Short Shorts – Comic Book Briefs for the weeks of 12/12/2007 & 12/19/2007

GAHHH!!!!  IT’S BACK!  IT’S BACK!!!!

Run for the hills, kids, and don’t stop until the water subsides….

 

Sorry about that.  That horrifying image can only mean one thing – it’s time for some Comic Book Short-Shorts, where I just comment on thing that go through my mind with some of the comics that I read each week.  I don’t do reviews – you can find plenty of those at places Like This: I missed last week, so there will be a few mixed in from both weeks.  I will also be commenting on Fables, but in a separate post a little later on.

Booster Gold #5

Jeff Johns and Geoff Katz…err, switch those surnames…continue to dazzle with the Greatest Hero You’ve Never Heard of!  For all the talk about “DC hates Giffen’s League!” (guilty myself of some of that early on) and “Didio wants to kill off the late-80s using a death-ray powered by little, cuddly kittens!!!” that era sure does seem to be doing well these days.  Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (albeit a new one – more on that later) have titles; Checkmate is back, as is the Suicide Squad (with freaking Ostrander!  More on that later); Fire is a member of the aforementioned Checkmate; Ice is back from one of the worst, most pointless deaths in comics; the Rocket Red Brigade is back; the Crimson Fox is back from two of the worst, most pointless deaths in comics); the Extremists are back with a vengeance (where’s the damned Silver Sorceress??? GRR!!!); there is a Manhunter ongoing (allegedly); and Guy Gardner is doing what he does best – kicking ass, taking names and copping a feel.   This group at DC, for all I can see, do not “hate” that era at all; but rather they seem to be quite fond of it.  Oh yeah – and in addition to this rant, Booster Gold #5 was a great issue with Booster trying time and time again to prevent the Joker from shooting Barbara Gordon.  Rip was trying to teach him that some things can’t be changed, but man…he could have been a little less of a dick about it!  Of course, that was the only way to get through to s stubborn dude like Booster.  Issue sets up some excitement for the Blues and the Gold.

Checkmate #21

As many of you who know me are already aware…I tend to become hopelessly devoted to the oddest, most obscure comics characters.  Silver Sorceress; Crimson Fox; Sensor Girl; Snowbird; Mademoiselle Marie….Hey!  That’s her on the cover of the new Checkmate!!!  I’ve been looking forward to this ever since it was announced, and as much as I like self-contained stories, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this story would continue and that we’d get more Mademoiselle Marie goodness!  Rucka (and Trautmann – where do I know that name?) continue to delve into the deep, wonderful treasure trove that is the DC Universe, and the newest toy they’ve pulled out is the former Negative Woman, Valentina Vostok.  It makes sense considering her history with Checkmate and The Agency.  Good to see her again, and it was kind of weird seeing the two Queens getting along so well.  I can’t think of a single time that the Wall and Sasha got together for tea, and to discuss their tastes in man-candy.  Oy vey….sexual harrasment suit just waiting to happen in that Checkmate Castle!

Justice League of America #16

This series continues to get a lot of flak from people who are upset that Brad Meltzer is no longer on the title…but you know what?  I heard those same complaints after Waid followed Morrison; after Morrison followed Giffen/DeMatteis (because nothing happened in between those); and so on and so forth.  People who seem to think that the 12 issues Meltzer did deserve to be treated like the bible need to remind themselves that the writers will always change, and with them so will the League.  It is a fluid concept, and I, for one, don’t want to read McDuffie telling Meltzer’s stories anymore than I’d want to read Morrison telling Giffen’s stories.  I want to read McDuffie’s version of the JLA.  A shot that he has earned, many times over.  That said, I still don’t think that it has hit the “awesome” level yet, but I’m not in a rush.  With so much of the DCU seeming to be driven by editorial edicts this year I’m not going to huff and harumph just yet.  McDuffie has been telling good, solid, fun superhero comics, and this issue was no exception.  Black Canary & Guy Gardner’s exchange alone made it worth the price of admission.  Now, I’m not a big fan of “Tangent,” but I’m willing to see where this goes.  Oh, and no blurb about McDuffie can go without me again stating my hope that one of the 52 universes will be home to the likes of Static, Icon, Hardware, Kobolt and of course, the Blood Syndicate.

Batman & the Outsiders #3

I’m really digging this title right now, and will admit that I had a fanboy moment when I got to the panel with Geo-Force, Katana, Metamorpho and Black Lighting all together.  I still can’t say that I am a fan of Thunder and Grace, but mostly that is on the shoulders of Thunder.  I think that Grace will be a good character in this, but she needs to ditch the whiny significant other.  They cannot rely on Batgirl Nudity to bail them out of all of their eye-bleeding-inducing scenes.  Other than the usual complaining about the lineup – loving the Brother Eye and OMAC/REMAC presence in the title, as well as the inclusion of Dr. Langstrom as a supporting character.  I am really thinking that this title could be the unexpected breakout comic of this year for DC if they keep going in this direction.  Good to see Geo-Force on the team, even if his “transfer” was rather goofy.  The more original Outsiders the better!  Give us Looker, Halo and Windfall next!

Birds of Prey #….114?  I need to check the issue number later.

YAY!  McKeever is on the title!  I’ve been looking forward to his take on this comic ever since he was announced as the writer.  That there boy done gone good, I tell you what!  First off, Gail Simone (previous writer before Bedard) has this annoying habit of introducing/re-introducing characters who annoy the hell out of me…but grow on me when I’m least expecting it.  Apparantly that happened again with Misfit; whom I am reasonably sure I could not stand, but for some odd reason I was pleased when McKeever used her.  Good issue with the makeup of the new team, and this had a great, old-school “Suicide Squad” type feel to it – things can…and will go wrong.  McKeever has set up a sort of grey cloud that it appears this team will be operating under, and I for one am looking forward to it.  Good moment with Superman at the end.  I don’t know if they’re going to add any new members to the team, but at least to me the lineup of Oracle, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk and Misfit could still use a little “oomph” added to it.  Normally at this point I would suggest the Silver Sorceress or the Crimson Fox, but beyond making me completely giddy I don’t think that they would provide that “oomph.”  Manhunter?  Firehawk?  Zatanna???

OK, I’ll try to add more in later, as well as touch on the Keith Giffen and Suicide Squad topics.