ixajaw

Really late, but I've just been busy.

Aquaman 5: I think its very interesting how this arc has been pulling characters from existing stories. From the folklore of Jenny Greenteeth to the appearance of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus of 10k Leagues Under the Sea, it makes me wonder if those are part of the wider point of the arc or just easy-to-add characters for this soft relaunch of Aquaman for the average person to get into? I mean, Arthur is, himself, already a pastiche of King Author of Camelot but make it underwater.

Green Lantern Corp 4: Dunno if this is a retcon or what, as I am fairly new to GL stuff, but Keli just turned 12? Dang. Also, the parallel of Simon taking two kids to a shady 'underground' for her birthday vs Guy taking a meek trainee to the same underground... lmao. But yeah, they are definitely retconning Keli's origin, or at least the origin of her glove. Not sure how I feel about it. On one hand, I have no attachment to her specifically as a character, as I'm largely unfamiliar with her, but she definitely felt a little... overtuned? Like, the child super genius who builds stuff WAY better than any hyper-advanced alien society kind of cheapens the special-ness of the Lantern Rings, and I understand wanting her to 'fit in' more with the other Lanterns. On the other, since the Lanterns have a unifying power origin, its somewhat harder to make them feel unique in terms of ability, and so by doing so they run the risk of removing what made her unique. It's a tough position to be in.

Fire & Ice: Hell Freezes Over 2: I do like having Superman's mom been involved and savvy. What I don't like is how Tora and Bea are fighting. It feels rather juvenile and petty, for lack of a better word. This story can't decide if it wants to be a goofy slice of life thing or a superhero story that's tied into the larger, current happenings (what with Grodd's sister being a character and him looking for her). I'm normally down for bodyswap stuff, and the whole cast getting involved is a fun idea, but most of these characters are not well known enough for the flipping around to land. Though I am sort of enjoying Zachary Zatana. I think the other characters bounce off him well. If only they bounced off each other half as well...

Supergirl 1: Ended up trying the first issue of this series. It was okay. The art has the vibe of a more low-key story, which I don't mind but the story is trying to emphasize Kara's more heroic traits. It feels very Saturday morning cartoon, particularly with the hokey page where she saves that redhead girl from falling debris. The "I got you" panel is clearly supposed to be a shoujo-type "look at how hot/impressive she is" thing, but it feels... flat. Despite these gripes with the opening, the impostor taking over not just her Supergirl life, but her Linda Danvers life is a good enough mystery to make me consider picking up the second one. The second half of the issue is definitely the superior one.

However, I feel like Fake!Supergirl is somehow the redhead girl Kara saved earlier. Or, at minimum, related somehow, given that redhead was going on about how Supergirl was better than Superman.

Don't Run With Scissors 1: Trippy. Seems to have some sort of supernatural angle, but the issue was so short that it felt more like a teaser for the series rather than the first issue. You know how people will pull out select panels when reviewing something in video format to illustrate the story? It felt like that, a selection of story elements instead of the whole thing. Its unpolished in terms of both story and art but it does have character. Honestly, it sort of gives JTHM vibes if the story was trying to take itself seriously instead. There's literally nothing to say about the characters, though, beyond the sheriff kind of being a dick.

Absolute Batman 8: The parts with Freeze are good. And I understand what they're going for with the conversation with Bruce's friends being in shadow, but the disconnect between the visuals and the genuinely heartfelt words that Bruce needed to hear make it not land as intended, I think. The strongest parts are the bit where they're talking about how Malone felt guilty for being the 'reason' Bruce's dad died, as the last kid through the door, but you could actually SEE Malone. Of course, it coalesces into the end of the conversation, where Waylon (?) strikes a match and illuminates Bruce and his feelings along with the literal surroundings, like, I GET it. But I just think it could have been portrayed better. The light of his friends' words illuminating a snowy night juxtaposed with Bruce using fire against Freeze is obvious but it WORKS. It's not bad, I just wanted more to work with on the lead up, I suppose.

I do like the fact Waylon is the one who verbally gets through to him, and is the one he calls to rely on at the end... and then ends up getting kidnapped and taken to Ark M. Always a good cliffhanger. Despite my entire paragraph of gripes, I did enjoy this issue. Absolute Batman is not my favorite of the Absolute books, but it is solid and I am engaged.

A fairly low-key week.

Finally, the new Mega Man Timelines Free Comic Book Day preview is out! I've been waiting for this. My poor LCS has had to listen to me ask about it over and over again, since I almost always work on Saturdays and therefore typically miss these, at least AT release, and I absolutely did not want to miss it.



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