Comics Roundup for 10/12/11

Batwoman #2 - I definitely feel more engaged with the character this time around than during her starring run in Detective Comics.  Still, I wish that this series - which is supposed to appeal to new readers - would spend some time going into her origin.  I can understand why they skipped it with Batman, Superman, etcetera, because those characters' origins are known by people who don't even read comics.  Batwoman though?  Hardly a household name.  Hopefully they'll get to that.  Anyway, I'm glad that I like the storytelling so much more this time around, because I really love the artwork of JH Williams III.

Batman and Robin #2 - Holy crap, but this was more poignant than I was ready for.  I thought Peter Tomasi did a fine job with his three issue stint on the previous incarnation of this title.  I also really liked the first issue of this new series, but this second issue makes this series my favorite of all the Batman relaunches (so far - that might change in a week).  Maybe it's because everything hits me harder now that I'm a father when it comes to depictions of father/son relationships, but Bruce Wayne's conversation with Alfred about his son, Damian (the current Robin) reflects some of my inner fears.  I'm not giving this quote exactly, as it was part of a conversation, but this gets across the general idea:  "For the first time, I'm afraid of dying, of leaving a black hole in Damian's life and...I'm afraid of what Damian could become without me around."  Obviously, I'm not afraid that my son will become a killer, but that thought still resonated.

Demon Knights #2 - The first issue of this series was pretty fun, but I quickly found myself losing interest about halfway through with this one.  I guess it has to be really special stuff to get me to read outside of the superhero genre, and this just isn't cutting it.  It's my first casualty of the 18 or so "New 52" series that DC is putting out.

Green Lantern #2 - Hal Jordan gets a ring again, but there's a new twist.  I'm not sure how much a new reader would be digging all this stuff, but I'm sure glad that I read the entirety of the last series.  This continues to be a favorite.

The New Avengers #17 - What with all the excitement for DC lately, I'm finding my interest in some of my favorite Marvel titles waning a bit.  Still, this was pretty decent, but where the hell was Daredevil?  Isn't he supposed to be on this team?

The Amazing Spider-Man #671 - You heard it here first, kids, but I think that Kaine will be the new Scarlet Spider (they're doing a new series with the character).  Why do I think that?  Because he's all fixed up and looks exactly like Peter Parker again.  Kind of makes sense, doesn't it?  Anyway, this was another fun installment of "Spider Island".

Batgirl #2 - How did this get on the bottom of my stack?  I loved this issue as much as the last one.  I'm starting to get the whole hoopla about Gail Simone's writing.  It's good stuff, and Barbara Gordon is as interesting a character as she's ever been - getting rid of the Oracle identity didn't suddenly make her less appealing in my mind.