BEFORE WATCHMEN MONTH 5

MINUTEMEN #5: Beginning in 1947 with the death of Dollar Bill, the team goes through a slow decline. Sally Jupiter gets married and has sex with Edward Blake during her wedding reception. later, the team attain the greatest victory at the Statue of Liberty with the help of two Japanese ex-patriots trying to defeat the countrymen. Sally's daughter is born and the government forces the team to disband. Finally, Hollis continues to look into the child murders and ends up finding a secret too overwhelming for even him.

Darwyn Cooke has taken this title and these characters to an incredible new level. This is truly the best title in the series. I also am forced to give out a big slap in the head to DC Editorial by giving us Chapter Seven in the WIDE WERE HIS DRAGON WINGS chapter of THE CRIMSON CORSAIR...but they end by saying: TO BE CONTINUED. WHERE??? The answer...

RORSCHACH #3:  Rorschach continues to fight crime while The Bard continue to cut up women. Walter gets to make a date with Nancy at the diner, but he never gets there as he ends up in a battle with Rawhead and his men. What's worse, Nancy meets a dark stranger who may not be the night in shining armor he pretends to be.

Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo brings us another highly disturbing, albeit penultimate chapter in the tale of the masked vigilante. The art is gooey and gritty and Azzarello paints a picture of a city on the edge. In addition, DC Editorial gets another WTF shout out from me as they give us Chapter Eight in the WIDE WERE HIS DRAGON WINGS chapter of THE CRIMSON CORSAIR...but they end by saying: TO BE CONTINUED. And again I cry-WHERE??? That is answered below...

DR. MANHATTAN #3:  Jon Osterman reflects on those moments in his life that lead up to his evolution into Dr. Manhattan. We see images from his past including the death of his mother at the hands of the Nazis, his meeting and involvement with Janey Slater and concluding with that fateful day in 1959.

J. Michael Straczynski fleshes out Osterman's past and does so by pulling out a prop from BIG BANG THEORY and coupling it with a famous line from the movie SEVEN. Does it succeed? Not for my taste. Although Adam Hughes artwork continues to blow me away! Added slap in the head to DC Editorial by giving us Chapter Nine in the WIDE WERE HIS DRAGON WINGS chapter of THE CRIMSON CORSAIR...but they end by saying: TO BE CONTINUED. Guys: WHERE??? That might make life easier on all of us if you sent us to the book that FEATURED the next chapter! My assumption is that this is the next to last chapter because the next tale we get is in...

MOLOCH #2: Moloch attempts to make a new life for himself by working for Adrian Veidt. Along the way, he is sent to visit Janey Slater and deliver her a package of special cigarette that Adrian has designed. But, unknown to Moloch, they were designed to give her cancer. And poor Moloch finds himself suffering from the same disease. Then, one night, Edward Blake shows up and confesses to his former enemy. Not long after, the Comedian dies in a fall from his apartment.before it is all said and done, Edward Jacobi figures out Adrian Veidt's grand plan and it costs him his life.

Welcome to the final end of Moloch. This two issue series got better as it progressed. We see the full machinations of Adrian Veidt and poor Edward Jacobi finds himself an unwitting player in the grand scheme. J. Michael Straczynski and Eduardo Risso do a nice job of bringing this character to his final destiny. The book also features the final chapter of the Crimson Corsair saga, continued from who knows where(as it doesn't seem to flow from Chapter Nine to this...it really seems like something is missing!) as it is simply called CONCLUSION. I see it as a poor excuse for DC to put out those chapters as one big book(it will appear in the collected OZYMANDIAS, along with DOLLAR BILL) with bonus stuff and charge a ridiculous price just so you can read the story all at once.
 
OZYMANDIAS #5: Inspired by THE OUTER LIMITS, The Architects Of Fear, Adrian Viedt decides to create his own alien to scare the world into peace. In the end, he creates a hybrid Lynx he names Bubastis. Meanwhile, he orders Marla to have several buildings built on a small tropical island where he feels he can disappear. In 1971, President Nixon orders Dr. Manhattan into Vietnam, to end the war. At this point, Veidt feels Nixon has crossed the line and holds a press conference where he reveals his identity to the world and resigns as a superhero. The masked heroes get involved in the Police strike of 1977 and Veidt dons his costume yet again to help in the fight. In the end, The Keene Act is passed and superheroes are banned. Although Adrian Veidt may have one last trick up his sleeve,

Len Wein and Jae Lee bring us a rather complex penultimate chapter to this tale of the smartest man on Earth. Veidt always seems to be one step ahead of the world, even after the trump card known as Dr. Manhattan comes into play. But the whole idea that he creates an alien and then doesn’t truly use it to bring about peace is confusing. Is this a plot line that just stops? Honestly, Moore has always mentioned seeing the Architects of Fear episode and thinking how it paralleled his tale. But Wein doesn’t use the idea for more than a few pages. I guess it was just his way of tying this series to that one.
 
COMEDIAN #5: Edward Blake helps Benway escape from behind enemy lines deep in the jungles of Vietnam. We also get lots of images of the war, including the Mai Li Massacre, that apparently he was involved with. They arrive in a village and one soldier, tired of the horrors of the war, commits suicide. Just as the pair are ready to leave the jungle, a helicopter comes in and kills Benway. Meanwhile, the Comedian's methods become hand delivered to Robert Kennedy.

This title can't end soon enough. What started out so grand has become a parody of itself. We see Edward Blake setting foot in every possible setting during this tumultuous time in Modern American history. And it has become trite and predictable. Brian Azzarello's dialogue is great, but it is just a little too preachy for me. I LIVED watching the war on TV, Brian. And having a cover with an image stolen from a World War II vintage LIFE magazine is just poor. SHAME ON J.G. Jones!

DC's NEW 52 Month #16, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE #16: This issue begins where AQUAMAN #15 left off with Aquaman ready to go to war with the League because they are interfering with Atlantean business. Aquaman knocks Superman out in the process and then proceeds to have a verbal battle with Batman, who he calls Bruce in front of everyone. So, as the Atlantean invasion continues, Cyborg is trying to rescue Dr. Shin from Aquagirl. He needs to get to the League quickly as Orm has taken out the entire League and encased them in solid water. But before he does, he visits his father at S.T.A.R. Labs to have his human lung removed so he can battle underwater. But before that happens, he contacts the heroes of the world to assist, including Goldrush, Vixen, Element Woman and Black Lightning, among others. In the back up, Sivanaus is still collecting Sins and Black Adam finally confronts Shazam. 

Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis move the THRONE OF ATLANTIS story along nicely as we race towards the next chapter in AQUAMAN #16. I’m pretty excited to see some of these heroes make their NEW 52 debut, like Vixen. I hope that we will get to see red Tornado and the Metal Men as both T.O. Morrow and Will Magnus are referred to. At the same time, I give a BIG SLAP to Geoff Johns for the dumbest thing I have seen since the dialogue in issue #1. Superman gets knocked out by Aquaman? Are you kidding me? Then he blurts out Bruce’s name in front of his brother? Yeah: nothing like ruining someone’s secret identity now! Regarding the SHAZAM tale: it needs to be a regular series. And this issue’s art looks much cleaner than previously. I think Gary Frank has finally been able to catch up and not rush through his stuff.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #16: Poor Boston Brand. He was dead, then he was alive and now he’s dead again and has to fight a fiery creature who wants a tool for Deadman to get through. He just powers through and that is the end of that problem. Meanwhile, Zatanna and Tim Hunter learn from the creatures of the Wild Underground that Tim is expected to be the ruler of this place as his ancestor, The Hunter, was once a ruler here. Vikar is doing a great job of taking apart the team. Black Orchid is an elemental shambler. Madame Xanadu is aging rapidly and John Constantine can no longer lie. So, with nothing to help them, they are forced to surrender. But, before Vikar can bring them to the Network, Epoch is struck by global tremors. Obviously, something is terribly wrong here. Back on Earth, Dr. Peril realizes that the tremors are crossing through the portal. If he doesn’t close it and trap the team in Epoch forever, this could lead to Earth’s doom.
 
Things certainly don’t look good for our team of supernatural superheroes. How are Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes going to paint them out of this corner? Will Mikel Janin be around to help them?  And when all is said and done, will the team ever be the same again? Tune in next month for all the answers…or at least a bunch of them.

NIGHTWING #16: The Joker has killed Jimmy Clark and Raya Vestri and Dick Grayson is completely convinced that the villain knows the identity of the Bat-Family. A message was carved onto Raya’s stomach directing Nightwing to Amusement Mile. When he arrives there, it’s Joker’s voice on the PA system that directs him through the park. He taunts him, telling him he doesn’t understand why Nightwing would come back to Gotham after so many years being Robin. He ends up in a football field, where he finds the corpses of former Haly's Circus performers. The Joker detonates a bomb that fills the place with Joker Gas. Despite the toxin, Nightwing assaults Joker who stabs our hero with a screwdriver from his tool belt. The entire population of Haly's Circus, including young Christina Sorrano, is affected by Joker Venom. Nightwing passes out and when he wakes, he sees the Joker with a bloodstained dinner platter.

I have nothing to say about this issue except that it is shear brilliance. This Joker is about as sick as he has ever been and BATMAN #17 is going to show us just how demented he is.
 
PHANTOM STRANGER #4: The Stranger, in his alter ego, finds himself stuck clothing shopping with his wife. He feels a shift on the “perceptual and energetic plane” and realizes his wife has been abducted. Shortly after, Constantine and Justice League Dark summon him to the House of Mystery, as the wily Brit wants the Stranger to join the team and take part in the upcoming War of the Three. Wanting no part of this, the Stranger attempts to leave. Frankenstein attempts to stop him and has his arm ripped off for his troubles. Deadman tries to possess him, but he is too pure and the ghost man is bounced out of the body. Sending his teammates outside, Constantine and the Stranger talk amongst themselves regarding the situation at hand. The Brit also reveals a missing silver coin from the chain around the Stranger’s neck. Without it, he can never obtain redemption. With that, John sends the Stranger back to the mall, where he learns his wife is truly gone. Teleporting home, he finds the hung bodies of his children’s baby-sitter-they too are missing. Pandora arrives and puts the blame on the Spectre. 

As you may know, I have hated this book since the first issue. But I have hung on because I wanted to see how badly it would mess with such an iconic character and prayed for something better. Well, we finally have gotten a LITTLE better and here’s why. Dan Didio, who wrote the horrendous first few issues, is now only credited to plotting the book. J. M. DeMatteis, whose credits are long and well respected, is now writing the script and that means the dialogue isn’t as dopey as it was. My other complaint was that Brent Anderson art was looking incredibly sloppy. But that too has been rectified as Phillip Tan and Rob Hunter and inking his work. The wait may have been worth it. With an upcoming battle with The Spectre looming, this title may surprise yet!

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #16: Arsenal, Starfire and the Teen Titans get attacked by a gang of homeless people affected by Joker Venom. Wonder Girl joins in and help hold off the gang. They also agree they should work together to find their missing teammates: Red Robin and Red Hood. Arsenal analyzes a blood sample and discovers that a nearby warehouse has the needed chemicals to make an anti-toxin to cure the vagrants. While the Titans and Starfire go to the warehouse, Bunker and Arsenal hold off the crowd. Roy flashes back to a time when Killer Croc' had dragged him into the sewer and gave him a place to stay, as long as he stayed in Alcoholics Anonymous. At the warehouse, the Joker left a bomb for them but Bart gets them all to safety and some of the counter-synthetics. With his super speed, Bart administers the anti-toxin. Elsewhere, Deathstroke has been hired to kill Red Hood and his companions. And Hugo Strange holds a book signing for his latest publication. Lastly, the Joker has a special platter for Jason Todd.

Okay…the race to the conclusion is here. This somewhat silly chapter filled with Joker Zombie vagrants and the debate about whether to kill these homeless people or not. At least gives us some Roy Harper back-story. Instead of being a junkie, he is an alcoholic. And he is helped by Killer Croc? Interesting! And Hugo Strange shows up as an author? Also interesting! We get some fun, teenage dialogue from Scott Lobdell and some Image infused artwork from Timothy Green II and Wayne Faucher. Let’s see how well the book stands up AFTER this crossover.

RED LANTERNS #16: Atrocitus takes out an Alpha Manhunter and gets the rest of the manhunters on Ryutt to come to his aid and follower his lead. They eventually end up on Maltus where they discover the ghosts of the past, one of whom appears to be alive. That would be Krona. Meanwhile, on Ysmault, Ratchet, the Guardian of the power battery, discovers that the planet is a vampire planet sucking the energy out of the battery. And,. In the process, confronts Roixaeume, who Atrocitus supposedly killed in RED LANTERNS #0. And Rankorr and Bleez confront the perosn who killed Rancorr’s grandfather. Bleez spits hot blood into his spleen to make him suffer. Rancorr is much more direct, kills him, and then has to deal with a construct of his grandfather berating him. Bleez tries to get romantic with him and he rejects her. A rejected Bleez means trouble for everyone.

Where is this book going? Peter Milligan again tries to recapture his earlier glory as a writer,  but this isn’t the book. The only truly interesting character in the bunch is Bleez and that’s because she is a viscous two faced Lantern. We seem to have forgotten most of the Red Lanterns and now only focus on Bleez, Rancorr and Atrocitus. By the way: editorial drops the ball again. The cover says that Miguel Sepulveda is the artist on the issue but that’s wrong. Andres Guinaldo and Bit(I kid you not) are the guest penciller and inker this month. And the book hasn’t looked this great in a while!

SUICIDE SQUAD #16: We begin with Deadshot, allegedly dead, waking in the Belle Reve infirmary. Amanda Waller tells him that, although Floyd never misses, he missed his heart by an inch. Waller also tells him how Harley risked her life to get the entire team out alive, including killing Grey Lorna's with her own electrified tail. Waller leaves and Lawton demands that Dr. Visyak tell him the truth. She warns that he should also know by now that she cannot tell him anything. Later, Deadshot visits Harley in her hospital bed. She wakes and the pair fight strongly with each other, whispering that Waller is watching them and they need to make the fight look real. She has even gone as far as to fit Harley with specially designed contact lenses and encourages Floyd to break her nose. Waller spies on the rest of the team. Iceberg is some kind of ice cocoon. El Diablo has decided to embrace Satan instead. After being tested, it seems Black Spider betrayed the Suicide Squad of his own accord. Waller then sends Harley and Deadshot on their next mission, along with Yo-Yo and Voltaic, who was killed by Deadshot a few issues back. They are sent to Chinatown to find the Chang Gang and kill their leader, Red Orchid Red Orchid is also Yo-Yo's sister.

Once again, Adam Glass delivers the goods, this time with Henrik Jonsson providing the art. I so love this book, as it’s a fun ride through weirdville. This is NOT the SUICIDE SQUAD title that I matured with. This is a team of major misfits banding together for their own good. And a romance between Deadshot and Harley? That may mean problems in the future when Mr. J. hears about that! While this Amanda Waller is about 50 pounds lighter than her DCU predecessor, she is just as sneaky. There is more than meets the eye here and the fact that she was in TEAM 7 just means she knows how to work things. As always, this is a highly recommended read.

SUPERMAN #16: We begin many years ago on Krypton, where Jor-El and H'El were finishing the construction of a manned spaceship. In the present, at the Fortress of Solitude, H'El and Supergirl, still within the Fortress of Solitude, finish preparations of their ship. Superman and the Justice League continue their attack on the Fortress, finally making their way inside. With the completion of the star chamber, H'El claims to feels sorry to sacrifice the human race to help Krypton be reborn. Superman arrives and attacks H'El as Supergirl tries to stop him. Superboy attacks Supergirl and the Justice League finds itself outside the Fortress as H'El relocated the Fortress. The star chamber activates, awakening the Oracle which prepares to descend upon Earth and destroy it.

YAWN!!! I’m sorry: I find this to be the most boring of crossovers. Maybe I am being too picky,. Maybe I should be reading ALL the pieces in SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL. Maybe I am just too blown away by DEATH OF THE FAMILY and THRONE OF ATLANTIS and find this to be…well, BORING! How do the heroes win? Did I even care. And I STILL can’t get past Kenneth Rocafort’s art. PLEASE give me someone who doesn’t just digitally paint!

SWAMP THING #16: Swamp Thing has learned that Batman has fallen victim to The Rot but was prepared for the Swamp Thing’s arrival. He sees a video recorded by Bruce Wayne where he begs Swamp Thing to finish his work. Barbara Gordon, injected with the Man Bat Serum agrees to lead Alec to their destination:  Arkham Asylum. When they arrive, Barbara reveals that Batman had been working on a version of the Bio-Restorative Formula to be used to fight The Rot. Alec adds his own qualities to the formula but his very presence has attacked Arcane’s army, including Giganta, who begins breaking down the barrier. The weaponized formula ends up being put into a Bat-Bot tank which is now weaponized. Alec straps on the harness Bane used to inject his Venom and the populations from Arkham are also ready to attack Arcane's forces. In the parallel tale, set a year ago, we learn that Abby was in Blestemat trying to contact the Parliament of Decay. What happened was Arcane presented the Parliament of Decay with Abby's head, torn from her body with her spine still attached.
 
Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette bring the gore to the top with this last, grisly and totally shocking panel! I guess this answers the question if Abby survived the last year. Of course, we have to expect all of this to be corrected when Animal man, Swamp Thing and the teams defeat Arcane. But I still wonder how all of this is going to flow back into regular continuity. Come back next month as ANIMAL MAN #17 and SWAMP THING #17 are released on the same day and we will have our answers.

TEAM 7 #4: Eclipso has possessed Slade Wilson, the man who will be Deathstroke, and the rest of the team are ready to turn on him. They get saved by Essence, who convinces them to run while she distracts him. Cole Cash stays behind to help her, but she disappears and he finds himself alone against Wilson. Cash unleashes a bomb upon Eclipso and runs, taking the diamond with him. He catches up with the rest of the team and explains that he has the diamond. Essence appears, saying this may help them free Wilson. She provides them with a sword that she claims will weaken Eclipso so he can be returned to the diamond. The villain appears and Fairchild impales him with the sword, causing the spiriut to leave him and head towards Cole’s body. Back home, Lynch puts the Black Diamond and then visits Slade, suggesting he volunteer for Project Majestic.

Justin Jordan and Jesús Merino give us a great, action packed conclusion to their piece of the Black Diamond Probability. But all their efforts seem to be a moot point as this title has been given the axe in May, along with DEATHSTROKE, FURY OF THE FIRESTORM, THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN, RAVAGERS, and SWORD OF SORCERY. I don’t have a lot more to say about that. While this has not been a great title, it has been fun to see some of DC’s major players in the NEW 52 in the “good old days”.

TEEN TITANS #16: The Joker has kidnapped Tim Drake and Jason Todd and he has a surprise for them. He presents their kidnapped “fathers”, tied up and bags upon their head. The deal is to fight to the death to save their dad. And that’s what they do. Up to a point and then Jason unloads his pistol into the villain. Or so it seemed. The body suddenly erupts with gas, knocking the pair out again. They will be awake shortly, as it is almost time for dinner and or boy the Joker has a serving platter ready. Meanwhile, Trigon is getting ready to unveil the “Black Bird of Terror”-Raven.

Scott Lobdell, who plotted it, and Fabian Nicieza, who is responsible for the dialogue, does an adequate jobs on this issue. But when did they get to be “like brothers”. I didn’t even think they liked each other. And we have Brett Booth’ typically knockout art throughout. I love his style and it adds a certain amount of flair to this book that even the cheesiest dialogue can’t kill. And what the *&%^ is under the platter lid? We will find out soon, everything comes to it’s climax in BATMAN #17.

THRESHOLD #1: This is the story of an Intergalactic game show called THE HUNTED. Jediah Caul, renegade Green Lantern, is wandering through a the city of Tolerance when the word goes out that he can be murdered. At this point, everyone on the street pulls out weapons and begins to hunt him. An alien named Ember leads leads him  to the sewers where they can hide. She is another of The Hunted and tells him that many of them have set up safe zones they call Blind Points, meaning the live feeds can’t find them there. Meanwhile we meet two more of The Hunted: Ric Starr Space Ranger and Stealth.  In the back up, Orange Lantern Larfleeze is writing a book about himself and the adventure goes from there.

Okay, despite having Keith Giffen writing this, the book goes nowhere fast! I was a huge fan of Ric Starr when I was growing up(yeah-I AM that old!). But his character was erased from with the collapse of the Multiverse during CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Therefore, I was thrilled to see he was coming back in this book, along with Blue beetle, since he had to go somewhere with the demise of his title. Unfortunately, this thing is almost unreadable. And the back up? I never truly cared for Larfleeze anyway and now he comes off as an Orange Ambush Bug. Give me the real deal, as has been teased in DC in-house promos. I won'’ be reading issue #2 or beyond. Nice art in the lead from Tom Raney and typical Scott Kolins art in the back up story. But that’s not enough to excite me to buy.

WONDER WOMAN #16: Milan, Wonder Woman's new-found half-brother, fights back with a huge swarm of flies that threatens to choke Diana and Lennox. It takes the A4 robot to send the flies back to Milan. Orion introduces himself to Diana and Lennox, saying he recently learned of a universal threat caused by a new god. The thought is the new god is Zola’s missing child. Diana begs Milan to help them find the child. He agrees and removes his blindfold, revealing eye sockets filled with maggots. Through the eyes of his flies, he sees the child being nursed by Demeter. Over in Antarctica, Cassandra and the Olympian giant are on the run from three ice-giants sent by the Olympian’s uncle Hades that want to kill him. One of the giants tears the parka off Cassandra and reveals cybernetics. Meanwhile, Zola and Hera are in a Manhattan restaurant drinking. Ares joins Zola and his mother at the bar. Zola heads to the bathroom, where she meets a young man who flirts with her. He reveals himself an Olympian and says Ares is there to kill Wonder Woman. He tells her what Ares is capable of and it causes her to rush into the bathroom and be ill. Stryfe overhears and promises to make whatever is bothering her go away.

If you have read my reviews over the last 16 months, you know this is one of my favorite NEW 52 books. It continues to set the great Olympian legends on their collective ears. Majors kudos to Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang who continue to pave bold new ground with each issue!

WORLDS’ FINEST #8: Helena Wayne is gunned down by a sniper looking to collect Ibn Hassan’s bounty (remember the mini-series). Police get involved, since she is a known terrorist. But before she can be taken away, Power Girl arrives and takes her from the EMT’s to a hospital bed on Starr Island. Somya arrives and tells Karen that one of the shooters police custody. She breaks him out, flies him up into the sky, and threatens to drop him if he doesn't tell her who hired him. This leads her to Kufra, where she fights her way to Ibn Hassan's compound and has a discussion with him about losing the billion-Euro price he put on Helena's head. Throughout all of this, Helena dreams of her life as a young girl and how her father pushed her to train so hard and how her mother fought with her father about being ready to take on the mantle of Robin. Meanwhile, Batman is worried about where Damien is going as Robin and how it seems he enjoys it.

I get concerned when I see a creative team, writers and pencillers, that has a many people working on it as this issue does. Paul Levitz delivers the story while George Perez (pages 1-6 +8-Helena’s current story), Cafu (pages 7,9,10,13,+20-Helena’s flashback pages) and Cliff Richards(11,12,14-19-Power Girl’s story) provide the art. The story is fair, the artwork is too schizophrenic, and we really do not need Damian Wayne co-starring in another title.

DC's NEW 52 MONTH 17, PART 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #17: In the world of Epoch, all of the justice League Dark members have changed. Worst of all is Madame Xanadu, who is withering and will soon die of old age. And, because of the portal between the worlds being opened, all of the magic from Epoch is coming into this world, but the pressure is too great on both sides. The only way to stop it is to send a message to Tim Hunter and Zatanna on the other side.  Tim’s father Jack volunteers. Back in Epoch’s Wild Area, a wood nymph spy arrives with news that Constantine and his companions have been captured and placed into a machine that analyses them. They have been separated from Frankenstein and John hopes he can get free and get them free, which he eventually does. While they are waiting, Madame Xanadu realizes her time is short and tells Constantine of the prophecy that says she will die here. And no matter what, he needs to get through the portal, even if all others don’t. He is also told he will leave one of his friends behind and give the order that will lead to Zatanna's death. Network's forces arrive and Zatanna creates an illusion of an even greater army at their side. While trying to escape,  Network’s faculty falls apart and John and the others must run for their lives. Meanwhile, Tim rallies his troops against Vikar.

Jeff Lemire, the writer who just seems to master creepy horror fiction in the NEW 52 Universe continues to do just that. The task ahead for the team is pretty grim and the question becomes who WILL survive it all? Someone gets left behind and Zatanna dies?  My bet is either Tim and/or his father remain in Epoch. We shall see. And Ray Fawkes continues to do an outstanding job on art. My BIGGEST COMPLAINT? editorial SCREWS UP AGAIN! Frankenstein NEVER ends up in the machine but ends up front and center on the cover IN THE MACHINE! Truth in advertising folks! Figure this out!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1: Five years ago, the Secret Society of Super Villains recruits Professor Ivo into their fold as a response to the formation of the Justice League. Steve Trevor, Justice League liaison, is being replaced by Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S: an organization he started. Waller, however, wants to start a nother Justice League called the Justice League of America. The idea is to serve the interests of the country rather than global ones. Steve refuses until Waller shows him the image of Wonder Woman and Superman kissing. First on the list of new recruits is Hawkman who may or may not be a police officer from Thanagar and therefore is not subject to the laws of our planet. It seems he has been doling out his own version of justice to those he believes are escaped Thangarian criminals. Next on the list is Katana, who Steve views as a killer like Hawkman. Waller believes that they can convince her to join by offering up information on her husband's murderers. Next up is Vibe who gained his powers in an event horizon during Darkseid’s invasion five years ago. Star Girl is the rock star of the group with a huge fan base and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She will join the team because Waller knows who her real father is. Rounding out the team are Martian Manhunter, formerly with Justice League AND Stormwatch, Green Lantern Simon Baz and Green Arrow. Steve tries to solicit Catwoman but she is not interested until Steve tells her he can help her find the woman who stole her identity. Martian Manhunter does agree to join the team, warning that he knows the real reason Steve is doing this and if Waller’s people try to move against him, he will mind wipe everyone in the building. Steve is called to the sick bay where one of the agents whop had been pursued in the Kiedler Forest has been found. The dying man removes his mask and reveals himself to be Green Arrow. He manages to explain there is a group called the Secret Society but, before he can tell Trevor who is leading them, he flat lines and apparently dies. 

So Geoff Johns and David Finch remake the JLA in their own image. This book has potential. First off: the inaugural issue isn’t bogged down with the horrible dialogue that plagued the first issue of the OTHER JUSTICE LEAGUE BOOK. Second, we have Finch’ great looking art. Who needs Jim Lee anyway? Third, we have a truly diverse cast of characters including one who has had his book shot out from under him. And just how many of Amanda Waller’s fingers are in how many pies in the NEW 52? What ISN’T SHE involved with? As far as this book succeeding, I see it lasting longer than the two books that coincide with it. I just can’t see Katana OR Vibe holding their own on their own. And if Green Arrow dies, does that mean his newly reinvigorated title gets cancelled?

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA’S KATANA #1: Katana heads to Japantown in San Francisco where she is looking for a girl named Shun who has some tattoos on her body that Tatsu needs to interpret. She rents an apartment in San Francisco and begins training in her secret basement. That night, she dreams of having relations with a Japanese swordsman named Coil who was her dead husband’s enemy. In the morning, she meets Shun and reads one of the tattoos that shows the history of her sword, The Soultaker. She leaves the tattooed lady and is attacked by ninjas and Coil. She defeats him and we learn that Coil wants Katana to join the Sword Clan so that she can train to use the Soultaker properly.

Ann Nocenti has been in the comics business since 1982 and has a lengthy resume behind her including lengthy runs on DAREDEVIL and KID ETERNITY. And then she got the job of GREEN ARROW beginning with issue #7 and most of fandom cried. And not in a good way either (not to mention a turn on CATWOMAN). Her writing has been criticized for bad dialogue and rambling plots that just didn’t make a lot of sense. And this book is no better. In fact, it may be worse. The dialogue here is so badly stereotyped that I want to watch a badly dubbed Shaw Brothers movie from the Seventies. And most of the main characters are also stereotyped. We have the drunk sword master, the bad guy who abuses women, the landlady with the gambling problem and the tattooed woman shamed by society. Oh for the love of…! As far as Alex Sanchez’ art: it’s the highlight of the book and that’s not saying much. It was quirky and awkward and sometimes things just didn’t make sense. While I never saw anyone with six digits on their hands, I also didn’t get a true comfort level of the quality of his art. As far as I am concerned, this is my first and only issue of the title. I thought Katana was an okay character in BIRDS OF PREY and, when she left that book, had high hopes her new series would be set in Japan, where she ended her run. Instead, she is in San Francisco. If I need my Katana fix, I’ll read of her exploits in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (so long as Geoff Johns keeps the language level above age thirteen).

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA’S VIBE #1: The story begins five years ago when a kid named Cisco wasn’t a hero named Vibe. A Boom Tube opens up in their Detroit neighborhood and Cisco’s big brother Armando is killed by a Parademon. Five years into the future, which puts us one year behind current events, and it is the anniversary of the start of the war against Darkseid. Cisco is now eighteen and working at an electronics store, when his brother Dante drops in looking to convince Cisco to go to the casino. As Cisco leaves work, he is approached by A.R.G.U.S. Agent Dale Gunn, who instructs him to get into his car with a promise of allowing Cisco to deliver justice for his brother Armando. It seems A.R.G.U.S. has been observing Cisco for some time and knows that he has vibratory powers. Gunn takes him to a house where they have a Parademon holed up and he is told that this is the same Parademon who killed Armando. With that, Cisco unleashes his energy and kills the Parademon. Gunn takes Cisco back to A.R.G.U.S. headquarters where they convince him to take on the role of Vibe and train to be a founding member of Amanda Waller’s Justice League of America. Waller tells Gunn that is Cisco refuses to join the team, he can end up like other test subjects. And she knows that this tram needs to be ready because Darkseid will return one day…for his daughter.

I have really mixed emotions about this title. This is one of the most disliked characters in DC Comics history. And here we have the powers that be bringing him back with a new origin and all. His character hasn’t been fleshed out enough for me. We know his brother died saving him and he has been carrying a wounded heart ever since. We know he is more than happy to gain his revenge when it is offered to him. We know his other brother Dante is a villain waiting to happen, especially with that name. But, other than that, we have nothing to go on. I realize that this is only the first issue, but more back story before Armando’s death and after would be nice. Geoff Johns does his best to write a good story. The best part of the story for me is Amanda Waller’s captives. We get Pariah,  Krakkle and Gypsy. Let’s see: in the old DCU, Vibe was killed by on of Professor Ivo’s androids, becoming the first Justice League member to be killed in action, before being resurrecting by Black Hand. And Gypsy: she once did and was resurrected with the help of Martian Manhunter. Coincidence? Oh yeah: Andrew Kreisberg’s art is nice. So, unlike KATANA, I will probably give this title another issue or two, just to see what the deal is with Darkseid’s daughter. Omega Effect, anyone?

NIGHTWING #17: Dick finds himself in a full blown depression following the destruction of Haly’s Circus and the Amusement Mile. Dressed as Nightwing, he goes to Kline Industries warehouse, where Raya’s body still is. He encounters Commissioner Gordon and asks him to rush on getting the forensics done before her funeral later in the week. The following day, Dick visits the Haly’s folks still in hospital. One of the performers, Marc, explains that they are all leaving after Jimmy and Raya’s funeral. On the next day, Dick and Lucius watch the Amusement Mile fully burn down, taking the rest of Dick’s fortune with it. He is so broke that Sonia Branch has to cover the funeral costs for Jimmy and Raya. At the funeral, two days later, Sonia offers her support before she leaves. Two days later, Nightwing catches three men trying to steal from the remains of Amusement Mile and beats them pretty badly until Robin talks him down. At the end, the mercenaries deliver a Flying Grayson costume with Joker graffiti on it to their master; a man called The Dealer.

This issue presents a changed Dick Grayson who is probably closer in tone and emotion to the “filled with rage” Dark Knight than he has ever been. Face it: this is one TOTALLY PISSED OFF FORMER BOY WONDER! He has been tortured by the Joker, watched two of his friends die at his hands, watched his dream and finances go down the drain. Yeah-I’d be pissed too! This is a great follow-up/epilogue to the DEATH OF THE FAMILY storyline and probably one of the best issues in the series thus far. Kyle Higgins and Juan Jose Ryp do a great job of conveying the emotion inside Dick Grayson. Based on events in BATMAN INCORPORATED #11, how will THAT affect our hero?

PHANTOM STRANGER #5:  The Phantom Stranger arrives at the Gotham City Police Department looking for Jim Corrigan. Corrigan transforms into The Spectre to defend himself from the accusations that he was responsible for kidnapping the Stranger’s family. The Spectre swallows the Stranger which allows him to see things from The Spectre’s perspective. Escaping his body, the Stranger turns his opponent into wood. They get interrupted by the Voice, in the form of a Scottish terrier, who admonishes the Stranger for accusing and NOT ASKING is The Spectre was involved in the Stark family disappearance. The terrier explains that both of these comic entities have a role to play and they need to balance each other. Meanwhile, Dr. Thirteen gets visited by The Question who offers Thirteen something to betray the Stranger. Thirteen calls the Stranger and claims to know something about the family Starks' kidnapping.

After a couple of surprisingly good issues, this one slips a bit as we get a really dumb fight between the two cosmic heavyweights. Dan Didio, whose dialogue for the first few issues was horrible, continues to plot the book with J. M. DeMatteis actually writing it. Brent Anderson is still providing the pencil art with both Phillip Tan and Rob Hunter inking his work. Despite this ridiculous “fight issue”, the title does continue to hold my interest and, overall, improves with each issue. Now, if we can only get the classic Spectre with his classic brand of vengeance…hint, hint, hint!

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS:#17: Arsenal and Starfire, waiting in their ship, finally get a message from Jason Todd and are relieved that he is alive. Jason is at Wayne Manor and preparing to say his goodbyes. He tries to convince Damian to let go of the hate within him and hopes it won’t take his death and resurrection to let him purge it, like it did for Jason. When Roy and Starfire arrive, Damian and Roy immediately get into a fight. Meanwhile, Starfire takes Jason in her arms, avoiding Nightwing in the process. Nightwing makes Jason promise that he'll watch over her. He tries to get out without having to see Bruce, but that doesn’t happen. Batman admits to having vouched for Red Hood to Superman, even though he totally disagrees with his methods. Jason asks if it was true that the Joker had created him. Batman responds Jason created Jason. Alfred asks Jason if he plans on staying for a while and makes sure he knows he will always have a home at Wayne Manor. Jason dons his helmet and is surprised by a holographic vision of the Joker, who complains that by Jason returning to life, he ruined the Joker’s masterpiece. His helmet fills with Joker Gas and Jason’s Joker infused laugh fills the house. Batman gets there first but it may be too late!

While this is a really well written story by Scott Lobdell which ties up loose ends from DEATH OF THE FAMILY and sets things in motions for the next story arc, you may know that I tend to define a book as being a mess when there are more people involved on an issue than there should normally be. You should have ONE writer (two at best if you have a writer and a plotter), one penciller, an inker, a colorist and a letter, not to mention an editor and maybe even an assistant editor. This particular issue has THREE pencillers (Ken Lashley, Robson Rocha and Adrian Syaf) and SEVEN INKERS (Lashley, Rocha, Syaf, Wayne Faucher, Julio Ferreira, Jaime Mendoza and Le Beau L. Underwood). REALLY?! What…did everyone take a page? Don’t laugh-that’s how I got to work with Richard Howell and Carol Kalish on PORTIA PRINZ: ENEMY OF TECHNOCRACY. Seriously-it took seven artists to put this thing out? WOW! You would think it would look like a Michelangelo fresco with that much talent involved. But the take on the Pieta for a cover IS a cool touch!

RED LANTERNS #17:  Atrocitus has reprogrammed the Manhunters to assault Oa and the Third Army. This gives him a chance to distract the Guardians and have a heart to heart(you’ll understand that in a minute) with the spirit of Krona, who tries to convince Atrocitus that he is a friend. Atrocitus waves him away and continues to search the underworld of Malgtus for the Great Heart. If he destroys the Great Heart, it will return emotion to the Guardians. He destroys the automated defenses and is ready to destroy the Great heart when he is interrupted by Volthoom, who has just recently destroyed the spirit of Krona. Meanwhile, Rankorr transforms into human form, fends off a fellow harassing a girl by breaking his arm and ends up getting picked up  by the girl. This could be interesting…especially with Bleez watching.

This is a better than usual issue for the team of Peter Miligan and Miguel Sepulveda. I belie part of that is because it is mostly about ONE Lantern instead of the whole Corps. Maybe it is me, but Milligan is at his best when he concentrates on a single story rather than multiple ones. As far as Sepulveda’s art: it is what it is. It sets the tone of the book and that’s what we are all used to.

SUICIDE SQUAD #17: The mission: retrieve a “package” from Metroplis' Chinatown where the leader of a Triad gang, Red Orchid, is responsible. By the way, Red Orchid’s happens to be Yo-Yo’s sister. He is asked about his sister and we get an origin story. She was once a lead researcher at Metropolis University. He was a crook who showed up one night to beg money from her. Superman was battling nearby and accidently was responsible for a breach in the geothermal reactor she had been working with. Back in the present, the team crams into an elevator inside Red Orchid’s hideout. Unfortunately, the elevator cables snap and Yo-Yo’s stretching ability saves them. The squad then faces the Sî Wáng: three killers in schoolgirl outfits. In short order, Killer Shark, Deadshot, and Voltaic take out their opponents. Red Orchrid sends the package, a man, out to them and Harley gets stabbed by several poisonous barbs. Deadshot is taken down by poisonous gas. Yo-Yo demands to know why this man is so important, but it is Regulus who answers, standing behind Red Orchid. Aren’t both they both supposed to be dead?

Adam Glass does his usual tremendous job on this title with fill-in art from Henrik Jonsson. Of course, I am far from thrilled that the powers that be at DC are replacing Glass, who has been the guiding force on this book since the beginning, with Ales Kot (WILD CHILDREN and CHANGE). AND THEN, if that wasn’t enough, they will have Timothy Green II replacing Sandu Florea on the art chores. There’s an old saying: if it ain’t broke, DON’T FIX IT!

SUPERMAN #17: In the concluding chapter of H’EL ON EARTH, we begin with Superman getting punched into outer space by H'El and finds himself meeting The Oracle. He asks the Oracle why is it here and has his mind instantly filled with images from the destruction of Krypton. The Oracle disappears and Superman returns to Earth to continue the fight. He conferences with the Justice League and discovers that there are natural disasters happening all over the planet and it seems H’El is responsible. In the Artctic, Superboy, Supergirl and Wonder Woman manage to destroy H'El's star chamber, but he has already obtained enough electromagnetic energy to power his ship up, allowing him to travel into the past. Supergirl finds the shard of Kryptonite that Superman and the Justice League were looking for during their attack on the Fortress of Solitude. H'El enters the ship, as Supergirl asks him to take her with him. She stabs him with the shard, poisoning them both. As Superman takes Supergirl to the Fortress to be treated, the time portal collapses and takes H'El with it. The Oracle watches all and realizes these events will have repercussions for every universe in the future. In the epilogue: a young Jor-El explores an old cave, when he discovers a wounded H'El, with the shard stuck in his chest. 

Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort bring this spiraling crossover to an end. I wasn’t impressed with this at all; not this issue or the mini-series. Of course, I was only reading one third of it, as I gave up on SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL many issues ago. But the whole “here comes another survivor of Krypton” just didn’t sit with me. HOWEVER, the ending leads to a paradox. Has the present changed history or did H’El and Jor-El become friends because of this event all along? When you take THAT into consideration, this could result in a very meaningful time paradox tale down the road. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that was the plan all along and maybe I just gave the DC Editors an idea they can steal!
  SWAMP THING #17: Swamp Thing and Animal Man are horrified to find that Abby and Maxine have been turned into terrible creatures. Actually, Abby has been used to create clones while Maxine joined The Rot willingly in an attempt to save her family. Buddy snaps and tears her head from her rotling body. Swamp Thing attempts to get the Bat-Bot with the Bio-Restorative Formula in the air with Steel’s help, but Steel is cut in half by Arcane who begins to sabotage the robot. Beast Boy helps Buddy sprout wings which give Alec a chance to take the robot high in the air. The formula falls like rain and melts away the rotlings. Arcane escapes while Buddy and Alec give chase. Arcane tells them he can go back in time to one year ago and start over and over until he succeeds. The Parliament of Decay appears, explaining that death and life are one and they send Buddy and Alec after Arcane. They have only one chance to go back in time and set things right.

Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire and guest artist Andrew Belanger bring ROTWORLD to its’ conclusion. But it’s not REALLY over as Swamp Thing and Animal Man must go into the void of death to try and stop Arcane once and for all. This crossover has been a ton of fun and NOW I know how this won’t affect continuity. The heroes go back in time and stop it all from happening. That make it kind of a cheat but these two heavy hitter writers have done a tremendous job so I can’t shoot them for it. Oh wait: didn’t everyone scream COP OUT at Snyder for BATMAN #17? Just kidding! 

TEAM 7 #5: The issue starts five years ago where Caitlin Fairchild is working as a research assistant at the Advanced Prosthetic Research Centre. She’s there with her friend Maxine who was having her new prosthetic arm recalibrated. Her doctor, Dr. Henshaw, leaves to go check on Project Spartan. Unseen by the doctors, the soldier's eyes come to life. Meanwhile, Caitlin’s father Alex has a heart to heart talk with Slade Wilson who tells him he should relax after the last mission. At Team 7 Headquarters, Dinah Drake demands answers from John Lynch. He tells her of a Pyongyang orphanage that was assaulted by a three-year-old girl who changed the geometry of space-time. If she had lived, her country would have used her as a weapon. We flash forward to present day where Deathstroke infiltrates Lynch's floating headquarters. Lynch admits that Caitlin is dead and, when Deathstroke attempts to shoot him, Lynch stops the bullets in mid-air using his telekinesis. Slade realizes that the former members of Team 7 all have powers of some kind. Lynch tells Slade that they once killed a man who was able to destroy entire countries and he is coming back. 

Here comes my initial complaint. On the cover Gary Frank/Cam Smith/Brent Anderson cover we have Alex Fairchild defending his daughter Caitlin from a reborn Spartan. Uh…THIS NEVER HAPPENS. The closest we get is the cybernetics in the lab coming alive by themselves, including Maxine’s replacement arm. So…TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, GUYS!!! Second: I am actually starting to like this series a lot, so DC putting the axe to it with the May issue has me kind of bummed. Let’s see how the team of Justin Jordan Pascal Alixe and Jesus Merino get out of that in the next three issues. That having been said, this was an average issue that delivers tales of the days past. I would hope that we can find out how Team 7 came apart and resulted in everyone getting powers. Well…everyone except for Dinah’s husband who is apparently dead.

TEEN TITANS #17: We meet Kwon Yi: a young boy with a Metagene that he wants to go away. Unfortunately for him, the price is pays is not what he hoped for. Meanwhile, the Titans head back to their new home and try to become closer than they were before. Their new home, on a good sized yacht, means they will live together and hopefully hide from Tim Drake’s enemies. Kid Flash and Bunker share a room as do Kiran and Cass. Tim resides in the command center, which has eyes to everywhere you can think of. While Bunker and Bart bond, Tim and Kiran share a kiss. Then later, Cass and Tim share a kiss and maybe something more. Before the issue ends, Tim seems to be possessed and Raven makes her appearance and prepares to join her father as they get ready to attack our world.

Oh my God: can this book get any worse? One month, it rocks and the next it is back in the comic toilet! Tom DeFalco and Scott Lobdell have more words floating out of these teen mouths than most teens! They talk and talk and talk throughout the whole book, Except for when they are hooking up. Tim scores two team members in the same book? Who’s next-Bunker? The book continues to grow dark too. We all know that the original NEW TEEN TITANS had some pretty questionable stuff in it. Let’s be honest: the JUDAS CONTRACT was for the mature, Tara Markov was fifteen and slept with Deathstroke and somewhere in all of this, Donna Troy lost her ex-husband and son in a car accident. So, previous series weren’t exactly happy, cheery affairs. but this one is getting dark and grim. As far as the new art team of Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira go: PLEASE don’t have your characters smile. They all look sinister and creepy! And what is the deal with Raven now being a busty villain with a chest that could rival Power Girl? I understand that this Raven is not the same daughter of Trigon that the previous one was. but this one looks like a reject from SILENT HILL…with boobs! And that’s how I’m feeling reading this title-like a boob! Maybe there is a reason that most of the Young Justice line is gone-because they were AWFUL!

WONDER WOMAN #17: Wonder Woman and company find that Zola and Hera have left their hotel room. Orion tracks them to a nearby bar. Zola attacks War and instructs Diana to run. But the god turns the knife against her and threatens to slit her throat. So Diana agrees to sit and drink with him. War remarks that Diana needs a guide to go to Demeter’s and he offers to be that guide. As the rooftop garden on the restaurant opens into Demeter’s world, War asks her what she plans to do with the baby, reminding her it will need constant protection that Diana cannot provide. They are immediately attacked by Hermes who wounds War and threatens to do the same to Diana. Meanwhile, in the parallel tale, the First Born quizzes Cassandra about her cybernetic neck and she ignores the question. He then asks why she has decided to help him. She explains she is serving him because he is a god. They have come for the weapons inside the volcano on Anak Krakatau, which was once submerged. The helicopters they travel in are attacked by huge sharks and Cassandra is dragged down under the water.

What we have here is more godly goodness here from the acclaimed team of Brian Azzarello, Tony Akins, Amilcar Pinna and Dan Green. The legends of the gods continue to twist away and nothing we have ever seen in a Wonder Woman title has ever been like this. Even Diana Prince, secret agent in a pantsuit wasn’t this crazy! Talk about a dysfunctional family and this is it! Brother against brother, sister against sister and Hera getting drunk in a bar. Wow! And let’s not forget Stryfe checking out Orion’s goods! Yeah-this is REQUIRED READING!


WORLDS’ FINEST #9:  Four years ago, Helena had asked Kara to come with her while she visited a designer's studio to inspect the design for her costume and crossbow. One month later, Helena used the both of those designs in Prague to stop a gang trying to sell women into prostitution. Kara arrived to tell her friend she had located an island in Micronesia where she hoped to set up base. But she needed millions of dollars first. That was then…this is now. Starr Island is under siege and Huntress, despite having a broken arm, is forced to fight off the invaders. But the first defender is Karen Starr’s personal assistant Somya. During the firefight, Power Girl arrives and is surprised to find the assailants have weapons that fire that can hurt her. Huntress takes one of them down and the rest flee. Power Girl interrogates the prisoner who reveals they were there to get back what Starr had stolen from Michael Holt.

We have yet another confusing issue where we have Paul Levitz doing a great job of writing it, but then we get the “artist merry-go-round”. We have art by George Perez (pencils and inks on pages 1-7 and page 15), Cafu (pencils and inks on pages 8-14) and Yildiray Cinar(pencils 16-20, inks on 19 and 20 with Phil Jimenez inking pages 16-18). The story itself is fun, especially with Kara’s assistant Somya shooting up the place! If Levitz had this kind of momentum going on the full HUNTRESS mini-series, I wouldn’t have been totally disgusted by the end. The whole artist thing does get to me as it creates a totally uneven look to the book.

DC'S NEW 52 Month 17, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #17: We begin with the tragic events on the night of Clark’s Senior prom, where his parents die as the result of a horrific car accident. Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, Lord Vyndktvx’s attacks on Superman continue as he is beaten down by Superdoom. At the same time, The Legion of Super-Heroes try to change the fate of the Kents, but arrive too late. It seems that an hour before the accident, Vyndktvx got a handkerchief from Pa Kent and was able to cause their deaths because of isomorphic magic. He also helped Lex Luthor rise to power by using Glen Glenmorgan's tie against him. He even planned to take down Superman by stealing his cape, but was tripped up by a small boy who took it early in Superman’s career. So he decided to form the Anti-Superman Army. Years later, Nimrod the Hunter shot a teleportation bullet in Superman’s brain, which is where the Anti-Superman Army made their headquarters. Meanwhile, Superman appeals to the Anti-Superman Army, some of whom begin to have second thoughts. Some citizens come over, even putting themselves in jeopardy, and remove the Kryptonite chains that bind him. The pair continues to battle but they are interrupted by the one man who feels it’s his right to kill Superman-Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, the Legion’s time bubble arrives at the hospital room of Mister Triple X. In the back-up, It’s the night of Clark’s senior prom and he and Pa Kent are talking on the porch. Suddenly, Clark is replaced as his future self, Superman. From there, things get interesting.

Well, what was supposed to be Grant Morrison’s swan song has become his almost swan song as he closes out his run with issue #18. I, for one, will be glad to see this storyline end as it is so confusing. Time jumps, the Legion of Superheroes, the Anti Superman Army, Lex Luthor, takes on the classic imps from the 5^th Dimension and…the deaths of Ma and Pa Kent. He is just throwing everything into this story and seeing what is going to stick. For me, not a whole lot. The entire bit with Pa and Ma Kent dying on the night of the Prom just goes so much against Superman lore and legend. We have had them die from a tropical disease not long after Clark graduates high school. Then, following the 1986 reboot, they were still alive to help assist a modern Superman and even help care for Lois and Clark’s adopted son Chris. Killing them on the night of the Prom is just wrong. Regarding the back-up story-it’s typical Sholly Fisch: no more and no less.

ANIMAL MAN #17:  This is the penultimate chapter in the ROTWORLD SAGA. Animal Man and his army battle what used to be the Justice League at the castle of Arcane. He ends up calling on the ants and cockroaches to help him in his battle with The Flash and kills him in the process. On the other side of the castle, Swamp Thing and his army are battling Arcane’s Un-Men. Barbara Gordon, now a true Batgirl, tries to use the last remaining piece of Kryptonite on a transformed Superman, but that fails. So Mr. Freeze tries to bring out the sun, but his long dead wife kills him, leaving the job to Barbara. She fires the gun and the sun causes Superman to explode. Swamp Thing attempts to use Bat-Bot which is filled with Bio-Restorative Formula to destroy all the Rotlings. But a mutated Katana interrupts and ruins those plans. Medphyll, the last Green Lantern, is killed and the ring chooses Frankenstein, who proceeds to slice Wonder Woman in two. Animal Man teams up with Swamp Thing and they attempt to lift the Bat-Bot filled with Formula. But that is when Maxine, now one of the Hunters Three, and a mutated Abigail Arcane arrive. To be concluded in SWAMP THING #17. 

Jeff Lemire, Scott Snyder and Steve Pugh combine to set up the finale of this epic. This book has had tons of twists and turns during it’s first year and a half (including the Annual and issue #0). Now we have Animal Man and Swamp Thing trying to reverse Arcane’s attempt to end the world as we know it. Speaking of ending the world:  where does this whole crossover fit in continuity-wise? The world is taken over by The Rot. Is this before or after or instead of current events in the New 52 Universe? Or is this happening in an alternate reality? Remember: 52 Universes?

ALL STAR WESTERN #17: Some time ago, a man arrived in Gotham City and was looking to murder the city. He made friends with the most influential in town including Mayor Cobblepot and the Court of the Owls. He also took a liking to gambling at Wayne Casino. He also took to winning and maybe even cheating to do so, as Jonah hex accused him of doing. His name was Vandal Savage and he has brought the plague to Gotham City. Pretty soon, an entire section of Gotham City is cordoned off and the sick and they dying are kept there. It becomes known as Death’s Doorstep. Alan Wayne’s wife Catherine, while trying to bring food and medicine to the sick, ends up being taken into Death’s Doorstep and held for ransom. Alan Wayne agrees to give Jonah Hex 30% of his casino if he goes in with Arkham and some experienced trackers to rescue her. The trackers don’t survive very long as the residents are crazed like zombies and have also begun to engage in cannibalism. Hex and Arkham survive and make their way to the bank, where a dying man tells them that Catherine has been kidnapped…by vandal Savage. In the back-up, we meet Jenny Freedom in a tale where she ends up being solicited by Adam who is trying to bring her back to the Stormwatch of the 19^th century. 

This was an unexpected issue from the team of Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat. One minute, we’re dealing with the early influence of the Black Diamond and now we have a full on plague caused by everyone’s favorite immortal being Vandal Savage. The narration throughout is a little weird, as it tends to break the fourth wall on many occasions, actually addressing the reader. The back-up, by Gray, Palmiotti and Staz Johnson, does a nice job of infusing cyberpunk elements into the 19^th Century. We have seen, if you’re a reader of STORMWATCH, Jenny Freedom before, but only in brief. This is a fun little adventure that will set the stage to fully introduce the 19^th Century Stormwatch to the NEW 52 Universe.

AQUAMAN #17: Somewhere out in the ocean, whalers are doing their deadly task when they are interrupted by…THE SEA DEVILS! The whalers unleashed a strange weapon but Aquaman and a group of Atlanteans arrive to stop the whalers and destroy the weapon. One of the Atlanteans is Murk: leader of Men-Of-War who is sworn to protect his King at all costs. Aquaman and Dane Dorrance, leader of this band of alleged eco-terrorists get into a heated discussion about what side Arthur is really on. Retreating back to his creatures, he gets a call from Cyborg saying that Amanda Waller, who is now the liaison to the Justice League, wants to meet with him. They discuss how the whalers had what were Atlantean weapons, Orm’s upcoming trial and why Mera isn’t with him. Once he leaves, she radios a strike team and orders them to move in on Mera, who is captured by police in the Amnesty Bay grocery store. Back in the sea, Aquaman promises never to leave his sea companion creatures again. Meanwhile, somewhere in Antarctica, an unknown enemy prepares to challenge Aquaman for the right to be called King of the Seven Seas.

Another great issue from Geoff Johns and Paul Pelletier, filled with new subplots that can probably be good for the next twelve months or so. Johns dialogue is again filled with anger and some smart bits, Pelletier’s art is crisp, as always. But the biggest news is the first NEW 52 appearance of THE SEA DEVILS. I am giddy like a school girl over this!. I come from an era when it was cool to read CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, DOOM PATROL, RIP HUNTER, CAVE CARSON and…THE SEA DEVILS. Their book had some of the most amazing painted covers by Howard Purcell, not to mention, great writing from the legendary Bob Kanigher and art from the equally legendary Russ Heath. They last appeared in JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE and also during FINAL CRISIS. And it’s only Dane Dorrance, along with Nick and Judy Walton (the original team also had Biff Bailey working with them), but it’s a start. Can we PLEASE have their own title? And DON’T SCREW IT UP like you have with such chestnuts as The Unknown Soldier and Sgt. Rock.

BATGIRL #17:  Barbara Gordon has survived the whole DEATH OF THE FAMILY affair and is currently hacking into the Gotham City Police Database, looking for mug shots of the Joker’s accomplices. Meanwhile Mrs. Gordon receives a hospital visit from her son. At Police Headquarters, the Commissioner announces the department’s highest priority should be to capture his son. Barbara gets a call from her brother who suggests he should finish the Joker’s job of dismembering her. She hears a report on the police radio and decides to help the raid. Batgirl crashes through the window of a building the police are raiding and knocks out the thugs inside who were ready to ambush the police. Suddenly a rocket blast takes out the police van and all the occupants, including the prisoners. Later, Batgirl meets Firebug who detonates explosives and turns his flame guns on her. As this occurs, James Jr. watches, noting that Barbara hasn't pieced together his plan. 

With this issue, Ray Fawkes and Daniel Sampere take over from Gail Simone and Ed Benes. As you may recall, Simone was fired from the book by e-mail and Fawkes hired in her place. The, she got rehired and will take over the book again with issue #19. So Fawkes will do a two issue fill-in. His work is good and I’m sure he will find more work at DC, as he has already showed his work on JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. Until Gail returns, let’s ride this wave. Oh yeah: and we get the introduction of Firebug in the NEW 52 Universe.

BATMAN #17: The conclusion to DEATH OF THE FAMILY. Joker presents Batman at the dinner table where Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Batgirl are all bound. Each has a dinner platter in front of them. Each has a bag over their head. Joker says that each of them have been doused with gasoline. If batman gets up, the flints under his seat will ignite and set his family on fire. A Jokerized Alfred comes out and he pulls a rope that lifts the bags off their heads. Each has their faces bandaged and bloodied. He has Alfred lift the lid off of the large bloody dinner platter. Underneath is the severed faces of each hero, preserved with ice. Joker begins badgering Batman with questions: What is the Joker's name? Why hasn't Batman killed him yet? he claims it is because Batman loves him more than he loves the family. Bored with the whole affair, Joker pulls out a match. Batman gets up from his seat and that lights the table on fire. As the others scream, Batman takes an explosive from his utility belt and tosses it up into the ceiling, exploding and exposing a waterfall that puts out the flames. Batman unties Robin and undoes the bandages to find he is uninjured. The faces were just a joke. As Batman pursues Joker, Nightwing unties Batgirl. The two headed lion cub blows up and releases Joker gas that causes the family to fight each other. Batman catches up to the Joker and the two engage in a violent fight. As Joker tries to flee, Joker ends up at a waterfall and almost falls off the edge. Batman admits that he knows who the Joker is and threatens him by saying he'll whisper the name into his ear. The villain takes out a joy buzzer and hits Batman in the mouth with it and then dives into the water. As his face flutters downwards, Batman watches and does not pursue him. Inside Joker’s little black book? Empty pages. 

Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred awakens. Bruce tells him the others are also fine but the Bat computer is analyzing an additive that was in the Joker Gas. He also explains why he knows the Joker didn't know who he was. While Bruce awaits the arrival of the rest of the family, each one manages to come up with an excuse to not appear. Down in the Batcave, the Bat Computer isolates the mystery element in the Joker Gas. It’s element 105-Dubnium. The computer also tells him the original name was Hahnium and the original element symbol was Ha.
Wow! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are truly responsible for a modern Batman epic. While some online critics have complained about this ending being a cop-out, you have to realize that this was all a joke. The Joker is comic’s version of Alice Cooper and a master of the Grand Guignol. So too is Snyder who has pulled the wool over our eyes and has traumatized the entire Bat Family. Repercussions will be felt throughout all the titles for months to come. Bravo gentlemen: this was a wild ride that kept me entertained and intrigued and wanting the next chapter to arrive as soon as possible.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #17: An entire issue devoted to dreams. Damian dreams of the submarine he once lived on with his mother. He watches all his various enemies being drowned in the ocean. He is interrupted by his other self who explains they are Waynes first and al Ghuls second. He sees that Alfred is also being drowned and this causes him to wake up in horror. He notices that a live robin is perched at his bed. he follows the bird  to his father’s study where he finds a large vampire bat draining blood from Bruce’s neck. Again, Damian wakes in horror. Meanwhile, dreams the night the Wayne’s took Bruce to see THE MARK OF ZORRO. He hears a sound coming from the refrigerator. When he opens it, it leads him to the Batcave. When he reaches the cave, he finds that the Joker has beaten all of the batman family to death with a hammer. Alfred aims a shotgun at the fiend and blows his head off. Alfred wakes from his dream, takes comfort in doing what his master never could, and goes back to sleep.  Bruce dreams of standing beneath the sewer grate where his mother’s pearls had fallen. He takes the program book from the THE MASK OF ZORRO and forms a paper boat. The ghosts of his parents appear but they are soon washed away along with their son by a huge wave. As Bruce rides the boat to safety, he is attacked by the villains of Gotham, one of whom is Joker who is actually a white whale. Damien saves him, causing Bruce to waken. Damian dreams again of battling alongside of his father. They rest for a moment and batman reminds his son this is only a dream.

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason try something a little different after having to do the DEATH OF THE FAMILY thing. This is such a wonderful take on imaginary tales of old. But, by wrapping them all within a dream, it takes on a whole new feeling. The imaginary tales were fun back in the Sixties. But they would never work now. But this fresh take is a terrific tribute while acting as a bridge to the next story arc. A terrific example of storytelling at its’ best.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #17:  We begin with The Mad Hatter running a hat concession at the Gotham Goliath’s stadium. Obviously he is selling mind controlling hats as the one he sells to one little fan causes the child to beat himself up! Batman does some research and finds that Hatter has many corporations that all seem to be fronts for his operations. Meanwhile, Hatter seems to be preparing a stage play and if you give the director a hard time, it costs you your life. A party if held at the Children’s Pediatric Hospital of Gotham and two of Hatter’s thugs kidnap a young boy and its Batman to the rescue. Of course, failure is not an option and the thugs join others at the tea party of the dead. We also get some back story from Jervis Tetch’s younger days, complete with a date with a very special girl. The issue ends with Tetch drinking a special tea and preparing for an encounter with the Bat.

What a weird and wonderful issue. First off, Ethan Van Sciver’s art is stunning! This is truly the best work of what is a long and distinguished career and the fact that he is penciling and inking just shows he is totally throwing himself into this book. Gregg Hurwitz continues to outdo his predecessor with some amazing bits of whimsy and creepiness. In the whimsy category: Alfred questioning how silly the term Bat-Mining is for a particular piece of search software Batman is using. Even better: Batman and Jim Gordon talking and Jim, finishing his lengthy monologue says: “Here’s where I turn around and you’re gone”. To which the Caped Crusader replies: “Nope. Still here”. Two more panels go by with both characters standing around looking awkward. The third panel has Batman leaving, saying: “Right”.  That so describes the batman/Gordon relationship to a tee! And it’s great comedy too. Oh yeah-creepy. How about the Hatter turning some poor costume designer’s head around 180 degrees and then having him sit for tea at the weird tea party. Not to mention Hatter’s “date”. How real this versus how much of that is is drug induced fantasies from his special teas? We shall see in the next issue…maybe!

BATMAN INCORPORATED #8: Robin has put on what can only be described as his Boy Wonder flying suit and heads into Gotham City to save the day. He drops a gas on the crowd of Leviathan influenced kids, saving Nightwing in the process. Then he crashes through the lobby of Wayne Tower and saves Red Robin. Dick and Damian work out a plan, despite being outnumbered. Damian even admits that Dick was his favorite partner thus far. As the pair fight off the attackers, Damian’s cloned twin brother arrives and they battle. Among the bloodshed and an attempt to break Jason as Bane did to his father, Ellie, Wayne Tower’s scared receptionist, grabs the World Meta Bomb away from where it was left. Batman escapes from his underwater prison in time to take his fallen son into his arms. Robin, the Boy Wonder, is dead.

Grant Morrison has done it and, in doing so, this story made front page news on CNN. This was the moment that was heard around the world, just as it was when Superman died(and he came back) and Captain America died(and he came back). But this is not just Robin, because we have had two Robins die in the line of duty before (and he and she came back). This is Bruce Wayne’s son, who was created in a test tube. And he is killed by his own brother, who was also created in a test tube. And it’s not like he probably won’t end up in a Lazarus Pit or be cloned AGAIN. Morrison and Chris Burnham, despite all the hoopla, have crafted a great story that puts Damian Wayne into the ranks of classic Robins. He has gone from punk monster to the consummate ten year old trying to please his father. And fight crime at the same time, of course. And if you don’t think this death will have repercussions throughout the Bat corner of the NEW 52, think again, as BATMAN AND ROBIN will have a title change for the next few months to come, among others ripples throughout the various titles.

BATWOMAN #17: It’s the final battle between Batwoman, Wonder Woman, Ceto, Medusa and Maro. Meanwhile, Bette Kane battles The Hook and takes him down with a new weapon in her suit: a flamethrower, which blasts off his evil hook. She declares her new personality to be Hawkfire. Maro’s corpse has transformed into his sister Sune. Kyle Abbott gets turned to stone by Medusa. Batwoman teams up with Wonder Woman and Hawkfire to shatter Bloody Mary like a mirror. Batwoman uses one of the shards to have Medusa turn herself to stone and then smashes her to pieces. Ceto now finds herself free of her mother’s will and Wonder Woman offers to take her somewhere safe. Batwoman destroys the camera the DEO had given her to record Wonder Woman, much to Agent Chase’s chagrin. All of the kidnapped children are now free and they are brought to the park where Maggie Sawyer is. Batwoman calls her Mags, takes her in her arms, kisses her, and asks her to marry her. If that wasn’t enough, Director Bones finds a sarcophagus with Beth Kane inside. She is alive and convinced she is Alice Lidell. 

J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman bring this story to an explosive and shocking conclusion. The full page shot of Maggie Sawyer and Batwoman locked in a kiss has pumped out almost as much press as the Superman/Wonder Woman kiss did a few months back. What makes this so important is not the lesbian kiss, because we’ve seen that before, but the fact that Kate proposes and reveals her identity in the same breath! Awesome! And it looks incredible too, thanks to Williams. Plus, for all you long time fans, Beth Kane is still alive and the DEO has her. Yeah: total Fanboy mode right now!

BIRDS OF PREY #17: Gotham City has a major blackout thanks to the uncontrolled cry of Black Canary, which destroyed a power station in the process. Strix attacks her even as Black Canary says that the former Talon is the last person to judge her. Batgirl asks for an explanation and Strix scratches the following into the ground: “She will kill all.” The Basilisk agent digs himself out of the rubble and releases Heartstoppers, even as his partner remains buried and begs for help. The Heartstoppers lock onto the electrical pattern of the nearest human heart and destroys it with powerful shocks. Batgirl is the first affected until Strix rips it away. Strix doesn’t have a human heart, so the devise passes her by. Starling, places a call to Amanda Waller. Starling asks her for a favor, even though she is deeply indebted to Waller. Strix manages to destroy the Heartstoppers herself and, in the process, gets shot up by the strike team responding to the power blackout. Only her healing powers save her. Dinah, threatened again by a Heartstopper, explains to Strix how her husband Kurt’s presence controlled the intensity of their powers and lately she sees his face when she uses her Canary Cry. Batgirl finds the Basilisk agent and tells them they need to explain the destruction to the authorities. Starling admits she called in a favor from a "business associate" and suggests they all go out for drinks.

What started out really promising ended up as a big bucket of poop. Strix needs her own series and lose the other TALON book. For that matter, as this issue illustrates, we could probably lose this book. Okay, we know Starling has some connection and debt to Waller, but what is it. And the whole idea of Strix and canary having issues and then Starling suggests they all go out for drinks. An absolutely horrible ending to a lame story! Another Duane Swierczynski masterpiece.

CATWOMAN #17: Out on patrol, Catwoman observes a drug deal going down with a group of kids called the Rat-Tails and a mysterious man in a black suit. Things get ugly and the boys call for help and it’s Catwoman to the rescue. She demands to know who the man in the suit’s employer is and he says it used to be a big fat guy in a tux, and now it is a skinny man in a suit. With the arrival of the day, Selena and Gwen scope out the Gotham Museum for a job stealing paintings. Meanwhile, Detective Carlos Alvarez is not getting along with his new partner’s attitude towards crime and justice. That night, Selina begins robbing the museum but can't get Gwen to answer her phone. She runs into a pretty confused crook also trying to steal from the museum and tries to get him to help her escape. But he’s riding a motor scooter and she is left stranded on the roof with the stolen paintings. It seems Gwen has been taken in for questioning by Carlos and Tammy. But she has connections and all it takes is one phone call and she gets sprung. Meanwhile, the other thief turns over a pair of bird-shaped cane-tops. 

YAWN! Ann Nocenti strikes again with a lackluster story that goes nowhere. Oh, Selina does visit the little boy who was traumatized by The Joker. Of course, the nuns think he is crazy because he claims to have been given a stuffed teddy bear by a cat woman. You would think she could find a way to not reveal her secret identity but come to his defense and all. Anyway, the story is uninteresting. The cops want to catch the crooks, the crooks are trying to score on big thefts and the Emperor Penguin lurks in the background. The dialogue is choppy and Selina and Gwen talk like teenagers. Bet they listen to One Direction in their spare time too! Above it all, Rafa Sandoval’s art is nice looking!

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #17: Roy Harper, also known as Arsenal, has been captured and beaten by a Japanese Triad gang seeking revenge for the murder of Suzie Su. Roy asks his captor, Zhang Xing, for a quarter but is turned down. Roy gets a kick to the chest from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Killer Croc. There is a collar around Croc’s neck and it seems like that is what is controlling him. We get a flashback to a time when Roy was so far down he tried to commit suicide by getting Croc to kill him. Croc, knowing of Roy’s problems with alcohol, refused. Roy is actually here in Hong Kong to rescue Croc. Again, he asks for a quarter and when Zhang tries to punch him, Roy picks a quarter from his pocket. Zhang leaves, threatening to bring more men. Roy uses the quarter to slowly chip away at the shackles until his wrists are free. He refuses to die today as Jason Todd owes him twelve dollars. Hours later, Roy has gotten free and found a way to turn every day items into deadly weapons, killing most of his captors except for Zhang and Croc. He realizes on close inspection that this isn’t Croc at all, just a creature resembling him. Despite getting beaten badly, Roy promises to help the creature escape and cuts the explosive inhibitor of of this creature with a shard of broken glass. The creature, calling himself Fangfeng, convinces Roy to let him deal with Zhang. That night, Roy returns home and steals twelve dollars from Jason’s wallet while he sleeps.


Joe Keatinge and Ricken(sounds like a pop group!) turn in a decent little story here that, as far as I am concerned, only exists to introduce Fangfeng to the NEW 52 Universe. I like Roy’s character in this much more than in RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS, where he comes off as totally obnoxious. Here he has some soul and a lot of that is due to the continued back story that DC Editorial is introducing regarding his history between himself and Killer Croc. Who knew that a homicidal killer could be an AA sponsor? 

DEMON KNIGHTS #17: We begin with Etrigan being taunted by Lucifer. Jason Blood is still being tortured by Vandal Savage.  Meanwhile, over in Al-Wadi, Exoristos, Sir Ystin, and the Horsewoman head off to rescue Jason. On arrival, Exoristos meets with Vandal Savage while Sir Ystin frees Jason. As they escape the castle, Horsewoman gives a thought to all our Savage’s men’s horses causing them to refuse to follow. Days later, somewhere in Italy, the team runs into Madame Xanadu. Meanwhile Cain and his vampire army continues on their march to Themyscira.

New writer Robert Venditti continues to take his time with this tale as the pacing is much slower than previous issues. He is obviously used to poacing at a slower rate than most comic writer sand it’s evident here. I still like the concept of having Cain heading towards the original Paradise Island and this could add some interesting pieces to the mythos of Wonder Woman. Once again, Bernard Chang’s art moves the book along. 

DETECTIVE COMICS #17: We learn that Arkham’s Dr. Byron Merideth, was burned to death by a group calling themselves The League of Smiles. All the members were apparently patients of Merideth. But Batman is still trying to deduce who Merrymaker, their leader, is. After getting into the late doctor’s office and retrieving the hard drive from Merideth's computer, he begins digging through the files back at the Batcave. He hears of some new murders and “photogrammetrically” appears in the morgue to examine the bodies. He determines they aren’t victims of either the Joker of the League of Smiles., but meant to look that way. He also examines Byron Merideth’s corpse and realizes he has made a mistake. Meanwhile, the League of Smiles prepares to murder the residents of the Gotham Children's Hospital. Batman arrives and delays them as he goes after Merrymaker, who he finds holding a woman hostage. Batman punches him in the face, shattering his mask and revealing his true identity: Dr. Byron Merideth. The rest of the League of Smiles breaks into the room, as Batman explains how the doctor used Phillip Miles to fake dental records and to fake his own death. The woman is his ex-wife and he has already killed her lawyer whose office is only a block away from here. It doesn’t take long before the League, realizing they have been played, turns on Merideth and beating on him until Batman intervenes. The next morning, Emperor Penguin continues his plan to rise to power in Gotham. In the back-up, Dr. Merideth is involved in his own psychiatric evaluation as a criminal only to find that the results aren’t to his liking and he ends up in Arkham and not Blackgate. And what secret obsession does the psychiatrist harbor?

Well, John Layman may not be Scott Snyder and Jason Fabok may not be Greg Capullo but they sure know how to craft a pretty amazing story. Layman has managed to make DETECTIVE COMICS what it was: a detective book starring Batman-The Dark Knight Detective. It’s also nice to see that the greatest detective besides Sherlock Holmes can make a mistake every now and then, as he does here. As far as the back-up goes: Layman does a great job of giving us some back story on the good Dr. Merideth and even throws in a twist ending. And Andy Clarke’s art rocks!


DIAL H #17: The Centipede has Nelson Jent’s dial and begins dialing numbers like crazy, with no effect. Jent punches Centipede in the face , which allows Roxie to touch the dial and turn into Minotaura. Her power traps the Centipede in a maze and gives them a chance to escape him. Centipede manages to get free and meets up with General Choler at a Canadian government facility. He is asked to stand in on the interrogation of their dial user. He also gets a “focus-group approved” Centipede head mask which has special filters installed. Meanwhile, Roxie and Nelson have moved into a motel room near the secret government headquarters. Nelson becomes The Glimpse and infiltrates the facility. The Centipede can feel Jent and convinces the government's dial user into using the dial, even though he has orders not to. Soon, thanks to the Centipede’s interference,  the Glimpse is face to face with the Bristol Bloodhound. 

This book just gets weirder with every issue. China Mieville and Alberto Ponticelli (with inks by the legendary Dan Green) deliver a book that I am pretty sure will end up being a future causality in the NEW 52. I see myself as a hardcore comic reader with five decades under my belt and I think it’s weird. Imagine what the rest of the comic reading community, those that the NEW 52 was GEARED towards, think of it. If they couldn’t get FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. or I, VAMPIRE and generate enough interest in sales to save them, what chance does this title have. And honestly: I don’t know if this book deserves to be lumped in with the NEW 52. Truly, it should be a Vertigo title. 

EARTH 2 #9:  We begin in New Orleans, where Hawkgirl tries to convince Khalid Ben-Hassin to use the Helmet of Nabu to help her fight an upcoming threat. She sends him to Michigan to keep an eye on The Flash. In Michigan, Jay Garrick meets with his mother to let her know he is okay. He soon realizes that the house is being watched by Wesley Dodds and his Sandmen. Suddenly The Atom appears along with Sonia Sato and the World Army. Dodds holds Jay’s mother hostage and Khalid clubs him over the head with a stick, which allows Jay to grab his mother and Khalid teleports them away. They end up in the realm of Nabu. A stranger named Wotan saying he is the mage in a group trying to gain control of magic by obtaining Nabu's power, which has been confined to a tower that only Khalid can enter. 

If you are going to have two people act as architects on Earth 2, it’s nice to have James Robinson and Nicola Scott. Robinson, as you should know by now, was the mastermind behind the last JSA series along with STARMAN and others. He is known for his attraction to the characters of the Golden Age and his love for those Earth 2 characters was always evident and still is. As far as Scott’s art: FANTASTIC. this book, despite the critics, is still a winner!

GREEN ARROW #17: Oliver Queen, the hero known as Green Arrow, woke up three weeks ago to discover the Queen Industries was sold to Stellmoor International by his father’s old friend Emerson. Oliver confronted him and, during that confrontation, one of Oliver’s arrows crashes through the window and Emerson, dragging him to the street below. Building security arrives and Oliver defends himself before running for his life. He calls Jax to help get him suited up. Jax warns that someone was making he and Naomi do something at which point the Q-Core building, where Jax and Naomi had been, exploded. Emerson has been murdered, his only friends have been killed and his company has been destroyed. Oliver gets to one of his safe houses in Seattle and gathers his costume and his bows. He steps out and comes face to face with Komodo who promises to kill Oliver. Apparently, Komodo found a stash of arrows at Queen Industries and has used them against Oliver. Komodo fires an arrow at Oliver’s feet, which cements the hero to the ground. He beats on Queen and references wasted destiny before he lines up a final kill shot. Suddenly Oliver is saved by someone Komodo calls Magus. As they escape together, Magus tells Oliver that he was not supposed to be in Seattle. In fact, he was never supposed to leave the island.

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have taken over for Ann Nocenti and Freddie E. Williams II and most of fandom breathed a satisfied sigh. I only read the first issue and the #0 issue and I was not impressed with either. Nocenti’s writing has been totally blasted by critics and fans alike. What Lemire brings to the table is a much revered series of writing successes. SWEET TOOTH, ANIMAL MAN, FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E., and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK have all  met with critical praise for the style and creativity he has brought ton them. Andrea Sorretino, artist on the soon to be ending I, VAMPIRE, does what he does best: deliver totally moody art! Thbis is one of my new favorite titles. Good thing some of my other favorites are ending to allow me the extra coin for this one.

GREEN LANTERN #17: We start out ten billion years ago where Krona is watching the creation of the universe. Ganthet makes him aware that there is a giant hand wearing a green ring. Moments later, the video screen explodes and an astronaut emerges carrying a lantern. He is Voltmeter-the first Lantern. Meanwhile, the current Green lantern ends up trapped in a battle with the Black Hand. In the next cell are the Guardians who are trapped by Volthoom, who likes to dig deep into Ganthet’s psyche to find out what changed him from the compassionate Guardian he once was. For a moments during it all, Black hand becomes William Hand and Simon Baz becomes Abin Sur. Uncertain how to save himself, Baz creates a giant hammer and breaks the cell containing the Guardians, releasing them and Volthoom and transporting him into the realm of the dead where Sinestro and Hal Jordan are.

This issue is the worst I have seen in this series yet. And most of the mess is in the form of the art. Now let me clarify: the art looks great. But it took the combined talents of Dan Jurgens, Phil Jimenez (who were responsible for the prologue), Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin, and Christian Alamy to pull it off. Really? FIVE INKERS! And it shows! It is almost as if each inker handled a different character, which just makes this whole book look totally disjointed. And to be honest: the plot is kind of lame. So, the FIRST LANTERN is an ancient astronaut and Krona, as most of us know, is the guy responsible for a lot of the drama in RED LANTERNS. I have no idea how this whole crossover is going to be tied together but this is a rough start. And to top it off, the Lantern books will play the creator merry-go-round game after this crossover is finished as Johns and Mahnke leave to be replaced by Robert Venditti and Billy Tan.

I VAMPIRE #17: Andrew Bennett and his minions, have taken over the House of Mystery and it is up to John Constantine and his team to get it back. Realizing they are overwhelmed and probably are facing a battle that won’t win, they make their assault. John Troughton sees his grandmother and has his heart ripped out by Bennett. Deborah Dancer has to dispatch a zombified Mishkin before discovering the dead Professor. Tig attacks Constantine and he holds her in time to remind her that Bennett killed her father. Mary Seward meets up with Bennett who tries to woo her back to him. He doesn’t fully get the chance as Tig beheads her and prepares to kill Bennett. Meanwhile, Cain’s bride, Lilith has risen from the grave and is heading for the house.

I am SO going to miss this title. Joshua Hale Fialkov has done an epic job on this book since issue #1 and will ride the ship down as it heads towards cancellation. I am so impressed with his work that I will probably have to follow him over to GREEN LANTERN CORPS when he takes that book over (with art from Bernard Chang). This book has just done so much to walk away from standard vampire clichés (ands hasn’t fallen into the trap that I understand Marvel’s MORBIUS has). Art this issue is by Fernando Blanco and is very reminiscent of Andrea Sorrentino’s work. It may be too late to jump on board this title, but it’s never too late to find the trade paperbacks or the back issues.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #17: The THRONE OF ATLANTIS crossover comes to a conclusion. It’s an all out war between the Justice League and the heroes they drafted to bolster their numbers (including a female Atom?) and Ocean Master and his followers, including the fish creatures from the deep. Aquaman and Ocean Master in a classic brother against brother battle with Arthur coming out on top and Orm surrendering. Vulko also surrenders as Arthur declares himself King of Atlantis. Together, the League and the Atlanteans repel the fish creatures and send them back to the trench. Vulko is sent back to Atlangtis to stand trial and Orm is kept on the surface and sent to jail so he can stand trial for his crimes. Arthur backs his bags, leaves Mera behind and heads beneath the waves to take his rightful place as King of Atglantis. Based on what has transpired, Batman believes it is time to open up their ranks and begin recruiting talent for the League, beginning with…Scarecrow?

And so ends Arthur Curry’s tenure, at least for now, with both the surface world and the Justice League. Geoff Johns has written a great crossover here that had some nice twists and turns. His dialogue has been aimed at the right audience and the twist of having Vulko, long time adviser to Aquaman, be the villain of the piece and Orm ending up in a surface world jail is priceless. Ivan Reis, the new artist on the book, turned in another stellar issue and even Paul Pelletier shows up to illustrates two pages where Aquaman leaves Mera and heads of to his own title, where there is an epilogue in issue #17. but really: a female Atom? And the Scarecrow joining the team. Has Batman got bats in his belfry?