What I Bought 6/28/2010 - Part 1

Hey comics! 12 of them to be exact. Not too shabby. I was gonna split the reviews into 2 parts, but I'm running behind (distracted by cute stray puppy), so we're going three parts. If you cared to know what the posts were gonna be like for the first half of the week. Onward!

Atlas #2 - Does the cover feel like an homage to something? I feel like I've seen something similar before. Group of people in a car, charging headlong into danger? Maybe something Valiant published?

3-D Man avoids being eaten by Mr. Lao. The team clues him in on their history, and he shows them the weird dreams he's been having. He knows Bob Grayson is hiding something from the team. Hmm, alternate reality adventure, perhaps? 3-D Man helps fight another rogue branch of Atlas, and shadowy, long-fingered people are preparing to strike at all of our heroes. The backup story wraps up the graveyard zombie fight, and shows us that Master Plan and Lao have expected for quite some time that when Jimmy took over Atlas, he'd bring his team along with him.

I like Jimmy's explanation for how everyone on the team can be useful. I didn't really need it explicitly stated, showing each member being useful in different situations would have been enough, but I always approve of that philosophy to super-teams. Gabriel Hardman's art is still really nice. I'm kind of worried I'm not enjoying this as much as I'd like.

Batgirl #10 - Calculator uses Apokoliptian technology to set a large chunk of Gotham after Barbara Gordon, and succeeds in catching her, despite Steph's best efforts. Oracle did succeed in getting Calculator's daughter, Wendy, into the new cave to keep her safe, so there's that. Steph had a conversation in her civilian identity with the cop, Gage, and was both too cryptic and too knowing with her comments, so he'll probably be getting suspicious of her anytime now.

It would be better if it was harder for Fourth World types to use their technology. Booster Gold taught me its something even OMACs can't adapt to, so it seems like unless one is Luthor smart, it ought to be over their heads. I'm not convinced Calculator's on that level. But that's me. All this seems a bit much simply to get back at Oracle for getting his daughter the hell away from her, but he is a villain, so inappropriate overreaction is par for the course.

Batgirl #11 - Batgirl's trying real hard to stay alive against Calculator controlled Catwoman, Huntress, and Man-Bat. I wouldn't say it's easy, but she manages to get by. If one is bothered by the fact she pulls it off, just tell yourself their skills are probably dulled by being controlled. Wendy uses Oracle's equipment to track down her father's location, meets Steph at an airport, and proceeds to airdrop her into Slaughter Swamp. Meanwhile, Oracle's trying to keep her secret from a Calculator running around in her mind, by shoving the two of him into his mind. That should be ugly.

I think Miller may go overboard with the banter, but his Steph does seem to have a good mixture of determination, chip on her shoulder, and awareness of herself. She knows she's still learning, is sick of being reminded by others she may not be good enough, and is going to see through to the end whatever she's doing at the moment. I still like Lee Garbett's artwork, and maybe it's the brighter colors, but the scenes in Oracle's mind look different from the rest. The lines look thicker, maybe a little rougher, but there are fewer of them, so perhaps a bit more simplified. Reminds me a little of Pete Woods. Perhaps because it's just some mental projection, and the falseness means fewer details.

Deadpool #24 - Deadpool (as Wildcard) pummels Grizzly, though he escapes. This makes Weasel (as The House) look bad. Deadpool suggests they switch suits, he'll be the House, Weasel can be the now well-liked Wildcard. The Grizzly reappears. Wade is decked early, then shows no inclination to rejoin the fight, and Weasel struggles before triumphing. When the House arrives to share in the cheers and gets booed. He turns on the crowd, grabs the Grizzly and the cash and flees. So effectively, Deadpool (as Wildcard) is the big hero, and everyone believes Weasel (as the House) is the big crook.

I have a feeling this could all turn out to be a ruse that will end up making Weasel look like some brilliant, selfless hero, risking his reputation to stop some dangerous crook. Well, the Grizzly, but close enough. So, similar to what Deadpool pulled last fall in San Fran with the X-Men. Of course, I think it's more likely he simply can't make up his mind about being a proper hero, and decided to just go for the cash. Either way, I'm done. Two years with this book is long enough.

So, yeah, a bummer of a place to leave off, but so it goes. Tomorrow, let's see, we've got a Heroic Age title starting up, a couple of my usual DC selections, and the first issue of Marvel's latest cosmic hoop-de-doo.