Booster Gold #6 (reviewed by Heather) ~ Huh. That was...kind of anticlimactic, wasn't it? The first major arc of what's been a very strong title comes to a close with a whimper, and what almost seems like an unncessary reformatting. I expected the "saving the Blue Beetle" arc to take a little longer, but instead it just boiled down to a fight scene. And apparently, solidified time ain't what it used to be. I'm admittedly curious to see where the "Blue and Gold" arc goes, and what's going to happen to the erstwhile Supernova, but this issue just fell flat. They nailed the art for once, though, so that was a plus...
Atomic Robo #4 ~ I forget if I mentioned this or not, but I felt the previous issue ended somewhat abruptly - turns out, because it was a 'to be continued' (as in fact the one before was, but it came at a natural lull in the story, so I didn't assume it'd all be ongoing from there on). Robo, having just blown up a mobile death-ray-equipped pyramid, takes a moment for a flashback (i.e. he's KO'ed) to the Viking program, which saw him invited by NASA to hitch a lift onto the 'unmanned' Mars probe to make sure everything went well. Clevinger shows off his comic timing - which I'd say is unmatched in the comics industry - with a bunch of laugh-out-loud funnies, not the least of which is the continuing reveal of Robo's character, part Indiana Jones, part Bill Murray from Ghostbusters, part Steve Buscemi from Con Air (not the murdering part, just the wry craziness). Wegener and Ronda Pattison's art is up to the task as usual, with some particularly neat work on the surface of Mars, and in Robo's cramped space capsule - as a (thoroughly non-expert) space program enthusiast, the look and feel of the panels all rings true.
As well as the full-length main story, there's another 5-page backup - again, for US$2.95 it's got to be one of the better value-for-money comics on the market - featuring Robo in his early years, pitted against the ghost of Rasputin, and Thomas Edison mucking about with his phone. It's off-beat and funny, and (as with the main story) the strong inclusion of historical figures is a neat twist to the general Hellboy-style mayhem - I don't know much about Tesla, but I know a guy who admires him, and he goes nuts ranting about Edison, so seeing his portrayal here was good for a chuckle. Zack Finfrock provides the art in this segment, showing that if Wegener ever needs a break, there's someone who can step in and carry the ball. (I'd love to know what Rasputin is saying, though.)
Justice League of America #17 ~ Odd issue, this - decent, but odd. Like last issue, it's two stories, with Dwayne McDuffie writing one, and Alan Burnett the other. Burnett's 'Sanctuary' deals with the ongoing Salvation storyline, with villains being gathered up by Amanda Waller and shipped off to a prison planet - JLA #15 finished with a link to that as well, so the sense of in-title continuity is strong, even though I'm not reading Salvation Run, or whatever other titles are included (Checkmate for one, I'd assume). The McDuffie story follows up on Vixen's powers being wonky, and shows that they're really wonky, but whatever the explanation is it'll have to wait. (I'd like to know why she can't just fulfil her League duties by duplicating supervillain powers, from whoever they happen to be fighting - that'd be a pretty useful ability to have around). I'd really like to know why McDuffie is only writing half of these issues - that's the real weakness, neither story has anything much to do with the other, and it's not even clear whether they're happening at the same time, so this doesn't feel like an issue, it feels like a couple of short stories. Even though they are relevant to current storylines, they have the 'feel' of Classified-style random stories, with no bearing in current continuity - obviously not true, but that's how they seem on a gut level. And Burnett, though capable as a storyteller, doesn't have McDuffie's touch for instant character charisma. What DC needs to do is to give McDuffie 22 pages a month, and stop using JLA as the dumping ground for crossover tie-ins unless McDuffie wants them.
Ms. Marvel volume one: Best of the Best ~ Just a quick review, since I picked this up today. This collects the Giant-Sized Ms. Marvel special, and issues #1-5 of Ms. Marvel's own title, in which, having experienced a reality in which she's the world's best hero, she sets out to make that the case for real. I think these opening issues are quite strong - they're the most personal, in a way, since Carol isn't yet being mucked about with by the Civil War, and hasn't gone far enough down her be-the-best path that it's really dominating her, and forcing her to make choices about her future. What she does in this arc is try - this is the start, where she looks ahead to her personal goal and sets about reaching it. I find these issues the most endearing, really, since Carol's sense of ambition is palpable, and quite noble (if a bit naive) - later on, especially once the Lightning Storm concept kicks in, the stories are stronger overall, definitely more sophisticated, but that sophistication comes at the cost of diluting the focus of the book, with a supporting cast and so on. This is pure Carol, and the reason I like her - she doesn't always win, she doesn't always know how to win, but she always tries.
