Hey, ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages. Due to a mix of bad weather, bad luck, and what I suspect is a communist conspiracy, I’ve been backed up on comics, but I’m getting caught up, and I have some thoughts to share with you now. As is often the case, it’s tough to talk about these books without revealing some plot details, so beware of spoilers. To be fair, it’s Friday, so I suspect many of you have been spoiled on these books already. Shall we proceed?

Darth Vader #2 followed the model of #1 for the most part. Where #1 gave us a look at the events of Star Wars #1 from a different perspective, #2 takes a similar approach in being separate from the main story and otherwise self-contained. Vader’s voice comes through a little better in this issue, I think. It feels less expository in the dialogue, and a little less bloated. We get a look at some of the Empire’s command apparatus, and we also see Vader dealing with an obstacle that feels pretty fresh. The art continues to impress in these books, and while I doubt this is a must-read in order to follow the main Star Wars title, I actually find that refreshing.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a big Lee Bermejo fan. For that reason, I was excited to pick up his new book, Suiciders which launched this week. Let me be clear in that Bermejo’s art is what I’m particularly fond of, and this book is stunning to look at. Suiciders is also written by Bermejo, and I will concede that his writing is the weak link. The dialogue is a little awkward in spots, and I don’t feel I came away from this issue knowing as much as I should about the world he’s building, but I feel the aesthetic of this book alone is worth the price-tag.

Lastly, let’s talk about Batman. If you haven’t heard the big spoiler, you should probably stop here. That’s why I saved it for last. Still reading? Okay, here goes… I hated this issue. It’s not, as some suggested, that The Joker went too far. The Joker can never go too far. What bothered me was the laziness of the writing here. Joker cutting off Alfred’s hand felt like pure shock value, but for the fact that it was related to the reader in a glorified flashback. This is not to mention the narrative problem of it. If this timeline is to be taken seriously, didn’t Joker just have the entire Bat-family tied up and at his mercy in Death of the Family? Why would he choose to maim Alfred now? The answer is, I believe, as I already suggested. Shock value. I’m already disturbed by the possibility of Snyder being allowed to turn Joker into an evil Wolverine rip-off, and this issue just makes me think all the more that Snyder really just wants to write horror. I’ll cut this tirade short before I start calling for anyone to be burned in effigy, but suffice it to say I’m ready for a new voice on the title. Capullo, on the other hand, should be kept indefinitely as his art has never disappointed.

I think I’ll leave it at that for this week. Happy geekings.