Weekly Comic Book Reviews for 8/26/09

Batman and Robin #3

Creative Team
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quietly
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Story – Batman Reborn Part 3: Mommy Made of Nails

Review
After a short delay we finally get the final chapter to Morrison and Quietly's first story arc of Batman and Robin. Batman and Robin #3 was a fun read. These are the type of stories that I expect from Morrison.

No other writer in Marvel or DC does high concepts like Morrison. Even though his stories tend to be a hit or miss his work in these first three issue are a nice reminder why Morrison is so highly praised for his off the wall ideas and storytelling. This issue is dark, funny, disturbing (mostly coming from Pyg's over the top bad guy personality) and sweat all in one.

Morrison does a great job with Dick and Damian's dynamic not being the typical Batman and Robin dynamic we are used to. These are two very different characters who see their roles as very different. For Dick he sees that in being Batman he needs to balance out the dark persona he has to show to the bad guys with some of the sense of humor he had as Robin and Nightwing or he will turn into a clone of Bruce. As for Damian we see him take the role of Robin more seriously than previous Robin's as he acts more darker and brooding since he sees Robin as a stepping stone to becoming Batman. This leads to an interesting dynamic as Morrison shows that it is Batman who has to try and show Robin the lighter side of things than the other way around.

Also I like that Morrison is continue the storyline from his Batman RIP story with the new Batman and Robin taking down Le Bossu. Even though I have admitted to not being the biggest Batman RIP fan I am interested to see Morrison continue his Black Glove storyline as he didn't really finish it yet.

And what really helps Morrison's story is Quietly's artwork as it is just plain phenomenal. Quietly's artwork in this issue is something you won't find in any other comic as his style is very distinct with a great balance between the dark and humorous moments. Though it is to bad Quietly can't continue to be the ongoing artist in this series as Phillip Tan steps in next issue to take over the art duties. Good thing is he will return for what is said to be the Joker arc later in this series.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.3/10 – Morrison continues to tell a deep read that is very enjoyable to read. I like how he writes the new dynamic between Dick and Damian.
Art: 9/10 – As with the previous issues Quietly's artwork here is phenomenal. Quietly does a very good job being able to tell a story with his artwork alone.
Overall: 9.15/10 – Batman and Robin #3 was a spectacular read and a good way to cap off the first story arc of this title and begin the second arc. I am looking forward to seeing what Morrison has in store for the new Dynamic Duo with a new duo stepping on their turf.

Blackest Night Titans #1

Creative Team
Writer: J.T Krul
Artist: Ed Benes
Inkers: Rob Hunter, Jon Sibal, and JP Mayer
Colorist: Hi-Fi Design
Story – When Death Comes Knocking

Review
Yep you read it right I picked up Blackest Night: Titans #1. As seen with my previews for this week I did not have this issue on my list of comics to get but when I went to my LCS and flipped through this issue I liked what I saw and decided to get it. And I got to say I am surprised that this was actually a good read. While it is not as good as the Blackest Night: Batman issue this was still a solid addition to Blackest Night and another case for the tie-ins to the event being better than the main book.

With all the characters involved in Blackest Night the Teen Titans is one group that it actually feels like they need to have a mini-series to tie into Blackest Night. They have had the most losses in their team members out of all the teams running around in the DC Universe. J.T. Krul definitely did a great job showing the rich Teen Titan history, both good and bad. His characterization of all the various Teen Titans members, past and present, were spot on.

Ed Benes excellent artwork helped Krul's story immensely in this issue. While Benes does overdue it with the model like poses of the female characters I liked how much emotion he brought into this issue through his artwork alone. The characters were all well designed and Benes was able to capure the dark part of the story while not going overboard with making the issue feel too dark that it takes away from the story.

I especially liked how Krul wrote Starfire and Beast Boy with each one providing an argument for Terra being considered either a villain or hero. I have always liked the Beast Boy and Terra relationship and it is nice to see a writer address the relationship. With Terra being back as a Black Lantern it should provide Beast Boy and Geo-Force, who had a non-speaking cameo in this issue, with plenty of drama as they are sure to be the center of this mini-series.

The other main part of this story involving Hawk and Dove was just as interesting. As we saw in Blackest Night #2 the original Hawk was revived as a Black Lantern while Dove was not. And in this issue we got another clue to why Dove is not brought back with the current Dove having a white aura that is unreadable. After thinking about this for a bit I am starting to think that this white aura that Dove had and the reason the original Dove was not brought back is not because of their heroic acts being unselfish but that they are characters in full control of their emotions from the time they were alive and when they died. And it would make sense that white would stand for serenity since that is what Dove stands for and it will be interesting how this concept affects what happens in the main series.

Though I do have one problem with this issue and that is that there is way too much going on. With the original Hawk's, Terra, Lillith, Donna's husband and son it seems that Krul is going to be juggling a lot as we will most likely see other dead Titan related characters return like the original Ravager and the recently deceased Kid/Red Devil. Krul is going to have to pick and choose which characters to return as Black Lanterns because if he doesn't this three issue mini-series may be dealing with the problem Geoff Johns is having in the main Blackest Night series with too many characters to juggle.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.5/10 – J.T. Krul impressed me with his storytelling abilities. His strong character work in this issue was what sold me two pick up the rest of this mini-series.
Art: 8.2/10 – Ed Benes provided plenty of his solid artwork and he did an especially good job with giving plenty of emotion to this issue through his artwork.
Overall: 7.85/10 – Blackest Night: Titans #1 was a solid read and even though I was not originally going to pick up this mini-series Krul and Benes combined to tell a very good Blackest Night story that I will read the rest of this three issue mini-series.

The Flash: Rebirth #4

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver
Colorist: Brian Miller

Story – Flash Facts

Review
Another Geoff Johns book released this week that showed signs of improvement and some actual plot progression. Unlike this week's issue of Green Lantern though we didn't get much development until the last half of the issue as the first part of the issue felt more like a recap than an actual story. Though for his part Johns writing in this issue is the strongest it has been this whole mini-series.

While Barry still came off as having a one note personality what helped make this issue better than previous three is that Johns was able to balance the Barry scenes with scenes that involved the whole Flash family. And that has really been one of the biggest problems facing this mini-series, as well as Blackest Night. While this issue still has that "Barry is the greatest" theme going it is good to see that Johns did not forget that Wally was the one that took the Speed Force to the level it is at right now since he did things with the Speed Force no one before him did.

Also I liked that the characters weren't just mopping around like they have been for three issues and actually did something about the strange actions of the Speed Force. That is definitely one thing that made Professor Zoom's appearance even better as he was his appearance made the story move forward and had the heroes act like heroes, yeah I know weird concept right.

And the dramatic moment when Zoom appeared in Wally's house where his kids and Linda were was great as I was on the edge of my seat since I did not know if Johns would actually kill Wally's family in order to show Zoom is the badass he says he is. I glad Wally's family did not die as killing a main character's family members has become too much of a cliché in comics now in order to darken up the character(s). For the first time in this series I was actually rooting, in my head of course, for the heroes when Bart and Jay showed up to save Wally's kids as it was great to see them save their (extended) family.

I also liked the parallels Johns used with having both Wally and Barry run towards one another without the other knowing how close they were to one another. Along with the Zoom battle going on this made the issue tenser and dramatic as both characters were thinking of what makes them get out of the Speed Force's is their loved ones. And it was great that it was Barry that helped Max find his lighting rod to get out of the Speed Force since it was the first time Barry did not act like a sad and depressed loner and showed a sign of hope.

With that said there were aspects of this issue that really keep it from being a home run. The first thing is that I don't really like or understand the concept of Barry being the Speed Force. While it puts Barry above all the other Speedsters it makes the Speed Force an overly complicated concept that can become over convoluted. Because since all the Speedsters basically derive their powers from Barry does that mean how fast they can run depends on how powerful Barry is at that time? Also if Barry is the Speed Force were exactly does Barry get his powers? Does Barry's power level depend on his emotional state similar to how the Lantern power rings work? Or is it something else? While it is interesting if mishandled Johns can turn the Speed Force into a very convoluted power source.

The other thing I did not like about this issue is that the first half of the issue felt more like a recap than actually moving the story forward. A lot of Zoom's and Barry's dialogue at the beginning felt forced and unnecessary. And all of the dialogue made the first part of this issue boring that I almost stopped reading the issue halfway through because of Johns overuse of the dialogue.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.5/10 – Johns finally stepped up his game in this issue. While he still had some of the same problems from the previous issues this was a much better executed story than previously.
Art: 9.2/10 – Ethan Van Sciver's art is as strong as it has always been. Sciver's art has really been the strength of this series and this was some of his best work as he finally was able to draw some action that turned out great to look at.
Overall: 8.35/10 – Flash: Rebirth #4 was the strongest of this mini-series and is what saved this series from being classified as one of the worse stories of the year. Hopefully Geoff Johns can carry the momentum from this issue into the last two issue of this mini-series.

Green Lantern #45

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Maghnke
Inkers: Christian Alamy, Doug Mahnke, and Tom Nguyen
Colorist: Randy Mayor

Story – Love Hurts

Review
I have been one of the biggest critics to Geoff Johns recent work especially what he has been doing with Blackest Night. It is not that I am don't want to like Johns work, specifically Blackest Night, but just like Bendis and Brubaker in Marvel I hold Johns work at a higher standard than all other DC writers. Johns has done such a fantastic job for the past few years to get me into reading other DC books other than the Batman titles that the past few months of his work on Green Lantern and Blackest Night have just not been at the level I expect from him.

But finally in the fourth Blackest Night related issue that Johns has written we get an actual story that is not a bunch of senseless action scenes with deaths that I could care less about. While there wasn't much plot progression in the overall story being told in Blackest Night what Johns was able to do in this issue is finally makes this event feel like it has universe ramifications and not just another event that affects Earth and its heroes. This is really the first issue where I felt that the threat of the Black Lanterns is really a danger to the whole universe especially since there is a war that is spanning across the universe making the Black Lanterns arrival even less unwelcome to all the characters involved.

Also I am going to say this knowing I may piss of fans of these two characters but I believe the reason I liked this issue more than the two Blackest Night issues and the other Green Lantern tie-in issue Johns wrote is because Hal and Barry weren't in it. While I like those two characters they aren't characters who have very dull personalities and when they are together they are even more dull which is what has hurt Blackest Night so far. Which is why this issue stands out as we get a bunch of different characters interact with one another with each having their own distinct personalities. If Johns wants to make me enjoy the main series more he needs to mix in characters like Sinestro, Attrocius, Gathet, Carol, and all of the different Lantern Corps along with presenting the War of Light to give the story more balance.

I also liked how Johns introduced the Black Lantern homeworld in this issue as a living planet just like Mogo. While this wasn't a big part of this issue it was a nice introduction at the beginning of the issue a good way to introduce more of to the Black Lanterns than just that they are characters risen from the dead. It should be interesting to see how Johns takes this plot line that he should pick up on in the main series.

As I said before the best thing about this issue was the involvement of the various characters that Johns has developed over the year. The stand outs of this issue were Sinestro and Carol. I have never seen these two fight before and their fight and back and forth dialogue was very interesting. These are two characters that have a long history with Hal and it is an interesting argument they each share with their views of what roles they and all the other Lantern Corps have in the War of Light. Also it was interesting seeing that one of Sinestro's greatest love was Abin Sur's sister and makes me wonder if she is Soranik's mother or if it is another person.

And the interaction of this character as well as all the various battles going on made the reveal of Abin Sur and the rest of the Black Lanterns rising across the universe more dramatic. With the constant hectic battles going on the appearance of the Black Lanterns should pose as an interesting challenge for all the Lantern Corps since they were in the middle of the War of Light and now they may have to put the war on the back burner to fight the Black Lanterns. The best of the Black Lantern attacks was when they went to where Larfleeze is and his reaction to the Black Lantern rings appearing in front of him.

Also I like that the Indigo Lanterns were mentioned as being the most mysterious of the Lantern Corps since they are the only ones yet to make an official appearance along with the other Lantern Corps. This adds more mystery to the Indigo Lanterns as we still do not know what position they will take in the War of Light and the battle against the Black Lanterns as well as the powers the Indigo rings have.

Issue Rating
Story: 8/10 – Johns does a very good job balancing the War of Light along with the threat presented by the appearance of the Black Lanterns that Blackest Night finally feels like the big event that has been advertised.
Art: 9/10 – Doug Mahnke art is incredible in this issue. Mahnke gives the War of Light and the Black Lantern reveal the big epic feel that Ivan Reis has given the main series.
Overall: 8.5/10 – Green Lantern #45 was a big step up from the first three issues of Blackest Night related comics that Geoff Johns has written. With this issue I am finally excited to see what happens next in the event as Johns has built a solid foundation to pick up on in Blackest Night #3.

Guardians of the Galaxy #17

Creative Team
Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Brad Walker
Inkers: Victoy Blazaba and Scott Hanna
Colorist: Jay David Ramos

Story – Adam Magnus

Review
After a weak issue last month Guardians of the Galaxy returns to form with this issue that deals with the aftermath of War of Kings. With everything that went on in War of Kings DnA do an excellent job continuing the story as this issue is a natural progression of what went on in the event.

What is great about this issue, and all of DnA's work on Marvel's cosmic universe, is that this is a team that embraces having a large cast in their titles. Team books seems to be the hardest type of titles writers to write in the modern era of comics as they it is hard for them to juggle a cast of 7 to 10 main characters. Which is why I love this series and this issue as we do not only get the Guardians of the Galaxy but also the Inhumans play a big role in the issue as well.

And as always the thing that puts this issue above most books is the strong character work DnA do with the two teams involved in the story. Even characters like Phyla, who is the only character in this series that I have not liked, was well written as she could be seen as the antagonist of this issue with her confrontations with Medusa, what she did to Warlock, and her fight with Gamora.

While I had to make a quick trip to Wikipedia to understand the ending with the alternate future stuff with Adam Warlock I thought it was a cool twist DnA threw in at the end of the issue. With the appearance of Adam Magnus along with what is happening in the aftermath of War of Kings the Marvel cosmic universe looks to get a lot more chaotic which translates to being fun for us.

Also I can't do a review of Guardians of the Galaxy without mentioning how awesome one of my favorite comic book characters was in this issue. Rocket Raccoon was as awesome as he always is and I loved his interaction with the Inhumans specifically Crystal as they talk about Maximus and Groot. And I loved how Maximus basically says the Groot doesn't say "I am Groot" but is actually talking but we are to dumb to understand him as he is a higher lifeform than us.

As for the artwork this was some of Brad Walkers strongest work to date. Walker is really a hit or miss artist on this title with how inconsistent his art is from issue to issue. But here Walker does a great job making this issue have an epic feel in the aftermath of War of Kings. Though he still had some inconsistencies in his art when it came to some character faces which I overlook because of the great action and ending he illustrated.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.7/10 – DnA continue to make Guardians of the Galaxy a blast to read and their strong characterization of the GOTG and Inhumans in the aftermath of War of Kings was great.
Art: 8/10 – This was some of Walkers best work thus far. He did a really great job with everything going on in this issue with only a few minor inconsistencies. Hopefully he can carry this quality into the next issue.
Overall: 8.35/10 – Guardians of the Galaxy #17 was a great read. With what happened at the end of this issue and all the problems falling out of War of Kings the Marvel cosmic universe continues to get more and more interesting and fun.

Teen Titans #74

Creative Team
Writers: Bryan Q. Miller (main story); Sean McKeever (back-up story)
Artist: Joe Bennett (main story); Yildiray Cinar (back-up story)
Inkers: Jack Jadnson (main story); Julio Ferreira (back-up story)
Colorists: Rod Reis (main and back-up stories)

Story – Child's Play Part 3:….We All Fall Down (main story); Fresh Hell Part 3 (back-up story)

Review
Bryan Q. Miller has been doing a great job with this story arc and this final issue did a great job finishing up this fill in story arc. And this arc was one of the strongest story arcs this series has had since Johns work before Infinite Crisis. For the first time the Teen Titans felt like the Teen Titans as they worked well as a team and not as a bunch of individuals trying to work together.

As has been the case with the first two parts of this story arc were Miller excelled at in this issue is his strong characterization of the members on the team. The only character I still do not like is Bombshell, but of course I have never liked the character in the first place so it did not hurt this issue. All the members of the team were given great moments to show off their power levels and how close they became.

This was especially shown with the death of Eddie/Red Devil. While I never liked Eddie it was great to see Miller give the character a heroic moment to die in and not just some lame death that characters of his level in the Teen Titans usually gets. It is the first time that I felt the character was a hero and I like that in his death the team came closer together as they realize the risks they take as an official team.

The Fearsome Five came off as a very strong and competent challenge for the Teen Titans to face. Miller did a very good job building up the members of the villainous group to be the threat they once were to the original team. I hope that we see this group again as there are plenty of story possibilities with this team of villains. And the ending with the Calculator makes it look like this story isn't over with yet and we will see him and the Fearsome Five again.

And the back-up by Sean McKeever was much stronger in this issue than the previous installments. Even Yildiray Cinar art was stronger in this issue. I love seeing finally kick some ass and hopefully this is a sign the back-up to Teen Titans is actually going somewhere.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 – Miller did a fantastic job with this filler arc. His strong characterization in this arc will make it tough for Felicia Henderson follow Miller's short run. Also McKeever's back-up story was very well written than the previous installments.
Art: 8/10 – Bennett and Cinar's artwork in the main and back-up stories, respectively, was well done and did a very good job carrying the action packed issue from both the stories in the issue.
Overall: 8.5/10 – Teen Titans #74 was a great read. This was definitely a step-up from the stories we were getting in this series from the past year or so. Henderson has some hard shoes to fill after this arc by Miller.

Previewing this Week’s Releases: 8/24/09 – 8/30/09

Comics
Batman and Robin #3 – Morrison and Quietly have been doing a great job so far on this title. This is just a fun story were Morrison is being too extreme with his story ideas like he was in the later part of his run on Batman and in Final Crisis. Quietly's artwork adds to the fun of this story arc and I look forward to this issue.

Fantastic Four #570 – I really want to read Fantastic Four on an ongoing basis. This is one of the comic books I grew up reading. But I just keep jumping in and out of this title for the past four years. I did like the initial Miller and Hitch arc but after that the delays hurt the series which made me drop it. Now I am hoping that Johnathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham can make me pick this series on a ongoing basis again. I have like the few things that I have read of Hickman's and Eaglesham is one of my favorite artist so I believe this is a team that can give a solid read.

Flash: Rebirth #4 – This has been one slow series that has been nothing but Geoff Johns trying his hardest to try and convince everyone how Barry Allen is the greatest hero that has ever lived. And now that this series has gone from being a five issue mini-series to a six I am looking forward to this issue even less. But hey maybe Johns will be able to surprise me and provide an actual story that is not just more Barry Allen praising.

Green Lantern #45 – Yet another Geoff Johns series I am not looking forward to. I have really soured on all of Johns recent Green Lantern work. And other than the Green Lantern Corps tie-in and Blackest Night: Batman #1 I have not like Blackest Night so far. But from the looks of it we are finally going to get to the War of Lights part of Blackest Night so Johns may surprise me in giving a good read.

Guardians of the Galaxy #17 – The last issue of Guardians of the Galaxy wasn't as good as I was hoping. Still DnA have usually been money on this title and after what happened with War of Kings I look forward to seeing what DnA have in store for this title.

Nova #28 – Nova has become one of my favorite titles since the beginning of the series as DnA have just made this title a lot of fun to read. I especially like that Richard is Nova Prime again and I'm sure this will be a fun issue with Richard going to save his little brother.

Teen Titans #74 – Bryan Q. Miller has been doing a great job with this arc. This is the first Teen Titans arc that I have enjoyed since the "Titans of Tomorrow….Today" arc. Hopefully Miller can deliver a great ending to a surprisingly enjoyable arc.

DVD/Blu-ray
Scrubs Season Eight – Scrubs was a one of my favorite TV Shows and was a very underrated series. Though I will admit that season 5-7 wasn't the series best. But finally the series recovered in time for its final season, before its reboot to become Scrubs: Medical School, as this was one the shows best seasons since its third. A lot of great comedic and dramatic episode that saw a lot of evolution for all the characters that gave the show as a whole closure.

Smallville Season Eight – Still can't believe this show has been going on for eight seasons now. But season eight was the shows best season since the early ones that took place in high school. And for the first time in a long time I am actually looking forward to next season. Though I won't be getting this season on DVD until a bit later but if you're a Smallville fan this is a DVD to get this week.

Video Games
Batman: Arkham Asylum – Even though I won't be getting this game until I get the PS3 Slim sometime next month this is still a video game that I look forward to playing. From all the gameplay footage and the demo I played at Best Buy this looks to be a great video game especially with the voices from the Batman: The Animated Series return to reprise their roles for this video game.

Dissidia Final Fantasy – I am a big Final Fantasy fan with VII, X, and XII being among my favorite video games. And once I heard that this will combine some of the biggest names from all the Final Fantasy video games, excluding XII and the upcoming XIII, this is a must buy for my PSP. I am sure to love this game and I think this should easily be a contender for video game of the year.

Legacy Short: Comic Book Reviews for 6/10/09

My review for Green Lantern Corps #37 is up on Rokk's Comic Book Revolution right now and my review for Amazing Spider-Man #597 will be up tomorrow morning at the Revolution. All right enough self promoting time to get the rest of the weeks reviews:

Batman #687

Creative Team
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Ed Benes
Inker: Rob Hunter
Colorist: Ian Hannin & JD Smith

Story – A Battle Within

Review
It may be because I set my expectations very, very low due to the disappointing Battle for the Cowl and Winick not writing anything of note since Under the Hood but I actually enjoyed this issue. This was probably Winick's best written issue in a long time. Batman #687 had all the emotion that Battle for the Cowl severely lacked.

The opening with the flashback to the original Dynamic Duo were we see Dick, as Robin, make a surprise attack on Bruce was a good start to the issue and showed that Winnick does have a very good understanding of both Bruce and Dick's character. And I was surprised that he was able to make that good writing continue throughout the issue. I really liked the Dick and Alfred scene where Alfred told Dick not to let the DCU heroes make Bruce/Batman's death into a parade. It was a very well written scene and showed that Winick can poke fun at past stories (i.e. Death of Superman) without making it seem to obvious or cheesy.

The one thing I did not get is that from how this issue ended it seems that Dick's first appearance as Batman actually happens not to long after Battle for the Cowl which does not follow Morrison's Batman and Robin #1 were Batman and Robin have not been seen for months. I guess Winnick did not get Morrison's note about this.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.7/10 – Winick provided a solid start to his new run on Batman and handled Dick and Alfred's emotions towards the loss of Bruce very well.
Art: 8.5/10 – Ed Benes did a very good job with the artwork. Though there were a couple panels that looked a bit odd, but overall some solid artwork.
Overall: 8.1/10 – Batman #687 does a nice job giving us all the emotional aspect that Battle of the Cowl lacked. Hopefully Winick and new artist for the next issue, and personal favorite of mine, Mark Bagley can continue this good start into the next issue of Batman.

Flash: Rebirth #3

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan van Scriver
Colorist: Brian Miller & HI-FI

Story – Rearview Mirrors

Review
When I first read Flash: Rebirth #3 I was actually impressed that the paced picked up and thought Johns finally decided to actually tell us a story. But after reading it a second times, and couple more times after that, I realized that this third issue of Barry's return was just as slow and dragging as the previous two. It wasn't until the last three pages that I felt that we were finally getting to the actual story behind this mini-series about the return of Barry Allen.

For the most part almost all the dialogue felt like it was the same dialogue from the first two issues. The only part of Johns' script for issue #3 that I really enjoyed was Barry's analysis of Wally, Bart, and Jay and the beginning scene with Jesse. But it is too bad the rest of the dialogue of this issue wasn't that good.

The worst part of what Johns is doing with Flash: Rebirth is that he is writing this mini-series for its eventual trade release. And Johns' is not even trying to hide the fact as he is just stalling for time and I now understand why this Johns needed a 6^th issue for the series as he has been stalling for time to get us to the bulk of the story. In truth the people that will most enjoy this series are probably the big time Flash fans, Barry Allen specifically, more than for people like me who is interested in the character(s) but hasn't followed the series and character(s) on a consistent basis.

Issue Rating
Story: 4.1/10 – This issue felt like Johns was just recycling old dialogue from the first two issues and it was not until the last three pages were Johns finally decided to start the actual story.
Art: 9.2/10 – Ethan van Scriver's artwork continues to be one of the only positive things about this series.
Overall: 6.65/10 – Flash: Rebirth #3 was another disappointing issue, but since I am already half way through the series I am going to stick this series out to the end and hope Johns can stop dragging the story out.

Red Robin #1

Creative Team
Writer: Craig Yost
Artist: Ramon Bachs
Colorist: Guy Major

Story – The Grail Part One

Review
While DC tried to make it a big secret who would be Red Robin, it seemed as the mystery of who was Red Robin was only in Didio and DC's head. It was obvious from the start that Tim would become Red Robin. But with this first issue of Tim Drake's, or should I say Tim Wayne, new direction is a mix bag for me. And it was not just the writing but also the art was a mixed bag as Bachs had his good and bad moments with his art.

Even though Dick Grayson is my favorite Robin, and one of my favorite comic characters, I have actually grown up with Tim as my Robin since I started reading comics. And in this new direction it seems that Yost and DC have decided to take a lot of Tim's personality and make him into another Jason Todd with his new attitude. Now I don't think that Yost will make Tim as extreme, or as badly written, as Jason is but it didn't feel like I was reading the same Tim from my childhood to just a few months ago.

The only thing that Yost has kept from Tim's previous portrayals is his determination. Yost did a fine job showing that Tim is still a very determined guy and it is that determination that makes him a very good hero.

Also I did like the flashback to Tim disproving Dick making Damien the new Robin. I especially liked the little banter between Tim and Damien. It actually felt like an argument between a middle child and the youngest child with the oldest child, Dick, having to break up their fight.

Still I found the logic that Tim used to believe that Bruce is alive to have come out of left field and hopefully Yost will elaborate on why Tim believes Bruce is alive than just having a feeling that it is true. Though I am guessing that Ra's Al Ghul has something to do with it and will be the one manipulating Tim into believing it to be true by leaving him clues to make believe it.

Issue Rating
Story: 6/10 – Yost provide some good dialogue. Still Yost has a ways to go before he can convince me that this is a good new direction for Tim.
Art: 5.4/10 – Bachs and Major provided okay artwork that felt rushed except when Tim was wearing his Red Robin costume.
Overall: 5.7/10 – Red Robin #1 was a questionable start to this new series. Hopefully Yost and Bachs can provide us a much better second issue next month.

Flash: Rebirth #2 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Scriver
Colorist: Rob Leigh

Story - Dead Run

Review
While I had my problems with the first issue of Flash: Rebirth, specifically with the unnecessary dark turn in Barry Allen's origin, I still thought it was a solid start to the mini-series. But the second issue of this mini-series is something that no Flash issue should be: slow.

Other than the origin of Barry's bow tie (you read that right) and the final page there wasn't any new developments in this issue. Almost everything that Barry and Wally points out in this issue is the same exact thing that Barry pointed out in the first issue. And the truth is that if it wasn't for Ethan Van Scriver's amazing artwork this would have been yet another slow and boring issue that is clearly made for the eventual trade paperback and not for a monthly comic book, which is a trend with Geoff John books lately.

Now this is not to say Johns isn't going completely wrong with the return of Barry Allen. Johns has so far, through these two issues, been able to establish who Barry is as a character that reminds old readers and informs new readers to why Barry is seen by some as the true Flash. Through both Wally and Bart's versions of the Flash, the character of Flash has been seen as a Spider-Man type character who will joke around with his villains and take everything as it comes to them. And this can be attributed to both Wally and Bart first starting of their superhero careers as sidekicks, so when it was their time to take the Flash role they already had a more relaxed nature due to their experiences of learning what to do and not do from their mentor.

But Barry is a completely different Flash. Unlike Wally and Bart, Barry was a guy in his mid-twenty's who already had an education and a career in science that help shape his mentality as a man of science. Because of his science background Barry is a much more methodical Flash as he continues to believe there is a scientific answer to everything. And as a police forensics scientist Barry sees everything as black and white not grey like Wally and Bart.

Also with taking a similar role to Steve Rogers when he came back to the Marvel Universe after being frozen Barry is taking up a man out of time persona as he is still trying to get used to being back. And as can be seen with the scene between Barry and Iris, Barry is still uncomfortable with being back because unlike when Hal came back there wasn't anything technically wrong with the Flash characters and it is actually his return that is causing an instability in the Speed Force.

It is just to bad that Johns did not explore more of what is going wrong with the Speed Force in this issue. As I said before other than the final page there was almost nothing new coming out of this issue. The whole issue is basically Barry thinking about what is wrong with the Speed Force, just like in the last issue. Even the dialogue between Barry and Hal was similar to the last issue. With the amount of dialogue in this issue it actually felt like I was reading a Bendis New Avengers issue. When it comes to a Flash comic it should never feel like it has a slow pace but that is how this issue felt like.

While I understand that Johns is trying to reestablish Barry as the Flash to old and new fans he has forgotten that he also has to reestablish the Flash franchise as a whole since this has been an franchise that has been unstable for a while. But instead of also building up the other Flash characters like the returning Bart, Jay, or Wally's kids this series still feels like a dedication to Barry. Other than Wally who appears for the final six pages, where he gets his ass kicked, along with Barry all of the Flash characters only get one panel each that only shows them being tested by their teammates for what happened to them in the last issue.

And this lack of panel time is only made worse with Johns basically wasting a page and a half on a flash back that tells the origin of why Barry wears bow ties. Really, the origin of the bow tie gets more panel time than Bart or Jay? Really? Talk about a complete waste of panel space that could have been better used to develop the other characters involved in this mini-series that are not named Barry.

Speaking of the flashback, am I the only one that continues to wince at the sudden dark turn in Barry's origin story. As soon as the young Iris brought up the fact that Barry, before he became Flash, was still searching for the answer of who really killed his mom I just couldn't help but shake my head in disappointment with how every comic book character needs to have a dark origin to be interesting in the eyes of the writer, in this case Johns. Giving a character a dark origin just reeks of a writer being uncreative in this era of storytelling. I really would like to read a book, comic book, or manga were the hero of the story doesn't have some sort of dark origin and is a hero because he has the drive to be one. And the Flash characters used to be that way but know they are just another set of characters that are heroes because of something dark that happened in their past.

But the biggest problem I am having with this series, as of this issue, is the lack of an actual physical threat in the story. Sure we have the mystery of what is going on with the Speed Force but were is the actual villain(s) of this story. So far the biggest threat to the Flash characters, other than the Speed Force, was Savitar and his follower Christina Alexandrova who were treated as nothing more than cheat way to build up Barry as the new Black Flash since both characters died as fast as they appeared. Johns not only needs but has to start building up the Rogues since whatever is happening with the Speed Force also affects the Rogues as they need to start finding a way to deal with there being at least four Flashs around. But this again can be attributed with Barry being the main focus for about 95% of the series so far. If this series is to last for three more issue Johns needs to give us some other threat than just the Speed Force. And because this mini-series is leading towards the eventual relaunch of the Flash ongoing title Johns needs to also start building up the Rogues during this mini-series.

Issue Rating
Story: 5/10 - Johns slow and methodical approach to this issue was a complete time waster that he needs to resolve in the next and future issues.
Art: 9.2/10 - Scriver continues to show why he is one of the top artist in the business as he deliver plenty of amazing artwork.
Overall: 7.1/10 - This was a very disappointing issue that only benefits from having Scriver's pick up the slack with his excellent artwork. After these two issues that have taken a slow burn approach to Barry's return Johns has no excuse but to pick things up and start developing other characters than just Barry. We need an actual physical threat to go along with what is happening Speed Force.

Flash: Rebirth #1 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Story - Lightning Strikes Twice

Review
When Flash: Rebirth was announced I was mixed about having Barry Allen return to the DC Universe and from reading this first issue it still does not feel right. For me when I think of the Flash I think of Wally I do not think of Barry but that is because I did not start reading comics until the early 90s.

With that said the thing with The Flash: Rebirth #1 is a case were we get a strong opening, a weak middle, and a strong ending. Though I did not really like 2/3 of the issue the mystery of the Speed Force killing and affecting all the characters that derive their powers from the Speed Force is going to keep me collecting this mini-series. Also it helps that this series has the excellent artwork of Ethan Van Sciver on it. The real test for this series, for me, is if at the end of Flash: Rebirth I will pick up the relaunch of the Flash title(s), because right now I have no interest in reading a Flash title once this series is over.

What is funny about the opening and the ending of this issue is that unlike everything in between those two parts is that it is not a Barry love fest that this issue felt like. Instead it involves everyone that has been involved with the Speed Force in some capacity, past and present. And it feels like this mini-series will hinge on how far this mystery of what is happening to the Speed Force can be stretched through this series without feeling it is being dragged out.

Another part of this story that I found interesting is the Rogues reaction to now there being four different Flash characters around sharing the same space. Out of all the reactions to Barry's return I think the most realistic and exciting part of the characters return. I am really interested to see how the Rogues will try and improve, whether it is by power ups and/or grow in numbers. Hopefully they will get more than an Aquaman Final Crisis appearance on this series, which I they probably wont.

Now as I said the problem is the middle of this issue. Maybe the biggest problem with this issue is the involvement of Bart Allen. I understand that his story of how he returns to the present is suppose to be told in Legion of 3 Worlds. The problem there is that not only am I trade waiting for that miniseries but also it has yet to finish with an actual date for its last issue to come out. And because Geoff Johns is writing both series there is no excuse he cannot reference the fact Bart is back by having Tim and Cassie, his two best friends, either act more surprise he is back or have a conversation with Bart about his return. But again this is what happens when their are such huge delays in comics since it will almost always cause fans to scratch their heads about what is happening in another.

Also I had a problem with Bart's reaction to Barry's return doesn't seem to be similar to what has been established before. In the past Bart has talked highly about his grandfather and how he has always wanted to run next to him as a partner. But now for him to make a complete 360 in attitude doesn't feel right, even though it is because it is supposedly about Max Mercury not being back but Barry is.

My idea is, and what probably Johns is making happen, is that the mystery with what is happening with the Speed Force is affecting all of the Flash characters personalities to turn more negative. Just looking at how Barry, Wally, and Bart were acting throughout this issue it does feel that they are being affected by however is going to be the big bad guy of this series. It just doesn't seem right this is how these characters who have been some of the most positive characters in comics to become so negative.

The second problem I had with this issue is the dialogue of Barry, Hal, and Bart read like conversations I have had about Barry's return with some of my friends. Barry and Bart were basically talking for the Wally fans and Hal was speaking for the Barry fans. Though this did not bother me as much as I think Johns has an interesting idea of making Barry similar to Steve Rogers's man out of time aspect that character used to have but hopefully this does not become a recurring conversation in this title as I have read that dialogue many times before.

I also had a problem with how Johns was trying to make Barry into this God-like character by having all the old JSA members saying how Barry was responsible for bringing them back to being superheroes and how all the other heroes were just gushing over Barry's return. Especially with the JSA scene all of the dialogue felt uncomfortable and felt that it was similar to what Johns did with Hal by putting him over other characters by them speaking super-highly of him or him being put over other A- and B-list characters.

Now the biggest problem I had with this issue is the sudden dark turn of Barry's origin. The Flash family has always had one the more positive origins in comics. In a time were almost every single comic book character has some sort of dark origin were someone was killed, tortured, or something else horrible happen in there past that it is refreshing that at least one group of characters have some sort of positive origin were they use their powers they receive by accident to become heroes because they have that drive to help people because that is who they are. But now that we are presented with a dark origin of Barry Allen, which has never been mentioned in the past stories, it kind of takes away from what makes the Flash Family special within comics. I really hope that this is only fake memories Barry has due to how much time he has spent in the Speed Force and he just has mixed memories of all the different Speed Force users that made him think he has a dark past.

Issue Rating
Story: 6.5/10 - Geoff Johns like always does a fine job getting his character voices down but a lot continuity problems and having characters make Barry into a God-like figure makes the dialogue feel awkward at times.
Art: 9.2/10 - Ethan Van Sciver does an excellent job as always with his artwork and really helps give this series an epic feel that the return of a character of Barry's level deserves.
Overall: 7.85/10 - Even though my review was more on the negative side there was still enough for old and new readers to enjoy from this from the writing and the art side. I am looking forward for the rest of the series to see what role all these different Flash characters will have in the DC Universe at the end of this series.