Guest Author - Travis Belk

This week was a big release for comic books. We saw the first issues of Justice League of America and Heroes for Hire. And we finally saw the release of Wonder Woman #2 after it was delayed several weeks ago. Due to the number of releases this week, the review will be in two parts.

Book of the Week- Justice League of America #1
Writer- Brad Meltzer
Artist- Ed Benes

A brand new chapter in the history of the Justice League, the issue starts with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman reforming the League. As they go through inputting their opinions on potential candidates, we see what is going on in the lives of some of their choices. Red Tornado is the main focus of the issue. Due to deceit, he chooses a human body so that a mysterious shadowy figure (is there any other kind?) can get his hands on his android body. We also see a little into the current events of Arsenal, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Black Lightning, and Vixen.

I liked this issue and am curious as to where things will go from here. We saw a new side to Black Lightning and how he is using his political background to his advantage. I also liked the introduction of the reverse-Mr.Miracle, Dr. Impossible. There are a ton of cliffhangers and plot points introduced in this one issue, providing a lot of future story potential. The art is clean and detailed as I like it. I don't feel it has the impact that JLA did when Morrison launched it years ago, but I think we can expect a deeper story compared to Morrison’s more action-packed ones. I recommend everyone pick up this title this week.

And the rest:

52 #16
The wedding of Black Adam and Isis is the focus of the issue. The whole Marvel family gathers for the event as well. We also see Renee and the Question stop a suicidal bomber with Renee having to make a tough decision. And after several issues away, Starfire, Adam Strange, and Animal Man finally make an appearance and get off the planet they were stranded on.

The issue overall felt like a fill-in issue. I didn’t feel that it advanced many of the plots that have built up over the previous 15 issues other than the marriage. Speaking of which, I preferred the harsher Black Adam to the one we see here. He was more interesting and unpredictable. My prediction is we will see Isis get killed, as his first wife was, and it will push him over the edge for good.

Astonishing X-men #16
In this issue, Ord escapes S.W.O.R.D. custody with the assistance of Danger. We see Kitty attempt to take on the Hellfire club after their attack on the X-mansion. Hellfire member Perfection is revealed to be the White Queen. Her alter-ego, Emma Frost, though is already trapped underground. And the X-man destined to destroy Breakworld is revealed.

I’ve got to say my write-up of the issue is more exciting than the issue itself. Joss Whedon (the writer) is known for his great dialogue and characterization. And he doesn’t fall short on this series either. However, his plots are tedious and anti-climatic. We are still burdened with Ord and Danger from his first 12-issue run and they weren’t interesting back then. This version of the Hellfire Club is made of mostly forgettable characters as well. Given how much I love Whedon’s TV shows, I keep expecting more. But with each issue, I feel let down. John Cassaday’s art is great as usual.

Birds of Prey #97
This is the conclusion of the Society’s attempt to recruit Black Alice after her display of power in the Days of Vengeance comic. We see Alice show her age and lose her temper with the Society and the Birds as well. She ends up refusing help from either side, and makes it clear that she wants to be left alone. We also get more insight into the appearance of the old (new?) Batgirl.

A good issue, Gail Simone really conveys the feelings of a teenager put in the situation that Alice experienced. From her disdain for Zinda’s prom queen beauty to the return of her dead mother, she is every inch a child. I also liked that the Birds seem to have made another lifetime enemy in Talia. Between her and Shiva, the Bird’s are making enemies with the most dangerous women on Earth.

Blue Beetle #6
This issue has Blue Beetle and the rest of the Posse attempting to rescue Probe from La Dama. They discover a compound of people with magical affinity that La Dama is supposedly protecting. Beetle offers his protection to any that want to return to their previous lives. Dama reveals that she knows that Beetle is Jamie and that if he interferes in her plans again she will reveal his identity to the world. Finally, the stranger of the past few issues reveals that the scarab is not of magical origin but extra-terrestrial.

I really want to like this series. I like the new Beetle costume and the concept. But the execution of the series is failing. First, each issue is confusing as it doesn’t pick up cleanly where the previous one left off. You are left feeling like you are missing some key scenes. Second, Giffen seems to be missing his trade-mark humor. He is known for writing interesting and humorous tales, and other than the occasional quip, seems to be off his game here. Finally, the art is still horrible. I keep hoping that I will adjust to it and I can’t. It comes across as two-dimensional and flat for my tastes.

Daredevil #88
In this issue we finally learn the secret of Foggy’s apparent death. Daredevil doesn’t appear in this issue at all. We do, however, learn how Foggy feels about his friendship with Matt. He finally, attempts to escape the Fed’s protective custody to try to find Matt, but gets picked up by Mafioso instead. He is saved by the Hand ninjas at Elektra’s request. Foggy then returns to custody and learning his new identity.

An okay issue, but a tale I feel could have been told without taking a whole issue. There wasn’t a lot to say about why and how Foggy survived. Nor did it seem to advance much of the story as to who is pulling Daredevil’s strings. The inclusion of the Hand was a nice touch. I just found myself wanted to see what Daredevil was up to, rather than reading Foggy’s thoughts. I really am enjoying this story arc though, so I won’t be too hard on this one issue.