Every comic you've read in 2010

[SuaveStar]

Batman and Robin #7: Finally, this comic gets back on track. Set up issue, looking forward to next one.

Billy Batson and the magic of Shazam! #12: Fun. I really got it for the awesome cover, and it was a nice clean fun story.

Red Robin #9: A stop start issue, best looking issue of the series so far, shame the writings average.

Wolverine #59-60: Parts 3 and 4 of Logan dies, and I still think hate Chaykin for his faces, everyone looks the bloody same. Story was weak here as well. All in all, average.

Cable/Deadpool #47: Filler issue, wasn't as fun as the last few issues.

Trades: 7

HC:0

Comics: 30

GN:0

[SuaveStar]

RoboCop #1: Well that was average. The art was bland, and everyones faces looked the same. If it wasn't RoboCop, I'd call this mediocre.

Trades: 7

HC:0

Comics: 31

GN:0

[KnightWing]

Green Lantern: Rebirth

Much better than I remember it being. Every page or two, there's a new and important insight into the four human GLs and/or the GL mythos. The reveal of Parallax as a fear parasite is blatant retconning, but it somehow works brilliantly. Hal, John, Guy, Kyle, and Kilowog are characterized very well, especially through the illustration of the different ways they use their powers. The return of Sinestro is very well-done, and he comes off as a powerfully menacing figure.

My only real gripe with this story is that Hal doesn't seem to have much personality. Maybe it's because Hal's been merged with The Spectre for a long while, but he certainly seems rather flat. Still, though, this is a very enjoyable story that begins to lay the groundwork for future greatness.

Green Lantern: No Fear

Here, finally, we get great characterization of Hal.

Seeing Hal figure out how to fit back into the world is pretty compelling. What's really great here (and throughout Johns' GL run) is that Hal's personal life (outside of his superhero adventures) is given great importance. I really like the character of Cowgirl, who helps to represent the conflict between Hal's life on Earth and his duty as a Lantern.

This book has possibly my favorite Green Lantern action move of any story ever written: the "Hal jumps out of an F-22 in mid-air and punches a Manhunter in the face, thereby recharging his ring" move. It's completely ridiculous, and yet I don't care. If Batman can beat Jesus, Hal Jordan can jump out of a plane and punch a guy in mid-air.

Aside from that, we get some other stories involving Hector Hammond and a shark-thing. At this point, I'm not really thrilled with Hector Hammond; he seems like he only exists in the story to pander to the fanboys of Green Lantern history, rather than actually add anything notable to the rebooted mythos.

Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns

A bunch of once-thought-dead Lanterns are actually not dead, and most of them think that Hal is a murderer. Yay.

This is GL action at its greatest. Multiple Lanterns facing off against the evil Manhunters (and Cyborg Superman!). Just like in GL: Rebirth, we get more visual examinations of the various Lanterns, explaining their differences. It's notable that the reader actually cares about the newly-freed/reborn Lanterns, despite their relatively small roles within the narrative. Arisia's kindness towards Hal is touching, and does a lot to highlight her tender-hearted character.

The one thing that's slightly bizarre about this story is the way that it occasionally references the rather extreme and life-changing events that immediately followed Infinite Crisis, but only in vague flashbacks (due to the "One Year Later" thing). While this likely would have worked in a film or TV series, in comic form it just comes off as being somewhat jarring.

All in all, though, the GL mythos gets a lot deeper here, and we've got a half-dozen more major Lantern characters to follow. Hooray!

Green Lantern: Secret Origin

After having read some of the original GL comics from the 60s, this is certainly a very interesting book to read.

For one thing, Hal is given a lot more character this time around, and many of his deeper motivations are revealed. Another notable recurring thing of note is the way in which so many of the oddities of the original GL comics are purposely reworked for this version.

• Seven-year-old Carol Ferris acts a lot like the whiny, bitchy Carol from the 60s, while her adult counterpart is (refreshingly) more mature.
  
• While 60s-era Hal constantly referred to his Inuit sidekick, Tom Kalmaku, as "Pieface," Modern-Hal actually defends Tom when he is called pieface by one of Hal's fellow pilots.
  
• The 60s comics rarelyif evershowed any employees at Ferris Aircraft other than Hal, Tom, and Carol, to the point of it being almost a running joke. Here, we see that everyone else has quit, so Hal, Tom and Carol actually are the only employees at Ferris.
  

My only real problem with this story is that it's got a lot of setup, but barely anything resembling a solid character arc. It's more remarkable in the sense that it gives the reader that "oh, so that's how it happened" feeling, rather than actually being enjoyable on its own. Still, it adds a TON to the overall mythosand Hal's characterand acts as a prelude to Blackest Night. Even if it's not that great on a purely "fun" level, it's so dense with development that it's more than worth the read.

Comic Books: 0

TPBs: 5

HCs: 1

Graphic Novels: 0

[Dread]

Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures-Fucking fantastic. I adore this stuff. I've never read the back half of this series and god god is it fantastic! Diverges from the film so that both stand alone. Beautiful. Dave Stevens' art is masterful and he draws the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire comic life. Gorgeous. Also, you win me over when you publish a hardcover and add a ribbon bookmark sewn into the binding 10/10

Comic books: 30

Trade paperbacks: 9

Graphic novels: 0

Omnibuses: 2

[Aaron Robinson]

Oh god yes. That Rocketeer hardcover is amazing. I’m just a little sad that he never continued the series beyond the first eight issues.

[SuaveStar]

Birds of prey: Dead of winter The last current trade with Simone's secret six I had to get to be up to date, was also easily the worst. However, calling this the worst story isn't a bad thing, it's the weakest of a strong set to me, and although the art is a bit poor in places, and really isn't that great in others, it's servicable. The story is the end of Simone's BOP run, so she has to wrap a lot of threads from other stories up here, and although she tries her best, it is hard to get into some of the subplots. Will must have been happy with this book though, it has Simone writing the Secret Six and Harley Quinn was part of the team.

Batman and Robin #8 Well, this was filler, the last issue was a great set up, with some really good art, this issue, is a bland explanation of the set up, and feels like Cameron spent all his time and effort on the last issue. Interested in what happens next, but not as much as I was last week.

Iron Man #23 Again, a set up issue, next issue is the end of the storyline, and although this has been more about the characters than the action, I kind of find myself wanting to see Tony suit up now. Next issue will be my last one before switching to trades with Iron Man, and it seems like a nice place to stop.

Secret Six #18 Dear god, was this awesome. I really enjoyed this issue, the art was great and the story was really enjoyable, Waller is still a real bad ass. This was not a fast read, it flowed well, you could see points that Simone wrote such as Ragdoll saying "It's the all dead Atom!" really great issue, and sets up fun stuff that could happen later on in the series.

Trades: 8

HC:0

Comics: 34

GN:0

[dc20willsave]

Birds of prey: Dead of winter The last current trade with Simone's secret six I had to get to be up to date, was also easily the worst. However, calling this the worst story isn't a bad thing, it's the weakest of a strong set to me, and although the art is a bit poor in places, and really isn't that great in others, it's servicable. The story is the end of Simone's BOP run, so she has to wrap a lot of threads from other stories up here, and although she tries her best, it is hard to get into some of the subplots. Will must have been happy with this book though, it has Simone writing the Secret Six and Harley Quinn was part of the team.

Oh, I loved these issues. It also had Manhunter who's one of my favorite recent DC characters. I would love to see Simone writing a Harley Quinn monthly. I will admit, the story does have plenty of faults, namely that Ice gets brought back here as opposed to Green Lantern Corps or a book where any of the characters have a connection to her, as well as it being a less than stellar read if you hadn't been reading her Birds of Prey run. Still, it's a humorous read, the fight scene between the Birds and the Secret Six is just awesome, especially Barda vs. Knockout. All in all, a great read. God, at C2E2, it's going to take so much self-control not to just go up to Gail Simone and gush at her.

[SuaveStar]

All in all, a great read. God, at C2E2, it's going to take so much self-control not to just go up to Gail Simone and gush at her.

Aslong as you don't do it, dressed up as Harley Quinn.

Billy Batson and Shazam #9Alright issue, still a fun comic, but this issue wasn't the teams best.

Trades: 8

HC:0

Comics: 35

GN:0

[Dread]

Empire-I'm not the hugest Barry Kitson fan but I loves me some Mark Waid. This story of a villains operations post world takeover feels dated but is still quite good. Kitson's art is not his best, nor is it his worst. But there are two pages in the second to last issue that might just be some of my favorite comic pages of all time. And they're silent! All in all, quite good. 7.5/10

Comic books: 30

Trade paperbacks: 10

Graphic novels: 0

Omnibuses: 2

[grahamvidger]

Batman the Brave And The Bold Volume 1, just a bunch of fun.

(Batman becomes the president, and Green Arrow become his body guard)

Justice League Cry For Justice #6, I guess JLA #38 ha snow been explained to me a little better, but when you come to think of it, JLA #38 spoiled this issue, and it was one or maybe even two months released before. Well, this issue was awesome. Its all fighting, but the awesome art makes it cool. Its with a bunch of the Justice Leaguers, luckily there are also some unanswered questions at the end.

Gotham city sirens #8, nothing great about this.

Joe The Barbarian #1, i may as well post like Mike and Des by saying my thoughts are what they said in earth-2.net the show. I love this book.

Suicide squad #67 and Secret six #17, I'm sort of disappointed in this arc so far, thats if it has already ended, im not even sure, i feel like I have forgotten everything that has happened in this book already.

The Brave And The Bold #31, dumb book. I dont care what JMS believes is Jokers life story. Even if this is not canon. All I can give this book is that its a cool cover. But not even that great of interior art.

Trade Paperbacks: 2

Comic Books: 19

[Dread]

Cut-going through some horror stuff to see what's worthy of a DITG and this one just isn't. The reveal is given wayyy too early and just becomes a dumb survival horror story from then on. While I like Todd Herman's art style, I find it inconsistent and the storytelling is weak. 4/10

Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities-this one has its moments but is still one note. Sorry, I just don't like Eric Powell's writing I guess. 5/10

Comic books: 30

Trade paperbacks: 11

Graphic novels: 1

Omnibuses: 2

[Guest]

Legends #0 - Nick Percival may be my favorite comics artist, period.

Sweet Tooth #5 - Best book Vertigo's putting out right now.

Joe the Barbarian #1 - It was a dollar. Everyone was hyping it. It's fine. Concept's been done before. Might get the trade down the line.

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3 - I'm getting all of my BL issues binded when all is said and done, which is why I bought this. Scott's art has really fallen off a cliff.

Choker #1 - Templesmith is always a win. "That's Seaton. He almost had sex once." One of the best lines I've ever seen to introduce a character.

Mass Effect: Redemption #2 - A video game comic, you say.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #5 - I've been waiting for this to let me down, but it hasn't yet. Nice cameo by Spidey that actually made sense.

Plus 4 IIWY books.

Comic Books: 33

TPBs: 0

HCs: 0

Graphic Novels: 0

[Guest]

Mesmo Delivery - I think this is a book that I'll end up liking more each time I read it. Fantastic art and a cool (if a bit too short) ultraviolent twist on the Twilight Zone sort of storytelling.

Comic Books: 33

TPBs: 0

HCs: 0

Graphic Novels: 1

[Dread]

Final Crisis HC-On this read, I really soaked in the Great Disaster part of it all. The Kamandi scene, the Atomic Knights, the Tiger Clan. Goddamn, Morrison is mindblowingly awesome in this series. What I REALLY want is Morrison on a regular Superman book, preferably with Doug Mahnke. This has to be my new favorite all time writer artist team next to Wolfman/Colan. I think the only thing I need clarification on is the guys Supes meets in Limbo. What he writes on the tombstone made me go "Yeah!" out loud. 10/10

Comic books: 30

Trade paperbacks: 12

Graphic novels: 1

Omnibuses: 2

[SuaveStar]

Random issues this week.

Outsiders #23: Good solid issue, but nothing special at the end of the day.

Magog #1: Who wanted a Magog ongoing? Not me.

Solomon Grundy #6: Fun issue, Kolins is really good on the art here, story is simple and fun.

Solomon Grundy #7: Waste of time, didn't really do anything for me, and a mediocre end to the series.

Action Comics #882: No wonder Superman is not selling, I don't care for this comic, story was dull and was just setting up another comic, which I don't care about. Captain Atom back up was bloody awful.

Doom Patrol #2: Waste of time. Metal Men co-feature was awesome though. Not worth the $3.99 price tag for Metal Men, and if they release a trade of just the Metal Men back up, I think I'd get it.

Trades: 8

HC:0

Comics: 41

GN:0

[elnino14]

American Virgin vol 1-4, entire series: I reread vols. 1-3 and read vol. 4. I didn't like it as much this time around, I didn't think it was profound or anything. It is drama filled and it does touch upon the themes of religion, extremism, faith, love, loss, and sex, but more than all of that is it's a coming of age story. Adam is extremely unlikable in the beginning mainly because he's so selfish and he's pretty incompetent and euro-centric. But in the end he's just a kid, he learns and he matures in this book and his story comes full circle. The book takes its time, and then rushes the fourth volume. It's not a great book and it'll never be considered one of vertigo's all-time-greats, but it's an interesting book.

Planet Hulk: I wanted to watch the movie, so I re-read this. This is the third read I think, and I liked this read the most. I still think it's a little long, and it drags at parts in the middle. But it's still very good and one of the best Hulk stories I've ever read, which is saying a lot from me considering I'm not a big fan of Hulk. I really liked how Miek was used in this book, and the first act (The Gladiator act, what most of the movie was based on) was excellent and a lot of fun. The second half of the book with Hulk joining the resistance is good thematically as Hulk finds a home and becomes the savior of the land, but the standout issue, the one I really liked, is when they are housed by rebels and Miek finds out that these rebels still enslave his race...that was a powerful issue "Never stop making them pay".

Next up: Point Blank, Sleeper

Comic Books: 1

TPBS: 18

X-factor vol. 4, X-men: Messiah Complex, X-factor vol. 5-7, X-factor: Layla Miller, Authority: Relentless, American Virgin 1-4, Incredible Hercules: Against the World, Dark Avengers Assemble, Thunderbolts Burning Down the House, Deadpool vol. 2, Secret Warriors vol. 1, Fell, Avengers/X-men: Utopia, Planet Hulk

[Guest]

Fell Vol 1. - Christ on a stick this is awesome! Ellis and Templesmith have managed to make a crime noir that I actually like.

Comic Books: 33

TPBs: 1

HCs: 0

Graphic Novels: 1

[Dread]

Doom Patrol #7-This was to be my inclusion for this week's IIWY? but never before, in all of the comics I have read in my life, have i been so completely unmoved by a comic. I read this issue, understood nothing, and retained nothing. I wouldn't be able to write 100 words on it let alone 500. It HAS to be a 0/10.

Comic books: 31

Trade paperbacks: 12

Graphic novels: 1

Omnibuses: 2

[SuaveStar]

Doom Patrol #7-This was to be my inclusion for this week's IIWY? but never before, in all of the comics I have read in my life, have i been so completely unmoved by a comic. I read this issue, understood nothing, and retained nothing. I wouldn't be able to write 100 words on it let alone 500. It HAS to be a 0/10.

Did you at least enjoy the Metal Men co-feature?

[Dread]

Yeah, it was pretty good. I'll grab the trade if they end up collecting it.

[Missy]

Thoughts in Earth-2.net: The Show 381

The Atom & Hawkman #46

Catwoman #83

Phantom Stranger #42

The Power of Shazam! #48

The Question #37

Starman #81

Suicide Squad #67

Weird Western Tales #71

Thoughts in Earth-2.net: The Show 382

Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance

The Brave and the Bold: Demons and Dragons

Green Lantern vs. Aliens

Comic books: 19

Trade paperbacks: 13

[Dread]

Oh yeah! Half the time I wait for you to do it to copy and paste because I'm lazy. But I just plain forgot this time...

Thoughts in Earth-2.net: The Show 381

The Atom & Hawkman #46

Catwoman #83

Phantom Stranger #42

The Power of Shazam! #48

The Question #37

Starman #81

Suicide Squad #67

Weird Western Tales #71

Comic books: 39

Trade paperbacks: 12

Graphic novels: 1

Omnibuses: 2

[SuaveStar]

Yeah, it was pretty good. I'll grab the trade if they end up collecting it.

Same for me.

[Missy]

Oh yeah! Half the time I wait for you to do it to copy and paste because I'm lazy. But I just plain forgot this time...

Also, we were keeping it under wraps this time. Hence my delay.

[KnightWing]

Trades:

Green Lantern: Wanted: Hal Jordan

This book is just fun. Sets up the Zamarons and the Star Sapphires for the future, develops Hal's Earth-based relationships, and finally explains what the heck happened to Hal during the 52 era. Yay.

Single Issues:

Blackest Night #0-6

Starts off great, then gets more and more complicated and repetitive. It seems like this book keeps tossing the main plot back and forth with Green Lantern.

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1-3

Very, very good stuff. I've always loved the old "Green Lantern: Tales of the Corps" stories, so this is especially cool. Issue #3 is particularly notable since it gives important (and compelling) backstory for Kilowog and Arisia, which comes back later in GLC.

Green Lantern #43-49

This book actually follows the "quest" of Hal Jordan and the other main heroes of the various Corps, so in many ways it's actually the most fun book in Blackest Night thus far.

Green Lantern Corps #39-43

Very straightforward. Just the war on Oa, and basically nothing else. Has some really great moments, but isn't "amazing."

Blackest Night Superman #1-3

Somewhere between interesting and stupid. Can't tell where.

Blackest Night Batman #1-3

Completely and utterly pointless, aside from the stuff with Deadman. Could've been done in one issue.

Blackest Night Titans #1-3

The stuff with Dove was nice, but the rest of it was just more of the same plot that every other Blackest Night story is doing.

Blackest Night Flash #1

Very fun. I liked it.

Blackest Night JSA #1-2

Meh.

Blackest Night Wonder Woman #1-3

First issue = Nery nice.

Second issue = Kinda pointless, and her dream-kiss with Batman pissed me off.

Third issue = Good god. It's all pink. o_O

Comic Books: 37

TPBs: 6

HCs: 1

Graphic Novels: 0