BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY #18/ Written by JULIE & SHAWNA BENSON/ Art by MARCIO TAKARA/ Colors by JORDAN BOYD/ Letters by DEZI SIENTY/ Published by DC COMICS
Approached by her former employers with the organization Spyral about bringing a suspected arms dealer to justice, Huntress is all too eager to bring The Birds of Prey into help. Unfortunately, their covert operation quickly goes south and the team find themselves having to save Paris from an overpowered climate-control engine. The good news is my prayers for a new art team for this comic were answered. The bad news is that Roge Antonio was replaced with Marcio Takara, whose work here is sadly closer to his recent sloppy and over-inked run on Detective Comics than his work on All-New Wolverine. At least the color art by Jordan Boyd is better, but it’s barely worth suffering through Takara’s art to get to the excellent story by The Benson Sisters.
DETECTIVE COMICS #972/ Written by JAMES TYNION IV/ Pencils by MIGUEL MENDONCA/ Inks by DIANA EGEA/ Colors by JASON WRIGHT/ Letters by SAL CIPRIANO/ Published by DC COMICS
As riots break out around Gotham, Batman must face a Clayface driven mad by the tortures of The Victim Syndicate. Batwoman makes a reluctant alliance to try and end the conflict but will her actions bring about Tim Drake’s worst nightmare? The only real flaw to this issue is its inability to be quickly absorbed by casual readers. The mythology James Tynion IV has woven at this point is too vast for that. Thankfully, the artwork is fantastic, meaning established fans of this series will have another great issue to look forward to. Newcomers are advised to start with the first TP collection.
THE FLASH #38/ Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON/ Art by SCOTT KOLINS/ Colors by HI-FI/ Letters by STEVE WANDS/ Published by DC COMICS
Trapped by Captain Cold and the rest of The Rogues in a secret sanctuary hidden within the walls of Iron Heights, The Flash must escape in order to save Kid Flash from a deadly booby-trap. Scot Kolins, who provided the artwork on a legendary run on The Flash with writer Geoff Johns returns for an issue and I wish he would stay forever. Time has not slowed Kolins’s stride and his work here is the best this series has seen in some time. Williamson’s script is equally strong, though it does set up a plot beat at the end regarding an undercover operation at the GCPD that makes little sense logically. Still a fantastic concludion to the current story arc.
INJUSTICE 2 #40/ Written by TOM TAYLOR/ Layouts by BRUNO REDONDO/ Finishes by JUAN ALBARRAN/ Colors by REX LOKUS/ Letters by WES ABBOTT/ Published by DC COMICS
In order to save a life, Batman must break his greatest abiding principal – his oath to never take a life. The unthinkable happens and events only become more unbelievable from there. Again, I regret the necessity of being vague in describing this issue. Tom Taylor’s story here cannot be described without giving away the game. Likewise, there is one page of the fantastic art of Bruno Dedondo, Juan Albarran and Rex Lokus I would dearly love to share but I can’t as it would give away too much. I will say that Harley Quinn fans who enjoy Harley being portrayed as an actual doctor will particularly enjoy this issue. So will everyone else. Read it!
TITANS #19/ Written by DAN ABNETT/ Pencils by PAUL PELLETIER/ Inks by ANDREW HENNESSY/ Colors by ADRIANO LUCAS/ Letters by JOSH REED/ Published by DC COMICS
The Titans have triumphed over Troia – the vicious Donna Troy of the future, who sought their destruction. Unfortunately, while the battle has earned The Titans a well-deserved sense of accomplishment, it has also earned them the attention of The Justice League, who question the stability of the younger superhero team. Titans #19 is a perfect jumping on issue for new readers. Dan Abnett walks new readers through most of the series’ subplots without being overly-expository. The new art team of Pelletier and Hennessy prove a market improvement over the previous one. Jump on this book now, folks!
Buy these comics at your local comic book store (don’t know where that is? here you go) or digitally via comixology.com!
Kabooooom! 