Mixed Plate Comics- Week of 2.09.10

Continually hearing about more Fear Itself teasers-- which will be a big PASS for me, bummed to hear that Bedard & St. Aubin's REBELS tile will be ending with the start of Flashpoint, along with Outsiders and some random Batman titles (that few peeps read anyways.)  With Jaime Reyes now out thx to Lord, will that mean the return of Ted Kord in someway?!  Hope so!  And pretty cool reveal on Hot Pursuit of Flashpoint actually being Barry Allen.  Here are the panels, pages and word bubbles that kept me flipping all week:  Red Robin  #20 / Titans #32 / Secret Warriors  #24 / R.E.B.E.L.S. #25 / Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #7 / Casanova: Gula II / Batgirl #18 / Incognito: Bad Influences #3 / Batman and Robin #20 / Widowmaker #4 / Birds of Prey #9 / Justice League: Generation Lost #19 / The Flash #9


5   Incognito: Bad Influences  #3   Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips

Yes!  The wait was definitely not quite as long it took for #2 to hit the shelves but I still had to bruise through the last two issues to play catch up on what Zack's motives were really all about.  Are his ties to SOS real or is it just his infatuation with his boss/lover Zoe?  

Overkill dives into his past with help from his old bud King Midas as they attempt to infiltrate the old stomping grounds of the criminal underworld.  Everyone believes Zack is just a mole and he forgets how things work on the other side, as King gets capped and his ass looks to be next on the block.

The further he goes into his old ways, a deeper consciousness comes forward as he starts to think he can be redeemed to work for the other side of the law.  Slaughter of L9 continues to get updated on Zack's collateral damage he is causing on this biz-- while the mysteriously hooded Lazarus wannabe is hot on the trail.  The secret...is pulp!

 
4   Batman and Robin  #20   Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Love Paul Cornell's writing but wasn't jumping for joy with his fill-in work after Morrison but yeah, we got Tomasi and Gleason on deck now girls and boys!  It's really a treat to see how well Gleason works the dark skyline of Gotham and though very much in his own style-- gives ode to Quitely's stylings of Batman & Robin in their build and movements.  Awesome!

Tomasi who is again my top 1B writer (1A would be Morrison and Johns in easy 2) takes us back into the detective, casework type of feel that I have missed in this book.  Why look folks-- it's a Commissioner Gordon appearance!!  Well, how about that.  He gives Damian a good scolding for not being more respectful of the departed and Robin shows he has the deductive chops like his father in noticing some details of the supposed suicide victim.

As Dick and Damian return to the point of the jump-- they find some more clues and out of nowhere a deranged Man-Bat gets the drop on Batman.  Though it is often used, I like seeing Robin be the one to save Batman as it is surely a refreshing take on the dynamic duo.  And what is up with all these white bats?!  Is Deadman around??  Probably not, but we will find out next month.   


3   Casanova: Gula  #2   Matt Fraction & Fabio Moon

Now that I have read through the Luxuria arc I have a better sense of the unique storytelling in this trippy, doubleagent, mindtrick of a book.  Am I still a bit confused, yes.  When is Casanova Quinn?  How the hell should I know?  What I am happy about though is how we are now following more of the adventures of Cas' slutty sister-- Zeph. 

I don't think I have ever seen more "action" one person could get in panels-- made me think, huh I suppose it's true about that saying of adding 20 whenever a woman tells you her sex scorecard.  Hmm...  I love how they include a recipe for one of theseoddball, crazy killers that Zeph is currently aligned to, well more so to his son. 

One of the greatest opening sequences in comics evar where the boss of  a swinger club/mafia tells one of his stars/pawns on how she has created cinemated masterpieces thanks to all her hard "work."  Fraction's dialogue is the shit and as always Moon kills the pages and brings Brazilian artists to even more fame in the world of sequential art. 


2   Batgirl  #18   Bryan Q. Miller & Dustin Nguyen

I missed Morrison's mini on Klarion back in his Seven Soldiers story so had no background on this character prior to this read.  Klarion, who is a emo lil' Witch-boy comes across Steph and she ends agrees to help find a mate for his pet kitty.  Every witch has a cat right?  Okay, so they go into some limbo world where every one dresses Amish or like a Pilgrim and are, yes witches!  Fun, right?

Especially when our hero is called out for a magic-duel and Steph gets physical on the unsuspecting witch-girl.  A hilarious scene that is wonderfully written in old english or whatevs language pilgrims use.  As Batgirl is the ousted in Klarion's world, the same kinda outcast banter is directed towards him by some of Steph's classmate at a fair.

To save the poor girls from getting transformed into a toad or something along that line-- Steph grabs Klarion and plants a big wet one on him.  As the college kids all scream out geek-love!!  I think to myself how incredible of a book Mr. Miller has created in this fave Bat-book of mine.  Seriously you gotta check what an amazing read they all got brewing here.  Oh and I am convinced at how badass Dustin Nguyen is at not only super-fly at covers-- you gotta see the JLI ish out now-- but as a prominent interiors guy. 


1   Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #7   Peter J. Tomasi & Fernando Pasarin

Zardor nearly adds Guy and Bleeze to his collection of depowered, mindless Lanterns but with help from Kilowog and Arisia-- they breakout from his nasty-yellow, psychic cess-pool for the big standoff.  It's revealed that Krona was actually to blame for making Sodam/Ion go AWOL from the GLC and Zardor takes full advantage by making him his new pawn. 

Guy just about pulls the kill-shot on Ion, when Arisia makes him miss and in the end-- the three Emerald Warriors are all pals again.  Stage set for Green Lantern War to hit the rest of the GL books, next!  Oh did you notice how Tomasi came up twice in our top list?!  Yes, though Johns is working his mojo all over the DCE mediums-- thankfully we got good ole Pete keeping the GL world og comics fresh.


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big O