mandolin | comics yay! and brief BB #21 thoughts

So, quick comics post while the source integrity app mocks me. Picked up my comics during lunch today, including BB #21, and here are my brief initial thoughts after reading the book over my lunch break:

- Pleasantly surprised how much I liked this issue, given that it was a filler with a different artist and writer to buy John Rogers more time. The last true guest issue, #15, was one of my least favorite issues, so this was a nice surprise. The art got on my nerves in certain places (even though I feel stupid for nitpicking when I can't draw as well as even Duncan Rouleau), but the writing was pretty solid.

- On that note, I do hope that future issues at least refer to certain events in #21 instead of totally forgetting about Jaime's trip to S.T.A.R. Labs (not even a "they didn't find anything" aside? seriously!)

- Specifically, the Traci/Jaime stuff. They still remain adorable. And while I'm not surprised that Jaime would be really reluctant to call up Traci every single time he needed help with the supernatural (since, like she said, they always end up talking about work), I was a bit surprised that he lied to his dad about her. I guess if they haven't managed to go out on an actual date yet, he wouldn't be ready or afraid telling them will jinx it. I don't know. Filler issue. Future issues might just pretend it never happened.

- But now that there's been news that she will show up again in BB #26 (which I can't confirm because it came out at Wizard World Texas and no "official" source has covered that part of the panel dammit)... I don't know. The issue probably won't be brought up there if they really do make that an all-Spanish issue with Traci lost in Mexico. (Again, I can't find an "official" news source on this.)

- PEACEMAKER LIVES! Unconscious and in a hospital bed, but still, it's DC! THEY LET HIM LIVE! Woot! (But what, did they just leave his scarab lying there?)

- And after the progress made in BB #20, Jaime is back to seriously fighting the Scarab on the lethal options. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm pretty sure it was just playing up the comparisons to Luis needing his fix, and to the Spectre threatening Jaime about what would happen if he crossed that line.

- Having said that, that "population suppression" ability is a bit disturbing and yet pretty handy.

- Also disturbing: the prisoners squashed to death by their cells like a jelly sandwich.

- This may change on a second read, but Jaime forgiving Luis actually worked for me. I was expecting it to be a lot less believable and a lot more heavy-handed than it was.

I got an even nicer surprise in my box: Bad Guys #1! And I didn't even have to nag the guys at the comic book shop about it. XD

*off to class*