Last Week In Comics, giving a fresh take on 5-day-old comics.

Green Lantern #32

I still don’t know how I feel with a new or updated origin for Hal Jordan. I have a sweet spot for Hal’s second origin – Emerald Dawn was my first trade paperback in the DCU other than “Batman: A Death In the Family.”

I am enjoying this new origin… but it all is seeming to tie too easily into the new Green Lantern mythos born from Hal’s resurrection in Rebirth. I never had a grasp on Hector Hammond before and I like the setup to make him a major player again in the Green Lantern comics, since this seems to be an origin story for him as well.

As long as I can distance myself from the fond memories of Hal Jordan the drunk driver, I will continue to enjoy this newest origin of Hal Jordan.

Superman #677

I love almost all of Jack Kirby’s work. I admire his art and it’s awesome ability to tell a story. I even like most of Jack Kirby’s stories. Jack Kirby’s costume design… well sometimes I wonder…

I was all about to make fun of Atlas, yeah the guy who in mythological stories held up the planet, and even question his toughness seeing how he is wearing only a skirt and a scarf on his head. After surfing the net, I learned that this version of Atlas was a Jack Kirby design and character. Upon learning that I moved on and put the costume design into the Darksied category of a badass in a miniskirt.

Once able to read the story without laughing at Atlas, I came to the conclusion that the parts involving Atlas still sucked.

If you have this issue and were waiting five days from it’s purchase for my review before reading it here is my advice: Just read the part where Superman, Hal Jordan, and Krypto are playing fetch in outer space. Yes and Krypto has dialog that is deeper and more fun to read than that of the Science Police and Atlas who also appear in this issue.

Teen Titans #60

I hope now that this issue is over there will be no more _____ Titans (fill in the blank with an evil sounding word) now that the Teen Titans defeated the Clock King’s Terror Titans.

What you mean there is a Terror Titans #1 solicited… damn!

Here is my take on this issue: “If the Blue Beetle was not in this issue I would not have purchased it and this title would be dropped a.s.a.p.”

There are only three characters on the current roster of the Teen Titans that I enjoy reading about: Blue Beetle, Ravager, and Robin. Now that Ravager is gone I am expecting Wendy and Marvin to pick up the slack in this series or I may not continue to read it.

Trinity #4

I am still trying to figure out where this is going… for the last three issues the Trinity (Supes, Bats, and Wonder Woman) and the Justice League have been fighting a losing battle against a Doomsday-like creature. Here is a recap of the last three issues: 1. Creature takes out JLA. 2. Creature KO’s Superman. 3. Creature gets stronger (armor) and continues to kick butt.

When this series started I liked that aspect of a cosmic duo studying the Trinity, but that has slowed down. I know that this is a 52 week story, but the pace needs to pick up soon because as of now I am more interested in the secondary story.

I was never a fan of Gangbuster in the early 90s. Maybe it was the fact that Metropolis had so many other Superheroes that I wasn’t a fan of a man in riot gear single-handedly crusading against all gang activity. In this comic seeing the Gangbuster as a concerned citizen in a town without super-villains seems works better and right now that is the most enjoyable part of this comic.

and…

THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK:
FINAL CRISIS #2

I read Final Crisis #2 as soon as I sat down with it in my possession and my first reaction (that I posted on Twitter) was “Final Crisis #2 – WTF? I have to read through it again, but right now my head hurts.”

So I read it again, slower. I payed attention to the pretty pictures a little more before going to CBR’s Final Crisis Forums.

Discussing and dissecting a comic with peers can easily enhance “good book” to the “great book” status it deserves. This is where I am jealous of those who work in comic shops, because I have to rely on forums for my discussion since my comics come from a stand in a local indoor flea market.

The reason this comic is easily THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK is not because of the story alone it’s because of the story telling found in this comic. The clues, or details, leading the readers to believe that Dan Turpin is the new host of Darksied, the imprint of Jon Stewart’s ring on Kraken’s hand, the exiled Monitor’s sketches, a time traveling bullet with what seems to be the Morticoccus virus inside of it, and the mysterious Libra are making Final Crisis one hell of a ride.

Oh, and any series that is prompting me to purchase Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus and Morrision’s Seven Soldiers of Victory so that I better understand it must make DC Comics one happy publisher.