Z Talks About Comics: May 14th, 2014

This week in comics was quite a small week. For DC Comics I picked up Green Lantern Corps #31, Batman Eternal #5, Futures End #2, and Justice League United (Canada) #1. It seems like there are getting fewer and fewer Marvel books on my pull, but in an effort to spend less on comics, i've been cutting out lots of books i'm just not interested in (The X-Books, and various new series that were launched recently).


Green Lantern Corps #31
Written By: Van Jensen
Art By: Bernard Chang
SCORE: 8/10

This is the second part of the Uprising event. After reading Green Lantern #31 (Part One), i didn't have much interest in the event. However, after a read of Green Lantern Corps #31, my interest of the event was heightened. The issue was really fun, as John Stewart and company start up a jailbreak. One of the things i really liked in this book that i hope carries over into the future issues is the grid of all the Corps members that are featured in the issue on the credits page. It's a little touch that i really like, and also helps me learn the names of the new Lanterns. The best part of this issue is definitely the return of one of my favourite lanterns from Tomasi and Gleason's Green Lantern Corps run: SODAM YAT. The payoff of him returning to the corps is well worth the $2.99 price tag. The revelation that comes with Sodam Yat really changes the direction of the Uprising event going forward.

Batman Eternal #6
Written By: Ray Fawkes
Art By: Trevor McCarthy
SCORE: 6/10

After some pretty great issues of Batman Eternal, issue #6 sort of takes some steps backwards. Personally i prefer the crime, and super villain parts of Batman Eternal, rather than the super natural ones. Reading this issue i didn't feel very interested in what was going on compared to all the awesome stuff that was going on the previous issues. Of course, Joker's Daughter is in this issue, and i'm still not sure what the point of this character is. Despite all the supernatural stuff in this issue, i still got some enjoyment out of it. Trevor McCarthy's art is pretty solid, but not as good as the stuff he did with J.H. Williams III on Batwoman. Here's to more of the rad Stephanie Brown and gang war subplots in the coming issues. Let's hope that the next part of Ray Fawkes' story arc is a little more gripping than this part.


Futures End #2
Written By: Azzarello, Giffen, Jurgens, Lemire
Art By: Jesus Merino
SCORE: 8/10

After reading issues 0 and 1, i wasn't sure what to think about Futures End. The best i could say about it early on was that Patrick Zircher's art was amazing. After reading issue #2, it seems that the book is getting a little more focused. The highlight of this book is 100% Animal Man's eulogy for Oliver Queen. It was clearly written by Jeff Lemire, explaining why it was so great. After countless deaths and grim moments in the first two issues, it's nice to get some touching and human moments. If were lucky, Futures End will avoid slipping into Ultimatum territory. It was really cool to see what all the DC heroes will look like, and be like in 5 years time. Mister Terrific has turned into a top tier douche bag, and Firestorm seems to be neglecting his responsibilities. The teasing to the Earth 2 war is also pretty interesting in regards to the future of the DCU. Issue #2 was pretty solid, and hopefully it can only get better from here.

Justice League United #1
Written By: Jeff Lemire
Art By: Mike McKone
SCORE: 10/10 PICK OF THE WEEK

Sometimes i wish i wasn't so damn patriotic. Curse you DC Comics for making me buy two covers for this issue. Despite that fact, Justice League United is off to a great start. I may be a Jeff Lemire fanboy, but he DOES bring the goods with everything he writes. The seeds of a Booster/Beetle relationship are being planted for Green Arrow and Animal Man (as we see paying off in Futures End #2) and it's friggin great. Mike McKone is one hell of an artist, and Adam Strange's new design is one of the best in the entire New 52. My biggest problem with this "Justice League Canada" arc is the lack of focus on Canada. It seems like the only locations we are going to get in terms of Canada is Northern Ontario. Hopefully Lemire brings the team to the other provinces of Canada in future issues. The lighter tone of this series compared to many of the other New 52 titles is a welcome addition. Heres to more Poutine jokes, and wacky adventures. Also, ULTRA THE MULTI ALIEN!