Wednesday Comics #1 review

After the terrific 52, the turgid Countdown and the I've-still-not-gotten-through-the-thing-but-God-Rita-is-annoying Trinity, DC's latest experiment in weekly publishing takes a traditional turn. Wednesday Comics, as its title suggests, is a throwback to the US comics section of old - full-colour, lavishly illustrated strips to be enjoyed by all the family.

OK, so there's no humour in here - this would have been a great chance to bring back Angel and the Ape or the Inferior Five - but other than that it smacks of the supplements of old. Let's take it from the top . . .

Batman: This starts where many a traditional Bat-tale has begun, with the Caped Crusader summoned by the Bat-signal. While it's a scene we've seen a thousand times, it's refreshed by writer Brian Azzarello telling us how Commissioner Gordon feels about his dependence on Batman. Eduardo Risso provides gorgeous moody art, intelligently coloured by Trish Mulvihill. And the letters of Clem Robins are spot-on, stylish yet unobtrusive.

Kamandi: Dave Gibbons gives us an all-narrated strip featuring Jack Kirby's post-apocalypse teenager. It's a style I hated as a kid, but here I loved it. The measured, storybook narration evokes the loneliness Kamandi feels . . . and besides, he's the Last Boy on Earth, who's he gonna talk to? Ryan Sook's art is spectacular, and he even does his own letters. Extra points for the 'Kamandi created by Jack Kirby' banner at page bottom, complete with spot illo by The King - I'd love editor Mark Chiarello and assistant Chris Conroy to such acknowledgments a requirement throughout. It adds a fun design element and a sense of history appropriate to this project.

Superman: A swift and fun read from John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo, with the Man of Tomorrow facing a strange new foe. I always like Superman facing a strange new foe. Barbara Ciardo could paint my wagon anytime, as her colour work here is classic stuff, while Ken Lopez letters up a storm. As with the Batman strip, the only tweak I'd make to this page would be to add some kind of 'continued' slug at the bottom.

Deadman: No tweaks necessary here, as co-plotters Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck hit the bullseye first time out. We get a recap of Deadman's origin and are dropped straight into a murder mystery, along the way getting more details of his mission, a sense of Boston Brand's personality and a cliffhanger ending. Bullock shows how a design-led page doesn't mean leaving the story behind, while Heuck - a new name to me, but one I like for it's onomatopoeic qualities of kebab consequences - gives the story an engaging tone. Dave Stewart adds the swinging colours, Jared K Fletcher letters - and yes, that includes a Next Week panel.

Green Lantern: This gets off to a slow start, but a fun one as the Ferris Aircraft gang go for a drink and wonder where Hal Jordan is. Well, he's in the last panel and, as drawn by Joe Quinones, looking fabulous in a strip that seems to be taking its stylistic cues from Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier. Kurt Busiek, one of my favourites, writes and I'm delighted to see him working on something a little more contained than Trinity. And Pat Brosseau letters by Lantern's light.

Metamorpho: This package be a homage to a great American institution but Neil Gaiman shows that, like fellow Brit Dave Gibbons, he knows his publishing history. In a single page he introduces his cast and sets up the adventure, while not skimping on the immediate entertainment. The story and character beats perfectly capture the style of Metamorpho creators Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, who both get a namecheck at page bottom. Mike Allred was born to draw the Fab Freak of 1001 Changes, so it's a good job someone gave him the script. He's not aping Fradon - Allred is too much his own man - but Lordy, he captures her cast well. And Laura Allred colours them just spiffingly, while Nate Piekos provides suitably jolly lettering.

Teen Titans: Writer Eddie Berganza gives us a rundown of the various Titans teams since the Sixties before reaching the present lot, on whom I'm assuming the next 11 episodes will focus. That being so, the history lesson was unnecessary - I prefer a 'this is our cast, let's begin' approach. Sean Galloway's art is eye-catching, and modern and, er, well, I'm sure the kids will just love it. I liked the thoughtful layout, but wasn't keen on the washed-out quality of his palette and the beyond minimalist facial features. Nick J Napolitano has one of the best names in comics. He's also a terrific letterer, as he shows again here.

Strange Adventures: This Adam Strange feature fits the Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers mould nicely which is likely why Paul Pope has tweaked his costume for Thirties spaceman style. Wife Alanna, too, gets a makeover, looking less the science chick, more the space seductress. And it works. Pope's story moves faster than a zeta beam, Jose Villarrubia's colouring is sublime and the only thing that stops this strip getting a perfect 10 is the lettering, which I assume is by Pope. Its freeform nature/messiness works as a design element in the artwork, but is bloody annoying if you're actually trying to read it. Oi, Ken Lopez, get over here ...

Supergirl: Amanda Conner illustrates hubby Jimmy Palmiotti's script, which sees Kara Zor-El trying to keep those gosh-darn super pets under control. Paul Mounts colours, John J Hill letters and Mart has the pants charmed off him. Oh, and is that Mr Palmiotti cameoing as Pet Shop Dad?

Metal Men: It's one of my favourite teams illustrated by two of my all-time favourite artists. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez pencils with the style and drama of a master, while Kevin Nowlan complements him with perfectly laid blacks. Mulvihill and Lopez do that hoodoo they do so well, again. Writer Dan Didio provides a simple set-up that neatly showcases the robots' very human personalities. And seeing the team in Sixties gear was a hoot.

Wonder Woman: My least favourite of the bunch. God bless writer/artist Ben Caldwell for his obvious enthusiasm and desire to provide value for money but my word, this was confusing. Almost 50 panels ranging from small to tiny, drenched in purples and pinks, packed with hundreds of splodgily-lettered words - I found this terribly tough to follow. If it hadn't said Wonder Woman at the top (in a horribly flouncy new logo) I'd have been hard pressed to tell who was starring in this strip. To be fair, it's very much a prologue to the main event, and I liked the grey ladies, the mention of 'Aphrodite's veil', and am intrigued that here Diana is 'the last Amazon' but I really need some simplification if I'm going to enjoy this ride. Don't dial down your ambition Ben, but focus on the vital stuff and throw out the rest.

Sgt Rock and Easy Company: The great Joe Kubert draws to a script written by son Adam and all is right with the world, as our hard nut hero faces torture by the Nazis. In the tradition of many a modern Sunday strip, the top tier here is entirely detachable - it adds nothing to the story, allowing it to be chopped away to fit different page slots. Hopefully this is a one-off nod rather than a signature of the strip.

Flash: Ah, now this is clever stuff - a quick, amusing Barry Allen vignette for the top half of the page, a tie-in Iris West romance comics-style strip at the bottom - complete with her own logo! Topped off with a fabulous All-Flash Golden Age page header. Karl Kerschl, you're a very clever boy. Other clever boys are co-scripter Brenden Fletcher, letterer Rob Leigh and colourist Dave McCaig. The Iris panels are likely being blown up even now by the ghost of Roy Lichtenstein.

Demon and Catwoman: I've never liked Jack Kirby's rhyming Lord of Hell, far as I can tell, he's less than swell. But I think I'm going to like him here, as written by Walt Simonson and illustrated Brian Stelfreeze. Because if he's presented as attractively as his alter ego Jason Blood, and co-star Selina Kyle, he'll be a stylish, seductive soul. Steve Wands does his usual magic with the calligraphy set.

Hawkman: At the start I found the bird narration conceit silly, but by the end was grateful to finally learn why any bird would ever follow the Silver Age Hawkman. Kyle Baker, I flap too. And you draw wonderfully.

So that's it, 15 strips and as many approaches to the Sunday page. One or two instant favourites, a couple I didn't take to, the rest all well worth my time and money. I worried that as an artist-led project the stories would be terrible, but there's a lot of promise here. Mark Chiarello dedicates this book to the late and legendary DC editor Archie Goodwin and you know what? I think he'd be thrilled to bits.

As for me, Wednesday Comics, you had me at:

Marvel Divas #1 review

Take three former Avengers and one of Spider-Man's most trusted allies and what do you get? A superhero Sex and the City that's at least three years too late. I knew this book was to focus on our heroines - Hellcat, Captain Marvel, Firestar and Black Cat - in their everyday lives, but I didn't think it's be quite so shallow. Page after page of swapping stories about crap men over cocktails. Resentment towards such supposedly more successful super-heroines as She-Hulk, Invisible Woman and Storm. And a final page injection of like, super-emotional drama to add a bit of weight.

Taking the last first, and stop reading now if you don't wish to be spoilt, it turns out that Firestar has breast cancer. In the real world this is a horrible thing to learn. In a superhero universe that regularly has people coming back from the dead, it's less so. Two of the exes mentioned in this issue have supernatural powers so it's not unlikely they could zap a few rogue cells. Captain Marvel has about 50,000 light-based frequencies, I'm sure she could do some surgery, guided by the Irredeemable Ant-Man (and she'd get a shag as a bonus). Given how ditsy and competitive the women are here, it's likely Firestar would put in for a Misty Knight-style cybernetic attachment.

I suppose the fluffy portrayal of Patsy Walker isn't so far from her origins in Marvel's Silver Age romance line, Black Cat has always been a bit flighty and Firestar we barely see this issue, so no real problems there. Let's just say we're seeing the same heroines from a new angle.

It's the presentation of Monica Rambeau that gets me. A former leader of the Avengers and extremely capable heroine, she was a bit of a joke in Next Wave, but that was OK as every character was. Here she has another new personality, wittering on the whole time about being black. Apparently she went home to New Orleans to help in the aftermath of Katrina, 'cleaning up the mess you white people left behind'. The clean-up involved being a member of an all-black superhero crew. Am I missing some point? Does Monica only like non-blacks if they get pissed with her?

There's a single panel in which we see our heroines fighting together and what do we get? (Click for bigness) A stupid bloody wink from writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. He can do better that that, if a gag about Beta-Ray Bill is anything to go by.

The art by Tonci Zonjic is delightfully expressive, and airy in a Darwyn Cooke way. If the level of cartooniness was more consistent from panel to panel it'd look even better.

Oh, and Marvel Divas? Looking at J Scott Campbell's cover, you'd think it was Marvel Slappers.

Justice League: Cry For Justice #1

Green Lantern Hal Jordan lays down the law to the Justice League, annoyed that the team isn't proactive enough in terms of going after villains and ending their threat for good. He reminds them that as the local representative of the Guardians of the Universe, he is the law. And he's going to step up before more heroes such as Batman and the Martian Manhunter get killed. So, with the ever-loyal Green Arrow, he exits the League satellite to do ... something. If you're not with him, you're against him, apparently, and Ollie so wants to be against him. Rubbing.

The reduced version: GL throws a hissy fit and tosses his toys out of the pram. Ollie is gay for Hal.

Let's look at this again. While Hal has in the past told the Guardians where to stick their rules, and led segments of the Corps in battle, he is at heart a company man. Not only does he follow regularly stupid Guardian orders, he's a disciplined member of the USAF. Yet here he's unhappy with his third team and rather than properly talk the whole thing over, quits after a discussion that must take all of two minutes. It's not convincing - either he's a man who respects rules, or he isn't. While claiming to be the former, here he's demonstrably the latter.

I'd say he was showing uncharacteristic disrespect here for Black Canary, one of his oldest friends and current League leader, but writer James Robinson ignores her status here. Rather than being front and centre, and calling Hal out, she's whispering in the background to her husband as Hal addresses, basically, Superman and Wonder Woman. As for what Ollie - not even a current League member - is doing pledging his loyalty to Hal, rather than standing by his wife, heaven knows. I'm also not sure why Supergirl and Plastic Man are, silently, on hand, although the former is slated to join Hal's new team.

The rest of the issue features vignettes of GLJL members to be - there's Ray Palmer, teaming up with former Atom placeholder Ryan Choi; Starman Mikaal Tomas visiting a funeral home; and Congorilla facing his own tragedies. Each scene ends with the formerly mild-mannered heroes deciding that they want . . . JUSTICE. Say it loud, JUSTICE! Their reasons are, to be honest, rather contrived. Starman's boyfriend has been murdered, Congorilla's old pal B'wana - sorry, Freedom - Beast has likewise been slaughtered and, er, a scientist pal of Ray Palmer's that we've never heard of has also been killed by criminals. Gawd, couldn't they get his old lab assistant Enrichetta Negrini out of mothballs and kill her? I always liked her, how can she still be alive?

Like Hal's outburst, these heroes' reasons to be cheerless are less than compelling. Heck, if losing not one Jean Loring, but two (>ahem Countdown<) weren't enough to make Ray Palmer shrinking violent, the death of some acquaintance isn't going to to do it. And never mind his having debuted in comics in 1940, in the DCU Congo Bill has been active in Africa for many a decade, so why would a bunch of poachers suddenly get his gorilla dander up? As for Mikaal, wasn't he meant to be a lovely hippy space alien?

Will we have more of the same next issue? The team members sure look annoyed in the banner house ad currently adorning DC message boards. Is this going to be Grrreen Lantern, Grrreen Arrow, Supergrrrl, Congrrrilla, the angriest Leagrrrs of them all? I do hope not - if I wanted scowling, ill-motivated maverick heroes I'd dig out my old issues of Extreme Justice. As this is Robinson, I actually have extreme optimism, I am the Super-Pollyanna. But next issue needs to be a lot better than this one if I'm going to stay on board. No more unconvincing motivations. No more 'we-don't-care' editing. No more horrible sub-Superman/Batman (who knew that was even possible?) back and forth man-crush dialogue involving the Atoms. And a reminder that these characters have smarts as well as guts.

Mauro Cascioli's illustrations are impressive, realistic and intense, perfect for a grim and gritty throwback title such as this. It's more natural than much painted art, with no obvious model shots a la Alex Ross. I prefer more traditional linework in my superhero comics, but he's put an awful lot of work in and I'll certainly be looking at this book again and again.

I'll give issue #2 a try, but a word to the wise - if Ollie Queen calls Hal Jordan 'baby' again, I'm out of here.

Secret Six #11 review

Ah, they're an odd bunch, the Secret Six. Perfectly happy to maim and murder for money, but when it comes to the matter of slavery, qualms unexpectedly enter the equation. Last issue the team took the shilling of slimy Mr Smyth, Deadshot killed an escaping prisoner for him and now he explains his plans: to erect the world's biggest and only prison, a wonder of the world to be built by slaves.

But he's no abuser of the poor, Smyth is an equal opportunities slavemaster, keen to gather his workforce via lottery from all levels of society. God bless Ragdoll for pointing out to Scandal the ridiculous nature of her objections (click to enlarge). By the end of the issue the team's split down the middle on the matter, a stark contrast to the way they stand united against Smyth's men at the start.

In between we've met Artemis, the woman tough enough to have once taken Diana's place as Wonder Woman. She's in a sorry state here, shackled and physically weakened, but her spirit is strong. She won't stand for the courtly hypocrisy of Smyth's master jailer and tells him so calmly and intelligently.

This is one of the chattiest comics I've read in a while but it's not a matter of Marvel's Mamet mannerisms - every word is important in progressing situation or character. Writer Gail Simone's dials down the book's usual humour (Ragdoll stays snarky, but on point), leaving us a sombre tone appropriate to the subject matter. What we have, via the seductive logic of Mr Smyth, is a gripping examination of the place slavery could have in a post-credit crunch world. The ambition of ideas on display here is rare in mainstream comics and I can't wait to see where things go next - especially with the arrival of a certain heroine on the final page.

Issue after issue I praise the art team of penciller Nicola Scott, inker Doug Hazlewood and colourist Jason Wright and they don't let me down. They create powerful people in a richly textured world appropriate to the comic's refusal to paint characters in black and white. And if characters such as Scandal Savage and Catman appear in their skimpies along the way, hey, it's vital to the plot.

I'm not a huge fan of painted covers by Daniel Luuisi's portrait of Artemis enslaved is a winner. Let's hope he's on board for all five issues of Bound.

The Last Days of Animal Man #2 review

Eating my words department: I had no interest in this mini series. DC has made continuity so much the be all and end all of their line that I saw no use for a short run set in the future of the DC Universe - if stuff in it comes to pass, I've been spoilt a couple of decades too early; if it doesn't, it's just an irrelevant imaginary story.

Then I began hearing good things about #1, so bought it. So, did I find the book irrelevant? It turns out that was the wrong question, I should have been asking, do I find it good? And that's a definite yes. Very good. This book marks the return to comics after years in TV drama (only bloody Law & Order!) of Seventies and Eighties DC writer Gerry Conway, and it's turning out to be a terrific calling card. The first issue was clever and fun. The second issue, I like even better, as ageing superhero Animal Man, aka Buddy Baker, must fight the ludicrous but deadly Bloodrage and, more significantly, his self-denial. He's refusing to acknowledge that his powers are fading, and that attitude's been hurting his relationship with wife Ellen. Here he can no longer deny that his ability to instantaneously tap into the morphic field that unites life, and borrow the abilities of any creature, is on the outs.

Luckily he's given a hand here from fellow Justice Leaguer Green Lantern. But it's not Hal Jordan, or any of his human replacements. It's . . . well, check out that gorgeous cover. God knows how this guy fits round the table at meetings, but he's good. The new GL is a surprising but logical change for this future DCU, and just one of the signs that Conway knows what he's doing. Another is the characterisation of Buddy as very much your ordinary guy, even after all his years running, flying and swimming with the super-pack. He's not brilliant, hence his needing a hand when his powers go kaput while fighting Bloodrage. He's not the most emotionally intelligent guy, which is why he won't open up to the always understanding Ellen about his fears.

But he has a big heart, and whatever happens, he tries to do the right thing. If his spotty powers are going to get him killed, he's willing to go out fighting. And when the second of this issue's villains appears, a new legacy character, it looks as if he might do just that. We're introduced to Prismatik (who's her bad guy relative? Not telling, buy the book!) via an awfully long speech she makes to her dead mother, a device I found rather clunky, possibly indicative of Conway having an old-school moment. Or perhaps he was showing us that the new girl is actually rather old school and corny; certainly she's a tad mad.

That one scene's forgivable, as the rest of the storytelling is so good. Buddy's dialogue and narration had me warming to him for the first time in many a year, even when he's crankier than he should be (there's that humanity again). And the direction in which Conway takes the man with animal powers is clever, and welcome. There's even a shocker of an ending which has me wishing this was one of those biweekly series DC have been turning out of late.

Pencilling the book is Chris Batista, producing the best work I've seen from him. Yup, his Buddy looks nowhere near as old as he should but he's the man with animal powers, he's probably channelling a tortoise's longevity or something. The character work is great, the layouts smart and, under inker Dave Meikis, there's an echo of longtime Animal Man cover guy Brian Bolland (back for this mini) with a smattering of original series penciller Charles Truog. Mike Atiyeh's colours are bright without being garish, always appropriate for the scene and - Lord, it really is old home week - the book is lettered by DC legend Clem Robins. Huge credit to editor Joey Cavalieri and assistant Chris Conroy for assembling this team and I'd be delighted to see them together again, and back with Buddy, after these six issues wrap.

Superman #689 review

As TV host Morgan Edge stirs up anti-Mon-El hatred, our hero leaves Metropolis for a world tour. He's keen to see the sights before his predicted death from lead poisoning and en route meets not so much a 'who's who' as a 'who the heck?' of DC's international heroes. If they're not unseen-for-years obscurities such as Rising Sun and Freedom Beast they're new creations a la La Sangre and Sunny Jim.

The international rescues are all narrated by Mon, allowing us to get to know the current star of Superman's book better while seeing what's happening outside the US, sadly, a rarity in DC Comics. Writer James Robinson has fun with the idea that two British heroes, a toff and a tough, would team up as Class War (mind, why is the diamond-themed chap named Beaumont? Why not Diamond Geezer, an old British term . . . oh, hang on, he's the posh one. Still, why Beaumont?). He also comes up with a hero I'd love to see again, a German gumshoe with, er, 'a little invulnerability', Will Von Hammer. With just one splash panel and around 100 words, Robinson has me dying to see this guy again, a descendant of Enemy Ace and the very obscure Stormy Foster, the Great Defender. Maybe we could call him Enemy Dick. (Click for a better view.)

When not zapping around the globe we see the Guardian challenge Edge's tirades, Tellus say goodbye, the Prankster make himself useful and John Henry Irons show his Steelworks to a potential new security guard. Four B-plots, three cracking scenarios - Edge's rants are very much par for the course in the DCU, part Jack Ryder, part Vic Sage, all-dull. Hopefully Robinson will give Edge something more interesting to do soon.

The world tour, which takes in such sights as the Kremlin and Gaudi's Barcelona, is perfectly suited to penciller Renato Guedes' eye for architecture, and along with inker Jose Wilson Magalhaes and colourist David Curiel he gives us some terrific interpretations of DC's lesser-know heroes (including upcoming member of Robinson's JLA, Congorilla).

Good as they are, though, they can't make the villain of the last page look scary. Not in that outfit. Not in my lifetime.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1 review

I'm old enough to remember the X-Men fighting villains who weren't mutants, when they had time between adventures to play ball, go to the mall, even have romances with ordinary people. Then came the superb Days of Future Past story (Uncanny X-Men #141-141) and its success encouraged writer Chris Claremont to revisit the idea of anti-mutant hysteria. Not once or twice but again and again, until the book became less about superheroes who shared a common origin than than a tale of oppressed souls, constantly battling mutant haters, supervillains and politicians alike. 'Hated and feared by the world they have sworn to protect' went from being a clever legend line that occasionally fed into the stories than the team's reason for being. And I bailed as a regular reader.

I've popped back regularly since giving up my monthly dose of X-Men around the time the X-Men 'died'/went to Australia (yes, there is a difference), and have enjoyed a fair few stories, while wishing the book would stop being quite so angsty. Yes, we get it, if you're Jewish, or gay, or - God forbid - ginger, you're a bit like the X-Men. We're currently going big on the gay metaphor, with Scott Summers and co having moved to San Francisco after the School for Gifted Youngsters was destroyed for the umpteenth time.

This first bookend to a crossover begins with a perfectly legal anti-mutant march on San Francisco being intercepted by a bunch of mutants led by a strangely confrontational Beast. Big brain Hank is surprised when fighting breaks out between the two factions, and winds up tasered and in a cell. It's all a bit embarrassing for the Mayor, who had invited the X-Men to find sanctuary in SF. Soon the rest of the team and sundry younger mutants are firefighting across the city and not doing too badly until Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers arrive . . .

X-Men writer Matt Fraction doesn't have as much fun introducing the Dark Avengers via his patented infobursts as he does with his regular characters (well, I don't think so - they're printed in a tiny font, in dark blue out of black, so who can tell?), but he gives them some good moments. Ares, in particular, has a wonderfully entertaining chance to shine, while Ms Marvel shoots off a line worthy of Emma Frost at her best. It's his regular protagonists who come off badly, with Beast an impetuous buffoon and Colossus happy to beat up young X-Man Rockslide, who's having his own off-moment.

Nevertheless, this was an engrossing book, reading like the culmination of two decades of 'let's have a Mutant registration act'. I'd be thrilled to bits were this story indeed to put the lid on this tired theme for a while, but I can't see it happening. It's been the default for far too long now.

I enjoyed the real sense of place engendered by the script's hopping around the city: one minute we're in Market Street, then it's off to the Embarcadero before climbing Nob Hill and so on. There's a pleasing intensity to the script, as if the story matters. And while I could live without the Grrr-We're-The-Dark-Avengers, Norman Osborn works well in his scenes with fellow Cabal member Emma Frost. And the ending, despite another rubbish moment for the Beast ('Are you speaking in my head?' he wonders cos, you know, the Beast's never encountered a telepath), has a twist I never saw coming.

Last time I saw Marc Silvestri pencil at Marvel was on that final Grant Morrison story I mentioned earlier, Here Comes Tomorrow, and here he comes again. I've never understood why he's quite so lauded, but it's decent comic art, even with the handicap of seven inkers - the finish is nowhere near as inconsistent as I'd expect, so well done all. And Frank D'Armarta applies colour intelligently, while Chris Eliopoulos is undaunted by a wordy script.

A couple of questions: Loki appears for one panel, in male form - has he changed back from the ugly bint of recent Thor vintage, then? And where does Toad keep that tongue?

The cover is classily designed, with smart furniture, but the movie poster style illo could do with being less murky. And how many times do we have to have the X-Men lying defeated on a hill, like the Peanuts gang staring up at the clouds?

Gotham City Sirens #1 review

Gotham City Sirens? Gotham City Tarts, going by that admittedly nicely rendered cover. I suppose you can't fault the honesty - cheesecake title, cheesecake images - but can we keep the levels down?

Cover artist Guillem March plays it a little looser inside, getting very cartoony at times, which suited the debut of rubbish wannabe villain Bonebreaker. He differentiates our three leads - Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn - well: Selina is steely but tired; Pamela, ethereal and smart; Harleen, mischievous and distracted. March's Riddler is unrecognisable, partly due to Ivy's treatment of him, partly due to him not having had a settled look for years. The action sequences are fun, 'louder' than other Bat-books in their presentation, which provides a unique selling point.

The best USP is the personalities of our leads, three unique women who, when they come together, fizz. This issue writer Paul Dini has them deciding to live together for protection in the powder keg that is Gotham. Ivy, concerned that Selina has lost her mojo, checks in with Zatanna, whom she suspects of having tinkered with Catwoman's health. It's clever that Dini has Ivy appear to Zee as a gnarled face in a plant rather than the beauty that is her default form. I also liked a gag that'll appeal to anyone with an email account, the debut of the Broker (who comes from the Paul Gambi school of characters who have to exist in the DCU) and a cliffhanger that makes perfect sense for these characters.

Oh, and there are gargoyles. Of course.

Detective Comics #854 review

She's the Batwoman . . . and she's pale. Very pale. I suspect Kate Kane is wearing pancake make-up for her nights on the town, all the better to scare criminals, my dear. With ruby red lips, red wig stark against the black night, and that pale, pale skin, she's a new ghost on the Gotham streets.

But Batwoman is no ephemeral vision; she does, as the Americans say, kick butt. And head. And anything else that gets in the way. And when not Batwoman, she's equally vampish, with her new do, a Twenties-style Louise Brooks bob. Well, she looks vampish; in her current relationship she seems rather meek. Or maybe just too tired to fight back when new girlfriend Mallory accuses her of cheating and dumps her. Let the moaning Minnie go, I say, when you're ready for love there's a rather lovely woman just down the comic. But we'll get to her later.

In her first outing as lead star in Detective Comics, Batwoman is a woman possessed, continuing her efforts to shut down the Religion of Crime which tore her heart out (literally) in a mini some time ago. And I wish her luck, because as visually interesting as their apparent new leader, Alice, is - think a Doug Moench/Bill Sienkiewicz femme fatale, with creepier word balloons courtesy of the great Todd Klein - I found the Crime Bible mini rather senseless and just want the whole thing to go away.

Still, that's not putting me off the comic. Not when Kate Kane is such a potentially interesting character - I like what we've seen and can't wait to find out about her past with the Batman Family, her motivation for crimefighting, where she shops . . . I'm already intrigued by her military dad, who seems to share her secrets, and why there's such sadness in her eyes.

Because while the mirror-lensed Batwoman is a grinning fiend for good, artist JH Williams III makes Kate a smoky-eyed siren with the weight of the world on her shoulders. I want to know her private sadnesses and, if not see her overcome them, learn how she deals with them.

Williams is on stonking form throughout, and when not drawing the comic may as well build a shelf for the awards he'll win. The layouts are imaginative yet not so fiddly they halt the story; the action is kinetic and clear; the quieter moments are full of fascinating detail (I want to move into Kate's flat right now).

Dave Stewart is equally pulling his weight with the colours - between them, the men give us a distinct separation between the books two worlds: Batwoman stalks the grainy streets, her costume sleek, while Kate wanders the daytime world, in fabulously feminine chic, tattoos proudly displayed. Actually, there's a middle ground as we follow Kate and her father into her mini-Batcave. The art is wonderfully well-thought out and a perfect match for Greg Rucka's smart script.

Mind, Rucka had me at 'Bette'.

Rucka stays on for back-up strip The Question. Happily Renee Montoya - Batwoman's favourite ex - is away from the global intelligence force she hooked up with in (Oh God If Only It Were) Final Crisis, and is taking on small, street-sized cases with Tot. I believe Tot was an associate of the original Question, but no one bothers mentioning it. Oh well, Rucka and artist Cully Hamner give us enough set-up to get into the story, a mundane episode of Renee looking for a missing girl. It's nicely paced but strictly 'uh-huh' stuff. Points to Rucka for not hammering us on the head with 'Renee is an alcoholic' when she comes across a roomful of empties, but that was the only moment I sat up and took notice.

Maybe the story will go somewhere amazing but on the evidence here, and nice as it is to see an actual detective in Detective Comics again, I'd prefer a $2.99 book featuring Batwoman alone.

Wonder Woman #33 review

The injured Diana lands on Paradise Island, helps her mother, sisters and madwomen of the Circle fight the sea monsters of Euphemus, bests Ares, punches Zeus for making her sisters mortal and ousting his mother in favour of revived corpse guy Achilles, and quits the Amazon. The story ends with Head Circler Alkyone leering at the baby doll Ares gave her, which we may call Essence du Genocide.

Yes, Genocide, whose villainy has dominated the eight-part Rise of the Olympian, will be back. Like we haven't seen enough of her. As for the Olympian, he appeared for a few panels this issue and showed all the charisma of a wet rag. Lord knows how he got the storyline named after him, it's been Genocide all the way. Even though she doesn't appear this time, she fills the injured Diana's thoughts, causing her to exaggerate how much damage she did to Diana's loved ones (Etta ain't dead, Donna merely had a Genocide-inspired moody, Nemesis likes being in hospital and monkeys always die in gorilla warfare). Mind, the scene did allow Diana to squeeze in an idea as to why Genocide was always wittering on about 'No home', which made sense if read with a generous heart.

Drama queen moments aside, I enjoyed the chat between the weakened Diana and Phillipus, it showed the familiarity pseudo-sisters should have.

A few random thoughts: While I prefer the Invisible Plane, Diana's unique transport, the arrival of the shell, skimming over the sea to Paradise Island, made for an evocative opening.

I loved Aaron Lopresti's monsters, though it's a shame their first appearance wasn't on a turn page, for effect. His work throughout was stunning (apart from his apparent refusal to draw the tiara properly), partnered with inker Matt Ryan and colourist Brad Anderson.

Diana's narration was pretty good, less melodramatic than in writer Gail Simone's earliest issues.

'If I could talk to the megalodons . . .' It turns out that at least one Amazon can chat to the prehistoric sharks that bask around the island (maybe this is Aquazon of the Super Young Team, on vacation). Surely only Diana had unity with beasts?

'Hera's name!' cries Persephone, making her comic book debut after appearing in the recent Wonder Woman cartoon. Er that would be Hera, then - or was it a shortened form of 'In Hera's name!'? Is this the Amazon equivalent of my hated 'the hell?' And why is she calling her poor pal a 'silly woman'?

The design of the Hephaestus Cannon was excellent, harking back to ancient times, yet futuristic.

I found the supposedly compassionate Diana rather too tetchy in her treatment of Alkyone - yes, she was an enemy, but here she was doing her best to defend her mother. Diana should have thanked Alkyone as a first step towards welcoming her back into the tribe.

Surprisingly, there's no hint here that the Amazons have just been reunited after being dosed with amnesia and scattered around the world. That's a shame as them no longer knowing how to work together could have upped the drama.

The dialogue given to Hippolyte was too cutesy at times - it'd be okay for Gail's old title Birds of Prey, but it's not suited to a supposedly dignified 3,000-year-old monarch facing the fight of her life. There were some good moments for Hippolyte, such as her 'wilful child' line, and her strong leadership was good, but overall she disappointed me. I get that she's longtime loyal to Zeus, but when the gods must be crazy, get off them knees.

I enjoyed the appearance by Athena, she seemed suitably distant, and letterer Travis Lanham gave good font.

As for Diana and her 'Amazon no more' business, it feels like we've been there many times. Even Alkyone said 'again' when Diana made her announcement. Still, if it means no more gods and monsters for a while, lovely.

My biggest problem with this issue was the dispatching of Ares. He was revealed as the threat behind Genocide only recently in scenes I figured were meant to up the ante. I expected Diana to be daunted, but to battle him at least to a stalemate. So what happens? Wonder Woman confronts him, bashes him on the head with her axe and he loses his spirit. One panel. She may as well have been batting away an over-eager puppy.

This is the god of war, who was, I imagine, enjoying a power boost due to the conflict around him. This was one of the family who created Diana and her people. But he was nothing to her. If Diana is suddenly powerful enough to take down gods without a second thought, why did she have so many problems with the god-powered Genocide? Last issue, when she made a comment about how she should have killed Ares when she had the chance, I smiled at the exaggeration of her powers. But no, she could have done it. Wotta girl. So much for her terrible injuries.

So that's eight months of Wonder Woman comics I've followed to see the Rise of the Olympian. I must have blinked and missed it. Yes, I saw Zeus put him on the stage. I saw Achilles and his men rampaging mildly around the world. There was even a fun little fight with Diana. But does anyone really feel that a force to be reckoned within the DCU has been created here? Girly-haired Achilles was barely a presence in this arc. I'm more interested in seeing his conjoined elephant again.

Overall, while I've heaped praise on many issues in this storyline, I'm feeling a little flat tonight. Eight issues and it all comes down to beating a bunch of monsters and bashing Ares' brains out. I'd say there was too much going on in this storyline and not focus on key elements. Maybe my big problem just comes down to the naming of the arc. Had it been something like, as I said previously, The Ogre and the Olympian, I'd have had fewer expectations that Achilles would stand proud as a real threat to Diana's world. As it was, the Olympian got top billing but Genocide dominated. It's as if Gail fell in love with her new creation, whose status as the Future Corpse of Wonder Woman has me never wanting to see her again. Stupid time travel palava! That revelation had me scratching my head. If she's a murdering animated corpse why did Diana has any qualms about tearing her apart?

In a 160pp story there's room to get the pacing right, but instead Genocide got the attention, Achilles the crumbs and Diana was too often on the backfoot. It's likely we'll be seeing a fair amount of Achilles in future, so perhaps he'll become a compelling character. Me, I'd prefer a few issues of Diana facing solo villains with uncomplicated agendas. Plenty of soap, plenty of action and really tight focus. No more sprawling epics for a while.