Comics for 2/20/02

[Samhaine]

Well, here's what I'm getting this week (hopefully I'll have it this weekend, but I may have to wait until next weekend :( )

Batman: Gotham Knights 26
Birds of Prey 40
Exiles 10
JSA 33
Lucifer 23
Peter Parker Spider-Man 40
Robin 99
Superman: Man of Steel 123
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
Ultimate Spider-Man 19

Looks to be a pretty good week, quality-wise.

[TheHuntressDiana]

Man, I've been a very bad girl and haven't picked up my books in a couple of weeks...and I don't really remember what came out this week or not but here they are:

Sojourn #5 (I ordered it and it finally came in).

Sojourn #8

Scion #21

Justice League Adventures #4

Birds of Prey #40

Star Wars #39

[Samhaine]

Alright, I finally got my books yesterday and now I'm ready to comment on them (I'll try to keep them as spoiler free as possible, but there may be very slight ones):

Batman: Gotham Knights 26
Probably one of the best issues of this series so far. Tim and Dick, Dick & Babs, Alfred and Leslie, they all had great moments. I can see Nightwing becoming a must-read book once again with Grayson writing (as long as they get a new penciller)

Birds of Prey 40
Dixon had to incorporate more of the Murder? storyline this month, since it was the last part of the series. However, he was able to include nice bits with Spoiler and Blue Beetle, making me enjoy this issue even more. And now I cannot wait (tho I have to, about a week) ffor Batman #600 to come out. I'm tre intrigued.

Exiles 10
An excellent conclusion to the best storyline so far. So many great character moments, and the ending was very heartwrenching. I honestly cannot wait to see where this book goes from here.

JSA 33
And a new storyline commences for DC's classic superteam. And boy, this is not what I expected at all. The new world, the JLA, everything was so different and frightening. It looks to be another great arc from an all-around great book.

Lucifer 23
The conclusion to the first of three combining arcs that are to serve as a great epic. I'll tell you, this book is consistantly great month-in, month-out. It may have originated as a Sandman spin-off, but it definately (pardon the pun) shed it's wings after the initial miniseries into a book all it's own. I can't wait until the Purgatorio and Inferno storylines are done, so that I can read the whole series back to back and catch everthing I missed. This series is kind of one long arc, but man, is it good.

Peter Parker Spider-Man 40
And part 2 of the new 4 part Doc Ock storyline. Honestly, between this and Amazing, I like this book better. This issue proves why. I get a great feel for Spidey, as shown by the action sequences. And Ock really gets to shine here, too.

Robin 99
Dixon's last solo issue of Robin, and it's surprisingly good. Dixon has been slipping lately in his writing on all three of his Battitles, which is why most people thought it was good for him to leave, while sad at the same time. This issue continues Dixon's trend to pretty much ignore the crossover, giving a story wrapping up loose ends for the incoming new writer. Although, he hasn't wrapped nearly everything up (such as why Brentwood seemed to be loaded with troublesome teens), but there is the double sized 100th issue next month that will hopefully shed some light on the subject.

Superman: Man of Steel 123
Well, umm.....hmm. So, characters act completely out of character, contradicting recent stories done by writers who know what they're talking about just so that one of the players is more menacing. I'm sorry, but the Braniac 13 stuff has really rubbed me the wrong way, and a 3-part arc dealing almost strictly with that is not going to interest me, unless it ultimately gets rid of B13 once and for all.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
See thread TMNT #2 for my thoughts on this book, but it's spoilerisious. But for non-spoilered thoughts? It's good. Any Turtles fan will love it, and I reccomend anyone who liked the Turtles before to go get issues 1 & 2.

Ultimate Spider-Man 19
And both storylines are finally coming to a conclusion. This arc has just seemed longer that usual, and while this book remains good, it's just seemed a little unexciting lately. However, the end to this issue seems to be upping the excitement a bit, and I'm very curious to see where it all goes.

Well, that's all I got this week (My store also finally got 9-11 vol. 1 in, but I haven't had time to read it yet). Hope this helps!

[kid_flash]

Quick spoiler-free opinions:

Gotham Knights: Everything you expect from Devin Grayson.

Birds of Prey: Dixon must leave. While this didn't totally crash and burn, a lotta stuff just didn't cut it.

JSA: The triumphant return of David Goyer. 'Nuff said.

Robin: I don't know what it is with Dixon. His regular issues of Robin have royally sucked lately, but the Murderer? crossover somehow forced him to write well.

Ultimate Spider-Man: Kicked butt, as always.