funny book round-up

So I did some work today, at least one project wring St. Martin's about an author was taken care of, but it's hard to concentrate, especially because I'm getting over a big that's making me a little more tired than usual, which isn't good for doing work reading.  So I've read a few weeks of comics.  You can find a collection of links to my blog posts on the DC "0" issues in September here:

http://brilligblogger.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-new-52-weeks-later.html

http://brilligblogger.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-new-52-weeks-later-pt-4.html

http://brilligblogger.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-new-52-weeks-later-pt-3.html

http://brilligblogger.blogspot.com/2012/09/batwing-was-pleasant-surprise-in-dcs.html

Disappointments:  Issue #1 of Team 7 did not live up to the theoretical promise of the 0 issue, and since the Teen Titans looks to be crossing over with Team 7 and is very of and off, I may stop with Teen Titans.  The dark side of crossovers, they are as or more likely to make me stop buying something as to add it.  

Crossover Goodness:  The Batman books are looking in very good shape going into the Joker's return in a "Death of the Family" crossover.  I tried Detective #13 with a new creative team and liked it enough to buy the next issue. This one was a little muddy with the art, but it was interesting art, and an interesting script with Scarecrow, a classic Bat villian.  Just in general, the Batman books have done a really good job of using old Batman villains since the New 52 relaunch.  Firestorm and others have pretty much ignored earlier villains.  Flash has been using the old villains, but not in a way that I like, and I decided not to buy issue #13, if I did it would be a disappointment.  Getting back directly to Batman, #13 which starts the crossover was very good.  Nightwing #13 was good.  Batgirl #13 was good.  The Batman books are, to me, in the best place they've been for a long, long, long time.

New and Bereft:  A Madame X one-shot, part of this series to introduce non-DCU characters that DC purchased over the years into the DCU, didn't do it for me.  Nor did DC Universe #13 Presents Black Lightning and Blue Devil, the first in an arc.

Pleasant Surprise:  Fury of Firestorm #13 with new writer Dan Jurgens and artist Ray McCarthy shows signs of being a nice second year re-book for the series, that I may like more than generally I did the past year's worth of books.

Staying Strong:  The "2nd" issues i.e., Phantom Stranger #1 and Sword & Sorcery W/Amethyst #1 after last month's 0 issues were both good enough for me to commit to issue #2.  Does everyone in Amethyst have to have the same color hair?  It's less clear where Phantom Stranger is going than Amethyst, but it's nice to be comparing quality of new issues in a new series.  And Talon #1 also has the series on good footing, though I'm not sure there's enough there to make an ongoing series of this.  Well, I think we can let 'em show us what they've got.

Steady as She Goes:  Superboy and Superman #1 were good enough.  The "H'el on Earth" Superman crossover isn't looking to be something so good that it will get me buying Supergirl, but it looks OK that I won't stop buying things I'm buying now.  Saucer Country #8 begins to move the series forward after a couple issues of consolidating and reviewing, and continues to be an excellent new Vertigo series for 2012 which I'd recommend to anyone.

Bongo:  One Shot Wonder Maggie #1 was about what you'd expect for a Maggie book, no more.  Simpsons #195 was a very good issue.  Marge exiles Homer to the back yard as a tornado is coming, Homer ends up in a geodesic dome, the dome ends up amidst a LARP/Ren Faire kind of thing, then with Civil War reenactors, then here and there, leading Homer to think he is traveling through time.  This is a "don't ask questions" issue, just sit back and enjoy the ride and it's quite delightful.  Bart Simpson #76 starts off with a fun high school fundraiser when Bart, has a mediocre Daedalus retelling in the middle, and then an OK haunted house on the highway thing that's nicely illustrated but with no surprises in the script.