DC's ZERO MONTH, WEEK TWO

BATGIRL #0: The story begins four years ago where Barbara Gordon was studying Criminology. She and her brother James spend an afternoon at GCPD and took an interest in an alleged mass murder named Harry X. An attempted breakout occurs and Barbara and James are trapped. Barbara gets free and dressed in a Batman costume the department was working with. She eventually gets lucky and gets a blow in that knocks him out. Over the next year, she trained and became Batgirl. But one day she made a big mistake and hung up her costume. Three years ago, the Joker showed up at her door and crippled her.

Well, Gail Simone adds a bit more history and color to our heroine, but still doesn’t reveal the whole miracle of Barbara getting her legs back. And we get to see that James Jr., even at his young age, is being seen as defective. By the way: Ed Benes artwork is stunning throughout this entire issue!

BATMAN #0:  Six years ago, the Red Hood Gang decides to rob the newly redesigned Gotham National Bank. The Red Hood poisoned the celebratory cake and killed everyone. Red Hood #5 turns out to be Bruce Wayne in disguise. Bruce manages to escape while the GCPD battles with the gang. Bruce retreats to a brownstone he lives in not far from Crime Alley. There he tests out a type of boomerang he designed. Lieutenant Gordon arrives to discuss some possible dirty dealings that Bruce’s cousin Philip Kane may have been involved in. Gordon also asks what he may know about a vigilante in the area, meanwhile, the Red Hood Gang recognized Bruce's brownstone and decides to take him out of the game. In the back-up story, Lieutenant Gordon is preparing to move to Gotham City. Young Timothy Drake gets in trouble for hacking into a school computer but manages to blackmail his way out ofd trouble. Elsewhere, two guys rob a convenience store. One of them kills a hostage having heard the others’ name-Jason. Jason ran after his partner and beat him up until the police arrived, Meanwhile, Dick Grayson, taking a night off from Haly’s Circus, takes out a purse snatcher. Then, up in the sky, it’s the Bat Signal, seen by all partners involved.

Two interesting tales here. In the first, we see the infamous Red Hood gang and realize that the Red Hood was insane before he became The Joker. The idea of Bruce operating out of the mansion? I’m not too keen on that concept but that is a minor thing with me. As far as the back-up, I like how it ties together the lives of Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson. This serves as a perfect reminder that there will a deaths in the upcoming DEATH OF THE FAMILY storyline in the Bat books.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #0: This is Damien’s life story,  beginning with his birth from an artificial womb, complete with the death of a nurse killed by his beloved mother Talia. On his fifth birthday, Damien began  to be trained in swordsmanship.At this age, Damien began inquiring as to who his father was. He soon discovered Batman’s cowl and gets to wear it. Talia tells him  he has some of the Bat in him. She also says his name means "to tame." Soon he was training with the League of Assassins. On his tenth birthday, he escaped a team of assassins while in free-fall from thousands of feet above the ground. After defeating them, she throws a giant man-bat at him, which he also defeated. He battled his mother to discover the truth about his and defeated her. They traveled to London where Batman was introduced to his ten year old son.

Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason do what they do best: write a clever, kick ass comic book!  The secret upbringing of Damien Wayne within the house of Talia al Ghul. We get treated to the curiosity of a child wanting to know his father. We get countless battle scenes as he spends each year trying to defeat his mother in combat and learn that information. Best of all, we get the final line where Damien says to his father: “I imagined you taller!” He is a trained, hardened killer who will never totally fit in to the Wayne/Batman family. But it sure is fun watching him try.
DEATHSTROKE #0: Slade Wilson meets his future wife Adeline who trains him to be a member of Team 7. During a mission to Gamorra, Slade is badly wounded and is experimented on while going through rehabilitation. Following his recovery, they are married, Shortly after, he discovers that his close friend Wintergreene was being held in Somalia and he goes to rescue him. This is the night that Deathstroke is born. After that, he became a contract killer for hire to support his wife and tow sons. Many years later, the family, which now included Wintergreene’s son Peabody, is attacked, apparently killing his wife and son Joseph. He also loses his eye in that battle. Soon it is a two man army as Slade’s son Grant joined him in his mission. In the present day, Slade received a special present from his wife and son, now known as Jericho.

Hey look: it’s another Rob Liefeld craptacular where the only thing worse than the art is the story. Every single character looks the same and don’t even get me started about his lack of proportion! As far as that story goes: really?! Let me get this straight: his wife is his trainer, he gets experimented after a mission gone bad, raises a family, gets his family killed but not really and now they seek revenge? Didn’t we already have ONE SON seeking revenge? Real original Rob!
DEMON KNIGHTS #0: The Demon Etrigan serves Lucifer, who treats him like a lesser demon. He is forced to fight all of the demons in Hell to gain favor. Jason of Norwich toils in King Arthur’s court and gets no magical assistance from Merlin. He is also not very good at it and ends up in prison after laying hands on King Arthur himelf. Merlin meets with Morgaine LeFay, who tells him of Jason’s cursed future. Merlin goes to Hell and meets with his father, Lucifer and tells him of a bargain. Lucifer banishes a rebellious Etrigan who ends up in Merlin’s cage. The next thing you know, the castle is being attacked by Stormwatch and Merlin binds Etirgan to Jason of Norwich.

Paul Cornell and Bernard Chang gives us the origin of Etrigan and Jason Blood…and I don’t care. Somewhere I expect Jack Kirby is spinning in his grave. And must Wildstorm appear in EVERYTHING? Oh yeah, I forgot: Stormwatch is responsible for everything since the dawn of time. Jim Lee needs to take his Wildstorm stuff and pack it out of DCville. And yeah: I’m an old school Wildstorm fan.  But enough is enough! Next issue resolves the cliffhanger. Depending on how that goes, I may go too!

FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #0: We witness the birth of the Frankenstein monster. When he frees himself from Victor, he begins what becomes known as the ten thousand mile journey. But he is pursued by Victor and his army of creations all the while. The creature ends up making a home in the Amazon and becomes one with the natives. ut Victor soon arrives and slaughters the natives, angering the beast made from the dead He defeats his creator and gets to meet father: a woman in a dress and carrying a parasol. From there, Frankenstein becomes an agent of justice.

Matt Kindt and Alberto Ponticelli weave a wonderful story that continues to humanize the creature. We also discover that S.H.A.D.E. manages to slip through time, as they took parts from Victor’s failed crations to make Frankenstein’s future mate.  just love this book and am finally getting totally comfortable with Ponticelli’s art. It’s truly quirky and truly fits!

 

GREEN LANTERN CORPS#0: We see Guy Gardner as a long=haired Green Lantern in trasining and watgching his team be slaughtered in the process. We get a flashback to three months earlier, as his sister graduates from the police academy. Guy gtries to make amends with a retired policeman father who he has grown distant from and that goes badly. He hears a police distress call from his brother(yeah…the whole family afre police officers except Guy) and heads to the rescue. His brother is in the midst of a shootout and his partner is dead. As Guy tries to drive the officers from the scene, a gfreen ring seeks him out and he gains the power to put the two officers into a hospital(and assuming the partner is now alibe). Back in the recent past, Guy proves himself and takes out the enemy. He goes to Oa and gets to graudate from being a trainee. He, Kilowog and Hal Jordan head off for a drink together.

This was a nice fun issue from Peter Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin that fleshes out Guys’ story beautifully. If this kind of storytelling had continued early in the series, I probably wouldn’t have dropped the title.  The art rocks and Tomasi actually puts a ton of  character into one of DC’s greatest characters. He’s not such a pompous ass here: he’s still learning how to do that. For now, he’s just a guy with family problems that I trying to make a go of a new job. Great stuff, guys!
GRIFTER #0:  We begin two years in the past, with Cole Cash, Max Cash and John Lynch on a mission. Things start to go wrong and we meet Warwick, who is actually a hologram. Cole Cash is hooked up to machines and being programmed by the Daemonites and infused with Daemontie DNA to battle Helspont. Warwick breaks in to the facility and busts Cash out. He leaves a change of identity and disappears. When he awakes, he is confused, as this is the third time this has happened.

First off, I have a question for writer and cover artist Rob Liefeld. Rob: are those guns on the cover or are you happy to see your audience??? What the hell? Now on to the story. So Grifter was a member of Team Seven two years ago? Wasn’t Team 7 GONE more than two years back. Hello? CONTINUITY is a BITCH, ain’t it guys!!! And we start with a Team 7 adventure. Or not. No, it’s a ruse and now non-readers like myself are confused and don’t care(that would be me personally!). Art by Scott Clark ngoes from really good to really bad; in some cases it looks like hastily drawn pencil sketches. Strill not enough to make me run out and by the book, even with the addition of Voodoo, who had her own series shut down earlier in the year, joining the book next issue.
LEGION LOST #0: We get treated to Timber Wolf’s origin. Sometime in the 31st Century, a young Brin Londo watches as his father experiments. He has developed a serum that can cure any disease by tapping into the host’s Genomes. Lord Vykor wants it delivered to him immediately. When Brin’s father refuses, Vykor kills Brin’s mother and leave him with an ultimatum: one month to finish the serum or he’ll come back and kill Brin. Over the next month, his father finishes his work and then injects Brin and himself. Vykor arrives, Brin’s father attacks and gets his son out before blowing the placer up. Brin, now an orphan, spends most of his young life searching for Vykor and acting as a sometimes vigilante. Eventually finding him, he battles Vykor’s enhanced son Tor. Asnhe is about to slaughter Tor, Vykor pleads for his life saying that Tor is innocent, as was Brin’s mother. Brin does the right thing and turns them over to the police. He names himself Timber Wolf “for sentimental reasons”.

What is it about Tom DeFalco, Legion titles, and boredom? They all reign here. I used to love the LEGION OF SUPERHEROES, especially back in the good old days when greats such as Cary Bates, Jim Shooter , and Paul Levitz was writing with James Sherman, Paul Broderick, Keith Giffen, Bruce Patterson and others were illustrating the team with a cast of thousands. This book, which is a NEW 52 version of the 12 issue mini-series that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning were responsible for, is a shadow of that book. Everything I have seen in recent years that said Legion on it was boring. This book does not interest me, just as issue #1 didn’t. If you are a Legion fan, I’m sorry: sorry for not sharing your enthusiasm and sorry this is the best you can get without hunting through the back issues.
 

THE RAVAGERS #0: Some time ago, Gar Logan is under the Antarctic in The Colony and is being experimented on. It turns out his DNA has been tweaked and he turns into a red beast. Running the experiments is Harvest and his crew. They are also experimenting on Tara Markov, who has been given the codename Terra. They are also experimenting on Thunder, his sister Lightning and an individual named Ridge. Tara and Gar eventually end up in an arena and impress their captors.

YAWN!!! Sorry, I recall now why I do not read this series. That is because it is a watered down variation of GEN 13. Only it doesn’t have J. Scott Campbell’s art (not that Ian Churchill is too shabby). But Howard Mackie’s script is convoluted and cliché ridden.

RESURRECTION MAN #0: Continuing from where issue #12 left off, Hooker and the Transhuman are still dead and Mitch meet Mitch: the mysterious man in charge. Now comes the flashback. Five years ago, the original Mitch Shelley was doing biotech testing on the soldiers in Iraq. When Mitch lost his arm during an attack, Deathstroke helped evacuate them. Everyone injured gets injected with the Tektite solution including Shelley, Hooker and the soldiers who became the Body Doubles: Carmen Leno and Bonnie Hoffman. Mitch’s arm gets reattached and begins to heal.  But soon it must be removed as his body began to grow a new arm. The rejected arm was burned but its’ ashes eventually led to the building of an exact copy of Mitch Shelley. The real Mitch, behind the scenes, put Hooker and the Body Doubles in charge of finding the new Mitch so he could use him to help heal himself, as he was becoming weak and dying (the real Mitch, that is). Mitch realizes he lives because it’s his destiny to balance out the evil the original Mitch did. Then the forces of Heaven and Hell arrive to collect a Mitch soul. Suriel plunges her sword into the original Mitch and claims his soul. The demon explains that Mitch’s soul get more powerful with each resurrection and THAT is the soul this demon will someday take to Hell.

This was kind of a weird and wonky ending to one of my favorite series. So we learn that the Mitch Shelley we have followed all this time is actually made from material left by a burned up reattached arm from an evil Mitch Shelley. And the Body Doubles were actually teammates of the evil Mitch Shelley, along with Hooker. So, are they evil…well-Hooker is dead. But the Doubles are almost able to live forever. So…maybe we can get a REAL Body Doubles series like we once had, but in the NEW 52 style! I’d be okay with that. Until then, Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett’s classic character rides off into the sunset. Hope to se you soon although, with the mystery finally revealed, I don’t know if it will be as much fun.
 

SUICIDE SQUAD #0: Set in Malaysia in the “not so distant past”, Staff Sergeant Lawrence Duren was sent to find Captain Amanda Waller. Once found, she is asked to return to active duty but says after Team 7, she was one a permanent vacation. Apparently Duren was presumed dead but ended up running CIA Black Ops in Afghanistan. He tells her the mission he needs her for has to do with Regulus. It seems that Basilisk (regular SUICIDE SQUAD readers know that name) was somewhere in Malaysia with a WMD ready to be detonated in the next 24 hours. In Melenka, Amanda, Duren and his team track Regulus. Waller ends up facing Regulus who explains that Duren and his men were the keys to a gene bomb that would create metahumans. The bomb detonates, Regulus escapes, and all of the townspeople, including Duren are horribly transformed. Waller has no choice but to kill her old friend. She return to America and informs Duren’s mother of his death. Soon after, Waller ends up in Washington, D.C. to pitch her plan for a Suicide Squad.

Spurred on by revenge and guilt, Amanda Waller decides to create Suicide Squad with expendable forces. Great story from Adam Glass and Fernando Dagnino. I have always stood up and claimed this was one of my favorite NEW 52 titles. And this is why. We get a great story full of action, intrigue, and back-story. We get huge art from Dagnino and every issue ends up making me want the story to continue and find myself hating to wait 30 days for the next installment. With the exception of one of two issues, this is still the star of the NEW 52.
SUPERBOY #0: Hundred of years ago, we meet Krytonian warrior Kon, who led a clone uprising on the planet. The clones get betrayed and destroyed and cloning gets outlawed on the planet. Flash forward to several months ago as Lord Harvest, aware of the legend of Kon, observes N.O.W.H.E.R.E. making their own Kryptronian clone. While Superbpy is being programmed on one level, harvest has attached a second program to him that features him as Kon-El leading the rebellion on Krypton. Of course, he is also being taken down by Superboy-the Superboy we all now and love from before New 52, Does that mean this Superboy will try to remake this planet in his own image? We shall see.
 

I am no longer impressed with this title now that Tom DeFalco has taken over. R. B. Silva’s art continues to impress, but I am tiring of this Boy of Steel. In the last few issues, he has become money hungry and has managed to do whatever he wanted to because he could. Now we understand that maybe his demeanor is due to his programming. Either way, I no longer care. The following issue promises that the police will be on his trail. I don’t expect to be continuing on after this issue.
TEAM 7 #0: Set five years ago, the US Government began working on the so-called Majestic Project, in case the newly discovered genome spreading throughout the Earth got out of control. Thus Team 7 was created with John Lynch in charge. The team consisted of Dinah Drake, Kurt Lance, Slade Wilson, Alex Fairchild, James Bronson, Captain Summer Ramos, Cole Cash, Dean Higgins and Amanda Waller. Each was chosen for their various abilities. With his team in place, Lynch states that “the superhuman arms race” had begun and it was time for Team 7 to save the world. had already begun. It was time for Team 7 to save the world.
 
Well, this is an action filled issue that only exists to set the plate for what is to come in the coming months. Justin Jordan writes a really fun story while Jesus Merino does his usual capable job of drawing it. The real test for this book will come starting next month when the TEAM 7 book debuts. For the uninitiated, the old Wildstorm version of Team 7 featured Lynch, Fairchild (who should be revealed as Caitlin Fairchild’s father at some point), Cash(who we all know as Grifter), Mark Slayton (Backlash), Michael Cray (Deathblow), Christie Blaze, Stephen Callahan, and Jackson Dane (Arclight, who was in WETWORKS). I would love to see some of these characters introduced into the NEW 52  mythos.

BEFORE WATCHMEN Month Three

RORSCHACH #1: The dark mystery man fights crime on the streets in 1977. He seeks out a drug kingpin and starts with a junkie who he threatens to anally rape with the junkie’s own hand. From there, he tracks down the kingpin and gets severely beat up for his troubles. Along with all of this, a serial killer called The Bard strikes again and will eventually end sup crossing paths with Rorschach.

A dark, nasty book by Brian Azzarello with even darker, totally detailed art from the amazing Lee Bermejo. Every page oozes with filth. While I was hoping for more back story, we get none. All we get is a gritty crime tale that bathes us in the world the The Watchmen as the end nears.

DR. MANHATTAN #1:  This is the story of Jonathan Osterman. Son of a watchmaker, he receives a beautiful clock for his ninth birthday. He spends much of his youth as an introverted child playing with gears and making certain everything is in order. He forgoes trips with friends and is mostly a shut in. In 1959, he begins research concerning the 'intrinsic fields' of physical objects at a base at Gila Flats. There he meets and begins dating Janey Slater. Later, he finds himself having to fix her damaged watch. Unfortunately, the watch is in his lab coat which is inside the intrinsic field experiment test chamber. The door closes and Jon is torn to pieces as his intrinsic field is removed. While his father grieves, Jon’s body rebuilds itself into something far advanced. The Fifties become the Sixties and Jon’s relationship with Jamey crumbles even as he joins The Minutemen. Time continually shifts for the man now known as Dr. Manhattan.
 
You truly have to know WATCHMEN to understand this book as J. Michael Straczynski writes the book like Dr. Manhattan thinks:. One moment and we are in 1949 and the next we are in 1985. Then it’s 1966 and then 1959 and then back again. The continuity is all over the place but it is correct and proper. Like a Quentin Tarrantino film, you just need to read it and then put it together in a linear fashion. And the art by Adam Hughes? Hell-it’s ADAM HUGHES!!! I need to say no more.

MINUTEMEN #3: Norbert Veldon arrives at Hollis Mason’s garage to complain about the manuscript for Mason’s book. He is a friend if Nelson’s and apparently it is causing him severe distress…enough that he is suicidal and wants to sue Mason. Then we flashback to 1940 where we see The Comedian is being expelled from the Minutemen because of his assault on Sally Jupiter. This leads to a fight between The Comedian and The Hangman that involves some nasty sexual epithets.  A year goes by and we see Silhouette and Silk Spectre posing for pin-up pictures for the troops overseas. Meanwhile The Comedian gets recruited by the FBI. The Silhouette continues her campaign against child abusers including one incident where she can’t save a girl and almost dies herself in the process. That’s when Hollis arrives and takes her to her doctor friend/lover Gretchen.

Again, Darwyn Cooke shows a complete love for these characters. His art style totally fits the book and, at times, there are inserted panels which run parallel to the tale and are drawn in an over the top 1940’s comic style. Silhouette’s true self  comes out and we see the road that The Comedian took to get to where he was in the government. Great stuff…probably one of my favorite of the BEFORE WATCHMEN titles.

NITE OWL #3: Nite Owl continues his team-up with The Twilight Lady, leading him to a swirlie interrogation on a Colombian running a prostitution ring. They end up busting up the ring and having sex together. Later, Dan meets up with Hollis Mason and gets his first look at UNDER THE HOOD. Meanwhile, Rorschach discovers a lot of bodies and a very evil preacher who thinks he is God’s messenger.

J. Michael Straczynski continues to weave a twisted tale. And it gets kinkier with every issue. And a corrupt preacher? Say it ain’t so!!! I’m wondering if this is Joe Kubert’s final art work as the art stryle shifts half way through the issue as Bill Sienkiewicz takes over on the inking chores. And it is terribly evident and a shame that he couldn’t finish the series.

OZYMANDIAS #3: Ozymandias continues his battle with The Comedian, eventually allowing the government operative to defeat him. Later, after Dr. Manhattan arrives on the scene of popular culture, he arranges to invest in bomb fallout shelters. He begins building his stronghold in the Arctic and manages to weasel his way into a fund raiser to benefit the Red Cross and the Foundation of India, just so he can meet Dr. Manhattan. They don’t truly meet, as he spies on him, although Dr. Manhattan is aware of his presence the entire time. Once his fortress is completed, he begins watching Manhattan on multiple video screens.
 

Len Wein continues to craft a wonderful tale about the guy who becomes the ultimate villain in the original WATCHMEN. And the longer this goes on, we see him less as a villain but more as a paranoid genius preparing for the future. And the fact the Jae Lee’s artwork is the best of his career sure helps!
 

SILK SPECTRE #3:  Laurie Juspeczyk has an awakening, good and bad, while on a drug trip. The following morning, she awakes to find that her boyfriend Greg has overdosed and he is rushes to the hospital where they pledge undying love for each other. Leaving the hospital, she vandalizes a shoe store to acquire the last piece she needs for her costume. As Silk Spectre, she ends up at Gurustein’s place, beating him up while someone who looks an awful lot like The Chairman of The Board watches. Back home, she quietly waits for Greg. But Greg isn’t coming. Sally Jupiter has contacted The Comedian, Laurie’s biological father, and he has taken care of Greg. He forces Greg to write a breakup letter which The Comedian delivers(taking a certain smiley face button in the process) and ships him off to Vietnam.

Once again, Darwyn Cooke absolutely scores a winner with this issue and now all the pieces begin to come together, especially the happy face button!  And is that REALLY Frank Sinatra? Why not: Cooke and Amanda Conner did manage to insert four mop tops from Liverpool into an earlier issue. With only one more issue to go in this mini-series, I am very curious to see how we get from here to there in one short issue.

COMEDIAN #3: The Comedian is off in Hawaii and in major hot water with the Attorney General Robert Kennedy. It seems Eddie came back from Vietnam and face d protesters at the airport. Things got nasty and ugly and a riot ensued. But that’s not what Eddie is in trouble for. The bigoted racist sees riot in Los Angeles on television and decides to get himself involved. Before it is all finished, he has managed to incite more than he has managed to quell. He even goes as far as to throw dog excrement at the chief of police. But Eddie doesn’t care. He’s on vacation with a beautiful girl and he’s going to get some.

We get another ho-hum issue from Brian Azzarello. The dialogue is great but the story is boring. He we have The Comedian being dropped into another major event in our history and it becomes a case of showing how much of a total jerk he is. Azzarello seems content on proving something any reader of WATCHMEN already knew: The Comedian got what he deserved when he was tossed out that window! Again, you have to know history to understand what is going on. Azzarello has dropped Eddie into The Watts Rebellion of August 1965. The six-day in the Los Angeles suburb resulted in 34 deaths, thousands injured and over three thousand arrests. So, for the history lesson(or lack thereof…go look it up)we thank you. And we also thank J. G. Jones for continuing to blow the book away with killer art. Let me see: three issues to go-what’s next? My guess is the deaths of Martin Luther King and then Bobby Kennedy himself.

And, as a continued bonus, each issue has two pages from Len Wein and John Higgin’s pirate drama THE CURSE OF THE CRIMSON CORSAIR. which has taken on a new arc. The Evil that Men Do, follows our hero in servitude on the Flying Dutchman. He has to deal with filth, voodoo and the plague. And that’s just the beginning

ZERO MONTH, WEEK ONE

ACTION COMICS #0:  Set five years ago, Clark Kent gets his first job at the Daily Star and promptly orders 200 T-shirts with the now classic 'S' symbol on the chest.  We also see he has been bunking with Jimmy Olsen for a while until he got a place of his own. Apparently Jimmy hasn’t had the easiest life. His mother had been a model, but lost all her money and ended up in the Bowery. Still, he lives fairly well, as his rich father dropped a fortune on him after feeling guilty. Later, Superman stops a crime involving Glen Glemorgan’s gang, but ends up being knocked unconscious by an RPG blast. In the process, a young boy finds him and takes his cape. The boy endures an abusive home life but now the cape protects him and his brother. The boys escape and end up in a rail yard where Superman saves the day and gets his cape back. Lois and Jimmy spy the incident and capture it on film, giving the world the first printed story about Superman. Also, Clark meets his landlady, Mrs. Nyxly and he sees pictures of her nephew Ferlin and her husband, Mystic Mr. Triple X. He was a magician who ended up in a coma thanks to a prank by a rival magician. In the backup, Erik Drekken travels to Smallville to continue the research of Professor Emery Zackro and to try and find the infamous Blake Farm Ghost.  John Blake throws him off the farm but, on his way out of town, Drekker encounters a UFO and is saved by Adam Blake, who was Zackro’s test subject. The Oort-Kind appears to take Adam away, who explains that he was leaving to save many worlds on a list of doomed worlds. And Earth was on that list. Drekker would then continue to do research into the radiation that had provided Adam his power. He also didn’t know what that would lead to eventually.
 
Grant Morrison turns in an interesting little tale here which, on the surface, looks to be all fluff and stuff. And actually has a lot of that. But it also gives us a nice look into the supporting cast, specifically Jimmy Olsen’s life and that of Clark’s landlady. It also features nicely painted art from Ben Oliver. As far as the back-up goes: I consider it fuller from Sholly Fisch, who is responsible for a number of the back-up tales throughout the NEW 52, and Cafu. We get some background on Adam Blake. But, quite frankly, he’s a character I really didn’t care that much about so, for now, I find it a waste of space.
 
ANIMAL MAN #0: We start five years ago, back at the first appearance of the heroes. The Animal Man of that time period lived in the Republic of Congo and is killed by Anton Arcane. The Parliament of Limbs attempt to figure out what to do now that their champion is dead. The decision is to create a new champion and use the next Avatar’s father. That man is Buddy Baker., who is working as a stunt man at the time. On his way home to his son’s birthday party, he sees what he thinks is a UFO crashing. When he investigates the fake ship (the Totems of The Parliament created the vision), he meets the fake aliens (the Tailors masquerading as yellow aliens). Buddy wakes up naked with a spandex suit near him. Once he figures out the mechanics of flying, he heads home and gives Cliff an aerial trip as a present. Over the next six months, Buddy does his fair share of superhero antics while Anton Arcane watches Buddy’s daughter be born; totally aware that she is the next Avatar.
 
Jeff Lemire and Steve Pugh add some cool color to the legend of Animal man. What most fans forget is that the “original” Animal Man is a far cry from the Grant Morrison days. He was created in 1965 and allegedly got his animal powers when an alien spaceship blew up and he became irradiated. That was Pre-Crisis and this is Post FLASHPOINT, so nods to the past are cool but all bets are off as far as his future goes. Animal Man in Grant Morrison’s days was a true Vertigo hero and it looks like he may be again. Only he is merely the protector of the Avatar now.
 
BATWING #0: David Zavimbe fights in the streets of Africa. At an early age, he and his brother Isaac were trained as child soldiers. Isaac was murdered by General Keita and David ended up being raised out of an orphanage by Matu and Rene. Several years later and David is on the Tinasha Police Department. The department is totally corrupt and he has issues with cops trying to give him their collected bribes. A Metahuman named Death Jack attacks Matu and Rene, resulting in her death. David vows to make the criminals and does so with serious and righteous vengeance: sometimes on his own and some times with a team. One night, Batman arrives and offers to assist David. The Dark Knight takes David and Matu back to Gotham City and asks him to join Batman Incorporated, eventually presenting him with the Batwing suit.
 
Judd Winick does a nice job of fleshing out the back story of the Batman of Africa. We now understand why he has anger issues. And I still don’t really care. Sorry, DC: if you’re going to create a character and incorporate them into the batman corner of the universe, you probably want to make them memorable. Let’s not make them lame like this one. Marcus To does a nice job of providing the art, but it still isn’t enough to sell me on the book. And, for what it’s worth, I wasn’t a big fan of the character when he was appearing in JUSTICE LEAGUE INCORPORATED..
 
DETECTIVE COMICS #0: The story begins 10 years in the past as Bruce Wayne is in the Himalayas training with a Zen-Buddhist monk named Shihan Matsuda. Over time, Bruce learns the various disciplines and becomes smitten by Mio, the daughter of the sword sharpener in the village. Shihan continues to warn Bruce that affection and grief will be his downfall. Shihan’s wife advises him otherwise, saying that Shihan had become a recluse because of his lack of emotion. Bruce sneaks out to follow his heart and meet Mio, but she sends him away and wants to meet him at the monastery. bruce agrees and tells her he will leave a window unlocked for her. Later, a hooded swordsman sneaks into the monastery and stabs Shihan through the chest. Bruce fights the attacker and sends the swordsman through a window. When he rips off the mask, he sees that it is Mio, who is dying of her wounds. He discovers it was all a ruse to distract him and that she was paid by Shihan's own wife, who is preparing to finish off her husband when he manages to stab her himself. All three people Bruce had come to love were now dead, bringing Shaihan’s lesson to fruition. In the backup story, it’s seven years ago and Bruce Wayne has been gone for many years. Alfred is dealing a Mr. Shaw who represents the relatives of Martha Wayne. he claims with Bruce out of the picture, the Kane family had a legal right to the Wayne fortune. Shaw tries to bribe Alfred with an actor’s role with the Gotham Shakespeare Company. Alfred gets violent and throws Shaw out. Shortly thereafter, Bruce returns to tell the butler his story and prepare for the future.
 
So now we get a little more of Bruce’s training in the Himalayas, complete with the whole idea of not falling in love complex. Gregg Hurwitz writes a nice story but Tony S. Daniel’s art falls flat. I don’t know if it’s because it has been rushed or because of the inking job that Richard Friend has put on top. It could even be that Pere Perez has added “additional art” to the tale and we’re seeing more of that than Daniels’ own work. As for the back-up, Bruce comes home to start his career and we fully understand the connection between Kate Kane and the Wayne family.
 
DIAL H #0:  Back in the days of ancient Babylon, a sun dial must be correctly positioned at noon for four consecutive days to spell out H-E-R-O in the native language. Mushusso, the great Beast of Babylon,  is poised to attacked Laodice and her people. She uses the sundial to transform herself into Bumper Carla and defeat the beast. Laodice is worshipped by her people and becomes a queen. Many years later, Bumper Carla returns to Babylon to and exacts revenge on Laodice. It seems that Bumper Carla is actually a super hero from a parallel world who was hijacked to this world to fight the Beast of Babylon. While she was gone from hr world, tragedy struck and, with no protector, dire consequences occurred and many died. Carla’s fellow superhero, Slim, sends the now guilty hero off to prison as Babylon mourns its’ queen.
 
I had to read this issue five times to finally get it! Either I’m getting slower and dimwitted as I grow old or this was one doozy of a tale from China Mieville and Ricardo Burchielli. The dial doesn’t’ create heroes? The dial takes them from other planes of existence? That’s absolutely brilliant! The person trades places with no memory when they return. And it’s a theory that you can trace all the way back to Robby Reed in the classic DIAL H FOR H-E-R-O series. This one issue just turned to heat way up on a title that has had people scratching their heads since issue #1. The whole book just got that much more intriguing!
 

EARTH 2 #0: We start six years in the past and three years after the armies of Apokolips invaded Earth. Terry Sloan has joined with the Ternion: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to attack the invaders. At one time there were eight heroes, known as the Eight Wonders of the World but these four are all that is left. Battling Steppenwolf and his minions, Terry exposes Superman to Opal Kryptonite, which drives him insane. Superman attacks his team mates. Terry claims he his doing this because of  a future he saw in an alternate dimension. Batman tries to stop him, but Terry detonates a series of bombs, destroying most of Europe and South America. Terry escapes into the Ninth Dimension while his former partners escape their fates. The tale ends with Terry Sloan mulling the future, which he claims he has already seen.
 
I have to give a great big yawn to James Robinson for this issue. With the exception of introducing Terry Sloan, not the Mister Terrific we all knew and loved (with a different spelling and the NEW 52 Mister Terrific was Michael Holt), and giving us some Fourth World tidbits like Steppenwolf and the minions of Apokolips, there is nothing great about this book. The writing is standard fare, Tomas Giorello does a competent job of mirroring  George Perez and we get some nice looking action sequences. This has been, by far, the weakest issue of the series.
 
G.I. COMBAT #0: The Unknown Soldier learns that there has always been an Unknown Soldier and he experiences their history vividly. And, in the middle of all that, terrorism strikes again, blowing up a plane on takeoff. In thr War that Time Forgot back-up story, a soldier in North Korea ends up battling for survival in a Prehistoric place and time.
 
So the Unknown Soldier is eternal in his own way. Well, that explains a lot and explains absolutely nothing. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti need to stick to Wild West Comics and not war comics because this one is awful. And Staz Johnson’s artwork is uninspired. As far as the back-up, it’s a beautiful Ariel Olivetti painted job with a boring J. T. Krul story…if you can even call it that. It’s 10 pages about a G. I. surviving in the prehistoric environment. Well, in case you haven’t heard, DC Comics has cancelled this title with issue #7. This is the first of their Second Wave titles to bite the dust although it basically got cancelled months ago when MEN OF WAR went down. What’s next, guys? STAR SPANGLED WAR?
 
GREEN ARROW #0: Our tale begins several years ago when playboy Oliver Queen is partying with his friends on an oil rig where his father has him working. He shows off his archery skills to his girlfriend of seven years, Leena,  and his friend Tommy Merlyn. Then the helicopter that is bringing a rock star to the party has been taken over by terrorists. The terrorists wire the platform with explosives, along with several of those on the rig, including Leena. Ollie uses his longbow, shooting through the terrorist leader's wrist and he drops the detonator into the ocean. On the way down, the detonator becomes activated. Everyone is killed in the explosion except for Ollie and Tommy, who is badly burned. Ollie ends up on the shore of an island where he has to forage for food and use his archery skills. A year goes by and Roy Harper finds himself bailed out of jail by Ollie, who is running Queen Industries. Harper had been caught hacking into the company’s main R&D hub. Ollie offers Harper a job and they become partners while Ollie becomes the Green Arrow. Flashing forward to today, a burn patient awakes at the monastery he has been at since he was found. The burn victim is Tommy Merlyn.
 
I’m not a regular reader of this title, as I was totally put off by the dialogue and plot in the first issue. This issue, written by new regular scribe Ann Nocenti, reads much better than the horrendous issue #1, but still isn’t enough to make me want to read this regularly. Freddie Williams II does a good job illustrating the tale; possibly because everyone looks like they stepped out of an Image comic circa 1988. And with this becoming the newest origin of Green Arrow, I find this one exciting but totally miles away from the classic origin with Ollie’s parents killed by lions and raised by his uncle, before becoming lost at seas and training on Starfish Island. The idea of a fallen playboy becoming a hero is Iron Man old and much more believable than this. So…bad news DC: I STILL won’t be reading this title.
 
GREEN LANTERN #0: It’s September 11, 2001 and young Simon Baz and his family watch the attacks on TV. Over the years, the Baz family has endured abuse from people. It’s 2012 and Simon drives a stolen van with a bomb inside. He calls his sister and tells her that there is a safety deposit box and the contents belong to her and her son. He gets caught and is taken to a government prison where he is interrogated.  He explains that he doesn’t know where the bomb came from as he stole the van from someone else. Believing him to be a terrorist, the government agents prepare to torture him. That’s when a malfunctioning Green Lantern ring breaks into the prison and helps Simon escape. Soon Amanda Waller, Batman and Cyborg all know of the new Green Lantern. And what of Hal Jordan and Sinestro? They have survived the Black Hand’s attack and find themselves in a realm of darkness.
 
Geoff Johns hits a home run with this tale of the New Green Lantern who, by the look of the cover, is going to carrying a gun. Interesting! As always, great art from Doug Mahnke with an army of inkers. This title has been one of Geoff Johns’ best works since issue #1. Now we prepare for the RISE OF THE THIRD ARMY running throughout all four Lantern titles.
 
PHANTOM STRANGER #0: Taking the story from the NEW 52 FCBD one shot and adding more details, he (until we can officially call him the Phantom Stranger) tells us how he betrayed his best friend and then tried to commit suicide. He ended up being transported to the Council of Wizards to be dealt his fate. There are two others there with him (read my review of the NEW 52 FCBD one shot) and they make up the Trinity of Sin. He is found guilty and branded with the thirty pieces of silver that he had earned. He woke in a field and a voice told him to put on the robe of the friend he betrayed. From then on he became the Phantom Stranger. Eventually he ends up being directed to former police detective Jim Corrigan who is looking for his fiancee Gwen Sterling who had been taken by a mob boss. He tries to intervene and Corrigan gets shot dead. Corrigan’s “vengeful spirit” comes out of his body to do other things. One of the 30 silver pieces fell from his neck and he realized that every time he served the voice he would be closer to redemption.
 
Take everything that Dan Didio has ever written and put it on top of a very high pedestal because this is the WORST thing I have ever endured from him. I have been a constant defender of his work on titles like O.M.A.C. and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN because he revered the characters. This isn’t reverence this is out and out RAPE!  For those unaware, there are four different speculations on the identity of the Phantom Stranger ranging from Wandering Jew to fallen angel. But Didio makes no bones about who he thinks THIS Stranger is. Six pages into the book and he has tried to hang himself for killing his best friend, begs to be forgiven as “HE would” and has the coins that were a reminder of his greed thrown at him. One page after, and he’s on the “field of blood” and forced to wear “his robe” and carry the necklace of the thirty piece of silver. Okay…even dumbed down, we GET IT. This is Judas Iscariot and he betrayed Jesus Christ, his best friend, for 30 pieces of silver. Now he wanders the earth, wearing the robe and the necklace made from those coins. And then, if that wasn’t enough, he ends up being responsible for Jim Corrigan’s death, creating The Spectre, who promptly tries to wreak vengeance on the Stranger but is called away by the Voice of God(speculating here). But his creation brings the Phantom Stranger one step closer to redemption. Wow! What a tremendous piece of crap! Next issue is Trigon. So…that is going to work out how??? The only high spot in this title is Brent Anderson’s always awesome art. Other than that, this is a steaming pile of poop and a disgraced to a storied character who deserves a better fate than this!

STORMWATCH #0: Adam-One, thought dead since STORMWATCH #5, reveals himself to jenny Quantum and explains the secret history of Stormwatch. We find ourselves in Araby in 1013 where Jenny is Princess Janeen and Merlin himself invites her to join the Demon Knights. Using the power of mathematics, she later battles robot dolphins alongside the Demon Knights.  She is also Countess Jeannie, a crusader who is done in by the Shadow Lords. She is Sister J. during the 14th Century and she uses the power of religion to battle the enemy. And she and Merlin also share some intimate moments. It seems that Merlin ages backwards. It is during this period that the Red Storm appears (didn’t this happen in CRISIS) that the Demon Knights rename themselves Stormwatch. We see her as Jenny Freedom: an African American slave during the 19th Century who had control over Steam and Light. Lastly, we have Jenny Sparks. When all is said and done, she is appointed the savior of Stormwatch as Adam-One tells her that everyone dies someday soon.
 
THANK YOU PETER MILLIGAN for finally giving me a story with some meat to it. While I am not totally happy that Adam-One is Merlin, although we sort of suspected that all along, I do like the way that the team’s history ties into the DCnU. Will Conrad’s art is first rate and tells a good story. And I know, having already heard from fans, that this is not sitting well. How dare Jim Lee tie Wildstorm into DC. Yeah-I’m not totally happy about it either. But here’s my advice: suck it up and deal with it or get out of the books. They are one company and this is how the people running/ruining the ship want it.
 
SWAMP THING #0: It’s 1897 and the current Avatar of The Green, Jack Crow, rescues a young girl from the bitter cold. The girl is actually Anton Arcane-Avatar of the Rot, who proceeds to kill Crow. Over 100 years later, Arcane disguises himself as a scientist named Ross who is working alongside Alec Holland on a Bio-Restorative Formula. Arcane has learned that Holland is due to be the next and most powerful Avatar. Ross finds his way into Alec and Linda Holland’s house and he takes control of Linda’s body.  She opens the vat of Bio-Restorative Formula and sets the houses on fire, causing the flaming Alec Holland to rushed out and end up into the swamp. With Holland dead, the Parliament of Trees is forced to create a replacement. Five years later, Alec Holland returns.
 
What a great issue, rewriting some of Swamp Thing’s history while tying together part’s of his legendary past. But Scott Snyder, with art by Kano, raises as many questions as he answers. Who was the replacement Avatar? Is five years now and, if so, how do we explain Swamp Thing’s past adventures, which he and Abby recall?  Was he the Avatar and this is all just a dream? I cannot wait to see where Snyder runs this. And, despite all the naysayers, I believe he has enough respect for the character not to totally mess it up.
 

WORLDS’ FINEST #0: The tale begins several years ago with Helena Wayne, in her guise as Robin, fighting crime in her own way under the supervision of her mother Catwoman. When Batman finds out, he is less than pleased, even as Catwoman and he share a kiss. Meanwhile Superman trains his cousin Kara in Micronesia, convinced that she will be able to survive the threat of Darkseid, where his wife Lois did not.  back in Gotham, Helena hears a sudden alarm from the Batcave. She suits up and arrives at the scene finding her father kneeling over her dead mother's body. Helena races into a burning building in search of her mother’s killers only to find men with alien weapons. Suddenly, Supergirl bursts through the wall of the building after hearing Batman’s signal which he sent to Superman. The gunmen disappear through a boom tube and the two teens agree to become friends.
 
Just like the monthly book, I get more thrills and enjoyment from reading stories set in the past. This is a cool origin, especially in regards to Helena’s story as Robin and the death of Selena. Kevin Maguire’s art is spectacular as always. I do figure to give issue #5 a shot and see if it improves from the first four. If so, you’ll continue to read my reviews or it. If not, it ends with #5.

DC's NEW 52 Month 12, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #12: We get a partial origin story for Doctor Mist. He was doctor in Uganda when his wife was killed during the civil war He made a deal with Felix Faust to get him a way to master death and bring his wife back. Deadman finds his way back from the Deadlands and he and Zatanna head to Peru to get Mist and Faust while Constantine and Black Orchid head to Slaughter Swamp. We also discover that Constantine caused the death of Zatanna’s father some time ago. Arriving in the Swamp, the duo is under attack by Blackbriar Thorn. Mist and Faust meet with a mysterious man who discovers the books HE wants are in Nanda Parbat. Meanwhile, the mysterious man travels to the House of Secrets and meets with Doctor Occult. He recognizes ther man and allows himself to be murdered to allow the House of Secrets to be passed on. Meanwhile, Madame Xanadu talks with Timothy Hunter about why he gave up magic.

This was a strange, uneven issue this time with the bright spot being the appearance of both the House of Mystery AND the House of Secrets. Not to mention a possible future glimpse of Nanda Parbat. Could Dr, Fate be far behind?  Leave it to Jeff Lemire to keep us guessing. Next issue will be the #0 issue and will feature the true connection between Constantine and Zatanna. And then? We shall see where the second year takes us.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12: The team, those who are able, gathers at the monument for their fallen Russian comrade to pay tribute when they are attacked by Lightweaver’s brother. He gets defeated and sent away. While it looks like the end of the team, Batman tells them they have a new HQ being built and they decided to stay together, minus Batwing and Batman. Booster Gold and Guy Gardner as co-leaders? This should be interesting.

And thus we say goodbye to MY FAVORITE Justice league team. While they have one more appearance in the forthcoming J.L.I. ANNUAL #1, this puts an end to a fun title with a diverse cast. Dan Jurgens, Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan: thank you for making comics fun again!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1: Booster Gold tells the team that the “real” Justice League is going to the Hall of Justice to meet them. What actually happens is he introduces two new members: The Olympian and Blue Beetle. Guy Gardner’s fed up with it all and quits the team. O.M.A.C. gets taken over by Brother Eye and proceeds to trash the League, starting with August General in Iron and the The Olympian, in that order. Beetle gets sent “home” in some kind of Boom Tube transport. That leaves Godiva and Booster, who confesses that none of the Justice League is coming; none of them even returned his phone calls. Booster battles O.M.A.C. one on one and initiates a Skeets Protocol download which separates O.M.A.C. and Kevin. That is when time gets frozen and the future Booster Gold arrives to tell himself that the burgeoning relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman must be stopped. Then both Booster’s pop out of existence. The epilogue has Batman speaking with his creation, Brother Eye. Brother Eye says his programmer is coming and he will destroy Batman and thr Justice League. The tag line says “continued in Justice League in 2013."

This is the final nail in the JLI coffin and the fact the Booster has been eradicated from the Time Stream certainly is a plot point for further consideration. Geoff Johns and Dan Didio do an okay job and throw in a couple of plot threads for future measure. We get a Rip Hunter mention, references to the Global Guardians and Brother Eye refers to Batman as “creator”-all nice kudos to Pre NEW 52 continuity. Jason Fabok handles the art duties and, while he is no Aaron Lopresti, he does a good job on it. Fabok’s next assignment is as the regular penciler on DETECTIVE COMICS, so having him work with Batman at the tale’s conclusion gives us a nice sneak peak. Either way, I bit farewell to this title and look forward to these characters making their way into other DC titles.

NATIONAL COMICS: LOOKER #1: In the old DCU, the character of Looker was Emily "Lia" Briggs and made her debut in Batman & the Outsiders #25. During a mission in Markovia, she became a vampire. After the Outsider book ended, she bounced around the DCU serving in a number of capacities including talk show host. In this universe, Emily Briggs is a vampire but the rest of her tale is far different.

Before being turned into a vampire, Emily Briggs was a supermodel. But being a vampire means no swimsuit photo shoots and that pretty much ends her career, which she blames publicly on Lupus. Thus she begins a modeling agency. At a showcase of Rhodes Royce's designs, her personal assistant Roma tells her two of her models are missing, Esther and Siren. Roma discovers some drug residue and Emily tastes it to find it is cocaine mixed with blood. Memories of many murdered women assault her and she collapses. When she wakes two days later, she is informed that Siren was murdered and mutilated. We get the back-story regarding how she hired Roma and Charles: her two assistants. Emily visits a blind sculptor friend and feels grief that she can’t be with him except as a model. After doing some detective work, she ends up with an rich eccentric art collector named Simon Glass. It turns out he is an incubus who kills supermodels and actresses on an annual basis. The two of them battle and Emily rips out his heart out with her bare hand. Dying, he tells her he knows who turned her. Following his death, Emily save Esther. The issue ends with Emily getting the key to Paul’s apartment for her to attend a one-man art show.

This is such an unusual take on a previously bland character. Ian Edginton does an admirable job with the story, making all the pieces fit, including her history in a single story. Mike S. Miller provides the art and, as always with Miller, it’s sparkles. The front cover is by Guillem Marsh and it is truly a killer!  I would like to see a second take on this character. I don’t know if I could handle a full series, perhaps a mini-series. But I think it would be interesting to work her into the world of either Justice League Dark or Andrew Bennett. As you know, supernatural characters are hot!

NIGHTWING #12:  Dick has a bit of a verbal altercation with Detective Nie regarding Paragon when he realizes this meeting is a set-up. Paragon appears, and causes a cave-in which separates Nightwing from the police. Nie fights his way out of the cave-in and heads off to make an arrest. We learn that Paragon was in a car that Nightwing rescued back in issue #2. But, by saving the Strayhorns who were driving that car, the pair changed their objectives and had their tattoos removed. Paragon murdered them and tried to pin it on Nightwing  to make it a battle cry. Nightwing takes Paragon out and Nie cuts him some slack and lets Dick get away. After the battle, Dick tells Lucius Fox he wants to invest his entire trust fund into the Amusement Mile project. He finds out that Sonia Branch lied to him and was against them being partners. Uncomfortably, they are now partners and she kisses him on the cheek. Meanwhile, Penguin discovers that Lady Shiva is on her way to Gotham to kill off all of organized crime.

And so ends the first year of NIGHTWING. Kyle Higgins thankfully finishes this storyline. This title hasn’t had the pop it should have since the COURT OF THE OWLS  ended. The fact that Paragon’s methods for murdering the Strayhorns go all the way back to issue #2 is cool, but I didn’t care about this character from the start. The only thing is managed to do was introduce Nie as a major character in the title and ultimately give him a chance to re3deem himself by the end. I will see where issue #13 and bey9nd goes before I fully commit to another year of this book.

PHANTOM LADY AND DOLL MAN #1:  Many years ago, reporter Harry Knight and his wife were executed by a crimelord named Robert bender while their daughter Jennifer watched. That daughter went on to become the crimefighter known as the Phantom Lady. Six months ago, we see Jennifer trying to get info on earlier and Jennifer works as a gossip hack while trying to take down Bender's sons, Eli and Cyrus. She wants to prove that Cyrus murdered his own father so she sleeps with him and hopes to dig up some dirt that way. Jennifer is also sleeping with a scientist Dane Maxwell who is working on shrink technology. She asks him to hack Cyrus’ cell phone and what he does is mail it BACK to the mob guy. This ends up badly as Cyrus and his goons show up, shoot Jennifer in the leg and unknowingly cause Dane to get shrunk and become Doll Man.

Oh man: is this book a bummer! Let’s start off with the fact that we have a heroine and role model who trades sex for possible information and trades sex for scientific help. Oh, did I bother to mention that she allows one of her girlfriends to get beat up just to maintain her undercover ruse. Yeah, she’s a piece of work. Shame on both Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, responsible for JONAH HEX, who are usually so much better at their craft than this. Okay, we can all figure that she will smarten up by the end of the mini-series and become more of a role model. But this tramp is not going to be on my reading list past this issue. The best part of the book for me was the Amanda Conner cover.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #12: When last we saw Roy, he was held captive by The Blight. He still is, and continues his tale to them. Starfire has mixed feelings about whether she should rescue her sister or not. Depalo warns her not to get involved with a earthling. Jason admits to Isabel that this is his first outer space date, but she continues to crush on him anyway. Roy convinces the crew to reroute energy from the ship's propulsion unit to life support functions. A Blight transport beam drops the bad guys onto the ship and Roy jumps in front of a beam designed for Starfire. THAT’S how he ended up a prisoner. It turns out that Kommand'r isn’t really a prisoner, Roy grabs her and brings her back to HMSS Starfire. The sisters kiss and make up as they prepare to return to their home planet to battle the blight. Meanwhile, the Blight commander tortures a human colonel and his wife. Before dying, he utters the words "The Thirteen". Rumor has it ‘The Thirteen’ would result in the end of the omniverse. 

“The Thirteen” refers to the Thirteen Scions of Salvation which has been appearing as plot points in many DC books in recent months, specifically in SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1. What is it? How does it relate to Helspont, the Daemonites and many of DC’s “alien” superheroes including Martian Manhunter, Starfire, and Hawkman (all of whom have encounters with Helspont’s minions regarding The Thirteen Scions of Salvation. Other than that bit three pages before the end of the story, it was just an okay issue. Scott Lobdell and Timothy Green II tell a decent story that continues to turn this non-team team into Speedy, Red Hood and his girlfriend in space with the hot Tamaran chick. Oh yeah: no points in stealing the font from KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC for cover lettering!

RED LANTERN #12:  It’s the battle we’ve been waiting for: Abysmus battles Atrocitus. It’s a battle for affection as Abysmus wants to know that his “father” actually loved him when he was created. Atrocitus ends up pulling a “blood seed” from within his son and then feeds him to the Red Lantern cat!  Star Sapphire tries to convince Bleez to leave the Lanterns and join the Star Sapphires but that doesn’t happen. When it’s all over, Atrocitus attempts to restart the power battery and give new life to the Red Lanterns. But bubbling beneath the surface are the original denizens of the planet who will obviously take center stage in a future issue.

Okay, now that we have finished with the whole daddy/son story, can we get back to making this a kick-ass book once again? Peter Milligan’s writing improves and he is getting the feel of these characters. Miguel Sepulveda’s art is still the highlight of this title. Issue #0 promises the origin of Atrocitus. Let’s see how that plays out.

RESURRECTION MAN #12: Mitch ends up in a continuing series of Virtual Reality scenarios where he continues to die so Hooker can investigate his powers. Seeing him being treated like a lab rat, Darryl decides to become a hero and breaks Kim out of her prison to go rescue Mitch. Although he apparently cannot die, Mitch finds a way to kill Hooker. And just when it looks like everything ends find and dandy, Darryl gets his head blown off by a big robot thing that apparently is piloted by…Mitchell Shelley. Now THAT is what I call a cliffhanger!

And thus ends the run of one of my favorite DC titles…for the second time in my comic reading career. You cannot imagine how much I will miss this book. Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Javier Pina bring this series to short but intriguing conclusion which will be ultimately wrapped up in next month’s RESURRECTION MAN #0.

STORMWATCH #12:  We start with busts of Queen Nefertiti appearing all over the world. While the team is trying to gather them up, Martian Manhunter begins mind-wiping members of the team, making them forget that he was part of the team. He gets everyone and goes after The Engineer. In the process, The Shadow Cabinet bring him to The Island of Avalon. He tells them he needs to leave Stormwatch. The Cabinet allows his request as long as he gives them something in the future. The Engineer confesses that she knew what he was up to and was helping him mind-wipe the team. She allows him to mind-wipe her too. And, in case you forgot, Harry Tanner reveals the busts were a distraction and he is using what is left of The Fox as a dimensional transporter. he plans on posing as the fourth Shadow Lord.

Yeah, I’m feeling the waning hours for this title with me. Now it is much closer to being THE AUTHORITY, since Martian Manhunter, a former Justice League member (it went badly) leaves the team. Either make Harry Tanner the big bad guy or don’t. Popping him in for a couple of pages each issue doesn’t work. Where are the characters I know and love. Midnighter and Apollo are a couple. Oh…thery’re not. Jenny is a kid who has threatened to take o ut Midnighter several issues back. Yeah, that storyline was dropped.

Everything I loved about this book in the first few issues has gone away. And after issue #0, that would include me too. And Will Conrad as the artist? Nothing against him…BUT IT’S ANOTHER FILL IN ART JOB! Maybe a monthly schedule for all these titles is too much for these guys. How about 52 BI-MONTHLY titles and maybe we can all be happy.

SUICIDE SQUAD #12: While the team is trying to get free from their captors, Basilisk soldiers show up to rescue them. And they’re being led by Captain Boomerang who has joined the Basilisk fighters and now calls Regulus his leader. Well, not really as we all know Boomerang is only in it for himself. He double crosses Basilisk and leads an attack on Regulus. But then the traitor is revealed (drum roll please). It’s Black Spider. And now the game changes as he sends someone to kill Amanda Waller’s grandmother.

As I expected last month, this was another boring issue. First off, we have a cover that has nothing to do with the story. Amanda Waller meets the traitor…not this issue she doesn’t. Adam Glass has dragged the whole traitor story on too long and I somehow don’t even know if this represents the end of it. Fernando Dagnino is back doing art and it looks great again. But the story is so convoluted that I just can’t go there. This has always been THE NEW 52 book I couldn’t wait to read. Not so much after these last two issues.

SUPERBOY #12:  Superboy continues living the fast life thanks to the money he stole. He ends up partying with the wrong crowd, one of whom is celebrity hottie Dallas Sorrentino. Midway through it all, she gets kidnapped by Kiva The Mistress of the Lost Domain. So it’s up to Superboy, in civilian wear, to come to her rescue. Unfortunately, Kiva reaches into his brain and warps the perception around him. Eventually he decides the only way to fight her is to surrender his mind and something there scares her so bad she collapses. What is behind Dallas and what lurks in Superboy’s soul?

Not a good issue of this series which has been one of my favorite NEW 52 titles since it’s’ inception. Tom DeFalco is now on his own, no longer working off of Scott Lobdell’s plots. And it shows. DeFalco is a legend in the business but he doesn’t seem to have any idea where to go with this character. And that is very disappointing as I expected his work to be as cool as Lobdell’s was. Add in another DC TITLE with a fill-in artist in the form of Robson Rocha and I find myself at the crossroads on yet ANOTHER DC title. What started out so great has now just turned into a pile of bad clichés.

SUPERMAN #12: Lucy Lane shows up at Clark Kent’s apartment, pretty pissed that he has broken yet another date, this time to go bungee jumping. Superman is too busy trying to deal with the E.T. that the Russians have under lock and key. All the creature wants to do is create a gateway to go home. The Russians plan to do what they always plan to do: cover it up. This time, they plan on dropping a nuke on the plant. Superman gets free and gets away from the blast area. Unfortunately lets the Russians know that the facilities the Russians used to capture the creature got destroyed too. Returning home, he and Lucy go bungee jumping off the Bogdanove bridge. 

Okay, we get the inside joke and Jon Bogdanove was a longtime contributor to the Superman titles. The rest of the book? Well, Dan Jurgens still writes like it’s the 1980’s and that’s okay if you like a nostalgic feel to your superheroes. Jesus Merino’s art? It is what it is, angular faces and all. I look forward to see what the Scott Lobdell era has in store for us. 

SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1: We begin with the tale of Daemonite prince Artus being cast out of his people because he was responsible for the genetic decline of their species.  In present day, Clark Kent grumbles about having the sloppy Jimmy Olsen live with him and share the rent. He also whines about how the Daily Planet is no longer a real newspaper since being taken over by Galaxy Communications. And he misses Lois Lane. From here, it’s a battle with Helspont, who trashes the Man of Steel pretty impressively. Superman awakes on Grifter’s ship and must help him, along with Deathblow, defeat Biomass. This puts our hero back on Helspont's ship where he taunts Superman about how his people are killing Daemonite agents all over Earth. As expected, Helspont reveals he was once Artus and he discovered that Earth was the best location for the genetic salvation of the Daemonites. In fact, the metagenes they need are in humans and by having Superman protect them, he is ensuring that the Daemonites will succeed. Before disappearing, Helspont makes mention of Jor-El, leaving Superman more confused than ever.  Meanwhile Martian Manhunter, Starfire and Hawkman all encounter Daemonite emissaries seeking to recruit them to their cause: The Thirteen Scions of Salvation.

The Scott Lobdell era on SUPERMAN begins here. And it’s a pretty bumpy ride. The plot from Lobdell is complicated and convoluted and he lets Fabian Nicieza handle the script which is filled with some neat clichés. Pascal Alixe and Tom Raney handle the art and, to be honest, I would have been thrilled if it was just Raney, as I am a huge fan of his art. What this issue does is set the plot for the next year and beyond as the Daemonites become the signature alien villain in the NEW 52 Universe.

SWAMP THING #12: It’s Part 2 of the ROTWORLD PROLOGUE. Animal Man and Swamp Thing are heading into the Rot down a large bone ladder. Above it all, Buddy’s family and Abby do their best to take down the Rot creatures that are attacking them. Abby is forced to shut down the portal and that is going to strand Animal Man and Swamp Thing with Anton Arcane. Abby knows where the heart of the Rot is and she intends to go there. Arcane informs our heroes that time is handled differently down below and they’ve been in the Rot for year. With that, they find themselves home and the world has indeed been overtaken by The Rot.

Scott Snyder, now getting an assist from Jeff Lemire, need to pick up the pace on this story. We KNOW The Rot is coming and the whole world is going to be afflicted with it. But this is just taking so long to tell this tale. The Prologue should have been a one-off special and issue #12 of ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING should have been the actual START of this epic. Marco Rudy handles the art  for what looks to be an extended run this issue.

TEEN TITANS #12: Wonder Girl is still stuck inside the Silent Armor. Superboy and Red Robin find a way to crack the armor and get Cassie free. Right after that, they get hit with paralyzing gas dropped by a guy named Diesel. He used to be Cassie’s boyfriend and he’s a bit upset over being dumped. He takes the power of the armor from her and claims to now be able to assume his role as the “harbinger of the end of days”. He escapes and Cassie now wants it back. She believes that the fate of the world means she needs to control the armor. In the back-up (yes, we get a back-up), Kid Flash and his new friend Teryx continue the tale started in DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #12. Steg and Dac go on with their plan to free all their lizard brothers and sisters. 

Scott Lobdell comes back with one of his better issues of the last few months. Make Wonder Girl a major player in the mythos…I’m good with that! Brett Booth continues his great looking art! With issue #13 we are promised the origin of the Silent Armor. Do you think it has anything to do with the Silent Knight?

WONDER WOMAN #12: Hera decides that she is going to trade the throne of Mount Olympus to Apollo for the lives of Zola and her child. Wonder Woman and Hermes arrive to do battle with Apollo and Artemis. Zola’s water breaks and Hera confesses that she has no plans on keeping her deal with Apollo. She knows that Zeus will return soon and just take it back. And she tosses Zola into the abyss. Wonder Woman manages to rescue her with Hermes aid. Apollo takes the throne and then begins changing Olympus in his image. Among those changes, he exiles Hera. Wonder Woman sends Zola and Hermes back to Earth so she can deliver her child. She tells Apollo that if Zola’s child is truly the child of the prophecy, she will kill the child herself. Returning to Earth, Hermes delivers Zola’s baby, Hera cries over being exiled and has become mortal. Hermes, the god of thieves, steals the baby who he delivers to Demeter. And, as a fitting finale, we see a wounded man breaks through the ice he was buried under. He puts on his helmet, and enters the Boom Tube. Orion has arrived.

So Orion has arrived. Can Highfather, leader of the New Gods, be far behind? Brian Azzarello spends a year turning this title upside down and ends that first year with a reintroduction like this. Orion becomes the SECOND Fourth World character to debut in the NEW 52 Universe. This a mind-blowing ending to this first story arc and the usual great art from Cliff Chiang. This continues to be my favorite title of all the NEW 52 books.

WORLDS’ FINEST #4: Power Girl and Huntress continue to battle Hakkou the nuclear Man. We learn 45 months ago, the pair were in Rome with Kara breaking into technological research facilities trying to find a way home. She wanted money to build her own research facility in Micronesia. They beat up a bunch of Roman thugs and Helena sees a magazine showing a crossbow and she decides she misses being a superhero. Back in the present, the pair continues to battle with the Nuclear Man. Kara, despite the protests of the Japanese sailors, drags out the nuclear warhead from a US cruiser and she throws it into Hakkou's mouth. The explosion seems blow him up. But the American navy tries to arrest Huntress and she is saved by Power Girl. Flying off, they argue about whom gets top billing in this pair.

Yeah…I really am this close to being done with the title. George Perez, Scott Koblish and Kevin Maguire do a phenomenal job on the art. But Paul Levitz story is leaving me cold. As I mentioned previously, the back story is the best part of the book. Give me issue #0 and I will probably take a gander at issue #5 to see where the story goes. If it drags, it is gone off my list.