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 5th 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 19th 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 19th 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 19th 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.
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.
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?
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