Comics Reviews: Green Arrow 19, Young All-Stars 26, Suicide Squad 29, Suicide Squad 30

Green Arrow 19 coverGreen Arrow #19 – “The Trial of Oliver Queen” – Mike Grell/Ed Hannigan/Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin

This one starts with a veteran cop (Egan) breaking in a rookie partner named Stankowski. Egan is close to retirement and gives his young partner the benefit of his experience, telling him how to handle various situations. They get a call about armed individuals across town and go to check it out. Egan heads down an alley to see what’s going on, unaware that Green Arrow is on the roof above him. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Green Arrow 19, Young All-Stars 26, Suicide Squad 29, Suicide Squad 30”

Comics Reviews: Justice League America 27, Justice League Europe 3, Legion of Super-Heroes 61, New Titans 55

Justice League America 27 coverJustice League America #27 – “Mindsnap” – Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis/Ty Templeton/Dick Giordano, Joe Rubinstein

This one starts with Oberon going to Belle Rêve to tell Amanda Waller about Blue Beetle going nuts last issue and trying to kill Max Lord. Waller and Oberon end up getting along (since their abrasive personalities match) and he asks her help in figuring out what’s wrong with Blue Beetle and fixing it. Back at JLA headquarters, Beetle has been confined to Max’s room to keep him from harming anyone (or himself). Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Justice League America 27, Justice League Europe 3, Legion of Super-Heroes 61, New Titans 55”

Xena Season 5 Geography and Chronology

Xena title cardWelcome to my geography and timeline review for Season 5. As always, this is my attempt to bring some continuity to this season’s episodes, trying to figure out where they took place and the best possible order to make the whole thing flow better. As I’ve said before, none of this minutiae really matters all that much (and my reasoning could be completely off), but I’m a continuity nerd, so I have to at least try. This season has even fewer geographical references than last season, which makes it harder to place the episodes geographically, but the beginning and end of the season are pretty straightforward, so that helps. As I said last year, if you’re not as enamoured of this sort of thing as I am, feel free to skip this post. My first review for Season 6 will be up next Wednesday as always. Continue reading “Xena Season 5 Geography and Chronology”

Xena Season 5 Overview

Xena title cardWelcome to my overview of Season 5 of Xena, where I try to touch on some of the themes running through not only this season, but the entire series. (I won’t link to individual episodes, since they can be accessed in the Tag Cloud under “Xena Season 5”. This season is kind of split into two main themes; the first half deals mostly with Xena’s pregnancy and how she adjusts to it, while the second half concerns the Twilight of the Gods prophecy that’s linked to the birth of Xena’s daughter, Eve. Continue reading “Xena Season 5 Overview”

Comics Reviews: Batman 434, Detective 601

Batman 434 coverBatman #434 – “How Many Times Can a Batman Die?” – John Byrne/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo

This is the second part of the “Many Deaths of the Batman” storyline. Last issue, a couple of people dressed as Batman were killed in Gotham, but neither of them were the genuine article. This issue starts with Batman (?) chasing someone in a red cape over the roofs of Paris. He plunges into the river after his quarry and the French police recover his cape and cowl from the water. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Batman 434, Detective 601”

Comics Reviews: Wonder Woman 30, Firestorm 85

Wonder Woman 30 coverWonder Woman #30 – “To Live By the Sword” – George Perez/Chris Marrinan/Will Blyberg

Last issue, Wonder Woman went to Egypt in pursuit of Barbara (Cheetah) Minerva, who had stolen her magic lasso. Getting lost in a sandstorm, Wonder Woman ended up in a hidden city full of Amazons (Bana-Mighdall), but not the Amazons she’s familiar with. She stumbled on the bodies of two Amazons (killed by the Cheetah) and the other Amazons assumed she killed their sisters, so they attacked her. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Wonder Woman 30, Firestorm 85”

Xena Reviews: Season 5, Episode 22

Xena title cardMotherhood – Director: Rick Jacobson/Story: Rob Tapert/Teleplay: R.J. Stewart

This one starts with Xena and Gabi tracking Eve through the desert after she took off last episode. Gabi’s still conflicted about Eve killing Joxer, but she can see how much Eve means to Xena. On Mount Olympus, the gods discuss what to do and Athena suggests sending the Furies to get inside Gabi’s head. Desert nomads attack Eve, remembering her depredations as Livia, forcing Xena and Gabi to fight them off. After the fight, the Furies get inside Gabi’s mind and poison her thoughts against Eve. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 5, Episode 22”

Comics Reviews: Green Arrow 18, Young All-Stars 25, Suicide Squad 27, Suicide Squad 28

Green Arrow 18 coverGreen Arrow #18 – “The Horseman Part 2” – Mike Grell/Dan Jurgens/Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin

Last issue, a biker calling himself the Horseman came to Seattle looking for a red-headed stripper named Dawn, busting up various strip clubs looking for her. Dawn ended up being beaten to death and crucified, but the Horseman doesn’t know that yet, so he’s still smashing up strip clubs looking for her. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Green Arrow 18, Young All-Stars 25, Suicide Squad 27, Suicide Squad 28”

Comics Reviews: Justice League America 26, Justice League Europe 2, Legion of Super-Heroes 60

Justice League America 26 coverJustice League America #26 – “Slice and Dice” – Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis/Ty Templeton/Joe Rubinstein

The title of this comic officially changes (again) with this issue, but I’ll keep referring to it with the same Tag to make searching for it on my site easier. This story starts with Blue Beetle on monitor duty and hating every boring minute of it. Oberon’s not happy either, since he has to keep reminding Beetle to pay attention. Beetle takes a phone call while Oberon goes to complain to Max Lord about his slacking off. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: Justice League America 26, Justice League Europe 2, Legion of Super-Heroes 60”

Xena Reviews: Season 5, Episode 21

Xena title cardEve – Director: Mark Beesley/Writers: George Strayton, Tom O’Neill

This one starts with Xena, Gabi, Joxer, and Virgil following Livia’s trail. Gabi is sure they can bring out the innate goodness in Livia, but Xena worries her daughter is beyond redemption. She may be right, as we see Livia slaughtering people and crucifying them, not really caring anymore if they’re followers of Eli or not. Xena and the others find the carnage and realize how bad Livia really is. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 5, Episode 21”