REBELS #24

Most of this issue has the core players taking a breath and a break before Starro makes his big move. I think it's a wise move for Tony Bedard to nail down who his leads are in this book. There is an expansive cast, but if he focuses on the folks on the cover (plus Captain Comet), I think this book could be even better.

I'm intrigued to see Starro making a return, this book worked best when he was the antagonist, so I can't blame Bedard for going back to that well. Things might be a bit different now that the universe knows about Starro, plus as near as I can tell he's down to two loyal super-flunkies. Naturally, they are the two coolest, but maybe the REBELS actually have a chance.

Claude St. Aubin's pencils are still sharp, but he seems to be backing away from some of his Andy Clarke-inspired cross-hatching. This is a mistake as the pencils in this issue are starting to veer into cartoon territory. It's only in a few places, but I don't want to see Aubin change his neat style from the past few years.

Good

Superman: World of New Krypton HC 2

James Robinson and Greg Rucka have clearly spent a lot of time setting up the complicated politics and environment of New Krypton, but I'm not sure the payoff is worth it. This collection contains the conclusion of the World of New Krypton series, and it ends on a cliffhanger. I'm so annoyed that the story seems unfinished that I have a hard time looking back for the more self-contained elements of this trade.

The book works best when it's throwing DC's space-based characters against the high and mighty Kryptonians. I would have loved to see Hawkman and Hawkwoman lead the Thanagarian assault, the fairly generic Hawks featured here just don't pack the same punch. Jemm Son of Saturn seems to have gotten a power upgrade (and an anger upgrade while he was at it). He doesn't do much except throw a tantrum, but it is neat seeing him again. Adam Strange actually hangs around for a few issues, and he's a nice comforting presence for Kal El.

For the entirety of this collection, Superman is dressed in his subdued military guild blacks. He's maneuvering around the unfamiliar world of Kryptonian politics as he fills in for the injured General Zod, and while this is new ground for Superman, it just doesn't grab me. Superman is cool because he's so far above the norm; having a ton of Supermen around dilutes the concept. How long has it been since Superman actually flew around Metropolis fighting criminals?

The art is pretty solid, with concept work from Pete Woods. Victor Ibanez picks up for him and keeps things looking consistent, but the guest-stars are the most interesting looking folks in the comic. Again, the only cool-looking Kryptonians are in the little-seen science guild. Too many people are just wearing black and gray!

Average

REBELS #18

This is still one of the most fun comics DC is putting out. We actually get a few lines from some of the core REBELS themselves. Ciji, Amon Hakk, and Wildstar all get a few comments in before the plot moves us along to the new stars of the title. Captain Comet and Starfire quickly take their relationship to the next level, there are some great moments as Comet shows that he is a child of the 1950s. His morals and expectations are not quite in line with the type of physical interaction Starfire enjoys. It's an amusing moment, although seeing just how hurt Starfire is by Dick Grayson is a bit sad.

Vril Dox and Lyrl Dox are both enjoying themselves. I guess Vril must have gotten involved in the Super-books, because he returns Brainiac to Colu to be imprisoned. Bad timing, though, Lyrl has just built Solaris, the Anti-Sun, and they're attacking Colu at the same time. To further complicate things (and to no one's surprise) Brainiac isn't out of the picture either. All these Brainiacs are fun to read about, but my favorite bit is that Solaris' first act upon achieving sentience is to try to destroy his creator. Good thing Lyrl is a planner.

Claude St. Aubin is back, so everyone looks just right again. Starfire is hot, Comet looks heroic, and Solaris looks awesome, like usual.

Good

R.E.B.E.L.S. #13

It is great to be the target audience for a comic. Tony Bedard continues rolling out one of the best sci-fi comics I've ever read. The book opens up with the amusing return of JLA-villain Despero. I figured there was no way Bedard would really try to kill off such a big character, even if it was to establish the new Starro as a big player. Despero is awesome. He's just playing dead with his head on a spike, and he's annoyed when Vril Dox shows up to add him to the R.E.B.E.L. alliance (like that?).

Everyone is out to betray everyone else in this book. Lyrl Dox wants to betray Starro. Smite wants to betray Starro. Vril Dox wants to betray Adam Strange. And you know Kanjar Ro, the Dominator, and Despero will betray everyone else as soon as they can. It's such a fun dynamic with all these villains trying to mix onto a team with a bunch of straight-shooters like Captain Comet and Adam Strange. Great stuff. And how great is it that Vril Dox wants is in a rush to beat Starro so that he can get the credit. He doesn't want those glory-hound superheroes from Earth to win.

Claude St. Aubin has done a wonderful job picking up the style established by Scott Clark for this book. The details look wonderful and you can read everyone's intentions on their well-drawn faces. Great stuff.

Good

4 year old reviews - Batman: The Brave & the Bold #12

Brave and the Bold is not as good as Tiny Titans. This was really long. I don't understand what happened. That lady is beautiful. I liked when that guy (Adam Strange) turned into Santa. I like the elf too. Who is that lizard guy? Why is he a bad guy? Who is the bad guy? There are a lot of words I don't understand.

This comic is never as good as Tiny Titans. (Her attention caught by a Tiny Titans ad) Is Superboy joining the Tiny Titans?

I like the cartoon.

It was ok.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #9

This really isn't fair. Tony Bedard had me liking his space opera. While I had no real favorites in the cast, I loved the expansive look at space in the DCU and adding in the threat of a Starro horde just added to the fun. Then he started adding cast members. Old L.E.G.I.O.N. members like Garv and Amon Hakk showed up. Then Lyrl Dox joined up. Now Bedard is adding even more great characters to this huge cast. With like 10 characters I love showing up, I'm like a fish in a barrel for this series.

This issue has Adam Strange and Captain Comet joining up, as well as Kanjar Ro. What's so great about Comet and Strange's arrival is that they were safe outside the sealed off galaxy where the Starro battle had started. They just joined in because it was the right thing to do. They are great heroes and I'm really hoping that Bedard writes Comet closer to his old L.E.G.I.O.N. persona than his more cynical recent incarnation. Having the Dominion Admiral and Kanjar Ro join as more, ah, suspect members of the team is welcome too. The only problem is that I don't think Bedard has enough pages to give panels to everyone. Heck, he's giving the Omega Men 5 or 6 pages every month too!

He's doing a great job with what he's got though, since the plot keeps trucking along here. I like the idea that Garv and Strata would ditch Dox after all his shenanigans, but the untimely arrival of a Starro super-team may make that departure difficult. I really wish more people would check out this book. Any fan of 90s DC needs to be reading this book.

Claude St. Aubin continues to fill in admirably for Andy Clarke. The art is very much in the same style and everyone looks on-model. I'm looking forward to seeing more energy weapons from Adam Strange since they look so darn cool.

Good

Wednesday Comics #4

So I really like the format, the idea, and some of the execution of Wednesday Comics, but I'm afraid there just aren't enough really good stories to keep me buying this. At 3.99 a pop, I need a bit higher ratio of good to average material.

Here's the rundown of my feelings on the features:

• Batman - fine, but nothing thrilling so far
• Kamandi - fantastic, the best story in this thing
• Superman - slow, but beautiful
• Deadman - fine, but again, nothing thrilling
• Green Lantern - Not a lot of actual GL in this, is there?
• Metamorpho - I like the camp, and the art, making this a strong entry
• Teen Titans - average
• Strange Adventures - fantastic stuff, I'd buy this monthly
• Supergirl - amusing, but no real story going on
• Metal Men - Love the art, story doesn't really have anything to it
• Wonder Woman - illegible
• Sgt. Rock - great looking, but not a lot of story
• Flash - I don't understand what is happening
• Demon & Catwoman - Actual plot movement and decent art
• Hawkman - love it, one of the stronger features.

So basically, the only ones I really like are Adam Strange, Hawkman, and Metamorpho. With only one page an issue, the stories just don't have pacing to make 3.99 worthwhile. This was a neat experiment, but for me, I'm afraid it's over.

Average

Wednesday Comics #3

Three issues in and none of the stories are really shaking up my initial rankings. Some of these stories are simply stunning, mostly due to the artwork.

• Hawkman, Adam Strange, and Kamandi are definitely the cream of the crop with top notch artwork and fun stories with a unique voice.


• I'm enjoying Batman, Metamorpho, The Metal Men, Catwoman & Demon, and Superman quite a bit too, but they read a bit more like old timey comics.


• Metamorpho in particular is fun due to the Metamorpho fans and their letter answering.


• Green Lantern feels sort of average, but I think that is mostly because it is parallel with one of the strongest Green Lantern stories I've read.


• Teen Titans is forgettable and doesn't bring anything unique at this point, although the art is charming.


• Supergirl is merely ok, since I can't really see where the story is going, although this strip is by far my 4 year old daughter's favorite. Supergirl, Streaky, and Krypto, what more could she want?


• I'm still very disappointed in the Wonder Woman feature, since I can't even really tell what is happening. I'm not even trying to read it at this point.

Overall, with this many creators bringing their A games, this book lives up to the hype. This is a neat experiment in comics and I'm glad I decided to experience it according to DC's original vision.

Good

Wednesday Comics #1&2

I had planned on picking this up in trade, but I'm afraid I'm too taken with the high concept and the band-wagoning that makes this seem like so much fun. And sure enough, I'm delighted with the presentation of this material, it really does feel like you are whipping out a newspaper. With the images so large and impressive, my daughter is enjoying sitting on my lap and reading along with me.

To review, I'll just lay out the features individually so far:

Batman - Fair but nothing incredible.
Kamandi - Stunningly good. This should be an ongoing.
Superman - Actually feels like a newspaper strip. Not fantastic, but strong.
Deadman - Neat take on a character who deserves the spotlight.
Green Lantern - The art steals the show here, so art-deco and post-modern it's breathtaking.
Metamorpho - Just plain fun.
Teen Titans - I'm not sold on why this made the cut so far...
Strange Adventures - This needs to be an ongoing. Pope is rocking Adam Strange.
Supergirl - My daughter's favorite strip, so it must be doing something right.
Metal Men - The art is so classic looking it makes the story feel "right."
Wonder Woman - Too many words and the art is confusing (I must be a moron).
Sgt. Rock - Again, it "feels" right, like a lost classic.
Flash - The most newspapery of the bunch, but I'm loving it.
Catwoman - This could easily support a miniseries.
Hawkman - Visually stunning and spot-on.

Good

Strange Adventures #1

Jim Starlin picks up right after Holy War, showing us how the cast from that series is doing. I really liked the methold of recap for this first issue. We have Sardath and other leaders of Rann debating the legality of Adam Strange's actions that banished his people to "New Rann" in Holy War. It was a great way to do an info dump that didn't feel like one. I don't really care for Prince Gavyn or Adam Strange when Starlin writes them. Gavyn is a generic energy caster with little to no personality (again, I thought he was a reincarnated Will Payton!) Strange is a kind of generic space hero who doesn't seem to have the bravado that I remember liking about the character. Starlin does a good job handling Hard Core Station and Captain Comet though. He's created a Star Wars-cantina like atmosphere where the cynical Comet is a great narrator. He's a fun character who has morals, but wishes he didn't. The Station-based parts of the book are definitely the highlight.

There is some sort of backup featuring Bizarro but I had no clue what was happening. I don't know who had taken Superman's form (Synnar?) and I don't understand what happened to Hawkman. Has he been removed from continuity or something? I find the whole concept of the Aberrant Six kind of threatening to some characters I used to enjoy.

Manuel Garcia supposedly did all the pencils in the lead story, but many of the pages really looked like inker Al Milgrom did the heavy lifting. They seemed to vary by locale though, so the effect wasn't too jarring. Starlin's pencils in the backup were fine, but I had more problems with the story than the art.

Average