Comics Briefly: Batgirl #18, Birds of Prey #9, Sherlock Holmes Year One #1

Favorite Book This Week: Batgirl #18

All Issues New in Stores 2/9/11

Side Note: I've actually seen The Last Unicorn Hardcover graphic novel in person now. It's absolutely gorgeous. (And currently a pretty great deal on Amazon. Seriously, it's a beautiful book.)



Batgirl #18
Writer: Bryan Q. Miller, Penciller: Dustin Nguyen, Inker: Derek Fridolfs

I adored this issue start to finish. It's a one-issue story about Stephanie's run-in with Klarion the Witch-boy. Klarion is a character I'm only familiar with through B:TAS, but I loved him here. (According to Wikipedia this may or may not be a version different enough to be a different character or just a different spin. Either way, I like this character.) I loved the way they played off of each other. I love that it was a Valentine's Day Issue. There was comedy, action, magic, and snarky wit, plus the art was fantastic. I throughly approve.


Birds of Prey #9
Writer: Gail Simone, Artist: Inaki Miranda

Another decent issue for the Birds here. I like how much play Dawn and Zinda are getting, even though the perspective is still centered on the main three. I was a little underwhelmed by the aftermath of last month's cliffhanger (Black Canary being tormented by the powers of new villain Mortis). I mean, what happens is fine, but between following the other ladies, and Oracle dealing with Hawk, Black Canary's section felt rushed, and I didn't really have time to connect with her struggle. Okay issue, not amazing.


Sherlock Holmes Year One #1
Writer: Scott Beatty, Artist: Daniel Indro

I was intrigued, so I picked this up, and it was... interesting. I don't really have a judgement on it yet, except that it felt awfully slim to cost 3.99. However, I love that the cover lists the price as 399 cents. That was well played. The story of the issue was good, although I had to pay close attention to follow some of the turns. The premise of the series is simple enough: following Holmes and Watson in the very earliest days of their careers. It's close enough to versions of the characters I'll accept, so the tweaks (e.g. Watson meeting Holmes because Watson's working with the police) don't bother me overmuch. Some of the dialogue was great, some stilted with a few forced references. While I liked the issue for the most part, I won't pick up the next one without flipping through it first.


Also Considered:

Red Robin #20
Writer: Fabian Nicieza, Penciller: Marcus To, Inker: Ray McCarthy

I keep coming close to picking up this series, because I love Tim Drake, but I'm not sure my budget can sustain another ongoing. However, if it came out any week other than the week that already has Batgirl and BoP, I'd probably have picked it up, honestly. Another Bat-book this week just felt like overkill. Although I did read the issue: the Titans were in it, and it was adorable.


Star Trek: Infestation #1
Written by Scott & David Tipton, Art by Gary Erskine and Casey Maloney

I flipped through this in the store out of morbid curiosity. IDW is running a multi-book thing, despite the fact that most of their books take place in separate universes, unlike Marvel and DC. So Star Trek, and Transformers, and GI Joe, etc.... all have zombies. The issue looked okay, but I just didn't feel the need for a Star Trek zombie story.