Talk Nerdy to Me

Comics for 01/09/2013

I picked up four titles this week; Action Comics #16, Punisher: War Zone #3, Superior Spider-man #1, and Detective Comics #16 (Death of the Family tie-in).  As usual I will give a brief synopsis and my thoughts on the title.

Action Comics #16:  Much like Nicholas Cage, Grant Morrison continues to defy the odds and find work in comics.  On a lark I purchased this title to see what has been going on with Superman, and after reading I continue to wonder what is going on with Superman.  In the interest of full disclosure I submit that I'm not the biggest supporter of Morrison's work.  I feel that his work is not the type that one can pick up and read without being fully aware of what has happened in the past few issues.  I have become a big fan of All-Star Superman; however, so I think maybe it's best I wait and read his Action run as a whole.  The Verdict: Pass on this title and wait for the trade

Punisher: War Zone #3 (of 5): When this title started I was honestly excited to see where it would go.  The back story crossed over from the main Punisher title.  Essentially the Avengers felt that Frank Castle had crossed some sort of line, and have set out to bring him down.  This title got off to a hot start, but now it feels as if it is a vehicle for a weekly chat session between Castle and a member of the Avengers.  This week saw Thor and Castle share a six-pack and take down a small army.
The Verdict: Pass on this title and go pick up Garth Ennis' stellar Punisher: Max run in trade form.

Superior Spider-man #1:  Creator Dan Slott sure generated a lion's share of publicity with the events at the conclusion of the Amazing Spider-man #700.  This issue picks up after that with the adventures of the "new" Peter Parker.  While Otto grows accustomed to the his new life and his new body he finds himself limited by an unseen (to him) force.  The big two (DC and Marvel)  have generated a great deal of criticism within the industry and from comic fans alike for their propensity to use stunts to sell.  Unfortunately, this stunt will be over too quickly to be remembered.
The Verdict: Pick it up if you want a halfway decent Spidey story, or if you enjoy a good marketing ploy.

Batman: Detective Comics #16 (Death of the Family tie-in):  Although I faux scathe at marketing ploys by the big two I have been a sucker for this particular one.  Death of the Family is everything that I have always loved about comics.  Joker, out of sheer insanity and unpredictability, is one step ahead of Batman on his trail of terror.  This issue takes a deviation from the main prose regarding the clown prince of crime and lays the groundwork for Gotham going forward.  Readers are introduced to a series of increasingly dangerous Joker Cults that will surely populate the Gotham landscape going forward.  This issue also furthers the introduction of Ignatius Oglivy as the new "Emperor Penguin" and the new face of organized crime in Gotham.
The Verdict:  50/50 - this isn't really a "can't miss" title, but there is some nice story work with not too much of the Joker or the Bat.

Comics for 01/16/2013

This week was a difficult one for me.  While I usually read and rank my titles from worst to first I had a hard time finding a weak spot.  A first world problem if there ever was one!  This week's titles were Daredevil #22, Batgirl #16 (Death of the Family tie in), Batman & Robin #16 (Death of the Family tie in), and Batman #16 (Death of the Family tie in).

Daredevil #22:  This was my favorite title of this week, and that is saying something when considering the competition.  Mark Waid continues to draw from his past work and center this title around uniquely human elements.  In Waid's stellar work Kingdom Come Batman tells Superman that he was lost from the day that he "made the Super more important than the Man".  Waid seems to have continued to heed these words.  In this issue Hornhead and the "new" Spidey thwart a rampage by Stilt Man.  After the battle Waid juxtaposes the light prose with a very real and heartbreaking confession from Foggy to his best friend Matt Murdock.  Dear reader I cannot stress enough how much I love this comic, and I cannot suggest strongly enough that you pick it up at least once.
The Verdict:  Pick it up.  This is the best thing going in comics today.

Batgirl #16 (Death of the Family tie-in):  DC made a monumental mistake when they fired Gail Simone via e-mail.  Luckily, enough backlash and fan support got her hired back in a New York minute.  I have never in my life picked up a Batgirl title, but I now plan on reading the entirety of Simone's run.  In this issue Babs is set to tie the knot with the man who famously put her in a wheelchair "for the fun of it". While she and the Joker exchange banter she decides that regardless of the outcome she is now willing to "cross that line" and put a definite end to the Clown Prince. While nothing is resolved in this issue all roads lead to Batman #17 in February.
The Verdict:  Another fantastic title from a fantastic author..can't miss

Batman & Robin #16 (Death of the Family tie-in):  Confession time. I love Damien Wayne.  I hated him at first like some of you probably did.  He was a spoiled, he was disrespectful, he treated Dick Grayson like crap, and to top it all off he was a cold-blooded killer.  Fast forward to Peter Tomasi's run with the Boy Wonder (and some of the work Grant Morrison has done in Batman Inc.) and we have a decidedly different Damien.  The character has the type of empathy that I love in superhero stories.  While he's no boy hostage like the previous incarnations of the character the thing that is so interesting about Damien is that above all he wants his Father's approval.  That is story that is more than common to the reader as we've all been in a situation, in which we seek the approval of another.
The Verdict:  Pick it up as it's another stop on the road to the big finale in Batman #17

Batman #16 (Death of the Family tie-in):  I hope Scott Snyder continues to write Batman for as long as humanly possible.  There were questions whether Snyder could successfully follow-up his wildly popular "Court of Owls" storyline.  He has answered those questions with a definitive yes.  Snyder has taken a popular villain like The Joker, and made him decisively more dangerous.  This version of the Joker embraces the chaos, but he has an end game in mind.  I don't want to spoil too much from this title, but suffice to say if I could only buy two comics a month it would be Snyder's Batman and Waid's Daredevil.
The Verdict:  Pick it up

We've come to the end.  Looks like next week I'll be picking up Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 and Nightwing #16, which are both continuing the Death of the Family storyline.  I'll stay current from here on out so I don't have to be so verbose in future posts.  Thanks again dear reader! See you in the funny pages!