After the lackluster Legacy story arc of the past two issues (which put a dent in my "Gail Simone is a writing goddess" dream), the Titans get up to pace with the stand-alone Life and Death (No. 29). This issue finds the Titans dealing with some recently de-deceased people, namely founding Titan Donna Troy (original Wonder Girl, Troia) and former Robin (now the Red Hood) Jason Todd.
The issue deals mainly with a confrontation between Robins: Jason wants to know what Tim (the current Robin) has that makes him a better Batman sidekick. To tell the truth, it's a little disturbing and shows how mentally unstable Jason is. I mean, really. I haven't been keeping up with the Batman titles, except for reading reviews here and there, but man, Jason is one crazy bird. Although, you do kinda start to feel a little bad for him ... but not much. After Jason beats Tim to a near pulp, Donna makes the scene with her soon-to-be space-faring crew (consisiting of Starfire, Bumblebee, and the Herald, so far).
We get some interesting subplots along the way in this issue. We have Cassie (Wonder Girl) still upset with her mother for not telling her that she's the daughter of a Greek god (literally). We have Conner (Superboy) still being a whiny bitch for acting more like his bad father than his good father. And we have the set up for the Brother Blood arc starting in No. 30. What's also interesting is how Beast Boy (Gar) seemingly forgets whether Elasti-Girl is alive or not, which is odd considering she adopted him when they were part of the Doom Patrol, which means that this Infinite Crisis thing going on might be having an effect on the memories of people, as well. Only time will tell on that front, I suppose.
No. 30 starts the two-part Lost and Found arc, which features the return of Brother Blood and some other ... well, let's just say they look like they'd fit in on the set of a George Romero flick. We also get a couple of pages of the former Kid Devil, which means he may be involved more in the next issue.
The whole issue is kinda told in a wacky format that confused me a bit. I had to read it a couple of time to make sure I was getting everything. The scenes kept on getting spliced with "comic book pages," and the time sequence of how things were going on was a bit disorienting. I mean, Brother Blood is attacking Raven and Beast Boy, then they're in L.A., then all of a sudden, Wonder Girl is attacking a classmate and Kid Flash is picking up Speedy. And then there's fighting. Gah. The issue could've probably been put together a bit more cohesively, but you'll over look that for two reasons: what goes on between Raven and Gar, and who shows up near the end of the book.
Both issues set up some dangling plots that will hopefully be cleared up a bit by One Year Later. With elements from the Titans Tomorrow storyline filtering in, it looks like there just may be an intersting couple of months ahead for the Titans.
Generation M Nos. 1 and 2
The premise of this limited series has mutated (pardon the pun) along the way. First, it was supposed to be focusing on the de-powered mutants following the House of M storyline. Then, it was supposed to be the now ex-mutants being reported on by a reporter for an alternative newspaper in NYC. Now, it's about the same reporter, but it's her story now. Oh yeah, and the series acts as an introduction to this character and writer who will move over to The Pulse after the end of this series.
In the first few pages, we're introduced to Sally Floyd, a reporter/columnist for The Alternative, a very Village Voice-y paper set in the Marvel U. Sally used to write a column for the paper called "The Mutant Diaries," where, as the title implies, she interviewed mutants and told their story. Over the course of the issue, we find that Sally has a short temper, has a problem with alcohol, and somehow lost her baby daughter along the way. Sans the baby, this chick sounds an awful lot like Jessica Jones, the outgoing "star" of The Pulse, who will more than likely be relegated to "Luke Cage's girlfriend/baby mama" over in New Avengers.
Anyway. We're also introduced to Congressman Sykes, a man who is pushing mutant registration bill, because, you know, just because all these millions of people lost their powers still makes them a danger. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. Apparently, as shown in the first issue, Sykes and Sally have a not-so-good past.
Oh yeah, aren't there supposed to be some ex-mutants in this series? So, for two pages we get to see Chamber de-powered, with a hole in his chest, and hooked up to all sorts of machinery. And then you wonder why the X-Men decide he'd be safer in some random hospital in NYC. Oh, yeah, that's right, because X-Mansion gets destroyed at least once every other issue. Makes sense.
But Sally doesn't look a gift gapping chest wound in the, well, chest wound, so she decides to write a piece about Chamber and rename her column "The Ex-Mutant Diaries."
And it takes off. Suddenly, Sally is a star (like Stab Baby). Her old Mutant Diary columns are put into a book and becomes and Oprah Book Club book. She goes on Oprah. She gets all sorts of airtime. Then she gets a package taped to the door of her apartment filled with pictures of dead ex-mutants, all of them having been interviewed by her.
It's basically the same formula for No. 2. Sally talks to the cops about the pics of the dead ex-mutants. We find out Stacy X has gone back to her old ways since she lost her powers. We find out that Jubilee just might've aged, has known Sally for several years, and is now mutant rights activist (and acts kinda out of character for Jubes). Oh yeah, and we're reminded that Sally has a dead kid and a drinking problem.
The ending of the issue is a bit of a shock, which draws you into wanting to pick up No. 3. And there's a nice cameo of Tony Stark at an A.A. meeting.
Overall, the series has potential, meaning that Sally might just make a good fit when she graduates to The Pulse in a few months. Even though she does just seem like a cheap rip-off of Jessica Jones, who was already a cheap rip-off of Jessica Drew. Sigh. As for now, I just want to know what's coming in No. 3. Word.
X-Men: Deadly Genesis Nos. 1 and 2
There's been much speculation about what's going on with Deadly Genesis. It's supposed to introduce a new villian to the X-stable of villians. It's supposed to expose yet another dark secret from Professor Xavier's past. So far, I don't know what to think.
The first issue shows us many things. There're the Sentinals that now guard the X-Mansion. There's some guy in an asteriod up with a bunch of dead astronauts who's surprised that it's now the 21st century. There's some "hallucinations" being had by Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Marvel Girl (Rachel), Wolverine, and Cyclops. There's Emma being bitchy (oh, wait, that's not new). There's a space shuttle about to crash in a very familiar place for those long-time readers. There's Banshee discovering something that the dead Moira McTaggert said about the Prof. Then we get Rachel, Wolvie, and Cyclops going to investigate the odd crash site, only to get their asses handed to them, along with some cryptic clues.
We find that Wolvie is in Army custody at the start of the second issue, with Shadowcat and Beast trying to get him out, only to have to rely on Emma using some mental trickery to make it happen. We get Havok "hallucinating," as well as being unproductive. We find Cyclops of his daughter captured, making small talk, with Rachel sensing that wherever they are, the Prof has been there before, only to kinda get it confirmed by their mysterious captor. Then the plot thickens a bit with the arrival of Banshee.
The backup stories to each issue introduce some new mutants. We have Petra, who can control the earth, and Armando (known as Darwin), who can evolve to survive his environment. Both are saved by unseen people: Petra by a man, Armando by a woman. Word on the street is that these backups will somehow contribute to the main story, but so far, how that is is still a mystery.
So far, a lot has happened, but not so much. It's a little of a conundrum. And how many goddamn secrets does Professor Xavier have in his closet?!?! Geez. The series is still a good read, but you just kinda want to know who the mysterious new villian is and get it over with already. House of M already wasted our time, why this? This story could've been told in one of the main titles instead of the crap that's there right now (well, except for Rachel's story; that one's sort of good). Oh well, I'll still be picking up the third issue. I'm such a masochist.
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