Another Good DC Thriller!
356328
Another great DC tense ride through the fictitious lives of the ones who battle terrorism as we know it today. Different plot line than the usual DC novel. Well thought out and written.
4685978
While I understand the positions of some of the previous readers(this is one of the more unusual Superman stories I've read), I really enjoyed this one. The Joker, in all his years, has never seemed more disturbing or evil. It's also interesting to see the Joker's sanity peak through just for a minute in the final chapter. The only problem I see, is that we barely get an explanation as to where Joker got his Godlike powers in the first place. Other than that, this story is great fun. Also, bonus points for the times when Emperor Joker appeared to "step outside" the understood DC Universe and aknowledge the reader to a certain degree. Very Clever.
932046
Unlike JLA: Year One; this is a well written and thought out story of two of my favorite DC heroes! This has one of the writers(Mark Waid) and the artist of JLA: Year One, and came out around the same time. Where JLAY1 had potential but ended up as kind of a mess, this one DELIVERS! It certainly isn't the deepest story ever; but it captures the fun of GL and Flash, and really shines a light on the fact that these guys are one of comics best odd-couple. You get the Hon Solo/like superhero of Hal Jordan, and the straight-edge all-american hero Barry Allen who makes friends with everyone he rescues. For some reason, that even they cant figure out, they are best friends who go on crazy adventures together. These stories range form some of their first hang-outs, to when they are close friends, who support each other through some very tough times. You learn more about these guys and their struggles through life, the legends they try to live up to, and what keeps them grounded. I'd say this is great for anyone who is even slightly interested in these characters, and obviously for big fans of the two! A quick read and you get a nice recap of each of their personal histories.
1411629
I've read several Michael Slade books over the years and they have certainly been consistent.  The books teem with psycho killers doing unspeakably nasty things to innocents and with the angelic qualities of their heroes.
But along the way, there is lots of well-researched history, alternating perspective and character building.  For the most part, they are informative and interesting thrillers.
My only complaint is that the heroes are nowhere near as interesting as the villians (in Bed of Nails, I was rooting for the villian who, in interest of remaining spoiler free I will not reveal, to get the good guy once and for all). The heroes seem almost cardboard thin and just as stiff and the plot moves them around rather than the other way.
Jay, Rebecca, I enjoy your books and this one was very snappy.  I like the con-geek segments as I've lived those as well. The mention of SCA brought a particular smile to my face as I've been a member for many years.  Keep up the good work!
1670682
I have always been a fan or Superman and Batman. I find they are a terric duo that go very well together. In Public Enemies you do get a quick review of Superman and Batman's origins.
The story starts off with Superman and Batman facing off againts Metallo. There is a very interesting mystery involving Batman and Metallo.
The President Lex Luthor is up for re-election. He and his advisors have detected a Large Krytonite Asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Lex has declared Superman is responsible and has put a large price on his head. Now mostly every villain and even super heroes want to bring in Superman to collect on his bounty.
Well that is a basic idea of the story. Check out Volume 2 Supergirl, that sort of picks up after this volume.
2096656
Enjoyed very much.  The detail of the story is what brings me back to the next book in the series.  I have just retired so I can relate to DC and his time n life.
3955548
In classic D. C. Comic style author, Sarah Hines Stephens, sets up this battle of good versus evil with a short introduction of the heroes and villains.  She goes on to explain what Kryptonite is and the effect it has on Superman, possibly to hook those new-to-the-genre readers into the adventurous life of the Man of Steel. As the story unfolds, Batman, the special guest hero, comes to Superman's rescue by stealing the Kryptonite from Metallo's chest and locking it in a lead box so it will no longer hurt his super friend.  Batman's flash bombs and Superman's heat vision stop the metal monster, melting him into the street.  Batman finishes the cyborg with zaps from the Dark Knight's taser, and Superman flings the hunk of metal into space forever. Tracing all the trouble back to Lex Luthor, the super heroes hand him over to the police and thank each other on a job well done. The reader is thrust into the scenes through the vibrant and colorful illustrations used by Mada Design, Inc.  As this book is written for elementary readers, the use of primary colors on the pages is very relevant. (Previously reviewed for San Francisco and Sacramento Book Review.)
384691
I really enjoyed reading this book! It had a great mix of mystery and suspense and was a very realistic portrayal of DC life.
448994
Just read this second in the Pete Nazareth books. A  fun time watching the two heroes tracking this latest NYC bad guy. Once again Johnson picks a timely topic and follows it to a rousing conclusion highlighted by a chase through Central Park. The last page points toward a coming third book. I can hardly wait...
4672801
Justice League dark is one of THE BEST psychological thrillers to come out of the New 52!  It is deep, intense, gritty, gory (in a good way) and very addictive!  I believe I killed Vol. 1 in about an hour!  The story starts out with Madame xanadu having some very troubling premonitions that cause her to try to reach out to the magic using Anti-heros of the DC universe to "save the world."  You don't really get to see her visions until much later in the story but it is well worth the wait and the story will come full circle by the end!  This is how you do suspense and mystery the right way!  Her ideal recruits are Zatanna the backwards sorceress/ professional magician, Deadman who has the power to "posess" bodies and be intangiblle, "shade" who wears a magic vest, Constantine the con-man/ sorcerer/ very reluctant team leader, and a Guy whose name escapes me atm but has the power to make his soul exit his body at will.

The "problem" is a very powerful witch named enchantress who can create old-testement-biblical-plague-scale mayhem with her mind and she will only be appeased when she reunites with a mysterious woman named "June Moone."  The imagery is graphic, provocative, terrifying, and beautiful!  It's like being a spectator in your worst nightmares!  The regular Justice League tries (and fails miserably) to take out the Enchantress so they are forced to fall back.  When Zatanna sees all of the Mayhem she feels compelled to try to do something since she is the only magic user currently at the JLA headquarters!  She goes in alone and obviously is forced to retreat within minutes of getting to the sight Enchantress is located at.  Many of the characters bump into eachother at various times throughout the progression of the story so the characters all begin to become more familiar with each other, but still refuse to work together for different reasons.  Eventually they come to find that they can't win this fight alone and Madame Xanadu convinces them to work together at least this one time.  Perhaps this sounds very "conventional" and "safe" but trust me, there is NOTHING conventional and Safe about justice league dark!  The execution of this commonly used archetype for a story is what makes the Volume brilliant and makes this classic story a fresh one!

I wish I could tell you more about the story, but I would be giving away A LOT of juicy spoilers!  The art is Inspiring, the transitions between the character's various mini-stories are flawless, and Madame Xanadu is one crafty Witch!  You truly feel the sense of urgency throughout the book and there is even A LOT of intelligent dark humor to balance out the gloom that is Justice League Dark!  All of the characters are interesting, multi-dimensional, and very easy to care about. You actually get taken by suprise more than once!  This book will leave you with with many questions not only about the story, but about yourelf as well.  What do we truly fear more, Our Shortcomings or our potential for greatness?  Is there something dark and ugly inside of us that we try to repress but have trouble controlling?  What does it all mean?  What is our place in the universe?  Sometimes is it acceptable to do a very bad thing right now if it could potentially save the future?  This book is NOT a predictable one and I Love It!  This 1st volume is truly a masterpiece and it is a MUST READ!!
1500979
On the recommendation of a close friend, I picked up a copy of Just Cause on Amazon.com and I was pleasantly surprised! When picking up a novel based around the subject of superheroes, I feel it can be a crap shoot. Sometimes they can feel too much like Justice League or Avengers or X-Men. Healy has done a wonderful job of bringing a freshand, frankly, a more realisticperspective to the superhero genre, which is exceptionally hard to do these days. I thoroughly enjoyed Just Cause and I think Mustang Sally is a solid, colorful character. The supporting characters are believable, they're fleshed out and I ended up giving a darn about them. I would definitely recommend it and I look forward to reading more of the JC Universe!
2792184
Johns has done an awesome job of revamping this DC punching bag.  In fact, the DC universe makes the same jokes about Aquaman to his face!  Johns incorporates all the jokes about Aquaman into his story as something that Aquaman has to deal with.  That and bloodthirsty monsters from the trench (no spoilers...that's the title of the book).  I really enjoyed this book and was sad when it ended.  Definitely worth a read.
3315318
The Court of Owls story arc may be the greatest Batman mystery I've ever read. It somehow acts as a relaunch of Batman's origins - while it doesn't focus on his origin, it certainly visits it and makes some shocking twists in the formula by the end of Vol. 2 - and as a continuation of the old Batman series. That's really the only complaint I have against this New 52 line of Batman stories - I only recently started reading Batman graphic novels, and don't have a handle on the full history of all the characters (I know most, but not all - for instance, I had to look up how Tim Drake became Red Robin of the Teen Titans and what Damian's story was - and the largest one, how Barbara Gordon was once again Batgirl), but this book assumes for the most part you're aware of the characters and the slight changes the New 52 line makes. But that's it - the only complaint!

The new villain, the Court of Owls and their assassins, the Talons, are one of the best new additions to Batman, I think ever! I immediately fell in love with their mystery, and how they tied into the pre-existing history of Batman, his allies, and Gotham City itself. They definitely bring Batman to the craziest I've ever seen him get, and the ending (which I won't spoil) leaves you wondering how Batman and his family can ever win.

I will offer this advice. Buy Volume 1 along with Volume 2. You definitely want the full story - the best shocks are at the end of the whole story, even after the slight twist to Dick's origin (but that's all I'm saying about that!)
4305822
Spoiler-free

Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman continue their epic saga. There are a lot of cool and potent ladies in this one: Scarlet Witch, Spider-woman, Brunnhilda/Valkyrie, Hildegarde, Sif, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, (Angela), Karnilla, Freyja, and of course, the lady who would be Thor vs the Destroyer is a great issue with a lot packed into it, during these deconstructed times (oh and there's also the Odinson and Odin himself). On top of that we get the return of an old foe!

Too bad Secret Wars has to disrupt this great title. I still don't know how Fury whispering something into Thor's ear can cause him to be unworthy, and a talking hammer?? Given those oddities, this run of 8 issues was as good as the rest of Aaron's run on the title. The reveal is well-done and powerfully written/drawn. Recommended!
367005
I LOVE this series!  As an avid mystery fan and voracious reader, I have found Peter Grainger's plots, subplots, and characters to be way above the ordinary with thoughtful and insightful descriptions. His writing often borders on poetic and lyrical, blended with suspense and anticipation.  He and DC can keep you guessing for hours.  You will not be disappointed with Peter and DC Smith!  P.S. Peter, please don't stop at 6!!!
4528593
I love this genre and this is an excellent outing! I must confess though that our protagonist here is very much like:

Vince Flynn's "Mitch Rapp"
Brad Thor's "Scott Harvath"
and even John Gilstrap's "Jonathan Grave"

All of whom, I love so who cares, right?..........Lots of action and thrills abound!! will be buying the next one :-)
2244556
Couldn't resist picking up the second volume of All-Star Western from DC's New 52 lineup.  The first volume was just too good to easily walk away from, and now I'm waiting on the release of the third volume.

This series just continues to improve, adding layers and nuances of character, growing the characters and the conflicts within Gotham, and touching on more and more of the history that evidently led to the villains that parade around Gotham in the present day.

The first arc continues the loose end left from Guns and Gotham, the first volume, and it dips a little more into the superhero genre.  Nighthawk and Cinnamon, both masked vigilantes, are somewhat different than I remember them, especially with the magic necklaces that throws the element of the supernatural into Jonah Hex's world.  Then there's the addition of Talon, one of the members of the Council of Owls group that's currently plaguing Batman.  I haven't read those books, so I'm not certain what that's all about at the moment, but I'm definitely more curious.

The New Orleans backdrop to the story is awesome.  I went back and looked through the panels again.  Moritat's art is so detailed and so atmospheric I just wanted to see more of the city, but I'm also relishing his rendition of Gotham as well, so it's a trade-off to me, and either way I'm a winner!

The first arc has some nice twists in it, and Amadeus Arkham continues to bring an element of levity that was never in the original Jonah Hex series.  I believed it would have been out of place until I saw how much Amadeus brings to the stories.  The tales just wouldn't be the same without him and his long-suffering partnership with Hex.

The second arc takes place back in Gotham and brings in Tallulah Black, a character from Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti's first run on Jonah Hex which I thought might have been lost with the shift to the New 52.  She adds a whole new element and a new look to the series (and more embarrassment to Amadeus), and I'm looking forward to her hanging around.

The backup features to the stories this time feature a - more or less - origin story for Nighthawk and Cinnamon, a solo Bat Lash tale that's really good, and a so-so Terrence Thirteen two-parter.  Dedicated fans will recognize the Terrence Thirteen name from the Phantom Stranger comics and this is a pretty nice send-up of the character's backstory.  Reminded me a lot of Professor Challenger from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.