DC NEW 52 ZERO MONTH WEEK FOUR

ALL STAR WESTERN #0: We begin on the night that Jonah Hex is born. His father, Woodson Hex,  is roughed up by a gang sent by Colonel William Jennings. His goal is to find and murder fugitive Mormons. Woodson murdered the gang even as his son was born. Many years go by and we see that Woodson has become an abusive alcoholic. One night young Jonah came to his mother’s defense, which ended up with him being beaten before his mother sends the man away. Soon after, Jonah’s mother ran off with a travelling salesman leaving Jonah stuck with his father, who dumped jumped with the Apache in exchange for passage through their lands. Raised as an Apache, he was never accepted, especially by the chief's son Noh-Taute. During their last test of strength, Hex was betrayed by Noh-Taute and battle with the Kiowa tribe alone. Jonah survived the encounter and joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. Eventually, following his being whipped by a Union Colonel, Jonah returned to the Apache tribe. Once again, he was forced to face Noh-Taute again. The Apache cheated but so did Hex who was punished for his actions. The chief agreed to let Jonah live with the mark of the demon upon him. The chief heated a tomahawk and pressed the searing blade into Jonah's cheek. The story moves to present day, Reginald Forsythe offers three thousand dollars to locate the thief who has been stealing a medical formula from Dr. Henry Jekyll. Meanwhile, Rogan McKee, bearing the mysterious formula, returns to Haly’s Circus and gives the formula to his uncle Kirk. And, if that wasn’t enough, a mysterious woman returns to Gotham to get her mother back.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat do a magnificent job of fleshing out the “true” origin of Jonah Hex. The battered mom who runs off with a travelling salesman sounds like a punch line in a joke, but it happens and does so effectively. The drunken father who sells him for safe passage through Apache territory also sounds like a punch line, but it too works beautifully. Betrayed by his Apache brother, branded by his adoptive Indian father, Jonah Hex has an attitude and for good reason. And, not to mention the origin, we get more of the mystery involving Dr. Jekyll plus the mysterious woman in the last panel. Could it be Tallulah Black’s daughter?

AQUAMAN #0: Set six years ago, Arthur Curry’s father, dying following an attack by Black Manta, asks his son to go to Atlantis and find his mother. Arthur leaves the lighthouse and jumps into the sea after being besieged by reporters. He encounters a shark and, using telepathy, makes the shark leave. He also saves a boat trapped in a storm. He tells him of his search for Atlantis and they send him to seek a man named Vulko. When they meet, Vulko kneels before him, calling him the King of Atlantis. He also tells that Arthur’s mother died many years ago. He tells the story of how Tom and Atlanna met, romanced and how Arthur was born. He also tells him how she was forced to marry the captain of the Atlantean Guard and bore a second son, Orm. Vulko believes that Orm murdered Atlanna and Vulko, being loyal to her, fled for his safety. Arthur is given a map and stones from the first king of Atlantis. Then they leave Norway and travel across the sea before finally reaching Atlantis.

Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis do it again and put a great curve in it by having Vulko be on the run and living in the surface world. This is certainly Reis’ best work of his career and Johns actually writes to the comic fan and not a 5^th grader. This is truly the book and the character that he has always needed to be.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #0: Beginning with the bat bursting through his study, Bruce Wayne decides that the world needs a worldwide organization of crime fighters. Despite a certain Mr. Treadwell, who gets arrested for various crimes, Bruce Wayne introduces BATMAN INCORPORATED to the board. From there, it becomes a worldwide jaunt for members. Squire and Knight come on board from England. Dark Ranger joins as he is visited in Australia by Squire. Add in Nightrunner from France and Batman Japan and El Gaucho and, eventually, Batwing, and you have a worldwide enterprise.

Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham bring you the not so secret, secret origin of Batman Incorporated. A less than spectacular outing here and Frazier Irving’s painted style absolutely detracts from what I usually get in a BATMAN INCORPORATED comic. If this was the issue that was designed to make me jump on, I would jump off. Luckily I have been impressed thus far and will continue on with the title.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #0: From the time that Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, Bruce obsessed with finding out why they were killed. Fpor a long time he thought it had to do with his father’s wealth and fame. One night, Bruce sneaks out of the Wayne Manor and wends up bribing a homeless man with his father’s watch to garner information. All that got him was a kick into the garbage and the watch was lost to him. As he grew older, Bruce excelled in academics and the various martial arts. He eventually returned to Park Row to find the cloudy eyed homeless man, who revealed it was Joe Chill who killed the Waynes. And he reluctantly returned the watch to Bruce. After beating up a bunch of bar patrons, Bruce got a gun, broke into Joe Chill’s home and demanded answers. He discovered the man was only looking for his next drink and had no idea how famous the Waynes were. Bruce lowered the gun and soon after went to Tibet to begin his training.

Sheer brilliance from Gregg Hurwitz!  Hurwitz is fitting in nicely to the pantheon of Batman and doing a great job of embellishing the legacy. Not only do we get to see Bruce as he grows up and continues his quest to find his parents’ killers, we get to see him actually carry a gun! What is interesting in almost all the recent revamped origins of Batman ( BATMAN INCORPORATED being the exception) is the lack of the iconic bat vision that encouraged him to become a creature of the night. The art from Mico Suayan and Juan Jose Ryp is quite stylish and fits the story. This is just a really awesome story!

THE FLASH #0: Set five years ago on the anniversary of his mother’s death, Barry visited his father in prison. His father had been accused of Nora’s murder and Barry has constantly promised to prove his innocence. Later on, frustrated by everything he throws his computer through a window, which allows lightning to come in and strike him. He dropped the chemicals he was carrying which burned him while still being struck by the lightning. Barry spent some time in a hospital bed in a coma and dreaming of his past. his most vivid memory was of the spelling B his father took him too shortly after he had been served divorce papers by Barry’s mom. The following day, as Barry was out of the house, he came home to find his mother murdered and his father arrested. This jolts him out of his coma and he finds himself having run to Africa. Three weeks later, he made his debut as a super powered vigilante known as The Flash.

I will admit that I am not a fan of this new version of The Flash. I will also admit that Wally West doesn’t exist in the Universe. I specifically don’t like the new versions of The Rogues. But they don’t appear here, so it’s a moot point. Francis Manapul’s story is fine but it just manages to rehash the classic origin with some new pieces added. At this point, the Speed Force is merely a plot devise for down the road. And Brian Buccellato’s art style doesn’t appeal to me. It isn’t that he can’t draw; I just am not a fan of his angular style. So, while the Zero Issues are designed to be jumping on points for readers, this one doesn’t encourage me at all.

FURY OF FIRESTORM #0:  We begin several months after the Firestorms have been wiped out and Jason and Ronnie have become powerless. Jason is thinking about Professor Stein and how his experiments led to their creation. In a flash, the room is full of balloons and Jason thinks that maybe his powers have come back. Ronnie is not happy about it, as he wishes to have a normal life again. Later, during a football game, Helix crashes, telling Ronnie he can feel the fire within him. Jason tries to help and transforms them both into a single Firestorm. With Ronnie as the body and Jason as the brain, they take Helix into space and cause a huge explosion. They are now literally Firestorm the Nuclear Man.

There is a reason I don’t read this book: I don’t get it. Well, I GET IT and I GOT IT when it was Ronnie and Professor Stein. I don’t like Jason’s character and didn’t when he was introduced. I find him to be the Jason Todd version of Firestorm. Joe Harris’ writing is fine and Yildirav Cinar does an adequate job with the art. But I don’t really understand what’s going on not do I care. Sorry guys: this is NOT a jumping on point for me.

I, VAMPIRE #0: We get Andrew Bennett’s origin in this issue. Once a lord in a wealthy family, he angered his father and mother by running away with a woman named Mary Seward. As he runs away to be with her, the carriage he is riding in has an accident, killing the driver and injuring Andrew. A dark, cloaked figure approached and Andrew, fearing for his life, thrust a dagger into his chest, to no avail as the man didn’t even bleed. About to die, he asked the man to tell his story. The creature had made himself a promise many years before that if he ever fed on a true innocent, he would be cursed to spend his days “locked in a vacuum of naught, eternally.” Andrew tries to convince the man, known as Cain, that he was the innocent, but to no avail. The stranger transformed into a wolf and attacked. Upon sinking his fangs into Andrew, Cain realized that there was enough innocence in the boy to trap him forever. Soon Andrew found himself reborn and hungry. He wrote a letter to Mary saying they could never be together.

But we DO KNOW they eventually came together, as he was responsible for turning her. This is a great tale of virtue, revulsion and misfortune, which is why the tale ends with lines from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino turn in another spectacular issue that just continues to make Andrew Bennett the most heartbreaking vampire in comics…yes, even more so than Michael Morbius!

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #0: Some time ago, apprentice magician John Constantine went to New York City to learn from Nick Necro. Necro had studied magic from the greats including Zatara and Baron Winters. Constantine tracked Necro down at the Oblivion Bar. Necro had no interest in speaking with Constantine, especially when his girlfriend Zatanna when on stage. Unfortunately, Constantine also took notice of the girl. Constantine saves the pair from a member of the Cult of the Cold Flame and Necro agrees to train him. Necro goes on a search for the legendary Books Of Magic, seeking to control all magic. Zatanna and Constantine become involved in a relationship. Nick ends up being caught by the Cult and Constantine and Zatanna go to save him. In actuality, it was a trap, trading the couple for the Cult’s knowledge. In the end, Constantine ended up sending Necro to Hell as he died. John took the one thing he needed to finish the tale: Necro’s trench coat.

Is this the true origin of John Constantine? Probably not!!! I also see Constantine as that mysterious warlock who has made a career of hanging out in Vertigo books. This guy is Constantine light, kind of what Keanu Reeves made him when he did the movie. But the origin story isn’t totally hackneyed and you can owe that to the talented Jeff Lemire. The artwork is awesome too, as handled by Lee Garbett and Cam Smith. A nice break from what has been a real roller coaster ride as of late for this title.

NATIONAL COMICS: ROSE & THORN #1: Rose Canton wakes up screaming to discover she is covered in someone else’ blood. And she has a new tramp stamp tattoo of a rose that says Thorn on it. At school, the popular girls now talk to Rose and tease her about being with a boy named Troy. Confused and having voices in her head, she goes to science and passes out when a photo of her kissing Troy gets posted online and circulated in class. Rose passes out and is taken to the nurse by her best friend Melinda, who reminds her that Rose tried to kiss her the other day. She also advises her to try again as she might be more receptive. She jumps in a taxi and heads to Troy’s house while looking at Thorn’s Facelook page. It’s obvious Thorn is Rose and the pictures there are highly embarrassing. Arriving at troy’s house, she has visions of being tattooed by Troy’s father and then her turning the tables on him. He arrives shortly still bearing the scars of the tattoo she put on his chest that says MINE (that explains the blood). Rose races home and receive a video message from Thorn. She tells her that Troy’s dad was someone responsible for what happened to “their” dad and Thorn is going to make them all pay. The issue ends with troy showing up.

 

To say this is one schizophrenic roller coaster ride would be a major understatement. This book has as many turns in it as a snake and is twice as creepy! I absolutely love it! The original Thorn was also Rose Canton and fought The Golden Age Flash. When she was cured, she actually married Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott and bore two children: Jade and Obsidian. She also eventually committed suicide after her split personality returned. In the Sixties, Robert Kanigher rebooted the character making Rose revert to Thorn while she slept, allowing her other personality to hunt member of The 100, who killed “their” Metropolis Policeman father.  I used to love that Sixties version but this one is so creepy it totally rocks my world. Author Tom Taylor is no fly by night author wither, having served time writing a bunch of Dark Horse STAR WARS titles, plus winning the 2012 'Stan Lee Excelsior Award'. Art by Neil Googe is quirky and the cover by Ryan Sook is salaciously sexy!!! DC: cancel something to make way for this book! So far, the NATIONAL COMICS books have been winners!

RED LANTERNS #0: We begin some time ago when Atrocitus was simply a husband and father named Atros. But he also has to endure the death of his wife and daughter at the hands of the Manhunters. This warps the loving family man and he proceeds to kill as many Manhunters as possible with his bare hands. Soon Atros is aligned with the Four Demons. Quill, Roixaeume, Orphram and Dal-Xuaix and they proceed to wage war against the Guardians of the Galaxy. They form the Empire of Tears and Atrocitus seduces Roixaeume to learn the secrets of Blood Prophecy. Eventually the Guardians capture the five and imprisoned them on Ysmault. Atrocitus, following a Blood Prophecy, ends up killing the demons and constructs the Red Lantern Power Battery. Then, conducting the Blood Prophecy again, he sees his future Lanterns:  Bleez, Skallox and Zilius Zox.

This rebooted origin is an interesting if less than totally faithful to the original origin surrounding BLACKEST NIGHT. The keys points are here: Atrocitus’ family was murdered by the Manhunters, he did hook up with the Four Demons and they did form the Empire of Tears. But Atrocitus was responsible for mortally wounding Abin Sur which led to him crashing to Earth. Despite that missing piece, it was an entertaining story by reliable Peter Milligan, with art by Adrian Syaf. Suffice it to say, this is my favorite issue thus far of Milligan’s run.

THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #0: Set on the planet Thanagar, Thal Provis sits on the throne. Ruling with him are his daughter Shayera and his son Corsar, but Katar Hol was made part of that family as he is dating Shayera. Not long after a peace meeting, the Daemonites left a disease which left the Thangarians wingless. With Thal’s death, Corsar took the throne and made plans to mine for nth metal. Mining continues for some time and Corsar ends up with the nth metal forming a blade on his arm. The nth metal binds itself with Katar and he gets his wings back. Katar and Corsar end up in a battle over Thal’s final wishes and Corsar is killed. Blamed for his death, Katar is now a hunted man who escapes to Earth. We flash to the present and see Shayera preparing to strip the nth metal from Katar form.

I have only reads two issues of this series: issue #1 and this one. Neither has greatly impressed me. And this origin pulls me light years away from the whole Hawkman and Hawkgirl resurrecting through the centuries. Sure, we have Thangar again, but not like this. Hawkman is running for his lives…haven’t I already see this happen this month? Say goodbye to Rob Liefeld with this issue as he officially makes his exit from DC in a huff and with a plethora of Tweets. Joe Bennett’s art is the nicest thing about the issue and that says nothing to me. Bennett is good, but I long for Joe Kubert!

SUPERMAN #0:  Jor-El is beneath the surface of Krypton and confirms his theories that the planet will be destroyed soon. But, on his way back topside, this green mass begins eating his suit and destroys any evidence. Even though he attempts to save it, a group of crazy Kryptonians want the planet to be destroyed in what they call The Cosmicide. Lara and Jor-El fight back and sent the bad guy to the Phantom Zone. And Superman knows this because he was there. Meanwhile, a herald blows the Horn of Confluence signaling…?

This is one big mess! First off, how does Kal-El get to witness the whole Jor-El and Lara become action heroes when he wasn’t there? Right after Jor-El gets home from his underground exploration, Lara tells him she is pregnant. Second, Scott Lobdell just phoned this script in because it strikes me as more filler than anything else. Greg Rocafort is the new artist? I can do without this as it’s too artsy to convey much of anything but art for art’s sake. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah: the herald and the Horn? Apparently they are heralds for an ancient entity called Oracle and this ties back to both early STORMWATCH and SUPERMAN issues. This isn’t the FANTASTIC FOUR and he’s not the Silver Surfer. What a horrible, horrible issue!

TALON #0:  We get the origin story of Calvin Rose. At a young age, he ran away from home, after being repeatedly abused by his father and joined Haly’s Circus and became an escape artist. When he was thirteen, he auditioned for someone who was connected to the Court of Owls. After months of training, he was given two final tasks. His first was to retire another Talon by slitting the man’s throat. Then he was told he would have to spend days in the labyrinth to prove himself to the Court. Calvin Rose was an escape artist, so he managed to escape the maze. The Court sent him to kill the 23 tear old daughter of a recently deceased CEO. But he arrived to see she had a two year old daughter. At that point, he quit the Court and became a wanted man.

Except for the fact that he is a former Talon and the Owls tie into Batman mythos, I had nothing to say about this book that would make me want to buy it. Scott Snyder did a wonderful job of crafting the whole legacy and legend of the Owls but this just strikes me as just another clichéd man on the run story. There really was nothing here that he or James Tynion IV wrote that made me thrilled to read this book.  I’ve have been here before, just on television alone: RUN BUDDY RUN, THE FUGITIVE…even MIDNIGHT RUN. This is a plot device that is long overused! On the plus side, art by Guillem March is awesome as always. Still, nothing here makes me want to continue past issue #1,

TEEN TITANS #0: This issue focuses on Tim Drake: an Olympic hopeful specializing in gymnastics. He had also been working on discovering Batman's secret identity and had decided that the Gotham Aviary was Batman's base. Batman arranges to meet him there and explains that all of the clues he had stumbled upon were planted. Batman warned him to stay away and give up his search. This only made Tim search harder and he used his hacking ability to steal all of Oswald Cobblepot’s fortune. Batman arrived in time to rescue Tim and decides that it’s best to put his parents in the Witness Protection program. They agree and ask Batman to watch over Tim. He told Tim he would take him on as the new Robin, but Tim needed to follow orders. Arriving in the Batcave, he decided NOT to take on the identity of Robin, in respect for Jason Todd. He designed his own costume, and took the name Red Robin.

Scott Lobdell and takes an interesting turn on the history of Timothy Drake, specifically regarding his athleticism and his parents. In the old DCU, Tim was in the audience when the Flying Grayson plunged to the deaths. Tim became an orphan when his mother died and his father was killed by Captain Boomerang. To date, he has not been adopted by Bruce Wayne, n or has he watched his girlfriend die (or even have her introduced into the NEW 52 Universe). Brett Booth does his usual awesome job on art.

VOODOO #0: Pricilla Kitaen believes she had been abducted by aliens and wakes in a vat, connected to life-support systems. She breaks free and learns that the aliens are looking to create sleeper agents. She gets caught and realizes she has developed wings and claws and the urge to kill all humans. She escapes through a window of the spacecraft and uses her wings to fly. The aliens give chase but are taken out by The Black Razors, who also manage to capture Pricilla. The aliens decide to clone their creation who is given the identity of an exotic dancer. Flash forward to today and Pricilla, now known as Voodoo, is joining forces with Cole Cash( Grifter) to stop the Deamonite invasion. 

Okay…so the exotic dancer in issue #1 WASN’T this character?  No, as I discovered from searching various spots online, Pricilla is the REAL KIDNAPPED HUMAN while Voodoo, specifically the exotic dancer from issue #1, is the clone who apparently now rules the Daemonites that live on Europa. And she’s pissed, as she seeks revenge on the Helspont (remember him from Superman?), the Daemonite lords, and poor Priscilla who was offered a job with the Black Razors but would rather work with Grifter. Well, someone should tell her she no longer has a book as this is the official last issue. Someone should also tell Joshua Williamson this is a confusing mess. But Sami Basri gets high marks as the art rocks!