Azrael Reviews - 3/29/06

Greetings blasphemers! Know that I am pleased to have been given the opportunity to address you from this place. Since my apparent demise in May of 2003 I have had little to occupy me beyond my pursuit of righteous vengeance. I've been looking for something to fill the downtime (despite what you may have heard, the wicked do rest). I'd like to thank Diamondrock for inviting me to blog here.

Know that I welcome you to the first installment of Azrael Reviews. Every week I will give you my thoughts on some of the available comic offerings. Prepare yourself! (and beware of spoilers)

Action Comics #837 - Johns, Busiek, and Woods push forward with their eight part tale of Superman one year later. The writers continue to provide spot on characterization. Clark Kent has never been more intriguing and Lex Luthor shines as a new amalgam of his Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis versions. The writers also revamp several old Superman villains -- a welcome surprise.

Though at first I was annoyed by the seemingly pointless guest appearances by Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, the ending brought everything together in an unexpected -- and intriguing -- cliffhanger.

Woods' art continues to shine. The work is smooth and the coloring really makes the images pop. So far the OYL Superman revamp is off to a tremendous start (despite the fact that Superman has yet to make an appearance).

Know that I give Action Comics #837 four out of four "Heads of the Venerable Saint Dumas."

Green Lantern #10 - Rounding out this month's major One Year Later revamps is Green Lantern #10 You should know right off the bat that I've never been a big Hal Jordan fan. I only knew him as the Spectre, you see. And it was hard to like a guy who was cutting into my "righteous vengeance" action.

That being said, Geoff Johns has gone a long way towards humanizing Hal Jordan over the course of the most recent series. Hal Jordan's many flaws are on clear and obvious display here. Copulating with harlots, arrogance, and that time he murdered thousands are all mentioned in the issue. It goes a long way towards helping me accept his return.

As is to be expected with a OYL issue, there are a lot of unanswered questions in addition to excellent action (all of which is competently rendered by Ivan Reis and Marc Campos).

Know that I give Green Lantern #10 three out of four "Heads of the Venerable Saint Dumas."

That is all for this week. Until next time, I pray that the Blessed Saint Dumas watch over you.