Batman #2 Review--SPOILERS!

Okay without the long-ass intro that I had yesterday with my review of Justice League #2, here's my review of Batman #2!

Batman #2-Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, & Jonathan Glapion
Here's a little background info: The cliffhanger from #1 was that Dick's DNA was found under the fingernails of some guy who had been killed.

Summary
We open with Bruce talking about the "old" Wayne Tower and all of the welcoming features Bruce's great, great grandfather put in so that newcomers to Gotham would feel welcome. Including 12 gargoyles (called "guardians" by his great, great grandfather) and an observation deck built with "unbreakable" glass. Then we see Bruce smashing through that class with several knives stuck in his body, falling to his death. Then we flashback 24 hours earlier.
Bruce takes down a couple of thugs who have some girls tied up and gets back to the cave in time to be there with Gordon for the autopsy of the body found near the end of #1. Gordan and Bats talk about the "nursery rhyme" about a "fictional" group called the "Court of Owls." Then Gordon mentions how the GCPD doesn't have any DNA recognition for the sample found under the fingernails of the victim and asks if Bats has any ideas and he says no, even though he knows exactly who's DNA it is. Then Dick comes in and talks to Bruce, explaining how the guy had come up and grabbed Dick's arm, leaving a scratch mark on it. That's how he got the DNA from Dick under his fingernails. Then we see Bruce meeting up with Mayoral Candidate, Lincoln March on the observation deck of the "old" Wayne Tower. They talk and Lincoln says how he's not after Bruce's money or his endorsement, he's after his single vote, and also his friendship. Then the elevator opens up and a security guard with a slashed throat fall out. Then an assassin appears in front of Bruce and Lincoln. He throws a knife into Lincoln's chest and begins fighting Bruce. Bruce takes it easy on the super fighting skills because you "never know who's watching." Then he takes the guy down but then the guy gets right back up and kicks Bruce out the window. The guy jumps down with him says something about how he loves killed Waynes and they fight in midair. Bruce grabs onto a gargoyle, but the assassin keeps falling and lands onto a car. And...is that the red-hooded lady? I didn't realize she was in #2 issues, also... I didn't notice her in Justice League... So then the EMT's take the guy away because he didn't have a pulse but then he wakes up, kills the two people in the ambulance, and keeps on driving.

Thoughts
I think my parents are going to end up buying me at least one subscription for Christmas and I'm really hoping that if I could get only two series, this and Justice League would be those two series. But anyway, back to the issue.
I really like the story that is beginning here. It's SUPER interesting. And I'm really liking Capullo's art. I thought at first that I probably wouldn't like it, but I'm happily surprised by it. Honestly, I can't wait for #s 3, 4, 5, and so on. I'll probably wait for about a month before I DEFINITELY ask my parents for it in subscription form, so I at least have 3 issues to base my decision off of. But I'm not even talking about the issue anymore... Strong story, strong art, really looking forward to learn more about the Court of Owls. 10/10

That's two 10/10 issues in one week! I'm too lazy to search through the entire issue for a quote, so I'm just gonna end the post here!

Justice League #2 Review! SPOILERS!

Hey guys, it DOESN'T look like I'll be able to get out and get Aquaman, GL: NG, Teen Titans, & Wolvie & the X-Men like I had hoped to. But I'll try and round up some cash to grab at least GL: NG & Teen Titans. But anyway, here we go with a not-so-quick review.

Justice League #2-Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, & Scott Williams
Okay I think I'm going to start doing all of my Justice League comics like this from now on. Kind of like Jason on his review blog, where its a long summary of the story, then some quick thoughts at the end. And by the way, I ended up paying for this comic and the sleeve with quarters and dimes. So I'm keeping this one as safe as possible.

Summary
We see that Batman has pretty much been completely disarmed and has no gadgets left with him (I wonder if this will come up later in the series, at all?) thanks to Superman being invulnerable to just about everything...even though he's not in Action? Talk about inconsistencies. Especially since they're taking place around the same time. But whatever. Hal finally gets up (damn he must've been down for a long time from just that one punch if Bats wasted his entire utility belt already...) and we see civilians running away from him. Supes thinks that since Batman is carrying the assumedly new Mother Box design, he is on the side of the para-demons that also attacked Supes. Hal and Supes begin duking it out, and Supes easily destroys all of his constructs. Then Hal...calls Barry on his cell phone? Whatttt? Right in the middle of a battle? Good job, Hal. I wouldn't have imagined that happening...ever, but I guess that's why I'm not writing at DC. But anyway, Flash shows up after Hal tells him that Supes will kill them if he doesn't come and help out. Barry, always thinking ahead, says that he feels like this is a big misunderstanding and spins runs around the big guy taunting him about how he's never been touched. He stops for a split second, and guess what...Supes manages to flick his red ass all the way down the street into a hot dog stand. TAKE THAT ARROGANCE! Bats steps in between GL and Supes and calms them down. Then the police/army show up to arrest the gang.

The four heroes escape into the sewer. Then we cut to S.T.A.R. Labs...in Detroit? Why is it in Detroit!? NOTHING is in Detroit!!! Well maybe that's WHY it's in Detroit... Whatever. We see Vic Stone's dad in a lab with one of the Mother Boxes and then we hear that Vic is there to see him. They get into an argument about how his dad thinks that football is useless even though it's Vic's passion. Then we see the gang bottled up in an abandoned printing press in an amusing scene where Bats says Supes must not have a secret identity because he doesn't hide his face, and GL and Flash think they should maybe try and figure it out on their own. Then we see the Mother Boxes that are both with the heroes and at S.T.A.R. labs are all about to explode. Then they do and a whole shitload of para-demons come out of them. At the same time, Vic was hit with a blast from one of them and his body glows up all red, effectively ending a very interesting issue.

Thoughts
I really liked this issue. I liked the fact that we got to see that Supes strength is DEFINITELY stronger than Hal's willpower. And the fact that Supes can occasionally keep up with Barry, even if he only gets to flick him down the road. I always like to see a Hero vs. Hero battle...even if this one was Hero, Hero, & Hero vs. Hero. I like the fact that we know we're gonna get to see Vic either become Cyborg or realize that he'll have to become a cyborg and also the fact that we will get to FINALLY see Wonder Woman in the next issue. I honestly CANNOT wait. This issue gets a solid 10/10.

Superman: "Chains? You're FUNNY, Green Lantern."

and

The Flash: "You can SEE THROUGH things?"
Superman: "Most of the time."
The Flash: "What can YOU do, Batman?"
Batman: "I can keep us on point."

2-Week Oct. Quickies

Well here we are...a day after my last post. Haha! We have comics from the past two weeks, which include Action Comics, Detective Comics, Justice League International, Red Lanterns, & Ultimate X-Men #2, and also the X-Men: Regenesis One-Shot! Soooo...here we go!

Action Comics #2-Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, Brent Anderson, & Rick Bryant
Since Supes was arrested in #1, we see him being... electrocuted. Do they really think that'll work? But anyway, I liked the issue and it set up for bigger things with the rocketship and shtuff. Only things that annoyed me was that the art was a little inconsistent and also that the cliffhanger included some alien-thing talking to Luthor. I can't think of any alien that would be good for this story besides maybe Brainiac? And if it is him, why didn't they show him? But still pumped for #3. 6/10

Detective Comics #2-Tony S. Daniel, Tony Winn, & Sandu Florea
Okay I refuse to review this comic. I really hated it. I couldn't even finish it, it was so boring and uninteresting. I liked #1, but #2 was awful. No more Detective for me. NA/10

Justice League International #2-Dan Jurgens, Aaron Lopresti, & Matt Ryan
I was really happy with #1, and unlike Detective...I really loved #2 for this. I'm really liking Jurgens interpretation of this team. Its fun, its interesting, and we get to see a mixture of old, "only in it for the money" and new, "real hero" Booster Gold and it really works well together. I am also really liking the Rocket Red/August General In Iron rivalry. 10/10

Red Lanterns #2-Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, & Rob Hunter
Even though I have to laugh every time I see Benes has drawn Bleez with her ass huge and stuff, I'm still really enjoying the story. I'm super interested in who Atrocitus decides to give some brainpower to. It still has an excellent mixture of action and calmness. 9.5/10

Ultimate Comics: X-Men #2-Nick Spencer, Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco, & Marte Gracia
I kinda wish we would've been able to see Jimmy (Wolverine's son) a little in this issue, but I liked getting some action with Rogue, The Shroud (Kitty Pryde), Iceman, & Human Torch. I am really loving the art for this series, too. Plus I like the fact that Bobby and Johnny keep arguing whether or not Johnny is ACTUALLY a mutant. And the fact that JOHNNY IS STILL ALIVE is great. 8/10

X-Men Regenisis One-Shot-Kieron Gilen, Billy Tan, & Andres Mossa
Okay just for any background stuff to get it out of the way... I've never read any mainstream X-Men comics (having already read Ultimate X-Men #1 in Sept.) so I'm not EXACTLY sure who some of these characters are. But I really loved this one-shot. It introduced me to some characters, made Scott Summers... likable!?, and kinda confused me but then reminded me that Magneto is a good guy now. (At least until "Magneto: Not A Hero" next month) I really enjoyed it and I thought the concept of the caveman-like battle between Scott and Logan was pretty cool. It has me caught up and excited for the upcoming X-Men stories. 9/10


And just like that, we're done. Two review posts in about 24 hours!? HOLY SHIT! I was gonna get Batgirl #2 on Wednesday, but I didnt have enough after UC:X-M #2 and Regenesis. Might get it soon. Thanks for reading!

Catch-Up and Sept Quickies

I ended up buying fourteen comics last month. I'm just gonna quickly review them since I'm SO far behind. JUST reviews and any special thoughts.

DC Comics:

Action Comics #1-Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, & Rick Bryant- I really enjoyed this issue. Probably partially because I loved the Smallville tv show and this definitely reminds me of it. 8/10


Aquaman #1-Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado- While I really loved the art and the fact that I got to see Aquaman in a seafood restaurant, I didn't enjoy that the entire issue was people talking about how he's their least favorite super-hero. Plus there wasn't much action. 7/10


Batman #1-Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, & Jonathan Glapion-Art was good, story was good, it had a GREAT cliffhanger. Nothing was missing...we even got to see a Batman/Joker team-up! Even if it was Dick in a disguise. 8.5/10


Batman: The Dark Knight #1-Paul Jenkins, David Finch, & Richard Friend- Art was great, story was interesting, up until the very end... "One-face"!?!?!?!?!? What the hell is that supposed to be!? Will NOT be picking up #2. 5/10


Batman and Robin #1-Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, & Mick Gray- Decent story, nice art, I'm content with this issue, plus NoBody seems to be like a decent villain. Just not that interesting or hooking enough to keep me around for another issue. 7/10


Batgirl #1-Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf, & Vicente Cifuentes- Loved it. I didn't realize how much I'd love Babs as Batgirl after having read the last issue of the previous Batgirl volume with Stephanie and I immediately fell in love. But the story was good, the fact that she had still been shot by the Joker is good, the art was great. Loved it. 9/10


Green Lantern: New Guardians #1-Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham, & Batt- I love the creative team. I love Tyler Kirkham art. I love Kyle Rayner. What could be better? Adding in the rest of the emotional spectrum? It's great. I loved a semi-humorous look at Kyle's first flight with the ring and the cliffhanger was good. 9/10


Justice League International #1-Dan Jurgens, Aaron Lopresti, & Matt Ryan- I am loving this. I wish it was Judd Winick writing, but I love the entire line-up. Its all very fun and interesting. Its powerful, its interesting, its International! 10/10


Red Lanterns #1-Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Rob Hunter- DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE RELAUNCH SERIES. I was very wary of this series since it was two creators who had never worked on these guys before, but it worked really well. I always thought of Atrocitus as a complete dick but now I feel for him. Wow...never thought I'd be saying that. Feeling for Atrocitus? YES! 20/10

Teen Titans #1-Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth, & Norm Rapmund- A series that I wasn't really sure about. I mean Brett Booth is a good artist and I've never read Lobdell's stuff before, but I was very very happy. I can't wait for the homosexual, hispanic teen super-hero coming in issue #3. 8.5/10

Marvel Comics:

New Avengers Annual-Brian Michael Bendis & Gabriele Dell'otto- It was alright. I thought it was the one leading into the current "New Avengers" story arc. By the time I figured that out, I was already home having payed &5 for it. Not worth five. It was good, though. It ended with saying "To be continued in: Avengers Annual 2011" and I was not "Oh hell no." 6/10

I also read Ultimate Comics: X-Men #1 but I dont feel like reviewing it. It was good enough for me to buy #2. I'll review that soon. Like in a few days. It gets a 6.5/10

Thanks for reading!

For (At Least) 2011-2012 I Will Be Reading Marvel and Image Also

I've decided that the DC relaunch may be very, very interesting, but I've decided I'm going to start reading Marvel and Image Comics series, also. I will be picking up 9 DCnU series, 5 (or 6?) Marvel U series, and 3 (or 4?) Image Comics series.

Here is a list of the series I will try to be picking up in September:

1. Justice League #1 (already got)
2. Justice League International #1 (already got)
3. Aquaman #1
4. Action Comics #1 (already got)
5. Batman and Robin #1
6. Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
7. Legion Lost #1
8. Green Lantern: New Guardians #1
9. Red Lanterns #1
10. Ultimate Comics: X-Men #1
11. Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1
12. Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #2
13. New Avengers Annual
14. New Avengers #16.1
15. The Infinite #2
16. Invincible #86
17. The Walking Dead #89
18. Batgirl #1 (already got)

There are a few other series I will be adding for October:

Legion: Secret Origin #1
Incredible Hulk #1
The X-Men #1 20th Anniversary Edition
Wolverine and the X-Men #1

That's a total of 22 comics for me in October. I can't wait.