Ok, I'll be reviewing the issues as the come out. My pull list as of right now:

Definates:

Batman
Detective Comics
Teen Titans

On the Bubble (will get through the first several storylines):

Green Lantern Corps.
JSA
the Outsiders
Robin

Waiting for the new series:

Ion
JLA
the Flash

These reviews will contain SPOILERS!!!!!!. So make sure you don't read my reviews if you don't want to be spoiled. Feel free to throw extra comments in here and even review the books I'm not picking up. I'll be using an A, B, C, D, F review system for this.

I got Detective Comics #817, JSA #83 and Outsiders #34 today. So I should have those reviewed throughout the next 2 days.

Detective Comics #817

History: It's One Year Later in the DC Universe starting this week. This is essentially a reset being done on most of the books. I've been away from collecting for a couple of years but this event has drawn me out of hiding.

Story: It appears from this issue that it's back to the basics for the Bat-books. Gordon is back as commissioner, Poison Ivy is back from the dead and Harvey Bullock is back as his scummy self. This book also introduces a rookie cop by the name of Harper. Her importance is unknown at this time.

So we start off with C-Lister KGBeast taking out a hit for someone when he's suddenly attacked and killed by a mystery man. I won't mention the identity of the mystery man though. He's been Gotham's protector while Batman has been away. Things switch over to Gordon doing a quick recap of the year. He's been back as commissioner for roughly 3 months.

He receives a call that Poison Ivy is attacking a meeting of CEOs and decides to turn on the Bat signal once again. After loud cheers for the citizens that notice it Batman and Robin appear. Batman is told of the situation and heads off to face Poison Ivy as the book ends.

Overall: Not a lot happens but it goes a long way to establish things. Of course this is the first part of an 8 parter so we'll see how the story plays out. So far so good. Though I was hoping to find out who Batman was. I will be highly annoyed if they drag that little detail out till the very last issue. I'm assuming it's Bruce for the time being though. Art was excellent. I'd give it a B+ overall. One of the better Bat stories that I've read since the mid 90s.

JSA #83

History: This is One Year Later too. The roll call for the team is: Green Lantern, the Flash, Dr. Mid-Nite, Stargirl, Mr. Terrific, Power Girl, Wildcat and J.J. Thunder.

Story: Throughout the comic various members are haunted by ghosts from the past. Mr. Terrific sees his wife, Mid-Nite sees patients that died, etc. Flashbacks from the 1700s are thrown in between. Jim Craddock appears in the last panel and claims that they're all going to die.

That doesn't sound like much on paper but it actually is a fairly eventful book. As far as introducing the cast and that sort of thing it was pretty successful. I'd give it a B.

Outsiders #34

History: Roll call: Nightwing, Thunder, Metamorpho, Katana, Grace Choi and Captain Boomerang Jr.

Story: Mali is in the midst of a bloody civil war. Thunder has gone undercover with one side. Her objective is to set up an ambush so the other side can have a fighting chance. Thunder of course gets a little too close to the situation and forces the rest of the Outsiders to come out of hiding. She's sick of all the killing and wants to end the war.

All of the Outsiders take out the squad and it ends with Nightwing getting on her case because it might expose that the Outsiders are still alive.

There's also I think a first in the DC Universe. Katana actually uses her sword as a sword.

I'd give this issue a C overall. They really did little in this book. It's mostly Thunder sitting in meetings and talking about how out of control these teenaged gangs are that the Mali government uses. They of course don't explain at all why Captain Boomerang, a villain, has joined up with the good guys. They also make sure not to refer to Nightwing by a real name so we're left wondering who he is. Though I'm guessing it's still dick. Ok issue but I don't know if I'd buy it every month unless this storyline picks up. We'll just have to see.

There you have it for this week. Nothings coming out that I want next week. So join me in two weeks for Teen Titans #34 and Teen Titans Annual. I might do a coin flip and possible pick up Nightwing #118 as well. But who knows.

Katana used her sword a couple times in "Batman and the Outsiders". I remember she sliced up some Kobra goons, once. But that doesn't hurt your joke, at all.

I'm scheduled to get the "OYL" issues of Nightwing, Green Arrow and Batman.

I was meaning to ask you. Did you vote in the death of Jason Todd thing?

Wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT. WHAT? When/why/how the FUCK did that all happen? What books am I now picking up to find out? WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON?????

LFV... you're playing right into DC's hands with those questions. HOW will you find out the answers?!! Fans, stay tuned for INFINITE Crisis and all 52 issues of "52"!! You can also pick up every DC book as the effects of "One Year Later" are widespread, will be felt across the entire DCU and will RE-DEFINE everything! Call your local comic shop or log on to DCcomics.com, NOW!

Naw, I didn't vote in the Jason Todd thing. It was something like 1.95 a call! I saved my lunchmoney for the Samantha Fox recorded phoneline. But the consensus among my bro and I was that we wanted him dead. Plus, at the time I was getting my freebies through my dad...but he dealt with the newsstands. Meaning all of the comics I received were essentially a month behind the speciality shops. There were no comic shops within 10 miles of me. By the time I saw the Jason Todd ad, I think the deadline had already passed.

I see that 52 thing really blowing up in their faces. If that things delayed even once then the whole project is fucked. Plus I think it's going to hurt a lot of the smaller comic book shops as it's a big investment. I'll just wait for the TPB as it'll make things easier and cheaper when you consider the bags/boards and storage for those 52 issues.

Though I considered subscribing to it but it's a $100.

I vaguely remember the Jason Todd thing. But that was either right before I started collecting or right at the very beginning when I was mostly getting Spider-Man and the X-Men.

Oh well. Consider me duped. I still want to know. I've already got 52 on my Pull list. I'm a sucker for the huge crossover deals. I was gonna get on with Seven Soilders but my income kind of came to a crashing hault.

I'm not necessarily against the crossover. Those are part of comics and can be fun at times. The Zero Hour gimmick really got me into DC in 1994. I'm against 52 FUCKING ISSUES TO EXPLAIN STUFF. I know that story pacing has really slowed down over the past 8 years, but crap... 52?! If you need 52 more installments to get your story out, you really have trouble dealing with things like "plot", "conflict", "character development" and "conclusion"... the basic elements they teach you in high school composition.

It's like it's their safety valve. If fans hate some of the "OYL" stuff, they have a 52 issue sandbox to work it out or come up with an explanation for why it was so lame.

Oh yeah...to further illustrate that they have no clue: I saw a DC preview ad for INFINITE Crisis #5...where it talked about "Alexander Luthor and Superman-2"..referring to the GOLDEN AGE Superman. Yup... that's Superman-2, the Golden Age Superman. Great Rao! Nelson Bridwell would lynch these idiots.

That and it's going to be an expensive gimmick. Like I said a sub to this costs $100. You can get 4 book subs to other books for that price. Plus what happens if they're late on an issue. What happens to comic book shops if fans lose interest halfway through. This is definately one of those situations where getting the TPB will be the wiser choice.

But look at it this way. The first 52 issues of Amazing Spider-Man saw the entire foundation of his rogue's gallery introduced and he had even battled guys like Doc Ock 3 or 4 times by the time issue 52 came around. Look at the first 52 of Avengers. They had roster changes 4 or 5 times by issue 52. Guys had left the team, come back and then left again by then.

I miss the older comics where it just seemed each issue was jammed with plot.

Being a child of the Kyle Rayner era, I have no clue why you're so up in arms. Well, that and I haven't read Infinate yet. Could be that.

I'm also not totally against giant crossovers but I've grown very tired of them. I remember when Spider-Man had 4 or 5 series going at once in the 90s. Typically I'd only be interested in 2 or 3 at any given time but they were constantly doing 8 part epics that crossed over from every book forcing me to buy all of them if I wanted the entire story. Why can't books exist in a void by themselves more often then not.

Why through 33 issues of the Teen Titans have I had to look to other book series at least 3 times already to fully know what's going on in the book?

Marketing. They want to sell more books. Make money. Sure it's annoying, but can you blame them? It's the American Way.

I was thinking of that comparison as well...but in a negative way. In 52 issues of Avengers, they also developed and basically introduced Hawkeye, Witch, Quicksilver, Captain America, Hercules and 3 identities for Henry Pym (Yellowjacket came six months later). Plus the villains and stories.

In 52 issues of "Amazing Spider-Man", they introduced a TON of villains and Spidey had 3 love interests by then. Plus he developed his powers, job and personality. They focussed on ONE character for that time and it wasn't stale at all.

I think a more fair comparison would be the "Secret Wars" one year later gap from 1984. In one month, the characters had suddenly gone through 12 issues of "changes". They only needed 12 issues to explain the changes, which also included a well-rounded slugfest and cosmic story.

They're using 52 issues to detail all these "important changes that will re-define the DCU"...when it should be resolved with maybe 4 issues, tops.

I just figured I'd list this because I'm bored. Introduced in the first 52 issues of Amazing Spider-Man: (Amazing Fantasy #15 included)

Civilians:

Aunt May
Mary Jane Watson
Anna Watson
J Jonah Jameson
Harry Osbourne
Flash Thompson
Ned Leeds
Betty Brant
Gwen Stacey
Dr. Conners
whoever the guy was that was Patch
Peter Parker
Ben Parker
J.J.'s son

Villains:

Cameleon
Vulture
Doc Ock
the Sandman
Electro
Mysterio
Lizard
Kraven
Scorpion
Molten Man
Green Goblin
Rhino
Shocker
Kingpin
Alastair Smithe

Note: He also fought Vulture, Doc Ock, Lizard, Kraven, the Sandman and Green Goblin 3 or 4 times and the Sinister Six was also introduced around this time period in the first Spider-Man annual. He also fought Dr. Doom once and the Ringmaster and his crew twice during this time frame.

That's just the surface.. there's also C-list villains like Mendell Strohm, the Living Brain Computer, Meteor Man, the Big Man and the Enforcers (Ox, Montana and Fancy Dan) and the Tinkerer.

Plus, the part of Vulture was played by Blackie for a bit around #50.... Blackie himself was introduced as a thug messing with Betty Brant's brother, in ASM #11. Three issues between #'s 1-12 featured Doc Ock as the villain.

Also, a few gueststars like the Human Torch, Daredevil and Medusa (although she came in as a heel). There's also supporting characters Liz Allen and Captain Stacy.

Oh yeah, Peter also graduted high school in that time...

He also fought the Beetle during that time frame.

I'm reading in the mid 30s of ASM right now. I really loved the early years of the book. They really had the character down then. I also like how they set up the first appearance for Mary Jane for like 20 issues.

Just an added note on JSA. This is the start of a 5 part storyline with the freaking Gentleman Ghost. Yeah that's right. 5 parts with a comedy C-list super villain.

..and the Hall of Justice popped up in the last issue of JLA. The Writers are saying: "hee hee...isn't that cute?! The Hall of Justice?! Hee hee!!" I'm sure a cameo by Marvin the Worthless Zit-faced White Kid with a Cape is pending. Hee hee..won't that be WACKY?!

My running commentary on the IC crap:
http://s7.invisionfree.com/ESBoard/index.p...view=getnewpost

I should have reviews of Aquaman and Blood the Demon One Year Later tomorrow. I'm not a big Aquaman fan so I'm probably going to bash it unless it's a really good story.

Blood the Demon #13

History: The Demon has kicked around the DCU for quite awhile as a low end B lister. He can be interesting in a group setting but is pretty bland as a solo character. I guess DC decided to give him his own book. I doubt it lasts long.

Story: We start off with the Demon swimming around an underwater grave. He opens a trap door to find several people holding his friend hostage. The Demon brutally attacks them as his friend notes that he's out of control. We switch over to Randu who also notes that the Demon is harder to control. We switch scenes again to some Gladiator games and see some men taunting someone they have captured. Another evil looking guy shows up and spits fire on the captive. We switch back to the Demon, now back to his human form and his friend. They decide to travel to the birthplace of the Demon. Along the way they meet up with the police with the fake arm from Young Frankenstein. They travel to the grave and Merlin shows up. They explain that the human part of the Demon died a year ago and he's actually a zombie. Merlin reveals that the Demon will get more and more wild due to this. They have to find the original Demon. We cut to the evil guy with a chained up Demon.

Overall: Who cares. D+. Boring read and it jumped around too much and didn't come together till the last page. I don't think I even care enough to read the next issue. Good thing I downloaded this one.

Aquaman #40 later.

Aquaman #40

History: I'm torn on this right away. Torn between the lameness of Aquaman and the fact that Kurt Busiek is a great writer.

Story: Aquaman is being talked to by a voice. He doesn't really know what's going on since this is a new Aquaman. He rescues the Shark King and then they find some squid headed guy. Aquaman recounts how he was able to breathe underwater. Lot of prophecy type stuff the rest of the issue.

Overall: C, it was ok but I really didn't have the investment in the characters to really get into what was going on. The mystery everything is shrouded in is really nice though. I would be tempted to read #41 if I got the chance.

I got Birds of Prey #92 and Nightwing #118 today so I'll have reviews of those later.

Nightwing #118

History: This is of course the One Year Later stuff. In Nightwing #117 Dick asked Barbara Gordon to marry him. Will DC actually have them get married or not? Nightwing has really been a blackeye for DC for a long time now. Dick Grayson should be an A list hero in the DCU but he seems to struggle to even keep his B list status these days.

Story: We start out with a little girl getting kidnapped. Nightwing of course makes the save but after he's won the fight he whips out a knife and carves the guys up like chickens. We shift scenes where Dick Grayson, sporting a mullet, has spent the night with some chick. After an awful conversation Dick takes off and runs into Clancy. We also get a look at new baddies called the Pierce Brothers. They mention how the destruction of a lot of towns has brought a lot of the tights wearing crowd to New York. We shift to the evening as Nightwing saves Clancy from a mental patient. Nightwing then of course runs into the Pierce Brothers. Unfortunately for Nightwing they appear to be meta-humans. Nightwing gets thrown off the side of a building only to be saved by the imposter. The end scene is of the fake Nightwing holding Dick by the throat.

Overall: C, bad start in my opinion. Some things were set up nicely but I completely hate the characterization of Dick. They mention that he was out trolling bars for women which is totally out of character. This is also a record as it only took 1 issue for them to back out of the marriage. This storyline does have potential though.

Hold on, I thought you said Dick was Batman?

There was a lot of speculation running around at the beginning. Right now this is what's up:

Batman: Bruce Wayne
Nightwing: Dick Grayson
Robin: Tim Drake
Fake Nightwing: Jason Todd

Ok, Gotcha

I'll have Batman #651, Robin #148 and Birds of Prey #92 over the next few days. Nothing next week.

Batman #651

History: This is part 2 of Face The Face. Last time around we learn that Gordon and Bullock are back on the Gotham PD. We also saw Gotham's mystery protector kill C lister the KGBeast. So anyway Poison Ivy was up to no good and we leave off as the newly returned Batman and Robin head off to fight her.

Story: We shift through various thoughts from citizens seeing the bat signal for the first time in a year. A news report picks up and a reporter on the street describes Batman and Robin getting into their plane. They take off and crash into the building Ivy has taken hostage. Once inside they fight their way through her various plant monsters and then split up. Batman comes face to face with Ivy and gets captured. They share the usual hero/villain chat before Batman reveals he was just stalling for Robin. Robin had filled the sprinkler system with poison and if Ivy doesn't surrender her plants die. We cut back to Gordon's office as Bullock calls in to say former C lister the Magpie has been murdered. With that we have to wait till Detective Comics in 2 weeks to find out more.

Overall: B-, still a pretty good issue though it was a little empty as far as talking goes. I felt like I was only reading half of a comic. I will give it credit in that they didn't drag out the conflict with Ivy. There's still 6 parts left to this story and I'm still interested in what happens when Batman and the mystery protector face off.

Robin #148

History: I bought this on a whim as the storyline looked interesting for the most part. So due to this I'm keeping the book on a tight leash. It has one story arc to impress me or it's gone.

Story: A blinded Robin, due to flood lights, is being attacked by a mystery person. He finally strikes out with his Rs (baterrangs) and hits his opponent. The lights disappear and as his vision returns Robin finds the corpse of Batgirl. Though it's not the real Batgirl as it's Lynx instead of Cassandra Cain. The cops show up and of course think Robin did it. Robin runs off and changes back to Tim Drake. Oracle hears the police bulletin and informs the Bat-Family of the incident. Drake returns home and is confronted by Alfred. He explains it to Alfred and Alfred of course wants to involve Batman and Nightwing. Tim says that he wants to solve this himself. We change scenes as Tim catches up with Batman on a rooftop. Batman of course offers his help but Tim says he wants to handle it himself. This issue also gives the first hints of OYL. Batman, Nightwing and Robin were off in Tibet trying to work out their trust issues with each other. Drake also realizes that he couldn't have killed Batgirl as they're suits are made from kevlar. He decides he needs to examine her suit at the police station. The issue ends with the police discussing how to handle the situation and the last picture is Robin hanging from the ceiling in the station.

Overall: A-, it only took 1 issue but I'm sold on Robin for right now. This was probably the best DC comic I've read since the OYL thing started. Just a great setup for the story and some nice character development. Hopefully the rest of this storyline delivers.

Birds of Prey #92

History: I bought this to try out. I'm giving it on arc to sell me on being a regular reader of the book.

Story: The Society lives OYL. Clayface, Killer Croc and the Ventriloquist are chasing after the Crime Doctor. He places a call in to Oracle for help and see sends Huntress to save the day. Huntress fights them off but the Dr. has been shot and is dying. Enter Lady Shiva who calls herself the Jade Canary. She beatsdown the bad guys and they get the Dr. to a hospital. We also have a second storyline running where Dinah has gone to some far off country for training. Part 1 of that was getting her ass kicked.

Overall: B, really good first issue. It felt like a nice introduction to the book without having me completely lost.

Post of Incredibly Mild Importance: my bits on Nightwing #118 and Batman #651

Nightwing-
-I'm apparently not the only one who has forgotten Clancy's last name... as everyone in the book refers to her as "Dr. Clancy". Her chummy scene with Nightwing reminded me of the Kirsten Dunst meets Spidey scenes from the Spider-Man movie. Wasn't sold on them.

-For now, I'm okay with the Pierce Bros... they're like a combination of old 80's Spidey foes the Lobo Brothers and Tombstone. Since Nightwing had all of maybe 6 legitimate villains in his first 117 issues, I'm glad he's already gotten some new baddies.

-I'm not big on Dick's new costume modifications-- I liked his truncheons on his back, and being strapped to his leg makes him seem like Daredevil. He's also added a new bulky utility belt. I liked the idea that his utility stuff was in his oversided gauntlets... so this seems kinda' random.

-I'm still undecided on Master Dick's female fraternization. We went through all that crap to get him back with Barbara Gordon (including the "revenge relationship" with Tarantula) and they're apparently split up again. And he's "disowned" himself from Batman AGAIN? Master Dick's always been a ladies man (Miggy, Starfire, the vampire chic from 1982, etc), but his attitude after the one night stand was out of character.

Batman
- Jack Ryder cameo! I'm not a Creeper fan, but I'm glad that an established character's being used.

-Didja' notice Robin's new costume? Mostly red, as he's ditched the green pants and modified his mask a bit.

-Really, what's changed in Batman's world? This "new" era completely demolishes those "changes that will re-define Batman" that occured in the shitty "WARGAMES" arc in fall 2004. So I'm laughing my ass off at that. The point is, nothing was ever broken with Batman and this reset confirms my suspicions that Greg Rucka the Flaming Douchebag was the worst Batman writer of my lifetime (he was the dick who wrote out Jim Gordon, Bullock and started the lame Fugitive garbage). A few minor touches, but we're right back to where Batman was before the earthquake, aka, late 1997.

Green Arrow #60
The tagline on the cover sez: "An all-new, all-different HELL for.. Green Arrow". All-new, all-different, unfortunately doesn't mean that Judd Winnick has left. Green Arrow is still in HELL.

The basic and somewhat unbelievable premise is that 1/3 of Star City was blown up by Dr. Light and Merlyn, one year ago (issue 59). Being villains with superpowers and all, they used BOMBS, a standard crutch of this Writer. The Writer works in some recycled dialogue he heard during the Hurricane Katrina coverage, including a shot at the government. Here's the tough part to swallow: Star City has erected a massive wall to block off the damaged side of town. Apparently, they were able to build the wall in record time. Green Arrow (who was apparently killed in issue 59) managed to drop by the bad side of town before disappearing for a year.

Oliver Queen is the newly elected mayor of Star City and is out to clean up the corruption from corporations and gangs. An non-descript group of suits in a board room meeting are upset. Brick, the former gang leader, is seen roughing up some thugs in the bad side of town. Green Arrow shoots him with some glue arrows and tells him to keep up the work, but don't kill anybody. So I guess Brick is working for Green Arrow?

Deathstroke also drops by and is apparently out for Ollie. Again, the Writer blows Deathstroke's dialogue and makes him seem out-of-character. Deathstroke says he'll kill someone and mail their head with a Post-It note stuck on it. Not something you'd expect from the educated and rather distinguished Slade Wilson.

We only see Green Arrow's new costume on the cover, but it appears to be a modification of the old Mike Grell outift-- with the hood and baggy pants.

I'm harsh on The Writer, but I have a constructive alternative for him: he should write for video games. Seriously. His dialogue and plots read like something an 8th grader would concoct. Everyone makes smart-ass remarks and wants to kick ass. No real emotion or character exploration... just cliche phrases and teenaged fan fiction.

I like Green Arrow, the character, but I'm really hating Green Arrow, the comic.

How has Winnick kept a job in comics? I mean his fucking claim to fame is that he knew that guy who died of AIDS on Real World. Jason Todd should've gotten him black balled from the industry.

The Mia with HIV is another one of his stillborn brain childs.

About Batman written by Rucka....

I think Rucka's a good detective style writer. For what he does, he's pretty good. But the problem is that he's written gimmicky storylines. With the exception of his run on Wolverine, all I've seen him do are "HUGE" arcs/storylines, and nothing to maintain consistency on the character.

But lately "HUGE" storylines are all they've done with Batman. Which has really pissed me off. Is Gotham the only city that always has MAJOR issues with villains/disasters? Because it seems that way

I think Batman crosses over too much with other books. IMO, he should be seperate from the rest of the DCU to a degree. He should be similiar to Daredevil in that he's interested in a limited area and is therefore a small timer in the big scheme of things.

I liked Rucka's stories the first time I saw them.... on all 234 episodes of "NYPD Blue". Right down to his "new" GCPD black comissioner, Lt. Fancy...errr, wasn't it "Lt. Best"? I'm glad they gave him "Gotham Central" to write, because it got him the hell away from Batman, proper.

I was shocked that he wrote Bullock out, 'cuz he's a dead ringer for Dennis Franz/Sibowicz.

His years on "Batman" were terrible. His one "hero vs. villain" storyline was Batman and Ra's al Ghul. It had the EXACT SAME ENDING as the early Ra's/Bats story and one that was reproduced in the Animated Series: Talia leads Batman away on a horse/camel, then has a change of heart and goes back to her dad.

Basically, This Writer watches alot of TV.