Hello boys and girls!  I’ve been on a two week roadtrip, but I’m sure the rest of the team kept you occupied with plenty of goodies in my absence.  I just got caught up on almost three weeks of comic reading (which I will write about shortly)!  Phew! I did, however, get a chance to stop at a few ’shops’ on my journey, and I must say, some middle-of-nowhere southern-fried workers can be strangely elitist.  At times I felt like I walked into the paradoxical dimension of Oxymornia.  Being from New York, I found the jacked-up prices some of those places charged somewhat puzzling.  I suppose they think everyone coming in only knows superheroes from the movies Hollywood has been pumping out, for better or worse, and feel they should benefit off of supplying the demand.  Ok, buddy!  There is a world outside of your town: like the ones up on that new-fangled magic screen they make you pay $11.00 to see ‘nowadays’, and they can smell when something’s fishy.  The jig is up!  (Laughs)  Ok, ok,  I’m only bitter because one or two of the guys snubbed me, but, that being said, there is always one awesome place that rectifies all the ill-gotten doings and back-water snobbery (Just kidding, I was born in the south! Sheesh, calm down already!);  Cheers to the nice owner of Zeno’s Books in Chesapeake, Virginia, and finding the second NEW GODS (and second appearance of Darkseid) for six dollars…in great condition no less!  I would also like to give a shout-out to my friend Kevin for getting my first issue of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction and Next Men #21  signed by Mignola at the Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina (And for allowing us to crash at your apartment at an ungodly hour).  Kevin also blessed me with an introduction to the worst/best movie of all time, The Room by Tommy Wiseau.  Do yourself a favor and watch it over and over.  Just know it wasn’t meant to be funny.   You will  laugh until you question logic and sanity (you might also need an emergency appendectomy).  So, now, on to some of the current DC books I’ve read.

RED HOOD: THE LOST DAYS  has started out interesting.  I was hoping that they were going to change the cause of his resurrection to the Lazarus pit when I saw Ras was involved;  I figured “what better way to get back at Bruce than bring back his greatest failure and use his guilt as a weapon against him”.  But, as this does not seem to be the case now, I guess we will just need to see how this one plays out.  I suggest picking this one up.

THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 was a little more confusing for me than the first (which I really liked), but i’m sure it will all be explained in due course (if not in this series, then maybe in the upcoming Vanishing Point).  The art is really awesome so far, I just think I’m looking for something a little less cryptic at this point.  Who knows, I might be eating my words real soon.  If you are a fan of Batman and have put your time into the last few years of reading, do not stop now in the homestretch.  You know as well as I do that this will prove to be crucial later.  You can’t skimp with Morrison, you will regret it.

Selina’s unhinged sister, who we haven’t seen since her run in with Black Lantern Black Mask, has come back to haunt her in Gotham City Sirens.  Enough said.  I leave this one up to you!

Justice League: Generation Lost #1-3.  What can I say?  This is very entertaining so far.  I really have no idea where they are going to take this, but it’s gotta be big!  Maxwell Lord is back and he made everyone forget he ever existed except for four former members of the JLI (whose lives are a living hell now for literally knowing too much).  He also has control of the OMACs again.  Yeah.  This can’t be good.  Do it!

JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE OF ARSENAL #3.  Roy’s life is a living hell.  He lost his arm.  He lost his daughter.  He’s lost his mind.  He’s back on drugs.  And, to top it off, he is seeing his dead friend and daughter at every turn.  Now, while doped up, he beats up a buttload of thugs in an alley(who he thinks are an army of Prometheus), attacks Dick Grayson, and ends up strapped up in a cell.  Good times.  Someone get me a Prozac!  I don’t know about this one yet…although, it is a more realistic reaction considering his circumstances.  Will someone please buy this guy a ‘Get Well Soon’ balloon at the psychiatric ward gift shop, for God’s sake?!

I really enjoyed BRIGHTEST DAY #3, but I must say I am getting anxious to know why these characters have come back and what this means for the DCU as a whole.  On a similar note; GREEN LANTERN #54 was a good read as well.  Good job, Johns and Mahnke!  In regards to both, I can’t wait to find out more about the being that is collecting the different colored light entities.

SECRET SIX#22 was depraved, depressing, and humorous as always.  Gail Simone, you are twisted.  Thomas Blake has gone off the deep end.  He is not to be trifled with, and apparently he takes rides from strangers.  What will happen next? 

BATGIRL#11 had me pleasantly surprised.  I love the fact that The Calculator figured out the anti-life equation to create hordes of techno zombies.  His revenge on Oracle is almost at hand! Will Stephanie save the day?  I’m guessing yes.  Can’t we get a writer to find a cure for Babs so we can get her back on her feet and kicking @$$ with more gusto than anyone would with a newfound lease at legs?  You know she’d have a lot of time to make up and plenty of payback to dish out.  Let’s vote on it!  Ok, maybe not.

RED ROBIN#13  was a good read.  He’s finally finding solace and becoming his own man.  Let’s hope it lasts.

DETECTIVE#865 revisited the asylum and the broken Jeremiah Arkham.  We now know how the seeds of his madness were planted.  Plus, the hospital has a new director.  This place sure know’s how to pick them.  Black Mask might just live on.

BATMAN#700′s extra-sized anniversary issue had a bunch of great artists and a story that spanned from Bruce, to Dick, to Damian and even Terry McGinnis’s Batman.  Though I did like some of it, I thought it got a little too murky and found the ‘maybe machine’ a tad convoluted.  Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

The SUPERMAN/BATMAN ANNUAL #4, written by Paul Levitz, turned out to be really cool.  The art, by RENATO GUEDES & JOSE WILSON, wasn’t too shabby either.  This tale was another to bring Batman Beyond into the comic continuity.  It involves the future of a less glamorous and crime ridden Metropolis and addresses the why and how of Superman’s absence.  Of course a great team-up is inevitable.  Decrepit Lex Luthor?  Why not!

Last, but not least, I would like to say that DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES#1, ZATANNA#1, and LEGION OF SUPERHEROES#1 all held their own.

Well, I guess that is all for now.  Thanks for reading!  If you have any info you think people should know on any of the books I have not brought attention to yet (such as Superman or WonderWoman) feel free to leave them under comments.  Until next time.–ExSleepyInk

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