This week, in Comiclandia ...

Catwoman 53
So, here we are, one year later on the East End of Gotham City (well, and in Downtown Gotham, too). Oh, how things have changed. As everyone already knew, Selina Kyle is no longer Selina Kyle, nor is she Catwoman. She's too busy giving birth to baby Helena (what a coincidence, name-wise). Meanwhile, on the East End, Holly is proving to be not that great of a Catwoman. I mean, she is trying, but it seems her best isn't going all too well. We also get Slam (who's apparently gotten a lot better since last we saw him), Batman shows a soft side towards baby Helena (is he the daddy? We don't know yet ... although the fact that's it's too obvious may make people, including me, think he's not the baby-daddy.), Angle Man is back (and possibly most psychotic than before), and Black Mask is apparently dead. It's a great jumping on issue, although one wonders just how long it is until Selina is back in the suit and Holly's babysitting. We'll see ...

Batman 651
Part two of the one year later storyline, Face to Face (which, ironically or not, is the name of the Siouxsie and the Banshees song that's on the Batman Returns soundtrack and that Bruce and Selina dance to; just thought I'd share that useless trivia there), finds Batman and Robin investigating Poison Ivy's latest attempt at badness (and her unexpected growth in power). You can tell by the way the duo interacts that things have definitely changed in the past year; there seems to be more trust and a better work atmosphere (if that's what you'd call it). This issue sets up Ivy as the counter-eco-terrorist (which is how she was portrayed on Batman: The Animated Series) and then there's the mystery of how her powers have gotten so advanced. Needless to say, Batman prevails, Ivy's probably headed back to Arkham, oh, yeah, and there's that dead villian on the last page. I guess that's important, too.

Robin 148
Is it just me, or does Robin look about five years younger in his own comic book than he does in Batman, Detective Comics, Teen Titans, and, oh, this very series last issue which was one year ago! So this issue starts the "Boy Wanted" storyline where the police (and some others) in Gotham think Robin killed Batgirl (aka Cassandra Cain, who gave up the identity in the last issue of her series). It, of course, isn't Batgirl, but the police don't know that (and neither does the Jade Canary). And there's way more stuff to talk about, but I don't wanna. Besides the inconsistency in Tim's age, I think I'll keep on picking up this book.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 16
So, 1,001 years later, Supergirl somehow ends up with the Legion of Super-Heroes. If you get past the opening sequence with the Legion kids being complete dicks, then you'll get to the meat of the story with something vaguely humanoid barrelling towards Earth and smashing things along the way. The Legion is sent to intervene, Cosmic Boy reveals he wants to step down as team leader, and then Supergirl saves the day. And everyone loves her. I don't know how I feel about her revelation about how she's there, as well as still in the present. Because, you know, that has some ramifications on this title. But if that is the answer, I might just drop this book as easily as I picked it up.

X-Factor 5
Let me start this review by thanking Peter David for not making Siryn lose her powers ... again. That said and done, this issue is the reason I love this series. It showcases the noir, detective feeling this series is supposed to have, and it accomplishes it well with this issue, with Rictor in search of the missing Siryn, and Siryn, well, let's just say if she was into S&M, she would've probably been enjoying herself. Although the killing of the villian seemed a little out of character and a little too easily/quickly. Hope this gets addressed in future issues. But, yeah, good.

Daughters of the Dragon 3 (of 6)
Dear Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti,
Thank you for writing about these two wonderful bail bondswomen. Thank you for having them kick much B- and C-list villian ass. Thank you for having Colleen Wing say "Was there a costume sale on eBay?" Thank you for featuring Doctor Bong. Thank you for Otis (and his quasi-homoerotic nap with Orka. Thank you for the homo-erotic undertones of Ricadonna toward Colleen. And, finally, even though I'm a gay male, thank you for Misty Knight's shower scene.

Nifitly yours,
LtFlux

She-Hulk 6
And the award for the creepiest former Avenger goes to ... Starfox! Seriously, why hasn't anyone sued him for sexual harassment before? I don't know what's worse about him: the fact that he controls his "friends" emotions (in this issue by making Jen and John forget their argument and have Mallory reciprocate Awesome Andy's feelings) or the fac that he says the woman suing him "wanted it" in front of the public, the media, and his own lawyer! And can I personally bitch-slap Jen Walters for not seeing what a catch Pug is? And what exactly is up with Mr. Zix? From the last panel, I can't wait for next issue, as long as there's more junior-high swooning going on. Damn you, Dan Slott, for writing such a damn good book.

NextWave 3
You know, in the first story arc, you kinda feel bad for Fin Fang Foom. I mean, all he wanted was some loving. But the villian on this issue, well, at least there's one less crooked cop now, even though he was turned into what could only be called a villian inspired by Blondie lyrics (as Tabby puts it "He was like twelve-feet tall and eating a car.). Speaking of Tabitha Smith, this has to be the best series she's ever been in. Then again, considering how past writers have mangled her, it's not saying much. But man, I want her to call me on her phone. And you gotta love how her and Monica hate Elsa Bloodstone. Although Elsa does probably have the best line in the issue ("I am President Frankenstein!") Can't wait for next issue to see if the squad keeps the car-eater away from the Sink City Very Small School with Lovely Children Inside. Oh, my, yes.

X-Men 184
I am so dangerously close from dropping X-Men. Peter Milligan's run on this title has been lackluster at best. At least he's almost gone. This issue brings more non-excitement with Rogue finally figuring out the guy she was fighting (with the exact same powers she has) is the guy she stole the powers from in the first place. And why did Scott, the leader of the goddamn X-Men allow a student like Bling to be on the team that goes into Apocalypse's sphinx with Rogue, Havok, and Iceman. That makes no fucking sense, especially considering she's not even one of the "New X-Men." And why is Skids evil ... again?!? Oy, there's more bad, stupidness to this issue, but I can't go on. It's a waste of time. Is this arc over yet? Wah!

"New" Avengers 17
I don't know why I continue to pick this up. Maybe it's because I keep hoping for a Jessica Jones appearance where the artist doesn't draw her with porn-star boobs and she actually gets a line in or, Hera forbid, she helps the team out. This storyline isn't all that great, either, and it's really just a setup arc with Ms. Marvel coming into play to let people know that, hey, she has a new series out, too. And screw the Sentry! Really. Man, after the Young Avengers guest appearance a few issues from now, this book getting removed from my pull list. Oy.

Ares 3 (of 5)
I'm still surprised by how much I'm loving the Marvel Ares (considering I thought nothing could really beat the DC Ares. I mean, really, DC Ares is such a smug asshole that you can't not love him. Sure, he's tried to kill Wonder Woman a gazillion times, but who hasn't? And he may or may not have given Wonder Girl new powers, which is pretty cool. He already gave her that nifty lasso. OK, I'll stop gushing about DC Ares since this isn't about him or his evil dreaminess. Sigh.). This guy is all war, although he is doing all this war out of love for his son, who has been kidnapped by an ancient Japanese god-thing. And it's nice, for once, to see Hercules be taken down a peg or two. And, come on, zombie samurai! That's all.

Testament 4
Testament continues its journey into religion and technology and the like. I don't really know where this series is going, and I often feel lost when I'm reading an issue. Sure, it's paralleling a Bible story with something that's going on in the present of the series, and it seems like some of the present-day people are supposed to be reincarnations or similar to people in the Bible story, but it's all a bit over my head. If it doesn't start making a bit more sense in the next two issues, it'll be deader to me than Zoolander's dead mother.

OK, so I need to stop not reviewing things the week they came out ...

Batman: Year 100 2 (of 4)
I'm really liking this mini, especially the new Robin and Oracle. And Batman wears boxers! Heh. This issue we got more about the fabled "Bat-Man" and how this Jim Gordon wants to uncover the mystery and find out why the feds are being so secretive about a death the Batman allegedly caused. The meditation scene is pretty nifty, as well as Batman's detective work (and his fake teeth). Sigh. Do I really have to wait a month for the next issue? Damn.

DMZ 5
This stand-alone issue is used to show that, for the short time that Matty has been in the demilitarized zone, he's become somewhat infamous. The whole isue is basically a long chase scene with some guy breaking into Matt's place and stealing his press coat and press pass. We also get to see how some of these people are living, oh, yeah, and we see Zee again. And we finally get to meet some people from the Free States. Good issue. Good series. Me tired now.