BC Refugees Blog

It starts as something familiar: twenty-something Lucien Gates gets zapped with a particle beam and gains light-based powers. In some ways it reminds me of the first series of the new Blue Beetle, with a lot of focus on Lucien's personal life. He's a Korean-American adoptee with an Indian girlfriend and an African-American best friend. At first it feels a little out of DC's "We got yer diversity right here, whatcha complainin' about" playbook -- you can almost picture Dan Didio checking boxes -- but it works because writers Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti's characters are engaging and the always-reliable Jamal Igle supplies the heart. But what really makes this series rise above the New 52 baseline is a new spin on the superhero ideal. It's set up in #1 with Lucien's hippie upbringing and use of yoga to control his powers, but it isn't until nearly the end of the series that Palmiotti & Grey clearly articulate the series' genius i

  I liked what I saw of this in the short preview in VERTIGO COMICS latest free sampler, but didn’t feel it was enough to get a real feel for the title or write a review about it. The good people at UNDER THE RADAR magazine  (my favorite publication for indie rock music) must have received an advance copy  (hey DC, how about a little love for the BC Refugees?)  and wrote a nice review of the book which you can see here . . . . http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/saucer_country_1/ I’m thinking very seriously about picking this up tomorrow.  (I know, some of you will wait for the eventual trade  -- but I’m always afraid if the first issues don’t sell enough then the trades don’t ever get published or get delayed longer than I care to wait.)

  SUPERGIRL #1 – 6  (DC COMICS)  Michael Green & Mike Johnson, writers.  Mahmud Asrar, penciller #1, 2, 4, 5, 6.  Mahmud Asrar & Bill Reinhold, artists #3. Dan Green with Mahmud Asrar, inkers #1. Dan Green, inker #2.  Dave McCaig, colorist #1, 2, 4, 5, 6.  Paul Mounts, colorist #3.  John J. Hill, letterer #1 + 2. Rob Leigh, letterer #3, 4, 5, 6. What appealed to me the most after sampling the first issue of SUPERGIRL in the DC NEW 52 era was its simplicity.  Issue #1 contains a very fast-reading basic introduction to the character that leaves most of the questions unanswered.  It’s a great starting point for someone brand new to SUPERGIRL (I can envision a curious newcomer or two) as well as a new beginning for those already familiar with this character.  Everybody is going to learn what’s going on and why at the same time that Kara/Supergirl does.  Writers Green & Johnson keep it short and sweet in Issue #1 , not cluttering up the story with any background details.

Disney's John Carter  is in theaters now, and before I see it I thought I'd tour you through the similarly named tie-in books. (Except for the Dynamite comics, which  Mike has covered here before , and which may not survive  the ERB estate lawsuit  anyway.) John Carter: The Movie Novelization is by former Vertigo editor  Stuart Moore , who also wrote "Namor" for Marvel and "Firestorm" for DC. I'm saving it until after the movie, but I generally enjoy Moore's work so I think it'll be good. The reason I bought this book early is that it's a trade paperback with a copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs' original novel "A Princess of Mars", which I wanted to read before the movie. I didn't love the ERB novel as much as my friends who read it when they were kids, but I did enjoy it enough to want to read more. I don't know if I'll get through all 10 other books, but I'll try the next two. Sometimes when you go back and read

  As I continue to explore the DC NEW 52 universe, I’ll follow up on some series that I reviewed earlier - - to see if they still remain worthwhile and/or exciting reading. ALL STAR WESTERN #4 – 6  (DC Comics)  Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Writers.  Moritat, Artist. Gabriel Bautista, Colorist.  Rob Leigh, Letterer.           These issues contain the second story arc (“Gotham Underground”) of the New 52 version of Jonah Hex, Civil War veteran and bounty hunter with a heart.  It’s a good storyline, but one that may seem familiar (abducted children forced into grueling labor in a dangerous and unhealthy environment).  I was much more interested in the secret society of wealthy businessmen trying to run Gotham that was introduced in the first story arc.  ( I have a feeling they will return in a future adventure). For that and other reasons, I was left wanting a little more from this book after finishing these issues.   However,  some good writing and good art  (most of the time) a

  ACTION COMICS   was one of my early picks of NEW 52 books to follow.  The combination of writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales seemed like a great duo to breathe some fresh life into Superman.  They didn’t disappoint , and I am now well beyond my initial three-issue test drive and loving it.  I find this early “people’s hero” Superman in blue jeans and work boots to be far more interesting than the latter-day current Geoff Johns version in JUSTICE LEAGUE .  I’m hoping that ACTION COMICS takes its’ sweet old time catching up to the rest of the NEW 52 universe - - I’m in no hurry to leave! The lead story in Issue #4 continues with the alien virus-like invasion of technology and machinery on Earth that is being morphed into the Terminauts.  While their mission seems to be to identify and  preserve “significant artifacts” for the Collector Of Worlds they leave a ton of destruction and chaos in their wake.  Superman is more powerful, but is greatly out-numbered.  Just as John

For those of you who missed it when I posted my  initial review , the pilot of "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" reruns tomorrow (3/3) and next Saturday at 10am as part of  Cartoon Network's DC Nation  block. New episodes will follow, and new episodes of "Young Justice" start tomorrow along with  shorts  featuring Plastic Man, Teen Titans, "Super Best Friends Forever" (Wonder Girl, Supergirl, and Batgirl), Doom Patrol, Amethyst, Dr. Fate, and others.