ALL NEW MARVEL NOW MOON KNIGHT reviewed

Marvel’s Moon Knight character has been around nearly 40 years, since being introduced in WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32 back in 1975. Over the years, he has starred in six series for over 150 issues. He has been superhero, super man of mystery and has died…including faking his death once or twice. He’s Marc Spector, millionaire Steven Grant, taxicab driver Jake Lockley and even Wolverine, Captain America and Spider-Man. In his newest incarnation, courtesy of Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey and  Jordie Bellaire, he has narrowed it down to two: Moon Knight and Mr. Knight.

The series begins with Mr. Knight battling a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who has gone insane after being blown up by an I.E.D. and has decided to become a mad slasher to replace his broken body parts. Our hero stops the bad guy after several minutes of him monologuing away about his back story. Later we learn that Spector had recently learned he didn’t have Dissociative Identity Disorder. He has brain damage and, as his doctor tells him, his brain “has been colonized by an ancient consciousness from beyond space-time. In issue #2, Moon Knight is featured as he takes out a sniper who has been responsible for taking out most of a special ops group that he had been left out of.

In issue #3, Mr. Knight battles a punk gang of ghosts and loses badly. Going home, he consults Grant, Lockley and Khonshu and discovers he has a room full of artifacts from ancient Egypt, most of which he doesn’t remember buying. That night, flying in a special glider and dressed like Khonshu, he defeats the ghosts before going to the place where the gang members died and finds their skeletal remians.

Issue #4 introduces us to Dr. Skeleton who is doing sleep research and needs Mr. Knight’s help.Mr. Knight goes under in the research lab and finds that one of the original test subjects died in his dream state and was buried under the floor. It seems a fungal infection in his brain grew out of his head post mortem and produced spores that Dr. Skeleton breathed in and thus was living in the deceased’s dream.

Issue #5 had Mr. Knight rescuing a young kidnapped victim who recognized that Mr. Knight’s face is not a mask at all…but it’s his true face. And he leaves a threatening message for one of the kidnappers.

As you may be able to tell, this is one whacked out series from the twisted genius known as Warren Ellis. How whacked out and twisted? Pages 2-9 in issue #2 is bare bones with 8 panels reducing to one as the eight members of the special ops team get assassinated. And there are 9 lines of dialogue over the next 10 pages. It’s visual story telling at it’s best. And this is how most of the series thus far goes. Issue #5 features fight scene after fight scene as Mr. Knight runs the gauntlet to save his kidnap victim. But 5 issues in and Ellis hasn’t addressed the whole brain damage issue except at the end of the first issue.

I love the bizarre feel of the book and hopefully that won’t go away after Ellis and  Shalvey depart with issue #6(colorist and  Jordie Bellaire remains). It would be a shame to add this great air of mystery to this character and then tear it all down with the change of a creative team to Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood.

NEW 52, Month 32, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #32: Asa has found her way into Zatanna's body rather than Alice Winter’s and she begins using Zatanna's backward magic against the team. John casts a spell and the entire House of Mystery gets sucked into The Between. Asa leaves Zatanna’s body and explains that power has corrupted her. She also explains she saved Alice Winter’s life by possessing her and keeping her alive. The consciousness of the Between is attempting to eat them and feeds on their memories. Asa sacrifices herself The Between, in actuality her father, to gives the others time to escape. The House of Mystery ends up in a farm field in Upstate New York. But a kiss that was shared with Asa saved a small fragment of her soul and it is used to resurrect her into Alice’ body.

J.M. DeMatteis and Andres Guinaldo end this chapter in the lives of our heroes. And, like a legendary beer, it tasted great and was less filling. Actually, it didn’t really taste that great and was less filling. This story could have been wrapped up an issue earlier. So, I wasn’t totally thrilled with this and still want to see Madame Xanadu back running the team.

JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #7: Locus and Convert are looking for the Green Lantern they both thought was dead while putting a huge army together and try to capture Justice League 3000,  Meanwhile, someone on Cadmus is in contact with the Fatal Five. The next thing you know, Terri snaps Terry’s neck and reveals himself as The Convert. He also blows off The Flash’s head, killing him yet again. It seems that Terry has implanted explosive nanocites in everyone who works for Cadmus and, unless the League comes back, he will explode them. Coeval has a better: since they only need Ariel Masters, he blows everyone up anyway.
 
Okay: I did NOT see that coming! The Wonder Twins have a break up-a permanent break up, it seems. Snack that neck and reveal yourself as the bad guy! Wow! That’s a beautiful debut for a villain. Nicely done, Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis. In fact, DeMatteis’ work on this title far outweighs his work on JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK.Giffen’s breakdowns behind Howard Porter’s art just rocks this book perfectly. This continues to be one of the most unexpected titles in the NEW 52 and that means it won’t last. Too many people won’t get the jokes, the satire and the pure tribute to the heroes we know and love. Me-I just want it to last at least long enough to find out the true villainous nature of Terry and what does the Fatal Five get out of it. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #2: Miiyabin Marten and her friend Heather are in the forest in Moosonee, Ontario and Miiyahbin gets abducted by a mysterious creature. On Rann, Stargirl and company, including a newly arrived Supergirl, battle the creature they were fighting the day before in Ontario. The fight doesn’t last long as all are caged in containment fields. They discover that the inhabitants of Raan have trapped them to negate the energy from Stargirl’s Cosmis Rod, which has been unknowingly feeding the creature. Martian Manhunter leaves the field and grabs the planet’s leader, Sardath, demanding answers. Sardath explains they are peaceful people and the Zeta Beam brought them here, making them the first humans to arrive on this planet. He also claims that the creature the face on Earth was Byth Rok’s fault and he probably has Alanna. In the interplanetary war that has been occurring, Raan has remained neutral and decided to make a child that represented the genetic heritage of all the races involved in the conflict and name her Ultra. Byth found out about it and went to Earth, killed the team members there and took the project back with him. On the Moon of Thalsalla, Byth reveals Ultra to Alanna and claims it will grow to be the most powerful creature in the universe. Hawkman and the other prisoners escape, leading to a fight with Lobo. The Justice League arrives, but are too late to stop the baby’s awakening.

So, what happened to Miiyabin Marten? She gets introduced in the first couple of pages of the book and then she is never heard from again. All in all, Jeff Lemire and Mike McKone deliver a much better story than they have in the first few issues of this title. Maybe that’s because the action is starting to build and it actually feels like a superhero book as opposed to a big boring soap opera. I like this direction and hope that the next chapter does not disappoint.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #32: Jason and Roy are battling a group of terrorists when they discover the bad guys just dropped a nuke on Washington, D. C.. Luckily, Starfire is there to intercept it. She drops it into the fountain at the Washington  Memorial and disarms it. Later, they get kidnapped by S.H.A.D.E.  because they have part of a spaceship. The ship, before it was destroyed, sent out a message that said: “Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran. You are our final hope.” A she step inside the wreckage and, becoming emotionally distraught flies off. Meanwhile, “half a country away”, the villain behind the terrorist attack plans his revenge.

Scott Lobdell turns out the longest issue in comic history. Well, not really. Let me rephrase that. Scott Lobdell turns out a 22 page comic that could have been a 10 page comic-MAX! Here’s the deal: we got terrorists. We got a spaceship and we got an angry Starfire. How many pages is that? The art by  RB Silva and Rafa Sandoval is nice though. Oh-how many boob popping images can we get of Starfire and still keep this book under the T+ rating? Just asking!

RED LANTERN #32: The Red Lanterns find Rankorr and discover he has been chained up and is feral. Releasing him, he battles with his teammates until Bleez captures him and has Zox blast them both. Grievously injured, Guy suggests they go back to Ysmault and heal; them in the lake. Unfortunately, Atrocitus and his team are totally offended by the statues on Ysmault, destory the Red Lantern battery and corrupt the lake. Seeing desperate times ahead, Guy sends Kara to go track down Hal Jordan so he can find a cure for her. Meanwhile, the rest of the team prepare for the battle that is coming.

Charles Soule sends Supergirl packing. But to Hal Jordan? The whiniest of all the Lanterns? Good luck with that! Anyway, when you remove that, you have another great issue with a ton of action. The war is coming and I’m pretty sure it will be a nasty one. Add in killer art from the always dependable J. Calafiore and this issue is a winner.

SECRET ORIGINS #3: In the first story, young Hal Jordan watches his pilot father die in a plane crash. It came down to Hal’s older brother Jack to become the man of the family while younger brother Jim remained a child. Hal went on to follow in the footsteps of his father. Hal was a reckless pilot, which got him demoted from pilot to mechanic. One day, while working on a plane, he was chosen by the Green Lantern Ring, which took him to the crash-site of Abin Sur, who explained the ring, the Green Lantern Corps and what it would take to replace him and become the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. We see scenes of Hal in training and how Sinestro was responsible for the first War of Light. And, in between it all, Hal still managed to sneak in flights in planes. When not needed by the Corps, Hal still sneaks flights in real planes, wondering at hose his life was defined by two crashes. The first one took everything from him, while the second gifted him with more than he could imagine.

In the second story, we learn that Kate Kane, her twin sister Beth and her mother Gabi were kidnapped on her twelfth birthday.  Her father found her and rescued her, telling her not to look back. She and her father agreed to remain strong despite all of this. Years later, Kate gave up her place at West Point by admitting that she was a lesbian. later in life, she was observed by Batman as she fought off an attacker in a back alley. Batman told her how impressed he was and warned her not to make a habit of it. Inspired by this, she became a vigilante herself, convincing her father to train her as she took up the mantle of the Batwoman. Eventually she became romantically involved with Maggie Sawyer and the pair became engaged. Through it all, she never forgot her mother, her sister or all that her father had done for her.

In the third story, Tim Drake discovers Batman's identity. One night, he meets with Batman and explains how he wants to be the new Robin. Batman refused him, which led Tim to hack into The Penguin’s bank account to prove his worth. The Penguin found out and came after Tim and his family, leading Batman to put the family into witness protection. Moving into Wayne manor, he eventually "discovered" the Batcave and was offered the job as the new Robin. Not wanting to replace the memory of Jason Todd, he named himself Red Robin.

Again, I find this an expensive but sometimes satisfying anthology title. In the first tale by Robert Venditti and Martin Coccolo, we get the redone origin of Green Lantern, which we have seen before in NEW FRONTIER. Instead of being a flyer who finds Abin Sur, the ring finds him-after he was demoted to mechanic. The second tale by Jeremy Haun and Trevor McCarthy retreads most of the ground we already knew about Batwoman, especially if you followed her tales before the NEW 52. The third tale by Scott Lobdell and Tyler Kirkham really makes changes as Tim Drake’s family goes into hiding because of Tim’s reckless behavior. So, I find one tale really good, one tale fair and one tale pretty boring. So, I want at least one-third of my money back.

SINESTRO #3: This issue begins somewhere “in the armpit of the galaxy” where a “Holy Inquisition” is about to begin. Meanwhile, the Korugarians that Sinestro has rescued are concerned that they are dealing with someone who caused them so much pain in the past. Sinestro leads his daughter to another part of the cave they are in and he shows her the Green Power Battery he has managed to get for her to recharge her ring. The Yellow Corps and his daughter head out on a mission to find the rest of the Korugarians. They interrupt a slave auction where Korugarians are being sold, leading to a battle that saves the potential slaves. Before much else can be done but to promise to protect the Korugarians, the Inquisition arrives.

Well, after having the first two issues blow be away, this one was a major disappointment. First, only part of the issue is drawn by regular Dale Eaglehsam, with most of it by veteran Rags Morales. I am a huge fan of Rags’ work but this painted style looks horrible. Either Rags doesn’t have the tools or someone worked over his pencils and made a mess of them! And Cullen Bunn’s story this time around is average. Sinestro flipping between being a depressed former despot to being an angry leader is a bit confusing. Make him good, make him evil…,but make him something!

SUPERMAN #32: We begin 25 years ago in a secret base beneath Omaha, Nebraska.a hazardous leak occurred at the Ulysses Research Centre. Everyone there was forced to leave, except for Bridget and Peter, who were locked in their lab because the people in charge believed what they discovered from Dimension Two could not be contained. They knew their own lives were going to be lost, as the lab was set to self-destruct. But it was take your child to work day and they had their infant son with them. To save his life, they sent him into the portal to Dimension Four. Today, Perry White has sent for Clark Kent and is asking him to come back to work for him, saying that it will also allow Clark to rebuild relationships he has lost over the years. Later, Clark hears a cry for help and Superman finds himself and a strange individual from a portal in space attacking an alien. The man introduces himself as Ulysses, the Last Son of Earth.

So this is the first and much ballyhooed issue of Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr’s run on SUPERMAN. And it really tries to cover a whole lot of ground in a short amount of time. Maybe it tries to cover too much ground. We get the origin of Ulysses, see Jimmy Olsen begging for a front page spot from Perry White, Perry offering Clark his job back and we close with a battle between Superman and an alien, with an assist from the Last Son of Earth. The story is fast paced and the combination of Romita and Klasu Janson is…well: it’s ROMITA AND JANSON!

SWAMP THING #32: Swamp Thing is in the Apo Reef near the Philippines, where he gets impaled by Aquaman's trident.  Alec tries to explain that he needs to take care of the real problem in the Apo Reef: the Kreuzblütler. It is a portion of the Green that forms a pocket reality and it has created its’ own avatar, which Alec easily defeats. But Aquaman tries to engage the actual algae blob and fails, but Swamp Thing manages to chase the creature away. Aquaman refuses to trust him and warns him not to come back into his realm. The creatures of the sea, even the plant creatures, belong to him. Back in Louisiana, Alec demands that the former avatars tell him everything. But they tell him that there is billions of years of knowledge destroyed when the Parliament of trees was destroyed. There is nothing they can do for him and it is his own fault. Lady Weeds shoves a knife and into his skull, telling him that he does not have them and never did.

So Alec Holland has managed to screw himself. Congratulations! You have lost eons worth of collective knowledge and pissed off Aquaman too! Another great creation from Chales Soule and Jesus Saiz as they try their best to add to the legend of the Swamp Thing. DC is already touting major changes this fall for our hero. I can’t wait to see where that goes, but I am truly looking forward to it.

TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #12: Pandora watches in horror as Vandal Savage kills Marcus Severin. Pandora puts on the armor of hope and light and attacks him, as does Agent Kinkaid. Savage breaks Kinkaid's wings and throw her from the roof. Savage tells Pandora he hates her because she put a conscience in his head. As he prepares to break Pandora’s back, she casts a spell that temporarily blinds him with light. Giganta arrives, grabs Savage and tosses him miles away. She then tells Kinkaid to fix Pandora’s injury because they have business to attend to.

So, we get THIS close to the end of the series and it gets THIS GOOD? Usually the end of a series means the creators just put in their time and that is that. But Ray Fawkes and Francis Portella give us a great issue here, complete with the death of Pandora’s love, Marcus Severin. And Who knew Giganta would show up? That was a great surprise for me! Okay guys: let’s saddle up and ride this sucker to the end…giddy up!

TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #20: The Phantom Stranger is taken by The Spectre to The Under to try and deal with The Crack in Creation. There, they are forced to battle with Sin Eater and the soul from Heaven’s Basement. Non arrives and offers both men freedom if they join him. The Spectre, now in the human guise of Jim Corrigan battles The Phantom Stranger, in his human form of Judas Iscariot. Corrigan buries a blade in Iscariot’s chest and creates a single being of a stronger power in the process. Non is driven back and the Sin Eater is attacked by his own followers. But The Stranger reconsiders and saves Phillip Stark from their complete rage and brings him up to Heaven. Meanwhile, Zauriel’s light has gone out and Terrence Thirteen has an unseen visitor.

J. M. DeMatteis, Fernando Blanco and the legendary Norm Breyfogle combine to close the Crack in Creation, defeat the Sin Eater and save the Universe while saving another soul. Sure…why not!  The book is overly wordy, overly preachy and overly dull, despite the happy ending. Does that get The Stranger to drop off a few more silver coins in the process? Maybe he’ll be coin free by the time the new TRINITY OF SIN title begins, but I doubt it.

WONDER WOMAN #32: Artemis and Eros have gone to fight the First Born's forces in Hades. On Mount Olympus, Strife warns the First Born that Wonder Woman and the army she has is on there. As Wonder Woman prepares to leave, she entrusts Aleka with her shield so she can protect Zola and Zeke, even if she hates them. Cassandra invades Demeter’s domain and becomes trapped in a carnivorous plant. Minotaur arrives to help her out and is defeated by Wonder Woman who arrives just in time. Unfortunately, the First Born has also arrived and drains Demeter’s life. Diana sends her friends away and fires a flaming arrow at him. He drags her in, insisting she will get to burn with him. As the others arrive, Zola fears the worst for Wonder Woman. That is when Orion and Milan, saying they are the only ones who can save her.

Brian Azzarello and Goran Sudzuka are preparing to bring their run on this title to an end. And it appears that it will go out with a bang as we have Gods getting dropped left and right while the battle for Mount Olympus’ future prepares to begin. This has been a groundbreaking run and I will truly miss it and look forward to see what the new team brings to the table.

WORLDS’ FINEST #24: Huntress was dealing with a hostage situation on the Longfellow Bridge when the terrorist forced her to jump off to save the life of Tanya Spears, who works for Karen Starr. As she jumped, she attached a tracker to his car. Huntress calls Karen for help, but she is busy returning power to Seabrook Nuclear Plant and must chase the crook on foot. She catches up with him in just enough time to find out he plans on setting off a dirty bomb and killing Tanya in the process. She chases him out onto Boston Common and catches up with him, just as he removes the dirty bomb from it's canister. She defeats the terrorist and Tanya caught the canister, explaining they may have only been contaminated by a little radiation. Shortly thereafter, Karen arrives and takes the three of them to MIT and then the spa.

Because we all know that a little radiation contamination isn’t that bad. Have that employee explain that to her kids in 20 years when she is dying from radiation poisoning. What a dumb story! SHAME ON YOU PAUL LEVITZ!!! Scott McDaniel-your art is nice and I hope they paid you the standard rate for being involved with this mess. Let’s get back to the whole concept of these two heroes going BACK to Earth 2 and get away from this dumb caper story!

DC's NEW 52 Month 32, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #32: Previously reviewed as part of SUPERMAN DOOMED: ENEMY OF THE STATE.

ALL STAR WESTERN #32:  Jonah hex is playing a game of poker with Amos Blackthorne when Hex reveals that he plans to collect on Blackthorne’s bounty with Tallulah Black’s help. They drag him to the next town and hole themselves up in bar until the storm outside ends. The barkeep and the doctor who later arrives drug the bounty hunters so the townspeople can take Blackthorne for themselves. Jonah and Tallulah wake up, finding they have been strapped to their horses and ridden far away. She tells a tale of when she was once in Mexico with her lucky shotgun when a couple in a wagon comes by and leaves them, saying the lord will help those who help themselves. The following day,  Jonah and Tallulah find the old couple being robbed by bandits. The bandits shoot down the pair's horses, pinning them underneath them.

So, not that I am totally disappointed, but what happened to the back-up story? By the time it comes back, IF IT COMES BACK before this series ends, no one will remember what the story was. In the main event, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and Staz Johnson
Do what they have basically been doing since the beginning (well, Gray and Palmiotti): bring us a great Western tale. I will truly miss this book when it’s gone.

AQUAMAN #32: Creature King escapes Triton Base, killing Dr. Orson nd most of the people there in the process. Now he is out hunting “The Killer King”, leaving Dr. Shin and whoever may be left alive to drown. Meanwhile, Tula and Mera are fighting for their lives in The Underrealm when Topo lends a hand. Elsewhere, Aquaman discovers that the creatures of the sea can no longer hear him because of Chimera.

Okay…Chimera. It’s still the Creature King reborn. And what of poor, misguided Dr. Shin. Is h now truly fish food and gone from Aquaman’s life or will there be a last minute save? Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier turn up the heat here, mostly because the majority of the story is about the Creature King’s rebirth and not about what DOESN’T HAPPEN in the book as depicted on the cover. DC EDITORIAL-GETTING TIRED OF THIS!

AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #3: Darya and her brother are in the process of attempting to kill Sayeh and transforms Tomo into a monstrous cat beast, turning the animal on The Others. The Operative eventually kills the cat, putting it out of it’s possessed misery. Darya transports the team back to the castle that belongs to her and her brother and they demand their gold. Aquaman refuses and, after a flash bomb distraction, the team splits up to explore the castle and try and find Sayeh. Aquaman finds her first and tells her they will get her out of here, but she refuses him as she has visions of him from the FUTURE’S END future. Suddenly someone named Legend arrives to take back what Atlan stole and impales Aquaman with his own trident, avenging his father.

So, if Legend is here to take back what Atlan stole, this guy is pretty darned old. And apparently has quite the grudge against Aquaman. And what is with the vision of Aquaman as a machine? Does that mean there is STILL a chance that future will happen. Dan Jurgen and Lan Medina brings an issue that was better than the first two, but that is still not a barn-burner. Jurgens needs to step up the plot just a bit to keep this in my pile.

BATGIRL #32: Batgirl is disgusted at the way the GCPD is being run with her father in jail, so she decides to make Charise Carnes her target. Arriving at home, she opens the door and finds her roommate Alysia Yeoh and her girlfriend Jo getting involved with each other, which embarrasses Barbara. Meanwhile, Carnes is watching a news report how Ricky Gutierrez is suing Jim Gordon. She is upset by that and sends Bonebreaker to take care of Ricky. The next day, Barbara is out for a jog and interrupted by Obscura, whose men sedate her. The pair were roommates in college and didn’t get along. But now she wants to recruit Barbara for the counter-terrorism group she was recruited onto straight out of college. Barbara turns her down, but is told it is not without some type of consequences. After being dropped in the middle of nowhere, Barbara gets a call from Ricky informing her he is dropping the lawsuit. Knightfall's people infiltrated Blackgate and cut off his brother’s hand. She contacts Black canary for some help and made get a bonus hand from The Huntress who is spying on the pair from nearby.

Gail Simone and Fernando Pasarin continue this action/romance comic for a few more issues anyway. Effective with BATGIRL #35, Cameron Stewart (who used to do art of BATMAN INC.) and Brenden Fletcher will be writing the series while someone named Babs Tarr will take over the art chores(over Stewart’s layouts). What will that mean for the Dark Knightgirl (yeah…I just totally made that up)? Well, based on the initial illustrations I have seen, it will definitely result in a MAJOR change in art style. As far as the story: we shall see, won’t we?

BATMAN #32: Batman has made his way into the Riddler's tower and wonders question-marked metal boxes on the tunnel walls. The military are trying to set up an air strike. Batman realizes everyone is in a trap and orders Lucius to activate signal blocking devices, but is too late. With drones attacking his van, Batman arrives in time to save his friend. They also figure out that the boxes on the tunnel walls are explosives and that Jim Gordon and his team are in great danger. The Riddler is planning to call for the military air strike and the explosions will causes Gotham City to sink. Batman takes a guess as to where The Riddler is hiding and heads to museum where they first met, as they only have 40 minutes. Edward Nygma appears and inquires how Batman knew where he would be. Batman says the sound of the bounce pattern reminded him of a coil from the ancient Seteh game board. Batman commands The Riddler to call off the air strike as Zero Year is over. Nygma replies that is has only just begun.

So Scott Snyder, who some are now calling one of the greatest Batman writers ever, and Greg Capullo continue towards the “Endgame” in this epic story. This is one of DC’s best selling titles and for very good reason. The writing has been compelling all throughout, Greg Capullo’s art has come into its’ own and the whole book has been a buzz to read. It should be on your must read list and, if it isn’t, you need to add it.

BATMAN ETERNAL #9-12: In issue #9, Commissioner Jack Forbes is taken by Bixby Rhodes to see Carmine Falcone who wants to make Catwoman top priority in the GCPD. Catwoman breaks into another Falcone operation, only to find the police waiting for her when she opens the safe. Falcone appears and tells her that he has had to live with the scars on his face for five years and she won’t have the possibility to live with the scars he's going to give her. Meanwhile,  Batman is in Hong Kong, meeting with the Batman of Japan who explains that Falcone had been in a gang war with Shen Fang. Falcone had been winning the gang war until he suddenly decided to stop the fight and return to Gotham, allowing Shen Fang to take control. That night, the two Batmen break into Falcone's former base of operations to find a woman there who had been watching them. She wants Shen Fang to pay for his crimes but he arrives and runs her through with a sword. Batman beats on Fang who finally admits he paid Falcone off with a percentage of his operation to get him to leave. Batman leaves for home and informs Alfred they will have a wounded Special Ops agent coming to stay with them. Her name is Julia Pennyworth.

In issue #10, Falcone tells Catwoman that Batman is weak and can’t protect the city of Gotham. That’s when Professor Pyg and his gang arrives. Pyg wants revenge for the destruction of his lab. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne urges Alfred Pennyworth to speak to his daughter while Bruce goes off and has a conversation with Jason Todd. Alfred rushes out of Julia's room tell them about a news report saying that Professor Pyg is holding Carmine Falcone and an unidentified female hostage. Just as Pyg is ready to cut into his hostages, Batman crashes through the skylight, allowing Catwoman and Falcone to get free. She attempts to kill Falcone, forcing Batman to turn his attention from Pyg. Forbes orders Lt. Bard to do whatever needs to be done to kill Batman. He stalls long enough to allow Batman and Catwoman to get out, leaving a rather angry Falcone behind. Meanwhile, Cluemaster realizes that his men have failed in murdering his daughter, as she has been blogging about him in an attempt to expose him as a criminal. She is also living in the air ducts of the Gotham County Library.

In issue #11, we learn that Brazilian soap opera star Gonzolo Dominguez was at the scene of the train derailment in Gotham City and Batgirl has tracked him down. So has a would be assassin. Batgirl hides him away and he explains that he was NOT at the derailment. He owed money to the Club of Villains and, to pay them back, he let them make a duplicate of his face. Scorpiana crashes through the door, causing Batgirl  and Dominguez to flee. Luckily, Batman had asked Red Hood to follow Batgirl to South America and Starfire took Dominguez to a safehouse. Batgirl tells Jason she has proof that Dominguez was in rehab in Bogata at the time of the train crash. El Gaucho arrives to take on Scorpiana. Over at Wayne Manor, Alfred finds that his injured daughter Julia keeps trying to return to work for the S.R.R. She ants nothing to do with her father, her abandoned his family to become the butler at Wayne Manor. In her haste to leave, she opens up her wounds, which Alfred sews back up. At the Gotham County Library, Stephanie Brown continues to research her father's history as both a game show host and a supervillain. At the Gotham Cemetery, Selina visits the grave of her friend Lola MacIntire. She finds a sealed letter sitting on it from Lola’s father, expressing condolences for the loss of Lola and saying he had trusted her to look out for Selina. She finds Batman standing behind her and explains that she never had a daddy in the past and doesn’t need one now.

In issue #12, Lieutenant Jason Bard, Captain Maggie Sawyer and Sgt. Harvey Bullock are trying to find a way to fight the gang war that interim Commissioner Forbes says does not exist. Jim Gordon is on his way to court for opening arguments in his manslaughter trial when he realizes that his guard is actually Batman in disguise. Batman tells his friend he is still gathering evidence while Gordon says Batman needs to concentrate on the gang war and not on him. During opening arguments, the crown attorney reminds that the jury that Jim Gordon was responsible for causing the train crash that killed 162 people. Afterwards, Vicki Vale and Joey Day discuss the trial and the real problem in Gotham: the gang war. Jason Bard admits that she's right and tells her he has an idea to change that focus. Bard calls a phone number that Gordon used to use to contact Batman. When he arrives, Bard and Bullock tell him they have a plan but it means letting the GCPD catch him. At Gotham City General Hospital, Harper Row is concerned about her brother’s being struck down by this super-virus. She hacks into the bat-grid to try to find Red Robin. She finds him at Police Headquarters, where he is fighting Professor Pyg in a holding cell. He realizes that Harper has hacked into his system and fires back a message warning her to stay away and frying her system in the process. Later, Tim Drake goes to Wayne Manor looking for information on her. In Rio de Janeiro, Batgirl accepts Red Hood’s help and remind him they have to hurry as they only have three days to clear her father’s name. Next morning, Jim Gordon finds he has a visitor: his son.

Four more issues crammed with story, story, story and a mixture of art styles. I mean, you are looking at a small graphic novel each month with almost 100 pages every four weeks. Say thank you to Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman, Ray Fawkes, Tim Seeley for this intriguing tale. And then you can thank Guillem March, Riccardo Burchielli, Ian Betram and Mikel Janin for the art. So, my question is not how Jim Gordon ends up being found not guilty, my question is who is the mastermind pulling the strings behind this whole gang war thing? I certainly do not believe it’s The Roman. Is this the time for the Joker to make his return? Stay tuned.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #32: Beneath what was once Nanda Parbat, Batman and Frankenstein arrive too late to keep Ra's al Ghul from submerging the sarcophagus with Talia's body into the Lazarus Pit. This pit was hidden until Nanda Parbat's disappearance and this allowed Ra’s to be able to activate the pit with a crystal Talia had found. Batman grabs Damian's sarcophagus, leaving Frankenstein to block Ra's and his followers. As he loads Damian into Batplane, he realizes that Ra's has caught up with him. The pair battle until a large explosion distracts them. Glorious Godfrey and a gang of Parademons have arrived from Apokolips.

Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason continue to generate great stories even after the Boy Wonder’s demise. But how much longer is that going to last? The resurrection seems to be coming in July. Or is that all a red herring? Anyway, the book continues to be a fun ride and shows a Dark Knight totally dedicated to his family as well as his calling.

BATWOMAN#32: Kate and Bette visit the Gotham Children's Hospital Charity Carnival when a woman calls Kate's name. It is Sophie Moore. She is Kate’s ex and the person she was kicked out of West Point for. Before the conversation can be totally uncomfortable, Maggie calls and Kate excuses herself, making it a point that she needs to talk to her fiancée. In another area of the carnival, Alex Witherspoon sees Natalia Mitternacht, who was acquitted for murdering her father. Alex makes a phone call to have Natalia taken out. Later that night, Nocturna tells her lover Anton Mitternacht that she needs money and plans on stealing a chalice from a museum exhibit on Lady Báthory. Out on patrol, Kate gets a voice mail from Sophie who begs for a dinner date with Kate. Then she spots movement in the museum and finds Nocturna there. The vampire creature attacks and Batwoman hits her in the eye with a batarang. But she gets knocked out by Anton, who gets Nocturna and the chalice out. Meanwhile, Alex Witherspoon's assassin takes on a costume and a code-name: "Killshot".

And I guess that would be because Deadshot was already taken? Marc Andreyko continues to write a cool tale and throwing in the former love interest to Kate Kane just complicated the whole Kate/Maggie relationship thing. Nice art from Jeremy Haun as this book continues to try to find it’s visual feel since the departure of the last creative team. I like the direction and getting her father out of the mix and like the fact that not EVERY ISSUE is about Kate and Maggie. Of course, DC has shied away from some of this since the issues with them marrying.

BIRDS OF PREY #32: On Mother Eve’s barge, Eve believes that she can used the marvels of today to give Strix back a voice. Dinah is helping Kurt with his rehabilitation, although that is difficult as he doesn’t know who he is and what their relationship was. Leaving him, she runs into Condor who takes her to see his new Condor loft. He also shows her a device that will take her Canary Cry and allow her to fly. But they get called back to the barge, where Mother Eve explains that a man named Amadou Mambety has been taken hostage by a warlord called Nkonga and his band of former Basilisk members. Arriving in West Africa, they make their way to Nkonga's hideaway and Strix runs him through with her sword. Mambety is chained to a post in a field filled with land mines, which Canary activates while Condor uses his telekinesis to shield him. Unfortunately, despite the success of the mission, it looks like they will have to deal with the Suicide Squad, who have also come for Mambety.

So Christy Marx and Robson Rocha begin the slide to their last issue and go right back to the formula that got them to the cancellation point: a bad romantic triangle. I DON’T CARE about Condor’s lusting after Dinah who is lusting after him AND wants to get  busy again with her late husband who isn’t dead anymore. I love the art on the book and love Strix’ character. But the rest of the team, including the newly young Mother Eve, need to go.

CATWOMAN #32: We’re in the next round of Roulette's race of thieves. Catwoman finds her friend Rat-Tail among the racers and convinces him to jump into her car and be the designated driver. Interpol gets involved and orders everyone to stop, which doesn’t happen, so they begin firing rockets at the contestants. Catwoman hooks the helicopter and takes them out of the game. Next she focuses on Roulette's train while Mirror Master puts a huge mirror across the tracks. The train doesn’t stop and there is a tremendous collision, allowing Catwoman to seemingly win the race. Detectives Alvarez and Keyes thank her for winning as they put their money on her and she informs them that an old man in a jeep was the true winner. Getting to the train, Catwoman, Mirror Master and Rat-Tail find Roulette has gotten away.
And there is the other part of the story that involves a century old murder, a missing child and the guy who put up the prize money. But all of that was just filler and fluff to me and meant next to nothing to this ridiculous story! Ann Nocenti writes another Ann Nocienti piece of work and Pat Oliffe makes it look better than it actually is. I miss the tongue wagging steam of the first issue.

CONSTANTINE #15: Constantine heads into the Gold Peak hotel in Hong Kong to meet with the witch Graceful Moon, whether she wants to or not. After being attacked by a Qilin and telling her he his here on a mission of peace, she reveals herself, saying she knows that John is here to find out who taught him his first spell. But she refuses to tell him until he reveals who is inside the Moonblade. She takes the Moonblade and realizes that Mister E is inside. The Moonblade moves on its’ own and cuts off her hand. John casts a spell which causes her palace to be destroyed. With Graceful Moon dead, Mister E is prepared to reveal who taught John his first spell. Meanwhile, Sargon and Tannarak realize they must destroy Constantine before he uses the Moonblade to destroy them.

So DC continues to try to make John Constantine a much move viable “good guy” so he looks good for the upcoming TV series. To that end, Ray Fawkes and Aco have to tow the line between Constantine the hero and Constantine the self bastard that everyone has a bone to pick with. And, to make matters more interesting, you have Mister E, Sargon, Tannarak and Graceful Moon-none of whom exactly fit the mold of Citizen of the Year. So, cheer for the LEAST villainous villain and go from there.

DETECTIVE COMICS #32: Batman is investigating the murder of Elena Aguila and that has led him to a dealer named Sumo. Batman finds Aguila’s car and breaks up a child-trafficking ring before dropping a dime and calling GCPD. Harvey Bullock leads the way, discovering the evidence Batman has left for him. Batman meets with a distraught Annette Aguila and promises to find whoever was responsible for her mother’s death. Later, as he feeds his cats, Harvey receives a message from Maya saying that Jeb Lester signed off the shipping manifests on the containers on. Lester, it turns out, is a Vice president at Wayne Industries who is trying to destroy evidence when Bullock and his men arrive.Batman traces calls made to Elena’s phone to the Gotham Aquarium, which is the hideout for The Squid and his brother Jonny. Batman gets attack by a real giant squid and must use the electric charge in his gloves to get free. As the floor collapses and floods the aquarium below, the Kings of the Sun biker gang arrives, shoots Squid in the chest, and gets ready to battle with Jonny.

So the creative forces that made THE FLASH such a fan favorite, Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, are doing their best to take DETECTIVE COMICS to the next level. And they are doing it by making the book all about the title-DETECTIVE COMICS. We are back to the days when the Dark Knight was solving crimes, not just bashing heads and using nothing but his electronic gadgets to get the job done. While the art style is a bit jarring and take some to get used to, this book gets the ass-kicking it so deserved.

EARTH 2 #24: Beguiler is torturing Jay Garrick when he is interrupted by Bedlam, informing him the forces they sent to Gotham have all been destroyed. All that is except for Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and a pair of parademons that Lantern sends back to their master. They search and find The Flash, breaking him out of his prison. Over in Amazonia, Batman and the other survivors from the Batcave explosion arrive bearing the dead body of Red Archer. Batman blames his death on Val while Jimmy Olsen blame it on Batman, as he revels that he knows he is actually Thomas Wayne. Jimmy talks with Val and he removes his well worn jacket to reveal the symbol of the House of El.

This book continues to heat up as the war to save Earth 2 continues. Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott and Trevor Scott are banging out a great story here and I can only hope that will continue as DC has announced creative changes on this title with issue #27. Marguerite Bennett will be joining Tom Taylor as co-writer while Nicola Scott will be leaving the book, to be replaced by Andy Smith. I realize this will change the vibe and the total look of the book but hopefully not enough to turn it back to the depressing days before Taylor took over when James Robinson seemed to be sleepwalking through his scripts. Until then, enjoy what we’ve got and hope for the best! And remember: this all leads into a weekly title come the Fall.
 
THE FLASH #32: Twelve years from now, Captain Cold is dying of stage four bone cancer. He tells his old nemesis that he is trying to go back in time to fix the problem with the Speed Force to go back in time to fix those situations, which resulted from Daniel West time traveling. Barry holds Leonard’s hand as he dies. In present day, Barry is trying to figure out who is responsible for all of these crimes with what appears to be stolen weapons. He battles someone masquerading as Merge, whose use of a gravity gun causes Barry to fly off. He crash lands in a pond and luckily only Patty is there to see it. She suggests a nice evening out with just the two of them and Barry recalls that he promised to take Wally and Iris West to a Central City Diamonds game. She gets jealous and leaves. That night, while Iris goes to get refreshments, Wally and Barry bond.

This is the new direction for THE FLASH and I like the art and most of the story. I just wish we could keep to one timeline. This constant moving from the future (which is in The Flash’ past) and the present (which is in The Flash’ distant past) is giving me a headache. I am curious to see how many of the Rogue’s Barry plans on taking out to make the future safe again. Another killer issue from Robert Venditti, Van Jensen, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.

GREEN ARROW #32: With Green Arrow back in Seattle, Henry Fyff informs him that Richard Dragon runs the city and has captured John Diggle, who was betrayed by The Clock King. As an argument ensues between Naomi and Oliver, an explosion interrupts them. It seems Red Dart has accepted the bounty that has been put on Oliver's head along with two other criminals: Brick and Killer Moth. They proceed to beat him down until arrows reign down on the criminals. Emiko arrives, declaring herself the new Green Arrow. Meanwhile, Diggle warns Dragon and Count Vertigo that Green Arrow is back in Seattle. Diggle doesn’t care as he has a vendetta against Diggle who was responsible for killing Ricardo Diaz – Diggle’s father. He explains how he trained with the League of Assassins, killed his sensei, and took his name. As he continues to be beat, Diggle explains that it wasn’t Green Arrow involved with Diaz’ death: it was really Diggle in disguise as the Green Arrow.

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino begin their final arc on this title with a bang and a mystery. Emiko is here and SHE’S the new Green Arrow? And John Diggle was once the OLD Green Arrow? How many Green Arrows do we need? Anyway, this book has been so awesome since Lemire and Sorrentino took over and they have crafted a wonderful legend to Oliver Queen. Much more than that, he is not the spoiled brat we know and love.

GREEN LANTERN #32: Part 3 of the 6 part UPRISING Saga. The Khunds are aligned with the Durlans, who betray them. The Khunds are battling the Green Lanterns. The Glanterns arrest Prixiam of the Durlans(again). The Lanterns discover that the Durlans are heading to Zezzen to eat Gorin-Sunn’s people.

Yeah…makes no sense to me either and I had to read it. Robert Venditti wrote it and Billy Tan drew it. See you in Part 5.

HARLEY QUINN #7: Poison Ivy explains to Harley Quinn that whoever is putting the bounty on her is sending it from Harley’s laptop. Arriving at home with a foot rubber Harley had picked up at the beach, they see Big Tony sell the corpses of the dead assassins Madame Macabre. That night, Icy finds that Harley is sleepwalking and posting her own bounty on herself. Surviving another attempted assassination, Ivy explains how Harley was putting the hit on herself and now that he has destroyed her laptop, she can’t cancel the hits. They follow a lead and go to a meeting of the Brooklyn Assassin’s League. Most of the bad guys are taken out by one of Ivy’s plants but one guy decides that he is not buying any of it. So Big Tony shoots him in the face. The others fall in line and Harley uses their money to buy some new shoes.

Yep: I am LOVING THIS BOOK! It’s fun, funny and a cool read to just soak my head into. Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin. That’s all I have to say!

INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE #1: The graduating class of the Academy of Higher Conscience is getting ready to make a trip from New Genesis to Earth. Mark Moonrider can’t get the Mother Box to work and it becomes obvious that he and Vykin do not get along with each other. Highfather Himon arrives and eventually the box begins to work, and a Boom Tube transports Mark, Seraphina Baldaur, her brother Vykin and Dreamer Beautiful to Vencie Beach, California, where they get greeted by Big Bear. Vykin feels the house they are about to enter is no way for a New God to live, but soon they are inside and introduced to Kirby: the “communal reconstruction bio engine” for the house. Meanwhile, something goes horribly wrong at the Feast of Eden Agricultural center in the Sudan. And Mantis has something to do with that.

True confession time. When I was a wee lad, I was all over Kirby’s Fourth World, although I did not realize what it truly was. I knew it was this Jack Kirby guy who had drawn FANTASTIC FOUR and that these were his new creations and that they were cool. My favorite, by far, was the FOREVER PEOPLE. NEW GODS had way too much mythology for an 11 year old kid and MISTER MIRACLE seemed silly, except for Big Barda(Because every 11 year old LOVES  big breasted super chicks!). And I didn’t even KNOW that SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN (issues #133-148) was part of it until I got back into comics in 1975. So to see this title revived makes that 11-year-old kid come out in me again. Dan Didio still thinks he can write dialogue, which he can’t. But we let Keith Giffen and Scott Kolish illustrate it and it help to make up for the cornball stuff Didio is writing. But, when you think about it, most of what Kirby was coming up with was pretty cornball, so it’s all good.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #32: This will be reviewed next month as DC ran behind during FOREVER EVIL.

SUPERMAN DOOMED: ENEMY OF THE STATE reviewed

ACTION COMICS #32: Chapter 1 of ENEMY OF THE STATE. After everything going on with Superman following his destruction of Doomsday, the government has labeled him an enemy of the state. Lois Lane convinces John Corben to use Metal-0 to take down the infected Man of Steel. In Chile, Steel locates Superman who explains it’s not safe to be around him as the spores within him kill even the desert life around him. Metallo and the Atomic Skull arrive to attack as Corben is on a suicide mission. Kryptonite gas on the bomber Corben is in explodes seemingly killing Corben and spreading Kryptonite cloud spreads across planet Earth. As Steel goes to check on Superman, he sees that the man is gone and only Doom remains.

Greg Pak and Scott Kolins bring us this next chapter in this Superman epic and it’s a winner! Pak’s writing on this title has brought it into such prominence and Scott Kolins art is just perfect. I love where this story is going too. Superman, the strongest man on our planet is slowly becoming the creature that once killed him. So…how DO we resolve it? We know Superman won’t die AGAIN…they already tried that trick. But will he end up in the Phantom Zone for an extended period? Will he have to find a way to exorcise the creature from his body and put him into a new one? I can’t wait to see the final solution and can only hope it lives up to the hype!

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #9: Chapter 2 of ENEMY OF THE STATE. The Kryptonite cloud threaten to kill off what little is left of Superman’s DNA. Over in Brazil, Wonder Woman begs her friend Hessia to help her heal Superman problem. She agrees and puts on magical armor to protect herself from him. But Diana discovers that Hessia plans on killing him, not healing him. Diana intervenes, using her Lasso of truth to pull him into space and allow Clark’s persona to return. She returns to Earth as he flies further out into space and gets attacked by Supergirl and the Red Lanterns, who are determined to help him or let him go if he is beyond help.

What I truly hate about mega-crossover stories is being forced to buy titles I normally don’t buy. I haven’t been doing it with the recent GREEN LANTERN event because I don’t care enough about the character to waste my money or the other titles. But the Big Blue Boy Scout? Yeah: he’s worth it. That having been said, Charles Soule and Tony Daniel give us a great looking, cool reading tale that fits nicely into the story. From here, the tale becomes SUPERDOOM and moves through ACTION COMICS #33, SUPERMAN/ WONDER WOMAN #10, ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #3 and SUPERMAN/ WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #1 before heading into the final three chapters in August.

DC's NEW 52 Month 31, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #31: Nightmare Nurse is gone and Alice Winter is left. Apparently, Alice Winter lived in the House of Mystery some 80 years ago and the person who we know as Nightmare Nurse was her elderly housekeeper Asa. Asa infected Alice with a disease and, when she was sick enough, Asa took over Alice’s body. It turns out that Asa is with John in The Between and they need to get her back into Alice’s body or they will both be trapped there forever. They break free but cannot convince Zatanna  to help Asa back into Alice’s body. So Asa takes over Zatanna’s instead.

This is not one of the better issues of this title. J. M. DeMatteis and Andrea Guinaldo tell this tale of who Nightmare Nurse is, which is fine. Then we throw in John and Asa in The Between and the whole thing just stops cold. I understand that we need to give some background to what The between is and the importance of Constantine and Nightmare Nurse getting out. But to have then get free, fight with the Justice Leasgue Dark and have Zatanna possessed? This is just too convenient a plot device to be any good. Can we have Madame Xanadu back please? 

JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #6: The League gets captured and imprisoned by Coeval while Locus mourns the fact that her dead Green Lantern is not the best piece of jewelry she could own. She visits Ariel masters and demands that she make her a new, improved boyfriend. When she leaves, we learn that Green Lantern is not dead and was merely faking it. Ariel warns him not to use his Green Energy as it has given him cancer and using it will only make the cancer spread faster. Coeval speaks to each of the captured team and seems to be able to convince Firestorm to join his cause. But it may be too late for any of that as Hal Jordan is prepared to fight the Five and save his teammates. Meanwhile, at Cadmus, the “Wonder Twins” try to come to an agreement on how to run things.

And again, Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis hit the target with this title. It’s a fun, roller coaster ride that is ruled by the premise that the Justice League is forever and someone always needs to take on the role of the heroes-even if it means overwriting someone’s DNA and killing the person in the process. Howard Porter’s art shines and makes this whole book feel weird and fun. I don’t know if this is the future in the NEW 52, because there are so many possible future’s right now that it is hard to tell. But either way, it’s a killer ride to a place that MIGHT exist someday.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #1: Hawkman is battling Lobo to try to win his freedom and that of his fellow inmates while Alanna and the others escape. She takes out a Khundian guard and steals his weapon. She also hears Adam Strange's voice in her head. Meanwhile, what remains of the Justice League of America plus Animal Man are battling an alien giant. Martian Manhunter enters the creature’s mind and discovers it was a failed experiment that was only kept alive to protect the scientists that made it. The creature runs off with J’onn still inside, causing Stargirl to give pursuit. She flies inside the creature and uses the psychic connection between her and J’onn to pull him out. She uses her staff to change the creature to wood and J’onn destroys it. But it manages to pull itself back together and the team finds themselves transported to the planet Rann. Alanna sees Adam and runs into his arms. In actuality, he is Lord Byth in disguise. And he has been working on a project to make a child that will one day Ultra the Multi-Alien.

All we need is Geddy Lee, and Bob and Doug McKenzie and we have an SCTV sketch. This was just a nasty mess. Hawkman battles Lobo (sure hope the new Lobo series coming in October is better than this), J’onn mind melds with some alien that won’t stay dead, even when it’s turned into wood. And we top all of this off with a love story that is going bad. I liked the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA series. I do NOT like this one, however. I expected great things from Jeff Lemire and Mike McKone and this is not great by any stretch of the imagination. The plot is boring, the dialogue is surprisingly wooden, and McKone’s art looks totally uninspired. This has been a huge disappointment, even after only three issues.

NEW 52: FUTURE’S END #5-8: In issue #5, Michael Holt unveils the uSphere, which is designed to unite the people of both Earths. In Maryland, Cole Cash is given an offer he can’t refuse from King Faraday. And if he does refuse it, he will never walk again. On Cadmus Island, Cole's new partner uses her heat vision to blast Fury, before returning to the side of one Slade Wilson. In New York, Jason and Ronnie break up their friendship and their partnership. Jason meets with Dr. Yamakaze, who claims he has developed a transporter system. Meanwhile, John Constantine finds himself summoned to a crop circle in Kansas by a woman named Midge. It’s truly a killing field, as nine people were killed to create this.

In issue #6, Key, Plastique and Coil plan to steal the uSphere technology. Terry McGinnis listens in and can’t help but notice the similarity between Plastique and the cyborg that followed him here. Mister Terrific discovers that the homeless man is a match for the new Batman. Meanwhile, Frankenstein and the other Agents of S.H.A.D.E travel through the Phantom Zone to reach the Huron System and investigate what happened to Stormwatch. Among the prisoners they encounter inside the Zone is Black Adam. Back on Earth, Cal Corcoran throws a very drunk Ronnie Raymond out of his bar. Then Lois Lane, who is also in the bar, begins quizzing him about Red Robin. He has her leave and demands she never come back. As Lois leaves, Superman grabs King Faraday and warns him to stay away from her.

In issue #7, Black Adam demands revenge for being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and he tears off Frankenstein’s arm while he attempts to keep the prisoner from attacking Ray Palmer and Amethyst. Frankenstein makes it through the portal, even if his arm doesn’t. Over in Metropolis, Madison Payne visits Lois Lane and wants to know why she thinks Cal is Red Robin. Lois also realizes that she testified against Madison’s father, who was dealing arms to the enemy during the war, forcing Madison to storm out of Lois’ office. Over at Colombia University, Dr. Yamakaze need help moving heavy equipment and suggests getting enlisting Ronnie. But he is in Pittsburgh at the war memorial, as it seems his mother was one of those who died here. On Cadmus Island, Deathstroke tells Cole that he will call for him when needed. Until then, Fifty Sue is his guide. Meanwhile, Coil, Plastique and Key continue to make their plans to steal the uSpheres. Donning his bat suit, Terry attacks Mister Terrific but is approached by Terrifitech security and flees, leaving the remains of the cyborg behind. This concerns both Holt AND the real Plastique.

In issue #8, Deathstroke and King Faraday discuss the role that Cole will play, while Cash finds himself tossed into the sea by Fifty Sue, who remains an enigma. In Metropolis Lois Lane learns that the numbers are map coordinates and charters a jet to the location. Over at Columbia University, Jason aid Doctor Yamakaze test teleportation device with heartbreaking results and he blames Jason for them. Later. Superman visits Jason and tells him how badly Firestorm is needed. In the Huron System, the S.H.A.D.E. team is still investigating the remains of the Stormwatch Carrier, having found all the bodies except for Apollo and The Engineer. Ray Palmer removes Hawkman's arm and sews it onto Frankenstein. In Southeast Asia, a cavern with a temple inside it has been revealed from the bombings during the war. Unfortunately, there is a God living there. Meanwhile, Constantine’s friend Midge was dreaming and speaking in Laotian. She tells him there is a great threat coming and he admits to knowing that and also knows he will need help to stop it.

So the mini-series that MAY lead to a major event next year rolls on. These four issues are written by Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Lemire, with art by Jesus Merino, Dan Green, Patrick Zircher, Aaron Lopresti, Art Thibert and Scot Eaton. Personally, I like where this is going as there are so many unanswered questions at this point that it’s a fun trip. I know many people are complaining about how this series is a waste of time and money, as it will change nothing. I am STILL holding my breath about that because, as I have said, there is rumblings in fandom that this will all lead to some sort of “event” next year to celebrate the anniversary of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. And let’s think about how many comics you have read over the years that told tales that never happened. Gee: not that MARVEL didn’t do the whole DAYS OF FUTURE PAST thing. Wait: wasn’t that a MOVIE TOO!? Not an imaginary tale, but it may not be the future either. Stay tuned!

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #31: Lobo from the Magenta Timeline is monologuing his master plan to Roy on the ship Roy stole. Jason and Starfire arrive to help rescue him. Unfortunately, Lobo plans on helping his personal finances by taking it out on the planet Earth. Luckily Roy manages to out think the Main Man and has his Roybot tell Nanobots to transfer Lobo and company to somewhere in outer space. Lobo realizes that nanotech technology is pretty cool and sends the other aliens into the emptiness of space. Meanwhile, another Lobo is getting increasingly upset that someone is using his name.

So the team of Will Pfeifer, Rafa Sandoval and RB Silva brings this chapter to a close. All in all, it wasn’t that bad. The fact that we get the classic Bastich known as Lobo was great. And he’s a conniving as ever. One thing that really drove me nuts was the Metrosexual Lobo, who shows up at the end of this tale. DC promises that their rivalry will be resolved in a future issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED. Oh boy: can’t wait(yeah-that was sarcasm).
 
RED LANTERNS #31: The newest Red Lantern argues with and battles Atrocitus while Supergirl tears apart the container full of  blood from Blood Lake and it rains down upon Atrocitus, Dex-Starr and the Judge. Atrocitus creates a whirling pillar of blood, which Kara sets fire to, casuing damage to the city below until Guy Gardner and company uses their energy to suck the flaming pillar into the sky. Atrocitus makes a deal that he will return Rankorr is Gardner allows him to leave with the Judge. He does so, even as the people of the planet beg the Red Lanterns to leave them in peace. Guy has a plan: go rescue Rankorr

Charles Soule wades through a lot of blood in this issue, thanks to the art skills of Allessandro Vitti. And again, I must bitch about the cover which has this epic battle between the Judge, Kara and Bleez. Once again-THIS DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE ISSUE! THAT having been said, the story was fun, the art rocked and I had a ball with the issue. I really want to see what side of the Lantern fence the Judge ends up on and where that will lead.

SECRET ORIGINS #2: In the first story, we learn that it was seventeen years ago that the Waynes, important pillars of the Gotham community, were killed during a mugging. The people of Gotham realized that money couldn’t buy them safety and their ideas about their lives were changed. Within four years of their deaths, Bruce had left Gotham and gone off to train while the city had been over run with terrorists. When he returned six years ago, he realized that he needed to transform into something to bring fear to the monsters that had taken over his city. So he became a bat. Soon, the Red Hood Gang and the Falcone Crime Family was gone: all thanks to the masked vigilante known as Batman.

In the second story, Atlanna rescued Tom Curry when he tried to rescue a man who fell overboard. They fell in love and had a child named Arthur. Eventually, Atlanna left and Arthur developed some of his mother’s “gifts”. So Tom enlisted Doctor Stephen Shin to help. On the day of Arthur's graduation from high school, Doctor Shin arrived with a reporter and decided to make his research public. Tom ordered Arthur to leave Amnesty Bay while he went to the Lighthouse, and destroyed the research. Sometime later, on his deathbed, Tom begged his son to find his mother and give her a message. But Arthur went after a thief who had been hired by Doctor Shin and had led to Tom’s condition worsening. He killed the man but soon discovered he accidentally killed the thief’s father. The thief was Black Manta. Eventually, Arthur went to Atlantis. Eventually he founded The Others and joined the Justice League. The story ends with him at last delivering his father’s message to his mother. Standing at her grave, he told her that Tom Curry had never stopped waiting for her and had never stopped loving her.

In the third story, Koriand'r and her sister Kommand'r are daughters in the first house of Tamaran. One day, Tamaran was attacked by the Citadel, who was working for the Dominators and the Psions. The king and queen is killed, Kommand'r was put in charge and Koriand'r was experimented on by Helspont. In the process, Kommand’r was forced to banish her sister, who was taken to Takron and imprisoned. She was eventually transferred as a slave on the S.S. Starfire, where she eventually led a rebellion and became captain of the ship, which she took as her own name.

I still haven not made up my mind about how I feel about this title. Sure, it gives you three tales a month at a cost of five bucks. But how much NEW BACKGROUND are we truly getting here. The Batman story by Ray Fawkes and Dustin Nguyen pretty much tells us what we already knew: Bruce’s parents were killed, he went off to train and brought justice to Gotham. The Aquaman tale by Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier added a bunch of new material, especially how Doctor Shin betrayed Arthur and his father and was responsible for hiring Black manta, which ultimately led to Manta’s father’s death. The Starfire story by Scott Lobdell and Paulo Siquiera added one or two new pieces of information to her tale, but nothing that shock my world. So, this issue gets a 30% approval rating for me.

SINESTRO #2: Sinestro finds himself in battle with Arkillo and his newly created band of Yellow Lanterns. Sinestro gets Arkillo to say the words “I quit”, seemingly transferring command of the Sinestro Corps back to Sinestro. One of the Lanterns refuses to serve and Sinestro eliminates him, taking back the ring and destroying it too. He shows his daughter the Korugarians that he previously rescued and explains how he plans to give them a new home. He takes the rest of the Lanterns to the prison planet Necropolis. He has the Lanterns kill all the remaining prisoners, along with potential dissident Lanterns.

I am still not totally sold on this title yet. I love Cullen Bunn’s writing and equally enjoy the fact that Sinestro gets to tow the line between evil genius and savior of his people. Most of all, I love Dale Eaglesham’s artwork! It fits the book so well and has a beautiful feel and flow to it. I expect to give this one a few more months anyway to see where Bunn’s plot ends up.

SUPERMAN #31: Previously reviewed as part of the SUPERMAN DOOMED story arc

SWAMP THING #31: Alec learns Miki is a former Avatar of The Grey and has been using the Locum to survive all these years. Alec can also feel his life slipping away from within Pistil’s body. Miki shows Alec that the body she used to inhabit was male. Guarav transfers Alec out and Pistil, whose real name is Hans Leider reveals that he works for a research facility near Dresden. In Germany, the fake Sureen are experimenting on the plant body they stole. They have 40% of the earth's crops under their control and are ready to release a plague that will cause fields of grain die. Travelling through the Grey, Alec arrives in Germany and begins attacking the guards there, before he spies his body wrapped around a corpse. He warns them to escape prior to the building being torn down by giant fungi. Back in India, Guarav explains that a human host is needed to get Alec back into his true body. Alec wraps Miki up and uses her as the go-between to get him back. In the process, her human host decomposes and the anger of the Avatar of the Grey is unleashed. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Aquaman arrives and demands to know who the Avatar of the Green is. 

So, Swamp Thing is back to his old self, but must now find a way to shut down the Avatar of the Grey before she goes completely out of control. I will be the first to admit that this is not the SWAMP THING I grew up with, but is probably the closest thing I have seen to it in the last 20+ years. Charles Soule continues to write a great story while Jesus Saiz’ art gets better with each issue. This is a great fun read and one of my top picks every month when it come time to dig into the pile.

TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #11: Pandora and Marcus Severin are trying to stop a raid on supply truck carrying food and medicine following the Crime Syndicate’s actions. But S.H.A.D.E. Agent Kinkaid is disobeying orders and prepared to kill Pandora if needed. In the middle of all this, Vandal Savage enters the scene, driving an ambulance he commandeered in the last issue. Shot by Kinkaid with a weapon that prevents her from regenerating, Pandora demands answers as Kinkaid turns into a crow and flies away. Pandora casts a spell preventing Kinkaid from changing again and demands an answer. Kinkaid insists that Pandora is responsible for every atrocity in history while Pandora explains that her curse has been to WATCH each of these events occur. Vandal Savage appears and suggests that Kinkaid and Marcus get killed, as HE is the only true opponent for Pandora.

Boy, that Vandal Savage: he sure gets around! Actually, it’s nice to see the old bastard back in a book, since he’s been M.I.A. since DEMON KNIGHTS went to its’ comic grave. Ray Fawkes and Francis Portela are doing the best to wind this storyline up before this title comes to a rather quick end. But wait: there will be a NEW TRINITY OF SIN series coming soon featuring Pandora, The Phantom Stranger and The Question. So don’t feel sad that Pandora will be out of a gig: she’ll just be sharing one!

TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #19: The Phantom Stranger and Terrance Thirteen are concerned the Zauriel is dying and they don’t know what to do. The Stranger leaves Thirteen in charge and goes off to visit Madame Xanadu. At her bookshop, Cassandra Craft has been possessed and it appears “The Crack in Creation” is growing wider. Xanadu decides that the only way to save the planet is to kill Casandra. Stranger agrees, but at the last minute knocks out Xanadu and take Craft in his arms, kissing her and draining the spells out of her body. Her life saved, The Spectre arrives and tell the Stranger that it is up to the two of them to save the world. Meanwhile, Sin Eater and his Master make their final plans and  Zuriel dies.

It should be noted that, while he is not credited on the cover, the legendary Len Wein wrote this issue based on a story by J. M DeMatteis. It’s nice to see Madame Xanadu back again, even if she is used as a plot device to lead us to a possessed Cassandra Craft. Fernando Blanco and Norm Breyfogle provide us with the art and it’s nice to se Breyfogle’s work again, as it certainly cleans up Blanco’s lines. This title is also on it’s way to a quick end and will merge with the new TRINITY OF SIN title. But the biggest unanswered question is how much does Zauriel love the Stranger…and why?

WONDER WOMAN #31: Over in London, Hermes and Dionysus notice that the dead are walking and they travel to Hell to find answers. What they find is Cassandra feeding her son to the insatiable Cronus. Meanwhile, Diana prepares to become Queen of the Amazons and some of them have issues with the changes she is proposing. Artemis challenges Diana to fight her without her Bracelets of Submission, but the Goddess of War refuses. Zola wakes to find Zeke missing. Diana has Aleka form a search party but soon finds Dessa with Zeke at the edge of the cliffs, claiming she will sacrifice Zeke to protect their lifestyle. After minutes of discussion, Diana convinces Dessa to hand over Zeke, which she does. Then she leaps from the cliff, prompting Diana to dive after her. At the bottom of the cliff, they find Hephaestus, Eros, Aphrodite and the sons of Paradise Island. With the help of the gods, Diana has arranged for the males to return to their ancient home.  Suddenly, a beaten Dionysus arrives saying Hermes can no longer protect Zola and Zeke. The First Born now rules Hell.

Brian Azzarello and Goran Sudzuka continue to shake up the mythology that is WONDER WOMAN. And now, they commit the greatest shake up of all: MEN ALLOWED ON PARADISE ISLAND? Sure, we’ve seen men TRY to reside there and we’ve seen Steve Trevor VISIT. But allowing the Sons of Paradise Island BACK onto the island? This is pretty much guaranteed to set the naysayers off on a tear! And, just to make things MORE interesting, The First Born rules Hell and the dead walk! This looks to be a bad time for everyone that will eventually have to lead to a final showdown.  This books continues to be among my favorites!

WORLDS’ FINEST #23: Karen is in her lab, convinced that she will build a portal to get back to Earth 2. A blackout caused by a drain at the Seabrook Nuclear Plant in New Hampshire ends the experiment and also gets the attention of DeSaad. Power Girl heads to Seabrook to correct the problem she knows she caused. In the process, she gets hit by a shot from a tank and tells the soldiers attacking her that they need to check with Amanda Waller about her security clearance. Huntress is chasing a would-be terrorist across the Longfellow Bridge, when he crashes his car and takes one of Kara’s employees hostage. He gives Huntress a choice: jump of the bridge or he kills Tanya the employee.

So, although I am getting tired of the endless search to go home and wish they would just go already, I am enjoying the local touches in the story. Someone, specifically Paul Levitz or one of the DC Editors, has done their research. We have the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in Seabrook New Hampshire, M.I.T. in Cambridge and even the Longfellow Bridge. If you are from the New England area, you have to appreciate these landmarks being tossed in to add a bit of realism to the book. Also, kudos to R. B Silva and Yindiray Cnar for some nice looking art, as usual.

DC's NEW 52 Month 31, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #31: Previously reviewed as part of SUPERMAN DOOMED.

ALL STAR WESTERN #31: Jonah and Tallulah have been surrounded by mercenaries seeking a key Tallulah has that allegedly leads to some kind of treasure. But that doesn’t last long as they make short order of the mercenaries. Tallulah is rather upset because this just broke the mood on what she saw as a nice romantic evening. However when the sheriff arrives he finds them having sex on the bar, surrounded by corpses, and orders them to leave town.  But not before Jonah notices a wanted poster for him with his old face. Seems he has a large bounty on his head for almost a years’ worth of murders.  In the back-up, Jeanne Walker finds herself in a world with two moons. She grabs a gun belt and hat and rises from the debris she was in to find horned demons chasing horses. She is told that she must find Kerberos to get back home. She arrives in the town of Haponot, where she quickly takes out Kerberos men and marches into his saloon. But he is gone and the women left behind tell a tale that her father was killed because her family was the original keeper of the maps that lead them between two worlds.

Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Staz Johnson deliver an issue a bit slow on action this month. But they had best pick up the pace as the previously scarred gunfighter’s book bites the dust with issue #34. That will give the creative team just enough time to wrap this storyline, get him scarred up against and hopefully ride off into the sunset with Tallulah. I’m really tiring of him burying sexual partners! Regarding the back-up: this gets weirder and weirder. It’s obvious that Palmiotti and Gray are trying to craft a cool Western tale, and having the legendary Jose Luis Garcia Lopez do the art is a big plus, but…a doorway to another Wild Wild Westworld? I would rather have a rootin’ tootin’ cowboy action story instead of demons and cowgirls! I hope this has a final destination that ties into the main core of the New 52.

AQUAMAN #31: A few issues back, Aquaman found red algae across the entire ocean and has been waiting to confront the Swamp Thing ever since to found out who is responsible and how to stop it. Aquaman has recruited Ya’wara to help him find The Swamp Thing and when he does, he attacks him. Meanwhile in Atlantis, Mera searches for the assassins that plotted to kill her and she goes to The Underrealm. The residents are loyal to Orm the Ocean Master. Back in the swamp, Ya’wara comes to Aquaman’s rescue, but is also captured. Swamp Thing explains that they’re on the same side but Aquaman and Ya’wara still fight to defeat the creature and fail. Aquaman mentions that a living cloud of plants is eating the Apo Reef, causing Swamp Thing to depart. We end with Dr. Orson of Triton Base is putting the final touches on the New 52 version of Creature King.

Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier continue to weave their own individual magic on this title, although the multiple storylines need to intersect at some point to make all of this work. Having Arthur and Mera off on different missions is getting a bit stale and I need to have the Creature King make his full appearance-NO MORE TEASING! Other than that, it’s another typical day for our aquatic heroes.

AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #2: This issue begins with Aquaman and the Others falling out of the sky while they joke about how they’re all going to die since none of them can fly. Sky saves them by transporting them into the Land of the Dead. Sky receives a mission from Kahina to save Kahina’s sister. Aquaman arrives with a submarine. Kahina’s sister Sayeh is being held captive by Anton and Darya in the country of Trezygstan. They want the Gold Bars of Power back and are using Sayeh as the bait. They use their weather-controlling device to create a storm that causes Aquaman and the Others to crash on the shore of Trezygstan where they fight a bunch of rock creatures.

I would like to make it to the end of this particular story arc before I take this off my list, but I don’t know if that is possible. Dan Jurgens is in his Scott Lobdell mode, meaning he is writing this like it is 1986. The dialogue is silly, the characters are worse and Lan Medina is drawing it like a second rate…well, DAN JURGENS! This book is just awful and needs a major Band-Aid to keep it going.

BATGIRL #31: Alysia Yeoh and her friends are vandalizing the Carter Reznik Foundation building, when a strange individual named Ragdoll attacks them. All are killed off except for Alysia and Jo. Meanwhile, Barbara Gordon is back at Gotham Mercy General Hospital to visit her injured boyfriend Ricky. He tells her that he plans to sue Barbara's father, which shocks her so much she leaves. Alysia calls Barbara, explains the situation and begs for help. It appears the Foundation is a dummy corporation for Ezekiel Rain and Alysia and her friends had been talked into this attack by Bleak Michael. Ragdoll catches up with them and Alysia sends Jo away, but not before they share a kiss. Batgirl arrives and Ragdoll wraps his body around hers. What Alysia was told was a stink bomb was actually a nerve toxin that would have killed everyone in the building. Batgirl gets her friend out while Ragdoll gets away. Later Bleak Michael tells Charise Carnes someone had tipped Mr. Rain off and their plan didn’t work. That night, Ragdoll visits the man who hired him to resign. He strangles Mr. Travers to death for lying to him.

This is another ho-hum issues from Gail Simone and Fernando Pasarin. Will Ricky sue Jim Gordon? Will Alysia and Jo ever get a real date? And who is the Ragdoll? Maybe it’s me, but the last few issues have just lacked the focus we’re used to. Of course a few of those didn’t have Gail Simone at the helm. So maybe this is just a hiccup and next issue will come roaring back. I hope so!

BATMAN #31: Lucius Fox and Batman meet with Jim Gordon to discuss how they are going to stop The Riddler and take their city back. It involves getting involved with the nightly riddle challenge and tracking the signal to find the villain’s location. That night, on the twenty-seventh day of "Zero Year", Batman arrives on his newly christened Bat Cycle, he accepts the challenge. Lucius realizes that it will take nineteen minutes to trace the signal, so batman needs to keep the conversation going for some time. Batman begins telling his riddle which The Riddler guesses is about himself. He begins to guess who Batman really is and Batman tells him he is wrong. Refusing to believe he is wrong, he drops Batman into the pit. Down in the “coliseum”, Batman hides under an old car, stabbing a hole in the gas tank and gathering some of the gas into his mouth. With a lighter in hand, he breathes fire at the lions and then begins to wrestle with them, defeating them. Batman calls out "Is that all you've got?!" Just as Lucius gets the information he needs, The Riddler has the pile of cars tumble towards the Dark Knight. But Jim Gordon comes to the rescue as the cars come crashing down.
 
As this story races towards its’ conclusion, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo just continue to make this my MUST READ title each and every month. The art looks tremendous and the story is so compelling, I just can’t wait to dive into it and totally sink into each word and every panel on every page. This book is just brilliant and I fear the day when this creative team decides to exit. Until then, Snyder is truly the architect who knows what is best for The Dark Knight. 
 
BATMAN ETERNAL #5-8: In issue #5, Batman is looking into a group of children who were hospitalized after they were attacked by Professor Pyg. Their illnesses existed prior to the attack and all were from the Phillip Kane Memorial Projects, which is where Harper and Cullen Row live. Red Robin visits one of the children, but is interrupted by Batman who reminds him that they should be working together. Batman has determined they have been infected by a nanobot swarm. Tim tries to decode the programming and the child sits up and makes the bots attack Tim. Meanwhile, Vicki Vale is grumbling that her Editor-In-Chief is making her write articles finding Jim Gordon even without evidence. Warren Spacey, the Crime Editor, sends her out to the Narrows to write about the gang war. Arriving there, Vicki begins asking tough questions and gets saved by Harper Row and her Taser. Harper brings Vicki and cub reporter Joey back to her own apartment. Suddenly Red Robin crashes through the ceiling just as the crooks that were hassling Vicki come through the front door. Unfortunately for the thugs, the nanobots attack them. But they also fill Cullen's body until he collapses.  Before it is all through, Vicki has her story and someone in Tokyo is rather upset that their nanobots went into action early.

Issue #6 begins with Batwing  being attacked by the Gentleman Ghost as he was investigating Carmine Falcone's weapons stockpiling operation. Batman comes to the rescue by using a Batarang made with Nth Metal. Returning to the Batcave, Alfred informs him that Jim Corrigan is waiting. He’s comes here to keep Bruce informed of mystical things that may be going on in Gotham. Soon Batwing gets the call to meet Jim Corrigan. Told they will be working together, Jim gives Luke some mystical protections as they enter Arkham. Inside Arkham, an inmate named Martin is brought below the asylum by his doctor. But he is not a doctor, as he is led to the Joker's Daughter. She orders his arm be sliced to help bring back the Joker.  Batman heads towards an explosion at Cathedral Square, but is delayed by an explosion caused by Doctor Phosphorus.

In issue #7, we learn that Professor Pyg's lab is on fire and he is seeking revenge. Batman has to stop his investigation of the explosion in Cathedral Square as he must first bring the injured to the hospital. Upon returning, Batman, he apprehends Professor Pyg but gets attacked by Dollotrons. He warns Pyg that it was Falcone who blew up the lab so that he could attack the Penguin. When GCPD arrive, Commissioner Forbes discovers that Batman has a captured Professor Pyg and a Dollotron. Forbes decides to release Pyg to prove that GCPD doesn’t work with capes. Meanwhile, at the Iceberg Casino, Catwoman arrives and warms Penguin to leave the people of the Gotham Underground alone. He admits to promising Doctor Phosphorus, but claims to be looking after Gotham’s best interests. An explosion interrupts their conversation and his love of money forces him to sink with the Casino. Luckily, Catwoman saves him before he is eaten by Tiger Shark's killer whale. The next day, Bixby Rhodes discovers a pig with a grenade in its mouth in the trunk of the car. By opening the trunk, the pin gets pulled and all of the cars on the lot, plus Rhodes, are blown up as a freed Professor Pyg gets revenge. 

As issue #8 begins, Batman encounters a group of divers trying to steal money from the ruins of the Iceberg Casino. Following that, he continues to fight against Falcone’s men. But every crook Batman brings to GCPD, Commissioner Jack Forbes orders to be released, which is only helping to escalate the gang war. Of course, Forbes is working with Falcone to bring down the Bat. Batman has discovered that Falcone built a major criminal empire while he was in exile in Hong Kong. So he plans to make a trip there to find out why he left Hong Kong and returned to Gotham. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Bard find himself interrogated by Vicki Vale regarding a shooting two days before and eventually asks her out on a date. Little did they know that the shootings were caused by orders from Stephanie Brown’s villainous father, who had sent men to kill her after her own mother sold her out. She had left the phone booth and innocents died. Later that night, Forbes activates the Bat Signal which leads Batman to the roof of the GCPD. The commissioner considers Batman a criminal but, before he can capture him, Bard has D-Unit fire smoke grenades towards the roof, allowing Batman to escape. Forbes then destroys the Bat-Signal and criticizes Bard for his actions. For Batman, it is off to Hong Kong.
As I have said previously, this is a lot to digest in four weeks and a lot harder to synopsize. As you can tell, there is a whole lot of plot and subplot going on here, which makes for some compelling and sometimes complicated reading. The writing team, including scripting and plotting, falls on the shoulders of Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley. The art team is a rotating one as we have, in order, Andy Clarke, Trevor McCarthy, Emanuel Simeoni and Guillem Marsh. While this doesn’t lend to a cohesive looking title, it does allow the book to come out on time. Expect major changes to the Batman mythos before this tale is done and before this series concludes at the end of it’s anticipated 52 issue run.

BATMAND AND ROBIN #31: Batman has gone to the Himalayas, only to find that Nanda Parbat is no longer there. No sooner does this happen, than he finds himself in a major tussle with Frankenstein, who is still pretty upset regarding their last encounter. He fills Batman in about the recent events involving Felix Faust and Nick Necro and how the spirits of Nanda Parbat took their city into another dimension. Batman came here looking for Damian and Talia’s bodies. Not far away, Ra's al Ghul has activated a Lazarus Pit and starts to lower one of the two sarcophagi into it. Meanwhile, Batman and Frankenstein come under attack by some creatures who apparently are just trying to defend themselves. Together, they make their way into the tunnels but are too late to stop Ra's plans. 

Peter J. Tomasi has hinted at it ever since Damian died in BATMAN INCORPORATED #8 and now it looks like it’s going to become a reality. In two months, this title becomes BATMAN AND ROBIN again, rather than BATMAN AND… as it has SINCE Damian died. Will Damian be reborn? Or will a NEW ROBIN come to wear the costume? So we get another killer writing job from Tomasi with art by the always dependable Doug Mahnke. Hold on tight: this ride is going off the rails!

BATWOMAN#31: Batwoman has spent three days waiting for Wolf Spider or Nathan Grantham to make their move. Three days ago, Maggie tried to hire Damon Matthews to help in her custidy case. Turning her down, Kate became involved and offered to take the job at double his regular fee. She agreed to donate to his favorite charity, The Trevor Project, instead. Finally, Wolf Spider and Grantham make their moves. Batwoman attacks Wolf Spider, but is almost run over by Grantham's car. The car hits a statue and reveals the treasure he has been searching for. It also pins him under the statue, killing him. In the end, Kate presumes that Eisenstadt purposely hid the gold because he disliked Grantham's business tactics. Kate managed to keep one coin while Wolf Spider stole the rest. But Wolf Spider feels this may be blood money and, fearing bad karma, he throws the gold into Slaughter Swamp. Later, Kate finds out that Matthews has accepted their case.

Marc Andreyko and Jeremy Haun conclude the winding saga of the Wolf Spider in this issue. I have to give Andreyko credit for stepping in and trying to make these characters his own. I found this tale a little long winded and could have been an issue shorter. But I like the whole child custody piece going on here. It will be interesting to see how that plays out: two single lesbians looking for custody. Will DC even let that happen? They won’t let them marry, but MAYBE they can adopt a child? I dunno…I’ll be curious to see how this goes. And after all, how many gay characters have they dropped into the NEW 52 and they had issues with Kate and Maggie marrying?

BIRDS OF PREY #31: A smuggler from Singapore named Axton has a vendetta against other Asian smuggling groups and against Jim Gordon. Gordon meets with an old friend named Ed Wallis and discusses the murder of three of his informants. No sooner does their meeting end, when Wallis calls Batgirl to give her a heads up. Meanwhile, Black Canary tends to her husband, who doesn't remember who she is, while Mother Eve pulls up information on Axton Loong. Apparently he has the power to instantaneously teleport, although only at twenty-five feet per jump. While this is going on, Axton appears in the police precinct and kidnaps the Gordon. He drops Jim in the container yard and begins to hunt him. Condor arrives to give air support but it is Strix who provides the distraction Gordon needs to flee. With the help of Dinah’s cries, he becomes disoriented and Batgirl beats him badly before handing him over to the Commissioner.

And this is why this book is being cancelled. This was another lame attempt at giving us a taste of the old Birds. But Christy Marx, Robson Rocha, and Scott McDaniel just don’t have it. And it really isn’t about there not being an Oracle to run the team. It’s about not having Lady Blackhawk on the team and Gail Simone at the helm. It’s about having Strix be a third wheel while the Condor/Canary/Kurt triangle plays out. It’s about not having a really clear vision of who this team should be. Bring back Poison Ivy, for cryin’ out loud!

CATWOMAN #31: Mirror Master has managed to put most of his competition in Mirror World, causing Selina to join with Swindle and Vice to get out. Back in the real world, Roulette tries to kick Volt out because he is unable to control his powers. Roulette informs the competitors that their target is Viceroy Manor. Catwoman heads to Gotham, where she finds Volt in a bar and offers to work with him. She goes to Alice’ workshop and checks in on the secret camera she placed in GCPD. She hears Alvarez and Keyes complaining about a new transfer named Eddy Gillbrite. He was hired to do forensics at Viceroy Manor. Selina manages to meet with Gillbrite and blackmails him into helping her get the information about items from Viceroy into the hands of a bunch of crooked cops. While the thieves go about stealing what they believe is the priceless stuff, Catwoman knocks out a drunk Volt to get him to knock out the lights. She gets the love letters she believes to be evidence in a cold murder case and leaves Volt for the cops. Reuniting with Roulette, Selina produces letters that include lost letters between Napoleon and Josephine. The most valuable part of the haul, Selina wins the round and later gives the other letters to Gillbrite so he can find out who really killed Victoria Viceroy.
 
I have to give points to Ann Nocenti and Patrick Olliffe for crafting one of the coolest caper stories since THE HOT ROCK or OCEAN 11(the real one!). This is truly what a caper film would be about. Steal a valuable item and find out that your valuable item ain’t as valuable as you think, leaving yourself with egg on your face (where DOES that phrase come from?) and holding an expensive but useless bag. This was fun, especially considering how much I despised the first chapter. All in all, this was a nice recovery.

CONSTANTINE #14: It’s just outside of Sedona, Arizona where two women come across a cabin in the desert. Priscilla goes inside and remarks how it looks just like her home did when she was a kid. Then she hears her father’s voice, the man who burned their home down, and the cabin bursts into flames, burning her to death. Hours later, Constantine is stopped by the surviving woman. They drive to where the cabin was, but it has moved; just as it has been doing for weeks. The pair drives on together. The woman admits that Priscilla had done time in prison for killing her father in a fire. Soon, they find that cabin and Constantine enters, being immediately taken back to his childhood home in the 1980’s. Casting a spell, he finds himself on a bed of corpses. He is attacked by the spirit of an angry Native American warrior who believes he can seek vengeance by killing arsonists. John reveals that he accidentally killed his parents with fire as part of a sacrifice to gain magical abilities. He convinces the spirit to actually see his lost love and the pair is reunited, causing the fire and the spirits to vanish. Mister E’s voice chimes in, promising to tell John who planted the magic in his mind that killed his parents if John frees him. he refuses and E tells him to go to Hong Kong and look for a witch named Graceful Moon. Meanwhile, Sargon and Tannarak discuss the fact that a war of magic is looming and they need to take advantage of it.

I am not sure where this book is going at the particular point. Ray Fawkes and Edgar Salazar are doing a great job on the creative parts of this book, but I am tiring of issues where it feels like it’s filler with just a little bit of plot exploration regarding the grand plan of Sargon and Tannarak. John Constantine has always been a magician who is all about himself. And with the conclusion of ‘The Blight” storyline, I thought he may become a kindler, gentler John Constantine. And that is exactly what he has become. Unfortunately, he has become too kind and too gentle. It really begins to look like the Powers that Be at DC and the folks developing the TV show may be trying to get on the same page and not make him so dark that potential viewers and advertisers may not go there. Let’s hope this isn’t the case.    

DETECTIVE COMICS #31: We begin six years ago, when Harvey Bullock and his partner were investigating a new drug called Icarus. They were able to work at getting it off the street, but at the cost of Bullock’s partner’s life. Today, the drug is back and is has taken the life of Elena Aguila. Bullock suspects Bruce Wayne may be involved with both her death and the drug and insists he come downtown and submit to a drug test. Bruce offers to fill a cup on the spot. Later, Batman searches the area and determines that Elena was chased down, and injected that burned her from the inside. While Bullock tries to track down leads, a drug trade insider named Ash returns to Gotham and gets shot during a drive-by. Luckily Ash is Bruce in disguise and is wearing a bullet-proof vest. At Elena's funeral, Congressman Young threatens to have Bruce Wayne’s development plans shut down or his family will suffer the consequences. That night, her daughter, who seems to have had all of her records wiped clean, tries to buy some Icarus and ends up settling for something called White Candy. Batman busts a child slavery ring run by someone called Sumo. Sumo eventually confesses that he was paid by someone named The Squid to kill Elena.

The new creative team of  Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato continues to make this a revitalized DETECTIVE COMICS. With Jim Gordon in jail and Harvey Bullock becoming the new Batman contact, although he is very suspicious of Bruce Wayne, the book slides in a new direction. And it actually allows Batman to once again ACT like a detective, as we see him digging for clues in Elena’s death. How long will this uncomfortable partnership will last and just who is responsible for Icarus filling Gotham again? Stay tuned, Bat Fans!

EARTH 2 #23: Red Tornado, who was once Lois Lane, meets with Superman, who is moved and upset that she sees him this way. Just then, Parademons attack and Superman takes Red Tornado out of the action, while Green Lantern arrives to save the day. He takes Hawkgirl and Val-El back to the Batcave while Superman bring Red Tornado to visit his parents in Smallville. Luckily, she is transmitting everything she sees back to the Batcave, where they learn that a second attack has been readied to attack them. A Warhound bursts in along with other creatures, killing Roy in the process. As they attempt to evacuate, the nuclear blast goes off.

Tom Taylor and the Scotts, Nicola and Trevor, continue to make this book one of my new favorites! Take the best of the OLD Earth 2, like the classic Ma and Pa Kent, and combine it with the new versions of legendary heroes like Green Lantern and Batman and this book is a winner. I do love the concept of  Lois Lane being Red Tornado and there still being some kind of connection between her and Superman, even if he is not the same person he used to be. Not to mention, it looks fantastic! My question is WHEN does the Earth 2/Earth 1 War begin, as prophesized in FUTURE’S END and how crazy is is going to be?

THE FLASH #31: Barry identifies a villain named Black Mold from a video and impresses his Captain enough that he may get his old job back. Iris West arrives, begging Barry to be a mentor to her nephew Wally. Patty Spivot reminds Barry that he hasn’t slept in days, as he has been working his day job and trying to rebuild Central City. later, Barry tries to explain to David Singh that he thinks there's a connection to the Black Mold case, as he has found a connection between this case and the murder using Mogul's snow-guns. But Singh warns Barry to look at this case on his own time. Barry meets up with Iris and Wally and asks why Wally hates the Flash so much. Wally explains it is because he put his uncle Daniel in jail but couldn’t save his mom when she got killed during the Crime Syndicate’s rampage. Flashing ahead to sixteen years from now, The Flash has managed to get to the right in time where Mirror Master is holding the mayor's wife hostage in the Mirror World. Flash throws Chief Frye into the Mirror World and warns that more are about to join him. Mirror Master escapes and we find out that Flash is actually there to HELP, as a freak earthquake was coming and it would have killed everyone when the mirrors exploded. So he put everyone inside Mirror World to save them. He explains that the Speed Force has ruptured and he keeps running back in time to fix all of his mistakes. As the earthquake comes through, he leaves and Mirror Master is cut to ribbons by his own Hall of Mirrors..

So, even though we don’t know what and how Barry is going to change the future in the past, I love the direction this title is moving in. Van Jensen, Robert Venditti and Brett Booth have added some great buzz to a title that was already receiving significant buzz. The only thing that gets me is how many conflicting future stories can we have racing around at once? There is what happens in the FUTURE’S END future, and there’s what happens here and, I am sure, there are some other divergent timelines that are popping up. Crisis on Infinite New 52 Earths anyone?.

GREEN ARROW #31: As Robert Queen dies, he begs to go after his killer and apologizes for everything he has put him through. He gives chase after Komodo while Shado confirms to Emiko that Robert truly was her father and that Simon Lacroix was just an evil man. Emiko leaves, telling Shado she is going off to kill Komodo. In the final battle between Oliver and Komodo, Komodo has the upper hand, reaches for the Green Arrow and repents on all he has done. Just then, Emiko fires an arrow that pierces his chest and kills him. Oliver is furious, as his father and Lacroix are both dead and he sees justice NOT being done. Meanwhile, Katana is chasing after Lady Onyx and manages to get on the freighter with her. Magus had warned Katana that he thought this freighter might contain the same chemicals as the other freighter that Oliver had previously stopped. The two women fight with Katana cutting off Onyx’ fist. Onyx surrenders, Katana kicks the severed fist overboard and Onyx desperately leaps over the side of the freighter to try and catch it. With the fighting done, Magnus tries to convince Oliver to lead the Outsiders, but Oliver snaps the Green Arrow in two Back in Seattle, John Diggle, Naomi and Henry are on a stakeout to catch Richard Dragon. But Billy Tockman has double-crossed Diggle and he is captured by Dragon, Count Vertigo and a host of unsavory characters. 

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino continue to knock this title out of the park, making it one of my favorite reads month after month. Let’s hope that stays that way come issue #35 when Andrew Kreisberg and Ben Sokolowski, both writers ARROW, join Daniel Sampere as the new creative team. Until then, I can only enjoy this ride and hope the next one equals it!

GREEN LANTERN #31: The Green Lanterns are embroiled in a war with the Durlans and the Khund and Mogo gets attacked by a fleet of  Khund and Durlans and Outer Clann ships. Hal leads an attack against the Durlans who have been masquerading as Green Lanterns, killing them off in the process. The rings from the false Lanterns leave their dead hosts and seek out the real Lanterns they once belonged to. The enemy fleet retreats and Hal rallies the Corps to go help the missing Lanterns.

This is the first part of the six-part UPRISING story that runs through this title and GREEN LANTERN CORPS. And normally I would probably bite and buy the other three parts that are running in the title I don’t read. But I don’t care enough about the story, the characters, or pretty much ANY of this book to do that. Robert Venditti and Billy Tan do their best, but I am so tired of Hal being whiny, although he attempts to gain some testicular fortitude before the issue is through. In my opinion, it'’ too little too late. In fairness, I will probably see this title through to the end of the storyline and see if Mr. Jordan truly HAS become a man. If he continues to be a wimp, he can do it without my money.

HARLEY QUINN #6: Ivana Brekemoff tries to escape her exploding home by hanging on to Harley Quinn but Harley slips the rings off her fingers and lets Ivana drop to the highway below. Sy and Harley commandeer a news helicopter and head to Prospect Park Zoo to take out a target known as "The Bear". Their job is easy as “The Bear” wakes the bears and they rip him apart in anger. But the last four arrive in the form of Kosta Armanoleg, Borya Tatierski, Yuri Beyznatofin, and Zena Bendemova. Sy has Harley pull out his biggest gun and soon the foursome are being pelted with exploding bagels, killing Kosta, Yuri, and three of Kosta's henchwomen. Sy takes out Borya with an RPG and harley finishes him off with a metal pipe to the head. While it looks like Sy and Zena may end up as lovers, she tries to stab him in the back and he launches her into the rhino pit where she is impaled on a rhino horn. Sy and Harley’s last stop is in Coney Island and an old man named Chuck. Chuck is responsible for misrepresenting Sy’s dream car: a '59 El Torito, which broke down and was stripped down by thieves. This broke Sy’s heart and Harley’s too, when she learns it could have been hers. So she kicks Chuck from his window into the street below. Back home, Poison Ivy appears and tells Harley she has a lead on who put that bounty on Harley’s head.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Chad Hardin(back in the saddle again) give us another hilarious issue. Seriously, do NOT take this book seriously! I mean: Ivana Brekemoff (I WANT TO BREAK ‘EM OFF), Kosta Armanoleg (COST AN ARM AND A LEG) and Zena Bendemova (ZENA BEND ME OVER). This book has as many puns as most of Keith Giffen’s classic works. And Hardin’s art look great! Put your serious comics away and slide this into your stack. It can’t all be doom and gloom in the NEW 52, can it?

JUSTICE LEAGUE #31: Jessica Cruz has been chosen by the Ring of Volthoom and is determined to use her fear to help it wreak havoc on Earth. Meanwhile Lex Luthor has visited Wayne Manor and insists that Bruce is Batman, which he denies. Pulling a gun from his coat, Lex insists he will prove Bruce is Batman. That is when pulls a gun from his coat and states that he will prove that Bruce is Batman. But Alfred arrives and pulls a gun on Luthor. Lex gets a shot off that hits the clock against the wall and reveals the entrance to the Batcave. Lex reveals he is not here to blackmail Bruce-he just wants him to put him on as part of the Justice League. Bruce tells a fable which reveals that Lex is not welcome in the League or in Wayne Manor. In Metropolis, Captain Cold is at LexCorp, where Mercy Graves reveals that Lex is offering him a job. Back in Oregon, Jessica Cruz is being completely controlled by the Ring of Volthoom. Luckily, the Doom Patrol is here to help.

THE DOOM PATROL!!! REALLY!!! Well, they look to be slightly modified and in better condition than the LAST ones we saw during the early part of the FOREVER EVIL crisis. But that gives me hope that we may get a regular series again someday. Why not? DC keeps canceling and then REINVENTING series (i.e. TEEN TITANS, DEATHSTROKE, SUICIDE SQUAD, TRINITY OF SIN). But back to the book in question. It’s another winner from the team of Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke. And, while I didn’t mention it in the synopsis, the funniest scene in the book involves Shazam on monitor duty and a ping-pong table. I will say no more. By the way, I give no points AGAIN for a battle scene on the cover of the book that NEVER HAPPENS. Oh yeah: and Lex and Captain Cold are not League members, as pictured in this fictitious cover.