Tag Archives: Detective Comics

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DC Comics May 2024

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Introduction

I started comics last week with the TMNT #150 celebration. Then, the wheels fell off and I shifted my focus. But, I knew I wanted to return to comics this week. I also remembered that I never covered the Marvel SNAP season for this month. So, in true 2 Generations Gaming fashion, I rebranded my blunder as all part of the plan. Practically, we waited a couple of days for DC Comics May 2024.

Since I only received six DC comics this time, I plan to dedicate a single section to each title similar to how I write the Independent articles. Fear not. This looks like a blip in the road, not “the end of comics” as I fear will happen sooner rather than later. But, as I also say, as long as they continue to churn out good stories, I’m here.

Action Comics #1064

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Rafa Sandoval. When I saw the preview for this mini event, I wanted to see what Williamson planned. The first issue exceeded even my lofty expectations. A standard “day in the life” of Lois Lane beginning quickly gives way to an invasion of Czarnians. While everyone thinks Luthor has a hand in the chaos, it soon becomes evident that Brainiac is involved. My verdict: Very good.

Catwoman 64

Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Carmine di Giandomenico. I enjoyed the Nine Lives story so far. Sure, it’s cheesy and cliche. But, it’s also fun. That’s all that I ask of a story. I don’t care about the actual content or tone of the story necessarily as long as it’s fun. And, this one fits that bill. This issue feels more like a filler, but Howard still tells an engaging and fun filler issue that makes me want more. My verdict: Decent.

Detective Comics 1084

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Javier Fernandez. Ram V tries to bring back some of the noir vibe from early Batman and Detective Comics. He mostly succeeds, but it feels like something is missing. It just doesn’t work all the way for me for some reason. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Ram V writing Batman should work. My verdict: Decent.

The Flash 8

Writer: Simon Spurrier, Artist: Ramon Perez and Vasco Gorgiev. I liked Spurrier’s introduction to Flash. Not as much as Joshua Williamson’s run, but I thought good things might happen. Unfortunately, I just can’t get into the book right now. I’m not sure what it is. Like Detective Comics right now, it just feels like something is missing. Maybe it’s me. My verdict: Decent.

Superman 13

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Rafa Sandoval. Okay, this is what I’m talking about. Lobo and Supes teaming up to track down Braniac, who is harvesting powers, or souls, or something. I missed that part, I think. In any case, this story is fun. I said earlier, I like fun. And, Williamson brings fun to spare. My verdict: Great

Wonder Woman 8

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sampere. Yes! Yes! A thousand times! Yes! This is the Tom King that I know and love. I think I mentioned last month that his story looked like it might finally be starting to pay off. And, it did in this issue. He taps into the history of the character while starting to carve out a place for himself in the mythos. I think he finally figured out the character and we can expect great things going forward. My verdict: Great

The Verdict

DC Comics May 2024 brings some surprises. Not all good. But, I still think that the books, overall, are in good hand. While I’m unabashedly a Marvel zombie, I still keep a flame alive for DC and want them to do well. So, they’re not in the same shape as Marvel (or, honestly, even the Spawniverse) right now, but they’ll get it figured out.

Check out the mothership for these and other books.

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DC Comics April 2024

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Introduction

I unintentionally went dark for a week there. But, I updated the YouTube, released the latest episode of Noob’s Book Club, and now I’m getting back to the main page with DC Comics April 2024. Even so, the review comes later than usual. What can I say. Spring sprung in Massachusetts this week. We went for a walk. I went over to the Y for a swim. And, I’m obsessed with the new Fallout series. But, more on that next week.

Decent

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Ricardo Federici
Writer: Simon Spurrier, Artist: Ramon Perez
Writer: Tom King, Artist: Guillem March

Many people seem to like this Detective Comics story. I admit that it has some high points. But, overall, it’s too uneven for me to put it anywhere but in the decent column. So far, the Simon Spurrier run of Flash hasn’t panned out the way I hoped, either. I mean, I give them all credit for trying new things with the titles. But, they just don’t work for me.

Good

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: David Baldeon

Brian Michael Bendis made me care about Superman (until he drove the title off a cliff), but Jason Aaron and Joshua Williamson made me love Supes. I think Williamson intentionally backed off in this issue in order to prepare us for the big reveal at the end and the next story to come.

Great

Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: John Timms
Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Jorge Jimenez

Each one of these stories represents a very good writer at the peak of their games. Dark Prisons feels very much like the Detective Comics story, but more focused and tight. While the Catwoman “Nine Lives” story easily could have gotten hokie, Tini Howard keeps it cool. And, Jason Aaron pulled off the impossible. He got me to not only enjoy Superman, but a Superman story about Bizarro. Bravo, Sir.

The Verdict

DC Comics April 2024 is mostly good. Even the decent titles entertained me on one level or another. I think I wrote in my Marvel review last month (I could search, but it’s getting to 11pm now and I’m tired) that it feels like comics finally found those sweet spots of writers and the books they write for. It’s a good time to be a comic book fan right now.

Used the Google Machine to find the cover images.

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DC Comics March 2024

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Introduction

I wrote earlier in the week that the Spawniverse and TMNT delivered probably some of the best issues that I’ve read in months. I mean, TMNT continues to be one of my favorite comics since I started collecting during Armageddon game. The Spawniverse, though, varied wildly in both content and quality. Okay, what does this all have to do with DC Comics March 2024?

Well, I graded all of the comics either “Good” or “Great”. And, honestly, the ones that I put in the “Good” column mostly just as a nit pick. I guess what I’m saying is that comics are in a really good spot right now. It’s just too bad that they’re a dying medium and won’t be around in a couple of months. Hey, I have to repeat it every so often, or it might actually happen.

Good

Jason Aaron accomplished something no other writer ever has. He not only made me care about Bizarro, but he actually wrote a Bizarro story that I enjoy. The nit pick here is, it’s Bizarro. I can’t put him in “Great” territory. Ram V and Tom King are both on my “can’t miss” list. I like everything that they right. However, I haven’t quite accepted King as a Wonder Woman writer yet. And, Ram takes some chances in Detective that I respect. They haven’t quite paid off 100%, though. Finally, Simon Spurrier writes a good Flash story, but I still like Williamson better.

Great

Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Art: Guiseppe Camuncoli
Writer: Tini Howard, Art: Carmine di Giandomenico
Writer: Joshua Williamson, Art: David Baldeon

I’ve been waiting for Zdarsky to take off on the Batman title. He came close a couple of times before. This story, though (Joker Year One) rises almost to the level of Tom King Batman. Regular readers of the page (both of you!) know what high praise that is from me. Tini Howard, likewise, took what I enjoyed about the Joelle Jones Catwoman and expanded on it with the Nine Lives story. Last, but not least, Joshua Williamson showed that he’s not a one hit wonder by making me look forward to the Superman issues every month. Bravo to all of you.

The Verdict

Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age. Then again, I keep talking about how impatient I am in Noob’s Book Club. Who knows? In any case, I liked DC Comics March 2024. Along with the Spawniverse and TMNT titles, I enjoyed reading comics this month more than any time over the last year probably. Hopefully Marvel keeps it up. Come back Friday to find out.

Head on over to the mothership for more comics.

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February 2024 DC Comics I Love

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Introduction

After a hiatus of a month and a delay by a week, I returned with February 2024 independent comics. Because of no TMNT, I only read and reviewed a few books in the SECU (tm – me?) in that article. Today, we went to one of Quinn’s swim meets. The down time in between waiting for his events gave me a chance to read the February 2024 DC Comics for this article.

Another father noticed me reading Action Comics and started a conversation. I told him that I got my books mostly from DCBS, but every couple of months, I take a trip to That’s Entertainment. We both geeked out at the mention of the store and agreed that we could easily spend an entire day there every time we go. I dropped a casual mention about the miniature painting classes and I might have made a new friend.

Decent

Writer: Si Spurrier, Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Writer: Si Spurrier, Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sampere

While I enjoyed the lead in to this new Flash story, I’m having trouble getting into the actual story. It’s not bad, it just doesn’t appeal to me. I think I might need to do some more previous reading of Flash to understand the background of this one. When that might happen, I don’t know. As far as Wonder Woman, you all know I’m one of the biggest Tom King fans. However, his slow burn story method that worked so well on Batman falls flat so far with Wonder Woman.

Good

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: John Timms
Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Story: Tini Howard, Artist: Stefano Raffaele

I disregarded the other Action Comics sent to me because it ended the previous story. This one started a new arc. I never enjoyed Bizarro in the past, but Aaron made this story intriguing so far, so I’m willing to give it a chance. Zdarsky’s Batman has been a bit off from the previous couple of writers, but it hasn’t fallen off completely. I think with some time, he will come up with something great for the title. In the same way, Tini Howard’s Catwoman doesn’t stand up to Ram V and especially Joelle Jones. I know we’ll never get back Jones at this point, but I think Howard has the best chance to get back to close to that.

Great

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander
Writer: Ram V, Artists: Riccardo Federici and Stefano Raffaele
Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artists: Bruno Redondo and Caio Filipe

Ever since the Tom King Batman and James Tynion IV Detective Comics era of these books, I’ve been waiting for the books to reach those heights again. Batman lags somewhat behind, but Ram’s treatment of Detective has been amazing. Likewise, but on a different note, Williamson made the impossible possible by getting me to enjoy Superman. This issue, especially, tickled me with the Western motif and engaging storyline. Superman is probably the best book in DC Comics right now.

Verdict

February 2024 DC Comics was a good one for the company. I found myself struggling to put each comic in each category. They all could have easily been moved up a category. But, I want to remain true to my ideals and not go too easy with these reviews.

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DC Comics December 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

As promised yesterday, I’m back today with DC Comics December 2023. I feel like the recent shake up of creative teams hasn’t worked as well this time as the previous few. I understand that I need to give the teams time to figure things out for themselves and their readers. But, I just enjoyed Rebirth and the ensuing stories better than Dawn of DC so far.

The thing is, the titles haven’t been outright bad. They’re just inconsistent so far. Therefore, I guess that makes my case for me that I just need to give them time to figure things out. Before I write the actual reviews, I will say that both Batman and Catwoman look good at a glance. One final note: I only ordered 7 books this month, so I will structure this article more like the independent one and review each book individually.

Batman #139 (Legacy: 904)

Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Jorge Jimenez. Now, this is more like it. I’ve been saying about Marvel Comics for the last few months that going back to basics worked for them. Batman takes that advice with this story. Batman. Joker. A string of dead bodies and threats to those Batman still holds dear. Keep it up. My verdict: Good, almost great.

Catwoman #59

Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Stefano Raffaele. Speaking of keeping it simple, I started reading Catwoman again when Joelle Jones rebooted it. I loved the style and attitude that she brought to the book. It suffered some when she left, but Ram V wrote a good cat, as he does everything. I think Howard has the ability to give Selina the same edge that Jones did. The one thing that distracts me is the art is a bit too male gaze for the female voice of the character. My verdict: Solidly good.

Detective Comics #1076 and 1077

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander. Ram V takes another tactic. He turns the narrative on his head. It’s not a completely new story, but Batman: Outlaw puts Bruce in the crosshairs as the captured villain in Arkham. The story works well with V’s storytelling capability. I know some (most notably my co-conspirator Chris) didn’t like JSA on Spawn. It was different, but I liked it for what it brought to that story. I think it does the same here. My verdict: Great.

Superman #8 (Legacy 851)

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Various. This one takes a bit of a step back from the previous issues. For a while there, DC Comics turned my world on my head. Superman was the best book and I wasn’t enjoyingBatman at all. I still like what Williamson is doing with the book. I just thought this one brought in too much from outside the story and it distracted from what’s been making the book fun. My verdict: Good.

Wonder Woman #3 (Legacy 803)

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sempere. This one disappointed me most. The curse of high expectations and all that. I loved Tom King’s run on Batman. He understood the character and wrote it with great care. I feel like too much of that is seeping into Wonder Woman’s character. He righted the ship some with the previous issue, but this one has that same muddling. The story is good. I just can’t get used to King’s interpretation of Wonder Woman. I’ll give it time. My verdict: Decent.

The Verdict

DC Comics December 2023 brings some consistency to the books. I look forward to Batman and Catwoman going forward. Ram V’s story in Detective is great. Williamson’s Superman took a step back with too much supporting story, but the main story is still great. I still have faith that Tom King will figure out Wonder Woman sooner rather than later.

Get your books at DCBS. Not a paid promotion. I just genuinely like their customer service.

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DC Comics October 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

Last month, for some reason, they sentme the first issues for Power Girl and Green Lantern. I thought maybe I added them to my pull list or cart to check them out because of the non-reboot reboot “Dawn of DC”. Maybe the latter, but not the former because I’m back to my usual 7 books for DC Comics October 2023.

Overall, the books entertained me this month. None of them were especially bad or annoying. That’s all I ask from my comics books right now. I’m older and softer when it comes to my criticisms. Since there are so few books, I’ll just give my thoughts on each of them in order.

Action Comics 1058

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Rafa Sandoval. We got pay off after the evil Superman reveal. Supes keeps his doppleganger busy and away from the public. He pays for it, but defeats the other Supes. Someone talks about turning a Kryptonian and then Clark goes to Steel to have him craft a suit while he heals. I feel like I forgot something because of the Knight Terrors gap. Need to go back and read previous issues again. My verdict: Decent.

Batman 138 (Legacy: 903)/Catwoman 58

Writers: Chip Zdarsky (Batman), Tini Howard (Catwoman), Artists: Jorge Jimenez (Batman), Nico Leon (Catwoman). I put these two together, because they complement one another in the Gotham War storyline. Speaking of, the gild appears to be solidly off the lily on this one. I liked Catwoman better than Batman this month. I have no use for the Zur storyline. But, I like that Catwoman took it upon herself to keep Bruce busy and try to keep Gotham together in the face of overwhelming odds. My verdict: Decent.

Detective Comics 1076

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Francesco Francavilla. A fun conclustion to a two part scarecrow story. It expores the myth of Batman through a conversation between Batman and young Bruce. An old and overused technique. At least Ram V does it well. My verdict: Good.

Flash 2 (Legacy: 802)

Writer: Si Spurrier, Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr. You all know I liked Williamson’s Flash. Like, really liked it. I thought when they shuffled things around books might suffer. Some have a little bit (like Batman), but not this one. This story is weird, but I dig it. My verdict: Great.

Superman 7 (Legacy: 850)

Writer: Josh Williamson, Artist: Gleb Melnikov, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Edwin Galmon. Unlike recent big number issues, they simply continue the current storyline in this one. That’s fine with me. Chris mentioned in the latest podcast that I keep making him rethink taking Supes off his pull list. What can I say? Williamson writes a fun Superman and this story has just enough to keep me interested right now. My verdict: Good.

Wonder Woman 2 (Legacy: 802)

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sampere. I like Tom King. I wasn’t sure about his take on Wonder Woman after the prologue and first issue. I’m still not 100% sold on it. But, this one gives me just enough of the Tom King magic that I think he might eventually pull it off. My verdict: Good.

The Verdict

Like I said, DC Comics October 2023 has some fun books in it. I like what they’ve done with this latest not a reboot reboot and the creative teams work pretty well together. I do find it interesting that my two favorite books of all time, Batman and Spider-Man are both suffering right now, but they’ll get it figured out.

Visit DC Comics for these books and more.

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DC Comics September 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

Catching up has proven more difficult that anticipated. I mean, I know from being a teacher that it’s often easier to just go into work sick and fake it as best you can instead of having to write sub plans and get back into the groove after being out. Also, I probably took this page lighter than normal. After all, I only maintain it as a labor of love. So, I put off the YouTube and updated it in chunks. I still haven’t finished writing my notes for the next episode of Noob’s Book Club. And, I meant to release this DC Comics September 2023 article yesterday or Thursday.

I skipped DC for a couple of months. That’s because I ordered all of the first issues of Knight Terrors. I forgot to update my DCBS order the next month and only ordered my main titles. I meant to go to That’s Entertainment to fill in the books I missed. At this point, I might need to go the Midtown route. They would have made a great Spooktober article. Oh well, there’s always next year.

Decent

Power Girl 1

Image 1 of 3

For some reason, even though I don’t remember ordering them, they sent 3 number 1 issues for the Dawn of DC non-reboot of a reboot. Why they couldn’t anticipate last month and send my Knight Terrors, I’ll never know. In any case, they sent Blue Beetle, Green Lantern, and Power Girl. Of the three, I liked Blue Beetle the best and I might keep collecting that one for a bit longer to see if it continues. I’ve never cared anything about Green Lantern and I just said to Christine, “Good to see horny dudes are still drawing comics.” Power Girl’s costume makes no sense.

Good

Wonder Woman 1

Image 1 of 4

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sampere

Long time readers of the page know that I have little use for Superman. I always thought his character was simplistic and I prefer my heroes to have flaws. The Brian Michael Bendis experiment started off great and then, as he often does, he wore out his welcome. They sucked me back in by putting Williamson on the main title. I also like Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s take on Action so far. I enjoyed Williamson on Flash and that’s what got me to read Supes. The Si Spurrier era starts off decent and I’m willing to give him a chance. The same thing can be said for King’s Wonder Woman. Everything he writes ends up great, but he needs some time to figure out WW’s character.

Great

Batman and Robin 1

Image 1 of 4

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Simone Di Meo

I rolled my eyes so hard they may have stuck there (Mom was right after all) when I read “Gotham War”. We had Joker War. Now we have Gotham War. Well, I should have known that they’d not let us down with this one. What is surprising is that all of the supporting titles I read in the series supports the story in a logical and strong manner. Hell, it even convinced me to buy the Batman/Catwoman title that ties in.

The Verdict

DC Comics September 2023 takes a page from Marvel’s book. They go back to basics on a lot of their titles. Okay, it makes sense now. They kept saying this wasn’t a reboot. With every new announcement, Chris and I rolled our eyes via text and said, “Yeah, right. looks like a reboot to us.” But, by the gods, they actually pulled it off. Can’t wait to see next month.

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DC Comics June 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

In my previous article, I talked a little about how I kept the page going during our trip to Germany. I unintentionally left out the part about how I kept the podcast alive and neglected the YouTube page. But, even so, this represents a watershed in the history of the page. Previously, I ignored the page for extended periods of time and found it difficult to get back into the swing of thing. No such lull this year. So, even though I must update three days in a row, I bring you DC Comics June 2023.

This month, they celebrate two milestone issues, Wonder Woman 800 and The Flash 800. I review those in another article so that I can give them the proper attention that they deserve. Unfortunately, that only leaves five books for this article. Oh well, at least they are good books. Join me to see what books they are.

Regular readers of the page know exactly what books they are.

Good

Detective Comics 1073

Image 1 of 4

Batman 136: Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Belén Ortega. I bumped this one up from “Decent” last month. I made no secret of not enjoying the multiverse storyline and infinity Jokers. Well, this ended that and put Batman at war with himself, sort of. I appreciated that return to some good old fashioned disassociative identity disorder.

Catwoman 56: Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Marcus To, Marco Santucci, M.L Sanapo. Again, I judged Catwoman harshly last month. This one might have even jumped into “Great” territory this month, but the set up felt lacking. You guys know me and my preference for the literal cat burglar stories in this book and that’s what this ends up being in the end.

Detective Comics 1072/1073: Writer: Ram V, Artist: Ivan Reis with Stefano Raffaele and Goran Sudzuka. I normally love everything that Ram V does. But, I only liked this particular storyline. He makes it as compelling as possible, but it just didn’t hit with me.

Great

Action Comics 1056

Image 1 of 2

Action Comics 1056: Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Rafa Sandoval and Max Raynor. Yes, my world continues to be turned upside down. However, as you read, see that this month rights the ship a bit compared to the previous DC article. What can I say? I enjoy this storyline right now. Lex Luthor as an ally is exactly what I need in my comics life right now.

Superman 5: Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Jamal Campbell. This one almost fell to the “Good” section this time. Part of it dragged a little bit for me. However, Williamson redeemed himself at the end and I look forward to the next installment after Knight Terrors the nexst couple of months. Speaking of, I forgot to order them in August, so I need to visit That’s Entertainment to pick up the missing books.

The Verdict

Yes, you read correctly. There are no decent books in DC Comics June 2023. Just some (very) “Good” bordering on “Great” and the two consistent Superman titles in the “Great” section again. Next month brings “Knight Terrors”, so expect a companion article for those titles.

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DC Comics April 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

With some of the kid activities calming down over the next few weeks, I decided to try to get back to updating the page on a regular basis. This week, I eased into it with some comic reviews. Instead of just Spawn, I reviewed two other independent comics on Monday. Today, I return with DC Comics April 2023.

Before we continue, I need to come clean. I skimmed most of the books this month. Almost all of them are in the middle or close to the end of an arc. Therefore, I need to go back and do a little research before reading next month to get a better idea of the quality of the books. Therefore, and I know you all probably do anyway, take this month’s reviews with a grain of salt.

Decent

Wonder Woman 798

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I came clean a few years ago as not a fan of Superman. I know that probably pains my brother Tim, but the character just never interested me all that much. I like my heroes with flaws and Superman traditionally has none. Let me tell you something else, though. I absolutely hate Superman when they try to humanize him. But, if anyone can make me care about ole Supes, it’s Williamson. Watch these reviews to see if it comes true.

As far as Wonder Woman and Flash this month. Overall, I enjoyed reading through them. As mentioned above, I only flipped through Wonder Woman because I need context before passing final judgement. The only reason I started collecting Flash was for Aiden, but he seems to be out of his comics phase, so at this point I’m just collecting for collection’s sake. I will say, though, that the concept of the “One Minute War” looked interesting and I want to read that story.

Good

Action Comics 1054

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Well, apparently I lied when I said that only Williamson can make me care about Superman. Because, I thoroughly enjoyed the story presented in Action Comics this month. It revolves around Metallo and offered one heck of a cliffhanger at the end of 1054. Can’t wait until next month.

I flipped through both Bats and Cats this month. Both wrap up their current stories soon and I actually wrote under Batman in my notes that I needed more context because maybe it will be great. Zdarsky is writing it and Chris said he liked the story. I promise to update you next month. Plus, I pine for older writers on these books, so I need to get over that first.

Great

Remember those old writers I pined for earlier? Ram V is absolutely one of them. I love everything he does. He just writes such amazing stories and it doesn’t matter what character he writes for. Similar to James Gunn and super hero movies, every book that Ram V touches is gold.

The Verdict

For me, DC Comics April 2023 was a mixed bag. Part of that, admittedly, is my fault. I need to go back and read the previous books for some context in the stories. Who knew that coming back to review comics would give me homework? Oh well, I promise to be more well versed in the stories by next month. Until then….

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DC Comics January 2021: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

We finally finish out comics week and a half for this month with DC Comics January 2021. I planned on posting this article last week on Friday. I had a busy weekend of playing Minecraft, Lego, and board games with my family. Plus the NFL unveiled their Super Duper Mega Wild Card Weekend. Finally, college football played their national championship game. There’s only so much I can be expected to do in a weekend.

Sure, I should have already had the article written before the weekend, but what is time if not for procrastinating?

And so, it is how I have arrived at nearly a half a week past my self imposed deadline to review DC Comics January 2021. I know you won’t believe me, but I swear it’s not because DC has been a let down these last couple of months. I always go into a new month of comics with an open mind and hope for the best. More often than not, that faith is rewarded. Let’s see if that’s true this time.

The Great

Batman 104 and 105 (James Tynion IV et al): I always feel bad when there are numerous artists on a book because I use the et al tag for them all. They all work hard on these books and they should get credit. By the same token, I mostly read comic books for the writing. However, I don’t want my byline to be two or three text lines, either. None of that is relevant to this review. I just want to be as open and honest as possible.

Now, for the review. As I’ve mentioned several times in the past, James Tynion IV on Batman excited me when I first heard the news. Either high expectations or the reality of the situation or both brought me crashing back to earth. Slowly, but surely, the book got better until Joker War. Since then, the book lived up to that promise. Now, comes Future State. I, again, hope that the book survives the hiatus.

Wonder Woman 768 and 769 (Mariko Tamaki, Rafa Sandoval, and Steve Pugh): Similar to Tynion on Batman, Tamaki on Wonder Woman excited me. Honestly, I enjoyed Wonder Woman for most of the last 2 or 3 years since Rebirth. They hooked me with Rucka and then it stayed just above water enough that I don’t think it ever dipped into “Decent” territory for more than a month or two. Now that Tamaki is on the book, she makes even secondary storylines fun to read.

The Good

Aquaman 66 (Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, and Miguel Mendonca): Like Wonder Woman (is the theme of this article going to be call backs to the previous books?), I started collecting Aquaman because of the movie. Also, I wanted to get in on the ground floor of Rebirth with as many titles as possible. This book hasn’t been as consistently good as Wonder Woman and I considered dropping it a few times. My favorite writer is Deconnick, but Lanning is a good stop gap on these titles, too.

Action Comics 1028 (BMB and JRJR): I make no secret of my distaste for the unholy union of Brian Michael Bendis and the Superman titles. At least this book shows promise every so often. I saw the news recently that he’s moving to Justice League after Future State. So, I will spare you the same old story going forward. Maybe, for old time’s sake, we can resurrect it when he writes Justice League.

Catwoman 28 (Ram V and Fernando Blanco): I texted Chris about this title last week. I saw that Ram V will be writing for Swamp Thing after Future State. We both agreed that his work on JLD has been solid. I then surmised that perhaps Catwoman isn’t a strong enough character for a solo title because his work on the book is solid, but I just don’t like the stories. How many different “heist” issues can you do? I liked this one, though. More of these types of stories, please.

Justice League 58 (Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, and Xermanico): I suppose that Lanning was not a stop gap on Aquaman. He and Marz are cowriting the Endless Winter story. I admit to being skeptical when I saw yet another event in DC Comics with Future State so close. However, I enjoyed this story even if it is just a rip off of Frozen. Which, of course, is a ripoff itself. Aiden even liked it. He asked where the missing issues were. So, maybe I’ll have to find them at the LCS.

Justice League Dark 29 (Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Amancay Nahuelpan): I will be honest. It wasn’t until I saw that Ram V wasn’t the writer on this title that I realized that Lanning and Marz were cowriting all of the titles in Endless Winter. Not sure why they included this title in the event other than as a send off. Which, by the way, I do not approve. The JLD will still be with us, but only as a bonus story on the main title. What are you doing to me, DC?

The Decent

Detective Comics 1032 and 1033 (Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker): When Tynion wrote this title, I loved it. As soon as Tomasi took over, it dropped to the “Good” category. More and more, my enjoyment of the title eroded over time. Some people might like Tomasi. I just don’t Other than the Joker War issues, this book has been forgettable during his tenure. Williamson is taking over after Future State, though, so that’s something to look forward to.

Superman 28 (BMB and Ivan Reis): Action may have had some redeeming stories during it’s run. I did not enjoy this title after the rebrand from Man of Steel. I simply kept collecting for collecting’s sake. Now I can say I have the entire BMB run of Superman. For whatever that’s worth.

The Verdict

As we head into Future State, I’m tentatively optimistic about DC Comics. They are mixing up creative teams, dropping some books, and folding others into bonus stories on more popular titles. The only decision I’m currently angry about is their decision to make JLD a bonus title. I feel like it has been the only consistently good book for them over the last year and a half. As always, thanks for reading my DC Comics January 2021 review and we’ll see you next week for Future State.