Pellet Comic Reviews for December 8

or, "Adventures in Squirrelsitting"

Batgirl #16 - I absolutely love Stephanie Brown. I always liked her as Spoiler, but I adore her Batgirl. Bryan Q. Miller is doing some fantastic writing, giving Stephanie a unique, maturing voice as she comes into her own as bot an adult and a superhero. This issue sees Steph's secret life and college life colliding together and it's fantastically engaging - especially her relationship with "Detective McCute Schtick." Dustin Nguyen continues to impress with his pencils, fantastic flow in panels and some fun playing with page design. Recommended reading. 4/5

DC Universe Holiday Special 2010 - A rather interesting collection of 6 holiday stories from around the DCU. The stand outs were the Jonah Hex Chanukkah story and Spectre story which focused on the Persian/Iranian holiday of Nououz. I was surprised by the multicultural bent of the issue and the focus away from Christmas. In all a very good anthology of stories. The only one I didn't like was the Anthro story, just wasn't engaged by it. 3/5

The Flash #7 - I was a big fan of Geoff Johns' previous "Rogue Profile" issues during his previous Flash run, and this first during his new run continues the tradition. This story serves as a really nice reintroduction to Digger Harkness that also serves to move the story forward. The Rogues have been my favorite group of villains in comics. They always seemed to have legitimate rationales for attacking their heroes, as opposed to "I want things!" Digger first challenges the Flash because he thinks he can sell more boomerangs if he beats the flash. Scott Kolins amazes on art, even with his new style. It's always nice seeing him back on the Flash. 5/5

Justice League: Generation Lost #15 - And the best Justice League book in probably the past 10 years continues to be awesome. Judd Winick has a great grasp on the personalities of all the JLI characters he's using and can pay them well off each other. There's a fantastically written scene between Booster Gold and Captain Atom where you can see Atom actually reaizing Booster as a real leader. Wonderful. The issue has two different artists but their styles are divided well over the issue. A fantastic book that is a joy to read every other week! 5/5

Knight & Squire #3 - Paul Cornell's fantastic take on Knight and Squire continues in all it's Brit-ophilia glory. This issue is a history and Shakespeare buff's dream as King Richard III is brought back from the grave. He uses his wile to bring other unfavored monarchs back from the grave to overthrow the Queen! Only the Knight can save the realm. A great issue chock full of references to England and literature. Jimmy Broxton is also jamming his panels with visual references (Revenge of the Cidermen!) and gags as well as story points. Great balancing act. 4/5

Mystery Society #5 - I've loved this book since the first issue, it's a fantastic mix of great, saucy writing from Steve Niles and amazing art from Ashley Wood and Fiona Staples. It's hard to talk about this book, it's pure fun in comic form with zany ideas, smooth talking leads and a steampunk Jule Verne Robot! I mean come on? Apparently this issue is the last of the series, which makes me sad as I'll miss this monthly douse of awesome. If you haven't checked it out, it seems the trade is being rushed to print within the next two weeks. 4/5

Nortlanders #35 - This book has been my Vertigo mainstay over the past few years, along with Sweet Tooth it's the only monthly Vertigo book I buy in issues. (Fables being my tradewaiting series) I simply love the tone of the book and the focus on pagans. It's a great look and each arc introduces some new aspect and era to the book. This issue features some particularly moody art from Becky Cloonan. I'll say, her style really fits with the tone of this story, but also through coloring matches the series as it has been for three years. I would have liked a bit more story from this first half, but this book is always a consistent read. 4/5

Red Robin #18 - I think this is my third attempt at this book and this one seems the most likely to keep me interested. Fabian Nicieza is my favorite "B" writer. He might not be the strongest writer, but he writes consistently decent books. I didn't absolutely love this issue, despite being the first part of a story arc I felt like I was missing a little information. I do worry Tim is too Bruce-like for my tastes. 3/5

Superboy #2 - This book was so close to being my Pick. A fantastic cover, a really great story, and solid interior art from Pier Gallo. Lemire's Superboy is exactly in my conception of the character. Part small town boy, part trying to fill his "Fathers' " shoes, part charmer. The idea that Poison Ivy would be hitting on him made me laugh. Just really fun, light fare that's written so well. Loved this book. 5/5

Thor: The Mighty Avenger #7 - Me? Reading a Romance book? Starring Thor? This is a lovely book that is so much fun to read and soak in the art. I'll be sad to see this book canceled with the next issue, but it promises to go out on a high note. Please be sure to check out the trade of the first 4 issues, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor. 4/5

And my Pick of the Week for this week is...

New Avengers #7 - Brian Michael Bendis is a writer I both love and hate. He walks a line with me that can fall too much into writing scenes where everyone sounds exactly the same spouting lines that he finds funny. This issue happened to fall into this trap, but excelled at it by playing it all for comedy. Essentially, nothing happens other than adding Doctor Strange to the team, but we get some fantastic characterizations along the way. I absolutely love any scenes with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Fantastic interplay there, one of the best couples in comics. Stuart Immonen was on fire this issue, doing facial expressions and the 26 panel interview page which resulted in one of the best moments of the issue. As well, I was unaware SG and Wolverine had a history. Another fantastic scene. There's not too much I can say other that this is, in my mind, the strongest Avengers book going (that isn't Thunderbolts!) and I'm glad to be back on board the New Avengers team! 5/5