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A highly subjective ranking of a selection of last week's comics (28/12/16).
What better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year than with a Batman Annual? And 2016's entry, written and pencilled by some of the finest Batman heads of recent years (King, Snyder, Dini, Finch, Adams) certainly looks like it could give us some of that renowned Gotham Christmas spirit.
Not really knowing what it wants to be is probably Super Powers' biggest problem. Rated "E", writers Art Baltazar and Franco want the comic to appeal to children as well as to adults, but make the crucial mistake of imagining a children's story meant for grown-ups, instead of creating a proper one that can be enjoyed by older audiences as well. Ads for the comic that run even as recent as this week suggest the comic was supposed to have an entirely different story in some key areas. An assumption backed up by the comic's frequent lack of cohesion. 
DC's Young Animal's Mother Panic, written by Jody Houser and illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards, has a lot of safety nets to fall back on to when doing all the above. Set in Gotham City, the comic has its environment and atmosphere already cut out for it. And what an environment that is. Edwards does an impressive job of capturing the claustrophobia and constant threat that permeates every bit of Gotham's architecture.
Mikel Janín cover for Batman #10 is quite remarkable in how it evokes notions of 18th and 19th century Gothic novels. The way the Fortress of Santa Prisca withstands the waves of a stormy sea, brilliantly captured in grey tones, will immediately remind readers of book covers such as Bram Stoker's Dracula or Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. The grim looking Batman towers over everything here, further emphasizing the Gothic spirit of Janín's cover.
80's comics are a lot of fun, even though one can't deny that it's often nothing more than nostalgic irony that makes us come back to these issues. From the bubble gum ads to the amateurish classifieds, everything seems wonderfully antiqued, a time capsule that manages to capture the sentiments and images of this era. But would one have actually liked the comics?
"The Fix" #5: Aside from having two lead protagonists that are among the best in comics in 2016, the true strength of The Fix is writer Nick Spencer's ability to create supporting characters (the mayor of LA it is here) that are so wonderfully unique and over-the-top, you just can't stop laughing. 
"Doom Patrol" #1: What's going on? What is this about? Meat? Gyros? But it doesn't matter, and trying to make sense of it is probably useless. Read it, it's simply brilliant. 
"Poe Dameron" #6: The galactic mouse hunt between Poe Dameron and Agent Terex continues to be a highly entertaining affair, and one of Marvel's best Star Wars comics to date. It's light, fun, and perfectly captures the Poe Dameron established in The Force Awakens.
"Batman Beyond" #16: Read this if you want to start with "Batman: Beyond Rebirth" next month, as it'll give you a much better insight of what's going to happen. Apart from that, it's a pretty solid and entertaining read.
"Bombshells" Annual #1: It sure looks fantastic, especially when artist Charretier wonderfully captures the atmosphere and look of 1910's France. But for all the narrative innovation and verve found in the annual's first part, the second part will largely disappoint with its uninspired dialogue and characterizations.
After the rather dull and too conventional "Justice League: Rebirth" #1, it's good to see that Bryan Hitch was able to turn the series around considerably. From what looked to be your next "giant-space-alien-attack-forces-heroes-to-save-the-world-story", the comic has incorporated a few welcome twists and turns to the formula, to make it stand out in comparison to other series. 
"Deadpool" #17: To sell this as a "Civil War II" tie-in is simply ridiculous, as it has simply no connection whatsoever to Marvel's big summer event (a fact even admitted by Duggan in the comic's intro page). Apart from that? Nothing to report, just the same old Deadpool shtick. This series needs some fresh new ideas, and the Mercs for Money should stick to their own series.
"Deathstroke: Rebirth" #1: You'll sincerely hate Slade Wilson pretty much from page 1 here, and this evocation of strong disdain is probably Priest's greatest achievement, setting up Deathstroke as one of the best villains in DC's "Rebirth" universe so far.
"Aquaman" #4: It's all pretty much what you'd expect, as the relationship between Atlantis and the USA deteriorates rapidly. It's good, but never really tries to do anything differently.
6/10
"Detective Comics" #938: We see more and more classic Batman themes and moves in "Detective Comics" recently, and it is all the better for it. The dynamic between Batman and his team has also notably improved, making this a solid read throughout. 
"Daredevil" #10: It takes a while for this new story arc to get out of the gates, but once in full swing, it is a thoroughly strong statement, artistically and narratively, from Soule and Garney.
"Batman" #3: We finally get some backstory on Gotham and Gotham Girl, and surprisingly, it's quite compelling. Bellaire's color palette is simply amazing here again, bathing Gotham in an amazing red, yellow and brown. One of DC's quintessential "Rebirth" series.
Black Panther #4: With its complex philosophy and politics running so deep, and its characters being wonderfully ambiguous instead of only black and white, the only thing really missing was some kick-ass action. With #5 promising exactly that, "Black Panther" could manifest itself even more as one of 2016's best comic book series.
Just when I had almost given up Detective Comics, writer James Tynion IV finally remembers that he's actually one of the best Batman writers in recent time (go ahead and read the Batman/TMNT crossover). 