Thursday, July 29, 2010

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, it's that time again for a little rating and a lot of ranting! Jason Todd welcoming you guys once again to my Red Hood for another edition of Ratings and Rantings! This is a HUGE week with ten, count it, TEN reviews! I can't review Green Arrow #2 because I mistakenly put it in Falisha's bag when we left the comic shop, so once again, a comic has been bumped to next week. Everything else is on schedule though, so I'm gonna try to keep this entertaining and not boring for you guys. Also I wanna thank Falisha for the AMAZING banner she made for the site, so thanks again Ms. Falisha for the great work! So in the words of a wise man, from The Black Eyed Peas, "Let's get it started...Ha!" (And yeah... he actually does say Ha, I wasn't laughing.)

Batman: Widening Gyre #6

If you thought the Flash: Rebirth mini took forever, you must've not been following Widening Gyre! Issue one came out August 2009.... It'll be August 2010 next week! So, if you're having trouble, do what I did and check out my reviews of issues four and five for a bit of a refresher. This issue gets underway with Bruce and Silver Sable heading to a special place, and that special place is somewhere Bruce had to have gotten permission from the Man of Steel to use, and it surprised me. It seems outta character for Bruce, yet Bruce is in love so it kinda makes sense he'd do things he wouldn't normally do. Smith is also very good at the banter he does between his characters, as it comes off real and not forced. The things that followed also blew my mind, but this being the Batman mythos I know not to read into them to much. As for finding out what Silver's nickname for Bruce meant... man that was uncomfortable haha. especially for Alfred. Bruce's paranoid mind of course made him do something stupid, but can you blame the guy? Either way, I couldn't help but laugh at the way he confronted Silver while she was being dropped off by Alfred. Some of the dialogue was so out of character for Batman it was just weird, Bats would NEVER admit to someone what he did to Baphomet, not even Dick or Tim. The surprise appearances by Deadshot and Catwoman made me more into the comic since I was kind of losing touch after Batman's embarrassing statement to Baphomet. The dialogue with Deadshot was fun, I love that he's become such a good comedy character but is still taken seriously for the most part. After some more crime fighting and an interesting Catwoman moment, Batman and Baphomet talk, and Baphomet mentions (just like Jason Todd) that Bats could kill these criminals and save more lives than sending them to the revolving doors of Arkham Asylum. The comic ends with Batman, trusting Baphomet and bringing him into the Batcave. There he unmasks and... I will not ruin it for you. But that was the most shocking thing I've read in a while... I didn't see that coming at all. The story was solid, and this volume, although it took forever, was amazing. Even with the weird out of character moments, I gotta rate this comic a 9/10.

Silver: So... the JLA, what? Just gives you guys a giant dinosaur when you join?
Bruce: I had mine before it was trendy.


Deadpool #25

Deadpool #25, in 3-D!!!! It even includes 3D glasses and tells you how to put them together, and make glue in case you don't have any, but do happen to own an old horse and a blender. And I'm so serious by the way, it actually says that. OH MY GOSH!!! It's Blind AL! Somewhere X-Man is smiling while wearing his Nate Grey T-Shirt that he made himself because no one sells Nate Grey T-shirts. :P Anyway, Weasel runs to Blind Al, via telephone, and tells her how Deadpool has ruined his life recently. She tells him to basically be happy that's all he's done and to run away and never look back. Weasel, like the idiot he is, decides he's gonna show up our Crimson Comedian and take back his city. Meanwhile, Deadpool as The House whose supposed to be Weasel, stages a robbery, so that Weasel, Wildcard whose supposed to be Deadpool would try to stop him. Weasel eventually defeats Deadpool, or so it seems, making everyone think that Deadpool beat Weasel since, ya know, they switched suits last issue. Anyway, Deadpool pops up, ruining Weasel's plans once again, because he's Deadpool baby! Weasel thinks Deadpool is going to kill him, but since he's turned over his new heroic leaf, Deadpool tells Weasel he's here to help. The story ends maybe two pages after that in a really lackluster way. The whole story was confusing and nothing really happened. The bonus story was alright, oh and only the cover was in 3D, so yeah. I'll give this issue a 5/10.

Materials Needed for putting together 3-D Glasses:
1. A blade (non-rusty), sword, scissors or comparable cutting utensil.
2. Glue (if you have glue, skip to step 5)
3. Old or Lame horse
4. A big Blender
5. A steady hand (non-severed)

Green Lantern Corps #50

Two issues down, eight more to go. I should really be getting paid for this... Yeah right. My writing isn't worth twenty five cents, Canadian. Haha, well that aside, I know I say it very month but I LOVE the art in Green Lantern Corps. Clearly one of the best looking comics out today. The stubble on Kyle's face has more definition than the entire bodies of people in some comics. Anyway, we see Kyle racing to save John Stewart while Ganthet and Soranik take on the other Alpha-Lanterns. Cyborg-Superman is continuing his dastardly plans on John Stweart and sets up a mind link, causing John to see Cyborg-Superman's memories. They discuss the accident that turned him into what he is today, along with what happened to his wife and crew. Then we see how Cyborg-Superman has returned, after the events of the Sinestro Corps War and what he did during Blackest Night. This was a fantastic view into how Cyborg-Superman thinks and really made me appreciate his character, for that alone I'd recommend this issue. I really sympathized with him after reading what he did/thought during the Blackest Night storyline. We then see that all of this was done to lure Ganthet to Cyborg-Supes, which works as Ganthet distracts Cyberman (it's easier) and Kyle escapes with John. They meet up with Soranik and they decide to use their newly hatched plan to try to save Ganthet. This was a really strong issue of GLC. I know a little, but not a ton about Cyberman (upset it took me that long to shorten his name) but I really enjoy him here and his motive was very well done. I'd love to see more of him and this mysterious thing with Ganthet. Solid issue, 9/10 rating for this issue of Green Lantern Corps.

Kyle Rayner: Two former girlfriends died at the hands of my enemies. I'll be damned if that ever happens again.


 Detective Comics #867

This story starts innocently enough. Normal business man leaves home, kisses his wife and kid and heads to work. Then he cancels his meetings, goes to the mall, cracks open a tube, turns pale faced and magically looks like The Joker. Yep, normal. "The Jokerz" are running amuck, and we see Oracle tell Batman, who replies with "I have more important things to do..." while saving some people. Okay, I know Bats is busy, but for one, Batman would never say he's too busy if there's crime in Gotham. Secondly, it's daytime, So what's he even doing out?! And lastly, why not at least say, I'm busy, send Robin, Batgirl, Red Robin, Huntress or one of the other MANY Gotham vigilantes? So, I'm not gonna lie. There's a lot of comics on tap and this one didn't interest me enough, so I stopped reading it. Sorry if anyone was looking for a review on it but the re-hashed Batman Beyond "Jokerz" storyline is not something I wanna sit through, especially if I can't even have the "real" Joker. So, sorry once again, but I'll be skipping this issue and this arc. Rating is N/A.


Justice League: Generation Lost #6

A look into the history of Captain Atom kicks this issue of Gen Lost off. I actually never knew how he became Captain Atom so this was interesting. Jumping into current time, Booster wants to go after Max at the Checkmate HQ. Fire tries to talk him out of it, but when Captain Atom agrees it seems that's where their going. Then we see a flashback that takes place after the big explosion in issue one. Turns out Cap got blown through time or something, and his body has to acclimate before he can return to the present. While time traveling, Cap is asked to stay with a family instead of sleeping out in the wilderness, and he obliges. While staying with the family and talking Cap eventually notices half the moon is missing, blown to smithereens. Cap quickly finds out he's in the future, and upon mentioning Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and other heroes that things have changed. He's taken to meet "Old Karrie." On the way, we hear that Captain Atom feels like he's becoming more machine than man, and losing touch, He's afraid that he's going to outlive anyone, and much like Cyborg-Superman, feels alone. Eventually he meets up with Old Karrie and man, that shocked the hell outta me. The following conversation was haunting, and showed us why Captain Atom may be even more determined than Booster. This was an amazing issue, the last issue was filler, and this one kind of was but the way it was written, the determination and reasoning behind Captain Atom. This was a great issue, definitely one of my favorite so far and it deserves the 9/10 rating I'm giving it.

Old Karrie: STOP MAX! STOP HIM, NATE!! STOP MAX LORD!!!


Action Comics #891

This issue has a very nice and gritty cover, I love how that's portrayed to make Luthor's lab come off as a Doctor Frankenstein, evil genius. We start things off with Lex Luthor stealing fire, much like Prometheus (not the arrow-head one, the greek mythology one) and giving it to his people. We find out that this is a fantasy of Lex's that he believes is real thanks to Mister Mind. Next we see Luthor, in the persona of Dr. Frankenstein as I mentioned above, standing next to his dangerous creation with Lois Lane. They debate on whether the world is ready for such a powerful tool of destruction, and really did a good job of hyping the reveal, which caught me off guard. The conversation he has with Lois was extremely well done, and seemed to backfire on Mister Mind. All the while, Mister Mind talks to someone or something we can't see, and builds suspicion of who/what it may be. The fantasies are fun to see Lex in, it's like Lex + Return of Bruce Wayne, minus the terrible story. Seeing Big Blue walk into town was great, and I love how Superman was adapted to the timeline as well as his primary colors. Seeing Lex figure out what was going on, then confronting the parasite known as Mister Mind was a lot more unintentionally funny than it should've been but I loved it. The following "dream" I won't even ruin for you guys that haven't read it yet, other than Lex ripping his shirt open will forever be awesome due to this one page. The end of the Mister Mind fight was pretty funny as well, and Lex definitely moved up a few notches in my favorite character rankings after that. The end of the story made sense, and really answered a lot of questions I had from Titans as well. I thought this was a really well done issue, nothing mind-blowing but just very solid and fun, I'll give it a 8.5/10.

Mister Mind: If you go for your gun... I'll blow her mind!


The Flash #4

Okay, I thought maybe I was kinda harsh on the last issue of Flash, but even my buddy Kello, resident Flash fan, Fantastic Four fan, and Iced Tea consumer, ripped the last issue. I've decided if this series doesn't pick up by the time this arc finishes, which I believe is this issue, I'll drop this series and just jump in around Flashpoint, because the slow pacing of this storyline along with the lackluster story of it is a little hard to justify spending money on it when there's so many other comics I enjoy. Anywho, issue four kicks off with the Rogues sitting around watching the news report about Captain Boomerang breaking out. He talks with Flash while flinging Boomerangs, then takes down a helicopter as Flash races to save the passengers. Meanwhile the future Rogues a.k.a. the Renegades team up with Flash to take on Boomer. Heatstroke and Top have a heated (no pun intended) discussion about whether what their doing is right, ad Top decides to warn Barry of the future, an act punishable by death. Top tells Barry he wants to stop him from committing murder by telling him what's going to cause it in the future, by telling him what happens to Iris. The act that Top describes sounds genius, and definitely cements me into wanting to continue to read this series, just to see if it will in fact happen that way, or worse since Barry will obviously try to change it. This was a really good issue, action packed and the story really progressed instead of just lagging on like it has been. This is definitely the strongest issue of this series to date, and I'll continue to read on in this arc and I hope it maintains momentum, I'd give it an 8/10.

Captain Boomerang: Blimey, you folks from the future really don't know how to make your own identities, do ya? Reverse-Flashes. Reverse-Rogues. Please tell me ya don't got a Reverse-Captain-Boomerang on yer little odd squad.


Gotham City Sirens #14

The sensuous Sirens of South Gotham (not really, I just wanted another S-Word :P) are back again. Things get underway with Poison Ivy looking like a brittle dried out plant version of herself, picture Ivy mixed with Bizarro and sprinkled with a little Solomon Grundy. We then see Ivy in hr Dr. Irving persona and her new cohort, Alisa Adams explaining what they claim happened to the dehydration unit, when what actually happened was Alisa dropped the tube on Ivy and tried to blackmail her. We find out that Ivy is there to see how her predecessor caused these plants to grow at suck a huge size, something even Ivy can't do. Alisa tells her that there was a problem with the program and Ivy demands to see it. Meanwhile, our other Sirens, Catwoman and Harley Quinn are getting worried about Ivy since she hasn't checked in since heading to her new job. They decide to wait and not blow her cover mistakenly, so instead they head out on the town, in costume to run a few "errands." On the other side of town, Poison Ivy finds out shocking information about the studies of her predecessor, and the alien-plant thing he studied. The alien plant takes control of Ivy of course, since it was super predictable. Harley and Selina show up just in time looking for Ivy, and end up having to fight her. Seems like all the Sirens ever do is fight one another. This issue, thankfully ends soon after, I'm not a fan of this storyline, it's pretty boring and basically the same as every other Poison Ivy story except now she's not in control. Sirens is such a gamble because some issues are awesome, and others, like this, are just hard to make it through without predicting or being bored. I'll give this issue a 5/10.

Random Employee: Morgue's just ahead on your right, Dr. Irving.
Alisa: I'll never get tired of your pheromone trick.

Wolverine Origins #50

Um..... I could've sworn, the last issue said this was a four issue arc. Then I get this comic, and it's the series finale. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I just read this series from issue one, and got caught up around #47, and now it's over. Ah this sucks, as I really enjoyed Wolverine Origins, but I'm glad I got to read it and I wanna thank Daniel Way and the rest of the Wolverine Origins staff for writing such a great comic. Alright, let's end this. The first shot is of Wolverine, clearly confused after the last issue, wondering what caused him to shank Nick Fury. Logan uses a syringe Nick had on him, then see's his past loves again, telling him to let them go. They tell him to stop dwelling on their deaths and enjoy his own life. After that, Nick regains consciousness, and tells Logan what was in the syringe was basically a miracle cure they made from Wolverine's DNA, for emergency use only. Cloak and Dagger appear, and make Wolverine face the thing he's been running from all these years, himself. I'm not sure if that was real or more of his hallucinations. Wolverine finally comes to peace with himself and his past as this issue ends. I really enjoyed this issue, I loved seeing Wolverine settle everything, and while I feel this was a bit of a too soon ending for such a great series, I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way. I'm interested in seeing if this change for Wolverine remains and how it'll impact future storylines. I'll give this issue an 8.5/10 and I recommend this series to any Wolverine fan, or any fan of good comics.

Wolverine: My name is Wolverine. I'm the best there is at what I do.


Green Lantern #57

Man Hector Hammond has a big ass head... he looks like a Sinestro bobblehead. Anyway, this comic starting off with Hector as an attractive Green Lantern beating up a bulbous-headed Hal Jordan makes me laugh way harder than it should. Hector's daydreaming is interrupted by the guards, and then the mysterious voice in his head that we've seen since Blackest Night. We get a glimpse of the mysterious guy, the same guy with a cloak that made an appearance in this months Green Lantern Corps. He helps free Hammond with control over some rats. There's also a very nice shot in this where you can see Hal and Carol in each of Hammond's eyes. We jump over to see Hal Jordan and a police officer, and learn that Larfleeze has broken into more than 70 places, along with his constructs and has been taken any and everything that's not nailed down. Hal goes to confront Larfleeze, who apparently claims to live on earth now. Larfleeze is writing a list for Santa Claus so he can give him what he asks for. Hal soon asks Larfleeze how he imprisoned his entity, so he, Sinestro and the others can imprison the remaining entities that are free on earth but is interrupted by Hector Hammond. He takes Larfleeze's lantern and wants to know how to release the entity inside of it. While trying to get the Lantern back from Hector Hammond, Hector invades Larfleeze's mind to find out what it is he wants. We then jump to Nanda Parbat and see Vic Sage, the former Question, laid to rest by The current Question, Renee Montoya and Saint Walker. They have a quick discussion about hope, and then the Blue Lantern entity, Adara, shows up as Saint Walker says "We will soon bear witness to a miracle." Back with Hal Jordan, Hector Hammond can't release the Orange entity, so he pulls a Rosie O'Donnell and just eats the lantern. After doing that he's able to see the location of every freed entity on earth, and the entity merges with Hector. Holy hell that looks creepy. This was another solid issue of Green Lantern, one of the most stable comics in terms of being good, I'll give this issue an 8.5/10 rating.

Hal Jordan: Dammit, Larfleeze! I'm having a hard enough time with Hector digging into my brain for pinup shots of Carol! Call off your lanterns!

So that's all for this weeks jam-packed edition of Ratings and Rantings. Here's hoping you guys enjoyed this weeks, and are looking forward to next weeks edition. I'll be back this weekend with a new poll and a review of Batman: Under The Red Hood as well as the results of this weeks poll. Well until then, lemme know what you guys think, whether you agreed, disagreed or anything else, until next time, I'm your neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd!


Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Green Arrow #2, Brightest Day #7, Red Hood: Lost Days #3, Red Robin #15, Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #1 of 3, Shadowland #2, Shadowland: Bullseye One-Shot, and Deadpool #1000.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Weekly Poll Results!

Hey everyone, JT here with a quick post. I'll be relaxing for the post part from now until this weeks Ratings and Rantings like I do every week, but mainly to rest up for that big 11-issue post. Also, next weekend I'll have a review for Batman: Under The Red Hood. I know a few people's money will be spent depending on my review (X-Man in particular) so I wanna give you guys the best review I can for it. But that's next week/later this week. So for now I'll give you guys the very dominant results for this weeks poll, as well as a new poll to vote on over on to your right. If it's not there, then you should probably look to your OTHER right. :-) Anywho, the poll question was:

"What do you think will happen when Bruce Wayne returns?"


Last Place with 0% - Tie between Two Batmen, Damian fired as Robin, and Steph fired as Batgirl.
Second Place with 18.8% - Bruce doesn't become Batman again. Interesting...
Winner with 81.3% - None of the above.

How is there 100.1 percent? Weird.... anyway I have a question. For everyone who voted None of the above, which is the vast majority. What do YOU guys think will happen? I'd like to know what everyone thinks will happen upon the return of Bruce Wayne, So please comment and let me know. Until next time, I'm your friendly Neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Ratings and Rantings

Ladies, Gentlemen, children of all ages, it's that time once again for the rant-fest known as Ratings and Rantings! I'm your host, the always interesting Jason Todd, welcoming you, once again to my Red Hood. First things first, I'm actually not reviewing Dark Wolverine, it's crossing over with Franken-Castle and I didn't wanna read half the story so I didn't get this month's issue. Also, they forgot to put my Deadpool issue in my bad even though it's on my receipt so I paid for it... and I'm too lazy to go back to the shop today so I'll review it next week. We've got a lot of comics on deck today, so I'm gonna jump right into the swing of things. And since I'm running low on ideas, anyone who has an idea for the weekly poll next week, feel free to submit it. Now, let's get to it!


Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1

Now, long time readers may remember how hyped up I was when I found out one of my favorite DC characters, Booster Gold, would get a chance to team up with The Man of Steel and Green Lantern Hal Jordan, to search for Bruce Wayne back in mid-April. So to say I've been waiting for this is an understatement. So the issue starts off with some awesome insight on the usually secret background of Rip Hunter. We see some bonding time between him and his Father, who if you keep up, you should definitely know by now. Jumping into present time, or um.. at least the 15th century, we see the Time Masters crew (Booster, Rip, Superman and Hal Jordan), the latter two want to help some people who have smallpox. Hunter vetoes this saying they can't change anything, except in a much funnier way, to Superman that's almost guaranteed to be the line of the issue. From there we see how Rip put this team together, and also see appearances of Despero, Supernova and Goldstar, Booster's sister. This first issue of Time Masters has everything I wanted and more. I'm usually not a big fan of the whole jumping around, past, present story unless it's done well (ala Lost) and it was done well here. The only thing that bothered me is we were kinda just dropped into it with not a lot of background, but I'm sure we'll learn more as time goes on. As for this issue I enjoyed it a lot, I'd give it a 9/10.

Superman: We can't ignore this, Hunter.
Rip Hunter: This isn't a jaunt to the Smallville candy store, Superman! We are in the past and that means we don't change anything! It also means you'll do as I say!


Power Girl #14

Every once in a while an issue starts with a great scene. A hero flying high, a hero surrounded by the people he's saved who are praising them. A hero staring at another hero letting you know they respect one another. This one starting with PG getting punched by a fist that makes The Hulk's look small in comparison. We then flashback to earlier in the day when Power Girl's alter-ego, Karen Starr, found out that after an employee named Donna embezzled millions from the Karen's company that it was being seized by the government. She then gets a call from Booster Gold, who if you count this appearance is in four comics this month. After Power Girl fails at recognizing Max Lord, a defeated Booster takes off. PG heads off and see's three destroyed buildings along with a currently falling forth. She goes to investigate and runs into a robotic, android type thing that is caused from something else in the issue that I won't spoil for you. From there a little assimilation happens and we leave off with our plucky, precious Power Girl in a precarious predicament. Wooo, Alliteration!!! Anyway, another solid issue of Power Girl. It doesn't have that big time feel though, it just seems like it's to be read, but never to fully be immersed in like some other comics. I did enjoy it though, I'll give it an 8/10 rating.

Purple Dude: I don't even have any junk for pete's sake!
Power Girl: Junk?
Purple Dude: The Frank and Beans, kiddo. I'm like a Ken Doll down south. This is no way for a man to live.


Brightest Day #6

Martian Manhunter's on the cover so I'm hoping it's his story, the Firestorm boys and Deadman. Maybe the Aqua-Team too, and no Hawkman/girl. Well we start with some stupid green alien thingy killing some people for no apparent reason. Awesome... that's just awesome. *Sarcasm* Meanwhile, Martian Manhuter realizes that all the plants he comes in contact with die. Anyway, jumping to Hawk, Dove and Deadman are trying to bring female Hawk back from the grave. Dove comes up with the brilliant idea that to use his ring he needs to embrace life, much like a Green Lantern much use Will for their rings. When trying to remember what he enjoyed while alive the ring or white voice or whatever randomly chimes in with "He loved cheese-burgers." and that causes Black Lantern Girl-Hawk to shoot up from the ground. What in the hell am I reading? Apparently that was a warning and not real, when asked why Hawk's brother and Dove's sister aren't back from the dead the ring says "eat a cheese-burger." .....Anyway, jumping to Jason Rusch, he's hit on by some girl who introduces herself as Kelly from Chemistry. She likes Jason obviously and he turns her down, I'd assume cause he misses Gehenna. After blowing her off she says "If you change your mind, I'm on Facebook." ....WHAT?! Does someone not know how facebook works? I don't think you can type "Kelly from Chemistry" in the search engine just to find her. That just annoyed me more than anything. From there the Firestorm storyline heats up, no pun intended. We also got an explanation of Mera's past that was pretty interesting. Then we jump back to Martian Manhunter who's enlisted Oracle to help him out with finding the culprit of some grisly murders. The end result left me confused on what exactly happened, so I guess I'll be awaiting the next issue. This review is weird because the comic was horrible at the beginning but got good with the Firestorm, Aquaman and last few pages of the Martian Manhunter stuff, but not enough to save this. I'd give it a 4.5/10.

White Ring: Eat a Cheeseburger. (Brought to you by Burger King.)


Superman/Batman #74

Lex Luthor starts off things in this comic, still trying to give his name the respect he feels it deserves on the planet that hates Superman. We see that Lex has been keeping both Superman and Batman busy so that they don't see his true actions, while trying to attain a God-like status on this new planet. Lex has been keeping Batman busy with crimes in Crime Alley or around churches and foster homes, and pretty soon Batman figures out that he's being distracted, but doesn't know what he's being distracted from. Meanwhile, Supes returns to the planet to make peace but is attacked with Kryptonite, obviously a gift from their "God", Lex Luthor. Supes eventually finds out that Lex is behind it, due to him using Luthor Corp products in his rockets. If you're rich, buy someone else's stuff!! That's like Batman using Wayne Corp grappling hooks. Batman eventually discovers it's Lex's men running crime in Gotham and pays him a visit. Superman, much like myself, calls Lex out on using his own products when he also pays Lex a visit. The issue was less team-up and more common enemy, and seemed to be a filler until issue #75. It wasn't bad but wasn't great either. I'd give it a 6.5/10.

Superman: You may push too far one day, Luthor, and all your lawyers and fall guys won't be enough to protect you... Or you might even get me mad.
Lex: I doubt it Superman... I know what buttons to push... and which to avoid.


Batman Beyond #2

Batman Beyond #2 kicks things off with a news report on the man whose been killing people lately that's being watched by someone whose name I can't make out and Amanda Waller. On the other side of Neo-Gotham, Batman drops in on Bruce Wayne to tell him who he almost went up against. Bruce has believed Hush to be dead for some years, due to the events he recounts in this comic, but was never certain. Bruce decides to study the bandage "Hush" left behind while Terry hits the street to find the killer. The killer spends this time killing a former villain by the name of Armory, and his wife and son, this time using sharpened umbrellas, the trademark of the Penguin. While heading home, Batman spots someone trying to steal proverbial billions in merchandise from Cloudware industries. Turns out this person is a futuristic Catwoman, much like our current (futuristic) Batman. Terry loves this, and claims he's always wanted a Catwoman because it's an unwritten law that they have a "thing" for each other. They banter, fight and the feline femme fatale (more alliteration!!!!) disappears like magic. Batman is then sent to look up former Batman villains by Bruce, to possibly cut off the killer at the pass. Terry walks in on the Calender Man, Julian Day, who had the big plan to send Commissioner Barbara Gordon an exploding birthday card. Batman takes it and is suddenly tackled by the killer who bursts through the window. After a quick fight, the killer stands up and says he's going to kill Batman, and the killer has the exact same wrapped face and gear as Hush. This was a very good issue and stayed strong. The introduction of the new Catwoman as well as the mystery of who is the Killer and if it's really Hush is keeping me interested, plus the artwork looked better this month. I'll give this issue a 9/10.

Batman: But Batman and Catwoman are supposed to have a thing! It's an unwritten law! A Tradition!
Catwoman: Well, I ain't into the law... and I ain't your grandma's Catwoman.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #14

From one Hush story to another eh? I'm not complaining at all. Anyway, things here start off with a former gangster getting out of Blackgate Prison after 27 years. He's picked up by Anthony Marchetti  and ZZZ, the big brute that always falls asleep. The gangster makes small talk asking about the town and such and how it's changed. He says he's gonna take a hot shower, go grab a grinder and some beers, take a walk on the bridge and look at his town, and then put a bullet in Bruce Wayne's skill. and yes, he said it VERY casually like that. Then we see Hush, who's just had a dream he's killed Batman, Zatanna, Robin, Katana, Catwoman and the rest of his guardians since he's stepped out into the city as Bruce Wayne. He awakes, shaves, showers and is met by Katana, whose on babysitting duty today. Hush starts to think back on things he's been doing since moving back to the Elliot Manor, like coming across his Mother's diary. We then see a VERY interesting flashback (what is it with flashbacks today?!) with the Elliots, Bruce's parents, Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane, and Zatanna's father, John Zatara. Back in present day, Katana tells Hush that he's dreaming if he thinks Arkham Asylum will release the people he's listed, and he mentions Harley Quinn is free thanks to a recommendation by Bruce Wayne. It seems one of the women he wants released, is Jane Doe. The co-feature is a Two-Face story, and it's phenomenal. It was better than the main story, and the main story was good. I'll give this issue of Streets of Gotham a 9/10. 8 for the main and 10 for the co-feature.

Hush: It's not fair, really. I had to endure months of agony to surgically change my appearance. You wardens cheat with illusions created by Zatanna's magic rings.

And that's it for a big week here on Ratings and Rantings. I'll be back with the new weekly poll this weekend and the results of this weeks VERY lopsided poll. I don't have any plans for posting things but if you guys wanna see something feel free to suggest it. If I'm not too lazy, I'll gladly do it! Well until then, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger man, Jason Todd!

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Action Comics #891, Batman: Widening Gyre #6 (I reviewed #5 on March 10th btw...), Detective Comics #867, The Flash #4, Gotham City Sirens #14, Green Arrow #2, Green Lantern #56, Green Lantern Corps #50, JL Generation Lost #6, Deadpool #25 and Wolverine Origins #50.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Top Five 5's

Hey everyone, once again welcome to the Top Five 5's! This was so well-received by everyone that it's gonna be a new bi-weekly feature here at JTCS. So, we're gonna do things just like last time, I'm going to list each category along with each person's picks. Sounds simple enough right? So let's get into it. And just to make this simple I'm assigning everyone who sends in their picks a color. So this is the color guideline:

JT
X-Man
Falisha
Kello
Marc
Nagash
Paul C.



Top Five Artists

Ed Benes
Alex Ross
Dustin Nguyen
Jim Lee
Nicola Scott

Jim Lee
Alex Ross
Jack Kirby
Steve Epting
Luke Ross

John Romita Jr.
Jack Kirby
Mark Bagley
Darwyn Cooke
Tony Harris

Alex Ross
JH Williams II
Jock
Michael Turner
Skottie Young

Norm Breyfogle
Gary Frank
Frank Quitely
John Romita Jr.
George Perez

Dustin Nguyen
Nicola Scott
Jim Lee
Adam Warren
Amanda Conner

Alan Davis
Ron Garney
Andy Kubert
Jack Kirby
Alex Ross
Top Five TV/Film Adaptations

Batman: The Animated Series
Spectacular Spider-Man
Justice League of America/Unlimited
The Dark Knight
Smallville

X2: X-Men United
Spider-Man
X-Men
Batman (1989)
Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD (only because it was SO bad it was hilarious!)

The Dark Knight
Spider-Man 2
Iron Man
Batman: Mask of The Phantasm
Batman: The Animated Series

Batman Begins/The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Lois and Clark
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
The entire DCAU (That's WAY more than five Nagash...lol)

Superman (1979)
Justice League Unlimited
Batman: Brave and The Bold
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

The Dark Knight
Batman: The Animated Series
Spider-Man
Batman Beyond
Smallville

The Dark Knight
Spider-Man 2
Justice League Unlimited
Batman: The Animated Series (or anything else that features Jecko the clown)
90's Flash TV Show


Top Five Couples/Romances/Bromances

Dick Grayson & Barbara Gordon
Booster Gold & Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
Green Arrow & Black Canary
Batman and Robin (Bruce and Dick)
Joker & Harley Quinn


Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon
Reed/Sue Richards
Hal Jordan/Oliver Queen
Deathstroke/Wintergreen
Superman/Lois Lane

Spider-Man & The Human Torch
Human Torch & The Thing
Spider-Man & Mary Jane
Captain America & Iron Man
Spider-Man and Scarlett Spider (half-joking on this one... but also half not haha.)


Aquagirl & Bombshell
Green Arrow & Green Lantern
Nico Minoru & anyone
Ravager & anyone
Gotham City Sirens (Not a duo, that's a trio lol.)


Rorschach & Nite-Owl
Aquaman & Mera
Superman & Batman
Superman & Lois Lane
Spider-Man & Human Torch


Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy
Joker & Harley Quinn
Batman (Bruce) & Robin (Dick)
Spider-Man & Black Cat
Elektra & Daredevil

Wally West & Linda Park
Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson
Batman & Robin (Any combination besides Bruce and Jason)
Captain America & Falcon
Iron Fist & Luke Cage


Top Five Favorite Storylines of 2000-2010

The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul
Green Lantern Rebirth
Identity Crisis
Superman/Batman - Super/Bat
Batman: Hush

Captain America: Winter Soldier Saga (by FAR!)
Identity Crisis
Sinestro Corps War
Batman: Hush
Captain Marvel: Nothing to Lose

New X-Men
The Ultimates
Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home
Y: The Last Man
Ex Machina (Can't pick just one storyline of either of the last two)

52
Batwoman
Green Arrow: Year One
Green Arrow: Quiver
Runaways (all of it)

Superman and The Legion of Superheroes
Blackest Night
Civil War
All-Star Superman
Green Lantern: Rebirth

Birds of Prey (Current)
Blackest Night
Empowered
Identity Crisis
Wonder Woman: Attack of The Amazons

Green Lantern: Rebirth
Captain America: The entire Death of Captain America Arc
Plastic Man: On The Lam
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War
Superman: Last Son

Top Five Favorite Villains

Lex Luthor
Joker
Deathstroke
Hush
Inertia

Dr. Doom
Lex Luthor
Magneto
Inertia
Mr. Sinister

Magneto
Dr. Doom
Joker
Punisher (hey, he started out as a villain!)
Stilt-Man

Apocalypse
Jason Todd (When written by Winnick.) *Cough* Anti-Hero *Cough*
Magog
Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt)
V

Lex Luthor
Bizarro
Gorilla Grodd
Dr. Doom
Brainiac

Joker
Harley Quinn
Genocide
Parallax
Max Lord

Sinestro
Red Skull
Dr. Doom
Joker
Kryb (Sinestro Corps War)

Category Winners:

Top Artist: Alex Ross
Top TV/Film Adaptation: The Dark Knight
Top Couple/Duo/Bromance: Batman and Robin
Top Storyline 2000-2010: Tie - Green Lantern Rebirth and Identity Crisis
Top Villain: Tie - Dr. Doom and Joker

Wow, great picks once again. Alex Ross beating Jim Lee kinda surprised me but not by much, and The Dark Knight winning after only being out for two years compared to some older stuff like Batman The Animated Series was interesting. Especially because almost everyone listed The Dark Knight. Seeing a few ties was fun because It's always funny to see how many of us are on the same wavelength when it comes to this, which keeps it exciting. And of course the Dynamic Duo reigns supreme in the Duo category. So, feel free to comment and throw out more topics, I'll grab a few and use them in two weeks for the next Top Five 5's! Thanks again for participating, below are the results to last weeks poll as well, and make sure you vote on this weeks. Until next time, I'm your friendly Neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd!

The question asked was "What Bat-Family member has adjusted to their new role the best?"

Last Place with 6.7% - Damian Wayne, The only Robin not appointed by Bruce Wayne.
Third Place with 20.0% - Dick Grayson, I think everyone misses him as Nightwing. I do anyway.
Second Place with 33.3% - Stephanie Brown, My personal pick and favorite Batgirl since Babs.
Winner with 40.0% - Tim Drake, The Second Red Robin has made the mantle his own.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Ratings and Rantings

It's that time once again, for the weekly revolutionary ranting and ratings-fest known as Ratings and Rantings! JT here as usual to welcome you guys back to my Red Hood once again. This week's edition of R&R is gonna be a big one. Also this weekend will be the return of the now Bi-Weekly "Top Five 5!" since it was so well received by you guys. But more about that later. And I'd like to give a special thanks to you guys for helping me reach 20 followers. I appreciate the fact that twenty people think my insane thoughts are worth reading and subscribing to. Lastly, Power Girl was pushed back a week so I won't be reviewing that. Alright then, let's get things started!


Batman #701

This is the beginning of a two-part story of what apparently happens between Batman RIP and Final Crisis when Bats supposedly died. It's written by Grant Morrison and has art by Tony Daniels, a.k.a. The guy who turned Jason Todd into a villain and also gave Catwoman a sidekick that we haven't seen since last year. Things start off with Batman swimming to the surface after the Helicopter crash from RIP. He waits for Hurt to surface but he never does. I gotta say, seeing Bruce in the costume is kinda weird after knowing Batman as Grayson for the last year, but a good kind of weird. I know he's been in other things as Batman but this seems more real, if you get what I'm trying to say. We see Bruce try to make sense of who Thomas Hurt is and what he wants and even enters the secret room at Wayne Manor which he promised his parents he'd never enter. That confuses me because what the hell is back there, and I mean if he's a kid and someone broke in and that's the only place he could hide should he just stay in plain sight? Anyway, the room has Barbatos scrawled on the walls along with the name Thomas a ton of times. Not long after, Bruce is summoned by Superman who lets him not that a New God was killed. (Orion if I recall from Final Crisis.) This issue was surprisingly good, it showed us Batman's psyche before the events of Final Crisis, which he was barely in, so this should be interesting. I'll give this issue an 8/10, bring on part two!

Batman: All I had to do was survive a few minutes more. And remember one thing; if it was this hard for me, it would be impossible for him. For Hurt.


Adventure Comics #516 (Atom Story)

And it seems like they were just on issue one a few months ago. :P But no really, seeing as how I'm not a big fan of the Legion, I'll just be reviewing the Atom Co-Feature. And seeing as how I'm paying for half a comic, I don't expect to be reviewing this series for a long time. The story starts with the aftermath of The Atom Special I reviewed last week. Ray sits in a hospital with his unconscious father and tries to tell himself he'll get the chance to talk to him and air out their "dirty laundry" so to speak. Just for the record, there's a spoiler in this comic that ruins Batgirl #12's ending if you haven't read it yet so READ BATGIRL BEFORE THIS if you plan on reading them both. Well, that was annoying. Anyway, The Atom, with the help of Oracle, goes after The Calculator to ask him a few questions about the Library hold-up. Atom finds the Calculator but at a deadly price. The issue ends with a good cliffhanger that makes me want the next issue. Damn you writers!!! But this was a pretty good chapter of The Atom saga, the inclusion of Calculator seemed weird but it works. I hated that it spoiled Batgirl for me though, so I'm docking it's score for that, I'll give this issue a 7/10.

Oracle: I mean, even Batman can't track him.
Atom: I realize that, but last time I checked, Batman couldn't surf data lines.


Titans #25

Pretty sweet cover by the way. Anywho, Lex and Slade are in the sewers dodging bullets from the shape-shifter who acted as if she worked for Luthor. They aren't dodging for long until Slade lands a head-chopping-off slice with his blade on the shape-shifting senorita. Sadly that doesn't kill Facade, who continues her attack. The usual swerve you expect when dealing with Shape-shifter's happens but it was pretty well done this time around. Slade's choice when finding out who was the real Cheshire was pretty drastic if I say so myself. I don't think I would've made the same choice, but it was entertaining and shows you never know what to expect with Deathstroke. From there we get some Cryptic stuff from Deathstroke, a fire lit under Cheshire and a revelation we have to wait until next month for from Osiris. This issue was okay but nothing special or notable happened, I'll rate this issue a 6/10.

Facade: I see about-to-be-dead people. (Nothing like ten year old movie references.. yeah.)


Superman #701

So for those unaware, J. Michael Straczynski has taken over both Superman and Wonder Woman writing duties. After reading Superman #700 I decided to see what's going on in this issue, as the arc is titled "Grounded." Basically Supes feels he's lost touch with earth and it's people so he's gonna walk across America, literally walk and be closer to the people. Sounds weird but weird enough to keep me interested, so let's see how JMS does. It starts off with Supes helping a guy fix his car, then walking away from reporters. It's really MUCH more interesting than it sounds but I can tell this review is gonna make it sound very boring. The best part is all the reporters asking Supes if he's had any contact with Red Kryptonite or lost his powers or anything else. That's how you know it happens too much when they become common questions. Superman eventually stops to grab a bite to eat but can't afford the Philly Cheese Steak he wants and insists on paying, (he keeps his money in his cape...and I find that freaking hilarious.) so he offers to do some work there to pay for his meal. I'm sure there's people getting mugged while he's cleaning a back room to pay for a Cheese Steak but whatever. Eventually Supes encounters some Drug dealers, and a woman who plans on committing suicide by jumping off a building. This comic was different from the average Superman comic, it was very deep and I really enjoyed it. I honestly did, and I'd love to read more because it's Supes out of his element, dealing with real people but in a way only he could. 10/10 from me, everyone won't like it, but I thought it was great.

Reporter 1: So what're you doing here, Superman?
Superman: Walking.
Reporter 2: So why aren't you flying?
Superman: I'm not flying because I'm walking. Are you sure you're a reporter?


Justice League: Generation Lost #5

Gen Lost gets things underway with a flashback (er...uh... Flash Forward?) from Booster's past (future?) It's right after the top Quarterback, Booster (not yet Gold), was caught betting on his own College games, then throwing the games to make money. This is all as we see, a perfect metaphor of Booster never knowing when he's being screwed, as Max has been screwing over Booster and the rest of the former JLI'ers. Max claims he reunited everyone because the team needs to be back together. Max tells the team to fight crime and do good, and most importantly don't come after him because he doesn't want to hurt them. Booster vows to find Max and make him pay for his past troubles as Max ends his transmission. Meanwhile, Reyes manages to pick up Max's signal and may be able to help the JLI find him. The issue ends with more of Booster's thoughts (remembering his first meeting with Max) and he once again vows to make Max pay. I thought this was a solid issue, but not much happened. I'm still enjoying the series though. I'd rate this one a 7/10.

Max Lord: Booster, It's like I told you before, I still think of you as a friend.
Booster Gold: When you said that you were beating me to death with a pipe.


Booster Gold #34

This comic starts with a great opening page, and a little evidence that Mr. Dematteis (writer of the Super Buddies comics) doesn't like that Max killed Blue Beetle by shooting him in the head. Man the artwork in this comic is weird, faces look all long and stretched out, the little girl looks like a midget because she has a toddler's body but an adult's face. Michelle looks like.... a crackwhore for lack of a better term. I mean seriously she does and I wish I didn't have to say that but it's the best description. Anyway, Booster decides to try to replicate (oh yeah, I'm smart!) his deeds from the past issue but come back with evidence he can use this time. But this time he runs into Ted Kord, The Blue Beetle. Ted recruits Booster to going with him to get the Book of Destiny since it was recently stolen. After some classic Blue and Gold banter, the two recruit Big Barda and Mr. Miracle to help them track down this book. This comic also reminded me why I love Big Barda, because she is awesome. The art gets better too, I think because the early art is done by Giffen who should leave the art to the artist. Booster also realizes he's a different man than he was, he's smarter and more serious and I liked that this was brought up because Booster has matured. I'm happy with this issue and I'm excited for the next, as long as the artist stays on the art work. I'd rate this one a 7.5/10.

Big Barda: Oh for Heaven's sake, What is everyone making such a fuss about? It's just a dragon!
Booster Gold: "Just"? What? You think you can just stroll up to it and punch it out?
Big Barda: Yes. (And she did.)


Batgirl #12

It's about time they used this cover, I've had it on my computer since like November. It's a great cover and deserves to be on stands. We see Steph parachute into the Calculator's grounds then get past his security measures. She eventually finds Babs and Calc in a room, mind linked and trips an alarm. Meanwhile, in Calc's mind, Oracle see's that as a kid he was locked in a cage by his mother with a Rubik's cube until he could solve the puzzle, and he worked on it so much his hands bled. We also wee that his girlfriend/wife killed her self the day she brought his twin son and daughter, Marvin and Wendy home from the hospital. We also see the debut of Proxy, which I like. It seems as if Babs may be leaving Batgirl to go to the Birds of Prey comics, but it's too early to tell. I wouldn't mind, I like how things are either way. I thought this was a nice conclusion to the comic, we got a new use for Wendy, we saw inside Calculator's mind and we even got to see Steph save the day. I enjoyed this arc and I can't wait to see Steph take on Clayface, I'd give this issue of Batgirl a 8/10.

Batgirl: My name? Stephanie Brown-- I've said it before. I'll say it again-- I'm Batgirl.


Birds of Prey #3

The artwork by Ed Benes is phenomenal. That guy can draw like a freaking GOD. This comic starts off with me laughing, so damn hard. "Penguin party in my pants" is now my new favorite phrase. From there, The Birds try to figure out who's behind everything they've been through, but soon after their attacked by rogue cops. Hawk goes on the offensive and Canary and Huntress join him. Meanwhile, Penguin continues the funniest hallucinations I've seen in years. Babs tries to call in the JLA when the Batcave's connection doesn't go through, and Babs is shocked to see who confronts her. It shocked the hell out of me too. Hawk gets taken down due to his bravado and stupidity, and Dinah decides to take on her new nemesis one on one. Black Canary vs. White Canary. And Dinah knows who she is, or so she claims. This comic had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through, wondering what will happen with Dinah, who White Canary is, How'd Hawk get taken down, what's gonna happen with Babs. I've said it once and I'll say it again, Gail Simone is a genius, and quickly becoming my favorite writer. Birds of Prey gets it's third 10/10 rating from me.

The Penguin: Penguin party in my pants. (Always and forever Oswald, Always and Forever.)

So now that all the reviews are done with, let's get to the Top Five 5. Basically for newer readers, or long-time readers who've lost braincells from reading too much of my stuff, I'm going to list five topics. I want you guys to pick your top five answers for each topic, so the end result should be 25 picks. Then you email them to me at KevinKavalier@gmail.com and I'll list all the answers this Sunday. So you guys have until Sunday at noon, EST. time to get me your picks if you'd like them counted. Get it? Got it? Good. So the topics are as follows:

Top Five Artists
Top Five TV/Film Adaptations
Top Five Couples/Duo's/Bromances
Top Five Favorite storylines of 2000-2010
Top Five Favorite Villains

And there you go, so please submit your answers to me whenever you get a chance, and make sure you tell me who ya are so I don't have to guess. So that's all for this week's Ratings and Rantings. Thanks for reading, and this weekend be sure to come back and see everyone's Top 5 picks, until then, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger Man, Jason Todd.

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

 Batman Beyond #2, Batman: Streets of Gotham #14, Brightest Day #6, Power Girl #14, Superman/Batman #74, Time Master's Vanishing Point #1 (FINALLY!!!!), Dark Wolverine #88, and Deadpool #25!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Batman: The Mystery of Batwoman Review

Hey everyone, the Jason Todd here once again, this time bringing a movie review to my Red Hood, as voted by the members of The Todd Squad. Okay, now that I'm over myself, I can say that I've been looking over my older animated movie reviews and I'm pumped for this one. It should get me ready for the upcoming "Batman: Under The Red Hood" review as well as make my readers happy since it won the poll where I asked what you guys wanted to see. Also at the end of the article I'll have the results from the weekly poll, plus the new poll is up on the right hand side so you can get your voting on. Lastly, next Saturday I plan on posting another "Top 5 Five", and I'll post the categories on my next Ratings and Rantings, just giving you all a heads up. So now, let's see what I thought of Batman: Mystery of The Batwoman.

The basic synopsis is that there's a new Bat in town, a Batwoman, but Batman doesn't know who she is. So the gist of the movie is uncovering who she is and why she's doing what she's doing, and more importantly why she's using the name Batwoman. So Bruce hits the streets in looking for finding out who this Batwoman is and what's her motive.

Likes

The Voice Acting - Nearly everyone who's in this from Batman: The Animated Series reprises their role. Kevin Conroy returns as an always awesome Bruce Wayne/Batman, and Alfred, Tim Drake, Harvey Bullock and Commissioner Gordon also have their same voice actors. Two characters who are have new voice actors in this film are Barbara Gordon and The Penguin.

The Comedy - Comedy is sparingly done in this movie but when it is it's done well. Bruce trying to get rid of talking to Babs and balling up a newspaper to try to simulate static was funny, if only because Kevin Conroy making Bruce sound flustered just works so well. Also, when Bruce tells Alfred "The last thing Gotham needs is a vigilante running around." Alfred's spot-on humor shows with the reply "As they say in the streets, I ain't touching that one."


Dislikes

Batwoman- Man that looked horrible. The reason Batman wears Black or Dark Blue or Grey or whatever is because it blends in with the night allowing him to use stealth. What the hell can you hide behind with a silver costume with a pink bat in the middle and pink gloves? Another thing that annoyed me was the fact even her Batarangs are pink. Just because she's a woman she has to have Pink Batarangs? Guess no one told Babs that... Oh and did I mention she rides a Green Goblin Glider? Because... she does for some reason.

The Open - Okay, so the movie opens with this Batwoman stopping a gun shipment. That's fine, then she starts being reckless and almost killing people. So Batman and Robin go by inthe Batplane and their just watching. Then Batman saves the thugs who would've fell off a bridge with his giant Batplane attatchment from falling. Then he looks at Batwoman from the Batplane and she leaves. At no point did he even TRY to apprehend her.... which makes no sense for Batman.

Babs Loves WHO?! - Barbara Gordon appears in this, although away at college. She apparently hints at a relationship with Bruce Wayne, which annoys me because Babs and Dick are always gonna be the couple I want. Maybe it's pretty but I really hate the idea of Babs and Bruce hooking up.

The Artwork - As an unabashed fan of Batman The Animated Series, I think everyone notices when they changed it to The New Batman Adventures (season 4) that the artwork gets less gritty and more child-like. I really hated that style and this takes after it. Drawing Bruce with a huge football pad shoulder and a big meaty Wrestler chest yet having tiny legs like a ballerina just comes off looking more awkward than anything.

Final Rating: The Batwoman reveal surprised me, I won't lie. Just when you think you know who it is, they sweep the rug from under you and we find out who Batwoman is. That was a really great moment in the film. Other things about it were horrible, like the very bad portrayal of Bane. He talks WAY too much. Bane is at his best when he's a man of little words, not prattling off saying "Senor" in every two sentences. After the Batwoman reveal the movie seems to die down, and get very monotonous and boring. Penguin as the main villain was a horrible choice in the first place, and the lackluster Bane is hardly much help. Even the big showdown between Batman and Bane was boring and didn't have that big fight feel to it. The ending was awful, it never felt like a Batman movie, it felt like a movie superhero movie for pre-teens produced by MTV. Oh and Robin had no purpose being in the movie at all. It's safe to say I'll never watch this again...ever. 3/10 rating and please stay away from this sham of a film. Until next time I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger Man, Jason Todd.

Last Week's Poll question asked "Which original Bird of Prey is your favorite?"


Last Place with 0% - Lady Blackhawk, Can't say I'm surprised she jitterbugged to last place.
Second Place with 28.6% - The Huntress and Black Canary, The top two agents tie this time. (tounge twistaaaaaa!)
Winner with 48.9% - Oracle! The brainy beauty leads the team and the vote with first place.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Ratings and Rantings

Hey guys, as always this is Jason Todd welcoming you to my Red Hood for another edition of Ratings and Rantings. That's right, the time of the week where I review comics I picked up, entertain you with my crazy rants, then I give them a score, as if you didn't already know. :P This will be a relatively short edition since I only picked up five comics this week, so let's get it started.

Brightest Day: The Atom Special

Hey look, it's another guy who took the mantle back from someone who replaced him! I wonder if Barry, Ollie, Ray, Hal and some of the others get together, party and laugh at their replaced replacements. Anyway I was convinced by Kello, the poozer, to check this out after his awesome rant of it over at Hello Kello, and mainly how beautiful the cover is. I love to see random things from different viewpoints with The Atom. One thing that always annoys me is in JLA covers where he's sitting on people's shoulders. What the hell reason do you possibly have for being small in a team meeting? I'd probably forget, think he was a bug and smash him by mistake. Anyway, the comic starts with some guys apparently having broken into Ray's Lab. They took his notes as well as some of his shrinking belts and devices. Ray realizes the hostage situation he stopped earlier (which was awesome to read) may have been a distraction. We also see some flashbacks and see how Ray grew up to become the man he is today, I enjoyed reading that as well and seeing a peek at Ray's past. The ending was a tad predictable but I really enjoyed this. I learned more about Ray Palmer than I knew, and I'm looking forward to his run in Adventure Comics too. I'll give this a solid 8/10 rating.

Ray Palmer: Do you remember the nickname the other graduate students gave me when they found out what I was trying to build? "Shrink-Ray."


Batman & Robin #13

After hating the last issue and the first few, and pretty much all of them with the exception of three or four, I don't know why I continue to read this. After seeing The Joker I couldn't resist though. I gotta hear how Grant explains this. We start off with this Thomas Wayne nonsense, which I abhor. The idea of Dr. Hurt or The Devil or Thomas Wayne or whoever he's supposed to be just annoys me to no end He's no Hush, he's no Deathstroke he's just a guy who won't go away. Anyway we find out that Joker's been parading as Sexton to warn Batman, whom he knows isn't his true Batman. He's warning him and asking him too believe him, as we see the sane Joker that we always see when Batman leaves. Well Bruce Wayne leavs but you get my drift. From this we see some stuff between Batman and Gordon, and Robin beating Joker with a crowbar, which at this point is overkill. As always I come away from this series feeling nothing, ah, well. I'll give it a 4/10.

The Joker: No matter how many I killed, Batman, my Batman was gone.


Brightest Day #5

Hawkworld revealed! Is on the cover and that doesn't really excite me considering how boring the storylines have been going for The Hawks. I'm really hating this jump from story to story thing because it kills the momentum. Seeing Aquaman confronted by this mystery woman got my hopes up then we jumped to Deadman and Hawk and Dove. I like this story line as well but it still bummed me out. Then when I get into the Hawk, Dove, Deadman story it jumps back to Aquaman. It's like watching a movie on TV and someone keeps switching the channels. I'm wondering what will be the result of the things Boston Brand does with his ring, seeing as how he was warned against it. I'm also curious to see what comes from the announcement Mera makes to Aquaman, so it definitely kept me interested. The thing I hate is the jumping around, that annoys me so much. The Hawk story continues to bore me but everything else was a good read, I'll give this issue a 6.5/10.

White Lantern Voice: Boston... You shouldn't be doing this.

Red Robin #14
Red Robin's newest issue starts with the little Bat Bastard, Damian Wayne hacking Tim's computer. He finds something he doesn't like then we cut away to Red Robin taking on Brutale. Along the way, Red Robin notices he's being followed but doesn't have time to go after his would-be stalker. He also encounters the always annoying Vicki Vale, in his Tim Drake alter ego, and she hints that she knows of the nightly activities Tim, Dick Grayson, and Bruce Wayne partake in. That sounds... kinda gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Eventually, Damian makes his move while out on patrol with Tim, by cutting his line before he gets a full swing. See that's why I hate Damian. He could've potentially killed Tim and wouldn't give a damn if he did. The fight between Damian and Tim was great, but the ending was phenomenal. To see where they ended up, as well as the way Dick stepped in, commanding and demanding respect was wonderful. The ending of this comic was very cool, and I love to see Tim thinking ahead and planning because he's more like Bruce than anyone when it comes to that. I'll give this issue of Red Robin a 10/10.

Tim on Damian: I've always held back for Bruce or Dick, but as stupid as it sounds, if this idiot is ever going to respect me, I'm going to have to kick his ass!

Red Hood: The Lost Days #2

Red Hood The Lost Days has been all Talia and Ra's so far so I'm looking forward to seeing Jason say some stuff. We start off seeing Jason learn that Batman has allowed The Joker to live, he has a huge temper tantrum, breaks a ton of stuff then beats up some guys. After that he cries and rocks back and forth in the fetal position. From then we see that Ra's Al Ghul does not like Talia's decision to unleash Jason onto the world, and that Jason is a pestilence and that he may be a terror for this world now that he's armed with the knowledge of the Lazarus Pits. Jason eventually discovers Talia's been tracking him with the stuff she gave him so he ditches it all. Jason uses his awesome talents he learned from Batman to set up The Dark Knight, planting a bomb on the bottom of the Batmobile and waiting for Bruce to show up. At the last second Jason doesn't detonate it. He says it's because he doesn't want Bruce to get off that easily, but I think it's because he cares too much. We see Jason asking Talia for help, so he can get revenge on Bruce. She agrees as this issue comes to an end. I thought this was a fantastic issue. We see the ups and downs of how Jason returns and finds out about his death and Bruce not killing Joker. We'd seen a bit before but the more in-depth we get the better. Seeing Talia second guess giving Jason this second chance was also very interesting. I'm loving this storyline so far, I'll give this issue a 10/10. I may be biased but it's my blog. :P

Jason Todd: I'm going to face him. Him and Me. And I'm going to kill him. With my own hands.

So that's it for this week's Ratings and Rantings. Great issues of Red Hood and Red Robin. Speaking of which I have a video to show you guys from Under The Red Hood. It features the first peeks at Ra's Al Ghul as well as John Dimagio's  (Bender from Futurama) role as The Joker. I think he knocks it out of the park, he's definitely the best Joker voice since Mark Hamill. So check that out below, also I'll have a review up this weekend for the clear-cut winner, Batman: Mystery of The Batwoman. So until next time, I'm your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger man, and Nerds of Prey Member, Jason Todd.


Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Adventure Comics 516 (The Atom story), Batgirl #12, Batman #701, Birds of Prey #3, Booster Gold #34, JL Generation Lost #5, Power Girl #14, Superman #701, Titans #25. (HUGE WEEK!!)

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Quick Change of Plans

Hey everyone, Jason Todd here as always, gladly welcoming you to my Red Hood. So today I was supposed to be reviewing an animated film, but surprisingly we had a draw. Now I could easily flip a coin or something but I've decided to put the poll back up, just with two choices, that way the people who voted for Wonder Woman and Hulk Vs. Thor/Wolverine can vote again as well as the people who voted for Mystery of Batwoman and Ultimate Avengers. That poll will be right under this paragraph.




Also, the new weekly poll is on the right side of the blog as always, we sure to check that out and vote there too. And lastly for those who are curious the result of the last weekly poll, which asked the question, "What was the worst series of 2009?"

Last Place with 9.1% - Something not listed. Whoever picked this, feel free to comment and let me know what you thought it was.
Second Place with 18.2% - Tie between Red Robin & Teen Titans. Red Robin is better now at least..

Winner (or loser?) with 27.3% - Tie between Green Arrow & Black Canary and Batman and Robin. Interesting to say the least considering one of those series has now ended.

Well everyone, thanks for voting and please continue to. As always it's been a pleasure, I return for more Ratings and Rantings later this week, until next time I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger man, Jason Todd.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Top Five 5's

Hey everyone to the Top Five 5's! If this is well received I may make it a monthly thing since there are a lot of categories to work with. So, the way we're gonna do this is I'm going to list each category along with each person's picks. Sounds simple enough right? So let's get into it. And just to make this simple I'm assigning everyone who sends in their picks a color. So this is the color guideline:


Jason Todd
Falisha Ann
Paul C.
Nagash
X-Man75 (and his are in order!)
Kello 

Top Five Male Characters

Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Jason Todd
Booster Gold
Bart Allen
The Joker






Superman
Aquaman
Spider-Man
Lex Luthor
Batman (Bruce Wayne)


Batman (it's the cowl, not the man behind it)
Arthur Curry (I refuse to call him Orin)
J'onn J'onzz
Oliver Queen
Victor Von DOOM

Vril Dox
Steve Rogers
Captain America(Bucky Barnes)
Kid Flash
Hawkeye

Flash (Barry Allen….by default)
Captain America
Tim Drake
Mighty Thor
Reed Richards
Top Five Female Characters

Black Canary
Power Girl
Harley Quinn
Ravager
Batgirl (Steph Brown)






Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
She-Hulk (Jen Walters)
Lois Lane
Mera
Wonder Woman

Kate Kane
M'gann Morse
Megan Gwynn
Molly Hayes/Nico Minoru
Stephanie Brown

Huntress
Black Widow
Black Canary
Wonder Woman
Batgirl

Barbara Gordon
Supergirl
Red Sonja
Susan Storm
Stephanie Brown
Top Five Writers

Gail Simone
Geoff Johns
Paul Dini
Judd Winick
Brian Q. Miller







Geoff Johns
Grant Morrison
Mark Millar
Peter David
Alan Moore


Brian K Vaughan
Bryan Q Millar
Greg Rucka
Kevin Smith
Mark Millar

Ed Brubaker!!!
Daniel Way
Gail Simone
Paul Dini
Tony Bedard

Geoff Johns
Jonathan Hickman
Sterling Gates
Ed Brubaker
Matt Fraction

Top Five Ongoing Comics


Batgirl
Birds of Prey
Booster Gold
Wolverine Origins
Green Lantern







Amazing Spider-Man
Batman and Robin
Green Lantern
Invincible Iron Man
Supergirl

Batgirl
Can't choose anything else as they've only had two issues each max, and anything else is ending real soon, so doesn't count as ongoing, or has been cancelled.

Captain America
REBELS
Dark Wolverine
Birds of Prey
Hawkeye & Mockingbird

Fantastic Four
Flash
Batgirl
Birds of Prey
Red Robin
Top Five Most Underused Characters

Jason Todd
Wally West
Geo-Force
Lobo
Ravager

Aquaman
Martian Manhunter
Vixen
Two Face
Creeper 

Matter Eater Lad
Maxima
Madam Fatal
The Ray
Jimmy Olsen

Cassandra Cain
J'onn J'onzz
Kate Kane
Lorena Marquez
Rose Wilson
 
Nate Grey
Wally West
Ra's Al Ghul
Meltdown
Wolverine :P (Lol What a Jerk!)

WALLY WEST!
Spectre
Captain Marvel / the entire SHAZAM family
Plastic Man
G’Nort (everything else in the GL got retconned into something cool, why couldn’t he?) 
Category Winners

Top Male Character: Batman
Top Female Character: Batgirl (Stephanie Brown)
Top Writer: Geoff Johns
Top Ongoing Comic: Batgirl & Birds of Prey
Top Underused: Wally West

Very interesting picks everyone. I'm surprised after one year as Batgirl, Stephanie made mostly everyone's list. That really says something about how well Bryan Q. Miller is writing her. Birds of Prey taking the Top Ongoing Comic shows that after only two issues Gail has struck gold once again, and that shows her talented writing along with the beautiful art of Ed Benes. Batman winning Top character isn't surprising but I think we're all ready to see how Bruce is inserted into storylines upon his return. Geoff beats Gail Simone by one vote for best writer and he has had a few big years, I'm interested in seeing how everyone feels about him next year. And lastly Wally West, the Flash for over 20 years is now the most underused person, and also the ONLY former Titan to not be in any other comic, interesting. Well here's hoping DC realizes that there's a bunch of Lanterns, we can have one more Flash. We want Wally West! 
 
Thanks everyone for the emails and replying, I think this turned out really well, I'm interested in seeing what you all think. Remember I'll be back tomorrow with an Animated Movie Review, if you haven't voted you can still vote on the post below. Until then, this is your friendly neighborhood Blogger Man, Jason Todd.