Most of the NEW 52 books from DC involves reboots of some sort. Since all of the first issues have appeared and many of the second issues have also landed, I figure I best cut to the chase and do some shorter reviews, covering several titles in one blog.

Hank and Don Hall appeared as the superheroes Hawk and Dove in SHOWCASE #75. The pair fought crime for several years, mostly in the back pages of several DC Comics titles. Don died during the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and eventually Hank gained a new partner in the form of Dawn Granger. Hank became the villain Monarch and was responsible for Dawn's "death"(yeah-she came back). Eventually he died and, like her, was resurrected. Now DC has decided to give them their own series again.
 

My thoughts: they should have left them in the comics graveyard.
 

The book begins with a video statement from a known "science terrorist" promising mass destruction and is responsible for hijacking a plane which he plans on using to attack Washington, D.C. This is followed by nine pages of Hawk and Dove battling zombies on the hijacked plane. They defeat the zombies and only minor damage occurs to the Washington monument. Washi Watanabe, a member of the D.C.P.D., meets with the pair to tell them this was the first incident of many.

Later, Hank and his father discuss Hank's life while Dove spends time with her boyfriend, the resurrected Deadman (A.K.A. Boston Brand). We get a recap on the origins of Hank, Don and Dawn as they became the heroes they are/were. Zombies rise up out of swimming pools and then...what the heck is with the Hawk doppelganger?

Awful! Little lines of dialogue. Pages of art. No plot. Engorged crotches. Rob Liefeld.

Yeah...that sums it up. We didn't need this book and I won't be buying it again...not even in the 5 for a dollar box at a show!
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is over near the swimming pool in the page before the story's end.

In his seven decades of history, Oliver Queen has been a billionaire, lost his fortune, a mayor, a crusader for the poor, mentor to a junkie, a super hero and a anti-hero. Oh yeah-he has also died and been resurrected, dated Black Canary, was a newspaper columnist, fathered a son who succeeded him in the role of the "Emerald Archer" had a partner who was HIV Positive, and watched his city be destroyed and become a home for the "Green".

So, with a legacy this long and diverse, DC has decided to revitalize Ollie Queen as part of the NEW 52.
 

What we get in the first issue is a full length story with a lot of action, very little plot and a much younger, cockier Oliver Queen. He's a spoiled rich kid with high tech armor and a support staff. He defeats the bad guys with guile and some of his special arrows. Unfortunately, I'd much rather watch Haweye do his thing. 

Believe it or not, he's got less attitude than this guy.
 

Totally uninterested in this character. JT Krul's story is okay with his dialogue about what I would expect based on some of his other writings. The highlight here is the pairing of Dan Jurgens and George Perez on the artwork which makes the book look better than it deserves.
 

Save your money and watch SMALLVILLE. Ollie is about as cocky but the rest of those stories are so much better than this one.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in the first panel of page eight.

Once upon a time, a student named Ronnie Raymond and his professor Martin Stein got merged in a nuclear accident into a nuclear man named Firestorm. Firestorm was killed during IDENTITY CRISIS and replace by the new Firestorm Jason Rusch. Raymond got reborn during BLACKEST NIGHT and merged with Rusch during BRIGHTEST DAY. Confused? Wait until you read the new FURY OF FIRESTORM.
 

We start with terrorists killing an entire family in Istanbul. Then we have a coinfronttaion in a locker room between the two guys who make up Firestorm. The terrorists reappear and thrersaten one of Professor Stein's colleagues in serach of the "final rogue protocol", torturing himn for the information. Rusch and Raymond continue to fued and the next thing you now, the terrorists are invading the school. Rusch opens a canister of nuclear material and we now have two Firestorms, with Raymond not knowing what happened. They fight some more and suddenly they are merged into one big Firestorm called Fury.
 

Co-plotted by Etahn Van Sciver and Gail Simone, but written by Simone, the dialkogue is great but the story is boring. Am I to understand that Rusch knows about the protocol and Raymond doesn't? And Stein is dead and terrorists are after his legacy? And now we have two superheroes that can join into one? Okay, I' comfused and bored. The art by Yildiray Cinar is gorgeous and truly the highlight of the book, in my opinion, But the story has so many bits I don't care about that I just can't get into this book. Sorry guys: you two quality talents who I enjoy reading. Just not this time.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in the second panel three pages from the end of the story.

I liked the old Blue Beetle, you know the one who got killed by Max Lord in the OLD DC continuity. I never really liked the new Blue Beetle: the one who replaced Ted Kord. He was too juvenile for me. Ted Kord was funny, but this guy was just too green. And the whole idea of getting his powers from the scarab and it contains alien tech just didn't So with the NEW 52, does that change? Not for me.
 

We get to a space battle with the original scarab bearer, Khaji Kai and throw in some Green Lanterns for good measure. And then we get Jaime and his friends. There's Paco and Brenda and some others. Didn't care for them in the last series either. We get a rehash of the history of the scarab and find out the scarab is on the run and being pursued by the Green Lanterns. It ends up bonding itself to Jaime. Oh yeah: and there's a French version of the Brotherhood of Evil fighting a bunch of Mexican super villains.
 

Another book I don't care about. Tony Bedard's story is fine and Ig Guara's artwork is nice and clean. But I don't care about the characters or the story. I didn't need a Mexican superhero. I spent my youth watching Santo movies. And the dialogue in those was stereotypical enough. This is just as bad. Again: good story but I don't feel the need to follow it. Jaime is the future of the DCU? Thanks...I'll head back to the past.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is hiding behind a wall at the bottom of page 17.

Another of DC's young heroes is STATIC SHOCK, formerly known as Static when he was still part of the Milestone Universe...correction: The Dakotaverse. I really liked Milestone. Creator owned books representing minority heroes. It was quirky and had some tremendous talents, including the early works of John Paul Leon and Humberto Ramos, working on books like STATIC, HARDWARE, ICON, BLOOD SYNDICATE and even XOMBI. Then DC rolled them into the DC Universe during the World's Collide event and the whole thing when to hell. A great concept was brought mainstream. And then there was these cartoon.
 

Sigh...did I say how much I REALLY MISS Milestone.
 

Anyway, Virgil is 16 again. And he works at S.T.A.R. Labs. Oh yeah-so does his old Milestone cronie Hardware. Did I say how much I REALLY MISS Milestone. Static busts up a bunch of bad guys and now there's mnore bad guys after him and their special super villain Virule. Did I say how much I REALLY MISS Milestone. Virgil spends some quality time with his family, converses with Hardware and  gets attack by a super villain.
 

Did I say how much I REALLY MISS Milestone?
 

Scott McDaniel: great writer. just not here. Did the editor tie his hands and make him write cheesy dialogue? How about the plot? Yawn! Sorry Scott: not interested. John Rozum's artwork? It's okay. But having a slightly out of proportioned hero on your front cover does tend to distract.
 

Now I'm sure someone is going to call me a racist after these last few reviews. It'll be along the lines of "you're picking on the Mexican comic" or "Have a problem with black superheroes, especially after trashing MISTER TERRIFIC". I do not have a problem with Ethnic superheroes. I have a problem with really badly written comics featuring one dimensional heroes. Here-want a sound byte that will cause contraversy? It's a good thing that creator Dwayne McDuffie has passed on, as untimely as it was, because this piece of work would have killed him. It has none of the hard edge that the original Milestone series had. It's a poor man's Spider Man. Oh wait: didn't Marvel just reboot their ULTIMATE SPIDER MAN with an ethnically diverse character? Who's stealing from who?
 

BTW: the mysterious woman is peeping through the Hawkins' fazmily window at the top of page 15

Be back next time with a bunch more of thumbnail reviews...hopefully some for some GOOD DC titles.

DC's NEW 52-The GREEN LANTERN related books

While most things in the DC Universe changed with FLASHPOINT and the introduction of the NEW 52, some things didn't. Specifically, the Green Lantern titles, which all pick up immediately after the events in WAR OF THE LANTERNS. To that end, here's coverage of the four Lantern related titles.
 

In GREEN LANTERN, Sinestro is still reluctantly carrying the green ring and acting in the role formerly held by Hal Jordan. He meets with the Guardians and they tell him in strong terms that he is to protect his sector. He is asked to leave and then the other Guardians of the Galaxy join their minds with that of Ganthet.
 

Meanwhile, Hal Jordan is getting ready to be evicted. No job, no money and still trying to be the hero, as he accidentally busts up a movie set and beats up an actor.It takes Carol Ferris to bail him out and try to talk some sense into him. Sinestro ends up on Korugar and proceeds to take revenge on his former charges who are now enslaving the planet he entrusted them to protect.
 

Hal and Carol go out to dinner and he ruins the date by asking her to co-sign a car loan. Yeah-that's the end of that date real quick. Arriving home, Hal is greeted by an eviction notice and Sinestro, who temps him with a chance to get his ring back.
 

As always, great story from Geoff Johns and Doug Manke's art is equally up to the task. No changes here and that's good. Still a fun book not affected by the disaster that was the Ryan Reynolds movie.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in the crowd on page 12.
 

Kyle Rayner gets to go forth in GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS and the story kind of picks up from GREEN LANTERN lore. Ganthet arises from a pile of dead Guardians and promises to deliver the last power ring into "the right hands". Kyle Rayner is sitting having drinks with friends and needs to make a hasty exit to get rid of all those drinks. Ganthet arrives and delivers him the ring, making him the new Green Lantern. Obviously, ancient history simplified.
 

We jet to present where a yellow lantern is attacking the Xylons only to lose his ring and be slain. A Red Lantern is on Krod and he too loses his ring and dies.Star Sapphire suffers a similar fate, but her ring searches to find a new host. Our Green Lantern is saving construction workers when the various rings call to him and that's followed by potential successors to the individual colors, each looking to slay Kyle if that's what it takes.

Okay, I'm bored. Too many characters that I don't care about and a revamped origin for Kyle Rayner. Tony Bedard's story is light and Tyler Kirkman's art, while anatomically okay, doesn't thrill me either. More the story. Won't be following this tale.
 

BTW the mysterious woman is five pages from the book's end, in the first panel.
 

GREEN LANTERN CORPS comes out swinging right out of the box. Two Green Lanterns watching a prisoner are slain and one of them has their ring removed in a rather simple but graphic manner-remove the finger. Back on Earth, Guy Gardner is trying to get a job as a high school football coach. he doesn't get it, told to "go catch the bad guys, Guy." John Stewart is having his own problems with his day job, dealing with a group of developers more concerned with the bottom line over safety.

That leads to an in space pow-wow between the two heroes about how difficult normal life is. As Guy says: "birds gotta fly, fish gotta fry." The pair, along with a host of other Lanterns, end up on the planet Nerro, where a distress call has come in from. Upon arrival, the entire planet has been butchered as a message to the Lanterns.

Great stuff! I didn't expect this book to hit like this, but it's great. Peter J. Tomasi writes a killer story with some wild dialogue and REAL CHARACTERS. And Fernando Pasatin's artwork simply dazzles! I will say it again: great, great stuff. This one is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is standing amongst the various construction workers at the start of John Stewart's encounter with the developers.
 

Then there's the newest addition, RED LANTERNS. Coming directly out of the last year's worth of GREEN LANTERN, it follows the Red LAnterns: driven by revenge in all they do.
In Space Sector 666, some nasties are doing a it of torture when Atrocitus and his cat Dex-Starr proceed to enact their own highly violent form of justice. Truly graphic and truly violent.

Back on Ysmault, Atrocitus is having a problem with in-fighting among his fellow Red Lanterns. Many seem to feel he has lost a lot of his rage and is not fit to lead. He visits the mummified body of Krona, The Mad Lantern. Still angry at having his revenge taken from him by Hal Jordan, he recalls how the Manhunters invaded his planet and killed his family. That is the rage which drives him forward.
 

Back on Earth, an old man fights for his life following a mugging. His grandsons have different opinions about his condition and his future, leading one to lash out at the other. Looks like a set-up for a future Red Lantern to me. Atrocitus still is having trouble getting his rage level back to where it should be and his fellow Lanterns continue to suffer from dissent.
 

First off: it's Peter MIlligan and that alone should be enough to drive this book. His story runs into many directions and eventually they will all intersect. After all, It is PETER MILLIGAN!! Ed Benes art is rocking, as always. The book is grisly and grim and has much potential. This is the hidden gem of the four. I'm pretty sure no one expected this book to be that good.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in the top panel on page fifteen, the start of the sequence where the two brothers begin fighting.

DC's NEW 52-DEATHSTROKE

Slade Wilson is Deathstroke, also known as Deathstroke the Terminator. He's one of the greatest assassins in the DC Universe, or at least the OLD DC Universe. He had issues...lots of them. Sometimes he's a villain, sometimes an anti-hero. In the NEW DC 52, he is just DEATHSTROKE. 

This Deathstroke is well armed, as we see in the opening of the story. In a beautiful two page spread, Deathstroke slices and dices the Moscow bad guys, including beheading someone who looks an awful lot like J. Jonah Jameson. He's the biggest metahuman assassin in the Universe. Following the Moscow event, Deathstroke meets with Christoph who gives him his next assignment as part of a team. Oh yeah-Wilson also kills a buzzing fly with a paper clip.
 

Damn-he's good.
 

Wilson gets hooked up with his three person team of inexperienced recruits who call themselves the Alpha Dawgs. The mission is to cap a former German scientist turned arms dealer. Killer the scientist and recover the briefcase with nuclear secrets he's been selling to Iran.With the mission underway, Wilson carves his way into the airplane with a big old sword and runs headlong into the scientist and his biologically engineered creatures, which he disposes of in pretty quick fashion. The scientist, looking as Max Schreck as possible hands Wilson the briefcase, telling him how they went through a lot of trouble to give him what is in the briefcase.
 

Deathstroke bails and the bombs blows up the plane.
 

Back home, the Alpha Dawgs celebrate with Cristoph, toasting their victory as the "up and coming" team. Wilson doesn't see up and comers...all he sees is competition and proceeds to kill the Dawgs. Wilson shows Cristoph the contents of the briefcase, which none of us STILL know what it is(think PULP FICTION) and tells the guy who hired him to be "a good dog and clean up".
 

I was pretty much deadset against buying this book but, figuring I needed to test the waters on all the NEW 52 titles, I dove in. And I think I like it. I mean, the story is pretty well written by Kyle Higgins and the artwork by Joe Bennett and Art Thibert is pretty dynamic. What I still need to wrap my head around is Slade Wilson as crazy mission driven assassin who doesn't care about the cost as long as it isn't him. I'm used to Slade Wilson as anti-hero: defending family and occasionally seeking revenge. I'm used to Slade Wilson as arch villain trying to eliminate superheroes with his guile.
 

This guy is just one major kick-ass dude with a big-ass sword. Not a rapier, mind you: A BIG FREAKIN' SWORD. Those in charge think he can't cut it anymore. I guess they were wrong. Slade Wilson is cutting into everyone's territory.
 

Okay, I'll make my way through another issue or two, just to see how this turns out...and what's in the briefcase.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in panel three on page 1, watching the start of the confrontation between the Russians and Deathstroke.

DC's NEW 52-FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.

Frankenstein has been portrayed many times in a bunch of comics. From the Dick Briefer version  of the Fifties to the Dell superhero book in the Sixties through the Marvel series to the Creature Commandos, the stitched up creation has made the rounds. He was even part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory. Now he's the leader of a super team in DC's NEW 52 book FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. Yeah-that's what i said. And when I saw the solicitation for this book, I was definitely wired to check it out.
 
The book begins with a dog getting killed during a fishing trip that results in the death of a grandfather, as later reported by his grandson. We next see the inner workings of the Ant Farm: the base of operations for the Super Human Advanced Defense Executive. This microscopic headquarters exists 2,000 miles above Manhattan and was made this way by Science Liaison Ray Palmer(ahhh-that explains the microscopic ability). Frankenstein is beamed on board from his vacation on Mars. Disgruntled, he meets with his father who has been regenerated into the form of a mask wearing little girl.
 
Frankenstein learns that his wife is off fighting these monsters that ate grandpa, but they lost contact with her. So his orders are given: eliminate the monsters in six hours or nuke the town near Bone Lake. 

Arriving on scene, it looks like S.H.A.D.E. is not containing the creatures, so here comes the rest of the Creature Commandos(yes-THEY ARE!!!):a fish woman, werewolf, vampire bat and mummy. They were all humans once that have been modified to their new condition. In fact, Vincent Velcoro gained his present powers by way of a version of the Langstrom Serum(yeah-he's the vampire bat). Frankenstein is a little offended that people have been "playing God", even as many of the Commandos profess how honored they are to be working with him.
 
After that, it's open the gates and "have at them!" They make their way through town and arrive inside a church. Pushing back the alter, they find an old woman and a lot of kids hidden there. As the computer printout says: "to be continued".
 
Okay...still not certain about what is going on here. this is such a strange hybrid book that I haven't decided if it's good or bad. I mean, the concept is kind of cool and the idea we have the Creature Commandos back is awesome. Alberto Ponticelli's artwork is quirky and fits the story nicely. Jeff Lemire, fast becoming the king of strange DC comics, turns in a fun little tale.
 
Where is this going? Who knows. But it looks like it could be fun. I mean, we've already got Ray Palmer and references to the formula that created Man-Bat in the old DC Universe. Who knows what else will get dropped in. Hopefully a little more back story on the creation of this team and what S.H.A.D.E. means to the whole New DC Universe.
 
Give it a whirl. This will either blow you away or turn you off. I can't tell you which. That's up to you.
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in the back of a two page battle scene three pages from the end of the story.

DC's NEW 52-ANIMAL MAN

Animal Man is a superhero alter ego of Buddy Baker who can temporarily borrow the abilities from animals, thus the name(DUH!). While he was around in the 1960's, his most famous run was the two year run by Grant Morrison, followed by stints by Peter Milligan, Jamie Delano and Tom Veitch that redefined the character and sent it into strange new places. Eventually, Animal Man died several times and was resurrected almost as many. ANIMAL MAN "retired" in the LAST DAYS OF ANIMAL MAN mini-series, but that was in the future and obviously NOT in this NEW 52 continuity.
 
So the new ANIMAL MAN begins with a one page text interview with "superhero/actor/activist" Buddy Baker. It's another day in the Baker household as wife Ellen is badgering him to go out and be super, daughter Maxine is begging for another pet to replace those that have passed on over the years and son Cliff, when Buddy is coerced to respond to a hostage taking at a hospital, begs to tag along and tape it as an audition tape for "those Justice League guys"(I guess we know when this is set-obviously at the beginning of the League). So Buddy dons his blue uniform and flies off the rescue the hostages.
 
Upon arrival, he discovers that the hostage taker recently lost his daughter to cancer and wants revenge on the doctors. Siphoning the abilities of an elephant, cheetah and a dog, he knocks out the distraught father and restores order. But at a price...as he begins bleeding from his eyes. Doctors check him out and come up with nothing conclusive. So Buddy goes home and goes to bed.
 
As he sleeps he dreams a pretty intense dream, in black and white no less(interesting concept).Cliff is opened up and his guts are tumbling out of his body(in color, no less) telling Buddy that Maxine was responsible. As he follows his daughter, Buddy devolves,  turning into a collection of nerves and tissues and misshapen monsters appear. One of them exclaims "we are rot in the Red", a definite nod to concepts laid forth by Morrison, Milligan and others.
 
He awakens from this nightmare and is immediately greeted by the voice of his wife. he races outside to find Maxine with a bunch of reanimated, half animals. "I'm sorry, daddy," she says. "I just wanted a pet of my own."
 
WOW! That's about all I can say about that ending!
 
Well, the book isn't Grant Morrison but it sure has the creepy qualities of most Vertigo books. And it's a Mainstream title, no less! Resurrected animals, a child with powers beyond those of her dad's...THE RED!!! This is such a weird title that it grabbed me from the first read and I must confess, I am a HUGE FAN of the work that came before this run as it truly redefined a "forgotten hero" for a new generation of fans.
 
Jeff Lemire has obviously done his homework and his story shows. Travel Foreman does his best homage(I hope it is else it's a shameless rip-off) of people like Bissette, Tottelbein and some of the horror genre's 80's and 90's heroes. It has a wonderfully nasty Gothic feel to it.

This is ONE STRANGE BOOK. If you're into the whole Vertigo without the bad words kind of comic, jump on this. I predict this will fast become a Cult Classic and you'll kick yourself later if you don't get in on the ground floor.

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in the last panel on page 12, behind a bunch of doctors.

DC's NEW 52-BIRDS OF PREY

BIRDS OF PREY has, since it's beginning, been one of my favorite DC Comics. What happens when you take a crippled Batgirl, turn her into a computer genius and let her lead a team of super heroines like Huntress and Black Canary, among others. And you let some of the most talented creative people work on it. Over the years, this has included such luminaries as Gail Simone, Chuck Dixon, terry Moore, Gilbert Hernandez, Greg Land, Butch Guice and Gary Frank. 

This book has always been a rip roaring adventure. Now DC has converted the team for their NEW 52. Does it work?
 

Well...
 

We start with a photographer by the name of Charles Keen getting attacked and rescued by two super heroines, Starling and Black Canary. Interesting since Keen apparently has been scoping out the Birds over the last few weeks. Through flashback, we learn of a meeting with a now mobile Barbara Gordon and Black Canary. Apparently, Canary is putting a team together and trying to recruit Gordon. Apparently, canary is also wanted for murder.back to the present and the battle continues. One of the assassins actually has the nerve to open mouth kiss canary. 

Well, the bad guys get defeated and, following a wild escape, they bring Keen to the airport to get him out of Gotham and into hiding. That doesn't go well as he begins to bleed from his eyes and then bursts into flame.
 

So, does this all work. not totally sure. I know some people who immediately;y after this issue came out told their local retailers to dump the book from their reserve lists. I don't feel that strongly negative about it. But I don't feel totally positive about it. Duane Swierczynski's plot isn't totally threadbare, but there are a decent amount of holes in it that will hopefully be filled in future issues. 

Also, where';s the rest of the team? The cover teases us with four members: Canary, Starling(who is this chick anyway?), Katana(referenced during the story) and...Poison Ivy? Now that's what I'm talking about! A team of super villains acting as heroes? What a concept...why didn't Marvel think of that? Oh yeah..they did. This would make this book a cross between BIRDS OF PREY and GOTHAM CITY SIRENS.
 

But there are some nice lines of dialogue. Gosh, I never thought I'd see a line like "who does a bitch have have to cut to get some service around here" in a mainstream DC book. I mean: this isn't my father's DC Comic. Jesus Saiz joins a long line of artists to put their stamp on this title. Nice work-nothing outstanding, but nice enough.
 

So the book sticks around with me for a few issues as the initial story arc shakes itself out and either gets better or worse. But I am willing to wait on it. It could be worse...it's not MISTER TERRIFIC!
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is hiding in the shadows in front of a hotel Black Canary is entering in the second panel on page 8.

DC's NEW 52-BLACKHAWK

BLACKHAWK is one of those great books I grew up with as a kid. I was lucky enough to be able to read them during their mid-Sixties run and then again when they were resurrected in the mid-Seventies. I even got lucky enough to get my hands on some of the truly CLASSIC stories from the 1940's and 1950's, not to mention Howard Chaykin's reboot in the 1980's. 

So, when DC announced a new BLACKHAWKS series as part of the NEW 52, I was pretty excited.
 

Man-talk about a major bummer. Someone PLEASE tell me this is truly an alternate reality version or a bad dream. Let's start with the cover. Who the hell are these guys? SERIOUSLY!!! Where's the cool looking outfits? This looks like a bad B-Movie poster. Where's the Lady Blackhawk I crushed on as a kid and even found a warm spot in my heart with her appearances in BIRDS OF PREY? And who let this guy who stole Magneto's hair end up front and center.
 

Okay-on to the plot. This shouldn't take long...I hope!

They are on a covert mission to Kazakhstan. The team is made up of Lady Blackhawk, The Irishman(oh-that's original!), Kundichi, Attila and Wildman. Okay-can't totally rag on this. I mean the classic team did have an International flair with names like Andre, Olaf, Stanislaus and a cook named Chop-Chop. Anyway, the mission is far from covert with Kundichi dropping terrorists out of planes and plenty of fireworks on the ground. Also on the ground: someone with a Smart Phone getting images.
 

Delegate Schmidt pays a visit to the mountain top stronghold called The Eyrie. By the way, he's escorted by a dark-skinned member of the team named Canada. Okay-now this is getting ridiculous! Attila gets patched up by the doctor while Kundichi gets busy with Wildman. Hey-it's the NEW 52. Everyone is having sex these days! So Delegate Schmidt meets with Andrew Lincoln, who I guess is Blackhawk but is certainly rocking the Scott Summers look. 

Yeah-we've got a problem as this covert mission is no all over the Internet.

Meanwhile, in a Asian Meta-Human facility, some woman in some kind of hooked up power suit fries some Russian subservient. And Kundichi bolts out of Wildman's bed and discovers she has been infected with some sort of Nanobite. That can't be good!
 

If this is the new take on an old classic it's pretty lame. The dialogue by Mike Costa is badly cliched and the story is just plain awful. I know we need to set up the characters and such but I really don't care about any of them. Make THEM the Suicide Squad and blow them up on the next mission. PLEASE!!! Graham Nolan's artwork is far from his best and it looks like he was just going through the motions on this one.
 

Maybe it's because I long for the classic simplicity of the old series or maybe I'm just hankering for them to whip out the old XF5F Skyrocket they used to fly, just for ONE PANEL. This is just another glossy team book with no soul.
 

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is on page 8 watching someone take a picture of the covert mission.

DC's NEW 52-CATWOMAN

Comic fans all know that Selina Kyle is The Catwoman: longtime Batman villain who sometimes toes the line between good and evil and flourished as an anti-hero who made her living as an international thief and a bounty hunter. She retired for a while, trained one or two replacements and proteges and even was mother to her child. And she has always held a torch for Batman. 

CATWOMAN gets her own series again as part of DC's NEW 52. It is set in the earlier days of her career, as many of the NEW 52 books are.
 

The story begins with Selina being chased out of her apartment by a bunch of gun wielding thugs wearing skull masks. So out the window she flies with cat in hand and skintight catsuit half off.Nice bra, Selina! And just to make matters worse, her apartment gets blown up. Guess you'll be half wearing those clothes for awhile.
 

She makes a visit to her informant Lola("and she actually was a show girl...no bull...really"). Lola gives her information about an unoccupied penthouse where she can crash until something better comes along. Oh yeah: there's a job in it too. She gets on board at a club as a bartender. No, it's not for the money. She's here to steal a painting from Russian mobsters. She spies a sleazeball from her past who apparently murdered a friend of hers when she was younger. She makes her way into the Men's Room and beats the living hell out of the guy.

Unfortunately she spends a little too much time gaining her revenge because the real bartender she put to sleep is now awake and talking. Time to grab the cat suit and go into action. She doesn't get the painting she came for but she does do a pretty good job of taking out the Russians.
 

Back at the penthouse, she licks her wounds and she gets a visit from The Dark Knight. It doesn't take long before the duo are getting down and dirty, something that apparently has happened before. "...it doesn't take long and most of the costumes stay on."
 

Holy crap, kids: Batman and Catwoman are having hot, sweaty sex! And if you don't think that set the Internet and other news organizations ablaze, you haven't been paying attention. This was about as taboo as you could get but hey: I'm from the Julie Newmar is a HOT Catwoman era and I'll be honest-if Batman wasn't making time with her, every kid my age wished we were. Her and Emma Peel!
 

Anyway, I think the book rocks! Have LONG been a fan of this character as anti-hero and this delivers. She's not taking care of her kid or bringing a protege into the fold. She's a hot, sexy Catwoman! Judd Winick is a LONG WAY from being a house member on THE REAL WORLD and has truly bloomed as a comic writer. his dialogue work is crisp and his ability to paint a picture with words is excellent. And Guillem Marsh' artwork is SO reminiscent of Jim Balent's classic work that it is scary. The cover alone, a wonderful shot of Catwoman sans mask and bra is enough to make you think of either Balent or Adam Hughes. Please continue as regular artist for the duration. His panels are tight, his pacing is fast and his female form is breathtaking!
 

BUY THIS BOOK! It is a very pleasant surprise and one I hope continues to take some cool twists and turns. And let it be provocative! I'd rather have a sexy book than an incredibly dumb one!
 

BTW: the hood woman is a guest at the party in the Russian Club. She's in the first page of the club scene, hiding behind one of the floor to ceiling curtains on the left side of the panel.

DC's NEW 52-CAPTAIN ATOM

CAPTAIN ATOM was a character originally appearing in Charlton Comics that got acquired by DC and appeared as part of Earth-4 characters rolled into Post-Crisis continuity. He became a second tier hero in the DC Universe and was originally slated to be The Monarch during ARMAGEDDON. But DC changed plans following a leak and he continued on as a superhero eventually ending up as one of the stars of EXTREME JUSTICE. But DC never really knew what to do with him, so they killed him off(allegedly) and threw him into the Wildstorm Universe.

He eventually returned, playing a role during both GENERATION LOST and FLASHPOINT.
Now he gets his own series again. But is it any good?
 

The book begins with a hero super villain battle. It looks like Atom is losing control of his powers so he goes "somewhere in Kansas" to visit Dr. Megala and find out what's going wrong. Conclusion after a bunch of badly explained mumbo-jumbo: using his powers will kill him. So what does he do? He goes racing off to check out a volcano in New York. So what happens? He starts to break down.
 

Guess he shouldn't have used his powers.
 

Wow...where do I begin with this? The character is motivated by finding out why his powers are screwed up. We get a creepy scientist and his assistant who he verbally abuses. We get confusing dialogue and a story that goes nowhere fast. This is another J. T. Krul tale that does nothing for me. And neither does Freddie Williams artwork. And there is some two page subplot where this thing is eating the homeless in San Francisco.
 

A mess. To say anymore would just be a waste of my time.

BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is at the bottom of the first panel three pages from the end of this story.

DC's NEW 52-THE FLASH

Barry Allen is and always will be the Silver Age Flash. Sure, he died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths and was replaced by a host of speedsters including his nephew Wally West. But Barry was always the benchmark every other speedster was compared to. During FLASHPOINT, Barry ended up in a twisted reality/alternate timeline. At the end of the mini-series, he restores the timeline(complete with a mysterious hooded woman making a major cameo appearance). 

Following the mini-series, THE FLASH gets rebooted  with a back story that eliminates his history. A cornerstone character and the man who should remember the alternate timeline, this should be a shining star in the NEW 52.
 
Too bad it's just another superhero title.
 
Issue #1 begins with Barry Allen and longtime co-worker Patty Spivot attending a "tech symposium" when the bad guys show up to steal some of the technology. Just like that, all hell breaks loose and The Flash arrives to stop them. He succeeds and we get to meet Iris West, who is no longer Barry's girlfriend or wife. She's a reporter for the Central City Citizen.
 
Upon further investigation, we discover that one of the criminals is an old friend of Barry's.
Barry and Patty end up back at the Police Station and the investigation continues. Later in the night, Barry is visited by his dead friend and gives chase. The chase ends up with The Flash facing hundreds of the dead man.
 
Yawn!
 
Really? That's the whole book? There is NOTHING here. The entire story can be told in about 10 pages. Is this a backup story from somewhere? Why does The Flash have a new history? If history has changed, how did he get his powers? In the old continuity, Barry Allen was struck by lightning which we eventually learned was actually Barry moving through time via the Speed Force. We know via the brief recap early on that he was struck by lightning, but was that lightning Allen? Is that now all gone?
 
Francis Manapul's story is threadbare to say the least. I could hope that plot elements are being hidden to be revealed later. But give us at least something to chew on until then. Brian Buccellato's art is okay, just not my style for this book.
 

I won't be reading future issues because I really don't care.
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman who played such a key role in the final pages of FLASHPOINT, is in a crowd scene in the final panel of page 12.

DC's NEW 52-JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL was a comic and a team created by J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen, with art by Kevin Maguire, in 1987 following the LEGENDS mini-series. The initial membership included Blue Beetle, Mister Miracle, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner and a host of others including Doctor Fate, Captain Marvel, Black Canary and Batman. A bizarre offshoot of the Justice League, they were formed by the ever devious Maxwell Lord. The book always managed to have some great action and just a bit of the flair for comedic dialogue, especially when adding Fire and Ice to the team, which always resulted in some sort of cheeky series of sexist lines from Guy Gardner. There were many series and mini-series, the last of which was GENERATION LOST.
 
At the conclusion of that year long, 24 issue series, Booster Gold declares it's time for a new Justice League International.
 
The book begins with Andre Briggs, the Head of U.N. Intelligence, having a teleconference with the representatives of various nations. he explains his plan, much like Max Lord before him, to create a superhero team not unlike the Justice league, but actually answers to the government. Several heroes get suggested: Booster Gold, Plastic Man, Fire, Ice, Vixen and Green Arrow, among them.
 
The new team makes their appearance in front of...long time cartoon fans will love this...THE HALL OF JUSTICE(from the old SUPER FRIENDS cartoon) amid protests who claim the hall belongs to the people.The assembled lineup is Guy Gardner, Fire, Ice, Vixen, Booster Gold, Rocket Red and two new heroes: England's Godiva and Chinese hero August General in Iron. Guy immediately walks out as he won't take orders from a "pitchman for adult diapers"(Booster Gold).
 
Batman arrives and has a heart to heart with Gardner but fails to convince him to let "Jokester Gold"(Guy's words) have a chance. The team gets a nice new jet, courtesy of Queen Industries and heads off to find out what happened to a U.N. research team in Peru. And batman decides to join the team, at least for this mission, to assist. Not longer after landing, the team is attacked by some "constructs" that make their way up from the ground only to be followed by some huge iron giant. Things look bad for the team until next issue.
 
Great book! Man, I thought nothing could equal the original series but this is so on point it's scary. Humor, mixed with action mixed with absolutely some of the best lines. This book is so Giffen inspired it's really scary. The action rocks, the nod to the Hall of Justice, sexy comments from new girl Godiva...yeah: this so rocks!
 

So who's behind this? Dan Jurgens-okay...that explains a lot. Aaron Lopresti-also explains a lot. I have followed Aaron's work since the days of SLUDGE, have always liked his stuff and was proud to have gotten to interview him back i the days of the old PODIUM. And Matt Ryan rounds out the basic creative team and we all know what he can do. It reads great, it looks fantastic. This is one of my HIGHEST recommendations.
 
BTW: the hooded woman is in the first panel on page 8, just under Booster Gold's left elbow.

DC's NEW 52-SUPERBOY

There are so many different versions of Superboy in the history of DC Comics that it sometimes gets a little tough to keep track. In the past twenty years, he's been erased from continuity, restored, turned into a vengeful super-villain named Superboy-Prime, was reborn as a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, died, was resurrected by Brainiac 5 to live his life with the Kents and Krytpo the Super Dog.
 

But his most recent series came to an end in August of 2011 and now the SUPERBOY title is back as part of DC's NEW 52. The series is back, but the character is far from what we have been exposed to in the past.
 

The book begins with our hero floating in a tank of Neonatal Amniotic Fluid and wondering why they call him Superboy. He's hooked up to machines and bald.  He's in a lab which he claims is the only home he's ever known. The lab guys decide that the only way to fully study Superboy is by terminating him and "sifting through the entrails". A redheaded doctor who apparently goes by the name of Red telepathically communicates with him and he bursts free before he can be executed. Unfortunately, the guy who appears to be the head of the project, Dr. White, gets fried in the process. But Superboy survives and is comforted by Red.
 

Next thing we know, it's a month later and our hero is going to school, where he apparently he is the resident genius. He's living on a farm with a kindly old couple known as the Helpworths. He spends time talking with a white haired girl named Rose Wilson who, in old continuity, was Deathstroke's well trained daughter. Life is good for our hero...even if it is actually a virtual reality life, as we soon discover that he is still in the lab, still being examined by the remaining scientists.
 

We learn that Superman was part of the DNA but don't know who the human cells came from. Hopefully, as Red exclaims, not from a "deeply pathological, meglamaniacal narcissist". Hmmm...sounds like Lex Luthor to me.And Rose Wilson is there too, threatening to kill Red for free if she crosses the line.A member of the scientific team,contacts reporter Lois Lane to provide information. That's when we learn the project is a N.O.W.H.E.R.E. authorized project. N.O.W.H.E.R.E. appears in several DCnU books, so it looks like they will be one of the core baddies in this universe.
 

One of the chief architects in the cadre is a guy named Templar who apparently is ready to turn Superboy loose as part of a team of heroes in hopes he will the destroy the team. The heroes are the Teen Titans and Superboy knows that he will do as Templar asks if it gains him his freedom.
 

I have mixed feelings about this book, but I think I'm in for awhile anyway. Scott Lobdell does a great job with the writing and characterization. hey-this guy has done his share of great comic writing on everything from THE ADVENTURES OF CYCLOPS AND PHEONIX to IRON MAN and a whole bunch of great works in between. His stuff is as good as always. Art by R. B. Silva is very reminiscent of Terry Dodson's work: clean lines, good expressions and proper anatomy. So, on a graphic storytelling level, this book is a winner.
 

And the story, which really left me with more questions than answers, moves along nicely. I had a hard time bringing myself to enjoy the book, having endured so many Superboys in the past. And I had kind of gotten attached to Connor Kent. To have that character thrown back into a test tube felt really cheap, but that's kind of how most of the New DCU goes so I had to suck it up and go with it. Once I came to the realization that I had never experienced this character before, I went along for the ride and just let it wash over me. And I'm glad I did.

As I said, I'll stick with this one for a few issues anyway, maybe more as long as the creative forces continue to tease and tantalize.
 

BTW: the hooded woman is pretty well hidden in this book. She appears on the first panel of the next to the last page of the story, as Red meets Templar.

DC's NEW 52-RESURRECTION MAN

RESURRECTION MAN was this great little cult book created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning which debuted back in 1997. Mitch Shelley has this very cool power: every time he dies, he resurrects with a new power. He's been taken down by the best of them, including HITMAN and his constant foils the Body Doubles. The book was never a big seller, only enduring 27 issues plus a 1,000,000 issue, and truly developed a major cult status. People who loved the book spoke at length about it while those who didn't equally trashed it. Now Mitch Shelley is back as part of the NEW 52.
 

The book begins with Mitch about ready to be cut up in the local morgue. But, as the title says, he's Resurrection Man and he's back. Mitch steals an ATM card and proceeds to jump on a plane. While there, he scopes out the fellow passengers and strikes up a conversation with the woman next to him, who claims her name is Sue and has a teardrop tattoo on her right cheek.. Sue proceeds to create tales about the other passengers and why they're on this plane to Portland.
 

Midway through the flight, Sue stands up and transforms into some kind of demon, telling Mitch his soul is overdue. The hull gets breached, the sky marshal gets killed and Mitch and Sue take their battle outside. Mitch uses his magnetic field powers to zap the villain and in the process, gets sucked into the plane's engine. Mitch dies, the plane crashes and everyone on board dies with him.
 

The difference: Mitch comes back to life. this time, he flows like water.
 

Meanwhile, two women are questioning and executing folks in the coroner's office who won't tell them about the John Doe who obviously got up and walked away. And, during all of this, a "firefighter" named Suriel, who has a teardrop tattoo on his right cheek, carries on a conversation with a mysterious woman on the other end of a cell phone connection. He mentions that he thinks the "basement office" is interested in Mitch too. The woman on the phone turns a tarot card and it's the Resurrection man. The woman is Madame Xanadu.
 

Yeah...this books rocks! It's full of twists and turns and, if you're a fan of the original books, you'll be wondering how Mitch dies and what he'll be next time. Looks like we've got angels looking for him and maybe some of Satan's legions. And Madame Xanadu in the middle of it all? Cool!
 

Abnett and Lanning know this character well and I love their work on pretty much everything they have done in the last 15 years for both DC and Marvel. Their dialogue is cool without being corny and their expositionary work is just enough without being too heavy handed. Fernando Dagnino's artwork is very reminiscent of Jackson Guice's work on the original series. His atmospheric lines just further in the making this a rather creepy book. Truly can't wait to see where issue #2 and beyond takes us. 

Give this one a try, even if you never picked up the old series. You can pretty much figure what's going on without knowing a ton of back story.
 

BTW: the hooded woman is hiding behind a tree right after Mitch resurrects following the plane crash.

DC's NEW 52-MISTER TERRIFIC

Michael Holt is the third smartest men in the world and also the superhero known as Mister

Terrific. In the old DC continuity, he was the leader of the Justice Society of America. But

the JSA doesn't exist in the NEW DC Universe. So where does that leave MISTER TERRIFIC? 

In a pretty AWFUL comic book!

So we begin with Mister Terrific high in the skies of London fighting some guy in a power suit

while the crowd looks on. Right off the bat, the AWFUL dialogue begins with one of the

bystanders commenting that Mister T. has a "nice bum". REALLY!? If this the direction this book

is going to go in then it's bad from the get-go. He defeats the bad guy with some good old

"Yankee ingenuity"(yes...he does say that!). One of the spectators asks who he is. Mister

Terrific: Some people call me the third smartest man in the world...a simple 'thanks black guy

for saving us from a homicidal lunatic wearing weaponized body armor'".

Good Lord...that's really AWFUL!

After a quick birthday celebration, we get the flashback: how Michael's wife and unborn son

died, how he was going to kill himself but got visited by his son who never was and that

changed everything. He is telling this tale to Karen Starr who, in the OLD DCU, was Power Girl.

Apparently she's just a businesswoman now and is going to be Michael's date for the night.

Meanwhile, some poor guy is eating lunch, gets possessed, harshly insults his waitress and

proceeds to go out and kill some homeless guy by snapping his neck. Michael gets called in to

the case and discovers this guy has been suddenly jotting down numeric equations that "would

give Stephen Hawking a headache." 

Our hero heads back to his T-Sanctuary to do a little more investigating. It's a good thing he likes mysteries, or so he tells us. Later, there's this party and Michael meets a Presidential candidate who professes: "I thought you were a liberal, pinko-loving atheist." PINKO-LOVING? Holy you-know-what! Does this get any worse.

Yeah...it does.

Karen gets offended by a woman who has been eyeing her all night and here's that dialogue. get

your barf bags ready.

Karen: I don't want to start a turf war"

Woman: It's not that."

Karen: I get it. It's because I'm a WHITE GIRL isn't it?

Woman: And I'm a BLACK WOMAN which means I'm built to handle things you can't even imagine, or never had to.

Yeah...really: that's the dialogue. And now I'M OFFENDED. She goes on to explain it's because

Starr is rich. But after that exchange, who cares. Michael takes the Senator back to his lab to show him his latest project and then flips out, feeling he has to deal with "a hypocrite". he lets loose with one of his machines and proceeds to threaten to kill the Senator.

Wow-another DCnU book with another dumb cliffhanger.

I really think this book is AWFUL. Have I said that before? First, the good: Gianluca Gugliotta's artwork is nice in an Image styled sort of way.

Thus ends the good.

Eric Wallace is not a total newcomer to comics. He wrote TITANS and FINAL CRISIS: INK, neither of which I read. If they were anything like this, I'm glad I saved my money. The plot does

nothing for me: people are being possessed and turned into homicidal maniacs. The end. Oh, and some REALLY AWFUL, REALLY JUVENILE and REALLY RACIST dialogue thrown in. 

The Michael Holt I knew was relatively humble as a leader of one of the great superhero teams. This guy, like I am finding MANY of the DCnU heroes are, is just way too full of himself, between hubris and self pity. I don't care about his back story, I don't care about his current story and really don't want anything to do with his future endeavors. Unless it has to do with going back to where he came from before the reboot.

I can not NOT recommend this book enough.

BTW: the hooded woman is in the right side of the second panel of page 4. And even she looks embarrassed to be in this book.

DC's NEW 52-BATWOMAN #1

The second incarnation of Batwoman appeared during the 52 mini-series from DC back in 2006. Fans groaned and many more threw up their hands when DC announced that, in an effort to present diversity in their comics, that Batwoman would be a lesbian who was romantically linked to GCPD detective Renee Montoya-you know: the NEW Question. Fans had mixed reactions, GLBT organizations praised the choice even while the character made headlines on CNN and other shows. Batwoman got a major ten issue run in DETECTIVE COMICS following the Battle for the Cowl mini-series. Written by Greg Rucka with art by J. H. Williams III, it proceeded to set the tone for the character and illustrate a great deal of her back story. A regular series was promised for February of 2011, but that was put on hold and, presumably retooled for the NEW 52.

At long last, BATWOMAN #1 has arrived.

Our tale begins with a pair of parents telling GCPD Detective Maggie Sawyer how this ghostly woman arrived at their home and stole their children even as Batwoman arrived and tried to stop it. Sawyer promises they will try to find the children. Kate Kane, Batwoman's alter ego arrives and stares at a photo of Renee Montoya on the wall dedicated to Gotham City Police lost in the line of duty. This is interesting to note because Montoya, in old continuity, became The Question. Does this mean she died in the new continuity or that she never became The Question.

Anyway, Kane and Sawyer have some small talk (Kane: "Are you finally gonna ask me out?" Sawyer: "Thought I already did. I gave you my card weeks ago.") and agree to go out on a date. We next see Kane and her cousin Bette Kane, formerly known as Flamebird and a former member of  the Teen Titans. Apparently the Kane girls are now a team and Batwoman insists her cousin's Flamebird name is gone and she is now known as Plebe. There is a confrontation between Kate and her father, where she recounts many of the storyline pieces from the DETECTIVE run, so obviously not all continuity has been changed.

Meanwhile, at the Department of Extranormal Operations, one Agent Chase(surviving and changed a bit from Cameron Chase's 10 issue run back in 1998) examines files at the insistance of her boss, Director Bones. It should also be noted that J. H. Williams III, who co-writes this series, was responsible for illustrating the CHASE series. Apparently Director Bones wants some investigation work done on Batwoman.

GCPD find a body of a thirteen year old victim, bringing the body count to six with another thirteen missing. Urban Legends point towards La Llorona-The Weeping Woman. As the police leave, Batwoman arrives to conduct her own investigation. Batman arrives to with a "proposition" for her.

Okay, as first issues go, there isn't a ton of exposition here. Actually, for anyone who is unfamiliar with the previous appearances of Batwoman, there is just enough to explain some of the key bits of information from the ten issue DETECTIVE COMICS run to introduce her to a  new audience. There are some great bits thrown in to whet appetites for future issues. The whole idea of bringing back Cameron Chase and the D.E.O. is great. The Weeping Woman plotline has put some kind of neat bits in place and I'm curious to see where it goes. So too, the potential Kane/Sawyer/Montoya relationship. Just what DID happen to Renee Montoya in this new continuity?

Williams Art Nouveau styled artwork is as killer as always and his writing with W. Haden Blackman is equally as good. It's kind of hard to compete with Greg Rucka but they do an admirable job. I really can't wait to see where this book goes from here. This was one of my most anticipated books in recent months and I can honestly say the wait was truly worth it.

Bravo folks: this one is a winner!

BTW: the hooded woman appears 6 pages from the end of the story hidden in a crowd of onlookers at the missing child's discovery.