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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/16/14
I noticed something kind of odd when I went through these reviews, and I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing or a good thing. I’m still trying to read more comics than just the Big Two, but even at the big publishers, I seem stuck to the same titles over and over. There are two Batman books in my review stack this week, two Spider-Man books, and one X-Men comic. I know I try to branch out as much as possible, but for some reason, this week felt like I was in a specific rut. It’s a little weird. But what can I say? These are the comics I like to read and review.
Fortunately, sprinkled in among the mainstream superheroes, are some goodies, like new issues of Captain Marvel and Harley Quinn. But like some insane carnival mirror, one is awesome, the other is a dud! I can barely believe it! Care to guess which one is Comic Book of the Week?
Oh and hey, guess which classic costume is back in continuity again
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #30, Amazing Spider-Man #5, Batman #34, Batman Eternal #19, Captain Marvel #6, Harley Quinn #9, Original Sin #7 and Spider-Man 2099 #2.
Robin Watch: Costumes A Go-Go!
Not much going on today, so I thought I’d share this awesome cover image from Batman and Robin #36, where Red Robin, Red Hood and Batgirl all get dressed up in Robin variants of their costumes to honor Damian! It was drawn by Patrick Gleason.
Tim Drake looks damn good
The image was previewed in USA Today, in an article about how the Batman and Robin team, Mahnke and Peter Tomasi, are taking over the Superman/Wonder Woman comic. Good for them. But I only really care about the Robin stuff!
Especially a quote from Tomasi about why everyone is dressed in these variant costumes.
“All of these characters at this point are in the Robin mix,” Tomasi says. “The Bat-family will, in the end, rise to the challenge of helping a new Robin come to be in the DCU.”
A new Robin? That sounds a lot more firm than just bringing Damian back from the dead. So who could it be? I really don’t know at this point.
Though I’m holding out hope that this ‘Bluebird’ thing is all a feint, and Harper Row really does become the new Robin.
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Review: Teen Titans #1
After only a few short months, Teen Titans is back with a new #1 issue and a new…not much else. Scott Lobdell’s reign of terror is over. Bring on Will Pfeifer’s reign of terror! I say that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, but after reading and digesting Pfeifer’s first issue in this new, relaunched Teen Titans, it doesn’t look like much has changed. I’m willing to go easy on Pfeifer, and artist Kenneth Rocafort, and give them the benefit of the doubt, but the problems with Lobdell’s Teen Titans were very clear and very easy to fix. So why Pfeifer and DC didn’t do a complete 180 and try something totally new is beyond me.
Teen Titans #1
Teen Titans #1 could just as easily have been Teen Titans #31. It picks up exactly where Lobdell left off and brings absolutely nothing new or interesting to the table.
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
I was ready to forgive and forget, and embrace a new approach to the Teen Titans comic. I stuck with Lobdell’s stink pile for the entire run, watching and wincing as DC let him have 30 whole issues and some annuals. Whereas nearly ever other comic in DC’s New 52 was given a new creative team at some point, or cancelled outright, DC stuck with Lobdell despite the fact that everyone pretty much hated and abandoned the comic. Lobdell’s Teen Titans was a frantic mess, unwilling to sit still for even a second to focus on the characters, the team or anything other than hectic superhero action. I could go on and on about all of the problems with the first run of Teen Titans, but I don’t have the time or energy. We’re here to talk about the new relaunch.
And you better believe I’m disappointed.
Pfeifer’s Teen Titans #1 is wall-to-wall action, starring pretty much the exact same Titans team that Lobdell left off with – only now Beast Boy is green for some reason. No explanation given on that change. It’s Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Raven, Beast Boy and Bunker stopping a group of terrorists on a speeding bus (yep!), while Pfeifer hints at some kind of future plot with S.T.A.R. Labs. There’s plenty of chatter among the team members as they go about their business, but there’s little in the way of actual, meaningful interactions. No effort is made to explain why they’re still a team or why they spend any time together beyond being the selected roster for the book. No background is given, no establishing information is put out; nothing beyond a bunch of superheroes responding to a sudden emergency on the streets of New York.
In that regard, Peifer and Rocafort make a fine comic. The action is well-paced and well-drawn. I suppose it’s as exciting as any generic action scene in a comic might be. There’s a good use of everyone’s powers and abilities. Everybody is generally likable. I don’t necessarily think Rocafort’s hyper-detailed, sketchy style is the right fit for Teen Titans, but it works fine. No real complaints from my end on art. It’s also definitely a colorful comic.
But Teen Titans #1 doesn’t do anything new to warrant the relaunch. It looks like business as usual, even after I got my hopes up that something would be different this time around.
Oh wait, there is one change. After 30+ issues of Bunker’s sexuality not being an issue for anybody, Pfeifer is apparently totally going to make it an awkward, clumsy issue. Great.
Join me after the jump for the full synopsis and more review!
So Scott Lobdell Went and Changed Tim Drake’s Origin a Bit More, and Nobody Noticed or Cared
Three years later, I’m comfortable in saying I don’t care for the New 52 at DC Comics. There are a few good comics at the company – though only Wonder Woman really springs to mind – but for the most part, everything is kind of crummy, and there is no indication that DC has any long term plans. They’re just throwing whatever they can at any walls they can find. But I’m not here to mock DC Comics. I’m here to pound more nails into the coffin of Tim Drake, one of my most favorite comic book characters of all time.
Suffice to say, Tim Drake, otherwise known as Red Robin, is a character who suffered a great deal in the New 52 change. Before the reboot, Tim was Robin was nearly 20 years (in real time). He was great in the role, and quite honestly, he was the greatest Robin of all time. Hands down.
But DC isn’t done screwing with or retconning his origin, apparently.
Never is not enough!
In the New 52, DC and writer Scott Lobdell rewrote Tim’s origin story and they altered his entire history as Batman’s partner. No longer was Tim ever ‘Robin’, instead calling himself ‘Red Robin’ from the very beginning. And he was only Batman’s partner for a short while, seeing it more as a stepping stone in his career than anything permanent or worthwhile. Tim suddenly became a gymnastics prodigy. And instead of having a long, complex story involving his parents, particularly his dad, Lobdell shuffled them off into ‘Witness Protection’ before Tim ever even became Red Robin.
Also, New 52 Tim Drake is kind of an asshole, especially to Batman.
Most of these changes were laid out in Teen Titans #0, the flashback issue that first told us the new origin of Tim Drake. Among the changes, we learned that Lobdell also took away the fact that pre-reboot Tim Drake had figured out Batman’s secret identity all on his own. That was Tim’s thing. That’s one of the things that made him so special.
Batman has a bunch of creepy old man masks at the ready
That was nearly two years ago, after which Teen Titans became a terrible wreck that nobody read, prompting cancellation.
Well it seems DC wasn’t done letting Lobdell mess around with Tim Drake. Apparently everyone involved wanted to re-retcon a few things, so they put out Secret Origins #3 this week. I didn’t even know Tim Drake was going to be part of the issue until I saw a brief mention of it online. And further searching the web, I couldn’t find anyone who seemed to care about any of the new changes made to Tim’s origin. So perhaps it falls to me, of all people, to at least document that these changes have happened.
For example, guess who really did figure out Batman’s secret identity?
Fixed a mistake?
And Lobdell tried to fix that weird, unexplained part where his name wasn’t really Tim Drake.
Because this makes it better, I guess?
I dunno. I guess I just wanted to write this article for posterity. Somebody has to pretend to still care about Tim Drake, right? He still has fans somewhere…right?
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/28/14
Don’t look now, but I’m apparently in a crummy mood this week. I feel fine, personally. But going through these reviews, it began to dawn on me that I just didn’t feel all that excited about any of the books that were released. Last week was killer, but this week was kind of a bummer, even though we’ve got new issues of Batman, Amazing Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Justice League, and the debut of Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr.’s Superman. I thought I’d be happy!
Kind of by default, Ms. Marvel wins Comic Book of the Week. It’s one of my favorite titles these days, and it’s going to take a heck of a lot to knock it off its pedestal. Maybe I’ll get a week where Ms. Marvel, Saga, Hawkeye, Silver Surfer and a brand new Multiple Man #1 all come out at the same time. Then I’ll be in Heaven.
Though Amazing Spider-Man #3 wins moment of the week for the greatest J. Jonah Jameson panel of all time, courtesy of Humberto Ramos.
That needs to be on T-shirts!
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #3, Batman #32, Batman Eternal #12, Justice League #31, Ms. Marvel #5 and Superman #32.
Henchman-4-Hire 