I have been doing Last Week In Comics (LWIC) for a while now and people ask me “Why don’t you review X book?” First, I only review the issues that I buy, and that decision is determined by my loyalty to the title, browsing at the store, and my cash flow for the week. Second, I wait five days to review these comics so that everyone has already had time to think about them… aw hell who am I kidding – I have a 4 month-old at home and I need five days to read, write, and scan… so yeah it’s because I am slow. Ok, on to this week’s haul.

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

Birds of Prey #124

With this title soon being canceled I figured that I should support it all the way to it’s final issue, even if it’s crap. Honestly I was debating on dropping this title last issue, but with there being only three other comics purchased this week I coughed up the cash.

I am still trying to figure out the whole point of this comic. I am a fan of the whole Barbra Gordon, Oracle, being the all knowing and all seeing god of cyberspace and information and, at first, I was a fan of having her at odds with a cyber-mafia. Too bad this concept was executed poorly.

This story could have been so much more, instead it feels like one of those “throw away” “cyberpunk” series of the 1980′s. I am still trying to figure out what the hell the point of this story was. I am still trying to figure out the point of this storyline.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Barbra Gordon and her posse moved to Platinum Flats to take down the Silicone Syndicate… does anyone remember why? I don’t and I don’t really care.

I hope that when the new “Bat-Family” is created Oracle and her crew, are placed back on stealth and spy missions again.

Blue Beetle #33

Here is another book that I’m sure everyone already knows is being canned too. Like Birds of Prey, it seems as if the title’s last story is going with a “meh” instead of a “bang.”

Is management at DC Comics mandating that every title that is being canceled have a crappy last story so that they can clear their conscious for canceling the title? The Blue Beetle has been one of my favorite comics since Infinite Crisis and almost all of the elements that made me love this comic are missing. DC did the same with my other favorite Infinite Crisis spin-off – The All New Atom.

If DC had the inclination to cancel the book they should have done so after the alien Reach invasion, that was the high point and great climax of this particular title. Instead we have what looked to be an interesting conundrum for our hero by being recruited for border patrol turn out to be a distraction for a big battle with a replacement villain. I am disgusted, but I will continue to buy this book until the end because seeing Jaime and his supporting cast of Peacemaker, Brenda, and Paco makes me smile… too bad the overall story doesn’t.

Superman #682

The New Krypton story continues without stalling.

I often complain about large stories because they feel as if they are written for “the trade.” Spider-Man and the Superman books are beginning to prove me wrong.

This New Krypton story looms in every Superman family book, but each book does not skimp on it’s title character(s) and supporting cast. Supergirl focused on Supergirl’s interaction with the Kryptonians where this issue features Ma Kent, Krypto, and Atlas from the previous story arc.

As the New Krypton story moves forward, we see two different groups of Kryptonians complete a similar task of collecting Superman’s enemies. Zor El and Supergirl lead one raid on Kal’s enemies, while Zod’s followers do the same and murder innocent police officers. Upon hearing about the abducted villains and murdered innocents, Superman confronts the Kryptonians. Zor El, Alura, and Kara are convinced that Doomsday’s attack was not coincidental, but planned by the government. They believed that removing any threat to the Kryptonians was fair and an acceptable act. Zor El and Kara did not know about Zod’s followers killing anyone and were as disgusted as Superman about it. Alura, on the other hand, felt that since the police fought back that it was their own fault they died.

Alura’s knowledge and acceptance of murder put a “we’re gods among men” feel to this story in a way that I did not expect. This story is getting better with every issue, and it was nice to see Jim Harper, the Guardian, and Mon El make an appearance. And it is always nice to see Agent Liberty doubting those who determine what is best for the country and give him orders.

and

THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK
BATMAN #681

Here it is, the conclusion to Batman R.I.P. the issue that I and many others have been waiting for… and after the first and second reading it disappointed.

Upon reading it a third time with hints on what to look for from others on the web and back issues to reference, the comic made some sense, but still did not provide closure. Other than the obvious, I think there is still more to this story…

The conclusion left too many unanswered and new questions.  If you want to read a play by play annotated review check out the Geniusboy Firemelon site, but I want to share with you some of my wanderings created from this issue.

Do we still know exactly who the Black Glove is?
I know that we were lead to believe that it is a club that gathers on a yearly basis and bets on the destruction of a person’s soul. I know that we were led to believe that the club’s leader is Dr. Hurt. I know that we were lead to believe that Dr. Hurt is the Devil, or the personification of the Devil. But, could these clues be wrong? Think about it, right after Dr. Hurt reviles himself as the Devil and Batman takes down Hurt’s helicopter, Hurt says “The Black Glove Always Wins” and is immediately followed by Batman’s black gloved fist smashing the windshield.

Ok, I know that the story is supposedly over, but bear with me for a second… based on the evidence above, could it be that Bruce Wayne still could have been the Black Glove? My gut feeling tells me that Dr. Hurt still is not who we were led to believe he was. Batman calls Dr. Hurt his double and when the helicopter goes down, Dr. Hurt and the “evil” Batman are inside. Could this be a metaphor for Bruce and Batman? Could the two who died been other figments of Bruce Wayne’s imagination, with Dr. Hurt being Bruce and the evil Batman being… Batman?

Think about it. It’s not above Morrision to make us think, come on I had to reference every back issue of his run to follow this one issue. No one that is still alive saw Dr. Hurt other than Bruce. When Nightwing came to his rescue Batman yells out Dr. Hurt’s name and Nightwing does not acknowledge it, or Dr. Hurt as the bad guy.

I think that I may be on to something that stems from the flashback and 52, I think this still was Bruce going insane and the only one to get it was the Joker. For my last piece of evidence behind my theory I present to you everything the Joker said in this issue. He says that Batman is always prepared, will always win, and looks for patterns before changing them. I think this is Batman changing the pattern and the Joker understands that Zur En Arrh, Zorro in Arkham, or the Sane changes the pattern to the Insane.

This was The Best Comic Last Week, not because of the end story, but because I am still wanting more answers.