Final Crisis Comic Book Reviews for 07/02/08

Wrapping up a relatively slow week in comics is this week's Final Crisis Comic Book Reviews.

While I haven't made them yet, based on what I've seen so far this week, the Moments of the Week are looking a little sparse so far. If you know of anything you think might be worth mentioning in tomorrow's MotW, feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Also, I forgot to mention this yesterday, but one of my reader's, Zeromus, wrote a nice review / summary / overview of Grant Morrison's Batman run. Anyone looking for a refresher or primer on everything that's happened so far. You can check that out by clicking here.

I can't think of anything else to say, so hit the jump for the rest of this week's reviews!

BLUE BEETLE #28
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by Davide Baldeón and Steve Bird

Pfeifer turned in another solid done-in-one issue. I don't mind these types of stories and he has a great handle on Jaime and his supporting cast, but, at the same time, it does feel like we've been treading water ever since Rogers left the book back in Blue Beetle #25. I shouldn't fault the issue for the directionless feel of the title as of late, but the new writer should be coming on soon (next issue?), so that complaint should be taken care of relatively soon.

The giant monster on the cover is a relic from the original Blue Beetle's, Dan Garrett, rogues gallery and yet another instance of paying tribute to the previous Blue Beetles in the pages of this title. That is the one thing I typically dislike about new takes or legacy characters - the lack of respect or complete disregard for the past. Thankfully, Blue Beetle has always paid its respects and homage to the previous encarnations and I'm still waiting for someone to make a, "W.W.T.K.D.?", t-shirt.

The story is basically Jaime trying to track down the beast and finding an old man that's been trying to pay penance for his crimes over the past several decades.

Verdict - Check It. Solid done-in-one issue that gives you a full story, does a great job with the character and his supporting cast and manages to weave more of the Blue Beetle mythos into this title.


LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #43
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Frances Manapul and John Livesay

It's all falling apart for the Legion of Super-Heroes and I'm loving it. Well, not all the bad things happening to them part. I'm loving the story part of it.

Shooter is doing an excellent job here with a huge cast of characters that would make it easy for some characters to get lost in the shuffle. Every single character has their own unique voice and personality that shines through in even the simplest of scenes and he somehow still manages to bring together and advance multiple plots spread out across different worlds.

It's always fun seeing the good guys get systematically taken down and this current Legion storyline has that in spades. The team is still facing numerous government sanctions that see the team's base served with a search warrant (the bastards even tried to confiscate their comics!) in regards to the Invisible Kid spying incident froma few issues ago that culminates with the entire team being placed under arrest.

Not to be outdone, the field operatives currently on assignment aren't having any better luck. Ultra Boy and Saturn Girl's team are busy fighting off the local science police trying to arrest Ultra Boy for past crimes on his homeworld and Karate Kid's team, on a different planet, ended up getting separated and captured after Karate Kid and Triplicate Girl were spirited away by some mysterious character just before the battle began.

Verdict - Check It. I, personally, love this book, but I don't think it's something for everyone, so I'm leaving it as a Check It for the time being. There's lots of stuff happening in this issue and things are really picking up steam as this storyline seems to be hitting the turning point as the Legion hits rock bottom.


NIGHTWING #146
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Don Kramer and Sandu Florea

Freefall has been a great debut for Tomasi and a definite return to form for the Nightwing title on the whole. While the actual plot of this story was average, at best, with the whole digging up dead super villains and, later, the grafting of wings onto the baby factory Great Ten member's constant stream of super aging babies, the characterization and overall treatment of Nightwing, Dick Grayson and his role in the DCU has been the best it's ever been.

To sum this issue up in a few words, Nightwing and Talia team up to take down the mad scientist, Creighton, and free the captured Great Ten member. It's really a rather striaghtforward conclusion, but it did the best it could with the material at hand. The interplay between Talia and Dick was great and I liked the Superman bit at the end, which mirrored how Tomasi's arc began with Superman talking to Nightwing.

One thing of interest was the idea of a graveyard for super powered individuals and the possibility of collecting all the dead heroes and villains and relocating their bodies to a designated area below the JLA's headquarters to prevent any future tampering with genetic tissue from the fallen heroes or villains.

What's the big deal with this, you ask? Well, Tomasi writes Green Lantern Corps and the Green Lantern titles are building to an event, the Blackest Night, that involves the resurrection of the dead to join the Black Lantern Corps. Is this just coincidence or will this super powered graveyard be a major focal point come Blackest Night? Seems like a prime spot for some rings to show up if they collect all the dead super powered individuals in one place...

Verdict - Check It. Pretty average issue overall and I'm glad to see this plot wrapped up. It wasn't the best, but Tomasi made the characters work and Dick hasn't been written this well in a long time.


PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #1
Written by Kathryn Immonen
Art by David Lafuente

I picked this title up on a whim and was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. It's just a whimsical and fun filled issue that reminded me of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.

While I don't think this comic book will be up everyone's alley, I think a lot of people that may have passed it up or failed to even give it a look might do well to stop and take a gander the next time they hit up their comic shop. They might just be surprised at how much they end up enjoying a title like this.

The basic plot is simply Iron Man calling up Hellcat with an offer to head up a one man Initiative team in Alaska and subsequently dealing with her trip up there and a really random talking polar bar fight scene at the end.

It doesn't sound like much, but it's fun to read and Immonen does an excellent job with Patsy's dialogue and the tone of the story is decidedly carefree and just fun. Did I mention this issue was just fun to read? I think I've said it's fun already, but I don't know if I stressed that enough yet.

Verdict - Check It. It's far from required reading and I honestly don't think everyone will like this type of book, but, for those that do, this is more than likely a Must Read than a Check It in that regard.

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