Read in November 2010

Batman and Robin #16
Superboy #1
Generation Hope #1
Sweet Tooth #15
DC Presents: Young Justice #1
Thor #617
John Constantine: Hellblazer - City of Demons #3, 4
Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #6
Birds of Prey #6
Red Robin #17
Batman: The Return
Batman, Inc #1
Flash #6
Legion of Super-Heroes #7
Superior #2
Soldier Zero #2
Action Comics #895
Batwoman #0
Detective Comics #871
Teen Titans #89
Secret Avengers #7
The Traveler #1
Astonishing Thor #1

TOP 5 BOOKS OF THE MONTH

1. Sweet Tooth #15 -  It might seem like an obvious pick, since this is generally my favourite book, but this issue was particularly rewarding. Perfectly structured, with a brilliant last page. Mind blown.

2. Detective Comics #871 - The surprise hit of the month for me. With two Grant Morrison Batman runs coming to an end (B&R and Return of BW), a big one-shot introducing the new status quo (Batman: The Return) and the launch of a new series (Batman Inc), I was really surprised that the new team on Detective Comics, Scott Snyder and Jock, delivered the best Bat-book I've read in months. As much as I love Grant Morrison and have been enjoying his shenanigans, this felt like a breath of fresh air in the form of a return to basics, with solid storytelling and amazing art. An instant win. This is my new favourite bat book.

3. Superboy #1 - The much-awaited debut of the new Superboy book didn't disappoint.

4. Batman and Robin #16 - Of all the Grant Morrison bat books this month, the final issue of his run on Batman and Robins was my favourite - even if it was itself very flawed due to the massive delays resulting in three artists with wildly different styles sharing art duties on a title that was supposed to be fully drawn by Cameron Stewart. Still, this was a satisfying end to the saga of Dr. Hurt.

5. Hellblazer: City of Demons #3 and 4 - I'm loving the hell out of this mini-series, written by Si Spencer and drawn by Sean Murphy. Only one issue left and I'm really looking forward to it.

NOTABLE OMISSIONS FROM THE TOP 5
(aka disappointing books, to varying degrees)

1. Batman, Inc #1 - Yeah, I liked it. But it didn't rock my world. I'm waiting to see where it's headed.

2. Batwoman #0 - Amazing, beautiful art. And if that was the only criteria, this book might have ended up in the top spot this month. But the story was not very substantial and the decision to have it told entirely from Bruce Wayne's perspective, with Kate Kane not even being given a voice, was disappointing. The ladies at 3 Chicks Reviewing Comics did a great job deconstructing the issue.

3. Red Robin #17 - Wow, this book really took a plunge into mediocrity this month. It was among my favourites for a while, but that scene with Lynx turned me off completely. (And led into a stupid Tumblr argument that lost me a few followers - oh well.) Marcus To's art remains nearly flawless, though, and the full page spread of Bruce and Tim hugging was one of my favourite pages of the year! This book is now on probation. I'm giving it one more issue to convince me that it's still worth following.

4. Teen Titans #89 - Last issue marked the start of a new run by writer J.T. Krul and artist Nicola Scott, and after reading it I was cautiously optimistic. It didn't take very long for it to go south, though. This issue featured Damian Wayne written completely out of character to such an extent that I decided to immediately drop the book from my pull list. It's a real shame, though, because Nicola Scott's art sure it pretty.

5. Batman: The Return - This stank. I've realized that I'm not a fan of David Finch's art at all. And this was by far the weakest Morrison bat book of the month.