Wednesday's Loot - 14 February 2007

The Valentine's Day edition! But Diamond has no love for Mr. Cormier as Godland doesn't seem to have been delivered to Ottawa.

52 Week 41
I didn’t know much about The Question but 52 got me to like him. Then he got cancer and died, only he kept showing up in stories until he died off panel and this is the first we hear of it. Or did he die in that snowstorm a few weeks ago. I have to say that’s a bit mishandled in my opinion. Otherwise this is a solid issue. Wonder Woman with the monks and Montoya going all Kung-fu were some great moments that I think serve her plot very well. The space heroes are back in action with some great action sequences with Mogo as the latest spheroid last page reveal. I think Egg-fu was the first. I’m glad to see Ralph and Fate’s Helmet show up and go all Booster and Skeets on an old dude with no legs then disappear. But honestly, the parts with Adam Strange were just handled perfectly for me. Finally, like Steele, we get a hero who faces his own demons and takes about a second to overcome them. It’s a brilliant contrast to Starfire who just never stopped acting like a hero from the start. Naturally it looks like she’s been killed off because having heroes without self-doubt seems to be the big no no one year later if that promotional image of the headless statue of liberty has anything to say about it.
I rate this comic: Really quite good after a few slower weeks.

Manhunter #28
Page one pokes fun at Justice League of America in classic Blue Beetle form but the love of the Bwa-ha-ha era of the character continues throughout. I sort of feel like this book should have been billed as 52 since it’s dealing with a lot of the continuity and story scraps in a very strong and convincing manner. The main character stays out of costume and lets the guest stars shine, and shine they do. The presentations of Blue Beetle, Wonder Woman and Batman are all top notch here but adding Kate Spencer’s voice over to the proceedings just gives these scenes an edge I can appreciate. I’m a bit lost on some of the side stories because I’m fuzzy on the whole Azreal era of Batman which may not be a bad thing but my plan to get the Manhunter trades should help me catch up on the supporting cast. I’ll be sorry to see this title go but I wasn’t buying it either until recently and I feel like an idiot because of it.
I rate this comic: Making for a strong week so far, even if I can’t get a copy of Godland in Ottawa.

Batman #663
Well that was certainly different with enough twisted romance for any Valentine's Day curmudgeon.
I rate this comic: More of a text essay than a comic book and a subversive attempt to get superhero comic fans to read something trying to push the limits of the form.