My Week In Comics 10-14-09

These are a week old, thanks to my procrastination. I'm going to try to remember each week to put these in the order in which I enjoyed them, starting with the best...

Adventure Comics 3: I'm disappointed in what I've read about the plans to replace Superboy as the star of this series after a few more issues, because I'm really loving what they've done so far. Conner is still making up his checklist comparing his own actions to those of his "fathers," Superman and Lex Luthor, and enlists the help of his best friend Tim Drake, AKA Red Robin, in finding Luthor. The reason is a surprise. Tim, of course, is on his own quest -- to prove Bruce Wayne is still alive. This story does a better job of explaining Tim's actions than his own book (more on that shortly). And the dialogue between the two is spot on. Plus, another nice moment between a (Super-)boy and his (Super-)dog.

Action Comics 882: The third of four parts of "The Hunt For Reactron," starring Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird. They're back in Metropolis and still hunted by Squad K. As it turns out, Squad K has been joined by Reactron. There's plenty of action (befitting the title of the book) and treachery in abundance. And the "second feature," with Captain Atom, more and more ties into the whole Superman/New Krypton/General Lane puzzle.

Blackest Night: Batman 3 (of 3): The miniseries concludes, although it doesn't really conclude, because the whole Blackest Night event isn't even half-over. The immediate threat to Batman and Gotham City ends, in a not-entirely satisfactory manner, as the title of this column explains. But you have to love a book that features, thanks to guest-star Red Robin (boy, he gets around), the following not once, but twice: "Robin." "What?" "No, the other Robin."

Red Robin 5: And speaking of Red Robin, he's getting more deeply involved with Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins. He's detoured from his mission of finding Bruce Wayne. He's now got an innocent bystander to protect. And I'm slowly losing interest.

Detective Comics Annual 11: The conclusions to the two stories that began in Batman Annual 27 that I bought a week earlier. And I'm wishing I hadn't bought either of these annuals at all. One of the two stories doesn't really conclude, and I'm not even sure what's going on in it. I imagine they'll follow up on it somewhere, but they'll do so without me.