Wednesday Haul. Sigh. More Zombies. (But also Batwoman!)

Not that I'm on a strict timetable, but I meant to get this in yesterday and the day just sort of got the better of me. So here we go. Same idea as last week, bottom to top.

Necrosha (one shot) - Yeah, zombies. Yawn. I don't care if DC or Marvel came up with this first, DC got it out first, so Marvel is late to the game. The art in this issue is really nice. There are three separate set-up stories. The plot of the first one is okay, but mostly exposition from Selene (it seems) and... big reveals of zombies I just don't care about. I'm sure you're wondering why I bothered, considering my general disdain with Marvel's universe at the moment. Well, Necrosha is a big cross over with New Mutants, and NM is one of the two titles I regularly read from Marvel (though I may add a third). I know about Emma and the Hellions, so that was neat, but the rest... eh. Whatever. Good luck with the zombies, X-Force. I think the Cypher story was interesting but, again, I'm really only here for the New Mutants anyway. So naturally. And then, of course, they throw Destiny into the third one and I get all interested in X-Men Legacy just to find out WTF she said to Ruth, and who Ruth is (who's Ruth) and was she looking for Rogue?

Zombies are so complicated, man.

New Mutants #6 - The first Necrosha tie-in for New Mutants. Cypher's back and all evilish. Are zombies really evil? I mean, I realize that the Blackest Night and Necrosha zombies aren't really zombies. They certainly seem to have some choices in what they're doing. The Necrosha ones more than the BN ones even. I enjoy reading Cypher's thoughts, and I enjoy how he breaks down even body language and understands it. The scene with the Professor (he's walking?) and the newly graduated New Mutants is priceless. And thank heavens we don't have that terrible art style from last time. I enjoyed it enough this time, but I'm so tired of the dead coming back and punishing the living that I really can't get behind it 100% yet.

Blackest Night: Titans (3 of 3) - This resolution was much more satisfying than the resolution from the Superman tie in. I don't know why. The mystery of why Dove is a weapon against the zombies is interesting (I have theories), and it's cool to see Bart and Cassie step up and be part of the Titans now. For BN anyway. Also Bart had the best comedic line of the book (the fact that I could laugh in a zombie book is nice), and there was some real intensity with Gar and Dead!Terra and Donna and dead!Baby that not only rung true but was very powerful. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I've always pictured Donna as Debra Winger (I know, I know), but this sort of finally separated me from that image of her.

Now I want to know how they're going to bring Garth back from the dead, because... seriously. Once this is all over, I want some of these dead heroes back, guys.

Blackest Night (4 of 8) - "We need to run in, take charge and kick ass like we were born to. And Ray? Mera? We were born to." Damn. For the first time ever, I see why Barry Allen is such a big deal. So here we are, power levels 100% (finally), and Nekron rises and wants Barry Allen (and I'm going to assume Oliver Queen, Clark Kent, Bart Allen, and anyone else who's come back from the dead). There were some fine moments in this, but it's dead in the middle of the series, and I'm pretty sure January is a month off for BN (hey, maybe they can finish Rebirth) so I just feel frustrated and stuck. But these zombies still pack more of a punch to me than the Marvel ones, because these are characters I know and love rising and being tormented. Middle of the road.

Gotham City Sirens #5 - Wow, this title is like... full of super lesbian subtext. Jenna Duffy, The Carpenter? Hah! I love the way Paul Dini writes these characters, it's really fantastic. And a freakishly adorable reveal of the actual bad guy, Joker's old sidekick who doesn't like "Harley Come Lately" (seriously, gay subtext abounds). Great stuff. This is another one of those titles that I feel I should be annoyed at, but mostly just enjoy. The team of Harley, Ivy, and Selina is fantastic and I have a lot of fun with them.

World's Finest (1 of 4) - I like this idea of the young superheroes that stand in on a world without Superman or Batman (I'm assuming this is pre-Blackest Night?). Especially because I really like most of the young superheroes. And they started out with two of my favorites: Red Robin and Nightwing. I love Chris Kent. I love the idea of Chris Kent, I love how Chris Kent came to be, and I love what he's doing now. So I was happy with this.

It was just a small little story for the two of them, but it had a lot of good character development in it, which is nice to see in what is ostensibly a one-off for the characters. The contrast between Nightwing's blue and Red Robin's red is really pretty. Yes, I use technical words like pretty. I'm a professional, people.

Ms. Marvel #46 - This was my first issue of Ms. Marvel. Ever. And it's second on my list, so that's saying something. My interest in Ms. Marvel was piqued by Fantastic Fangirls' Anika, and when I saw the "Battle of the Marvels" cover, I knew I had to pick it up. I wasn't disappointed. Sure, I only had a slight idea of wtf was going on, but Carol/Catherine's voice and her character were so enjoyable that it didn't matter. The way she dealt with Moonstone was really... heroic. Like a woman who's made mistakes allowing someone else to reform, just like she is. I'm not sure if I'll continue on with the title. Maybe. But I know that I enjoyed this issue for what it was and what it did for a character that I've come to enjoy vicariously through a big fan.

Detective Comics #858 - The beginning of the next arc for Kate and the end of the first arc for Renee. And of course it had to be at the top. I go in not wanting to like this title (seriously, twins?) but then I can't help it. Between the great writing from Rucka and the amazing art from JHW3, I don't have a choice. Also, just keep drawing Maggie Sawyer in a tux. Seriously. Hot. I think they're setting her up as the Gordon to Kate's Batwoman, and that's fine by me. Except with more subtext and potential making out. Also fine by me (sometimes I'm easy).

One of the things that really stuck out to me (in a good way) was the difference between The Past and The Present. Artistically. The past had less detail, as if it really was just a memory that is fuzzy around the edges. I mean, I have no artistic talent whatsoever, but if I'm reincarnated as an artist, I'd like to be JHW4. His stuff is so amazing, and even though I still wish the Kanes could have some skin pigmentation (they used to have it! what happened?) that is seriously my only nitpick with the art. The part where Kate comes back into her HQ and sheds her gear before slumping in the chair... really great stuff. It's a two-page splash, so instead of scanning it poorly, I'll just say: go buy the issue and see it for yourself.

As for the story: again, I was okay with the reveal that Alice was Kate's sister, since that makes sense within the whole Alice in Wonderland archetype thing. The whole twin thing... less into that, but I suppose it makes the loss of Beth all the more painful to Kate, as they were able to literally be one another. Let's see where this goes, because I want to see why she becomes Batwoman in the first place (and... you know... Renee).

And then the end of Renee's story was fine. The solicits said "bittersweet," but it didn't seem that way to me. It seemed just fine. I continue to love Renee and enjoy Cully Hamner's art (I got his autograph!) and I'm excited for the next arc to start. I'd like to delve a little more into Renee's character rather than just have it be a mystery she solves, but as long as I get Renee kicking butt and being snarky, I'm unlikely to complain.