10 Print "Best things in DC New 52, 2013" (SpartanNerd's top 10 list)

10 PRINT "Villains Month"  I haven't read one of these that I haven't enjoyed  (I can be disappointed and annoyed sometimes, but still enjoy comics)   And the cool 3D covers were also very nice, though it wasn't "revolutionary" as originally billed.  I haven't read all of the ones I bought yet!  Darkseid's origin was cool, and different.  Killer Croc looks like he has a bright future...Bizarro was cool.  The Joker's was odd...  And Doomsday was sort of disappointing.  But overall, these were pretty good.

20 PRINT "Batman:  Riddler #1" Among the best of Villains Month.  The Riddler is my favorite Bat-villain, next to the Joker.  And we haven't seen much of him in the New 52.  But he is showing up in the whole "Zero Year" story, and this villains month title served as a good companion to that.  Also, I like the premise.  He takes out the whole prison, to climb to the top and play Solitaire!

30 PRINT "Masters of the Universe Annual:  The Origin of HORDAK..." Read SpartanNerd Sundays for some thoughts on this one.

40 PRINT "Justice League #12"  Lois Lane who?  Seriously.  It should be nice if they keep these two together for a long time.  Make people think of them as an item, as inseparable as Lois and Clark.  Then do something to rip them apart.  Maybe in five years or so, Supes can sell his marriage...(let's not go there......)

50 Print "Batman and Robin Catwoman #22"  This was a positive story, ending with the two of them rescuing a little girl and swinging off with her to safety.  To me, an emotional ending for some reason!  Later (in other places), there is news that Catwoman may be the next Robin, called "Catbird," however this might be some sort of alternate universe story or something.  (The next big things are called Gothtopia and Batman:Eternal)

60 PRINT "Justice League of America #2" VIBE:  "Hawkman, you're covered in blood!" HAWKMAN: "It's not MY blood!"  Best joke of the year!

70 PRINT "Zero Year"  Everyone got a re-start for the New 52, except for the Bat Family.  They just got a soft reboot.  Batman's origin, at least the part about Thomas and Martha being murdered in front of him, has been told several times, almost ad nauseum.  BUT exactly how that translated into a guy dressed as a bat beating the tar out of criminals HAS NOT been explored in comics, as far as I know, ever.  So we are getting a big "Batman Begins" type of story.  We also got to see the Red Hood dropped in acid at the Ace Chemical plant...  The teaser line "And wait until you see who the Red Hood Really is, hasn't really been resolved yet.  So I suppose we'll see that in the coming year!  Throughout these books, we get to see little hints at Bat-stuff we are already familiar with.  The Studebaker, the "R" insignia on Bruce's hat, the grappling gun, the batarang.  On and on.

Batman #24 was an 80-page value!

80 PRINT "Detective Comics #19"  This cheapskate was quite happy with this value!  The oversized eighty pager was not even figured into the price of the subscription, apparently!  The subscription also paid off in the fact that the Back-up stories, starting around the time of this book, all focused on Man-Bat, and so it was like we got a whole other story arc!

Another 80 pager!

90 PRINT  "Suicide Squad #14 and 15"  The dynamic between the Joker and Harley Quinn is just awesome!  Harley was a character that I largely didn't care much for from past experiences of watching the Batman animated series from the 1990's.  What they are doing with Harley Quinn now is over-the-top.  I don't plan on reading any of her new series, I haven't cared for the art on the adverts, but she moved up the ladder on my unwritten list of characters, I tell you that!  I read these over and over!

100 Print "Death of the Family"  What really got me hooked on these stories?  Right after the FlashPoint.  Detective Comics #1.  We see the plot resolved here.  DC made us wait a year, and then WHAM!  This awesome story didn't disappoint!  I have almost every book from the series, and have read them all twice, as well as let SpartanSmurf #1 read them.  He hasn't finished yet...But it is good to let him in on that grown-up type story action.  Also, I came to like Batgirl a lot more, as well as Harley Quinn.  And we get one of our final issues with Damian as Robin, and it was one of the creepiest stories of the bunch!

Could I do an honorable mention?  Trinity War\Forever Evil has been gripping!  Can't wait to see what happens there!

Groovy Dork List....Cyber Monday edition

Groovy...I picked up a Griffin, Battleground Teela, and Sky High with Jet Sled.  Reviews will be posted when I get them!

Dork...I missed my chance with Mosquitor.  I finally decided I didn't really want Keldor just for his cape (not for $21), and decided against the Snake Warriors too.

Groovy...I was rewarded a gift certificate from Wulven Entertainment for my investment in their property when I purchased physical Shadow Era: The Call of the Crystals cards from them two summers ago.  (One of the best investments ever in nerd property!)

Dork...For some stupid reason I can't seem to get the gift credit to redeem.  I am supposed to purchase  a booster box of the next Shadow Era set, "Dark Prophecies."  But when I get to the billing screen the credit isn't showing.  :(  (I would desperately like to review some of these physical cards...)



Groovy...My Macbook Pro has been doing fine....Then I started hearing clicking and whirring....Thinking it a dying hard drive, I replaced it and upgraded it.  Now it has a 1TB hybrid drive.  That is more storage space than all of my other computing devices combined!

Dork...The whirring and clicking continues...and my battery is draining faster.  I know now that it wasn't the hard drive failing at all, but the fan.  (The battery probably is affected by the new Hard Drive as well.)  I have disassembled my machine and tried air spraying it out.  But that hasn't worked.  I think the axle needs some grease...But I don't have the required TORX screwdrivers to take the fan apart.


Groovy...I have been playing Batman:Arkham Asylum.  This is my second play through.  When I played it before, it was on Steam, and on the Windows partition of my (old) hard drive.  I went ahead and purchased the Mac version...It is every bit as good without the hassle of Steam and Windoze.

Dork...I am ditching a few comic subscriptions.  Aquaman has bored me to death.  And I am shucking Action Comics as well.  I love Superman.  But the comics lose me.  The writers insist that you buy into the whole eco-system in order to understand what is going on.  I subscribed to Action Comics, thinking that I wouldn't have all of that "continuity misunderstanding" trouble.  I would have every issue.  Makes sense.  But Superman is continually being crossed over...And this complicates the story, as well as frustrates me because I feel a need to have a complete story, and so I have to go hunt the issues of other titles I am not subscribed to.  I have a longing to read "H'el On Earth," which is mostly a Supergirl story...because of the Action Comics Annual #2.  Also, because I haven't been reading Superman (the title) I have missed a lot of stuff about Brainiac, which was important to the last Action Comics story arc "Psi War."  I am done.  Sorry Supes.  Maybe if they go back to writing you like they did back at the beginning of the New 52, I will return.

So what will I subscribe to in their places?  I am thinking maybe something Marvel..Maybe they will cure the whole Superior Spider-man complex.  Either that, or maybe I will just invest in the Ninja Turtle eco-system again.  I stopped buying those books only because my brain couldn't take any more fantasy.  But lately I am missing something a little different.  The biggest problem here is you pretty much have to buy them in the store.  The Tangled Web keeps them in stock in general, but just the same, I feel I have to get them once I get started.  Then again, maybe I'll just subscribe to the Justice League again.  I suppose I have a little time to consider it.  One thing is certain, I have been very satisfied with reading Batman stories!

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