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Good morning, Destroyers!
Yes, Bobby is blatantly ripped off of Bobby from Supernatural. I knew that going in. I might add a baseball cap to him in future arcs because…well, that'd look funny, wouldn't it?
Anyway, I like this week's issue. It's a little bit of a reveal, a little bit setup. It's a good mix for a comic with three cats talking for six panels. Now on to the comic book reviews!
WARNING! SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT!
*Note: Usually I try to keep everything in order, either by release date or alphabetically…but I'm kinda lazy this week, so it's in the order I read everything*
- Wonder Woman #2
First thing's first: When I look at the cover, with it's skinhead fashion model (Strife, introduced this issue) and "GODS DRAW BLOOD" title, for some reason it makes me think this is a particularly gory fashion magazine.
We start with Hera chewing scenery on Mount Olympus and…god, it's that great over-the-top evil that's just a joy to read. The action then moves to Paradise Island, and I think it's a very different feel…it's night, everything's lit by fire, and there's a strong "warrior culture" vibe running through the scenes. Bear in mind, I'm used to animated takes on Paradise Island, but I thought this was a great change of pace. There's also a pretty hilarious double-entendre in one scene that I'm not going to spoil for you.
Okay, now I'm going to talk about the ending. It was announced before this book came out that Wonder Woman was going to have a father, and that father would be Zeus. Now, I'm no Wonder Woman buff, but I thought her origin (mom made her out of clay and the gods brought her to life) was perfect. Simple, to the point, and we moved on. I'd even mentioned to a friend earlier that I wouldn't mind if Zeus was simply the god who bestowed life on the clay Wonder Woman, but that's clearly not the direction we're heading in. My feelings on this shake-up are…mixed. I try to keep an open mind on a lot of things, so I'm obviously hoping for the best, but the pessimist in me is bracing for this being the worst thing to hit Wonder Woman since Amazons Attack.
- Justice League #2
I'm sure this book has its detractors, but for me, there's something fun about seeing the dysfunctional family that is the Justice League coming together. Geoff Johns and Jim Lee said that part of the relaunch was that they wanted to create memorable moments (i.e. "you'll remember the first time Flash meets Wonder Woman," etc.), and I can really feel that mentality shining through in Justice League. While it's a fast read, I like the little touches, like Superman's current hideout being an abandoned printing press or the "how much does he eat?" note by a picture of the Flash at Barry Allen's police department (full disclosure: I missed that one until my wife pointed it out to me).
There was also some Watchmen-esque supplemental information with Steve Trevor being grilled by Waller about his botched mission that resulted in him landing on Paradise Island. I liked it, but stuff like this could get old fast, so I'm a little hesitant on it.
- Supergirl #2
This was just a good old "two heroes meet up, and a misunderstanding causes them to fight" issue (a bit like Justice League #2, now that I think about it). It also looks like we're getting a nice, slow reveal at Lex Luthor in the present-day timeline, which I approve of (he's also a kind of shadow presence in Justice League, with just a name drop and a few LEXCORP signs).
- Birds of Prey #2
Starling's a fun addition to the DC universe. I think it'd be fun to throw her in with some more traditional heroes, just because she's clearly off-kilter. Speaking of off-kilter, did Katana always have a murdered-husband's-soul in her sword? Because I like that as a character trait. Overall, I think this is shaping up to be a really interesting crime-drama series, and if it's used properly, Birds of Prey could showcase a different take on the entire DCU depending on where storylines take them.
Also, exactly how messed up is this team that Poison Ivy gets an invitation?
- Bionic Man #3
This chapter's titled "We Can Rebuild Him." We even get a "six million dollar" head nod (although, due to inflation, that's now the daily funding for the operation).
I was originally going to end my review there, with a quick "that should tell you everything you need to know," but it really doesn't. Steve Rogers still isn't bionic (yet), but I honestly don't mind. This was a very strong issue that really made me feel for Steve as a character. In fact, any scrap of reservation I had about this book was gone by the time I got to the end. I don't know when Steve's going to be doing his bionic acts, but now I'm willing to let the story breathe and tell its tale at its own pace.
- Stormwatch #1 & #2
I was going to complain about the clunky expository dialogue, but then the moon attacked a guy and I remembered that comics are awesome. By the time issue #2 got started, the tone shifted more-than-slightly to a UNIT-based Doctor Who comic. Unsurprisingly, Stormwatch's writer, Paul Cornell, wrote some pretty dark episodes of Doctor Who (Human Nature and Family of Blood [note: that clip's a tiny bit spoilery, but hopefully I've made at least one person out there interested in Doctor Who]). Cornell's found his Doctor avatar in Adam, a character I can't not read in David Tennant's voice because…well, because.
Anyway, that's all I have to say this week, fanboys and fangirls. I'll see you again next week!
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