OK - I don't really do flaming swords - swords are for girls - I prefer a big ol' axe...

Last night I had the time to sit down quietly with the last issues of the current runs of Justice League of America, Secret Six, Will Eisner's The Spirit, and Zatanna - all DC books that are wrapping up in order to make way for the NEW 52!

As I have blogged previously, I don't have any issue with the DC re-boot - in and of itself - companies reinvent themselves all the time and the little baby-step resets that have happened over the past 20 years (25 years?) have failed to produce new readers in large quantities - at least not the numbers the industry needs to stay healthy. I'll agree that some of the re-imagined characters are a little silly - I just don't see that Clark Kent or Hal Jordan really need armor incorporated into their costumes - Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman - sure - they're not Kryptonian or armed with a ring that protects them from all kinds of dangerous stuff...

That having been said - I will miss these books; these teams when the DC universe moves forward. The final issues ran the gamut from terrible to truely enjoyable.

While I will miss the most recent team of Justice Leaguers - with & Donna, Bill & Mik, Jen & Kara...the last issue was terrible; a huge jumble of every story that was scheduled for the next several issues told piecemeal and retroactively as they went their own ways. A sad, poorly thought out end to a very pleasant book.

Secret Six is like my secret pleasure - I always enjoyed the Suicide Squad, and this team carries the idea forward (kind of) with Deadshot and with Gail Simone's bloody incredible writing. Like any series some of the story arcs were better than others - but the closing story worked well for me. The only dissappointment was the lack of clarity of which of the six died and which lived.

Zatanna. I love Zatanna - always have, even when she was drawn with that stupid space lobster on her head. Ugh! Whose idea was that? Anyway this 16 issue series is a lot of fun and an easy read. If you have never checked it out - go get them out of the dollar bin at the next con and read them in order. The closing issue was a treat, an enjoyable ending to an enjoyable ride.

And The Spirit. This has been one of the better runs of the Spirit in recent years - the writing was excellent and well thought out and the art has been top notch. The issues with the Spirit Black & White backstories (the $3.99 issues) are the best treat - each one has a self-contained black & white story in the back of the book by an excellent artist/writer team. These are a serious treat - if you like the Spirit, track these issues down, I think they are #1 through #9. After missing these treats for several months (but continuing with the book) the last issue consisted of two of these black & white treats. And I loved it.

So, while you wait for your status to change to: Scheduled for Grading - go read a comic; I did - I think I'll read some more tonight.

Happy Hunting

Lee K