THE MOVEMENT #11: We begin with a man arriving saying he’s going to find the devil and bring him home. Holly and Sarah go on their first date together while Christopher and Kulap Vilaysack are passing out food at a shelter. Christopher’s brother Jacob arrives, beats up Kulap and tells Christopher he is here to take him home and proceeds to fly him there. The team meets up and discuss their options. Back in Hammond's Dell, Jacob and Christopher arrive and is to face judgement for killing his father. The elders and the rest of the townspeople are prepared to brand him for his crime. Jacob explains, because of his wings, that he was born a gift from God. He tells how he tried to baptize away Christopher's evil and drown him in the process. Elder york brings Christopher’s mother to watch the branding. In actuality, although he can’t prove it, it was Jacob who killed their father. The Movement arrives and Jacob and Katharsis battle until Burden transforms into his demon, forcing Jacob to admit to the murder of their father. He pushes Jacob’s face into the fire and brands him. Their mother sides with Jacob and curses Burden. Virtue tries to explain that the brothers are genetic mutations, not angel, or demon. As the team leaves the burning village, Christopher announces he is gay.
Welcome to the penultimate issue of this series by Gail Simone and Freddie Williams III, who have pretty much been there right from the beginning. Unfortunately, the book never found an audience, the characters never caught on and the book never had sales to warrant DC to continue publishing. I would expect that these characters would find their way into some titles, probably in some version of The Teen Titans. Until then, thanks for the fun. It was an often confusing ride, but an enjoyable one!
THE NEW 52: FUTURE’S END #0: We begin finding that the world or what is left of it, is under control of Brother Eye, is in its final days. In Central City, a small group of humans, including Captain Cold, are waiting for The Flash. He arrives and tells the group that few humans survive. Wonder Woman and Hawk, now turned into mechanical bugs by Brother Eye, break into the hideout and begin killing everyone. Flash and Cold fight back, but Colds' hands get cut off and he becomes infected by virus. Flash is approached by Frankenstein and offered a chance to accept Brother Eye freely. He refuses and Frankenstein removes his coat to show Black Canary's face stitched onto his chest. She unleashes her Canary Cry and Barry Allen dies. At this point, Frankenstein narrates the tale of the rise of Brother Eye. He the Amazons of Themyscicra, killed Deathstroke and most of the Green Lantern Corps. He has infected Aquaman and destroyed Atlantis. Over in Metropolis, Green Lantern John Stewart and Blue Beetle Jamie Reyes are trying to how to Grifter and Amethyst in to shut down the Firestorm Battery. Blue Beetle gets infected by Booster Gold while John is attacked and infected by Superman. Amethyst and Grifter get killed by Superman and John Stewart. As they die, they tell Terry McGinnis to tell Batman that they have failed. Batman and Terry discuss the idea of going back in time to keep Brother Eye from being built by Batman and Mister Terrific. Infected members of Batman Incorporated break in, fatally injuring Batman but not before he sends Terry thirty years into the past-five years from today. Terry lands in Times Square and is told by A.L.F.R.E.D. that what he is attempting to stop has already begun.
Well, DC’s year long WEEKLY epic begins here, in the tradition of such past projects including ACTION COMICS WEEKLY, 52 and COUNTDOWN. This issue, written by Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen and illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver, Patrick Zircher, Aaron Lopresti, Art Thibert, Dan Jurgens, Mark Irwin, Jesus Merino and Dan Green. Is the launching point for a series that DC promises will change the face of the NEW 52 Universe. Critics and skeptics have already begun popping up and fans are sharply divided on the series. Personally, I loved the look and feel of the first issue and, in the tradition of other classic “universe shattering stories”, the whole creation of the NEW 52 eliminated all of that anyway. So sit back and enjoy theride, no matter WHERE it ends up.
THE NEW 52: FUTURE’S END #1-4: In issue #1, Terry’s Batman is five years from now from seven years too late to stop the creation of an Artificial Intelligence that will destroy the human race. At the same time, somewhere on the edge of space, Stormwatch’ ship has been pulled out of The Bleed. Apollo goes outside to look, but is killed. The ship is self-destruct, destroyed by the mysterious enemy, which then continues towards Earth. Meanwhile, Grifter has tracked a family of Daemonites to their home in Conover Cove and kills them all. In New York, Jason Rusch is desperately trying to find Ronnie Raymond. An hour ago, Jason got a message from Green Arrow asking for help. When he finds Ronnie, Jason forces him to join him as Firestorm. When they arrive in Seattle, they find the body of Green Arrow.
As issue #2 begins, Jason and Ronnie are at Ollie’s funeral, where Jason lays the blame for the death of the Green Arrow squarely on Ronnie’s shoulders. Mister Terrific makes a speech to the media saying it was Oliver who inspired him to come out as a super-hero. He runs into Aquaman and verbally spars with him, concluding by saying that if he were a villain, having all these heroes in one place would be truly like shooting fish in a barrel. Animal Man gives a funeral telling how they went from team-mates to best friends. As it becomes time to bury Oliver, Arsenal blames Firestorm for letting Ollie get killed and demands he not be a pallbearer. Ronnie claims they were busy with another emergency but Flash calls him on it. Ronnie flies off in front of those gathered and the world media, further making them feel less secure with their super-heroes. Future Batman is still in New York City, staking out the Terrifitech building. A.L.F.R.E.D. informs him that Brother Eye is already built but has been offline since the war. It’s terry’s job to keep the satellite from getting back online. In Charlotte, North Carolina, King Faraday begins searching for Grifter. That night, Lois Lane tries to write a story about Oliver’s funeral. There is a knock at the door and, when she opens it, she discovers a package with a bunch of odd items and coordinates.
Issue #3 begins in Nunavut, where Frankenstein discovers a polar bear with a surveillance device inside it created by S.H.A.D.E. Having quit them years ago, he is not happy about this and will make them pay. In New York City, Jason begs Ronnie to let him out of the Firestorm Matrix, which he has been trapped in for days, but he refuses. Cole Cash is in New Jersey and annoyed about the non-stop “death of Oliver Queen” news. He and his partner Justin have been converting Daemonite technology for their use. At Terrifitech, Michael Holt watches Future Batman's break-in to his building via security footage. When he leaves, he hands money to a panhandler, who is actually Terry McGinnis in disguise. Lois Lane goes to the Wounded Duck bar and confirms what she had deciphered from the mysterious box. Red Robin is not dead. He is alive and tending bar here.
Issue #4 begins with Frankenstein arriving at the Ant Farm and, when he goes to shoot Father Time, his hand is cut off by their newest agent: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. Amethyst believes that whatever destroyed Stormwatch is the storm they have been waiting for. Frankenstein is reluctant to go into space until her finds out that The Mermaid was killed in the attack. Meanwhile, Calvin Corcoran and Madison Payne run through Central Park. While she wants to know about his past, he refuses to reveal it as he says it changed him. She was also changed: her father was imprisoned for betraying Earth during the war. Elsewhere, Key and Plastique meet with Coil who try to convince him that a huge payday awaits if he helps them break into Terrifitech. Over in New Jersey, Justin warns Grifter about King Faraday, but Cash just brushes it off. He gets a phone call from Faraday, demanding a meeting. Faraday appears behind him and shoots him in the back, paralyzing him. Then he dumps a bag of evidence that will make him look like a serial killer in the eyes of the media.
Like BATMAN ETERNAL, this is a LOT to digest in one sitting. Written by the team of Brian Azzarello, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Lemire and Keith Giffen, the artistic team is a rotating one, which will help to keep it on the weekly schedule. Art for the first four issues is handled by Patrick Zircher, Jesus Merino, Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti respectively. This is a rambling story which has another 48 issues to go to reach its’ conclusion. When did this war happen that has left people injured and bitter? How did Tim Drake escape death to become a bartender? Who got this information to Lois Lane and why? So many questions to answer in the next 11 months. I, for one, am intrigued to where this is going and how many ramifications this will have on the New 52 Universe.
NIGHTWING #30: This issue begins in the Democratic Republic of Congo where Doctor Leslie Thompkins gets rescued from a crazed killer by a woman with a crossbow and wings. Two months later and she is concerned that she has revealed Batman’s identity to someone she should not have. At Wayne Manor, Alfred is devastated between Damian’s death and now Dick’s. In actuality, Dick is in the Batcave, violently sparring with Batman, who sends him off to handles a variety of missions for him, including infiltrating Spyral. By the end of the book, after a number of jobs, he is part of the organization. From here: GRAYSON #1.
And thus ends the legend of Dick Grayson, former ward and superhero and thus begins Dick Grayson-DC’s answer to the Winter Soldier. This was a great looking issue featuring the art of Javier Garron, Jorge Lucas and Mikel Janin accompanying the story by Tim Seeley and Tom King. I really liked the official introduction of Dr. Leslie Thompkins and, like many of the characters in the NEW 52 Universe, she is far younger than her predecessor. This acted as a nice ending to the adventures of a hero that dates all the way back into the early days of Batman’s career in the OLD DCU. Outed by the Crime Syndicate, now he needs to be dead to the world, including his ex-girlfriend Barbara Gordon. Good luck, Dick. I have fears that this title will not last long. We may need a hero, but a copy of one that already exists may not be the best idea.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #30: In the last issue, space aliens who only wanted the Outlaws’ space ship kidnapped Roy Harper. But for Jason and Starfire to rescue him, they need a space ship. And they steal one from what was once the headquarters of the Blackhawks. Next stop: the S.H.A.D.E.’s Ant Farm. Meanwhile, Roy is using his arrowing skills to defeat the aliens who took him here while the rest of the Outlaws end up battling with Frankenstein and defeat him. They finally contact Roy who is plotting his return home when he ends up being ambushed by Lobo.
Okay, I am a little confused and that is my fault. See, this is the “classic look” Lobo we all know and love. As I recall from STORMWATCH, before I walked away from it, there was this Lobo and the JUSTICE LEAGUE VILLAINS MONTH book introduced the “real” Lobo who looked more like a metrosexual that a legendary bounty hunter. So, is this the real one, the new one or the one who was metrosexual and is now classic? Well, according to Wikipedia, because that IS where we all go, this Lobo is “a Czarnian slaver who killed the rest of his race except for his beloved Princess Sheba.” The metrosexual dude is a “mercenary for hire who sets up shop on Earth after discovering his counterpart has been there”. Okay-that makes sense. With that having been figured out, it was nice to see The Ant Farm again, even if that whole thing made NO SENSE to me. And Roy survives his kidnapping so he can fight the classic Lobo next month. Anyway, Wil Pfeifer wrote it and Rafael Sandoval and RB Silva drew it
RED LANTERNS #30: On the planet Primeen, Judge Sheko is about to sentence Prince Karsik to death. But she gets killed by her bailiff instead. As she dies, a Red Lantern ring finds her, giving her new ability to wreak havoc and justice on her home world. Meanwhile, Bleez is in the medical bay, telling Guy Gardner that Atrocitus' has returned and that Rankorr is missing. Supergirl is ordered to guard Bleez while Guy and the Lanterns make the decision to head to Primeen to stop Sheko. The full teams, minus Rankorr are united and head to Primeen while Atrocitus eyes the situation and makes plans to recruit Sheko.
Charles Soule introduces us to a new Lantern and where her allegiance will be when it’s all over is anyone’s guess at this point. We get heartfelt communication between the two female members of the team while Guy Gardner, he of the long flowing bearded Viking look, rallies the troops to investigate the discovery of a new Lantern.. And of course, there’s that nasty Atrocitus waiting around the corner. Why we have a giant Red Lantern cat on the cover that doesn’t really do much in the book, is also anyone’s guess. Oh, the art by J. Calafiore and Alessandro Vitti is what we have come to expect on this title: a perfect fit.
SECRET ORIGINS: #1: In our first story, we see Kal-El father trying to convince the Hall of Science about Krypton’s impending doom. As predicted, the planet begins to collapse. But, because of his being disgraced due to his beliefs, he has only had the funds to build a single prototype ship that is large enough to save only Kal. Kal ends up on Earth and finds a new mother to care for him: Martha Kent. On that first night, Kal accidentally broke her finger with his strength. While Jonathan had wanted to take the him to the police, she convinced him into letting them keep him. She also knew he would grow up to be someone special. And she knew that he would be driven by the voices inside him of one mother he knew and one he barely remembered.
In the second story, we see Dick Grayson giving his mother Mary a bracelet for her birthday: a bracelet with Robins. At the circus, Dick overhears a conversation between C.C. Haly and Tony Zucco. That night, Zucco lived up to his promise that the Flying Graysons would not live through their act. Following the deaths, Dick spends time at the Wayne Foundation facility. Dick had been sneaking out at night and attacking known Zucco associates. One time, Batman came to his rescue and took him back to the Batcave to explain that he too was looking for Zucco. He removed his cowl and revealed himself as Bruce Wayne. After almost a year of training, and on the one year anniversary of the death of his parents, Dick went Amusement Mile and rode the roller-coaster in memory of his parents.
In story #3, Kara Zor-El and two friends who were preparing for The Trials, ran into troubles with a Fireclaw. They get saved by some bots, but lose many points in the Trials. Kara loses the most points as she lied to protect the other girls. Kara's mother told her that no good deed goes unpunished and that she always need to remember that the House of El is one of the most recognized on Krypton. As the end of Krypton approached, her father Zor-El moved his lab underground and used Brainiac technology to shield Argo from the death of Krypton. When Kara’s mother found out Zor-El wanted to send Kara to Earth, she shot her husband. But she was too late to stop him from launching her into space before she eventually landed on Earth. She did her best to help people but, she found it tough to fit in. When she tried to save a space shuttle and was attacked by the North Koreans, Either way, she followed her cousins’ advise and tried her best to do her best.
I have mixed emotions about this title. I like the idea of giving back story to DC’s heroes and always liked the former SECRET ORIGINS series. But cramming three stories in just takes a little bit more energy to read than I remember it doing. The Superman tale by Greg Pak and Lee Weeks is nice and I have no complaints. We have a story by two super talents in the world of comics. The Robin story, with the nice twist as to WHY Dick Grayson wants the Robin identity, is by Kyle Higgins and Doug Mahnke. The third tale, by By Kyle Higgins and Doug Mahnke, had some great looking art. But the whole story really did little to add to the legend. It was an okay story by Higgins, but did little to advance the history of the legend. Will this series succeed? Possibly. But it needs to truly decide who to focus on and how much is NEW INFORMATION versus already known factoids.
SINESTRO #1: Sinestro is in what used to be a temple off in forgotten space where, during his meditations, he does battle with Centitigers that now live there. But before he can’t allow them to kill him, as he wishes they will do, Lyssa, who informs him the Arkillo has corrupted the glory of the Sinestro Corps, saves him. She also shows him that the Book of Parallex is now a part of her. With the help of the words imprinted upon her, she recharges his ring and they head off to Sector 2066, where he invades a spaceship carrying survivors of his home planet, being used for harvesting. With five survivors in tow, he attempts to make peace with the Sinestro Corps, only to find that Arkillo is not about to let that happen. And he has already taken a prisoner: Sinestro’s daughter, Soranik.
Is he a villain or is he a hero. Or is he actually something in-between. Thaal Sinestro finally gets his own title and this first issue rocks. First off, you have Cullen Bunn writing it and it may be some of his best work in awhile. The dialogue, especially Sinestro’s initial monologue, is great and really adds some pathos to this long time bad guy. Add to that the amazing art of Dale Eaglesham and this book just explodes off the printed page. No, I’m not dreaming but I am getting totally fanboy about it. This first issue is what first issues absolutely should be: they should grab your attention and want you dying to get to the next issue. So…here I am. See this bad guy in 30 days!
SUICIDE SQUAD #30: We start with Black Manta being pardoned and returning to his old hideout in Boston. Once there, he finds that his gang has stolen everything he had there, including his money. Later, standing in line at a fast food restaurant, he flips out and beats up employees and patrons, soon finding himself arrested and on his way back to jail again. Meanwhile, Deadshot, Coldsnap and Shakedown are all being readied for transfer to a top secret government facility. But Deadshot’s prisoners are planning an escape, but he warns them is over from the start. Heatstroke and New Wave attack the truck carrying them, but S.W.A.T. officers intercept them and they soon are prisoners too. Amanda Waller is stripped of her powers because she could not protect people from the Crime Syndicate. She meets with the Secretary of Defense who informs her that although she is no longer in charge of A.R.G.U.S., she will still lead Task-Force X. While she is assigned a list of things he wants done, Belle Reve is being rebuilt When she arrives there, although it is disguised as a U.S. Postal Service depot, she sees Deadshot waving at her and heads to her new office. Later, the Secretary of Defence visits Black Manta, who admits he wants to do something different with his life, join Task Force X.
And thus ends another of the original NEW 52 series-not with a bang, but with a pretty sorry excuse for a last issue. Sean Ryan, Andre Coelho and Scott Hanna collaborate on this pretty lame final issue. What have we learned here? Let’s see: Amanda Waller will run the NEW Task Force X, along with members Deadshot, Black manta and whoever else she and the government decide. So, what happens to all these other great characters, like James Gordon Jr. and Killer Shark? Is DC planning on rolling them into other series or just putting them on the shelf. I’m sad to see this title go, as it was always quirky enough to be one of my favorites.
SUPERMAN #30: We begin with a young married couple are killed when the water in the Bahamas gets so hot that it kills them. In Smallville, all the people there have fallen in a coma. Superman investigates to find out about some crop circles that spell the Kryptonian word “Doom." He finds The Eradicator of Krypton buried on someone’s farm. It explains to Superman that he has come to warn Superman that Earth will be murdered and Superman will be to blame. At the Daily Planet, Lois has been brainwashed into becoming a servant of the Collector of Worlds. Later, at the Fortress of Solitude, Clark tells Cat he won’t be at work for awhile because he is sick. And the citizens of Kandor have finally awakened from their coma, banging against the dome they are housed in. Superman learns from Cyborg that an island in the Bahamas has been destroyed. This leads directly into SUPERMAN: DOOMED #1.
Scott Lobdell and Ed Benes bring us the the third prologue chapter of SUPERMAN: DOOMED. And it’s an okay issue-actually better than most of Scott Lobdell’s work. Of course, there is a new creative team in the form of Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr. They take over on SUPERMAN #32, meaning just one more issue and then a whole new start. Keeping my hope up that this reboot will be as good as the Pak/Kuder jump start on ACTION COMICS.
SWAMP THING #30: Swamp Thing's body, which no longer has Alec inside, has been transported to Germany. Back in New Orleans, Brother Jonah and Capucine track down Wolf and Lady Weeds to help Alec get back into his body. They return to the house in Houma to find that Alec's house had been set on fire. Capucine finds Pistil’s body, poisoned with belladonna. Jonah gathers an antidote and they discover that Pistil is now Alec Holland. He sees the house the Abby built burnt and becomes depressed. He also learns that he must return to his body within days or both he and Pistil will die. Capucine sends for Vandal Savage to help. He says that the Sureen are in India and allows them to use his jet to get there. Alec and Capucine arrive in Bangalore and meet an old man who claims he is the last living Sureen. Those who performed the Locum were impostors. The old man says he knows of a way to slow the process and ask a woman named Miki to join them. That night, Miki visits Alec. She kisses him and he realizes that she is just like him. Meanwhile, two men named Norren and Hoch are examining Meanwhile, Swamp Thing. They have found that eating fruits from Alec's body will create new plant life. Unfortunately, no one has been able to survive this experiment yet.
Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz do what they have been doing so well for such a decent amount of time: tell a killer story. Now, I’m sure we all know that Alec Holland can’t die(or do we), but it’s fun to see where this thing is going. The Sureen , the impostors, Wolf, Miki, Lady Weeds, Jonah-these are all great characters that have been fleshed out beautifully! Saiz art gets better with each issue too! Still a character and a book with a ton of heart to it!
TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #10: Marcus Severin is surprised and mildly reserved to see Pandora is still alive. She tells him that together, they will save the wounded and dying left behind by the Crime Syndicate. The pair go to the coast to see how they can save when Giganta arrives seeking revenge on Pandora. And she gets it by tearing her in half. Pandora's body regenerates and then she turns into the entity of hope, which allows her to see the pain of Doris Zeul’s childhood. Pandora promises to help Giganta, if she wants it. Marcus attempts to take a shot to bring Giganta down, but Pandora stops him, allowing Giganta to leave. Meanwhile, Agent Kincaid of S.H.A.D.E. decides to pursue Pandora, despite orders telling him to do otherwise. And, if things were not bad enough for Pandora, vandal Savage is on a killing spree on his way to see her.
And Pandora counts down to the end of her monthly DC Career as this title is gone as of August. And it rather makes sense, now that we know Pandora’s full story. Everything she thought she was is a lie. So the best Ray Fawkes and Ig Guara is bring this to a gentle ending and allow her and Marcus to walk off into the sunset of happiness together. Nah…this is a comic book: they thrive on pain and heartache.
TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #18: We begin with Superman being haunted by spirits of those who could not save, especially Doctor Light. The Phantom Stranger intervenes and tries to convince the Man of Steel that he cannot save everyone, even as the crack in Creation continues to grow larger. Faced with the ghosts, Superman resigns himself to let them take him until Stranger uses his faith in Superman to wake out hero up. At that point, the ghostly Doctor Light transforms into his true form: The Sin Eater. Meanwhile the wingless Zauriel collapses in Terry Thirteen’s apartment. And, in another location, Cassandra is told that, despite her and her boyfriend being together for the last two years, she and the Stranger will be together very soon.
Just like TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA, this title bites the dust in August, which doesn’t give it a lot of time to finish this story. And they need to finish this story as the Phantom Stranger is getting to be as emotional as Hal Jordan. He beats himself up monthly for things he hasn’t done rather than do what we expected him to do: work at getting those silver pieces off his neck. I cannot remember the last time we saw him do an act that got him one step closer to regaining his humanity. So, let’s let him go back into the background and get this book gone. I recall the first issue being, in my opinion, one of the worst written in history. It got better, but now it’s back down that slippery slope once more.
WONDER WOMAN #30: We begin the issue with Poseidon and Hades deciding to stay out of the turmoil on Mount Olympus for now. On Paradise Island, Wonder Woman has restored all the Amazons except for her mother. Aleka accuses Diana, now declared as Queen of the Amazons, of being responsible for not getting her mother cured. Later, Diana tells Dionysus and Hermes to leave as the Amazons do not trust men. The Amazons argue about whether it is right to follow Diana when a cloaked woman arrives and throws in more seeds of dissent. That night, Diana speaks to the Amazons and implores then to end their isolationism and open their doors. She also insists that all the Amazons act as mothers to Zeke. Meanwhile, the First Born feeds Cassandra with meat that once was Cheever and tells her she will follow him or he will eat her. And Hades has told his father Cronus that he wants to go to war with Olympus. The First Born appears and blows out Hades’ candles. The First Born rules Hell.
What can I say that I haven’t already said? This book is amazing, it breaks all the rules, and it should be on the top of your reading list. It’s by Brian Azzarello and Goran Sudzuka and I love it. To you a Marvel phrase: ‘Nuff said!
WORLDS' FINEST #22: Power Girl is angry the Huntress has destroyed the portal back to Earth 2. They saw Earth 2’s corrupt Superman and she shut the portal to keep him from coming here. Helena later hacks into Batman's computers to analyze data she and Kara stole. Kara finally has control of her powers and orders her lawyers to sell all of Starr Industries except for her lab in Cambridge. Helena tells Kara what she has found: a device her father once worked on before they left Earth 2. Now both heroes are convinced that the Superman they saw WAS from their world. And they decide they need to go home.
So, if this was a movie, our heroes could click their heels three times and be smack in the middle of the current issue of EARTH 2. But, it isn’t. So we have to go through month after month of our heroes pining to go back home. This title is so up and down that it gets tiring some times. Paul Levitz, R. B. Silva and Yildiray deliver another boring issue that does NOTHING to make me like these characters. Can we create a new team: the Whiny Leaguers? We can team Hal Jordan, The Phantom Stranger, Huntress and Power Girl and they can make their enemies SO despondent that they surrender just to shut them up!
No comments:
Post a Comment