Peach the Destroyer: Issue 047

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Okay, guys. Are you ready for some hyperbole? I'll assume you said yes. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite issue of Peach the Destroyer ever. I'm not sure if it's because we finally see Dr. Felis outside of a video screen and/or a flashback, because we finally get to see the infamous C.A.T. Force 5 (see issues 018 to...see them get mentioned), or because I got to work in a freakin' A-Team reference (I know I didn't really need to link to that...that one was just self-indulgence on my part).

Anyway, with no further ado, onwards to spoiler-filled comic reviews!

• Bionic Man #7
• The Solicit: Steve is reunited with Jaime for the first time since his transformation, but can even his true love find a place in her heart for a lover who is now more machine than man? The truth about the homicidal Hull's origin and its ties to Oscar Goldman come out, and Steve learns that being an O.S.I. agent is a lifetime commitment... sometimes an involuntary one.
• There’s something...relatable about a protagonist who can still get slapped by his gal, which happens in page 2 when Steve apologizes to Jamie about, y’know, her having to bury him when he “died.”
• Jamie tells a nice, sad little story about her parents. I don’t know if this particular scene was written by Kevin Smith or Phil Hester, but it’s a great, quiet little character moment in a story about a cyborg dude who punches people and sometimes you need those.
• The majority of this issue is spent as an infodump on our crazy bionic supervillain, Colonel Avery Hull, who’s described as “a real life G.I. Joe” before he even got to be bionic. Long story short, he’s (as I’m sure the viewers at home have already surmised) Bionic Man 1.0, and Steve’s mission is to “deactivate” him.
• By the way, I’m not linking to the cover here, but be warned that the cover is, fairly literally, a spoiler for the end of the book. Which bugs me.
• The solicit’s fairly honest for the book, really, though I’m not exactly pleased with how they ramp up the “will Jamie still love Steve?” angle.
• Justice League #6
• The Solicit: The Justice League is united at last against Darkseid. The awesome consequences of this high-stakes battle will resonate within the series for years to come! Geoff Johns and Jim Lee end their historic first arc with a bang!
• We get our first glmpse at Desaad and Steppenwolf and...yeah, let’s just say I can see these guys and the “New 52” Parademons coming from the same planet now.
• Okay, stand back, because I’m gonna unleash the one-two punch of badass moments of the week: Wonder Woman stabs Darkseid in the eye with a sword. Then Aquaman stabs the other eye with a trident. SERIOUSLY, STUFF LIKE THAT DOES NOT JUST HAPPEN! THAT IS JUST PLAIN AWESOME!
• Some groundwork gets laid when Batman saves Superman and Supes exposits “The death and torture Darkseid’s spread across a...multiverse. I think I saw...me.”
• I’m not ruining it for you guys, but...there is a beautiful 2-page splash page that literally made me exclaim “god I love comics!”, it was that good.
• Directly after the Magnificent Crowning Moment of Awesome (jeez, there were a lot of those in this issue), we get two pages of the League working as a team. Maybe it’s because you usually don’t see “teams” working as a team in superhero-related stuff (just watch about any of the X-Men movies to see this exemplified), but seeing this team fire on all cylinders after bickering for 5 issues felt like icing on the cake.
• We end with a ceremony thanking the League in Washington, DC (paying, I think, fairly blatant homage to Justice League: The New Frontier, which I highly recommend reading or watching, depending on your preference) and a backup comic featuring everyone’s favorite cloaked woman, Pandora (you remember her, right?).
• Kirby: Genesis - Dragonsbane #2
• The Solicit: Spinning out of KIRBY: GENESIS, Sigurd Dragonsbane and his band of Norse champions explore the astonishing Mythlands, where the heroes and legends of every culture on earth now reside. But when they venture into the Olympian region, they run afoul of both Circe and the Cyclops...and the power and majesty of Ulysses might not be enough to save them! Plus: Balduur reveals an incredible secret power...at the possible expense of his own life!
• Okay, that solicit offends me more than most because 90% of it’s just a plot summary of issue 1. Did that issue not sell well or something? Did people need a “previously, in Dragonsbane!” for issue 2?
• As if to prove a point that Dragonsbane is the book where anything can happen, friggin’ Ulysses shows up to save our pig--err, heroes from Circe’s clutches.
• I’m not sure why (or if it’s intentional), but something about our Nordic heroes reminds me of Jack Kirby’s Forever People. Just an observation.
• I’m going to say it: if you’ve remained on the fence on the entire Kirby: Genesis line, Dragonsbane is the best book to get you started. Much like Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, each book has a different flavor and manages to stand apart from one another, but add in the facts that this book A) rocks and B) is only at issue 2 make it an easy recommendation.
• Batman Beyond: Unlimited #1
• The Solicit: A new era begins with the debut of the oversized, monthly Batman Beyond Unlimited, featuring the print debut of the new Justice League Beyond! In the Batman Beyond chapter, legendary Batman artist Norm Breyfogle returns to draw the Dark Knight of the future with best-selling writer Adam Beechen. In “10,000 Clowns,” an onslaught of new Jokerz is plaguing Gotham City – and the implications of this chaotic clown menace could have disastrous consequences for Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne! And the debut of the Justice League Beyond is here, courtesy of the Batman: Streets of Gotham art team of Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs, as the first two digital-first chapters are available in print for the first time! Batman Beyond is a new recruit in the mighty Justice League, but the team will be immediately tested by a very Neo Gotham-related enemy! How will the team work together to combat this threat?
• So...does this mean Batman Beyond is canon in the New DC Universe? I suppose it’s easier to accept a walking Commissioner Barbara Gordon in a continuity where Barbara’s retaken up the cowl as Batgirl, but I still have to ask.
• I was surprised to discover that the writer for the Batman Beyond half of the book, Adam Beechen, didn’t have a history of writing for the show when it was on (as far as I could find), because this story felt like I was watching an episode of the cartoon (albeit with a far more detailed art style than the Bruce Timm “barrel-chested and angular” motif would allow).
• Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long for a ton of familiar faces to crop back up. In the Justice League Beyond story, we see the re-appearance of some of the Jokerz crew from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (and an appearance in a Justice League Unlimited 2-parter). Heck, even a few of the genetically spliced “Animal Kingdom” gang are familiar to me.
• Hey, Justice League Beyond? Know how you have “Barda: Exiled god from New Genesis” on your team? Yeah, I’m ignoring that and saying that’s Mister Miracle and Big Barda’s daughter. Why? Because I like legacy heroes, darnit.
• Overall, this was a good book and definitely worth a buy, especially if you grew up on the cartoon (though that’s not a requirement).

That's all for this week, everyone. Come back next week for another chapter in the adventures of Peach the Destroyer!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 043

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Not much to say about this week's issue, sorry. The device in panels 3 and 4 is supposed to be based off the "blinky light units" from the Stargate franchise.

And now...comic reviews! Warning: I discuss spoilers, so...consider yourselves warned.

Green Arrow #6

• Oh, DC, you know just how to tease me. First the cover to Justice League #8 gets released, now you have Ollie reminiscing about meeting Aquaman? I can’t wait!
• We learn Green Arrow has bio-scanners built into his goggles, which I guess is as good an excuse as any for him not rocking the classic domino mask. Still no explanation why the only facial hair he’s ever shown with is a perpetual 5 o’clock shadow, however.
• We also learn Blood Rose is a robot. Honestly, did not see that one coming.
• Something about Green Arrow’s final confrontation at Midas/Blood Rose’s hideout felt really strong. Ollie got some good quips in and came off as smart and resourceful and I even found myself lamenting the fact that these characters look like they won’t be appearing in further Green Arrow adventures. The additional kick to the teeth is the fact that this is the final issue written by Keith Giffen, meaning we’re losing a writer as soon as, I feel, he’s found the character’s voice.
• In the end, Ollie takes a moment to savor his victory over the Seattle skyline. He kicks back and...pops open a beer. This beer happens to be in a long, golden can, which looks suspiciously similar to the long, golden canisters Green Arrow carries on his hip. It’s official: Green Arrow is the new Iron Man.

Action Comics #6

• Hey, kids, remember how last month I lamented not knowing what was going on? This issue has the slight problem of assuming I understood last month’s issue, so the resulting effect is similar to walking into the middle of a movie.
• So, anyway, we meet some midget dealer in alien tech, who had the Anti-Superman Army (which seems to consist of a trio of kryptonite-powered punks called The K-Men, a mummy, and a robot cowboy) steal the kryptonite engine of Superman’s childhood spaceship. It’s explained that all colors of kryptonite will be grown from this one engine, which I like as an explanation much better than, say, a meteor shower.
• Superman of the future shows up to save the jeans-’n-boots wearin’ Superman of the past, along with an older version of the Legion of Superheroes! Also, Superman gets to punch a T-rex.
• Aww, man. We get flashbacks to young Clark with Pa Kent and...it really makes me hate that the Kents are dead in-continuity. Who’s going to be Clark’s sounding board for...y’know, superhero stuff?
• “COME AND DIE INSIDE YOUR HERO’S BRAIN, YOU FOPS!” Dang. Mummies are intense.
• I liked this issue (surely it was leaps and bounds above last month’s headscratcher), but what really makes it shine is the backup story “Last Day,” which has Clark ready to leave for college and reminiscing on his farmboy memories before handing the farm over to a family friend.

Swamp Thing #6

• Swamp Thing continues its run as unlikeliest good book of the New 52...even with a new artist who’s trying in vain to reproduce the bizarre, organic panel structure of his predecessors. I’m sorry, Marco Rudy, but you need to either commit to a 2-page spread of cracked-out weirdness or just stick with a conventional panel layout. Also, you don’t draw the creepy kid creepy enough.
• We learn Abby (Alec’s gal pal for most of the previous 5 issues) is the evil version of Alec; serving “the Rot” instead of “the Green.”
• Alec pulls his best Terminator 2 impression, fleeing from the Rot on Abby’s motorcycle and USING A FRIGGIN’ SHOTGUN TO KILL SOME EVIL LACKEYS! Seriously, who thought we’d see the day when Swamp Thing would get to use a shotgun?!
• Um...I guess Alec Holland’s dead now. Tune in next month for the adventures of some new guy being Swamp Thing, I guess.
• Realistically, we wouldn’t be killing off the title character in issue #6 of a book that’s not even being cancelled. Conversely, kinda hard to walk a “chainsaw-to-the-chest wound” off.

Stormwatch #6

• I’m sorry, Stormwatch is always a solid book, I just usually don’t have much to say about it other than “this issue was good.”
• With their headquarters falling to pieces, Jack communicates with the “soul” of the “city” that is their space station. This turns out to be an alien artificial intelligence that regards Stormwatch as invading parasites. I kinda like Jack, so seeing his attempts to barter a way out of the ship’s destruction was a clever way out for the team.
• Martian Manhunter tosses in a quick retcon saying he’s actually never attempted to join the Justice League. Are you sure? Because that’s not what you said back in issue #1...
• ...and some blatant setup for the next storyline. I’ll say this about DC, they know how to keep you coming back.

Lone Ranger #2

• I like to imagine the Lone Ranger stories as being old pulp comics from a bygone era. At least that’s my excuse for text boxes with stuff like “translated from Native American tribal language” in them...
• There is an adorable scene of the Lone Ranger and Tonto meeting up with some little fanboy kids. It’s chock full of great dialogue like:

“Where’s Silver? Is he really ten feet tall?” 

“Ten? No...I don’t think so. He’d be pretty hard to mount.”

• Tonto makes it real easy to like him in just a few sentences. At one point he waxes philosophical about white man’s illusion of control over the west and, frankly, it’s hard to argue with him.
• This issue feels a bit more melancholy than the previous one, with the Lone Ranger coming face-to-face with a childhood hero. It’s a quieter issue than last month’s, but I don’t mind. It tells the story it set out to in a rather eloquent way and shows the Ranger has some sharp wits about him to solve seemingly impossible problems.

Kirby: Genesis - Captain Victory #3

• This was another solid entry in the Kirby: Genesis family that, frankly, you should be reading if you love comics.

Justice League International #6

• Batman basically makes a cameo appearance to pep talk Booster Gold into continuing the JLI with or without the UN’s involvement.
• In a “down time” moment, August General in Iron learns about the beauty of hotdogs. Poor guy, never had a hotdog before...
• August General in Iron also does his best Thing impression and clobbers an evil van. Have I mentioned he’s one of my favorite characters in this team?
• Oh, and the JLI exploded at the end. Couple this with Swamp Thing and DC had themselves a sick little week this week, didn’t they?

That's all for this week. Tune in next week for more drama, more comics, and more Peach the Destroyer!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 042

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Good morning, Destroyers! I'm sorry that this almost covers the same basic ground as last week's comic, but as soon as I found out about the Acoustic Kitty project, I just knew I had to work it into Peach the Destroyer continuity. Hopefully you'll let this shameless bit of self indulgence slide. Trust me, next week things are going to start getting CRAZY!

And now, our weekly comic reviews... (warning: spoilers)

Avenging Spider-Man #3

• We've had two solid issues of Spider-Man being…well, our friendly subterranean Spider-Man, quick with the jokes and funny one-liners. In this issue, he has a very nice scene with Jameson where we see that bravado crack as he explains why he can't show up at the Avengers' without Red Hulk.
• If I remember correctly, this book was advertised as being "THE DEATH OF RED HULK!" which is about as hyperbolic as the last issue of regular ol' Amazing Spider-Man. It's a good thing, too, because Red Hulk's got some good character moments, too, especially when Spider-Man picks on him.
• In the end, Spider-Man uses his greatest power of all: his mile-a-minute mouth to solve things. And, in his subterranean empire, the Mole Man promises vengeance for being pitied.

Kirby: Genesis #5

• This is a big, bad, backstory-heavy issue that lays out a lot of the Kirby: Genesis story of early Earth. I'm not going to ruin it because, like the best Jack Kirby stories, it's a little weird, a little trippy, and very intriguing.
• I'm going to admit…after reading a ton of this books' tie-in titles, I got a really good fist-pump moment when I saw Silver Star.

Justice League Dark #5

• Um…this is issue five and I still don't understand what's going on.
• The wackadoo arc with Enchantress and June Moon and a nursery rhyme wraps up…which may have been the source of over half my confusion.
• There's a good, coherent scene towards the end where everyone's (finally) in one room together. Unfortunately, it's far too brief.

The Savage Hawkman #5

• After Hawkman thinks he's crazy because he saw dead people, he wonders if maybe the nth metal inside him is poisoning him. It's an interesting and, heck, rational train of thought and I applaud him for thinking of it.
• Hawkman's translation vision gets amped up to 11 when he looks at a mysterious book, making the symbols come to life as violent visions.
• Most of this issue felt like setup for the new arc…although I really loved the issue-long slow build towards the last page reveal of the new Gentleman Ghost.

Teen Titans #5

• This was just a great all-out action climax to last month's issue as Superboy pummels the Teen Titans roster one by one.

Superman #5

• So the issue starts with Superman…absorbing another alien storm and becoming fairly blatantly possessed by whatever entity's been possessing people this arc.
• Superman destroys some "giant Fleischer robots" while being possessed. Hey, DC, want to try being a tad more subtle in those references?
• The end…I'll be honest, the end manages to feel like a little bit of a copout, but at the same time, I kinda want to see what happens next month.

Aquaman #5

• This was a very strong "setup" issue, much like Hawkman. An ancient Atlantian glyph is found that has a secret message from Atlantis. A SWAT team from Atlantis come to retrieve it and, long story short, Aquaman winds up in the desert.
• I really liked Aquaman's "vision quest" vision of his father. And the secret message when we finally got to see what it said.
• The next issue tantalizingly promises "Mera takes on the world!" I can't wait, even if (or maybe especially if) it's straight out of The Currys of Atlantis.

Justice League #5

• Y'know, there's something almost refreshing in seeing a police officer ask the Flash who he is. I'm not sure why…
• On the other end of the spectrum…wow. Green Lantern's seriously pompous enough to just yell "GREEN LANTERN'S GOT THIS!"? I could see Guy "one punch!" Gardner trying that line, but Hal Jordan? Seriously?!
• Green Lantern at least got some cool points after getting beat on by Darkseid by fashioning a cast for his arm with his ring. A few pages go by and…I guess he stopped concentrating or his arm was just dirty or something because his cast is all of a sudden gone. Cyborg reminds him his arm's broken and the cast shows back up. It's a nitpick, but c'mon, DC, Justice League is supposed to be your flagship book. Have someone look through it before going to press!
• This issue is like an episode of Home Improvement. Batman plays the part of Wilson, giving Green Lantern the advice that the team needs to play football instead of baseball. Green Lantern, playing the part of Tim Allen, botches this message up terribly when he relays it to the team. I swear, I was half expecting Al to pop up out of the rubble to say "I don't think so, Hal."
• And Batman did something dumb and wound up on Apokolips. World's greatest detective, indeed.

Well, that's all for this week. Come back next week to see what new twists and turns lie hidden in the past!

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 038

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Hey hey hey. After a good night's rest, I'm feeling much better. Now on with the comic reviews!

Warning: spoilers

Marvel Holiday Special

• Okay, I'm a few weeks late on this one…but hey, it's the thought that counts!
• The four short stories were cute 'n all, but…honestly, there's not too much for me to say. I think the stories got better as they went along, culminating in a very special story catching up with The Thing on Christmas day.

Teen Titans #4

• This book continues to defy expectations with a good, old-fashioned superhero slugfest between Wonder Girl and Superboy.
• Miguel continues to be awesome in every scene he's in, easily stealing the "comic relief" role from Kid Flash (on a side note, I'd love to see a scene with those two bantering…it would probably fill an entire issue).
• The issue ends on our first big, epic team splash page and, I gotta say, they really earned this one. This book simply amazed me at its continued awesomeness and I can't wait until next month's issue.
• All that praise being said…I was not too wild about how Superboy looked in this issue. On Superboy, he seems to be more of a toned, lean figure, but in Teen Titans his shoulders got broadened out and he looks just a smidge more like a brawler. Also, for the life of me I cannot figure out why Wonder Girl spends the first few pages cosplaying as Dazzler.

The Fury of Firestorm #4

• I keep enjoying this book and I still think it's a diamond in the rough, but after this week's stellar issue of Teen Titans, all I could think about was how cool a Firestorm/Teen Titans crossover would be…

Justice League Dark #4

• Know what? I give this book a lot of flack, but I'm going to assume the "Constantine eating cold baked beans" is a Watchmen reference and give them a few free points.
• On the other hand…this book continues to have the etherial quality of having a friend tell you about a dream they can't quite make sense of. Which, considering the magic subject matter, isn't all bad. I think I'm still waiting for the team to come together and earn that "Justice League" title on the cover.

The Savage Hawkman #4

• Well, this issue brought the Morphicus arc to a…rather abrupt close. There's not much more to say other than "yup. That happened." Also, the James Bond villain I kept complaining about? I think he's taken care of, too, which surprises me, since I thought we were setting him up to be Hawkman's Lex Luthor.
• We get a cliffhanger tease of next month's issue with Carter apparently seeing dead people or...seeing normal people who look like zombies or something. All I have to say is…if anyone deserves to have some sort of death-related power, it's Mr. "I've-died-more-times-than-any-of-you."

Superman #4

• The cover: eww. I hate bugs and it looks like Supes shares the feeling.
• This issue was…weird, and at least it's building to a conclusion (maybe?) next month.
• Overall, this issue felt reminiscent of John Arcudi's run on Superman in DC's Wednesday Comics.

Kirby: Genesis - Captain Victory #2

• It might sound a bit boring, but this month's issue was a really interesting character piece on the weight of command. Might not be for everyone, but I dug it (of course, I'm also a self-proclaimed Kirby: Genesis fanboy).

Aquaman #4

• Aquaman goes and pulls a Doctor Who by proclaiming "I'm sorry" and then genociding the heck out of The Trench (and I'm sure we'll ne-e-ever hear from them again)
• Also, Aquaman can fly now? I assume it's a super-leap justified by his physiology allowing him to survive in the ocean depths but…it's a one-panel thing that happens WITH ABSOLUTELY NO EXPLANATION, hence my question mark up there.
• D'aww, Aquaman got a pet dog…isn't that adorable? Also, I want him to have regularly-occuring team-ups with Ace the Bat-Hound in…one of the four books Batman has nowadays (assuming Ace is still canon…if not, re-introduce Ace).

Well, that's all for this week, everybody. Have a happy and safe new year's and I'll see all of you in 2012!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 024 (Plus Comic Reviews!)

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Good morning, my adoring destroyers! This comic (finally) concludes The Mission in Prague, with a conversation you'd think the two would've had at the end of Peach's Day Off, but know what? Dr. Felis can be a little bit thick-headed sometimes. There. I said it.

Also, to crush at least one fan's hopes, no, our next arc will not involve an Egyptian goddess on the Orient Express in space. I wanted to…blatantly steal the "unseen adventures" element from Doctor Who and it came down to a toss-up between that line and the "four things and a lizard" line from Blink. Also, if this paragraph made little-to-no sense to you, clearly you need to watch more Doctor Who.

So, hey, Wednesday was yesterday (oh god I hope that's not news to anyone) and my loving wife and I took a trip down to our not-exactly-local comic book shop to see the sights and buy some comics. Since I like reviewing things for you guys, here's what I read:

• Justice League #1 (Originally released 8/31)

Okay, I'm late on this one. Very late by reviewers standards. But know why? because I'm still new at this whole "buying individual issues" thing and I let everyone buy it before I stood a chance. I read the reviews online calling it slow-paced, decent but meh, etc. And y'know what? Maybe it's because I had a few weeks to lower my expectations, but…it was pretty solid. Maybe it's because I'm a nerd and was too busy focusing on some of the references/worldbuilding for the villain (sorry, I'm trying to keep things spoiler-free), but I thought it was a nice Batman/Green Lantern team up and…yeah, I can see it working as a build-up to the formation of the Justice League. I think a lot of why I liked it was I had enough time to distance the book from the "THIS IS THE ISSUE YOU HAVE TO READ! THIS IS WHERE EVERYTHING BEGINS!" hype it had upon its release.

• Batgirl #1 (Originally released 9/7)

Yeah, I'm behind on this one, too. Frankly, I had no reason to read this book, but I had no reason not to, either. Sure, nerds will debate about which one of Barbara Gordon's alter-egos was capable of doing the most good: Batgirl or her wheelchair-bound computer-expert Oracle, but since I never read any of the Bat-family books, I never felt like I had a stake in the argument. I mostly picked this book up on the sheer basis that I've never read a Gail Simone book, despite knowing her name well enough to know she's one of DC's best talents.
I thought this book was a good introduction to Barbara's new status quo, and I say that as someone who's basically coming in as a noob (see above). We get to see Barbara's trauma from The Killing Joke and her trying to deal with it and move on with her life. If I had to sum it up, I'd say the tone of Batgirl is…respectful. This book acknowledges and honors Barbara's time as Oracle (or I assume…her time in a wheelchair has been compressed to three years and I don't remember "Oracle" being mentioned, although I could be wrong as I have a bad memory) while showing Barbara's glee at being able to patrol and save people directly again. I'd recommend it, especially since it apparently didn't sell out last week.

• Superboy #1 (Originally released 9/14)

Okay, this is the cover of Superboy #1. I am a self-proclaimed nerd. Let's be honest, Superboy looks like something out of Tron. And when DC was announcing their relaunch comics left right and center, that was the first glimpse we had at the new Superboy.
And I hated it.
Seriously.
No, really. You have no idea. We're talking "Han shot first" levels of nerd-rage here.
Now let's flashback to last week. While I expressed some mixed feelings towards Action Comics #1, my wife's two-word review of the issue was "LOVED IT!" and she immediately expressed interest in reading the rest of the Super-family books.
And y'know what? She was right. I'll say it. While, yes, he does wear the Tron-suit in the issue, it is justified in-context (though he does have these S-shield-shaped signs on the back of his hands which…seriously, just…what?). This was also my first Superboy comic ever and, while I'm sure the whole "failed lab experiment" thing is old-hat to long-time readers, it still felt fresh to me.  Plus there were a few very solid twists in the book that gave it a surprising edge.

• Kirby: Genesis #1 and #2 (Originally released 8/01 and 9/01, respectively)

These were the "random finds" this trip. I had heard about this project through the grapevine months ago and shrugged it off. If you're not familiar with Jack Kirby, he's one of the founding fathers of modern comics and probably creator of at least a handful of characters you already know. I shrugged it off because…well, I've read a solid chunk of Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus books to know that Kirby had a certain style and voice that aren't easily duplicated. Then I read the free preview issue on Comixology and I got turned around. "Wow," I thought. "This could actually work." And after reading issue #1, I was ready for an entire line of books set in this comic's universe (also, an aside, I just found out while researching that Genesis is only an 8-issue miniseries. Man!). Genesis reads like a love letter to everything Jack Kirby brought to comics (see the final page for issue #2. That's Darkseid. They can call him whatever they want, they can color his skin all...not-grey, that's friggin' Jack. Kirby's. Darkseid.) while simultaneously bringing a breath of fresh air to absolutely everything. If I had to recommend a single comic based on this week's purchases, it would be this.

Well, that's (finally) all for this week, everyone. I hope you have a good week and I'll see you next Thursday!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 016

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This was very nearly the second issue of Peach the Destroyer to feature color...I was going to give Peach those creepy green glowing eyes cats get in the dark, but I couldn't get the right color and...frankly, she kept looking evil. And you just can't do that to your hero...especially not when you're less than 20 comics in*. Also, my original script for the comic totally didn't have that cheesy arrow/tagline combo in panel 6, but I was worried the shadow wasn't playing good enough and we all know how I like to be subtle like a sledgehammer.

Moving on to this week's entry in my Ten Favorite Webcomics is one I've been wanting to include for a while...Jefbot! Seriously, this comic makes me nerd out like few others. This comic hit the ground running with stuff like the annual Christmas Bat (which totally sounds like something my family would've come up with), Jeff/Jefbot's feud with Wil Wheaton, and, as of late, a could-be girlfriend who runs the local arcade (I'm linking to the second comic in the arc where we first see her...if you want to start at the beginning of that arc, go back one).

Well, that's all for this week, kids. Hope you have a good week and I'll see you next time!

* - note: I'm totally sure someone could totally pull that off, but I just can't do it, man...

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 014

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...and with this UNBELIEVABLE CLIFFHANGER, Peach's Day off comes to a close. Not much to say about this week's issue. It's one of those ideas that's been floating in my head for weeks, so it's nice to finally get it out. Next week it's an ALL-NEW ADVENTURE! Anything could happen!

Moving on to my Ten Favorite Webcomics, this week it's Dr. McNinja. He's a doctor. Who's a ninja. I really shouldn't have to say anything else, you should already have clicked the link. Actually, truth be told, it took me a few tries to read through the archives...it's a lot of plot to absorb and it can get so surreal it makes what I do on Peach the Destroyer look completely sane and rational, but if you get past stuff like the good Doctor having a gorilla receptionist and a pet velociraptor (named Yoshi, naturally), you're in for one of the best rides in webcomics.

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 009

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Good morning, destroyers!

Look at this, 5 panels without our title character! How can this be?! Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be getting back to Peach very shortly...

For panel 5, I swear, those are Siamese cats, not bats. Though I can see how you could think that. I swear I had a reference photo for them (reference photo = photo I glanced at twice while drawing).

Well, not much more for me to say about this one. Have a good week, everybody!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 008

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I like today's issue. We have backgrounds on half of the panels and panicked/confused Peach in panel 4 feels extra-adorable to me (I think it's because I gave her my patented "unnecessary rubbing of my head while panicking" move). Also, 7 comics later, I finally found a better way to do static than what I did in the first issue.

So yeah...now we get an ounce of plot going with the evil robber birds. Will we ever see them? Are they real? Are they a figment of Peach's imagination? These are all really good ideas that I hadn't thought of before! Will we get answers to these questions? Maybe!

Also, this week's update feels like the right time to highlight one of the several webcomics that helped inspire Peach the Destroyer, The Adventures of Superhero Girl. It's good fun and how Faith Erin Hicks managed to turn Blogger into a decent webcomic setup is (obviously) beyond me. So check her comic out, it's pretty awesome (just for the record, I am in no way the inspiration behind the strip I linked to and I'm pretty sure Superhero Girl doesn't know Peach or any of C.A.T. Force exists).

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 006

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Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! Aww, it's the first Peach the Destoryer  update on a holiday (in hindsight, there really should have been something about that since Peach is even in Mexico...oops).

Panel 3 nearly broke me. Ever since Issue 001, I'd wanted the teleportation portals to look less like the lame, scribbled-out swirling vortexes and more like something more Jack Kirby-esque. Panel 3 was my attempt to skew towards that instead of...well, what it looks like in panel 1 (funny how that works, isn't it?). It was also my first attempt at making Peach gray (like she is in the real world), but I wanted to hold off on any major changes to character design until the next arc.

Finally, yes, that is supposed to be me in Panel 6 and not the PC guy.

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 005

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I can state with fair certainty that today's issue has more words than every previous issue (and possibly more words than all previous issues combined. Feel free to check that in your own time).

For the record, since we've managed to miraculously skip ahead of the "clean up from a chupacabra attack" scene, we also missed the "Peach hands her combat pack back to Dr. Felis" scene. I know it's important (and maybe some of you were even looking forward to it), but rest assured, that vital plot hole has already been filled!

On to artistic matters...still trying to get the hang of using the WACOM tablet...I know it's probably going to be a long learning curve, so please bear with me.

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 004

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This issue of Peach the Destroyer is very special...it's the first comic to be 100% digitally-created (and probably won't be the last).

See, much like last week, I waited until Wednesday to make our comic. But I decided to dust off the WACOM tablet I'd received as a gift from a friend years ago. Considering this is pretty much my first time using it, I think today's comic came out looking pretty good and I'm interested to see how the "look" of the comic evolves while using the tablet.

The chupacabras crack me up...they were supposed to be (loosely) based on the stupid, stupid rat creatures from Bone, but wound up looking like hairy, angry mameshiba / edamame dogs.

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 003

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I'm not too happy with this one. Don't worry, I'm still trying to improve on this as I go...next week we get to what everyone's been waiting for...cats fighting chupacabras!

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 002

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And so here we have our second issue. New characters, new setting (if I could be bothered to draw some background), and we get to see that Dr. Felis is a giant, human-shaped thing with the head of a cat. In my head, he's voiced by Samuel L. Jackson (yes, I'm just shameless sometimes).

Peach the Destroyer: Issue 001

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Welcome to the beginning of Peach the Destroyer, the epic tales of what my cat does while my wife and I are at work all day. For all I know, these stories could be true, since I technically have no way of proving that they're not...