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Short week everyone, as I only had a few books this time around.  Next week though could be shaping up to be another marathon, depending on if everything shows up on time.

Batman and Robin #5

Anyone that is even slightly familiar with Jason Todd knows that he has some real issues.  You can easily trace some of these issues back to having to live up to Dick Grayson when he replaced him as Robin.  So how the heck do you think he feels about not being Bruce’s choice to replace him as Batman?  Seeing how Dick has already bested him more than once, you can bet that this time around things are going to be amped all kinds of up.

With Jason as the Red Hood and his sidekick Scarlet at his side, he is taking the step that Bruce and now Dick refuse to take. This new Batman and Robin will fight crime, but they will not kill, something that the Red Hood and Scarlet have no problem with. Jason is even more than willing to point his guns squarely in Batman & Robin’s direction.  So as this new story arc continues, we find Batman & Robin facing off against the Red Hood and Scarlett.  I am not sure who has the most baggage here; the Hood, Scarlett or Robin.  This is a good little show down though, as Batman smacks around the Hood and Scarlett continues to keep getting the upper hand on a very mouthy Robin.

As great as the action is in this issue (and it is great), the deeper look into the insanity that is Scarlett and Jason Todd is just as sweet.  I for one love that I had to do a double take when Jason takes of his “Red Hood” and you see that he has a full head of flame red hair to match his disposition (Bruce made him color it to match Dick, talk about giving a messed up kid a complex), and on top of that it turns out that even nutty ex-sidekicks get zits under their helmets.

Batman and Robin have their hands full with this violent duo, and while the Red Hood thinks that Batman and Robin are nothing to worry about, it seems that Gotham is about to get a little more complicated.  Enter the Flamingo!  I know the name is absurd; Who in the hell is going to be afraid of a villain named the Flamingo?  Well, he has Scarlett’s attention after putting two in the head of The Red Hood.  Say what?!  That my friends is how issue #5 of Batman and Robin ends.  Not with a whimper, but with a bang bang you got shot in the head you stupid… ok I am better now.

Such a great issue!  This is what you want from a new series; for it to get better with every issue and make you hate that you have to wait a month for the next issue!  I didn’t even talk about the part where that crazy Flamingo fricker ate that one lady’s face!

Batman Annual #27

We start in a church with a bloody chalk outline.  Ever notice how nothing good ever happens when things start out in a darkened church with a fat cop standing around?  You know that things are going to get even worse when Batman and Robin are lurking in those same shadows.  So it seems that someone has killed a priest and destroyed the grave marker of a member of one of Gotham’s most prominent families.

So like any good crime fighting tag team, Batman and Robin quickly figure out that the dead priest is just collateral damage, and make with the stake out of the family residence of the Cantonini family, knowing that whoever smashed the headstone might turn up there to find the item they are looking for.  Which pays off as some nut ball dressed as the Demon Amon, who represents wrath, one of the seven deadly sins, appears.  What is it that Amon is after?  The youngest son of the Cantonini family; and if not for Batman getting in his way, Amon would have made off with Jackson Cantonini and been able to use him as leverage to get whatever it is that he is after.

Always quick on his feet, Batman comes up with a plan to replace Jackson with Robin, knowing that Amon is going to make another move for the boy.  Almost like clockwork Amon makes a move for who he thinks is Jackson, and due to Azrael showing up to foul up Batman’s plan, Amon is able to make off with Robin.

Knowing that his options are limited, Batman is left with no other option but to track down Azrael if he wants to get to the bottom of things and get Robin back.  Too bad that this Amon nut job is not working alone, as six other shadowy figures appear, and it is revealed that there are seven children being held hostage, each representing a blood sacrifice for one the seven deadly sins.

I find it funny that even from the angle that they show Robin, you can still tell that he’s ticked off.   Over all this is an excellent opening shot in this two-part story.  I am actually looking forward to this week’s Detective Comics Annual to find out how this all ends.  Fabian Nicieza has written a great story, and J. Calafiore’s pencils are solid and move the story along at a good pace.

You also get a neat little second story focusing around Barbara Gordon, and some freaky little evil nut job that is going around slapping Rorschach inkblots in blood that look like Batman’s symbol on walls.  Turns out the guy thinks he is a vampire and is a lab tech that works in the police precinct.  You know it is not going to be that easy, that maybe a Vampire is in town and is headed in Barbara’s direction.  Of course this will also be wrapped up in this week’s Detective Comics Annual!

So go and check this one out.  It is enjoyable and it is all building up to a new monthly Azrael comic coming soon!

Cable #19

I like it when things can be summed up fast and sweet.  Cable + Brood + Bishop = a ton of stuff getting killed.  See, told you nice and simple.  OK so it is a little more complicated than that, but basically it is the Brood trying to either eat or implant eggs in everyone, and Hope and Cable killing anything in their way.  Bishop is still tearing around the ship to make sure Hope is on it before setting off his arm nuke, and then he gets captured by the Brood and tries to make a deal with them to hand over Hope so that he can nuke them all at once.  Too bad the Brood took his robotic arm away.

It was a so-so story, not bad but nothing to want to write home about.  I just want a final show down between Cable and Bishop for all the marbles.  Or am I the only one feeling that way?  I must admit that I think I am suffering from some post Messiah War syndrome, as I have just not been able to get as excited about Cable as I was during that story arc.  I do hope that things will get back on track and that we will get to see Cable and Hope find their way back to the current time line.  I just hope they take care of Bishop though… especially as he is now under control of the Brood.

Captain America Theater of War: Ghosts of My Country

It is hard not to feel a twang of patriotism when reading this story.  I am almost not sure what to say about this one.  Spanning from the birth of our country and journeying through wars that nearly tore this nation apart, this very touching and personal story goes to prove that Captain America has been and always will be with us in spirit.  To attempt to say more would not do this excellent story justice.  It is one of those books that you just have to read for yourself, as each reader will be sure to take something different away with them.

I found myself giving this book a second and third read just to make sure that I did not miss anything.  This is such a moving story that it is in my humble opinion an almost must have for any fans of Captain America.  Then again, that could just be my patriotism showing.

This book never fails to deliver solid story telling and moving artwork.  I only hope that it continues to stay strong as it is an interesting take on Captain America, and one that I have been very happy with.

Jason Fenix
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