Peach the Destroyer: Issue 041

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Hey, guys! So...new comic today, attempting to pull off a nostalgic, sepia-tinted look. Technically I guess this might make today's update our first full-color comic.

Before we get to the weekly comic reviews, some late news (from January 12! How did I miss this?!). DC's announced the first books of the New 52 that are getting cancelled, along with the six new books that will replace them, so adjust your pull lists accordingly. With that out of the way, we now resume our regularly scheduled and spoiler-laden programming...

Snarked #4

• Many compliments to writer/artist Roger Langridge, whose deft work with words is, frankly, unlike any other. All of his caption boxes are in rhyme and he makes it all flow so perfectly!
• "Two-year-olds are like a collection of minor traumas strung together by snot and tears." Have I mentioned I love the writing in this book? I hope it runs for years.
• - Speaking of my hopes that this book runs for years, there are tons of great throwaway references to things like "the great escape of '42" or "the oyster riots of '29" that, in the span of a few words, conjure up fantastic images that I'm sure would make for great spin-off miniseries fodder.
• But enough vague talks about how great this book is (and it is. Go. Buy it. Now), what actually happens this issue? Well, our intrepid walrus, carpenter, and royal children are holed up William Lizard's house, having evaded the evil Gryphon and misinformed royal guards. William makes the guards suspicious, so they have to hatch another brilliant plan to sneak out to the ship they chartered in last month's issue. Wackiness and beautiful wordplay ensue!

Kirby: Genesis - Dragonsbane #1

• First thing's first: the cover is a lie. Dragonsbane does not show up in modern times (yet). Just fair warning.
• Fortunately for me, I just so happened to watch Kenneth Branagh's commentary to Thor earlier on Wednesday, so I was in just the right mindset to read a book steeped in Norse mythology.
• Something I have to say about the entire Kirby: Genesis line is that, in an era where everyone wants to be gritty and realistic, every character in the Genesis universe just looks like an expensive Crayola box threw up on them. And I mean that in a good way.
• Dragonsbane brings a really cool idea to the table: that all of the myths of old have been converged into one "mythland." When our Norse heroes ride off into the mists, they first find themselves in the myths of ancient Egypt, and then into the Greek parthanon, where they have a run-in with Circe. I'll let you figure out how well that goes, but those of you who are up on your mythology can probably figure it out.

Wonder Woman #5

• See that segue I did there?
• Circe doesn't show up, but we do get to meet DC's version of Poseidon, who looks creatively non-humanoid.
• There's a biblical power struggle going down on Mt. Olympus in the wake of Zeus abdicating the throne, which is sort of reminiscent of the absentee God in Supernatural. So…I guess what I'm saying is this could go either way.

Supergirl #5

• Kara flies off to Krypton and finds the city of Argo. Unlike in some versions of DC lore, it's not a bottle city protected by Brainiac, but is instead a free-floating astroid in some sort of forcefield. And it's abandoned.
• In these abandoned ruins, Kara finds Reign, a superpowered vilainess who apparently imported her logic-defyingly-shaped sword from Japan
• Reign's big reveal is that the disconcertingly overpowerful devices known as "worldkillers" on Krypton weren't devices, but living beings. How does she know this? Because…she is one!

Birds of Prey #5

• I was questioning Poison Ivy being an apparent regular in this comic, but…know what? She brings this great dry humor to the book that makes for a great change of pace.
• Ow... painful typo on page 14: "I don't get it. You need an abili for something, or are you just--" (note: the comic even has it in bold. Shame on you, Bobbie Chase [editor] and Katie Kubert [assistant editor])
• This issue really ratcheted up the paranoia to 11, with Starling thinking she's been set up by the team (but it's really...well, I'm not going to ruin it for you). After a few shaky issues, it feels like this book might be hitting its stride.

That's all for this week, kids. Be sure to come back next week for more twists, turns, and surprises!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 040

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Hey, guys! For a change of pace, I'm really proud of this week's comic. This is the kind of big reveal I've been threatening for weeks and, for once, I actually revealed something! Believe me, as excited as you guys are (you...are excited, right?), I'm even...excited-er!

Anyway, with no further ado, here are this week's comic reviews (warning: SPOILERS, especially for Batgirl, The Ray, and Superboy, so if you follow any of those three, feel free to skip my review).

Stormwatch #5

• I swear, Stormwatch is one of those comics that's just laughably absurd because…hey, comics! Someone gets to say "the data I got from the moon." Data. From the moon. That's at least a little bit awesome.
• Speaking of the moon, remember how I said last month's issue marked the end of the Stormwatch vs. The Moon story arc? Well, I…guess technically that phase of the story's over, but this is still listed as "The Dark Side: Part 5."
• Also, Stormwatch gets an emergency visit from a member of The Shadow Cabinet (the Stormwatch team's bosses) to elect a new boss on the team. This results in some good comedy moments of him rattling off different characters' traits or deep dark secrets.
• Overall, I think this may have been the best issue of Stormwatch yet. The story felt well-balanced and moved at a fast clip (as opposed to some issues that, I felt, sort of dragged).

The Lone Ranger #1

• For the record, this is about as much knowledge of the Lone Ranger I had going into this. 
• "It's a good day…to see some justice done." Ohh…that's good comic.
• I'll be honest…I wasn't expecting much from this comic. What I got was a surprisingly moving story from the perspective of Jurgens, a farmer in the Old West whose family is in need of some justice. I would highly recommend you seek this book out and I can only hope the rest of this arc is as good as this first issue.

Batgirl #5

• A new conspiracy comes to Gotham with a crime family muttering on about "338" and we briefly see a new mystery woman named Gretel who can handle herself in a fight.
• We also flash back to see Barbara's less-than-touching reunion with her mom, picking up from the last issue's cliffhanger. Maybe it's because we started with the whole "338" plot, but I wasn't too sold on Barbara's mother. I guess we'll have to see how she's developed in future issues, so I'm going to hold off on passing judgment here.
• The Occupy movement comes to Gotham with the awesome protest slogan "NO WAYNE, NO HOW!" in response to Bruce Wayne's downtown urban renewal project. Whoever came up with the "NO WAYNE, NO HOW" slogan deserves a raise.
• Oh, look. Bruce Wayne drank the magic 338 Kool-Aid, too. Considering they tease a team-up with Batman next issue, I'm assuming he'll be able to shake it pretty quick.

The Ray #2 of 4

• I love the loose, easygoing narration in The Ray. I'm secretly hoping that this is selling well enough to earn an ongoing series in DC's upcoming announcements of new books.
• Lucian finds a brave new way to have relationship drama in comic books…he uses his light-based superpowers to BECOME INDIAN to impress his girlfriend's traditional Indian parents. Somehow he forgot to run this by her (conflict!) and she chews him out. Her father glares at him through the window.
• Another really great thing about this series is that all of the monsters have been weird, giant sea creatures. I'm expecting either an Aquaman team-up or the giant squid that was missing from the Watchmen movie.
• And, in true superhero fashion, his girlfriend gets kidnapped. DC needs to make this an ongoing STAT because they have their very own Spider-Man right here.

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #5

• Since I don't follow Dan Didio's O.M.A.C. book, I went in assuming that I had missed the first part of this comic. So opening it up and seeing "Current Mission: stopping a race of Man-eating Mountain Dwarfs" just makes me smile and say "oh, comics."
• Dude. As Frankenstein's threatening the dwarfs, he just casually mentions that his sword is the sword of the Archangel Michael. THAT IS AWESOME (I also thank DC for having a more literal interpretation of the Michael sword than Supernatural did back in season 5, but that just brings up bad memories, so I'll be moving on).
• Frankenstein called O.M.A.C. "boy" like he was about to tell him to go out back and pick out a switch. That was out of nowhere and I love it!
• This issue really didn't do O.M.A.C. any favors…he kind of comes off as a third-rate Hulk knock-off in this book and it didn't really fill me with any desire to read more about the character.
• Also…minor nitpick/possible art failure: O.M.A.C. teleports off with Frankenstein's left arm right as he's trying to decapitate O.M.A.C. with his sword, held in his right arm. After the teleportation, we never see the sword again. Did O.M.A.C. steal it? Did Frankenstein drop it to clutch his arm stump? What happened?! THESE ARE THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, DC!

Superboy #5

• Superboy remains a solid book, but my problems with it stem from a continuity standpoint: this issue precedes Teen Titans #5 and, if these kind of muck-ups continue, they're bound to make my head hurt.
• We also get some oblique references to "Culling Day," including a creepy creepy farm couple who feel like those country people you see in TV shows who kidnap and hunt people for sport (if you watch your genre television, you've seen these people before. I always hate them).

Batman: The Brave And The Bold #15

• I don't usually read this book, but I was a fan of the cartoon and, hey, this issue has Mister Miracle in it (I'm kind of a sucker for Mister Miracle).
• This issue mixed some of Mister Miracle's best assets (Mother Box, Jack Kirby's Fourth World, and impossible escapes) with some of Batman's traits (namely villains trapping him in a dream state…the premise for two Batman: The Animated Series episodes if memory serves).

That's all for this week, kids. Come back next week for the beginning of the EPIC FLASHBACK!