Deadpool's Awesometastic Review of Batman: Arkham City (PS3/Xbox 360)

Howdy y’all! How’s that autumn breeze been treatin’ ya!? If my skin wasn’t burned so many times, I bet I’d be able to join you in that sentiment. Oh well, the important thing is I grow back limbs and am NOT a lizard! WOOHOO! Eat that Marvel universe science! Oh wait, that’s the same science that created me… Crap! >_>

MOVING ALONG, we come to the highly anticipated sequel to the highly rated first installment, Batman: Arkham City. If you pre-ordered the game (and actually somehow chose which obnoxious retailer to get your DLC ‘frillies’ from), then you already know why the first game was awesome and don’t need me to tell you. It’s a shame you came here though, because that’s exactly what I am about to do! You had everything in the first game: beautiful graphics (minus Batman’s Gears of War syndrome, courtesy of your friendly-neighborhood Unreal Engine, rumored to be designed by Rob Leifield… (HA, it wouldn’t be one of these if I didn’t bash my creator!)), awesome brawler/open map gameplay with gadgets, a kick-ass story worthy of the mastermind that is Paul Dini, and Riddler trophies to keep you from telling your friends you beat it 100% before they did (even though not many did. Hell, I didn’t find them all even!).

So with all of that awesome crammed into one tiny blu-ray disc/whateverthehellxboxcallsit, how could the sequel compete? Well, let’s just say that the first game was all that and the kitchen sink. This sequel is more like all that and the kitchen sink meets Godzilla, his brother, his mom, and his aunt Carla all at once. You now have the ability to run around or glide around the entire city (of Arkham, not Gotham itself. Trust me when I say you won’t notice or care enough). The city is packed with thugs and villains of the highest caliber. If you never took the penguin seriously before, you’re… well, probably still going to laugh at his goofy ass. HAHA, he can’t run with that belly! ... BUT the other villains will demand your attention, as will Penguin. I won’t spoil any details, but know that this one will throw characters at you till the last bleeding second. You never know who’s going to pop up next, and that’s part of the fun!

The dynamic of the run-down city having multiple villains fight over it is also very clever, as it throws in a lot of twists and reasons for constant interaction that you wouldn’t have probably expected considering the more straight-forward nature of the first. It’d be hard NOT to get distracted from your main objective, only to find a side-quest or save some random political figure on the street (as if even Batman could save politics for the US at this point...).

The city isn’t the only thing getting a facelift, however. Batman’s gadgets are now cranked up to wambo. One of my favorite new toys was the Remote Electrical Charge. With this baby, you could force elevators to go up and down and even cause the magnetism of a metal hook to reverse and bash into walls… Imagine the FUN I would have! I’d hum the tune of “Singing in the Rain” while bashing down the houses of all the people who owe me money! ... Or that I want money from… because they have more than I do… What? I’d put that Clockwork Orange noob to shame! 4 Reelz!

Another interesting inclusion in new copies of the game is the Catwoman downloadable content. At first I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to have, but boy was I glad I waited the hour and half it took to download that… Wait a minute, no I wasn’t! The freaking sucked! It’s a good thing it was actually GOOD DLC, otherwise that might have been a serious Simpson’s Comic Book Guy rant right there.

If you are even remotely a fan of Batman or action games, you owe it to yourself to kick this bad boy into gear. Even after playing through the awesome (but still short) campaign mode, you have a plethora (ooo, pretty vocabulary usage!) of things you can do, such as finding all the Riddler trophies, besting all the challenge maps, finding any missed sidequests or events, and even a new game plus mode for those who have absolutely nothing to do with their lives. Ah, how I yearn to go back to being that guy with no life. It seemed sucky at the time because of all those bed-sores, but oh man was it sweet!

Before ending this, I will make one more quick note directed toward those who (like me) absolutely loved the trippy scenes involving scarecrow and thought they were among the best in the entire first Arkham game. While I can’t say there’s anything specifically like that in this one, you will not be disappointed, you will see other ways they managed to take you “out” of the world around you, and you will feel like you are high on something acidic. Can it get any better (other than adding women and bacon into the equation)? I think not!

9 Riddler Trophies out of 10

Now Batman and I… THERE’S a crossover waiting to happen! I would tell knock knock jokes and feed him animal crackers; oh the joy! Oh, and contrary to popular belief, I am not gay for Batman. I am however, extremely gay for Kevin Conroy (his voice actor). I would do horrible horrible things for that man. The only reason I’m not ashamed to admit it, is because I know you all just read that and said “Hahaha yeah. Me too…” Don’t lie!!! Good night sucka fools! Deadpool OUT!

NY Comic Con: Days 2 and 3

Day 2:

I have to say that between what I was expecting (or hoping) to get out of Saturday, and what I actually got out of Saturday, that was one heck of a nice balance. Starting the morning, my friend, my girlfriend, and myself all ended up getting to the floor much later than we were hoping to, forcing us to miss the Green Lantern animated series premiere. While I was a little annoyed I couldn't make it in time, I don't regret it too much, knowing it'll be on TV soon enough and I can form my thoughts on it then.

What we ended up doing then instead was walking around as many booths and artist alley locations as we could. For some reason, this ended up being more of an exploration day than Sunday, which is very different from previous years for me. Saturday is supposed to be the day of all the important shows and panels, and yet, the few I was really interested in this year, I did not actually get to go to. Trying to get in line for the Avengers movie panel 2 hours before still got us sent back, only to be told that the IGN Theater was already packed and that since they don't empty out the room per panel, that we pretty much had no chance in hell since there was a panel for the Walking Dead (TV series) right before it.

So what the heck did we actually do on Saturday? Thankfully still quite a bit, as I'll get to. At the Midtown Comics booth (who's store I absolutely love by the way), I was thrilled to see they still had a few signed copies of Craig Thompson's "Blankets" in hardcover, as well as his newest project, "Habibi." I saw that "Blankets" was sold out on the Midtown website, as well as going on Ebay for over $200 in hardcover already, which was absolutely nuts. For those who haven't experienced the awesome and the emotion that is Craig Thompson, know that you're missing out on one hell of a set of experiences, both realistic and enlightening.

While standing on line to pay, I saw that Kevin Levine (one of the creators of Irrational Games, and the game "Bioshock") was going to be signing posters for his newest title, "Bioshock: Infinite." While I would have loved to get one, being diabetic and forced to eat around the same time as this signing kind of made that impossible. We ate at Subway however, and I did happen to get a winning code for Uncharted 3, but it was not for the game, rather a journal and wrist cuff. I happen to find that very interesting in itself though, as it sounds like both of those (especially the journal) will make for awesome collectibles.

Looking at the Bandai booth was absolutely awesome, with figures from series like Gundam, Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Kamen Rider, Saint Seiya, Gojira, and more! I'm a sucker for action figures, and these were absolutely perfect-looking. I don't even want to think about what they would cost, but I can still imagine. From this booth, I also bought part 1 of Zeta Gundam, the only Gundam series I would actually admit that I enjoyed more than the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

It was around this booth that I happened to actually meet up with an online pal I knew from an internet forum called The Haisho. Darren was an awesome guy and I wish we could have talked more. I also felt bad that he kept following me and Kelsey around without really having anything he particularly wanted to do himself. I hope he had more fun as he went on, and if you're reading this Darren, it was great meeting you!

Due to being unable to visit the Avengers movie panel, I thought it would be a good idea to show Kelsey more involving female writers and heroine characters as she began to get into more comics herself. There was a panel just for that, called "Girls Kick Butt: Strong Female Heroines in Young Adult Fantasy." First off, I want to give kudos to the moderator of the panel, who started off changing the title to "Girls Kick Ass" right away. I very much agreed with her sentiment. In this panel, we got to hear from some surprisingly big names in fantasy, such as Esther Friesner and Caitlin Kittredge amongst others. They were all an absolute joy to listen to, and I wouldn't mind getting into some of their works myself.

Another part of getting Kelsey into more comics was to let her try out different titles and see what she liked. Spider-Man was the first one she wanted, so I had no problem lending her trades of the earliest issues, as well as JM Stracynski's stories for the character. Here at the con, we found her some issues of Wonder Woman, and even the first issue of Black Panther, which she told me she used to be a huge fan of when she was younger, to my surprise.

We met some very nice artists in the Artist Alley and Comic Artist Alley. One that I have to give the biggest shout out to for Saturday was Nick Nix, inker for Black Panther, Aspen Comics, G.I. Joe, and others. He seemed so appreciative that we were even talking with him, that he drew some rough sketches of us for free. For quick drafts, they were actually very well done, and I came out impressed. He's a very nice man and I hope he continues to succeed in the field he's working towards.

One last guest I got to see before the end of the day, which I haven't seen since about 3 years ago at my first NY Comic Con was Irwin Hasen, original Green Lantern artist, as well as Justice Society, Wildcat, and Wonder Woman. He didn't remember me from the panel years back of course, but he was just as polite as I recall and it was nice seeing such a classic here. I hope he got the appreciation he deserved and it was good to actually get to shake his hand this time, as he left very quickly the previous year.

I think that just about wraps up Saturday. And now for the next and final day of the con!

Day 3:

With our legs still wanting to murder us (and still do even as I type this), Nasser, Kelsey, and I proceeded to venture out for the last day of the con. We weren't expecting as much from this day, but I think that's what made it so great in the first place.

The objective for today was to continue where we left off and see as many things as we possibly could. I would say that we did just that and really got a lot out of it. Outside of seeing some more amazing figures, statues, and other collectibles, we got to meet a few nice artists along the way once more.

For those who don't know, Darkwing Duck was all but my favorite cartoon of all time when I was little. I decided to try some of the recent issues of the comic just to see how they were, and sure enough, I had liked them quite a bit. I was even more excited to see the artist of the reboot, James Silvani, at his own table. He was only charging about $5 for each print, so I ended up paying for two and they gave me a third free, all signed by the man himself. He was really nice, and we talked about how much fun that they were having by making spoof covers of classic DC issues like "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Crisis of Infinite Earths," only using Darkwing instead.

Just before this, when we were all proceeding to find a decent (and working) ATM machine, Kelsey noticed a line by the Cartoon Network stand near the entrance of the con. They were giving away an exclusive figurine of Finn from "Adventure Time" to promote the show, the recent DVD release, and Toys R' Us, who provided all of the figurines we received. It was a nice little surprise that we didn't see coming until the last second.

One final booth I'll mention was for the company Fierce Comics. The title I was interested in was known as "The Maniacal Smile," a character that ended up being referenced in the game "Captain Smiley," as there was some huge debate over what came first, who could sue who, etc. They were just premiering an omnibus edition for Comic Con this weekend, and so I decided to pick it up and get it signed by the creator. They were another very nice group and I hope they keep going strong for years to come!

So there you have it more or less. This was some of the best and most important descriptions I can recall. I had a great time this year, as did Kelsey and Nasser. I hope that we can all do this again next year and have just as much fun as we did this weekend. Later everyone!

NY Comic Con: Day 1

Awesome, awesome first day!!!

I must say things went much better then I was even expecting today. Things started off with Nasser, Kelsey, and I heading over to the IGN theater upon arrival for the Batman: Arkham City panel. It was an excellent panel, and even had Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) to contribute to the fun. We got to see some fun and interesting questions asked by both the panelists and the fans, as well as some excellent live gameplay footage. Tuesday can't come soon enough for this game to come out. Very excited.

After the panel and getting lunch, we began to explore the booths and dealers areas themselves a little more, and WOW at the people we were able to meet and so easily too! First off, and most importantly in my opinion, I got to meet Joe Kelly. For those who don't know, this is basically the man that made Deadpool awesome, as well as crafted many other excellent stories for heroes like Spider-Man and Green Lantern. He was awesome to speak with, and he signed a copy of "I Kill Giants" for me as well. I might go back and see him tomorrow. I can't believe there wasn't a large line to see him or anything.

Walking around more, we got to see some decent cosplays, thought not many that I would call too memorable. That's not to say they were all bad, and I did still get some nice pictures; I was just expecting a bit more than what we got so far. I imagine we will see many better ones tomorrow, as Saturday is always the biggest turnout in general.

One more big surprise was walking over to the Marvel booth to see non other than Marvel's editor in chief, Joe Quesada. While I didn't have anything for the man to sign, the line for him was short enough so that within seconds I was shaking his hand. Just another one of those unexpected moments that's really cool to look back on. Again shocked at the short to near-nonexistent line.

After looking through lots of dealers booths, Kamen Rider and Sentai action figures, and a few graphic novels with great sale prices, we began to head near the artist section of the con. It was there at the Dark Horse booth that Kelsey and I got signed copies of Star Wars: Legacy War #5 for free by Jan Duursema. Once again, she was very nice and friendly; another person who very much loves their work, and it shows. I would read her stories just because of how great she was in person. Very happy we caught her.

After looking at Aspen comics variant covers (may get Haunted City #1 tomorrow, just because of how awesome the NYCC variant looked for that), we found the booth for Nintendo, who was featuring playable demos of some of their upcoming titles, like the new Kirby. Kelsey and I were fortunate to get to play a demo of the upcoming Zelda title, Zelda: Skyward Sword. There were three parts to the demo you could choose from: a flight stage, a dungeon, and a bossfight. I watched someone in front of me play the flight stage, which ended up being very interesting. While mounting a giant bird, you use the Wii remote to control the direction the bird flies in, while using other buttons to boost and attack. The boost was similar to that of controlling Epona, as instead of carrots on the bottom, you had small graphics of wings instead. The next person who was also in front of me to play, chose the dungeon stage. This portion of the demo showed off a very interesting new gadget that Link uses to solve puzzles with. With this device, you control a small, flying scarab, using the Wii remote to control the direction it flies in. In the demo, Link was trapped in a large room and had to use the device to hit a switch on the outside. It was a nice dynamic and I look forward to seeing how it is used in the rest of the game. But the best, most difficult, and most fascinating part of the demo was the bossfight with the "Demon Lord Ghirahim." I'd like to say I'm pretty well skilled at games such as this, so believe me when I say this fight was TOUGH, especially for a demo! He left little to no openings when coming at me. When the fight began and I tried to slash him with my sword, he immediately grabbed it between his fingers and threw me back. After figuring out the right way to attack him, he pulls out a sword of his own and this is where things got insane. He was capable of launching small red projectiles, which weren't really difficult to dodge, but he would then follow up by teleporting himself, usually right behind you. I later came to find that this was the only opportune moment to attack him. Otherwise, he would do this annoying dash attack that was surprisingly hard to dodge. I almost died at least two times while this character made me look like a novice, and even forced me to use a red potion (which was thankfully provided), as well as a fairy. According to Nasser, I was also drawing a large crowd that was going "UGH!" and "OOOH!" as they were watching. That made me feel a little better since I actually did come out the victor. I watched a few other people get very distraught by this battle and most around me did not win the fight. The Nintendo rep had said we were supposed to get tickets for free t-shirts after playing, but that they had run out for the day, so we were advised to come back tomorrow to get them. I will definitely do so, as the shirt looks bad-ass. That was one hell of an experience, and one hell of a bossfight for a demo. I came out very satisfied.

Finally, with a bit more time before we had to leave, we headed over to the Archie Comics booth. Here, I brought my copies of Sonic The Hedgehog #226-229 and Mega Man #1 to be signed by the writer, Ian Flynn. He seemed really appreciative of the compliments I gave him for rebooting the Sonic The Hedgehog series with the "Genesis" storyline. For those who don't know, the covers to these Sonic issues (with exception of the last) all represent the boxart images from Sonic, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 for those who remember. The third issue even had the old Sega Genesis logo on the side like the game did. Really nice touches they made here, and Flynn was a blast to talk to.

The time just flew today and we had a lot of fun (and a LOT of pictures which I hope to get posted soon). If the rest of the weekend is half as awesome as today was, I see this being by far the best NY Comic Con yet! I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

NY Comic Con Begins Tomorrow!!!

Greetings all! While I won't be attending the first day of NY Comic Con (Thursday, October 13th), I will be attending most, if not all other days (Friday - Sunday). At first, I wasn't planning on attending Sunday originally, but then I heard both Romita's (Jr. and Sr.) will be appearing again like they had last year, and I did miss out on getting JR Jr.'s signature the previous time.

I'm really looking forward to the show floor this year, with all of the artists, writers, actors, and of course, the swag! There's all sorts of neat NYCC exclusive items and I'm sure there will be plenty of other surprises too.

There will also be many fun panels I hope I'll get to attend. This is probably more determined by how much running around we'll all be doing, but as you're only given so much time with so many things you can do, I want to do the most physically possible. And of course, expect pictures of all the fun. I'll try to make posts with a recap for each of the three days I go. Hope to keep everybody enthused and more importantly, entertained with all my findings.

Stay nerdy my friends.

DC's New 52 Awards!!!

Whether an act of serious and meticulous planning, or merely the result of extreme boredom, I have created awards revolving around DC's new 52 #1 issues. These awards are my own personal thoughts on the books, and are not meant to be taken as "fact." With that said, I hope you all enjoy!

BEST WRITER: SCOTT SNYDER (BATMAN #1 and SWAMP THING #1)

Even with the big guns like Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, and Jeff Lemire amongst many others, I feel that Snyder really deserves the credit for this one. His work on Batman #1 and Swamp Thing #1 is not easily beaten. His seamless ability to grab readers both old and new on to a title, tell them the facts they need to know to get caught up to speed, AND still manage to tell a compelling and gripping story, all in the context of one single issue make him the easy win.

BEST ARTIST: JH WILLIAMS III (BATWOMAN #1)

This one may be a little obvious, but I don't mind saying it all the same. His work on Batwoman #1 (let alone pretty much everything he's done) was absolutely surreal. To have the talent to bring together elements of superhero action and ghostly atmosphere, and jump back into daily life as if they were two separate worlds leaves me begging to see more. Even if Batwoman turned out to be disappointing in the long run (which it certainly hasn't so far), I would still come back just to see what other kinds of marvelous visuals we would get treated to next.

BIGGEST SURPRISE (IN A GOOD WAY): WONDER WOMAN #1

As someone who has generally not read many Wonder Woman comics at all, this first issue absolutely grabbed me! While there is quite a bit to take in (and I admit, I had to re-read a few parts to understand everything without much knowledge of past WW stories), it is well worth your time. This is more than just your basic introduction issue. You are thrown into their world, and you are immediately right there with Diana, fighting for your life and never knowing what's around the corner. If you couldn't tell from my description, this is more of a horror story (ala Vertigo) than anything else. Take that as you will, but I sure as hell can't wait to see where the team is going with this series.

BIGGEST SURPRISE (IN A BAD WAY): CATWOMAN #1

It was like taking one step forward and then two steps back. Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke had a wonderful run on Catwoman prior to this, with excellent characterizations and writing. Now, we seem to have returned to more of a 90's feel once again, with T&A being the highlight of almost every page. I was almost embarrassed to even be looking through this issue in my comic store; it was that gratuitous (not in the same way as Voodoo, where at least the story was interesting). There is virtually no development or even much of a plot to discuss here. As a #1, let alone as a comic book in general, this one pretty much fails on all fronts.

MOST POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH: STATIC SHOCK #1

While the first issue for this series didn't really do anything to "wow" me per se, the premise is still strong enough that I will likely continue to read and check up on how things are going for Virgil and the rest. I enjoyed the cartoon quite a bit when it was on television, and am hoping this book can someday live up to and maybe even surpass its cartoon counterpart.

FAVORITE BADLY REVIEWED ISSUE: SUPERMAN #1

I’ve read the way that sites like IGN and others have criticized this issue for being “too wordy” and “not having any emotion,” and I have to seriously question if we were all reading the same book. I’d say the only thing I really didn’t like about the issue so much was the cover. For a #1 issue, especially for the Man of Steel himself, I would have expected much better. That said, I felt there was much to enjoy here. For one thing, the “wordiness” of the issue actually caused it to last much longer than most comics you read these days. I spent over 30-40 minutes reading this issue, when most can take me between 10 and 15 minutes usually. For another thing, I felt quite a bit of emotion coming from Superman staring down at the remains of what once was the original Daily Planet, and even more so, his reaction to Lois’s new boyfriend at the end. I also very much liked the writer’s use of establishing how different the things we read are, as opposed to how we see them; a point I think many reviewers may have not even realized the writer was trying to do. So this issue gets a lot of kudos from me while I know it won’t from many others, and that’s fine by me.

COMIC WITH THE SMALLEST AMOUNT CHANGED: GREEN LANTERN #1

While Grant Morrison’s run on Action Comics can be considered more of a “true-to-the-original” character, due to Superman’s similarities to his 30’s counterpart, it’s hard to deny giving this to anything other than Green Lantern. While I wouldn’t recommend this issue to someone just starting to get into the character, any fans of the Geoff Johns’ run on the book up until this point will be happy to know that little to nothing was actually changed for this “reboot” of an issue. It’s pretty much a direct continuation of what happened in the previous “War of the Lanterns” story. If these reboots haven’t been for you, you’re pretty much still safe with this one.

COMIC WITH THE LARGEST AMOUNT CHANGED: BATGIRL #1

The Killing Joke changed Barbara Gordon’s life forever. She was shot in the back by the Joker and paralyzed permanently… or not so permanently! In this new series, Barbara has miraculously recovered from her injuries in the period of a few years. How this is exactly has not yet been revealed, but the point here is that after 20+ years of being handicapped, Barbara not only has the ability to walk once more, but even manages to dawn the Batgirl costume again. The absolute best thing about this whole story is that the writer does not try to pretend that The Killing Joke didn’t happen, or that Barbara doesn’t still have any inner-demons resulting from it all. Seeing this all come to form was like witnessing a dream, and I for one do not want to wake up from it.

COMIC HERO I’VE GAINED THE MOST RESPECT FOR: AQUAMAN

After reading Geoff John’s first issue of Aquaman, I don’t think I’ll ever be insulting the man ever again. In fact after reading this issue, Aquaman is officially a bad-ass in my eyes. I never thought I’d say it, but the man deserves some serious respect, as does the writing seen here. He’s strong, quick, and not any of the stereotypes you’ve likely created about him in your head. Give this one a read and I doubt many will disagree with me here.

MOST DECEIVING COVER: I, VAMPIRE #1

The cover of this issue would make you think it’s another “Twilight-esque” romance series, but fans of such things would likely turn straight away upon realizing how dark and bloody this story actually is. There is a romance in this issue, but there is nothing story-book-like about it. I won’t give away too many details, but understand that there is quite a battle both outside and within involving these two characters and their interesting chemistry and overall hate and disagreement with one another only makes things more engrossing. This one caught me off guard, but in a great way. I’m very glad I decided to pick it up.

MOST FASCINATING PREMISE: ANIMAL MAN #1

This is a book that deserves to be read by everyone, and I hope it will be. Animal Man has some of the most interesting and peculiar abilities, and that alone makes this something worthwhile. What adds to that even more is the family dynamic. It’s been a long time since I’ve witnessed a superhero book in which an entire family plays as much of a part as the main character itself. Combine this with elements of horror and trippy artwork to round it all together, and you’ve got a story and premise that’s just too interesting to miss.

MOST FUN I HAD WITH AN ISSUE: ACTION COMICS #1

Sometimes readers, especially ones that write reviews, tend to forget the fun of it all. Not all stories have to be “deep” in order to be fun, and not all stories have to lose their fun factor in order to still be “deep.” I feel Grant Morrison’s run on Action Comics has already begun to fit both into the equation. This is a writer who is known for adding complex and trippy elements into his stories (that usually result in a “love it or hate it” reaction from the reader), yet still keeping true to Superman’s roots at the same time (ala All-Star Superman). Morrison is also known for having quite a knowledge of stories from past to present, as he represents here by showcasing a Superman not seen since his days in the 30’s. This is exactly the kind of thing I like in stories. I enjoy something that can be fun and lighthearted, but still have deeper meanings within, and get serious when it needs to get serious. Morrison has usually provided those types of stories, and while I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I can’t help but enjoy and very much look forward to what is coming from him.

OVERALL WORST FIRST ISSUE: HAWK & DOVE #1

WTF… Just… WTF… I don’t even have anything to say about this… I just… WTF!?

And without further ado…

WINNER OF THE BEST FIRST ISSUE: SWAMP THING #1

I would have never imagined myself getting into a book titled “Swamp Thing,” but here I am. Scott Snyder has taken us into a world, explained enough that’s going on so that we have a general idea of where to begin, and somehow manages to expand even on that world, all in the course of one first issue, only poised to get even better in the long run. This issue has everything you could possibly want, all the way down to the cryptic premise and haunting artwork to keep you from so much as blinking. Of all titles that came out last month, this one gets my highest form of recommendation, even more than Animal Man, Batgirl, and Wonder Woman, and must be read by all, regardless of what you may or may not know about the character and story already; it’s just that good!



And there you have it folks! Hope you have enjoyed all of my new 52 coverage. Tune in with me next week as I hopefully return to having a life, discovering the outside world, etc. As for tonight however, I’m kind of on this comic addict kick, so I think I’ll catch up on Usagi Yojimbo. Why? It’s there. Do I really need any other reason for Usagi Yojimbo? I think not!

Comic Book Reviews: DC's New 52 Weeks 3 and 4 combined!!!!

It's that time again!!! I had a hell of a lot of catching up to do here, but I did it nonetheless, and you can now finally get my thoughts on many of the books for weeks 3 and 4 of DC's re-launch. I'll be making one more post later this week as sort of an "awards" ceremony, including the best of, worst of, and many other unique categories I can't wait to share. Let's begin...

WEEK 3:

Batman #1 – Once again Snyder seems to hit another one out of the park. This issue provided enough info for newcomers to hop aboard without feeling shafted and also a cliffhanger that begs a lot of questions that will have readers dying to find out the answers to. While I don’t believe the theory behind the final page is necessarily the result, I’m already curious to see how things got to the way they did. I think one of the high points of Snyder’s writing has been to throw the reader into a cloud of mystery and slowly unfold the events with each chapter. I see the same formula here, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t work like a charm each and every time. Pick this one up. 9/10

Blue Beetle #1 – I think this was an overall enjoyable way to start things off. It’s also got me curious enough to at least check out the second issue in order to find out what happens after the quick, but effective cliffhanger ending. I’m hoping this one picks up into something even greater, as I always felt that the Blue Beetle deserved more recognition as a whole. 7/10.

Green Lantern Corps #1 - Definitely enjoyed this one. The idea of Guy Gardner and John Stewart attempting to "blend" into society was entertaining, albeit a little sad at the same time. This book also did not hesitate to show its more violent side. Between Blackest Night, and this new story, there has been quite a bit of Lantern blood spilled. While the issue might not necessarily grab you, it will keep you entertained enough to want to know what will happen next. 8/10

Wonder Woman #1 - This was easily one of the biggest surprises for me. I admit I have not read much of Wonder Woman previously (I've tried multiple times, but never found myself as into her stories up until now), but that is very quickly about to change. This first issue was an excellent set up for what is turning out to be intense and quite creepy. There are a few things that may be a bit off-putting to new readers, especially those without knowledge of previous stories or mythology. That said, I still think just about everyone should check this out. It's as if this was a Vertigo title and not just a straight-up DC comic. Definitely read. This is not what you would expect from a book like this, and I'm finding that only the more intriguing. 9.5/10

WEEK 4:

Aquaman #1 – Not only was this an all around awesome start for this series, but Geoff Johns managed to take a character who’s been the punch line of every horrible superhero joke you can think of, and put him in a fresh and respectable light. I never thought the words “Aquaman” and “badass” could fit into the same sentence, but look at them now! An overall pleasant surprise (though maybe not to some considering Geoff Johns’ other triumphs like Green Lantern and previous Flash issues). 9/10

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 – I admit I wasn’t as impressed with this one. It’s not so much that I felt it was bad, rather I didn’t really feel any shred of emotion like I got from Detective Comics #1 and Batman #1 this month. It’s a generally good read, especially if you didn’t get enough of a bat-fix with the other #1’s that came out this month, but don’t expect any of it to “wow” you necessarily. 7/10

The Flash #1 – A very nice start to what I’m sure will become another worthwhile chapter in the Flash mythos. It was a bit unsettling however, to see Barry no longer married, especially since I had no idea it was coming, unlike Spider-Man and Superman’s situations. Despite that little feeling of emptiness, the first issue shows a lot of promise, and I look forward to its continuation. 8/10

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #1 – I ended up having a lot more fun with this issue than I was expecting. The reveal at the end was very surprising to me, as I couldn’t decide whether to laugh out loud at the craziness of the situation, or to simply label it as “awesome” for the buildup that is certainly about to follow. I highly recommend it. 8.5/10

I, Vampire #1 – Don’t let the “sparkly” cover fool you. This is one to check out. This title has a very interesting romance dynamic as well as a very dark and moody setting. It also brings out an interesting take on the vampire/werewolf relationship in this world. Twilight fans will want to stay far away from this one, as they’ll likely not be able to handle the dark subject matter the same way. This title was impressive in a surprising and great way. 9/10

Superman #1 - I've been having a very hard time rating this issue. I also have to laugh at some of the reviews I've seen for this issue that criticized it for being "too wordy." For one thing, I was actually quite happy with the fact that I had a comic that took me more than 10-15 minutes to read like most. It was also nice to see a book that wasn't afraid to show its descriptive side, and even make a point about how different our experiences of an event can be when written in print, as opposed to watching visually. With all of that said, we did not get to see much actual personality or character coming from Clark himself just yet. This was mainly due to a good portion of the issue being used to establish the current status quo. I have to say that while I'm definitely interested in the next issue, I can't help but feel a bit depressed from this one. Just like Spider-Man's marriage break up, we now witness not one, but two break ups from DC in the form of Flash and Superman. Just like Peter and Mary Jane, this one hit me hard. It seems the divorce rate in this country isn't just rubbing off the people in the US anymore. Despite the mixed reviews all around, I actually ended up liking this issue a lot more than I thought I was going to, and am definitely on board for now. 7.5/10

And there you have it folks! Thanks for reading and tune in again soon!