Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The January 11 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All Star Batman #6:  Some people love Scott Snyder, and I am happy for them. I am.  Unfortunately, I'm just not one of those people.  Snyder plays with too many techniques here, using two different omniscient narrators to tell his story of Batman's confrontation with Mr. Freeze in Alaska.  It's moody, to be sure.  But, unfortunately, all these narrators don't manage to explain the plot at all.  I was left scratching my head at the revelation that Bruce had brought some sort of hot virus with him to combat Freeze's cold virus.  The science, as presented, behind these viruses is...iffy at best.  Moreover, there are times when Snyder seems to forget his own brilliant ret-con of Freeze's origin, as the casual reader would have no idea that Nora was never actually Fries' wife in the DCnU.  It all supports my decision to drop this title.  I'm glad other people are thrilled with this series, but I think I can find somewhere else to spend my money,

Detective Comics #948:  Tynion and Bennett throw a lot at us here, and it's difficult to keep all the strands separate.  First, we are introduced to someone calling herself Dr. Victoria October who appears to have been dead at some point.  She comments how she knew Batman in her "pupal" phase and refers to her previous name as her "deadname."  It implies she may be someone we know, but it's unclear how we know her or how she's still alive.  Separately, we have the return of the Colony.  They've stolen samples from one of the dead monsters (from "The Night of the Monster Men") presumably in the hopes of turning it into a biological weapon.  (October reminds us that terrorist groups would spend a fortune to get their hands on the samples, given its raw destructive power.)  But, it's unclear what the Colony would want to do with such a weapon.  After all, I thought the Colony's mission was to defeat the League of Shadows.  Why would they want the ability to transform people into monsters to do so?  It's not like they're trying to invade Tokyo.  Then, we have the introduction of Colony Prime, a one-man army sent to free Jacob.  Tynion and Bennett don't tell us how the Colony learned Batman was keeping Jacob in the Belfry.  I guess it's not all that difficult to figure, given the Colony already knew the Belfry existed.  But, with all these various mysteries coming online simultaneously, it would've been nice to know at least that much.  That said, both Tynion and Bennett are excellent writers, so I'm confident all these questions will be answered at some point.  In fact, re-reading issues #939-#940 and #942, I'm impressed by the dedication to continuity.  The authors are picking up loose threads from both the "Rise of the Batmen" and "Night of the Monster Men" here, and it's fun to watch them weave them into a new story.

IvX #2:  Now that the fight has begun, this series improves considerably.  With a focus on implementing the X-Men's plan, Lemire and Soule stay in a comfortable lane.  In fact, the X-Men are so dominant in this outing that I'm almost worried it's all going to resolve itself too easily, because it's hard to imagine how the Inhumans are going to strike back successfully.  I assume they will, however.

Occupy Avengers #3:  Nightwing and his "sidekick," Deadly Nightshade, are solid additions to the team (if they are actually additions), though their debut in this issue is a little rocky.  First, Nightwing is furious at Hawkeye based on a previous encounter, but it's unclear if this encounter happened in a different series or if we're eventually going to see it as a flashback.  (This situation is why we used to have editors' notes, people!)  Walker also relies heavily on flashbacks to set up the premise of this arc (that a L.M.D. army of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents is recruiting new members.)  It leaves the reader (or, at least, me) feeling like he's missing a few issues, even though we're only on the third issue.  This problem is compounded by the characters engaging in a lot of expository dialogue they wouldn't otherwise know, like when Red Wolf apparently knew what L.M.D.s are.  That said, once we get into the action, everything runs more smoothly.

Poe Dameron #9:  I'm pretty sure I'm canceling this series after this arc ends.  I want to like it, but I just feel like Soule isn't finding a groove.  At first, this series seemed to be about Black Squadron, but everything was so chaotic it was hard to get to know them.  Now, it seems to be about Terex's beef with Poe.  But, honestly, I still don't understand why Terex decided to leave the First Order now to become a criminal or why he even stopped being a criminal in the first place.  So, it's hard to focus on said beef.  I just feel like we've never gotten a clear sense of anyone's motivations and, when we come close to getting one, they don't even make sense.

Spider-Man #12:  There's a moment when I read an issue like this one where I wonder how Bendis can write this series so well but "Avengers" was a fucking disaster.  Here, he manages to script several involved conversations with the most natural-feeling flow of any comic book I've probably ever read.  Moreover, he uses one of those conversations as a framing device for the entire arc, as Miles recounts the story to Ganke and Goldballs.  But, since they're teenage boys, we start said story with Miles telling them about making out with Gwen Stacy rather than the fact he was in Gwen's dimension in the first place looking for his father who disappeared on a mission for Maria Hill.  Honestly, though?  I also care the most about the Gwen part, too.  Color me excited!

Titans #7:  Titans Together!  I could say more, but I don't think I really have to do so.  This issue pulls the team together into an actual team -- nervous lawyer, iconic HQ, and all.  I couldn't be more excited.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man:  Renew Your Vows #3; Dungeons & Dragons:  Frost Giant's Fury #1; Mighty Thor #15; Ms. Marvel #14; Uncanny Avengers #19

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The December 28 DC Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All Star Batman #5:  Snyder not only takes the easy road here, but has the chutzpah to try to convince us it was the difficult one.  By claiming Harvey's brain chemistry can never be altered, he shows the hubris of every author who thinks he can quickly but permanently change a character's status quo.  It's only the slow changes that stick, like Cyclops' evolution into a villain over the course of years of storylines.  For every "you're Two-Face forever now!" moment, I can point to dozens of similar ones:  Otto Octavius as Spider-Man forever!, every permanent! Jean Gray death, Colossus as Juggernaut/Phoenix/Horseman of Apocalypse, etc.  Snyder doesn't even really properly end the issue.  We're never shown Harvey calling off the attacks on Batman.  Batman believes the crowd won't attack him now that he's defeated Two-Face, but they don't really know that he has:  they're just there for the money.  The larger struggle is irrelevant to them.  But, Bruce and Duke just waltz through the crowd, and we're done.  I think I'm done with this series, too.

Batgirl #6: Son of the Penguin?  Color me excited!

Detective Comics #947:  Batman doesn't lose often, but Tynion lets him lose here.  More importantly, he has him learn from that loss.  Spoiler leaves the team, believing the team members' lives would be better if they left behind their costumes and Gotham's citizens' lives would be better if the police were the ones to protect them.  Tynion clearly doesn't feel that way.  He uses Luke to give the dissenting opinion:  the heroes aren't perfect but they hold a line the police can't hold.  But, Tynion also acknowledges Spoiler may have a point:  Steph disables the Batsignal, and Bruce is shaken when he realizes no one got hurt in a gun fight between two gangs that the team missed as a result.  It'll be interesting to see the role Spoiler will play in the next few months.  After all, it'll be hard for her to "spoil" the team's activities without actually helping criminals.  Does she help the cops instead?  I guess we'll see.  But, it's a reminder of how nuanced of a story Tynion is telling.  It's no longer just black hats versus white hats.  Stephanie has identified a gray area, and we'll see how she operates in it.

Also Read:  Titans #6

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The August 10 DC Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All Star Batman #1:  If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I'm not a fan of Scott Snyder's Bruce Wayne.  I love his Dick Grayson.  But, his Bruce Wayne is not someone I recognize.  He's an arrogant yet incompetent sociopath.  He seems to be motivated more by defeating his foes than by saving innocent civilians.  But, I'm glad to say Snyder seems to be taking a different tack here.  This Bruce seems to have learned a lesson or two.  (Given his failures over the last few months, it's about time.)

The premise of this series is Bruce is taking Harvey Dent to a "house" to cure him of his Two-Face persona.  Harvey goes willingly, but Two-Face puts up a fight.  Here, Snyder alludes to an information network Dent had as a District Attorney that allowed Two-Face to defeat his foes in the underworld.  This network is at the center of the carrot/stick approach Two-Face takes here in motivating people to help him.  First, he pledges to release all the secrets he knows if Batman isn't stopped.  Snyder makes it clear how good Harvey's network is when a scared Alfred takes down the Batplane.  But, Two-Face goes on step further:  he offers the fortunes of the wealthiest mobsters in Gotham to anyone who stops Batman.  Even the denizens of a truck stop -- near where the Batplane crashes -- are motivated to take down the Bat for the money.

It's here where Snyder shows the sort of genius we saw in the "Black Mirror" in "Detective Comics."  Although we still don't know anything about this "house" or how it can cure Harvey after all these years, Snyder sets up a "Cannonball Run" that makes sense in the context of the characters.  It's clear why it's going to be a challenge for Bruce to cross the finish line.  Moreover, we're treated to a back-up story of Bruce starting Duke's training.  If the primary story shows Bruce as caring more about saving Harvey than he does about defeating Two-Face, this story shows him having learned a lesson.  He's going to put Duke through the Cursed Wheel, a condensed composite of all the lessons Bruce learned in his adolescent travels.  But, he realizes Duke isn't a Robin:  the need to dominate him like he did the other Robins is absent.  We also get a hint that a villain not named Jason has gone through the Wheel.  This story doesn't obviously connect to the main story right now, but it's clear it will, so I'm intrigued to see where we're going with it.  Overall, it's a solid start that gives me hope I'm going to like where we're going.

Detective Comics #938:  This issue is solid, though I had to read it twice to follow all the twists and turns.  Tynion starts the issue by showing us the Colonel's motivation to join the Colony, pledging to a young Kate at her mother's gravesite that he'll do everything he can to ensure no other family has to endure what they have.  (He's actually already agreed to join the Colony when this conversation happens.)  Frankly, it's a pretty solid motivation.  In the present, a now-freed Bruce sends Tim to hack into the Colony's servers to get more information about the Gothamites the Colony is targeting.  In so doing, Tim encounters Ulysses, hopefully kindling a new arch-nemesis for him.  He also realizes the military has no idea how far beyond its remit the Colony has gone.  Once Tim has the information they need, the team flees.  Realizing the military will shut down the Colony once Bruce shares with them what it's done, Ulysses convinces the Colonel to unleash drones he built (against the Colonel's orders) on the intended targets.  The problem is they're not 100 percent sure of the intel that they have; as such, the Colonel is authorizing the murder of innocent civilians.  It's...dark.  One question going forward is how right Bruce is in his insistence the League of Shadows is really a myth.  After all, Tynion worked with Snyder during the era, where this level of confidence from Bruce usually meant that he was wrong, like how he was sure that the Court of Owls didn't exist or the Joker didn't enter the Batcave.  Will it be more of the same here?  If it's not, then you have to wonder why the Colony still believes the League to exist, given the time and resources they've had to get to the truth.