JENNIFER BLOOD #1

Garth Ennis' new series is about a soccer mom that also happens to be The Punisher. It's a simple premise. Ennis has said that he wanted to write something fun. What we have in this first issue isn't exactly “fun” unless you think blood and guts and driving kids to school is a good read. The suburban malaise theme has been done to death (think American Beauty and Revolutionary Road), but the reasons for Jennifer's midnight murder spree on local criminals hasn't been given enough of a back story to define the series' theme just yet. So far it's a chick with kids and a nice husband that doesn't satisfy her. She likes guns. She goes out at night and wrecks havoc. It's nothing new of course, but it could be a worthwhile read if it was entertaining or had some bite to it. The diary entries throughout the book feel tiresome (and really, Garth, you're married...you don't know that it's called a pedicure and not a manicure?). The uber-violence isn't shocking, it's just boring. The art is a little sloppy, although Adriano Batista is probably as good as it's going to get since this isn't a D.C. or Marvel book. The big problem that I have is that Garth Ennis did such a remarkable job writing Preacher that it's almost sad that he's never written anything even close to as fresh, funny, or wildly entertaining as that book. Is he really a one-trick pony? I really hope not, but this new series is a big disappointment. *1/2

BATMAN & ROBIN #20

I don't read Green Lantern Corps, but the writer/artist team that had been on that book has moved to this one. It's apparently sort of a big deal. I did read the “Sinestro Corps War” trade a year or two ago and writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason probably did work on a few issues of that but they certainly weren't memorable. It should be noted that I loathe Green Lantern and his oh-so silly universe. There's that. The cornucopia of Batman books have a lot of new talent these days. Jock and Scott Snyder are doing interesting work in Detective Comics but it's super dark. This book seems to be a bit lighter, kicking things off with family movie night at Wayne Manor. The story has an angel falling to his death at a red-carpet affair and Batman and Robin fighting a large bat creature amongst the skyscrapers of Gotham. At twenty pages, it's all set-up of course, but it's nonetheless uninteresting. The art is fresh and vibrant but there is a large spread towards the end that is incomprehensible. For a new superstar team I was hoping for a roller coaster ride and a half. This is just pedestrian stuff, really. It's fucking Batman. Liven it up. ** (out of ****)

IRON MAN #500.1

Remember when all of a sudden #0 issues were chic? Let's hope that the decimal numbered issue isn't next to gain popularity because it's obviously just a cheap ploy to get you hooked on a new book. Normally I'd say that it's a good thing to have an issue for new readers to catch them up to speed. The biggest reason I don't start reading a book I've never read before is because I'm totally lost (case in point: if you've never read Green Lantern, go read an issue and try to figure out what the hell is going on). The problem with this book is that #500.1 doesn't explain anything to new readers. It vaguely hints at the history of Tony Stark but doesn't even tell us what's been going on in detail for the past few issues. With that said, this is a great standalone read, perhaps writer Matt Fraction's best issue yet (I usually can't stand his writing). It has Tony Stark speaking at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. It's whip-smart and cute and fun and has a neat little ending. The art by Salvador Larocca is exceptional as well. The whole point behind the .1 issues that Marvel is putting out is totally lost with this particular issue, but at least there's a good book that's come out of it. I guess that's a good thing. ***1/2