Ten Van Winkle Comic Reviews

To that end, go buy Cyborg #1. While the dialogue surrounding it is pretty heavy, it's a beautiful blast, and promises a bright story down the road. As far as supporting diverse characters and creators goes, you're getting the best, most classic material you could expect from this first issue. More than that, you're encouraging this problematic character's ability to self-heal and become something better.

This story is moving forward quickly, but the pace is comfortable. It suits the needs of the story Walker is telling, and it keeps this reader on the edge of her seat. Between the careful construction of our alienated hero and the curious conversion of Detroit from Motory City to Mecha City (underground body modification! dangerous modding experiments! it's a joy), Cyborg is shaping up to be a book with a satisfying amount of heart and a surprising amount of horror.

Harley Quinn and Power Girl #2 doesn't bring any mind-blowing twists or turns to the table, but who wants that? I came to see girls smash, and smash they do! Between a strong start in the first issue and marked improvements for the second, this series promises to keep going hard-and to keep us laughing and cheering hard, too.

It wants to laugh a lot, think a little, and punch the porn-stache off scantily-dressed men. So far, even with the pointless drug pages, this series is still accomplishing what it set out to do, and Harley or Kara fans are still going to get a kick out of this consistent, chuckle-churning page-turner.

Campbell's art does feel rushed in spots over the course of the issue, but the climactic clash between the Holograms and the Misfits shows off the best of her bright, dynamic abilities. There's something funny, too, about all that vitriol and all that poison between the bands erupting in something so frivolous as a food fight. Beyond being amusing, it brings the comic back to being fun, where it could go really dramatic really fast.

A big reason I'm so sore about this weird issue is that the last five have been pristine, and I'll be real: I'm still buying it. I plan to continue to buy it until such a time as a crappy creative team comes on board. I wanted answers because I want the best for these characters-because I love these characters. The richness and diversity doesn't stop at their looks or fashion senses. All of these girls (mostly girls, and no one bats an eye) represent a different, distinct personality or taste or struggle. Sometimes this means you identify strongly with them. Sometimes this means you're already biased against them. But they always compare to real life in a way that is joyful and hopeful-and fun. With it's legs soundly under it, Jem seems ready to rock and roll in the coming months, hopefully with happy endings.

It's easy to sit here and say that this story needs to slow down some. It's considerably easier than-say-writing a comic. The stress-level in this bubblegum comic is running a little high, though, and it would just be a nice relief for a few of dramas to either get put on the backburner or get resolved. I'm brushing my hair. I brush into a huge knot. I love all of my hair, but I'm starting to feel like I'm pulling it all out trying to keep up with Jem and the Holograms.

Image Courtesy of DC ComicsWhere many Bat-books are out to prove themselves by taking inventory of exactly how every cool gadget works, how every grand plan is executed, how action choices are used to attain quantitative results, Robin: Son of Batman brings human stories to the forefront. The whole Bat-family needs this kind of humanization, but Damian especially and perennially requires a deft hand. In three issues we've learned volumes about Damian and Maya; any other series could call this a wrap. Robin shows a longevity, though, in the careful pruning of its protagonists and it's vibrant, thorough world-building. With such care, it seems like this level of beauty can last for a while longer yet.

All said and done, the issue was amazing. A ride from start to finish and absolutely gorgeous, Robin: Son of Batman is a joy to read, even while we tap our feet waiting for the fields to level.

Secret Six gets stronger by the issue, even if you read them in the prescribed order of publication. For me, four issues is too many issues to wait for a series to find it's groove, but I have to admit: I trust the trajectory. The characters are finally starting to be interesting. The art is figuring out what it wants to be. The publishing schedule is evening out (knock wood). As long as the wait has been, I have to echo Lewis's The Last Battle (or perhaps your mom with the one of Six last night): Further up, and further in!

With each passing issue, Secret Six lifts another veil. A story that started off smothering and too tight is getting more air by the minute. An increasingly fresh story, a grand reveal, and a mean cliffhanger at the end makes the month between issues feel a little bit too long. Bring on issue six, bring on more secrets!

The first Secret Six story ends rocky with this issue, centered around a villainous genius prankster with no bite and no punchline. The saving grace and only real point of connection, for my money, is poor Mr. Dibny and his lost wife and at-risk surrogate daughter. Starting next month with issue #7 really seems too late to make me feel sympathy for the other characters in this book, but if anyone else can hook your heart nearly as fiercely as Dibny can, then this story might look up for me. Maybe a new setting, a new problem, a new villain will benefit these character when the next storyline rolls around.

Starfire is a slow-moving vehicle, but it moves more steadily now that the plot is really getting under way. Like the titular character, sometimes it struggles with things that it should be able to get around, but here's to the next issue being up to full speed and on the road again!

I'm still here because the art is fantastic. There are loads of female characters. There's hope for a Power Girl appearance, and who doesn't want a Power Girl/Starfire/Terra team up? But unless Atlee and Stella get together to shake all the pieces into place in Kori's pretty little head, I'm not sure how much more of our titular character I can deal with.

Between the huge cast, a mysterious new enemy, and a whole new perspective on Gotham, We Are…Robin! started off at a full run-but seems to be panting trying to get up this first narrative hill. Still, Duke remains an empathetic beacon in all the mess, and with the premise completely introduced, I cross my fingers for some quality character time in issue three.

A tease for the next issue promises us a Batgirl appearance, which seems pretty powerful when all the original Robins already look up to Barbara as the first sidekick and kind of a model for success. Long and short is that while the second issue was a little slow and this one was a little sloppy visually, We Are Robin smashes it up this week, ramping up the drama at a great pace as it leads towards Robin War in December. The savvy Batfan is going to be pickng this title up-and probably keeping an eye out for the perfect pieces for their Robin costume, too, so they can be ready to show their stuff.

To this point, Riko has been one of the least accessible Robins, too, at least in terms of relating to her fellows. Her constant use of the phone, her talking to Batgirls that aren't there, her hanging back to research has never hindered her functionality-but she hasn't been the easiest to get to know. Getting a peek into one of the more enigmatic characters of the series sheds light on her appearances in previous issues, and is plenty of fun to boot. Harvey's art stirs up the frenetic, acidic mood of a city in turmoil, and this eclectic guest issue will leave you rearing to rock.