BT05 – Prisoners of the Blogathon!

I’m finding the problem with my waning powers of concentration is not that I can’t think of what to say, but that I’m getting too easily distracted by the books I’m reviewing. I mean, I have to flip through them a little bit, just to refresh my memory … then I find myself reading them … and, well, that’s like being a wine taster and actually drinking the wine. Fun, but unproductive.

More from the recent comics buys …

• JLA #116 (DC): I’ve seriously lost track of all the ramifications of Identity Crisis, so I can’t remember whether Batman knows Zatanna screwed with his memory, or not, or which issues take place before and/or after he knows. Well, he knows in this one, and has a rather unpleasant encounter with the JLA over it. Which group then realizes that, with the Secret Society of Villains all having their memories back, all of their loved ones are once again in danger. And then we find out who’s behind the returning memories … Geoff Johns does his usual “make the heroes hurt” routine, but it works okay here. Staying tuned.
• JLA Classified #9 (DC): The final conclusion of “I can’t believe it’s not the Justice League” — which, paradoxically was getting better as time went on. Fortunately, Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire are taking their act on the road to do Defenders. Good stuff here, though, only slightly marred by the knowledge that two of the characters walking around here are now officially dead …

• JLA Classified #10 (DC): Warren Ellis and Butch Guice begin a new series that seems to star at least Bats, Supes, and Wonder Woman. Nicely drawn, but some of the characterizations, though entertaining, seemed “off.” Reserving judgment.

• JSA #75 (DC): A better “Day of Vengeance” tie-in than the actual series, as the whole Khandaq / Atom Smasher / Black Adam / Spectre brouhaha comes to a surprisingly moving conclusion. Good work from Geoff Johns, mixed work from the artists involved.

• JSA #76 (DC): Must be a bitch writing the DCU these days. You end up having to tie your stories to a different “event” each month — in this case the OMAC Project story. The Atom Smasher story comes to an end — for now. We get some random OMAC violence, too. Not nearly as good as the previous issue, but still better than most other comics.

• Knights of the Dinner Table #105 (Kenzer): I keep expecting the series to go stale, but they keep managing to find a new twist on the basic D&D table humor they’ve been playing with for years now. The current twist is having Brian GM a western campaign (which makes me, interestingly, want to do the same). The changes in the table dynamics of having Bryan behind the screen is comparable to what you’d expect from a similar shift at a real D&D table. All that said, all the extra content — easily half the book — could be lost with very little trouble from me. Still, looking forward to the next ish.

• The Losers #25-26 (Vertigo): The plot by Max to hijack nukes looks to succeed, is foiled, but then succeeds anyway. That helps when Max’s plan suddenly comes to fruition — in the first “I don’t believe it” bit that the series has engaged in. Indeed, the plan/twist seems so improbable, it’s abruptly changed the whole character of the series — and not necessarily for the better.

• Legion of Super-Heroes #5-6 (DC): I hate to say it, but I’m just not enjoying this Waid/Kitson iteration of the Legion as much as previous ones. It’s good, it’s coherent, it’s intriguing, but it just feels … wrong. I can’t explain it better. Anyhoo — the plans of the Mysterious Baddy are revealed, and are of a nature that nobody will believe them (or believe the Legion, if they’re able to tell anyone). That’s not helped in the next issue by the team essentially fracturing in two, with one faction following Braniac 5, the other half Cosmic Boy. That doesn’t bode well …

(listening to: McCreary, Bear, “Flesh and Bone” from Battlestar Galactica: Season 1)
(listening to: Tag, “All I Wanna Be (Is With You)” from Baywatch)
(listening to: Kool & the Gang, “Celebration” from Billboard Top Hits – 1981)
(listening to: Barenaked Ladies, “Enid” from Gordon)
(listening to: TV, “The Green Hornet” from Television’s Greatest Hits – II)
(listening to: McLachlan, Sarah, “Circle” from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy)
(listening to: Barenaked Ladies, “The Old Apartment” from Rock Spectacle)