Four-Color Coverage

Batman and Robin #9 – Why did Batman kill Batwoman? Why is Batman (but not the same Batman) trying to kill Robin? Who or what came out of the Lazarus Pit?

Blackest Night #7 (of 8 ) – In this issue the Deputy Lanterns and the New Guardians square off against the legions of Black Lanterns, led by Nekron and Black Hand. Lex Luthor has a tantrum… well, not really… it’s more like he finally succumbed to the power of the Orange Ring. Wonder Woman, in trying to rein him in (literally!), get’s Lex to spill a secret. We also see John Stewart and a slew of Lanterns facing a horde of Black Lanterns in near-Earth space. And, we see that Sinestro still needs to prove that he is – or at least can be – the Big Man on Campus.

Given all of the build-up over the past seven issues, I’m curious to see how Geoff Johns wraps this event up.

Buck Rogers #9 – This book is still just good, old-fashioned sci-fi. I really love the way that it is set in the 25th Century, but the stylization of some of the buildings and spacecraft have “retro-futuristic” design elements that look straight out of someone’s early-20th Century imagination.

Readers are also treated to a look at just how feisty (although some would say “headstrong”) the Deering clan can be. And, Buck goes for a joyride… with explosive results.

Fantastic Four #576 – When a mysterious body of water is discovered under the ice in Antarctica, the call goes out to the FF. When Johnny and Ben ask why they’ve been asked to investigate, Reed comes up with a simple, yet adroit, answer:

“Because, is there anything we do better than exploration?”

And with that, the FF are off to the southern polar region.  When they land, the first frames of their disembarking show only boots: Three pair of winter boots…. one pair of red cowboy boots with yellow flames. Johnny’s.  As to the rest of his travel-wear: Swim trunks. (Well-played, Misters Hickman and Eaglesham!)

A couple of years ago, I picked up a phrase from my friend, Dave: “Float rocks,” which is usually used in the context of:

“Hey, did you hear that [SOMEONE] wants [SOME RIDICULOUS REQUEST]?”
“Really? Well, they can go float rocks for all I care.”

After the FF dive into the water, readers are shown a literal version of “…float rocks,” as The Thing – being made of rocks – well… um… sinks. Duh. It made me chuckle to see the way that it was portrayed. This was followed by 11 pages of dialogue-less underwater fighting. At the fight’s end, the FF are brought before the ruling council of Atlantis.  What?  Wait. But… I thought Namor was from Atlantis…

Reed: This isn’t Atlantis.  It’s destroyed… ruins at the bottom of the world.
Councillor #1: Atlantis is the sea, boy.
Councillor #2: Where there is water and life lived in it, there are giants.
Councillor #3: This is simply the way things are.

Huh. Who knew?!  I’ve been enjoying the Hickman/Eaglesham run on Fantastic Four; this issue contines the fun ride.

Flash Rebirth #6 (of 6) – By the end of this issue, readers learn:

• …learn Iris West’s fate at the hands of Zoom;
• …learn about lightning rods (with respect to speedsters); and
• … are treated to one of the best closing lines of any story I’ve read in the past year.

I still have some trepidations about Barry’s return to the DCU. I thought that his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 was one of the best-written deaths in comics. I also appreciated the fact that Barry (more or less) managed to “stay dead” for 25 years. In his appearances since COIE, it’s been maintained that he would/could reappear three (3) times before he passed on to the afterlife. It looks as though he’s been given a reprieve from that fate and given a new lease on life. Hopefully, it will be worth reading about.

G-Man: Cape Crisis #5 of 5 – This issue is the culmination of the quest to get Great Man and G-Man’s powers back. It was still a decent (and fun) read, but it seemed to wrap up a little too quickly.

Superman #697 – Three words: “Legion Espionage Squad.” So, you know that this one had my attention. Mon-El is visited by a few familar faces. Well, they aren’t so familiar to him, but they are to Superboy. The pieces are starting to fall into place as to “why” members of the LSH are in the 21st Century. It looks as though some answers may be forthcoming in Adventure Comics #8.

Wonder Woman #41 – Is there anyone that Gail Simone can’t write? Seriously. The woman has a talent for getting DC’s characters “right.” This issue kicks off with Wonder Woman and Power Girl slugging it out over the skies of Washington, D.C. As an added bonus, readers get to “hear” what’s going on in their minds as they trade blows.

In an aside, Achilles sets about continuing his mission to bring peace to Man’s World. But, what’s his next move?

Wired’s “Underwire” column takes a look at an upcoming graphic novel, and the web, the time is right for an ambitious graphic novel like Andi Ewington’s Forty-Five to push the genre forward. Composed of fictional interviews with 45 different superheroes, conducted by a journalist exploring the line between normals and metahumans, the book is a contemplative counterpart to the usual smash-and-bash comics.

The dense storyline of Forty-Five proved quite a challenge. Anchored by Ewington’s protagonist, journalist James Stanley, the graphic novel includes probing interviews with superheroes that run the gamut from benevolent do-gooders to addled junkies and total assholes.

Wired‘s “Underwire” column takes a look at the new graphic novel, starring Hellblazer‘s John Constantine:

Supernatural detective John Constantine has come a long way from hell since Alan Moore invented him 25 years ago in eco-horror comic book series Swamp Thing.

In Hellblazer: Pandemonium, out this month from DC’s mature Vertigo line, the storied magus lands at last in hell on Earth, otherwise known as post-9/11 Iraq.

It’s an admittedly dicey setting for a graphic novel, according to Pandemonium writer Jamie Delano.

“There must be some sensitivity when setting out to engage with, or exploit, a real-world disaster of such devastating effect to so many human lives, for the purpose of creating a work of genre fiction,” Delano told Wired.com in an e-mail interview. “That said, the innate arrogance that allows a writer to invade foreign cultural territory and pillage it of emotion for dramatic purpose is often mitigated by a possibly deluded faith in his own good intent.”

After a long hiatus, Four-Color Coverage’s reviews are back!

Another week’s releases have made it to retailers’ shelves. Let’s dive in…

Batman #696 – Batman… breaking into the Mayor’s office? Okay, that’s nothing too out of character… but, beating the Mayor up!? That’s a little different.  Blowing up buildings in Gotham?!  Yeah, something’s up… but what is it?!

Blackest Night

• The Flash #3 (of 3) – Barry Allen’s run as a Blue Lantern continues. Fortunately, he’s not alone; with Wally West at his side, he takes on deceased members of his rogues gallery… and his own grandson, Bart Allen, who has been taken over by a Black Lantern ring. Also, the living members of The Flash’ Rogues Gallery enforce their own style of justice upon .
  
• Green Lantern #51 – Hal Jordan is the host to Parallax once more. His first target: The Spectre. Round Two begins here.
  
• Green Lantern Corps #45 – Green/Red Lantern Guy Gardner battles Kyle Rayner, Kilowog, and a handful of other Lanterns. Fortunately, the Lanterns have Mogo on their side — but is even Mogo’s influence enough to help rein in Guy’s rage?
  

Captain America #603 -Bucky and Sam Wilson (The Falcon) come up with a plan to infiltrate the fake Captain America’s militia. And it seems as though the not-so-good Captain has a plan or two of his own.

Justice League of America #41 & 42 -I know that I dropped JLA and JSA only a few months ago, but I picked up these issues on the recommendation of Jeremiah, one of the employees at Dr. Volt’s. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered. No, it’s not entirely the League that I’d prefer reading, but it’s close… and the new blood makes it interesting. It seems as though James Robinson is building to something, but he leaves things just blurry enough at the edges to keep readers guessing “what.”  I’ll give the book a few issues to see if it hits its stride… and if it goes in a direction that I like. Otherwise, just like Snoop Dogg, I’m gonna drop it like it’s hot.

Spider-Woman #6 – Jessica Drew comes face-to-face with Norman Osborne’s strike force, The Thunderbolts. It seems as though the T-Bolts want to take Ms. Drew into custody; Jessica isn’t exactly down with that idea.

Superman/Batman #69 – This is a continuation of the “Our Worlds at War: Aftermath” story. It was a decent read, but it didn’t really “sing” for me.

Supergirl #50 – I’ve been looking forward to this issue – not only because it’s the title’s 50th issue, but because of the second feature, written by Jake Black (a local writer) and Helen Slater (who’s played both Supergirl and Lara Jor-El, Superman’s mother). The main story concluded the Insect Queen storyline; I was a little more than “slightly” surprised by the ending. The second story was a look at Supergirl from points of view other than that of her number one critic, Cat Grant. It also appears to be a sort of… stepping stone/springboard in the development of the character. Hopefully, the folks at DC use it as such, because it would be a shame for a good story like this to be lost in the proverbial shuffle. I also have to agree with something that Jake said: This picture, by Cliff Chiang, is my favorite panel from the second story. Yep, this issue was well worth the wait.

Tiny Titans #25 – Superboy returns! (And Match comes with him.) Also, the girls of the Tiny Titans find a box of rings… strangely colorful rings.

Uncanny X-Men #521 -At the end of the last issue, Magneto left Utopia to do “something.” Readers learn what that “something” is at the end of this issue. It’s not something that I expected… but I’m looking forward to seeing this seed bear fruit. And, at no extra charge: Fantomex!