DC Comics Review: Detective Comics #855

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics,

Rating: ***

The first issue of the new Detective Comics featuring Batwoman as the lead character was very good.  I was not expecting to like it, but I was very surprised at how good it turned out.  Unfortunately, the second issue did not thrill me as much the first one did.  This issue wasn’t bad, in fact it was pretty good.  I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the last one. 

In the last issue we saw Batwoman was looking to find out who was the new leader of the Religion of Crime (ROC).  She discovered that the new leader was a woman who looks like a Goth version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice.  The cliffhanger for the last issue had Batwoman confronting Alice and shooting her.  We weren’t sure if the gun was a real gun or not and I thought that if it was, it would be a cool twist to the Batman universe to have one of Bruce’s “followers” use a gun.  It would have been very cool if DC went this route and it would have added to the story of Dick Grayson now being Batman, but DC did not go in this direction as the gun that Batwoman used was not a real gun.  It was a gun that shoots pepper spray bullets. 

Batwoman takes Alice away from her minions and uses something to dilute the effects of the pepper spray.  Batwoman wants to know what the ROC wants with her.  In a very cool scene, artist J.H. Williams III does something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before in a comic.  He presents the POV of the story from the inside of Alice’s mouth.  There we see her fiddling around with a razor blade that she has in the inside of her mouth and then bites down on it and uses it as a knife to slash Batwoman in the face.  Very cool.  My hat is off to Mr. Williams on his work on this issue.  The way he tells the story written by Greg Rucka is very different.  It kind of reminds me of the work I saw Tony Harris do on the Starman title in the 90s.

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LOST Review 5/6/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

This week’s episode was entitled, “Follow the Leader”. A very appropriate title as the episode deals with some of the characters on the show who have at one point tried to be a leader or who became the leader of the island inhabitants. In this episode we have several stories being told. In 1977, Jack must decide what needs to be done now that Daniel Faraday is dead. How can he complete the plan Daniel had to detonate the hydrogen bomb on the island in order to change history and prevent the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. In 2007, John Locke has resumed command of the Others. The island is talking to him and he seems to be in complete control and calling the shots on what needs to be done.

This episode really got my blood pumping. The last few weeks of episodes have been really good, but I almost feel that they were just pieces being put into place to tell the bigger story. The bigger story really begins here as we lead up into next week’s season finale. Will Jack detonate the hydrogen bomb? What about Sawyer and Juliet? Miles, Hugo, and Jin? What about John Locke? Who is he going to kill?!?!

Spoilers….................................................................................

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LOST Review 4/29/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

“LOST” returned this week after a brief hiatus with the 100th episode of the series. The episode is entitled “The Variable” and it was a Faraday centric episode. Before I begin my review of tonight’s episode, I must admit that last week - in a moment of weakness - I read a spoiler for tonight’s episode. I really tried not to, but I knew a death was coming and I just had to find out. Well, I read the spoiler and I was shocked by who it was going to be and I was also very sad. I like this character. The character is not my all-time favorite, but I do like the character a lot. I like all of the remaining characters that are currently on the show - I don’t want to see any of them go.  I checked imdb.com and it says that this character is in the last remaining episodes for this season. So maybe the character is not dead. Young Ben was shot and it appeared he was going to die, but he didn’t. Quite a bit of information is revealed in this episode. This was a good episode and it sets up for some big events for the final episodes of this season.

Spoilers…...............................................................

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LOST Review 4/1/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

This week’s episode is entitled “What Happened, Happened”. The title is an appropriate one for this episode as we have to realize that what is happening in the past with the LOST people in 1977 has always been the past. They have not changed things by going back into the past. This isn’t “Back to the Future” where an alternate time line has been created. What happened, has already happened and has always been, which is what Miles tries to explain to Hurley here in this episode. I believe Miles represents the voices of the creators and writers of the show here as I think they are using him to talk to the audience as a way of letting them understand what’s going on in the show. The past has not changed by the appearance of the “LOST” people in the past, this has always been the past. Get it? The scene was very funny.

This episode however focuses mainly on Kate and her time on the island during the 1970s and her time off the island in 2000s. This was a difficult episode for me as a parent because it explains why Kate left Aaron before she decided to go back to the island and it also shows where Aaron is now. I don’t know how I feel about the answers given in this episode. Although Kate is not Aaron’s biological mother, she is and has been his mother for the majority of his life. To walk away from him the way she’s done is difficult because I don’t know if a parent can just do that. I know there are bad parents out there who are capable of doing horrific things to their children, but Kate is portrayed as truly loving and adoring Aaron as her own child. Why leave him to go with Jack back to the island?

Spoilers…......................

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LOST Review 3/18/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

“LOST” is back this week, thank God.  I know it’s only been a week, but if you’re like me, you needed your “LOST” fix badly.  This week’s episode was “Namaste”.  According to Wikipedia, the word namaste is a greeting used by people in India and Nepal.  The literal translation is “I bow to you”.  I didn’t read this until after this week’s episode, which now puts all of these different theories and ideas in my head about the show as a whole.  Maybe this is important.  Maybe the word namaste is clue to what the island is all about.  We’ll see.

When we last saw Sawyer, he had met up with Jack, Kate, and Hurley.  Sawyer and his crew are living with the Dharma people in the year 1977.  He must now find a way to help these three and still keep the secret that they are all from the future.  Sayid is on the island in 1977 and his appearance ends up causing some trouble for Sawyer.  Also on the island is Sun, Ben, Frank and everyone else from Flight 316.  But the question is when are they?

Spoilers….......................................

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LOST Review 2/18/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

This week’s episode was entitled “316”.  The episode focuses on Jack and the other LOSTies who are off the island.  A very good episode that gives us some more mysteries.  Now one would say, but that’s just your typical “LOST” episode, but not this one.  I felt the questions that arose in this episode were shocking and very surprising even for me as a regular “LOST” viewer.  How long before we find out the answers to these new mysteries and what other mysteries lie ahead?

Spoilers….............

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LOST Review 2/11/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

So have I told you before that “LOST” is freakin’ awesome?!  I know I did, but I just want to say it again “LOST” is freakin’ AWESOME!!!!!

Wednesday night’s episode was entitled “This place is death”.  When we last left the show, everyone was jumping around through time and we were shown that our old friend Jin had survived the explosion of the boat.  To his surprise as he makes it back to the island and that he has been rescued by some French people and a young pregnant woman who is with them is named Danielle Rousseau.

Tonight’s episode picks up right where we left off.  Spoilers…................

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LOST Review 2/4/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

Answers are given, as more questions arise in just another episode of “LOST”.  Last night’s episode is entitled, “The Little Prince”.  When I read that this would be the name of tonight’s episode, I thought of the classic French children’s book “The Little Prince”.  Whether tonight’s episode is somehow related to that story, I’m not sure as I’ve never read it.  If there is a “little prince” in this episode it’s Aaron as he is one of the focal points of tonight’s episode.

In this episode, we again have the goings on of the LOST characters who have left the island and those who are still on it.  On the island we have Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, and Miles jumping through time; off the island we have Ben and Jack trying to get everyone back to the island.

If you don’t want to be spoiled - walk away now….........

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LOST Review 1/28/09

Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Television,

“LOST” continued its fifth season last night with an episode entitled “Jughead”.  The episode focused mainly on the characters that are still on the island – with the exception of Desmond as he’s in this episode too. 

What more praise can I give to this show that already hasn’t been given by me or anyone else.  This show continues to hit the big home run; score the big touchdown and make the game wining shot.  I’m so envious of the creators and writers of this show because I believe they truly have created something special.  Many shows that enter their fifth season start to begin to show cracks in the armor, but thankfully (at least in my opinion) “LOST” has yet to show any cracks.

Of course, if you haven’t seen the episode, do not go any further due to spoilers.

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