ACTION COMICS #35: Superman returns to Earth after sending Brainiac into a black hole and encounters Supergirl, who lets him know that only 13,612 died during the recent crisis. They go to the Fortress of Solitude where he learns that Phantom Zone Projector imploded, taking the menagerie and Shay Veritas with it. Kandor is also missing and hopefully in the Phantom Zone. He goes to Smallville where Lana tells him that Brainiac killed her parents and Clark should have been there to save them. She then introduces him to John Henry Irons, who is her new boyfriend. Returning to Metropolis, Clark writes an article that questions Superman’s role. Soon Lois is chewing him out, saying he doesn’t understand Superman at all. Lois writes a piece saying the world may not need him Superman right now, but he may need them. Lastly, Lana stands at her parents' graves when arms burst out of the grave plots.
Greg Pak and Scott Kolins tie up the final loose ends from the DOOMSDAY Saga in a totally satisfying way. But then, there’s that whole thing with the dead rising from the grave in Smallville. What is up with that? If that can happen, maybe that means we can bring back Clark’s parents long enough to go on a cruise, contract a tropical disease and die again (go check that reference, new fans). Or not. Either way, this book continues to entertain.
AQUAMAN #35: Aquaman invites Dr. Shin to come to Atlantis to conduct a knowledge exchange along with Doctor Evans. Arriving in Atlantis, Aquaman takes the rebels who tried to kill Mera out of their prison cell and exiles them to a deep chasm in Antarctica where they can have their own kingdom. Returning to Atlantis, it seems that Dr. Evans and Dr. Shin have found a way to stop the violent seaquakes that have been affecting the undersea kingdom. Arthur goes to his mother’s tomb and opens her casket to find that she isn’t there.
Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier continue to stir the plot in this title and seemingly working to retcon Arthur Curry’s life and origins. We have gone through the whole Mera thing were her origins retold and have seen the once quiet world of Atlantis torn apart with the betrayal of one of Arthur’s closest advisers. And now: it seems that Atlanna never really died. I can’t wait for next issue. If only the other AQUAMAN title was as good as this.
AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #6: Vostok-X is trying to convince the rest of the team that he is the real Vostok-X and not the clone. Aaron aggravates him enough that he leaves, still declaring he is the original. Ya’wara and Sayeh head to Tehran to visit Sayeh’s family as other members of The Others leave with the own agendas. A quiet, intimate moment between Mera and Arthur gets interrupted by Vostok, who tells them he will join the team. Meanwhile, Dominick and Aaron visit Gary Korec’s widow and lets her see him, even if only briefly. In new York, the senior Cole meets up with the KGBeast with unexpected and unpleasant results.
Dan Jurgens and Lan Medina continue to prove why this is the weaker of the two AQUAMAN titles. Mr. Jurgens: PLEASE stop writing like it’s 1987! I want characters that move me…not make me want to HAVE A MOVEMENT! UGH! I cannot STAND these characters! And to have Arthur and Mera decide to have an intimate moment and then have Cole pop in was just…creepy! I have said it before, but I’m pretty sure I mean it this time: finish the storyline and goodbye! Crappy characters + crappy reading experience= (-) MONEY IN MY POCKET!
ARKHAM MANOR #1: Arkham Asylum has been destroyed and the Mayor force the inmates into Wayne Manor. When word comes of a murder at the house, Batman arrives and makes his way to the victim’s cell. Harvey Bullock informs him this is the second murder at the Manor. Later, Bruce has a deceased homeless veteran's identity erased so he can be buried in a potter's field. Assuming his identity, Jack Shaw becomes an inmate at Arkham Manor.
For those of you who might be a little confused, the events here take place AFTER BATMAN ETERNAL #30. Gerry Duggan, who you might know from his work on DEADPOOL, HULK and UNCANNY AVENGERS slides into a chair at DC and crafts this interesting, Gothic kind of book based around the mysteries and goings on at the NEW home for the criminally insane in Gotham. The question is, when couple with the moody art of Shawn Crystal, does it work? Well for now, it’s a confusing mess where we all step in an find out that Arkham is gone…and then find out HOW two weeks later when BATMAN ETERNAL #30 came out. It’s a mystery tale with Batman in it-isn’t that what DETECTIVE COMICS is all about? For now, this one gets a thumbs in the middle rating as it'’ a bit early to tell. But I can say this: I never thought I'’ see Alfred getting mellow on a twenty year old Scotch.
BATGIRL #35: Barbara Gordon is awakened by her new roommates, Frankie and Liz, who inform her of the semi naked guy she was making out with last night and that he is still in the house waiting to see her. It appears, now that she has left Cherry Hill, she has been living a bit of a different life. Hungover, she heads to Chiroptera and checks her messages, finding her graduate research funding has been held up and her bank account is overdrawn. As she places her coffee order, she hears that someone’s tablet was stolen and decides the chase the thief in an alley. She beats up the perp and then proceeds to throw up into a nearby trash can. Back at her apartment, a surprised Barbara finds Dinah Drake sitting on her stairs, as she is looking for a place to lives following the fire from the night before. While she is concerned for her friend, she also knows that all of her equipment was hidden in Dinah's apartment and Dinah blames the fire on Babs, especially if it is super-villain related. In her apartment, Frankie is informed that Dinah will be staying a while. But it also seems that Barbara’s laptop is missing and so is Troy's phone. All of this goes back to dates set up using an app called Hooq. Frankie sets her up with a dating profile on Hooq, which leads to her being called by someone named Brad..
Barbara goes to work on a new Batgirl uniform before going out and taking down Brad, who has been stealing devices for Riot Black. Riot Black is connected to an online website called The Black Book that leaks sensitive data about people. She confronts Riot Black at a Burnside club but he is tough to stop do to a flash drive in his head. She makes a deal: he gives up the data and she will give him her secret identity. As proof, she sends him a QR Code with a virus deletes all of data within the flash drive. Unfortunately, Barbara's schoolwork and files wiped clean. As if that weren’t bad enough, Frankie confesses that she slept with Troy after the party ended. This doesn’t bother Barbara as she thought Frankie was a lesbian. Suddenly, she gets a text message from someone claiming to know her secret identity.
Hey DC: what part of NICE WAY TO TOTALLY MAKE A MESS OUT OF A TITLE DO YOU NOT GET!? This is absolutely awful! Awful is too kind! It’s ABYSMAL! Do you all realize how much you have pissed off the comic community? Are you TRYING to KILL this title? Seriously! Babs is sleeping around and getting wasted? She has surrounded herself with a whole host of lame supporting characters and it appears she is going to be using Social Networking to do her work for her as opposed to the “classic” Batgirl, i.e. Oracle, who used her brains and her computers. This book is a complete mess! Thanks to Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and newcomer Babs Tarr for making it read like a book aimed at TWILIGHT teens and look like one designed for Tweens.
BATMAN #35: Alfred and Julia waken Bruce Wayne in his new base in one of the former Court of Owls hideouts. Wonder Woman crashes through the picture window and drags Bruce away but he uses a device he attaches to her head and breaks free. She tells him that she and the League are coming to kill him. He calls to Alfred and Julia to enact "Fenrir", which causes gas to be pumped through the sewers, allowing him to escape through the cloud and don a robotic Batsuit. Diana uses her sword, cuts off his hand and then runs him through with it. In actuality, he built the suit with the Bind of Veils built in, making her think she had killed him. The Flash is the next to attack, but a frictionless coating on the suit causes him to crash into a nearby building. Aquaman attacks and is defeated with a quick-hardening polymer. Julia warns him something big is coming, which turns out to be Superman, who damages the suit in the process. Demanding to know who did this to his friends, Superman responds that it's actually a funny story. He then knows that the Joker has returned. In the backup, five Arkham Manor inmates have escaped and doctors Mahreen Zaheer and Eric Border are wondering if they should be helping to find them. Mahreen has found they all had something in common and believes the Joker has freed them. Mahreen goes home and learns that the inmates are waiting for her. Ephram Snow claims the Joker is the devil who came to him twenty years ago. And then the Joker had told them all that they needed to gather an audience, of which Mahreen is part of. They need to return to the city and each needs to tell a story. Whoever tells the right story wins. Whoever tells the wrong story dies.
With the Bat Crew out of Wayne Manor, this leaves room for Arkham to move in(which we still are yet to see the reason why). And, although we haven’t seen him yet, we know that the big bad Joker is just around the cormer. Once again, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo present a Bat title worthy of some of the legendary runs in Batman’s history: Englehart and Rogers; Loeb and Sale; O'Neil and Adams; Finger and Sprang; Fox and Infantino; Haney and Aparo. Twists and turns, respect to the characters-this one has it all. In addition, we get a nice back-up by James Tynion IV and the always amazing Kelley Jones that apparently is going to tie in to this storyline by giving us some background. Looks like we’ve got a bunch of Jokerific action coming in the next few months!
BATMAN AND ROBIN #35: On Apokolips, Batman activates a cloaking device for his Hellbat Suit and rescues Lowlies about to be tossed into the pits. He grabs a Parademon and demands to know where he can find Glorious Godfrey. Meanwhile, Kalibak speaks at Darkseid's restoration chamber, explaining how he has gathered artifacts that will make his father heal faster and be stronger in the end. Batman gets to Godfrey's and throws him into one of the pits. At the same time, Kalibak uses the Chaos Shard and Damian's sarcophagus to destroy a nearby planet with his Chaos Cannon. Back on Earth and in the Batcave, the various member of the Bat Family arrive looking to help but can’t follow Batman as he took the Mother Box with him. Red Robin suggests using Cyborg and Alfred believes he has a plan. They also believe they should contact Batwing and Batwoman to fill in as Gotham’s defense in their absence. When Cyborg arrives, Batgirl explains they need him to help them shut down the holographic villain Batman used to distract Gotham’s protectors. When he plugs into the Bat Computer, an electrical shock knocks him out, allowing the Boom Tube in his suit to be activated. As they leap through, Cyborg awakes and jumps in, dragging Titus along with him.
I have nothing to say anymore about the work of Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason on this title. It is ALWAYS a GREAT READ and Gleason’s art ALWAYS LOOKS TREMENDOUS! Where this story will end is anyone’s guess except the creators and the editors. I cannot wait to ride the rest of this roller coaster.
BATMAN ETERNAL #26-30: In issue #26, Batman gets quickly patched up and plans on going back out into Gotham when Red Robin, Red Hood and Batgirl intervene. Batman tells them that Hush is the Mastermind behind all that has happened. Batman and Julia leave to visit Alfred at Gotham Mercy Hospital and Bruce tells her Tommy Elliot’s story, including how he killed his own parents. Meanwhile, Commissioner Bard declares martial law in Gotham City, announcing that a 9 o’clock curfew will be established. Stephanie Brown makes her way into the County Correctional Facility and visits her father. She goes to show him the post with her findings regarding Hush only to discover that her post has been over-written. Now it shows a hundred-million dollar bounty on her. Out in Gotham City, Batman’s allies take out the looter while Batman searches for Hush. But Alfred is missing as Doctor Thomas Elliot has had him transferred to Arkham Asylum and delivered into the hands of the Joker's Daughter.
In issue #27, Killer Croc continues his trek beneath Arkham to find Jade. He makes his way to the offices of Gotham Child Services and finds out, from Dr. Leslie Thompkins, that and demanding that Jade was delivered to her uncle, Drago Ibanescu. Jason Bard has a meeting with a very angry Batgirl, as she complains about her father still being in prison despite the evidence that proves he is innocent. Catwoman reveals to Batman that she told the Whisper gang knew about Ibanescu's drop and he warns her of the danger of playing the gangs against each other. Meanwhile, Ibanescu visits Ferryman with a peace offering: Jade. Batman almost gets into an accident with Flamingo's motorcycle but avoids it. The Spoiler informs him that he is so predictable he was able to save her without even being aware of it. Back at her apartment, Catwoman finds Jade waiting and apologizes for leading Ferryman here.
In issue #28, Starfire instructs Jason Todd insists that he stay in Gotham and say goodbye to Batgirl who is busy torturing Commissioner Bard. Red Hood tracks her down tells her this isn’t the kind of justice she delivers. He releases the rope and Batgirl grabs it, saving bard’s life even if it breaks his leg in the process. Later he says goodbye to her saying he could never be Dick Grayson. Meanwhile, Batman follows Flamingo, who has received an invitation Catwoman's murder, as she has been captured by Ferryman. As he prepares to crush Catwoman, Croc bursts in allowing her to distract him and break his legs. He tells Ibanescu to shoot Catwoman but he hits Jade instead. Batman bursts in to find Ibanescu and Jade dead, with both Catwoman and Croc devastated by the girls’ death. Later, at Blackgate Penitentiary, Calabrese receives a visit from his daughter, who tells him that Jade is dead. She then asks for his contacts so she can unite the families and take control herself.
In issue #29, we find that the Fear Toxin is tormenting Alfred while Deacon Blackfire is tormenting Jim Corrigan. Joker's Daughter finds a note sending her to Deacon Blackfire. She receives her orders from one of Blackfire's followers, who she then kills. Blackfire’s magic pulls the Spectre from Corrigan’s body. Batwing arrives in time to see a green light around Corrigan’s body, which explodes skywards. Batwing is running out of oxygen but has decrypted the Riddler's puzzle. He tells Julia to use the word "Enygma" as the keyword. When it decrypts, it reads: "Arkham is just a piece of the plan. If you can read this, you are smart enough to know your foe."
In issue #30, Batman sees the burst of energy explode from out of Arkham and is forced to send Batplane to intercept a 737 caught in the blast. He also watches from above as Arkham begins to crumble. Beneath Arkham, the Spectre bursts out of Corrigan’s chest, pulling Blackfire out of Maxie Zeus' body and crushes his spirit in his fist. The Spectre returns to Corrigan’s body and he and Batwing attempt an escape. But the building collapses with them and many others, including Alfred and Bane, still inside. Batman arrives and, suddenly surrounded by GCPD, dives into an open hole where he encounters The Joker's Daughter. She is wearing a vest of full of explosives and proceeds to activate the timer.
What can I say: this title is a non-stop thrill ride with cliffhangers straight out of the movie serials of the Thirties and Forties. This title, like all the other weekly’s, will end in April with CONVERGENCE. Until then, enjoy the roller coaster ride courtesy of Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins and Tim Seeley with art by R. M. Guera, Javier Garron, Meghan Hetrick, Simon Coleby and Fernando Pasarin
BATMAN SUPERMAN #14: Kaiyo has removed Batman and Superman’s memories. Bruce has learned he is a wealthy playboy and is about to make the best of it. Catwoman has already been taking advantage of Superman's amnesia, leaving Lois to have to deal with Mr. Mangubat's drone robots. Batman arrives and then destroys the drones. Meanwhile, Superman sees Toymaster working on a video project involving the Man of Steel and is fascinated by it. Catwoman tells him that, despite seeing this, he still doesn’t truly understand the man who he was. Lois learns that Batman is also suffering from amnesia when an explosion knocks them over, leading to Lois being taken hostage by the Scarecrow. Batman tires to free the wounded, who are shot dead by Scarecrow. Bruce tells Lois to call an ambulance and heads back home. With Alfred fixing him. Bruce admits that he can't remember anything, even when he is told about how his parents died. Superman crashes through the roof of Gotham City Hall declaring that he is the law now.
Greg Pak and Diogenes Neves bring us the next chapter in this saga and I find it more confusing than the last. I understand the importance of the tie-in the the forthcoming war, but, as much as I love Pak’s work, this is not his best. I just don’t have a love of the way the characters have been twisted and it feels like more of an “Imaginary Story” than anything else. Help: please end this story soon!
BATWOMAN #35: Batwoman and her team are in outer space trying to defend a satellite from an attack by Morgan le Fay and her army of demons. Red Alice's protective helmet has been damaged and she has Ragman use his Suit of Souls to preserve her soul. Meanwhile the witch quickly defeats Clayface and Etrigan who affixes her magic stone, even as Batwoman shoves an electrified rod through her back. Batwoman grabs the stone and the team tries to make iot back to Earth before Le Fay can recover. Clayface wraps himself around them all to keep them from burning up as they re-enter the atmosphere while Ragman uses his cloak to provide a bit of magic to them. Here’s hoping they survive what’s next.
Wow! That was strange little issue with a bunch of stuff happening I didn’t quite expect. Batwoman in Space? Sounds like the start of a great new TV show to me! Marc Andreyko and Georges Jeanty give us a quirky tale with a character who is know for having quirky tales. I miss the romance between Kate and Maggie and the charging cast of characters here makes this seem like Suicide Squad II in action.
CATWOMAN #35: Selina Kyle has become the heir and now leader to the Calabrese Family. Now she travels in style with her Antonia as her bodyguard and her cousin Nick as her driver. She has a meeting with her subordinates from the other families and explains that this is how business was done 30 years ago and it needs to be done this way now. She also notices that Hasigawa family is not present and vows to handle it by herself. She offers a business proposal to them that is conveyed by Hasigawa daughter Eiko. Meanwhile, Detective Alvarez continues to try and build a case against Selina even though his Lieutenant insists he drop the case. Selina attends a gala at the art museum and later gets a visit from Batman who warns that she can't keep the families united. She asks him to leave and, when she re-enters, Ward tells her he heard what she said and is told not to make threats towards her. Meanwhile, Black Mask and his gang raid a limo only to be interrupted by a man who promises that he can sell the city back.
Welcome to the new direction for the always dangerous Catwoman and it has her coming out of her catsuit and stepping into a designer suit. And that means this title is going through a major upheaval. This was always about being a super heroine or a super villain or, at the very least, a thief with a heart of goal with a warm spot for Batman. Now, with the blessings of her true father, she is prepared to run the crime families of Gotham. Welcome to THE SOPRANOS MEET GOTHAM. Genevieve Valentine is the new author and you probably don’t know of her unless you have read her Crawford Award winning novel: MECHANIQUE: A TALE OF THE CIRCUS TRESULTI. Garry Brown is a new artist to me but his work is nice. Will this book succeed where it has in the past? Let’s see. For now, I am willing to give it a shot.
CONSTANTINE #18: John Constantine's doing some drinking on his birthday while the invasion from Apokolips occurs. Meanwhile, another John Constantine finds himself surrounded by Parademons and he realizes he’s not on the planet he thought he was. Calling Constantine “Worldwalker”, Wotan explains how John has crossed onto Earth 2. John offers to use the Walls of the Soul's Home to get Wotan to our Earth, and in doing so, Wotan gets torn in half, as there are two Constantine’s existing here. He now knows he must find his double so he can get open and avoid the fate Wotan suffered.
Ray Fawkes and Jeremy Haun have dropped poor John Constantine onto Earth 2 and now we have two of them. Yeah, that probably isn’t good. I mean, if we have enough trouble from one Constantine, what kind of havoc can two of them cause? This is all part of the great Earth 2 war which is upcoming and looks to tumble over into our part of the Multiverse. All might be settled by the time CONVERGENCE happens…or it could all go bad quickly. Sit tight: I expect a bumpy ride.
DEATHSTROKE #1: Slade is offered a job by his middle-man Tiggs: go back to Russia and kill "Possum". His contact there is a woman named Angelica and we learn they have sexual history together. When he finds Possum sitting tied to a chair but then uses his mind to cause Slade to reveal a code that Possum wass looking for. He gets ready to cut Slade's head, but Deathstroke reverses it and shoves the handle through Possum's skull. Heavily wounded, he manages to make his way to an old man named I-Ching. When he wakes, he finds that the old man he brought him back from the dead and is told that nowhere is safe. I-Ching disappears and Slade realizes things are no longer the same.
DC had a DEATHSTROKE comic before this (actually, in both the NEW 52 and the OLD DCU) and none of them really lit up the comic shelves. But this…this title has potential as Tony S. Daniel is handling both the writing and drawing of this ultra-violent take on Slade Wilson. So it looks amazing and it’s hot and sexy and has some great dialogue floating through it. I hope this will be a title Daniels stays with and doesn’t dump parts of the creative process to others. If he is allowed to handle what appears to be his vision, I expect it to awesome.
DETECTIVE COMICS #35: Alfred insists Bruce take a few days' vacation. Sitting in his private jet and learns that a rogue plane is on its’ way in to the airport and it smashes through the airport terminal killing and injuring most. Batman gains entrance and discovers that everyone on the plane is dead and there is less than thirty minutes to figure out what killed them. Getting inside the cockpit, he finds an old man dying, joining the rest of the plane where everyone on board is in a state of decay. It’s learned that the flight came from Frankfurt, giving them an 8 hour window to solve the crime. A Stanford-Educated NGO worker called Magnus Magnuson is claiming responsibility and says that opening the plane released a contagion. He also claims that the US needs to withdraw troops from the Middle East or the deaths will be in the millions.
Once again, DETECTIVE COMICS presents us with another creative team change. Benjamin Percy and John Paul Leon give us a mystery with a time frame. I’m not totally familiar with Percy’s work but I have long been a fan of John Paul Leon going back to his days with Milestone. His art style is very noir and dark and moody and what else would you couple with a mystery book? I can’t wait for the conclusion to this mystery.
EARTH 2 #27: Kara, Helena, and Val remember their individual childhood while the Wonders of the World in Geneva. As they find a group of creatures, an emergency door cuts the team in half and one group finds survivors. Batman tries to talk to Helena about being her family. She admits to having family but says it isn’t him. She also discovers he has been using Miraclo to enhance his strength. Meanwhile, Dr. Massaquoi tells Lois that Bedlam opened a portal and unleashed monsters that infected the staff. She also tells Kara and Val that they can create an explosion of energy akin to a neutron bomb, which would destroy the virus. Kara breaks through the door and she and Val attempt to build up the needed energy to create the blast. Upon explosion, Batman seals off the room, letting Kara and Val fly into space to burn off the radiation.
This issue comes before EARTH 2: WORLD’S END #1 and that’s a good thing because when that title hits, as you will see, it’s hitting extremely hard. The creative team of Marguerite Bennett and Tom Taylor with art by Andy Smith, Trevor Scott, Marcus To and Scott Hanna takes this book to the point where the plot points are coming together and the stuff is hitting the fan. If you haven’t gotten into this book now is the time, especially with all of the events coming down..
EARTH 2 WORLD’S END #1-4: Issue #1 begins with events before the original attack by Apokolips upon Earth 2. We see Alan Scott and Sam Zhou together along with some of the other players like Dick Grayson, Jay Garrick and Clark Kent. We also see the evil machinations of Terry Sloan who, after Sam published what he and Alan had been working on, revealed himself to truly be a traitor. In the 9th Dimension, Steppenwolf made plans for the impending invasion of Earth. Batman and Robin arrest James Olsen for treason, even as he tries to explain that Terry Sloan is responsible for opening the portal bringing Parademons to Earth 2. That moment allowed the Parademons to attack major cities and resulted in the deaths of Selena Wayne and Lois Kent. The heroes fight but in the end, the Trinity die and Supergirl and Robin end up being transported to our Earth. And Terry Sloan discovers that he can take his revenge on Sam Zhou. Five years later and it began again. Sam died in an orchestrated train crash and Green Lantern was born. Sloan kidnaps Mister Terrific from another world, sends Sandman to capture Queen Marella, and used the Meta Humans that he was now commanding to go off and capture the new Wonders. Steppenwolf gets killed by Brutaal, in a battle that cost Captain Atom his arm and killed Red Arrow, and destroyed the Project Beyond space ship, Meanwhile Bedlam took control of Miracle, Terrific and Sloan so he could create a Boom Tube as large as a planet. A new Suprman was born in the form of Val-Zod and the world Army and the new heroes came together to once agin fight for their world. Refugee camps were set up around thew world, including one in Chicago where Dick and Barbara Grayson lived with their family. Supergirl and Robin, now known as Power Girl and The Huntress, return to what is left of their home. Huntress meets the new Batman, who is her grandfather while Power Girl reunites with her “momma”, Red Tornado. And then the Fire Pits explode all over the world, with K’Li of Apokolips arriving in Geneva to do battle.
In issue #2, the battle rages on while Apokolips begins to move closer to Earth and the heads of the World Army wait its’ arrival. Green Lantern battles in Brazil, Hawkgirl and Doctor Fate go to London while Aquawoman heads to South Africa. Mr. Terrific attacks Barda and Fury’s ship and Bedlam becomes trapped with Mister Miracle inside of the horror of Terry Sloan’s mind. In Geneva, K’Li battles the heroes and turns the dead humans into more Parademons. Her attacks also turn Lois, Power Girl and Huntress into her slaves and turns them loose on Batman and Val-Zod. With the heroes unconscious, K’Li prepares to turn them into her new slaves.
In issue #3, Val-Zod barely saves Batman from death and it takes Lois’ system rebooting to save the other heroes from their possessed state.. The Furies of Apokolips arrive around the world bringing pestilence, famine, and death. Meanwhile, the world leaders decide that it may be time to unleash the nukes to stop the invasion. Although they want to interrogate Mister Miracle, he informs them that Apokolips isn’t a planet, it is really a god. Things are going badly in the Chicago Refugee Camp and Dick Grayson finds himself fighting off looters. Jimmy Olsen connects with a device in the basement of where he is being kept while the authorities suggest it’s time to free Mister Miracle, Barda and Fury. With Green Lantern doing his best to hold back the monsters in Brazil, Aquawoman finds something horrible has happened in Atlantis.
In issue #4, The World Army convinces Fury, Barda and Mister Miracle to help them and in return, they will show Mister Miracle where his Mother Box is. They lead him to Jimmy Olsen who has bonded with the box somehow. Fury demands that the box purify her and, despite Miracle’s protests, allows it. She learns that her entire life was a lie; that Wonder Woman, her mother, was slain by Steppenwolf, her father. This changes her desires and now makes her want to be a part of the team against Apokolips. Meanwhile, Aquawoman warns the surface world that she is about to activate their ultimate weapon if that is what it takes to stop Apokolips and avenge her people. Green Lantern is about to go to Atlantis and help when he finds himself attacked by Grundy. In Chicago, Dick Grayson gives up his family’s supplies to save his family’s lives which angers her policewoman wife Barbara. And, in Geneva, the team led by Batman and Val-Zod prepare to descend into the firepits when Helena is kidnapped by Desaad.
And here we have four more exciting issues in this saga! The action keeps on coming courtesy of Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson with art from Eddy Barrows, Tyler Kirkham, Eduardo Pansica, Jorge Jiménez, Paolo Siqueira, Ardian Syaf, Eber Ferreira, Jan Duursema(yes…you read right!), Jonathan Glapion, Jorge Jimenez, Tyler Kirkham, Joe Weems, Robson Rocha and Paul Neary. With four times the action of the monthly EARTH 2 title(not to mention that issue of the monthly title) you certainly have your Earth 2 fill!
THE FLASH #35: The future Flash has made it back far enough to fix the Speed Force and he has grabbed Barry Allen and dragged him to the Utah salt flats. He explains that when the monorail crashed, it broke the Speed Force which allowed Daniel West to travel into the past and that is pat of the reason why Barry has been losing time. Future Flash has gone back in time to fix everything and is now prepared to fix the tear by killing the present Barry and releasing the energy that fill fix the Speed Force. Present day Barry races full speed at Future Barry. They are torn apart by Wally West: the Flash of the Future. As Future Barry tries to kill Present Barry, Wally intervenes and dies, releasing Speed Force energy that closes the rift. This also leaves Future Barry stranded in this time with no way home. A dinosaur…and a robot drone are chasing the Present Barry, wherever he may be.
Another spectacular issue from Robert Venditti, Van Jensen and Brett Booth that continues to redefine the characters in this title. We now have a future Barry stuck in the past, the Present Barry stuck somewhere that is NOT the present, and Wally West of the future is dead. This was a major, action filled issue that completely raised the bar for issues
GOTHAM ACADEMY #1: Olive Silverlock and Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi have been called Headmaster Hammer of Gotham Academy. To inform them that Olive has been assigned as the "sherpa" Maps' to help her get used to the school. During her first day at school she meets occultist Pomeline Fritch and sophomore Colton Rivera, who tells about the rumor that the north wing of the school has a ghost in it. Back in her room, Olive meets her roommate Lucy, who complains about the mess. This leads Olive to find Maps and patch things up, as there is a connection between the two as Olive dated Maps brother Kyle. The pair decides to map everything on campus from the position of the bell tower and head there. Unfortunately a wall where they are collapses and they fall from their position; a fall that takes them past a window in a room where Bruce Wayne is speaking, Bruce looks surprised and startled, as it seems he recognizes Olive. While being checked by a paramedic, she meets Wayne and hallucinates he is Batman. Back in her room, she and her roommate stay up all night taking care of each other, unaware they are being watched from a crack in the wall.
I absolutely don’t know what DC is trying to do with this title. Best that I can tell, they are trying to appeal to the potential Tween girl readers who may get into comics. It reads like a bad girl’s adventure in the vein of an updated Nancy Drew. And the art looks like a U.S. take on Manga by someone that doesn’t realize what it should look like. The title is by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher with art by Karl Kerschl and I give it until the CONVERGENCE before it is gone. It’s not a lot of fun and just way to girly for the average reader.
GRAYSON #3: Spyral has been sent to collect the organs of a super named Paragon and they had recruited Barton Tare who had access to Paragon's eyes. But he got executed by a man named Christophe Tanner who had his ocular nerves to the barrels of his pistols. The assumption is that he wants to have Paragon's eyes transplanted. Meanwhile, Dick and Agent 8 target practice, where we learn that Dick doesn’t like using guns and that Agent 8 grew up in a place in Kansas that was smaller than Smallville. We also discover they have a sensual relationship. They go to Malaysia where Dick and Agent 8 attend to capture Tanner, who causes the helicopter Agent 8 is flying to crash. Despite Dick’s begging him to end the violence, Tanner insists that all he needs are the eyes. Agent 1 comes to Dick’s rescue and captures Tanner. Later, Dick has Batman do some research regarding Tanner and discovers that one of his allegedly deceased sons is enrolled at the school where they were apparently murdered. Dick heads to the school and finds Tanner on the roof spying on his boy. Dick convinces him to give up the eyes, which he does. That is when Agent 8 shoots Tanner and Tanner does the same with the result that both die. Meanwhile, Minos tells Matron he has discovered a hidden signal from within Spyral and assigns her to find the person responsible and unmask them.
Tim Seeley, Tom King and Mikel Janin gives us another weird issue. I cannot get used Dick Grayson Super Spy replacing Nightwing who replaced Robin The Boy Wonder. And I can’t quite figure out where DC wants to go with this. It’s a pretty bad read when the most interesting character is Mister Minos and you only get to see him for about 2 pages per issue. It’s not that the book is bad, it’s just a real confusing read. I like to use my brain when I read, but this title make my head hurt.
GREEN ARROW #35: Green Arrow is back and John Diggle is his bodyguard/partner as the rest of his team is either off training. At a meeting of the Queen Foundation, Oliver discovers that Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor want to join Queen Consolidated, LexCorp and WayneTech together and they could change the world. Oliver turns them down, refusing to pull his business out of the Glades. That night, Zehra tries to convince Oliver to reconsider the earlier offer from Wayne and Luthor, but he is too busy receiving messages from Diggle and leaves her alone at the restaurant. John warns Oliver not to enter the building where a hacker has been siphoning money from the hospital fund. Unfortunately the warning comes too late as Felicity Smoak introduces herself as the person hired to kill the Green Arrow. Elsewhere, Mr. King tortures someone to get information about Mia Dearden.
The new creative team of Andrew Kreisberg, Ben Sokolowski and Daneil Sampere begins the Emerald Archer’s new direction with lackluster results. We go from the innovative storytelling of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino to the television drama of Kreisberg and Sokolowski and the somewhat generic art of Sampere. I hope the next few issues will improve or I’ll be returning this to where it was prior to Lemire/Sorrentino: off my reading list.
GREEN LANTERN #35: Previously reviewed as part of the GODHEAD review
HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1: Harley and Queenie are sunning themselves when Harley gets a distress all from Poison Ivy who has been put into Arkham. Harley goes to Kennedy Airport, steals a parachute and then launches herself via the Scatapult into Gotham City, where she lands in a pizza place. She steals a car and crashes into Arkham, where she is escorted into her own padded cell. She burps at an orderly, blinding him and searches for Ivy, finding her making a formula for someone named Master Edgar. Harley bursts in, glad to know that Ivy is not being held captive - but her friend doesn't seem to recognize her. Harley smashes a jar of hallucinogenic gas, which affects them all. Ivy hallucinates of meeting Swamp Thing, who eventually becomes Harley and they start to burn down factories that are polluting the environment. Success at hand, they go swimming in a pool of nectar inside a giant flower. A giant bee approaches filled with pickup lines, so they drown him. Dr. Bliss hallucinates he is a prisoner at Arkham. Bliss escapes onto a beach until a giant Harley Quinn dressed in a Godzilla costume begins eating swimmers. Harley's dreams about her comic book creation Hurl Girl. Dylana warns about a gun that has been invented to turn Harley into an animal and the Joker turns her into a bird and Harley into a cat. Harley rips the Joker’s face and eats it and then eats him too, causing her to throw up a huge hairball. She makes it her sidekick and they become the super-hero team called Harley Cat and Hairball. Dr. Bash's hallucination sees him and Bliss as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, until Jack the Ripper, who is really Harley, murders Bliss. When the drugs wear off, they find themselves talking to giant floating egg on a plate. He is Edgar Fullerton Yeung, master of the cosmos. He eventually reveals that he needed Doctors Bash and Bliss to get Ivy to make a potion that would make people like him. Harley offers him an apartment in her building. Tony convinces him to join the freak show to pay his rent. With Edgar moved in, Harley and Ivy go to the roof and release a concentrated version of the gas that is sure to have an effect on Brooklyn.
Since Harley Quinn has become one of DC’s more popular characters, it is only likely to flood the market with special after special and try to make each on different. Well, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, along with John Timms, Stjepan Šejić, Joe Quinones, Ben Caldwell, and the legendary Kelley Jones, give us another fun filled issue. But this one has a twist: it features “Rub ‘N’ Smell” technology which results in two distinct versions, a domestic and international version; both of which were available as variant cover editions. Why the versions? Well, the “Rub ‘N’ Smell” means you rub your finger over certain s[pots and you get smells. You get the smell of rancid nachos, leather, pizza and, depending on the version, you either get “freshly cut grass” or “cannabisylocibe 7-A”. Don’t sniff it too much because you may end up hallucinating like Harley and company.
HARLEY QUINN #11: Madame Macabre’s son Mason returns and soon finds himself out helping Big Tony and Harley Quinn, who look down into a crater containing Power Girl. They bring her back to their apartment building. While she sleeps, Mason asks Harley out on a date, to which she agrees. Harley then decides to convince Power Girl that they are a superhero crime-fighting team and, when she awakens, is told her superhero name is The Bomb. They pair go shopping as Harley explains that they met Power Girl rescued her from a shark in Lake Michigan. They have lunch at a food court and Harley tells Power Girl that they would be rich except for Power Girl's appetite. Suddenly Sportsmaster and The Clock King appear and our heroes jump into action!
Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin give us twice the excitement this month! Actually, this was kind of a let down after the ANNUAL. It was nice to see Chad Hardin back behind the drawing board. And, of course, there are the usual literary hijinx from Conner and Palmiotti. Okay…so maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. I guess I should just be glad this isn’t a weekly or I would be suffering from Harley overdose.
INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE #4: The Forever People come tumbling out a the Boom Tube and land in Ventura, California in the middle of a Dairy and Agricultural Farm owned by Wayne Industries. After a close encounter with a certain Bat Cow, they end up on a long bus ride back to Venice Beach, eventually arriving at a party. Once there, they run into Vykin’s girlfriend Azur Te, who admits that she was responsible for shutting down all the other Boom Tubes in the area. Mark and Vykin get into a brawl and it takes Serafina to break them up, before she wanders off and meets Doctor Skuba, giving him a cosmic cartridge to help change his life for the better. As things begin to heat up between team members, Guy Gardner arrives, giving them 60 seconds to leave the planet. Meanwhile, Himon has a discussion with The Highfather, telling him that the students are being such a success he doesn't want to pull them off of Earth. When Highfather leaves, Infinity Man arrives and threatens Himon, blaming him for trying to keep him from returning.
Dan Didio and Keith Giffen do great work on this book, even if the readers of the NEW 52 Universe don’t agree, as this is the lowest selling title in the line. That means I give it until the CONVERGENCE in April for it to disappear off the shelves. It’s a shame too, as I truly like this one. I especially like that the book opens with a scarecrow which looks exactly like Serafin from the ORIGINAL Forever People comic and that Bat Cow offers it to his black, female replacement in this world, Serafina. The book gives its’ share of nods and winks to the classic characters while pacing its’ own way. I will be sorry to see it go.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #34: Captain Cold wakes from a nightmare and prepares for his first full day as head of security for Luthor. While shaving, he gets a visit from Mirror Master and Snart tells his old friend he is getting ready to pull the biggest job of his life. Meanwhile, Lex blames Superman for attracting villains like Grodd to Metropolis. In Detroit, Shazam watches Cyborg get an upgrade before leaving to help in Metropolis. On the Watchtower, Flash examines the ring on Jessica Cruz' finger which feeds on fear. Using her will power, she forces the green energy back into the ring and declares that she doesn’t want the ring removed-she wants to learn HOW to use it. Meanwhile, Lex helps Wonder Woman bring supplies to a third-world country where he tells her his motivation is to build money and power. He is told the story of a girl in the village who offers him a flower and hugs her. Later, at Wayne Tower, Lex and Bruce finish the deal that will join their two companies together. Later, Bruce reports to Batman that Lex took their bait. At a press conference, Lex promises to tell how his role in the Justice League is the beginning of a new era. We also discover that he has made Owlman his ally in exchange for Superwoman's child.
Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins set the stones in place for Lex and Len to take on new roles as heroes to the Earth. Or do they? Lex cutting a deal with Owlman for Superwoman’s baby? Is that REALLY a good idea? And Jessica wanting to learn the power of the ring-is that also a BAD IDEA? Johns continues to make this one of the cooler reads each month and that all started with the FOREVER EVIL stories.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #35: Lex Luthor holds a press conference announcing his partnership with Bruce Wayne. Bruce joins in, telling how he wants to use his parents’ fortune to fight poverty and injustice. Inside, Bruce wants a tour of LexCorp and insists on seeing where Bizzaro was created and also Lex’s private lab. Inside, they meet Lex's sister Lena who fell ill and, despite Lex’ best efforts, is wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. Aquaman spots a man in armor who leaps off the ledge and explodes, catching Lena in the blast inside LexCorp. As the assassin heads towards Luthor, he heads for one of his Warsuits. One of the storage units breaks open releasing the Amazo Virus throughout Metropolis.
This issue does more to set up the next storyline than propel it forward. Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Ivan Reis set the plate for the next meal to be served on. Bruce has partnered with Lex to keep his identity safe and plans on watching him throughout it all. But now we have an assassin, probably set in motion by Luthor himself, who injures his sister Lena and releases something called the Amazo Virus. We all know who Amazo was but are we now introducing him through a virus that will affect the people of Metropolis? Wait until next month to find out.
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