By Mandy Stegall

As promised, I’m not making anyone wait another month for a column.  Two weeks is much more manageable, I think.

I hate to say it, but I’m kind of suffering from Batman burn-out right now.  I was faced with a budget issue recently to make room for the new Flash series coming out next month in addition to the Zatanna ongoing that I would like to try, so I had to think long and hard about a couple books that I’m just not enjoying as much right now.  Those books happened to be Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens.  It was a tough choice to make, but when it comes down to it, those are the two books that I’m enjoying the least right now. 

And it’s not like I don’t have countless other ways to get a Batman fix.  I love Batman and Robin, and Red Robin and Batgirl are probably two of my favorite titles right now.  In fact, I absolutely loved the crossover with those two titles earlier in the month.  It was so nice to see Tim and Stephanie readjusting to their roles in Gotham as well as how they relate to each other, both personally and professionally.  I can see them being friends, at the very least, and maybe re-examining their romance down the road.  For the time being though, I think Tim’s headed toward a relationship with Tam Fox.

But back to the whole “dropping titles” dilemma.  Another book I’m not continuing with is Titans.  Honestly, I’m just not all that intrigued by the whole Deadshot Titans team.  I’ve read Titans since issue #1, but this last issue (which, by the way, was a nice one by Eddie Berganza) will be my last.

I don’t know how anyone else feels, but J.T. Krul is hitting these Rise and Fall books out of the park, in my opinion.  I like DC’s decision to re-launch Green Arrow after these next couple issues.  It sounds like Oliver and Dinah are heading for Splitsville more now than ever, especially since we know that she’s going to be getting back together with the Birds of Prey (another book I’ll be picking up when it starts).  I hate to see Roy going back down the drug route, but the guy is going to be having a tough time of it for a while, I think.  These next couple months will give me a better picture on the difference between Arsenal and Red Arrow, I think.

Oh, and one thing about last week’s Fall of Green Arrow issue.  As I was reading the book and seeing how everyone was admonishing Oliver for his actions, it never occurred to me that one person wasn’t.  So when Speedy showed up on the last page ready to take out the Electrocutioner, I whooped in both excitement and protest.  I like it because she’s picking sides and making it known that she’s going to stick with Oliver on this one. (She might also be feeling more than a little guilt that Lian died on her watch.)  I protest because by siding with him, she’s possibly setting herself up for some hardships down the road.  But then again, maybe that’s exactly the plan.

One more thing: Last Stand of New Krypton?  Oh, this is going to be bad.  And I’m going to love every minute of it.