Comic Roundup: September 14, 2011

• Things have been upside down recently, so I'm quite behind on comic reviews. I rarely get to the shop now. And when I do, I have less time to read. So I have roughly a full month of comics to go over. Better get started. In order of anticipation:


• Mystic issue 1 - Marvel continues their renewal of the Crossgen franchises, this time with Mystic. I read very little of it in the first incarnation, but there is something winning about this version. The first issue deals with two girls who dream of escaping their orphanage to learn magic. It is a classic tale where the ending is written based on how it began. But the writing and art have me interested in how they execute it. I'm very likely to see this miniseries to the end.


• Justice League issue 1 - The all-star team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee take on the all-star cast of the Justice League, showing how the group came together. If I have a compliment to give it, it's that this issue reminded me of the Marvel Ultimate books. The story will obviously take its time to build, but that makes the anticipation that much greater. Assuming it holds up, there may be a second DC comic that I end up reading on a monthly basis.


• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine issue 1 - Did you know this was happening? I certainly didn't. I lost interest in Season Eight as it went along as the story went real wacky there at the end. But considering how that series wrapped up, I was at least curious how this would go. This issue could very well just be the next issue in the series instead of a new number one. But I'm still curious what Joss does with Buffy from here. Especially since I get a strong Season Six vibe from the issue. And I intend that to be a compliment.


• Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness issue 3 - This series continues to be the best Danger Girl since the original series. I don't know if adding Ash to the mix was required to make it good again, but some thing works.


• Rocketeer Adventures issue 4 - As last issue in the series, it did not end on the strongest of notes, storywise. The Ashley Wood pinups at the end actually were amazing, but the stories did not live up the the great start. Nonetheless, I'm so happy that IDW has helped to bring the Rocketeer back to life with so many creative people. I'm sure Dave Stevens would be proud.


• Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom issue 2 - Like the first issue, Fall of Barsoom is an interesting take on Burroughs' world. As long as the quality keeps up, it looks like I'll keep buying Warlord of Mars books.


• Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris issues 5 & 6 - Like these.


• Warlord of Mars issue 9 - And this one too. I really hope they don't start any more series.


• Batwoman issue 1 - I've been waiting for this comic for a long time. You could say I've been waiting since November 2010 when issue zero came out. Or you could say I've been waiting since April 2010 when her last issue in Detective Comics came out. It is worth the wait. J.H. Williams produces beautiful art with an amazing eye for how a page is designed. And his writing, alongside Haden Blackman, feels like a perfect continuation of the story that Greg Rucka started. If Batwoman fell off your radar because of the long wait, it's time to come back. (And it's time for me to fire up my Batwoman look-alike in Champions Online, I think.)


• Criminal: Last of the Innocent issue 4 - I know that everyone love this arc, but I continue to be left cold by it. I think that it is because I lack any connection to the comics that it is referencing. It's a fine story. An interesting story, even. But it feels like I'm at arm's length from it because I'm not in on the joke. That may be my fault or the comic's. Either way, I hope that the next Criminal series speaks to me more.

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