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

Last night at 10pm I was at the hospital and my wife went into labor. At 3:16am our first child was born. Now it is 11pm the same day and I have less than two hours of sleep but I still feel the need to finish the post that I started to write yesterday afternoon.

So please excuse any typos or confusing sentences because proof reading a post is the furthest thing from my mind right now… first is family second is sleep and third is comic books.

Detective Comics #847

In the last issue we started to learn more about the true origin and motivation behind Hush. In this origin we find out that little Tommy was evil from day one when he staged an “accident” that should have caused his parent’s death. His mother survived because of the awesome skills and Kryptonian technology (See Superman/Batman #50) doctor Thomas Wayne.

Because of this Hush hates Bruce Wayne and Batman. Not only does Paul Dini create a weak motive for the villain who like Jason Todd and the Wraith before him is Batman’s evil equal, he also ties together an unlikely “teacher/student” that is explained in this issue in detail between Hush and the Scarecrow.

I wonder though, if the Scarecrow and Hush are so close then why did Hush choose to team-up with the Riddler in his self titled debut?

Dini does not disappoint 100% though, the sexual tension between Catwoman and Batman is played nicely in the dialog between her and Zantana that ever so slightly ties this into the Batman R.I.P. storyline that is plastered on this issue’s cover.

Final Crisis #3

This issue was so close to making the best comic of last week, except that it took a detailed discussion on comic book message boards for me to fully understand and enjoy it the second read through.

Not only did I have to read this comic through twice, which is not uncommon for me, but I also reread issues one and two again. By reading all three issues in one sitting the story is stronger and better than any of the single issues, and this is why Final Crisis #3 was not the best comic of last week… That and the fact that I now feel that I need to go and purchase all of the series that relate to Buldhaven post Infinite Crisis because right now I don’t have too much extra cash lying around.

Don’t get me wrong, I am loving me some Final Crisis… I was even trying to explain to my newborn baby how a Final Crisis will redefine the definition and origins of Heroes for the future DCU… He was sleeping in my arms and I wanted to tell him some kind of story and that was the first thing that came to my mind. Speaking of redefining origins…

Hawkman Special #1

The Hawkman Special #1 was another comic that almost earned the spot of best comic of last week.

This one-shot took the origin of Hawkman and threw it out the window while letting the notion of a previous origin drift in through said window.

Get it?

Didn’t that statement make sense to you?

Yeah, that’s how I felt about Hawkman’s origin before and after this issue. There was something about this issue that I enjoyed. I never knew Hawkman’s true origin and now I feel even more confused as to his origin, but that is why I liked this issue – it was meant to confuse both the character and the reader. So now I don’t feel so stupid and that my friends is a good comic in my opinion.

Robin #176

Umm… About a year ago Robin was acting more like a Dark Knight than the Batman was… and now that since Batman R.I.P. the Batman’s character is as far away as possible from being a Dark Knight, so is Robin.

Robin spends the whole issue making stupid and emotional decisions and mistakes on his personal crusade to find proof that the Batman is now crazy.

Most of these tie-ins to Batman R.I.P., with the exception of this week’s Nightwing, are weak and seem like filler that neglects the core of the character defined in previous story arcs.

Almost any other storyline would make me have a nerdgasm and go nuts to have the possibility of Tim Drake in the Red Robin costume, but poor writing these last two issues has ruined it for me.

Trinity #10

I really don’t want to talk about this issue… I like continuity and can handle the disregard of it to tell a good story, take Final Crisis and Batman R.I.P. as an example they both feature Batman but there is no way that Batman could be going crazy in R.I.P. if he was captured by Darkseid in FC#1.

Like I said I can understand not staying true to continuity for the sake of telling a good story, but I can not understand and accept the disregard for a character’s personality to tell a good story.

This whole issue, and possibly the whole series, was ruined by the fact that Superman’s out of character actions to deliver excruciating pain and revenge before looking at other options. Gah… I hope this trend does not continue because I was finally getting into this story again last week.

and…

THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK:
NIGHTWING #147

Why is this comic THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK when put side-by-side to blockbuster comics such as Final Crisis #3?

The answer is simple: It’s a good comic with every ingredient and detail a story about a hero needs. Not only did the story fit the standard structure for a good hero tale perfectly, the art was detailed and fluid enhancing the solid story.

What do I mean by a standard structure for a hero story? In this issue a hero is sent on a quest, in this case a quest not for his own glory but to help the innocent. The hero’s quest is given to him by an enemy who is asking for help and the notion that it may be a trap makes the story even better. In this issue the hero saves the day twice and seems to have possibly sacrificed his own life to succeed and this is what make this a standard story, but it is so well done it is slightly above standard making it the BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK.

A classic scene that you would expect from a great comic book featuring Batman Nightwing.