What I Bought 2/2/2011

The store was pretty quiet when I got there yesterday. I guess people didn't feel like getting out, but we didn't get any snow or ice here worth mentioning. It was windy and cold, though. Maybe everyone had other stuff to do. I was skimming through the new Previews and saw there'll be a new Rocketeer comic solicited in the next issue. I bought the hardcover collection online last fall, so I'm mildly intrigued by the possibility of new Rocketeer stuff.

Batman Beyond #2 - The book starts with a heroes fighting each other sequence, where Bruce directs Terry on how to pummel the Justice League. This is even more pointless than most superhero dustups, because Terry throws the first punch, but is also the one that calls a truce, as he eventually decides it'd be better to get the League to help him, rather than waste time trying to fight him. With some grumbling, differences are set aside, and a nearly-forgotten passage leads the heroes into the mall, where the disgruntled former employee has seemingly harnessed the full power of the gizmo that merged with his arm last issue. Which means Terry's mom and brother have been turned into copper statues. Because it makes them less demanding hostages.

I'm possibly being too harsh on the opening fight. It does illustrate how Bruce's hangups and residual ill will towards the League make life more difficult for Terry. Still, the primary purpose seems to have been to limit the resident Green Lantern's effectiveness, so that the heroes operate under a handicap. I'm not as fond of Benjamin's art this month as I was last month. There are some good panels in there during the fight and some of the facial expressions are nice, but there are times character's faces seem undefined, or they look different from one panel to the next. Also, I think Barda needs to be taller.

Secret Six #30 - I'd been wondering if DC was really dumb enough to release the 2nd part of a 2-part story two weeks before part 1. Turns out they aren't. This is actually Part 1, and Doom Patrol is Part 2. On another note, that's a nice looking Cliff Chiang cover. I know it's just a pin-up cover, and normally those annoy me, but it does look pretty.

A lazy, directionless young man inherits his grandfather's criminal empire, and after recruiting his friends (and deciding crime was best in the '50s and '60s) sets his sights on having a base in an exploded volcano. The Doom Patrol just so happen to live on an island with a volcano that could, with proper use of explosives, serve as just such a base. To that end, Eric hires the Six to keep Doom Patrol busy. Violence and insults ensue. There's also Scandal and Liana's attempt to set Bane up on a date with one of Liana's coworkers. Which doesn't entirely go well, but Bane seems to have made a positive first impression on her.

I have to give Eric credit, he didn't waste any time. He has the Six attacking the Doom Patrol within two weeks of learning what his grandfather left him. I would have tried to work that particle cannon his granddad mentioned in there somewhere, but unless it's stashed on the heli, Eric's saving it for another day. The infatuation with the '50s and '60s is a little surprising. It reminds me of the Arcudi/Mahnke Mask stories, where whoever wore that mask would abruptly starting crooning Sinatra, or talking about how great he was. I guess his grandfather really made it sound great.

She-Hulks #4 - Our heroes capture the Mad Thinker and Klaw. Hooray! But the Wizard has utilized some the amenities he was afforded for being a snitch to escape Gamma Base, if not his cell (though he must have escaped the cell eventually. Then he attacks Lyra at the school dance, and things end sadly, which was a surprise. I kind of figured Lyra being revealed as a She-Hulk at the dance wouldn't go over smashingly (no pun intended), but it actually went worse than I expected. I was figuring Amelia was putting on an act when she told Lyra they should be friends, and it was going to be something out Carrie (the public humiliation part, not the mass murder of poltroonic teens with pyrokinesis part).

I see the point Wilcox is trying to make, though I thought Jen's career had been less filled with bystanders fleeing her in terror. I know she was Savage herself at one point, but that's a while back, ignoring that story Johns wrote in his Avengers stint, which I'm comfortable doing. How about you? Setting aside the surprise of just how much of a downer the ending was, Wilcox and Stegman did a really good job on this ongoing-that-was-demoted-to-a-mini-series. I didn't any feelings about Lyra prior to this, but I'm interested to see what happens to her, and how she and Jen continue to interact in the future.