It’s Sunday night after a busy weekend so, what better time to do a quick wrapup of some of the things off the Spinner Rack (comics, folks):

Nightwing #83 - I was fortunate to lay my hands on a copy of this, either it’s being under ordered by Bishop or there has been a sudden upswing in the title’s popularity (I’ll have to check IVC2 to see where it has been placing in the top 300).

If it’s the latter, it’s not hard to understand why, the combination of Devin Grayson and Rick Leonardi is a hard combo to beat. Leonardi hasn’t lost anything from his days as penciller of the X-Men and Grayson has picked up right where Chuck Austen left off.

This is one of those books that’s fun to look at and fun to read. The pacing is perfect and characterization has been working really well with Grayson doing a good job filling out the supporting cast. I’d give this a solid 8 out of 10.

Catwoman #20 - This is one of those funny titles for me. I feel compelled to pick it up but, it usually winds up being one of the last things I read.

I heard they’ll be a new creative team on the title as of issue #25, which will probably wind up being a drop point for me (I don’t remember who is picking up the title but, I do remember being underwhelmed).

Issue #20 is a good solid effort. I’m really not sure what Brubaker is doing with the title and I have do finding myself getting lost during his stories as his narrative isn’t as strong as it should be.

Cameron Stewart’s art isn’t your traditional mainstream comic art (more in the vein of a Mike Alred) but, there’s a lot of good that can be said about it. Really nice feel for the brush is evident in the inking style.

If there is a knock on the art, it’s a tendency to go a little crazy on the page breakdowns (with the minimum panel count being 7-on a good page, more often than not the panel count soars to over 10 per page) which make the pages look a bit cluttered, add the dialogue and you’ve got very busy pages. Add a dark palette used by the colorist and things border on the murky. I’d give it a 5 on the ten scale.

Planetary/Batman - Night On Earth - So, I’ve already mentioned this title previously in the blog. This is the one book you should really pick up. I have an affinity for Planetary already so, I make no bones about being very excited about new material coming out.

The combo of Warren Ellis and John Cassaday is one of the best in comics today. There’s not much more to say than that simple statement. This is the book to pick up if you don’t normally buy comics.

Trinity - Another of those retelling of first meetings in Prestige format. Beautifully done by Matt Wagner with Dave Stewart. It’s a good looking book but, at a price point of $6.95 you can spend your money better elsewhere. Only for the hardcore comics fan.

Batman: Detective Comics #784 - Brubaker succeeds here where he fails in Catwoman. First chapter of what is looking to be a good storyline. The backup feature of Josie Mac (by Winick and Chiang) is equally good. For awhile now, the backup features in Detective have been exceptionally good. This one lands at 7 on the ten scale.

Teen Titans #1 - On the heels of the Cartoon Network’s new Teen Titans cartoon, DC begins a new series with the Titans. Old characters (Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg) are back and the four (sidekick) characters from the failed Young Justice are added to the mix.

Geoff Johns writes and Mike McKone handles the art. The art winds up being much better than the aforementioned Young Justice and Johns seems to succeed where Peter David failed, it remains to be seen if the series has “legs.” Surprising timing given DC’s resurrection of The Outsiders. Falls somewhere between a 5 and a 7 on the ten scale. I’ll be keeping a wary eye on further issues to see whether or not this is a boom or a bust.

Global Frequency #9 (of 12) - Are you on the Global Frequency yet? Warren Ellis and Lee Bermejo have a hit on their hands. The title has the flavor of the first couple of seasons of the X-Files. Nice sense of drama and mystery stirred together. Premise of 1000 people across the world on a “Global Frequency” being available in a time of crisis to help save lives in odd circumstance works really well. This could be one of those books which winds up as a film or tv series. Worth seeking out the earlier issues. Comes in at 8.5 on the ten scale.