Do-do do do dit do, DO! (Think Mario.)

It was kinda hard for me to get these reviews going this week. Dunno why. I've had some nice days off with my family, so maybe that's it.

But I've also been reading some non-comic book fiction.

Two books have been finished or started this week.

First was one of my favorites, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, By Michael Chabon. It tells the story of two young cousins who helps launch the comic book era, their lives and how their work changes not only who they are, but how comics are percieved. It's a Pulitzer Prize winner, folks, and one of those books I read every few years. Chabon develops his characters well, and you actally learn quite a lot about how the very first publishers screwed their creators, which actually ended up leading to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It's an intriguing blend of non-genre fiction that somehow manages to also show how a genre works.

Next, I'm about a third of the way into the decidedly geektastic Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It's about the hunt for a treasure, buried by an eccentric billionaire...within the world of a video game he created. The author is very much enamored of the 1980's, and sure does love referencing them at the drop of a hat. That's not normally something I'm a fan of, but here, given the plot, it works really well. I can't wait to find out if some of the hunches I have about plots and characters are going to prove true or false. It's a decidedly quickly placed novel, and one I have a hard time putting down. I can't wait to finish it!

Right, now on to the comics!

And now for a nap...

All told, mostly a good week in comic land, with lots of strong books coming out, and stories deepening. I decided to drop a comic this week, without even bothering to review it.

I dropped Mr. Terrific. It was really starting to come off as cliched writing and villainy 101, and it take a lot, a LOT to get me to read that. The villain even did the cheesy "Call me Brainstorm, prepare to die!" riff that I remember not liking even when I first read comics. I'll be honest, I just didn't want to read it, but forced myself to, and decided it was out. Sorry guys.

Batgirl #2 – Another swimmingly good second issue. I gotta say, I was never huge on Batgirl in the past, but I did dig Batgirl: Year One. So it’s quite interesting to me to see her remembering how to be a hero. I also dig “start of darkness” stories and where villains and antagonists come from, and Mirror, the villain here, has a suitably tragic backstory. The motivation is an interesting one, in all honesty, and only serves to beg a question: Namely, how did he get his list of survivors? I hope it’s got a good answer. One of the nice bits that I liked was with Bab’s new roommate, who thinks that Barbara is being beaten by a guy. The vehemence behind her scene is…interesting and somewhat jarring. I look forward to finding out more about her. All told a pretty good issue. The artwork is pretty decent, and the story advanced nicely.

                Recommendation: Trade, because while everything’s good, there’s something here which, for me, stops me from putting it in my pull box.

Batman & Robin #2 – My first thought about the cover? Na na na na na na BATPIG! Apparently the new Batmobile has a very porcine design. Once we get into the issue, though, we have a pretty good story that furthers last month’s plot nicely.  My favorite bit, though, was the way Damian’s origin was told…in a nicely laid out 2-page spread. The other thing I liked was seeing Bruce trying to be a father, and getting lessons from his surrogate father, Alfred. This book is actually shaping up exactly like I wanted to see. It’s quite gratifying to see the interplay of Bruce and his son, and how he’s a somewhat less than ideal father, but still trying. It’s better than nothing. The main plot of the arc, who and why someone is killing Batman franchisees, deservedly takes a back seat to the emotional interplay between the two leads. This may be my favorite of the Bat-titles. Um…that is, the Bat-titles featuring Batman.

                Recommendation: Pull box. Like I said, it’s the strongest of the Bat-books, with a decent mystery, and wonderful relations between the titular characters.