Tug's Pick of the Week
Batman:
Harley & Ivy
#1
This week I�ve decided to focus the entire "Tug�s Pick of the Week" section on one publisher � DC Comics! While there certainly isn�t anything wrong with the books the rest of the companies are putting out this week, DC simply has a lot of really great stuff happening this Wednesday, and I think they deserve a little recognition for it.
Don�t worry, Marvel folks, I�m sure that there�ll be a Marvel-focused pick someday. (Hmm, don�t they have that "X-Men Reload" thing coming up soon?) But, as they say in Highlander, �There can be only one.�
Pick of the Week, that is. And this week, it�s Batman: Harley and Ivy # 1
I�ve always been a big fan of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm and the Batman: The Animated Series cartoon. I don�t think there has ever been a truer vision of Gotham City and its protectors and villains than in that show. I even think the current Batman Adventures comic (based on the �animated� Batman world) is the best Batman book coming out right now. This new three-issue mini-series written by Dini and pencilled by Timm (plotted by both) reunites them with the two villainous ladies whom they made into their own dynamic duo � of sorts.
The basic story of any Harley and Ivy romp is this: Harley
messes something up, Ivy gets mad, they make up, and it starts over again. You
really would think that it would be old by now, but it�s not. Dini and Timm are
both master storytellers, and you won�t find a more well-executed book on the
shelves. Also, in inker Shane Glines, they have really found the perfect guy to
lay ink over Timm�s pencils. (Psst. I like that Glines guy. Check out this
cool picture that he drew for me of Ten, a character he designed from the Batman Beyond animated series.)
In the world of comedy, there has always been the straight man/funny man duo, and with this series, Abbott and Costello, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and Penn and Teller can count Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy among their number.
Flash # 209 � Geoff Johns continues his amazing run on this
book. In this issue, you get the Justice League and a Flash/Superman race! This
isn�t the typical �Hello, old chum, let�s see who�s faster� race. Believe me, this issue will absolutely break your heart. Not to mention the fact
that Howard Porter gets to draw the JLA again � and this time, he really does it
right.
Green Lantern # 176 � Ron Marz returns to Green Lantern! Kyle
comes back from his misguided trip to space to find that his homecoming isn�t
quite as glorious as he had
hoped. (Heck, it isn't even the slightest bit pleasant!) I�m also looking forward to seeing more of
Luke Ross�s artwork,
because it looks terrific and is a really great fit for this book.
Batman # 626 � Judd Winick begins his run on
Batman with penciller Dustin Nguyen in this issue, and I have to admit, at first it looks
like Winick is going to follow form from his Green Arrow run and make Batman
fight demons. Thankfully, that doesn�t turn out to be the case. After all, who
needs demons when you�ve got a rogues gallery like Batman�s?
Superman # 204 � Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot to mention this
little ditty by some writer named Brian Azzarello and artist Jim Lee
(whoever that is). I�m sure it�s something that none of you will be
interested in ... . Ah, I�m just kidding! Seriously, DC didn�t send us a preview copy of this issue,
and I�m certain that had I read it, it would have been my "Pick of the Week." But
hey, I probably don�t have to tell you that it�s going to be good. After all,
you�re smart enough to read this column.
See ya Wednesday!