New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman Beyond #5:  OK, so, one of the challenges of reading this series is that, except what I gleaned from watching a few episodes of the TV show, I really know next to nothing about the universe of "Batman Beyond."  My guess is that I'm supposed to know who the villain on the last page of the issue was, why Dana's brother was in prison (and why his creepy comment about being glad to have returned was so ominous), and who exactly Paxton Powers is/was.  However, I don't know any of those things.  I'm tempted to do a bunch of Internet research, but I think I'll wind up just being confused, since it's still unclear what elements of previous "Batman Beyond" works -- from the TV show to the previous comics -- Beechen is using.  However, despite not entirely following all the ins-and-outs, I still thoroughly enjoyed this issue.  Beechen has a great ear for dialogue, and he gives us a really great version of a cranky Bruce Wayne.  I hope he gives us some background next issue without falling too far on the "super-villain explaining his grand plan while our hero is perched precariously over a ravine" side of such divides.  At any rate, I'm excited to see where this plot goes. 

Dark Sun #4:  Our rag-tag team of (sort-of) heroes gets one more step closer to the Tomb of Ianto in this issue.  Over all, it's a pretty solid issue, with Irvine doing a particularly great job of quietly building the suspense for the first few pages as the team makes it way through the too quiet tombs.  However, a lot of the details of the world are unclear to me, and we're far enough into the series that it's becoming distracting.  For example, Rubi tells us that she can sense Haskyr, since he's a fellow member of the Veiled Alliance; but, when we first met them in issue #2, they appeared to be unaware of the other's connection to the Alliance.  Can members only sense other members when they're revealed?  Moreover, the only real information we've gotten on the Veiled Alliance is in the recap page (paging pet peeve #2), which reveals they're an underground group of mages trying to restore Athas to its former glory.  Irvine probably doesn't have enough time to flesh out these details, which is a shame.  The biggest drawback to the issue itself is the art.  I normally like Bergting's pencils, but it feels a little rushed in this issue.  At times, it was hard to tell who was saying what to whom and the action sequences were somewhat confusing to follow.  The last page, however, is great, thanks to Ronda Pattison's colors; after four issues of a coloring us a bleak, desolate world, we suddenly get a light, green vista, and you realize how much restraint we've seen on the colors over the course of the series.  I'll be sad to see the series end next issue, just as we're seeing some hope sprouting in this really sad world. 

Dark Sun #5:  I'm sad to see this series end.  I feel like Irvine has left us with enough material for a bang-up ongoing series.  First, he leaves several mysteries unresolved here, almost all of them dealing with Rubi and the Veiled Alliance.  When she first appears in issue #2, she doesn't seem to understand the important of the amulet she gave to Grudvik and can't tell that Haskyr is a fellow member of the Alliance.  However, in this issue, it's clear that she's known much more than she's let the others think.  For example, she knows that Ianto's tomb holds something called Ianto's seed.  If she knew that, I kind of figure she knew the key she gave to Grudvik opened the tomb.  If so, why did she give it him in the first place?  Also, her sudden departure also raises all sorts of questions.  If she could form a portal to leave the tomb, why couldn't she just use that portal to get them into the tomb?  Who's this militia that will be chasing her?  Where is she going?  Second, Grudvik and Aki make a really compelling team, with Grudvik's quiet stoicism and Aki's quick wit.  I hope this title sold well enough for an ongoing series or at least another mini-series.  I'm going to keep it on my pull list just in case something appears one day! 

Fear Itself #2:  OK, this issue is better than the first one, so maybe this series won't be terrible.  Odin brings the Asgardian gods to what appears to be New Asgard, preparing for battle, and the Serpent assembles his warriors, sending them into the world to wreck havoc and spread fear.  Meanwhile, we see the heroes try to get a grip on events as they happen, so they don't really do much this issue, though I'm sure that will change shortly.  I was kind of hard on Odin in the last issue, mostly because I don't read Thor comics so I'm not entirely sure what his deal is.  But, he's a bit more clear here on the fact that the gods will be lucky to survive a war with the Serpent and don't have time to worry about Midgard.  As tempting as it is, I'm trying to keep a handle on my collector obsessivism, because I really have no desire to spend hundreds of dollars chasing down all the tie-in issues, particularly since Marvel did such a poor job of making them count in "Chaos War."  But, it would be useful if Marvel produced some sort of "core book" reading list.  At any rate, I can't say it's worth $3.99 an issue, but at least it's not terrible so far.  (How's that for a back-handed compliment?) 

Fear Itself:  The Home Front #2:  This issue is pretty forgettable, if not downright bad.  The Speedball story is OK, but, unless Gage really throws us for a loop, it seems pretty clear that Ms. Sharpe is going to come to an understanding about Speedball by the end of this story.  We'll probably all hug.  It's just starting to seem a little pat, and we're only two issues into the storyline.  Otherwise, it's fine.  Just like last issue, Gage adroitly presents the anxiety and fear that I imagine regular people would feel in a world of super-humans.  We don't get an insight into those feelings often, and Gage does a really great job with them.  The other stories are actually pretty terrible.  I still have no idea how Jimmy Woo and his "Agents of Atlas" are.  The story is basically a post-script to events we originally saw in the "Fear Itself" prelude, where the Red Skrull attempts to track down Skadi's hammer.  The dialogue is awful, the characters are wooden, and the plot seems irrelevant.  We then have a one-page "Purple Man" story (again, who?) that left me confused, which, really, given that it's a one-page story, is an accomplishment.  Finally, we have a totally random story about Liz Allan, Harry Osborn's ex-wife, that seems to screw up continuity, since Liz says they just visited Harry in New York, but I'm pretty sure Harry fled New York after the events of the "Origin of the Species" arc in "Amazing Spider-Man."  If next month's issue is as irrelevant and predictable as this month's, I'm pretty sure I'm canceling this series and saving myself $3.99 a month. 

X-Men Legacy #248 (Age of X Epilogue):  This issue actually clears up some questions left lingering from "Age of X," particularly who Revenant (aka Phoenix) was.  We learn here it was Rachel Summers, who got caught in the event while trying to connect with Professor X telepathically, inadvertently rendering her mind separate from her body.  I was excited to see Rachel here.  Havok and Marvel Girl are two of my favorite X-Men, reminding me of the awesome issues in the early and mid-200s from my youth.  They've been gone WAY too long and, hopefully, this issue sets in motion their return.  Carey cleverly uses "Age of X" to move along some long-stalled plots here, such as giving Legion more control over his powers (again) and addressing Gambit and Rogue's relationship problems (which I feel like have just been left to linger for a long, long time).  I'm hopeful that we actually get to see Legion start on the road of playing a role as something other than his usual "greatest mutant threat alive."  Also, I'm sure the psychological effects on the X-Men of "Age of X" are going to be totally forgotten soon, but it's interesting seeing Carey not completely ignore them immediately.  I still find Carey's writing somewhat...overwrought, making "X-Men Legacy" a book that I read more from obligation than enjoyment.  But, even if I don't exactly emotionally connect with his characters here the way I do with Gillen's in "Uncanny," Carey definitely does some interesting things here.  I actually find myself anticipating the next issue for the first time, possibly ever, in this title.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman Incorporated #3:  I can't believe we've waited, what, three months, for this issue and it is, without a doubt, one of the worst comics I've ever read.  I have absolutely no idea what's happening in about 90 percent of the issue.  (Also, I speak Spanish, so it wasn't just that some dialogue was in Spanish.)  I had to basically force myself through the first few pages and couldn't finish the book on my first try.  Morrison is clearly WAY too in love with himself here, thinking himself too clever by half.  Instead of the interesting narrative structure he thinks he's delivering, we instead get incoherent complicated nonsense.  The only remotely interesting part of this issue is the implication that the purpose of the entire Batman, Inc. scheme is to build an army to fight a specific fight.  Whatever.  It's ironic so far, to me, that the best new Batman, Inc. character to be developed is Nightrunner, and he's not Morrison's.  I'm subscribing to eight (!) different Batman books at this point.  Morrison had better remember he actually needs to be coherent, or I'm dropping this one. 

Dark Sun #3:  This series continues moving along nicely.  We're heading into the dungeons next issue, on the hunt for not only the treasures that might be in the Under-Tyr, but also for the turncoat, Mudrada.  In other words, it's a classic D&D tale.  I have two questions that I'm hoping to see answered soon.  First, why would Haskyr and Rubi be working (seemingly) against House Ianto when they are, in fact, part of it?  Second, how did Rubi come in possession of her half of the key and why didn't Haskyr make a move to get her half before she gave it to Grudvik?  I can't wait to see how all this gets resolved. 

Hawkeye:  Blindspot #2:  McCann keeps getting better and better.  The short-lived "Hawkeye & Mockingbird" series had some intriguing concepts and cool characters, though the plots were a little unfocused.  The "Widowmaker" series was better, but still a little loose in the plot department. You can really see McCann's evolution in this series, though.  "Hawkeye:  Blindspot" is full of action, but we also get insight into Clint, who's always been one of my favorite Avengers.  His tragic back story gives writers a great starting point, but most ignore that, using him instead only as comic relief.  McCann lets him be the witty, charming Clint we all know and love, but we also get a sense of the insecurities that drive him.  I didn't even mind his brother returning from the dead, because, wow, what a confrontation that promises to be.  I hope McCann's impressing the Marvel editors, because I'd be happy to see him get a chance to apply his continually-evolving skills to the W.C.A. and a renewed "Hawkeye & Mockingbird" series. 

inFAMOUS #1:  OK, if you loved the game upon which this series is based as much as I did, BUY THIS BOOK!  This six-issue mini-series is meant to serve as a bridge between the first and second games, and it does a pretty good job wrapping up some loose ends from the first game.  (If you didn't play the game and want to play it, don't read further.  BUY THE GAME!)  We see Moya here working with the First Sons as they experiment on the "person" who will become "the Beast," whose coming was foretold by Kessler.  If I'm not mistaken, Moya's motivations were left undefined after the game.  We only discovered that she lied about being married to John and him being a FBI agent; we never really discovered her true motivations.  We see her working with the First Sons (and still possibly for the government), which makes her efforts to track down the Ray Sphere through Cole in the game make a lot more sense.  Beyond wrapping up loose ends, the comic is alive with the energy of the game.  Cole is still reeling from the death of Trish (at his future-self's hands) and trying to reconcile his conflicting feelings about Zeke, who is trying to seek redemption after activating the Ray Sphere (to no effect) during the game.  All in all, it's a great book. 

New Avengers #10:  OK, Bendis won me back a bit (actually, a lot) here.  I was worried after the last issue that Nick Fury was going to be putting together an Avengers squad that somehow tied into the original team, ret-conning Avengers history to fit with the upcoming movie.  But, I'm happy to say it's a hell of a lot more intriguing than that.  Fury's team of awesomeness (Ulysses Bloodstone, Dum Dum Dugan, Dominic Fortune, Kraven the Hunter, Namora, Sabretooth, and the original Silver Sable) has such potential that I can honestly see it becoming a franchise or, at the very least, a limited series.  I can't wait to see them take on the Red Skull.  The art on the Fury part of the book is a little...loose, but the plot is interesting enough that I really don't care.  The modern part is an entirely different kettle of fish.  The Mockingbird-has-been-shot sub-plot is still as annoying in this issue as it was in the last one.  I don't for a minute believe they'll kill her so soon after resurrecting her.  Its primary purpose seems to be setting up a realization on the part of Luke Cage of the burdens of leadership, yet another example of "Women in Refrigerators" syndrome.  Also, Superia whining about the Avengers discovering her plan was just bizarre.  But, the Nick Fury's Avengers part makes me not care so much about the modern part (despite, you know, the latter being the whole point of the book), so I consider this issue a return to form.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman:  Streets of Gotham #20:  For the love of Alfred, could something actually happen in this series?  Last issue, we got to hear all about how Judson Pierce's henchman had a run-in with the Joker as a kid.  The issue before that one, the "House of Hush" storyline was only a handful of pages long, with the bulk of the issue dedicated to the Ragman secondary feature.  In this issue, we get the weird back story on Dr. Death.  Seriously, it's been months since the "House of Hush" plot moved along at all.  Plus, for the second issue in a row, we don't get the Ragman feature.  The first few arcs of this series were really good, and helped moved along some smaller plot points (like Hush's time as Bruce Wayne) that the main books in the larger "Batman:  Reborn" storyline didn't have a chance to cover.  But, at this point, it seems like they're just stalling for time until the last issue, which I think is the next one.  Between the dangling plot points from this issue and the still-unresolved Ragman secondary feature, it'd have to be a damn good issue for me not to feel cheated at the end of a series that showed a lot of promise. 

Dark Sun #2:  I'm already finding myself wishing this series wasn't only going to be five issues long.  Alex Irvine's sparse dialogue occasionally makes it hard to follow the plot and the main characters aren't really all that well developed yet.  (For example, in the first issue, Aki is asking Grudvik about how far they are from Tyr and is taking advice from Grudvik on how to survive in the desert.  However, in this issue, he's the one who knows how to get to Tyr and is telling Grudvik how to survive in the desert.)  However, I'll forgive Irvine the inconsistencies here because this approach to the dialogue conveys an amazing sense of isolation that adds to both to the feel of the comic as well as the mystery of the characters.  Peter Bergting's pencils further this sense of desolation, as does even the rough paper on which the comic book is printed.  In just two issues, Irvine and Bergting have created a complicated world where danger lies around every corner and the motivations of the two major characters are intriguing (if still mostly hidden).  I find myself wishing I knew more about the Dark Sun campaign setting.  If you're reading (and enjoying) the "Dungeons and Dragons" title also published by IDW, I'd recommend picking up this series while it lasts. 

Dungeons & Dragons #4:  This issue continues letting the good times roll:  a talking skull with vocabulary problems, elaborate dwarven-crafted traps, multi-planar conspiracy revelations.  This issue has everything!  I'm really starting to love this group; as someone notes in the letters page, it reminds me of the first "Dragonlance" trilogy.  If you enjoy D&D and comics, you should absolutely be reading this series.  I can't wait to see how they wrap up this storyline next issue! 

X-Factor #216:  I'm concerned that Spidey's going the way of Wolverine.  After the announcement that he was going to be in the new "FF" series in addition to his appearances in "Avengers" and "New Avengers," I groaned inwardly.  I mean, isn't it bad enough the guy has to live down the musical?  But, this month, he's in both "X-Factor" and "X-Men" and we've clearly moved into "marketing is running the show" world.  (The last time that happened is the "Clone Saga" and, um, [shiver].)  Moreover, his appearance here is kind of weird.  He crashes the rooftop where Monet and Shatterstar are playing chess, because he happens to see JJJ, Jr.'s motorcade out front.  Um, OK, is he stalking Jonah now?  Also, Peter David, who's so good at so many characters, makes Spidey into a bumbling idiot, which, um, he's not.  Moreover, I don't buy the main story.  With all the resources he has at his disposal, I don't really believe JJJ, Jr. would go to X-Factor to track down his buddy's killer, particularly since he doesn't seem (from what we know) to know a mutant might be involved.  The back-up story, involving the woman who suddenly remembered who she was thanks to Monet from a few issues ago (and about whom I'd completely forgotten), is also a stretch.  This character is presented as if she were so memorable that I'd, um, remember her.  Maybe if this arc happened right after the arc in which she was introduced, I would.  Instead, I spent most of the comic having no idea why I should care about her.  If I cared more, I'd try to look up how many issues it's been since she appeared, but I don't.  Needless to say, I can't say I'm anxiously anticipating the next issue. 

X-Men #8:  Huh.  I don't know what to make of this issue.  Gischler comes close to making it an "After-School Special," with each X-Man narrating the story of a troubled teen.  He comes close, but he doesn't actually cross the line, and I have to applaud him for that.  As a kid who had his own share of problems with classmates who could sniff the dork on him, I felt for each of the kids here.  I liked how Gischler gets Spidey here, who, after all, spent years with Flash Thompson calling him "Puny Parker."  The "I don't know what to make of this issue" part comes more from the fact that I don't entirely get the Lizard connection.  Why exactly is the Lizard, who actually appears not to be Dr. Connors, preying on troubled teens?  Why not regular teens?  It seems to me it wouldn't be too hard to convince any teen to meet in a basement, be it with the offer of snacks for dorks or beer for jocks, if we're embracing stereotypes.  But, Gischler navigates the social minefield of high school well enough that I'm intrigued by what the next issue brings.  In terms of the art, it's pretty great.  You've got some moments, typical of Bachalo, where it's a little hard to follow the action.  But, the two-page spread of Emma enjoying the best hotel room that Warren Worthington III can afford is worth the confusion.