Quick Reviews

Runaways #20 - After the grim and lackluster "Return of the Pride" storyline, it would appear that the Runaways have gotten their groove back. Of course, the team is not exactly in a good place with Chase hellbent on resurrecting Gerty and Xavin's robophobic antagonizing of Victor, but still, this issue feels like a return to the glory days of the team (and by "glory days," I mean "about six months ago"). The real star of this issue is Molly, and I'm sure all Runaway fans gave a collective "FUCK YEAH" when she laid the beat-down on Dogzilla.

Robin #154 - This issue reminds me of the glory days of the title, those mid-Nineties, Chuck Dixon issues with Robin up against realistic criminals. The art work also reminds me of that era, as it is cartoony, but doesn't go overboard with the big eyes and spiky hair. Overall a good, if not nostalgic, issue. But I hate that Dodge punk. I can't wait for him to get blown up.

X-Men: The First Class #1 - So we have another throw back to the 1960's era X-Men, those yellow and black pajamas and weak-ass powers. I had to read this book because, if there is one era I hate the most in comics, it's the 1960's X-Men. That stuff was awful, so I was happy to hear of something that might add some quality to the original team. Luckily, the quality is there. But, saddly, the continuity is not. Thanks to references to email and X-Boxes, there is no way we can fit these stories into continuity (at least not for another ten years). The art is great and the characterizations are pretty good, especially compared to the wooden and/or obnoxious characters of the 1960s. Plotwise, this is a little too simular to the deus ex machina riddened issues of Stan Lee. So, to wrap it up: Much better than the original 60's stories and better than X-Men: The Hidden Years, but not as strong as my need for quality retroconning.

Civil War: X-Men #3 - Why is it that the Civil War tie-in mini series have less to do with Civil War than the monthly tie-ins do? Four days after reading this, I barely remember what happened. I am only left wondering why the X-Men don't have a major part in Civil War as a whole? If there is one thing the X-Men hate, it'd be registration. Oh well, at least the Wolverine tie-ins are (getting) good (again).

Birds of Prey #98 - I read this out of interest in who it is dressing up as Batgirl Classic and fighting crime in Metropolis. I'm not sure, but I think I should have just let my curiosity go. I'll just say that the Birds confront the "new" Batgirl and she turns out to be someone/something I couldn't have expected. I think Gail Simone laid down some dark vengeance on me.

Pride of Baghdad - A quick review can't do this book justice, but for now all I can say is, "Wow!"