DC's NEW 52: the 9th issues, part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #9: Welcome to the Amazon Jungle where Felix Faust and his followers are battling the NEW Justice League Dark: Zatanna, Deadman, John Constantine, Andrew Bennet and…the Black Orchid who has been put on this team by Steve Trevor. Before the battle is done, the new team ends up finding an artifact that is in fact a map…a map to the legendary Books of Magic.

So Peter Milligan gives way to Jeff Lemire who is already turning heads on such titles as SWEET TOOTH, and FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. and ANIMAL MAN. And he hits a Home Run with this one on a number of aspects. First, he introduces Black Orchid, in her original costume, to the world of the NEW 52. And rumor has it she may be someone who is going to change the DCU as we now know it. Second, he introduces us to a radically different Felix Faust who appear to be far more dangerous than his predecessor. Mikel Janín is handling the art chores again and that’s very cool by me. Love the book and would call it my favorite Justice League title but I don’t thinkof it that way. This isn’t a superhero book as much as it is a book with superheroes in it. Great book!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #9: Justice League International battles O.M.A.C., who eventually gets to explain that he’s not a bad guy, just confused. Meanwhile, the bad guys from the previous issue continue to plot on how to make the JLI’s life miserable. And a whole bunch of Firestorms show up as part of a cross-over.

Another winner from Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti proving why this is possibly the coolest Justice League title.And the adding of the One Man Army Corps to the equation just makes me smile widely! It’s sad that DC has just announced this title will end as of issue #12. Hope they can wrap things up by then(maybe O.M.A.C. SHOULDN’T be in a book as this is the second title shot out from under him.

NIGHTWING #9: We continue with the battle between William Cobb and Dick Grayson. We also get the origin of William Cobb and learn that since the Owls were considered to be the grays of Gotham City that Cobb’s son, raised by Haly and the circus in secret, is the “Gray Son of Gotham”(get it?!). Nightwing defeats Talon by opening up cable lines filled with liquid nitrogen. So Talon is once again on ice.

Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows do a wonderful job in this chapter of  NIGHT OF THE OWLS. The origin of the Grayson line was totally unexpected and truly satisfying. By adding more back-story to William Cobb, the architects of this story continue to construct a history to Gotham City and its’ inhabitants that never existed in the “old” DC Universe. It has all become about politics, deals, and the idea that Haly’s Circus was the breeding ground for Talons is great. As always, I cannot wait to see what the next issue brings.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #9: Victor Fries has decided to add his stamp to the NIGHT OF THE OWLS and it becomes a major issue as Red Hood and his team get involved with Mr. Freeze AND the Talon who has come after him. It all ends up with Roy and Kori taking down Fries while Jason has a heart to heart with Talon Xiao Loong, who begs to be killed. Does he? We do not know. We do know that there is a minor crossover with the current issue of BATGIRL.

Another nice issue within the NIGHT OF THE OWLS story. What I have discovered as I have meandered through most of these tales is that, deep down, that Talons are broken individuals who have been used by the Court of the Owls and I find myself pitying them. Quality writing from Scott Lobdell and killer art by Kenneth Rocafort’s quirky art is just the right fit. I really like this book a whole lot.

RED LANTERN #9: Bleez continues to do all she can to take over the Red lanterns while most of the Lanterns turn their attention to Rankorr, who is getting blamed for destroying the power battery. But before that can be settled, Bleez arrives and a battle for control begins. Eventually, cooler heads prevail and the decision is made that Ysmault is poisoned and they must leave.

For me, this was a so-so issue. Peter Milligan still manages to crank out a good story but the whole drama regarding the new Lantern, Bleez taking control and Atrocitus acting like Hamlet is just getting under my skin. The fill-in art from Tomas Giorello is okay but I feel slightly screwed that the actions on the cover are never represented in the issue. Thanks for nothing, guys!

RESURRECTION MAN #9: When last we saw Mitch Shelley, Deadshot had taken him out with a headshot, much to the dismay of the Body Doubles. Before either of the two groups get to lay claim to his dead body, his resurrection powers kick in and Mitch is off and running again. He gets on the telephone with Amanda Waller and finds that Kim Rebecki is there and she “may” have sold him out. Waller ends up on the telephone with the Doubles boss, Director Hooker. Soon Deadshot arrives at the Task Force X center and it becomes a battle with his companions in the Suicide Squad. Rebecki talks Mitch to drop his metal form and Waller caps him. She releases Mitch and Kim, but not before taking his hand…literally! Looks like Waller may try to grown her own. And Rebecki? She has a nano implant now!

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning rock my world yet again. You get Mitch dying TWICE in the issue, a full on battle between Deadshot and the Suicide Squad, a whole bunch of double cross maneuvers and more action than you can shake a stick at. Fill-in art from Andres Guinaldo does not detract in the least. The book is bananas and bananas is good! Unfortunately, the title goes away with issue #12.

STORMWATCH #9: Red Lantern Skallox arrives on Earth, which leads Apollo and Midnighter into combat with him. Defeating him, he ends up a prisoner on Stormwatch’ ship. They have also managed to defeat the Vitruvian Man and taken him prisoner. Unfortunately, he gets worked up, delivers a message to this incarnation of Stormwatch, gets loose and Midnighter snaps his neck. Can you say anger issues?

Peter Milligan jumps on board and promptly introduces his red Lanterns into the tale. I find myself VERY excited to have Milligan here but couldn’t you wait an issue or two before doing the crossover thing? And we are really trying WAY too hard to embrace the fact the Midnighter and Apollo are becoming a couple. They were gay in the previous incarnation but that was before we were the NEW 52 and gender issues were representative of the DCU and their readership. I have no issue with it, but the whole “honey” and “sweetie” bantering between them is just a bit over the top. Despite all of this, there is some great art from Miguel Sepulveda.

SUICIDE SQUAD #9: The book runs parallel to the events in RESURRECTION MAN. It tells how Mitch was captured, escaped, was recaptured and capped by Deadshot. We also see that Light is taken out by Deadshot and now joins her deceased sister. And while all this is going on, Harley sees a psychiatrist. Oh yeah…and King Shark vomits up Yo-Yo!

Adam Glass and Federico Dallocchio absolutely are turning out the wildest book in the NEW 52. This title just breaks all the rule and goes into places the old SUICIDE SQUAD books never dared. Just about everyone is expendable and you never know who is going to be wasted. Rock on, guys! I love this book!

SUPERBOY #9: Welcome to Part 2 of The Culling crossover. Superboy, The Teen Titans and the Legion Lost come together in Harvest’s version of a Russell Crowe movie. In the middle of all of this, Timber Wolf recognizes Kid Flash (Bart Allen) from the 31st Century. Unfortunately, even Bart cannot remember what he has done to be so hated. And even Hunter Bryce, the whack-job from issue’s #3 and #4 shows up but does not last long as Warblade takes him to an early grave. Oh well. And the book ends with harvest arriving.

Tom DeFalco, Scott Lobdell and artist RB Silva turn in a lackluster story with some interestly cute bits of dialogue (Dawnstar called Feathergirl…REALLY!?). But not much else. We wipe out some third rate metahumans and further along what will become THE RAVAGERS book. I do not read LEGION LOST so I just have to guess what happens. I guess it will all be settled in TEEN TITANS #9(see review elsewhere).

SUPERGIRL #9: We get the origin of the Black Banshee even as the Silver Banshee battles him. Supergirl’s powers are out of control on Siobhan tries to console her. She also tries to defeat the Black Banshee, but he absorbs her powers. That cannot be good.

Michael Green and Mike Johnson’s story still does NOTHING for me. And we get another fill-in artist in the form of Mahmud Asrar, whose work is probably the best thing about the book. As I stated last month, I figure to finish the storyline and cut this loose. I just cannot buy dropping three dollars for such a wishy-washy character.

SUPERMAN#9: Superman saves a Russian sub crew from certain death only to discover that they have a mysterious secret they wish not to reveal. Meanwhile, Anguish is a new villainess and she makes the Man of Steel’s life a little complicated. Not to mention Victor Barnes has figured out Superman has a secret identity and he reveals it on worldwide television.

Overall, a nice issue from Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen. We get another new villain in the Superman mythos and a mystery involving the Russian sub. What are they trying to hide? Maybe it’s Lori Lemaris (sorry…couldn’t resist!). What we do know, based on the cover blurb, is that he may have “doomed the world” by saving that sub. Tune in next issue!

SWAMP THING #9: The new Swamp Thing has to deal with The Rot and the fact that his girlfriend is trying to kill him. Abby fights her way out of the creature she had become because of the love of the two. Sethe, the self proclaimed God of storm and Lord of rot prepares to punish the pair when Abby unleashes her power and destroys him, much to the dismay of her bother. The lovers are reunited but not before we realize that the legendary Anton Arcane is poised to make his return.

The rebirth storyline comes to a proper conclusion thanks to the great work of Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette (who was responsible for the first 8 pages), and Marco Rudy (who finished the book). Alec/Swamp Thing and Abby back together again is something long time fans have always wanted to see and we finally have it, complete with a panel harkening back to one of the all time classic moments in SWAMP THING history. The original DC horror comic with soul is back and should continue to add fans.

TEEN TITANS #9: Concluding THE CULLING. The Teen Titans and the Legion Lost join together to fight Harvest even while other team members and the Ravagers struggle to get injured metahuman kids out of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. before it all goes bad. When it is all done, Harvest escapes(does he REALLY come from the future) and N.O.W.H.E.RE. is destroyed. And the Titans? They end up on Mystery island. What?

Scott Lobdell wraps up THE CULLING with art assist from Ig Guara. I’m glad to see it has ended and we can get back to our regularly scheduled story. As a multi part storyline goes, it wasn’t that good. As an introduction to a new series, it also wasn’t that good. So here’s to hoping that THE RAVAGERS is better than this little jaunt was.

TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1: The Culling begins in earnest. Harvest has captured Superboy, Teen Titans and the members of the Legion Lost and forces them to fight against his Ravagers.

Tom DeFalco, and Scott Lobdell  and Brett Booth combine their talents to write a story that has superheroes fighting each other because they can. The dialogue is way too wordy and the coloring by Andrew Dalhouse is just so loud that it hurts. But we do get Warblade  showing up and that’s the highlight. Other than that, realize that this whole storyline is existing to solely introduce THE RAVAGERS series. Personally, I could do without the build-up.

WONDER WOMAN #9: War and Stryfe discuss Wonder Woman’s future as bombs fall. Lennox, Zola and company plot to find a way to get Diana out of Hell and decide to crash the wedding. Diana prepares for her wedding and has a discussion with Persephone, formerly Hades’ wife. When it is time for the wedding, there is a challenge. Diana must put her head in her lasso, which has been fashioned into a noose. It’s a form of wedding ring. As Hades says: her truth will either bind them or hang her. What choice does she have?

Brian Azzarello continues to completely shake up everything you knew about Wonder Woman and it’s all for the better! Cliff Chiang is missing from the artist’s chair this month but is replaced by Tony Akins and the legendary Dan Green and the results are completely satisfying. As always, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!