Batman Overload

Batman #7 (volume two)

I just caught up reading three months of Batman (#s 5-7) where he is being "judged" by the Court of Owls.  Unfortunately, while the lead-up to the Court of Owls in earlier Batman issues was intriguing, these last few issues felt like a throwback to Grant Morrison's awful RIP story where Batman was delusional, hallucinating, etc. and the story went nowhere.  However, in the New 52, I'm not sure any of that RIP stuff even happened now.  But I do know that it's definitely re-happening in my head and giving me a headache and a case of the boredoms.  Let's hope Batman picks up soon before I drop this DC mainstay from my reading list.

While I'm on the subject of Batman and Grant Morrison, I'd like to comment that the latest Batman, Inc. series, with its first issue being released in May 2012. 

Batman Inc. #1 (volume two)

First issue summary: The series hits the ground running as BATMAN and ROBIN face off against the assassin GOATBOY! LEVIATHAN'S sinister mission revealed!

Second issue summary: This is the story of a man and a woman fighting over the heart and soul of their child. Unfortunately for the world, the man is BATMAN, the woman is TALIA AL GHUL, and the child is DAMIAN.

Where does the "Inc." in Batman, Inc. come into play?  I thought the intent was to be about an international web of Batman-related heroes?   Sounds to me like another Batman title to make money off the masses.  Because Batman, Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Batman & Robin weren't enough?  And that's not even including his appearances in Justice League or Justice League International.  Now that there's only one Batman in the New DC 52, where does he find the time?  If Batman needs a personal assistant to keep track of his calendar, I'm available.

Earth Two Is Already Giving Me A Headache

According to DC Comics, "With the addition of a parallel Earth that features prominently into both Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest, the developing narrative will encompass new heroes from distinctly different backgrounds."  

Uh...isn't that what the New 52 was all about?   Each character was new and distinct from their original backgrounds?  I already feel like the New 52 is some alternate Earth because they're not the characters I grew up with.  And now there's going to be two sets of the same -- but different -- characters to keep track of?  My head hurts just thinking about it.  I keep hoping that there will be a return to the "real" Earth 1 or New Earth or whatever it's called...because I miss my peeps.  

Firestorm Burns and Fizzles

I was going to write about the comics that I read last night and then I realized that, for the life of me, I couldn't remember what they were.  Obviously, that was a telltale sign of how interminably unmemorable they were.  I knew it was two consecutive issues from one of DC Comics' New 52 series, but I could not remember which one.  After going down the list of titles two or three times to see if something would jar my memory, I finally remembered that it was The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #s 4 and 5. 

In the 1980s, I really loved the character Firestorm (aka Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein).  In fact, I even liked the Jason Rusch Firestorm series from 2004.  I cannot, though, get into this new series with the idea of multiple Firestorms.  It's too reminiscent of the Green Lanterns.  What's next?  The Firestorm Corps?  When someone in need yells out, "Help me, Firestorm!", twenty heads shouldn't turn.  

Not only is the concept unappealing to me, but the first five issues of The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men have been complete snoozers.  Unfortunately, I can't even recall what has happened so far in the series; that's how boring it's been to me.  I guess with the revival of Ronnie Raymond as Firestorm, I expected MUCH better.  I also expected better from the high-quality writers of this series.  Silly me.   

Lost Your Own Series? Come Join the Avengers Academy!

I caught up with Avengers Academy over the weekend.  (I was about five or six issues behind!)  I have to say that AA is probably my current favorite Marvel comic.  It's very fresh and relevant and, thanks to writer Christos Gage, the characters become more and more developed with each issue, as they explore their relationships with one another.  Gage gives each member their own personality, incorporating diversity in a subtle (or not so subtle) way. 

Avengers Academy #1

During Marvel's Avengers explosion of 2010, I sampled each new Avengers comic, only sticking with the Academy after the dust settled.  They were the only team to offer something different, and they reminded me of the New Mutants when they first debuted in 1983.  And, having been a huge West Coast Avengers fan back in the day, I was happy to see Tigra used again, this time as a teacher to young Avengers-in-training.  

I liked the possibilities of characters Veil, Hazmat, Mettle, and Reptil during the first several issues.  However, I felt that Finesse and Striker were too generic, both in their codenames and their personalities.   The name "Striker" reminds me of a character from the Airplane! movies, while "Finesse" sounds like a hair product.  They also have black and white costumes to match their bland, angry personalities.  

When it came time to shake things up during a roster change (circa issue #20), I was disappointed that Veil was the one to go.  She was my favorite character and had what I thought was the best costume.  What about Striker or Finesse?  I felt like they could leave and nobody would even notice they were gone.  

New additions to the team were -- surprise! -- Lightspeed (from one of my favorite 1980s comics, Power Pack) and White Tiger, whom I had never heard of, but I liked the costume, despite being black and white, colors already in abundance at the Academy.  I was excited to see Julie Power join and grateful that at least one of the Power kids was finally being used in a series and allowed to grow up outside of the confines of the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building.  She's more a teenager now with a more adult costume (hello, bare midriff!).  (Note to FF:  let the other Power kids grow up a bit, too!)  She also comes with secrets that I never would have guessed (more on that later).   Additionally, I was pleased to see series-canceled teens Spider-Girl, X-23, and She-Hulk (Lyra) joined the Academy.  I guess they have to go somewhere, right?  The new Avengers Academy recruiting slogan should be:  "Lost Your Own Series?  Come Join the Avengers Academy!"

Not only were there good additions to the team, but the team also added Hawkeye as a full-time teacher AND moved to the old digs of the West Coast Avengers!  How psyched was I?!  It was like a WCA reunion! 

The Avengers Academy series gets a bit bogged down during the crossover events (I'm talking to you, Fear Itself) and is at its strongest when dealing with one-on-one character interaction.  I love the relationship struggle between Mettle and Hazmat.  It reminds me of the torture that Colossus and Kitty Pryde went through for years and years, with a little bit of The Thing and Alicia Masters thrown in for good measure.  And Mettle's kind of sexy in his own, skinless way.  

Mettle and Hazmat

Most recently, I loved the very personal conversation between Striker and newcomer Lightspeed.  (SPOILER ALERT!  Just warning ya.)  Striker gay?  Lightspeed bisexual?  Whoa... Thanks for making me appreciate Striker more, Christos.  He's not just a pompous ass; he's confused and insecure!  Can we change the generic codename, though?  And, come to think of it, Julie always was pretty butch back in her Power Pack days.  Now, she's more of a lipstick lesbian -- er, bisexual.  I'm still not crazy about Finesse, though.  Can we kill her off?

I look forward to the continuation of Avengers Academy with characters that aren't popular enough to support their own series, but as a team do pretty damn well.  After The Children's Crusade, how about adding Hulkling and Wiccan to the school?  (Hint, hint.)

New Teen Titans: Too Gamey.

 

I was soooooooooo looking forward to the New Teen Titans graphic novel, Games.  The New Teen Titans from the 1980s was (and probably still is) my favorite comic book. It was what got me hooked into reading comics for decades to come. When I heard that original creators Marv Wolfman and George Perez were teaming up to do a graphic novel based on my favorite team (ever!), I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! Sadly, I was a bit disappointed.

The story "Games" was just average. It reads like your basic technological action movie. This was nowhere near the quality I would expect from such masters of their craft. Where were stories like the first ones involving Deathstroke, Trigon, Blackfire, Brother Blood, or Terra?

More disappointing than the plot was the membership of this particular New Teen Titans. Wolfman chose not to go with the original team that burst onto the scene in 1980; he chose to use the team with members from later years. In fact, it was probably one of the weakest memberships. Donna was no longer Wonder Girl, Wally had gone off as the Flash, Terra was already dead, Speedy had already left the team, and Raven was already in her white costume (instead of the original blue).
 

Cousin Oliver...er,
Danny Chase.

Most disappointing was the inclusion of Danny Chase, the "Cousin Oliver" of the Teen Titans.  Bleh!  Whoever thought this was a good character was sadly mistaken. He's like the annoying Agent Cody Banks of DC Comics...and that's *not* a compliment. According to Wikipedia, "Problematically, the character was often portrayed as an overly snide, egotistical brat. This quickly proved unpopular with most fans, and pro- and anti-Chase letters sparked heated debate in the letter column. Wolfman tried various ways to make the character more appealing to the Titans' fan base, including having him briefly disguised as the mysterious "Phantasm" during the Titans Hunt storyline. However, negative fan pressure was strong enough to write Danny out of the series." So why was he used in this story?

Mullet-ready

Troia (Donna Troy)

In addition to the awful choice of Danny Chase, Donna Troy's weird Troia (or whatever the heck her name was at the time) get-up and Gar Logan's mullet make their appearance as well.
 

Since the story was already set in the 1980s, Wolfman would have been wiser to use the original team-up that was so successful. On a related note, Wolfman goes out of his way to point out to readers that the story is set in the 1980s, but then he throws in an Internet reference. I wasn't even aware of the Internet until the mid to late 1990s.

Naturally, I loved the detailed art by George Perez but it was mired down by the lame story. 

Overall, "Games" was a disappointment. I really think long-time fans of the original series deserved better.