Batman: Hush

I think that Jeph Loeb may be one of the best Batman writers around right now.  Hush is an incredible look inside Batman's mind.  Loeb is able to set just the right pace for Batman.  I'm familiar with him as a writer of early Batman stories but here he takes on an established Batman.  One that has a group of people around him in his fight.  Each of them is depicted in a way that just feels right to me.  From his battle with Superman (where he comes to the essence of why these two are so different) to his conversation with Nightwing (with whom he opens up the most).

Naruto Volume 27: Departure

This one was kind of weird.  It has, essentially, just the epilogue to part one and then a whole backstory for Kakashi.  I'm not sure why the epilogue wasn't in Volume 26.  But there it is.  Now I understand why some of the later Narutos look so different.  There's a time jump.

The backstory of Kakaski was interesting.  I'd wondered how he got his sharingan eye because it seemed to be a bloodline thing.    I thought it was a technique.  Apparently, it's an actual eye.

Naruto Volume 26: Awakening

This is the one I've been waiting for for a while.  The big showdown between Naruto and Sasuke.  It does not disappoint.  Even the conversation that happens between the two in the middle of the fight was great.  The way Naruto sees those around him and the way Sasuke sees Naruto all hit the right note with me.  Although Naruto loses, it doesn't feel like defeat.  Sasuke is harmed as well and had to work for the win.  It feels like part one.

Bleach Volume 27: Goodbye Halcyon Days

Wow!  Bleach actually made time for a meaningful moment.  Orihime totally declared her love to Ichigo and nearly kissed him.  It's not something I'm used to from Kubo but it was much appreciated.  Of course, Ichigo was unconscious at the time so things will continue on as normal, especially since he's a typical gormless male.  Sure, there was still the fantastic fight scenes in this volume but I think some of the best art was in Orihime's good bye.

Final Crisis

I like Grant Morrison's writing.  I like that he really pulls on the whole 75 year history of the DC Universe.  I don't like that I always feel like I've skipped a page or two when reading.

I liked this one.  The return of Barry Allen was suitably heroic, though I prefer him dead.  Some of the Superman bits were a bit over the top, but that's not bad for Superman.  The death of Batman came across as kind of a toss in but since he's come back I guess I can live with it.  I just have a couple of questions: How did Batman escape?  And where did he get the gun?

Winter's Heart

Sometimes with Robert Jordan, the plot plods along and you're immersed in the world building.  Nothing's really happening but background is laid.  And sometimes all the threads come together and STUFF HAPPENS.  Stuff happens in Winter's Heart.  Stuff that was a long time in coming.  Like Mat coming out from under the rubble and finding the Daughter of the Nine Moons.  Like Rand finally getting all three women in the same place.  And Cadsuane getting what she wants and the Saidin being cleansed.  Though the cleansing of saidin never happened the way I thought it would.  And hey!  Another Forsaken bites the dust and that's all good.

Batman War Games Act Three: End Game

It's nice to see Batman lose once in a while. Not because I want him to but because I like seeing what he comes up with on the fly.

All in all, I enjoyed the whole War Games story. It was well scripted and flowed through the different titles. There was a beginning, a middle and an end that were internally consistent (which doesn't always happen). The only question I have coming out of this is how the heck did Stephanie not die?

Batman War Games Act Two: Tides

One of the things I really enjoy about the Bat titles is that they all work independently of each other. Not so much so that the character couldn't be doing everything at the same time (the feeling I get is that they take place within weeks of one another) but they're also close enough that when DC decides to do the big crossover event the story can spin out naturally.

I sort of knew that Tim Drake had stopped being Robin for a while because of his father and this Act deals with him putting the costume back on. I felt that it read really well, both why Tim made the decision and how it was received by his dad. That really impressed me. That they would take time from the superhero story to tell a human story.

Batman War Games Act One: Outbreak

Batman works best when he's one man against the mob (or the Mafia really) so I wasn't sure I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this one. I've been trying to catch up one some Batman reading since I've started collecting again and knew this one was in an interesting spot for one of my favourite characters.

I was impressed by this one. The story grows and explodes into something Batman thinks he can handle on his own to something that he has to call his whole team in on. I couldn't wait to see where it was headed.

Chibi Vampire Airmail

This is a collection of stories set in the world of Chibi Vampire but not about the characters of the manga themselves.

I was disappointed in how Chibi Vampire ended. So I wasn't really that interested in reading more adventures. Really, of the four stories in this volume. There's only one that I really liked, and it had nothing to do with Karen or Kenta or the Marker family. So a bit of a bust really.

Naruto Volume 25: Brothers

And the showdown begins. And is interrupted by a whole lot of back story of Sasuke and his brother. And the showdown is to be continued in the next volume. *sigh*

I do like that Kishimoto gives reasons for the characters to behave as they do but this showdown between Naruto and Sasuke feels like it just can't get started. I worry that it will lose the momentum and become less of a moment than I think it should be.