A (couple) Week(s) Late, and a Dollar Short

Here's my thoughts on the last few week's offerings from DC (and a few others).

Teen Titans Go! 43: This issue was amusing, but not quite as funny as usual. I must admit to liking the all-ages comics quite a bit. The premise, not being anything new or unique, was still handled pretty well while keeping the general spirit of the book intact. I liked best of all how they managed to tie the comic into the show continuity without requiring actual knowledge of the show. Fun stuff.

Justice League Unlimited 34: This was a fairly disappointing offering, from a book that has never done so for me before. There were a lot of events in the plot that just didn't really work for me. Why was this team used? Why was the Atom there? How come Superman had no idea? What was with the Green Lantern "Disco-ball of Kryptonite"? Why didn't Myxzpltk just leave the Zone at the end? What the hell was up with the party? Really, not a good offering at all.

Batman Detective Comics 833: Now this, this is an awesome comic. Beautiful cover, beautiful interior, beautiful story. I absolutely love how this series is able to do stories that only take an issue or two to complete, and still have better story arcs that most any book on the stands today. This is what comics should be. In this issue, we have some cool character bits with a fun magic subplot. The end is a nice reveal/cliffhanger that makes me want to read next months issue now.

Teen Titans 47: I swear, I don't know why I still read this comic. The art has been iffy, the story has been crap since "One Year Later" (though the Doom Patrol arc was decent, i suppose). The best characters in the series are gone, and replaced with characters I care nothing for. Why do I read this again?

Crossing Midnight 7: This is a freaking awesome series. I love the mythology at play here, and the stories just keep improving the longer the series goes (not that 7 issues is really all that long). I really can't get enough of this series. So good, I actually have no idea what to say about it.

The Exterminators 18: Crazy-assed bugs and crazy-assed plots. How can you go wrong with that? An interesting story mixed in with minor plot advancement and some backstory on one of the better characters in the series. I liked the double-cross bits. Hoping the next issue comes back to the main plot, though, as that's what keeps me reading this series.

Jack of Fables 11: Huh? What happened to part 1? Even missing the beginning half of this story, it was a fun read and relatively easy to pick up on what happened previously. Well, at least for the really important parts. Gotta love a character like Jack. The rascal who is full of himself, manages to screw up everything he touches, but still comes out on top in the end. Even better is that he never learns his lesson, so you can watch him screw up his life over and over again. I also loved how the Snow Queen was completely oblivious to the way the world really works.

Fables 62: Fantastic character growth for Flycatcher over the last few issues, turning a fun incidental character into someone I actually care about. Great backstory on the Forsworn Knight that transitions into the current story, while also somewhat mirroring the story of Flycatcher himself. The Fabletown/Adversary stuff keeps getting better and better as well. I am really liking Prince Charming as mayor. What initially seemed like a scheme for power that would ultimately fail has ended up showing the character having true strength and guile. He's turning out to be a fantastic mayor, and making the story even that much better.

Stormwatch Post Human Division 8: Nice issue here. Bit of "down time" that allows for some fun character beats. Having never read anything Stormwatch prior to this series, I can't really comment on how it all plays out beyond the fun of watching it for the first time here. Good issue, with a good ending to lead into issue 9.

Salvador 1: Lovely, but I don't get it. Not much else to say here. Will buy the next few issues anyhow.

Darkness Level 4: Fun romp through hell (how often can you say you have heard that one). Having only come to the Darkness from the second series, and having missed a couple of these video game tie-ins, can't really say much on how this works for the bigger picture. But, hell of a lot of fun to read. Plus, can't get enough of that creepy demon stuff.