(and the owner, who I swear has a crush on Cass, and I say hell yeah to the hot Batgirl/coffee girl action)

Heh. The coffee girl is hot, dude.

The art in OMAC was a little weird though -- it almost seemed like it switched artists halfway through, particularly on Superman.

It did. If you look at the credits, you can see that Saiz pencilled pages 1-14, and Cliff Richards and someobody else were credited with the remaining pages. If you recall, Cliff Richards pencilled quite a few of the Buffy comics. I think his art has improved, but he still has a problem with getting detail on faces for panels less than a quarter-page. At least none of the characters looked like a mole.

Now that I *finally* got my comics...

This week, the sparkly pink hearts go around the words Batman and Batgirl.

I've really been digging the main Bat title, because it's been reminding me that Winick can, when he chooses, be a FUN writer. He's got a good hand with dialogue, and his Jason is, frankly, charming. (And probably right about Gotham.) I'd been a little worried that Winick, who is on record as voting for Jason to live back in the infamous day, would be basically writing Jason Sue (based on interviews where he basically said what direction he wanted Jason to go in for this), but the character is fleshed out, and more importantly, stays fairly true to post-Crisis pre-Death Jason, both in his original incarnation and in the way he's been show in flashback tales. Also, I'm madly in love with Onyx.

Which leads me to... Batgirl. If Shiva is her mother, this thread totally called it. I'd Nilly the link, but I'm too busy giggling. I adore the completely fucked yet oddly loving relationship that Cass has with Cain, and the final panel with the note and the damaged flower was perfect. And? More Onyx!

Batman Allies SFO had what I think is the most perfect picture of Montoya ever. I'm not whitefonting that, because it's not a spoiler.

Flash: always nice to see Bart, but other than that, this wasn't as exciting an entry as last issue.

Outsiders: the end of the crossover arc was predictable, but I liked the teamwork between characters who haven't had as much play lately, like Anissa and Jade. Winick is managing to make me actually like Starfire, which is a blessing. I still have my extratextual issues with her, but she's feeling more human (you know what I mean) here than I've seen her elsewhere. The anvils were a touch heavy, but Shift having to kill Indy still managed to hurt. Not quite heavy enough to make me feel dirty, but close. I miss the sense of fun (see above re: Batman). I'm having Buffy S6 feelings about the title at the moment, mixed emotions about grim for grim's sake and nothing much to lighten it. The grim hits harder if there's a little light.

There were more books, but Steph already covered WW, GL was okay, but still exposition central, and I haven't read Planetary yet.

Oh, and OMAC, I like.

I think I should see if Batman Allies:SFO is still available.

Some brief comments on this week's pull list (in the order I have read them):

Angel: The Curse #1 - I didn't get the Angel puppet cover, dammit. It was good to get a new Angel story, but man, this issue was almost all exposition. I found the art a bit stiff, although there were a couple of panels I liked. I think things will liven up in the next issue. I'll have more to say about this issue later.

The Omac Project #3 - I LOVED this issue. The naysayers who are down on the DC "event" are missing out, IMHO. The part where Superman saved Bats was perfect. Good character moments (it figures that Rucka could give Booster depth). I do think the final bit is kind of WTF?, but I don't think I am anticipating another book more than this one at this time.

Wonder Woman #217 - I found this issue predicatble but enjoyable (I think most dealings with the Greek gods are going to be fairly predictable, and it was obvious that Diana was going to get her eyesight back (hell, she has it back throughout OMAC) , but I still liked the story. Between this and OMAC, though, it appears that Diana is in for a rough time. I found it funny that some of the end pages of the DC books were touting WW #218 for this week's hot books.

The Outsiders #25 - As Plei commented, a bit predictable. Also, Luthor never learns, does he? I did think there were some good artistic flourishes, esp. regarding camera angles and Indigo's face. I do think that Nightwing is kidding himself if he thinks anything he does can just be "business". He gets emotionally involved in everything he does. I agree with many commentators that it makes absolutely no sense to indicate on the cover that the issue crosses over with Teen Titans. It also seems to me that the Donna Troy piece is just being shoehorned in, rather than flowing naturally.

Batman # 641 - Count me as another big fan. Excellent pacing, some pretty snazzy art (I would kill for the original of the full page shot of Bats standing in the rain), and even though it may be melodramatic, I think it is called for here, especially considering how important Winick feels the storyline is.

Flash #223 - Suffers from mid-arc-itis. A lot of fighting, a lot of charcters to keep track of, and a set up at the end for finale of the Rogue War (which I'm sure is going to take another 2 issues), but not much progress in this issue itself.

Batgirl # 65 - Another top-notch issue by Gabrych. I am puzzled by the comment that Batman had that Cassandra would be about the same age as Jason but maybe I am mis-interepreting the scene. This book is not getting enough publicity.

Runaways #5 - The most FUN issue of the week. I really hope readership goes up on this title, because it is massively enjoyable.

Young Avengers #5 - All-fight issue. A minor setback in what is another fun title, much more enjoyable than I had expected.

Green Lantern #2 - Another Geoff Johns all set-up issue, but fortunately, the arc is only a three-issue one. Pretty artwork. I do like the creepy, empty Coast City location.

JLA Classified #9 - This "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League" run has been wholly weird - the comedy routine is just vitiated by the events of Identity Crisis, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, and The OMAC Project. Still, this run was enjoyable on its own terms (G'nort-zilla!), and managed to deepen characterization of Guy and Booster. Ironinc ending.

Still to come - Batman Secret Files - I did get to the Montoya story, and liked it; Solo #5 (Darwyn Cooke! Slam Bradley story!), Planetary #23, The Losers #25, Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #3.

THIS is the week I pick to buy my comics on the weekend, and this is the week y'all not only buy on time, but type scads.

Pfft.

Jeff, I am amused to note that where what we read crossed over, we had pretty much the same take.

I've been trying to read Planetary all morning (well, since about 3am), but the baby won't let me. Seriously. I start, she fusses. I start, she fusses. I may try fooling her by hiding it inside Batgirl or something.

Runaways #5 - The most FUN issue of the week. I really hope readership goes up on this title, because it is massively enjoyable.

Wasn't it fucking sweet, Jeff? I mean, robots! Also, Vaughan gives good fight scene. And now my comic book store is closed. I have to find a way to keep up with it.

P-C, not just robots, but a DOOM-bot! And an Ultron! The writing in this series seems effortless.