Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, it's that time of the week again for the best weekly dose of comic content comics! Yes, as you can tell I really like that tagline, but I digress. I'm your host Jason Todd and I'll be your guide as we trudge through the good and bad of weekly comics.We're a little late this week due to some monetary issues but better late than never right? I forgot to pick up this Month's Teen Titans since I'd been skipping the series the last few months but the first arc starts next month so I'll just grab that one. So let's kick things off this week with Lex Luthor in Action Comics!

Action Comics #893

The cover is pretty awesome, it's the most menacing I've ever seen Gorilla Grodd look as well. Also, Smallville fans that read the Jimmy Olsen co-feature will note this issue as the debut of Chloe Sullivan's character in the DC Universe. The issue starts out pretty funny with Lex telling everyone not to worry about Gorillas, their more afraid of humans than humans are of them, all while Gorillas sit in trees above Lex with guns.The Gorillas communicate to Grodd, as Grodd wonders why Lex is there and what he's looking for. Grodd goes to his big cabinet of Brains in Jars...seriously... and grabs one of someone who worked for Lex and eats it to consume his knowledge. I didn't know brains worked like that, but I guess it's good to know? After witnessing a tender moment with Lex and Robo-Lois, Grodd sends his gorillas on the attack and to kidnap Lois, which they succeed in doing. The best part of the issue is Gross having a conversation with Lois, then pausing and trying to eat her head off her shoulders, only for nothing to happen since she's a robot. When that fails, Grodd uses his super mind powers on the Android, since he um.. apparently can do that. He asks Lois what Lex's weaknesses are, but before we can see the answers we jump back over to Lex.  Lex's teammates try to get him to turn back but he tells them they will head forward, find the source of the Black Energy and rescue his assistant. I guess no one notices that she's Lois Lane, the woman that's ALWAYS in the newspaper for being saved by Superman. This issue goes from funny to downright hilarious when Grodd completely rips off General Zod's line and charges into battle with a spoon. Don't worry, it'll be line the of the issue below. Grodd then decapitates Lex with a gigantic spoon... I'm not making this up. Grodd, content with himself and a spoon decapitation (Who wouldn't be content with that?!) quickly devours the head of Lex, before receiving a huge electrical shock throughout his body. We see a flashback and apparently Lex sent his employee with fake knowledge of Luthor 's fears to be killed by Grodd, which happened, then Grodd ate his brains and received the fake knowledge that Lex was afraid of giant spoons. Turns out Lex and his second in command, Spalding, were in Gorilla suits and this was all a huge ploy to get the codes out of Grodd. Lex and his crew end up escaping with a sample of the Black Ring energy. That is, until an upset Grodd regains consciousness and goes for revenge. I won't ruin the ending, although readers of Vertigo's Sandman series may be pleasantly surprised. This issue started pretty comical but got very good near the end, and even did the comedy well which I enjoyed. I'd say overall this was a pretty good issue, I'll give it an 8/10.

Gorilla Grodd: Lex Luthor!!! Kneel before Grodd! You have walked into my ambush! And I have brought my biggest combat spoon, to eat your tasty brains!!!

Gotham City Sirens #16

This months issue of Gotham City Sirens features the two ladies of Bruce Wayne's life, Selina Kyle and Talia Al Ghul. We start things off with Selina Kyle, Catwoman, reminiscing on a romantic night she spent with Bruce years ago. From there we see Alfred, he notices there is magical activity in Grid coordinates J19, wherever that is. He notifies Batman and Robin, who already know, and promptly puts Damian in his place when the little bastard hits Alfred with a "Duh." Batman's idea is to put in a call, when Alfred asks to who, we jump over to see Selina Kyle taking a bubble bath. Her relaxation is cut short when Zatanna pops into the bathroom. She tells Selina to keep Ivy away from her, as she needs to tell the Sirens something before teleporting away. I should commend the artist, Andres Guinaldo, for drawing a great Catwoman, too often she just looks like a woman with black hair, but here she comes off with her own style and flavor, which I enjoy. From there, Selina tells Ivy and Harley what Zatanna said, Ivy gets upset of course, but the situation is quickly defused by the spunky blonde known as Harley Quinn. Harley then notices a huge fire breaking out not far from their base, and Harley alerts Selina and Ivy. Meanwhile, Oracle is watching the firefighters put out the fire since she has cameras everywhere apparently. She's soon contacted by Talia, asking where Selina is. Oracle gets defensive, asking why she would tell her, and Talia says because Selina is walking into a trap. Next we see the Sirens at the burned forest, Ivy gets upset as Selina warns her that Zatanna is not someone to mess with. Zatanna shows up and paralyzes Ivy, and Catwoman and Zatanna get into an argument. Must have something today with their mutual love of Bruce. The argument is cut short when all four women are blasted by a huge wave of water. They are then swarmed by some type of mud men. Selina convinces Zatanna to release Ivy, who confesses her hatred for Zatanna, and then receives the same from the Magician. Meanwhile, the four fight off the mud men, as well as a fire monster as Talia shows up and warns Catwoman. A giant hand bursts from the ground and grabs Selina and pulls her underground. Zatanna tells Talia to explain what she knows, and Talia tells her that the reason Catwoman was kidnapped, is so someone can make her relive time and they can find out who Batman is. It's a very intricate plan that seems like it would take way too much time, but it makes sense. This was a fine issue, nothing amazing, but not bad in the least, I'm invested enough to pick up the next issue. I'll give this one a 7/10.

Harley: After all Red, you haven't been yourself since that alien plant guy and his.... watcha call it...smell thingies.

Ivy: Pheromones.

Harley: Right. Feral Moans.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #3

We start off this issue of Time Masters, written by Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens, with a young Rip Hunter flying around the Legion base with a Legion ring while an older Booster Gold talks to Brainiac 5. Rip explains how his childhood wasn't ordinary, and it allowed him to play around in time which was always fun for him. Rip and Booster soon leave after Brainiac 5 has finished giving Skeets and upgrade, and Brainy tells them the Carter family is always welcome there. We then fast forward to Rip Hunter and his newest warrior ally, Claw, being caught in tentacles by the huge prehistoric monster from the last issue. Rip and Claw free themselves and are now in the presence of Serhatuu, a being known as Evil Incarnate. So in other words he's a cloaked black figure that's pure evil. Where's Superman when ya need him? Serhatuu see's images from Rip's mind in his reflective pool that show him heroes such as Booster, Superman and Green Lantern. He says he wants to bridge the gap of time, allowing him to go into the future with the heroes, and he says Rip will help him achieve his goal. Things with Booster don't seem to be going better as he and the other woman known as Starfire are surrounded by a bunch of warriors looking for a fight. Of course they have to banter first like only Booster and a pretty lady can, before deciding to take on the murderous horde of enemies. They make quick work of most of the enemies, before Booster goes after the giant Dragon that holds Superman and Green Lantern between it's talons. The female magician that's riding the Dragon seems to be no pushover, and it also explains how she knocked out the Man of Steel. Booster succeeds in freeing GL who in turn frees Supes. Booster goes back to help the other Starfire as GL and Superman note that the fight is taking too long and that's not what their there for...even though they're the ones that wanted to help. O....kay. After that Superman knocks of the Dragon with one punch and GL uses his ring to tie up the Sorceress. The Sorceress quickly frees herself (Sinestro should recruit her!) before zapping the ground and forging stone golems to help her win the fight. While our heroes are dealing with the Golems, we see that the Sorceress is working with Serhatuu. The two try to bridge the time gaps when Skeets interrupts and zaps the Evil Incarnate. Back with our heroes, Superman demolishes a stone Golem, since he can shatter mountains and such. When Booster complains about not signing up for this, Hal goes outta his way to be a "Red Hood Phallic Helmet a.k.a. a dick" and start ripping Booster saying why should he be there if there's no camera crew. Pretty soon tentacles shoot up from the water, the same that captured Rip and Claw, and capture Superman, GL, Booster, and the non-Tamaranian Starfire as the Sorceress accompanies them underwater. We then jump over to see Despero, Black Beetle, Ultra-Humanite and Degaton at the debris of the destroyed Vanishing Point. They discuss how they should kill Rip and get it over with, before Black Beetle states that it would be pointless since no one knows where he comes from, and killing his associates like Booster Gold would solve nothing. HA! Black Beetle then explains that other people have held Rip's title like Waverider  and the Linear Men, and when the Linear Men disagreed with Rip he locked them away, in Vanishing Point. So he finds the only chunk of Vanishing Point left big enough to house a cell, and looks to release them. This was a solid issue, it seemed really boring though. I could never really commit to it all the way because the pace seemed weird and with us not knowing much about the villains they never seemed like a threat. I'll give this issue a 6/10. And yes I do notice the rating dropping one for each comic today.

Green Lantern: Right. Why bother with this when there are no media around to chronicle the heroic exploits of the brilliant Booster Gold?

Green Arrow #4

Hm.. another very nice cover. I think I may do a Top twenty five covers of the year around December, would anyone care to see that? Anywho, this issue of Green Arrow starts off with a quick recap on the last three issues. From there we see a big Green glob attacking the forest and headed for the White Lantern symbol, basically the same scene we saw in Brightest Day, just from Green Arrow's perspective. After getting Martian Manhunter out of the forest, the two heroes discuss how the forest apparently takes power from anyone who enters it, with Ollie mentioning what happened to Hal. J'onn tells Ollie that his vision told him to burn down a forest but the White Lantern symbol on the tree showed him it wasn't that forest. He also mentions how he kills all plant life near him, and Oliver points him towards the forest which is now full of life again now that Martian Manhunter is no longer in it. Martian Manhunter tells Ollie he sees the appeal of the forest, and while in it his telepathic abilities didn't work, and how he hasn't felt that alone since he was on Mars. The two then part ways, a much less hostile way than from Brightest Day, which bothered me in that so I'm glad it was changed here. From there, Galahad steps out of the shadows and delivers a comical line asking Oliver if all his friends are Green, citing MM and GL. Oliver and Galahad discuss the forest for a bit with Galahad saying Oliver must have a sense of Faith, with Oliver saying he has something stronger, a sense of duty. We see the woman Green Arrow saved in the forest in the first issue leading a rally against Queen Industries and it's "Royal Guard." When she gets to close to one of the guards, he backhands her away, causing Ollie to spring into action and hit him with an electrical arrow. A huge fight breaks out between the Guards, Green Arrow and the Civilians, before Ollie helps Mary escape. We see the new owner of Queen Industries is watching the big fight and takes note of the woman Oliver helps escape, seemingly to use her as a pawn. The issue ends soon after that, and I really enjoyed it. They mix a lot of action with great dialogue and come out with a good comic. Surprising right? Well I once again enjoyed an issue of Green Arrow, and I'll give this issue an 8/10, for a solid enjoyable issue.

Galahad: Are all of your friends Green?

Green Arrow: The Good ones.


Well that's it for this week everyone. Just a few comics, but nothing really bad. Here's hoping next week we have a really good haul of issues. Since this weeks Ratings and Rantings was late, I'm gonna kill two birds with one stone by posting the poll results from last week below as well as a new poll. And under that you can see what I plan on reviewing next week. So that's it for me everyone, here's hoping you enjoyed it. So until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd!

Last week's Poll question asked "Who do you think would make the best Green Lantern?"

Second Place with 20% - A Three Way Tie between Deadpool, Tim Drake and Daredevil. Man that's a close vote.
Winner with 40% - Dick Grayson, I'd pay to see that. Ya hear that DC? Give Grayson a ring!

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Brightest Day #11, Red Hood Lost Days #5, and DeadpoolMax #1

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, JT here, welcoming back to my Red Hood for another edition of Ratings and Rantings! Last week's was a little late, but we're back on schedule this week. I was gonna review Dark Wolverine #90 but I didn't know Time Masters came out this week so I picked that up instead. I'll review Dark Wolverine's final issue next week though. Other than that, I'm not gonna stall or keep you guys bored because I know ya come here for reviews, yes I know where my bread is buttered. But I do wanna ask anyone who isn't to follow the new blog started by myself and X-Man75 of X-Man's Comic Blog dedicated to Saint Barry Allen. So make sure you check out our fun little blog and be sure to follow it and get all the Saint Barry Allen-Goodness at the All Hail Saint Barry Allen blog!

Batman #702

The second issue in the two-part mini where we see what happened to Batman between the events of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis has finally arrived. As you guys and gals may or may not remember, I enjoyed the last issue, but with Grant Morrison stuff is either hit or miss with me, so hopefully I'll have good things to say about this issue. We start off with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman updating the JLA on the seriousness of the fact that a New God has been killed and how dangerous whatever and whoever killed him must be. They put the JLA on condition Amber. The little things, like Batman calling Wally West "Wallace" are things that help you remember that this is Bruce and not Dick Grayson after a year of him under the cowl. We see things that we've seen clips of in the past like Batman talking to Superman about the time traveling bullet, and when he confronted Alpha Lantern Kraken in Final Crisis. All the while we see excerpts from his diary or a note he's writing, discussing how he's a man who tries to fight against Aliens and Gods. We also find the back story between the Batman that was resurrected in the Lazarus Pits in Batman and Robin a few months ago. We also see the huge scene where Batman stands face to face with Darkseid before taking him out with the Radion bullet. This issue was really well done so I've gotta commend Grant, I may not like some of his work but I do love some of his other comics, and this is a great one. Although he just showed us scenes we've seen already from Batman's point-of-view it was still interesting and kept me wanting to know more. I'm sure it also unlocked some secrets for Return of Bruce Wayne readers but I'm not following that series, anyway this was a really good comic, nothing epic or mind-blowing but a good solid comic. I'd give this issue an 8.5/10.

Batman: I made a very solemn vow about firearms. But for you, I'm making a once-in-a-lifetime exception.

Justice League Generation Lost #8

Generation Lost, my favorite Bi-Weekly comic right now, picks up where issue seven left off with our heroes, Booster Gold, Rocket Red, Blue Beetle, Fire and Ice, dressed up in their Rocket Red attires surrounded by a bunch of armed Checkmate guards. Booster takes control and has Skeets patch the Checkmate computers to find Maxwell Lord's location, then has Rocket Red talk some communist stuff at Checkmate to stall them, but sadly they discover that Max isn't in the building. Our heroes, stuck in a stalemate with Checkmate decide to resign from the game. (I love Chess lingo :P ) Anyway, during their escape from Checkmate, Rocket Red takes some office via some type of electric scrambler that was placed on his suit. Fire gets angry and causes her suit to explode off of her, so the rest of the team decides to stop hiding and use their powers to subdue the Checkmate guards. With a little help from Captain Atom, the former JLI make their way back to their base. While there, Ice talks about how she never asked to be apart of any of this and doesn't want to do it anymore. We also see a nice moment between Fire and Rocket Red, who I think may become the resident couple, if Red isn't killed or something, which I hope he isn't since I'm starting to like him. The ending caught me by surprise, a common theme in this series, as I gotta say I didn't expect what happened to happen this soon, but I'll be waiting for the next issue to see how this goes from there. I'd give this issue an 8/10 rating.

Rocket Red: I love this woman! I know vhy she is called Fire!

Action Comics #892

This issue starts off with Lex, Lois and Slade Wilson getting off of Lex's personal Jet in Antarctica. It's said that Lex has brought Deathstroke to help him find a remaining Black Lantern Ring, as they are near the residual energy source. They eventually find the black source of the ring. Slade goes first to check out the energy because he has a bad feeling about it, as he should. While he's by the power source, Lex starts talking about how great an accomplishment this is, and Slade freaks out for some reason and rushes towards Lex. Lex has his people keep Slade occupied by being killed by him while Lex puts on his portable power suit. The former President of The United States takes on Deathstroke and sends his scientists to go scan the power source. Another one of his scientists succumbs to the power of the black sphere and it causes her to become homicidal as well. We also finally find out why Lex's head is unprotected when we see him in his power suit, because he has a force field surrounding it. Not the best explanation but it's better than him being so stupid that he leaves his head vulnerable. Our Bald Genius also figures out that strong emotions cause you to lose control quicker. The ending of this issue leads us to a showdown of the minds for the next issue that should be pretty good. This wasn't a bad comic, the pacing just seemed kinda slow and hard stay interested in so I'll give this issue a 6.5/10. Oh, and the Superboy Co-Feature made me 100% that I have no interest in reading the series now... man that was bad.

Lex Luthor: I'll deal with Deathstroke.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #2

I wasn't aware this came out this week until I saw it in the store so this was a pleasant surprise. We kick things off with a young Rip Hunter and his father watching a great moment in time. They're watching the moment Superman's rocket lands on the planet earth. Rip's father tells him that he has to protect moments like this in the time stream to make sure no one ever ruins them and changes history or the future, and that one day it will be Rip's job. We then jump up to present time, whenever that may be, and see Rip fighting some type of savage man that thinks Rip is a murderer. With some help from Skeets, Rip subdues the Savage and talks to him, telling him he's not the man he's looking to kill. Rip decides to help the savage known as Claw on his mission, due to there being a stream of chronal energy, and maybe it will lead him back to Booster Gold, Green Lantern and Superman. From there we see Black Beetle (whose red for some reason) and a team he's put together consisting of Despero, Degaton and Ultra-Humanite from different moments in time so they can work together and get control over time. We then catch up with Green, Gold and Big Blue, in the middle of a war zone where some armed guys are shooting at unarmed humans, so Supes decides to jump in, even though Booster reminds him Rip said not to. They help and Superman and Green Lantern, like the arrogant jerks they are take shots at Booster for being a glory hound and such. Then like the hero he is, Booster saves GL. We then see Rip and Claw heading forward to find this evil wizard when they are attacked by some tentacles that pull them under water, when they arise, Rip see's that he can see various moments in time in the water. We then jump to Booster's sister Michelle (Goldstar) and his cousin Daniel (Super Nova) in Rip's lab. The ending of this issue was a bit surprising, but the comic overall was a good read, nice pacing and a really well done story. I'd give this issue a 9/10.

Green Lantern: I can see why you'd like to help find Batman. A guy like you could parlay that into a million-dollar payday. Maybe even get your own Reality show.

Superman/Batman #75

It's the historic 75th issue of Superman/Batman! Who would've thought that by combining the two biggest names in DC Comics and you'd get a nice ongoing series? Well this big action packed issue kicks off with some dude who looks kinda like Lex but greenish in the future, fighting past the Legion of Superheroes and going back in time. Supes, in our present time is flying around relaxing and hears the time barrier cracking around his favorite tree (who the hell has a favorite tree?!) and heads there expecting the Legion. The Lex-look-alike pops out and socks Supes in the face, drawing blood. We then jump over to The Dark Knight in his Batcave, listening to the bats fly around as he stitches himself up. Suddenly, Dawnstar flies in with Superman cradled in her arm asking Batman to help him. We soon see Batman has been sent on some errand at Lexcorp and he's not too happy about it. Batman finally gets in and finds a Luthor cloning speciman which is in a tiny test tube. Shrinking Violet (Too many Legionnaires!) pops out of Bats' utility belt, drops something into the tube then they replace it and leave. We eventually find out that it was a Kryptonite powered Lex clone that poisoned Supes....well thanks for telling us now! After some arguing the Legionnaires go back in time while Batman takes care of Superman like a big burly nurse on Halloween. The Legion then go back and help Superboy beta the Kryptonite Lex clone...then end. well if that were the only story I'd give this issue a 1 because that was awfully boring. Then we see a two page story that was boring.... very boring. Then there was another two page story that took place at a comic-con where I chuckled. There was a nice little quick story where Tim Drake asks Dick Grayson if he should tell Superboy he kissed Wonder Girl, and SB asks Superman what he'd do it Bruce kissed Lois. There's also a funny page long story with Joker and Lex that's clearly channeling the old Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. Overall there was more bad than good in this 75th issue which is sad because I like most of the series so far, but this one doesn't keep up with the other issues. I'd give this issue a 2/10. I wanted to like it but I felt like I ended up wasting my money, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Dick Grayson: I can't believe you made out with Cassie... I'd never be stupid enough to make out with Selina.

Gotham City Sirens #15

It's that time of the month again, for the lovely ladies of Gotham's former crime elite, The Gotham City Sirens, take center stage. We start things off with Catwoman and Harley Quinn armed with two tanks of defoliant on their backs looking for Poison Ivy and her new "ally" from the last issue. Harls and Selina use the defoliant to clear a path from the many plants that have sprouted up due to some pollen being spread, if ya catch my drift. *wink wink* For the record, I don't even catch my drift, so if you don't that's fine. We finally see Poison Ivy and she's turning purple for some reason, but unlike Violet Beauregard I don't think she's eaten any Willy Wonka chewing gum. Oh yeah, I'm dropping all types of references today. Ivy tells the plant-alien how she used to be human until Jason Woodrue injected her with some compounds that changed her Dioxy-Ribonucleic Acid or DNA (Told ya I could use it in a review X!) and made her into a Plant-woman. Selina and Harley continue to burn down all the plants in their way until Ivy steps out of the plants. She confronts the other two Sirens about killing her plants and gets angry, as a fight breaks out between Catwoman and Harley versus Ivy and her new "boyfriend." The best part of this issue was Harley comparing Ivy and the plant guy to herself and The Joker, because it was a great comparison and a nice way to show that Harley is evolving from just being Joker's sidekick. The ending seemed kinda last minute, I would've liked something better but it was fine for what it was, as was this issue. The next issue is billed ad "The Return of Talia Al Ghul" so hopefully that should be the start of a good arc. I'll give this issue a 6.5/10.

Harley Quinn: He's using you... just like you use normal guys... like Mister J used Me...

Superman: Secret Origins #6

And the comic with second longest wait of the year, hailing from DC Comics..... Superman: Secret Origins!!!! The first issue came out in September of 2009, this blog hadn't even debuted yet, now here I am reviewing issue number six. Things start off big with General Lane and his men commandeering the Daily Planet. When Lois confronts her father and claims Superman would never attack the U.S. Military without being attacked first, Gen. Lane asks his Lois trusts Superman. When she replies, "More than I trust you." he drops the bombshell and asks if Superman ever told her that he was an alien, leaving Lois, Perry and the rest of the D.P. staff shocked. Elsewhere we see Lex Luthor in a lab, operating on someone before breaking into a huge grin says "He's alive." From there we see some members of the military in the sewers looking for the Man of Steel, they stumble upon him but he uses his super speed to dodge their bullets, take their guns apart and then burst out of the sewer, and asks everyone to hold their fire so they don't harm innocents but they continue to bombard him with Rocket Launchers and bullets. Back in the Daily Planet, General Lane explains that Superman is an alien and they know his weakness, then plans to shut down the Daily Planet. Jimmy and Lois hatch a plan so she can get out of the office and to Superman. Back with Superman, he's trying to subdue the men and women of the military when he's attacked from behind by Sergeant Corben wearing a new suit. Lois warns Big Blue to leave the planet so they don't kill him with the meteorite, he doesn't back down and rushes towards Corben to fight him, punching off his helmet, revealing what's basically a corpse in a big metal suit, and starts calling himself Metallo. Eh, I like the other version better. I won't ruin the rest of the fight, but afterwards a very well-written (by Geoff not Supes) speech by The Man of Steel shows us why he is the embodiment of hope... and not Saint Barry Allen. :P Other great moments were the big Superman/Lex Luthor confrontation that was expected, and the Superman/Lois Lane confrontation the dialogue was very strong and seemed true to the characters. Overall I think this was a really good ending to the mini-series, there's not much you can deviate from with the history of Superman but Geoff did a fine job, I'd give this issue a 9/10.

Lex Luthor: You don't belong here! You never will! Why don't you go back to your own world? 

Superman: Because I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't. This is my home. And I'm not going to let you ruin it anymore.

Green Arrow #3

This cover is so gruesome that it looks awesome. It's definitely one of my favorite covers this year, maybe ever. How fitting is it that Green Arrow gets "Prometheus'd." We start this issue off with Green Arrow lying there with an arrow in his skull, waiting to die, as he compares it to his days on the island, waiting to die until he found a reason to live. We even see a few panels that reminded me of the fantastic Green Arrow: Year One comics. He lies there, surprisingly not dead, while three big dogs run toward him, until he's saved by the big guy that X-Man called Thor over on his blog not too long ago. The man picks Ollie up and takes him to a part of the forest and holds him underwater in a lake, where it asks "Do you deserve to live?" In Ollie's thoughts, he mentions that he's abandoned his son, murdered, alienated everyone he loves and couldn't keep anyone safe, including Star City. We see flashbacks that show us Ollie as a kid, and his parents, who had problems of their own, as Mr. Queen was unfaithful and was suggested to have done things with his secretary. After this, we see Ollie rise out of the water, and the flying water makes the White Lantern symbol. Oliver, being the jerk he is, blames the man who saved his life for trying to kill him, but the Mystery Man deflects all of Ollie's attacks until he can convince him he didn't try to murder the Emerald Archer. We then jump to Mary, the chick Ollie saved in the forest in issue one, trying to help sick people, but not having the resources due to Queen Industries snatching up all the health contracts. Back with Green Arrow we see he was saved by someone who believes he's Knight Galahad, of King Arthur's Round table. After discussing why he's there, Oliver interrupts by saying he doesn't know what's more confusing, why the forest saved him, or who tried to kill him. With another flashback we see the life of a young woman who encountered Robert Queen back in the past, he was drawn to her and even called her "Pretty Bird." We come to find out that this is the woman that is currently the new owner of Queen Industries. Back with Oliver and Galahad, they discuss like in the forest before a blinding white light shines, and Oliver, looking for answers, runs into the light. While there he sees the forest go through all four seasons, in a matter of seconds while Star City remains unchanged, before the issue abruptly ends. I mean like, next page ends. I liked this comic but the ending was so random and abrupt that it threw me off guard. But the majority of this issue was damn good and interesting, I'll give this issue a 9/10 rating as well.

Green Arrow: As Green Arrow, I've stood up to every adversary to cross my path. But as Oliver Queen, it seems I'm my own worst enemy.

So that's all for this week's Ratings and Rantings everyone, as always thanks for reading and feel free to comment. Also, this weekend since I couldn't last week, we're going to have another Top 5 Five! Oh yeah, I can hear that excitement rumbling in the pit of your stomach, or it may just be gas. Either way, the categories are below, so make sure you send me your top five for each of the five topics at KevinKavalier@Gmail.com by Sunday Noon EST. Time and I'll make sure your picks are counted.

Top 5 Marvel/DC Team-Ups You'd like to see
Top 5 Marvel vs. DC Fights You'd like to see (for the first time or a rematch)
Top 5 Comic Characters who you wish had a TV Show, Cartoon or Movie
Top 5 Most Overrated Characters
Top 5 Five Characters you'd like to put on a team together

The sooner the better people so send those picks in! I'll make sure I post the results this weekend, until then, I'm your Neighborhood Blogger-man and Saint Barry Allen worshiper, JT!

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Brightest Day #9, Red Hood: Lost Days #4, Dark Wolverine #90 and Shadowland #3...That's it?! I guess so....

Ratings and Rantings

Once again it's that time of the week, Jason Todd here, once again welcoming you guys to my Red Hood. This week's Ratings and Rantings should be interesting as Marvel invades, I plan on reviewing Shadowland #2, Shadowland: Bullseye One Shot, Deadpool #1000 and this marks the beginning of me reviewing Amazing Spider-Man on a regular basis. So along with those Marvel Comics, I've also got some DC Comics to review as well as Green Arrow #2, which I'll review first since it didn't make the cut last week. But before that, I wanna remind everyone that this weekend I'll be doing the Top Five 5, so remember to send me your picks, and the topics will be at the bottom of this review.

And lastly, I wanna thank Falisha for pointing out if you Google Jason Todd, that my blog is the first thing on the second page. That's pretty cool to know and definitely makes me wanna keep running the blog and see if I can crack the first page. But enough of that, let's kick off this week's reviews!

Green Arrow #2

This month's Green Arrow picks starts with a mysterious man wondering around the Star City forest, filling up his canteen with water before the story jumps over to the best buddies since Cory and Shawn on Boy Meets World, Green Arrow and Green Lantern. We find out that electronics, as well as Hal's ring won't work in the forest for some reason. Hal and Oliver continue to talk about the forest and the White Lantern power, then Ollie tells Hal that he knows the forest better than anyone since it's his home now. Ollie uses his Lantern (hmmm) as he guides Hal deep into the forest to show him where he's living, he somehow has tables, a couch, a bookshelf filled with books and many places to write his memoirs I'd assume, "How to live in a forest, the Green Arrow Way!" After showing Hal around, the Oliver tries to show Hal the way out of the forest, while mercenaries drop into the forest, looking for Green Arrow. They find him and Green Lantern, and Hal proves he doesn't need a ring to fight, as he and Green Lantern lay out the would-be-attackers. But when more attackers come, Green Arrow and Lantern decide they need a new plan, and try to figure out a way to get Hal's ring working again. The plan works and with a power boost, Green Lantern helps Green Arrow clear the forest of the invaders. This issue ends with a very interesting cliffhanger, that keeps me interested to see how Ollie will get out of it. As for this issue, I enjoyed it a lot, not much happened but we saw a new conflict, and got introduced to someone else in the forest, I'd give this issue a 7.5/10.

Green Arrow: You have your sector Hal, I've got mine.

Brightest Day #7

This issue of Brightest Day has been called "The one where we find out why those who returned did" so hopefully we can finally get some answers. The issue starts off with Deadman and Dove getting a cheeseburger (who saw THAT coming?! *sarcasm*) because the ring told him to last issue. I wanna know why Dove is dressed all clean with hair flowing and no one can get Deadman a T-Shirt and some pants? He's just walking around in the costume he DIED in and a trench coat. They talk about why Deadman may be back, and then talk about Hank and Dawn's roles as Hawk and Dove. After eating his cheeseburger the ring says "I hope you enjoyed your meal." (really?) and magically sens Deadman, Hawk and Dove, in costume, to the site of the White Lantern. In the crowd watching is Jackson Hyde, the kid we were introduced to a few issues ago. When Boston inserts his ring into the Lantern, Jackson's arm glows as he states he doesn't feel well to his friend, Maria. Boston asks the Lantern why did it bring them back, it replies they need to embrace life and Boston's costume turns all white, with the White Lantern symbol on his chest, and his face returns to his usual Deadman face/mask. The Lantern's entity tells Boston that he has been watching over the earth since the beginning of existence and a replacement must be chosen. The returned Heroes and Villains are there to protect the world until the arrival of it's new champion. We jump to Martian Manhunter whose trying to revive Miss Martian, when a ring manifests on his finger and tells him he must burn down the Star City forest. The rings continue to show our returned heroes what they need to do, and even manages to switch who's in control of the Firestorm body. Some of these prophecies are extremely interesting, and make me care about some stories I didn't before, especially Hawk and Dove. I think this was what this series needed to inject a little life (no pun intended) back into it. I'll give this issue of Brightest Day an 8/10 rating.

Hank: The Jukebox is broken.

Dawn: It was just playing the Dixie Chicks.

Hank: That's why I broke it.

Shadowland: Bulleye One-Shot

We start things off with everyone mourning and crying at Bullseye's funeral...wait...what?! Everyone's saying nice words and how great he was when someone yells out that he was an evil man and this funeral is a farce. The old man runs away but doesn't get far before he's presumably killed by one of the other participants. We find out that this funeral is more of a hostage situation as everyone is being made to show their "respects" to Bullseye. Someone who I don't know named Denny (I'm new to Daredevil so I apologize) sees Bullseye's ghost and says if he were alive than the old man with the shurikens in his back wouldn't be. The sixth sense kid tells Ben Urich (Hey, someone I know!) that the man isn't dead yet and they should help him, but they can't due to the armed guards that are running the fake funeral. We find out that eight hours earlier, Urich was abducted for this "funeral" for Bullseye. Mayor Jameson's announcement that no money would be spent on a horrible vigilante like Bullseye's funeral, so a bunch of Bikers who owe it to Bullseye decide to give him one. Denny Deaver, the kid from earlier, is doing this so he can get Bullseye out of his head, since he can see and hear dead people. They continue to make the rounds and kidnap people for the funeral until finally, thanks to a top off from Urich, Daredevil and his crew find our what's going on. I'll stop here as not to spoil things for anyone. The ending really made this story, but all the back tracking kind of killed the pacing in my opinion. It was still a good one-short but far from the best I've read, I'd give it a 5/10.

J. Jonah Jameson: As far as I'm concerned, toss Bullseye into the incinerator, then flush the ashes into the sewer... which is still better than Bullseye deserves.

Shadowland #2

Shadowland #2 starts off with an opening monologue by Moon Knight, while we see a Cab Driver swallow what I'd assume to be a balloon of something, so I'd assume the Cabbie was Moon Knight. He smashes up the taxi with a baseball bat until The Hand descends down, ready to attack, as he tells them to bring it on. We then see Luke Cage and Iron Fist (as Danny) at the Soup Kitchen, discussing Daredevil murdering Bullseye. Danny brings up a good point that they've all killed nameless Hand ninjas and HYDRA members over the years, and if anyone deserved it, than it was Bullseye. They have to cut their discussion short because two men get into a fight, Luke breaks it up, and in walks Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin. After discussing how the people in the city are turning on each other due to the Shadowland events, Kingpin states that they're going to have to take down Daredevil. Jumping inside his lair, we see Daredevil, who feels no remorse or guilt after killing Bullseye. He tells Tarantula that he needs better trained warriors for expanding their territory. He states that any costumed heroes are now invited to join him and The Hand, and if they're not with him, they're against him. Luke Cage, Iron Fist and some other heroes go to meet with Daredevil, only saying they'd join so they can talk to him. They tell Matt that he's going crazy for the most part, bringing up his recent murder, he replies by saying he put down Bullseye for the greater good. In the midst of this, Spider-Man joins the intervention, via the rooftop windows. Moon Knight, now with the captured cops and other people "arrested" by The Hand, heaves up the balloon from earlier, revealing Lockpicks. He goes to escape and runs into the last person I expected to see. When hearing of this infiltration, Daredevil blames his former allies, saying they caused this distraction and attacks. This was a great issue, the first issue was amazing and this one was almost as good. I don't know why this one seems a little smaller, maybe because this focused on more dialogue and the last one had the big Bullseye murder. But so far Shadowland has been great, I can't wait for issue three. I'd rate this issue a 9/10.

Spider-Man: And hey, can I just add on a personal note.. that whole Black Costume thing? Never ends well. Trust me on this.

Amazing Spider-Man #639

I remember issue #600, man time is flying. So as most people know, this is the thing that fills in the blank after One More Day, and in the last issue we discovered (Highlight for Spoilers) that the reason Peter and MJ didn't wed is because Spider-Man got knocked out and missed his own wedding. (Spoilers over) In this issue, Pete and MJ continue to discuss the past. We see Spidey, in his black suit, listening in as his friends and relatives talk about how awful he is for leaving Mary-Jane at the alter. Spidey tries calling her but gets the voicemail, he swings to MJ's home as fast as he can so he can explain how he missed their wedding day. When he finds that she isn't home, he swings around the city, frantically yelling "MJ!!!!" at the top of his lungs, trying to find his almost-bride. He finally heads to his own home, and finds Mary-Jane waiting on the couch. She tears into him, having heard about what he said about having cold feet to Flash and Harry in the last issue. She demands for him to take his mask off, and when he does, and she sees his bruised and battered face, she tells him it's not about cold feet, it's about how Spider-Man will always come between them. She's about to ask Pete to stop being Spidey but he cuts her off, saying he can't. She leaves Peter, and tells him she never wants to see him again, but with a talk from her Aunt Anna of all people, she realizes that she still cares about Peter. MJ goes and apologizes through the door before Pete lets her in, they talk and she tells him, she wants kids. After a deep conversation, MJ says she can stay with Pete, but doesn't wanna get married or have kids, unless he puts the mask and costume up for soon, and he agrees. I summed it up, but it was a very touching and well written moment. This issue ends like something you've seen before but with a BIG twist, if you think Spidey never un-masked in public, you'd be wrong. I won't ruin it for you, but It's definitely got me ready for the next issue. I'll give this issue a 8.5/10. I liked most of the comic but the left at the alter thing seems kind of over-played, so I'm glad that wasn't the main factor of the break up.

Mary-Jane: Because, I've come to realize that I would never bring a child into a life like ours.

Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #1

What would happen if instead of sending Kal-El to the planet Earth alone, his parents, Jor-El and Lara joined him on the rocket sent to earth? This is what we will find out in the three part Elseworld story,  Superman: Last Family of Krypton. We see the traditional voyage to earth for Kal to start things off, except he crashes on the way to Earth, then we find out it's a dream by Jor-El. We find out that the House of El members are already on Earth, having left Krypton. We jump back eighty-seven days to see their arrival on Earth, where they actually say "We come in peace." and someone mentions the cliche'd line, which made me smile a bit. An energy anomaly causes the authorities to mistakenly attack the ship, but the weapons do nothing but ricochet, causing one of their helicopters to fall from the sky. The inhabitants are saved by Jor-El, as Lara uses her super breath to blow the helicopter into the water, meanwhile Kal is floating, giggling and speaking Kryptonian...um...okay then. The planet Earth quickly accepts the El's as a part of their society, and the El's go around saving countless lives due to their super powers. Pretty soon everyone wants the El's, and they let Kal pick where they'll live for some...reason, and he picks Metropolis by shooting his heat ray onto a gigantic globe. Anyway, the would-be Brainiac constructs a huge mansion in the middle of Metropolis for the El's to live in. Back in present time, Lara is talking to the house about Jor-El's recent dreams, before finding  Sanctum that Jor-El has to himself in the building. She questions Brainiac (referred to as B) about it and also finds out that Jor-El is starting a company called JorCorp. Um....what in the hell is happening here? Meanwhile, Lara is looking for Earth couples that could take care of Kal-El for some reason, people on the list include Perry and Alice White,  and even Thomas and Martha Wayne. So they give Kal to the Kents for some stupid reason, so he can choose if he wants to live as an Earthling or a Krypytonian. Meanwhile, Lara writes a book and goes on TV to talk about it... I'm not making this up. Some other boring stuff happens, Lex as a kid becomes friends with Jor-El, and Lara has two more kids. Okay, I'm done with this series. This seemed like a really interesting story, but instead it's just a weird mix of the regular story and a bunch of unnecessary events. I don't plan on finishing it, and I could care less about The El's on Earth now, 2/10.

Pa Kent: I sure didn't see this coming.

Clark Kent: I've got X-Ray vision and I didn't see it.

Red Robin #15

Oh hell yes, this issue starts off with something I've been waiting for since he returned, Tim Drake, face to face with Digger "Captain Boomerang" Harkness. Tim's in leg braces and on crutches for some reason, he lets Boomer know that he hopes he rots in prison. Tim, is then shown as Red Robin, breaking into Vicki Vale's apartment and seeing that she does in fact know the identities of most members of the Bat-Family. He tells Dick and Alfred about the problem, before Damian interrupts with his well-documented hate of Tim. They decide they need a long-term plan to convince Vicki that she's wrong, and Tim seems to have an idea. Another surprise appearance in this issue, in the form of Tim's Ex-Girlfriend, Stephanie "Batgirl" Brown. He enlists her to help him catch Scarab, who's now in town thanks to Tim's recent crime-fighting. In his Tim Drake alter-ego, Tim, along with the Fox sisters, requests a meeting with Commissioner Gordon, and set up an appearance at a press conference.  By the way, I loved Tim's explanation of if his last name is Drake or Wayne, because it makes more sense than him just taking the Wayne name because Bruce asked him. At the press conference, Tim's plan goes into action, when Scarab attacks. The ending, although I should've expected it still surprised me, and was a great plot twist by Mr. Fabian Nicieza. And the big reveal of another villain was great as well, Red Robin is quickly moving up the ranks to becoming one of my favorite series each month, I'd give this issue a 9/10 rating. I love that Tim is continually being shown as the best planned of the Bat-Family because he is the best Detective of them all, even Bruce has said Tim may be better than him, so I love the psychology involved as of late. Also, the cover actually had something to DO with the issue, that's so rare these days...

Damian: I am on record as recommending we simply terminate the reporter.

Dick: Let's call that plan B for now...

Deadpool #1000

It's time for Deadpool #1000! Is it really Deadpool's thousandth issue? Probably not, but with all these comics he's got floating around, it honestly wouldn't surprise me. Anywho, this is cut into multiple stories, not unlike the Superman and Batman #700 issues a few months ago. The first story follows Deadpool, in Reno, Nevada, The biggest little city in the world, scoping out some babe to take back to the Merc Cave...or whatever he calls his base. It's filled with classic bad Deadpool jokes, gambling, and a TON of sexual innuendo. The story is much better than it sounds, completely switching gears and showing you not to read books by their cover, when Deadpool and the woman he's with start discussing other gamblers at his table. I won't ruin it but the first story was one of my favorites. The rest of this comic features appearances by Deadpool-faithfuls like Outlaw, Hydra Bob, Weasel, and Blind Al. Not eeverything is good though, there's one story where Deadpool goes looking for some kid who was sent to Fat Camp, and becomes overweight himself due to being fed and then fights the villains with his farts...yeah, that was horrible. The Blackest Night spoof was pretty funny as well, only because of the sheer absurdity of it all, with six more stories that I haven't even mentioned, this is pretty packed with Deadpool. So mix a few good Deadpool stories, some bad ones, and a Ryan Reynolds reference and you get this issue of Deadpool #1000, and I'd rate it a solid 6/10.

Deadpool: (Depends) How hot it's making you.

Desire: Human Torch hot.

Deadpool: My "Thing" likes to hear that.

Red Hood: Lost Days #3

Lost Days #3 kicks things off with Jason, training, learning how to increase his skills for his inevitable meeting with Batman. He states that Bruce taught him how to fight, defend, battle and disable, but never how to maim and kill. We see he's continuing his training with a skilled murderer named Egon. (Not the one from Ghostbusters.) We find out Jason has been training for months now, spending five weeks with a sniper and a chemist each, becoming proficient with guns and toxins. We also learn that although Talia loves Bruce, she's not exactly saving herself for him. Jason eventually discovers the men who have been training him in fighting, maiming and killing are running a slave trade, with over forty Asian children, all under the age of ten. Jason, being the ANTI-HERO he is (sorry about that.) decides to save the kids, something I doubt a villain would do. The showdown between Jason and Egon was handled well, and this issue showed Jason isn't heartless, nor is he a a hothead that rushes into battle without a plan. We also see where Jason's future Red Hood mentality starts and why he makes the choices he does. This was another great issue but it wasn't as mind-blowing as the other two, I'd rate this issue an 8.5/10.

Egon: You get Angry to easily. Zhen you become an idiot.

Jason Todd: Duly noted. (He still hasn't learned his lesson...)

Alright guys, thanks for reading, don't forget I'll be back this weekend with the Top Five 5. For those who don't remember or are new, I'll name five topics, you pick your top five answers for each topic and send them to me at KevinKavalier@gmail.com, I'll post everyone's answers this weekend and we'll see how they compare. So the topics are below, and make sure you send me your picks before Sunday, as I'll post everyone's picks then. So, until then, I'm your neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd!

Top Five Characters you want back from the Dead
Top Five Characters with untapped potential (Ex: Ravager)
Top Five One-Shots
Top Five Worst Comic Series
Top Five Male/Female Team-Ups

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Adventure Comics #517 (Atom Story), Batgirl #13, Birds of Prey #4, Booster Gold #35, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1, JL Generation Lost #7, Superman #702, Titans #26 and Daredevil #509.

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, the incomparable Jason Todd here with another edition of Ratings and Rantings! Welcome to my Red Hood once again, and I have a few quick announcements for the my Todd Squad. First things first, sorry for not updating the polls, I've decided I'm going to start updating them weekly with my R&R posts that way everyone can come read and vote. Secondly, I'd like to announce the winner of the X vs. JT Poll is no one, we tied at 50% each and the poll had an astonishing 34 votes! Because of my screw up the voting was supposed to end at 11:59 Wednesday Night but I made it go a day later by mistake. But I stopped counting votes after 12:00 because I said it would end Wednesday. I'm happy with a tie but I'm MORE happy with 34 votes. Thanks guys. So, that said, let's get to the reviewing.

Power Girl #13

We're starting things off with our Busty Bombshell Power Girl today, the series has been taken over by Judd Winick, one of my favorite writers, so I'm interested in seeing how he writes former JLI'er, Karen Starr. The artwork is nice, but it's not my style, I think the faces need more definition and everything seems glazed over and too light. I love that this was basically the first issue of Justice League Generation Lost but from PG's perspective. No wonder she went off on Booster the way she did in that issue. Little things in this issue, like mentioning that PG doesn't have pierced ears because she can't due to having Kryptonian skin comes off pretty good. The explanation of PG remembering made sense, which I really liked as well. IF she does remember that is. I enjoyed the comic a lot, it wasn't anything perfect but it was a nice read and I'm looking forward to the next issue and seeing how this ties in with Generation Lost. I'll give this issue of PG an 8/10 rating.

Power Girl about Booster: He's an idiot! A Testosterone-laced media whore who couldn't stay on mission even if it was crawling up his leg and--

Batman: Power Girl seems upset.

Mister Terrific: Very astute. I see why you're called the Master Detective.

Detective Comics #866

Detective Comics is honoring Batman #700 by having a story about Dick Grayson as Robin and his Batman persona as well. The cover is by Dustin Nguyen who works on Streets of Gotham, and it looks awesome. It starts with Batman taking on some thugs, but when the floor falls from under him he lands on a medallion which prompts a Flashback (with old-timey art even!!!) of Batman and The Boy Wonder going after The Joker who stole the same Medallion, and also happened to be the first time Dick went on patrol with Batman. The story comes off a little cheesy but is still enjoyable. The idea of Joker stealing things just to steal them makes sense because that seems like something he'd do, just because that's the way his mind works. Especially in the older Joker appearances. The story really catches up near the end. I loved the ending because I was hoping Dick would beat the clock. This was a really well written story which I thoroughly enjoyed and it gets a 9/10 rating from me.

The Joker: Picasso, Monet, Vang Gogh... Sounds like a Law firm...

Green Lantern Corps #49

Jebus Christ this art is gorgeous! I wish EVERY comic had artwork like this... beautiful. John Stewart and Boodikka start our comic investigating the recent happenings on Grenda. He talks about her past before she became a "robot-like being" by joining the Alpha Lanterns, even mentioning her fling with Lobo. (I'll miss Sheriff Lobo Marge!..Sorry, Simpsons moment.) They discuss why John didn't join as well, which is a very interesting moment between the two. Kyle dreaming about Jade, then waking up and yelling her name... not good buddy. Besides you got a hottie in Soranik... and Hell hath no fury like the scorn of Sinestro's daughter. From there, Kyle, Ganthet and Soranik team up to go after John Stewart. This comic was a very good read, kept up with the pace of the last comic and gave us a villain this issue. I love reading about the Lanterns who aren't Hal Jordan because they can contribute just as much and the upcoming Love Triangle I'm assuming with Kyle, Soranik and Jade should be fun too. I'll give it a 8/10 rating as well.

John Stewart: You used to enjoy stuff like this Boodikka, back when you had a personality. 

The Joker's Asylum: Killer Croc

This time the Joker regales us with a tale of Killer Croc. The man who eats other men, that must be... um enjoyable? Anywho this is titled Beauty and The Beast. I was gonna make fun of Joker reusing that title but he beat me to it, so he wins THIS round. Damn this starts off good, with Killer Croc doing something extremely graphic to get loose from his shackles. I bet Aaron Cash loved that one! I thought I could predict where this was going but that curveball was a nice touch. The idea of Killer Croc wearing a suit is hilarious to me... I mean he's a big Crocodile looking man in a suit! Croc doesn't talk for most of this story, yet his presence is always felt. He's the kind of guy who doesn't need to talk, and him not talking makes him more interesting because you're waiting for him to. the ending, and the words finally spoken by Croc were fantastic. This is a great story, that humanizes a killer, a man who's eaten people. This was an amazing read and definitely the best Joker's Asylum story I've read. I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone. Perfect score, 10/10 rating.


The Joker: Heeheehee! The doctor--Hoohoohoo--looked me in the eyes--Haahaahaa! And asked ME for help!

Batman: Streets of Gotham #13

One more issue before we get back to the guy known as the Anti-Bruce Wayne, Hush. But first we've got the second part to The Carpenter story. I gave part one an 8/10 so let's see how well this one does. Carpenter lays a Smackdown that would even make The Rock cringe on the hired help of the horribly named Director, who's named "The Director." (See told ya...) Afterwards she continues to work so The Director won't know she expects the upcoming betrayal he was dumb enough to leave out and sitting around in plain view. Pretty soon The Director hatches his plan to bring The Dark Knight to the big screen as the Carpenter watches on. This was a pretty good story as well. I'm sure everyone scoffed at a story about The Carpenter but man, this was a good read. I could see her as a valuable member of a team, hell are the Gotham City Sirens hiring? I really walked away from this with a newfound respect for the character. I loved her small two issue story and I'd read more if I had the chance, I'll give this a 8.5/10 rating.

The Carpenter to Batman: Really? A Bat Logo as a buckle? REALLY?

Wolverine Origins #49

This is the fallout from the recent Wolverine/Daken/Romulus Triple Threat feud. The last issue of Dark Wolverine was more of a transitional issue than anything so I'm assuming this one will be as well, but I may be mistaken. Let's find out shall we? Logan talks about how Life usually begins and ends in the same place and how he's starting over this time with a life he controls, considering how Romulus has pretty much made him his puppet and controlled his life with the marionette strings of power he wielded. Yeah, I'm clever, don't act surprised! Anyway, The furball known as Wolverine encounters Nick Fury. They drink and talk, and Nick reminds Wolverine that it's his birthday. Then we see some stuff I won't ruin for you guys but it surprised the hell outta me. The rest of this comic takes a trippy turn at best but it stays interesting for the most part, never knowing who will show up next.  The ending caught me by surprise and definitely hooked me in, just to see how they'll explain what happened. This comic flew by, and I don't know if that's good or bad but I really enjoyed it. It was a basic comic though and nothing happened until the end so I'll give it a 7.5/10, I'm looking forward to the next issue though.

Wolverine: RRROMULUSSSS.... (I loved this because I can picture Logan snarling while saying it.)

Justice League: Rise and Fall of Arsenal #04
 

The finale to The Rise and Fall of Arsenal. They've got a lot to cover in this issue so let's get to it. The Lian Flashback was awesome, I loved seeing her dressed like Roy, that was adorable. And I mean that in the most manly way possible... I'll be the first to admit... The Lian zombie shit... not classy, and not cool at all. At All. And I mean that. Anyway, I figured this would be a predictable Ollie vs. Roy fight so I'm glad they made a good reason to have the two meet up. Why did Ollie have his costume in his cell? Especially if he doesn't have his mask, and he's been in jail for a few days at least since Roy's already visited him once. I loved Ollie admitting that Roy is better than him in a fight and making Roy look formidable. The ending.... I won't lie, it shocked me. Roy has officially become the new Jason Todd, well at least his hair is already Red. Oh and by the way, looks like one of my poll choices a few weeks ago was actually right... ;-) Anyway, I expected Salvation for Roy... 5/10 rating. I'm shocked I'm giving it that because the Lian stuff should REALLY bring it down even more.

Oliver Queen: Listen to me Roy, I know you're hurting. And I know I failed you before! I wasn't there for you. But I'm here now. Don't do this.

JL Generation Lost #4

This issue starts off with the one and only Max Lord. Turns out Aquaman and Firestorm aren't the only Brightest Day Rebirth members having problems with their powers. We then jump over to the team Formerly known as the JLI, taking on the Red Rocket Brigade. Or so they thought, turns out the Red Rocket Brigade is fighting the original Rocket Red. Confusing right? After careful deliberation, Booster, Ice, Cap. Atom and the (not-so-true) Blue Beetle decide to jump into the fray and help the civilians. I love Booster asking Skeets where the power cells were on the villains then zapping them. And I know Fire isn't technically naked but man, she REALLY pushes the line, especially in a mainstream DC Comic. The appearance by Batman was a pleasant surprise, I hope we see him more in the series, and I'm sure we will. The realization of why the JLI have met up together with Rocket Red being discovered by Booster was kind of surprising but it does make sense, as Max would like to play games. The ending of this issue left me with a lot of questions that I can't wait to see answered. I'm also predicting that PG will meet up with the Former JLI members, but the question is when? I'll give this issue an 8.5/10, just because it was good but not great.

Rocket Red: And here--I--The Rocket Red! This is the Justice League International. All ve need is Green Lantern to fall from sky and ve will complete!

Superman/Batman #73

Superman/Batman #73 picks up where the last issue left off, Lois Lane is tied to a stake and there looks to be a witch-burning of sorts, by a cult that believes that she betrayed Superman by marrying an earthling like Clark Kent. (Wow... really?) Surprisingly Lois saves herself, I guess years of playing Damsel in Distress has it's perks. Not long after that, The Caped Crusader shows up to the party to help Lois out. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is trying to turn a planet against Superman, because after saving the planet they blamed Big Blue for property damage or something. Anyway Lex tries to use his accomplishments and hate for Superman to become the hero of the inhabitants of "Lexor" as he calls it. The fact there's an article on Lois desk she saved that says "Red-Blue Blur gets a name" let's me know someone is a Smallville fan, and I really liked that little inclusion. The rest of this comic is cool, nothing special but a nice read nonetheless. I'll give it a 6/10, no reason to go out of your way to get it or anything but you wouldn't be disappointed if you did.

Cult Leader: If the great Superman is mad at us for attempting to punish the harlot Lois Lane, must we still destroy her? (The word Harlot should make a comeback...)

Green Arrow #1

This is it, for those who don't know, after killing Prometheus, Oliver Queen was found out to be the vigilante known as The Green Arrow. He was later banned from ever showing his face, or um... mask I guess in Star City again. So, there, all caught up. The first issue of Green Arrow begins with a girl running from thugs and she runs right past the Police Station, so either they have some crappy police or there's a reason she didn't go there. She runs into a forest and is saved by the Green Arrow, who shoots a guys nose ring off. Man that was awesome. We soon find out why the woman ran into the forest instead of the police station, what she thinks of Green Arrow, and a very good explanation of why he still wears his mask. The rest of this comic was very well done, there's a lot of text, but as someone who doesn't mind reading I really enjoyed it. I thought this first issue as well as the surprise appearance were done well and I hope the trend continues. I think Ollie living in a forest like where he honed his skills has a lot to offer, and here's hoping it stays this good if not better. 8.5/10 for this debut issue of Green Arrow.

Green Arrow: *when asked about wearing his mask* Because this is who I really am, now. It's the only thing left.

Well everyone, that's it for this weeks Ratings and Rantings. Before I go I want to link anyone who hasn't seen it to the clip of the upcoming Under The Red Hood animated film featuring Jensen Ackles as Red Hood and Bruce Greenwood as Batman, both I feel did an excellent job. So that will be right under this paragraph. Also under that will be the results of last weeks Weekly Poll. So don't forget to vote on the new poll as well. Until next time, I'm your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger-Man, signing off.

-Jason Todd

Last Week's Poll Question was: What would you like to see more of at JasonToddsComicSpot.Blogspot.com?

Last Place with 9.1% - More articles like "Can Jason Todd Regain Glory?"

Tied for Second Place with 18.2% - More Green Blogger Corps and More "What I Learned From"

Winner with 54.5% - More Animated Movie reviews! So I'll do more of those starting soon. Thanks for voting everyone.

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Action Comics #890 (Lex Luthor baby!), Batman Beyond #1, The Flash #3, Gotham City Sirens #13, Green Lantern #55, The Joker's Asylum: Clayface, Teen Titans #84,

What I Learned From: Cry For Justice

Hey everyone, welcome back to my Red Hood. Oh yeah, I said it. Jason Todd here with another edition of my crowd pleasing, award winning, bone chilling, life changing, over exaggerating column, "What I Learned From..." Last time I tackled the Blackest Night with a bunch of things I learned from that DC Universe changing event, this time I'm going to tell you guys what I learned from Cry for Justice, an event that apparently took place prior to Blackest Night. But first, I just wanna say,

~The following are the views of the Jason Todd Comic Spot, they are in no way, shape or form considered to be coherent in any language or to any race or creed of people. Without any more stalling, I present to you What I learned from Cry For Justice.~

Gorilla Grodd, Sinestro, Lex Luthor, Poison Ivy, Bizarro, Captain Cold and The Joker all appear on the first issue covers yet make no appearance in any of the books at all. Talk about marketing...

Hal Jordan was pissed and wanted to get "Justice" on Libra, Oliver sided with him. Later, Oliver gets Justice on  Prometheus, and Hal decides to hunt down Ollie and try to turn him in. What a friend.

Killer Moth is bald even though he's usually a red headed dude...

Going in someone's nose as a microscopic man then coming out fully grown, apparently you won't have any snot or anything like that on you some how.

Congorilla is the worst name ever. I mean ever. I mean damn couldn't they at least have used B'wana Beast instead of Congorilla?

The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #1 a total of 11 times not including the title.

Hal Jordan apparently had a little alone time with The Huntress and Lady Blackhawk, no wonder they call him Highball Hal.

Big Talking Gorilla's and Blue guys with red hair often try to kill each other before becoming bestest friends.


The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #2 a total of 5 times not including the title, 6 if you count two people saying it with one word bubble.

Supergirl cries from being asked if she's a good guy or a bad guy, because Kryptonian's have skin like steel but their feelings are easily ripped through like warm butter. Well we had the Justice, so there's the crying.

Insulting Prometheus and telling him he's lower than a B-List villain is really gonna come back and bite you in your ass, eh Green Arrow?

Jumping out of an airplane, when you're an 8-foot tall, 900-pound Gorilla, may not be the smartest idea ever.


The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #3 a total of 4 times not including the title. Someone was holding back.

The Atom asking everyone if they've had sinus headache's get's old, VERY quickly. Just shut up and jump in their head already. You don't need a catchphrase. There's not gonna be any "Have you ever had a sinus headache" shirts and headbands popping up anytime soon.


The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #4 a total of 1 time not including the title. Maybe we're done with it, hopefully we are.

They allude to Roy losing his arm by showing him touch Green Arrow and gesturing with that hand. Also, him losing it, definitely sucked, but the fact that he said "I can't feel my fingers." was unintentionally or intentionally hilarious.

The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #5 a total of 6 times not including the title. They tricked me, the bastards, I let my guard down and they went JUSTICE CRAZY!!!!

Prometheus using Sinus headache on Palmer made my day, I wish he wasn't dead just for that reason.

Prometheus may just be the Batman or the villains the way he owned everyone, hell, even Deathstroke didn't do that.

Green Arrow alludes to killing Prometheus two issues before he does it, so the moral of the story, if someone says "You're lucky I'm not/didn't" then they are going to do it.

Donna Troy, should be in the UFC because she beat the holy hell out of Prometheus. I mean really, Brock Lesnar better watch out for Donna Troy.


The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #6 a total of  0 times not including the title. WHAT?! I'm shocked, there was alot of action though so there was no time for Justice.

Ollie killed Prometheus and said Justice. Because that's what I'd say if my granddaughter was killed and my son was maimed. Come on Ollie, at least spruce it up. "Justice Bee-yatch!"  Or something along those lines.


The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice #7 a total of 1 time not including the title. And Prometheus feels that it was one too many.

So, seven issue's later, Roy's maimed, Lian's dead, Ollie's a criminal, Hal is gonna hunt his good buddy, the only person who sided with him, Prometheus is dead, and oh, there was Justice apparently. I also think Mikail and Congorilla are dating or something. Oh and for those wondering,

The word Justice appears in Cry For Justice a total of 22 times not including the title, which is sad considering 11 were in the first issue.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have 7 comics to go burn. :-) Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this edition of What I Learned From: Cry for Justice. Like I said in Ratings and Rantings, this week is a small pull so expect some other reviews popping up and as always comments are appreciated. Until then, you've just been Gobsmacked!

- Jason Todd

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, Jason Todd is back again with another edition of Ratings ad Rantings, as well as a new weekly poll that's sure to cause a lot of drama in the DC Universe. But more to that later, as for now I've got six comics to get through so lets jump right into it. Also, I can almost guarantee I'll be doing a what I learned from Cry for Justice pretty soon, I actually got all seven issues just for the sake of that article. Yeah, see I care about you guys, I bought something even X admits was bad even though it's by one of his favorite writers (James Robinson) just to give you an article. Ya gotta love me. Anyway let's start things off with The Flash.

The Flash #01

This is the first Flash series I've ever read besides the one chronicling Bart Allen so I've been looking forward for this. In this issue we see the life of Saint Barry, (shout out to X-Man75 lol) as well as his return to work. I loved seeing him chase after Trickster who looked like a teenager for once instead of an eight year old with really baggy clothes. Francis Manapul's artwork definitely helped this comic stand out in my eyes. I'm preferential to Bart and Wally but I could see myself enjoying Barry's run (heh) with this Flash comic. I was kinda bored with the Barry Allen parts as opposed to him donning the suit and being The Flash but for the beginning of a comic series this was a good start. It still confuses me about how long Barry's been gone. I mean in our world he's been gone like 25 years yet in the comic world have they really explained how long it's been? Other than that I like the mystique surrounding this storyline and I'm looking forward to it, as well as the mystery surrounding the "Flashpoint" solicit in the end of the comic. All in all this was a nice solid start that raised questions, I'll give it a 8/10 rating.

Coffee Barrista: How many of those (espresso's) have you had today?

Isis:  Today as in since midnight or since the sun came up?

Coffee Barrista: Forget I asked.

Brightest Day #0

Okay, did ANYBODY expect this issue to be like fifty pages?! Super pleasant surprise. Anyway, this follows the events of Blackest Night, and we're lead around by Deadman. I gotta say Brightest Day already has me hooked. Just following Deadman around, the mystery of the white light. Wondering why these people were brought back, what's Maxwell's plan, who can I trust and who can't I? I love comics like that. Also the stuff with The Firestorm's was very emotional and drew me in. It's amazing how much I liked this comic and how many storyline's it furthered. I'm trying not to ruin it, and I saw the end coming, but it was still awesome. I love wondering what the deal is with Deadman being the only one still wearing his White Lantern ring. Also the mystery surrounding his powers and abilities. The page with him seeing visions on what may or may not be the future had me staring at it, deciphering future storyline's the best way I could and I gotta say I'm more anxious for the next issue of Brightest Day than I was for some of the Blackest Night issues, here's hoping it stays that way. 10/10 for Brightest Day #0.

Martian Manhunter: Very thoughtful. I hope you brought some cold milk to wash them down.

Guy Gardner: Damn straight I brought milk, Mama Gardner didn't raise no fool.

Batman #698

Man, this started off very interesting, especially with a view inside the mind of Dick Grayson. Plus an appearance by my namesake (even in a dream) is always gonna cheer me up. Um... but anyone else wonder what the hell is up with Gordon. He's leaving messages?! So does he just know Dick is Batman? I mean he's gotta if he's leaving Alfred messages, and that doesn't surprise me after all that no-secret-identity-talk in Blackest Night but still. I guess their just fine with that but it seemed lazy to me that they just have him leaving messages. "Oh hey Dic...um.. Batman, when you're not too busy can you swing by Crime Alley, I think Zsasz is at it again!" Also I hated that this Riddler seemed like he was channeling Jim Carrey in Batman Forever... just seemed out of character for Riddler, he seemed like such a tool. I hated the ending, I don't understand why they changed Riddler's character when he was SO interesting as a good guy. I'll never understand why they do some of these things. Anyway, once again we see Dick Grayson afraid of being Batman, and of course we know he won't be for long so that makes it even more annoying to read every month about how he's not ready. It's been a YEAR. BFTC ended in like May or June, he should be ready by now. Anyway, ranting side, I loved the artwork but the story left alot to be desired, I'll give Batman 698 a 6/10, not the best rating with issue 700 coming up.

Jason Todd: You're trying to be him aren't you kid? Trying to be tougher than you really are. Trying to prove you're as good, or maybe better? Look what it did to me. (I'm allowed to show favoritism at least once right?)

Booster Gold #31

This is an epilogue to the recent Booster Gold storyline's. Here we see the classic Booster tries to do right, makes a mistake and comes off looking like a jerk that we've seen before. While we've seen it before it still works, comes off strong and definitely makes Booster look sincere about his mistakes. Him saying he envy's guys like Superman who don't mess up makes him easy to relate to. Because if anyone of us, if we were to become heroes and make mistake's I think it's safe to say they would eat away and us and I'm glad Booster comes off like a regular guy. As always Rip's chalkboard is a pleasant sight to see, I love trying to decipher things on it and the hints we get. I loved Booster namedropping Superman and Green Lantern, especially since we know Time Masters is approaching and they'll all team up to look for Bruce Wayne. As for the ending, what better way to end Jurgen's run and build suspense for an upcoming storyline? I can't wait, and although I'm curious about what else Rip is hiding up his sleeve, only time will tell. As for this issue, I'll give it another solid 10/10. 

Young Girl: Wow, is that Buster Gold?

Her Father: Booster. I think his name is Booster, honey.

 Green Arrow #32

WHY IS THE ART SO BAD?! The art is subpar yet the cover is amazingly good.Who in the hell woke up and decided, ya know what? I'm going to ruin Green Arrow. I mean there was NOTHING wrong with Ollie a year ago. Up until Cupid came Green Arrow and Black Canary was one of my favorite comics. I liked Ollie, he was one of my favorite heroes. As was Canary, and I'm as a big a fan or Roy as you can ever meet. And someone said, let's take Roy's arm, Make Dinah no threat at all, and while we're at it let's just ruin Green Arrow's secret Identity so EVERYONE KNOWS WHO HE IS!! I......I just don't know what to say. Also Dinah and Ollie... I guess it's about time. All this comic did was upset me, I hated almost everything about it. There was ONE thing I liked and that was the pic with everyone dressed as their civilian clothes with an outline of their suits, that was cool. So that earned it a 1/10. Hated it, man, what have they done to ya Ollie?

Black Canary: Congratulations Ollie. You won.

Batgirl #09

So this is the beginning of the Batgirl arc, "The Flood" and not part four of the Red Robin crossover as I initially believed. Looks like the Crossover was Red Robin 9, Batigirl 8, Red Robin 10 and the upcoming Red Robin 11 which is all fine and dandy. Anyway, Seeing Babs and Steph team up to take down bad guys is one of my favorite things because she's passing the mantle to Steph. I know Cassandra was good but she never really embodied the fun loving Batgirl spirit that Barbara had, Steph does and it's refreshing to see. Plus her chat with Gordon where he alluded to her being like someone (likely his daughter, the former Batgirl) was nice to see and give Steph some added credibility. Speaking of that, anyone else waiting for Steph's inevitable run in with The Joker? I mean it's gotta happen, especially with what he did to Babs, it's just a matter of time. Meanwhile this comic was pretty damn good. It referenced that dreadful BTFC tie in, The Cure, but I like where the story's going. Seems kinda odd that their kinda like Zombie-ish right after Blackest Night but oh well, I like the idea of the story and it started off strong. As of late Batgirl's been one of the strongest comics to read and this issue continues the trend, I'll give it a 9/10.

Nick Gage: Hey You.

Batgirl. Hey You?

Nick Gage: You know, It's what you said when... never mind.

So that's all the reviews this week, I loved most of them which is always a good thing. Now let's take a look at this last week's poll, which asked, Who do you think will make the biggest impact during Brightest Day?

Winner - Deadman with 38.5% of the votes. Big day for Boston Brand, and it looks like the majority thinks Brightest Day may be his biggest.
2nd Place - Max Lord with 30.5%. It was a very close race, but the one person Max couldn't mind control was whoever cast the deciding vote to give Deadman the win.
3rd Place - Aquaman with 23.1%. I'm still shocked Aquaman was able to swim ahead with some fan support out of nowhere.
Last Place - Martian Manhunter with 7.7%. Poor J'onn J'onzz came in last place with one vote, but at least he's back and can enjoy some Oreos or whatever.

So now lets move ahead with a new poll and a new week of reviews. This weeks poll is now up on the right hand side of your screen (where it ALWAYS IS.) To elaborate, what I'm asking is, if these people had to replace their namesake, who would you want to replace their former person, for good. So if you vote Kyle, that means no more Hal as Green Lantern. Vote Dick, no more Bruce as Batman, Vote Bart, no more Barry, Wally as Flash, and Connor, no more Oliver Queen as Green Arrow. This should be interesting. Also next week I'll be picking up and reviewing Blackest Night Director's Cut, and Green Lantern 53 and maybe JLA...not a big week so I may be back reviewing something else between then and now. Until then, You've just been Gobsmacked.