Here's how I ranked the new books bought & read from June 22, 2011:

1 Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing #1 ***** 
2 Batman: Gates of Gotham #2 ***** 
3 Zatanna #14 **** 
4 Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #1 **** 
5 Green Arrow #13 ***1/2 
6 Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #1 *** 
7 Flashpoint: The Outsider #1 *** 
8 Action Comics #902 *** 
9 Justice League of America #58 **1/2 
10 Flashpoint: Reverse Flash **1/2 
11 Superman #712 ** 
12 Batman and the Outsiders #40 * just for Philip Tans's wonderful art -- I hated Dan Didio's pathetic excuse for comic book storytelling with his run on this book!




And this is how I ranked the new books I bought & read from June 15, 2011:


1 Legion of Super-Heroes #14 **** Saturn Queen continues to show how much of a bad@$$ villainess leader she is with this issue. At the same time, the intrigue with Harmonia Li is raised & it was great to see Mon-El leading the charge with Dawnstar searching for Saturn Queen & her Legion of Super-Villains.

2 Teen Titans #96 **** - This book was not on my pull since #87, but with this great spotlight on Beast Boy/Changeling, it just got added back until it sadly ends with #100!

3 Batgirl #22 **** - This book is not on my pull, but I picked this up because I love the Knight & Squire duo & this great stand-alone issue was a really fun adventure taking place in the UK! Cheers! 

4 Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons #1 (of 3) **** - This was a really great look at a still-living Boston Brand performing alongside Dick Grayson & his parents & beautiful art to boot! This mini wasn't on my pull, but just got added!

5 Power Girl #25 ***1/2 - I'm so happy about how this 2-parter ended! It was looking like the Arab metahuman might not get a good ending to his story, but thankfully that was not the case!  Justice was served with Batman's help  & I really liked the touching scene between the determined Rayhan Mazin & his father, especially with his father's last words to him. Winick did a solid here.

6 Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Abin Sur ***

7 Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #1 (of 3) ***

8 Batman #711 ***

9 Flashpoint: Wonder Woman #1 (of 3) * - This gets such a low-ranking score primarily because of Garth's terrible treatment in the flashback story. This & the Emperor Aquaman mini have NOT been added to my pull. 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from June 8, 2011:


1 Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1 ****1/2
2 Birds of Prey #13 ****
3 The Unwritten #26 ****
4 Booster Gold #45 ****
5 Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #1 ***1/2
6 Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Tomar-Re ***1/2
7 Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Kilowog ***1/2
8 Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #1 **1/2 -- I'm just not understanding what all went down between Aquaman & Wonder Woman & expected that much to be shown with this issue. I mean why did Aquaman assassinate Queen Hippolyta??
I'm surprised at how there's only been 1 Flashpoint book I haven't bought yet when I only planned on buying the main series, 2 of the minis, and the Canterbury Cricket one-shot..




Here's how I ranked the books I had bought & read from June 1, 2011: 


1 Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1 *****
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?messageID=2006523564&#2006523564 - My review is there.

2 Superboy #8 *****
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?messageID=2006516991&#2006516991 - My review is here.

3 Flashpoint: Abin Sur: The Green Lantern #1 *****
Considering the only thing I've ever read by Adam Schlagman was the Animal Man story in the Untold Tales of Blackest Night one-shot, and Abin Sur has never really been fleshed out as a character at all, Schlagman really surprised me here by doing so so completely! He made him a very interesting character that I now actually care about, not just Hal Jordan's predecessor! Also, Felipe Massafera's art was spectacular from the first page until the last! I was wowed here! 

4 Flashpoint #2 ****1/2
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000245479&start=15&tstart=0 - My review is here.

5 Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1 ****1/2
Traci 13 is a surprisingly excellent character to use as the focal point of this mini & I'm interested in how she is the only one besides Barry Allen that has any memories (however vague they may be) of the previous timeline like how she was dating Blue Beetle III (Jaime Reyes). I really liked her interaction with Madame Xanadu in this issue too, although it was sad (and also foreboding) to see what happened to the good Madame after Traci's visit.

6 Secret Six #34 ****
Wow! I am SO glad Gail had the Six catch the b@stard that was about to kill Liana!! I literally almost cheered when Scandal dealt the final blow! I mean I don't usually get excited about seeing people kill other people, but that guy was truly a deranged monster & either way, these are villains/mercenaries that are dealing out the punishment. So, I am just still a little confused as to how Scandal found Knockout in Hell since I thought all the New Gods were revived on some alternate Earth. But, that's really my only gripe with this issue. Simone had some decent characterization otherwise like with Scandal's heart-to-heart with both Rag-Doll & Jeannette.

7 Strange Adventures ****
This Vertigo one-shot was just amazing!! There was a LOT of neat little stories packed into this!

8 Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance #1 ****
What shocking differences there are between the Thomas Wayne Batman & the Bruce Wayne Batman we all are familiar with!! He's killed a lot of his major enemies besides the Joker--Hush, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and as seen by the end of this issue--Killer Croc. Very interesting...

9 Static Shock Special ***
This was a decently done homage to the late comics pioneer, Dwayne McDuffie.

I just wish now that I had been able to buy last week's books last week as I know Xombi #3 definitely deserved to be ranked higher thanJustice Society of America #51 (even if I didn't read that issue of JSA). 


(Marc Guggenheim's "Supertown" was the worst JSA story I ever had the displeasure of reading & was what made me drop the book for only the second time ever. The first time was with JSA #83-87.)




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought and read from May 18, 2011:


1 Booster Gold #44 ****
2 Zatanna #13 ****
3 Legion of Super-Heroes #13 ***1/2
4 Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 ***1/2
5 Power Girl #24 ***1/2
6 Superman/Batman #84 ***
7 Justice League of America #57 ***
8 T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7 ***
9 Batman #710 ***
10 Outsiders #39 no stars at all--just bad 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from May 11, 2011:


1 R.E.B.E.L.S. #28 *****
2 Birds of Prey #12 ****
3 Flashpoint #1 ****
4 Superman #711 ****
5 The Flash #12 ***1/2
6 Batman, Inc. #6 ***

I was surprised at just how underwhelmed I was with Batman, Inc. this week...  It's been consistently my favorite "Bat" book each month it's come out, except this month now. The art was half the problem this issue, but the whole non-explanation with the Outsiders thing & especially having Freight Train still with them (ugh!!) were the top reasons this ranks so low this week/month. Also, who was that new "Batman" in Australia?? An explanation would have been nice. 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from May 4, 2011:


1 Doom Patrol #22 *****
2 Freedom Fighters #9 ****
3 Secret Six #33 ****
4 Superboy #7 ***1/2
5 Adventure Comics #526 ***1/2 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from April 27, 2011:


1 Xombi #2 *****
2 Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #9 *****
3 Batman, Inc. #5 ****1/2
4 Green Arrow #11 ***1/2
5 The Flash #11 ***1/2
6 Justice League: Generation Lost #24 ***1/2
7 Action Comics #900 ***1/2
8 Wonder Woman #610 ***
9 Brightest Day #24 **1/2
10 Justice Society of America #50 **1/2




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from April 20, 2011:


This week was full of entertaining reads!!

1 Zatanna #12 ****
2 Superman/Batman #83 ****
3 Green Lantern #65 ****
4 Power Girl #23 ****
5 Green Lantern Corps #59 ***1/2
6 Batman #709 ***
7 Gotham City Sirens #22 ***
8 Legion of Super-Heroes #12 ***
9 Justice League of America #56 **1/2 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from April 13, 2011:


1) R.E.B.E.L.S. #27
2) Booster Gold #43
3) Superman #710
4) T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6
5) Justice League: Generation Lost #23
6) Birds of Prey #11
7) Superboy #6
8) The Flash #10
9) Outsiders #38 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from March 16, 2011:


Xombi #1
Knight and Squire #6 (of 6)
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #5
Power Girl #22
R.E.B.E.L.S. #26
Brightest Day #22
Batman #708
Superman #709
DC Universe: Legacies #10 (of 10) 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from March 4, 2011:


I just purchased my pulled books from the local comic store for the first 3 weeks of March 2011 on Wednesday this week because I was given a 20% coupon that expires on March 20. SO, that's why I'm only getting around to ranking the books I bought & read for this week now....And, yes, I know it's too late to have my votes count..
And, here they are, though it was incredibly difficult to rank most of them as I definitely enjoyed them all:

1 Green Lantern #63 - Great issue!! It was very revealing to see the previously-untold story of how Krona was rejected by the Guardians of the Universe & how he first enacted revenge on them with the Manhunters! That was a surprise twist that actually really made sense! I also really enjoyed all the interaction between the 7 so-called "New Guardians" of the "Emotional Spectrum Corps"! I have really enjoyed this concept & still do so far. I'll post a full review on the Green Lantern boards.

2 Giant-Size Atom #1 - Wow!! This practically ties for the #1 spot! I've said it before in reference to the current Superboy series, but I'll say it again: Jeff Lemire really knows how to tell an exciting superhero story! I'm thinking this guy might be the new Geoff Johns. I would love to see him write a new Justice League International ongoing once Justice League: Generation Lost ends! I would prefer not to have Winick do so, when there's a real imaginitive, inventive, truly creative writer like Lemire around!
I'll post a full review of this special Atom issue elsewhere on the boards.

3 Brightest Day #21 - I haven't seen the ubiquitous Martian Manhunter kick this much ass since the "Trial by Fire" story in JLA #84-89! Good job, Geoff!

4 Freedom Fighters #7 - I can't believe this series is going to end with only nine issues! And I was so excited initially when the characters & writing team of the 2 Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters minis were getting an ongoing series. Travis Moore has been decent in the art department as well, IMO.
My review of this issue can be read here (at the bottom of the first page): http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/message.jspa?messageID=2006413725#2006413725

5 Secret Six #31 - I knew this had to happen though I wasn't expecting it! Simone rocks these characters each month! I love how instinctive Scandal was in going after Rag-Doll for the "get out of hell free" card! This whole issue just flowed wonderfully from that scene to the team taking the elevator down to hell. I'll post my full review on the Secret Six boards soon.

6 Azrael #18 - If you're gonna go out, go out with a bang! This series has been a real interesting treat & it's sad to see it go, though it definitely would seem to have had a proper ending. Man, this issue with the meeting of Fireball in Afghanistan was quite a unique introduction & after reading this, I am anxious to see how this story continues in Batman .

7 Batman: Streets of Gotham #20 




Here's how I ranked the new comics I bought & read from February 23, 2011:


1 Power Girl #21 - It was great seeing Bruce help PG out so thoroughly as in this issue. "Damn right!" The only sad downside of this issue was seeing the last of the takeover of Starrware as PG's company was the #1 thing I loved about Palmiotti & Gray's run on the book.
2 Action Comics #898 - This was Luthor showing his true ruthless side & I loved the interaction between him & Larfleeze.
3 Justice League: Generation Lost #20 - This finally showed us what Max Lord's motivations have been since his villainous side was first revealed in the Countdown to Infinite Crisis one-shot.
4 Green Arrow #9
5 Gotham City Sirens 
6 Justice Society of America #48
7 JLA/The 99 #5 (of 6) 

And the following was taken from the thread on the DCCMB where "rogerburks" had readers to rank the new comic books read from June 30th, 2011:

1 Xombi #4 ***** 
The plot thickens as Annie Palmer reveals her story & the details on the intriguing Strongholds. This book is just incredibly interesting in its uniqueness & journey through the bizarre! 

2 Flashpoint: The Canterbury Cricket ****1/2 
The all-but-forgotten former Global Guardian, Godiva of the UK, is featured in this fun one-shot! And the Canterbury Cricket's tale was quite interesting too, very different from most of the other "Flashpoint" stuff. 

3 Batman, Inc. ****1/2 
This was an excellent spotlight on Man-of-Bats & Red Raven, a Native American dynamic duo! 

4 Flashpoint: Hal Jordan **** 
I've heard before that "imitation is the highest form of flattery" & this tale of Hal Jordan's somewhat mirroring things seen in Geoff Johns' "Secret Origin" story shows that that story was an instant classic & this comic just built on some things with it. I still wish that the "Green Lantern" movie had done the same in closely adapting from the "Secret Origin" story... 

5 Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #11 ***1/2 
Guy seemed kind of devolved personality-wise in this issue & I was left wondering why a little bit. 

6 Gotham City Sirens ***1/2 

7 JSA 80-Page Giant 2011 *** 

8 T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #8 *** 

9 Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Hal Jordan **1/2 

10 Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries **1/2 




I had also replied to poster "gothamstar06" on that thread with the following:


> 1) Batman Inc #7 - One of my favorite reads of
> the year, this done in one Batman on a budget story
> was gritty and compelling and very down to earth from
> Grant Morrison of all people! I know Batwing is
> getting a series but after reading this Man-of-Bats
> might be a better candidate.

I totally agree with this review! 

The following is taken directly from the DC Comics Message Boards when I replied to this thread http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000249456&start=15&tstart=0 where I ranked the new comics I bought from the week of July 6. I tried to regularly participate in these types of threads that "rogerburks" oversaw. Here was my post:

Man, it's REALLY difficult to rank this past week's books! They were all great reads! But, here we go! 

1 Superboy #9 ***** 
I LOVED the interaction between Simon Valentine & Lori Luthor (Lori: "Why do the frogs have to be pink?") & him & Psionic Lad (Simon suggesting he call himself "Psion" & PL telling his conspirator from the future that he's not going to kill his new friend Simon). And Superboy was shown as being very good at asking "Phantom Stranger" the right questions & I honestly was duped by the pretender for almost as long as Conner was too. I am SO going to miss this book in September! 

2 Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #2 (of 3) ***** 
The interaction between Traci 13 & Madame Xanadu was very well done & I still just really appreciate that MX was used decently in this mini at all. The trip around the world that Traci took was quite a good look at the "Flashpoint" DCU too & it was great to see a few like Changeling & Natasha Irons were not forgotten about there. Then, there was the very much surprise ending with Traci's father, Dr. 13, knowing magic & attacking her with it! It's so very ironic because he traditionally is a character who likes to disprove magic & thinks of it all as trickery & illusions. 

3 Flashpoint: Secret Seven #2 (of 3) ****1/2 
Amethyst shows up!! And she is used in the beginning of the issue in a very different, mature setting for the character as a teacher for refugee children to America! I was just upset that she was killed by the end of the issue! Rac Shade's inner monologue about June Moone/Enchantress was interesting, as was the interaction on the one page between punk/biker chick Zatanna & demonic-looking Raven. The Mindwarp character seems kind of interesting too, though I am left wondering why other already-existing mystic/magical/supernatural characters like Dr. Occult, Mr. E, Faust, Ragman, Blue Devil, Bloodwynd or others were passed up for usage in favor of this brand-new guy. Abra Kadabra throwing a wrench into Shade's plans for reunion has me intrigued though & really wondering how this story is going to wrap up nicely with just one issue left. 

4 Flaspoint: Abin Sur - The Green Lantern #2 (of 3) **** 
I LOVE the art in this mini!! That is THE BEST thing about it! I mean where in the world has Felipe Massafera been hiding all this time that I've never seen his work before at DC??? 
Ok, besides the art, what I liked about this issue is that we see what things might've been like in the DCU if Abin Sur had survived his crash landing on Earth originally & that is quite interesting to me! It was neat seeing him & Cyborg standing side-by-side with the President too! 

5 Flashpoint #3 (of 5) **** 
This was another solid overall look at what's going on in this altered universe & also great to see Barry get his powers back! It was great seeing his fierce determination to regain them! And I loved the last-second save he pulled on the "Flashpoint" Batman too! And, I may be in the minority, but as a hopefully temporary alternate timeline, I thought that the Superman introduction in this issue was very well-done! Poor Krypto, though a.k.a. "Subject 2"...  

6 Secret Six #35 ***1/2 
I LOVE the villain Bane, but I have to say, after having read Batman: Gotham Knights #47-49 where he completed a soul-searching journey of inner peace & seemed to have mostly made amends with Batman, this story is a little bit out of left field for me. But, if you forget about that 3-issue story, then Gail does a great job of explaining his motivations what with the Six's recent excursion to Hell & back. What has me a little confused though is why most of the team is all about joining him on his little venture. I would think that it would be something that Bane would want to embark on separately much like how Cat-man did when he was hell-bent on finding his kidnapped son. 
But, all that aside, there was a lot of fun dialogue & interaction in this issue, particularly between Bane & Cat-man, Knockout & Scandal, and King Shark! I mean these are definitely "bad guys" & Gail does not portray them any differently & just does a great job of getting us into their heads & seeing what could keep a team like this together! 

7 Adventure Comics #528 *** 

Soooo, it's been a long time since I last posted a new blog entry here. And since I dedicated this to blogs about comic books mostly, I thought my new post in about 3 years should at least mention that I'm returning to blogging here about DC Comics' books because I was effectively chased away from the DC Comics Message Boards, the almost solitary place I used to converse about my comic collecting hobby/passion/addiction...

It's sad, but there were several other posters there, namely "darkbatman1", "jokergas", "munkeypunk", and possibly to a lesser degree, "bcbdla", "stupidmultiverse", and "dvdkim", who made it very unenjoyable to discuss the books I'd bought and read (which is a considerable amount especially for being unemployed for a period of time) or anything else going on with DC Comics.

Those first 3 were definitely the worst, maddeningly so, really, but "bcbdla" also was like the "Red Queen" of the Resident Evil movie by acting like a mother hen moderator of the Boards trying to derail any & all negativity expressed by anyone toward anything DC did or was doing.

And "stupidmultiverse" on one thread aggravated me to no end seemingly on purpose by repeatedly asking me the same couple of questions which I answered very clearly & directly each time, while he/she completely would ignore questions I would ask like "Are none of the current teenaged heroines really not popular enough to have been included in the upcoming Teen Titans over the hideous Bugg & charcoal-briquette-looking girl??" I even listed practically ALL of DC's teenage heroines like Aquagirl (Lorena), Miss Martian, Speedy (Mia), Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Squire (Beryl), Traci 13, Stargirl, and plenty of others, and instead of actually answering questions like that that I presented to him/her, he/she just turned things around on me making an argument that I treat DC's characters like they are real people & that I talk about them like they are real people.

I more than once pointed out how he/she needed to get off his/her high horse or pedestal talking to me like that as everyone on the Boards talk about fictional characters passionately, including him/her.

That kind of tactic being used by "stupidmultiverse" that I've also seen another couple of posters use before too to try to make themselves sound like they are somehow so much more mature than others on the Boards (when just posting on the Boards at all shows at least some level of immaturity to begin with) is such a hypocritical thing & a pet peeve of mine!

So, really it was a combination of too many posters over just the past couple of months making me feel like I had to only have good things to say about all of DC's books & would also personally attack or insult me even when I would not do so to them. The best examples of that were most definitely "darkbatman1" and "jokergas" on this thread http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?messageID=2006628479&#2006628479 and "dvdkim" on this thread http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000249654&tstart=15 .

The first thread I linked to was definitely the last straw for me though & what made the DC Comics Message Boards NOT a fun place to visit anymore. I will miss a bunch of posters there, especially all those that participated in the "Shadowpact Game" thread that I oversaw like "jaylayson", "ultron81", and "tremo77" and also others like "tamaranorbust", "srvihs", "robolivera", "chach-el", and even "steveaux"/"ianto" (those last 3 being the only ones I've also befriended on facebook so far, as well).

So, this is my ode/farewell to the DCCMB. I was "garthling" on there from 2002-early July 2011. It was fun for a long time, and interesting (for good or bad) the entire time.