Ratings and Rantings featuring Green Lantern #3

Hey Todd Squad, Jason Todd here once again with those comic content comments you capriciously crave, that's right folks, I'm here once again and this week should be interesting. Still continuing on with my "Not for me by three"method if a book hasn't won me over by the third issue it joins the dropped list, currently leading the way is Detective Comics, so let's see if anything else joins the list today.

Batman and Robin #3

We start things off with Damian and Alfred playing chess, while Bruce as Batman improves the security perimeters of Wayne Mansion, due to his recent run in with Nobody a.k.a. the man he also knows as Morgan. He then goes out on patrol, but tells Damian that he isn't to come, as he needs to seem defenseless and doesn't want Damian in that position with him. He also tells Damian to name the dog he bought in the last issue, as he's a gift for Damian's recent self-control. Damian, seemingly ignoring all of that, decides to go out on his own, but Alfred manages to place a tracker on the Boy Wonder before he leaves. While on patrol, Robin stops a robbery and brutally beats the living hell out of the two robbers, including throwing one of their knives through the robber's hand. As Robin pummels the robber someone tells him to "finish him,, Damian. " to which Robin is confronted by Nobody. Nobody says that Damian is holding himself back for Bruce, and he looks down at the recently beaten the and says thanks to Damian's beating, the criminal is now brain-dead, so Nobody kills him. Damian tries to stop him but Nobody uses a pressure point to subdue the Boy Wonder then removes his mask. Suddenly, Batman arrives and faces off with Nobody, but Nobody uses an Ultrasound (not the kind for babies...) to incapacitate Batman long enough to lure him into the street where the Dark Knight is hit by a speeding car, man that scene was so unexpected. The issue ends soon after as Batman and Robin awaken strapped to the inside of an old car in front of a screen at a old drive in theater, as Nobody tels them to enjoy the show. I really enjoyed this issue, I like the stuff with the dog as it ties into future Batman events (Batman Beyond), I loved the Alfred/Robin interactions,  especially with the tracker, and I like how Nobody was portrayed here, he could be a great addition to Bats' rogues gallery. I'll give this issue of Batman and Robin a 9/10, and it's definitely safe from being dropped by me anytime soon.

Alfred: Did you know this chess set has been in the Wayne family for over 200 years?

Damian: That's almost as old as you, Alfred.

Green Lantern #3

This issue opens with Carol Ferris arriving home from her train wreck of a date with Hal Jordan, she answers her cellphone after turning down a picture of her and Hal together as someone tells her to turn on her TV to channel four. She turns and see's a super-powered Hal Jordan helping save the city with Sinestro and is shocked. From there we see Sinestro explaining why he wants to take down his former Corps, and mentioning how they went against what he told him and enslaved his home planet, and if Hal helps him defeat his former Corps, he'll give Hal his ring and they'll go separate ways.Hal agrees and the two head off to defeat the Sinestro Corps together. Before the attack, Sinestro tells Hal that after the sun sets on Korugar, Sinestro will head down and engage the entire Corps, meanwhile Hal is to take Sinestro's Green Lantern and put it in the Sinestro Corps battery, as a green lantern is the fail-safe for the rings. Pretty sneaky sis! The two head down to the planet and wait for sunset, until a woman named Arsona attacks a Sinestro Corps member that's about to eat another native of Korugar. Arsona is then attacked which causes Sinestro to jump into action to save her and fight the Corp, while Hal flies off to the Yellow Battery. Hal takes the lantern in the battery and it says "Green Lantern detected, Disintegration process initiated as Hal fucking DISINTEGRATES as the issue ends! Oh man that was epic, I know it won't last but the visual of that was awesome, so that plus the awesomeness of Sinestro gets this issue a 10/10.

Hal Jordan: Dammit, Sinestro! You set me up! (Then he was dust...)

Grifter #3

We kick things off with Grifter, Cole Cash, being confronted by his brother, Max Cash, as they hold one another at gunpoint with a helicopter hovering over them, even though I'm fairly sure there was n helicopter and the car Grifter was in was turned over in the last issue, but whatever. After a pretty boring argument full of vague comments, we cut over to see Cole's ex-girlfriend arriving outside of Gotham City. Who runs from crime and goes to Gotham City?! That's just dumb... I'd take my luck anywhere besides the place that's home to The Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Black Mask, Poison Ivy and the rest of those loons. She ends up getting caught by what I can only assume are the things after Cole. Meanwhile Cole and his brother's argument is interrupted by one of the Alien things, and during a fight, the Helicopter is knocked out of the air and falls and explodes on Cole's brother....okay then. When Cole's next line is "That was my brother!" I decided I was done with this comic and this series. I tried, but I can't even make myself care about this isue to finish the review, this issue gets an N/A and joins Detective Comics on the dreaded drop list.

Me: Um...check please!

Deathstroke #3

We start off with Deathstroke fighting some dude that's dumb enough to impale himself on Deathstroke's gigantic sword (that whole sentence sounded weird) and we then jump over to see Slade training and then talking with a man known as Peabody. He gives Peabody the briefcase and asks him if whatever is in it is real, and Peabody says he'll need a few days to find out, and Slade says fine. From there he discusses his target and we see Slade arrive in a gigantic suit that looks like the one Dexter used to play Dodgeball on Dexter's Lab back when I was a kid. Anyway, Deathstoke breaks into the lair of his target and kills a bunch of people, just like in the last two issues before he's confronted by a by in the same suit as the one from the beginning of the issue, and after a bit of a struggle, Deathstoke beheads him. As the issue comes to a close we see that Harmony's parents are the one's hiring people to go after Deathstroke. Meh, I couldn't get into this either. It seems like every issue is just Slade decapitating people, and there's no substance, which made this get old for me fast, I'll give this issue a 5/10 rating but I won't stick around for anymore.

Me: I bet twenty bucks he's gonna decap..yep, I was right.

Batgirl #3

We kick things off with Batgirl trying to save the people on the train that a bomb has been placed there by The Mirror. (This reboot has some lame villain names.) Haha, there's graffiti on the train that says "For a good time, call the Red Hood." Batgirl realizes she can't find the bomb so she singles out the man The Mirror is trying to kill and makes everyone else move to a different train car. She then hugs the intended victim and states that since The Mirror believes Batgirl is to die by falling, he won't kill her and the intended victim because that would dishonor his plans, but The Mirror says Batgirl has forgotten the guy who saved the intended victim is on another train and he also "cheated death" and with a push of a button he detonates his train, killing the good Samaritan as well as a bunch of innocents.We then see that the young woman who's partner was killed in now investigating Batgirl, as she believes Gordon has a blind spot when it comes to Bats. From there we see Batgirl steal her bike back from the GCPD impound lot when she's approached but Nightwing, who has been tailing her. The two leave on Babs' bike and talk alone, as Dick asks Babs if she wants to be back in her chair, considering they said her condition could deteriorate. She leg sweeps Dick and tells him to catch her and see if she's ready to be back, he eventually does catch her but Babs lashes out and attacks Dick, the two fight for a bit before he calms her down and says that he and Bruce aren't worried about her because they doubt her but because they love her. She apologizes and says she needs to take care of this alone, and Nightwing obliges and leaves Batgirl all alone as this issue comes to a close. This was a fine issue, nothing bad but nothing amazing either, although I did enjoy the swerve the Mirror pulled, this book is safe for now, I'll give it a 7.5/10.

Batgirl: You're a mess, you know.

Nightwing: Yeah. Fought this tough redhead chick. She beat the crap out of me.

Batgirl: She sounds wonderful.

Ultimate Spider-Man #4

We start where we left off in the last issue with the kids being told in the gym that Spider-Man had been shot, Miles has Ganke cover for him and sneaks out. Miles eventually makes his way to the fight and see's Peter take down Osborn before he dies on the lawn while talking to Aunt May, as we see Miles watching in the crowd. Miles walks over and asks a crying Gwen Stacy what his name was, and she replies Peter Parker as Miles looks over at the fallen Spider-Man. Back at his dorm, Miles tells Ganke this is all his fault, and if he'd used his powers earlier he could've helped Peter instead of sitting in his room being afraid of his dad and everything else. At Peter's funeral, Miles and Ganke make their way to the front of the barricade and Miles asks Gwen why he did it, she explains that he did it because of what happens with his uncle and with great power comes great responsibility. From that we see Miles trying to make his costume much like Peter did, when Ganke comes up and hands him a brand new Spider-Man Halloween costume. Haha, you gotta love that. After going out on patrol and clumsily defeating a villain as we read in a report via the Daily Bugle, they also refer to him wearing Spidey's costume being in bad taste. Back at his room, Miles and Ganke discuss what to do next and they almost get caught in the process, as Miles and Ganke's roommate almost catches Miles dressed up like Spidey. Afterwards, Miles is out on the town when he's suddenly kicked in the face by  Spider-Woman, who ends the issue by asking Miles "Who the @#$@ do you think you are??" Once again, I enjoyed this issue, I liked that Miles is slowly coming along and how Peter inspired him and how we're seeing a trial and error run with him, thins can only get better with Spider-Woman in the next issue. I'll give this issue a 9/10 rating.

Miles: I need to figure out the buzzing in my head thing. Head buzzing. Is it cancer? Did the spider give me? *BLAM face kick!*

And just  like that, that's it for me guys. I want to thank you all for reading and as always comments are appreciated. I want to let you guys know due to the number of books I'm grabbing, next week's reviews will be much more condensed, also, until I get my laptop back (still working on someone else's) there won't be any new polls, as  don't have the log in info to the site on my laptop and can't get the password sent to my email. But that's it for me guys, once again thanks for reading and until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger-man, Jason Todd, signing off!

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Batman #3, Catwoman #3, Justice League #3, Nightwing #3, Red Hood and the Outlaws #3, Supergirl #3, Morning Glories #14, Venom #9, Amazing Spider-Man #674, Deadpool #46, and Ultimate X-Men #3... Eleven Books, who am I, X-Man?!

List of Books I'll Drop Come December (Subject to Change)

1. Detective Comics
2. Grifter
3. Deathstroke

Ratings and Rantings featuring Teen Titans #1

Hey Todd Squad, J.T. here with that weekly column you love to read, Ratings and Rantings! We're concluding our week of reboots while tackling the Teen Titans, Two Spider-Men, a Man of Steel, and so much more. As well as checking in with one of the closest polls we've had in a while here at JTCS. So let's get things started with a team of super powered teenagers known as the Teen Titans!

Teen Titans #1

I really liked Scott Lobdell's work on Superboy and Red Hood and the Outlaws this month so I'm hoping he can make it three for three with the Teen Titans. We start things off with a building on fire, but much less interesting than you'd think since all there's no one trapped inside. Kid Flash shows up, and seems more like Impulse which is fun, as he's trying to help and make an impact on television for his "adoring fans". When Kid Flash runs inside and throws a door open, he causes a back-draft that blows both the building and Kid Flash away. The firemen are all safe, as Kid Flash lays in the grass, barley conscious with a burned up costume. Meanwhile, the news reports that a metahuman took a small controlled fire and turned it into a roaring inferno in seconds. We then cut over to Tim Drake, former Robin and current Red Robin, keeping up with the news of a ton of incidents that have been caused by super powered teens, as we see Kid Flash, Static, Raven and Miss Martian. Interesting note is they say a spokesman for the Justice League says Kid Flash has no ties with The Flash, hm... Surprisingly, Tim is not alone, as we see a few masked people with guns sneak up behind him and hold Tim at gunpoint, while their supposed leader mentions that Tim has been blogging information about the group. Tim says that he's aware they've been kidnapping super powered teenagers, and after being offered a job which Tim denies, he tells the members of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. that they'd best head for the hills, because his room was rigged with explosives that would detonate in eleven seconds. The cowardly gang run while Tim jumps out of the window before deploying his wings and jets and flying off as Red Robin. He mentions that he's tried to work in the shadows since his time as Robin but now he realizes he'll need help, before heading out to gather a team. We then see Cassie Sandsmark driving a car she clearly stole when she is pulled over by a police officer. It turns out the officer is actually an agent for N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and tries to strangle a surprised Cassie before the agent is knocked out from behind by Red Robin, good timing right? He introduces himself to Cass and explains the deal with NOWHERE (I'm done adding the periods for that acronym.) but Cassie denies that she has powers. That is until a giant helicopter comes down and opens fire on the two, Red Robin is protected by his wings which are apparently bullet proof, which causes Cassie to power up, and she apparently HATES being called Wonder Girl. The super powered femme fatale makes quick work of the gunner before telling Red Robin now that these people know her identity her life will never be the same again. On the other side of the world, we see something we saw a bit earlier in Superboy #1, as NOWHERE releases Superboy to go after the Teen Titans as this issue ends. Well this was interesting, I hated how they went from one second of Tim in his room to just thrusting us into this NOWHERE thing, but I did like how well Tim was written. Tim and Bart (?) came off sounding like Tim and Bart, and I like Cassie as she's written powerful but apparently still wishes to have her normal life as well as her hero life separate. I'd give this first issue of Titans a 7/10, nothing amazing but I'll definitely stick around for the ride.

Cassie: I'm serious Red... DON'T call me Wonder Girl.

Ultimate Spider-Man #2

HA! We start things off with Miles running down the street top speed, and overhear a guy saying "so I said to the guy: You never read the book yet you go online and talk about it as if.." Nice inside joke by Bendis for all the Miles haters. Anyway Miles jumps over the guy and his co-worker that are moving a giant TV, which of course draws a crowd. Miles runs away, obviously feeling weird as people proclaim him a mutant. Miles waits for a bit, still stunned, before walking home. On the way home, Miles is about to be robbed by some delinquents, but when one of them grabs him, he touches them and they get zapped. Well alright then, apparently one of his powers is electricity based, as he zaps the guy again and knocks him out, before running away as the robber's friends once again call Miles a mutant. Miles then runs to tell his best friend, because there's always the obligatory best friend that must know when a teenager gets powers. Static Shock anyone? Miles tells his buddy Ganke to watch as he tries to turn invisible, but he can't do it for some reason. Maybe he's like Kel Mitchell in "Mystery Men" and can only turn invisible when no one's looking. Next he tries to show Ganke his electric powers, which he successfully does, and once Ganke turns his back, Miles turns invisible as well. Ganke is amazed by this new powerful, invisible Miles and tells him how great it is that a spider turned him into a mutant, but Miles isn't happy about it. His father then shows up at Ganke's house and takes Miles with him, he tells Miles that he has to stay away from his Uncle Aaron because he's a thief and Miles shouldn't be around that. He then mentions that both Miles' father and his Uncle Aaron had been to jail prior to Miles' birth, but he's turned his life around and that he's tried to make good choices every day since then. This was basically the Great Power speech but worded different and from a different man, but it had the same effect and came off very well. He then tells Miles that he can tell him anything, and before Miles can tell him about his powers, The Human Torch and Iceman fly by, which prompts Miles' dad to say how the mutants should all just leave New York alone. Smooth move, jackass. Later that night, Miles is awoken by a text from Ganke that says that Spider-Man was bitten by a spider, and links to an interview that Ben Urich did saying how Spidey got his powers, he also mentions that Miles has chameleon like powers like some spiders do and he has a venom strike like some spiders, before asking if Miles is Spider-Man. The issue ends as Miles climbs the wall and realizes that he does indeed have spider powers. I enjoyed this issue, I love finding out about characters and Miles discovering his powers, the was no action but there was a lot of well written dialogue and storytelling. I'd give this issue a 8.5/10.

Miles: Prepare to be freaked out like you've never been freaked out, before.

Ganke: Please don't take off your pants. (Best...friend...duo...ever.)

 Superman #1

We kick things off with the announcement of a new Daily Planet, a building that is more futuristic than it's past self, but more importantly it's bigger than hell and it's owned by the new boss of the Daily Planet, Morgan Edge. Meanwhile, Superman is seen floating above the debris of the old Daily Planet building, seemingly paying his respects before flying away after being seen by Jimmy Olsen. It was around this time that I tried to continue on and saw such things as guys wearing the clown masks from The Dark Knight movie, Superman/Clark Kent saying "Bull!", and some big weird alien blowing a horn like Satchmo and so many text bubbles it would make Brian Michael Bendis go crazy! Well, that's it, I'm done. No more Superman for me in this reboot, N/A!

Bendis: Damn, that's a crap load of speech bubbles!

Venom #7

Another awesome cover in the Venom series! Venom may be my favorite new series since Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl started two years ago. We start things off with the former Venom and current Anti-Venom Eddie Brock, in a church healing a bunch of people that are turning into giant spiders due to the events of Spider-Island. Once The Queen finds out about Brock curing people, she sends the Spider-King to go kill him, unaware that he's actually Agent Venom, Flash Thompson, in disguise. Flash sends this info to his superiors, who then alert Reed Richards that the cure lies in the blood of Eddie Brock, so they all send someone to get Brock so they can synthesize a cure. Flash heads over to the church, while talking to Betty on the phone. She reminds Flash that his dad doesn't have long to go on this Earth and if he doesn't make amends before he dies, Flash will regret it forever, so Flash assures her he's on the way. Once Flash arrives at the church, he says the Symbiote reacts to seeing Eddie, and feels jilted but assures Flash that they are a better team. Flash intends to shoot Anti-Venom with a tranquilizer and move him to Horizon labs for tests when suddenly Brock attacks him. Anti-Venom tries to cure Venom, saying the symbiote is a cancerous demon sent from hell. After a fight and conversation, Flash realizes Brock is right, and the symbiote has slowly changed him. Suddenly the symbiote jumps off of Flash and onto Brock, as he's been weakened from healing people. Brock tries desperately to remove the symbiote from himself before it reunites them as Venom, but he fails. Flash claims he doesn't want the symbiote now, but he needs it to save the city because if it stays on Brock it would wipe out his anti-bodies. He tells the symbiote he needs it and that Eddie will always reject him, and the symbiote agrees and binds back with Flash. Later, a webbed up Anti-Venom is left at Horizon Labs, where Richards says he's going to help the city whether he likes it or not, but Eddie says he's happy to help. He mentions how Venom never asked him to help and that Venom is no good guy. Over at the hospital, Flash finally see's his dad, and his dad apologizes for always letting Flash and his family down and asks for his forgiveness. Flash tells his dad he wouldn't trade him for any other dad and that he loves him, and Flash's father passes away as this issue comes to a close. I enjoyed this a lot, especially the symbiote wanting Brock, and clearly alluding to another Venom vs. Anti-Venom fight that's far from over. The stuff with Flash's dad was pretty quickly touched upon but I enjoyed it all, and had no complaints. I'd give this issue a 9/10 rating as I frantically wait to see those two face off again.

Anti-Venom: Everything you've done since putting on that suit has been the symbiote's decision. Everything.

The Amazing Spider-Man #670

We start off seeing a bunch of people around the city like Randy Robertson and Hawkeye turning into giant spiders. Meanwhile, Mary Jane is being chased by giant spiders and Spidey is too busy trying to remember which giant spider was Carlie. On the other side of town, we see the spiders are all heading to see The Queen, Adriana Soria, a woman that apparently has spider powers and super soldier powers. We get a quick recap on her past, and that she apparently used to date Steve "Captain America" Rogers. We see that he stumbled upon her hiding spot not too long ago and she knocked him out, considering they are both super soldiers, which led to Steve being one of the first test subjects, and now being a giant brute of a man-spider known as The Spider-King. Unbeknownst to her, the Spider-King has been replaced by Flash "Venom" Thompson, using his camouflage powers. We then see a glimpse over at the church to see Anti-Venom healing people, as I touched upon in the last comic review. As Jameson and his motorcade leave Horizon Labs, they're attacked by giant spiders, so Spidey goes to help, and he gets some unexpected assistance from the Sensational Spider-Mayor. Meanwhile, The Queen realizes she has the Mayor infected and could use this to her advantage, but before Flash can do anything about it, she sends him to go kill Anti-Venom, which we also already heard about via the last review. Back with Spidey and Jameson, they head over to conduct Jonah's plan, where he questions The Spider-Slayer, Alistair Smythe, the man that murdered Jameson's wife. He asks him how to stop the spiders but Smythe is in no mood to help Jameson, and even calls him the Black Widower. It's during this time that The Queen gets into Jameson's had and makes him angry using memories of his former wife Marla, to turn Jameson into a giant spider. We then jump around and see Anti-Venom fighting Venom, the Heroes for Hire protecting a tower from spiders, and Mary Jane saving herself as she finally develops spider powers. Over at Horizon Labs, Anti-Venom tells Reed he's happy to help, but Reed says they'll need every antibody in his suit, and he'll have to give up being Anti-Venom! Back with Spidey, he's frantically trying to hold Jameson back, and a freaked out Smythe says he'll spill the info and is about to tell them how to stop the spider infection when suddenly Jameson bites his neck and seemingly kills him as this issue comes to a close. Man, this was a crazy issue, it was pretty action packed but it jumped around so much it seemed clunky and slows down at parts that I was really getting drawn into the story at. I'd give this issue of Spider-Man a 8/10 rating.

J. Jonah Jameson: You can't do anything, can you?! We should just call you Mr. Can't-Tastic!
(Okay... that was genius.)

Kick Ass 2 #4

Mother Russia is one big chick. We kick things off with Hit-Girl talking about how boring her life has been up until seeing the news story that a New York City hero was killed by the returning Red Mist, now known as The Motherfucker. Mindy wants to go take care of him, but Marcus tells her she's an eleven-year-old child and this doesn't concern her, before sending her to her room. Meanwhile, Kick-Ass and the other heroes meet at a diner and try to decide what to do next, especially since the villains say that this is only the beginning. It only gets worse as The Motherfucker and a few of his cronies decide to pay Kick-Ass' girlfriend or ex-girlfriend or whatever she is to him, Katie Deuxma, a visit. While looking for her, MF opens fire and kills a bunch of kids and civilians. They bust into Katie's house and MF shoots her dad point-blank in the head, punches Katie in the mouth then rapes Katie. Well damn, I know he's evil but killing kids and raping women?! Outside the cops arrive but their all dealt with by Mother Russia and a very powerful gun. After taking off, we see at the police station that reports show that twenty-seven people were killed and over eighty injured. Man, that's insane. We then see that they've traced the IP addresses of the twitter and facebook accounts and plan on hitting the houses with five hundred men, but Kick-Ass' name is also on the list, showing they're going after the heroes and villains. They then arrest a bunch of people, including heroes, and when they come to Dave's house, they arrest his father since he claims he's Kick-Ass. Well that's a good dad. As Dave and his  friends all stand over an unconscious Katie in the hospital, Dave feels remorse that she was attacked because of him, when he gets a text from MF that says he should be worried about his dad, and Dave rushes home. Dave arrives home to see his dad arrested on his behalf as the issue comes to a close. Man, this issue was insane. It moved so quick, MF and his team are insane and you gotta wonder what Hit-Girl can do to join the fight and how Kick-Ass and his crew will strike back. I'd give this issue a 9/10 rating and I hope the next issue comes out soon.

Hit-Girl: We need to hunt this fucker down and make him wish his dad had finished on his mother's tits.

And just like that, this week's R&R comes to a close. I enjoyed most of my issues this week and I'm always interested in what you guys think. Before I get out of here I want to remind you to vote on this week's newest poll as well as check out the results of last week's extremely close poll. Well that's it for me everyone, until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd, signing off!

Last week's poll asked "Following the events of Schism so far, who would you side with?"

Last place with 27.3% - Team Cyclops and "I didn't read Schism."
Winner with 45.5% - Team Wolverine (It was tied yesterday!)

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Animal Man #2, Detective Comics #2, Justice League International #2, Deadpool #44, Invincible #83, and X-Men: Schism #5!

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, Jason Todd back with more of your favorite comic content comments, Ratings and Rantings! After my post yesterday on the new Ultimate Spider-Man controversy if you want to call it that, I'm back and ready to review my comics for this week. Surprisingly it's only three comics, even more surprisingly they're all Batman comics, and each features a different Batman! We have Bruce Wayne in Arkham City, Dick Grayson in Gates of Gotham, and Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond. So let's get things started with our Dark Knights of Gotham City!

Batman: Arkham City #4

We start things off with Batman arriving at Arkham City and jumping right into the line of fire, as Warden Sharp's guards were waiting for him. Once Batman gets away from the guards he hears the man that's really behind Warden Sharp and Arkham City, the man they've yet to reveal as Hugo Strange. It turns out he's cracked the frequency Bats uses in his cowl to talk to Oracle and Alfred and is taunting Batman through it. Strange has also got his task-force trained in to know Batman's fighting style, and their suits even absorb the impact of his explosive gel. When Batman is taking on the task-force, he's saved by a huge armored tank, bring driven by none-other than Catwoman. Once with Catwoman, Batman shuts off his comm link, so Strange can't hear him and Selina talking. Bats asks Catwoman why she's there, and the obvious answer is she's there to steal things. She also mentions running into and helping Poison Ivy, so she'll owe her one. Interesting, I guess that confirms Ivy for the Arkham City game. She mentions how she helped Ivy escape and she's staked out at the Central Gardens, before Batman warns her that even with allies like Ivy, Arkham City is dangerous, before he leaves Selina in her ride. We then see the Joker meeting with a Doctor he's keeping hostage to see if he's healing from the Titan serum, but his vitals are still destabilizing. We then see that Joker asked the Doctor to isolate the toxin from his blood sample, and the doctor hands it over to Joker, I wonder what THAT will lead to. After getting what he needs, The Doctor is led to his death by The Joker, oh you! Meanwhile, Batman attacks a group of guards that are waiting to ambush him, he then takes one and hangs him off the edge of the building, demanding to know who is the main man in charge. The guard tells him the man's name is Hugo Strange, as we cut to Hugo to see him in a room surrounded by monitors of Batman, looking pleased with himself as he promises to become immortal by taking everything Batman has and is, as this issue comes to a close. This was a great issue. We got to see a bit of Joker's plan, Catwoman popped up, we got a hint that Ivy will be in the Arkham City game, and now we definitively know (in the comic) that Strange is the man behind Arkham City. I'll give this issue an 8.5/10 rating.

Batman: Be careful Selina, this isn't a game.

Catwoman: You're telling me. Security has gotten tighter than my catsuit.

Batman Beyond #8

Just so you guys know, it was reported at the DCU Blog that the Batman Beyond series will start again in 2012, but this is the final issue of 2011. So we start this off with Batman fighting a mysterious villain named Inque. Imagine the Venom Symbiote beating up people, and there you go. After getting the best of Batman, Inque shoves herself down some poor guys throat and escapes using his body, until she makes him spit her out. Yeah, it sounds worse than it was. While Batman tries to pursue Inque, we find out a bit about her past. It turns out she was from a poor city and when she was a kid her country had a civil war which destroyed her city. And once her family went poor, they had to turn to the Black Market to sell their possessions, and once they ran out of possessions, the Black Market took Inque, as her parents were left behind to die. Once they made it to America, Inque escaped, and when she got sick she discovered she was pregnant, so she had a will to go on. Once she was offered a chance in an experimental procedure, she accepted, as she had food and shelter, but once they were concerned she would die from the tests, they returned her to the streets. She finally had her child while living in a charity ward and months after, she started to transform into the Inque she is now, so she gave her child to an Orphanage and waited to die, but she didn't. She then decided to use her powers as a service to make cash, and send the cash anonymously to her daughter to make sure she's well taken care of. She eventually revealed herself to her teenage daughter, thinking she'd understand, but she didn't. I actually stopped reading here, I just couldn't get into this issue. I tried but there was nothing endearing about this story that made me want to read about it, especially since it's the last issue of the year for Batman Beyond, it should've at least featured more Terry, some stuff with Dick Grayson or something. I gotta give this a N/A.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #4

Things get started with Red Robin and Robin fighting The Architect. Batman contacts Red Robin and says the Architect;s next target is Kane bridge, and Red Robin mentions he and Damian are fighting him now, so Dick says he and Cass will be right over. The Architect is holding his own against the Robins, but Damian dropkicks him through a load bearing beam which causes the building to come down on top of them. From there we jump to a flashback, and see one of the Gates mourning the death of his brother. He doesn't believe his death was an accident and uses the same suit the Architect now uses to move the rubble underwater to find proof that his brother's murder was premeditated. We then see Alan Wayne telling Nicholas Gates he's sorry about his brother, but Nicholas says he thinks his brother was murdered and asks for Alan's help. Alan tells him he won't because secrets are power and that's something he'd never understand. Yep, Alan Wayne was a bit of a dick. Back in present times, Batman and Black Bat arrive to help Robin and Red Robin but the Architect has already escaped. Red Robin then tells the gang that the Architect plans to blow up the Kane Bridge, which will result in half the city being drowned. While looking for the plans for the bridge, Black Bat comes across Nicholas Gates' diary, and we see another flashback, this time of Gates in the Architect suit attacking Cameron Kane. Robert Kane overhears and shoots Gates in the back, and when Gates grabs Robert by the neck, his suit depressurizes which causes him to lose mobility, but the suit stays choking Robert Kane, who dies soon after. He's soon arrested, but the final lines in his diary say that he doesn't regret what he did, he only regrets he couldn't do more. The issue ends soon after with Batman going to stop the Architect at Kane Bridge, once and for all. This was a fine issue, nothing amazing but far from bad. The only big reveal I could see is that Nicholas is still alive but I doubt that, but I guess we'll see soon enough. I'd give this issue a 7/10 rating.

The Architect: I am the Architect, Gotham's forgotten son, but soon they will remember. (Seems like something Gates would say to me...)

And that's it for me, on a quick edition of Ratings and Rantings. Next week should be interesting as I'll have more books, many of which are the final issues of their runs before the DCnU starts. But that's it for me, feel free to comment and vote on this weeks newest poll, as well as checking out the results of last weeks. Until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger-man, Jason Todd, signing off.

Last week's poll asked "Which Marvel Hero would you like to see get Spider-Man's powers in Spider-Island?"

Last place with 9.1% - Captain America, Super Soldiers don't need Spider Powers I guess...
Second Place with 18.2% - Tie between the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool and the Gamma Giant, the Hulk
Winner with 54.5% - Wolverine, the best there is at spinning webs, bub.

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Batgirl #24 (Sad to see it go), Detective Comics #881, Red Robin #26, Teen Titans #99, War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath #2, Morning Glories #11, Amazing Spider-Man #667, and Deadpool #41! Eight comics next week!

Just Ratings, No Rantings

Hey Todd Squad, Jason Todd here with more of those comic reviews you crave oh-so-much. This week we've got a nice haul of comics, more than I expected but first I want to mention Free Comic Boom Month.

For the last few years, a very nice comic fan has started Free Comic Boom Month, so if you email him and let him know some of your favorite comics, he'll mail you a comic he thinks you may enjoy from his personal stash for free, which is really awesome. So feel free to check out his FCBM post as well as his blog by clicking here. 

So, I had a nice post typed up that I finished last night with reviews of everything except Amazing Spider-Man which I didn't pick up due to it being a FF comic (Isn't there already one of those?) and Morning Glories #9 since I let Lisha borrow it. So I woke up today before work and decided I'd post and suddenly my net craps out on me.. so I figure I'll post it from my phone, and I do but it leads to only posting the first two or three paragraphs. Needless to say that pissed me off, and after completing the post last night I copied over the copy I saved in Word, probably because I'm an idiot. Anyway, I'm very upset that this happened since I wasted my time typing up and completing a review, plus I'm upset you guys don't get to read it, that's what makes me the most angry. So, to make it up to you guys, next week I'll be posting 5 Reasons why you should read Invincible, What I Learned from Brightest Day, AND Ratings and Rantings featuring Morning Glories #9, Batman Beyond #5, and Deadpool Annual #1 which continues the Identity Wars story arc. See, I love the Todd Squad, Three posts in one week is a lot for my lazy ass, so enjoy it guys! Anyway some quick review scores that I recall

Action Comics #900 - N/A, horrible ending to one of the best Luthor stories ever. I couldn't even finish it as I only planned on reviewing the main story. See more on it here at Paul C's blog.

Emerald Warriors #9 - Great ending, very well writing and another good issue in War of the Green Lanterns, got a 7/10 Rating.

Brightest Day #24- Plain stupid, I'll speak on it more next week in my Brightest Day post but read about it here at X's blog. I gave it a 1/10 because it's finally over.

Venom #2 - Another great issue in what is making Flash Thompson become my favorite Venom besides Eddie Brock, I gave this a 9/10.

JL Generation Lost #24 - Great ending which will be spawning it's own JLI series which I love, I gave this a 8/10 rating.

Deadpool #36 - Amazing issue, great appearances from the Deadpool cast and just overall fun and funny, I gave this a 9.5/10.

So, that's it guys. As for the poll results of which GL you think is gonna lose their ring, John Stewart came in first place, Guy Gardner in second, Kyle in third (my pick) and lastly Hal Jordan. But that's all for me guys, I'm gonna go drown my sorrows in some Faygo Cola and get these posts ready for next week until next time, Stay Classy Todd Squad!

Brightest Day #23 Review

So this was the Ratings and Rantings post, but I reviewed Brightest Day #23.... and that put me in the most foul mood I've ever been in after reading a comic, so instead of taint the other reviews with my rage, I made this it's own post. So.... expect Ratings and Rantings later this week, but this is for Brightest Day's fury. By the way, there are MAJOR Spoilers...

Brightest Day #23

We start things off with Deadman explaining what it's like to die, all the while we see various heroes saving people from natural disasters and stuff as they claim the Earth is turning against them. From there we see Deadman confronting Firestorm and asking for the Lantern. Firestorm asks where they are and Deadman tells them the only place where the world is still safe and only the chosen ones can enter, as we see people running for the safety of the forest are blocked by a barrier while Ollie screams at the forest to let them in and it says no, or the White Lantern Ring does or something. After figuring out the Lantern brought them there, it tells Ronnie that it needed information only The Anti-Monitor had and he needed to see Stein die to really embrace being Firestorm because he needs to embrace it now, since the Dark Avatar is on its way. We then see Hawk and Dove are headed towards Star City to find Deadman, FINALLY!!!! Now Boomer can throw this damn Boomerang, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The White Lantern teleports Hawk and Dove to right in front of Firestorm and Deadman, we then see Boomer arrive at the forest and he's told to throw the Boomerang at Dove. After that a giant Black Lantern sprouts up and starts breaking stuff, just.. you know... because. The Lantern won't let the heroes leave the forest so the Dark Avatar just strolls right in. Everywhere the Avatar walks it brings death, and it walks past Boomer which turns his hands black... so the White Lantern tells him to throw the Boomerangs. Meanwhile the ring makes Deadman blast Firestorm which ends up turning him into Fire. Then Fire, Water, Earth and Wind aka Firestorm, Aquaman, MARTIAN Manhunter (yet Earth...) and the Hawks come back to form Captain Planet like I predicted about two weeks ago. The four elements then go somewhere, and the White Lantern tells Dove, Hawk and Deadman to protect the White Lantern tree. Where's Green Arrow? Don't ask cause apparently no one cares. The issue ends with Earth's protector rising.... and it's Alec Holland, Swamp Thing. YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME. Are you SERIOUS?! Okay, a year ago Brightest Day started after Blackest Night ended. At the time I didn't care that Reverse-Flash was brought back even though he was alive. I didn't mind that The Hawks came back even though they ALWAYS come back. I didn't mind that Ted Kord, Vic Sage, The Dibneys or anyone I really enjoyed was ignored over bringing back The Hawks, Osiris that's done nothing, Old Captain Boomerang instead of his younger, better son. But as a year goes by DC Comics slowly turns into The Power Rangers with a bunch of color-coded heroes flying around and then just completely ripped off Captain Planet, but after a YEAR of a hero being hyped up as the SAVIOR OF THE PLANET EARTH, the SAVIOR of a planet that is the home of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, FOUR GREEN LANTERNS, THREE FLASHES and countless teams, and you give me fucking SWAMP THING?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That's it, I'm officially done, I made jokes about X-Man because he stopped reading stuff with Geoff Johns but honestly I don't blame him because this is ridiculous. I already wasn't reading Flashpoint but I see I'm not going to be able to read anything Johns writes until he goes back to how he was a few years ago, because if Grant Morrison wrote this I'd be about to explode, so I'm not playing favorites. I'm done with Johns, I'm done with Green Lantern and everything he writes from this moment forward. I'll finish the last issue of Brightest Day and the rest of War of Green Lanterns but unless he writes something that's critically acclaimed and shakes the foundation of the earth, I won't be reading it. This is probably the first comic Ive ever reviewed where the rant is longer than the review, and let's make another first. The first comic I've ever finished that I'm giving a N/A rating. Congrats Brightest Day you piece of Garbage.

P.S. - Captain Boomerang STILL has yet to throw the goddamn Boomerang.... so yeah., get ready for issue 24 because THAT'S on the way!!!! (SMELL THE SARCASM!!!!!)