DC'S NEW 52 Month 26, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #26: We find Lana Lang and her crew being attacked by a giant monster in Venezuela. Superman and they battle until the military show up, which Superman attempts to stop, as he has figured the creature is somewhat intelligent. Soon, Superman finds himself attacked by Lieutenant Sawyer. A United States soldier who has been named "Ghost Soldier", he becomes intangible and plunges a knife into Superman's chest. Superman uses both his heat vision and cold breath to slow Ghost Soldier down and allow him to take creature into outer space, where it looks like he throws him at the sun. Hours later, Lana and her crew discover a large underground tunnel that she thinks Superman might be interested in seeing that. We discover that Superman brought the creature to the Fortress of Solitude to keep it safe. As he recalls a moments from his youth, the creature transforms into a human child.

Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder combine for another great issue here. Pak is so good at writing characters and he has made Superman that much more human just by giving his heart a much bigger place inside of him. He neatly ties Clark to Lana, Smallville, Jonathan Kent and this creature and does so in such an awesome way. Kuder's art just keeps getting better and better and the whole book feels alive, almost like it did when Grant Morrison got up to speed on it.

ALL-STAR WESTERN #26: We begin our tale in the past where a pregnant Tallulah Black is looking for her groom to be, Jonah Hex. As the ceremony is ending, Tallulah, Jonah and a strange angel end up in a Mexican standoff. The bride and the groom kill everyone in the church and then Jonah kills his bride, realizing none of this is real. It's present times and realizes this is a nightmare caused by the strange purple blossoms. They fetch John Constantine who stomps on Swamp Thing until the alien parasite leaves him. The parasite has apparently been unleashed by Mongul and is currently playing a key role in current issues of BATMAN SUPERMAN. Swamp Thing tells Jonah to go to metropolis, where the House of Secrets is located. So Jonah and Gina head to metropolis where he gets into a gunfight with some bank robbers. Well, he attempts to. That is when Superman arrives.

Read enough of my mad ramblings and you know how much I truly love this title. This time around, we spend the first twelve pages in a false story that is illustrated by Jeff Johnson and made me realize that, no matter how much I love Moritat's art, Jeff Johnson is incredible! Tallulah has never looked so sexy, even pregnant. And Jonah has a face that was always so scary on the covers of the original ALL STAR WESTERN series, but never quite help up inside the book. Once again, we get a cover that has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY...nice going again to DC Editorial! Other than that, another killer episode from Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.

ANIMAL MAN #26: Animal Man joins forces with the aliens in a battle against some giant alien creature. Destroying the creature, Buddy meets The Bridgewalker. He tells Buddy that he is a candidate to be the next Bridgewalker and therefore must stay here and be the apprentice to the current one. He is shown how important the Seed Planet is and why Buddy is needed to keep it and all life in the Universe alive. Buddy explains that his family is in trouble and the deal is struck: go home and save your family and then you come back to the Seed Planet-no excuses. Buddy agrees and suddenly finds himself in The Red where brother Blood tells him that he has killed Buddy's family and that Maxine will be next.

You can tell this title is on its way to final graveyard as Jeff Lemire puts less than his heart and soul into this issue. Not to mention we have some awful art from Cully Hamner. This is by far, the worst and possibly the dumbest issue of the series. Buddy kills and alien, gets to be the next Bridgemaster and is sent to save his family and leave them forever. Oh brother!

AQUAMAN #26: We begin with problems under the northern Atlantic where a submarine is swallowed by a sea creature. Meanwhile, a reporter named Evans is questioning half of Amnesty Bay about Aquaman, but they all blow him off. The king finds himself still not gaining complete acceptance from the ruling council of Atlantis. He is told of the issue with the submarine and Aquaman is catapulted by a massive water spout through the air to the coast of Iceland where he proceeds to battle this giant crab-like creature called the Karaqan. Aquaman tries to telepathically control it and ends up in what seems to be ancient Atlantis.

It's Jeff Parker's first issue on this title, along with regular artist Paul Pelletier. It's not a bad first issue as he has some rather big shoes to fill. We find that the folks of Amnesty Bay would just as soon forget Arthur Curry and his wife ever lived there, that the council in Atlantis still has their doubts and that some ancient Atlantean creature is causing havoc in Iceland. All in all, an action filled first issue.

BATGIRL #26: Batgirl attacks Knightfall's crew as they are starting to torture her father. She manages to get him to safety in the basement. He warns that despite saving him, he still does not trust her. Knightfall suggests the Disgraced pin Gordon's murder on Batgirl and, unbeknown to the rest of them, orders Bleak Michael to burn the house down, if things go badlyBatgirl uses a combination of weapons to distract her opponents, so Bleak Michael prepares burn the house down. But Gordon knocks him out with his nightstick that he took out of his footlocker in the basement. With things falling apart, Knightfall orders everyone to flee. As Batgirl decides to leave, Gordon announces he is going to arrest her for James Gordon, Jr.'s murder. She tries to defend her actions by explaining how she was trying to save his wife.She also calls him out on shooting an innocent person like Ricky and begins to remove her mask, telling him this is the only way she can earn his trust. He responds by saying he doesn't want to know and admits that he will not arrest her tonight, but she is no longer welcome here. As she leaves, she gets a call from Ricky's mother, learning he has gotten out of his coma.

Well, Gail Simone and Daniel Sampere bring the WANTED storyline to a conclusion that only wraps up some loose plot threads. So, it's kind of a disappointment. I guess I wanted more from it. I wanted Batgirl to reveal her identity and change more of past DC Continuity I wanted Knightfall and her team to be brought down and brought to justice. It was a good story but a little short on "moments". The photo realistic cover by Alex Garner truly jumps out at you from the magazine shelf and begs you to check out the book. Well, now that this storyline has ended, you should jump on...starting with the next issue.

BATMAN #26: Bruce Wayne has been injected with some kind of drug by Lucius Fox who is being injected by Karl Helfern, who now calls himself Doctor Death. Bruce jumps up and chops off Helfern's arm with a piece of pipe, but the bone grows back and mutates. Wayne gets to the control panel for a jet engine being tested and Helfern is sucked in. As they flee, Lucius explains that what he injected Bruce with was his own crude vaccine against Helfern's serum. Helfern survives the jet engine and attacks, grabbing Bruce's head and starting to squeeze. Just then Jim Gordon arrives and the villain flees. When Bruce awakes, he finds himself in a hospital bed with a cranial fracture. As he tries to leave the bed, he finds himself chained to it. Jim Gordon arrives, saying they must work together to stop Helfern. Then Gordon tells him the story of how he gained his now famous trench coat and we learn it was protection money from a shop owner.. Jim had been racketeering; abusing his status. Bruce breaks free, grabs Gordon's gun, and points it at the policeman, saying he will never trust him. As Bruce leaves, Gordon learns that The Riddler has struck again. Batman heads to Newton Center to protect two Wayne scientists whom Doctor Death will be going after, but arrives too late to save them, as they have been injected with Doctor Death's serum. Commissioner Loebs and his men arrive, agreeing to pin the murder on Batman and proceed to open fire, wounding him in the process.

I cannot believe how much Scott Snyder manages to cram into each issue of this title and still make it all make sense. We have mystery, intrigue, crazy villains, revelations (who knew Jim Gordon was once being paid protection money?) and a crazy Commissioner! Poor Bruce Wayne: can his life get any weirder? As we all know, it will. Greg Capullo continues to churn out some great looking art that totally compliments the story. I know a lot of fans are upset about the direction this story has been taking, by rewriting the legend of the Batman. Personally, I like what is being done here and think, like many of the other revamps and coloring of his legend in the past continuity, this just adds to the legend of Dark Knight.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #26: A family is affected by the death of a young child whose mother, who works in a sweatshop, could not afford to buy the medicine to save the girl. The mother gets an opportunity to sneak over the border and work in Gotham. But human traffickers hijack the truck, which separates the mother from her daughter and the grandmother. Mom ends up working the streets while the grandmother and daughter work hard labor. At one point, the grandmother, who is very sick, tries to escape but dies in the process. We also discover the The Penguin is the leader of the entire operation and this death sets the Dark Knight after him. he finds the sweatshop and rescues the little girl. As he tries to free the rest of the workers, he is captured, put in a cage, and delivered to the Penguin.

And interesting silent issue from Gregg Hurwitz and Alberto Ponticelli that makes you have to READ. Not READ WORDS-READ! To be honest, I READ this issue three times to make sure I did not miss details. Awesome example of what great storytelling can be without even uttering a word.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #26: Bruce Wayne explains to Erin that she ended up in Wayne Manor because Matches Malone ransomed her off to the highest bidder. She calls her cousin to cousin to come get her and the pair talk about her dead twin sister Shannon. It seems that after Harvey Dent put the sisters in jail and after numerous failed attempts to get out on appeal, they came up with a plan to escape prison. Shannon draws the short straw and hangs herself in her cell. Erin contacts the guard who was in on the plan, as her son gets a life saving operation in the process. In the morgue, Erin switches bodies and is taken out by the medics who think they're transporting a corpse. Currently, Erin's cousin shows up and takes her out of Wayne manor. However, he betrays her, drugs her, and brings her to Gilda Dent's grave. There, she finds Two-Face waiting for her. The crime families have decided to put her cousin in charge and she tells Two-Face that the families will in turn kill him. Gunfire rings through the area, with Two-Face fire on the crime families and Erin's cousin. Batman arrives and starts fighting against the crime families as well. Two Face thanks him, but causes a giant statue to collapse on him and trap him in a dug out grave.

Under a spectacular cover by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray and John Kalisz, who also handles the interior art, we get more of the story that will lead to revealing the full NEW 52 origin of Two-Face. Even without Robin in the book anymore, which is why the title changes so frequently (although I DON'T bother), Peter J. Tomasi knows how to write a damned good tale. And this is one killer tale, complete with a grisly short straw wins/loses scenario for Erin and Shannon. Talk about your ghastly escape plans!

BATWOMAN #26: This issue begins in 1929, a young man hangs himself amidst what is assumed to be his art. The headlines the next day read: Art Hangs Artist! The Mystery of the Century! In current times, Wolf Spider is stealing art, killing Hollis Windham in the process. Later, Kate and Maggie attend a party where Kate has a lengthy discussion about her lifestyle and Windham's murder with her friend Evan Blake. Soon Bette shows up and that means it's time for Batwoman and her partner to swing into action. They find the Wolf Spider breaking into Blake's apartment and battle. During the battle, Bette is knocked out and Batwoman gets him with the same venom tipped darts that killed Windham. Is this the end of Batwoman?

What we do know is this is the first issue by new writer Marc Andreyko and artist Jeremy Haun. Well, it doesn't look like it did and it doesn't read like it did, but it's a fun issue nonetheless with some wonderful references to Eighties pop culture intertwined with a cool mystery. My biggest question is how Kate can bail from her fiancée at a party and it looks like Maggie never notices. Hmmm...major suspension of disbelief here! 

BIRDS OF PREY #26: Black Canary battles Regulus, who is a result of a merger between Kaizen Gamorra and her old Team 7 partner Dean Higgins. And he is using Kurt Lance's power's to affect the power's of everyone else here. He explains that he didn't keep Kurt alive-that was Amanda Waller's doing: the same Waller that let Dinah believe that she was responsible for his death. She is also told that if she removes him from the bed he is in, he will die. Meanwhile, Batgirl and Strix battle Regulus' agents, along with Condor. But Condor's true loyalties are revealed as he works to take down Regulus' people. Back at Kurt's body, Dinah takes a chance and pulls the plug on her husband, which unleashes his ability to amplify powers and will overload every single metahuman on the island, effectively destroying it. She unleashes a scream that sends Regulus through the roof of the complex. Condor orders Batgirl and Strix to get to Dinah out before she causes real damage. Batgirl looks at Kurt's EEG and realizes he has had a massive stroke, so she re-attaches the suppressors and puts him in a coma. Regulus prepares to make a final attack upon Condor, Strix intervenes, resulting in Regulus to fall to his presumed death. Our last image is of Dinah is crying over her husband.

Can I have my OLD BIRDS OF PREY back? You know: the one with the Batgirl in wheelchair and Lady Blackhawk looking 1940's HOT?! This book is certainly not it. Here's my suggestion, as I believe I have mentioned before. Let's cancel this title, find a decent writer, and let Strix have her own book. Heck: it can be SILENT for all I care. Just give me something with a little less "soap opera" than this Christy Marx title.

CATWOMAN #26: When last we left off, in issue #24, the Joker's Daughter convinced Tinderbox that they could rule Charneltown by drowning it with a million gallons of water, while Doctor Phosphorous sent a fireball towards them. This issue has Duela Dent frozen in wax as Gotham reels from the explosion below. Catwoman and rat tail are reunited as Alice helps to try and get Catwoman out and back to the surface. And we learn that the flood cooled off the lava pit, which is how Catwoman and ugly cat didn't die OR drown. Warhog and his followers end up at Rock Bottom, Catwoman frees Duella and makes a deal with her and Doctor Phosphours and Tinderbox get what they deserve. When all is done, Tinderbox is dead, as is Warhog and the men in The Bunker are trapped with no means to procreate. And Catwoman? She gets free and brings a bunch of the Gem Bombs with her. Hope someone doesn't make a ring out of it.

I'd would like to give a big thank you to Ann Nocenti for allowing my IQ to drop by about 10 points by reading this issue! I swear, this is actually being ghost written by a thirteen-year-old fan boy who masturbates every time he sees a hot girl in the book! Wow! Did I REALLY just write that? This is one dumb issue and stuff happened between the END of #24 and the BEGINNING of this that makes no sense. It's like she took a month off for ZERO YEAR and forgot what was written! And we have ANOTHER NON-EXISTENT fight scene on the cover! AWFUL! I can only hope that the GOTHTOPIA story next month will make things better. Somehow, I doubt it.

CONSTANTINE #9: Constantine and company, Swamp Thing, Pandora, Phantom Stranger and the Nightmare Nurse have found themselves evicted from The House of Mystery by The Blight, which has taken over the body of Chris Esperanza ( if you don't read THE PHANTOM STRANGER, you're lost). Blight is rampaging through New York with miniature versions of the Seven Deadly Sins. Meanwhile, two mysterious strangers have Sargon the Sorceress strapped to an equally mysterious machine that appears to be drawing her mystical energy out of her. All we know is that it's a project for the Crime Syndicate. It looks like the team has got the upper hand on The Blight when all hell breaks loose and the team finds itself at the mercy of The Blight. In fact, Constantine mourns the fact that he will never see Zatanna again as it looks like The Blight will end his life.

I have a bunch of complaints with this issue. Now I know this is part of the multi issue crossover between the "magic" books involving The Blight, that runs for several months and runs concurrently with the FOREVER EVIL story. So, I know I'm in for the long haul on this story if I want to be. But, as is known with DC Editiorial, we have the Crime Syndicate standing over a defeated John Constantine. And guess what: The Crime Syndicate NEVER appears in the book! And, if that wasn't enough, the art from Aco is awful! I have seen self-published homemade titles by 16 year olds that looked better than this. No offenses to anyone in that category, but you get what I mean. Part Mazzuchelli rip off, part Alex Maleev rip off, it just looks dark and dingy, and the coloring does not help! Ray fawkes rocks as a writer but this is just a mess that he has to try to work with...

DETECTIVE COMICS #26: After a series of bizarre murders, Batman finds himself chasing down the developer of the Man-Bat Serum, Kirk Langstrom. Earlier, the Dark Knight had determined that a Man bat didn't commit the murders, but a swarm of bats, much like piranhas, was responsible. Using a special device Batman manages to get the Man bat side of Langstrom to temporarily disappear. He explains he no longer needs the serum to transform and neither does his wife, who is actually corporate spy Felicity Lee. He believes it is her addiction that has led to her mutating into a much worse version of his Man bat creature. The pair ends up at a cave where she and her bat colony roost. Using a sonic gun to clear out the bats, they meet up with the Bat Queen, but Kirk drops the counter-serum. With no other choice, he transforms and attacks her. But Batman had actually injected Kirk with the serum, knowing his fangs could puncture her skin, forcing her to return to human form but leaving Kirk permanently as a Man Bat. Both end up in Arkham Asylum. Returning to Wayne Manor, Bruce learns that his partner, Catwoman, is unhappy to be left behind on this last mission. This last panel leads into next issue's anniversary issue as we learn this story takes place in the altered reality of Gothtopia. 

Yeah...that last panel means a whole lot as we see a Catwoman who looks like a cross between the feline crook and Robin. And just who is under that mask? I found this issue provided a new wrap up to the Man bat story and, at the same time, through in this wonderful lead-in for DETECTIVE #27. Could this be Stephanie Brown? John Layman writes a rocking tale that totally cements the former Francine Langstrom into a villain. Couple that with killer art From Aaron Lopresti and Art Thibert and you end up with an issue worth savoring.

EARTH 2 #18: The World Army has been totally dismantled by the new Superman, who has totally decimated the Arkham Command Center and left Commander Khan with a pretty severe wound and the Wonders are trying to figure out how to stop him. He cripples The Flash rather than kill him as he believes that Darkseid might have use for him as a monster. He is also planning on taking both Michael Holt and Terry Sloan, the two smartest people on Earth 2, back to Apokolips.  Meanwhile Batman is in the basement of World Army Headquarters where he is planning to free three specific villains from their stasis tubes and, despite the interference of Red Tornado and Major Sato, he releases Aquawoman. Criminal number two is  Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen who is part of the group "Accountable": a group of hackers that would release top secret information. Looking at Major Sato's phone, he informs everyone that Parademons are pouring out of the fire pits around the world. Batman decides to go to prisoner #3, The Joker. But he doesn't free him-he kills him.

And of course the mysteries in this title continue. Who is Superman and how did he get powered by Omega Beams? Who is the new Batman, who apparently has never heard of a razor. Now that Lois Lane is Red Tornado, can we call her Lois Tornado. Who is Aquawoman and why is she a dangerous prisoner? Will Flash ever be able to run again now that Superman has shattered his ankle? Tom Taylor has done an awesome job of taking up where James Robinson and, in my opinion, has made it fun again. Penciller Nicola Scott and inker Trevor Scott combine for some of the coolest art in the NEW 52-stuff that reminds me of the old JSA series in the OLD DCU. My faith in this title has been restored again!

GREEN ARROW #26: Green Arrow has finally recovered from the attack he suffered at the hands of Count Vertigo. Shado suggests they go back to the island where Oliver spent so many years. Oliver disagrees, thinking it's more important to find Komodo, who is still on the loose with Shado's daughter and Oliver's half-sister. Henry Fyff thinks Oliver should try to handle Richard Dragon's play for the underworld of Seattle. Naomi Singh warns not to trust Shado. Later, Oillie and Shado steal a helicopter from A.R.G.U.S. and head to the island. On arrival, Oliver brings his bow and arrows. Arriving at their destination, Shado has him fire an explosive-tipped arrow at a rock face, which reveals a cave where the arrow rests. Meanwhile, in Prague, Golgotha, the head of the Outsiders, warns that he needs to run Stellmoor Industries. They have already sent Kodiak and the Shield Clan to kill Shado and Oliver Queen. Back in America, at Arizona's Black Mesa, John Butcher meets with Magus, who claims it is time to unite the rogue clans.

So between a very cool television show and this comic, the Emerald Archer is back in the spotlight in a big way. Thank you Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino for making this guy, this Hal Jordan wanna be, cool again. And really, that is what this feels like I the NEW 52. Hal has become more of the egotistical semi-playboy that, as each issue of Robert Venditti's run goes on, I begin to hate him as a character. But Ollie is finally left that behind and is finally starting to become more of his old self, regarding what is important in the world. The Outsiders are coming and I'm sure there will be more than one surprise before this run is done.

GREEN LANTERN #26: Last issue, Hal Jordan decided to go after rogue Spectrum Users, starting with a Star Sapphire named PB Anj. Unfortunately, it didn't go well and he and Kilowog are surrounded by tons of supporters with lasers. Hal calls for back-up, calling for the rest of the Green Lantern Corps. In the process of the battle, Hal beats up one of the Braidmen, right in front of the guy's kid. The rest of the planet's civilians begin attacking Hal and Kilowog, but the rest of the Corps arrives, even having difficulty stopping the attackers. Granack, PB Anj's head Braidman and all of his men decide to surrender if PB Anj is allowed to go free. Hal agrees, but forces her to give up her Star Sapphire ring. Her response is that she is going to tell the entire universe that the Green Lantern Corps are destroying the universe by using their rings. After the Lanterns leave, the child reveals he is a Durlan and that their plan is going better than expected.

Robert Venditti and Billy Tan continue to drive this title downwards! The story is lame, the whole concept of draining the spectrum and putting the Lanterns in charge of going after violators is only going to backfire on them. I cannot totally blame Venditti for this as it was the LIGHTS OUT storyline that put all this into play. But I am so tired of Hal being the sheriff who can't shoot straight as he repeatedly fails at trying to run the Corps. Maybe we should draft Guy Gardner from the Red Lanterns and give him a shot.

GREEN TEAM #7: With JP now a werewolf, it seems that the Green Team's Techno Discs can actually change a person's DNA. Bellacheck teases a grief stricken JP, who just watched Cecilia die, into attacking Commodore. LL steps in and it looks like JP is going to attack her until Mohammed fires off his own charged power, stunning JP. LL and Mo share a kiss as JP recovers and attacks again, only to be stopped by Commodore. Then Cecilia reappears and calms her lover down, who turns back to normal. Bellacheck's soldiers show up and prepare to kill the team, but Commodore talks them out of it, insisting that their boss would probably want to see the resurrected Cecilia. Bellachek Temple is less than pleased and he kills those men who disobeyed orders. The Green Team arrives for their final battle with Temple when they learn that Daddy has been pulling his strings all along.

This is the penultimate issue by Art Baltazar, Franco and Ig Guara. That is about all I got here. I was so optimistic for this book but it never so much as took off or caught fire. In fact, in most cases, it made little or no sense. I hope that issue #8 wraps everything up and we never sees these characters again. They were uninteresting from the start and uninteresting at the end.
 
HARLEY QUINN #1: Last issue Harley got a new home left to her after an issue filled with funny vignettes by a whole bunch of cool artists. Harley packs all her belongings on a motorcycle and heads off to New York. On her way, she saves a wiener dog from his owner, and gets attacked by an assassin, who has his head lopped off by Harley's hammer. When she arrives at her new place, she meets Big Tony who shows her around the building. While they are at it, they meet Queenie. The lawyer who gave Harley the building, Robert Coachman, shows up and explains that she has got a whole floor to herself, along with roof access. The bad news is that the tenants rent only covers half the expenses, so Harley needs a job. She puts on makeup and a wig, goes job hunting, interviewing for a therapist position by day, and gets a weekend job in the roller derby. Later, while relaxing on the roof Tony saves her life from an assassin with a katana. She finds a Wanted poster showing that someone has put a hit on Harley's head.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti turn out an interesting story here that does a nice job of setting up the supporting cast for Harley's new adventures. And Chad Hardin rocks it in the art department. Now, my only question is how all of this ties into continuity within SUICIDE SQUAD. Yeah, I know: it's a comic and you need to suspend disbelief. By the way, it's a bunch of fun under a great looking Amanda Conner cover.

JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #1:It's the early part of the 31st century and Ariel Masters is being hunted. Meanwhile, on Cadmusworld, teen industrialists Teri and her twin brother Terry, better known as the Wonder Twins, discuss the new Justice League and also contemplate killing masters, who created the project. There is Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Green Lantern: recreated from cell samples kept for 1000 years by Project Cadmus. Although it is Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, there are problems here. Batman and Superman hate each other. Wonder Woman represents the Amazonian ideal in its’ purest form of anger, causing. The Flash to have great anxiety. And the Green Lantern? He can’t control the green energy like he once did.

Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis do an interesting job with this unusual turn on the classic superhero team. I read it FOUR times, just because A) it’s Giffen and sometimes with his work, you need to read him multiple times and B) I wanted to make sure we were talking clones and not 1000 year old Justice League heroes. Although, with time shifts, alternate realities and alternate Earths, it could be possible. So, it’s a fun read, once you figure out what’s going on. I especially love the Wonder Twins reference. Regarding the art, I have never been a huge Howard Porter fan, but this is his usual good work...if you like his style. So, I will at least give this a shot for the first few issues to see where it is going. For now, it does not annoy me or make me want to throw up, so it’s an approved read!

FOREVER EVIL MONTH 3

FOREVER EVIL #4: Blindfolded so as not to discover his secret identity, Batman has brought Catwoman to the Batcave to help him. All of his vehicles have been compromised by Grid's attack on the computers of the world, so they need to discover some other means of transportation. He shows her the set of cases with the means to take down a rogue Justice League: A Kryptonite stone, a Sinestro Ring, a lightning rod from the future and a Mother Box. He doesn't open the Aquaman case, as Earth 3's Aquaman died before he arrived. Wonder Woman's case is empty as he admits he has never found a weapon to stop her. But he knows that the other weapons should help Grid hears everything through the Batcave's security system. Meanwhile, Black Manta, Captain Cold and Bizarro watch Lex Luthor restart Black Adam's heart using his power-armor's electrical attack. Luthor has presumed that Ultraman's biology is the reverse of Superman's, as he eats Kryptonite and avoids sunlight. Speaking of which, Metallo is attacked by Ultraman, who rips the Kryptonite out of his chest and kills him. Super-Woman arrives and warns of the upcoming coup by Owlman. He also realizes she is with child. Over in Central City, Power Ring needs to recharge his ring, but is afraid it will hurt. He contacts Grid, demanding he send reinforcements. Grid cuts the connection. Luthor's group punches their way into a Wayne Enterprises strong room and run into Batman and Catwoman. Suddenly Power Ring members of  the Secret Society attack them Batman pulls out the Sinestro Corps ring, which is quickly broken by Power Ring, bragging the a yellow ring is no match for him. That is when Sinestro arrives.

Geoff Johns and David Finch continue to create the epic that is supposed to leave lasting repercussions throughout the NEW 52 DCU. For my money, I find this more satisfying than Marvel's most recent effort. While the issues of fitting within a timeline DO have me scratching my head, I am totally enjoying the pace and the story. And Finch' art is top notch!

FOREVER EVIL: A.R.G.U.S. #3: Steve Trevor has sent the President and Etta Candy to The Green Room. Dr. Light has returned, but only briefly. We flashback to five years ago when Steve and Diana were still together and he was telling her that he would be working with a new agency called A.R.G.U.S. But it’s only a vision being presented to him by the witches. After some negotiation, they send him to find Martin Stein, who is being attacked by Killer Frost. Steve and she brawl and Stein shoots her in the stomach with a shotgun. Frost needs Firestorm’s help. Firestorm is trapped by Deathstorm, who is trying to convince him to teach him how to make Kryptonite. Meanwhile, Doctor Light appears in Los Angeles by The Crimson Men? Oh yeah: Etta discovers that the keeper of The Green Room is a founding member of A.R.G.U.S. who is going to explain all over a cup of tea…next issue.

This is the weakest of the three mini-series as Sterling Gates and Neil Edwards try to turn Steve Trevor into a super hero and it just doesn’t work. I didn’t think it worked when he was in TEAM 7 and doing the same bad James Bond bit. No blame to either Gates and Edwards. Someone at DC decided that this is Trevor’s lot in life. I like him better as a military man in an office who would get in trouble and get saved by Wonder Woman.

FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR #3: Gotham City has been totally overrun as the inmates of Arkham Asylum are battling those of Blackgate, who has a leader in Bane. The Arkham crew have stolen the Court of Owls' Talons. Bane brings Ignatius Ogilvy to the Penguin to get him to reveal the location of his Talons. Penguin tells him that Scarecrow was responsible for the kidnapping and will soon be back at Wayne Tower. Killer Croc has led his group into Wayne Tower, but Bane, dressed in a Batman cowl, intervenes and after many minutes of battle, Killer Croc is thrown from the tower.

Peter J. Tomasi and Scot Eaton continue their chapter of this mini-series within a series. And this time around it’s all about how nasty Bane is. C’mon: he goes toe to toe with killer Croc and tosses him out of the top of Wayne Tower? That’s one mean and nasty hombre! So now he hunts for his Talons and this war just gets bigger and badder. This is truly my favorite of the mini-series so far.

FOREVER EVIL: ROGUES REBELLION  #3: The Rogues arrived in Gotham City and are trapped in Poison Ivy’s vines in Robinson Park. Ivy recognizes the Rogues but has no interest in the bounty on their heads. She would rather make use of their abilities. While the other Rogues try different tactics to get free, she kisses and poisons Trickster, explaining he will die if they don’t help her. She only wants Weather Wizard to make the sun shine so her flowers will grow, but he can’t control that. Mirror Master hope to find a Wayne Tech Fabricators warehouse so he can rebuild his Mirror Gun and use a series of mirrors to project the sun down on the garden. During their search, Sam and Mick find a pale woman with two little girls, who turns out to be the Ventriloquist and two of her dummies. They find the Wayne Tech warehouse and begin collecting the parts Sam needs. While there, they are attacked by the Man-Bats and Sam gets the great idea to trap them in Mirror World. They return to Ivy, telling her to cure Axel before he helps her. She does and he wraps himself with vines, but they snap and Axel leaps in after him, to save him. A Man-Bat swoops down and attacks Weather Wizard, causing the others to give chase. Mick, enraged, warns that if Ivy tries to come after them, he will burn her garden to the ground, while the others chase after the Man-Bat and Marco, who crash into a wall of ice. Unfortunately for them, it’s not Captain Cold-it’s Mister Freeze

Brian Buccellato knows a little something about Rogues and therefore this series is a really fun success. Toss in the art of Scott Hepburn and you have a winner. I love the Rogues and they really need to have their own series. But how do you make a series out of villains that are fan favorites? Oh yeah: CATWOMAN, PUNISHER…Sorry, forgot there. Anyway, this series is a blast and I can’t wait to see where are villains with hearts end up.