Wednesday's Loot - 7 June 2006

Slow week. Good for the pocket book. Blogger was kaput yesterday so this is only up now.

52 Week 5
Well I’m happy that a certain someone whose series I haven’t finished reading in trades has made it. Plus teasing orange nudity. What more do you want from a comic? Senseless violence and pseudo-science? Oh wait, that’s in there too. This issue focuses on the aftermath of the Rann-Thanagar War and what happened to the heroes in the zeta beam and all the ones not killed off in Infinite Crisis or the specials. I thought it was pretty cool. This issue really focuses on Steel rushing to the hospital to help out and a surprise announcement from good old supervillain standby Lex Luthor which you just know is going to lead to some kind of massive plot. And is anyone else creeped out by eye stuff. Ever since Un Chien Andalou, eye injuries make me queasy.
I rate this comic: Still the way complex decompressed stories work well outside of the trade format.

Detective Comics #820
What the hell’s up with Bruce’s dad? Did I miss something? Otherwise this was another straight forward addition to a straight forward Batman caper that I’m loving. Scarecrow is sufficiently creepy and Tim is written how Dick should be written. If you’re wanting a great Batman and Robin caper you could to much much worse that this Face the Face story. Can I see hands on who thinks Two-Face is setting up Harvey Dent? I give it 5 to 2 odds. I do have to say that the interaction between Batman and everyone else is being handled much better here. He respects people and says so without being mushy and stern/concerned without being an ass. Plus he’s acting like he has faith in people now – even people who repeatedly mess up. He’s kind of like Job I guess suffering for his own belief instead of how the biblical story plays out.
I rate this comic: Batman back to basics.

Last Planet Standing #3
Is this Marvel’s answer to 52? It feels like it’s coming out weekly. I love this comic. It’s just completely fun. It’s simply Galactus and his herald blowing shit up. They got rid of the Shi-ar and their impossible haircuts, then Asgard and it’s rainbow streets, this time out it was The Watcher and a bunch of celestials (except that was Reed not Galactus and no bodies have been produced).
I rate this comic: The Marvel summer series for me.

Also picked up Action Philosopher's Giant Sized Thing but only read the Plato bit so far.