Panel Discussion: Scans from Batman RIP #681, Buffy Seaon Eight #19, Blue Beetle #33, and More

Every Monday, we at Geekanerd rip panels from last Wednesday's comics and post the best, the worst, and the weirdest. If you didn't read your books this week, beware of some MAJOR SPOILERS.

Best Acting - The Cast of Blue Beetle #33
The always awesome Rafael Albuquerque is at the top of this game this week, breathing life into the Beetle crew with a bunch of hilariously pointed expressions.

Here, Wonder Girl looks SERIOUSLY fed up with Robins leader-talk...or is she annoyed by Red Devil's running commentary? Whatever it is, no one seems to be paying her much mind.

Here we have strained guilt and compleate dismissal. Paco's tiny mouth is what really does it for me.

This panel is stepping into farcical sitcom territory between Peacemaker's dumbly confident smirk and Beetle's "why me" expression and posture. I will never cease to be amazed by how much facial acting Albuquerque gives the Blue Beetle with just eyeballs and a little white line.

This gag made me laugh. Big biker Peacemaker has been 16 year old Jaime's sidekick for the last year or so, and now he's taking orders from the Boy Hostage. The right panel is a perfect moment of self realization, in which the big man tries comes to some small self-realization that perhaps his time might be better spent with people he can actually have a beer with.

A familiar face for Buffy, and giant spoilers for Walking Dead and Batman, after the jump...


Best Splash Page - Batman RIP #681
This page by Tony Daniel doesn't win any points for originality, but you don't always have to reinvent the wheel to make a powerful splash page. This is classic Batman, having fought his way out of the grave and still looking hale and hearty. And as for his supposed "death" at the end of this issue....come on, people. Habeas Corpus. Show me the body.

Best Cameo - Buffy: Season 8 #19

RILEY! Everyone's least favorite Buffy boyfriend is back, and he's working for Twilight, the Big Bads of Season 8 (not the Vampire movie...kind of confusing, actually). Perhaps this shocking (but not entirely unexpected) turn of events will give Riley what the TV series never could; interesting personality traits.

Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Batman RIP #681
"Force of habit"? So, does Bruce ALWAYS switch cups with whoever he's drinking with when they blink? Like, even at his society luncheons and company board meetings? "Oh, that's funny, I thought I ordered diet." "HNN."

Downer of the Week - The Walking Dead #55
We've had just a few too many happy reunions since Rick & Son decided to leave their prison stronghold. Nothing like a completely unexplained suicide to get that sense of hopeless dread back to normal Walking Dead levels. Jeez.*

*Girl gripe: This is a pretty good example of Women in Refrigerators. Maggie has been one of the least developed characters in the series, and her death is only effective because now her husband (funny, smart, menchy Glenn) will be emotionally crushed. If a less disposable character (like Glenn himself) had been touched by despair and driven to take their own life, this moment would have been a lot more moving. Gripe over.

Chiller of the Week - Batman RIP #681
How many times can writers flashback to the moments before Thomas and Martha Wayne's death and still have it be chilling and sad? As many times as they want, as long as they're as good at Grant Morrison at foreshadowing. Here, Thomas Wayne discourages his son's romantic notions of vigilantism by equating it with mental sickness, as little Bruce responds only with a uncomprehending, "What?". As Joe Chill rounds the corner, the reader knows that Bruce's lessons in the lines between heroism, revenge, and insanity are just about to begin. This is a sad and poetic moment, and a great ending to Morrison's outstanding storyline.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Detective Comics #849, The Walking Dead #53, The Man Who Loved Breasts, and More

Beatdown of the Week - Detective Comics #849

Here's one of the most brutal Bat-interrogation scenes I've ever seen, and it's not even in a Frank Miller book!

Scarecrow has made the mistake of coming between Batman and the secret to saving Catwoman's life, and Batman takes his questioning techniques out of the realm of "intimidation" and into the realm of "black ops torture". As this splash panel illustrates (get it? SPLASH panel? Sorry.), Batman dunks Crane's head in a toilet along with a live electrical wire for some highly unorthodox shock therapy. This gruesome display impresses even the king of electrical torture himself, the Joker. Those two are really just soul mates at heart.

Production placement, zombies, and awkward tastes in porn, after the jump...

Product Placement Alert - Final Crisis: Revelations #3
Oh noes! The citizens of Gotham are driven to such nihilistic despair by the Anti-Life equation, they'll even stomp all over the new pink iPod shuffle! God, why?

Bad Idea Jeans - Walking Dead #53
This also fits into the "Best Use of a Repeated Panel" category.

For those not in the loop, for the past few years worth of issues Rick and his band of survivors have been doing battle with a town full of crazy murderous hicks, and were eventually driven from their safe house, with Rick and his son being the only survivors. Now Rick realizes that if he'd just stayed put with another group of folks he decided to split with back at the beginning, everyone (including his wife and baby daughter) would be safe and sound. What's that crushing regret taste like, Ricky Boy?

Something Horrible Is About to Happen - Crossed #1
This poor bastard got it in his mind that zombies (or whatever these guys are) hate salt, so when his wife breaks her ankle while on the run and tearfully BEGS him to shoot her and save their daughter he just makes a little salt circle and insists "It's going to be all right." The double page spread that follows is one of the most upsetting I've ever seen. We've posted some gory stuff here on G'nerd, but I just couldn't bring myself to post a picture of... the weak stomached should move on to the next panel... a woman being raped, the skin falling off of her scalp, cursing her husband ("Stupid c***sucker f***ing ***hole look what you did mother****er look what you f***ing did"), who is also being raped while his entrails are shown to him, and above it all their young daughter being pulled to pieces. Yeah, apparently zombies don't mind a little salt with their meat. It's more than a little much, even for Garth Ennis.

How Can I Put This... - The Man Who Loved Breasts
Classic sketch comedy, this guy is trying to tactfully explain to a sperm bank employee that he prefers amputee porn.

Movie Moment - Detective Comics #849
In the grand tradition of Luke's Failure At The Cave, Batman has met the enemy, and it is him. HUSH IS BRUCE WAYNE!

jk jk lol, it's still Tommy Elliot, just with some facial reconstruction to make him look like Bruce. But when I first saw this page, I actually exclaimed, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!". And that's really the kind of reaction I look to get out of comics.

Snap Judgments: Reviews for Crossed, Detective Comics, Final Crisis and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. Beware some potential spoilers.

Detective Comics #849 gets an A+ from Degan and an A from AHR
Man, Dini knows how to write a Batman story. Despite having the least to do with the "overall" (if there is one) R.I.P. story, this has been favorite of the bunch. Breathing life into a dull, manufactured character, Dini has not just made Hush tolerable, but actually intriguing. And Nguyen is quickly becoming one of my favorite current artists. To top it all off, the story ends with one of the most genuine "hows-he-gonna-get-outta-this-one" cliffhangers I've read in a while. -Degan

I continue to love this series. Hush's backstory gets more satisfying with every issue, and the extent to which this issue connects to long past issues in Dini's run of Detective is spellbinding. There's also a ridiculously cracked out Joker scene, even if it only amounts to a cameo. Teaser: Batman busts into Joker's cell at Arkham, pushes him on to the bed and handcuffs him to a pipe. I think I read a fanfic like that once. Um, just kidding? Sorry everyone, but they say context is for the weak. Anyway. This is a great issue in a great story, and it's going to make an even better trade. Can't wait for the conclusion. -AHR

Reviews for Pulp Tales, Crossed, Final Crisis Revelations, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Walking Dead and Young Liars after the jump...

Pulp Tales: Josh Medor Benefit Comic gets an A from Albo
Pulp adventure for those with short attention spans, this book is made up of five four-page standalone stories. And they are tasty little nuggets of pulpy goodness for sure. I want to read more from every one of these universes. The real crown jewel here, though (and the reason I picked the book up in the first place), is a short story by Steve Niles that has more meat than the others. Because while they say a picture is worth a thousand words, four pages of prose sure can pack in a lot more story than four pages of comics.

Green Arrow and Black Canary #13 gets an A- from Degan
This book has been one of my surprise favorites from the start. Each week I'm pleasantly surprised-and this issue is no exception. It does suffer from the usual cathartic first-issue-after-major-story-arc problems... but even then the catharsis was well deserved and well appreciated. Winick continues to make the bizarre arrow family humorously dysfunctional-and this issue even has an "I have HIV" moment that doesn't come off too very-special-episode.

Final Crisis Revelations #3 gets a B from Degan and a B from AHR
Like almost all of these Final Crisis books, I like this story-but it leaves me with no understanding of what's actually happening in the crisis. Like the other titles, this book seems to make reference to events from other titles... but for the life of me I don't know when and where they happened! And I've been reading every Final Crisis title! WTF?! To make matters worse, the art was downright confusing at times, leaving me to carefully analyze certain panels to understand what happened. Aside from all that (like that's not a big deal) I actually really like this story-the Spectre, the Question, Vandal Savage as Cain... pretty awesome story. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a bigger picture. -Degan

This book is loco! Speaking as one who ISN'T reading any other Final Crisis titles, I can just about understand what's going on, despite Rucka's best attempts to confuse me by loading the story up with scripture (both biblical and imagined) at every turn. But despite some mildly heavy-handed theologizing, for the most part this look at the nature of God's mercy through the eyes of a bunch of DC supes is genuinely interesting, and a little heart-wrenching if you were a fan of Gotham Central and the old MCU team. I can't imagine how this book ties into the DC universe at large, since it's basically suggesting the entire world except Montoya and three nun-killers have become scary anti-life demons, but continuity aside, it's heady apocalyptic fun. -AHR

The Man Who Loved Breasts gets a B from Albo
Three short comics from Robert Goodin, the first about a man in the 50s who was told to "do what he loves" so he becomes a custom brassiere maker. Things take a turn for the worse in the 60s, unfortunately. The second is about a guy trying to tactfully ask for amputee porn at a sperm bank, and the last is a conversation between a modern day geek and King Arthur. The last is a great little idea that I've pondered before--if I went back in time, I could tell all the people about all the wonderful things to come, but could I replicate them? Or even explain them? No way! As much as they'd love to hear about cars or gunpowder or antibiotics or radio, it would all be a bunch of talk. Goodin proves he's a skilled cartoonist and an excellent storyteller with this little book.

Walking Dead #53 gets a B from AHR
Wow, something actually happened in this book! I hate to be one of those fans who complains about the slower issues used to build dramatic tension but...I was really starting to get a little tired of the lonely adventures of Sick Depressed Man and Son. Here Rick meets up with old friends, and realizes a major decision he made in his self-proclaimed role as leader was majorly wrong. I've always felt a little antagonistic towards Rick; decent as he is, his alpha-maleness always seemed to come too easy. It's a great choice to take him out of his role as leader, if only for a little while.

Crossed #1 gets a C from Albo
Is there room for another zombie book on the shelves when Kirkman's Walking Dead is still so good? Moments of extreme shock value are the only thing that make this book stand out.

Young Liars #8 gets a D from Albo
I stood by you for eight issues, David Lapham, but I can't do a ninth. I still just don't care what happens to these people, due in no small part to the scattered storytelling style you've slapped on the book. Please go back to Stray Bullets!

Snap Judgements: Reviews for Walking Dead, Captain Britain and MI13, DC Universe: Decisions and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. Beware some potential spoilers.

Amazing Spider Man #572 gets an A from Albo
Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. continue to deliver an awesome, classic Spidey story. This ish has Norman Osborn getting even more unstable, and even trying on his old Goblin duds. They still fit! And speaking of old costumes, Mac Gargan (the new Venom) slips back into his old Scorpion outfit to create a terrifying Scorpion/Venom amalgam. These developments plus the trashing of New York in their hunt for Spidey makes me feel like pretty soon the feds are going to notice that their team of "heroes" are actually just the new Sinister Six. So good.

All Star Superman #12 gets an B+ from AHR
This book has tons of great moments. Lex is a such a wonderfully brilliant-yet-oblivious bastard in this book, and his brief super-powered reign of terror is a pleasure to read. But this book just wraps up so damn fast; no mention of the Bizzaro plotline, or the insane meta-bottle universe that was actually Earth Prime (or something)? I wanted more of this book, and it bums me out that the incredible mythos Morrison created will likely dead-end with this miniseries, unless of course....there's a sequel....

Reviews for Captain Britain and MI13 #5, DC Universe: Decisions, and The Walking Dead #52 after the jump...

Captain Britain and MI13 #5 gets a B from Albo
While Captain Britain bores the pants offa me, the supporting characters of this book are worth reading. The Black Knight and Faiza make this issue worthwhile, in a scene where they are trying to get the blessing of Faiza's conservative Muslim parents for her new life as a superhero. Black Knight's attempt to ingratiate himself by speaking their language backfires when Fiaza's dad points out that the Knight picked up the language while fighting in the Crusades. Anyway, great stuff. Blade's there, too, but probably not for long so don't let that turn you off of this solid book.

DC Universe: Decisions #1 gets a C from AHR
I thought between a smart writer like Bill Willingham and the aggressively-progressive Judd Winick, this book might actually be a political satire. Nope! The politicians are cardboard stand-ins with no real-world counterparts, and they exist in a completely bloodless political landscape. The Republican nominee is a black woman, and yet the JLA is shocked, SHOCKED, by an assassination attempt...who could imagine a motive for such a crime? And indeed, the perpetrator is being mind-controlled, no doubt by some villain with some sort of non-partisan world domination scheme. We're coming up on the most important election of our lives, if DC wants to cash-in on the hype, can they please grow some balls first? All that said, the JLA interaction is funny and fun, even though Ollie looks like a dumb pushover, that's pretty much par for the course.

The Walking Dead #52 gets a C from AHR
This issue is a perfect example of why this book needs to be read in trades. Some interesting things happen, the writing is good as always, but it's so damn short! There's no satisfaction in reading a detailed, deliberately paced story like this in 30 second bursts. It's not the book's fault, the fault is in comic companies business model that makes everything a serial. C'mon Kirkman, you're in charge now, cut out the middle man and release these as trades! Please?

Snap Judgments: Reviews for 1985 #2, Final Crisis #2, The Initiative #14 and More!

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite TPB gets an A+ from AHR

This is a must have. First of all, Gerard Way's six issue story is so good it makes me a little anxious; how can comic that's so smart, so refreshing, be the freshman effort of a pop star? It makes me question everything I know about the world. Aside form the main story, the extras in this book are superb: a highly credible introduction by Grant Morrison, in which he mentions listening to The Black Parade on loop while writing the brilliant Batman #663, genuinely impressive original character designs by Way himself, a wonderful piece of promo art by artist Gabriel Ba, and the Free Comic Book Day one shot in which the world got it's first taste of the Academy. Get this book. Cherish it.

Reviews for Avengers: The Initiative #14, Final Crisis #2, Mighty Avengers #15, Walking Dead Vol 8, Thunderbolts #121, 1985 #2, New Avengers #42.

Avengers: The Initiative #14 gets an A from Albo

This has been a "pick up and scan in the store" book for me for months now, along with Amazing Spider-Man and anything that looks a little sexy. But I swear, once I started seeing what was going on within these pages I had no choice but to buy it. Dan Slott takes what could have been a pretty ordinary *COUGH*mightyavengers15*COUGH* Hank Pym-is-a-Skrull story and turns it into a hilarious situation comedy. The issue starts with some flashbacks that show Pym Skrull having to using his hidden extra powers to escape particularly tough scrapes, and then attributing his miraculous survival to "shrinking a lot." Needless to say, Pym Skrull thinks the gullibility of Earthlings is hilarious. There are many more standout moments, such as an Initiative cadet's "discovery" of Pym as a Skrull based on his choice of lunchables and a very Twilight Zoney ending that will make your heart sink. Highly recommended read!

Final Crisis #2 gets a B+ from AHR

For the first half of this book, I was sure it was going to get an A. I LOVE the Japanese superhero team. I wish DC would let Grant Morrison write a guide to the DC Universe, where he just makes everything up. His inventions and reinventions are almost always way more fun and interesting than anything that existed before. I even love what he's doing with the Monitor in this book; it reminded me of parts of Jonathan Lethem's Omega series, oddly enough. But parts of this book are so hard to understand, and so full of made-up space jargon, it feels like a slog in order to get to the next fun bit. Also, if I was a fan of Martian Manhunter, I think I'd be pissed by the one-page funeral scene. Didn't Bart Allen get like, an entire book to himself? He's not even a JLA-er!

Mighty Avengers #15 gets a B from Albo

If you like naked people, this is certainly the Avengers book for you. There are only seven pages in the book that DON'T contain a nude or only partly clothed individual. Anyway, Bendis seems intent in telling the bulk of Secret Invasion through flashback stories, no doubt to illustrate how fiendishly clever he's been these past few years. This one's all about Pym being replaced by a Skrull, and while I certainly can't claim the read isn't enjoyable (Bendis crafts some great little scenes here) I can't help but ask "Why?" when I'm all done with it. I didn't feel like I came out with any important information I didn't have going in. And surely I'm not the only one sick of these frickin' "warehouse talks" the undercover Skrulls seem to have every other night (See New Avengers review below).

The Walking Dead Vol 8: Made to Suffer TPB gets a B- from AHR

I got a little frustrated with this arc of this story, because I felt kind of dicked around with. There are a few too many "gotcha" cliffhangers, which at least won't be as irritating in trade paperback seeing as you don't have to wait a month to realize what seemed to be a horrifying twist was actually just a misunderstanding with no consequences. Thought to be fair, there are a hell of a lot of game-changing events in this book, and some very gut churning moments for long-time readers. But the supervillain-style antagonist of this story arc really gets on my nerves, and his dystopian post-apocalyptic society reminded me too much of Mad Max meets A.I. I never could reconcile it with the intimate, relatable world the story had inhabited beforehand. Also the zombies kind of fade into the background, and that's never a good sign.

Thunderbolts #121 gets a C+ from AHR

Not as fun as the Green Goblin rampage of last week. Not enough angry Moonstone. Too many panels where characters are simply running from one place to the other. And where's Venom? Did he die in the last issue? I can't remember. But; Bullseye comes back, and he's making up for lost time. Lost MURDER time. I liked Ellis' work on this title a lot, and am sad to see him go; I wish this mean, somewhat silly book could have gone out with more of an absurdly violent bang.

1985 #2 gets a C from Albo

Is it a second issue thing? Is Mark Millar just incapable of following up a strong first issue with anything but a dull slog of a story? Much like his Kick-Ass, the first issue was a fun, fresh, exciting setup and the second is just plain dull. Aside for the introduction of some new mystery, this book squanders the momentum it had coming in. Nothing happens. It's that simple. I'll still pick up the next one, though, because if Kick-Ass #3 was any indication, Millar really knows how to pick up the pace after a dull sophomore issue.

New Avengers #42 gets a D from Albo

As mentioned above, I am so sick of reading these scenes of standing around in a warehouse talking about their strategy to destroy the humans. There are invariably a few Skrullettes who look exactly the same and I'm not sure who's who and I'm so bored I can't even muster the energy to figure it out. Yes, we know Jessica Drew is a Skrull. Yes, we know she's working for Hydra and Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Why don't you tell me something new, BMB?

Panel Discussion: Scans from Secret Invasion #1, Detective Comics #843, Buffy #10 and More

Every week Geekanerd brings you the best, worst and weirdest panels from our week in comics. If you didn't read your books, there will be giant SPOILERS. Click the images for high res action!

Best Moves - Detective Comics #843

AHR: Zatanna kicks ass in this issue. So she's hanging out with Bruce at a party, and someone asks if they're an item, and he's all, "NO WAI!" And she's like, "O RLY?"
Man, how are you going to be that cavalier about asking out Batman? Do the words severe dissociative disorder mean anything to her? But seriously, Dini's run on Detective has featured a lot of great work on recovering relationship between these two, so I buy it. And there's a nice visual touch in the first panel - instead of asking Bruce to hand her a glass of water, she levitates it over to herself. Pretty cool customer.

More Zatanna, plus a racist vampire, an awesome comic cover and more after the jump!

Best Comeback - Zatanna, Detective Comics #843
AHR: This is just a good line any time someone tries to stick you with a label. I'm gonna remember it. Although it probably doesn't pack as much of a punch if one of the other things you are isn't a magician who can zap people's brains if she feels like it.

Coolest Development - Secret Invasion #1
Albo: The only interesting thing that really happened in the first issue of Marvel's newest big event was this panel--a Skrull ship crash lands on Earth, and when Luke Cage pries it open a bunch of throwback heroes flow out saying things like "At last we're back!" Are they Skrulls? Are they the real deal and their counterparts the Skrulls? Or are they time-displaced heroes destined to team up with their current time counterparts against a massive Skrullian menace? Who the heck knows, but I can't wait to find out. (Ooh, I hope they're the real deal)

Best Acting - Xander and Renee, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8: #10

AHR: When Xander and his slayer GF Renee go to visit Dracula, it quickly devolves into a melange of awkwardness. Dracula calls Renee a "moor", which is what they're reacting to in this first panel. Wonderful facial expressions here, also great nervous hand gesture from Xander.
Before long Xander is back under Dracula's ledgendary thrall, as Renee facepalms...This next panel is the height of comedy as far as I'm concerned...
Xander's blithe expression and Renee's goggle-eyed take are absolutely perfect.

And much later, as Dracula learns of some Japanese vamps stealing his powers...
Facepalm again! I love when artists use dot-eyes for really silly gags. Let's hear it for Georges Jeanty!

Sweetest Cover - Omega: The Unknown #7
Albo: Gary Panter really comes through in his artist guest spot, not only contributing a sweet ass comic within a comic but also the best cover of the series... Or any series in recent memory, for that matter.

Most Horrific Plot Development - The Walking Dead #48
AHR: For all the hemming and hawing over at Marvel about how Secret Invasion "CHANGES EVERYTHING", the developments of Walking Dead #48 make all the stuff at Marvel seem like small potatoes. For the last several years, The Walking Dead has been a story about a band of families, lovers and strangers, forced together by the need to survive. After this issue, in which about half of the cast dies including the hero's wife and new baby, I have to believe much of the rest of this book is going to be about grief.

Most Effective Small Talk Killer - American Splendor #1
Albo: Can't say the guy's off base. If anyone needs a little perspective it's Harvey Pekar.