THE MOVEMENT #10: As the team is taking pictures of a captured Batgirl and preparing to unmask her, she wakes, flashes back to the incident with The Joker that crippled her and then proceeds to take down all members of The Movement and makes her escape. A meeting is set up between Virtue and Batgirl and they come to terms. At the same time, Katharsis finds Horizon and they have sex on a rooftop. Believing that he only killed in self-defense, she promises to protect him. Meanwhile, Tremor tells Mouse their relationship could never work because she is asexual. Batgirl meets up with Katharis and promises that there will be no trouble as long as he goes peacefully. She also reveals that he killed two cops a few hours before, causing Kartharsis to feel betrayed by Horizon. He claims he would rather die than go to Arkham and she draws her sword to kill him, but is halted by Batgirl, who promises to look after Horizon while he is incarcerated..
Ten down and two more to go for this series. Gail Simone and Freddie Williams II tie up some of the dangling plots and prepare for the end two months from now. Unfortunately, this title just didn’t catch on with readers. And I can understand that. Gail Simone introduced an entire team of teen superheroes that not only took several months for readers to understand, not to mention multiple plots running through a DC Universe title that seemed far removed from the DC Universe until recently. Factor in Williams’ artwork, which tended to be a wonderful distraction with his quirky style, and this book was doomed from the start. I will miss it. Of the two titles that were introduced simultaneously, the other being THE GREEN TEAM, this was by far the one better deserving of a chance at success.
NIGHTWING #29: As we recall, a little girl named Jen, whose parents were just murdered, has decided to go out on her own to seek their killer- Victor Zsasz. She arrives at Zsasz apartment and tries to attack him with the Eskrima sticks that she had stolen from Dick, to no avail. Nightwing arrives just in time to knock the murderer unconscious, tasking Jen to the roof and explaining his life story to her. He touches on all aspects of his life from his parents’ death to the Court of Owls and the recent issues with the Amusement Mile debacle and the hunt for Tony Zucco. He gives her the bracelet he had bought for his mother on the day she died. He says that this should remind her that there is always light and hope. As she leaves to return back to the house, preparing to leave to go to her Aunt’s, Dick texts Sonia Branch and invites her to dinner when he returns to Gotham.
And thus, Nightwing wraps up his career and his title and rides off to Gotham City where he found himself captured by the Crime Syndicate, tortured and possibly killed. Of course, we don’t KNOW THIS because FOREVER EVIL is running late. Kyle Higgins and Russell Dauterman spend very little time resolving the whole Jen knows who Dick is and the revenge for her parents’ deaths. This issue serves as a coda to the career of Dick Grayson by bringing us moments of his past and preparing him for the future…as a secret agent? Well, that’s the rumor.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #29: A ship of alien mercenaries heads to Earth to claim Starfire. While she and Jason relax after their recent storyline, Roy finds himself trapped in Starfire's old ship, which has begun to move on its’ own. Actually, those mercenaries have hijacked it, one of whom is taken out by a stray smart bomb Roy was tinkering with. The aliens are planning to sell Earth in the war between the Green Lantern Corps and the Khunds. As the ship takes off without them, a drunk alien attacks Jason and Starfire. Defeated and tortured, the alien tells all. But without a ship, his information is useless…unless Jason can hijack his own ship from S.H.A.D.E.
Well, this is taking the title into a new direction, I see! In an effort to tie in this book, the remaining (or soon to be) title in the collection of “Young Justice” oriented titles, with a slowly declining readership of the Lantern titles, a minor cross-over is engaged. Will Pfeifer and Rafael Sandoval provide the action and intrigue as the strangest love triangle in comics (?) heads off on a new adventure. I’m not sure how I feel about this issue, especially after the last few with Jason learning about his past and all. This issue seems a bit weak on actual story, so we’ll see where the next part goes next month.
RED LANTERNS #29: Kara tries to fit in with the rest of the Lanterns, as they test her abilities and then end up drinking in “the bar” together. Eventually, the team heads to Earth to talk to Superman, which results in a major fight between Kal and Kara, especially after she learns that she is stuck as a Red lantern forever. When he finally calms her down, she accepts who she has become and Kal wishes her luck. Returning to their home planet, the Lanterns find a badly wounded Bleez on the surface and learn that Rankorr is missing and that Atrocitus is back.
Charles Soule and Alessandro Vitti continue to pave new ground on this title, which is filled with interesting characters and twists. On the previous run, you were pretty much looking at Rankorr, Atrocitus and Bleez being the prime players. With those characters out of the picture, or pushed to the background, this allows Skallox and Zox to shine, providing some of the best dialogue in this title. And not that Guy hasn’t always been a hero with a mouth that can’t be contained. I’m loving this book!
SUICIDE SQUAD #29: Amanda Waller is hard at work trying to remove The Thinker from O.M.A.C.'s body. But she has a time table: if Kevin Cho can’t get the Thinker out in the next 20 minutes, all three will die when Amanda transports them to a place called "The Toilet". It’s a trip to nowhere and is where the government sends meta humans it can’t imprison. Elsewhere, Deadshot and Harley Quinn shoot the Unknown Soldier with one of Amanda’s magic bullets that increases strength and agility. As the team battles O.M.A.C. and starts to suffer losses, Power Girl and Steel arrive. O.M.A.C. and the team drop through the floor, landing close to the Toilet. King Shark attacks O.M.A.C. and both drop into the toilet. Kevin gains control again, but Captain Boomerang kicks O.M.A.C. back into into the Toilet. Deciding not to destroy The Toilet, Amanda locks it down and informs the team, that was prepared to disband after this mission, that the "magic bullets" contained nano bombs. This means the team again belongs to the government.
And thus ends what I thought was one of the best, craziest series in the NEW 52. Matt Kindt and Jim Fern have done a great job on what they knew months ago was a slowly sinking ship. This book had all the adventure and silliness you want in a comic, from bizarre plot threads to the greatest pairing of oddball characters that you can imagine. Throw in a slimmed down Amanda Waller and James Gordon Jr. and you have a wild ride that, in my opinion, is ending too soon.
SUICIDE SQUAD: AMANDA WALLER #1: Set in the past, Amanda Waller meets with Dr. Algot Issen concerning his use of genetic testing to control supers. The jet they are in takes a hit and they crash into an ice-capped mountain range. What makes this unusual is that it is in New Mexico in July. She helps get out the living and the wounded and arranges a plan to move Northwest. That is when a second blast comes in their direction. A man, who Issen refers to as Kriger-3, appears and demands the survivor hand over Issen. Fleeing the area, Issen explains Kriger-3 was a failed genetic experiment who has the ability to absorb and emits heat energy. Krige-3 catches up with them and explains that the “volunteers” were actually kidnapped by Issen for his experiments. Amanda, Colonel Woodrow, Issen and his assistant Sheryl try to get away, with Woodrow dying in the process. As they continue to flee, Kriger-3 arrives and Amanda, wounds Issen so he cannot run away. She grabs a briefcase filled with grenades, pulls the pins, and knocks him over a cliff. The explosion is absorbed by him and the force knocks him unconscious. Wrestling with her own morals, she shoots Kriger through the head. Leaving Issen with the body of Kriger-3, she calls Belle Reve for an extraction team.
A somewhat wasted coda to the SUICIDE SQUAD series that only manages to show that deep within her rough exterior, Amanda Waller truly does have a heart. This was a five dollar “special” that looks like it may have been planned as an Annual at some point but, with the series getting the axe, they put it out as a One Shot. It was an okay read from Jim Zub and Andre Coelho, but would liked to have spent my five bucks somewhere with more substance.
SUPERMAN #29: Starfire and Superman battles, as she wants to kill a captured criminal that she believes is a threat to the planet. The criminal mutates into a monster and Starfire kills him, revealing he was a Daemonites hiding in human form. Then the pair fly to another part of the precinct where weapons are being used to inject Daemonite DNA. Superman freezes them until he can find a cure. At S.T.A.R. Labs, they examine the creatures and confirm they are infected with Daemonite DNA. But they also have no cure, as they don’t understand how the transformation worked. As they track a signal in the weapons to an old abandoned fairground, Starfire recounts her origin story to him. A small child meets them and asks for their help, but soon turns into a Daemonite and commits suicide. Up in space, Blackfire learns of the Daemonites' attacks and relates the information to her master: Helspont. Meanwhile, Cat informs Morgan Edge that her website is not for sale.
Well, this was a bit of a jumbled mess. So, we have a Daemonite invasion and Blackfire and Helspont are involved. I pretty much washed my hands of the Daemonites when GRIFTER went belly up. But, since he is appearing in the FUTURE’S END mega-series, maybe it’s time to bring them back into the forefront. Either way, the pacing was sloppy, I didn’t need a life history recap of Starfire’s tortured life and the dialogue was flat. Scott Lobdell and Ed Benes tried to keep me amused, but failed. How many issues until the new creative team? Oh…that’s a GOOD THING!
SUPERMAN: LOIS LANE #1: Our story begins with Lois and Lucy Lane playing in their home in Germany, where they observe a helicopter crash not too far from them. Reprimanded by their father, the girls continue to play, using a made-up language only they understand. Their mother Ella told her husband the girls were tougher than they looked. His concerned was about his wife, who was suffering from an unidentified illness. Over time, Ella grew weaker and Lois had to act as the mother figure in the family-something that didn’t sit well with Lucy. In the present day, Lois finds her sister standing in her living room, babbling their made-up language before collapsing. When she awakens, Lucy explains how her roommate had come down with an allegedly contagious illness for which she was given a prescription. The girl recovered but was transformed in some way. An hour ago, men from a group called The Cartel took Amanda away and were now after Lucy. Lois promises her sister to find Amanda on her own and NOT get Superman involved. Despite spending a day digging, Lois comes up virtually empty handed. So she gets a special hidden camera from James Olsen and goes undercover. It seems The Cartel isn't giving out the drugs, but following them. She attempts to make a drug deal and it is interrupted by The Cartel, who kidnaps her. The organization, really a government organization, has been trying to get rid of all traces of this alien fungus that contaminates the host that it is exposed to it and, in some cases, turns the host into a monster. Lois breaks free of her bonds, but the mutated victims attack the agents, leaving only one survivor. Together with Lois, they break out the other captives Lois and Amanda mount a flying mutant, which Amanda says is her cat, and head back to Metropolis. Amanda begs Lois not to break the story, as it will cause more harm than good to the mutants. Arriving back home, she sends Superman to investigate. She also receives a phone call from the last surviving agent, who explains the mutants have been detoxed and warms her not to publish her story or grave consequences will result for her and her family. When she checks in on Lucy, she only finds Simon the cat. And she realizes that the cat was actually Lucy, who had been using and abusing the drug that had been prescribed to Amanda. She asks for Lois’ help in getting clean.
This is probably the LONGEST synopsis I have written for a NEW 52 title to date. And, in the end, I could have shortened it to this: Lois’ sister Lucy is a drug addict and Lois needs to help her detox. But, we had to go through the entire Cartel, government conspiracy, alien agenda, flying cat story to discover that Lucy lane had a habit. Wow! With all of that having been said, this was an entertaining, extra large One Shot from Marguerite Bennett with art by Emanuela Lupacchino, Meghan Hetrick, Ig Guara and Diogenes Neves
SWAMP THING #29: The Sureen have arrived and their leader, Brother Jonah, explains how they can be of great help. As the Sureens perform a ritual that gives their members hallucinogenic illusions, Alec realizes that Wolf and Lady Weeds are missing. In fact, they have headed to New Orleans and are learning that the world has changed. The pair find a lawyer and convince him to work for them on spec. While they are out, Lady Weeds gets her first tattoo. Alec sends Capucine and Jonah to find the missing former Avatars. That night, Alec learns of the sacred ritual known as the Locum. In that ritual, Avatars can temporarily be put into the body of a member of the Sureen. If he agrees, one of the Sureen will allow Alec’s consciousness inside while the others protect his own body with their lives. The ritual commences and, when finished, Knot, the Sureen who has conducted the ritual, removes his false beard and tells the others they have little time to waste. As Alec awakens in the body of the Sureen known as Pistil, he realizes he has been poisoned and the others are burning down his house.
Well, this is a twist I did not see coming. Alec is trapped in another man’s body (Pistil? REALLY! A flower reference?), dying and watching his house burn down. And there is no one here to help him as he has sent off Capucine and Jonah, like HE is one to trust, to find Wolf and Weeds, who are doing a bang-up job of whooping it up in New Orleans. Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz give us another fun and totally unpredictable issue of our favorite plant man. And I cannot wait to see how he paints them out of this corner.
TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #9: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #17: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
WONDER WOMAN #29: While dining at Dionysus', a ball of pure energy heads towards an unsuspecting Hera while Artemis continues to search for Zola and Zeke. She sees a bright explosion in the sky and, realizing that Apollo is in trouble, asks Hermes to send her to Mount Olympus. The explosion is because Cassandra’s ship has crashed on Mount Olympus. The First Born arrives, claiming that Olympus now belongs to him and that Apollo committed suicide. Artemis battles with him and is wounded in the process. Wonder Woman steps in to battle and she too falls to the First Born, until a blast of lightning from Hera frees her. The ball of energy that came towards her at the beginning of the book was Apollo’s final gift and it was to restore her powers to her, making her Queen of Olympus once more. She sends Diana and her allies to Paradise Island to find an army to assist her. Finding Zola and Zeke safe, Diana addresses her sisters and asks them to help her fight to reclaim Mount Olympus. And she declares herself the Goddess of War.
Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang race towards the end of their run on this amazing title some time this summer, they continue to fill this book with plenty of plot twists and great looking art! This book still manages to divide fans. Die-hard fans want to burn Azzarello at the stake for messing with the legend of Olympus while others are claiming they plan to bail from this book when the creative team does. And now that Diana has claimed the mantle of Goddess of War, can her relationship with Superman remain? After all, he may appear like a God among men on this planet, but she is truly a God. In the end, this is just a book that you never expect to go where you expected it to go.
WORLDS' FINEST #21: FIRST CONTACT PART 4. Kaizen Gamorra has opened a portal back home to Earth 2. Power Girl realizes that this is not the same Ken she loved back on Earth 2, that she was certain died before the end of the war with Darkseid. He tries to toss The Huntress in, but Superman makes the save with Power Girl throwing Kaizen in instead. The girls make the decision to leave for home, just as a transformed Gamorra reappears through the portal with Earth 2”s Superman in tow. The evil Superman begs Kara to come home and, although tempted, she refuses, giving The Huntress enough time to blast the gateway and seal it forever. The girls find themselves trapped on our Earth while Gamorra suffers the wrath of Superman on Earth 2.
This was all a little confusing here, as timing is truly everything. Issues #19, #20 and #21 had the Prelude, Part 2 and Part 4 while BATMAN/SUPERMAN #8 and #9 had Part 1 and Part 3. And if you didn’t read those books, you were a bit lost. And if you DID read them, you were a bit pissed off as PART THREE came out AFTER PART FOUR. So, here’s what we do know: this planet’s version of Superman and Batman met their other world’s counterparts and Power Girl found out that love hurts. Paul Levitz, along with R. B. Silva, bring this arc to a close and does so with a small cliffhanger that I am sure will be worked out over the next few issues: how DO the girl’s get back home.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
DC's NEW 52 Month 29, Part 1
ACTION COMICS #29: Superman is again stabbed by Ghost Soldier because he dared to the aliens who live in Imperial Subterranea to the surface. Despite his injury, he knows he must protect Lana and find out why the sun transforms the creatures. Ghost Soldier carves the creatures up, disgusting Lana. Superman uses his Arctic Breath to freeze the Ghost Soldier and accidentally freezes the insect and animals. Superman rips the Soldier’s mask off, realizing there are other Soldiers and it angers him. Ukur arrives, informs Superman that Baka cannot stay as unmarked military bombers arrive. Fearing his safety, he sends Baka away to return to below, learning the alien child is a prince. Despite hearing Baka’s cries, Superman seals off the cavern and destroys the bombers. Superman grabs Ghost Soldier and brings him to Tower Control, where he is prepared to meet Harrow.
Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder conclude this storyline, but leave a taste of what is ahead at the end, as the Tower continues to play a role in the Superman mythos. Pak’s story is like all Greg Pak stories: full of dialogue and some nice plot points. And Aarron Kuder made be churning out, in a good way, some of the best art of his career. This book is truly at the height it should have been from Day One. This is absolutely one of the most improved books of the year.
ALL-STAR WESTERN #29: Jonah and Gina are back in the past and surrounded by Apaches. Jonah, being Jonah, kills them all. Unfortunately, Gina takes a bullet in the leg in the process. Despite the numbing pain, Gina gets through the ordeal of having the bullet removed. Unable to sleep because of the pain, Jonah tells the story of a man whose family was burned to death by Indians. Jonah also relates how the story was a lie and was trying to bring him in for killing Native Americans. The man’s son arrives and the two of them hold Jonah at bay. After they have made Jonah dig his own grave, they smoke Jonah’s tobacco, which he says is a special Hopi blend that apparently causes psychedelic illusions. The Apaches arrive and take their revenge on the pair. Three days go by with Jonah and Gina riding with no food or water. They end up coming upon a Dine hut and ask for shelter, food and water. But they may be too late as Gina falls dead.
Once again, we start off with another killer cover from the always amazing Dwayne Cooke. Once inside, we get the finish up to last issue’s cliffhanger and a new wrinkle: Gina’s bullet wound. After a rather long and, to be quite honest, uninteresting story by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, we finally get the payoff with Gina dying. Now that is a cliffhanger that might take Booster Gold to show up and fix the time stream or something similar. By the way, I miss Moritat’s artwork but I am getting used to Cliff Richards’ work, which has a tendency to be very much in the mold of Russ heath…only not as clean as Heath. But I’m good with that for now.
ANIMAL MAN #29: Buddy suggests that the world of The Red make Shepherd and Socks the new Totems. They agree provided there is an avatar for the red, which Buddy agrees to be. Socks tells him that he needs to be a father first, then Animal Man, then the Red. Once they get home, he explains the deal to Ellen but, at the same time, he is concerned about the promise he made to the Bridgewalker. He goes to check on Maxine and she tells him a bed time story. She tells a fairy tale about a prince and princess that mirrors the Bakers’ story. Even with the death of the prince, they realized they would all die one day and meet with the prince again. Moved to tears, Buddy puts Maxine to bed and then notices a spider on the carpet. He picks it up, places it on the grass outside, and then says goodnight to it. In actuality, it is his son Cliff in a better life.
And so, Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman bring the story of Buddy baker and his family to a close. It seems all the storylines have been resolved EXCEPT for the whole Bridgewalker piece. I was under the assumption that Buddy had to be the new Bridgewalker. So…when exactly IS that going to happen? Now, later…at the time of his death? That left me a little confused. What I did find a beautiful touch to wrap this whole thing up was Lemire writing AND illustrating the fairy tale. Now, if you liked his work on SWEET TOOTH, you were thrilled. If you didn’t like his quirky art style, then you probably were turned off. Anyway: goodbye Baker Family. See you soon, somewhere else.
AQUAMAN #29: Aquaman discovers his trident missing and learns that it may be at an archaeological dig in the Azores. Unfortunately, that trident has been used to open a gateway that unleashes a hoard of ghastly creatures from the gate to Atlantis. It seems they channeled their will so the tablet would read “gate” instead of “Hell”. Aquaman arrives and battles the creatures. Finally, one fierce humanoid comes forth and joins the battle seeking revenge against the Atlanteans who imprisoned him in hell. This is the Earth born Olympian known at Hercules. Meanwhile, the plant life in Atlantis has been affected by events from #27SWAMP THING #27 and #28.
Jeff Parker continues to try to fill the shoes of Geoff Johns and continues to do an admirable job. His plot is intriguing and the story is fun. But seriously: Hercules? Shouldn’t he be hanging out in WONDER WOMAN with the rest of the crazy Olympians? Anyway, it’s a nice twist and I’m curious to see how it all plays out. As usual, we get great artwork from Paul Pelletier with inks by Sean Parsons-except for the final page, which is inked by Norm Rapmund.
BATGIRL #29: The police are attempting to hold Batgirl, Strix(in non superhero garb), Silver and Miss Targa at bay. The Silver pulls out a razor and slits his own throat and manages to get Ms. Targa to help into into a car and away from the scene. Barbara and Strix also flee the scene and Barbara is forced to again call on Charise Carnes for information. At Silver's mansion, Ms. Targa bandages Silver’s throat as he declares that Cissy Chastain is a demon lord and a vampire. He tells of how his mother had been killed by a vampire. Batgirl and Strix enter the house and they battle Silver, insisting he gives up Cissy. Strix follows a fleeing Silver and Batgirl knocks her out, convinced that Strix wants to kill the man. We learn that Silver’s mother DIDN’T die by vampire, but committed suicide in a bathtub. Cissy appears and asks to go home and then, unexpectedly, leaps at Silver with her sharpened teeth ready to drain him. Cissy Chastain IS a vampire. As they pin her to the floor, Andrew Bennett arrives to take her away. Unfortunately, he can’t because Silver drinks nothing but Holy Water and that causes the vampire girl to burst into flames. Bennett leave, as do Silver and Ms. Targa. Batgirl states that she will never fight with the undead again.
Okay…so tell me that you truly saw that coming. Silver’s mother wasn’t killed by a vampire, but committed suicide. The kid that Batgirl and Strix are searching for IS a vampire. And it all comes to a head when Andrew Bennett, who we haven’t seen since his book got cancelled, shows up to resolve the whole story. This was a fun two issue story by Gail Simone and Fernano Pasarin that took us from GOTHTOPIA to wherever Babs goes next, which I would assume is going to involve her belief that Dick Grayson has died during FOREVER EVIL. Of course if she had a crystal ball, she would know he will soon have his own series again…
BATMAN #29: We begin with a young Bruce Wayne sitting in GCPD Headquarters. The young boy had snuck off to see a Zorro film and ended up being picked up in the Park Row section of Gotham. Thomas and Martha decide that, once he is finished being processed, they should go back and see the movie as a family. That was then. Now, the storm in Gotham is getting worse and the GCPD are desperately trying to evacuate parts of Gotham. Batman contacts Jim Gordan and tells him that when the power is turned back on, The Riddler will gain control of a hub which will give him control of the entire city. Batman maneuvers his blimp (Bat Blimp?) towards the weather balloon so he can use his specially designed jammer to thwart The Riddler. Unfortunately, Doctor Death is waiting for him on his arrival. During their fight, the jammer is knocked from Batman’s hand and it falls to the ground below. Helfern tells Batman that he lost his son when he had been placed on a dangerous assignment to find Bruce Wayne. Batman sets off an explosion and Helfern, begging that his son’s story be told, is choked by his own bones. Meanwhile, Gordon runs into The Riddler in Philip Kane's old office, where the Lieutenant barely escapes being crushed by a five ton boulder. Corrigan turns on the grid and chaos erupts. The Riddler sets off explosions destroying the retaining walls and allowing the floodwaters into the city. He also causes every police blimp to explode. And Batman realizes that his city is going to die just as his parents did.
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo race towards the conclusion of ZERO YEAR in next month’s issue. Most of this extended storyline has been great but unfortunately, this issue was just a rambling mess. The comparison between Bruce Wayne’s parent’s death and the apparent death of Gotham City is nice, but a little over the top. We get the comparison and the analogy-don’t hit us over the head with it. And Capullo’s art looks tired, as if these extra length issues are taking a toll on him. It will be interesting to see how this all wraps next issue, but we can be sure that it will serve as the conclusion to the New 52 origin of the Dark Knight.
BATMAN AND ROBIN #29: Batman finds himself in the Bat-Sub search for the island where Damian was trained and is visited by Aquaman. Batman explains he is trying to find the bodies of Damian and Talia, which had been taken from Bruce’s backyard by Ra’s al Ghul’s minions. The two heroes attack the island only to discover Ra’s is creating genetically altered super-humans inside of whales. As Ra’s heads off the island, Batman finds himself battling The Heretics. Aquaman is able to communicate telepathically with them and a whale swallows them. Batman gets onto Ra's escape aircraft where he sees Talia and Damian's bodies stored within. Ra’s turns the plane enough to throw him off the plane and into the sea below, where Aquaman rescues him. In the end, Batman visits Wonder Woman and asks her to bring him to Ra’s destination: Paradise Island.
Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason continue to craft what is fast becoming a book at good as Scott Snyder’s BATMAN. The artwork is awesome, Tomasi’s writing is sharp and crisp and I love where this is going, even without Robin in the mix. We all know that will change come July when Robin rejoins the team. Who is Robin? Well, we’ll have to wait until July to find that out.
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #29: We begin with Batman falling to his death thanks to Abraham Langstrom and unable to reach the Batplane. He fires a pair of grappling ropes at two opposing buildings and saves his life, although he is in great pain from his injuries. After being treated by Alfred, he heads to a meeting with Jim Gordon, who explains he has no evidence against Abraham Langstrom. Batman breaks into Langstrom's home and questions him about the murders of the homeless. Leaving his home, Batman visits Kirk Langstrom and begs him to create a way to administer the antidote through the bat’s skin. That night, Abraham heads for a homeless shelter but is injects himself with his serum, and flies toward Gotham City and the homeless shelter, where Batman is waiting dressed as a homeless man. He allows Langstrom to bite through his armor, as he had injected himself with the serum. Although he is bleeding out, Batman is able to tie up the transformed Langstrom and leave him for the GCPD. Once in court, Langstrom is found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.
And so this series comes to an end. Greg Hurwitz and Jorge Lucas do a nice job of wrapping up this story and leaving the villain at large for a future story sometime in the NEW 52. Of course, that is not to say that either Kirk or Francine won’t take the serum again and turn into Man bats again. This was a series that was very uneven throughout and, by removing this fro the schedule, it makes room for the new BATMAN title, BATMAN ETERNAL. Of course, that book ships WEEKLY.
BATWOMAN #29: The issue begins with an incident in 1929 where the artist Eisenstadt observed something disturbing in the safe of Mr. Granthan. In present day, Kate is visiting a therapist and quickly decides that she doesn’t need him and leaves his office. That night, Kate visits Maggie, who tells her lover that she felt that Kate needed to approach her mental health issues and get them treated. Meanwhile, Wolf Spider is making plans for his next two heists: at Arkham Asylum and somewhere on the Kane Estate. Making his way into Arkham’s library, he finds the painting in Batwoman’s hands. Attempting to flee, he unlocks all the cells in the wing he is in and some of Arkham’s worst now stand between Batwoman and Wolf Spider.
As much as I love these characters, I am getting a bit tired with this particular story. I understand that Marc Andreyko has had to do some serious filling in considering the previous creators up and left after DC Editorial shot down the wedding of Kate and Maggie. But the whole Wolf Spider thing is getting annoying. What is the secret of the four paintings? Personally, I’m betting it’s a map. To what, you ask? Probably to whatever the shocking thing was that was once in Grantham’s safe, which is why he has hired Wolf Spider to get it back. If it’s anything less, I would be highly disappointed. Nice art from Jason Masters but it just cannot make me care about where this tale is heading. Let’s go back to having a bit more romance in this title. After all: the NEW 52 was BUILT on diversity, right?
BIRDS OF PREY #29: We find Condor bumming over the fact that Kurt Lance's resurrection has thrown a monkey wrench into the romance between he and Black Canary. She is devastated by the news that Kurt is going to be a vegetable and remains on life support. She considers using fluid from the Lazarus Pits which had been given to her by Ra’s al Ghul in exchange for her betrayal of Mother Eve. She puts the fluid into Kurt’s Intra-Venous which beings him to consciousness. Soon Ra's and his men begin their attack on the barge Meanwhile, Uplink has informed Condor that it appears that Strix has gone to Gotham City in search of Batgirl and he also leaves. In Gotham, he is approached by one of Ra's drone, trying to convince Condor to become a turncoat, telling him he will make certain that his men kill Kurt Lance. Condor asks that Kurt dies first and that Dinah be spared and the head of the League of Assassins agrees. He orders Nightlord to kill Lance as soon as he boards the barge. With Batgirl back on the barge, Mother Eve orders her and Black Canary to accompany her to her safe room. She explains that her unique form of regeneration comes from within her and Ra’s wants to know how to use that power himself, which is something she refuses to allow to happen. She orders Batgirl out, as the room is specifically designed for Dinah. As Batgirl leaves, she wonders if she can truly trust Black Canary.
Christy Marx and Robson Rocha brings us what I believe will be the penultimate chapter of the Mother Eve/R’as al Ghul saga. There is a whole lot of action going on and an equal amount of plot points too. In fact, maybe there is too much plot. Who is the true traitor here, Condor or Black Canary? Both have motives and they revolve around the same man. But where Dinah wants to bring his husband BACK to life, Condor wants to make sure he’s dead. Doesn’t he realize that if he dies, you’ll be dealing with a grieving widow who probably won’t be completely interested in you for some time. We’ll find out next issue what happens with this wacky love triangle.
CATWOMAN #29: Selina is at a party at Taylor Pharmaceuticals. She sneaks out and changes into Catwoman, so she can steal a new drug called MR-40 that they have developed that could be worth upwards of thirty-million dollars. From here on out, it’s a snatch and run caper as she gets her hands on the drug while avoiding lasers, henchmen and a host of other traps. She leaps out the window in time to meet Batman and throws him the sample, explaining that she destroyed the other sample. It seems the drug was an offshoot of Venom and the whole theft had nothing to do with stealing a chemotherapy drug. She also realizes that he was responsible for tripping the alarm that sent security after her and swears that one day he will have to repay his debt to her.
Well, this was a waste of what John Byrne used to refer to as 20 minutes of bathroom reading time. Sholly Fisch, the king of the back-up story, along with Pat Oliffe deliver what is known in the industry as a fill-in story. This does nothing to propel the regular plot forward and is 18 pages longer than it should have bee. Maybe even 20 pages longer than it should have been. This was a complete and total waste of my time and my money and should have been reserved for the back-up in an annual. Or better yet, not written at all..
CONSTANTINE #12: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
DETECTIVE COMICS #29: The conclusion of GOTHTOPIA. Batman has taken an antidote to Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin, but needs to appear under Crane’s control so he can find out how the toxin is being released throughout Gotham City. Batman accompanies Professor Pyg and Merry-Maker to as they visit residents and give them toxin. The Dark Knight deduces that continued exposure to the toxin creates a chemical that can be used to create further toxins. Unseen, Batman puts an antidote into the toxin that will reverse the effects. The antidote causes the blimps carrying the toxin to explode and distributes the antidote throughout the city. Members of the Bat Family help take down Scarecrow, who is loaded in a van to be taken back to Arkham. But he reaches out and uses his claws to shred Batman’s chest, before saying “Gotham is (his)”. It seems Crane is actually in a cell at Arkham under the influence of a contentment serum. Later, Batman and Catwoman meet and discuss their relationship during the time that Gothtopia existed. He tells her that what happened was because they were under the influence and nothing more.
John Layman and Aaron Lopresti bring us the awesome conclusion to this mini, multi title epic. While it did nothing to define the character, it was a fun little ride in an imaginary Gotham with imaginary super heroes. In the end, it was just a matter of Scarecrow being Scarecrow. Of course, this all happens prior to FOREVER EVIL beginning and Scarecrows battle during the Arkham War. All in all, this was a nice swan song for this creative team as Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato take over with issue #30 as the new creative team.
EARTH 2 #21: In Moscow, Atom is battling Superman and the Man of Steel removes Atom’s arm with his heat vision and then knocks him out with it. In the Batcave, Batman begins to pass out assignments to the team members and is informed that the remaining World Army members are in Amazonia, which is magically hidden from the rest of the world. Khan learns that Project Beyond is going active and that means those who can afford a trip on the Space Ark get to leave the planet and find a new home. Riots and panic ensues and those left in the launch chamber when the ship lifts off are immediately immolated. But they get away easy as Superman and Beguiler arrive and open up the spacecraft, allowing all inhabitants to fall to their fiery deaths. Batman sets up a conference video call between himself, Khan and Aquawoman, where they all agree they need to work together to get through this crisis. Lastly, Bedlam is at work on a Boom Tube project with Mister Terrific, Terry Sloan and Mister Miracle. Then he taps into Terry Sloan’s mind and discovers that our heroes have their own Kryptonian.
Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott continue to create a killer story here that has more twists and turns than I can imagine. Who is this Superman, or at least who is within his body? What can Batman’s team do to rise up from what looks like utter defeat? Will the new Kryptonian be able to defeat the old. And how does Atom get to have his arm attached, if they can? And if they can’t, will he have to stay enlarged forever? This book has made a major turn around since Taylor took over and I love the direction. This is a highly recommended title.
GREEN ARROW #29: Four years ago, Emiko was told how her mother, Shado, had been murdered by Robert Queen. Simon also told her that he had murdered Robert to protect her and that Oliver Queen needed to die to stop him from coming for her. The at was then. Today, Simon has killed Golgotha and has decided to take over the Outsiders. He says that Green Arrow has killed Kodiak and he is coming, with Shado. Emiko overhears it all. In actuality, Oliver has left the island but left both Shado and his father behind. Currently, he is in Prague where he finds himself bettling members of the Spear Clan. One of the Clam members, under duress, says that Komodo is hiding at the Cathedral. He also finds a shipment of deadly Sarin Gas. As Green Arrow approaches the Cathedral, Emiko tells her father she wants to kill him, even if her mother is still alive. Oliver tells Emiko that Komodo has lied to her and she insists that he and Robert have corrupted her mother. Oliver reveals that he is Emiko's brother and she decides she cannot kill him. Komodo fires an arrow, which enters Oliver’s head. Meanwhile, in Seattle, Naomi Singh and John Diggle continue their plotting against Richard Dragon by bringing in a new ally in the form of Billy Tockman.
Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino continue to do an awesome job with this title. If you have read me over the months since this team took over, then you know how high I am on this title. It looks great, the plot rocks and I just love it. Just go buy it!
GREEN LANTERN #29: Hal returns to Coast City long enough to see his family and say goodbye. Simon Baz arrives and Hal explains that the Red Lanterns are in charge now and tells Simon he is now the ONLY Green Lantern allowed on Earth. He also asks Simon to watch over Hal’s family. Mogo leaves Sector Zero as Hal asks his closest Lantern confidants to help him in the war with the Durlans. A team of Lanterns head to the planet Gwottle to stop the manufacture of Anti-Light Devices. Meanwhile, the Durlan who impersonated Hal no longer has the shape changing ability and realizes his safety is in great jeopardy.
Ho hum. Sorry: I think I said before that this version of Hal Jordan is about as whiny as I ever want to see. And with every issue, Robert Venditti makes him seem whinier (is that even a word?). Billy Tan shares art chores this issue with Martin Coccolo and it looks okay. What bugs me too, as if I don’t have enough to bitch about, is that we have this great cover of Saint Walker in turmoil. And that scene takes up all of two pages in the book. Really? Couldn’t you give us a battle sequence that represents the main plot instead? Either that or make the issue about Saint Walker. DC Editorial: C’MON!
HARLEY QUINN #4: Harley is headed off to work and spends the morning covering her skin with makeup to make her look…normal. As she leaves, Big Tony shows her his designs for his dog-poop removal machine in exchange for four months rent-free. Harley hears a tale of neglect from one of her patients and decides to pay a visit to the woman’s daughter, who is having a vibrator party. Harley bursts through the house with a bulldozer, breaks the woman’s son’s video game, and stomps on the husband’s model railroad. She throws the three into the trunk of her car and heads back home. On the way, she stops for lunch and kills a would-be assassin with a fork. Harley rushes to her first roller-derby game but arrives so late that the game is over and her team has lost. As the winning team leaves, Harley runs them over with the Rubensteins' car-an act that turn’s on her team’s captain. She finally releases the Rubenstein Family from her trunk and learns that Ida has Alzheimer's and, in actuality, they HAVE visited her three times a week. That night, Harley returns to the nursing home where she meets a resident who was once a a Russian government agent known as Syborg-partly because is name is Sy Borgman and partly because he is part bionic. He tells his therapist that he knows who she REALLY is and wants to hire her to help him defeat the enemies who injured him so long ago. Harley agrees.
Oh my God: how in the world is Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti getting away with this book? Vibrator sales people. Insane roller derby action. Implied lesbianism. Mayhem and murder. This is the funniest book on the shelves today. Unfortunately, the art team gets hit with the deadline issue and Stephane Roux does the fill in job. Not a bad job, but not the big gun contest winning talent we were all sold on. Not that it matters to me. This book is such a hoot to read I could take it as a text novel and be devoid of all illustrations. I look forward to this each month. Keep up the good work, you two!
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #4: The Sheriff tells the Trinity that they will soon be meeting their long lost children, which leaves our heroes puzzled. Meanwhile, the Wonder Twins debate about the possibility of creating another Barry Allen to replace the one that Locus killed. Ariel meets her “children” and they learn that they are not clones. Rather, they are human hosts that had the League’s DNA bonded to them, effectively killing the hosts. Soon the Sheriff reveals himself as The Convert and he has managed to trap them. Green Lantern gets his cloak back, breaks free, and battles with Locus. Unfortunately, even after a savage poking of her eyes, she tears the cloak to pieces and it appears Hal is going to die in the vacuum of space. Meanwhile, the Twins resurrect Barry Allen and…Firestorm?
Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter are totally making this book either one you totally love or totally hate. Personally, I LOVE it! It is going in places you just do not expect. These heroes are not cloned. They are humans who, according to Ariel, have been murdered by slapping some DNA onto them. And that would explain why they no longer have the attributes of their predecessors. It seems that, even though they have had their DNA rewritten, some of their initial traits must remain. This book is a roller coaster ride that just throws you every time it makes another turn. Go out and check this one out. It’s Giffen and DeMatteis throwing monkey wrenches all over the place!
JUSTICE LEAGUE #29: Will Magnus has rebuilt the Metal Men and Cyborg explains to them about the Crime Syndicate’s attack. They head to Happy Harbour where Grid and Cyborg face off, allowing the Metal Men to attack. Grid fights back, tearing the Responsometer out of Mercury's body, effectively eliminating him from the fight. That is when the Secret Society arrives to join the fight, leaving Grid to face Cyborg one on one in the digital universe. Victor admits he now knows how to control the digital side of his persona and traps Grid inside it forever. With that, all the electronics that were offline come back up. Steve Trevor and Killer Frost show up, but so do more members of the Secret Society. With the Metal Men continuing that fight, Cyborg leaves with the Lasso of Truth to go save the Justice League.
Now, I should be reporting on the final installment of this saga. However, FOREVER EVIL #7 won’t ship until the end of May, leaving fans who have already starting reading NEW 52 Month 30 titles in a bit of a quandary, as these titles features tales from AFTER FOREVER EVIL ends! Really? You folks at DC couldn’t have figured out a way to have the concluding chapter out before the following chapters began. And honestly, this issue was extremely late in shipping and is one of the reasons my reviews are so late, as I felt it important to include it with the rest of month #29. That having been said, Geoff Johns continues to wind this saga down and Doug Mahnke finds his normally crisp art softened by the inking skills of Keith Champagne and Christian Alamy. Not the best issue in recent memory, but certainly not the worst. By the way: give us a METAL MEN title, okay?
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #29: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13: Despero has destroyed Stargirl’s childhood home, bringing back bad memories for her of a brother she could not save several years ago. She then sees a younger version of the late Martian Manhunter as he was heading off on a rite of passage. She temporarily fights off Despero, allowing her to continue to pursue the plane that is carrying Firestorm. She makes her way into Firestorm’s subconscious where Ronnie and Jason are debating how to stop the Matrix from exploding. She uses J'onn's telepathy to reach the Justice League trapped in the Matrix and tells them of the prison and how they need to fight Despero to be free. But Courtney suddenly realizes that she has never left her prison. The good news is that J'onn is still alive and he has been able to speak to Steve Trevor who thinks he can free them with the Lasso of Truth.
I know that FOREVER EVIL is this big epic and, for the most part, it has been pretty awesome. But this story is getting ridiculous. It is just going on forever and IS truly evil! I mean, I can only take so many turns of Stargirl and J’onn J’onz trying to save the world and either dying, not dying or coming back to life from death. Sorry, I like Matt Kindt’s writing as a rule and love Eddy Barrows’ artwork. But this tale is going on too long. Time to wrap it up, finish the series and bring on JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED.
Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder conclude this storyline, but leave a taste of what is ahead at the end, as the Tower continues to play a role in the Superman mythos. Pak’s story is like all Greg Pak stories: full of dialogue and some nice plot points. And Aarron Kuder made be churning out, in a good way, some of the best art of his career. This book is truly at the height it should have been from Day One. This is absolutely one of the most improved books of the year.
ALL-STAR WESTERN #29: Jonah and Gina are back in the past and surrounded by Apaches. Jonah, being Jonah, kills them all. Unfortunately, Gina takes a bullet in the leg in the process. Despite the numbing pain, Gina gets through the ordeal of having the bullet removed. Unable to sleep because of the pain, Jonah tells the story of a man whose family was burned to death by Indians. Jonah also relates how the story was a lie and was trying to bring him in for killing Native Americans. The man’s son arrives and the two of them hold Jonah at bay. After they have made Jonah dig his own grave, they smoke Jonah’s tobacco, which he says is a special Hopi blend that apparently causes psychedelic illusions. The Apaches arrive and take their revenge on the pair. Three days go by with Jonah and Gina riding with no food or water. They end up coming upon a Dine hut and ask for shelter, food and water. But they may be too late as Gina falls dead.
Once again, we start off with another killer cover from the always amazing Dwayne Cooke. Once inside, we get the finish up to last issue’s cliffhanger and a new wrinkle: Gina’s bullet wound. After a rather long and, to be quite honest, uninteresting story by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, we finally get the payoff with Gina dying. Now that is a cliffhanger that might take Booster Gold to show up and fix the time stream or something similar. By the way, I miss Moritat’s artwork but I am getting used to Cliff Richards’ work, which has a tendency to be very much in the mold of Russ heath…only not as clean as Heath. But I’m good with that for now.
ANIMAL MAN #29: Buddy suggests that the world of The Red make Shepherd and Socks the new Totems. They agree provided there is an avatar for the red, which Buddy agrees to be. Socks tells him that he needs to be a father first, then Animal Man, then the Red. Once they get home, he explains the deal to Ellen but, at the same time, he is concerned about the promise he made to the Bridgewalker. He goes to check on Maxine and she tells him a bed time story. She tells a fairy tale about a prince and princess that mirrors the Bakers’ story. Even with the death of the prince, they realized they would all die one day and meet with the prince again. Moved to tears, Buddy puts Maxine to bed and then notices a spider on the carpet. He picks it up, places it on the grass outside, and then says goodnight to it. In actuality, it is his son Cliff in a better life.
And so, Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman bring the story of Buddy baker and his family to a close. It seems all the storylines have been resolved EXCEPT for the whole Bridgewalker piece. I was under the assumption that Buddy had to be the new Bridgewalker. So…when exactly IS that going to happen? Now, later…at the time of his death? That left me a little confused. What I did find a beautiful touch to wrap this whole thing up was Lemire writing AND illustrating the fairy tale. Now, if you liked his work on SWEET TOOTH, you were thrilled. If you didn’t like his quirky art style, then you probably were turned off. Anyway: goodbye Baker Family. See you soon, somewhere else.
AQUAMAN #29: Aquaman discovers his trident missing and learns that it may be at an archaeological dig in the Azores. Unfortunately, that trident has been used to open a gateway that unleashes a hoard of ghastly creatures from the gate to Atlantis. It seems they channeled their will so the tablet would read “gate” instead of “Hell”. Aquaman arrives and battles the creatures. Finally, one fierce humanoid comes forth and joins the battle seeking revenge against the Atlanteans who imprisoned him in hell. This is the Earth born Olympian known at Hercules. Meanwhile, the plant life in Atlantis has been affected by events from #27SWAMP THING #27 and #28.
Jeff Parker continues to try to fill the shoes of Geoff Johns and continues to do an admirable job. His plot is intriguing and the story is fun. But seriously: Hercules? Shouldn’t he be hanging out in WONDER WOMAN with the rest of the crazy Olympians? Anyway, it’s a nice twist and I’m curious to see how it all plays out. As usual, we get great artwork from Paul Pelletier with inks by Sean Parsons-except for the final page, which is inked by Norm Rapmund.
BATGIRL #29: The police are attempting to hold Batgirl, Strix(in non superhero garb), Silver and Miss Targa at bay. The Silver pulls out a razor and slits his own throat and manages to get Ms. Targa to help into into a car and away from the scene. Barbara and Strix also flee the scene and Barbara is forced to again call on Charise Carnes for information. At Silver's mansion, Ms. Targa bandages Silver’s throat as he declares that Cissy Chastain is a demon lord and a vampire. He tells of how his mother had been killed by a vampire. Batgirl and Strix enter the house and they battle Silver, insisting he gives up Cissy. Strix follows a fleeing Silver and Batgirl knocks her out, convinced that Strix wants to kill the man. We learn that Silver’s mother DIDN’T die by vampire, but committed suicide in a bathtub. Cissy appears and asks to go home and then, unexpectedly, leaps at Silver with her sharpened teeth ready to drain him. Cissy Chastain IS a vampire. As they pin her to the floor, Andrew Bennett arrives to take her away. Unfortunately, he can’t because Silver drinks nothing but Holy Water and that causes the vampire girl to burst into flames. Bennett leave, as do Silver and Ms. Targa. Batgirl states that she will never fight with the undead again.
Okay…so tell me that you truly saw that coming. Silver’s mother wasn’t killed by a vampire, but committed suicide. The kid that Batgirl and Strix are searching for IS a vampire. And it all comes to a head when Andrew Bennett, who we haven’t seen since his book got cancelled, shows up to resolve the whole story. This was a fun two issue story by Gail Simone and Fernano Pasarin that took us from GOTHTOPIA to wherever Babs goes next, which I would assume is going to involve her belief that Dick Grayson has died during FOREVER EVIL. Of course if she had a crystal ball, she would know he will soon have his own series again…
BATMAN #29: We begin with a young Bruce Wayne sitting in GCPD Headquarters. The young boy had snuck off to see a Zorro film and ended up being picked up in the Park Row section of Gotham. Thomas and Martha decide that, once he is finished being processed, they should go back and see the movie as a family. That was then. Now, the storm in Gotham is getting worse and the GCPD are desperately trying to evacuate parts of Gotham. Batman contacts Jim Gordan and tells him that when the power is turned back on, The Riddler will gain control of a hub which will give him control of the entire city. Batman maneuvers his blimp (Bat Blimp?) towards the weather balloon so he can use his specially designed jammer to thwart The Riddler. Unfortunately, Doctor Death is waiting for him on his arrival. During their fight, the jammer is knocked from Batman’s hand and it falls to the ground below. Helfern tells Batman that he lost his son when he had been placed on a dangerous assignment to find Bruce Wayne. Batman sets off an explosion and Helfern, begging that his son’s story be told, is choked by his own bones. Meanwhile, Gordon runs into The Riddler in Philip Kane's old office, where the Lieutenant barely escapes being crushed by a five ton boulder. Corrigan turns on the grid and chaos erupts. The Riddler sets off explosions destroying the retaining walls and allowing the floodwaters into the city. He also causes every police blimp to explode. And Batman realizes that his city is going to die just as his parents did.
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo race towards the conclusion of ZERO YEAR in next month’s issue. Most of this extended storyline has been great but unfortunately, this issue was just a rambling mess. The comparison between Bruce Wayne’s parent’s death and the apparent death of Gotham City is nice, but a little over the top. We get the comparison and the analogy-don’t hit us over the head with it. And Capullo’s art looks tired, as if these extra length issues are taking a toll on him. It will be interesting to see how this all wraps next issue, but we can be sure that it will serve as the conclusion to the New 52 origin of the Dark Knight.
BATMAN AND ROBIN #29: Batman finds himself in the Bat-Sub search for the island where Damian was trained and is visited by Aquaman. Batman explains he is trying to find the bodies of Damian and Talia, which had been taken from Bruce’s backyard by Ra’s al Ghul’s minions. The two heroes attack the island only to discover Ra’s is creating genetically altered super-humans inside of whales. As Ra’s heads off the island, Batman finds himself battling The Heretics. Aquaman is able to communicate telepathically with them and a whale swallows them. Batman gets onto Ra's escape aircraft where he sees Talia and Damian's bodies stored within. Ra’s turns the plane enough to throw him off the plane and into the sea below, where Aquaman rescues him. In the end, Batman visits Wonder Woman and asks her to bring him to Ra’s destination: Paradise Island.
Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason continue to craft what is fast becoming a book at good as Scott Snyder’s BATMAN. The artwork is awesome, Tomasi’s writing is sharp and crisp and I love where this is going, even without Robin in the mix. We all know that will change come July when Robin rejoins the team. Who is Robin? Well, we’ll have to wait until July to find that out.
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #29: We begin with Batman falling to his death thanks to Abraham Langstrom and unable to reach the Batplane. He fires a pair of grappling ropes at two opposing buildings and saves his life, although he is in great pain from his injuries. After being treated by Alfred, he heads to a meeting with Jim Gordon, who explains he has no evidence against Abraham Langstrom. Batman breaks into Langstrom's home and questions him about the murders of the homeless. Leaving his home, Batman visits Kirk Langstrom and begs him to create a way to administer the antidote through the bat’s skin. That night, Abraham heads for a homeless shelter but is injects himself with his serum, and flies toward Gotham City and the homeless shelter, where Batman is waiting dressed as a homeless man. He allows Langstrom to bite through his armor, as he had injected himself with the serum. Although he is bleeding out, Batman is able to tie up the transformed Langstrom and leave him for the GCPD. Once in court, Langstrom is found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.
And so this series comes to an end. Greg Hurwitz and Jorge Lucas do a nice job of wrapping up this story and leaving the villain at large for a future story sometime in the NEW 52. Of course, that is not to say that either Kirk or Francine won’t take the serum again and turn into Man bats again. This was a series that was very uneven throughout and, by removing this fro the schedule, it makes room for the new BATMAN title, BATMAN ETERNAL. Of course, that book ships WEEKLY.
BATWOMAN #29: The issue begins with an incident in 1929 where the artist Eisenstadt observed something disturbing in the safe of Mr. Granthan. In present day, Kate is visiting a therapist and quickly decides that she doesn’t need him and leaves his office. That night, Kate visits Maggie, who tells her lover that she felt that Kate needed to approach her mental health issues and get them treated. Meanwhile, Wolf Spider is making plans for his next two heists: at Arkham Asylum and somewhere on the Kane Estate. Making his way into Arkham’s library, he finds the painting in Batwoman’s hands. Attempting to flee, he unlocks all the cells in the wing he is in and some of Arkham’s worst now stand between Batwoman and Wolf Spider.
As much as I love these characters, I am getting a bit tired with this particular story. I understand that Marc Andreyko has had to do some serious filling in considering the previous creators up and left after DC Editorial shot down the wedding of Kate and Maggie. But the whole Wolf Spider thing is getting annoying. What is the secret of the four paintings? Personally, I’m betting it’s a map. To what, you ask? Probably to whatever the shocking thing was that was once in Grantham’s safe, which is why he has hired Wolf Spider to get it back. If it’s anything less, I would be highly disappointed. Nice art from Jason Masters but it just cannot make me care about where this tale is heading. Let’s go back to having a bit more romance in this title. After all: the NEW 52 was BUILT on diversity, right?
BIRDS OF PREY #29: We find Condor bumming over the fact that Kurt Lance's resurrection has thrown a monkey wrench into the romance between he and Black Canary. She is devastated by the news that Kurt is going to be a vegetable and remains on life support. She considers using fluid from the Lazarus Pits which had been given to her by Ra’s al Ghul in exchange for her betrayal of Mother Eve. She puts the fluid into Kurt’s Intra-Venous which beings him to consciousness. Soon Ra's and his men begin their attack on the barge Meanwhile, Uplink has informed Condor that it appears that Strix has gone to Gotham City in search of Batgirl and he also leaves. In Gotham, he is approached by one of Ra's drone, trying to convince Condor to become a turncoat, telling him he will make certain that his men kill Kurt Lance. Condor asks that Kurt dies first and that Dinah be spared and the head of the League of Assassins agrees. He orders Nightlord to kill Lance as soon as he boards the barge. With Batgirl back on the barge, Mother Eve orders her and Black Canary to accompany her to her safe room. She explains that her unique form of regeneration comes from within her and Ra’s wants to know how to use that power himself, which is something she refuses to allow to happen. She orders Batgirl out, as the room is specifically designed for Dinah. As Batgirl leaves, she wonders if she can truly trust Black Canary.
Christy Marx and Robson Rocha brings us what I believe will be the penultimate chapter of the Mother Eve/R’as al Ghul saga. There is a whole lot of action going on and an equal amount of plot points too. In fact, maybe there is too much plot. Who is the true traitor here, Condor or Black Canary? Both have motives and they revolve around the same man. But where Dinah wants to bring his husband BACK to life, Condor wants to make sure he’s dead. Doesn’t he realize that if he dies, you’ll be dealing with a grieving widow who probably won’t be completely interested in you for some time. We’ll find out next issue what happens with this wacky love triangle.
CATWOMAN #29: Selina is at a party at Taylor Pharmaceuticals. She sneaks out and changes into Catwoman, so she can steal a new drug called MR-40 that they have developed that could be worth upwards of thirty-million dollars. From here on out, it’s a snatch and run caper as she gets her hands on the drug while avoiding lasers, henchmen and a host of other traps. She leaps out the window in time to meet Batman and throws him the sample, explaining that she destroyed the other sample. It seems the drug was an offshoot of Venom and the whole theft had nothing to do with stealing a chemotherapy drug. She also realizes that he was responsible for tripping the alarm that sent security after her and swears that one day he will have to repay his debt to her.
Well, this was a waste of what John Byrne used to refer to as 20 minutes of bathroom reading time. Sholly Fisch, the king of the back-up story, along with Pat Oliffe deliver what is known in the industry as a fill-in story. This does nothing to propel the regular plot forward and is 18 pages longer than it should have bee. Maybe even 20 pages longer than it should have been. This was a complete and total waste of my time and my money and should have been reserved for the back-up in an annual. Or better yet, not written at all..
CONSTANTINE #12: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
DETECTIVE COMICS #29: The conclusion of GOTHTOPIA. Batman has taken an antidote to Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin, but needs to appear under Crane’s control so he can find out how the toxin is being released throughout Gotham City. Batman accompanies Professor Pyg and Merry-Maker to as they visit residents and give them toxin. The Dark Knight deduces that continued exposure to the toxin creates a chemical that can be used to create further toxins. Unseen, Batman puts an antidote into the toxin that will reverse the effects. The antidote causes the blimps carrying the toxin to explode and distributes the antidote throughout the city. Members of the Bat Family help take down Scarecrow, who is loaded in a van to be taken back to Arkham. But he reaches out and uses his claws to shred Batman’s chest, before saying “Gotham is (his)”. It seems Crane is actually in a cell at Arkham under the influence of a contentment serum. Later, Batman and Catwoman meet and discuss their relationship during the time that Gothtopia existed. He tells her that what happened was because they were under the influence and nothing more.
John Layman and Aaron Lopresti bring us the awesome conclusion to this mini, multi title epic. While it did nothing to define the character, it was a fun little ride in an imaginary Gotham with imaginary super heroes. In the end, it was just a matter of Scarecrow being Scarecrow. Of course, this all happens prior to FOREVER EVIL beginning and Scarecrows battle during the Arkham War. All in all, this was a nice swan song for this creative team as Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato take over with issue #30 as the new creative team.
EARTH 2 #21: In Moscow, Atom is battling Superman and the Man of Steel removes Atom’s arm with his heat vision and then knocks him out with it. In the Batcave, Batman begins to pass out assignments to the team members and is informed that the remaining World Army members are in Amazonia, which is magically hidden from the rest of the world. Khan learns that Project Beyond is going active and that means those who can afford a trip on the Space Ark get to leave the planet and find a new home. Riots and panic ensues and those left in the launch chamber when the ship lifts off are immediately immolated. But they get away easy as Superman and Beguiler arrive and open up the spacecraft, allowing all inhabitants to fall to their fiery deaths. Batman sets up a conference video call between himself, Khan and Aquawoman, where they all agree they need to work together to get through this crisis. Lastly, Bedlam is at work on a Boom Tube project with Mister Terrific, Terry Sloan and Mister Miracle. Then he taps into Terry Sloan’s mind and discovers that our heroes have their own Kryptonian.
Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott continue to create a killer story here that has more twists and turns than I can imagine. Who is this Superman, or at least who is within his body? What can Batman’s team do to rise up from what looks like utter defeat? Will the new Kryptonian be able to defeat the old. And how does Atom get to have his arm attached, if they can? And if they can’t, will he have to stay enlarged forever? This book has made a major turn around since Taylor took over and I love the direction. This is a highly recommended title.
GREEN ARROW #29: Four years ago, Emiko was told how her mother, Shado, had been murdered by Robert Queen. Simon also told her that he had murdered Robert to protect her and that Oliver Queen needed to die to stop him from coming for her. The at was then. Today, Simon has killed Golgotha and has decided to take over the Outsiders. He says that Green Arrow has killed Kodiak and he is coming, with Shado. Emiko overhears it all. In actuality, Oliver has left the island but left both Shado and his father behind. Currently, he is in Prague where he finds himself bettling members of the Spear Clan. One of the Clam members, under duress, says that Komodo is hiding at the Cathedral. He also finds a shipment of deadly Sarin Gas. As Green Arrow approaches the Cathedral, Emiko tells her father she wants to kill him, even if her mother is still alive. Oliver tells Emiko that Komodo has lied to her and she insists that he and Robert have corrupted her mother. Oliver reveals that he is Emiko's brother and she decides she cannot kill him. Komodo fires an arrow, which enters Oliver’s head. Meanwhile, in Seattle, Naomi Singh and John Diggle continue their plotting against Richard Dragon by bringing in a new ally in the form of Billy Tockman.
Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino continue to do an awesome job with this title. If you have read me over the months since this team took over, then you know how high I am on this title. It looks great, the plot rocks and I just love it. Just go buy it!
GREEN LANTERN #29: Hal returns to Coast City long enough to see his family and say goodbye. Simon Baz arrives and Hal explains that the Red Lanterns are in charge now and tells Simon he is now the ONLY Green Lantern allowed on Earth. He also asks Simon to watch over Hal’s family. Mogo leaves Sector Zero as Hal asks his closest Lantern confidants to help him in the war with the Durlans. A team of Lanterns head to the planet Gwottle to stop the manufacture of Anti-Light Devices. Meanwhile, the Durlan who impersonated Hal no longer has the shape changing ability and realizes his safety is in great jeopardy.
Ho hum. Sorry: I think I said before that this version of Hal Jordan is about as whiny as I ever want to see. And with every issue, Robert Venditti makes him seem whinier (is that even a word?). Billy Tan shares art chores this issue with Martin Coccolo and it looks okay. What bugs me too, as if I don’t have enough to bitch about, is that we have this great cover of Saint Walker in turmoil. And that scene takes up all of two pages in the book. Really? Couldn’t you give us a battle sequence that represents the main plot instead? Either that or make the issue about Saint Walker. DC Editorial: C’MON!
HARLEY QUINN #4: Harley is headed off to work and spends the morning covering her skin with makeup to make her look…normal. As she leaves, Big Tony shows her his designs for his dog-poop removal machine in exchange for four months rent-free. Harley hears a tale of neglect from one of her patients and decides to pay a visit to the woman’s daughter, who is having a vibrator party. Harley bursts through the house with a bulldozer, breaks the woman’s son’s video game, and stomps on the husband’s model railroad. She throws the three into the trunk of her car and heads back home. On the way, she stops for lunch and kills a would-be assassin with a fork. Harley rushes to her first roller-derby game but arrives so late that the game is over and her team has lost. As the winning team leaves, Harley runs them over with the Rubensteins' car-an act that turn’s on her team’s captain. She finally releases the Rubenstein Family from her trunk and learns that Ida has Alzheimer's and, in actuality, they HAVE visited her three times a week. That night, Harley returns to the nursing home where she meets a resident who was once a a Russian government agent known as Syborg-partly because is name is Sy Borgman and partly because he is part bionic. He tells his therapist that he knows who she REALLY is and wants to hire her to help him defeat the enemies who injured him so long ago. Harley agrees.
Oh my God: how in the world is Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti getting away with this book? Vibrator sales people. Insane roller derby action. Implied lesbianism. Mayhem and murder. This is the funniest book on the shelves today. Unfortunately, the art team gets hit with the deadline issue and Stephane Roux does the fill in job. Not a bad job, but not the big gun contest winning talent we were all sold on. Not that it matters to me. This book is such a hoot to read I could take it as a text novel and be devoid of all illustrations. I look forward to this each month. Keep up the good work, you two!
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #4: The Sheriff tells the Trinity that they will soon be meeting their long lost children, which leaves our heroes puzzled. Meanwhile, the Wonder Twins debate about the possibility of creating another Barry Allen to replace the one that Locus killed. Ariel meets her “children” and they learn that they are not clones. Rather, they are human hosts that had the League’s DNA bonded to them, effectively killing the hosts. Soon the Sheriff reveals himself as The Convert and he has managed to trap them. Green Lantern gets his cloak back, breaks free, and battles with Locus. Unfortunately, even after a savage poking of her eyes, she tears the cloak to pieces and it appears Hal is going to die in the vacuum of space. Meanwhile, the Twins resurrect Barry Allen and…Firestorm?
Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter are totally making this book either one you totally love or totally hate. Personally, I LOVE it! It is going in places you just do not expect. These heroes are not cloned. They are humans who, according to Ariel, have been murdered by slapping some DNA onto them. And that would explain why they no longer have the attributes of their predecessors. It seems that, even though they have had their DNA rewritten, some of their initial traits must remain. This book is a roller coaster ride that just throws you every time it makes another turn. Go out and check this one out. It’s Giffen and DeMatteis throwing monkey wrenches all over the place!
JUSTICE LEAGUE #29: Will Magnus has rebuilt the Metal Men and Cyborg explains to them about the Crime Syndicate’s attack. They head to Happy Harbour where Grid and Cyborg face off, allowing the Metal Men to attack. Grid fights back, tearing the Responsometer out of Mercury's body, effectively eliminating him from the fight. That is when the Secret Society arrives to join the fight, leaving Grid to face Cyborg one on one in the digital universe. Victor admits he now knows how to control the digital side of his persona and traps Grid inside it forever. With that, all the electronics that were offline come back up. Steve Trevor and Killer Frost show up, but so do more members of the Secret Society. With the Metal Men continuing that fight, Cyborg leaves with the Lasso of Truth to go save the Justice League.
Now, I should be reporting on the final installment of this saga. However, FOREVER EVIL #7 won’t ship until the end of May, leaving fans who have already starting reading NEW 52 Month 30 titles in a bit of a quandary, as these titles features tales from AFTER FOREVER EVIL ends! Really? You folks at DC couldn’t have figured out a way to have the concluding chapter out before the following chapters began. And honestly, this issue was extremely late in shipping and is one of the reasons my reviews are so late, as I felt it important to include it with the rest of month #29. That having been said, Geoff Johns continues to wind this saga down and Doug Mahnke finds his normally crisp art softened by the inking skills of Keith Champagne and Christian Alamy. Not the best issue in recent memory, but certainly not the worst. By the way: give us a METAL MEN title, okay?
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #29: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13: Despero has destroyed Stargirl’s childhood home, bringing back bad memories for her of a brother she could not save several years ago. She then sees a younger version of the late Martian Manhunter as he was heading off on a rite of passage. She temporarily fights off Despero, allowing her to continue to pursue the plane that is carrying Firestorm. She makes her way into Firestorm’s subconscious where Ronnie and Jason are debating how to stop the Matrix from exploding. She uses J'onn's telepathy to reach the Justice League trapped in the Matrix and tells them of the prison and how they need to fight Despero to be free. But Courtney suddenly realizes that she has never left her prison. The good news is that J'onn is still alive and he has been able to speak to Steve Trevor who thinks he can free them with the Lasso of Truth.
I know that FOREVER EVIL is this big epic and, for the most part, it has been pretty awesome. But this story is getting ridiculous. It is just going on forever and IS truly evil! I mean, I can only take so many turns of Stargirl and J’onn J’onz trying to save the world and either dying, not dying or coming back to life from death. Sorry, I like Matt Kindt’s writing as a rule and love Eddy Barrows’ artwork. But this tale is going on too long. Time to wrap it up, finish the series and bring on JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED.
Friday, May 2, 2014
ALL NEW MARVEL NOW SHE-HULK
The first issue finds our green-skinned lawyer languishing in her office at the firm of Paine & Luckberg, LLP, waiting for her annual review. Unfortunately, her bosses are upset that, although she brought in millions of dollars in income for the firm, she didn’t bring in any high profile, superhero type clients. Before they get the opportunity to be fired, she quits and breaks their huge table made in Madripoor. Out of work and drinking in a lawyer bar, the widow of Dr. Jonas Harrow, the villain known as The Hood, approaches her. Apparently he had tech that was used by Stark Tenchnology and his widow is looking for a taste of what should have been his. Jen gets stonewalled by Stark’s Legal person and ends up in court, where the team of Stark lawyers get a continuance.
Digging through a Harrow’s garage in Queens, Jen finds an audio tape protected by a death robot. That tape has the incriminating evidence she has been looking for and again she heads to Stark, finally getting to see Tony himself. He admits that he should do the right thing and makes a hefty payment to the widow Harrow, who eventually gives Jen a check for 150K. With that, she rents space in a Brooklyn apartment and begins to search for paralegal, which she finds in the person of Angie Huang and her monkey named Hei Hei. Clients are sort of sparse and she finds out that her previous employer has told the rest of the legal community that Jen is crazy.
She decides to down her sorrows and meets up with her old friend Patsy (Hellcat) Walker. Before the night is over, Patsy decides they should check into a building in the Bronx that Patsy had heard was housing some A.I.M. lab. Of course, to say that Patsy is a little drunk is an understatement. Before all is done, the pair has defeated the bad guys and Jen has agreed to hire Patsy as her investigator. Returning to her office, she finds her first “true” client: Kristoff Vernard-the son of Doctor Doom. And how does one jolly green lawyer manage to convince the legal system to allow him to stay here and what happens when his dad arrives to take him home?
I LOVE this book, as much as I was expecting to hate it. I am a huge fan of Charles Soule’s writing, based on his work on such titles as SWAMP THING, RED LANTERNS, SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN and THUNDERBOLTS, along with the upcoming DEATH OF WOLVERINE storyline. While not trying to copy the style of John Byrne that he used while writing SHE-HULK, this title is probably the funniest version of She-Hulk SINCE Byrne. There are some great one-liners, some fun bits of dialogue, a tremendous supporting cast and a visual look from Javier Pulido that just makes it all work. Pulido has had his work in many places over the years including HELLBLAZER and HUMAN TARGET and I have never been a real fan of his style, as it seems that everyone these days are trying to be the next David Mazzucchelli, David Aja or even Jim Steranko. His style is quirky and, for this book, it just works fine.
If you are a fan of the old Byrne version of this character, do yourself a favor and pick this up. This is a hoot of a ride and I hope it survives this second round of Marvel Now titles. It is truly worth three dollars from your comic budget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)