Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. It’s all spiked punch wishes and livestock dreams in the Bat universe this week. Reviews for Batgirl #2 and Batman: Streets of Gotham #4 are ahead. Also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!
BATGIRL #2
The cover of Batgirl has a banner that reads, “Batman: Reborn.” What it should really say is “Batgirl: Reborn.” Stephanie Brown has seamlessly stepped into a role some thought was only meant for Barbara Gordon and brought with her the same youthful charm as the original.
Speaking of the original, Babs is mighty pissed off with Stephanie. And rightly so. Stephanie did die fighting crime once already. She tries to lose Babs by going up a flight of steps but is quickly schooled when a batarang goes flying past her head. That conversation is long from over but it’s time for Steph to go to school. She has a tough time keeping her thoughts on crime a secret and manages to leave a few impressions on the other students. Not all of them good. At a Harvest Festival on campus she incurs the wrath of a jealous girl who, at first, appears to have had too much to drink. Turns out she’s been drinking spiked punch. Spiked with hallucinogens that is.
As Oracle, Babs has collected some information on the hallucinogen dubbed Thrill, which aided in the death of another youth and passes that info along to Steph, much to her surprise. She’s still using Cassandra’s suit, which apparently she didn’t even bother to wash, and Oracle guides/distracts her as she takes on a few of the young thugs responsible for the punch. Babs is having her own problems. The tech in her tiny new apartment is not capable of handling her workload so she and Steph meet at the Batcave. They’re able to identify one of the thugs who’s already been picked up by police. Too bad they don’t hold onto him for long seeing as how he’s working for the Scarecrow.
I’m still very much enjoying the direction this series is taking. Putting yet another girl in the costume is a hard sell no matter who she is but having Babs along to mentor her is perfect. They’re still butting heads but at least they’re both starting to realize what their problems are and that they may just be able to help one another. Brian Q. Miller knocks it out of the park again with both Barbara and Stephanie’s voices this issue. The art duties, although shared by Lee Garbett, Trevor Scott and Sandra Hope this time around, worked…there’s that word again…seamlessly together. Speaking of seams, I’m a little annoyed that Stephanie’s new Batgirl costume was revealed on the DC Nation page in every book but she hasn’t gotten around to actually making it yet.
BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #4
The first three issues of Streets of Gotham didn’t really do anything for me, which is surprising considering Paul Dini is writing it. It’s not that they were bad, it’s just that for a new series, I wasn’t wowed. I’m still not actually but this issue was definitely a step in the right direction.
We briefly see that Hush, posing as Bruce Wayne, is still being chaperoned by Batman’s network of allies and friends to make sure he doesn’t bankrupt the entire company. The Broker, who we first met in Dini’s other Batman title, Gotham City Sirens, narrates the majority of the issue though. Instead of a real estate agent to the stars, he’s a real estate agent to villains, finding them the perfect location for their hideouts. He runs with a tough crowd to say the least but somehow has managed to stay alive so far. He fondly remembers the city’s hayday 100 years ago when amusement parks were the main attraction. Once their time had passed he bought those run down buildings for a steal and sold them to the likes of the Mad Hatter and Joker for a large profit.
The Broker’s most recent transaction was with someone he wished he didn’t have to deal with at all but money talks in his line of work and Mister Zsasz has the funds. He’s found Zsasz a fully functional slaughterhouse, complete with holding pens. ::shiver:: Looks like he’s planning on making some sort of arena out of it and his “livestock” are children. Broker has a strict no-involvement policy but that doesn’t sit well with Batman who decides to pay him a visit looking for information. Turns out, even though Broker keeps his identity secret, Batman knows his real name is Sherman Fine. I had to laugh at Robin remarking on the real estate brochure, “Fifteen million for three bedrooms? That’s obscene.”
The second feature finds Jane Doe in jail and Kate Spencer acting on her new role as District Attorney. Jane’s not talking, so Kate takes her frustrations out in the street with Huntress instead. She’s determined to bring ex-DA Harvey Dent to justice. The art on the second feature has been changed from Georges Jeanty to Jeremy Haun and it feels more in-line with Manhunter in my opinion. Dustin Nguyen’s work in the main portion is excellent as usual, though I have to give him extra credit for his two pages worth of old-timey Gotham. They made me feel like I was shopping at an antique store.
ACTION COMICS #881 – Is it really that easy to forget you’re around others with super hearing?
BATMAN AND ROBIN #4 – Thankfully not anywhere near as creepy as last issue, but still awesome.
BLACKEST NIGHT #3 (OF 8 ) – Finally the Indigo Tribe takes center stage. So much happened within these pages it’s ridiculous.
THE OUTSIDERS #22 – Mining inside Clayface. There’s something you don’t see everyday.
WEDNESDAY COMICS #11 (OF 12) – Close to the finish line now. I feel like a lot of these stories have a lot to wrap up in order to be complete.
My pull list for this week:
BLACKEST NIGHT: SUPERMAN #2 (OF 3)
DETECTIVE COMICS #857
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #37
POWER GIRL #5
SUPERGIRL #45
SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN #1 (OF 6)
WEDNESDAY COMICS #12
Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #27?
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:16 am
Am I the only one that misses Cassandra Cain?
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 am
Definitely not Henry! I have a feeling she’ll find her place soon enough though.
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
My pick to review next time would be SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGINS #1 (of 6). The only other title on your list that I’m also getting is SUPERGIRL 45.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:25 am
I liked Steph and Barbara having identical reactions to the term ‘Gotham Harvest Festival.’ Shows that Steph’s a lot closer to her original mentality than Barbara wants to admit… and it is good to have Barbara mentoring her. Dick was as much of a guide for Tim as Bruce was, and having Barbara along should work wonders for Steph. Progress must be pretty rapid, though, cos Steph shows up in The Web in November to give him the old Bat-message about responsible superheroing. The irony that Steph should be the one to give that message…
For next week, I second the motion for Superman: Secret Origin 1. While I’d generally vote for a review of BN:Superman, this time I’d rather go for Wednesday Comics 12, since it’s the end of the story arcs. A long review to cover your overall views of a 3 month long weekly series…
September 26th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I miss Cassandra Cain.