Green Arrow #5 And Teen Titans #88 Reviews

Writer: J.T. Krul

Pencils: Diogenes Neves

Inks: Vicente Cifuentes

Colors: Ulises Arreola

Letters: Rob Leigh

Cover: Mauro Cascioli

Editor: Adam Schlagman

The Story is a simple one. Starting with a very detailed battle that we left off on in issue #4. A casualty is the result of the battle as Ollie tries to save the man's life by dipping him in the lake that he was placed in when he died. This didn't work and a group of zombies, one notable being Ollie's dad, come racing to the forest to kill Ollie and Galahad. The issue is mostly how Ollie reacts when face to face with his dead father telling him what a failure he is. It was a damn good issue, and got even more interesting when the White Lantern tree in the forest lights up and Ollie uses the wood from the tree to shoot the zombies. Highly recommended one shot story, Little backstory is needed to enjoy this one, and that's the way I like it. 

Writer: J.T. Krul

Pencils: Nicola Scott

Ink: Doug Hazlewood

Colors: Jason Wright

Letters: Sal Cipriano

Editor: Rachel Gluckstern

Cover: Scott & Hazlewood with Wright

Lets be honest: The Teen Titans have SUCKED the last couple of years. In comes J.T. Krul to take on the task no other creative team has wanted to do. And he. Kicks. Ass. Zombies are taking over the streets of San Fransisco and Ravager, Wondergirl, Beast Boy, Kid Flash, and Superboy are out on patrol taking them down. This is basically set up to show who the team is, and to start the new arc of this book. A student is talked into an experiment by his teacher, the guy who created the zombies to begin with, and Cass questions her ability to lead the Titans, and knows that she'll never be Dick Grayson or Tim Drake. The climax of the story comes when the alarm is tripped, everyone comes running down claiming an intruder entered to stand in front of Batman (Dick Grayson, formerly Nightwing, Robin, and founder of the Teen Titans) with Damian (Bruce's son, current Robin) where Dick makes the comment that he's not an intruder, and that Damian would be joining them. This is the best Titans story I read since the first trade. I HIGHLY recommend it, and J.T. Krul is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. If you dropped Teen Titans, pick it up again. This is shaping up to be DC's best team book. 

I still got lots of books to read/review/discuss. So, Until next time, I'm ComicBookGuyMark87, this is my blog, I'll be back soon with a review of some of the new books I got, and I need to finish my reviews of the trades I currently have.

Review: Return Of Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

Each issue here is meant to tie the respected character into the Batman Inc storyline. The best issues of these are the ones with characters I know VERY little about. Batgirl, The Outsiders, and Oracle make up the best issues. I grabbed them all to get the complete story. The story basically follows Vicki Vales attempts of outing the Wayne family while Bruce follows up on them to see how they coped with his "death." As the story progresses, Catwoman discovers that Vicki has also discovered the identity of the Gotham criminal underworld. Bruce has his supersuit, which gives him the power of all the JLA heroes, to keep him alive without giving away his identity. This is really as deep as the story gets. The end involves Bruce revealing his identity to Vicki and apologizing for not being able to share his secret with her. She then burns all the proof she had against the Wayne family and tells Bruce she needs to leave Gotham. Overall, the story was a decent one, and the Outsiders issue was one of my favorites, with Ras being the single best. I was EXTREMELY disappointed with the Red Robin issue. Batgirl, however, was a decent introduction to someone who hadn't read her solo series yet. For those interested in this book, I say hold off until the trade. They were good, but not good enough to pay $3 an issue.

Until next time (which should be soon) I'm ComicBookGuyMark87, and this is my blog!

Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates guys. The real world got in the way. Books I picked up that might get reviewed soon:

Punisher (MAX): Slavers
DC Halloween Special 2010
Green Arrow #5
Incognito #1
Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman & Robin; Red Robin; Batgirl; Outsiders; Catwoman; Ras Al Guhl; Oracle
Batgirl #1
Zatana #6
Teen Titans #88

So, what'd you get? What'd you think about what you got? Let me know!

Azrael #13 *SPOILERS*

Writer: David Hine

Artist: Guillem March

Colors: Tomeu Morey

Lettering: Sal Cippriano

Editor: Rachel Gluckstern

So, the Crusader arc is finally over. I'm sad to see it go. For the first time in a LONG time, there was a truly menacing villain in a mainstream comic. Michael Lane and Father Day are on the quest for the Shroud while Father Grieve is being skinned alive, as written in the book of revelations. First of all, let me say, this book depicts GRAPHIC violence, and is NOT for the weak of heart. The art work in this book is beautifully done as well, to really pull this issue together. Now, Father Grieve is being skinned alive so the Crusader can find the Shroud. It's written in the book of Revelations that he will find the Shroud. If it is written, it has to happen. So, Father Day can not interfere with the torture down stairs, and the Crusader will have to find the Shroud. We know this from the beginning. While Father Grieve is being skinned alive, Father Day explains to Michael that the Shroud has the face of Jesus. Father Day and Azrael then attempt to run from the temple with the Shroud before deciding against it and confronting their fate. The end of the story shows Azrael and the Crusader coming face to face, for Michael to tell Father Day to show the Crusader the Shroud. After being shown the Shroud, the Crusader seemingly commits suicide by jumping out of a window. Father Grieve then asks to talk to Michael alone (with no skin). Father Day leaves the room and Father Grieves explains to Michael that the Shroud has DNA evidence of the disciples of Christ and that the suit of sorrows was created to be worn by those disciples. 

The question being now: Is Michael Lane a disciple of Christ, or is it Damian Wayne? Talia Al Guhl stole the suit from here father as a gift to Bruce. Bruce tried to destroy it when he realized the suit made him more aggressive. Once he realized he couldn't destroy the suit, he tossed it where it was picked up by Michael. Talia has since been trying to get the suit back to give to her son (Damian). My take? I think Michael will be the disciple as I don't think it'd add much to the drama of the book if it were Damian. But I'd love to know what you think. Therefore, hit "comment" under this post and let me know!

Until next time, I'm ComicBookGuyMark87, this is my blog, and you should be reading Azrael! Thanks.

COMIC DAY!!!

Every be SURE to grab a copy of Azrael. I wont be able to get mine until Friday, but I want to know what you all think. Also, to those of you browsing this blog... Don't be a stranger! Stop by and leave a comment :). 

Until Friday, I'm ComicBookGuyMark87, this is my comic blog, and I want to hear from YOU! Thanks.

Punisher: Mother Russia (MAX) Review

Writer: Garth Ennis

Pencils: Dougie Braithwaite

Inks: Bill Reinhold

Colors: Raul Trevino

Letters: Randy Gentile

Cover Art: Tim Bradstreet

Assistant Editor: Cory Sedlmeier

Editor: Axel Alonso

Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada

Publisher: Dan Buckley

Plot: Nick Fury (S.H.I.E.L.D. director) is shown flying to New York City to pick up the "only man in the world who can do this job." The job? Going to Russia to infiltrate a Russian nuclear facility to retrieve a bio chemical weapon of mass destruction. Why? Because, if he can get this weapon, Nick Fury can get S.H.I.E.L.D. back (which, apparently was lost, however this isn't explained in the book). Nick explains to Frank that it's a suicide mission but it has to be done. Frank agrees to do the mission because Nick Fury is just about the only man he respects. The U.S. military gives Frank a partner, Frank works alone, but the partner has to come along, blah blah. You know how this goes. Once dropped into Russia, Frank's told that the "weapon" is a nuclear virus that was injected into a 6 year old girl and she was also injected with the anti virus, which is keeping her alive. The military wants the kid before the anti virus kills the virus, and once Frank and Martin (his partner assigned by the military) get caught, to prevent another cold war, the military had a safeguard in place to stage a terrorist attack on an airplane to prevent the notion of U.S. involvement. Lets not get this twisted, there's a LOT more to this story, but this is a general overview.

The Review: I absolutely LOVED the way the characters were written and how they played off of each other in this book. Nick Fury was a whisky drinkin', whore fuckin', badass. Frank was a bad ass loner. Martin was a typical military jock (as Frank said, "He looks like an action figure."). The military in this book were downright devious. It was chilling to read the plots they had taken to get their hands on this virus. I also loved how they played Frank's past into this story. His daughter died when she was 6, so Frank felt the need to protect this little girl no matter what. This becomes all to clear when Frank discovers that Martin's orders were to kill the girl in order to get the virus. 

The other half of this story was Nick Fury (and S.H.I.E.L.D.) vs. the United States military. Watching Nick Fury take charge of a group of hard asses who want nothing to do with him shows just how high he is on this totem pole. Whenever they get themselves in a pickle, Nick was always there ("And next time you call me, make sure it's important. The girls I like charge $100 an hour."). The end of the story also shows how much of a badass Nick is when he's talking to Frank and Frank questions his fear of being on the U.S. shit list and Fury responds with the snarky remark, "I'm on scarier lists than their's."

The end of this story is what really makes it genius. Watching Frank protect a little girl because it's his second chance of saving his daughter brought a whole new emotion to a Punisher book. Usually you only feel fear, anger, and satisfaction... But in this book, Compassion was the overall emotion. The military discussing how they couldn't save the virus because Punisher wouldn't let anyone stick her with needles, and then Fury asking him why, and he responds with, "I told her I wouldn't let anyone else hurt her." It's something you wouldn't expect Frank to say. Especially after wiping out the entire Russian nuclear plant. 

Overall: This is everything you would expect from a Punisher MAX story and SO much more. Frank Castle and Nick Fury make an amazing team and the Russians make such an amazing enemy... They should've done a spin off on this story alone. It is, BY FAR, my favorite Marvel story, and will be placed in my top 5 comics of all time.

Rating: A. Solid story. Amazing art. 

Until next time comic fans, I'm comicbookguymark87. See 'ya.

Batman: Detective Review

Writers: Paul Dini & Royal McGraw

Artists: Don Kramer, Wayne Faucher, J.H. Williams III, 

                                      Joe Benitez, Victor Llamas, Marcos Marz, & Luciana Del Negro

Colors: John Kalisz

Letters: Jared K. Fletcher & John J. Hill

To those of you who think the one shot is dead: I highly suggest you pick this book up. Six of Detective Comics best one shots, most written by the OG of Batman comics: Paul Dini. The stories included in this book are as follows: The Beautiful People, E. Nigma, Consulting Detectve, Stalked, Night Of The Penguin, The Return Of Doctor Phosphorus, and  Slayride. All of these are done EXTREMELY well. Lets go into each story with a quick summary.

The Beautiful People: The story follows Batman as he takes a lead on a new criminal training everyday citizens to walk among Gotham's elite, how to fit in, and how to rob them without getting caught. Batman (this book is following Bruce Wayne, not Dick Grayson) discovers it to be Facade and, with a little help from Robin (Tim Drake, current Red Robin) takes him down and off the streets. Damn good issue, the only problem I have with it is Bruce Wayne looks HORRIBLE. Outside of that minor problem, the issue is a lot of fun.

E, Nigma, Consulting Detective: Is by far my favorite story out of this book. A murder has taken place and a Bruce Wayne lookalike is involved. Bruce discovers this after a recently reformed criminal, The Riddler, comes to his doorstep to disprove that Bruce could've been the man in the picture. The issue then swerves to Batman working with The Riddler to solve a murder. It was really interesting to watch the interaction, and even better to see the joy come from the Riddler's face when he believes he solved the murder... And even more entertaining after he discovers he was wrong. Pick up this book for this story alone.

Stalked: This story wasn't very interesting to me. I don't like Poison Ivy and have yet to read a story of her's that I like. So, instead of boring you with my extremely biased opinion, I'll skip it.

Night Of The Penguin:  Remember that story up above about Riddler becoming a reformed man? Well this story follows Penguin becoming a reformed man and opening up the Iceberg Lounge. How's the Penguin going to make money? Easy! By cashing in on his criminal record. The highlight of this story comes when Penguin wants to stay legit and Riddler is questioning whether or not they can continue to live the high life without crime. The end of the story shows Batman swoop down and give Penguin the money he had lost in a game of poker after Batman had discovered that the other man was cheating. He then told Penguin to keep his crime to selling overpriced T-shirts and he wouldn't get involved. Overall, another great story.

The Return Of Dr. Phosphorus: Three scientists had talked a fourth into investing in a power plant that exploded and gave Dr, Phosphorus his powers. Three corrupt scientists then kidnap the body of a skeleton radiating radio active energy in hopes to now cash in on the technology they can create from the skeleton. Just one problem: Dr. Phosphorus isn't dead, and he's back to take revenge. This one was a story I didn't think I'd like, at all, but ended up really enjoying. Just a good, straight to the point revenge story, an enemy you can feel bad for, and Batman. What else do you need?

Slayride: The only reason I bought this book. Robin (Tim Drake, current Red Robin) went in to take down some drug dealers and ended up getting caught in a gang war... Luckily a caring citizen stops to help him... Unfortunately, it's The Joker. This story shows Robin tied up in a car while Joker goes on a killing spree. Robin finally escapes and takes Joker down. That's the story. But the way it's played out is the genius of it. This story is a good one if you're like me and a HUGE Tim Drake fan. I'd suggest you grab this book for this story alone also (that's two stories I've said this about... Says something about this book...). 

Overall: This book is a damn good collection of one shots and some of the best Detective Comics has to offer. Paul Dini is, by far, the best writer Batman has had in the last decade (if not more). $14.99 gets you six of the most entertaining comic stories you'll ever read. Go to your LCS tomorrow and pick it up!

Rating: I'll give this book a solid B+ because I had to sit through a Poison Ivy story. Outside of that, this book is amazing. It also renewed my faith in the one shot. If you like this book, be sure to check out Paul Dini's new series: Zatana.

Until next time comic fans, I'm ComicBookGuyMark87 and I just gave you the best damn review on the net! See 'ya.

My Take On: DC Prices Drop

Sorry about the late news guys, been working a little bit. Anyways, DC Comics announced the other day that they will be dropping the price of a standard comic book from the $3.99 price that they implemented when Marvel raised their prices in an attempt to boost revenue. DC will also be dropping the page count from 22 story pages to 20. Also, books that were $2.99 will remain at $2.99 and go down to 20 pages. Marvel announced shortly after that they would be lowering their prices also, but made it sound like it would only apply to new books. The books they have at $3.99 will remain at $3.99 until I hear otherwise.

My take on this: This is great news. It means you, the consumer, will buy more books. While sales raise, DC can then charge more from the advertisments and even get some new endorsements. Hopefully Marvel follows suit and we get a competitive industry again. In the mean time, if you're currently a comic fan, go out and buy some more books to show some support. If you're not a comic fan, now is the time to hop on it!

Until next time, that's my take! Catch you next time - ComicBookGuyMark87.

Who You Should Be Reading: Red Robin (Tim Drake)

Writer: Chris Yost (former), Fabian Nicieza (current)
Artist: Ramon Bachs (former), Marcus To (current)
Editor: Mike Marts
Secret Identities: Dick Grayson (Kingdom Come), Jason Todd (former), Ulysses Armstrong (former), Tim Drake-Wayne (current)
Ongoing series: Red Robin

During the "Search For A Hero" arc, Tim Drake is burned by an explosion. To protect his head while it heals, he uses the Red Robin costume he found in the garbage. After the supposed death of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson told Tim that the role of Robin was for Batman's student, and he considered Tim an equal. Tim believes Bruce Wayne is alive while the rest of the Bat family believe him to be dead. Tim takes on the role of Red Robin full time so he can "cross lines that Robin couldn't." He goes on a world wide trip to find evidence that Bruce is simply lost in time. Ras al Ghul also believes Bruce to be alive and teams Tim up with the League Of Assassins before Tim defeats him. Tim finds a cave that Bruce had been using as his "lost in time" Batcave and returns to Gotham to share the news. He's now fighting crime in Gotham alongside Batman & Robin while helping the JLA prepare for the return of Bruce Wayne.

Why you should be reading:

• Chris Yost took Tim to a level never seen before in comics.
• It ties into Batman and the Vicki Vale story.
• Fabian Nicieza is the best writer of Tim Drake. Ever. 
• Tim Drake is the star of this book.
• It's Tim Drake's turn at becoming his own "Nightwing."
• Tim's a non powered hero fighting street level crime in the worst city in the world.
• It's one of the few takes on Gotham not written by Grant Morrison.
• It establishes Tim Drake as his own character... With his own rogue's gallery.
• Because Anarky is much more interesting than the Joker.
• Watching Tim Drake defeat Ras al Ghul is plain bad ass!

Reasons you might not like it:

• It's not written by Grant Morrison.
• Fabian Nicieza is a love him or hate him type of writer also.
• You don't like Tim Drake.

Overall, this IS my favorite monthly book. If you're interested in starting, I suggest tracking down an out of print Robin: Search For A Hero and then hop on issue #13. You'll get caught up in no time. As always, I'd love to hear your opinions on the character. Leave a comment below! Also, let me know what other books you're reading!

Until next time, I'm ComicBookGuyMark87.

Who You Should Be Reading: Azrael (Michael Lane)

Writer: Fabian Nicieza (former), David Hine (current)
Artist: Ramon Bachs (former), Guillem March (current)
Editor: Mike Marts (former), Rachel Gluckstern (current)
Secret Identities: Ludovic Valley (former-deceased), Jean-Paul Valley (former-deceased), Michael Lane (current)
Ongoing title: Azrael

Bio (from http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Azrael_(Michael_Lane)):

Origin

Michael Washington Lane, currently Azrael had a troubled life. He gained a football scholarship to Gotham University as a linebacker, but lost it his sophomore year after beating his coach unconscious. He then joined the marines and served for two tours in Iraq. When he came back to the states, he joined the Gotham City Police Department to provide for his wife and young son. His son was hit by a car and died at age three. His wife committed suicide within a year. Only six months after her death, Michael's two siblings (his last living relatives) were murdered by an apparent Satanic cult. This broke Michael's psyche, and he was dismissed from the GCPD.

Batman R.I.P

Before his string of tragedies, Michael was selected for a joint Military/GCPD experiment that as designed to create someone who could take over for Batman should anything ever happen to him. Michael and two other police officers with military training were put through a series of experiments by scientist Doctor Hurt, which improved their strength and reflexes. The effects of the experiment combined with his personal tragedies made him go insane. Along with the "Bat-Cop" and "Bat-Bane," who also experienced adverse mental effects of Dr. Hurt's program, Lane, nicknamed "Bat-Ghost," plagued Batman for a short while, haunting him for the inadvertent destruction of the three men's lives. He acted as an agent of Doctor Hurt during Batman R.I.P..

Battle for The Cowl

After the death of Batman during Final Crisis, Lane confessed his perceived involvement in Batman's death to Father Day, who was a member of the Order of Purity. Michael was then recruited by the order to be the next Azrael of their order. He was given the flaming Sword of Sin and the Suit of Sorrows, which had driven his predecessor, Abraham Arlington insane after just six weeks of wearing it.
For his first act as Azrael, Michael had to defend himself against Talia al Ghul and her League of Assassins. Talia, who still had possession of the Sword of Sin's sister sword, the Sword of Salvation, wished to retrieve the Suit of Sorrows so that she might give it to her son Damian. Using the added strength of the suit, and his training as Batman's replacement, the new Azrael was able to defeat Talia and her assassins.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE READING:

• Fabian Nicieza started the run, which is the only reason I picked up the title in the first place.
• David Hine picked up after Fabian and took this title to a whole 'nother level. Fabian's strengths are teenage super heroes... David Hine's are supernatural anti-heroes. 
• The Crusader is, by far, one of the most interesting villains in comics to date. The only characters I find more interesting are Joker, Riddler, and maybe Professor Pyg (yes, I have to give Grant some props on some of his characters).
• Michael Lane is DC's attempt at creating a relatively well known African American character.
• A suit that drives a man insane by taunting him with the souls of those the suit has killed, and those that have died while wearing the suit, is one of the most interesting concepts in comic history. It's also interesting to find out that dying in the suit will unlock the suit's power.
• The Order Of Purity are one of the more mysterious cults in the comic world. It'd be interesting to see Raven have something to do with this and to have Azrael cross over with the Teen Titans.
• Azrael kills. 
• The art is simply amazing, and the covers are even better.
• The Sword Of Sin and the Sword Of Salvation are two very mysterious, and very fun things to read about.
• This is a very character driven story.

REASONS YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT:

• David Hine's writing isn't for everyone.
• Michael Lane's religious views might bother you.
• A comic book questioning religion might not be your cup of tea.
• It has too much Batman for a supernatural type story.
• Michael Lane is very cynical. 

Overall, this is one of my favorite monthly books. If you're interested in seeing what the hype is about, pick up issues 10-current (12 at the moment) and give it a go. Those issues will instantly tell you if Azrael is for you or not. I started the run with Fabian, but I can agree that his run on the book wasn't the best (sorry Fabian). If you're a fan of the character after 10-12, then I suggest picking up 1-9 for a (very brief) back story about Mr. Lane. Give it a go and let me know what you think.