Eric picked Titans #5 as the best book he read this week because the character interactions were great and the art was pretty good for a change. We also discuss Robin, Uncanny X-Men, Young X-men, Secret Invasion, Hellblazer and more
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Written by Judd Winick
Pencils by Julian Lopez
Colors by Edgar Delgado
Letters by Rob Clark Jr.
It's no secret that I love every character that inhabits this book. So far though I've found Titans to be lackluster. The characters haven't really had a chance to settle in to the team, being too busy fighting demon spawn and being possessed. This issue however finally let everyone take a breather and deal with being a team again with this group that has so much history together. In short, personal moments abound! Gar and Ravens soul bearing discussion paid respect to Titans history while setting up the next direction for Raven. I've enjoyed watching these two get closer since they've come back into each others lives. It makes complete sense that these people who have such a history would develop feelings for eachother. And speaking of relationships, revisiting Dick and Kory's past was the scene stealer for me. Despite being set in pool allowing some cheesecake art, the conversation between the two is somewhat heart wrenching. When Kory asks Dick if he loves her, and his single strained answer was "no", my heart sank a bit. These two are the lovers who will never truly work and anyone who has ever been in that situation will feel something in this scene.
Judd Winick does a great job with the smaller scenes in this book. This issue spotlighted how well he writes smaller moments. That's not to say he can't do action but few do character development like Judd. Winick, like Johns, does well telling a new story while tying in the Titans rich history. These are characters that have known eachother for years yet haven't spent much time together in the last several. Come to think of it, this book reads like an action heavy high school reunion and I love that since I've been able to see these people grow up.
I really hope Lopez stays on this book. The art is a drastic improvement from the last several issues. The only thing I don't understand is the overabundance in this title of putting characters in revealing outfits (not just the costumes). It seems like they got an editorial comment to make it happen in every issue. Anyways, its still a big improvement from what we've had.
This book stood out as a "most improved player" book this month. I love this team and I want to see them do well. It seems like Winick has finally found his stride and I hope the momentum is maintained.
Eric picked Detective Comics #848 as the best book he read this week because it wasn't directly tied in to Batman R.I.P, yet was really good. We also take a look at X-Men: Manifest Destiny#1, Spider-Man loves Mary Jane #2, Trinity #15 and more. We finish off the show by discuss Warner Bros. new idea of making more DC movies but making them all dark, even Superman!
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Written by Brian Michael bendis
Art by Butch guise
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Letters by Cory Petiit
Wow this was a very pleasant surprise.
I've been reading Ultimate Origins since the beginning and I've been been enjoying it but it's never jumped out at me. I guess I find myself looking at it and scratching my head. I love the origin story and the creepy towers and how everything is connected but I think what's kept me from loving this story is that it's setting up Ultimatum, an event that I'm not looking forward and I think that's affecting the way I see this book.
All that aside, this issue was so good that I just went with it straight from the beginning. When we were at the Emerald City Con last year, at a Q & A Bendis said there were a lot of plans for Nick Fury and that we would finally get a Nick fury origin story. In the last issue we were given a glimpse but we got a lot more Fury in this issue and that's never a bad thing.
Ultimate Origins was advertised with the idea that so many things and people in the Ultimate universe were connected without knowing it and I was a little hesitant by that idea but things really came together in this issue and I just absolutely loved it.
We find out what motivates Nick Fury, how Peter's parents died and more and the issue ended with the reveal of the Ultimate Watcher and I knew, hands down, at that point that this was the book of the week.
We had some technical difficulties so this episode is a little late but still here! Eric picked New Avengers #44 as the best book that he read and not for the reasons that you may think. We also discuss the end of Teen Titans Year One, JSA, X-Men Legacy, DCU: The Last Will & Testament and more.
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Written by Paul Dini
Pencils by Dustin Nguyen
Inks by Derek Fridolfs
Colors by John Kalisz
The older I get, the more forgiving I'm getting about continuity issues. I tend to try and make my own continuity in my head, its the only way to make things work sometimes. It also helps me get past small glitches in timelines and just enjoy the story being told. As soon as I stopped trying to make Paul Dini's "Heart of Hush" story work within the confines of RIP and just let it run on its own steam, it really became a great Batman story.
Paul Dini's writing on DC has always been great and a little reminiscent of the old animated series. However, with stories such as the Joker/Zatanna arc along with the current Hush story, the tone of the book has become seemingly darker. Detective Comics now closely resembles the old Shadow of the Bat title of the 90s (which was one of my favorites). Dini has done a wonderful job of taking Hush into an even scarier realm than explored in the Jeph Loeb storyline, really turning Thomas Elliot into the mad surgeon. We've also been given more glimpses into his childhood and life at home. While not terribly original, it does provide more substance for the character. The addition of Selina Kyle is always welcome in this title as well. Selina's reaction as she saw Hushs face shows that Dini still has a few surprises up his sleeve.
Nguyen's art is outstanding. I love his stylized approach to the characters. There's a simplicity that when combined with Fridolfs' inks, the visuals become almost eerie and frightening. This is the Batman that I remember as a kid.
It's been a good year to be a Batman fan and while Morrison is pushing the boundaries of weird in the main title, it's been great to have Dini write a proper, scary sendoff for Bruce Wayne.
