Superman/Batman #46

Quite the opposite of this month's "Justice League of America", "Superman/Batman" delivers on all levels. From the outstanding cover to the final splash page, writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson are hitting on all cylinders. Penciller Shane Davis continues to impress me. He gives the book a cinematic feel and captures the intensity of Batman and the strength of Superman. I'm glad he's on for this entire story arc. When I heard of this arc I was a bit "meh" on it. However, I have enjoyed the entire arc and I'm looking forward to the slam/bang conclusion.

Green & Johnson have really turned this title around. With them on the title, you can't go wrong in picking it up. If you dropped "Superman/Batman" it may be time to try it out again.

Supergirl #27

After reading writer Kelley Puckett's interview where he described coming aboard "Supergirl" and the changing of his first story arc, I had high hopes that issue #27 would be a good starting point for change. Well, I must say, for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed a "Supergirl" comic. The story titled "The Girl of Tomorrow" was a very interesting and fun read. I didn't really care that regular artist Drew Johnson only drew one page and left the rest to fill-in artists Rick Leonardi and Dan Green. Puckett constructed the story so that the change in artist flowed with the story. Puckett brings all of the wierdness of his initial issues and adds dialogue and a look inside Supergirl's thoughts, which makes for a good read. I like the direction that Puckett took Supergirl here. I'm actually looking forward to the next issue.

This issue is a good jumping on point for new readers. Puckett has stated that this is the first issue of what he had planned for "Supergirl" and it looks to be an interesting ride. I hope that he can keep up the momentum going forward.

Superman/Batman #46

"Superman/Batman" of late had lost some of its luster. I read the early TPBs and was impressed by the title, but the last year hasn't captured my attention. However, with the addition of the new creative team of writer Michael Green and artist Shane Davis, the title has returned to the light. "The Search for Kryptonite" arc has been a fun read. This title should involve stories that require both Batman and Superman to solve the problem at hand. Here we have an issue that requires both the brains and resources of Batman and the brawn of Superman. Grean, with an assist from Mike Johnson, does a fantastic job of amping up the thrills as Superman goes after every last chunk of Kryptonite on the Earth. I like the new Magic-K that is discovered in this issue and Davis'cartoon JLA is quite funny. Across the board, Davis' art is outstanding.

I see that this creative team is onboard for at least the next few issues. I hope that DC can keep them on long term as Green and Johnson on writing and Davis and Banning on art makes for a great read.

Supergirl #26

Issue #4 of the Puckett/Johnson era and we start to see a little character development for Kara. It almost seems as if writer Kelley Puckett missed out on the 20+ previous issues of "Supergirl". The Supergirl in this issue acts a bit like she just stepped off of the boat - or floated up from the ocean floor. Puckett has her almost looking down her nose at humans with disparaging comments about STAR Labs and the frailty of humans. Puckett is still relying more on the visuals to tell the story vice providing dialogue and that makes for a fast read. Artist Drew Johnson is assisted on pencils by Lee Ferguson and it shows. While previous issues have looked pretty polished, the art here looks rushed and sketchy.

So, the countdown has begun. I have given Puckett five issues so far and I haven't been impressed. He's got a few more issues before I drop the title.

Supergirl #25

Once again, "Supergirl" clocks in as the fastest read of the month. The pictures are awfully pretty and I wonder if writer Kelley Puckett is so in awe of Drew Johnson & Lee Ferguson's art that he feels there is no need for further explanation. This issue has more dialog than the previous issues, but not by much. I'm just sure what Puckett is going for here.

We are three issues into Puckett and Johnson's run on "Supergirl" and I'm not impressed. For $2.99/issue I'd like quite a bit more story to go along with the art.

Supergirl #24

Huh?

The confusing story from last issue continues here and I'm just not getting it. I had high hopes for Kelley Puckett's run but these first two issues have fallen flat. This issue was pretty to look at but didn't have much else to offer.

Someone, anyone, step up and make Supergirl a good read.

Supergirl #23

New "Supergirl" scribe, Kelley Puckett, comes on board and spins a stunning tale establishing Supergirl as a powerhouse character in the DC Universe...is what I would have liked to said during this review. I had high hopes for Puckett's tenure here but this first chapter has left me cold. Entitled "Tesseract" we start with Supergirl getting a package from Batman ( a grizzled unshaven version of him) and then being thrown into some war with Superman and the Green Lantern Corps on one side and who knows on the other. Now a tesseract is a four dimensional analog of a cube where motion along the fourth dimension is often represented as the cube moving through time. Is the box that Batman left the cube? Is Supergirl moving through time? Am I reading too much into the title? I read this issue in about five minutes and basically got nothing out of it.

Drew Johnson's penciling is good for the most part, but the story relies so much on the visuals I don't know if I should blame Johnson for the confusing issue or Puckett. On a positive note, Puckett does establish that Supergirl is now 18 in this issue. In Superman/Batman when she was discovered she was 16 and in this issue she tells Batman she has been on Earth for two years. Now, why Batman after two years is still screwing with Supergirl is a whole other question.

I'm a Supergirl fan from way back and I'm hoping DC and Puckett can put this character back on track. However, this first issue does not bode well.

Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Red Rain

The search for Ray Palmer heads to Earth 43. For those of you out there keeping score, Earth 43 is the Earth where Batman is a vampire. In this issue, I was hoping to get more information about the team's desire to find Ray Palmer besides "Ray Palmer is the key". What we get is supposedly smart heroes acting very, very stupid. Where I come from vampires are bad and vampire killers are good. Why would the team then go after and stop the vampire killer from killing vampire Bat-Man? Their actions doomed this world's Dick Grayson and didn't move them closer to finding Ray Palmer. I'm sure the writer is writing from a DC editorial outline that goes something like "team arrives on Earth 43, confronts vampire Bat-Man, doesn't find Ray Palmer, and moves on". That about sums this book up. With the team of artist the outcome is surprisingly consistent. I'll have to give accolades to colorist Art Lyons for maintaining a consistent look and feel to the proceedings. However, the muted red tones did tend to drag towards the end of issue.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone other than a hardcore Countdown completist - if any of those really exist.