Part of Top Cow’s “Pilot Season”, I picked up this one-shot after reading a few posts on the ComicBloc about it and being intrigued.

It follows the Twighlight Guardian. A regular girl who’s taken it upon herself to become a real-life superhero. Every night, she dons a mask, and patrols her neighbourhood looking for trouble, be it keeping an eye open for people casing houses, or helping old women change a flat tyre.

The story is told entirely from Twightlight’s thought balloons, and I found it a really rivetting read. You get drawn into her world, as she’s taken this role incredibly seriously. She has her neighbourhood mapped out on her wall, and every night she’s sure to pick a different patrol route to avoid the possibility of ambush. You get the impression there’s something really not right with this girl. While helping others is comendable, there’s obviously a larger story behind what’s driven her to do this. While, in real life, there are those real life superheroes who don capes and masks to help change tyres, hand out food to the homeless etc, you get the distinct impression that this character has gone beyond that somehow, and there’s some kind of trauma in her life that she needs to face.

Its an excellent read, and I’ll definitely be looking to pick up further issues if it wins the pilot season vote.

The great news is that the complete issue is now up on Newsarama (typically, after I just bought it ;-)). So if you’re interested, you can read the issue here.

Aint It Cool News has a great preview for next week’s GL #34 up here. I just love the interplay between Hal and Sinestro in this story arc. The dialog regarding power battery storage got a good laugh out of me

While this arc was a pretty slow start for me, its really picked up now. Can’t wait to pick up the issue next week.

The fact that I enjoyed Secret Invasion #5 has obviously given this series a shot in the arm for me, as while I doubt I’d have enjoyed these tie-ins a couple of weeks ago, I definitely did enjoy the background this week.

New Avengers revisits the Skrull Throneworld after the Illuminati’s disasterous retaliation. Here we get to see the Skrulls attempting to discover a way to infiltrate Earth undetected, and the throwaway comment from SI #5, where Reed Richards hints that its all his fault is addressed, as we get to see the role he (unwittingly) played in the Skrull’s infiltration. Its all still background that anyone just wanting to read the main series could cheerfully read though, but its interesting none-the-less. In retrospect, I think the best way (for me at least) to read this series would’ve been to get the main series, and then buy the trades of New and Mighty Avengers for the background. There’s been little in them that’s been vital to the main series, but they do provide some interesting looks into what went into the Skrull Invasion.

Mighty Avengers continues looking at Hank Pym’s replacement, and we’re introduced to an interesting idea. That replacing Pym seems to cause some instability in the agents, and there’s the clear indication that the Pym agents have a far higher tendancy to decide the whole thing’s a bad idea, than the other Skrulls. The Skrulls are putting this down to the fact that Hank Pym isn’t as great as he thinks he is, and this instability is bleeding over into their replacement agents, but you can’t help wonder if there’s something else to it. Despite his issues, there’s no doubt that Pym is one of the smartest minds in the Marvel Universe. He’s no Richards or Tony Stark, but then, the Skrulls haven’t replaced them. Maybe we’d see similar behaviour from Skrulls replacing the other big brains, and infact, the Pym Skrulls are onto something?

Avengers Initative continues to be one of the best SI tie-in titles I’m picking up. Here, we revisit 3D-Man, who survives his Quinjet crash only to be rescued by She-Thing, who he promptly recognises as a Skrull. Fortunately the Skrull Kill Krew are on hand.

Once again Dan Slott does a great job of bringing humour to the storyline, but not sacrificing the drama. We’re seeing Skrulljacket’s plan in the Initiative slowly being discovered, with 3D-Man realising the Initiative’s been compromised, then Crusader and now Ant Man has caught Pym in the act of conferring with other Skrulls.

The real fun in this issue is the Kill Krew though. I haven’t read their original appearances, but there’s a great element of dark humour in this group riding around the country killing off Skrulls. Its given me probably my favourite line of the week, when, on finding out there’s a Skrull in every team of the Initiative, one of them replies “I’ll tell you what this means…Road Trip!”

Maintaining the Geoff Johns pet-project vibe, but with more of a direct tie to the Final Crisis events, this weeks brings us the second issue of Rogues Revenge.

Its a good excuse for Geoff Johns to revisit the Flash Rogues, a group of villains he’s successfully redefined through his Flash run into one of the premier sets of rogues in the DCU (second only to Batman’s I’d comfortably say), and also for him to tie up some of the dangling loose ends from Bart’s run as the Flash.

Picking up from last issue, we find the Rogues still gunning for Inertia, but aren’t pleased when they find their favourite tailor has been attacked. They quickly find out the culprits are the “New Rogues”, who are working for Libra, who needs the Rogues alive, despite them telling him to stuff off. He’s aware of the relationship Flashes share with Crises and has a plan to stop them.

This is a great issue and I’m really enjoying this series. While I may find the tie-in credentials of Legion dubious, there’s no doubt that Geoff Johns is bringing some of his best work to these Final Crisis titles. Here, we get to relish in the fact that he really gets these characters. Through his Flash run, Johns gave these Rogues a sense of family to match that of the Flashes, and that comes across well with the side scenes with Axel (who’s retaken the role of Trickster after James Jesse died in Countdown). You’re really given a feeling of the bond between this group, and when they encounter the New Rogues, who are using their stolen equipment, you can really feel the outrage at these pretenders, and you know it’ll end badly for them. And boy, does it.

If you’re a fan of the Rogues from Geoff’s Flash run, then this is a must-buy.

On a side note, reading Superman Beyond #1, I see Earth-51 is now the graveyard universe. Wonder what happened to Kamandi and all the animal-people…

Another random find on Youtube.  Great mixing of clips here.  The author’s done a cracking job

Ok, I’ll get the negative stuff out of the way first.

For me, there’s a lot about this title I don’t like. I’m not a big fan of the Legion. I’ve seen them in various guest appearances, but they’ve never done anything for me. So why, I hear you ask, did you buy it?

Well, its got Superboy Prime in it for one. For another its hotly rumoured that Bart Allen will be getting resurrected in this story (at least, the lightning rod is due to be dealt with). As I like both of those characters, that’s two big draws.

Lastly, loath as I am to admit it, it does say “Final Crisis” on the front, and for my sins, I do find a tie-in hard to pass by.

So, I figured I’d check out the first issue at least.

However it does in many ways push a lot of the buttons for things I hate about tie-ins. For a start (and its a biggy), it doesn’t actually seem to tie in with Final Crisis at all.  From this first issue, I do have to think marketting it as a tie-in is a bit cheeky.  Giving DC the benefit of the doubt though, lets assume there is some kind of tie in in the upcoming issues (although I doubt it - seems to me that there’s enough story here without chucking the New Gods in as well).

Secondly if we assume that Bart does indeed get resurrected in this mini, then why?  Well, it gets Flash fans like myself to buy a Legion book, who might’ve otherwise avoided it.   But with Wally coming back in JLA, Barry in Final Crisis, and Bart coming back in Legion, you do have to kind of wander if anything big ever happens in The Flash book itself (at least Bart had the decency to die in it).

So, a tie-in that doesn’t tie-in, and using unrelated characters to pull in readers.  Not off to a great start.

(ok, I know Bart’s from the 31st century, and XS will be in this.   I’m also aware that I didn’t complain about Superman characters turning up as main villains in the Sinestro Corps War.  Its a fanboy rant, it doesn’t need to make sense )

But none-the-less, I enjoyed this book.  Its written by Geoff Johns, with art by George Perez, so you know you’re buying a quality book, and it does a good job of bringing everyone up-to-date with the Legion’s background.

For me, there was more than enough Superboy Prime action to keep me happy.  He’s been accused of being a two-dimensional character, but for my money, he’s at least entertaining to read here.  The stuff in the Superman museum worked well, and there’s a nice twist with Superboy-Prime being not quite the footnote he thought in history.

There’s also an interesting bit where Superman declares they must redeem Superboy Prime.  This raises a whole load of questions (chief among them, did Superman not read Countdown? ), but I’m choosing to take it as Superman seeing this as their only choice.   He knows Superboy Prime is nigh-on unbeatable.   He’s been captured and escaped before, and killing is obviously not an option.   So instead he’s choosing to reach out to that part of Prime that’s Kal-El, who’s the same as he is.   Its an interesting idea, that the only way to beat Prime is to make him realise what he’s become.  Although I don’t see how the character could ever be truely redeemed.   He’s just done too much to be forgiven for it.

So, despite the negatives, this book rises above them by being a good read.  I’m still onboard for the next issue, but for me, there’s still the thing of my not being a Legion fan.  In many ways I suspect this book would be an ideal trade-wait for me.  That way I could save money, and still read the Superboy Prime and Bart stuff (if Bart does come back - it could still be a twist).   However, there’s that part of me that wants to be there when Bart comes back.  And to see what happens to Superboy Prime.

Another enjoyable issue of Rann-Thanagar this month.

Lots of stuff from Captain Comet and the Weird as well, I must admit, it may just be me, but this issue felt almost like a follow up to Mystery in Space that the Space Team just happened to be in. Don’t know if that was just me or not.

However, we get a lot of our heroes taking a kicking from Deacon Dark and the newly resurrected Synnar. It doesn’t take Comet long to figure out that they don’t have a chance against the pair of them and a strategic withdrawal is required. Adam Strange however is determined to destroy the Deacon’s time manipulator first, before it can cause more havoc on Rann. Its here that the seemingly separate Bizarro storyline ties in nicely, as Adam learns of Bizarro’s prescence on Throneworld and immediately Zeta beams over there to nab him, to add a powerhouse to their team. Its a decision however that comes with a heavy price, as Starman needed Bizarro’s help with Lady Styx’s fleet, and with him gone, it provides Lady Styx’s forces enough time to decimate the Throneworld.

The destruction of Throneworld, and Adam’s part in it was a big shock. He’s forced to see that he was so blinkered about Rann’s problems that he was ignoring the rest of the picture. When his friends are taking a kicking from the Deacon’s forces he’s the one refusing Captain Comet’s call for a retreat. It’ll be interesting to see what direction they take with the character in the second half of the story.

This issue also sets up an Adam Strange special. While I’m happier picking up an Adam Strange Special than a Hawkman one (as I’m more invested in the character), I’m still not hugely pleased with this idea of launching tie-ins off of mini series. Heck, truth be told, I’m not convinced at all about DC’s tie-ins this year, but that’s probably going to be part of a post on the Legion of 3 Worlds (I cracked and bought issue 1, but I’ve not read it yet). I’m not great at budgeting, but still I would like to try and cut down the number of titles I buy.

However, to more balance my whinging about tie-ins, its worth me talking about Robin.

I wasn’t buying this title until a short time ago, where I got pulled in by the RIP logo on the top. Fabian Nicieza is a great writer. I loved his stuff on Cable/Deadpool so was interested to see what he would do with the character of Tim Drake. After 3 issues, I’m a convert.

Like Nightwing, I believe this title has struggled to find its feet over the last couple of years, and, like Nightwing, I get the impression that its in the hands of someone who really gets it. Ditching the RIP logo this month, we find Jason Todd stirring things up bigstyle in Gotham, as he unites various different gangs under his own leadership in an attempt to clean up Gotham in his own way (by running the place basically). Robin finds himself under threat from the Penguin, who isn’t pleased that his payment for helping Robin in the last story has gone missing, with evidence linking the theft back to Robin.

Meanwhile someone knew has entered the scene, wearing the Red Robin costume Jason Todd threw in a bin at the end of Countdown (and interesting to see someone picking up on a plot point from that series, rather than ignoring it, as most writers seem to be doing).

I really enjoyed this issue. Its very much a first issue for the new story arc, with various mysteries being put in place (Who is the new Red Robin? Why is Spoiler taking out a contract on Robin?), but there’s a strong feeling that Fabian knows each of these characters. His version of Jason Todd harks back to the Under the Hood storyline, which I’ve mentioned before is the characterisation they needed to get back to, so that’s a welcome development.

So there you have it, sometimes, getting suckered in by a tie-in can put you onto a title you really enjoy. So for all my whinging about tie-ins, its goes to show how little I know

With Season 1 of Knight Rider due to start in about a month, there’s a load of new trailers appearing online.   Here we get a tease about turbo boost:

But, while we don’t get to see a lot, there’s a sense of fun in thisclip that hits the mark for me

I’m aware I’m sounding like a broken record when it comes to Peter Tomasi’s work on GLC, and I’m afraid its that time again

In fairness, its one of a number of titles that I usually find really solid and enjoyable (Green Lantern and Knights of the Old Republic are two that spring to mind), however this title jumps out at me, as before the change in writer, it just wasn’t grabbing me the way I’d hoped it would (at least, until the Sinestro Corps War issues, which were great).

Giving us some calm before the inevitable Blackest Night storm, Peter Tomasi again makes the most of a downtime issue, giving us some character focus before his next big arc. We get to see the opening of Guy’s new bar (which he refers to as the Big W, but since that’s another name for Woolworths over here, I’m going to be thinking of it as the new Warriors ;-)).
Peter Tomasi also takes the opportunity to further expand the mythology of the Corps, as we see Bzzd being buried in the crypts on Oa.  There’s some Blackest Night hints as well, in the form of Green Lantern Saarek who can talk to the dead.   It was nice to see Bzzd’s memorial, and it helped add depth  and impact to his death beyond the issue that it happened in.  A nice touch.

There’s a gruesome twist with the eyeballs on the cover.  As Kyle is off on a moon with Kilowog training rookies (and flirting with Soranik Natu) it starts to rain.  Kilowog’s initial joy at the thought of getting the rookies to run laps in the rain soon turns, as the “rain” is revealed to be eyeballs.   Specifically the eyeballs of Corps members families.   Including one of the rookies Kilowog was training.

Saarek turns up, having been led their by the voices of the dead, and uses his ring to retrieve an image of the killer.

I couldn’t comment on this issue without also mentioning guest artist Luke Ross’s pencils.  I’ve always enjoyed his stuff in the past, so it was nice to see him turning up here, even if it is only as a guest artist.
I really enjoyed his art, so I’m looking forward to more hopefully in the second part of this story.

Now this is more like it.

Its a good week for people picking up Secret Invasion. Admittedly there was about 8 million tie-ins this week, but I avoided most of them (Captain Britain being a must-buy). However, after the last 3 issues picking up increasing complaints about padding, issue 5 pulled out all the stops.

The green-haired woman who’s the Director of SWORD (apparently) manages to free Reed Richards in a great scene. From there everything starts to change, as Reed manages to build a Skrull revealing ray and promptly zaps everyone in the Savage Land, revealing everyone from the ship was a Skrull (including Mockingbird - needless to say, Clint doesn’t take it well). This could also mean that the popular “Luke Cage is a Skrull” rumour has just been debunked.

There’s a real feeling in this issue that the turning point’s just been reached. Infact, if I was going to have only one complaint about the book, its that after being the cliffhanger of last month’s issue, neither Captain America or Thor actually turn up, which kind’ve reinforces the idea that issues 2-4 could’ve really been told in 2 issues rather than 3.

Bendis does a much better job of balancing the feel that this is a big war than in previous issues. We get snippets of the Young Avengers at Nick Fury’s hideout, Captain Marvel at Thunderbolt mountain is finally addressed, and there’s a cracking resolution to Maria Hill’s predicament (if Marvel are smart, they’ll release those T-shirts). Secret Invasion has finally found its footing again, and this was a cracking read.

Meanwhile, on our side of the pond, things are going even better for the Brits. With Captain Britain restored to life by Merlin, he wastes no time in taking the fight to the magical Super Skrull. Meanwhile the rest of MI13 have been captured, and it sadly doesn’t end well for John the Skrull, who eventually antogonises the Skrulls so much that he’s killed (sorry to see him go. I was loving his character).

Paul Cornell does a great job in wrapping up this arc here. With Brian fighting the Super Skrull, Wisdom’s releasing of the evil magic has an unexpected payoff. With all the complaints regarding the padding in Secret Invasion, its refreshing to see a writer tell a big storyarc in only 4 issues.

By the end of the issue, the scene is firmly set for the rest of the series, as the team comes together with a new purpose. And the bit with Excalibur at the end was yet another unexpected twist from Cornell.

With so many of the big name comics being US-focused, this book has done a great job of not just being set in Britain with British characters, but of having a great British feel to it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Paul Cornell does in the next arc.