Batman/Superman #27 Review

Ice to Meet You

Written by: Greg Pak
Art by: Cliff Richards, Jack Herbert, Beth Sotelo, Wil Quintana and Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

If I would sit down and label each of the Super Family books involved in the DC You Truth story, I would probably file Batman/Superman under the popcorn movie header.  It's been a silly, over-the-top, action flick and while it hasn't always been good, it has had it's fun moments.  If you forget what's going on in this book (and with this kind-of crossover story, that's not surprising), Superman, Batgirl, Jason Todd and Dick Grayson are in Siberia trying to pull off a Seven Samurai scenario against Vandal Savage.  If that doesn't sound like enough fun, there is a Nazi airship, Jim Gordon Batman and that pesky artificial sun from the beginning of the Truth story involved.  The other books leading to this issue have begun giving us a glimpse at the overall story so I was even more interested to read this one when it came out.  Now that I did, was it any good?  Let's find out...

Starfire #7 Review and *SPOILERS*

Cruise Control

Written By: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti

Art By: Emanuela Lupacchino, Mirco Pierfederici, Ray McCarthy, Sean Parsons, Hi-Fi, Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

With the many misunderstandings of Starfire, it's amazing to me how well Kori has adjusted to simple small town life....... or Key West life..... I don't know what Key West life is like because I'm not a Rockafeller so I'll just go with small time life and use the power of imagination to fill in the gaps.  Besides how well Starfire is doing, it's even more amazing to me that the people of this town have become so taken with her because of how xenophobic the world seems to be all of a sudden in the real life and in comics...... you know, like we've seen in Superman.  I don't want to say it's just because she's hot, but....... yeah, it's probably because she's hot.  Knowing that she's the hottest thing under the sun, Starfire in the previous issue took down Soren Hook, when she thought he killed Sol and even took out an intergalactic bounty hunter, who arrived on Earth and intended on collecting Kori and bringing her back to his employer.  That's a lot of things going down in one issue and I guess that means it's time for a little R&R here and getting to know Sol a little better.  Hopefully, Grayson showing up in this issue won't go and ruin her date and bring back those old feelings within her.  Let's check it out.

Catwoman #47 Review

The Heist

Writer: Frank Tieri
Art by: Inaki Miranda, Eva De La Cruz, Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015


I was a huge fan of Genevieve Valentine’s run on Catwoman.  While some complained that she got too far away from the character they knew and loved, we really hadn't been getting THAT Catwoman in quite a while anyway.  Valentine turned the book into a smart and thrilling crime drama with a strong female lead and if you haven't noticed, that's something in short supply nowadays. But, I am not here to wax poetic about the past, but look forward to the future...and the future is now. Frank Tieri has taken the reigns and going into this first issue I was really wondering what Catwoman we were going to get and more importantly, was it any good? Well, let's find out...

Telos #3 Review and *SPOILERS*

Steam: The Most Powerful Energy In The Universe

Written By: Jeff King
Art By: Stephen Segovia, Igor Vitorino, Jason Paz, Marc Deering, Dan Green, Hi-Fi, Peter Steigerwald, Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Telos just needs a hug and having the kind of mug he's got, I guess the only people who are willing to do that are his family, so Telos is doing his damnedest to find out where those nonjudgmental folks are hiding in the Universe.  Probably hiding from his Rocky Dennis face.  Anyway, to get the actual coordinates to where Brainiac stashed them away, Telos struck a deal with Brainiac to go to his home planet Colu, meet up with Techne, the rebel leader of that world and download the backup of Brainiac's memories from the planet database.  That sounds all fine and good, but once most of the plan was achieved, Telos' new friends he met along the way want to complete their missions as well..... Like Captain Comet wants proof that the Psions are experimenting on people and the rebel leader Techne wants to overthrow the tyrant leader of Colu, Computo.  Telos just can't catch a break and that becomes overwhelmingly apparent when at the end of the last issue they were confronted by Validus.  Let's jump into this issue and see if everyone can get what they want from this Wizard of Oz type scenario and if they can even get past the raging Computo controlled Validus.  Let's check it out.

Detective Comics #47 Review

Jail Birds

Written by: Ray Fawkes
Art by: Steve Pugh, Chris Sotomayer and Wes Abbot
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

I'm going into this issue strictly as a Robin War tie-in as the regular run of the book came to a screeching halt last issue and regular writer, Peter Tomasi, has stepped aside for Ray Fawkes to tell the story.  This is part three of the Robin War story and I have been so impressed with the first two entries (Robin War #1 and Grayson #15) that I had higher hopes for this one than I normally would have had.  Also, since Grayson came out on the same day, everything is fresh in my mind as I crack it open to read.  Does that help or hinder my enjoyment of the issue and does it continue the trend of excellent Robin War issues?  Let's find out...

Earth 2: Society #7 Review and *SPOILERS*

Planet Mother Box

Written By: Daniel H. Wilson
Art By: Jorge Jimenez, Allison Borges, Alejandro Sanchez, Blond, Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

What's this I hear about Earth 2 going and doing something crazy like bringing it's heroes together and actually do normal hero things?......... You know, instead of fighting wars against gods and Converging on planets called Telos....... that's not actually a planet, but a character doing things in his own series.  Yeah, out of all the titles that came out during the New 52, I have to say that Earth 2 has suffered the most because of all the crazy shit that DC decided to put it through.  I don't know if they thought they needed to be over the top in order to make re-imagined Golden Age characters seem relevant or interesting, but whatever the thought process, it was a mistake.  Now instead of having a normal planet to save the everyday citizen and the ability for our heroes to sit around a table in a Brownstone, chatting about what their day was like and how they'll bring justice to evil-doers, we've got spaceship cities and Jimmy Olsen becoming a god and trying to terraform the planet to make it exactly like Earth 2 originally was....... you know, before all the World's End and Covergences that got us completely off track........ Actually, this sounds like a half decent idea so hopefully our heroes fail when they try to take him down here.  Let's check it out.

Grayson #15 Review

Win in the End

Written by: Tom King
Art by: Mikel Janin and Jeromy Cox
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

I was a little torn going into this issue.  While I love Grayson and am excited for Robin War after last week’s opener, I hate it when my regular stories are interrupted by crossover events.  Throw into that mix the urgent nature of last month's cliffhanger (Dick trying to convince Tiger to take on Spyral with him while being choked out...by Tiger) and getting from point a to point b took a little more suspension of disbelief than usual.  However, once he got there, it all made perfect sense.  This is the first (and best, if you ask a certain reviewer) Robin and the band couldn't hit the road for their reunion tour their front man.  So, does this issue nail the rare feat of being a great Robin War crossover while also being a kick ass Grayson issue?  Let's find out…

The Twilight Children #3 Review and *SPOILERS*

The Fast-Paced World of Sleepy Fishing Villages

Written By: Gilbert Hernandez

Art By: Darwyn Cooke, Dave Stewart

Cover Price: $4.99

Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non-Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Ahh, I waited all month for a chance to return to that unnamed Latin fishing village from Twilight Children so I could sink my toes into the sand and sip a mental mojito. Sure, weird glowing orbs appear and disappear at will, and sometimes they render children blind, and also sometimes they zap people away in a beam of light, but dude—it’s like pennies to the dollar down there. I got a dozen rainbow trout fillets for ten bucks! I also copped an “I saw the glowing orbs from Twilight Children and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” t-shirt for twenty bucks but it was totally worth it because there’s some freaky shit happening in this village, so I guess what I’m saying is can you wire me like sixty bucks and I’ll pay you back when I get over the border? What? You want to know what’s been happening in this weirdo place? Read on!

Red Hood/Arsenal #7 Review and *SPOILERS*

Big Top Pee-W........ Arsenal

Written By: Scott Lobdell
Art By: Javier Fernandez, Blonde, Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Now before anyone goes and does something crazy, like buy this book because they think they need it to complete their Robin War collection, just let me tell you that isn't the case.  Yeah, while Red Hood may be in Gotham and the Robin War #1 is actually going on around this issue, it doesn't really play into the events of this book.  In the previous issue we saw our pair of heroes take on the Hero Manifesto and ultimately take on a new hire for their Rent-A-Bat business in the form of Joker's Daughter......... Yeah, calm down, I haven't been a fan of that character either, but out of nowhere it seems that Scott Lobdell wants to make her interesting by giving her some sort of redemption, since the anger that's within her is very similar to what Jason felt when he was her age.  Yeah, it's a stretch, but I'd rather have Joker's Daughter be a character that I like instead of something that I loath every time she's mentioned and if that means a complete overhaul of what we've seen of her so far...... Well, I'm all for it.  So yeah, Joker's Daughter is a part of the team as a long as she sticks to Jason's newly initiated "No Killing" rule and the Robin War is going down in Gotham tonight.  Let's jump into this issue........... that's not a tie-in at all really and see what's going down.

Justice League: The Darkseid War – Lex Luthor #1 Review and *SPOILERS*

Why Do We Fall, Lex?

Written By: Francis Manapul

Art By: Bong Dazo, Hi-Fi, Marilyn Patrizio

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non-Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Well they’ve gone and done it now, Darkseid is dead and his power and red eyeballs have been inherited by Lex Luthor. That’s right, the biggest asshole on Earth just got infused with the biggest asshole in the Multiverse. Perhaps I am judging Luthor too harshly, however; he saved the planet pretty recently and he’s proven to be helpful, if arrogant. And he’s certainly not more paranoid than Batman. So maybe Lex a la Darkseid won’t be such a terrible dish, perhaps he can bring peace and harmony to the fiery planet Apokolips? Oh, who am I kidding, the place is called Apokolips! Read on to see just how bad things can get!

Batman and Robin Eternal #10 Review

Nerd Skillz

Written by: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Art by: Roge Antonio, Geraldo Borges, Allen Passalaqua and Marilyn Patrizio
Cover Prince: $2.99
Release Date: December 9, 2015

I was not a fan of last week's Batman and Robin Eternal because of one thing...characterization.  Lanzing and Kelly didn't seem to have a full grasp of the characters they were writing, and the situations they put them in felt off.  Plus, everything felt like it was thrown together to get to one thing...Azrael.  I'll admit it, he looked pretty badass, but a cool cliffhanger page does not a great issue make.  So, with all the pieces in place, do Lanzing and Kelly settle in and give us a good story this week?  Let's find out...

Batman #47 Review and *SPOILERS*

Chaos In Bloom

Written By: Scott Snyder
Art By: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, FCO Plascencia, Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 9, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Even though it feels like we never left because of all the books out there dealing with it, it's time to get back to Gotham and see how Jim Gordon deals with not only Mr. Bloom, but also his backstabbing robot suit, who's flipped sides on Jim's ass and is now working for Bloom....... Yeah, it's probably just Bloom taking control of the suit, but even if that's the case I want you to remember one thing from this review and one thing alone........ never trust robots.  Even though I started out really excited about this change to our Batman comics with Jim Gordon becoming the Bat himself, after reading issue after issue of our new hero, I have to say I'm getting a little bored because while I can't argue that he's trying to be Batman, he's just not very good at it and that's not what I'm looking for in my Batman books........ Basically, if I'm not getting what I want, I'm pretentious enough to let everyone know about it over and over again.......... I'm not even sure if that's a joke anymore.  As much as I'll besmirch the good name of Jim Gordon, the real thing that's been throwing me in this comic is the new villain Mr. Bloom because at this point in time it seems like the motherfucker can do anything that suits him and I'm still not completely sure what he's going for with his villainy.  Hopefully, we'll find out here so let's quit the jibber jabber and get to it.  

Weird Science DC Comics Podcast Episode 48: Jim and Eric's Adderall Adventure

Jim and Eric are back from their non Thanksgiving break to give you a long podcast filled with DC Comics comic book talk and comic news.  We find out that Jim is "special" and Eric has ripped his taint, but none of that can prepare you for the awesomeness of Mumbo Jimbo!  Yes, the seer of the future arrives from beyond to give us stories of what will be...IN THE FUTURE!  There is also plenty of Listener Mail, Reggie's Recklessness and an epic save by Ryan in his Other Side segment.

Puppet Master #8 Review and *SPOILERS*

Pinocchio's Revenge

Written By: Shawn Gabborin
Art By: Antonio Ontiveros, Daniel Morales Olvera
Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 4, 2015

Publisher: Action Labs: Danger Zone

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Monday is upon us again boys and girls and because I found the time to separate myself from DC Comics this week, that means I can get back to my Just For The Hell of It Mondays horror reviews and just like the last time, I'm doing Puppet Master.  For this issue we'll be dealing with a story that not only continues from where we left off last issue, but also continues from my favorite Puppet Master film........ Puppet Master 2.  In that flick, we saw the Puppets reanimate their original master Andre Toulon, but due to him rotting in the dirt for the better part of fifty years, he didn't come back as the kindly friend and caretaker that they once knew.  After the majority of that film saw the puppets killing folk to harvest their brains to make more of the fluid that would keep them alive, Toulon betrayed them when he thought he found the reincarnation of his dead wife Elsa.  The Puppet Master planned on taking the girl and transferring both her and him into life size wooden bodies, but after the girl got away, Toulon found himself confronted by his former friends and killed for his misdeeds.  Yeah, I know, that sounds really awesome and you should totally go check it out.  That film ended with the puppets using what life fluid they had left to put one of their victims named Camille into the life size woman puppet that Toulon had created and then hit the road in search of other victims.  What we got was one of the greatest cliffhangers to the series, but we never got was any info on what happened at the Bouldeston Institute for Mentally Troubled Tots and Teens, where the now cruel Camille and the puppets wound up at the end of the flick.  Now, we'll finally have that answer.  Let's jump into this issue and check out what Action Labs: Danger Zone has in store for us this time.

Starslayer: The Director’s Cut #2 Review and *SPOILERS* — Just For the Hell Of It Mondays

Written By: Mike Grell

Art By: Mike Grell, Rob Prior, Steve Haynie

Cover Price: $2.50

Sale Date: June 1995

*Non-Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The work of veteran comics creator Mike Grell is well-known and impressive: for DC Comics he wrote the Legion of Superheroes, Warlord, Batman, and famously wrote and drew the mini-series The Longbow Hunters for Green Arrow. Independently, he did Jon Sable, Freelance and would later pen and draw a James Bond story of his own for Eclipse Comics. Even more recently, he has written Iron Man for Marvel and returned to DC for work, including a return to Warlord some years back. So I had some high hopes going into this Starslayer book, despite it being the second issue and the cover looking like something found in the diaper of the 1990s comic book speculation boom. Was my enthusiasm warranted, or did this turn out to be another disappointment like my many attempts at creating an all-feline NASA? Read on and find out!

Gotham Academy #12 Review

License to drive!

Written by: Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher
Art by: Karl Kerschl with Msassyk
Cover price: $2.99
Release date: December 2nd, 2015

*Spoilers ahead, Summary and score at the bottom*

After a month delay, Gotham Academy returns to finish it's second story arc. This book now has a complete twelve issues under it's belt and has been a whole bunch of fun. While the second arc had the Detective Club doing a lot of cool things including hunting wolves, and washing away Clayface, this arc felt like nothing really happened and the story barely moved foreword.