Chase #6

This was such a disappointment. I had been sitting on this book for a year because of its cover which was inspired by Norman Rockwell's iconic Thanksgiving scene 'Freedom From Want'. Yet there's nothing Thanksgiving at all about the story!

Chase is about Cameron Chase and her 'Alice in Wonderland' like experience as the newest agent at the Department of Extranormal Operations. In this issue, Chase is on her last day of injury leave and has decided to spend that final day with her little sister. But first, a trip to the office to check on things. Of course, such a thing is never a good idea, as a demon released from an inter-dimensional portal on the 6th floor has wreaked havoc and now Chase is stuck in the elevator with the power out. 

With no place to go, the Chase sisters have a chat. It's here that Cameron reveals to his sis that their father was a low-level superhero named Acro-Bat and that he was murdered by a sadistic cape killer called Doctor Trap!

The book was good and I might very well be interested in reading the whole 10-issue series of Chase because of it. Yet, I consider such books with deceptive Thanksgiving covers and no actual holiday meat inside to be a Tofurky! I guess I wasn't really lied to. The story does go into the past and shows happier times with the Chase family. There's little Cameron on the cover. Papa Chase is dressed as Acro-Bat. And the murderer does lurk in the background, readying himself for a chance to strike. Still, I bought this book thinking it was a Thanksgiving read, as other comic book websites list this as a holiday book, and I got gypped out of the experience of watching characters in the DC Universe dine on turkey with all the trimmings.

A high quality book that I rate harshly for being fooled by the cover.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Batgirl Annual #1

I'm not going to lie. I'm not even going to try to make excuses. I bought this issue for 1 reason: Supergirl! I don't really care about Batgirl. Well, the Rebirth version that is. They never should have retconned or rebooted Barbara Gordon into no longer being confined to a wheelchair thanks to a bullet to the spine at the hands of the Joker. Barbara Gordon making the most out of tragedy as the Oracle was powerful storytelling. De-aging Babs and putting her back in the cowl due to the miracle of medical technology just feels like bad fan fiction. 

This story sees Batgirl meeting Supergirl for the first time. Supergirl has been receiving psychic messages from someone in custody at the DEO. Normally, the Maid of Might steers clear of the DEO as they look at her as an illegal alien and would chomp at the bit to get her in their grubby little hands for an alien autopsy. But whomever is sending these messages to Supergirl is sending them in Kryptonian and if the sender is another refugee from her native planet, Kara Zoe-El will take any risk to save them. 

As the DEO's security systems are products of Wayne Technology, Supergirl needs a member of the Bat-Family to unravel them. Enter Batgirl, as Supergirl feels that using Batman would result in a massive butting of heads. Witness as a new version of the best BFFs in the DC Comics universe join forces for the very first time. 

Speaking of BFFs, in the backup feature, it's the one-year anniversary of the friendship of Barbara Gordon and Alysia Yeoh. Being Batgirl has caused Barbara to issue more than her fair share of rain checks. An old foe of Batgirl's named Riot Black has been forcing some of Gotham's most brilliant experts in the field of cybernetics to perform upgrades to his brain which will give the foe the ability to tap into any computer. When Riot Black attacks again on the night of Barbara and Alysia's big night out on the town, it looks like Ms. Gordon will have to postpone again. That is until Alysia insists on going wherever Babs is going. Now Barbara must find a way to save the day while keeping her Batgirl secret identity and best-friendship both intact!

Both stories were enjoyable. The Supergirl team-up ends with one of those blurbs that make you have to buy a certain issue of her indy title to get the rest of the story. Good thing I have all of those issues. Otherwise, I'd be massively pissed. This same story tells you to get another issue of Batgirl to see the heroine take on the Penguin isn't so infuriating as for one, it's not really tied into this story from what I can tell. Plus, I don't really care to follow up on the Rebirth Batgirl. I've read a few issues and I just wasn't hugely sold on it. 

The second story was good. But that Alysia girl is annoying. If she was my BFF, I'd try to end that friendship quick. I don't know why, but I just feel like this person is a massive energy vampire or something. I can't put my finger on it. Only deep down, I feel like Barbara's pal just isn't genuine. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Supergirl Rebirth #1

Supergirl's return to earth after freeing herself from the Red Lanterns has resulted in many changes for Kara. She's de-aged a few years back into a high schooler. She's gotten stronger but she's also become more reckless. Thus, the Maid of Might is now subject to the DEO and it's leader, Maggie Sawyer.

When the DEO encounters a Kryptonian 'werewolf', it's up to Supergirl to save the day. Realizing that the DEO lacks the manpower to tackle a Super man-sized threat, Sawyer and Kara will form a new partnership that will net her some extra freedom. But is it a partnership that can be trusted?

I missed this when it first came out in 2016. I didn't realize that there was to be both a Rebirth special on top of the Rebirth DC series of Supergirl. Thank goodness for Ollie's DC grab bags! I've been looking for this book forever with zero success. But there she was smiling at me with those glowing red eyes.

The stunning cover by Emanuela Lupacchino was just a teaser for an exciting story inside. The team of Ray McCarthy and Steve Orlando, a great story that sets up the Supergirl Rebirth series of which I have read the first six-issue storyline. This special, along with a conversation with a friend of mine explain a lot of questions that were bugging me about Supergirl's backstory- especially her role with the Red Lanterns.

The artwork, also by Lupacchino, was pretty good. It's got that almost cartoony/manga quality that I can't decide if I like or not. But it's Supergirl and I can't say no to stuff starring her or her cousin.

A good introduction that I wish I hadn't overlooked when it first came out. But better late than never.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Supergirl #5 (Rebirth)

     Zor-El leads an invasion of earth in order to harvest the life-force of every human and finally resurrect the people of Argo City. Added to the threat, the Cyborg Superman has activated the generators of Argo on a collision course with the earth. As Supergirl is imprisoned on Argo, stricken with Kryptonite poisoning, it's up to Jeremiah Danvers, the DEO, and Cat Grant(?!) to save the day!

     Steve Orlando has amped the action up to 11! But with this massive invasion of earth, I must ask: where are all the superheroes at? You'd think the Justice League or Teen Titans would show up to assist or something...

     Wicked fun but clearly there's an issue with continuity or plausibility here.

    Worth Consuming!

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Supergirl #2 (Rebirth)

     While seeking some peace of mind in the Fortress of Solitude, Supergirl is confronted by her father, Zor-El, the new Cyborg Superman. He comes not to fight but to take her home to Argo City, which he claims is alive and thriving. Can he be trusted? Kara Zor-El highly doubts it. But she longs to be back with her people desperately.
      Meanwhile, as Supergirl mulls her decision over in her human identity, things are buzzing at her National City high school. Cat Grant has arrived on campus looking for a new protege. While one of Kara's rivals seems to have the job locked up, the media mogul has her eyes on a shy student with the last name of Danvers.
     I'm digging the Rebirth Supergirl series. But I much rather enjoy the elements that are more closely in tuned with the TV series like Cat Grant or the DEO than with the Cyborg Superman. Calista Flockhart's Cat grew on me and I think it's the one element that is sorely missing on the CW series right now. Thankfully, series writer Steve Orlando capture's Flockhart's character flawlessly in this series. 
     I also enjoy what Orlando has done having Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers cast as DEO agents who are undercover as Kara's adopted parents. But I wish that the writers and editors of this book could somehow put J'onn J'onnz as the head of the DEO, as on the TV show, instead of Maggie Sawyer. She's just not the right chemistry for this book. But if she's secretly a Martian underneath that blonde hair and trench-coat- well that's a twist you read about here first, folks!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Supergirl #1 (Rebirth)

   Young Kara Zor-El is having trouble adjusting to her new life on earth. On Krypton, she was amongst one of the brightest students in the planet's history. On earth during the day, she's living under the name of high-school student Kara Danvers. This world is so primitive to her, she can't even operative something as simple as an over-head projector. She's also quite a bit homesick and it doesn't help that her adoptive parents, DEO agents Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers keep trying to bring her a little slice of Krypton and fail miserably at it.
    At night, Kara operates as Supergirl where she's a member of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations like her guardians. Under the DEO, life is a hard adjustment too. As the Maiden of Might, she wants to be able to take on the criminal underground like her cousin, Superman. But the head of the department, former Metropolis detective Maggie Sawyer, doesn't think she's ready yet.
     Welcome to the Rebirth era Supergirl. It's a fair mix of comic book legend and the CW television series. Along with the DEO which plays a huge part of the show, this new Supergirl comic has a large dose of Cat Grant, who sees Supergirl as a Superman wannabe. I have a feeling Kara is going to end up an intern at Catco, Cat Grant's media empire, in the next couple of issues.
     One character that's on the CW show but isn't in the comic is Jimmy Olsen. He's still a very large part of Superman's world. So taking his place is a new character named Ben. Ben is an African American student at Kara's school. Part jock, part nerd, Ben is intrigued
by the fish out-of-water Kara Danvers and is probably going to take the role of love interest.
     Of this first issue, I really enjoyed it. I haven't been able to get my hands on Supergirl: Rebirth and I really wish I had. There's considerable amounts of backstory in that teaser issue that is alluded to quite a bit in this book. While it would've been nice to have read that first, you can still enjoy this new take on Supergirl.
     Writer Steve Orlando (Midnighter) weaves a pretty good teen angst tale that has equal parts action, sci-fi, and humor. I'm very happy he's got the reigns to my all-time favorite female super-hero- so don't mess it up! The artwork however by Ascension artist Brian Ching is still up in the air to me. I'm about 60-40 liking it but it's also a bit too cartoony as you can see from the cover. Who knows, maybe it will grow on me.
     A fun read with a great cliffhanger that's got me ready to camp out at the comic book store on the eve when it drops in a couple of weeks.
 
    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.