She Wolf #6

She Wolf: Black Baptism, Issue #6 sees the return of Gabby from college. She's looking for her sister Lizzie, who's been missing from home for a couple of days. She hears from two guys in a Trans-Am that Lizzie's at a party, so she goes to the party to find Lizzie turned into a werewolf. Lizzie has been mauling and eating the guests, so Gabby turns into a werewolf herself to battle her sister, who apparently has been possessed by the demon Gabby and her friend conjured in the first arc.

There's a five-page short comic at the end of the issue called “Jacob Morrow: A Head for Business.” I almost didn't read it, but the artwork by Patrick Dean caught my eye. Sometimes the back matter of comics can be tedious, and I generally avoid “teasers,” where the first six pages of a new comic is added to thicken out the issue and advertise the new comic, but I liked every page of this issue. I'm planning on getting the full collection of Dark Corridor in trade paperback, also by Rich Tommoso, also advertised in this issue.

Detective Comics #951

Batman: Detective Comics, Issue #951 sees Gotham eerily quiet.  Batman is training his army, as he talks with Batwoman.  Orphan, the ballet dancer turned villain turned Bat-hero, is overwhelming the rest.  Batman even admits that she could best him.  In Issue #950, Azrael beat the program that Batman couldn't.  And there's Clayface, a Robin or two, and of course, Batwoman, who's working with Mayor Hardy to clean up the corruption that had infected Gotham.  Their new enemy?  The League of Shadows, led by Shiva the Destroyer, but what if it's not?

I love Batwoman's role in this series.  She's Batman's right hand, giving him advice, watching over the rest of the Bat-heroes.  There's a lot I like about this issue, Clayface was very well introduced as a hero in the previous issue, as were Orphan and Azrael.  I also like the way the title of the comic isn't introduced until the final page, so the reader isn't sure who the new enemy is.  There are hints that it's someone else, even Batman himself.  Recommended.

Berserk, Vol. 1

Berserk, Volume 1 is the first of a long series by Kentaro Miura.  I first read the opening three volumes of Berserk three years ago, but I never really got into the series.  I've constantly heard good things about it, so I thought I'd get back into reading it.  The opening volume is about Guts's battles against demons and other monsters.  He has a giant sword and a mini-automatic-crossbow attached to his left arm.  His main offense is shooting people to death with a dozen or so arrows or chopping them up into little people with his giant sword.

The main story, which begins with Guts's childhood, starts midway through Volume 3, which is exactly where I stopped.  Before that, Guts merely chops through baddies with little to no rhyme or reason.  It's fun stuff, but not really the makings of the 38-volume epic that I've heard so much about.  If the price tag puts you off - a full, used set of the 38 volumes can run $500 or more - don't let it.  That just means that you can sell the full set on eBay when you're done.

Spider-Gwen #17

Spider-Gwen, Issue #17 is the fourth issue in the "Sitting in a Tree" crossover event.  It's a little hard to understand, but here goes.  Earth-616 is the main Marvel universe, the one with all the mutants, inhumans, superheroes, puns, and stuff.  Earth-65 is Spider-Gwen's Earth.  Normally, these universes stay somewhat separate, but just to mix it up, they come together now and then.  This is one of those times.  S.I.L.K. is... oh, what's S.I.L.K. again?  Some Spider-organization.  I can't keep track.  Anyway, they're involved.  So's Ms. Marvel, which is kind of cool.

I think the main difference between Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen is that the former doesn't require as much of a backstory understanding, while the latter rewards the experienced Marvel/Spider-Man reader.  I've read at most 100 issues involving Spider-Man, and I don't come close to getting all the references.  I read a lot of Marvel these days, but I simply didn't grow up with Marvel.  For me, in the 1980s, it was all about Batman and the Justice League.

Devils' Line, Vol. 1

Devils' Line, Volume 1 is the first in a currently running manga series that I picked up used on the cheap.  It deals with the Akuma myth, where some Akuma are vampires, and they live among us.  Anzai is a half-vampire, and he protects Tsukasa, a college student.  He's a part of the vampire police force or something like that.  See, vampires/Akuma look mostly like humans, only more disheveled and haggard, so they like to live among the humans, sometimes even getting married with humans.  Blood turns them on, and sometimes they kill their husbands and wives.

It's pretty obvious early on that Tsukasa and Anzai are going to be a couple.  Volume 5 is coming out in a couple of days, so the series is continuing.  I did find the dialogue a little clunky; perhaps the translation of this volume isn't terrific.  The cover and story drew me in, and I did enjoy it.  I bought a bunch of manga this week, including the first three volumes Berserk.  I read two and a half volumes of it in digital format years ago, but I thought I'd give it another chance.  I'll also try to catch up with Black Butler and a few other titles.

God Country #2

God Country, Issue #2  I actually bought a week from yesterday.  Although I bought nine comics just a day ago, I'm still finishing up the comics from last week.  Emmett, the former Alzheimer patient who used to be a god but now is a god again, has defeated the tornado that was actually a devil in Issue #1.  Now another god comes down, but he realizes that Emmett is actually a god, and he kneels to Emmett.  It really isn't as confusing as I make it out to be..  To make matters more confusing, Emmett might not be a god at all, but the sword he wields, Valofax, is.

God Country has an excellent blend of the fantastic, the funny, the supernatural, and awe.  It wasn't exactly on the bubble as far as titles I was going to buy last week, but it was the last one I read.  I found it very satisfying and fun, and there won't be a hint of hesitation when Issue #3 comes out in March; I'll buy it.

Kill or Be Killed #6

Kill or Be Killed, Issue #6 is nice and thick, like a lot of Brubaker/Phillips titles, really a treasure, a classic comic.  Using long periods of prose, Brubaker writes a lot in every outing of this title.  In Issue #5, Dylan kills a police officer, and begins Issue #6 in a standoff with two other police officers. He escapes, like usual.  It's too early in this comic for him to be caught.  Most of this issue deals with introducing Lily, the police officer who suspects that Dylan's murders are all committed by the same person, a vigilante serial killer.

The last few pages are about Dylan, and his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Daisy, who he hooks up with.  This ties in with the Russian angle and the Lily angle, through a newspaper headline about the alleged vigilante serial killer.  There's another Kim Morgan article about a movie; I haven't read it yet, but her article in Issue #5 intrigued me.