New Comic Books for October 31, 2007

DC COMICS

ACTION COMICS #858
BATMAN #670
COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #3
COUNTDOWN #26
COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #2
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #10
ROBIN ANNUAL #7
SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #35
TRIALS OF SHAZAM #9

MARVEL COMICS

DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #1
IRON MAN #23
ULTIMATE POWER #8
X-MEN MESSIAH COMPLEX ONE SHOT

It appears that we have just a slightly smaller shipment of comic books headed to the Bunker this Wednesday compared to the monster sized shipment that landed on us last week. We are getting a total of 13 titles tomorrow. Once again, this week is DC heavy. Marvel is all about the Messiah Complex this week.



Which DC comic book am I most looking forward to reading? This is tough. There are so many great titles coming out this week by DC. Batman #670 should be an exciting read. This issue kicks off the big story arc involving the possible return of Ra’s Al Ghul. That alone should get readers excited about this issue. I’m sure that Morrison will have plenty of twists and turns headed our way.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes #35 continues Bedard’s exciting story arc. This title definitely improved upon Waid’s departure. I’m looking forward to the next installment of Bedard’s story arc as he gets ready to hand this title off to big Jim Shooter.

Action Comics #858 sports the debut of the great art team of Gary Frank and Jonathon Sibal. Hopefully, they will be able to keep pace with a monthly schedule unlike the previous artist. Obviously, being a huge Legion of Super Heroes fan, I am pumped for this new story arc that spins off from the Lightning Saga story arc from the JLA/JSA crossover. We learn more about the real Legion of Super Heroes that appeared in the Lightning Saga story arc as well as why they have cut off their ties with Superman and other interesting plotlines.

And Action Comics #858 would have been the winner as the comic book I am most looking forward to reading if it wasn’t for Justice Society of America #10. Alex Ross hops aboard to help Johns deliver the monster new story arc where the Superman from the Kingdom Come world joins the JSA. This should be a fantastic read.

Which DC comic book am I least looking forward to reading? Robin Annual #7 definitely doesn’t get me excited. As a general rule, annuals make very poor reads. Since Robin isn’t all that hot of a monthly title, then I see no reason for the annual to be particularly entertaining.

However, the winner of this dubious distinction is Trials of Shazam #9. Winick has really screwed the pooch in this re-imagining of the Shazam Family. This maxi-series has been a dreadful read in every aspect. I even stopped doing reviews for this title since I just don’t care to waste my time talking about what a terrible read this title is.

Which Marvel comic book am I most looking forward to reading? Well, there isn’t much of a selection with only four titles to choose from. Iron Man #23 is sure to be an excellent read. The Knaufs have been absolutely spectacular on this title. I’m sure that this issue will be more of the same quality story telling.

But, I’m going to have to go with X-Men Messiah Complex One Shot. Not that I think that this issue will be a better read than Iron Man #23, because I don’t think it will, but because this is a pivotal issue that marks a huge shift in the direction that Marvel will be taking the X-Men franchise.

I have been summarily unimpressed with Marvel’s past several big event efforts. House of M, Decimation, Civil War and World War Hulk have all been massively overhyped and seriously underperforming and pedestrian big events. Maybe Marvel can finally deliver a quality big event with Messiah Complex.

Which Marvel comic book am I least looking forward to reading? That would be Daredevil Annual #1. Again, my general belief that annuals are largely pure filler and total a waste of paper makes me less than enthusiastic for this issue.

I’ll try my best to start posting reviews as soon as possible. I hope everyone enjoys their new comic books for this week.

Comic Book Review: Ultimate Spider-Man #115

The Revolution hasn’t been that impressed with the last several issues of Ultimate Spider-Man. And I’m certainly not digging Stuart Immonen’s art on this title. Immonen is a talented artist, but I do just not like his look for this particular title. At any rate, Ultimate Spider-Man has been such a consistently good performer ever since the first issue that I have a hard time believing that Bendis isn’t going to quickly right this ship and get this story arc back on track. I’m optimistic that Ultimate Spider-Man #115 will deliver a fun read. Let’s hit this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade von Grawbadger

Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Kong over at Kitty’s house doing trigonometry homework together. Suddenly, a newsflash comes across the TV announcing that SHIELD has arrested Spider-Man. Kitty tells Kong that she really appreciates his friendship, but that she has to go right now.

We cut to Peter in a SHIELD cell while Carol Danvers questions him. We slide over to Norman Osborne in his penthouse with his attorney. Norman laughs at the news report of SHIELD arresting Spider-Man. Norman’s lawyer tells Norman that he needs to turn himself into the police. Norman responds that he is going to help the FBI and the White House bury Nick Fury. That they will reward him for helping to bury Nick Fury.

Norman tells the lawyer that he needs his money. The lawyer says that he is not going to help Norman. Norman accuses the lawyer of stealing his money. Norman threatens to kill the lawyer if he doesn’t give Norman his money.

We shift back to Carol talking with Peter. Carol wants to figure out what she is going to do with Peter after she deals with Norman. Carol then asks Peter for any and all information about Norman Osborne. Peter explains that it is real simple. Osborne is nuts and has injected himself with Goblin serum. That Norman even injected his son with the Goblin serum.

Carol then gets a phone call from a SHIELD agent that Norman’s attorney has been found dead. That SHIELD’s eye in the sky can track Norman’s power signature from the scene of the crime. Carol hangs up the phone and suddenly, Kitty busts onto the scene. Kitty phases Peter through the floor of his cell.

Kitty and Peter then fight their way out of the Triskellion. Carol then cuts off Peter and Kitty’s path with a bunch of SHIELD agents. Carol tells them that she did not arrest Peter. That she had Peter in protective custody and was trying to use Peter as bait to get Norman to come out of hiding.

Carol is then informed by an agent that Norman has been tracked to the Trump Tower. Carol orders a team of SHIELD agents to be deployed to that location immediately. Carol tells Kitty and Peter that they are now SHIELD agents for the day and to join the strike force against Norman.

We cut to Norman at the condo of his accountant. Norman accuses the accountant of working with Norman’s lawyer in stealing all of Norman’s money. Suddenly, SHIELD and Spider-Man bust onto the scene.

Spider-Man starts kicking Green Goblin’s ass. During the fight, Spider-Man runs out of web fluid. Green Goblins throws Spider-Man out of the window of the building. Kitty and the SHIELD agents then blast Green Goblin with their guns. Green Goblin then falls out of the window of the building. We see both Green Goblin and Spider-Man falling down to the ground. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Ultimate Spider-Man #115 was a fun read. Bendis turns in a nicely paced and plotted issue. The story moves with a pleasant flow. Bendis mixes things up a bit and gives us an enjoyable blend of drama and action. And that is often Bendis’ Achilles heel as he sometimes rambles on way too much as he falls in love with the sound of his own voice and the plotting and pacing of the story suffers. Not so with Ultimate Spider-Man #115.

Bendis serves up some well crafted dialogue. As long as Bendis doesn’t get too talky, I find his snappy banter to be a great fit for Ultimate Spider-Man. Bendis writes a great teen-age Peter Parker. And out of all the various Spider-Man titles, I dig Bendis’ version of Peter the most. Bendis really gets Peter’s character, what makes him tick and what makes him so special.

The banter between Carol and Peter was some of the best in this issue. That scene showed off Bendis’ nice sense of humor. And a good sense of humor is critical on a title like Ultimate Spider-Man where Peter has to deal with a life that is rather dark and traumatic. Peter’s sense of humor keeps the reader from getting too overwhelmed by the depressing aspects of this title.

I dig how Bendis is handling Carol’s character. Carol comes across as strong and confident, yet still makes mistakes that Nick Fury would probably never make. Carol as the head of SHIELD is a neat departure from what we have over in the 616 universe. I hope that Carol gets a chance to be the head of SHIELD for a decent length of time. Plus, utilizing Carol as the Director of SHIELD provides the opportunity to really do something drastically different with Carol’s character compared to the 616 version of her character.

I liked the scene with Kitty and Kong studying together. It has been fun watching Kong’s character morph from dumb bully to a big softie who has a good heart. Kong continues the tradition of strong supporting characters on Spider-Man’s titles. I definitely dig the move by Bendis to split up Kitty and Peter and to pair her off with Kong.

I always enjoy the menace that is the Green Goblin. Norman Osborne is a classic Spider-Man villain and always creates an interesting storyline whenever he appears on the title. And Bendis gives us a pretty nice brawl between Goblin and Spider-Man at the end of this issue.

The Bad: The mystery of Nick Fury isn’t as compelling as seeing Carol running SHIELD. We have already seen Nick go underground over in the 616 Universe. So, seeing Nick pull a similar stunt in the Ultimate Universe lacks any real impact or intrigue.

Immonen and von Grawbadger deliver some artwork that is just average at best. I’m just not a real fan of Immonen’s style of art. I find it to be a bit dull and drab.

Overall: Ultimate Spider-Man #115 was a fun little read. After a couple of sub-par issues, Bendis cranks it up a notch and appears to be getting this Green Goblin story arc on track. Even though this story arc isn’t the best stuff that Bendis has given us on Ultimate Spider-Man, I still find this title to be by far and away the best Spider-Man title on the market.

Comic Book Review: Green Lantern Corps #17

Green Lantern Corps has been a fun read over the past several issues. We are getting tons of sick action between the Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps members. This title is shouldering the duty of giving the reader the high octane action of the Sinestro War that we aren’t seeing over on Green Lantern. This makes Green Lantern Corps an excellent complement to the plot heavy story on Green Lantern. I’m sure that Green Lantern Corps #17 will be another action packed and fun read.

Creative Team
Writer: Dave Gibbons
Pencils: Pascal Alixe, Angel Unzueta, Dustin Nguyen & Patrick Gleason
Inks: Vincente Cifuentes, Rodney Ramos, Rob Hunter, Marlo Alquiza & Prentis Rollins

Art Rating: 3 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with the Guardians re-assigning the Corps to Earth. The Guardians agree that it is time that they convey the Ion power far earlier than they were prepared to do so. We cut to the Green Lantern Corps assembling outside of Earth. Salaak sends a team of Lanterns to Lubbock, Texas, another team to Las Vegas and a third team to Mount Rushmore. Soranik Natu appears on the scene and gets assigned to the team sent to Mount Rushmore along with Sodam Yat and Arisia.

We cut to Kilowog with his team in San Diego. Kilowog then locks horns once again with Arkillo from the Sinestro Corps. The two engage in their own personal duel.

We slide over to Mount Rushmore where our team of Lanterns runs into Guy Gardner on his way to get a painting to snap Kyle loose from Parallax’s control. Gardner is introduced to Yat and is duly impressed with the fact that Yat destroyed Ranx. Gardner continues on his mission to get the painting. Suddenly, Salaak contacts the Lanterns at Mount Rushmore and orders them to report to New York City immediately.

We cut back to Kilowog brawling with Arkillo. Kilowog refuses to use lethal force when dealing with Arkillo and that cause the needless death of some Earthling police officers. Kilowog ends up distracting Arkillo enough to drop an aircraft carrier on top of Arkillo. Kilowog then cuts off Arkillo’s ring finer and takes his yellow power ring.

Salaak then arrives on the scene and tells Kilowog that they have to go to New York City. We shift to Lubbock, Texas, where the Lanterns are killing Sinestro Corps members left and right. They then get the call to report to New York City.

We zip over to New York City where all the Green Lanterns are reporting onto the scene. Salaak tells the Lanterns to wait for the Guardians’ orders. Suddenly, Anti-Monitor and Sinestro appear in New York City. Sodam Yat and several other Lanterns decide that waiting is for losers and they immediately attack the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor blasts the Lanterns and kills all of them except for Yat who shakes off the Anti-Monitor’s blast.

Yat flies off and attack the Anti-Monitor once again. Anti-Monitor blasts Yat once again. Yat goes crashing to the ground and is knocked out. Natu rushes to Yat’s side. Natu scans Yat with her power ring. Her ring reports that Yat is Daxamite and exposure to the yellow sun is giving Yat increasing invulnerability and allied physical enhancements.

A hologram of Sinestro appears next to Natu and calls her a traitor. Princess Iolande appears on the scene and calls Sinestro a traitor to the Green Lantern Corps and the entire universe.

Yat gets up again and is ready to attack the Anti-Monitor once again. The Guardians then appear on the scene along with Ion. The Anti-Monitor comments that he thought the Guardians were frozen with fear of him and his Corps. The Guardians respond that they bring a power greater than fear. The power of the will. A power when fused with Yat’s courage and strength is unstoppable.

Ion then merges with Yat. Yat is now the new Ion. The Guardians call Yat their greatest weapon. Suddenly, Superboy-Prime appearas on the scene and says that Ion doesn’t look so tough to him.

Comments
The Good: Green Lantern #17 was a solidly paced issue. The reader certainly gets treated to tons of furious action. We get to see Green Lanterns and Sinestro Corps members slaughtering each other left and right. If you dig violent and bloody action then this issue is definitely for you.

I have to admit that I love seeing Green Lanterns being able to employ lethal force. It simply makes sense that a paramilitary police force like the Green Lantern Corps would be at least enabled to use lethal force as a last resort. The use of lethal force makes the Green Lantern Corps a bit more realistic and believable. I mean, can you image a single city in America using a police force that is never required to use lethal force? Heh, you’d have even more rampant crime than we do now.

Gibbons turns out some solid dialogue, but it is certainly nothing special or out of the ordinary. Green Lantern Corps is not a title you buy because of the deep character work or well crafted dialogue. During the Sinestro Corps story arc, Gibbons has assumed the task of providing for all the necessary action that makes the Sinestro Corps story arc feel like a true war and to place this conflict on a cosmic scale.

It was also nice to see the Anti-Monitor finally entering the field of battle and immediately making his presence felt. I’m just waiting for the moment when Superboy-Prime stabs Anti-Monitor in the back. You know it is going to happen at some point.

Being a huge Mon-El fan, obviously I dig that we have a Daxamite in the pages of Green Lantern Corps. Yat is a pretty cool character and I dig his indomitable will that keeps driving him to continue to attack the Anti-Monitor regardless of the obvious power difference between the two combatants.

And Gibbons pulls off a pretty wild ending with the Guardians deciding to make Yat the new Ion. Wow, talk about a real powerhouse. Combine all the Superman powers that a Daxamite possesses under a yellow sun with the massive power of Ion and you have one serious heavy hitter on your hands. Yat as Ion should certainly help boost our heroes’ power levels as they take on some monster villains in Anti-Monitor, Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman and Sinestro.

The Bad: Seriously, Kilowog comes across as a bit of a wuss for not using lethal force against Arkillo. If Kilowog had just killed Arkillo, then maybe some of the policemen wouldn’t have gotten killed. And cutting off Arkillo’s finger and taking his power ring accomplishes nothing. All Arkillo has to do is get a new power ring and slap it on one of his other nine fingers. Then he is back out there killing more innocent people all because Kilowog didn’t have the cojones to put down this mad dog permanently.

As far as plotlines are concerned, not much of substance occurred in Green Lantern Corps. #17. This issue’s main purpose is to supply the combat scenes that are lacking over in Green Lantern. The only plot movement that we got was at the very end of this issue when Yat is transformed into the new Ion and the Anti-Monitor arrives on the Earth.

The artwork by committee employed in this issue sucked. I completely and totally despise artwork by committee. And having nine different pencilers and inkers working on one regular length issue is an absolute joke. That is inexcusable and should never happen. The artwork by committee gave Green Lantern an extremely inconsistent and schizophrenic look that lessened the reading experience of this issue.

Overall: Green Lantern Corps #17 was a solid read. If you are a fan of fast paced and furious action then you will definitely enjoy this title. Even though this title isn’t nearly as strong of a read as Green Lantern, I’m glad that DC decided to dedicate Green Lantern Corps to carrying out the mission of making the Sinestro War event actually feel like a true war.

If you are following the Sinestro War event, and you don’t normally read Green Lantern Corps, then you certainly should not feel obligated to purchase this title. Nothing happens on Green Lantern Corps that is necessary for you to read about in order to enjoy the main story over on Green Lantern.

Comic Book Review: Flash #233

The Revolution has been stunned at just how disappointing Waid and Acuna have been on the Flash with their debut story arc. I find Waid’s story to be completely boring and uninteresting. I’m not really digging “The Incredibles” feel to the general theme of the Flash. John Rogers is coming aboard to co-write the Flash with Mark Waid. Evidently, Rogers will be helping Waid to co-write the back-up stories. Let’s hope for the best and hit this review for Flash #233.

Creative Team
Writers: Mark Waid & John Rogers
Artists: Freddie Williams, II & Doug Braithwaite

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Iris saving Flash from the alien invaders. Jai protects his mother as best he can from the alien invaders. Flash and Iris then arrive back on the scene and save Jai and Linda. Flash locks horns with the leader of the alien invaders. The leader tells Flash that a race of filthy air-breathers attacked their world. It wasn’t Earth, but as far as the aliens are concerned all air-breathers are the same.

Flash’s reinforcements arrive in the form of his JLA teammates. Black Lightning, John Stewart and Superman start kicking ass on the alien invaders. The aliens then retreat and leave Earth. The leader tells the Flash that he has won the battle, but not the war. That they will meet again. (God, I hope not.)

We cut to the West’s house. Wally tucks the kids into bed. Linda tells Wally that he has visitors in the basement. Wally goes to the basement and there is Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Red Arrow, Black Lightning and John Stewart waiting for him. Superman says that they have come for Wally’s kids.

The JLA’ers say that they are worried about the safety of Jai and Iris when Wally takes them into battle. Roy tells Wally that life was different back when they were Teen Titans. That it is more dangerous now for kids to fight crime. Batman agrees that it is not acceptable to allow children as young as Iris and Jai into the “family business.”

Wally is pissed off and snaps that he isn’t going to be lectured by a guy who has gone through four Robins. Wally says that they don’t understand. That Iris and Jai’s powers are unstable. That Linda constantly monitors their powers. That they don’t want the kids to grow up ashamed of their powers or to view themselves as sick or handicapped.

Wally also reveals something that they have never said in front of the kids. That Jai and Iris are going through random and rapid growth spurts where they age years overnight. That Wally is afraid one morning his children will be in their twenties or their forties or worse, dead. Wally says that however long his children have that they get to live their lives all-out.

The JLA’ers are sympathetic to Wally’s situation and understand why he allows his children to fight crime. Batman actually says “We’re sorry” which confirms that that must be someone else other than Bruce Wayne in that Batman costume. The JLA’ers and Wally get in a big group hug as Wonder Woman tells Wally that he doesn’t have to go through this alone.

We then see Jai listening to the entire conversation from the top of the basement steps. End of story.

We then get a six page back-up story. It is the first of a four part story focusing on each of the four Flash’s trips to a planet called Savoth. First up is Jay Garrick. We begin with Gorflack using a Plus-Lightspeed machine to pull Jay Garrick to their world for his help. An alien army is killing all the inhabitants of Savoth and Gorflack used the machine as a last ditch effort to save his planet.

Jay agrees to help Gorflack to help defeat the alien invaders. Gorflack says that most of his people have already been defeated and captured. That they are a peaceful race that pursue the arts and science and have no weapons or real fighting abilities. Jay answers that all Gorflack needs is to spread his words of freedom, justice and family to his people.

Jay zips Gorflack around to all the refugee camps and rallies the troops. Jay leads them into battle and they end up defeating the alien invaders.

Gorflack thanks Jay for his help in defeating the alien invaders. Jay asks Gorflack to send him home. Gorflack answers that he can’t. That according to Gorflack’s calculations all Jay has to do is adjust his internal vibrations and he will pierce the wall that separates their worlds and Jay will be home.

Gorflack gives Jay a small lightning bolt shaped piece of metal. It is a fragment of dimensional energy around Jay that actually solidified when Jay arrived at Savoth. Gorflack says that the piece of metal will act as a tuning fork that will allow Jay to return to Savoth whenever he wants to. Jay thanks Gorflack and takes off for home. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Eeeecch. There isn’t much positive to say about the main story in Flash #233. One big reason that I don’t have much complimentary to say about this issue is that you actually have to have some semblance of a story in which actual plotlines are progressed in order to have something to review in a particular issue. Flash #233 was a seriously anemic and thin read.

However, I can certainly satisfy The Revolution’s Rule of Positivity. I absolutely loved the way Wally called out the Batman during the scene where the JLA appeared to tell Wally to stop taking his kids with him to fight crime. Wally rightly points out the raging hypocrisy on Batman’s part considering he has blazed through four Robins. That was classic! That outburst made me chuckle.

The artwork in the main story of Flash #233 was much better than the previous couple of issues. Freddie Williams, II delivers a much nicer looking comic book than Acuna. Williams has a much cleaner and easier to follow style that doesn’t make reading this title such a chore. Readers who were immediately turned off by Acuna’s distinctive style of artwork will certainly be happy with this switch at the artist position.

The back-up story centering on Jay Garrick kicked ass. I love Jay Garrick. He is such a fantastic character. Jay is a true hero. The original Flash is one of the most inspiring and respectable heroes in the DCU. The only other character in the DCU that approaches Jay’s impressive legendary status is Alan Scott.

It was cool to see a young Jay Garrick kicking some ass. We also got to see Jay learning to vibrate his molecules in order to travel between alternate worlds. Waid and Rogers give us a pretty interesting insight into the Flash mythos with regard to the Flashes connection with this unusual planet of Savoth. I’m glad that we are finally going to get more info about Savoth and what Wally and his family did there during 52.

Doug Braithwaite provides plenty of solid artwork in the back-up story. Braithwaite has a stiff and rather old school look to his art which was a perfect match for a story centered on a young Jay Garrick in all his Golden Age glory.

The Bad: Flash #233 was a very pedestrian read. This has been an incredibly unimpressive and rather dubious beginning to Waid’s run on this title. This entire battle with the invading alien force was extremely short lived and comes across as completely pointless. Honestly, Waid’s opening story arc with this bizarre alien invasion is totally random. And the alien’s motivation for attacking Earth is that some other air-breathers attacked them and that they view all air-breathers as the same? Are you kidding me? How phenomenally lame is that.

There is absolutely nothing about this alien invasion plotline that I find even remotely engaging. I hope that Waid just drops this plotline and lets it die a quiet death. We don’t need to revisit this plotline at a later date.

Waid needs to seriously refocus his view on this title. Waid needs to go back to the drawing board and begin crafting some intriguing plotlines outside of the sole plotline of Wally’s kids aging rapidly. Waid’s run on this title is already beginning to have the wheels come off. Waid kicked off his run on the Flash with a story arc that read like pure filler. I hope that Waid has a few tricks up his sleeves and something interesting in store for the reader. Right now, Waid has nowhere to go but up.

The scene with the JLA about Wally’s kids was flat out idiotic. It was also completely random and out of character. Not for a minute do I believe that the JLA’ers would care at all if Wally let his kids use their powers to fight crime. Wonder Woman has had Donna and Cassie. Superman has had Conner and currently has Christopher. Batman has had his myriad of Robins. So many of the JLA members have brought kids into the “family business.” This entire scene seemed horribly forced. Waid rammed a square peg through a round hole just to have an excuse to create this artificially dramatic showdown between Wally and his teammates.

And was I hallucinating or did Batman apologize to Wally near the end of this issue? That one panel confirms my suspicions that the Batman from this issue must be from one of the alternate Earths in this new Multiverse. One where everything is the reverse of New Earth. The fact is that Batman doesn’t apologize. No matter if he is totally in the wrong. That is what makes him Bat-dick. And that is how I like my Batman. Seriously, who is interested in a wussy touchy feely Batman who runs around apologizing to people?

The alleged “hook” ending that Waid tossed out at us lacked any impact or excitement. The reader already knows that the kids are aging in huge jumps at random intervals. And how are Wally and Linda keeping this a secret from the kids? I’m pretty sure that when I was 5 years old, if I woke up one morning and was suddenly 10 years old, then I’d be pretty cognizant of what just happened to me. There is no way these kids could be having such massive growth spurts and being ignorant about them.

At this point, the two kids bore me to tears and reading about a super hero who is married with kids is totally uninteresting. I hope Waid just lets the kids rapidly age and die and we can move on from the West Family Adventures and get back to stories about the Flash. I can get married with kids in the real world. I don’t need it in my comic books.

Overall: Flash #233 was a dull read. If it weren’t for the fun Jay Garrick back-up story then Flash #233 might have only scored 2 Night Girls out of 10. Waid has thoroughly and totally unimpressed me with his opening story arc on the Flash. I seriously hope that Waid has something better in store for us than what he has given us up to this point. There is no doubt that hard-core Flash fans will enjoy this title. However, I don’t think I would recommend the Flash to anyone outside of that loyal fan base.

Comic Book Review: X-Men #204

Carey’s X-Men continues to be a total and complete miss with The Revolution. The writing seems more suited for a crappy Image comic book from the 1990’s. This title is great if you love mindless action. Other than that, X-Men is all flash and no substance. Maybe Carey can get me engaged with what he is trying to do on this title with X-Men #204. Of course, The Revolution is excited to see that Michael Choi is handling the art duties for X-Men #204 rather than either Bachalo or Ramos. That alone gives me hope for this issue. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Michael Choi

Art Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Beast running brain scans on Cannonball to see if there is any permanent damage. Cannonball is still unconscious and Beast may not know what course of treatment is best until Cannonball wakes up. Iceman beats himself up for Cannonball getting hurt on the mission.

Beast then checks in on Blindfold. Blindfold tells Beast that she is feeling better, but that more people are going to get hurt. That Megan, Julian, Nightcrawler and someone else that she can’t quite see are all going to get hurt.

We cut to Scott playing back a conversation between himself, Jean and Cable where Cable thanks them for going into the future and changing his life and giving him a family. That he doesn’t regret for a single moment being their son.

Emma interrupts the moment and tells Scott that he is being beyond obsessive. Scott tells Emma to stay out of his mind if she doesn’t like what he is thinking about. Emma responds that she is too closely attuned to Scott and that his feelings shout too loudly for her to keep him out of her mind.

Scott replies that his son is dead. That he can’t help how he feels, but that Emma should know that no one is better at suffering in silence than Scott. Emma asks Scott why he keeps going over this one scene so much. Scott replies that Cable mentioned how Scott and Jean gave Cable a family. Scott says that the X-Men have always done that for friends and family alike. That is the one thing that defined them. That they always left the door wide open. And that is why Cable died. That they gave too many people too many second chances.

We slide over to Sinister, Mystique and the rest of the Marauders. Mystique comments that Emma couldn’t find Rogue’s consciousness so she brought Rogue to Sinister believing that his resources were greater. Sinister replies that Mystique may have wasted her time saving Rogue. That Rogue’s consciousness is broken into pieces. Mystique reminds Sinister that Rogue is alive because she has the full text of Destiny’s diaries in her mind. Sinister replies that Mystique has read the diaries and that he can scan her mind. Mystique snaps that she wears a psi-shield for a reason and that the two of them agreed to work together, not trust each other.

We cut back to the X-Mansion where Scott is devising the next course of action. Scott reviews that Sinister has been trying to remove anything and anyone who could give them access to knowledge about future timelines and event and alternate timelines. They have contact Bishop for his help and he is on his way. Scott says that he will be talking to everyone individually for a team that will lead a strike against Sinister.

Everyone leaves the room except for Bobby. Iceman confronts Scott that Scott is trying to disband Rogue’s team. Scott points out that Bobby is all that is left of the team. That Scott put Rogue in a role she couldn’t handle. Bobby retorts that Rogue did a good job and so did the team. Bobby says that Scott blames Rogue for what happened to Cable. Scott replies that nobody is being disbanded, sidelined or blamed. That right now the X-Men need every man they have. The only people Scott blames are Sinister and the Marauders. And that they will pay.

We skip over to Gambit sitting by Rogue’s bedside. Gambit talks lovingly to Rogue and mentions how he wants to apologize for leaving her and joining Apocalypse. That Rogue won’t die this way. We see inside of Rogue’s mind where the other eight million alien minds are surrounding Rogue’s memories of her and Gambit.

Suddenly, Rogue wakes up. She tells Gambit that she has this sick dream. Then, Rogue begins to speak some alien language and other gibberish. Rogue then passes out again.

Mystique enters the room. Gambit and Mystique trade insults as Gambit doesn’t trust Mystique since she has tried to kill Rogue. Mystique shoots back that at least she and Gambit now have something in common. Mystique tells Gambit that they have a long way to go and for him to keep an open mind and to pace himself while the pieces fall into place.

We cut to Exodus and Sinister talking. Exodus reminds Sinister that their alliance has limits. That Sinister promised the rebirth of the mutant race. That the future could be reclaimed for their kind. Sinister reminds Exodus that they are waiting for the moment predicted by Destiny’s diaries. They wait for the final moments of the Decimation to tick away and then they act.

We shift to Bobby by Cannonball’s bedside. Cannonball is conscious again and doing much better. Bobby is thrilled that Sam is all right. Bobby apologizes for letting his guard down. Bobby talks about how ashamed he is for letting Mystique use him. And the worst part is that he can’t bring himself to hate her for it.

Suddenly, there is a huge power surge and then all the lights go out. Bobby says that it is probably nothing. Blindfold stands up next to Bobby and Sam. Blood pours from her mouth. She tells them that it is not nothing. It’s everything. End of story.

We get the final installment of the painfully slow and boring Endangered Species story. Beast ends up travelling to Eastern Europe to meet with the Scarlet Witch. Wanda no longer has any memories at all of her previous life as the Scarlet Witch. Wanda and Hank have a rather uninteresting discussion. Wanda ends up leaving to take care of her Aunt.

Hank realizes that there is nothing he can do to undo what Scarlet Witch did. Hank goes back to Neverland and gives all the bodies in the mass graves a proper burial with their own tombstone. Hank buries the dead and gives the past its due. Then Hank leaves and does the only thing he can do which is to go on living. End of issue.

Commentary
The Good: I’m stunned. For the first time in years, I actually enjoyed an issue of the X-Men. X-Men #204 was a solid read. Carey finally impressed me with a nicely paced and plotted issue. I have been extremely critical of Carey’s work on this title, so it is only fair that I properly praise Carey on an issue where it appears that he actually spent some time and effort constructing the dialogue and performing some character development.

For the first time in his run, Carey doesn’t rely on hyper action fight scenes to completely carry an issue. What a refreshing change of pace! I didn’t think that Carey had it in himself to serve up an issue that was completely carried by strong character work and solid dialogue.

X-Men #204 was obviously a filler issue. Carey had one issue to burn before the monstrous Messiah Complex storyline began. And to his credit, Carey used this one issue to crawl inside of the minds of the various X-Men and examine what is going on inside their souls. And that is what made X-Men #204 by far and away the best issue that Carey has turned in during his run on this title.

The scene between Scott and Emma was fantastic. Carey absolutely hits the nail on the head concerning what is the single theme that most defines the X-Men. That the X-Men have always been about giving characters a family. Whether it is a confused feral berserker plagued by amnesia or a lost young girl who was trying to leave behind a life of crime.

No matter what loser, reject or misfit showed up on the X-Mansion’s doorsteps alone and without any friends or family, the X-Men always gave them a second chance and a family to call their own. That is the magic of the X-Men. And Carey does a cool job flipping the main tenet of the X-Men on its head and showing that perhaps that greatest tenet is the X-Men’s fatal flaw.

Carey also delivered a nice scene between Sinister and Mystique. It is made patently clear to the reader that this is one uneasy alliance that is out of convenience rather than any deep kinship or common goal. Was Carey perhaps planting the seeds for Mystique at some point actually ending up helping the X-Men in this upcoming Messiah Complex story arc?

It is possible. Especially given the short scene between Mystique and Gambit. Carey has Mystique urging Gambit to pace himself and to keep an open mind. There is no doubt that Mystique follows no one other than her own desires. She is not a team player. But, maybe there is a chance that she ends up coming back around to the X-Men’s side during this upcoming conflict.

The scene between Rogue and Gambit was rather touching. Carey manages to tap into the tortured love that exists between these two characters. These star-crossed lovers have such a complex past and if Rogue can ever pull out of her current situation, then these two characters have a lot of issues to work through in order to rekindle their relationship.

My favorite scene was the one between Bobby and Scott. Cyclops comes across as the consummate leader and a total bad-ass. I find Cyclops to be a character that is largely mishandled by most writers. Scott usually comes across as either a nerdy dork with a stick up his ass or Wolverine’s bitch.

Personally, I have always viewed Cyclops as the X-Men’s version of Captain America. Scott has one of those strong unflappable personalities and a cool head that always prevails while under fire or in stressful situations. This is why Scott is the best leader the X-Men have ever had.

Carey actually gives us a great version of Scott. Cyclops comes across tough as nails with Bobby and doesn’t back down an inch. Scott listens to what Bobby has to say, but at the same time firmly lets Bobby know that Scott is in charge and now is not the time for in-fighting or pouting. And then Carey gives us a glimpse into the aggressive side of Scott that he usually keeps under tight wraps when Scott threatens to make the villains pay for what they have done.

The scene with Exodus and Sinister was interesting. Carey teases the reader with the fact that our conglomeration of villains are waiting for the final moments of Decimation to pass and then they will act. This little teaser scene gets me excited for the upcoming Messiah Complex story arc. I’m glad that Marvel is finally properly addressing the fall out of the House of M.

The ending of this issue was rather cryptic with Blindfold standing there with blood dripping from her mouth ominously saying that everything is going wrong. That is a creepy and foreboding beginning to the Messiah Complex.

The artwork in X-Men #204 was flat out gorgeous. Michael Choi’s artwork is just incredible. This was a beautiful looking issue. I stared at the panels just enjoying all the little details. Choi’s artwork is so textured and deep. He has an incredible attention to detail. The scene between Scott and Bobby is a great example of this. That is the best looking scene in the issue.

Man, I forgot what it was like to get quality artwork on the title. And it is amazing how much more the reader enjoys the issue when they can actually figure out what in the hell is going on. I wish Choi would become the permanent artist for X-Men.

The Bad: Carey still struggles a bit with cranking out quality dialogue from start to finish. There are a couple of times when the dialogue comes across a bit cheesy and stiff.

The back-up story was plodding, dull and boring. I would go more in depth, but I just don’t care enough about this back-up story to do so. I’m just glad that I will no longer have these page wasting Endangered Species back-sup stories eating up precious panel time from the regular stories in titles like Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor.

Overall: X-Men #204 was Carey’s best issue so far during his run on this title. Yeah, this issue was a time waster until the beginning of the Messiah Complex story. But, at least Carey took this extra time he had on his hands and pulled off some quality character work and his strongest dialogue I have read up to this point. It sure would be nice if Carey could turn out writing of this quality with a bit more regularity. And I definitely would love it if we never saw Bachalo or Ramos on X-Men ever again.

Comic Book Review: Moon Knight #13

Moon Knight #13 is Huston’s final issue on Moon Knight. That is incredibly depressing. Huston did a phenomenal job reviving Moon Knight’s character. I can’t imagine any other writer taking over for Huston and being able to capture the same amount of success. Mike Benson has already been tapped as the next writer. I’ll touch more on that topic in a later post. Oh well, I’m sure that Huston will go out with a bang and that Moon Knight #13 will be a quality read. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Charlie Huston
Pencils: Tom Coker
3-D Models: Don Cameron

Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Moon Knight begrudgingly agreeing with Khonshu to join the Initiative. Khonshu says that Moon Knight is of no use to him if he gets arrested and put in jail for violating the Act.

We cut to the police station where Detective Flint is informed that as long as Moon Knight is on the unregistered list then Flint has to deal with all the scumbags who report getting beaten up and disfigured by Moon Knight. Flint is dealing with a guy who was beating his son when Moon Knight burst into his house and punched a bloody crescent shaped scar onto the guy’s forehead. Flint has no choice but to let the child beater go since the police weren’t on the scene to see him beating the child and the child didn’t file a complaint.

The child beater gloats that he gets to go. Flint then shows the child beater pictures of other scumbags Moon Knight has marked. That Moon Knight continually checks in on these people he has marked. And if they are still doing bad things, Moon Knight gives them another crescent shaped scar on their forehead. He keeps doing this until the scumbags behave. The child beater is terrified and gets the point.

We shift to Frenchie and Rob in bed. Rob tells Frenchie that he is constantly talking in his sleep about Marc Spector. Frenchie gets angry with Rob for saying that Frenchie still loves Marc. Frenchie says that if Rob thinks this is about love then Rob understands nothing at all. Frenchie gets dressed and storms out of the apartment.

We slide over to Marlene totally bored on her date with her boyfriend Taylor. Taylor knows that he isn’t’ t as exciting as Marc. Marlene claims that she is over that type of relationship and wants a person she can hang onto. Suddenly, a couple of thugs attack Taylor and Marlene.

We cut to the Profiler on stake out watching someone. The Profiler stares at someone and begins to tick off all the dirty secrets locked deeply inside that person’s soul.

We shift back to Marlene suddenly busting out the whooping stick and brutally kicking ass on the two muggers. Taylor is terrified.

We see Frenchie arriving at the Moon Cave where Ray is busy packing up the equipment and weapons. We then cut to Mark Spector arriving at a SHIELD Registration Center. Marc meets with the doctor who is going to perform a psych evaluation of Marc before he is allowed to join SHIELD as part of the Initiative.

Marc tries to act normal. The doctor tells Marc to drop the act. That Marc isn’t here for the doctor to determine if he is crazy or not. The doctor already knows that Marc is crazy. That they can get on with processing and rejecting Marc’s application and Marc can stop wasting other people’s valuable time.

Marc realizes the doctor is trying to goad him into attacking him. Marc plays off the doctor’s attempts. We see a SHILED agent with a shotgun appear behind Marc just in case he had tried to attack the doctor.

The doctor proceeds to review Marc’s file. The doctor asks why Marc didn’t register his powers. Marc responds that he no longer has powers. Marc says that powers are overrated. That they make you cocky and sloppy and people get hurt.

The doctor tells Marc that he will still register his old powers just in case. The doctor says that this evaluation is to assess Marc’s sanity and character in order to determine what level of cautionary alert should be placed on Marc’s file. The doctor then says that he would like to interview some of Marc’s associates over the coming weeks and would like to start tonight with talking to Jake Lockely and Steven Grant. Marc admits that those are his aliases.

The doctor proceeds to hypnotize Marc to bring out his other two personalities. First up is Jake Lockely. Jake is pissed that Marc has locked him away for so long along with that fancy pants Steven Grant.

Next up is Steven Grant who is much more polite and dashing. Steven tells some funny stories about his adventures as a millionaire playboy.

The doctor then puts Marc back into a hypnotic trance. The doctor dictates his notes of the evaluation that Marc is clearly unfit for duty. That his unstable mind combined with combat training makes him a serious danger. That all of Marc’s armaments and resources should be confiscated at once. Also that legal action be brought against Moon Knight for his actions. That the population would be much safer if Marc was incarcerated and getting the treatment he requires.

Suddenly, the voice of Khonshu comes from Marc’s sleeping body. Khonshu is angry that the doctor is trying to impede his work. Khonshu proceeds to do what the Profiler does and sees into the doctor’s soul and lists all the horrible and embarrassing aspects of his childhood and personal life. Khonshu says that the only grace the doctor will ever know is to serve Khonshu. Khonshu tells the doctor to be his slave and to kneel and serve his lord.

The doctor kneels before Khonshu. The doctor then passes Marc and fills out all his paperwork. The doctor hands Marc his license to be a super hero. Marc wakes up out of his trance and takes the license. The doctor tells Marc that he is registered as an independent. No SHIELD or government affiliation. There is less oversight this way.

Marc leaves the building. The doctor rips up his notes and deletes his dictation. We see Marc getting into a car with the Profiler in the passenger seat. Marc deletes the recorder that had the Profiler’s Khonshu speech on it. The Profiler asks how it worked. Marc said it worked perfectly. Marc asks if the doctor will hurt anyone. The Profiler responds that the doctor will be impotent for life, but he won’t hurt anyone. Marc says the doctor is evil. The Profiler responds “Sadly, no, he’s not. He’s just human.”

We cut back to the present with Moon Knight viciously beating the hell out of war criminal hiding in New York. We hear a news report how licenses for super heroes will only be issues using the greatest of discretion. That only people who display a similar level of discretion and know the proper uses of restraint will qualify. We see Moon Knight finish brutally beating the war criminals and leaving his SHIELD registration papers in the mouth of one of the war criminals.

We shift to Marc helping Marlene back to her apartment and washing all the blood off of her hands. We see the two of them holding each other. Then we see the two of them having some good old fashioned sex.

We see Frenchie and Ray packing up the last bit of the Moon Cave. Most everything has been moved to Marc’s townhouse or his new warehouse. We see Frenchie and Ray leave as the Mansion blows up in a massive explosion behind them. Frenchie talks about how it is hard for old soldiers to say goodbye to their past and all the trappings of the past and to leave gracefully the field of battle.

We cut to Marlene holding her head in a dark bedroom. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Moon Knight #13 was a powerful and emotional read. Huston has done an incredible job on his run on Moon Knight of crawling into the psyche of Marc Spector. The reader has gotten a raw insight into Marc’s mind, how he thinks and why he does what he does. Huston smartly focused on the man Marc Spector rather than the costumed crime fighter Moon Knight.

Huston has stripped back the multiple layers of Marc’s fractured mind, completely deconstructed Marc and them pieced him back together in order to give us the rebirth of Marvel’s most unbalanced and twisted hero. By allowing the reader to bathe in Marc’s insanity, we can see the world as Marc envisions it. It is definitely not a pretty place, but it is certainly intriguing and captivating.

Moon Knight #13 was another well plotted and paced issue. This issue moves at a measured pace, but it burns with a hot intensity. Huston does an excellent job using Moon Knight #13 to put a proper bow on this run on this title. This issue neatly wraps up all the various plotlines that Huston created. Huston has done his job of putting Marc back together and re-inventing Moon Knight and his new position within the context of the present 616 Universe. Huston has done a solid job laying the foundation for the next writer on this title.

As always, Huston cranks out some fantastic dialogue. Each character has such a well defined external voice. The dialogue has a grim, gritty and realistic feel to it. There is such a natural flow to the banter between the various characters. I dig that Huston gives Marc a blunt and direct voice that uses only an economy of words to get across his point.

Huston has impressed me with his commitment to focusing on the man Marc Spector and not the super hero Moon Knight. In this issue, Huston continues his intense look into the mind of Marc Spector. Huston simply gets and understands the essence of Marc’s character like no other writer. Huston’s run on Moon Knight has treated the reader to the best rendition of Marc Spector that I have ever read.

I enjoyed the scene with the SHIELD doctor as Huston strips back all the layers of Marc’s mind and shows the reader his split personalities. This scene was an effective way to show the reader truly how splintered Marc’s mind is as well as how Marc is still crafty and sane enough to concoct a plan to bluff his way into getting a license to operate as a super hero.

Marc’s comments about super powers being overrated were perfect. That super powers make a person sloppy and careless and how people then get hurt. Huston impresses upon the reader that Moon Knight is a character built all around sheer force of will. All Moon Knight needs is his unbending will power, anger, flesh and bone in order to mete out justice. That is what fuels Moon Knight and makes him such a feared combatant.

The scene at the police station with Detective Flint was great. This was a pretty cool way to show the vicious fashion in which Moon Knight polices scumbags that he comes across. The concept of Moon Knight checking up on the various scumbags and giving them another crescent shape brand on the forehead if they have been bad is just sick. And perfect for a twisted freak like Moon Knight.

The plan that Marc concocted by using the Profiler to get a read of the doctor prior to the evaluation and then making the tape of Khonshu’s speech was pure genius. What a fantastic plot twist. For a minute there, the reader actually falls for it and thinks that Khonshu is real and that Marc isn’t insane and hallucinating all of his conversations with the Moon God.

Once we find out it was a tape and the Profilers doing and not the actual spirit of Khonshu, the reader immediately goes back to wondering if the conversations Marc has with Khonshu aren’t just hallucinations of a madman.

The scene with Marlene savagely beating the muggers was certainly jarring and unexpected. Obviously, Marlene is in complete denial about her past and who she is deep inside. The fact is that as much as Marlene wants to think otherwise, she is not completely stable. She has some serious emotional issues and can’t view herself as having moved on unlike Marc. Marlene is probably is better off with Marc than without him. As much as Marlene doesn’t want to admit it, she simply can’t leave her old way of life behind.

Huston delivers a fitting ending to this issue with the cutting back and forth from the sick action scene with Moon Knight kicking ass on the war criminals and Ray and Frenchie shutting down the Moon Cave for once and for all. Frenchie’s poignant narration was an excellent way to end Huston’s run.

Huston shows us Moon Knight’s future as a reckless psychotic super hero who isn’t going to be loyal to SHIELD or the government. Moon Knight is his own one man army and follows his own crusade and no one else’s.

Huston quite literally ends Moon Knight #13 by blowing up Moon Knight’s past as Frenchie and Ray leave the Moon Cave. The past is over and now we can concentrate on the future for this newly re-born Moon Knight. Huston properly concludes his role of resurrecting Moon Knight’s character and placing him on his new course within the 616 universe.

Coker’s style of art really doesn’t suite my tastes. Having said that, Coker’s art definitely worked well on this issue and matched the general mood of Huston’s story.

The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.

Overall: Moon Knight #13 was a fitting and completely satisfying end to Huston’s run on this title. I have been so impressed with Huston’s resurrection of Moon Knight’s character. Huston has absolutely nailed the core essence of what makes Moon Knight so amazing. Huston managed to evoke a mood reminiscent of the seminal Moon Knight team of Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz while still putting his own unique stamp on the Moon Knight mythos. If you missed Huston’s run on Moon Knight, then definitely get his thirteen issue run whenever it is released as a trade paperback. It will be well worth your money.

Comic Book Review: Daredevil #101

I didn’t post a review for the last issue of Daredevil. Don’t mistake that for me not thoroughly enjoying Daredevil #100. It was a great read and I loved all the past Daredevil artists returning for the special 100th issue. I was just too busy to get around to posting a review.

At any rate, I am positive that Brubaker will deliver another gem with Daredevil #101. This story arc is being to sizzle as Brubaker slowly increases the intensity in this story. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Michael Lark
Inker: Stefano Gaudiano

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Daredevil savagely beating up and breaking the bones of some thugs. Daredevil demands to know where Mr. Fear is hiding. We cut to Turk talking to two thugs about Daredevil’s recent rampage. Turk is worried that Mr. Fear overplayed his hand. That even Kingpin knew not to push Daredevil too far. That there is a monster lurking inside of Murdock. Turk doesn’t want to go toe-to-toe with Daredevil again.

Turk tells the thugs to start charging for the drugs from Mr. Fear. The thugs leave. Turk then calls someone and tells them “Tell your boss I can help him find what he wants.”

We cut to Matt and Foggy arriving at the detention center where Milla is being held. Milla is strapped to her bed (cause she likes it rough) and has been sedated due to her wild erratic behavior. Milla freaks out and begins yelling and screaming about empty spots in her memory. Matt tells Milla to calm down and that he will save her.

The D.A. then enters and asks to speak with Foggy and Matt. Matt says that Milla has been drugged and wasn’t acting of her own free will. D.A. Algren tells Matt that he won’t consider bail until Milla passes a psych evaluation.

We shift back to the law firm office where Matt angrily slams his door shut. Dakota enters Matt’s office. Matt screams for her to get out and leave him alone. Dakota reminds Matt that he is an adult and she is a lady. Dakota tells Matt that she has a connection in the NYPD that is going to help Matt.

Matt apologizes for yelling and says he is just upset that he failed Milla and that she is all alone in the detention facility. Dakota reminds Matt that he is Daredevil and that he can go see Milla after lights-out at the detention facility.

We cut to Daredevil sneaking into the detention center and slipping into Milla’s room. Matt tells Milla that she will never be alone a single night while she is being detained. Matt realizes that in order to pass a psyche evaluation that Milla needs to suppress whatever is making her paranoid and angry. So Matt teaches Milla meditation techniques that his sensei taught him in order to clear Milla’s mind so she may better control her mind.

Milla ends up falling asleep in Matt’s arms. And for the first time in a long time Matt prays. Matt then leaves in the morning before Milla wakes up.

We zip back to two days ago. Daredevil is meeting with Dakota’s contact within the NYPD. The detective tells Daredevil that the man who was blown up in Mr. Fear’s apartment was a science teacher at Empire State University named Dante Govich.

Evidently, Dante and Larry Cranston (Mr. Fear) became friends while teaching at ESU.
Dante sold drugs to the students. Dante got arrested a year ago. Then all charges were dropped after the students recanted their testimony. Dante then disappeared until his death in the bomb explosion two days ago.

The detective says that Dante helped Mr. Fear create new drugs and gases. One of those drugs is turning the crooks in New York into psychos. And now Mr. Fear has gone underground.

We cut to Milla failing her psych evaluation. During the evaluation, Milla loses it and has to be physically restrained from attacking the doctor conducting the exam. We cut to court where the judge orders Milla to be sent into protective custody at Bellevue where she will be held until she is competent to stand trial and is no longer a danger to herself and others around her.

Matt yells at the judge that she is locking away Milla before she has been convicted of any crime. The judge hold Matt in contempt of court and orders the bailiff to put Matt in the holding cell for the night.

We zip to one day ago, with Daredevil viciously beating up some thugs and demanding to know where Mr. Fear is hiding. Daredevil knows that Larry killed his chemist, Dante, because he didn’t want anyone else to have the antidote. That the antidote that Milla needs is Larry’s power over Matt. The power to make Matt suffer. Matt thinks how Mr. Fear went too far this time and that was his mistake. Now, Mr. Fear is the only person who can cure Milla and Matt vows to find Larry no matter what he has to do.

We cut to tonight. Turk and The Hood are watching Daredevil brutally beat up some more thugs in his search for Mr. Fear. Turk tells the Hood that maybe the Hood should let Daredevil deal with Mr. Fear. The Hood disagrees. That they will let Daredevil lead them to Mr. Fear. Then the Hood and his men can finish off whichever one of them is still standing. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Daredevil #101 was such a well written issue. Brubaker continues to use his patented slow burn approach with this story arc. Brubaker is a master at moving a story along at a measured pace while adding layer upon layer to an incredibly textured and complex story arc. Brubaker’s unbelievable attention to detail is amazing. I love watching as Brubaker continually reveals various plot twists as he slides all the different pieces of the puzzle into place. And Brubaker knows that to craft a quality mystery that every answer he gives the reader should naturally lead to the creation of a new question.

Brubaker whips up his usual phenomenal dialogue. Seriously, very few writers can match the incredibly realistic and natural flowing dialogue like Brubaker does on all of his titles. And the well crafted dialogue goes hand-in-hand with Brubaker’s wonderful character work. Brubaker is obsessed with getting into the psyches of each of his characters and creating such realistic and three-dimensional personalities.

Daredevil #101 was a rather powerful and emotional read. Brubaker is able to pull at the reader’s emotions and get us to feel Matt’s sorrow, his hopelessness and his rage. At the beginning of this issue, Turk comments that there is a monster inside of Matt Murdock and that Mr. Fear is making a mistake by going too far and releasing that monster. Brubaker then uses the rest of Daredevil #101 to reflect Turk’s comments and show the reader that monster inside of Matt.

The monster is overtly present in the scenes of Daredevil brutally beating thugs in order to find out where Mr. Fear is hiding. And I just love seeing a brutally vicious Daredevil kicking ass, breaking arms and fracturing legs. It is smart for Brubaker to show that as Matt gets angrier and more threatened that his handling of criminals gets more and more violent.

We also see the monster come out of Matt in other scenes as well. The scene at Matt’s office was great. Matt is becoming more and more on edge as he snaps rudely at his friends. The scene in the courtroom was perfect. Matt’s feelings of rage and desperation are palpable as it boils forth from him in his confrontation with the judge.

Brubaker also shows the reader Matt’s tender side. I found the scene with Matt and Milla at the detention center to be very touching. It was sweet to see Matt’s love and his undying devotion and loyalty to his wife. I’m no fan of Milla and have been vocal about how boring I find her character. But, I have to admit that Brubaker actually got me to feel for their relationship for the first time ever with how he handled this scene.

Daredevil #101 has a cool ending with the appearance of the Hood. Now, I have ragged on the Hood for being a lame character over in my reviews of New Avengers. I still find the Hood to be a bit on the lame side, but at least he is finally in the type of comic book that I have been saying he belongs in ever since he first appeared in New Avengers. A title like Daredevil is exactly where the Hood belongs and he fits very well into Brubaker’s story arc. I look forward to seeing Daredevil smack the spit out of the Hood.

Brubaker also puts together the pieces of the puzzle at the end and reveals to the reader Mr. Fear’s plan to position himself as the only person with the antidote for Milla. And this just may be something that Mr. Fear will end up regretting as it will probably serve as his undoing. Mr. Fear should be careful what he wishes for, because he just may get it.

Lark and Gaudiano combine to deliver plenty of their usual quality artwork. Their style isn’t my favorite, but it is a perfect fit for this title.

The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.

Overall: Daredevil #101 was another fine read. Brubaker continues to make this title a must read comic book. If you still haven’t given this tile a try then you really have to do so. Daredevil combines incredible psychology, well crafted stories and bone crunching action. Daredevil along with Captain America and X-Factor constitute Marvel’s three strongest written titles.

Comic Book Review: Teen Titans #52

McKeever really impressed The Revolution with his debut issue on the Teen Titans with issue #51. It was a surprisingly great read. Even though I’m not entirely thrilled with having the faux Blue Beetle and Superbarbie on the roster of this team, I’m still excited about this new direction that McKeever is taking the Titans. The Titans of Tomorrow are fantastic characters and this story arc should live up to its potential of being a flat out wild and exciting ride. I’m sure that McKeever is going to crank out another excellent read with Teen Titans #52. Let’s do this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Sean McKeever
Pencils: Jamal Igle
Inks: Marlo Alquiza, Jesse Delperdang & Rob Hunter

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: Blue Beetle stumbles upon the captured JLA members in the Titans Lair. However, before Faux Beetle can free the JLA’ers, evil Bart Allen appears on the scene and kicks the crap out of Faux Beetle.

We cut to Gotham with Robin holding a gun to his head. Future Tim tells Robin that if he kills himself then Conner and Bart have zero chance of coming back. Suddenly, Prometheus appears back on the scene for round two and attacks Robin.

We see Miss Martian stunned that her evil older version is immune to fire. Miss Martian quickly takes out Firebug. Miss Martian then is about to enter the building to help out Robin with Prometheus when the evil Miss Martian stops her. The future Miss Martian says that Robin will be fine with Batman.

Miss Martian pushes past her older self and says she is going to help her friends. The older Miss Martian punches out Miss Martian and yells that she is not helping Robin at all.

We slide over to Chicago where Kid Devil decides that he is going to help Ravager. Kid Devil throws Red Devil into Livewire taking both of them out. Red Devil is pissed that Kid Devil would betray himself for Ravager and attacks Kid Devil.

We see Superbarbie all bound up by the Druid King. Conner appears and scoffs at Superbarbie for thinking she could replace him. Conner easily dispatches Druid King and frees Supergirl. Superbarbie takes a swing at Conner and he easily grabs her fist and smiles. (Beat down! Beat down! C’mon, Conner!)

We cut to Wonder Girl brawling with Brimstone. Cassie refuses to use lethal force against Brimstone despite the urging of older Cassie. Brimstone reaches the nuclear reactor. Wonder Girl makes one last rush at Brimstone who turns to launch a killing blow. Older Cassie screams out in horror.

We shift back to Robin brawling with Prometheus. Future Tim tells Robin that he has to let Cassie go. That each moment Cassie is with Conner is a new kind of special torture for Tim. Prometheus then takes down Robin. We see Conner beating Supergirl’s ass. We see Kid Devil getting pummeled.

We cut to Blue Beetle finally taking out Bart Allen with an energy sphere. We slide back to Ravager slicing off the Starro from the face of Rampage causing Rampage to collapse to the ground unconscious. Kid Devil tells Red Devil that he will have to kill Kid Devil to get to Rose. Red Devil backs off for now.

We slide back to the Titans Lair where Blue Beetle has freed all the JLA’ers. Bart is trapped in a containment tube. Wally stares at the unconscious Bart. Batman gets a call from Black Canary. Batman tells the JLA’ers that they are needed back at the Watchtower immediately. That the Titans can deal with Starro and the future Titans.

Kid Devil, Ravager and Red Devil teleport back to Titans Tower. Blue Beetle greets the returning heroes. Red Devil grabs Blue Beetle by the throat and says that he never dreamed that he would get the chance to kill Blue Beetle twice. (And suddenly Red Devil becomes one of my favorite characters in the DCU.)

We cut back to Prometheus beating the hell out of Robin. Future Tim has finally seen enough and steps in and kicks ass on Prometheus. Older Tim tells Robin that he wants Robin to think about how Prometheus was going to kill Robin. That Robin should think about all the people who died tonight because of Robin’s inaction. To think about everyone that Robin has lost. Then older Tim wants Robin to do what is right for future’s sake. Batman hands Robin his gun and then leaves the room with a cruel smile.

We shift back to Titans Tower where Red Devil suddenly gets some new memories. Red Devil tosses Ravager, Kid Devil and Blue Beetle outside of Titans Lair. The three Teen Titans look up in shock at who just arrived. We see Lex Luthor with the adult versions of just about ever past Teen Titan backing him up. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Teen Titans #52 was a fantastic read. McKeever continue to impress me with his hot start on this title. Following Geoff Johns is no easy feat. But, McKeever has certainly shown that he is more than up to the task of following in Johns’ footsteps on the Teen Titans.

McKeever delivers an excellent paced issue. Teen Titans #52 was fast paced but not rushed at all. McKeever has created a very nicely plotted story arc. The story is progressing in a pleasant fashion. McKeever clearly possess good long term vision and knows how to build layer upon layer in order to weave a detailed and complex story arc that moves with a purpose.
I dig how Teen Titans is constructed as McKeever employs nice quick scene cuts between the various scenes. McKeever also knows how to increase tension in the reader as the issue progresses to the climactic ending. McKeever shows off that he is as adept at furious action scenes as he is with dialogue heavy dramatic scenes. And Teen Titans #52 has an enjoyable balance between the two types of scenes.

McKeever also demonstrates that he is committed to performing strong character work. McKeever writes each Titan as a well developed three dimensional character. McKeever has an impressive feel for the personalities of the various characters and it shows in some wonderfully well crafted dialogue. Each character has their own distinct voice and there is some quality chemistry between the various Titans.

Teen Titans #52 has tons of action and we get some fantastic beat downs in this issue. The best one has to be the one that Future Tim lays on Prometheus. It was short but sweet. Older Tim uses an economy of moves and each one packing monstrous power. Tim definitely gets better as he gets older.

McKeever does a nice job with the scene involving the two Miss Martians. The older Miss Martian has certainly embraced her white Martian heritage and warrior attitude. Even though the young Miss Martian is clearly interested in learning how to develop an invulnerability to fire, I was glad to see our newest Titan stay true to her friend and try to go and help Robin despite the flames that are engulfing the building that Robin is in.

I wasn’t a fan of Miss Martian at first considering my general rule of hating derivative heroes. However, I have to admit that Johns warmed me to her character and McKeever is continuing the job of getting me to like little Miss Martian more and more with each issue.

The conflict between Red Devil and Kid Devil was perfect. I love seeing how an extremely likeable and somewhat insecure character like Kid Devil could grow up into such an egotistical and cocky jerk. Evidently, great power certainly has a way of boosting a person’s confidence.

And what is up with the startling revelation that Red Devil killed Blue Beetle? Wow! Talk about dropping a bomb on the reader. I mean, I can only hope that this does end up happening. Evidently, when Eddie receives Neuron’s power he really becomes a much more hostile guy. I’m interested in learning what exactly went down between Eddie and Blue Beetle to make Eddie kill Blue Beetle.

I was glad to see Eddie staying loyal to Rose and not turning traitor on her during the fight. I know that Rose isn’t the kind of girl that you take home to mom, but I love her. And I think that the odd couple of Rose and Eddie is perfect.

I dig how McKeever handles Supergirl’s character. McKeever continues to avoid pulling a Waid. McKeever keeps Supergirl's panel time to a minimum and refuses to let her hog the spotlight and overshadow the other Titans. It seems almost as if the DC editors mandated that Supergirl be added to the Teen Titans since she is leaving the Legion rather than McKeever wanting to place her on the Titans’ roster. It is also always enjoyable seeing Supergirl getting punked out. The scene where Conner catches her punch and then proceeds to break out the whooping stick on Supergirl was great. I love older Conner’s haughty attitude.

Wonder Girl’s brawl was also well done. Poor Cassie is in denial about her relationship with Ares. Older Cassie has certainly embraced her relationship with Ares and has tapped into a much greater power than younger Cassie possesses. McKeever ends Cassie’s scene with a cool hook ending about if she stops Brimstone or not.

As much as I liked all the aforementioned scenes, the scenes that I thought were by far the best were the ones with Robin and future Tim. These scenes were incredibly well written. They were powerful and emotional scenes. The psychology of the conflict between present Tim and future Tim was fantastic.

McKeever peels back the layers of Tim’s psyche as future Tim brings a brutal and raw take on Tim’s traumatic past. McKeever actually manages to make future Tim’s position look rather understandable. McKeever gets the reader to view future Tim in a sympathetic light. Of course, that sympathy ends when we see future Tim in his final panel shot with that evil smile as he knows he has successfully manipulated his younger self.

I enjoyed the moment of weakness that future Tim displays when talking about how every moment seeing Cassie with Conner is like a new special torture. Poor Tim has suffered so many losses. And his one desire to bring back to life his best friend only serves to cause Tim even more personal pain. It is like Tim just can’t achieve any happiness in this life.

Future Tim also brings some rather painful truth about present Tim’s inaction leading to the deaths of innocents. Future Tim clearly thinks that using lethal violence against criminals is worth it since it permanently prevents that criminal from ever hurting anyone else again. There is certainly something very attractive and compelling to that line of reasoning when dealing with criminals.

Future Tim emphasizes that he is not the beast that Robin thinks he is. And I do actually believe future Tim when he says that. Tim has been through such incredible amount of trauma during his young life. It would make perfect sense that a person who continues to suffer personal loss after loss will eventually grow into a bitter older person. Future Tim is in reaction mode. He is simply reacting to his past and reacting to the painful life that he has in his future timeline.

Of course, the real trump card in the debate between future Tim and Robin was that if Robin continues to try and fight the future and refuses to accept destiny and allow the adult Titans’ future to occur, that Conner and Bart will never be brought back to life. That hits Robin like a ton of bricks. First, we now have proof that Robin is successful in bringing both Conner and Bart back to life. Second, we know that Robin is obsessed with brining his friends back to life and would do just about anything to accomplish that goal.

McKeever places Robin at the horns of a tough moral dilemma. Will Robin sacrifice his concepts of justice and right and wrong or will he sacrifice his obsessive desire to bring Conner back to life?

And speaking of Bart, it was fantastic to see Bart Allen back in action once again. It is too bad that Bart had to get jobbed out to Faux Beetle. Anyway, future Bart is certainly a dick, but it was just cool to see that Bart is still alive in the future.

It is interesting that each old Titan entices their younger counterpart with the promise of greater power if the young Titans cease trying to fight their destinies and the future. Each Titan is tempted with this increased power, yet each Titan refuses to subordinate their beliefs of right and wrong just for the possible gain of increased powers.

McKeever drops a monster hook ending on the reader. Fucking awesome. What a huge “Holy shit!” moment as we see Lex Luthor and the adult version of just about every single past Titan. I love it. I am so psyched for the next issue.

Jamal Igle provides plenty of wonderful looking artwork. I dig Igle’s clean lines and attention to detail. Igle creates an enjoyable comic book to look at.

The Bad: I found how McKeever shuttled the JLA quickly out of this story arc to be rather forced and rushed. It seemed odd that the JLA would immediately bolt out of there leaving the Titans hanging and having to deal with Starro and the adult Titans. Overall, the JLA’s insertion into this story arc has seemed terribly awkward and forced.

Also, I find it hard to believe that Wally would just split after coming face to face with Bart Allen alive and well from the future. I would imagine that Wally might want to stick around and talk to Bart and find out just how he was able to come back to life.

Even though I enjoyed Igle’s pencils, his art was hampered by the inks by committee on this issue. Having three inkers on one issue is ridiculous.

Overall: Teen Titans #52 was an absolute gem. I am so impressed with McKeever’s work on his debut story arc. I was extremely skeptical that any writer would be able to follow Johns’ large footsteps on this title. And I was even more skeptical when McKeever was tapped for the writer position since I had never heard of him.

Well, my fears were clearly unfounded. McKeever posses an incredible feel for the Titans and is serving up one of the most exciting story arcs in the DCU outside of the Sinestro War story arc. If you haven’t given Teen Titans a try then I definitely recommend doing so. This title is worth the cover price.

Comic Book Review: Countdown #27

Dini continues to impress me with his turnaround on Countdown. The past four weeks have given us some of the best reads we have gotten so far on Countdown. Last issue was another solid read as Dini continues to get the various plotlines moving with some purpose. I’m confident that Dini will be able to deliver solid reads from here on out. Let’s hit this review for Countdown #27.

Creative Team
Writers: Paul Dini & Sean McKeever
Pencils: Carlos Magno
Inks: Rodney Ramos

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Karate Kid, Una, Buddy and Buddy’s grandson in radiation containment suits travelling through the ruins of Bludhaven. Darkseid watches our heroes travelling through Bludhaven via a crystal ball. Darkseid has his familiar chessboard with chess pieces of Karate Kid, Una, Buddy and the grandson.

We cut to Earth-8. Kyle rushes to Donna’s aid before Forerunner can finish Donna off. The Crime Society square off against Lord Havok’s team and the Challengers. During the brawl, Jason Todd fights the Namor character from Lord Havok’s team. The underwater King laughs at the powerless Jason. Jason responds by whipping out a knife and gutting the underwater King.

All of the other characters are stunned at Jason’s bloodthirsty killing. Donna rushes to Jason and asks just what has he done. That this isn’t Jason. Jason retorts that Donna doesn’t know who he is. Jason approaches Monarch and says that he is sick of all this crap and that he accepts Monarch’s offer.

We slide over to Metropolis where Jimmy Olsen agrees to help Forager find out who is stealing the souls of the New Gods. Forager says that such power could bring about the destruction of all of reality and the creation of the Fifth World. Forager and Jimmy then teleport away from Metropolis.

We hop over to Black Mary brawling with Shadowpact. The members of Shadowpact were here on an intervention to break Mary free from Eclipso’s influence. Mary responds that Jean Loring (wife murdering bitch) is the only person who has been honest with Mary. Eclipso loses patience and takes down the members of Shadowpact and then transports herself and Mary away from scene. Enchantress tells Detective Chimp that she can no longer feel Mary or Elcipso’s energies. That they have gone someplace far away.

We cut to Paradise Island where Holly and two other girls are recovering from their little swim. They swap sob stories about their pathetic lives and why they joined the Athena’s Shelter for Women. Amazon soldiers then enter the room and tell the women that their testing isn’t done yet. The soldiers then turn mad dogs loose on the women.

The women run out of the building and across the beach. The women then begin to wrestle each other in the frothy surf on the edge of the beach. Oh wait, that was me daydreaming and trying to spice up this boring plotline. Sorry. In reality, while the girls are running across the beach being chased by the dogs, Holly notices guard towers and barbed wire covered walls. Holly thinks that this isn’t just an Amazon boot camp. That it is like a prison.

We shift to Trickster and Piper at a facility where the Suicide Squad took Double Down. Our two Rogues free Two-Face who is being brought to the facility. The Rogues ask Two-Face if he knows who is behind this entire operation and who the Suicide Squad is working for. Two-Face says that the Suicide Squad is working for Checkmate.

That this location is just a way station. That the criminals are sent off to a place called Salvation and it is far away and no one has ever returned from that place. That there are no Miranda rights, no due process, and no trial. They just find the criminals and lock them up.

Our two Rogues decide to get the hell out of this facility. Two-Face flips his coin and decides to stay behind. The two Rogues break out of the facility in a stolen Hummer.

We cut back to Earth-8. Jason comments that it is obvious he is on the losing team. Donna yells that Jason can’t mean what he is saying. Monarch doesn’t buy what Jason is selling, either. Monarch says that Jason will have to do more than kill an enemy combatant to earn Monarch’s trust. Jason says fine. Jason then grabs Bob the Monitor’s gun and points it at Donna and blasts her to death. Jason then asks Monarch if he trusts Jason now? End of story.

We get a two page back-up story about the origin of Two-Face. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Countdown #27 was another solid read. Dini uses this issue to mainly focus on the Challengers plotline. The rest of the plotlines get rather short shrift in this issue. Dini and McKeever serve up some better than average dialogue. The characters that get the best lines would be Jason, Trickster and Piper.

Countdown #27 is fast paced thanks largely to the massive brawlfest over on Earth-8. Also, the very short quick scene cuts between the other plotlines helps to speed up the issue and hide the fact that not much else happens in those plotlines outside of the Challengers plotline.

The Karate Kid plotline gets little treatment. However, we do learn that Darkseid is keeping a watchful eye of just about every single plotline even the Karate Kid plotline. Old stone face has played a surprisingly passive role in Countdown up to this point. I imagine that Dini is holding back the big guns like Darkseid for a dramatic finish to Countdown.

The only thing interesting about the short scene dealing with the Jimmy Olsen plotline is that we learn that whoever is collecting the souls of the New Gods will soon have enough power to end reality and bring about the creation of the Fifth World. I have no idea what the Fifth World is, but it certainly has piqued my interest.

The Trickster and Piper scene was entertaining as always. These two Rogues always steal the show in every issue they appear in. Dini and McKeever generate more excellent chemistry between the two Rogues. And, as always, the two Rogues engage in plenty of humorous banter. Poor Piper has to be so sick of Trickster always reminding Piper that he is gay.

Dini finally gives the reader some information concerning the Suicide Squad and their mission. We learn that Checkmate is the organization that the Suicide Squad is working for and that the captured criminals are being taken to a facility called Salvation. I don’t read Checkmate, so all this information was useful and interesting to me. I’m curious to learn more about Salvation and where this ultra secret facility is located. This scene certainly made the Piper and Trickster plotline even more intriguing.

The Earth-8 scenes carried Countdown #27. Dini and McKeever gave us some quality tension between Jason and Donna. It has been hinted to the reader that Jason has some romantic feelings toward Donna. And Donna is pretty much the only Titan who has stood up for Jason. Well, Dini turns everything upside down with an absolutely shocking ending to Countdown #27. Wow, talk about re-enforcing Jason’s heel persona.

That was a great ending that will certainly hook the reader into anxiously coming back for more next week. However, I’m not buying that Jason is really a heel. He is definitely a jerk who has tons of emotional issues. But, killing is what Jason reserves for criminals and scumbags that he thinks deserve to die. There is no way Jason would kill a hero, especially one he cares for like Donna.

My guess is that Jason is just trying to infiltrate Monarch’s forces in order to find out more about their battle plans and to attack them from within. I absolutely love Jason’s bad-assed attitude. Dini and McKeever do an excellent job writing Jason’s character in this issue. McKeever has Jason employ a blunt, matter of fact style of dialogue reminiscent of his old mentor Batman. I dig how casual and business like Jason is when he kills Lord Havok’s man and then when he takes Bob’s gun and shoots Donna.

Dini also does a great job showing how dangerous Jason is despite not having super powers. Jason proves that it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Jason will do anything and everything to win. He has no conscience and no remorse. And that makes him an extremely deadly adversary. Dini makes sure that at no point will the reader ever discount Jason’s impact despite his lack of super powers.

Magno and Ramos team up to provide this issue with some quality artwork. I was unfamiliar with his work prior to Countdown and I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality of art he has brought to Countdown. If there is one category that Countdown has exceeded 52 it would be in the art department.

The Bad: The Jimmy Olsen plotline gets almost no treatment at all in this issue. Jimmy simply agrees to help Forager. I know that Dini needs to move this story along, but Jimmy agreeing to help Forager has drug on too long. This entire plotline really needs a kick in the pants to get moving.

The Black Mary plotline continues to be mired in a quagmire. This plotline just can’t seem to gain any traction and move in a positive direction. Countdown #27 simply gives the reader more random brawling as Shadowpact serves as nothing more than punching bags for Eclipso and Mary. We get more of the same tired dialogue from Mary about how she can’t trust anyone other than Eclipso. I feel like we keep reading the same scene over and over again when it comes to the Black Mary plotline.

Unsurprisingly, the Holly Robinson plotline is still unbelievably lame. We get plenty of dull and boring dialogue that was completely unnecessary with the ladies swapping sob stories. The only thing of any real substance is that Holly learns that this Amazon boot camp is actually more of a prison. Great. I don’t know where this plotline is headed nor do I care.

Overall: Countdown #27 was another good read. Dini continues to impress me with how he has managed to stem the tide on this title and deliver solid reads over the course of the past month. Countdown has certainly gotten off to a slow start and it isn’t as incredible as 52. But, Countdown is a quality read that is getting more and more entertaining with each issue.