This marks the third consecutive year that I will attempt to document my comics reading by writing at least a mini-review. The goal is 1200 books read and reviewed in 2023, although I missed the mark in 2022 by 88 books. Still, I like that number as it’s easy enough to track - - - 100 books per month on average. Wish me luck!
MAY 20 update: While it seems I’m rapidly falling behind in the count, I keep picking myself up for the next round. I’m just going to keep reading and reviewing when I can, and hope that a big chunk of time frees up somewhere down the road . . . . .
# GOAL FOR May 20, 2023. . . 467 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 370 comics documented
#364 DAWN OF DC: WE ARE LEGENDS SPECIAL EDITION FCBD 2023 by various creators (DC Comics, May 6) This a preview of three brand-new mini-series featuring characters of Asian descent. If you’re planning to check out any of these titles this is a FCBD title you’ll want to have. Each of these stories has appeared before, debuting during the Lazarus Event crossover storyline.
I applaud the effort to introduce more diverse characters into super-hero comics and other genres. However, I need a reason to care about the characters. While it’s nice to see their powers in action and their interaction with existing DC characters, I would appreciate a little back-story to flesh the players out a little more. Otherwise, there’s no reason for me to care if I don’t empathize at all.
The three stories here featuring Spirit World, The Vigil, and City Boy did not hook me enough to want to check out the mini-series. (But later, I did pick one up.) That’s what Free Comic Book Day titles should do. Get me to try something different and then persuade me to buy that title.
SPIRIT WORLD follows Xanthe, who uses magic and a giant sword. THE VIGIL is a team trio who encounter Red Hood. This story had the most action and best art, but told me next to nothing about the team.
CITY BOY is a meta-human (apparently homeless scavenger) with a weird bond with cities and streets and can pass through physical objects. He’s looking for a crown to return to a former owner (copping an idea from the Titanic movie) and runs into Nightwing.
Looks like these titles are going to tie-in to the Batman family as each story has a familiar guest star or two. THREE STARS.
I’ve always thought the ongoing feud between Batman and Ra’s was the premier conflict in the Bat-titles, better than Batman/Joker and other foes. Tom Taylor’s fantastic story makes a good testimonial for that.
Two powerful figures who want to do the right thing, but their methods put them against each other. That is the ingredients for a compelling story. Ra’s has decided the fossil fuel industry is destroying the planet and utilizes his League of Assassins to make some corrections. Good intentions, terrible solution. Batman steps in, with Robin/Damien in the middle and an epic clash between Batman and Ra’s occurs.
What makes it all work is the back-story featuring Ra’s as a child (700 years back) and how he was saved by a pack of animals headed for extinction in today’s world. He’s outraged by that, and has worked decades to root out the cause and do something about it. FIVE STARS.
THE VIGIL blends espionage, illegal weapons technology, and meta-humans into a premise that feels more like a cross between Mission Impossible and DC’s Checkmate than a true team book like Justice League, etc.
In the debut issue, Thailand pirates board and take over an Indian shipping vessel, and the Vigil team come aboard to put them down. Dodge is fast and an impossible target to hit. Assassin Saya can take on the appearance of anyone long enough to cause some damage. The frail looking Castle is the mastermind controlling team events from the safety of a chair. There’s a fourth player, who appeared in the FCBD title, that is missing from this issue so far. Also, it appears a new character, Ms. Saha, is about to join the team.
What makes this even more interesting is a scenario where a scientist is chastised by the Indian government for failing to develop a meta-human team. However, it appears they have been duped - - as it looks like that money and research went into The Vigil, apparently operating outside of government. The last part of the book introduces their opponent, Mr. Lightless (that’s an exciting name!), who fatally interrogates Ms. Saha’s trainer.
I wasn’t really looking to add more titles, but as long as I keep giving #1 issues a try-out this is bound to happen. Plus, there’s a big FOMA monkey on my back that causes stress if I don’t check out new works.
The only flaw with this promising first issue is that we don’t really know anything about these characters. But that’s understandable given the premise and the need to set the stage. FOUR STARS.
This is a new offering in what appears be Scott Snyder’s imprint for IDW - Dark Spaces. GOOD DEEDS is a mystery with supernatural themes that takes place in St Augustine, Florida on the 450th anniversary of the town - - a town with some dark secrets.
Down-on-her-luck newspaper reporter Jean reluctantly accepts the assignment to cover the celebration. Meanwhile, a single mother Rebecca and her troubled teenage daughter Cheyenne move to town to start over by re-opening a rundown diner. You may expect their paths to cross later.
Cheyenne is harassed at school as new kids normally are, and these scenes and mother-daughter exchanges really help establish the characters and create empathy. Cheyenne is troubled by ghastly visions that apparently only she can see, and when an unwelcome visitor to the diner meets with violence, the supernatural mystery deepens.
BTW, IDW needs some love after recently removing their stock from exchange listings, and reducing staff by 30%. It would be a shame to see them fold. Please check out some of their titles. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
A war of monsters in the backwoods and small towns of rural Texas, with unsuspecting people and young ones caught in the middle. It was the monstrously good black & white artwork that prompted me to pick this up on impulse. The story is good, but crowded.
“The secret war of monsters has begun! La Llorona, The Man-Dog, Spring-heeled Jack, The Goatman, Kid Cthulhu, Quetzalcoatl. Cryptids. Monsters. Legends. They must come together as The Cryptidnals to stop El Ango and his legions of evil tulpas, sinister beings created through the power of belief, from destroying reality! It's cryptids vs. creepypasta!” THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
I’m only an occasional reader of Green Arrow titles (usually random issues - but in sequence - fished out of the bargain bins) and have never read a long run of any of the various volumes. Various reviewers who seem to have much more familiarity with the characters than I do are praising this as a return to the greatness of the title. I can only say that, while I liked this, there’s not enough here to make me want to keep reading. When it comes to super-hero books, I’m especially picky. (I do like the new chainsaw arrow, as crazy as that seems!) THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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