Halloween Week: The Comics Load of TERROR

By Chance

October 26, 2010 at 3:24PM EDT

Click…if you dare!

Warning: We have a terrifying collection of comics this week! Some of the ghoulish goings-on are unsuitable for the delicate or squeamish. Proceed with caution!

	Chance‘s Load
	Batman and Robin #15 When an issue opens with the Joker dancing with a corpse, you know things are going to get dark. Damian is also in the Joker’s clutches, but to his credit, he’s only worried about getting free and saving Dick. Things are looking pretty bad for the Dynamic Duo by the end of the issue, but it’s kind of hard to take anything too seriously with dialogue like, “That whistle. The lost bat-language of the Miagani people.” Yeah, when people start recognizing lost bat-languages, it’s time to wrap this mutha up! Luckily, Barbatos the Bat God arrives to do just that.
	DC Universe Halloween Special 2010 I love these holiday issues, which feature a handful of Halloween vignettes set in the world of the DCU. The entries are hit or miss; you can only do so much in 3-4 pages, but standouts include the first tale where Batman must rescue Scarecrow from a couple of disgruntled junior superheroes. Then, Batman and Robin have to stake their way through a cult of vampires. Woman Woman makes a brief appearance for a quick tussle with Cheetah before planting a smooch on Deadman. Then the Titans must convince Klarion the Witchboy that he’s accepted for who and what he is. This story also earns a pretty good laugh by portraying the boy’s feline familiar as a LOLcat. All in all, a good issue that will put you in the Halloween spirit. I can’t help wishing DC would do some animated holiday anthologies sometime. That would be awesome. Terrifyingly awesome, I mean.
	The Muppet Show #11 Who (or what) is to blame for the sudden loss of power in the Muppet theater? Could it be Doctor Bunsen Honeydew and his mad quest to create a FrankenBeaker? Poor Beaker comes very close to losing his brain, all in the name of science, in this hair-raising tale of Muppet science gone mad. If you’re looking for comics to give out to trick-or-treaters, buy a stack of the Muppet comics. They’re fun, kid-friendly and carry on the madcap Muppet tradition. Plus, they cause 30% less cavities than fun-size Snickers bars.
	Superman/Batman #77 There’s a mass grave full of LuthorCorp interns in Metropolis, and Supergirl needs a Bat to help solve the crime. Unfortunately, the only Bat available is Damian, who uses his usual dose of precocious charm to piss the Girl of Steel off. But it’s Halloween and lives are at stake, so they infiltrate an intern costume party (dressed as a rabbit and a gangster; you can guess which is which) to bring the culprit to justice. By the end, Damian might just have a crush on a certain last daughter of Krypton. The writers are doing a good job with Damian, I think, keeping him guarded and unpleasant, but giving him occasional moments of growth and depth. Can’t wait for him to join the Teen Titans!
	The X-Files: 30 Days of Night #4 This book has been scaring the crap out of me, with the whole “stranded in the tundra surrounded by vamps” thing. This issue…has four terrifying pages of…exposition…um…and some creepy-ass artwork of a hundred-year-old flipper guy. Yeah. It’s scarier than it sounds, I swear.

	Brian‘s Load
	Brightest Day #12 Gee, that other remaining green Martian, D’Kay D’Razz, is such an uber-manipulative bitch, she MUST be related to Vanessa Williams. Or perhaps she actually is Vanessa Williams. That would explain how Williams keeps getting roles as an evil, disagreeable wench. Either way, this bald Martian chick is a total evil jerk. Can’t wait until the Martian Manhunter bitch slaps the bitch. Or whatever it is Martians do to punish the bad members of their forgotten society.
	Justice League of America #50 I haven’t read a Justice League title in about three years. Not sure why I haven’t, just didn’t feel inspired enough to follow this book, I guess. But this being the 50th issue, and me being a stone’s throw from 50 myself, I thought I’d give it a look-see. And I gotta say, although this double-sized anniversary issue is very, very, VERY exposition-heavy, I kinda enjoyed it. It’s fun to see a Justice League team without any of the original Big Three, but still manage to include some very iconic DC heroes, like Dick Grayson as Batman, Donna Troy and Supergirl. Also, I’m surprised and overjoyed to see that there are four–yes, FOUR–females on this team (plus a gay guy)! Hells yeah! Let’s all triumphantly yell the Spice Girls’ mantra: “Girl Power!”
	Legion of Superheroes #6 Yowza! Out queer artist Phil Jimenez sure does draw a sexy little Gravity Kid. Plenty of trimmed belly hair, stuble on the chest, nips barely covered, uhhhhh, what was I saying again? Oh, right, if I had a 1/3 of the body this new Gravity Kid character has, I’d SO rock that revealing outfit in a heartbeat. Sadly, I’m more physically akin to Bouncing Boy, but in my heart I’m SO a Gravity Kid.
	Shadowland: Power-Man #3 Fred Van Lente, please put your baby in me. If not your baby, please put something in me, so that I can try to absorb a smidge of your writing talent into my own DNA. Because this issue has so much original, creative wit to it, I just adored reading it. Love that the Daredevil-lead-Ninja-Hand uses one of their “ancient ninja secrets” to discover who the new Power-Man is by refreshing the “browser history” on Iron Fist’s computer. *Swoon*
	Supergirl #57 Dear Girl of Steel, Love your new artist Bernard Chang. His work on the fill-in issues for Wonder Woman are seriously underrated. Hate your new short, ugly haircut. Please, please, please grow back those gravity-defying locks of gold you impressively display on the cover of this issue. Love and kisses, Brian
	Superman/Batman #77 Being the world-renowned fashionista that I am, I was able to overlook this so-so issue thanks to the amazing, super-pointy, utterly runway-worthy shoes the Scarecrow boldly sports as Supergirl beats him up. Hey, Scarecrow! Where DID you find those shoes? I’d kill a Robin for a pair.

Thanks for reading! Have a creepy, comics-filled Halloween!