spent a little extra on the title colors but it is her 25th you know! Finally, a special that actually gets the subject. Various teams of writers, artists, and colorists hit the nail on the head and highlight the character of Harley Quinn. The teams do a wonderful job of showing off her personality and bring forward the best this character can offer. And at a price, we can afford. I give it an 8 out of 10.
DARK NIGHTS METAL #2 DC COMICS
Ok, we are back in WTF? land over at DC. What started out as an interesting concept with a lot of cameos to the DC we all knew and loved and then lost, has gone a bit askew and become downright confusing. Ugly Baby Darkseid? The multiple Batman ploy? Called that one before I hit the third panel. And Holy What If? Batman, a group of parallel universe Batmen (and women) based on the Justice League? (Well, ok except for the Hellraiser Batman with zombie ghoul Robin and giant Spectre like Batman with Wolverine claws, and Doomsday Batman. Again, I call out the ‘Been There/Done That’ rule. Saving Grace here is the brief cameo by the Council of Immortals. I think I’m being generous with a 6 out of 10.
SHEENA QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #1 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
While bringing nothing new to the jungle comic genre, I must admit that there is something special about the art of Moritat and Dimi Macheras. Resembling a cross between artist Sam Keith and a touch of anime, the art is quite unique. Definitely worth checking out. I give it a 7 out of 10.
And now the one I’ve been waiting for …
TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #21 2nd PRINT MARVEL COMICS
(Ok. Deep breath! Here we go!) “Hey Doc, this is a second print why didn’t you review the book when it first came out?” Why? Well it really didn’t make it onto my radar and then issue #22 hit. A friend of mine asked me to pick him up a couple of issue #22 on that Thursday. And guess what, I couldn’t find one d*mn copy. And do you know why? Because you people didn’t learn your history. Thanks to internet outsets letting you in on ‘the big secret’. Issue 22 was going to be a first appearance of a new character and this was a key issue and you just had to own! And you fell for it! And not a spoiler alert (2nd print remember?) its gonna be the Hulk with Wolverine claws! Arrrggg!
Well I just read the 2nd print here and I see nothing awe-inspiring or value increasing about this book or its follow up #22. It’s a cute little team up story with all sorts of ‘favorite characters’ to keep you from seeing that this book is just ok. It’s not epic, it’s not ground-breaking. It’s just readable unless of course, like myself, you believe that Bruce Banner is the one and only Hulk. That Amadeus Cho was a much more interesting character when he was first introduced and not the Hulk. And that every time someone else takes a dose of Gamma for the team, it never ends well. Sorry to have rambled but everytime something like this happens, it sets the progress of the comic reading universe back several steps. H*ll, we’re still recovering from Holographic cover. So if you love comics, stop doing this kind of stuff! Arrrrggggg! 4 out of 10.
Before we leave you for tonight, I’d like to take a moment to pay respects to a true comic professional, Mr. Len Wein who passed away this week at the age of 69. Len’s work is legendary and instead of boring you with a list of titles he was involved with, I encourage you (the comic reading audience) to google search him and go out and read some of the stuff he wrote. Lucky for me, that I have before me a copy of the original Justice League of America #100. One of his crowning scripts and one of my favorite stories. Thank you sir for all the enjoyment you gave me as a younger man. And now a traditional moment of silence … good night, folks.