Well, here we go again. A couple more reviews of comics I picked up just today! (I was sick, I had time to read 'em and get here and review. Being sick sometimes has advantages.)

Previous Reviews:

Infinite Crisis #6 (of 7): 10/10
The OMAC Project Infinite Crisis Special: 8/10
Detective Comics #818: 9/10
Teen Titans #34: 8/10

***

Superman #651
"Up, Up,and Away! Chapter 3: Bare Hands"
Writers: Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek
Penciller: Pete Woods

Plot: Clark tests out the Green Lantern ring given to him by Hal. The Flea Circus breaks the Kryptonite Man out of Stryker's Island. The Prankster battles Green Lantern and Hawkgirl while Lois and Clark cover from the ground. Lex Luthor and the Toyman double cross Metallo. And Clark makes a decision about his future.

Review: Much like Detective Comics last week, I have to report on the refreshing and lovingly classic take on Superman in this crossover between the two primary Superman comics (the other being Action Comics, for those who aren't familiar). The third chapter of this engaging One Year Later story picks up where the last one left off: a powerless Clark Kent has been given a special Green Lantern ring, and his former Justice League teammates expect him to get back to heroing after being inactive for a year. I was a little nervous about this whole sequence, because it could've been very easy to get the characterization wrong. But once again, Geoff and Kurt passed this with flying colors. There are no flaws to this story that I can see. The interaction between Clark and Lois, discussing the past year and how Lois is happy that she doesn't have to share him with the world, that was spot on. Very much like Greg Rucka's characterization in Adventures of Superman last year, which is always good.

It's an Animated World: The new designs for the Toyman and Metallo have, on more than one message board, been compared to their appearances in Superman: The Animated Series, the late-90's addition to the Bruce Timm DC Animated Universe. And I couldn't be happier with that. Pete Woods has done a fantastic job on all the new villains in this crossover so far, from Lex Luthor the corporate baddie to classic villain Lex; from the new Kryptonite Man to the Flea Circus. And the heroes and supporting cast, from Clark, Lois, Jimmy and Perry to Hal, Supergirl, and Hawkgirl, the designs in this first One Year Later story have been excellent.

Overall, a very satisfying issue and continues in the tradition of the Batman and Superman titles being just so superior to start following their post-Crisis jump.

Reviewer's Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

***

Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #1
Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Pencillers: Dan Jurgens and Jimmy Palmiotti

Plot: The city of Blüdhaven was irrevocably changed during Infinite Crisis. In the aftermath, the government walls off the city and begins secret projects while keeping the citizens out of their homes. A year after the catastrophe, tensions are high amongst the civilians, and the government's metahuman force, Freedom's Ring, is trying to keep the peace. But when the Society sends in nuclear powered villains to uncover the secrets of Blüdhaven, all hell breaks loose!

Review: It's really quite strange. I've read books by Gray and Palmiotti before. I've read books by Jurgens before. Every book I've picked up by these creators, I've done so with hesitancy. And every time, I'm surprised at how good the stories are and how compelling the characters are. This book is no different. I came into this new post-Infinite Crisis miniseries very hesitantly; I had no idea who these new characters were, or why they wore their corny costumes. Who the heck is Major Force? Why should I care about a guy called Monolith? What the heck does Father Time have to do with Blüdhaven? And once again, these three folks have surprised me. Not a lot is revealed in this first issue, there are a lot of questions indeed. But I'm genuinely curious as to what's going to happen. I want to know more about Freedom's Ring and the Atomic Knights; someone mentioned in another forum that yes, that's Atomic Knights, plural--I didn't know there was a singular Atomic Knight, let alone five more of 'em! But, I'm ready to find out who they are and why they're in the Haven.

Jurgens and Palmiotti on art duties is very good, and their style is a good fit for this story; there's a hint of Golden Age heroics to the action sequences, and since a lot of these characters harken back to the early age of comics, that's a very cool thing. I liked the designs for Major Force and the Silent Majority, and while the backgrounds are sometimes lost, that's not a major complaint since the city this takes place in was wasted pretty badly.

Reviewer's Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

***

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #24
"Come Together"
Writer: Stuart Moore
Penciller: Jamal Igle

Plot: After the explosive ending of the previous issue, Lorraine Reilly and Jason Rusch reunite and reform the Firestorm Matrix. Firestorm travels to Washington where Senator Reilly rallies support against the bunker blaster nuclear weapon. Jason and Lorraine then head to New York, where Jason has a date. His dad shows up, but their reunion is interrupted after Firehawk leaves to confront Killer Frost, necessitating a merging to create Firestorm. But Killer Frost has some unexpected help.

Review: I never knew much about Firestorm prior to reading this series, which follows the second young man to carry the (nuclear) torch. I know next to nothing about the previous Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond, other than that he was partnered with one of his professors, a Doctor Martin Stein, who prior to the One Year Later jump was now partnering with Jason. This is the early mystery of Firestorm OYL: where is Professor Stein? It's all that Jason can really think about right now... well, other than his girlfriend (Gehenna, who's a metahuman as well, and who's a MAJOR enigma in her own right), his college work, his current Firestorm partner (former Justice League b-lister Firehawk who's grown up to become a Democratic Senator), and his father (who learned that he'd died during the Crisis, but then found out he hadn't died!). There's a LOT going on in this issue, and it gets a little overloaded if someone's never read the book, but Stuart Moore has done a great job with this series that he explains everything pretty well when it comes down to it. Jamal Igle's art is still very good, and this is a solid second issue coming out of OYL, and entrenches us in Jason's current status quo. I'm very interested in this series, and it's very underrated, so I suggest picking it up to help it along!

Reviewer's Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

***

Nightwing #119
"Pleased to Meet You--Hope You Guess My Name"
Writer: Bruce Jones
Penciller: Joe Dodd

Plot: Dick Grayson's been bested by metahuman twins in New York, and saved by another former Robin--Jason Todd--who's wearing his costume and killing street thugs. Dick is injured in a fight with Jason, limiting his Nightwing activities, but he also has to get his personal life in order, including his relationship with fashion designer Cheyenne, whose agency hires him as a model. Dick knows there's more going on with her than she lets on, and apparently Jason wants in on the action too...

Review: Of all the Bat-family titles that have been released "One Year Later," I've been least impressed by Nightwing. Bruce Jones really seems to want to do good things for this title. He's set up a classic "main character's being impersonated and set up, main character has to clear his name" story, but it's just falling a little flat so far. Jason Todd was an interesting character in Judd Winick's Red Hood saga over in the Batman title (which was alluded to early in this issue); here, he's a little over-the-top and much less intimidating, so far, than he was to Batman. Besides the Robin connection, there's no rich history between these two characters that makes their tension compelling. Jason's appearance in Batman and his conflict with Bruce Wayne were interesting because Bruce regarded Jason's death as his greatest failure, and Jason was angry that Bruce didn't take vengeance upon the Joker after he died. That said, there's no motivation for Jason to take on Dick as Nightwing other than for sadistic kicks at Bruce and to show Dick that he was the real Robin and real heir to Batman. Perhaps Jones will touch upon this in the future, which would be intersting (if predictable), since he seems to be a fixture for at least a while.

But so far it's just not clicking, and the artwork by Dodd isn't helping. Dick with long hair just makes me think of Mullet Nightwing from the Batman animated series, and that's not good. And beyond that, his illustrations just aren't crisp enough. Dick Grayson is, from what we've seen in Infinite Crisis, one of the premiere heroes on the planet and one of the most respected as well. It's a shame they can't get a better artist for such an important character.

Reviewer's Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

***

That's all for this week. Hope you pick up at least the first three titles, and Nightwing if you're interested in the characters of Dick and Jason. Otherwise, tune in next week; we should have some good stuff to choose from, as a new issue of Alex Ross's visual masterpiece Justice hits stands, as do Robin, Birds of Prey, and Manhunter.

~JTS