This week I spent over $20 on comics, though a few books I grabbed off the shelf after they were out for a few weeks. There are a few light spoilers in the reviews below, but nothing serious.

Adam Strange #8 – BEST OF THE WEEK! Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry end a terrific run, and I just wish this was an ongoing book by that team. More death, more drama, and just stunning art throughout.

Rann-Thanagar War #1 – Unfortunately, I don’t read Hawkman, so all I know of him is what was in JSA’s Return of Hawkman. I don’t really understand the Golden Age Hawkman’s connection to Thanagar and wish this book had had just a bit of exposition for new readers. This is all nitpicking; I’m enjoying this one.

GL: Rebirth #1 – Rather something of a foregone conclusion with this one. This really needed some kind of twist/surprise. All the GL’s banding together and overpowering the bad guy isn’t exactly a plot. A weak end to a great mini. But I love Hector Hammond, so I’ll be checking out the new book.

JSA #73 – A bit of exhaling between the last arc and the next, catching up with old plotlines and setting up the newest arc. JSA, at 73+ issues, is still a compelling, must-read book by Geoff Johns, who is turning in one of comicdom’s most notable long runs. “Geoff Johns’ JSA” will someday be talked about like “the Wolfman and Perez Teen Titans”, “Mark Waid’s Flash” and “Chuck Dixon’s Robin.”

Batman: Dark Detective #1 – This book has been anticipated by many of the comic fans I know, because Steve Engelhart had an all-time classic run on Detective, most memorable for featuring Silver St. Cloud. Silver was the most compelling love interest Batman ever had; there was passion, but she was also mature and intelligent. She deduced Batman’s identity by recognizing the chin of the man she loved underneath the cowel. Now, Engelhart returns with artist Marshall Rogers, and so does Silver St. Cloud. Unfortunately, this story…well, it’s just goofy after the Batman we’ve known for the last 20 years. Batman operates in public, in daylight, and everyone in Gotham knows him. The Joker’s antics seem forced. And what’s with the fiance? Whoever heard of a person surviving electrocution by joy buzzer? And even if he survived, wouldn’t it be of the “let’s get him in the ambulance STAT” nature, as opposed to the fellow brushing off his knees and chuckling about the excitement that evening? Still, it’s nice reading Batman comics of the 1970s, but anyone who started reading Batman in the mid-1980s is going to think this is just bizarre.

Shining Knight #2 – All I can say is that this story is really making me miss the real Sir Justin. I’m not buying any more of this one. Gotta admit, though, that “Horsefeathers” is a great name for a flying horse.

Zatanna #1 was okay, though I don’t see how Zatanna could have ever gone through another seance in Baron Winter’s mansion. I probably won’t buy issues 2-4.

PvP #17 was enjoyable, although it was entirely comprised of strips I’d read before. Folks, I’m one of Kurtz’s big-time boosters, and you won’t catch me joining the leagues of the naysayers who call him a hack or a sell-out. He deserves every bit of success he’s earned. Still, for this issue it was pretty clear that he’s spread too thin and threw this one together entirely from old strips. And no backup strips by Aaron Williams, just some sketches that were already on Scott’s site. When the cover is the only new artwork, the $2.95 seems just a tad steep. No big deal, I’m sure next month will make up for it. This is like what would be, in a regular comic book like JLA, one of those lame fill-in issues while the regular writer catches up, except that it’s all Scott. (Heck, these days the lame fill-in stories in JLA last for six months and get sold as a TPB!)