OK, so I’ve been busy. And lazy. But mostly busy! At any rate, here we go - super-digest-sized reviewage GO!

IDENTITY CRISIS #3 - I’m absolutely, completely, totally into this series, no matter what the naysayers may scream. Meltzer, Morales and Barr are turning in some fantastic work here. Sure, there’s still the chance that things could go completely off the rails, but after this issue, I’m more confident that it’s more like a 70/30 chance it’ll all turn out solid rather than a 50/50. Good, good stuff, and no, I ain’t gonna spoiler any of it for you.

POWERS #3 - Isn’t this like the third issue in 5 weeks? Whatever - I’m not complaining. I love this series so much, I wish it were bi-weekly all the time. Some potentially creepy developments this issue, but not entirely out of the blue after last issue’s revelations. Awesome stuff, fantastic cliffhanger, one of the top 10 comics published on a monthly.

FABLES #28 - This series was dangerously close to jumping the shark about 10 issues back, but the last storyline completely redeemed it. Now it’s time to take a breather, so we get a completely talented guest penciller (Tony Akins) and the first part of a fun little story from Bigbie’s past. Not the best Fables story to date, but enjoyable enough as a placeholder.

JSA #64 - Not something to give a new reader, but it does wrap up a few somewhat straggling plotlines competently enough. Jerry Ordway guests on art this issue, which is kind of neat considering the plot revolved heavily around characters from the titles he cut his teeth on back in the day. Still, I’m more interested in the Hourman plotline right now, and that was kind of pushed into the background until the end of the book. Next month should pick back up.

BLOODHOUND #1 - OK, so this was released a good 3 weeks ago, if not more, but I had skipped it. Frankly, it just looked kind of “eh”, despite the sweet Dave Johnson cover. But after reading a number of reviews that praised the title, I figured I may as well give it a spin. Luckily, it’s really quite good. This issue would make for an excellent opening 10 minutes of a TV show or movie, and it’s got me completely hooked for as long as the series lasts. Which is exactly what my poor wallet needs - yet another monthly title. Oh yeah, in case you missed it, the high concept is this - non-superpowered guy is able to take down superpowered people without fail. The catch is, he’s in jail for a few fairly violent crimes and he doesn’t particularly want to come out to help his old partner on a case. Things get more interesting from there.

TEEN TITANS #14 - Jaysis, why is this getting more than 2 issues? A tedious Beast Boy story with Tom Grummett art that is not nearly his best work. It’s just old comic clich? on top of old comic clich?, page after page. The only interesting part of this arc is the subplot revolving around Superboy and the recently retired Robin, Tim Drake. If it weren’t for their 3-4 pages per issue, the comic would be an entire waste. Here’s hoping that Johns and company have something up their sleeve for the finale of the arc and get things back on solid ground. My little neps this title, and I’d hate to see him turned off of it due to two weak storylines in a row.

GOTHAM CENTRAL #22 - Oh, screw you and your freaking Hal Jordan Returns hype. Gotham Central is a book far more worthy of the buzz that that event - and about 10 others - is going to have heaped upon it by the DC powers that be and fandom at large. GC is a rare treasure - a superhero book that totally embraces the quirks and absurdity of the genre, but manages to ground it and meld it with another genre to fantastic results. Easily the best crime comic published today by anyone, I’d put the quality of the storytelling up there with my favorite TV series, The Shield. So, so good, and it’s a freaking crime that you, you and you aren’t buying it on a regular, but you’re overjoyed at the idea of Hal Jordan beating on tired bad guys while wearing green trunks again. And this is from a guy that completely and unapologetically likes reading stories about guys in bright colored outfits beating the crap out of the same, as the next review will illustrate…

CAPTAIN AMERICA #30 - Dammit, I loved this issue. Totally a love letter for all of us old-school Captain America fans who remember the days when Ron Lim and Kieron Dwyer were working with Mark Gruenwald to make CA one of Marvel’s best monthly titles. Robert Kirkman and Scot Eaton have not only evoked the feel of those days, but they’re bringing back many of the characters that made that long Gruenwald run so good in the first place. A shame Kirkman’s only on the title for a few more issues. Hopefully the next writer will continue to follow the trail he’s re-discovered.

What I Done Got