DC's NEW 52 Month 24 Part 1

ACTION COMICS #24: We begin at Metropolis General Hospital where Lois' boyfriend is trying to explain that Lois had awoken from her coma. In actuality, Lois has disappeared. Meanwhile, in the headquarters of H.I.V.E. the Psycho Pirate admits he knows Clark Kent is really Superman who demands to know what the Pirate did with Hector Hammond and the H.I.V.E. Queen. The Pirate takes him to the Swarm, which is a prison for the psychics that the Queen had been kidnapping; some of whom was a part of the Twenty as he was. Still in need of Superman's psionic energy, he invades his mind and takes him on a trip through his memories in an attempt to break down his mental defenses. But, before he can drag Superman away, he is attacked by a psionically Lois, who says he will have to go through her if he wants Superman or Metropolis.

Scott Lobdell and Tyler Kirkham try to make some sense out of this, but it’s really a mess. Hector Hammond and the Queen have been defeated and now the Psycho Pirate is going to take over by stealing Superman’s Psionic Powers. But wait: here comes Lois Lane, fresh out of her coma, to save the day! Really? Hey-the 80’s called and they want their lousy clichés back!

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #2: We begin with Superman, Supergirl and Superboy having been pulled from their respective titles into the vacuum of space. There is a temporal tsunami that is tearing apart the fabric of the DC Omniverse and it appears our heroes have been transported to Krypton. Oracle, who apparently made an appearance at the conclusion of SUPERGIRL #24, inhabits Superboy’s body and explains what H’el has been doing since the conclusion of his Villain Month one-shot. H'El returned to Krypton's past in order to change history. He also learned everything about his own past, which drove him mad making him take control of Krypton. Then he traveled across time to find a way to prevent Krypton's destruction. H’El has been trying to revive Kypton in the past which is creating a series of new realities. But this new reality Krypton has enslaved its people. The trio of heroes come up with a plan to put things right, but H’el finds out and prepares to battle them in three different eras of the original Krypton. Supergirl arrives during the Great War and is attacked by clones. Superboy arrives at Argo City one week before Krypton's destruction. Superman arrives at Kryptonopolis, months before Krypton's destruction and is attacked by his birth mother. After she sends the heroes into the past, Faroa, who makes her NEW 52 debut following her appearance in THE MAN OF STEEL, is killed by H’el, who swears he won’t be defeated.

Once again, Scott Lobdell embarks on a multi-part epic involving a character I could care less about. That having been said, this thing will wander through SUPERGIRL, SUPERBOY  and SUPERMAN to a conclusion. The covers are designed to interconnect, so I guess that makes it cool, unless you don’t read some of these titles, like myself. So, do I spend money on two parts just to read them? I’m unsure at the moment, but based on this, I don’t think I’d be missing much. Kenneth Rocafort’s artwork, which I am not a huge fan of, is really descent and actually gets ruined by Dan Jurgens. Not that Jurgens art is bad, it just doesn’t mesh with Rocafort’s. So, we’ll see what happens, but I bet the good guys win!

ALL STAR WESTERN #24: Jonah Hex, the time travelling bounty hunter from the 19^th Century, has suddenly become a folk hero, complete with Bruce Wayne defending him in court. While the judge refuses to believe he has travelled through time, he thinks he MIGHT be a distant relative. Wayne's lawyers warn the judge that no jury will find against Hex because he has become a hero of the people, despite his vigilantism. Hex is declared innocent and, despite Wayne’s offer of money regarding the Casino deal, leaves on his own. Over the next month, Hex and Gina ride cross-country on a motorcycle. Fund start getting light and Jonah promises Gina they will find gold that he buried long ago. They end up in a bar; they get drunk and have sex while John Constantine watches. The next day, they arrive at their destination and Hex begins digging and begins feeling remorse for what he did to the people in his past. Hex retrieves the box and has the money appraised, realizing that the small amount they recovered will manage to make them rich. Gina convinces Hex to spend some of their savings on guns and, even without a license, buys a pair of Desert Eagles. The pair go to this desert sex festival and Hex relies that something isn’t right. Constantine appears, saying they are Ki'yathe and they siphon life from others to survive.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat continue this time travelling epic and turn it into an EASY RIDER road trip complete with a sex festival and psychedelic looking creatures. I love this book so much that I wish it was a weekly! Serious! I would drop THREE OTHER TITLES and just read this. It’s far more interesting than the original series and WAY BETTER than the movie tried to be.

ANIMAL MAN #24: Brother Blood, with the help of a rogue member of the Parliament of Limbs, has attacked the Red and both Buddy and Maxine are being affected by it. Brother Blood attacks the Totems and murders the majority of them. But he will never gain full control as long as Maxine and her friends remain alive and recruits Clinton Hogue, who had been battling with Buddy. Shepherd admits to Maxine that they must keep her safe, meaning they can’t continue their search for Cliff’s soul right now. Buddy arrives at the home of his estranged family and he and Ellen patch things up, promising to find Maxine together. Just then, Ellen’s mom, who has been watching the awards show, rushes outside saying something disturbing is happening on television. Clinton Hogue has taken over the show and says that if Buddy doesn't come to sacrifice himself, everyone in the auditorium die.

Jeff Lemire and Rafael Albuquerque make sure this book gets weirder and weirder. Between The Rot, The Red and The Green, we have enough colors to start a SESAME STREET song. And Brother Blood, longtime villain from TEEN TITANS, seems to be making his run at being a major player here. Of course we have to figure that Buddy will show up to save the audience…maybe even win that Best Actor Award in the process. But what will happen to his family and will they be able to save Cliff? THAT’S the question!

AQUAMAN #24: Arthur awakens from the coma he has been in for the last six months. He is in a tent Vulko had made in Antarctica. Vulko takes Arthur to an underground cave They find a throne surrounded by ice statues of Atlanteans. Arthur will have to sit on the throne to learn the truth about the Dead King. Once upon a time, Tom Curry's boat had been caught up in a storm. and was saved by the Queen of Atlantis. They fell in love, and one year later, Arthur was born. Vulko wanted Arthur to become the king of Atlantis but discovered the truth about the Atlantean royal bloodline. Long before that, the Dead King was a man named Atlan. he was the first king and founder of Atlantis. He promoted peace between Atlantis and several other kingdoms. His brother Orin betrayed Atlan and became the new king, ordering his forces to take kill Atlan’s family and make him a prisoner. Atlan eventually escaped and created the ancient relics of Atlantis. Years later,Atlan killed Orin and his wife, using his scepter to sink Atlantis. Over ninety percent of Atlantis' died while the rest adapted to the water. Some of the survivors became the Trench. Vulko reveals that Arthur and his family are descended from Orin.

Geoff Johns has now completely pulled a Brian Azzarello and rewritten Aquaman’s history pretty much from the top to the bottom. Arthur Curry is descended from the BAD Atlanteans, not the good ones. Yeah-that will certainly upset fans as much as Vulko being responsible for the whole flooding of the surface world story. As always, Paul Pelletier brings it in the art department. This was one interesting and exciting read.

AQUAMAN ANNUAL # 1: Aquaman and finds himself reunited with The Others. Morgane Le Fey has stolen Vostok's Atlantean helmet to acquire its power. In the process, The Others are forced to face their worst fears and their weaknesses. Ya’Wara falls prey to her fears and actually betrays his companions. In the end, Morgane is defeated by the combined effort and Ya’ Wara quits the team in shame.

Sorry for the short recap, but I was totally bored by this overly long $5.00 story. Geraldo Borges and Netho Diaz art was nice for this issue and, at times reminiscent of Paul Pelletier and Ivan Reis’ work, although there were moments when we drifted from a young looking Arthur to an older looking one. But John Ostrander, who has worked with The Others before, left me feeling like he tried to write the big story and couldn’t carry it. The characterizations are light and not what I expected out of him. And DC dropping it in the middle of a pretty heavy storyline in the book is pretty unfair. And the ending is basically a launching point for an ongoing series starring The Others. Personally, I’d rather have the original Outsiders back!

BATGIRL #24: Barbara Gordon’s current boyfriend just got shot by her own father and now she has GPCD’s finest surrounding her with guns drawn. While Bullock tells his boos that it was a righteous shoot, Barbara goes ballistic and takes out every cop in the place(including the bad guy who was heading to make his own escape), except for her dad she ALMOST punches out. She reaches the roof where she is stopped by Detective McKenna, who hands over all the information she has on Knightfall. As much as McKenna wants to take down Charise Carnes, the police just don’t have the evidence and she is hoping Batgirl will fit the bill. Getting home and dodging her father’s calls, Barbara goes to the hospital to visit Rocky, who we learn is in a coma. She finally decides to visit her father, who, unbeknownst  to her, is being menaced by The Disgraced: Mirror, Gretel, Grotesque, Bleak Michael and Bonebreaker. Barbara arrives and realizes she has to become Batgirl one last time to save her father.

Gail Simone chugs on with another great issue of what is quickly becoming a teen soap opera. But somehow it all works nicely. It will all come to a head next issue when Batgirl must save Gordon’s life: the man who wants her dead for killing his son…who is not really dead and is helping to run the Suicide Squad. Got that? Anyway, here’s some major applause to both Fernando Pasarin and Jonathan Glapion for turning out some GREAT looking art this time around. This books lights up: their style is tight and well delineated and it just really looks great.

BATMAN #24: Red Hood One is having major problems with Batman’s interference and is quite willing to punish those who fail him. He pours a silica-based concrete into the mouths of those members who failed him and drops them into the bay to drown.  Confused by the Red Hood gang’s M.O., Bruce visits his uncle Philip, revealing that he was not killed in the explosion that destroyed his brownstone. Philip apologizes and then reveals that the Red Hoods have made him #347 and doesn’t know what to do about it. Back in the caves, Bruce and Alfred realize what the Red Hood Gang is planning to do so Bruce appears upon the news, claiming he knows something about the Red Hood Gang. Commissioner Loeb, convinced that Wayne was dead, decides to send James Gordon to deal with it. At his press conference, Bruce reveals that he believes the Red Hood Gang is at the Ace Chemical Processing Plant where they are planning to create a radioactive, flesh-eating poison that will explode throughout the city. A group of Red Hoods prepare to fire at the news crews. Bruce uses the explosion as a distraction and runs inside the plant, along with Gordon and his men. Bruce gets captured by Red Hood One who reveals he was going to unleash his assault on the anniversary of the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Just before Red Hood One is going to kill Bruce, the power goes out and the Red Hood Gang puts on night-vision goggles, just in time to see Batman take Wayne away. Batman orders the lights be turned back on which now blinds the Gang. Red Hood One orders his men kill Batman and trains a high-caliber pistol trained on him, The shot misses when one of the gang fires a shot at his head, calling for an end to this madness. Red Hood One shoots him dead and Batman discovers that it was Red Hood #347: Uncle Philip. Red Hood orders his men to get to the trucks, but Alfred has gained control of the doors, effectively locking everyone inside. The plant begins to explode and Jim Gordon attempts to arrest the Dark Knight, who escapes to the roof just in time to see Red Hood One escaping on a helicopter. Batman wraps his grapple line around him and they both fall through the roof of the chemical plant. As the catwalk they are on begins to collapse, Batman begs him to take his hand. With a large grin, Red Hood One insists that this is only the beginning and falls into the vat of chemicals below. Days later, Bruce has managed to connect the cave to a secret entrance in the study of Wayne Manor. Meanwhile, the police discovered the remains of a man called Liam Distal who they feel is the Red Hood. Batman believes that someone murdered Distal and took his place as leader of the Red Hood Gang. Bruce and Alfred have a conversation about the Waynes which is interrupted by a news broadcast where Edward Nygma introduces himself to the city as The Riddler. He has a riddle: There are two sisters. Each gives birth to the other. Who are they? One sister says "I am the Day," and the other says "I am the night." The Riddler ends by saying: "so bring on the dark, dark night!"  An EMP blast knocks out power to the entire city, except for his broadcast, with him challenging to meet his challenge.

For SEVEN BUCKS, it had better have been a winner! And it was! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo finish their take on Batman’s origin in all sorts of style. We get Lieutenant Jim Gordon and his first encounter with the Bat. Uncle Philip dies a hero, leaving Bruce with another Wayne member on his conscious. The Red Hood MAY or MAY NOT have been revealed to have been two different men. Batman makes his secret entrance to the Batcave. The Riddler comes into play for the first time, in a closing sequence by Snyder, James Tynion and Rafael Albuquerque. And, best of all, Red Hood ONE, whoever he may be, takes the long dive into the chemical vat to become, although we never see it, The Joker. What more could you ask for…well: maybe that pasty faced villain crawling OUT of the vat. Other than that, this was about as cool a comic read as you could want.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #24: Another day in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne finds Alfred filling in the empty graves of Talia and Damian. But Bruce wants them left open to remind him how they were stolen by Ra's al Ghul. Elsewhere, Two-Face flips a coin, puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger, only to find he gets to live another day. Commissioner Gordon receives word that Erin McKillen is back in town. Her cousin meets with her and gives her the locations of her two old foes: Batman and Harvey Dent.  Erin then attends the meeting of Gotham's crime families where the thought of joining together to stop Gotham's crazies is put out there. The families feel Erin needs to deal with Two-Face because she is responsible for making him. After the meeting, the GCPD raids one of her safe houses and soon the news reaches both Batman and Two-Face. Sometime in the past, Attorney Harvey Dent found himself tied to his own desk with Erin McKillen dressed in his wife Gilda’s clothes, who she had murdered to teach him a lesson. She grabbed a bottle of acid and poured it over Harvey's face, declaring that Gotham would finally see what a two-faced son of a bitch he was. After she left, Dent freed himself and kissed his wife’s lips for the last time. Back in present day, Batman catches up with Erin and they battle until he overcomes her. She spits in his face and he calmly welcomes her back to Gotham City.

Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason introduce Erin McKillen to the NEW 52 Universe and, in doing so, rewrite Harvey Dent’s origin.  In what has become the classic origin, crime boss Carmine Falcone, hires corrupt Assistant District Attorney Fields to disfigure Dent with sulfuric acid.  Of course, the classic character also has a still living wife in the form of Gilda, who also was the serial killer known as Holiday, AND a daughter named Duela. Now DC has reintroduced Duela but she sure doesn’t seem like she is related to Harvey and Gilda, especially if this Gilda is dead. Anyway, seeing Harvey’s wife murdered and the way in which he is disfigured makes him a more sympathetic character than before, at least in my eyes. He’s still crazy, but I know understand his motives. And Mick Gray’s artwork shines! This issues rocks and proves yet again that Scott Snyder isn’t the ONLY writer today who understands the workings of the Bat.

BATMAN SUPERMAN #4: On Earth-2, the crystal shard has been activated even as Slade is taken down by the Earth-2 Superman and Batman. Superman grabs the shard and he makes a wishthat causes Earth-2 and Prime Earth to combine. Batman tries to stop him and he transforms into a bat-like creature, causing Clark to drop the crystal. Slade shoots at Earth-2 Superman and hits the Batwing piloted by Lois Kent and Selina Wayne. Prime Earth’s Superman, figuring out how to fly, saves the Batwing as his Earth 2 counterpart sends the energy beam back to Earth, destroying both the canon and the crystal. Wonder Woman is facing the Trickster who decides that Earth-2 isn't ready for Darkseid. He sends everyone back to their proper place and erases their memories. Back in Gotham, Bruce and Clark watch as Zack fights back against the bullies. When the two heroes leave, the Trickster reveals herself as the "devil" on Zack's shoulder.

So, now the kid has guts and that’s because he has the evil Trickster in him and is responsible for Darkseid arriving and the whole Justice League getting together? Or am I reading way too much into that?  Personally, I found this whole four issue arc confusing and boring. Greg Pak has written some great stuff and I’m not sure this was it. And Jae Lee is super talented, but I got so confused by who was who that I lost interest real early. We’ll have to see what the next arc looks and feels like before I decide if this is a continued fit for me.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #24: While serving time at Arkham Asylum, Clayface discovers the prisoner in the cell next to him is a huge fan of his work as Basil Karlo. He recalled how was an ordinary guy who tried to change himself to get noticed. He tried out for a school production of Pygmalion, but was too nervous and got cut, being told he was nothing special. He auditioned for many years without any success until The Penguin offered him a hunk of clay that he claimed was the power source for some Navajo shape-changers. Basil took the clay home; it entered his body and began rewriting his DNA. With a new elastic face, directors hired him on the spot. He soon gained the ability to copy the DNA of anyone he touched. Soon the Penguin hired him to do his dirty work for him. But after each transformation, he lost the ability to hold his shape for long periods and his anger grew. Today, he is in Arkham and the inmate next to him has collapsed in his cell and died. Clayface mourned for two days until he found a way to get a small part of himself through the containment tube, allowing him to be free sometime soon.

If you never felt pity for Clayface, you will after reading this story which, in my opinion, should be nominated for an Eisner. Greg Hurwitz turns in a real tear-jerker, especially when his biggest fan, the guy in the cell next door, dies on him, sending the monster who was showing signs of being a man again, back into the realm of turning into a monster once more. And, as I have said in the past, Alex Maleev is turning out probably the best work of his illustrious career. This run and particularly this issue, is a MUST READ on anyone’s list.

BATWOMAN #24: Batwoman told the DEO that fake crimes wouldn’t bring the Batman out, so they hired real criminals, who are loose in Gotham City. Because of the situation, Agent Chase declares martial law and takes control of the GCPD. Maggie threatens to kill her if Kate gets injured, so she confiscates Bullock and Maggie’s guns and arrests Maggie. Meanwhile, out in the war zone, Batman arrives in time to neutralize Bane’s venom by making him vomits uncontrollably. He reveals that he was hired by Bones. Batman catches up with Bones on the deck of the Serpent's Wake. Batwoman arrives and hits Batman's suit with a high-voltage charge, with no effect. Then, concerned that he may have special lenses in his mask, she blinds him with a Batarang. He urges her to stop trying to fight him. She grabs his neck and screams "No." Meanwhile, at a DEO safe house, Hawkfire infiltrates the building, eventually finding Beth Kane’s holding cell. The guards catch up to her before she can get Beth free, who suggests that if her chained gloves were removed, she might be able to them escape.

For all you fans of this book, be aware that this is the last issue for J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman. Because DC editorial refused to allow them to write the marriage of Kate Kane to Maggie Sawyer, they quit the book. Good for them; bad for us. Marc Andreyko will begin writing with the next issue, even though Williams and Blackman's scripts through issue #26 are completed. Where does this now take us? This becomes anyone’s guess. All I know is it looks like artist Trevor McCarthy is still on the book. This has been a great trend setter with awesome characterization. I can only hope that the team that follows it doesn’t screw it up!

BIRDS OF PREY #24: Black Canary and Condor have been kidnapped by a gang of terrorists belonging to Basilisk while Strix and Batgirl meet with a former detective on the GCPD who claims that his benefactor's organization the helicopter containing the kidnapped pair. He takes them to Gotham International Airport where they board a plane to give chase. Meanwhile, Black Canary woke in a Basilisk lab with no powers because her NOT DEAD husband Kurt is being kept in there with her. She sees Regulus and realizes that that the leader of Basilisk is former Team 7 partner Dean Higgins. When Dinah destroyed Gamorra Island, he was trapped with Kaizen Gamorra and her Canary Cry merged them together into Regulus. Regulus offers a choice: serve him and be with Kurt, or die apart. He has studied Kurt and plans on using him to turn off all super-powers permanently. Nearby, Tsiklon wakes Condor and lets him know that Canary is now with Regulus. Batgirl and Strix infiltrate the compound when Batgirl hears Condor's voice. Curious to see if he truly is no longer a teammate of Basilisk, she follows them. He notices her watching him and leads his former team to catch her.

Oh my goodness: can this get any worse? Can we cancel this and just give Strix her own title? The Christy Marx’ dialogue is juvenile, the plot gets dumber and dumber and only Romano Molenaar’s art is a saving grace. And that’s just barely.  This book continues to be a mere shadow of its’ former self.

CATWOMAN #24: Catwoman and Princess Tinderbox get attacked by The Joker's Daughter, who claims that the face she wears is what gives her power. The women of the Nethers force Catwoman into a floodgate forcing her to fall into the depths of the Nethers and then take Tinderbox as their captive. Catwoman survived the fall and soon is hiding from a gang of Warhogs who apparently are carrying the charred remains of Rat-Tail. She attacks the Warhogs, she spots one with a rat-tail and gives chase. Rat-Tail DIDN’T die, he just traded places with a Warhog.  Discovering they are in the tunnel that leads back to Charneltown, they can conceivably get the virus out through one of the series of pneumatic tubes there.The Warhogs, led by Zakaria, move to retaliate against Charneltown. Meanwhile, Alice discovers that the diamond Catwoman stole is made from volcanic rock. Alice tells Catwoman that she will have to put the GPS watch in the tube with the toxin so Alice can find it. It also turns out that Dr. Phosphorous has creative the diamonds with his super-heated hands and they are actually bombs designed to destroy Gotham. Alice tries to figure out the flaw in their creation and one explodes and she is caught in the blast. Joker's Daughter convinces Tinderbox that they could rule Charneltown by drowning it with a million gallons of water and she agrees. But ugly cat has been is caught in all that water and may drown, along with Catwoman and Rat-Tail. Doctor Phosphorous decides to send a fireball back at the Joker's Daughter, even if his own daughter is with her.

This was an EXTREMELY BUSY issue with a lot of plot exposition, thus the super long synopsis above. Ann Nocenti shakes off some of her rust and churns out a really, REALLY good script than doesn’t wallow in too many clichés. When you couple that with Rafa Sandoval’s awesome art and this issue, on a title that has been borderline with me for sometime, turns out to be a major winner. I loved it, from the Terry Dodson cover right through to the last page where Rat-Tail, Selina and ugly cat appear to take their last breaths.

CONSTANTINE #7: Constantine heads back to Dotty's Pet Shop and discovers that finds all of his magical artifacts are gone. This means that the Cult of the Cold Flame can now find every magic-user in the world. A fortune teller in Australia, the Witch of Deepwater, once refused to join the Cult of the Cold Flame. Mister E takes her power and her life. He then goes to Italy, where Il Stregone pays the ultimate price. He then goes to London to Julia Everheart and her daughter. Knowing the Cult intends to kill her and her family, Mister E orders Julia to send her daughter upstairs and then come with him.  Meanwhile, Tannarak begins to drain John's artifacts of their magic power. One third of that power is absorbed into him while the other two thirds spread out around the world, causing many of the magical beings, from Felix Faust to Papa Midnite to notice. Sargon visits Constantine to mock him, but she kisses him and takes him away. She has her way with him and threatens to kill him if he leaves. Mister E arrives and declares he now belongs to the Cult.

Mister E USED TO BE a nice guy in the old DCU. This is not the case here as he is making John Constantine’s life and those connected to him, absolutely miserable. Ray Fawkes weaves a really creepy tale and Szymon Kudranski brings the art with it. This title drifts back and forth between really good and really awful. This time around, it’s really GOOD.

DETECTIVE COMICS #24: We all have learned that Elliot Caldwell, known as “The Wrath”, has supplied the GCPD with safety equipment filled with electrical charges which is killing many of them. Caldwell pursues the Batplane, which Batman self-destructs to buy him time to save the police, escaping by Bat-Glider. Saving the police, Alfred explains how he believes he knows the reason for Caldwell’s attack on the police. Fifteen years ago, Mallory Caldwell was killed in a jewelry store robbery and Alfred believes that E.D. Caldwell blames the police the shooting and believes they stole the diamonds, which were never recovered. Later that day, The Wrath opens fire at the most populated police precinct in the city; the one where the men in charge of investigating Caldwell’s father had been stationed. Batman had convinced the Commissioner to evacuate the station house. Batman captures Caldwell and the GCPD wait to arrest him, but not before they blast him with his own guns, causing his armor to crack open. Batman promises to ask Bruce Wayne to pay for the repairs to the station house but the Commissioner suggest they use Caldwell’s captured assets. Several days later, the Commissioner pulls Mallory Caldwell's file and clears his name. Caldwell cares less and promises that Gordon and every cop will die when he gets out. That is overheard by Ignatius Ogilvy, the former Emperor Penguin, who suggests they plan for the future.

John Layman and Jason Fabok wrap up a great story in a great way. Layman has created a new villain who will prove to be a player in the future. Fabok’s art is as sharp as ever and is certainly a perfect artist for the Batman and his cast of characters. Can we get him to draws ALL the Bat books? This is another shining example that there are a tremendous cast of talent currently making the Bat Books, with the exception of BATMAN SUPERMAN, the cornerstones and MUST READS of the NEW 52 Universe.

EARTH 2 #16: The World Army is in the midst of a battle in Dherain against Steppenwolf and his Hunger Dogs (Beguiler, Bedlam, and Brutaal) and finds themselves defeated within an hour, killing all but Amar Khan and Mr. Terrific. They contact Wesley Dodds and the Wonders head into Dherain to help with the dead and the wounded. All except for Alan Scott who goes after Steppenwolf on his own. Unfortunately Brutaal was his back-up and Green Lantern falls, giving time for Steppenwolf to give a long speech for the television cameras. But that does not last long as Steppenwolf is destroyed by Brutaal, who reveals himself to be Superman. He then blasts a huge huge rift in the Earth as everyone runs for safety.

James Robinson delivers what I believe is his farewell tale, with the help of Nicola Scott and Trevor Scott and it is the Home Run I have been waiting for  since somewhere in issue #12. The world is going to hell and no one can stop Steppenwolf…except for Superman who apparently isn’t really who he seems to be. And didn't he die the last time Darkseid’s army invaded Earth 2. I’m confused and that’s a good thing! Now we wait and see what Robinson’s successor does to keep this momentum going with the introduction of a new batman next month.

GREEN ARROW #24:Oliver Queen has been having issues aiming after his inner ears were damaged by Count Vertigo, who has returned to Seattle and is trashing the town. Komodo and the Outsiders are waiting in the wings too and that is going to be a problem for an archer who can’t aim his arrows. Shado knocks him unconscious and, despite her objections, Naomi goes along. Vertigo talks to the news cameras, declaring that until the Green Arrow shows, he will keep attacking the city. As Shado is ready to attack, she is attacked from behind by a martial artist. He throws her from the roof of the building and she lands on the fire-escape. Oliver goes after Shado and Vertigo dares him to stop him. Oliver has learned to not fight the vertigo and focuses on Vertigo’s jaw and tears the vertigo-device from the back of his head. The police arrive and take Vertigo away. Naomi tells Oliver that Shado is okay, although she keeps mumbling about having seen a dragon. Meanwhile, Billy Tockman, a crime boss who runs a repair shop called The Clock King, is visited by a John Diggle, who warns the Dragon is making moves his territory.

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have managed to absolutely take this book and turn it around from what it started as. They have managed to take a ho-hum story ofr the spoiled rich kid turned vigilante superhero and, while not attaining the greatness of the classic days, have brought Ollie to his current NEW 52 roots in such a way as to make this one of my favorite, MUST READ FIRST titles each month. The writing is sharp and crisp and Andrea Sorrentino’s artwork is top notch. And, just to make matters that much cooler, John Diggle is back.