Batman: Gotham Knights #32
Now that he's back as a solid citizen again,
writer Devin Grayson gives us a day in the life of Bruce Wayne.
It's a great slice of life piece that hearkens back to the
days of Neal Adams on the character, when Bruce was
important to both Batman and Gotham City. Sadly, it's a take
that until now has gotten lost in the shuffle of cross-overs
and big events.
The art team really runs with this chance
to draw the ordinary, and we can only hope that this balance
between Bruce and Batman continues. If there are any drawbacks
to the story, it's this weird sticking point that nobody in
Bludhaven seems to have any clue that there's a connection
between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne. Was he only a ward in
secret?
The back-up story by Mark Askwith and Michael
Kaluta is both pretty and pretty nifty. This has been the
most fun Batman book in a while.
Rating: 
Birds Of Prey #46
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
you can't go wrong with a story about World War II mixed with
dinosaurs, mercenaries, and Black Canary. Well, you can, but
Chuck Dixon doesn't. Wrapping up his run on the book, Dixon
ends with a bang. Good luck at CrossGen, Mr. Dixon. DC will
miss you.
Rating: 
Daredevil #36
Call this issue Matt Murdock: The Man
Without Huevos. Who would have thought that the woman
to tame him would be Foggy Nelson? Succumbing to his partner's
pleas, Matt's reponse to his "outing" is to utterly turn his
back on the superhero life. Not even the urgings of the Black
Widow can bring him out of it. In the process, Brian Michael
Bendis turns the spotlight on Foggy. Frankly, you're not going
to like what you see, even though it's an understandably human
sight. This storyline continues to be gripping, despite almost
nothing actually happening.
Rating: 
JSA #39
There's a real easy and trendy explanation
for Powergirl's persona, and thankfully Goyer and Johns refuse
to go the easy way. Just what exactly we are to take away
from this issue still seems a little unclear, but the occasional
Karen Starr wouldn't want it any other way. The spotlight
falls on this heroine without effective origin, as a supervillain
decides that he's the only man for her. It's a fun issue,
with great art by Patrick Gleason and Christian Alamy that
brings to mind Doug Mahnke's work on Major Bummer.
Johns promised at Comic-Con that Powergirl's character and
origin would become clearer in the months ahead, and this
issue makes a good start.
Rating:
Peter Parker: Spider-Man #47
An interesting ending almost saves this tired
rehash of the conflict between Spider-Man and Green Goblin.
Almost. The first half of the story was already covered back
when John Byrne was working on the book. To be fair, a lot
of you probably weren't reading it then. But Paul Jenkins
also steals from Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, and
it's such a naked grab that it feels like the writer is as
tired as the story. Having Osborn essentially take over the
former function of The Kingpin in Spider-Man's life would
be fine; it's just getting harder and harder to explain why
he does it in that ridiculous costume.
Rating: 
Supergirl #73
Next issue, three Supergirls will face off
against each other: Earth Angel, depowered Linda, and Bizarro.
And just for good measure, Peter David throws in a suspiciously
familiar rocket ship speeding toward the Earth. Until the
final showdown against Lilith can begin, David also offers
up some interesting contrasts between Mary Marvel and Supergirl.
Still, if the climax wasn't going to make it into the 75th
issue anyway, why stretch out the build-up for the last couple
of issues?
Rating:
Ultimate X-Men #21
Welcome to the X-Men, Kitty Pryde. If your
mother has her way, you just might survive the experience.
Mark Millar has injected a pretty basic question into the
X-concept by having there be real repercussions for Iceman's
injuries sustained against Proteus. Why does training these
mutants to control their powers mean they have to be superheroes?
Despite his reasonableness, Professor X doesn't have any easy
answers, which does make one wonder if he has been surreptitiously
using his abilities to change people's minds about the whole
thing. Though Millar ends this issue with the promise of a
familiar cosmic threat, the quieter, realistic conflict really
might have been the more interesting way to go. (Though, of
course, we haven't seen the last of it. He's too good to just
drop it.)
Rating:
