Redemption, loyalty, and a terrible choice

Doctor Stephen Strange is one of those oddball superheroes that the mainstream moviegoer might not have heard of. Trained as a doctor, and once one of the most skilled surgeons in the world, a car accident stole the steadiness of his hands from him. As he searched for a cure for himself, he met Earth's Sorcerer Supreme and apprenticed under him. Now, a slightly more humble man, he uses his new found skills to aid the Avengers in their mission to protect the Earth.

In Doctor Strange: The Oath, we meet Strange in Night Nurse's waiting room. Someone's shot him, but that's not Strange's biggest worry. His assistant, partner and friend Wong is dying, and even Strange is wondering whether he'll be able to save him.

The story goes backwards and forwards in time, showing the reader his arrogance and disregard for the suffering of those around him, the accident that sent Strange down his new path towards sorcery, and more recent events as he's searched for a cure for Wong.

And Strange is so very close to a cure. The elixir that he traveled to another dimension to find is said to 'erase what troubles the mind of man." But what if this doesn't simply cure Wong's tumor? What if it is the cure for everything?

And what if some people don't want everything cured?

Brian K Vaughan is one of the most popular comic writers in recent years, and with good reason. After wrapping up an amazing run with Y: The Last Man, he started his award-winning series Saga. With The Oath, Vaughan brings his amazing characterization and storytelling to a character who has quite a bit of depth to him. The Oath is a wonderful introduction to a character who is Earth's greatest defender against all that the other dimensions can throw at us.

Highs: Night Nurse deserves her own comic, hands down.

Lows: I'm glad how the story eventually resolved, but I wish Strange would eventually grow out of a bit more of his selfishness.

Verdict: The Oath is a great place for new fans to start, especially those wanting to get a feeling for the character before the movie comes out.

Further Reading: Ms. Marvel, Loki: Agent of Asaguard, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

What hunts bats?

For generations, the Wayne family has watched over Gotham City. Both figuratively, from the top of the original Wayne Tower, and literally. One would think that Gotham would be grateful of its protector and philanthropist, and most are. But as always, there is always two ways to view history.

In Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls, we get to learn about the history of the Wayne family in Gotham City. In the 1880s, Alan Wayne built the original Wayne Tower, and designed it in a way that visitors would feel protected by it. Towering over Gotham's Union Station, the gargoyles perched on its upper levels both watch over and welcome the residents of the city.

Bruce's parents were also not the first to die in a tragic way. Alan Wayne's body was found in the sewers after he disappeared. Tragic, but not necessarily unexpected, since he'd been declining mentally for a while. Becoming more and more paranoid about owls, he seemed to be falling farther and farther into his delusions, until one night he fell into a manhole while fleeing from his imaginary tormentors. 

But what if his demons weren't imaginary? What if the owls that he was so sure were stalking him really existed?

What if the owl's nest that a young Bruce Wayne found after the death of his parents wasn't a coincidence?

The speech that Bruce makes near the beginning of the volume encourages Gothamites to look forward; to envision what Gotham City can become, rather than dwell on its past or present. The danger in that, though, is that sometimes the past can come back to haunt you.

Highs: Seeing the entire Batman family come together while Bruce is indisposed shows that Bruce is hardly alone anymore.

Lows: Since I'm not a regular reader of DC superhero comics, it's hard to tell how much of this is new revelations and how much is part of the decades of Batman cannon.

Verdict: A fascinating look into Batman's past, and an ending that demands the next volume be acquired immediately.

Further Reading: Batman Volume 2: The City of Owls, Attack on Titan, The All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold Volume 1

When one of their own goes missing, the Avengers assemble

When the Pet Avengers Throgg leave this plane, they assemble to find their lost comrade in Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed.

Note:  Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed is the sequel to Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers.  The review of Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers is here.  Otherwise, read on!

A collection of Batman's more...varied cases

When you pick up a Batman comic, there is a certain cast of characters you expect to see.  He has is traditional line-up of supervillains, such as Joker, Riddler and Two-Face.  And he has the people he generally calls for help, like Zatarra and Black Canary.

But that doesn't mean no one else ever visits Gotham City, or that Batman never travels himself, either.

Welcome to The All New Batman: The Brave and The Bold Volume 1.  Based on the Cartoon Network cartoon series, The Brave and The Bold has Batman team up with some of the heroes we don't see so often, and fight villains who might not be in the same league as Darkseid.

Collecting issues #1-6 of the comic book series, Batman mainly teams up with other heroes we're quite familiar with, but the stories aren't like ones we would generally see in one of Batman's normal comics.

In 'That Holiday Feeling', it's Christmastime in Gotham.  Billy Batson has taken the bus into town with Mister Tawny, but as they step off the bus they see chaos that isn't the usual last-minute shopping bustle.  Psycho-Pirate is broadcasting on all channels, and he's spreading the less cheer-y emotions like despair and greed.  Will Billy and his friends be able to get Batman out of his sulk and save Christmas?

While brooding might be in Batman's nature, marriage certainly isn't.  That's the side of Batman we see, along with Wonder Woman, in 'The Bride and the Bold'.  Eros is disgusted that Diana, instead of spreading love on Earth, has been fighting.  So he sends a few love arrows down to Earth and now our heroes are planning their wedding.  Will they find out where their new-found love really came from before they reach the altar, and what kind of party crashers might show up on the big day?

The heroes that Batman teams up here are generally better-known Justice League members, but the variety comes out in the choice of supervillains they face.  Rarely do Gentleman Ghost or Mouse Man get much print time, but here they get their time in the spotlight once more.

Highs:  Seeing Batman and Martian Manhunter practice their detective skills together

Lows:  I would have liked to have seen more varied superheroes here

Verdict:  A great companion series, suited for all ages, to the cartoon series

Further Reading:  Teen Titans Go!, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

Who said that superheroes needed to be humaniods?

Superheroes team up all the time.  Marvel has The X-Men and The Avengers.  Likewise, DC generally has a Justice League and a Justice Society active, with revolving rosters of members.  Even the sidekicks occasionally strike out on their own, forming the Teen Titans and Young Justice and the like.  But why should the humanoids be the only ones with friends?  And so, The Pet Avengers was born.

Meet the Pet Avengers!  When Mr. Fantastic goes to the Inhumans  to look for the Infinity Gems, Lockjaw happens to have found the Intelligence Gem.  With his boosted smarts, he decides to go find the Gems for Mr. Fantastic himself.  But he knows that he'll need help, so he goes and finds more Avengers to help him.

Enter Throgg.  Formerly a human, he was turned into a frog by a gypsy and took on the name Puddlegulp.  He found a shard of Thor's hammer, and used it to help defend his colony of frogs from a group of rats.  Taking on the mantle of Thor, and using the name Throg, he is the first animal Lockjaw goes to for help.  Because of the Intelligence Gem, Lockjaw is able to project his thoughts to Throg, who becomes the second-in-command and voice of Lockjaw.

Hairball is another of the more outgoing members of The Pet Avengers.  The pet of Speedball, he too has the power of kinetic energy.  He also has the traditional hatred of dogs (except Lockjaw) that a cat has.  

So, of course, Lockjaw includes the rather...airheaded Ms. Lion.  Ms. Lion means well, but as simply the puppy owned by Peter Parker's aunt May, he doesn't have the intelligence or powers of the rest of the team.  His heart is in the right place, though, and if the intelligence-augmented Lockjaw says that he's needed, he must have a role to play in all this, too.

Along with Kitty Pryde's companion dragon Lockheed and the falcon Redwing, the Pet Avengers head off to find the rest of the Infinity Gems.  They end up travelling to all sorts of places, thanks to Lockjaw's teleportation powers, from the underwater domain of Sub-Mariner to the Savage Lands.  Along the way, in the spirit of team-ups of any species, the learn to appreciate each other and work together as a unit.  It may have started as a novelty, but the Pet Avengers certainly end up deserving their place in the Marvel universe.

Being compressed into a four-issue miniseries, the story of searching out the gems itself gets a bit lost under the banter and character development of our team.  A few points get a bit confusing, but the ride is fun enough to go along with it.  What is almost better is the one-shots that follow, which each deal with a different Pet Avenger on their own.  Watching Throg go back to his colony and see how having a protector has affected them is one of the best issues in the book. 

Following the one-shots is an encyclopedia of Marvel animals.  The reading is a bit dry, but it's certainly a reference that Marvel fans might want to have.  Some entries are more interesting than others, but it's a great place to pick up the little bits of trivia that fans love.

Highs:  Ms. Lion's introduction to the team.  And the clarification of his gender.

Lows:  Without a general idea of who the pets 'belong' to (and the term pet is used rather loosely here), some of the subtext is lost.

Verdict:  A hilarious, fun treat that comes along once in a great while.

Further Reading:  GLA - Great Lakes Avengers #1 (Misassembled)