OK, I think I only have "Dungeons and Dragons" left. Otherwise, I think I'm current. Whew.
Captain America #615: I noted in my last post that I felt like Ed Brubaker was doing almost too good of a job getting me invested in the story. Well, I think he's actually wound up pushing me too far. I hadn't really noticed how odd the addition of Sin to the story of Bucky's trial had been, but, after reading someone's comment about it online, I do have to say that it does really break up the plot a little. Sin not destroying the Statue of Liberty left me as confused as why Baron Zemo didn't kill Bucky, instead resorting to trying to ruin Bucky's new life because he didn't feel Bucky deserved it. Just like Zemo, Sin's motivation here is unclear to me, making her actions ring false and, for the second arc in a row, making me question the entire story as it concludes. I probably could've lived with that, but the surprise at the end of the issue -- that Russia was going to extradite Bucky for crimes against the state -- was just too much. It gave the issue a soap opera feel that I think wasn't necessary. How long is Bucky going to be on trial? Are we going to go through this whole ordeal again, except in Russia? I thought the point of this arc was to more or less definitively lay the Winter Soldier ordeal to rest, allowing Bucky to fully become Captain America. It's time for that to happen, for the book to move to the next level, and I'm afraid that this new plot twist is going to leave us spinning our wheels. That fear -- combined with the confusion over Sin's motivations -- left me feeling frustrated and annoyed after this issue, which sucks, since "Captain America" is one of my favorites. Hopefully Brubaker regains his footing in the next issue and bring this whole state of affairs to a close.
Detective Comics #874: I've said it before and I'll (hopefully) say it again: "Detective" is the best Bat-book out there right now. Scott Snyder has taken the time to build the story here and it shows. The first half -- Commissioner Gordon's conversation with his son, James, Jr. -- is honestly one of the creepiest comic stories I've ever read. Because we've seen how scared people like Gordon and Barbara are of him (Barbara herself notes that they've seen a lot of terrible things in their lives), the actual arrival of James, Jr. on the scene is enough to be creepy in and of itself. But, his "joke" that he's killed a waitress and hidden her body in the men's room and Snyder drawing our attention to the men's room by having some sort of liquid (blood?) leak steadily under the door is, honestly, one of the most artfully-done plot devices I've ever seen. As an only infrequent reader of the Bat-books before "Batman R.I.P.," I'm not sure if I'm supposed to have a better sense of who James, Jr. is. But, even without the background, Snyder makes him as sinisterly creepy as the Joker. The final reveal -- that James, Jr. had flooded the taps so that water (and not blood from a dead waitress) leaked under the doors -- was amazing. We clearly haven't seen the last of James, Jr. Francesco Francavilla's art really adds to the sense of creepiness that Snyder develops here, though, to be honest, I think I would've preferred to have Jock work on the Batman/Red Robin sequence. All in all, though, a stellar issue.
Secret Avengers #10: This issue was a pretty solid ending to a pretty solid story. We don't really get any new insight into the Shadow Council here, but we see the Secret Avengers kick some ass, which is fun. I enjoy this title, but I noticed in this issue that I can't really say the team feels like a team. Maybe it's because the Avengers and New Avengers teams have some folks who are not only established characters but who've been working together for a long time, so, as a reader, you already come to the book with a sense of who they are and how they interact. This team is still mostly second-tier characters who haven't worked together before. It's only been ten issues, so Brubaker has time, but it would be nice to see some focus on their attempts at becoming a team soon.
Uncanny X-Men #533: This issue isn't quite as...zippy as the last one. We're one step closer to a conclusion, but I can't say that much happened. Even though we see the first face-to-face confrontation between the X-Men and Lobe in the arc, we don't really see the plot advance too much. Emma is fighting Shaw, Angel's X-Men are fighting Lobe's minions, and the Utopia X-Men all still have the mutant flu; it's all the same as last issue. I think it's time to wrap up this storyline and move us along.
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