Malin’s #CBR5 Review #91: Wonder Woman vol 1: Blood by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins

After DC pressed the big cosmic reset button AGAIN, quite a lot of their superhero titles no longer exist, and others have pretty much been rebooted from scratch. Generally uninterested in these “new” interpretations, I’ve been avoiding DC (the first new issue of Catwoman were especially atrocious, really beyond awful), but my husband picked up Azzarello’s reboot of Wonder Woman and strongly recommended I give it a chance. I always liked the character, but figured that when even Gail Simone (whoseBirds of Prey and Secret Six comics I loved) couldn’t really get her right, it was unlikely that anyone would. I was wrong, though. Azzarello’s take is fresh, and interesting, and Wonder Woman herself is as awesome as she should be.

Full review on my blog. 

Malin’s #CBR5 Review #90: Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison and various artists

Following on from the events of Batman R.I.P, Final Crisis, Batman and Robin and The Return of Bruce Wayne, this trade paperback collects a lot of stories setting up the new and international Batman Incorporated. Bruce Wayne has gone public as the financier of Batman. He wants to make sure that anywhere there is crime, there will be a Batman, or someone closely linked to him. Batman and his associates travel the globe to recruit new members for their organisation, while fighting the emerging crime syndicate known as Leviathan.

Complete review on my blog.

Malin’s #CBR5 Review #89: Absolute All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

I’m going to start with a confession. I didn’t use to like Superman much. I thought he was a goody two-shoes, a bit wet, and just not as interesting as Batman, or as cool as Wonder Woman, the other two big superheroes of the DC Universe. My husband always told me I was wrong, and while I like the 1978 film with Christopher Reeve, I was just never convinced that he was worth my while. Grant Morrison changed my mind about that. In his twelve issue mini-series, which did rather better than Frank Millar’s spectacular train-wreck All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (for one thing, it got completed), Morrison tells an utterly compelling story, showing why Superman is one of the ultimate superheroes, and why, while he might not be as cool and gritty as Bruce Wayne, Kal El is a much more admirable character.

Warning! There will be certain spoilers for the new film Man of Steel in this review. If you haven’t seen it (do yourself a favour, and just don’t – it’s NOT a Superman story, and it’s a long, boring and just really rather depressing film), you may want to avoid this review. You can go read All-Star Superman instead. It’s amazing and captures exactly who Superman is and why he is so great.

Full review on my blog.

Malin’s #CBR5 Review #88: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith

Orphan Billy Batson lives in an abandoned building, when his life is changed completely. An ancient wizard grants him the ancient powers of seven legendary heroes and gods, and whenever Billy utters the magic word: “Shazam!” he turns into Captain Marvel (never named as such in the comic due to licensing restrictions), an adult superhero. Yet Billy went wandering to places he shouldn’t, and now there is an invasion of giant alien monsters, and scary talking animals calling themselves the Monster Society of Evil.

Can Billy Batson, his little sister Mary and their friend, the talking tiger Tawky Tawny prove that the sinister Doctor Sivana is in league with the Monster Society of Evil and up to no good? Can they remove the alien threat before the mysterious Mister Mind and the gigantic alien vessels destroy all human life on Earth?

More on my blog.