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.
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