BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #2 was the second issue I bought from this series and the first I read, but seeing as how these are one-off stories, I don't think it really matters. I didn't have high hopes for it as I'm not a fan of the show but I picked it up for my kids who I thought might get a kick out of it. I have also enjoyed most of the DC kids books so there was always the chance that I would get a kick out of it too, but no such luck here. I'm sure it would appeal to my 7 year old immensely but, unlike Tiny Titans or the new Supergirl and Shazam! books, it's all ages appeal is pretty limited.
SUPERMAN #685 was a bit dry for my tastes and suffers from being a purely expository issue to set up the next year of the Super-books. Robinson does manage to not make it a complete bore by giving us some nice moments with Mon-El and the artwork by Javier Pina was pretty solid. I don't know how closely Pins worked with Hi-Fi, the colourists for this issue, but it did feel a bit off, with some of the scenes coming off a little too bright. Maybe they need just to adjust some of their photoshop filters. Overall a decent, if unspectacular, read.
YOUNGBLOOD #8 reminds me why I stopped buying this series after the first issue. It's chaotic and it's bland which is a strange combination and one that doesn't make for good comics. I wanted to like this series when it first debuted because I've enjoyed the talents of Joe Casey and Derec Donovan elsewhere on other books. Unfortunately, I don't see a lot of that talent showing itself 'round these parts. Could be that the Liefeld characters are really limited, could be the stories that Casey is coming up with are uninspired, I don't know. What I do know is that, 7 issues later, I give Youngblood yet another pass.
STAR TREK COUNTDOWN #2 is a surprisingly decent effort from IDW, writers Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, and artist David Messina. Despite the Trek magic being thoroughly tarnished after many years of returning to the proverbial well, and the new film not inspiring me with a great deal of hope for a successful franchise reboot, this mini-series gives me some comfort. It's a prequel, but doesn't appear to have anything to do with the movie two issues in and reads better than most of the comics or novels that have been released over the years, which is interesting. It's also a nice blending of the old and the new with characters like Spock, Picard, and Data making appearances that don't come off like stunt casting, and the new characters, like the Romulan miner, Nero, who manage to fit seamlessly into the existing Star Trek fabric. It is, by no means, a perfect comic book, and the plot bears some similarities to Star Trek VI, but I've genuinely enjoyed reading both the first issue and this one, so I'll probably stick around to see how it ends.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #22, part two of "Earth's Mightiest", doesn't really improve on the first part much, although I seemed less bothered by Khoi Phamm's work here than I was previously. Oddly enough, I think Quicksilver sums up my feelings on the issue best when he refers to the new team that's assembling as "pure chaos". I know there are supposed to be interesting character dynamics forming between Avengers past and present, but the whole thing seems too staged and just isn't working for me. And I don't know who is responsible, but what's up with Quicksilver being back in the green suit? I may stick around for the final chapter just for completion's sake, but I can't guarantee it.
And that's another Comic Haul in the bucket. Looking over the list I think I'd have to vote Star Trek: Countdown #2 as the Pick of the Litter which would be the second time that book has surprised me since picking it up.
Take care.
mike
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