We can drive it home with one headlight . . .

New comics. Let's dive right in.

Batman #665

Batman is afraid of ghosts. Seriously. Grant Morrison? Lost his fucking mind BECAUSE HE'S WRITING A BATMAN WHO'S AFRAID OF FUCKING GHOSTS.

But, it also starts with the best first-person narration of a Batman book in a while:

"Face down in my own blood and vomit in the pouring rain.

"Must

"Must be

"Must be a better way

"To strike terror

"into the hearts of criminals."

Still. Batman freaked out of his mind about a trio of ghosts.

The Ultimates 2 #13

I'll actually be buying the second volume in one of those deluxe Marvel hardcovers, but figured I'd grab this issue and judge it. It was just about what I expected: pretty art, some action, half-decent dialogue, a few nice character moments, total action flick.

Except, it was surprisingly light on the action. Sure, an eight-page spread is nice and all, but when compared to the fights I saw in the previous volume, this little war between Norse gods and trolls and giants and shit was over pretty damn quickly.

I'll reserve my final judgement for the hardcover.

New Avengers #30

So, Clint Barton is Ronin. *shrugs* Good enough for me.

I'm liking this Luke Cage. He's all paranoid and fucked up and acting exactly like a guy would in that situation. Everyone else is way too fucking calm and it plays well. Of course, I've been watching The Venture Bros. this week with a friend who'd never seen the show before and I can't take Dr. Strange seriously anymore. When he was doing his whole "magic spell that shows purity" I nearly pissed myself laughing because I imagined him saying it like Dr. Orpheus.

Otherwise, great issue.

Mighty Avengers #3

Okay, am I the only one who finds Tigra kind of creepy in that having sex with her is like fucking a giant lady-shaped cat? Same thing with Beast. Except I'm confused: is Tigra all hairy or is her skin just orange with black stripes? And why is Hank Pym such a dork here? He's been having sex with the Wasp on-and-off since the '60s-I think he can handle himself a little better than that.

Oh, and Ultron is kicking ass.

Still loving Bendis' use of thought balloons and the story is engaging with a final page that is just fantastic. I'm really glad I decided to buy the two Avengers books.

Thunderbolts #114

Well, isn't it great how the Thunderbolts squad totally sucks ass at capturing rogue superhumans? And so far, they've been up against GOOD GUYS. Imagine what would happen if they had to take on a villain willing to kill them.

Why the fuck didn't Penance do anything?

Lovely moment with the Swordsman and a TV.

This is a really entertaining book that shows just how well Ellis can do superhero action, even within the context of the larger Marvel universe--and proves, as I've argued for many years, who gives a fuck about a creator loving the characters as long as he/she is a professional?

The Immortal Iron Fist #5

So, it all comes down to Randall not wanting to fight against six other immortal weapons in some weird tournament and now Danny is totally fucked.

Past issues have moved a little slow, but this one picks up the pace, delivers the missing pieces of the puzzle and sets up the next issue's final showdown well. Although, I am confused about why Luke Cage is there with Misty and the other Hero for Hire since I thought they were on the other side, working for the government or registered or whatever. Maybe it's a case of putting friendship first, I dunno.

I still have Loveless: Thicker than Blackwater, but it will have to wait.