Short Shorts – Comic Book Briefs for the week of 1/5/2008 & 1/9/2008

oh no….this can only mean one thing…

 

AAAAAHHH!!!!  IT’S BACK!  KILL IT!  KILL IT!!!

I don’t know why I keep subjecting myself and all of you to that horrific image.  It truly makes one question the existence of God.  Look – I promise I will not use that image again…till next week.  On to the Short Shorts!  This is where I offer a brief set of comments about some of the comics I read.  These are not reviews: you can find reviews in many other places such as this place: http://forum.newsarama.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=9 .  Let us begin!

Annihilation: Conquest #3

I’ll lead off with a Marvel title for once.  While this still is not as mind-blowing as the original, I remain amazed and impressed with the fact that they’ve gotten me to allow myself to become completely engrossed in this aspect of the Marvel Universe.  This is so much better than the bigger “events” coming out of the Marvel place.  I still don’t know what’s up with Black Adam Warlock; nor do I particularly care that much about Quasar or the High-Evolutionary; but other than that this title has just been a great read which leaves me wanting more.  I was concerned that the lack of Nova (my favorite character of the first mini) and having no clue as to who the Phalanx are would hurt my appreciation of this comic; but like Giffen before them, Abnett & Lanning manage to make me care about characters I knew nothing about.

 Lord Havok & the Extremists #3

DC…seriously….I mean, come on….seriously.  DC….come on….like, seriously, DC.  WTH?  WHERE IS THE SILVER SORCERESS????  I’m liking the series so far, DC, but I’m starting to take the lack of the Silver Sorceress as a personal affront.  I mean, like….seriously.  I’m making my “mad face.”  Don’t make me resort to extreme measures…you know – like complain about it on the internet…because I’ll do it.  Seriously, DC…like, come on.

 Countdown #17 & #16

Stuff…..happens?  Yeah, it does.  Wow – this actually kicked into a higher gear in these past two weeks.  I am digging the Monarch-Monitors war, and am assuming that the being who was pulling Monitor Solomon’s strings was Darkseid.  I am not happy that Ray Palmer took the opportunity to take his grief and become an utter wuss.  I know that people react to different things differently, but come on….seriously, DC – WHERE IS THE SILVER SORCERESS??? Wait – sorry, that was the last brief.  Back to Countdown: the Mary/Jeclipso bit has dragged on waaaaaay too long, but it finally seems to be going somewhere.  Jimmy has a revelation which a lot of us have anticipated from the get-go.  All in all, I’m more hopeful for this title in the coming weeks moreso than I have been in past weeks.

 Salvation Run #3

This comic could either sink or swim at this point.  I like the premise behind it, and I like the mystery guest who is revealed at the end.  Can’t say that I care for the bits about Luthor saying he hates the Joker, when guys like Geoff Johns showed in Infinite Crisis just how well those two clowns work together.  We do see the tribal lines being drawn (Jewelee on Joker’s arm made me laugh – I loved that recent Checkmate issue updating her marital status), and we see Catman for the first time in several months.  I’m liking it enough to keep getting it, but I’ll be honest – this has the feel of a “set-up” comic.  Interested to see what it could be setting up, tho.

 Green Arrow and Black Canary #4

Yes…I am enjoying a Judd Winick comic!  4 issues in and I am totally sold on this.  Ollie’s “paging” system was a well-thought-out idea, and it’s execution was done well.  Ollie freaking out throughout the issue was completely believable and didn’t suffer from a lot of the over-exposition or uncomfortable dialogue I’ve seen in so many of Winick’s other comics.  I’m of the opinion that the story of the hospitalized character in this comic is far from over, so I’ll reserve judgement on that.  I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt at this point because this has been one damned fine comic.

Detective Comics #840

Ugh…now I am even more upset at not skipping the Ra’s al Ghul storyline after reading this issue.  It told me everything I needed to know, and it did it better than the crossover did.  Much better.  Confirms what I was thinking about it, tho – too many cooks spoil the broth.  In this issue, Dini is back to doing what he does best: tell kick-ass Batman stories which, while self-contained, manage to further underlying plotlines.  I really did enjoy this issue, even if it made me like the crossover even less.  The best part of the issue was the “next issue” box.  Yay, Zatanna!

Nightwing #1….ok, #140

But it should be issue #1.  Tomasi, Morales and Bair have my eternal gratitude as they have given us the best issue of Nightwing in the 140 issues of this title.  I am so happy that the man who should be one of DC’s elite heroes is finally getting treated well.  The issue was fun, lots of geek-out moments, and best of all: Nightwing is being used in the DCU!!!  For too long it seems like they didn’t want him playing with the other heroes, but to instead remain in the shadow of the Bat.  Here it appears that he will get a chance to shine like the wonderful character that he is.  Interesting villains, super-grave-robbing, and a visit from the big, blue boy scout at the end.  I’m excited about Nightwing again, and possibly for the first time!

Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters #4

It seemed a bit disjointed at times, but remains a good read, regardless.  The infection of the Red Bee is looking more and more dangerous, and I can’t help but wonder how Doll-land will play into the story.  Palmiotti & Gray always manage to get some good character moments in, and the highlight here was Phantom Lady and Firebrand playing video games.  They just rang as real people having a real conversation.  The sense of camaraderie building amongst the team is fun to watch.  Looking forward to seeing how Uncle Sam gets them out of this scrape.  Oh – DC where’s the Sil….err, I mean: when is this becoming a monthly?  I think that after two miniseries they’ve shown that they can handle it.

Suicide Squad #5

My god, this comic is just too good.  This has all of the hallmarks of a great Squad mission: betrayal; secret agendas; and of course, lots and lots of potential cannon fodder.  I want this to become an ongoing so badly, but only if Ostrander is on board for it.  He still has the magic with these characters, and he’s managed to translate the team well into the current DCU.  Sadly, while I love seeing Windfall again, I cannot help but think that she’s a red shirt.  Her recent history has been brutal, and wither Ostrander is sewing the seeds for a great character to use for a long time to come; or he’s building up sympathy for the character in the event of her eventual whacking.  Hoping for the former. 

Green Lantern Corps #20

Tomasi strikes gold twice this week, as GLC, like Green Lantern, has not only not let up since Sinestro Corps War…they have stepped on the gas.  The Guy and Kyle stuff…we’ll see where that goes, but it makes sense that they made that decision.  The phone call between them was perfect in dialogue, and it was some of the most realistic dialogue I’ve ever read in a comic.  The star, of course, is Mongul.  Now armed with the Yellow Ring of Sinestro he seems to want more.  Judging from the “Domination” house ads which have been running he should get some more…and a green ring, and a red ring…I cannot help but think that Mongul will be the Orange Lantern referred to in GL #25.  He seems to be on this path, wanting to collect as many Yellow Rings as possible for himself.  Last year was the year of Sinestro to stand up and take his place amongst DC’s great villains, and I’m getting the feeling that 2008 could belong to our greedy, bitter, evil Mongul.