BEST OF THE WEEK
What I bought and what I thought, week of November 5!
POWERS 35
I must say that I didn't expect Bendis to lay so many cards out on the table at once, in this issue that actually explains a lot of the questions I've had since day one. As always, Bendis' usual fascinating Watchmen-style character interaction and excellent, expressionistic art by Mike Avon Oeming add up to another high-quality episode. But guys- if these are supposed to be 80s superheroes, where are the big shoulder pads, leg-band utility belts, and oversize guns? A
FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE 5
Well, it seems to me that the EPA would be the most logical people to treat, or at least handle, Cap Atom until someone else could...but logic's kinda beside the point in this series anyway. Lotsa laffs, interesting back-and-forth between Oracle and the Blue Beetle (don't read Birds of Prey, so I assume that this is something that's been going on for a while), and a clever scene at the end with Batman and J'onn J'onzz add up to another entertaining chapter of a miniseries that feels a little padded and might have been better served as a one-shot. Also, we get the return of Manga Khan, a character that apparently DeMatteis and Giffen have a lot more affection for than I do. A-
TOM STRONG 23
Alan Moore is gone, and now we get Peter Hogan who gives us a so-so story about a mysterious race of bat-people living on the moon which has a couple of twists that mean more to those of us who have followed this book from the onset than they would to anyone else. The main attraction of this particular issue, for me anyway, is that it's 24 uninterrupted pages of Chris Sprouse pencils, and that's always a good thing. B+
BAD GIRLS 4
Boy, do I love those swellio Darwyn Cooke covers. Boy, am I relieved that new inker Daniel Krall is able to work in the Jason Bone style, thus ensuring that all important visual continuity. Boy, am I impressed with penciller Christine Norrie, who has done a great job so far. Boy, am I underwhelmed by the next-to-nothing story that Steve Vance has crafted for them to illustrate. Boy, is this ever a B- comic.
