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!
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