Here's a fun bit of randomness. Time for some comic book reviews; if enough people like 'em, maybe I'll do it weekly (since I do usually have a weekly supply of new comics)...

Anyway, here we go! And don't forget, there WILL be SPOILERS! (But I'll try and keep 'em to a minimum. )

***

Infinite Crisis #6 (of 7)
"Touchdown"
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencillers: Phil Jimenez, George Peréz, Jerry Ordway, Ivan Reis

Plot: Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 has split the Multiverse apart again--or at least the planet Earth. While Batman, Booster Gold, and company try to find and destroy the Brother Eye satallite, it's up to Nightwing, Superboy and Wonder Girl to stop Alex from unmaking their reality.

Review: Anyone who's been around the Comic Discussion thread in the Cantina knows how much I rave about Infinite Crisis. Hype be damned, this book is seriously, SERIOUSLY loaded. I don't know how Jimenez and crew can fit SO much on a page and make it all make sense. Of course the real credit goes to Mr. Johns, who has crafted a magnificent epic tale here. Event comics rarely live up to the hype from what more experienced comic readers have told me, but I solidly believe that Geoff has exceeded expectations with this one. From the opening with Green Lantern whistling 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' to the confrontation between the Superboys and everything in between, Geoff has packed in so much information that, while complex and dense and continuity-laced for the long-time fans, newer readers should be able to pick up this penultimate issue, if not the whole series, and understand most of what is going on. All in all, I've yet to read a Geoff Johns book that has disappointed me, and his love for the DC universe is pretty clear here, despite a pretty heart-wrenching ending.

Fun Stuff: There are a LOT of little in-jokes throughout the book, especailly concerning the multiple Earths. I'll point out two moments that I particularly enjoyed:

* The first two Earths that Alex Luthor merge are Earth-154 and Earth-462. The resulting Earth featured groups of heroes on either side of a civil war. The irony of the situation is that adding 154 and 462 gets you 616, which is the usual classification for the Marvel Universe's own Earth (albeit in a different continuity, of course). Funnier still is the fact that Marvel's comics are currently building up to a Civil War...

* When Alex is looking for Earth-Prime, the home of Superboy-Prime (his "henchmen" of sorts who was prominently featured in Infinite Crisis #4 and the Infinite Crisis Secret Files), he looked directly at the reader in one frame, then in the next his hands reached "out" of the book toward our Earth, since, before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-Prime was supposed to be the designation for our Earth, the real world.

Reviewer's Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

***

The OMAC Project Infinite Crisis Special
"The Lazarus Protocol"
Writer: Greg Rucka
Penciller: Jesus Saiz

Plot: Immediately following Infinite Crisis #6, Batman asks Sasha Bordeaux, former bodyguard and now Black King's Knight of Checkmate, to permanently destroy his Brother Eye satellite. Amanda Waller is made the new Black King of Checkmate (provisionally) and deputizes former Justice Leaguer Fire to carry out her orders. And other power from around the world (Russia, China, Israel) send their superpowered soldiers to Saudi Arabia to retrieve Brother Eye's components.

Review: It was Greg Rucka's work that got me into comic reading in the first place. Sure, I'd read Star Wars comics for several years, and had bought some Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperbacks as well. But it wasn't until last year that I really started looking for DC Comics material, and it was the well-reviewed Adventures of Superman that drew me in. And when I heard Rucka was working on a special 80-page, $1 comic coming out in April 2005, I knew I had to have it. I convinced myself it would be the only single-issue comic I'd ever buy.

Three hundred plus issues later, Greg Rucka turns out another good story which actually serves more as a prequel to his upcoming Checkmate ongoing series than it does as a "Infinite Crisis Special." Don't get me wrong, it connects well with everything that goes on in IC #6, but it's definitely more of a setup issue than a followup issue. Rucka sets his main characters for his new series in place in this issue, specifically his own personal character Sasha Bordeaux (introduced a few years ago in the Batman books before the Bruce Wayne: Murderer? series began), Jessica Midnight (the operative who brought Bordeaux into Checkmate), Fire (former member of the Global Guardians and Justice League) and Amanda Waller (who's been all over the DCU in minor roles, and some folks would recognize from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon series). Jesus Saiz handles art chores, and I like them now as much as I did during the original miniseries. A solid special issue, but it's not perfect, and some of the character motivations are a little shaky. Overall, very good stuff.

Reviewer's Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

***

Detective Comics #818
"Face the Face, Part 3"
Writer: James Robinson
Pencillers: Leonard Kirk and Andy Clarke

Plot: Commissioner Gordon, Batman and Robin investigate the murder of one of Batman's rogues gallery. Batman considers Robin's future. Harvey Dent watches as Batman and Robin handle some thugs. And another, more high-profile, member of Batman's villains bites the dust.

Review: The third issue in James Robinson's eigh-part "One Year Later" story is just as good as his two previous issues, and better in some cases. Robinson, known for his Starman series in the 90's, has returned some of the status quo to the Batman books and this is a good thing. Batman and Robin are supposed to get along, Commissioner Gordon and Batman should cooperate and work together, and Batman doesn't have to be a jerk to everybody. These are all good changes. But the best thing about this OYL tale is the way that these characters feel. These are the characters I remember from my childhood, especially having been a fan of the WB cartoon series. These are the stories I like told; mysteries that seem a little too obvious and you just know are going to be twisted around on you by the end of it all. And this is the Batman that so many have been waiting to see again. Thank you, Mr. Robinson, for bringing back the Batman we all knew and loved. And Leonard Kirk's art is fantastic here, I give him just a slight edge over Don Kramer, who's doing the art for the Batman issues of this crossover.

Backup Story: The backup story in this issue was almost more fun than the main story. Connected to the main plot, a small-time detective who has been rooted in Gotham for many years is contacted by Batman to do some work for him during the daytime. Immediately you know this could be a very interesting development, since this a relatively untapped character (his previous history involved being a romantic interest of Barbara Gordon, and not much else besides that) and has the potential to be a cool, valuable asset to Batman. I hope that Paul Dini makes use of him during his upcoming run on Detective after Robinson's arc is over.

Reviewer's Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

***

Teen Titans #34
"The New Teen Titans, Part 1"
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Tony Daniel

Plot: It's been a year since the Crisis, and Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg is just now waking up to a whole new Titans team. Robin is the only member still around from when he went offline, and joining him are Kid Devil (Blue Devil's old sidekick) and Ravager (Rose Wilson, Deathstroke's daughter, and former Titans enemy). And Wonder Girl's around too, but she's doing her own heroing for now. But what's Robin doing under Titan's Tower that's so secretive...?

Review: Geoff Johns is certainly making the most of the One Year Later jump; his first issue of Green Lantern was better than most of his previous issues, and this issue gets off to a roaring start. Some of the best scenes in this book are things we only got a glimpse of and that we'll definitely want to know more about as things go on. In an interview before this issue came out, Johns said he wanted to introduce twenty questions for readers as to what's gone on for the Titans in the year between the Crisis and now. Well, there are definitely a lot of questions to ask; my first is: who the heck thought it was a good idea to introduce the Wonder Twi--er, uh, Marvin and Wendy? Despite the fact that I'd rather not see anything associated with the Superfriends TV show, their introduction here really was pretty good. And the conflict between Wonder Girl and Ravager was pretty funny, I see a catfight brewing. But the most interesting question is definitely going to be about what Robin's doing in his "Robin Cave" below the Tower... which I'm definitely not going to spoil here, go read the issue for yourself!

As for the artwork, Tony Daniel does another competent job, and I like the redesigns on Wonder Girl, Cyborg and Kid Devil. Robin's new outfit also looks good with Tony's pencils, and his rendering of the Robin Cave was pretty nifty. All in all, solid, and much less jarring than his work in the pre-OYL issues.

Reviewer's Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

***

All in all, a very solid week for DC Comics. I'd go through all the books I got, but I don't really wanna sit around in front of the computer that much longer. I highly recommend all these books, they're solid buys, especially if you've already read some of the previous issues (the rest of the IC issues for the first two and Detecitve Comics #817 and Batman #651 for this week's Detective issue), though the Teen Titans issue should be an easy jumping on point for anyone without having to read anything else beforehand.

So, those are my reviews for the week. Like I said, if y'all enjoy these, lemme know and I'll see if I can't keep doing them.

~JTS