JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #2: Zatanna and Constantine meet in Paris, although she is suspicious that he is trying to take back the House of Mystery and Justice League Dark. Catching him in a number of lies, she accuses him of trying to manipulate her and she leaves. Later, he shows up at her door, insisting that he truly loves her. They kiss and he soon finds himself in what he believes is another dimension or some twisted version of the House of Mystery. He frees himself from the allure of a strange book containing many of his secrets. A mysterious woman arrives and introduces herself as the House of Secrets. Zatanna wakes to find that the rest of Justice League Dark has been transported here against their wills. A man appears and introduces himself as the House of Mystery. He tells them he has come to stop the destruction of humanity that he says will be brought on by his sister, the House of Secrets. Meanwhile, Constantine is told that the House of Mystery is manipulating the inhabitants and that she has been raising an army to defeat her brother. Suddenly, Frankenstein, Andrew Bennett, Black Orchid, and Madame Xanadu appear and are told they have been brought here to stop the House of Mystery. As the two Houses approach each other, the team learns that both were in alliance and have formed a new house called the House of Wonders and used the love between Constantine and Zatanna to make it happen. Soon the House will control all of the houses and minds on Earth. Xanadu explains that John and Zatanna need to use the K'am'deva curse to erase their love. For one, it will be like it never existed. For the other: they will remember it forever. Swamp Thing and Deadman attack the House and possess it, allowing Xanadu to perform the curse. John and Zatanna decide who will remember and she shoves her fist into his chest, tearing his heart out. The House of Wonders is blown apart and the team is pulled into the vortex. Constantine discovers he has been sent back to Earth, telling himself that he never really cared for her although she will always remember the truth.
J.M. DeMatteis and the legendary Klaus Janson combine on this tale of trickery and heartbreak. And with that being said, it was pretty darned good, although I could have used a bit less of the drama at the end with Z and John suffering through their heartbreak. As expected with Janson, the art was great and DeMatteis kept the action moving while revealing bits of plots for futures issues. Because, you know, this does continue into JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #35.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #35: The team has used a curse to destroy the House of Wonders which consumes Constantine and send the rest of the team hurtling through time and space. Zatanna finds herself in a dreamlike landscape where she meets up with her long dead father Giovanni Zatara, who saves her from a monster and implores her to go back to sleep. When she wakes, Zatara is called to breakfast by her father and sits with her mother Sindella and a child version of herself. Her father explains he believes they are 6 billion years in the past and had been transported here from 1992. "Dorothy", as she refers to herself, and her father fly off on his magic carpet as he explains about his family’s time here and how he has no idea how long that has been, as they never age. She decides to search for her team and finds them. Constantine kisses her and, realizing it’s only an illusion, she returns to her father’s cottage where he now realizes his family has also been only an illusion. They are again attacked by the mome-raths and Zatanna flashes back to her childhood when she dreamed of fighting the same monsters. She finally realizes that realizes that everything here is manifested from her own memories. Crying, her father says he can no longer stay with her with and that she needs to find her way home. The world she has been in disappears and all that remains is the vortex and Zatanna. Meanwhile, the rest of the team have reached the end of wherever they truly are.
J.M. DeMatteis and Tom Derenick pick up where JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #2 left off. With the team lost in space, it’s up to Zatanna to reunite them or die trying. Not a bad issue, but not the best in the series. Apparently, there is enough interest in the series to cause it to become a big enough blip on the movie radar to put it into production. We shall see how much that news affects sales on this title.
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #10: The team has escaped from the Five and made their way to Camelot Nine, seeking the help of Arthur and his followers. Since King Arthur is not too thrilled to have the Five come to his peaceful world, the Justice League 3000 begins to set a trap for when the Five arrive. When they get to Camelot Nine, they are immediately greeted by Etrigan and his army of demons which leads to a fight before the Five can teleport out of that room and into the one where the League is waiting. Both teams battle, leading The Five being defeated, Coeval retreating and Terry being beat up by his sister. With the battle won, it may be time for the team to think about establishing a headquarters-one Camelot Nine.
Well, it’s nice to see that Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter can continue along the same wacky road they have been travelling since issue #1. This book is so much fun to wade through, especially when you break down the individual NEW personalities of the World’s Greatest Heroes. I love that Superman is so full of himself that it must be next to impossible for him, to get his head through most doors! And they promise a big surprise for next issue and, knowing what Giffen and DeMatteis have done in the past, I am psyched and afraid at the same time because, outside of dropping Ambush Bug, I have no idea who could make this book even wilder.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #5: Martian Manhunter has taken Ultra to Earth, where the team meets Miiyahbin and Heather. Miiyahbin explains that Whitagos are monsters that were once people. Hawkman, who is supposed to be dead, has triggered Green Arrow’s transmitter leading Oliver to head a team to the Polaris System, where they find the beacon is coming from a bounty hunter bar. Meanwhile Alanna, Miiyahbin and Heather go to learn more about Miiyahbin’s powers. Miiyahbin says her word of power and transforms into Equinox, causing her grandmother to explain they are Midayos and have the power to be protectors of the land. She also explains that Miiyahbin's father lost to the Whitago and that it cannot be destroyed-only stopped from harming others. Miiyahbin and Alanna go to the cave and are attacked by the Whitago. Miiyahbin reaches out to her father’s spirit, who apologizes to her and fades back to the spirit world. They return to J'onn and discover Ultra can speak and is warning them that someone is coming. And that someone comes crashing through the bunker in the form of the Mon-El, who says he must kill Ultra or the Legion of Super-Heroes will die.
Well, it’s nice to see the legion region to comics, courtesy of Jeff Lemire and Timothy Green II. The previous incarnation in the NEW 52 left me extremely disappointed and I hope that Lemire won’t mess things up. I mean, I do come from the Jim Shooter era and the runs that followed it, so I am pretty picky when it gets to the Legion. Making sure this teams is in top shape is a pretty tall order to ask for. All we need now is the Legion Lost. Oh wait…maybe I’m speaking too soon!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED ANNUAL #1: Picking up where JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #5 left off, Mon-El has broken into the team’s headquarters to kill Ultra. Equinox manages to freeze him in a block of ice. As Martian Manhunter attempts to gain Mon-El’s identity and purpose from his mind, Saturn Girl and Phantom Girl stop him. On the Plexus-6 Pleasure Station, the rest of the team is looking for Hawkman and Supergirl catches up with the person carrying Hawkman’s transmitter. He reveals that Hawkman's body was being kept on one of the moons of Thanagar by a priest named Byth. Brainiac 5 explains that they have used a Time Bubble to return from the 31st Century where a being called Infinitus has been consuming planets like Thanagar and Psion While defending Rann, Shadow Lass was wounded badly. Brainiac had discovered that Infinitus energy signature matched Ultra’s. On the moon of Ryngor, Supergirl and the others company have arrived and so has Byth. He has revived Hawkman and brainwashed him to attack the team. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 explains that he is prepared to use the next 24 hours to figure out how Ultra becomes Infinitus. If that can’t be done, the rest of the Legion will come to this time and destroy Ultra. Green Arrow appears via hologram to say that Hawkman is alive and that Byth wants Ultra. The League battles Byth, he explains that this has happened before and he has sent a Cadre to Earth to get Ultra. On Ryngor, Supergirl and the others see that Byth has opened a doorway and is ready to implement the birth of Infinitus.
Jeff Lemire and Neil Edwards continue this tale of the potential origin of Infinitus and continue to make good use of the Legion. Sure, some of the dialogue is a little on the corny side, but it is better than the last time we saw these characters. I honestly can’t wait to get into the next issue to see where we go with these folks. And, I’ll say it again: can the Legion Lost be far behind?
KLARION #1: Somewhere at the crossroads of the Multiverse, Klarion finds himself hitching a ride to Earth in a sweet looking Mustang driven by Beelzebub the barber. Klarion has left Witchworld after he disintegrated his teacher because the smashed Klarion’s hands with a ruler. Landing on Earth, Klarion helps a boy named Rasp, who is also a witch, from being beat up by two other kids. He asks Klarion to move in with him at The Moody Museum, where he hopes to be a Sous Chef. And he also carries around his dead cat Teekl, who he keeps in a jar of formaldehyde. Later, Klarion discovers that the first rule of magic is “don’t hurt anyone…not even a bird.” Later that night, Klarion takes Rasp’s lady friend Zell to the Neapolitan Club which leads to a fight between Rasp and Klarion. While they battle, the cook from The Moody Museum(Noah) and the landlady(Piper) discuss what might happen when Klarion and Zell become a couple.
I can tell you what might happen: they’ll cast a spell on this title and we will all forget this ever existed. What a monumental pile of festering doogie poop! Ann Nocenti and Trevor McCarthy has taken one of my favorite Jack Kirby characters and turned him into something completely unrecognizable and totally unreadable. He hitches a ride to Earth in a Mustang driven by Beelzebub, makes friends with another witch, goes to work as a sous chef, meets the hot girl and gets into a fight. And Teekl is dead in a jar? Okay-so I’ll forget how creepy this guy was in THE DEMON and how cool and creepy he was on the BRAVE AND THE BOLD cartoon and realize this is the one and only Klarion from now on. HELL NO! This is possibly the worst thing I have read all year. Oh wait…there IS our next entry!
LOBO #1: The book begins with the NEW 52 Lobo talking to the decapitated head of the “Classic”Lobo: The Main Man. Lobo passes out and dreams of his past. He is painting and romancing the daughter of the kinf of Czarnia and that soon dissolves into a vision of everyone turned into zombies. When he awakens, Rhialla assigns him to kill eight of the universe’s most deadly assassins before they can kill their target on Earth visits him. Arriving on Earth, he meets Gus and then proceeds to battle and decimate most of the aliens (except for the monster dogs, because he doesn’t kill dogs). He returns to Gus, cuts off all of his arms, gets his information and decapitates him. He still has an army of assassins to kill and that takes him to…Florida.
Let it be said: this is NOT MY LOBO! Cullen Bunn and Reilly Brown deliver an ultra violent, metrosexual Lobo. The Lobo I know and love killed everyone on Czarnia. I think this one killed them all with his ridiculous bondage inspired outfit and his even more ridiculous Duran Duran inspired haircut. This book is such a mess and I’m insulted about what has been done with the coolest bounty hunter in comics. The thing I love the most about this book is Brown’s art which I’m sure is totally enhanced by Pete Pantazis’ color work. I will give this title an issue or two, just to see where our guy ends up. But I don’t see this book as being long for this world.
NEW 52 FUTURE’S END #22-25: In issue 22, Jason Rusch meets with Dr. Yamazake who believes that the Justice League is hoarding their special technologies and he wants his transporter ready as soon as possible because no one can trust the League anymore. At the Wounded Duck, Cal turns Billy Batson away because he is underage when Ronnie Raymond arrives to apologize for his previous bad behavior. In Las Vegas, Voodoo, Mercy and company find that breaking into a building was way too easy, which means to keep their guard up. At the same time, Justin hacks into Cadmus to see what they have on his partners. In New York, Terry McGinnis explains everything to Plastique including how the world will be wiped out in thirty years. She offers to help him just so she doesn’t end up as the creature she saw. In the Huron System, The Engineer explains to the S.H.A.D.E. agents that the Collector doesn’t know where to put them. When they ask who their captor, she shows them the Blood Moon where Brainiac is. That is when Ray Palmer and Black Adam arrive.
In issue #23, Ray Palmer and Black Adam help the S.H.A.D.E. agents in fighting off Brainiac's robots. Adam calls on the lighting to allow them to escape while reminding Ray that he promised to get Adam back to Earth. In Central Park, Madison Payne runs into Ronald Raymond, who offers her a cup of coffee to apologize for his recent bad behavior. Unknown to them, Tim, has been watching her from behind a tree. In Las Vegas, Voodoo and her company meet with Sgt. Rock, who admits that he sent people after them in order to get them to him. Mercy realizes Rock is working for Faraday and he wants them to take out Fifty Sue. Thirty years from now, Michael Holt learns that Brother Eye has created someone to go back in time to find and hunt Terry: he has merged Bruce Wayne with the Joker.
In issue #24, The Engineer is returned to her old self by Hawkman but there are so many robots it looks like they may tear the ship apart. On Cadmus Island, Scott Free has been able to remove the implant that had been controlling him and does the same for Fury. Scott now plans to find a way to remove Brother Eye's programming from the island. At Columbia University, Madison hears Ronnie’s tale of woe as he heads off to watch a football game. Tim Drake comes out of the shadows to apologize, which she is not willing to accept. Elsewhere, Dr. Yamazake is becoming suspicious that Jason is trying to sabotage his attempts to create a teleportation device. In Africa, the entity appears, killing Tommy and torturing Midge. Superman arrives to save Constantine’s life.
In issue #25, The Engineer discovers that the navigational system for the ship is destroyed. If they jump, they could end up anywhere in the Multiverse, but they do indeed jump. On Cadmus Island, Fifty Sue shows off her secret bunker. Deathstroke explains that Brother Eye still controls the teleportation system and King Faraday, unable to hide HIS super-human ability, teleports away and strands the others there. In Africa, Superman battles Brainiac in Africa. But with Brainiac’s defeat, Constantine tells Superman that all he has done is send the real Brainiac a gauge of his abilities and offers to take him to him. At Columbia University, Madison and Ronnie hear of a Tsunami warning for Samoa. Ronnie seeks out Jason, who refuses to become Firestorm, forcing Ronnie to leave the lab. But Doctor Yamazake was watching all of this by webcam and now knows that Ronnie and Jason are Firestorm. Now he is completely convinced that Jason has been sabotaging the experiments in the name of the Justice League.
Four more issues of futuristic goodness courtesy of Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen with art by Patrick Zircher, Aaron Lopresti, and Jesus Merino. I realize that all of this future stuff will probably reset following CONVERGENCE but, for now, I’m loving this alternate future something fierce!
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #3: Deadshot has been found alive and he is brought to the Russian general who orders his team to divert the rest of the Suicide Squad and deny the existence of the Rocket Red Brigade. Black Manta is too bust trying to keep Harley Quinn and Joker's Daughter from killing each other. Amanda Waller and Vic Sage call and Sage demands they don’t look for Deathstroke but track down the Rocket Red Brigade. Harley finally knocks out Joker's Daughter, leading Manta to decide that he and Harley should search for Deadshot. Sage orders Waller to set off the nanobomb in Manta's head for disobedience and she refuses, giving Manta Deadshot's location instead. Meanwhile, Deadshot is being tortured for refusing to give up the rest of the Squad’s locations. The man giving the orders: Deathstroke.
You have really gotta love Slade Wilson. One minute, he’s a rotten bastard and the next…he a rotten bastard for the bad guys! Sean Ryan and Tom Derenick bang out another cool issue in the new series, which really should have just stayed the OLD SERIES with the numbers continuing but, we won’t go there. Anyway, I love this series and the continuing oddball cast of characters. And hey: we’re gonna get a movie out of this franchise, so everyone rejoice!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #35: We begin with Jason by a badly burned Roy Harper’s bedside. From there, we go back to four days earlier when the pair discovered the remains of an intergalactic slave trader that Starfire was after. After cleaning up the mess and eliminating the evidence, they search for and find Kori, who appears in some sort of a trance. She awakens from it and the next morning observe her to make sure she is normal. Man-Bat contacts Jason to tell him that S.H.A.D.E. has come across evidence that exonerates her. Not long after, the team is in New Orleans searching for a terrorist only to find they have been set up. As the team battles, Jason discovers each of their enemies have devices attached to them that seems to contain Venom and considers using it to help get him through the battle. Kori leaves the battle, forcing Roy to find her. She admits that she is weak and needs to go away and, as she blasts off, the explosion from within her lights Roy on fire.
This title continues on it’s up and down, uneven ride. Scott Lobdell and Geraldo Borges(with inking by the legendary Paul Neary) presents one of the better issues in the run. There is a bit of confusion regarding Kori’s problem and what happened to the slaver. And there are a few plot holes too, like how it took them two issues of drama to get to the point where they are going after the terrorist in New Orleans. But, as a rule, this was a fun issue. Let’s put it this way: if it was the first issue I had ever read, I would be convinced to hang with it and move it to a proper spot on my read list. Nicely done!
RED LANTERN #35: Previously reviewed as part of the GODHEAD review
SECRET ORIGINS #6: In the first story, we see an youthful Princess Diana of Themyscira sparring with Aleka, who is surprised that a princess like Diana one day wishes to leave Paradise Island. Diana recalls how she had often been called clay, as an insult to her “birth”. But what she never knew was that Hippolyta had actually mated with Zeus and hid the truth to protect Diana from Zeus’ wife, Hera Aleka became angry with Diana, wanting to know how she could turn her back on her sisters. That night, Diana received a visit from the goddess Athena, who explained that Diana’s journey from Paradise Island would be a struggle but she would support her. Meanwhile, Captain Steve Trevor found his plane going out of control and crashed on Paradise Island. Diana discovered him and brought him back to the Amazons. While she faced serious resistance from her mother and sisters, Athena reminded her of her faith in Diana.
In the second tale, Gary and Barbara Brand tormented their son Boston with their constant fighting and bickering. Boston wished he could fly off to a magical land. But when he realized that would never happen, he attacked his parents and left, never to come back. Eventually, after much wandering, he the circus and became a skilled acrobat. But he also carried the anger he felt with his parents and became dependent on alcohol. He adopted the guise of Deadman, which seemed to fit his nature. Then one night, he was shot and met Rama, who allowed him to live on as a spirit who could do good for others. He followed Rama’s directions until the Son of Morning painted her as more dangerous than she had seemed. At his parents’ grave, Brahma Dass, who offered him a chance to move on or stay on Earth to help those he could, visited him. Deadman decided to go back to Earth and, before he began his missions, forgive his parents.
In the final tale, we see a young Thaal Sinestro playing with blocks, which led to his interest in archaeology and ancient ruins. While on an exploration, he found a crashed spacecraft and a dying Prohl Gosgotha who gave Sinestro his ring. No sooner did that happen than a Weaponer of Qward, forcing Sinestro to put the ring on and transforming him into a Green Lantern, attacked him. When the battle was over, Prohl Gosgotha demanded that Sinestro return the ring, but he kept it for himself and traveled to Oa where he became what he believed was the greatest of all the Green Lanterns. He trained Hal Jordan, the first human Green Lantern, and they became best friends. But Sinestro’s lust for control led him to give his daughter up and use his powers to police Korugar. But the resistance of Korugar took his wife and his friends in the Corps called him tyrant. He was banished to the planet Qward, where he forged an alliance against the Guardians of the Universe and forged a yellow ring. Leaveing Qward, he fought with the Guardians and with the person he hated the most, Hal Jordan. Over time, he corrupted Hal with his yellow ring and formed his own yellow-based army. The Guardians destroyed Korugar before Sinestro made them pay.
This was a mixed bag of tales. The Wonder Woman piece, by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang, art by Goran Sudzuka, followed the revamped origin we have had handed to us over the last three years but also added some new pieces, specifically the inclusion of Athena and Steve Trevor. The Deadman story by J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Stokes was the weakest of the three, spending too much time on the previously unknown issues with Boston Brand’s parents. My favorite tale was the Sinestro story by Cullen Bunn And Igor Lima. While it managed to tread over much of the story that we already knew, it did so in a new light and added a bit of history regarding his childhood and the discovery of his Green Lantern ring. Each month goes by and I wonder if this title is worth the five bucks we are being charge. But when I hit a two good tales vs. one fair one, I guess I can swallow that.
SINESTRO #6: Previously reviewed as part of the GODHEAD review
STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #3: G.I. Zombie has set a missile towards an animal hospital in Sutterville, Tennessee which is having disastrous results on the animals. A pair of cops at the animal hospital are attacked by a dog and one of the men behave as if he has acquired rabies. Jared now understands that this is a biological attack with a very short incubation period. He puts a call to Gravedigger, who is tracking the missile's trajectory now that he has busted the terrorists who fired it, with the bad news. A doctor at the hospital named Pam note that it appears the bitten man has gone into hibernation. Jared seeks out the mayor of town and tells him they need to quarantine the place. He heads towards the south bridge when infected people overrun him. Meanwhile, Carmen, still posing as “Tiffany”, continues to head west with one of the terrorist scientists and a virus. The scientist claims that the rocket contains a payload guaranteed to end life as they know it.
Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Scott Hampton continue to pepper this “war title” with more zombie action than you can shake a stick at! We have zombies, terrorists, more zombies, hot looking women and even more zombies! I’m sure there will be some necrophilia down the road in a tasteful, comic book kind of way. What else could I expect from this crazy creative team. After all: how cool was ALL STAR WESTERN?
SUPERMAN #35: Superman and Ulysses are still dealing with the Machinist, who caused Ulysses to commit murder by taking control of Neil's voluntary functions. Even thought the victim was already dead when Ulysses “killed” him, Superman warns him never to use his powers like that against someone ever again. They head to the North Atlantic, where the Machinist sits on a freighter waiting for his customer to arrive, and lift the ship out of the water. The Machinist sends his giant robotic crows to attack them, which the pair quickly defeat. Ulysses gets frustrated by Superman’s belief of not destroying all the weapons of the world but to stop the people selling them. Ulysses flies off and Superman gets caught in the Machinist’s self-destructing blast. Back at the Daily Planet, Ulysses' appears on every TV screen in the country, revealing his real name, place of birth, and origin story. He also reveals that he sees the Earth is full of hate and offers the opportunity for six million to join him in the Fourth Dimension.
You now: when this guy showed up I didn’t exactly like him or trust him, as he reminded me so much of a certain blonde haired, John Romita Jr. illustrated character known as The Sentry. Well, Geoff Johns and Romita are back at it again with a seemingly innocent superhero who may have more of an agenda than we first dreamed. While I am finding this series to be running a bit long and hoped that the Johns/Romita era would hit with a bang instead of a slow build, I still find it far more satisfying than the last creative team
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #12: After defeating Giganta at London's Wembley Stadium, Wonder Woman gets the surprise of Superman’s return and their kiss ends up on the jumbo screen. Several months ago, Clark gave Diana a Kryptonian flower from the Fortress of Solitude that needed to be fed with cooking oil. But with everything happening, it never got fed and now has transformed into a hungry monster which makes its way to a gas station and feeds on gas and oil. The creature makes its’ way into a reservoir that leads to the pipeline feeding most of the United Kingdom. Superman gives Diana attitude about not feeding the gift and look what has happened. She too returns the favor and realizes something is affecting both of them, causing them to act this way. She heads to Mount Olympus where she finds the conflict between the couple has been caused by Strife. Superman gets Swamp Thing to communicate with it and soon the flower returns to normal. In the end, they sit on the Cliffs of Dover where they admit that some of what they said they meant, despite Strife’s involvement.
I still haven’t figured out if I have any kind of good feelings about two of the most powerful beings in the universe being together in a romantic way. Sorry, I’m spent way to many years with Lois and chasing after Superman and then she and Clark being together at last. I love Charles Soule’s writing and I’m okay with Jack Hebert’s art. I just have a hard time with this soap opera involving the world’s mightiest heroes.
SWAMP THING ANNUAL #3: After defeating some monsters in the swamp, Capucine admits that they came for her. She passes out and is carried into the house where Guarav and Alec care for her. She explains that her thousand years are coming to an end. She asks him to tell her a story that will make her laugh. He tells of his going into a movie theatre to see a movie and after five minutes, the police were called and the theatre was evacuated. But he did admit that the five minutes of the movie he saw was awful. She admits that she doesn’t want to continue her life, but wishes that he finds a way to keep Etrigan from taking it. Alec exchanges bodies with Capucine to trick Etrigan. The demon insists that Capucine is evil and always has been, relating the tale of many of her thousand years, including being known as the "The Murder Poet". He tells Alec that everything Capucine has ever done regarding Alec was to manipulate him. But Capucine, in Swamp Thing’s body, has figured out how to control plants and traps Etrigan within a tree. She also tells the demon that it was his dark magic that turned her into a killer and offers up a bargain. Returning to her body, and Alec to his, he offers to tell her another story. He opens a place for her within The Green and she can find peace with Brother Jonah there. He carries her over to the glade and drops her into Brother Jonah's arms.
Charles Soule gives us a wonderfully touching ending to the story of Capucine with the help of artists Javier Piña, Ryan Browne, Dave Bullock, Yanick Paquette. In the end, she changes her evil ways, avoids the everlasting touch of Etrigan and settles peacefully in the Green with Brother Jonah. A beautiful, touching story. Poor Alec: he’s lost her and Abby. Now what?
SWAMP THING #35: The Calculus begs Swamp Thing to open the wall of trees that is hiding The Wolf's remains. He agrees and finds that they are alone, as The Calculus has made all the people go away by issuing a fake news story about a Cat. 5 hurricane coming. The Calculus believe they can run The Green and don’t want him to give up his role as Avatar. He is tempted by the offer but demands The Calculus leave. Alec returns to the Grove where he asks Brother Jonah how new kingdoms are born, based on meeting someone who represents the kingdom of machines. Jonah responds that Alec must wipe them out at once or the only thing that will remain is dust and then returns to the Green to prepare for the inevitable war that is coming. Alec goes to the Arctic and discovers a fortress called Servus where it seems the machines are preparing to invade the Grove.
Charles Soules and Jesus Saiz continue on the road to the end of their final story arc and it seems that this war won’t end well. It’s another well-written, well-crafted tale from Soules who will totally be missing from the DC lineup when he competes all his work and does his writing exclusively for Marvel. Saiz’ art gets better with each and every issue and I can only hope that he will continue on this series once Soules is gone.
TEEN TITANS #3: Raven is dancing at a club in the Bowery when the singer in the band notices her and proceeds to call her out. From there, almost everyone in the club comes to her, some saved by her and others just inspired by her. Suddenly, the terrorist who was responsible for events in the first two issues arrives and begins to battle. Raven calls for help from her teammates, including Beast Boy and Bunker who just finished taking out a mugger in Battery Park. The rest of the team arrives and Cassie, upon learning that the terrorist is truly a robot, smashes it into millions of pieces. Later, josiah Power from S.T.A.R. Labs arrives to investigate, unaware he is being watched by Manchester Black and…the previously mentioned terrorist who is no longer destroyed. The team eat a late night snack while Cassie’s mom warns her that the streets are filled with roving gangs of girls dressed like Wonder Girl. One of those gangs confronts her mom as the team decides if they should help Red Robin investigate S.T.A.R. Labs. They should have joined him as the robot terrorist arrives and, knocking him out, prepares to eliminate him.
Will Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort continue their revamp of this book which should never have been cancelled in the first place. If they had just replaced the creative team, which they have done, and continued the numbering, all would be right with the world. While not anywhere near the classic Teen Titans that existed before the NEW 52, it is a far better book than the last run was. And luckily, this issue seems to downplay the whole social media connection that the first issue boasted. While not a great read, it has gotten better since issue #1, so they get a little more time from me.
TRINITY OF SIN #1: The Question, who really has no idea who he is after all these centuries, is about to have a deep conversation with his landlady when the landlady turns into a creature named Ya’Aka. Meanwhile, The Phantom Stranger and Terrance Thirteen are in Golden Gate Park battling a gigantic green ghost in Golden Gate Park. The Stranger learns that the ghost is a manifestation of a boy who was murdered and buried in this spot over thirty years ago. With his divine powers, he frees the boy and allows his spirit to go to Heaven. Suddenly, Thirteen is stabbed through the chest with a flaming sword by a female serpent creature named Zalkoat. Meanwhile, Pandora is enjoying the beaches of Southern India when a giant water monster named Sydenn attacks her. The three heroes manage to defeat or evade their demons and all end up on the beach, where the toll in lives is devastating. The Question leaves to mourn his landlady while The Stranger and Pandora attend to Thirteen’s body and decide to investigate a way to save his soul. The pair heads off into space to meet some birdlike creature that may be named Nimraa.
Wow! This is REALLY AWFUL! This is a worse read than the two previous TRINITY titles COMBINED! J.M. DeMatteis delivers a title that just wallows in emptiness. We still don’t kow who The Question is and frankly don’t believe this book will be around long enough to answer that for us. The Phantom Stranger is still a man on a mission who needs to grow a set of testicles. And Pandora? She goes off to the beach because her deceased mentor Marcus thought it would be good for her soul. The art by Yvel Guichet is the best part of the book, even if it looks an awfully lot like the art stylings that dominated TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA. DC: why oh why do your replace awful books with worse ones?
WONDER WOMAN #34: With Wonder Woman seeming to be dead, the First Born brings his war to Themyscira. Zola tries to find a place to hide herself and Zeke and runs into Hera, who refuses to help as now her immortality has been restored and Zola and Zeke are no longer her concern. The First Born and his army become encased in stone at the hands as Milan appears and takes Orion and Artemis into a Boom Tube. Meanwhile, we learn that Diana IS alive and has a conversation with her predecessor Ares. Diana admits she cannot give up the fight as the vision fade and she sees that she has been speaking with Strife. Strife toasts her failure and Diana decides it is best she die and find peace at last. Strife will have none of that, drags Diana into the pool of blood, and then drops her at the stone feet of Hippolyta. Orion arrives and tries to heal Diana’s wounds, but the First Born has also arrived and interrupts that. Diana distracts him with the robot army of Hephaestus and Eros and begins to search for Zola. About to be attacked by Cassandra and the hyena warriors, Hera arrives, turning the Hyenas to crystal, and knocking Cassandra unconscious. Diana decides it may be time for the last born to take the throne of Olympus. Diana takes Zeke from Zola to place him on the throne. That is when Poseidon rises from the pool of blood.
And thus begins the penultimate chapter in the epic story that Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang has brought to us over the last three years. And this truly has been an epic that has polarized fans like never before. People who were polarized by J. Michael Strazinski are now wishing he was back on this title. Personally, anyone who has read my reviews from Day One know how much love I have for this book. I think that Azzarello is a great writer and have had much respect for his work, especially his 100 BULLETS work. But this is just on an entirely different level. And Cliff Chiang? Great stuff! One more issue to go and I will admit that I will be sorry to see this part of the ride end.
WONDER WOMAN #35: Poseidon has decided to claim the throne for himself in the First Born's absence. He demands Zeke be given to him and he causes Diana to drop Zeke. Zola begins to transform and she uses her talons to cut Poseidon, sending him back into the pool of blood. The First Born arrives, thrusting a spear into Hermes while the Minotaur knocks Diana unconscious. The First Born decides to throw Zeke into the void as Diana wakes. He orders the Minotaur to kill Diana off, but it remembers that she had shown it mercy in the labyrinth, causing the First Born to kill the Minotaur. Diana drops her bracelets to the ground, saying all she needs to defeat him is herself. Hermes teleports away Diana’s friends, saving them from being tossed into the void. She wraps him in the Lasso of Truth to show him the true meaning of love and compassion. Zola and Hermes carry Zeke up to the throne and he begins to with generate electricity. A bolt of lightning splits the earth where Diana and the First Born are fighting. He lands safely, but Diana barely holds on, begging him to give her his hand. If he saves her, they will be suffering forever. He does so, but she throws him in saying it is tough love and a lesson for him for the next seven thousand years of solitude. Diana returns to the throne to find that Zola is actually the goddess Athena. This was Zeus’ plan all along that would result in Diana becoming a God. Now, Zeus, in the form of Zeke, is back on the throne. Diana begs Athena not to eliminate the Zola persona, eventually she concedes, allowing Zola to remain human, and Athena returns to the form of an owl.
And thus the epic ends, not with a whimper but with a well crafted bang. I have nothing more to say about this. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang have created a series that will set a very high bar for the creative team to follow. This will be talked about and examined by comic scholars for years to come. Thank you for all the great memories!
WORLDS’ FINEST #27: As Lois Lane and the New Wonders fight for the survival of Earth 2, she tells the origins of Suprman and Batman. Jor-El tries to save Krypton by creating a gravity well that will restore their yellow sun. Unfortunately, he didn’t ignite the sun, he destabilized it which leads to the certain destruction of Krypton. As the El’s plan for their death, Intri of Apokolips arrives with an offer to save the world in exchange for taking the baby Kal-El to become a Lord of Apokolips. Jor-El turns her down and sends her away, ordering Lara to get Kara and Val so they can be placed in an experimental rocket before the planet explodes. Meanwhile, on Earth, Thomas Wayne has decided he no longer is going to work for Frankie Falcone. They met and Frankie explains how he wants to put pressure on the father of a very young Alan Scott and needs Thomas’ hospital badge to make that happen. Wayne refuses and beats up Falcone threatening to sent him to prison for decades if he ever touches his son.
With Power Girl and The Huntress on Earth 2 fighting to save their world, that leaves this book in search of characters to populate it. And so, Superman and Batman step in, just as they used to be in the old days. I found the story interesting, especially now learning that Jor-El caused the destruction of Krypton and that there is an early connection between the Waynes and Alan Scott. Paul Levitz and Jed Dougherty give us a well written, nicely drawn issue that leaves me wanting to see where the next chapter takes us.
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