For me, Batman's glory days are encapsulated in the issues of Detective Comics by Mike Barr and Alan Davis. They obviously aren't the only good Batman comics, but, man, were they great. They had the right balance of Batman being a bad ass as well as a mentor to Robin. I don't know the issue numbers off the top of my head, but there was an awesome scene where Batman intimidates a guy in a bar and an issue where he shows his concern for an injured Robin that were played to perfection. It was all ruined by DC editorial, in my opinion, (and Jim Starlin too I guess), when they turned the Jason Todd Robin into an asshole, killed him off, changed the focus from Barr's Detective to Batman Year 2 (with completely inappropriate Alfredo Alcala inks over Todd McFarlane). I know it was a short run, but it plays so well.

I just read the Civil War tpb and am half way through the New Avengers Civil War book. The whole concept is nothing new and was done in the X-Men years and years ago with the Mutant Registration Act storyline.

Also, I just don't buy why Iron Man & Captain America have chosen the sides that they did. Cap is the loyal soldier and Iron Man is the playboy bad boy so they seem to be on the wrong sides conceptually. I just don't buy the entire premise. And there's not a lot of depth to Civil War, obviously because it is a tie in series and, supposedly, the in depth analysis of the characters' decisions are played out in their own books. New Avengers sort of fleshing things out for Cage & Spider-Woman so far, though the Cap issue didn't do much for me. I find myself wishing the entire storyline never existed, which can't be good for my future Marvel reads.

Damn I'm getting old! That was about 20 years ago and i remember it pretty well.

Damn, was it that long ago? I must admit that I don't remember many of the details, and don't care to actually.

Yeah, that was the big reveal. I was surprised that that issue was included too, since I had heard about it but didn't expect to be reading it in collected form for a while. They just solicited the softcover collection as well.

So is there no Young Avengers or Runaways books out right now? I didn't see any in the recent marvel previews. And what is Jim Cheung working on besides covers?

How was this Illuminati miniseries that is being collected?

I have quite a few titles that I've been buying since their Debuts but I haven't started reading. Jonah Hex, The Exterminators, The American Way(mini), Crossing Midnight, Welcome to Tranquility, Batman Confidential, Superman Confidential, The Spirit, and a few others.

I just read The American Way and I thought it was good, a bit predictable, but still good. Now i've just started Crossing Midnight and Batman Confidential and both have been pretty interesting so far.

re: the last couple of pages of

This week [spoilers ahead]:

Wolverine: Origins

A book like this really reinforces everything that's wrong with Marvel these days. I can give up minor continuity niggles when there's 20 complicated crossovers going on at once, but improper/inconsistent characterizations is really what's driven me from their company. Every issue seems to lead up to some huge "revelation" of some sort, but for a long time X-reader, it's not the least bit surprising to me. The X-men have become to tired to me now that anything that happens won't interest me in the least.

However, this book is a great jumping on point for new readers. The tone is light regardless of the gobs of violence, the characters are recognizable and well-integrated into the story even if they are unfamiliar, and it's a good look at the "history" of this character, even if these stories will never find a way to fit into Marvel continuity.

World War Hulk:

It's the end of the world, and everyone seems to cooperate so nicely. The writing here has descended into the utter pitfalls of amateurish fanboyism. Hulk declares war on the Illuminati, and it's so convenient that they clear the island just in time. These people are superpowered, in case you suddenly had a memory lapse about what you were reading, so don't worry, they're going to get the job done. Every single character depicted here is going to walk out alive, regardless of what's written here, and that's where the real challenge sets in. Consequences mean nothing in the Marvel and DCU anymore. All that's left is clever writing. WWH however insists on holding the reader's hand through everything, making sure every detail is accounted for, which is ironic considering how little attention they actually pay to detail these days. In the place of intense character moments, we get people rambling on and on about details we don't care about, quickly transitioning to pages upon pages of stupifying action.

Flash

I suppose after the incredible clusterfuck that was Infinite Crisis and OYL with regards to the Flash, DC is again hitting the big fat reset button, and they're bringing in the right man to do it. It's like living a piece of history all over again. If anyone can take the disassembled parts of continuity and craft a well-written, intense, and witty book, it's Mark Waid. The only problem is that they picked one of the worst artists in the world to be on Flash with him.

Irredeemable Ant-Man/Avengers Classic

Don't sweat the details. When you're writing a character/book that countless others have written before you for decades, there's very little you can do to keep up with the details. But the details don't matter here. All that matters is writing the character and scenarios well enough to entertain and make the reader be glad he read it, and more willing to read the next issue. Leaving your mark will be appreciated more than pages upon pages of technobabble and explaining how bureaucracies in the Marvel Universe work.

I stopped caring about World War Hulk. The series just pales in comparison to the story it spun out of.

McDuffie's JLA was pretty fun. I'm really interested to see where he takes the books in the coming months. The new art is going to take a little getting used to.

Allstar Batman continues to rock! So fucking insane. I was a little bummed at how quick the read was though. Lots of splash pages, very little text. You could polish this book off in less than 5 minutes. But it is a glorious 5 minutes.