Now That's More Like It

Merciless: The Rise of Ming tpb
Dynamite Entertainment
Scott Beatty, writer
Ron Adrian, artist

This four-issue limited series tells Emperor Ming's back story and leads directly into Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist, a series I actually found a little bit disappointing. I actually read Zeitgeist first because I received that trade in the mail a few months before this one. Not sure if the collection for Merciless was delayed for everyone or if maybe I just ordered mine late and had to wait longer for my copy to arrive, but I did order Merciless before Zeitgeist. If I'd read them in the "proper" order, maybe my perceptions of both series would be different, but that ship has sailed.

On the whole, Merciless just read better to me. Maybe it was because there were fewer expectations in the story of Ming's younger years, a subject not often breached before, versus the more well-tread path of Flash Gordon's adventures featured in Zeitgeist. I mean no disrespect to Zeitgeist scribe Eric Trautmann when I say that it might also have been the writing. I have read a number of things written by Scott Beatty and liked almost all of them. I have read only a handful of Trautmann stories and found those few a more mixed bag when it comes to lining up with my tastes.

Ming is not the only familiar character in this tale of his rise to power on Mongo. Of course, most of the races of Mongo are familiar to those who have read the exploits of Flash Gordon -- Frigians, Arborians, the Lionmen and the Hawkmen, among others -- but we also are introduced to a younger Prince Vultan before he became ruler of the winged denizens of the Aerie. We also see a young scientific researcher named Klytus rewarded for his efforts by Ming and elevated to being the new emperor's second-in-command. And we witness the birth of Ming's heir, Aura, another character quite central to the later Flash Gordon tales.

But mostly this tale centers on Ming's cunning and ruthless rise to power. His father, the Emperor Krang, seems to be an emperor in name only. Rather than ruling over the other kingdoms, he is head of a council of rulers who enjoy a shaky non-aggression pact with each other, a pact that is often broken and reformed with the whims of any of the various players.

That changes quickly once Ming decides to usurp his father's title. He does not win every one of his early campaigns, but he learns quickly from defeats and ultimately, with a few well-placed, decisive victories -- and one nasty bit of genocide -- to pull the other people of Mongo into line under his reign. And once Mongo is under Ming's complete control, he sets his sights on the rest of the universe and beyond.

As always, the Alex Ross designs and covers for this series are simply beautiful. But Ron Adrian does an excellent job, too. Adrian follows Ross' designs for these characters so closely, a casual observer might even miss the fact that one artist is responsible for the covers and another for the interiors. Kudos all around, gentlemen!

Kind Of A Mismatch, Don'tcha Think?

Nightcrawler 1-12 (2004-2005)
Marvel Comics
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, writer
Darick Robertson, Wayne Faucher, Jimmy Palmiotti and Rodney Ramos, artists

I was excited to learn in 2004 that Nightcrawler was going to be getting his own solo series.

I've always been drawn to the more monstrous of the Marvel heroes for some reason. The Fantastic Four's Benjamin J. Grimm, popularly known as the Thing; the tragic alter-ego of scientist Bruce Banner, the incredible Hulk; and the X-Men's own Beast and Nightcrawler are easily among my favorites. Don't ask me why. It is simply a fact.

So I was excited by the prospect of one of my favorites getting his own series. Not a miniseries, mind you. Nightcrawler got one of those in 1985 and another in 2002. The former was a fun-filled romp through a number of different dimensions playing up the character's swashbuckler nature. It was also written and drawn by the incomparable Dave Cockrum, the character's co-creator. The 2002 mini was somewhat less impressive, at least going by the knowledge that I know I bought and read it at the time but can't remember what it was about now.

But this was to be an ongoing series. Yay!

I should have been wary about the announced writer of this ongoing series, however. That is not to imply that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is a bad writer. I've rather liked some of his other comics work. But if memory serves, he has something of a reputation for being a horror writer. That certainly fits what he did with the short-lived Nightcrawler series. And I'm afraid that is at least partly what led to the poor sales that most likely killed the series so soon.

These stories aren't bad. In fact, I like the first story arc a great deal. Storm, then the current leader of the X-Men asks Nightcrawler to investigate a locked-room mystery with a very dark twist: the locked room is a youth ward in a mental institution and only one child is left alive when 13 others are torn apart mysteriously. If the lone survivor is not responsible for what happened, an unlikely possibility, then he must have at least seen what happened. But he is so scared, he is not speaking to anyone.

Even Nightcrawler himself points out that this isn't really a mystery that seems to suit either his personality or power set, but he still tries to get to the bottom of the mystery and help the young boy who survived the first incident despite the misgivings of the institution's head physician, a man who has no fondness for costumed heroes. Once that arc is concluded, the next poses another mystery for Nightcrawler to crack, this one involving some souls not yet at rest. Next the X-Men's fuzzy elf must confront some demons from his own past and gets a visit from Mephisto. Along the way, several other X-Men make appearances.

But again, the horror genre doesn't quite seem to fit the mutants' most benevolent soul. I think that might just be what killed off this series before its time. Having said that, these aren't bad stories, just a little mismatched.

The Woman Who Just Wouldn't Quit Part 2

The Pulse 1-14 (2004-2006)
Marvel Comics
Brian Michael Bendis, writer
Mark Bagley, Scott Hanna, Brent Anderson, Michael Lark and Michael Gaydos, artists

Last time, we talked about Jessica Jones and her book Alias, which ran its course and was ended by its creators on a high note because they felt like they'd done with the character what they had set out to do. Except, as writer Brian Michael Bendis himself explains on the last page of Alias' final issue, that wasn't really the end of Jessica's story.

Jessica was actually a pretty popular character in the Marvel Universe at the time of Alias' cancellation. And Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada had another book in mind that he thought might be a good fit for Bendis and Jessica Jones, this time told squarely in the Marvel Universe, not the Marvel Max periphery.

The idea was for an investigative procedural-style comic that could go anywhere story would take it in the Marvel Universe, and Jessica Jones seemed very nicely suited to such a venture. After the personal changes the character underwent at the conclusion of Alias, there was also a natural personal path for her to undertake. So The Pulse debuted a few months after the last issue of Alias was released. In story, "Daily Bugle" publisher J. Jonah Jameson is not fond of costumed vigilantes, but he has to concede that tales of their exploits sell newspapers. So he decides to create a weekly sister publication to the "Bugle" that will play up the doings of the super-powered denizens of New York City. Jessica agrees to take a job consulting and investigating for the new publication, to be named "The Pulse." And "Bugle" staffers Ben Urich and Kat Farrell will write much of the copy. The upside of the steady gig for Jessica is health-insurance now that she is pregnant and in a steady relationship with the baby's father, Luke Cage.

The Pulse was an interesting title, although it had a much different feel than Alias had. And the art on the initial arcs was quite a bit different from Gaydos' painted work on Jessica's initial adventures. But the stories put Jessica and the other "Bugle" staffers next to heroes like Spider-Man, the Avengers and Nick Fury while pitting them against the likes of the Green Goblin, Hydra and childbirth. Brent Anderson and Michael Lark took over the art chores for the second story arc and the book took on a darker feel, more like Alias, as it dealt with the aftermath from the Bendis-penned Secret War. And finally, Gaydos returned to deliver the art for The Pulse's final story arc, the birth of Luke and Jessica's baby, and the final missing pieces of Jessica's untold past in costume.

Bendis again penned a text page in the final issue of The Pulse explaining that he'd finished what he'd wanted to do with Jessica's character and was moving on. The plan had been, Bendis explained, for the title to continue on without him. That wasn't to be the case either, however, as the announced new writer for The Pulse, Paul Jenkins, would instead write the Front Line companion book to Civil War. Plans change.

And so, Bendis would continue to write Jessica's adventures, albeit in a third book. Jessica's boyfriend, soon-to-be-husband, was the leader of the New Avengers, the group that went underground and refused to register with the government during the events of Civil War. Jessica and the baby continued to be an important part of Luke Cage's life, and thus, popular back-up characters in the pages of New Avengers.

The Woman Who Just Wouldn't Quit

Alias 10-28 (2002-2004)
Marvel Max
Brian Michael Bendis, writer
Michael Gaydos, Mark Bagley, Rick Mays and Art Thibert, artists
********** Mature Content Warning ************

I didn't pick this book up when it debuted; in fact, I'm not even sure I knew anything at all about it when it debuted. Unlike some books, I'm not even sure exactly why I picked up issue No. 10, my first exposure to the series. But I did, for whatever reason.

I still don't know what was in those first nine issues or how the creators of the series -- Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos -- first introduced the world to Jessica Jones, the main character of the book. But my first exposure to her was in issue No. 10. Jessica Jones is a former superhero in the Marvel Universe who now works as a private detective. She doesn't use her powers much; I didn't even have a clue what her powers or abilities might be from this issue. The entire book is a single afternoon, mostly in the offices of the Daily Bugle. Publisher J. Jonah Jameson has called Jessica to his office and wants to hire her to uncover Spider-Man's secret identity. Also involved in the discussion between Jessica and Jonah are Robbie Robertson, the Bugle's editor-in-chief, and Ben Urich, an investigative reporter at the tabloid. Jonah wants Ben to cover Jessica's investigations into Spider-Man's I.D. Oh, and as a Max book, there's a lot of cussing in the dialogue.

The entire book is also painted in big, bold panels without any word balloons whatsoever. Rather, all of the dialogue is typed out in the negative spaces like the dialogue in a play or movie script. The story didn't have any real action or superheroics at all. It was just the conversations between these characters, but it was intelligent and made you think a little bit to fill in the gaps. And the presentation was so unique, and the story was so thoughtful and thought-provoking to me, that I continued to pick up the book for the rest of the run.

The rest of the issues are a little more traditional in their presentation: more action taking place, word balloons, multiple panels per page, etc., although there were still several scenes with prolonged conversations between two or more characters. This is still a Bendis book, after all. The subsequent stories were still thoughtful and thought-provoking. Not everything was spelled out for the readers, and more is revealed about Jessica's past in each successive story arc. See, Jessica is a continuity implant. The character never existed before Bendis and Gaydos dreamed her up in the last decade. But her story is that she gained her powers through tragedy and tried to use them for the betterment of mankind by putting on a costume and being a hero. She took the hero name Jewel, and while she never became a household name, she tried. Until something bad happened to her. It took a long time, but after she recovered from that second tragedy, she tried again to be a hero, this time a decidedly darker hero named Knightress. That didn't last long either before she quit superheroing for good and became a P.I. That, in a nutshell, is Jessica's back story, but it never really happened in any Marvel Comic before this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the series and the various arcs that followed that stand-alone issue No. 10. There was one where Jessica is hired to find a teenage girl who disappeared. In the middle of that case, Jessica is fixed up on a blind date with then-current Ant Man Scott Lang, and they begin to date. Another case begins with Jessica coming home to find an intruder in her apartment, an intruder that turns out to be the missing Mattie Franklin, former Spider-Woman. That arc brings in guest-appearances by Jessica Drew, another former and now current again Spider-Woman, and J. Jonah Jameson. Matt Murdock, Jessica's friend and attorney, and not-so-secretly at the time Daredevil, also makes several appearances, as do other heroes of the Marvel Universe. But very seldom is anyone powered seen in costume in this book. Oh, and the last two story arcs flesh out a lot of Jessica's back story previously only hinted at. As I said, I very much enjoyed the rest of this series, and I guess I never went back to see what was in those first nine issues because Jessica's story felt pretty complete with what I had. I just never missed those first nine.

So Jessica's book ended with issue No. 28. Not because sales were particularly bad or anything, but because it felt like an ending to her creators. They'd said what they wanted to say with the character. So Alias ended. But Jessica's story was not yet over.

He Slept For How Long?!?

Aquaman 23
DC Comics
Geoff Johns, writer
Paul Pelletier and Sean Parsons, artists

This issue of Aquaman continues the "Death of a King" arc, and the story is getting more and more crowded with potential kings the title could be referring to. Aquaman and Mera have been reunited and flee the other-dimensional kingdom Xebel before they can be taken prisoner again. They are fleeing from the Dead King, possibly Atlantis' first king, and Nereus, the current king of Xebel and Mera's former beau. The couple manage to escape back into the Atlantic Ocean, knowing that Nereus and his troops aren't far behind, but once they arrive back at Atlantis, they find the city under the sea beseiged by the Scavenger.

As if that wasn't enough going on, there are still the three rogue Atlanteans -- Tula, Murk and Swatt -- making their way to Belle Reve prison to free Ocean Master, another former monarch, who they feel is unjustly imprisoned by the surface world after the "Throne of Atlantis" story arc.

Cutting back to Atlantis, Aquaman's forces are taking a beating until he summons the underwater beast Topo to deal with the Scavenger's forces. The effort Aquaman puts forth to summon and direct Topo is costly, but before he passes out, he sees that Scavenger's forces have been routed just in time for the Dead King and Nereus to arrive. And then Aquaman takes a powder.

This was a pretty intense issue with all of the nonstop battle. Unfortunately, we have to wait two months instead of the usual one to find out how this storyline is going to be resolved because next month is Villains' month and both Black Manta and Ocean Master will be getting their own issues. Also, if Aquaman has been unconscious for six months, how exactly does this all fit in with the events of Trinity War and Forever Evil? I try not to worry quite so much about continuity between books like I used to when I collected more stuff, but this arc started before Trinity War, which Aquaman is very much a part of. If Trinity War and Forever Evil take place after this story, which involves Aquaman being out of commission for six months, what have all the other heroes been doing all this time? And if this story takes place after Trinity War and Forever Evil, that kinda gives away that Aquaman will live through that story. (Not that I ever doubted that he would, but still ...) Oh well, I'm just enjoying the great stories Geoff Johns is giving Aquaman, and I'm sorry to hear he will be leaving the title after issue No. 25.

I Liked It

Trinity War (Justice League 22-23, Justice League Dark 22-23 and Justice League of America 6-7)
DC Comics
Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire, writers
Ivan Reis, Rod Reis, Oclair Albert, Doug Mahnke, Mikel Janin, Joe Prado and Eber Ferreira, artists

Maybe all of the hype -- nearly two years' worth of it -- was a bit much for this crossover, but I did enjoy it.

"Trinity War" has been teased ever since the launch of DC's New 52. At the end of Flashpoint, the line-wide crossover event that led to the re-starting of the entire DC Universe, a character named Pandora makes her first appearance, reshaping the re-created timeline. And then she made an appearance in each and every single No. 1 issue of The New 52 titles DC launched in 2011. From that point on, "Trinity War" was teased and fans began to speculate exactly what it would be.

There hasn't been nearly as much online hate about "Trinity War" now that it is over -- at least, not that I've seen -- as often follows events like this one. The main criticism, when I have seen any, has been that the crossover didn't really end, it just led into the next event comic. I say that isn't a valid criticism of the story because it was announced ahead of time that "Trinity War" would lead into Forever Evil. Also, because the story isn't really finished, I reserve final judgment on this tale until it is wrapped up. But for these six pieces of the overall tapestry, I enjoyed reading the story and look forward to more.

If you haven't been reading the books (or this blog or anything else comics-related online), the Justice League is the big seven -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and Cyborg. Justice League Dark is a bunch of magical and/or supernatural characters banded together in much the same way. JL Dark is led by John Constantine and includes Black Orchid, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Frankenstein's monster and others. Justice League of America is a relatively newer team formed by the U.S. government as a secret weapon in case the feds ever need to challenge the Justice League. That team includes new Green Lantern Simon Baz, Hawkman, Stargirl, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, Katanna and Vibe and is led by Col. Steve Trevor.

The newly created Shazam is also in the mix, although not part of any team yet. After defeating his enemy, Black Adam, in previous issues of Justice League, Shazam tries to do the right thing and return Adam's ashes to his home country of Kahndaq, a particularly troubled Middle Eastern hot spot. The presence of an uninvited superhuman in Kahndaq threatens to start an international war, and the Justice League sets out to stop Shazam's innocent mistake before it escalates. Knowing only that the Justice League has illegally entered Kahndaq, the Justice League of America is sent in after them. Already you have dozens of superhumans converging on a spot where it is dangerous for them to be; each feels they are there with the best of intentions, but the more who keep showing up, the worse the situation becomes.

Add to the mix Pandora. She has now found the mysterious box she is known for having opened, thus releasing evil into the world in the form of the Seven Deadly Sins. She has the box but cannot open it to try to put the Sins back where they belong. In seeking out someone pure enough to open the box, Pandora finds Superman and Wonder Woman and tries to have Superman open the box. Immediately after, Superman begins to show physical signs of being ill, as if the box has corrupted the Man of Steel. Superman is still reeling when he joins his teammates in Kahndaq, and while there, he kills another hero with his heat vision. That act serves to splinter the various heroes into three groups: one group takes Superman into custody and guards against the threat of more lethal actions, a second tries to track down Pandora, suspecting that she is behind Superman's malady, and a third tries to explore other theories for the Man of Steel's behavior. All of which leads to the secrets behind not only Pandora's box, but the real power behind the formation of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, and leads directly into the aforementioned Forever Evil series.

Rather than being the big event itself, "Trinity War" is really more set-up for Forever Evil, the main event. When looked at in that fashion, this really is a good set-up, and I'm very curious to see what happens in Villains' Month and the main Forever Evil title.

Technically, "Trinity War" is a six-part crossover in the books mentioned above, but events in the current issues of both Trinity of Sin: Pandora (which I also read) and Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger (which I did not) flesh out parts of the search for various factions following Superman's fatal heat vision malfunction. I found the Pandora issues to be more focused on her character development and not essential to "Trinity War," and as I didn't feel I missed anything by not reading Phantom Stranger, I'm guessing it was the same.

A Lot Of Subplots To Keep Straight

Fables 132
DC Vertigo
Bill Willingham, writer
Mark Buckingham, artist

This issue is the second chapter of the "Camelot" story arc, and man, is there ever a lot going on.

The title refers to Rose Red's efforts at inspiring hope. She has decided to re-create the Round Table from Arthurian legend and has sent emissaries out into all the known worlds to return with knight candidates. As part of that effort, she is getting help and drawing together characters from throughout the Fables universe. Not only is she contracting construction of the Round Table and a Great Hall to put it in to Haven's King Ambrose and Weyland, but one of the emissaries she invites is Briar Rose from the first Fairest story arc, Fairest being the new Fables spin-off title.

In addition to that, we see the continuing efforts of the Fabletown witches to piece together all of the shards of the destroyed Bigby. Their plan is that if they can find and reassemble every single bit of the glass Bigby was turned into before he was shattered, they can use the fact that he is a natural shapeshifter to bring him back. To that end, they are employing all of the tricks and spells at their disposal, and even call in a favor from the Lady in the Lake. Lake, as she prefers to be called, is also the proxy along with Sheriff Beast (of Beauty and the ...) in the current marriage negotiations between Gepetto and the Blue Fairy. Of course, that's a whole other subplot as those two characters are now mortal enemies and Beast cooked up the formal marriage proposal as a way to stall for time when Gepetto's and the Blue Fairy's clashes threatened all of Fabletown.

There's also the unfolding bits of Therese's return. She's one of the children of Bigby and Snow White who was lured into Toyland to be the broken toys' new regent. The now adult Therese (time works differently in Toyland) has come home for a visit to tell her parents what happened to her when she disappeared and also to tell them how her brother, Dare, died trying to rescue her. But she has made it very clear she must return to Toyland soon.

And lastly, we have the latest developments with Prince Brandish. He's the rogue who claimed to be betrothed to Snow White and transformed and shattered Bigby before Snow ran him through with his own magical sword. We get a few glimpses of his past to shows us just how twisted a creep he really is, and the surprise of his resurrection during his autopsy. His heart has been magically removed and stored away in a safe place, making him effectively immortal until or unless something should happen to his heart. Of course, immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be for Brandish if Rose Red has anything to say about it.

I know all of these various twists and turns and subplots that interweave and build upon each other don't make it easy for a new reader to pick up an issue and understand what's going on. But as a longtime reader who has followed the story from the beginning, it is one of the things I love about this series. There are almost always little things of importance going on in the background and even a stand-alone issue is very much a part of the larger whole.

A Little Uneven But Still Pretty Important

Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies tpb
DC Comics
Marv Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson and Dan Mishkin, writers
Erik Larsen, Mike DeCarlo, Chuck Patton, Tom Poston, Tom Mandrake and Vince Giarrano, artists

This trade was just released in August, but contains three stories from the late 1980s, well before Nightwing was given his own solo series. And each of these tales is collected in trade form for the very first time, as far as I know, in this volume. The first is a then-current retelling of Nightwing's origin story from the pages of Secret Origins No. 13. The second and third arcs were originally published in Action Comics Weekly Nos. 613-618 and 627-634 and pair Nightwing with Teen Titans pal, Roy Harper, otherwise known as Speedy, Green Arrow's former sidekick.

The first reprint is the best of the bunch as far as both writing and art go; but it isn't a very critical story. The secret origin of Nightwing, formerly Robin the Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, has had some tweaks through the years, but has remained largely the same since his creation in the 1940s. This particular retelling of Dick's origin takes place at the same time that Nightwing, Starfire and Jericho have traveled to Starfire's home world of Tamaran in the pages of The New Teen Titans (1984 series) Nos.14-18. Nightwing's 21st birthday has arrived while the trio is in space, and he is understandably distraught over the events that transpired on Tamaran. The framing sequence for this origin story is Nightwing and Jericho exploring Tamaran alone while Nightwing shares the details of his formative years with his friend.

The second story, "The Chesire Contract," is also well written by Marv Wolfman, although not quite as well as his better issues of Titans. The art is a little more cartoony than Titans fans would have been used to at the time, but it isn't bad. This story is the most critical of the bunch, especially to Titans fans because it deals with the relationship between Speedy and Cheshire and their daughter, Lian. The Titans first encountered the assassin for hire named Cheshire in New Teen Titans (1980 series) annual No. 2. She returned a few more times in the intervening years, but her next major appearance came in New Teen Titans (1984 series) Nos. 20 and 21. This is also during the time that Nightwing, Jericho and Starfire are on Tamaran. Back on Earth, Wonder Girl is leading a group of reserve Titans, including Speedy, on a mission for the government to protect a group of foreign dignitaries when Cheshire shows up as the villain of the story. It is here that readers first learn she and Speedy have had a prior relationship. It is also here that both the readers and Speedy learn that that liaison led to the birth of a child.

"The Cheshire Contract" takes place shortly after this encounter as Lian is described in the story as being just a day away from her first birthday. Roy enlists the aid of his friend, Nightwing, to track down Cheshire and find the daughter he has never seen. Along the way, Speedy fills in Nightwing (and the readers) on exactly how the relationship with Cheshire began: After beating his own drug addiction (as depicted in the classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow Nos. 85-86 from the award-winning early 1970s run by Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil), Roy began working for the government as an undercover drug agent. It was in this capacity that he met Cheshire and the two became intimate.

This story is a true team-up in that both Nightwing and Speedy play equally important roles in the narrative, and Nightwing clearly gets top billing on the various title pages as the better known of the two characters. In the end, Cheshire is caught, and Roy takes custody of Lian. She would figure prominently in the character's history from that point on, both in the pages of the various Titans books and in Roy's other appearances in other titles through the years. That makes this a very critical piece of Roy Harper's history and in Titans' history because of his continuing role with that group.

The third story in this collection, "Rocks and Hard Places," is even more a Speedy story. In fact, Nightwing only makes a few appearances in this one, which was kind of a continuation of "The Cheshire Contract." Roy decides to take some time off from adventuring to spend time with and get to know his daughter now that he has custody of the infant. Recently having learned that he is of Irish heritage, Roy decides to spend six months with Lian in Ireland, and Nightwing is along to help the two get settled. The heroes find a country divided into warring factions with almost everyone being forced to choose a side.

This is the weakest of the three stories included in this trade and quickly degenerates into a morality tale that comes across as rather heavy-handed. The first two chapters of "Rocks and Hard Places" are written by Wolfman with Cherie Wilkerson serving as co-plotter, but then she takes the lead and eventually is given sole credit for writing and plotting the bulk of the installments. I'm not familiar with any other writing credits Wilkerson might have, but wasn't impressed with this outing because of what I perceive as several flaws in the story. First, this was not a true team-up to me; Nightwing helps Speedy and Lian reach Ireland despite some action, but then heads back home only to return when Speedy asks him to for the final wrap-up. Second, you could lift Speedy right out of the story and substitute any other generic hero and nothing would change; this tale has no lasting impact or effect on the character. Third, the stated reason for Speedy to go to Ireland is to spend time with his daughter, yet she is barely in the story at all. Lian isn't even mentioned except for a handful of times and then forgotten.

I also have to wonder about the logic behind the name of this collection. "Old Friends, New Enemies" is one of the chapter titles from "Rocks and Hard Places." But first, it is one of the chapters Nightwing is not even in, yet this is a Nightwing collection. And second, OK, Nightwing and Speedy are old friends, but there is nothing new in the retelling of Nightwing's origin, Cheshire is not a new villain, and of the many new characters in "Rocks and Hard Places," none of them are ever seen again.

Completists will want this collection. It's a good trade for Speedy or Titans fans since "The Cheshire Contract" is such a key part of Speedy's and later Titans continuity. But I have to say, there's not really a lot here for a Nightwing fan. I applaud DC's efforts to collect some of these older stories, but this is not one of their better thought-out and packaged efforts.

Like Meeting Up With An Old Friend

Powers Bureau 6
Marvel Icon
Brian Michael Bendis, writer
Michael Avon Oeming, artist
********** Mature Content Warning ************

I don't know that Powers is a book for everyone, but I enjoy it.

I didn't start out with the book from the beginning. This is another title where I came late to the party. I was curious about it for a long time before I decided to just buy the first trade and try it. That would be Who Killed Retro Girl, the story arc that launched this series in 2000. In that story, readers are introduced to two police detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim. The pair work in a special division of the police force assigned specifically to cases involving people with superpowers. Some such people are good guys. Others are bad guys. Like in most fictional universes where some people have superpowers, there are a lot more bad guys than there are good guys, but even some of the good guys tend to forget there are other non-powered people around.

I liked that first trade so much, I bought the next couple and so on. I continued to enjoy Powers in trade format through the rest of its Image run, and then switched to buying single issues when Bendis and Oeming moved the title to Marvel's creator-owned Icon imprint in 2004. Like any series, some story arcs are better than others, but I've enjoyed reading about the characters through all of the changes in their lives and their world.

In mid-2012, a major catastrophe struck the Powers world and its characters, changing them even more. The title went away for a bit and then relaunched earlier this year under the new name Powers Bureau. The name change reflects the series' new reality after the world-altering event that ended the previous series. In this new world, all powered individuals are outlawed and any case involving superpowers is literally a federal case, handled by the FBI. Pilgrim had joined the FBI before the previous series ended in 2012. This first story arc shows Walker joining the FBI, too, so a casual reader might think little has changed with this series. Rather, the renewed focus of the characters and of the creators is obvious in every page of Powers Bureau.

I've always enjoyed reading Powers; that's why I continued to buy the title despite its erratic publishing schedule. But there's an excitement in the book now that I hadn't really noticed was missing until I felt it come back again. Bendis knows these characters and writes their dialogue in a kind of shorthand that feels like two friends talking to each other. And while Oeming's art still has the same cartoony Powers style, it also seems to have matured some as these characters have aged in the series.

Powers Bureau is definitely good comics!