Red Hood and the Outlaws #9

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artists: Kenneth Rocafort

08:38 pm in Gotham's Chinatown and the Outlaws are on a stakeout in an attempt to save the Court's most peculiar target yet: Mr. Freeze. A perfect issue for someone who is not a follower of the series, this "Night of the Owls" tie-in is a great conduit to introduce new readers to the Red Hood and his friends. Arsenal is goofy and cool, Starfire powerful and innocent, and the Red Hood, as ambiguous and conflicted as they get. This trio is a fun and adventurous gang, worth of further inspection. The thunder is stolen by colorist Blond and artist Kenneth Rocafort, whose pencils and quasi-rough style are reminiscent of departed comics star Michael Turner. Their Batgirl -who makes a cameo in the issue- is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Speaking of, pages 2 and 3 depict a beautiful and scary landscape covered in ice, and I knew I had seen the concept before, so I did some digging and voilà, Uncanny X-Men #319 and #331 written by Scott Lobdell featured Iceman building equally pretty but disturbing ice landscapes... I'm just saying.

Justice League #9

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Jim Lee

Context: David Graves was a bystander caught in the middle of the League's fight with Darkseid five years ago. He survived, and wrote a book called "Justice League: Gods Among Men." A year later, things took an unexpected turn for Graves, and so began "The Villain's Journey." Despite the heavy action, this is shaping up to be a personal and intimate story, evidenced by the flashback scenes featuring moments in the leaguers' lives when they were vulnerable. The best part of the issue is the entertaining sequence with Flash and Green Lantern, which without a doubt has every fan screaming "I want to see more!" Conversely, it is unfortunate that Aquaman is absent, but if he's going to be put in the background, then it is better that he's not there at all. Steve Trevor gets a lot of attention as he hits a personal low, and from there, things quickly worsen.  Great issue!

Avengers vs X-Men #4

Writers: Aaron, Bendis, Brubaker, Fraction, Hickman

Artist: John Romita Jr.

Scratch everything that happened last issue, because this one changes course and goes on a different direction. The search for Hope continues as Avengers and X-Men randomly fight across the world, and the Phoenix finally arrives. The disconnect between the main title and its "supporting" tie-ins reaches a critical point in this installment, where it becomes hard to tell when things are happening with respect to each other, despite the fact that it is all being coordinated by five writers. This chapter seems to invalidate everything that happened in the previous one, or at the very least renders it pointless; this becomes evident when the characters converge on the moon and the realization dawns that issue 3 and half of 4 have been for nothing. The art improves vastly as it looks less rushed, and is nicely colored. So far, the concept sounded better than what it has been.

Batman and Robin #9

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi

Artists: Lee Garbett and Andy Clarke

07:38 pm and Robin's first solo adventure in the DCnU takes him to the city barrens to protect the head of Gotham's army from the reach of the Court of Owls. A different aspect of Damian's personality is channeled through this story: that of a leader and tactician. Even though having a 10 year old take over an army platoon and command it in battle is a possibility hard to swallow, Tomasi makes it a convincing one by placing the characters in a dire enough situation. The Talon's attack in this issue is more incidental than the center of the plot, which is not a bad thing; after all, the world did not have to stop spinning just because there is a Batman crossover. The focus is solely on Damian and what seems to be his slow and imminent descent into the darkness. Garbett's pencils are easy on the eyes and follow the same style Gleason has established for the series, making it a seamless transition.

X-Men Legacy #266

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Rafa Sandoval

Running somewhat parallel to Wolverine and the X-Men #10, this issue introduces the Jean Grey School faculty to the brawl of the year. While a couple of staff members are allowed to get more directly involved in the matter, Rogue and the rest of her team continue being relegated to mere secondary roles in the overall battle. No wonder the Avengers have stolen the show so far; with the most tenured X-Men being used as background characters, it is an unbalanced fight. The opening sequence was great, however; the dramatic flashback scenes serve as a reminder of Rogue's dark past and how powerful she truly is. Cargill gets lots of attention too, and her taunting behavior was written in a manner that did not make her look like the instigator or the bully in the confrontation. While this was indeed a story about X-Men fighting Avengers, it felt distant from the event, and more like a consolation prize for the characters left behind.

Green Lantern #9

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Doug Mahnke 

The lid is lifted on the Indigo Tribe's can, and it is indeed infested with ugly, psychotic worms. Sinestro's transformation takes him back to a very emotional moment in his life, while Hal Jordan discovers the truth behind the the Indigo ring bearers. There is no shocking revelation here, as Geoff Johns has been slowly but surely hinting at the big secret; he just puts the pieces together in a cohesive and logical manner. There is a reason why this story is being told after big events like "Blackest Night" or "War of the Green Lanterns," and that becomes clear in this issue; the purpose of this Corps can truly decide the fate of the universe. Once again, Doug Mahnke shines with intricate and beautiful panels, while Alex Sinclair rocks the colors to create a damp, cold, and scary world: Nok. Yup... Nok! Then there's those damn Guardians, and the hair rising cliffhanger. Fantastic issue.

Scarlet Spider #5

Writer: Chris Yost

Artist: Neil Edwards

The Scarlet Spider teams up with police officer Wally Layton to find a nuclear device that has been planted somewhere in the city of Houston. A nice self contained story that shows how well Yost is building Kaine's world; thus far, his supporting characters have been fun, compelling, and most important, helpful in the Scarlet Spider's self-discovery journey. Kaine, in the meantime, is proving to have the complex type of personality that makes him just adorable -is it okay to use that word in this setting? One thing that mortified me was the art. Don't get me wrong, Neil Edwards did an amazing job, and every one of his pages was vibrant and dynamic; but Ryan Stegman's absence is a slap in the face and a disservice to the title. Why can't Marvel reciprocate readers' loyalty? Stegman's popularity rose to the sky with this series, and now he's been pulled just after a few issues to help with a struggling title? Not fair and very upsetting.

Batgirl #9

Writer: Gail Simone

Artist: Ardian Syaf 

Holy Cats! 06:07 pm in Gotham, and Batgirl's chapter of "Night of the Owls" is the most intense yet, and the one where the Court's assault on the city reaches a chilling crescendo. The writers behind this crossover have taken great measures to give their respective Talons independent personalities and traits; Gail Simone is not the exception. Using the Fire Balloon attacks of WWII as backdrop -a real life event- she gives her Talon a tragic story that inspires in the reader a great deal of compassion. Ardyan Syaf also delivers his best pencils thus far in the series. Here, Batgirl looks simply stunning, and with the tweaks made to her uniform last issue, the character just pops out of the page; the art is just beautiful. Storywise, the issue has great thrilling moments for Jim Gordon, while the final scene featuring the dominoed daredoll is a spine-shivering moment that makes one go "O-M-G!"

   

   

The New 52 FCBD 2012

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artists: Reis, Rocafort, Ha, Lee 

Saturday May 5th was Free Comic Book Day, and DC participated with a special edition of The New 52 featuring an all-new tale written by Geoff Johns that ties-in directly to the events taking place in Justice League. The mysterious Pandora serves as the point of view character at the same time that her origin is revealed along with that of other more familiar faces -no pun intended. The Shazam! mythos are updated even further than what has been seen so far in the JL backup feature; it is an interesting change that opens the door to lots of possibilities and speculation. The issue also touches on Earth-2, clearly setting the stage for an eventual clash of dimensions; but that's something that can wait a while, as there is much world building to do. Finally, the book teases the big event of 2013: The Trinity War, and the four page foldout depicting the conflict provides plenty of reasons to be more than excited about it. All that for free!