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 Blue Beetle, Runaways, Superman/Batman and More

Every Monday, we at Geekanerd rip panels from last Wednesday's comics and post the best, the worst, and the weirdest. Those who didn't read books last week, beware of minor spoilers.

Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Superman/Batman #52
In case you need context, Lil' DC heroes and villians have invaded, and the JLA needs to sort it all out. But what you need to know is none of the big heroes ever really lay a hand on the Lil Legion of Doom, I mean they're just so cute, and they're kids, after all, you can't exactly beat up a kid...unless you're a crazy Bat Man, of course. And look at that white-rage expression in his eyes; Batman just sees some Joker-based entity and he goes all "Kill Bill".

On an unrelated note, Catwoman's mid-kiss expression is priceless. This book is amazing.

Awards for Best Actor, Best Coloring, and Most Misleading Cover, after the jump...


Best Actor - Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle #31

Andrew Coelho is a Blue Beetle artist from around the time the series started, and he's fantastic at wringing sharp, teenager-appropriate expressions from Jamie's armor-abstracted face. Let's examine...

Here we have embarrassed teenager eye-roll. You can really hear the "MooOMM!" intonation of his line.
With just a little lower-lid action, here's the perfect picture of an awkward superhero photo op.

One might call this expression "whedonesque"...

This moment works on the strength of the script alone; this thug just punched Jaime's mom at the hospital she works at, just as Jamie busts in. His expression in the lower panel is a really funny yet touching expression of a young kid who's so angry, he just swings out and doesn't care about having a cool, scrunched up hero face. It's like if " >: O" were a real facial expression.

Best Use of Color - Runaways #2
Last month my only gripe with the new Runaways creative team was that Christina Strain's colors were too "day-glo". But this week I had to eat my words, cause her it's her bright and neon pallete that makes this scene especially remarkable. I can't remember seeing water colored like that before in a comic, but it's instantly evokative of the way the ocean actually looks during a sunset. Great stuff.

Movie Moment - Superman/Batman #52Any fans of The Hudson Hawk out there? In that movie, there are two henchmen named Igg and Ook. And when they are eventually killed with bullets to the head, they grunt out "Igg!' and "Ook!". I rest my case.

Most Misleading Cover - Back to Brooklyn #1 (Variant Cover)How could I not get this comic? That's my subway train stop, and that girl is smokin' hot and looks like she could be a real badass hero/antihero. But you know what? She's in the comic for like two pages, and she's not attractive, tough, or heroic. She's not anything. She's like gray wallpaper, which is pretty much the color pallete of the actual book.

Now That's Comedy - Runaways #2I feel like this is really funny even out of context. Though I've been wrong before.

Snap Judgements: Reviews for New Avengers, Superman/Batman, Runaways, and More

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

Superman/Batman #52 gets an A from AHR

Any criticism I might have about this book is negated by the fact that I read the entire thing with a huge smile on my face. It's part 2 of 2, but here's all I needed to know; cute lil DC characters drawn by former Blue Beetle artist Rafael Albuquerque. Michael Green, he of the both excellent and horrible Lovers and Madmen story, serves up some moments of sheer cute-larity. Even when things go dark, they don't get ugly. WAN MORE PLZ.

Runaways gets an A from AHR

Fun and funny art, plenty of LOLs and :(s. Also lesbians. And you know you're reading an awesome book when you have a gay couple who are being hated on not because they're gay, but because one of them is a skrull. Oh Marvel, you'll win me over yet! I haven't read much of this title, and if you haven't either, check it out; they do a great job filling new readers in on what's going on.

Blue Beetle, New Avengers, and Avengers: Initiative, after the jump...

Blue Beetle #31 gets a B from AHR

This series continues to be really good. Not John Rogers good, but better than 85% of all superhero comics good. It's certainly the best thing I've read by Matt Sturges. I like the border patrol arc, maybe Jamie can take on the housing crisis next?

Avengers: The Initiative #17 gets a B from Albo

As tired as I am of Sectret Invasion, The Initiative does a pretty
good job of telling interesting stories with the mega event as its
backdrop. Ant-Man, stranded in this series after his brilliant Robert
Kirkman solo series got canned, finally gets a moment to shine with
his particular brand of false, cowardly "heroism." There's also a
great pep talk from Nick Fury wherein he goes on about how the
"Greatest Generation" were really just a bunch of scared kids in
trenches, just like you.

New Avengers #45 gets a C from Albo

Man, I bet I would just love this issue if I had read all of that "No
More Mutants" crap a while back. There's a cool alternate reality,
some classic "Back to the Future" style flashbacks where we get to see
a famous scene from a new perspective... All kinds of cool stuff. Oh,
yeah, but I don't know what the hell is going on. My fault, I know, I
know.

Snap Judgements: Kick Ass #4, Runaways #1, Teen Titans: Year One #6, and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. There is a potential spoiler within for Teen Titans, but I can't imagine you care.

Teen Titans: Year One #6 gets an A from AHR

This book is beautiful. Moments of terror, sadness, and victory. And still good for all ages. Also includes my favorite absurd bat-quote ever, "HRM. DAMN IMs". If only this wasn't the last issue.


Blue Beetle #30 gets an A from AHR

Oh, I was a fool to drop this book when John Rogers left...this issue is excellent. Funny, uniquely latino-minded, exciting, everything that made this series great in the first place. Lots of nerd jokes too, FTW.

Runaways #1 gets an A- from AHR

I know, I'm dumb, I didn't read this when Joss Whedon was writing it, but I'm reading it now and it's awesome! I'm a big fan of Humberto Ramos's super-cartoon anime style, though I wish the colors in this book were a little less day-glo. Terry Moore does an excellent job at making the heroes sound just smart and spontaionous enough to be believable kids, and you can tell you're in the hands of a pro for whom story and character comes miles ahead of one-liners and trying to be cool.

Kick Ass #4 gets a C from AHR

I only enjoy reading about the main character in this book when he's getting hurt terribly, and there's not much of that since #1. But there is some satisfyingly unflinching gore in this issue, and it's nice to see a "creepy little girl" character who can actually string a sentence together, as opposed to Cassandra Cain, the Female of the Species, The Little Sisters, Layla Miller, and the villain in every Japanese horror movie.

Teen Titans #62 gets a D from AHR

Jesus Christ, DC, we get it! You're not afraid to gruesomely murder lovable silver age characters who never hurt anyone. Enough. Enough.

Blog Bites From Two Awesome Comic Writers

Two items of interest on my RSS this morning:

Who says a gay, female, latina superhero can't hit it big in American pop culture? Clue featured in yesterday's New York Times crossword puzzle: "____ Montoya, DC Comics heroine known as the Question." What up!

Writer John Rogers has posted the entire script to his final issue of Blue Beetle, a story which I gave a semi-rare A+ review on both this site and Pop Culture Shock. The script format makes for a tough but interesting read, and it's always neat to see how comic writers communicate ideas to artists. Even without pictures it made me cry all over again.

Top Five Mexican American Geek Icons

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Although it's the most well-known Mexican holiday in America, Cinco is actually kind of a non-event in Mexico proper. Speaking as a Mexican-American, however, I take it as a great excuse to party. In honor of the holiday, I challenged myself to come up with five nerd icons of Mexican ancestry, no small task as Mexico isn't high on the list of geek culture exporters (it's no Japan, I'll tell you that). Nevertheless, what follows is a collection of folks both real and fictional, born inside and outside of Mexico, united by their place in geekdom.

5. Pedro

Pedro Sanchez hails originally from the town of Juarez, a place where, according to Pedro, they bust up pinatas that look like real people pretty much all the time. Though Pedro features heavily in the film's plot, the filmmakers never pull the curtain too far back on Pedro's inner-workings; we become well aquainted with Napoleon's specific areas of geekdom, but we never get a good idea of what Pedro's special skills really are. Still, it's a cool spin on the mixed-race buddy-comedy formula that Pedro's ethnicity is never mentioned or possibly even noticed by Napoleon, as the two are united by their mutual asbergian personalities. Sweet.

4. Guillermo Del Toro

Del Toro first scratched the surface of the American geek's consciousness with Mimic, but he really made his mark with Blade II and Hellboy, showing he had a respectable flair for adapting geek source material. Now that he has the prestige of Pan's Labyrinth on his resume, he's gearing up for the motherload of nerdy adaptations; Tolkien. He's in post-production for The Hobbit, and is talking a big game about using super-advanced animatronic techniques for the creature effects, as opposed to computer generated effects. This stance racks up some big points in my book. Isn't everyone sick of CG? Filmmakers think it looks real, but it doesn't. You know what's real? Puppets. Puppets and robots. Del Toro has also said in an interview with MTV that he has some European comic book artists in mind to bring to the film's design team, and all of this makes me think that dude is a serious nerd and will do right my favorite Tolkien book.

3. Betty Suarez

I don't care what anyone says, Season 1 of this show was some of the best network TV I've seen in years. It's pretty awful now, but nothing good ever lasts, unless it's on HBO. Betty is pretty much everything a leading lady on a prime-time series isn't supposed to be, including not-white, not-beautiful, and not-not-a-nerd. Betty isn't just a girl with glasses who will one day be made into the belle of the ball; she's a overly enthuasitic know-it-all who is actually confident in her high-functioning brand of nerdery. She's also unabashed about her Mexican hertiage, as seen in the above still and various of plotlines about going to Mexico or getting hassled by the INS.

2. Jaime Reyez

The greatest Mexican superhero since El Santo, DC Comics' third incarnation of the Blue Beetle is the most funny, unique and sympathetic teen hero in comics today. Or at least he was during writer John Rogers two year run; now that Rogers is off the book one can only hope the quality stays high. Jaime protects his Texas hometown from supervillians and alien invaders, and manages for the most part to have a pretty good, largely angst-free time while doing it. Throw in some hard working immigrant parents, some spanglish speaking friends, a red and orange texas backdrop, and you've got a book that feels new and authentic, even if it is written by a white dude.

1.Robert Rodriguez

An auteur with an obsessive attention to detail and a willingness to push things right over the top in the name of awesomeness, Robert Rodriguez makes movies for action geeks, horror geeks, and sci-fi geeks. You can feel the love of a fanboy coming through every frame. This indie director gave American audiences the only great Mexican action hero of the 20th century with El Mariachi. Or does Zorro count? I think he's Spanish (so is Antonio Banderas, who plays the titular Mariachi, but why split hairs?) Rodriguez has featured Mexicanos in just about every film he's made since his initial success, and provided one of the greatest poster taglines ever; "Are you a Mexi-CAN or a Mexi-CAN'T?" Rodriguez's films feel specific to what he knows and enjoys, yet their enthusiasm and eagerness to entertain make them accessible to anyone looking for action, provided their not put off by a bit of camp. Next up from Double R should be a direct-to-DVD version of Machete, a completely awesome-looking revenge flick starring Danny Trejo. The film appears it's getting held up in production, but I hope it gets made. If anyone can make Trejo a leading man, it's Rodriguez.

That's it! Now go drink a Miller Chill and eat chips! Happy cinco!

Snap Judgments: Quickie Comic Reviews for March 26, 2008

Geekanerd's second attempt at writing short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

Blue Beetle #25: A+
This comic makes me want to be a better man. - AHR

Mighty Avengers #11: A
Probably the best Dr. Doom story I've ever read. Really! - Albo

New Avengers #39: A
Finally the Skrulls are here! Too bad they're pansies. Aside from the lame Skrull fight this is a fantastic standalone Echo story. - Albo

Teen Titans #57: A
An entire issue of Ravager sneering, quipping, and being excessively violent; that, my friends, is exactly what I came to see. - AHR

All-Star Superman, Transhuman and Gunplay after the jump...

All-Star Superman #10: B+ from AHR, C from Albo
A collection of moments that are alternately confusingly plot-heavy and timelessly emblematic of why folks love Superman. The issue feels disjointed without a single clear narrative line to reassure the audience that the book will eventually become coherent, but like most of Morrison's work it's worth the effort. - AHR

Trying to do way too much at once. Where the hell is Morrison going with this? - Albo

Transhuman #1: B from AHR, C from Albo
Setting a story about genetic engineering in the innately evil world of corporate pharmaceuticals is a stroke of GENE-ius, and despite a constraining "documentary" storytelling device (which visually translates as all talking heads all the time) it's a surprisingly fluid read and if you make it to the middle you get a great comedy interlude with monkeys and violence and X-Men jokes. - AHR

Comic masquerading as a documentary on genetic engineering and human manipulation. All info, no story, no thanks. Hickman's Pax Romana is a much better read with similar themes. -Albo

Gunplay #0: C+
The first bit of a soon to be released graphic novel, which judging from the first few pages I thought was going to be an anti-racist revenge fantasy/vaguely racist castration anxiety nightmare, and though this issue indicates a story more thoughtful and nuanced than that, you get the sense that the preview ends before the interesting stuff starts, which seems like a gamble, marketing-wise - and by the way, I'm not crazy for thinking there are castration themes in this book, like mid-way through a dude gets his balls grabbed. - AHR

Snap Judgments - Blue Beetle #19, Countdown to Adventure #2, Avengers: The Initiative #6

Blue Beetle # 19

Blue Beetle has been settling into a tidy formula over the last five issues - Jaime fights a guest villain, picks up a bit more wisdom on how to be a superhero, and the book wraps up on a personal note, often with single-tear inducing epilogues. This ish hits all the marks: Giganta is the baddie, and her Kaiju Big Battel style rampage is one of the most exciting action set pieces in months (drawn with gusto by David Baldon, who redeems himself for giving Tim Drake and Jaime the same face last month). Jaimie learns a lesson in horrifying pseudo-science of pressure points, and the emotional moment belongs to his gringa gal pal, Brenda.

These self contained stories work in the same way Paul Dini's recent run on Detective did - the dialogue zips the plot along, the resolutions are smart and satisfying, and it's easy for new readers to pick up. But as regular reader, I'd like to get back into the meat of the alien invasion plot line introduced way back in issue #13. And speaking of 13, rising star Traci 13 shows up for about three minutes in this issue to confirm that she and Jamie are totally hooking up. A- AHR


Countdown to Adventure #2

The only good thing about an alternate earth where Nazis rule the world is that when freedom-loving heroes from other dimensions show up, they have carte blanche to do as many head-severing superpunches as they want without fear of moral compromise. Here, it's Forerunner who gets to do a few laps of nazi-smashin' in the second half of this two-story issue - the first half concerns the dreadfully uninteresting 52 outer-space story, but does feature Animal stomping on a car and Starfire in civvys. I haven't been reading Countdown closely enough to fully understand the Forerunners complicated and tragic back story but I like what I do know: she likes to kick, hit, aaaaand KICK! B AHR



Avengers: The Initiative #6

I'm....I'm blind . Regular Initiative artist Stefano Caselli is MIA on this issue, and the jarring effect of seeing Dan Slott's script interpreted by young gun Steve Uy has caused my neural receptors to refuse the information my eyes attempted to relat. It's not as simple as a case of bad art - what drove me crazy is that the acting in this issue is terrible. Though the stiff body language and flat expressions seen here are not among the worst I've ever seen, artist Uy is at the serious disadvantage of filling in for an artist who has been creating the most vividly realized new characters in mainstream comics. Imagine watching a great movie with a fanatically talented cast, but when you come back from the bathroom all the characters are suddenly being played by first year drama students. The script might still be spot on, but nothing murders good dialogue like bad acting. Some important and surprising information is revealed in this issue, so regular readers may still want to check it out, but don't blame me if you're gripped with the impulse to hurl popcorn at the pages. D AHR

Panel Discussion: Scans From This Week's Comics

Don't be afraid to click these suckas for hi-res images - also, SPOILERS AHEAD for those who haven't read their books yet.

No Comment Award - Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious #1
If our heroes our gonna spend their time together engaging in sexual deviancy, we're going to have to take their crossover privileges away...

Clones, Whitey, Beatdowns and more after the jump!

Coolest New Character - Conall the Beetle, Mouse Guard 1152 #1
Learning how the pseudo-feudal world of Mouse Guard works is one of the most intriguing aspects of the book. Last series we learned that the mice use bees like attack dogs, and now we find that beetles can be kept as pets. Awesome! A look at the official Mouse Guard site reveals that this 5-legged fella has both a name and a sad but sweet back story. Petersen obviously likes the little guy, as Conall injects a bit of humor into the above scene by chewing on one of the little Mouse-Stratego figurines.

NAACP's Exhibit A - The Spirit #9
Old Whitey cheating the Black Man out of what's his.

Attack of the Clones Alert - Blue Beetle #17
AHH! POD PEOPLE! Oh, wait, nevermind - it's just the Teen Titans. I realize that Tim Drake and Jaimie are the same age and have somewhat similar haircuts, but look at that panel - they have the same face! Not to mention the fact that Wonder Girl, Supergirl, and Martian Manhuntgirl look like the freakin' Stepford Cuckoos back there. Oy!

The Disney Silly Villain Stamp - Halo: Uprising #1
I cry a little when villains are reduced to comic relief. As I mentioned in my review of this book, I'm not a big Halo player, but... I'm pretty sure the Covenant soldiers don't talk like Homer Simpson.

Best Visual Framing Device - Batman #668
J.H Williams III takes the prize again! This Black Glove Panel vs Bat Panel is so cool and surprising, it makes up for the somewhat confusing sequence of action going on within the panels. Art is not always about functionality, people! The Black Glove is of course the name of the mysterious villain in the current Batman storyline, and this extraordinary splash page makes it clear he's got the, ahem, upper hand.

The James Gorden Sneak 'N' Scare Award - Batman #668
That's some good sneaking, Batman. Bat-Cyclops betta recognize.

Best Calm Before the Storm - In Her Darkest Hour and Mouse Guard: 1152 #1
Two graceful sequences that lull the reader into a sense of calm with their tranquil beauty, only to amp up the action a few panels later. Very well done.

Best Movie Magic - In Her Darkest Hour
Newly discovered artist Fernanda Chiella shows off quite a bag of visual tricks throughout her first published comic, including some nice nice selective-focus panels that mimic the ever popular rack-focus effect in movies.

Beatdown of the Week - Thunderbolts #116
Yoish, this is grisly. Sure, Hellrazor was a little out of line with all his "kid-killer" digs at Penance, but did he really deserve to have his jaw punched off?

Related: More of Geekanerd's Panel Discussions

Snap Judgements - Halo: Uprising, Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, Blue Beetle, Thunderbolts, Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious

Video Games Make Bad Comics... Don't They? - Halo: Uprising #1

First, a Geekanerd confession. I've only played Halo once, for fifteen minutes, and I sucked at it. So I'm not sure exactly what was running through my head when I picked this book up. Well, I do know what was running through my head: "Either this will be great because it's Bendis/Maleev, who are a great team, or it will suck which won't be so bad because then I get to tell all those Xbiotches their precious series sucks Covenant Needlers." Well, I don't get to say anything to the Xboxers because their series has made its second transformation to the comic book format quite well.

The first issue is bookended with some slightly stale Master Chief action (Maleev has always been better with mood than with action), but the gooey center follows a hotel concierge and a hotel guest escaping from the alien invasion. The writing really reminded me of Bendis' old crime fiction stuff, like Goldfish or some of his short work for Negative Burn. There's a down on his luck nobody who's gotta step up and be somebody, and he's mixing it up with a sexy lady who can handle a gun. Except this time there's Covenant soldiers instead of hackney mobster types. And just when you start to think that the poor bastard is out of his element and should just hide under a table, it becomes apparent that he's about to get a lot more pivotal in the whole dealy-o.

That all being said, it's still a comic book based on a first person shooter, and that can't be good, right?

Great Characters + Bendis in Top Form - Some Silly Covenant Jokes = A-

Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #1, Blue Beetle #18, Thunderbolts #116, and Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious #1 after the jump...


Mice-i-cles - Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #1

Well, it's finally here - the second series of the little book that blew everyone away with its artistry, its epic action, and of course its formidable cuteness factor. Mice with swords! What's not to like? The beginning of the Guard's winter storyline takes a slow approach - after a minor scuffle with a predator, heavy-hitter Saxon remarks, "No swordplay?" Readers may share his disappointment, although that's not so say this book doesn't deliver on the other fronts that made his title so highly regarded.

We join the characters immersed in a bitter winter, and Petersen's familiar small-scale woodland is now rendered in white, purple and blue. A sunrise towards the end of the issue is the visual high point; the sun shines through the frozen thicket in thin splashes of orange, the contrast against the snow is masterful. The scenes featuring the familiar guardsmice works better than the expositionary conversation delivered by the governing characters, but small touches (such seeing the mice keep beetles as trained pets) make every scene worth a second reading. The issue ends with a bang, and indicates why Petersen has frequently referred this second series as a "survival story". It's gonna be a long winter.

Beautiful Snowscapes + An Expanding Universe - A Slightly Slow Start = B+


In With The In-Crowd - Blue Beetle #18

Writer John Rogers is the best at what he does. And what he does is write quickly-paced comics packed with snappy teen dialogue that should impress even the most discriminating Whedon fan. In Blue Beetle #18, Rogers gets to introduce his greenhorn hero to the popular kids - the Teen Titans. Rogers' take on Robin & Co has them sounding smarter and more distinctive than they do on the pages of their own book, and the dynamic between the hardcore Titan heroes and the easily overwhelmed Beetle Bunch offers up more than it's fair share of LOLs.

The story sticks to the standard team-up format - first the heroes fight each other (Jaimie doesn't recognize the Teen Titans?! They live like four states away from Texas!) , then they band together to fight a big baddie. The bad guy is pretty much inconsequential, since the story is in the team-up. Unfortunately, the bad guy is Lobo, and Fans of the Man may be disappointed to see his antics are upstaged by the wonderful chemistry between the two bands of very different heroes. Jaimie and his friends look at the Titans with outsider's eyes, and can't resist asking a few very meta questions, such as why Supergirl would choose to fly around in a skirt.

The only thing that keeps this ish from getting a full fledged A+ is the first few pages. Drawn by David Baldeon and San Davis, the art suffers from a serious case of clonitis - you'd think that between two artists they'd be able to give each character a different face, but sadly it didn't work out that way. Still, this is just an early bump in the road on a trip to Funsville.

Cracklin' Dialogue - Tim Drake and Jaime Are Twins + Mexican Space Launch = A


It's Not Easy Being Mean - Thunderbolts #116

Yaawn. It seems like this book is only exciting every other issue. Last week we saw an amazing fight where Venom ate someone's arm and Bullseye got his ass handed to him. This week we just get some leftover, heated-up plot rehash. Artist Mike Deodato Jr. makes an admirable attempt to distract from the tedium by constantly drawing Moonstone in a sultry close-up, but that doesn't change the fact that all these conversations in Osbourne's office are boring. Or maybe it changes the fact a little. But not enough.

Speedball fans may be interested/horrified to see how low the former hero has been brought, and he has the issue's "big moment" - but even that seems like a lot of noise without much punch. The only part of this book that really got my attention was a surprisingly angsty Venom - nothing brings on the existential torment like the realizing everyone now thinks of you as a cannibalistic space monster.

Office Conversation - Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing + Venom Angst = C


The Title Is So Bad - Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious #1

Ask me if I love Lobo...
Yes! I adore Lobo, thanks for asking!
Ask me what my favorite Lobo story is...
Lobo's Back! Thanks for asking!
Ask me what my least favorite Lobo story is...
Any of the one-trillion crossover stories that all suck because every single one of them [that I've ever read -ed.] loses sight of the absurdity that makes Lobo a fun character. I'll even go one step further and say that if Keith Giffen ain't writin' it and Simon Bisley ain't drawin' it then it's taking place in the normal DC Universe and it isn't worth reading. Lobo's world is pulsating and alive and disgusting and perverse and violent and colorful. The DC Universe is... Well, it is what it is. Part of what makes Lobo Lobo is he truly is The Main Man of his universe. Everyone cowers in fear from the notorious bastich, and those that don't soon get their insides fed to them. Thanks for asking!

Now, after years of pretending the character was dead to me, I allowed myself to hope that Sam Keith could capture Lobo as well as the Holy Giffen/Bisley team. And he does! Visually. In other respects, not so much. As I mentioned before, the trouble with a Lobo/Superhero crossover story is that they come from two different worlds and it's very hard to be true to both. This story has Batman being his moody self but also trying to be a little silly, and Lobo being his silly self but also trying to be a little moody. The result is a muddy middleground where nobody's anything. Least of all interesting. Which is a goddamn shame because this book looks SO GOOD! Keith has the cartoony grit that Lobo's world demands, and there are some truly killer pages in here.

Thrilling Keith Art - Underwhelming Keith Story - Not My Lobo = C+

Snap Judgements:Mighty Avengers #4, Blue Beetle #17, All-Star Batman and Robin #6

As always, Snap Judgements gives you Triple-S comic reviews: short, sweet, and spoiler-free.

Mighty Avengers #4: Ultron Brings the Heat

If you've been following this series, you know that our Mighty Avengers are facing off against a new Ultron who's got a lot of new tricks, including replacing Tony Stark with a sexy metallic lady. This ish doesn't progress the showdown all that much, which would be my only major complaint other than the glaring continuity problems (Stark is basically dead here and alive everywhere else in the Marvel Universe, New York is being destroyed in World War Hulk but here it's business as usual in the Big Apple). But if you've liked the book up to this point you'll keep liking it. Frank Cho and Jason Keith are pumping out some of the best looking superhero art around right now. Brian Bendis is his usual snappy self when it comes to dialogue, though the story itself is a little disorienting, jumping from one thing to the next without really getting anywhere. Every month I keep telling myself I won't pick up the next issue due to the lack of development and lazy storytelling, but the book's got so much damn style I just can't stay away.

Gorgeous Art - Flat Storytelling - Continuity Quibbles = C+

Reviews for Blue Beetle #17, and All-Star Batman and Robin #6 after the jump...

Blue Beetle #17: With Great Power...

This is the Beetle's first real brush with the guilt that comes from being a superhero that just can't save everyone. There's some real tear-jerking panels in here. The Beetle does admirably, though, and the book distinguishes itself from others in that our hero uses his brain just as much as he uses his fists to solve problems. It's not about testosterone, it's about saving lives and it's a real blast to see him come up with clever solutions to problems other heroes would get real pissy about. Even the cleverest fella around makes a cameo appearance just to say how impressed he is. The book is really defining its angle here and I can't wait to see where we go next.

Unique Hero Character + Laughs and Tears + Social Conscience = A

All-Star Batman and Robin #6: Move Along, Nothing to See Here

I love Frank Miller with a heartfelt passion that shines so bright I look like E.T. when I'm reading Sin City. Some of this book is great Miller, too. His interior monologue for the Bat throughout this series depicts the hero as a sadist and sociopath and it sure gets me going. Unfortunately the fun ends there. After six issues it's still unclear where it's going (the first couple made it seem like a Robin: Year One story, but he's not even in this issue). If a book is going to come out as irregularly as this does, the sumbitch better move along. It makes me think the worst, that Miller is just ambling along, turning in scripts for a paycheck without a real concern for his audience. That's us, guys. Frank Miller might not care about us.

Great Bat Writing - Bad Bat Development - No Focus = C