Batman and Robin #23: Despite usually being focused on plots, I'm going to talk about the art for most of this review. The most amazing part about the art isn't how spectacularly good Jason Todd looks (we'll get to that). The most amazing part is that I had no idea Guillem March didn't draw the entire issue. Andrei Bresson must be an anagram in a different language for Guillem March, because the transition here is so seamless it had to have been Guillem who drew the whole issue. With that discussed, let's return to talking about Jason Todd. Um, wow. I'm glad we've returned him to red hair, because having to keep track of all those dark-haired brooding men was getting confusing. The drawback, of course, is that it's a little hard at times to remember we're dealing with Jason, at least visually. Here, Jason actually appears older than Dick, despite being significantly younger than him. But, whatever. I will happily gaze upon the new, improved Jason Todd for as often as DC will let me. Concerning the plot, I'm disappointed that we're getting Judd Winick here and not Peter Tomasi, who did such a bang-up job in the "Dark Knight, White Knight" arc. I don't hate Winick, but I'm not pleased that he's been given control over Jason, since I think someone like Tomasi (or, dare we dream, Snyder) could do really amazing things with him. Here, we wind up getting a somewhat anti-climatic conclusion, with Jason just happening to be sprung from the armored transport taking him back to Arkham Asylum. I had figured that Jason had arranged the entire transfer to set up his escape, something that, frankly, Jason would've totally been shrewd and calculating enough to set into motion. (Bruce himself even implies it earlier in the issue.) It's that sort of missed opportunity that makes me disappointed that Winick never seems to understand Jason, to allow him to become the dark genius anti-hero that he has the potential to become. Hopefully, we'll see flashes of him in the coming issues. At the very least, I hope March will continue giving us other flashes of him to keep me entertained. That said, the interaction between Bruce and Jason is well done, with Jason egging on Bruce in his usual smart-ass way and Bruce seemingly incapable of finding a way to relate to him. If Winick doesn't get the finesse of Jason's dark genius, he does get the subtleties of Bruce and Jason's relationship. Jason's at his best when we see him barely able to control his anger and hurt, because we see him struggle with trying to be a good guy, even if it's in his own unique way; when he gives into the anger and hurt, he just appears to be another homicidal maniac. Winick gets that, and I hope we see that Jason throughout this arc.
Batman Incorporated #6: Yay, finally an issue I like! Morrison ditches the nonsensical approach and given us an issue with an honest-to-goodness plot! This issue actually reads more like a first issue of a series, with Bruce detailing his plans for Batman Incorporated to its participants. Morrison, however, doesn't reveal those plans to us, the reader, successfully conveying a sense of intrigue (instead of a sense of confusion, as he has been doing). We don't know what it was the Bruce told Tim just before assigning him to the Outsiders, or what he told the assembled heroes about his trip through time (and its connection with Leviathan). We also don't know the identity of the mystery Batman, who I'm hoping against hope is Jason Todd. It actually makes me, possibly for the first time, want to continue getting this series. The concept behind Batman Incorporated has always been solid, but the execution so far has been terrible. I'm glad to see Morrison might actually be listening to the criticism that the book defies comprehension and gave us something more concrete as a result. The "Joe Average and the Average Joes" framing concept worked well to give the story direction. Also, I just have to add here, Bruce Wayne is the sexiest I've possibly ever seen him in a comic. Burnham draws him well (and actually has him smile) and Morrison writes him with more personality than we usually see Bruce have. All in all, it was a solid issue. Hurrah!
Dungeons & Dragons #6: Seriously, I love this series. When last we left Adric and company, they were falling through some sort of wormhole created when Adric accidentally introduced an extra World Key into...I don't know, it was something involving a portal. At any rate, the result is that we get a flashback to the past and the origins of Fell's Four, who come together mostly how you expect they would: some friendly misunderstandings, some quick thinking, and a little luck. I'm intrigued by how Adric goes from holding a sword to Juliana's throat to becoming her lover and how Varis goes from aiming an arrow at Adric's head to becoming his colleague. Rogers is even more on fire than usual here. In the first arc of this series, he occasionally skimped on some explanations. It never really detracted from the fun, but you had to put aside your questions and just keep reading. Here, he's tightened up his storytelling a bit. Everything is explained, though not in an overly exposition-y way. The characters continue to be awesome: funny, quirky, irreverent, smart. Buy this book, people. Buy this book.
Red Robin #23: Nicieza goes back to basics in this issue, giving us an investigation-heavy plot and bringing back a few characters we haven't seen since the first few issues of the series, such as Lynx and Scarab. Tim is tracking down an assassin who appears to be targeting CEOs, using Lucius Fox as bait in an attempt to catch said assassin. I'm not entirely sure what happens to Lucius; he appears to be dead and Tim even says that Lucius, who is unaware he's being used as bait, will be fine with the plan "after he's dead." But, clearly Lucius Fox isn't dead. I guess we'll have to wait to see what actually happened to him. The best part of this book, as usual, are the Tim/Dick interactions, but, overall, it's a pretty solid issue, particularly after the disappointing Teen Titans and "Judgment on Gotham" cross-over events. I'm intrigued to see who's hired the Order of the Scarab (or whatever they're called) to kill the CEOs and what his/her goal is. I'm just hoping it's not Ra's al Ghul, because, seriously, he can't be responsible for everything.
Superboy #6: [Sigh.] I want to like this book. I do. But, Lemire makes it difficult. He begins the issue with a Conner/Tim heart-to-heart, where Conner spends most of the time whining and Tim does nothing more than making a tired joke about Conner's bad Hawaii-era fade cut. (If Lemire wants to write these heart-to-heart talks, he should check out Geoff Johns' similar scene in "Adventure Comics" #3 and pick up some pointers.) Then, Conner is attacked by Doomsday and, to be honest, I'm a little unclear on what happens next. The art makes it almost impossible to follow. Conner crashes into the "USA-Canada Tunnel" (which appears to be in San Francisco), flooding it. He manages to knock Doomsday into the ocean and then appears to take a ship and smash it into the tunnel's gaping hole (seriously). Conner then, somehow, procures a large fist statue (no joke) and tries to attack Doomsday with it. It doesn't work, and Doomsday takes him down and brings him to his ship. Some of the confusion, of course, comes from not having the back story, since this issue is part #5 of "Reign of Doomsday." But, most of it is Rudy's really sloppy pencils and Lemire's bad dialogue and even worse monologues. It's getting really hard to justify the $2.99 I spend on this book each month, shirtless Conner be damned...
Superboy #7: I really, really, really wanted this issue to be AMAZING, so I could justify not canceling this title as planned. Unfortunately, it wasn't. We get another weird plant-based villain here, who injects Conner into a nightmare state where he's partnered with Simon to slaughter most of the world's superheroes. Psionic Lad eventually helps him escape, and we learn that Superman had battled a similar plant a few years earlier. The main problem with this series so far is that Conner has been super-whiny, which we again see here as he's constantly yelling, "Just stop so we can figure this out!" The other problem here is the art, which is just awful. The dream sequence art is a little better, because it actually suits the indistinct lines and sketchy effect that Rudy and Hor use here. But, overall, it's just a mess, just like the last few issues. Conner looks different in almost every panel. Geoff Johns' and Frances Manapul's run on "Adventure Comics" was amazing, giving us an introspective yet still fun Superboy who battled super-villains. Lemire's and his various artists' "Superboy" unfortunately is terrible, giving us a whiny and boring Conner, who fights a bunch of plant villains. This title, I hate to say, is canceled.
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