Batgirl 61 Gabrych continues to do a really good job with Cass's voice, and there's some good fun in the issue. Cass versus a talking gorilla and the rest of he Brotherhood of Evil -- what's not to like, other than the fact that I wish there was more storyline? As set-up goes, it's good set-up, and there are lots of striking little things, my favorite being Cass's "volving." It's also interesting that Cass seems to have some of her most quietly emotional experiences in rivers, immediately following explosions.
Nightwing 104. Oh, man. Sheer joy and fun. When Chuck Dixon is on all cylinders, almost nobody can touch him for sheer old-school comic book delight, and Dixon's working it here. From Dick's meeting with Gordon (and the recurring "Not on your life, boy wonder" from Dixon's other Year One series), to Dick's lecturing a thug on gun mechanics, to Nightwing cheerfully cutting a swath through Gotham's crooks, to the Nightwing-Batgirl chemistry that.... aw, man, there was nothing here I didn't love. Especially the Dick-n-Babs, because *nobody* writes old-school Babs like Dixon, and their night on the town was just sweet and adventurey and wonderfully adorable. The banter is great and McDaniel, whose art doesn't always work for me, does a really good job with Babs's face thoughout. (My favorite little contrast: the beginning, where Dick's on the back of the bike with his arms around her just a little too close, to the end, where Batman's monitor shows Dick driving and Babs resting her face on his shoulder, eyes closed and heart full. I kvelled.
Flash 219. If you're not reading Flash, you're missing what may be the best superhero book on the market. Johns does character writing as well as anyone -- see the Rogue issues for examples -- but for my money what makes Flash a must-buy is that In an era where atmosphere often substitutes for story, Johns never pads *anything.* He shows character through action; he uses atmosphere to enhance, not replace, plot, and he writes some of the *scariest frigging villains* I've seen in ages. (Also, unlike a lot of writers, he knows what a disturbing and unsettling power guest star Wonder Woman's lasso actually represents, and doesn't let us forget it.) Buy this issue. Seriously.
