Oh, good! I thought my only books this week were Detective and Wonder Woman. But Batgirl is coming out too. I like having two good books balancing out Detective.

And I'm trying so hard to like it! Meet me partway, Detective Comics! Let's start with getting rid of Clayface's ability to become several dozen people, and I promise to never mention it again.

I think I could probably tolerate and maybe even warm to a Clayface character if he was a little more like the Matt Hagen Clayface.

Basil Karlo and Preston Payne are both NUTS! And they are great as rather unpredictable psychopaths. This current Clayface blocks most of the elements that made them such compelling characters without adding anything very interesting.

But Matt Hagen is a bruiser with a chip on his shoulder, and dealing with his attitude as he tries to go straight is a story element I could get behind.

Wonder Woman #9: the mystery of what happened to Paradise Island (I still cannot call it Themyscira, sorry!) seems to be coming to a close, especially with the surprise at the end of the issue...but is all as it seems? This issue was a nice break from the dark story with the Cheetah and the plant god. Lots of relationship stuff and a great double splash page paying homage to previous Wonder Woman creators. The theme of this issue (or at least what I picked up on) is love. We see Diana and Steve having a conversation that sums up their relationship (quite possibly all 75 years of it) in 3-4 pages. The future looks bright for this couple (I hope it does, anyway). The art was very nice, although Wonder Woman tends to look different panel to panel sometimes, a very minor complaint. I have read on other websites that some are complaining that Steve looks too much like Oliver Queen, but there is no rule out there stating only one DC character can be blonde with a beard or goatee. I enjoyed this issue as it was a nice break from the action and we got to see Wonder Woman and Steve being written as the couple they should have been depicted as for a long time. This Steve is not needing constant rescuing from Wonder Woman (although she did rescue him in the last story arc, haha). They both respect each other and what a partnership this will be! Aside from the last page, there is also a surprise character that appears midway through the book. Rucka is truly serving up a treat for Wonder Woman fans, old and new.
10/10

Titans 4: For this to be the 4th issue of the title, this story seems to be dragging. I will say the action picks up in this issue and we see some great moments between Nightwing and his team, particularly with Flash and Lilith. The writer is finding his way with these characters and I believe and is drawing from all the eras of Titans comics. We have the groovy 60s/70s Titans line up and he is trying to create the 80s relationship dynamic. I can't quite get used to the artist. He does draw an awesome Flash and a great Kadabra, but his art is a little too much on the 90s Image side for my taste (I don't hate it, I'm just having to get used to it). There are lots of words in this issue and lots of "LILITH!!" "WALLY!!" "DICK!!!". The book does have a certain charm. As I was reading this story, it felt like an issue from the 1976-1978 Titans. Ready for the Wally West story to wrap up and see Donna and Tempest have a chance to shine. Hoping we get a definitive "Who is Donna Troy" but they may be up to the Wonder Woman book. Despite my rating coming up, I really do like this book. I love the line up and I am wanting to know more about the Titans in the Rebirth world. I just think this book needs a little room to grow.
6.5/10 (a bonus .5 for the old school word balloons on the cover!)

Written by Nick Spencer. Art by Javier Pina. Cover by Paul Renaud.

The issue alternates between flashbacks to Steve's altered past & the present day CWII.

The good: as I thought when Cap was revealed to be a Hydra agent despite what caused it...Steve's innate goodness would come out somehow. Spencer is slowly showing what changed in Steve's altered history & his internal battle to somehow set things right. The art was decent.

The bad: since I am not reading CWII I really don't care about the scenes involving it. But Spencer does a decent job explaining things so you have a general idea what CWII is about.

This issue was a mixed bag for me. I really want to see more about Cap's altered past & his way of dealing with conflicted feelings. I also am hoping for a resolution to this storyline by #12. And a better costume. And Cap with his regular shield.

Score: 6/10.

Written by Keith Giffen. Art by Scott Kolins. Cover by Cully Hamner.

The Posse story continues. BB explores an underground cavern under the direction of Ted. Why? I'm not sure. Jaime's Mom is revealed to be the Posse's doctor. But most of the issue is devoted to the Blur trying to flirt with Jamie (BB) & him trying to avoid her.

This whole issue was a mess. It felt like a chore trying to read it. I no longer care about Ted's & Dr Fate's involvement in this title. The only good part is Kolins' art.

Score: 4/10. two issues in a row that I didn't enjoy. Dropped.

Summary: Batman has compiled a Bat-Family S.W.A.T. team, a group of paranormal super-hero types who train as a group to (hopefully) develop into a combat organization that can band together when needed to take out the bad guys in situations where the usual Gotham "lone wolf" approach might seem to be an inefficient way to tackle the problem. The group is being trained by Batwoman. The other members are: The Spoiler (Stephanie Brown), the Clue-Master's daughter, who became a solo masked vigilante and hung out in Tim Drake's comic book for a while, then she was Robin (for like two pages), then she was beaten to death by Black Mask (she got better) and then she was Batgirl. (Well, probably not in the Rebirth continuity. Barbara Gordon is barely 20 and has barely had time to be Batgirl! So I don't know what the Spoiler's story is in current DC continuity. Forget I said anything.); Red Robin (Tim Drake), an athletic 'and intellectual prodigy who is much more qualified to be Batman than Bruce Wayne. For one thing, he's not super-paranoid all the time. Drake was believed dead after the new team's first mission, but he's actually alive in a glass cage somewhere. (And it's just a rumor that "Red" in "Red Robin" stands for Redundant."); Orphan (Cassandra Cain). I don't know what to tell you what's up with her in Rebirth. She may have been Batgirl during that three- or four-month period where Barbara Gordon was Oracle. Probably not. (And good luck finding out anything from her. She doesn't talk.); and Clayface (Basil Karlo), a horror actor who got turned into magic clay somehow (a magic grotto, maybe?) and was a bad guy for a while and now he's trying to go straight. The team is recovering from a really bad cross-over where somebody thought they would improve on a classic story from the first issue of Batman (from 1940) and … well, let's admit that it didn’t go quite as bad as the heist in [/b]Reservoir Dogs[/b]. Now, they have a chance at redemption as a new multi-part story – The Victim Syndicate – begins in Detective Comics.

Plot: Somebody has vandalized the lobby at Wayne Enterprises … and killed three Gotham cops doing it. Batwoman and Renee Montoya are on the scene. There's a huge red bat symbol on the wall, followed by the words "NO MORE!" What does it mean? Meanwhile, Batwoman is worried about her little team. Red Robin is dead (they think), and the Spoiler is taking it hard and not responding to calls. And Batman also seems to be much affected by the problems besetting the team. He shows up to threaten Batwoman's dad (long story) every once in a while, but he's not otherwise much engaging with the team. Clayface and Orphan seem to be doing OK, mixing it up in the Bat-Cave's Danger Room. Everybody goes to a charity ball. (Because there is apparently nothing much else to do in Gotham City if you're grotesquely wealthy.) Lucius Fox's smarmy, annoying son shows up. Then the Victim Syndicate attacks! They are sending a message to the greatest villain Gotham City has ever known! BATMAN! To be continued …

Art: As much as I bag on this series, I have loved the art. There are a lot of main characters running around in this book, but everybody is an individual. The small amount of acceptance that I feel for Clayface (and to a lesser extent, Orphan) can be attributed to the warmth and humanity in the art. Batwoman is pretty awesome-looking all the time, and that's a big plus.

Conclusion: So far so good with "The Victim Syndicate." I like Stephanie Brown a lot, and she seems to be acting completely in character here. Batwoman is stepping in to keep things together while Batman deals with losing another Robin. It was great seeing Montoya! And Luke Fox, man, I really hate him! But I think I'm supposed to. The Victim Syndicate – which seems to be blaming Batman for many of Gotham's problems (and presumably their own personal problems as well) – is a very interesting idea that has a lot of potential, not just for this storyline, but for the future. And I liked the first issue a lot! (It helped a great deal that only one of the guests at the charity ball was Clayface.)

Rating: 7/10