Batman '66 #1

Batman ’66 #1 tries very hard to recreate the corny but fun 1960s TV version of Batman.  I have to say the dialog was very close to the original and the story was enjoyable.   The TV aesthetic of deceptive cliffhangers does not translate as well to the printed version of the show.  But I was not reading this for a perfect copy of the TV show I just wanted to see if the writers and artists could pull off the 1960s flashback properly or not.  I have to say the art was really good and they even remembered to make the character look somewhat like the original TV actors.  So we had an amusing Riddler story with a guest appearance of Catwoman.  Though I must say during the action scenes Catwoman looked a bit more like the Black Widow than the ‘60s Catwoman.  Overall this was a very entertaining comic book – good stuff.

Legends of the Dark Knight #9

Legends of the Dark Knight #9 was not up to the high standards of the previous issues.  Scarecrow creates another fear powder and we see another drug induced fantasy.  Batman breaks out of another mental prison, the end.  The backup story was cute with some cool Catwoman action but otherwise it was more of the same.  Maybe I am being a little harsh but the first couple of issues of this comic were really good.

Batman Li'l Gotham #2

Batman Li’l Gotham #2 was much better than the previous issue.  The first story with Batman Nightwing and Mister Freeze was cute and heartwarming as a silly Christmas should be.  The second story was supposedly a New Year’s Eve Resolution / Revolution story of the three evil women of the Batman universe Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.  But frankly the story was rather week and a retread of what has gone before.  As always the artwork in this comic is lazy and sloppy looking.  At least I only have one more issue left to read.

Batman Li'L Gotham #1

Batman Li’L Gotham #1 was obviously meant to be a kiddy comic I only bought a copy because I was told it was a serious comic.  I am not sure the watercolor style art work would appeal to anyone but adults.  The first story is a Halloween story with lots of costumes on the street both real and imposters.  The ending was smart and entertaining but so unrealistic.  The second story is a Thanksgiving Day story and just stupid.  Seriously if you are doing a kiddy comic at least make it a good one do not make it such a mess.

Batman the Dark Knight #18!!!

Batman the Dark Knight #18 was rather disappointing.  The story has been developing rather well with the Mad Hatter even if the story was disjointed at times.  But it turns out all this setup was so the Mad Hatter could have a do over with his High School Prom.  Considering the number of bystanders being killed in this story growing very large and is starting to match the number of people killed in the Death of the Family story you would think more interest from the police and other Heroes would have happened by now.  Instead all we get is Catwoman looking for a quickie after hitting Batman with a hubcap.  I’m seriously disappointed in how this story is turning out.

Catwoman #18 Requiem

Catwoman #18 Requiem deals with Batman mourning for Robin yet that part of the story feels crammed into the main story line.  So Batman and Catwoman have a chase and then they fight.  Catwoman then goes to try and find her fence that had been taken in by the police.  But the friend it turns out did not need her help and was out of the police station before Catwoman could help.  Then Catwoman robs the guy whom paid her to steal some artwork that she then returns to the Gotham Museum.  This comic was crammed with all kinds of stuff but felt a bit flat because so much information presented that nothing really gets done.  Oh well DC got to slap Requiem on another comic to make money off the death of Robin.

Justice League of America #2

Justice League of America #2 was much better than issue #1.  In this issue we actually get some story movement and the team members actually get to meet each other.  I also enjoyed the introduction of the “Society” the evil or bad guys.  The Scarecrow is recruited so that is one down if we are collecting villains from the old Saturday Morning Cartoon.  Not sure without looking it up whom the villain that looks like the Joker really is, but it could be the Joker.  The fake Justice League is kind of stupid but that might just be the fractured storytelling being used so far.  It did give the writers and artists a chance to plop more images of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman into the book.  I was happy to see that we the reader might get to see some super hero action, but then the story ended in a cliffhanger.  Then there is what turns out to be a Martian Manhunter story which I guess is to show how and why the JLA was finally approved.  While the story itself was nice and solid I am disappointed in how a story that should have been part of the main book was just slipped in and used to pad out the pages.  I am really getting tired of DC Comics just cutting up a main storyline and dropping in unrelated stories to not just charge for a larger comic book but to stretch out the story into more and more issues.  As a reader I would much prefer a complete story told as written in a few comics and then a whole new story.  I realize that would require the company to spend more money on a writer for new stories.   But when the writer is most often the real star and seller of a comic it seems like that would be a good idea. 

Justice League of America #1 !!!

Justice League of America #1 was simply a setup issue.  It was rather disappointing that the first collection of the JLA was Amanda Waller and Colonel Trevor deciding who made a good team member or not.  There were a number of headshots and assumption that the person picking up this comic had been reading all the “new52” comics up to now and did not need to be brought up to speed on what was going on in the DC Universe.  I think this was a mistake because I for one have no idea what has been happening with the characters being brought into the JLA.  I do not read Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Vibe, Hawkman or Catwoman.  When I heard that the JLA was getting a comic I kind of assumed that it would be another Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman comic.  I mean that was the Justice League of America back in the day and that was the JLA in the cartoons.  If DC was hoping to bring in new readers with a throwback to earlier comics giving the reader all these new folks is just going to turn off those new readers.  I did like how the Martian Manhunter showed up but I was equally disappointed when we find out who the shadowy figure turned out to be as he “died”.  I also feel the need to repeat that this whole talking episode was boring.  There was no grand fight or surprise fight or crisis brining the Heroes together.  It is just the government plotting against the Heroes

Ame-Comi Girls #5

Ame-Comi Girls #5 Featuring Supergirl.  Was kind of disappointing, while we see some of Supergirl’s backstory it is not complete and nowhere near the detail given to Superman’s backstory.   The writers seemed much more interesting in placing the female characters into positions the reveal their crotches and breasts than advancing a story.  At least this is the issue where yes Brainiac reveals her plan to destroy the world and she has been preparing to fight Supergirl.  I gather there is some backstory as to how or why Braniac knew there were Kryptonians on Earth but as the story is told it is a weak story.  At least we now have all the main and some of the second string supers assembled for the big old invade Earth fight.  Oh well. 

Ame-Comi Girls

Ame-Comi Girls number three features Duela Dent and even though she is the Joker of this world she has the least interesting backstory.  I was glad when the action shifted back to Batgirl and I like the new Robin.