ACTION COMICS #37: When last we saw Superman, he was trapped in a fog that continues to teleport him as he tries to escape it. He falls into a dream about a time in the third grade and, when he wakes, he finds John Henry Irons and Lana watching him. He is surprised that the townspeople act as if nothing is wrong, although the whole town is trapped within this cloud. As he tries to fly towards a light in the fog, he is hit with a mental attack by the townspeople. He hits them all with a blast of cold air; just enough to break free and save Hiro. Unfortunately, that leads him right to the strange monster that grabbed his friend. We also discover that the fog is growing and spreading.
Well, this just took a turn into Boringville! What the heck happened? Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder have had a great run up until this point, but this issue turned out to be a very long, uninteresting story. I have seen TWO versions of THE FOG in my life and I don’t need a third. Hopefully the next installment will have a bit more life to it.
AQUAMAN #37: With some help, Aquaman is able to lift up a wall that is actually a Gateway similar to the one found in the Azores. Aquaman puts his trident into the gate symbol and he and Mera transport to Gorilla City where Lord Solovar greets them and grants them passage into their kingdom. He explains to them that the last time the gate was activated was 15 years ago and the ape that saw it was Grodd. They visit Grodd in his holding cell and demand he tells them what he saw when the gate opened. He agrees to do so after he battles Aquaman. The battle allows Grodd to break out of his prison, but he is defeated by Aquaman and tells how the Queen of Atlantis took the carvings that would allow gates to open in Katangala. He also reveals that Katangala was once ruled by humans and eventually taken over by the apes. Grodd grabs Arthur’s scepter and leaps through a gate with Aquaman leaping with him.
I don’t want to pick on Jeff Parker about this story but…apes taking over a place ruled by humans. Hmmm…didn’t Pierre Boule and Rod Serling do this first? This sounds very much like PLANET OF THE APES to me. Either way, Paul Pelletier’s art shines and the story is full of some cool revelations and a great knock down, drag out fight between Aquaman and Grodd. Of course, I always love seeing Grodd show up in any title. That brain eating gorilla is just so much fun to watch!
AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #8: Torrez has apparently been taken over by Gary Korec, who insists that Jason Cole killed him. Meanwhile, Cheshire, KGBeast, Maelstrom and the others who make up Mayhem brawl with each other about what to do and when to do it. Cheshire has concerns about “loose cannons” within the group and the KGBeast explains that Aquaman and the Others has experience as they were first formed prior to the Justice League forming. Back in the Atlantic, Vostok-X continues to insist that he is not a clone and angrily leaves the group. He is contacted by NKVDemon who convinces him to come to the moon so he can learn who he truly is. KGBeast arives and explains how Vostek and his brother were his students. In the Atlantic, Cole, Torrez and Ya’wara teleport to an old Russian base somewhere in the Ural Mountains to find a way to disconnect the satellite that Mayhem may have control of. No sooner do they arrive when Gary Korec takes over Torrez body and he sets about to strangling the man who murdered him.
All I can say is if the first seven issues of this title had this much action, plot revelations and excitement as this one does, it might not have ended up on the cancellation list for March. Despite how much I do not care about these characters, this was a really good issue courtesy of Dan Jurgens and Lan Medina. Three issues to go to wrap up this storyline. Will Vostok find his brother and join Mayhem? Will Korec kill Cole? Will anyone care if this team strays together when the book ends? Three months-stay tuned!
ARKHAM MANOR #3: Bruce Wayne almost unmasked the killer but now he finds himself in the infirmary with a concussion. He is convinced that Victor Zsasz is the killer, especially after he finds crawlspaces that seem to show Zsasz has been committing the murders without being noticed. As he is crawling about, he gets knifed in his arm and a struiggle ensues with the assailant getting away. Soon he realizes that Zsasz is a victim who has been attacked with the drill. Meanwhile, Seth Wickham is transported to Gotham General Hospital but, when the ambulance arrives, the doctors see that the drivers’ throats have been cut and Wickham is missing. Back at the Manor, Border, throws an old man, whoBatman assigned him to watch, out of his wheelchair. Border is really The Joker and the old man is really Clayface.
Nice to finally see the full reveal here, although readers of BATMAN #36 already KNEW that Border was The Joker. But now we also find out that Batman CAN be wrong every now and then, as he guessed that Zsasz was the killer when in could be three possible suspects: Joker, Clayface or Wickham. This was another great issue from Gerry Duggan and Shawn Crystal and, the fact that this title is cancelled as of March seems to tell me that this will all get solved soon and maybe the old Arkham will get rebuilt. Hey-maybe Superman can come and help with the rebuild!
BATGIRL #37: It looks like music star Juniper Vega has been robbed by a gang of bat masked women that seem to include Batgirl. That is when the real Batgirl intervenes but to no success as a Molotov cocktail breaks up the party, allowing the fake to escape. Later, she visits Qadir where he tells her that the fake is busy on social media and then gives her a special a phone case with a built-in blinding flash. Later, Barbara invites all of her friends to the Dagger Type art show, but is insulted by the way her alter ego is presented in the illustrations. She tells Dinah that she believes that the model for these paintings is the person who has been masquerading as her. There is even an illustration of Batgirl in a wheelchair, which really hits home. Later that night, Batgirl returns to talk to the museum curator where she is told that Dagger Type sends his work digitally through OmniCAB. She hacks into OmniCAB and finds his studio location and also a book of American Sign Language. She sees there is a meet at Burnside Bridge and goes there, where she runs into the fake Batgirl and her gang. When she tries to unmask her, Barbara pulls off a wig, revealing Dagger Type himself. He pulls a gun and she dives into the water, where she loses her cowl in the process. The next night, Barbara goes to the theatre as Barbara. Dagger Type claims he is Batgirl, which causes the audience to be confused and him to start shooting into the crowd. Using her new phone, she blinds Dagger Type with the flash. He tells her that someone paid him to create the picture of Batgirl in a wheelchair. A police officer named Liam shows up and tells her he would like to see her sometime. Later, Batgirl has Dinah take a photo to upload to her Pictograph.
I cannot believe that I had to write a synopsis THAT long on a book THIS BAD. But that is because a million things happen in the book and then there was the “outrage” over the villain being transgender and forcing Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher to take to Twitter and apologize for the “offending” book. Seriously? I am amazed anyone even notices this book. With Stewart and Fletcher at the helm, along with Babs Tarr, this book makes me want to see the Sixties Batgirl come back. The art is stylish but not for this title and the writing…when did Babs and Dinah become Valley Girls? OMG!
BATMAN #37: Although paralyzed from his recent meeting with the Joker, who has revealed himself to be Eric Border, Batman has made his way back to the Batcave. He learns the Joker has poisoned the city center with a virus and Alfred has been unable to create an antidote for it. Batman knows they need to find patient zero and that they may still be in Gotham Presbyterian Hospital. When Batman makes his way to the city, he gets mobbed by crowds of the infected. Jim Gordon, looking through old newspaper clippings sees the Joker in a picture from 1910 and then one from 1946. He goes to a picture taken on the day Barbara and James Jr. had their tonsils out. Suddenly, a boxing glove on a spring hits him and knocks him down. The Joker comes out from under the bed and, by snapping his fingers, lights the curtains on fire. Gordon threatens him with his gun while Joker grabs an axe. Meanwhile, Batman has made it to the hospital and discovers patient zero is Joe Chill. Lights go on and he sees a made up version of Crime Alley. But it is Duke Thomas who comes out of the Monarch Theatre with his parents. Batman breaks the glass and stops Joe Chill’s bullet with his Kevlar chest-plate while Gordon shoots the Joker in the chest. The mob comes through the broken glass and infects Duke's parents as Batman takes Duke away. Gordon calls Batman to tell him he has killed the Joker. But the Joker rises up and Batman hears his scream as the Joker answers the phone and calls Batman by his real name.
In the second story, Dr. Mahreen Zaheer leaves a message for Eric Border, telling him Arkham Asylum inmates have kidnaped her. Morton Wales interrupts her to tell about the story his mother told him of the first laugh in Gotham. A clown had come to town with the promise to make the people laugh and resulted in nearly sixty people laughing themselves to death. He went from factory to factory before they burned his home down with him inside. As he burned to death, he came out and kept performing to the people who were killing him. Gotham passed a law prohibiting clowns in town. That story had scared Morton as a boy and when he got older, he strangled a stand-up comic to death to silence the laughter. Mahreen can promise to get him out, other inmates drag her into the sewers. She calls out for Eric to help her but it’s the Joker who answers.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any wilder, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo drop this little gem on us. So, we retcon the history of Batman and we have Joe Chill as patient zero. If you recall, there have been many different stories told about Joe Chill, complete with him being killed during BATMAN: YEAR TWO and later, Grant Morrison left us with the idea that he commits suicide. The second story, by James Tynion IV and John McCrea, looks great and continues to give us some more history regarding Gotham and the Joker. Is it any wonder this is one of the best selling DC titles?
BATMAN ANNUAL #3: Tommy Blackcrow, formerly a writer for the Gotham Gazette, is currently an inmate at Arkham. Flashback to five years ago, when he gets assigned to cover the Joker story. He snuck into an abandoned joke shop and watches the Joker kill one of his men. Laughing at one of his jokes, Tommy accidentally reveals himself. Before he can be killed, Batman and Robin arrive and save his life. A year later, after writing his exposé, the Joker breaks out of jail. When Tommy gets home, he finds his friend hung from meat-hooks like a puppet. The Joker had learned everything about Tommy so they could be best friends. Batman caught the Joker but, six months later, he broke out of prison and left the message "I miss you," in blood on his floor. A year later and the Joker showed up at his house, where he tormented he and his wife by showing them a slide-show of some of his favorite victims. When the Joker's face was being kept at the GCPD, Tommy called every night to make sure it was still there. One night, the Joker left a voice mail message for him. The Joker had been Tommy's own basement making the faces of the Batman Family. Tommy pulled a gun, only to find out it was a water pistol. Later he called the police and they had him placed into psych evaluation and then to Arkham. Tommy's friend Warren shows up and tells him what has been happening since the Joker's return and begs him to check himself out and go to Boston. Tommy say he has only one friend and that is Eric Border
And with friends like that, who needs enemies? This was a nice, fun romp by the team, of
James Tynion IV and Roge Antonio. I love the fact that the Joker just torments the hell out of this poor guy and, after many chances to kill him, doesn’t. It’s just a matter of pure mental torture. And then, to have your best friend in Arkham be your self described best friend. Poor Tommy!
BATMAN AND ROBIN #37: Batman faces Darkseid on Apokolips, with Kalibak trying to give an assist to his father. Batman fires up a Mother Box and sends him to the Lowlies, leaving Batman to battle with the mighty Darkseid, who sends our hero flying into Chaos Cannon's fuel chamber. Damian's sarcophagus falls out and into the void, causing Batman and Darkseid to go after it. The Lord of Apokolips tears the wings off the Hellbat suit and reveals the Chaos Shard. Meanwhile, Batgirl repairs Cyborg and gets a Boom Tube to open. Darkseid fires his Omega energy, but Batman uses the Chaos Shard to block it and it becomes charged. He blasts Darkseid with the Omega energy and then, grabbing the sarcophagus, jumps into the Boom Tube, which brings them back to the Batcave. Even as his Hellbat suit is killing him, Batman pulls the Chaos Shard from his chest and shoves it into Damian’s, who rises from his sarcophagus and hugs his father. But it looks like his father may be dying.
Well, we all knew they would find a way to bring him back. At least we don’t have to wait a month to get the answer to whether Batman lives or dies as this concludes in
ROBIN RISES ALPHA #1-also on sale this month. This issue, as always, features awesome work from Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason that is satisfying without being cheap. And let’s be honest: we ALL knew he would come back to life somehow!
BATMAN ETERNAL #35-39: Issue #35 begins two weeks after Batman took down Hush and secured him in the Batcave, we find Bruce Wayne in a world of trouble. His assets and accounts have been frozen, Wayne Manor has been made into Arkham Asylum, and Batman Incorporated has been taken away. Meanwhile, Vicki Vale is becoming suspicious of Jason Bard, who wants to tell her why he came to Gotham City from Detroit. Little does he know that Vicki is IN DETROIT investigating him. She and her partner Joey Day are at a cop bar where they discover that Jason turned bad after an incident with a wannabe Batman. Then he has Lucius destroy the Beacon Tower construction site that brings Batman onto the scene and Bard tries to arrest him. Lucius hands Bard the controller that will run the Batmobile and he sends it, with Batman still in the driver’s seat, screaming towards Wayne Tower. With Julia unable to stop it and Jason claiming this is personal, the vehicle crashes through the building and starts to nosedive towards the street below.
Issue #36 begins with Harper Row caring for her comatose brother in Robin’s Nest. Red Robin calls and asks her to get the Batman Family together to help Batman in Gotham. Meanwhile, Julia finally figures out the code to hack into the Batmobile and enters "Blue Rose" into the computer just as it crashes. In Detroit, we hear how Bard had been in love with his partner Jodie Hawkins. A copycat Batman vigilante caused her to be killed during a drug raid. At the bar, he drunkenly accusing Jim Gordon of encouraging the actions of vigilantes like Batman. Then he got taken home by a mysterious red-haired man. In the middle of the story, Bard calls Vicki who says he has a story for her. She hangs up and Bard takes a fist to his face from Batman. Julia was able to activate a protocol so he could drop out of the bottom of the car and escape. Bard pulls out his gun and tries to again arrest Batman. But Red Robin, Red Hood and Batgirl arrive to stop him. Back at the Batcave, Batman realizes that someone else had to be behind all of this. Meanwhile, the Riddler admits that Batman should have solved this riddle by now and may need some help.
In issue #37, Having gone somewhat legitimate as the head of the Calabrese Crime Family, Selina Kyle is bored with the prospect of getting her money legally through the Egyptian Nightclub, which she now owns. As tacky as the place is, it does afford her the life of luxury she craves. Unfortunately, she is prevented from enjoying that luxury by a Ghost Dragon assassin, signalling their rejection of her invitation to join her network. She kicks him through the window of her penthouse to be dealt with by her security, recalling that being on top in Gotham's crime world means sleeping with two eyes open.
In Luke Fox’ apartment, his roommate Rory finds a ghost sitting on his toilet before admitting that he must have imagined it. But Luke admits to himself that strange things have been happening since Jim Corrigan put an enchantment on his Batwing suit. He calls Julia and wants to know how to deal with a haunting. Batman is at the Port of Gotham where he is interrogating Longshore Louis. Killer Croc arrives saying he controls the port now. Batman leaves and Catwoman arrives and offers Croc a proposition. Meanwhile, the Arkham inmates who escaped are hiding out in the Tartarus Greek Restaurant. The Scarecrow promises Bane he can make his Venom more effective while one of Catwoman's cats videotapes it with a camera in its collar. Later, Poison Ivy suggests he lets her create a new Venom formula. Batman follows what looks like a homemade Bat-Signal, which leads him to Selina Kyle. She decides to give him information on the missing Arkham inmates. Meanwhile, Bullock and Maggie Sawyer are meeting at a restaurant and discuss Bard, who walks in, saying they are the last two honest cops left in the city. They walk out on him
In issue #38, Batman goes to Willowwood Home for Children to apprehend the missing Arkhamites. He takes down Joker's Daughter easily along with Mister Freeze, Clayface and Scarecrow and frees the hostages. Crane hints that the Riddler is the person who can figure out the conspiracy. Bane promises to marry Ivy and realizes that she has been manipulating him. He threatens to kill her when Killer Croc arrives to attack him. Bane picks Croc up and gets ready to break his back. But Croc turns the tables when he bites through Bane’s Venom tube. Then he begins cutting at Bane's veins to drain the Venom from his system. Bane begs Croc to kill him, which he refuses. Later, Selina pays Ivy for her help. And then tells the families that the freaks are out of commission. At Blackgate, Gordon observes The Lion getting a massage from someone called The Manhandler. He offers to help get Gordon out of jail but turns him down. Later, Bard meets with Gordon, looking for an ally/ Gordon tells him to get him out of jail, but do it by the book.
In issue #39, Red Robin has been working on various ciphers and Batman is able to figure out where The Riddler is hiding. He makes his way to the closes Bullseye Casino Resort where he gets more clues from The Riddler, leading him to a cabin where Nygma sits waiting for him. As Batman takes Nygma off the mountain, a series of boxes explode, burying the pair under a mountain of snow. Meanwhile, as Mr. Freeze is being transported to jail, the police vehicle he is in is stopped by armed police officers and the cops inside are shot. All of the prisoners are sprung before Bane and Freeze begins taking out their rescuers. A second group of prisoners including Ratcatcher and Firefly arrive along with the person who apparently arranged this: Selina Kyle. A mysterious voice give the now freed prisoners access to all of Batman’s various weapons.guarding him are shot to death. At the Gotham Gazette, intern Patrick, Warren and Vicki are working late to try and get the true story behind what it happening in Gotham. Before Warren can make a hypothesis that would make a sensible headline, Patrick returns and guns him down.
Five more issues in this weekly saga just means that much more plot to swallow! Thanks to Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes and Kyle Higgins for giving us this complicated story and by Fernando Blanco, Andrea Mutti, and Felix Ruiz for the often uneven but always effective art. DC says this title will end when CONVERGENCE arrives but Snyder promises there is another title coming when CONVERGENCE is done.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #17: Superman can only be in one place at a time and faced with having to save three people but can only save Lex Luthor. Later, Superman tries to keep the peace in Khandaq and then attends a memorial service for Glory Miau. After the service, he and Batman realize that the people being killed are people whom Superman saved in the past. They decide to go to S.T.A.R. Labs and asks Dr. Kapoor for her help. She brings our heroes in to see Hector Hammond and, after he is allowed to root around in Batman’s mind for a few seconds, he believes that there is only one person capable of this and he are in Metropolis. Lobo is there on the hunt and Superman arrives to beat him up. Lobo insists he was not responsible for the deaths and Superman tosses him off the planet. As the mysterious murderer invades Clark’s head with taunts, Batman looks for bait…in the form of Lois Lane.
Greg Pak and Adrian Syaf continue to baffle Superman, Batman, Hector Hammond and the readers. Who is this mysterious being who has become Superman’s “Joker”? The logical choice would make it Lex Luthor but even HE is not that nasty. Well, not anymore it seems. So that narrows the choices down. Who could be psychotic enough to do this? Find out next issue…maybe!
BATWOMAN #37: Batwoman visits Alex Witherspoon to tell her she needs to stop her vendetta against Natalia. Later, Etrigan chases a Dr. Jason Blood around his apartment and tries to kill him. Batwoman arrives and warns the Demon to let Jason go. She also accuses him of being involved with cultist activities in Gotham, which he denies completely.But he does now that the cultists must summon Morgan Le Fay to compete their goals. Smelling evil inside her, Etrigan removes Nocturna's influence from her. Meanwhile, Clayface tries to escape Gotham City and gets picked up by a pair of men in a van who offer him a ride. Once inside, use gas to freeze him. Above his antique shop, a ghostly voice tells Rory Regan that he is needed. Going downstairs, he finds some bad guys trying to steal an ancient artifact and decides he better change into his uniform. Rory follows the thieves and discovers the cultists merging Clayface and the artifact to resurrect Morgan Le Fay.
So, the creative team of Marc Andreyko and Geirge Jeanty have three more issues to get this problem with Batwoman solved, send Morgan Le Fay back to where she came, eliminate the cultists, bond Jason Blod and Etrigan together and give us a full blown, quality story for Ragman so he can be brought back in his own well-written, artistically amazing series. Yeah, like all of threat is SO gonna happen. I will just be happy if they tie up the loose ends when this title ends.
CATWOMAN #37: At the Calabrese townhouse, Antonia finds Nick beaten and bloodied on the front steps. The note attached to him suggests the family might want to “seal your leak" Selina is at The Egyptian to meet with Aiden Mason who has stolen her business because of his construction contract with the city. Returning home, she meets with Nick and tells him his betrayal can't be forgiven. He explains that he did talk to the police but Black mask beat him up and he told him nothing. Antonia begs her to show mercy, but that is not in Selina’s make-up as a leader. Meanwhile, the head of the Hasigawa Family meets with Black Mask and learns of the leak. Afterwards, Eiko tries to convince her father that, although the calabreses had a mole, Black Mask is a madman and they shouldn’t go into business with him. Meeting with the family, Selina tells everyone that Nick will be silenced for giving information to the GCPD. She informs Eiko that she plans on making Black Mask pay for outing Nick. That night, Antonia takes Nick out to the beach house where they used to go. They talk for a time before she assassinates him as she was told to do. She returns to the townhouse and slams her blood-covered sweater onto Selina's desk. Selina goes to the police precinct where she hugs Det. Alvarez and tells him that Nick won’t be seeing him again. When she leaves, she doesn’t take Ward’s advice and goes for a walk by herself. A mysterious man contacts his employer and says that the time to act has arrived.
Well, tonight: nick sleeps with the fishes! I never thought that DC could have Selina Kyle make the successful transition from sexy cat burglar to pantsuit wearing crime boss but that’s what Genevieve Valentine and Garry Brown have done. And having Jae Lee provide you with killer looking covers (and the Darwyn Cooke is nothing to sneeze at either!) can’t hurt. This series has moved nicely from the Ann Nocenti helmed title to this one. It has become one of my favorite reads as of late!
CATWOMAN ANNUAL #2: Eiko Hasigawa was always designed to become the head of the biggest Yakuza family in Gotham. After letting Catwoman make a mess of a deal at the Gotham docks, she fell out of favor. She was teamed up with her cousin Ken to make things right. They tracked the Catwoman and Eiko eventually followed her home and saw her without her mask. When she told her father that she had found her, her father commented that she should have let Ken do it, for her own safety. She continued to watch the rapid rise to power of Selina Kyle and knew this meant the end of Catwoman. Eiko was assigned to take over territory that belonged to the Sons of Forster Lane. She created her own Catwoman costume and wanted a man she had dealings with before to leave the neighborhood because of what was going to happen. Traveling to the neighborhood as herself, she found that Nick Calabrese had already won it for the Calabrese family. Ken was sent back to Japan and Eiko called to warn him to stay away from the deal. Later, as Catwoman, she met the Batman, who admitted her knew she was not the REAL Catwoman and warned her not to continue to wear the suit. On the way home, she ran into the Sons of Forster Lane but was helped by the man she had warned earlier. Returning home, Eiko explained to her father that Ken had been killed. She knew she had finally won her lifelong game of Go with her father. But it also cost her cousin his life. Next up: she was meeting with Selina Kyle and the game would begin again.
This was an interesting story by Genevieve Valentine and Patrick Olliffe that I ASSUME will have a major payoff down the road. If not, then I just spent four dollars to learn the back-story on a character I really don’t care about. So, I figure she will continue to be the “new Catwoman” or will end up being a major player in the battle for Gotham. IF that is true, then this did a great job of setting all that up by giving us history and motivation.
CONSTANTINE #20: We begin on Earth 2 with our John Constantine being shot from a canister gun. Going back an hour, he learns that this john Constantine didn’t make the mistakes he did on our Earth. He tells them that he knows their world is ending and they all ask if he can save them all. Of course, John says he can. With the world going mad around them, they flee from the house and see that Apokolips is high in the sky and coming closer. That’s when John gets shot, but the family he doesn’t really know saves him and finds shelter in an old brick factory. He tells them about Apokolips and Darkseid and what they need to do to protect them. He has them all draw mystic symbols on the walls and floor to keep evil out. What it doesn’t keep out is the one person who might be able to save them: Doctor Fate.
I love the fact that Ray Fawkes and Jeremy Haun have woven our favorite trickster into the fabric of the world-ending saga of Earth 2. And getting to meet the person and family that would have been is so IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE that I totally love it. Here’s a title that has not bowed down to the success of the TV series and has not been influenced by the disaster movie of several years back. It is a straight forward attempt at painting John Constantine as a bad guy who is trying to make up for it by being good. What salvages all of this is his being shot off to Earth 2. The only downside is that he will need a new place to hang his trench coat when Earth 2 is gone.
DEATHSTROKE #3: We find Deathstroke still suffering from the hallucination involving Jericho, which he believes was a repressed memory brought to light by a truth serum Red Fury gave him. He continues to have more visions, including several of his attempted escape with his son. Jericho tells him he was being used to bring Odysseus, Slade’s father, back from the dead. Bronze Tiger arrives but doesn’t recognize his old friend because of I-Ching's changing Slade's age. Slade attacks Tiger and almost kills him until Red Fury arrives and explains that the Tiger is on Slade’s side. Red Fury takes them to a cabin and explains Odysseus is Charles Wilson, who Slade remembers killing. He assumes that the same mutations that keep him alive must have been inherited from his father. He also believes that only Jericho could kill Odysseus. Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Amanda Waller Harley Quinn calls Amanda Waller to warn her that Deathstroke is heading to Gotham. And, considering Harley was betrayed by him during a recent Suicide Squad mission, she waits excitedly to see him again.
This great issue takes recent NEW 52 events and tosses them out the window. Specifically, this one issue has managed to retcon a good portion of the 20 issue run of the most recent DEATHSTROKE series. Slade’s father was named Nathaniel in that title and he apparently hadn’t seen him since he was a pre-teen. And, in the final issue, just about everyone in his family, including Slade’s wife, and his sons Grant and Jericho(hell-he runs a sword through Grant’s neck and Jericho’s skull. Now, if that’s not death, I don’t know what is!) So I want to see how Tony S. Daniel is going to paint himself out of this corner. Is in inferring that Tony Bedard and Justin Jordan wrote an imaginary tale?
DETECTIVE COMICS #37: Jeb Lester, allegedly involved in a child trafficking ring, gets set on fire and is thrown through a window at Wayne Tower, tumbling to his death. Meanwhile, the Mad Hatter searches the waterfront for his Alice. Batman arrives and reminds Tetch that he killed his Alice. He tosses the villain into the water and several skulls float to the surface. Back at the Batcave, he has Alfred begin suing facial recognition software to try to identify the victims. At GCPD Headquarters, Harvey Bullock tells his friend Nancy Yip that he is glad the year is ending but is concerned about the anarchy symbols appearing throughout Gotham. They hear of the murder at Wayne Tower and head over to investigate Lester's death. In Lester's office, Bullock notices a countdown on the computer leading Batman, who has just arrived, that the tower will blow up when the countdown ends. He says the building's systems have been hacked and orders the cops to evacuate the building while he tries to disable the system. Locke in and trapped, there is an explosions and Wayne Tower is lit up a flaming anarchy symbol.
I believe this represent the first appearance of Anarky in the NEW 52 Universe. Well, Anarky has not shown up year, but truly has reared its’ ugly head. In addition to that, we have the whole mystery regarding the skulls of the adolescents. Has the Mad Hatter gone off the rails again? Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato turn in another great issue in their run on this title with great looking art and clever scripts.
EARTH 2 #29: Fire balls are falling from the sky at the Chicago Underground and almost kills Barbara Grayson, who gets saved by a hard riding, hard fighting woman named Lottie. She takes the Graysons to Gomorrah: a mini-city located on the old Chicago pier. What looks to be a safe haven turns out to be a hellhole as Lottie takes Johnny away, Dick becomes a slave serving food and Barbara is being sacrificed to a caged parademon that the people of Gomorrah worship. The parademon gets loose, ripping the head off the High Priest of Gomorrah while Dick takes out Lottie and frees Barbara. They take Lottie cycle and head back to the safety of the Chicago Underground.
Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson, along with Andy Smith write a great story that leaves us with an unresolved plot.. Lottie steals Johnny and allegedly takes him to the refugee camp.But that plot is never resolved. As the smiling Graysons race back to the Chicago Underground, all the conversation is about Dick being “sexy” and his wanting to get back to Johnny. But we never see the kid, so how do we know that Lottie actually did what she said. I mean, she did say they were going to this great place when they were just looking for a sacrifice.
EARTH 2 WORLD’S END #9-13: In issue #9, Green Lantern, Sam and Solomon Grundy battle the Furies while the rest of the Avatars create the Avatar of the Blue. At the Chicago Stronghold, Constantine and Brainwave watch as chaos erupts from people that are trying to board the train out before the tidal wave arrives. Unfortunately Barbara Grayson is murdered in from of her husband and son. Meanwhile, in Desaad’s Cloning Facility, the search goes on to kind Helena but it also yields an unexpected discovery: Clark Kent. Batman, who discovers that the Man of Steel can actually bleed, immediately attacks him. The once mighty Kal-El is now powerless. In New York City, Doctor Fate and Jimmy Olsen arrive and restore order. On Apokolips, Mister Terrific, Sandman and Commander Khan prepare their attack while Mister Miracle and the Furies attack Paternus. Miracle gets his hands on the key and heads deep into the Mobius Chamber.
In issue #10, Helena has been turned into one of the Four Furies of Apokolips and battles with Kara. In Chicago, Dick and his son mourn the death of Barbara. It looks like they may have to deal with their own fates until Constantine and his team defends them. Boarding the train, Dick passes his son to Constantine, who passes him to someone else as he goes off to find out why his magic no longer works. On Apokolips, Khan and his team feel they should clear out, as it seems Mister Miracle has a secret that they haven’t been privy to. Instead, they fight their way to the Mobius Chamber. Inside, Mister Miracle encounters Darkseid and asks him all the questions that have been bothering him. He received no reply and renounces the man who may be his father. He uses Mister Terrific’s Boom Spheres to destroy Darkseid. Unfortunately, these actually FREE HIM!
In issue #11, Mister Miracle and company have to fight against a freed Darksied and Barda, who has betrayed the cause and sided with Darkseid.. Fury defeats Barda, but then has to confront Darkseid, who offers her a place by his side, which she accepts. She meets members of the Court of Apokolips, most of whom do not trust her. Tewrry Sloan, also known as The Traveler, slips out from the shadows and tells her how to find Mister Miracle. Freeing him, they head to the Court of Apokolips to spy on a meeting between Sloan and Darkseid. He asks for a deal, one where Earth 2 is destroyed but our Earth is spared, leading Fury and Miracle to declare “death to Darkseid”.
In issue #12, Barda meets with Darkseid, explaining that her Furies are causing destruction all over the planet. Mister Miracle and Fury promise to stand by each other and find retribution. In Desaad’s Labyrinth, Kara battles her former friend who, for just a moment, seems to revert to her old self before betraying her again and fleeing. Kara joins back up with Val, Lois and Kal, who have found the cloning chambers. In Chicago, a still grieving Dick Grayson fights for his life as the tidal wave quickly approaches. Commander Khan and Sloan are preparing to leave Apokolips in the Shackleton Assault Craft when Khan reveals that Sloan is a traitor and has wired the ship to explode. Khan orders everyone off the ship and begins trading blows with Sloan. In St. Louis, Flash, Dr. Fate, Hawkgirl and Jimmy Olsen begin to get the people above ground into the subway as Sato prepares to bring Al Pratt back into service. Above Russia, The Avatars battle the Furies when the newest one arrives: the former Helena Bertinelli.
In issue #13, the battle above Russia continues and the former Huntress, who is now the Fury of Famine, threatens to kill Green lantern’s former fiancée. Alan Scott begs that he be spared and is told that this will mean the deaths of millions instead. In the Underground Tramways Tunnels, Flash, Hawkgirl and Steel try their best to clear the tunnels so refugees from the surface can get through. At the Chicago Stronghold, Ted Grant knocks out a despondent Dick Grayson and flees the tidal wave. Beneath the Fire Pits, Desaad arrives and shows Batman’s team how he has taken control of the Avatar of the Red. Meanwhile, Khan knocks Sloan off of the Shackleton Assault Craft but, before Mister terrific and the others can capture him, he flies away. Khan flies the Shackleton towards Darkseid’s tower on a suicide mission. In the Project Beyond Launch Room, Al Pratt has been shrunk as small as possible and sent deep into the Earth. There, he will grow to the size of ten cities and carve out a place of refuge, even as it costs him his life.
Five action filled, death filled issues of this weekly as the world we know as Earth 2 rapidly gets ready to disappear from the NEW 52 Universe. So, how’s that body count? Barbara Gordon Grayson, Helena Bertinelli (c’mon-she’s a Fury now), Al Pratt, and millions of Earth 2 inhabitants. Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson provide the story with art by Scott McDaniel, Stephen Segovia, Robson Rocha, Eduardo Pansica, Jack Herbert, Jorge Jiménez, Tyler Kirkham, Eddy Barrows, Paulo Siquiera, and the legendary Jan Duursema. Time is drawing near for this series to end. Who will be left standing when it does?
THE FLASH #37: Selkirk brings The Flash the human settlement known as The Outpost that is home to many speedsters throughout history have been lost. Paleo Indians raiders riding robotic dinosaurs attack. The raiders came from America during the Pleistocene Era. Barry helps defend the Outpost with the flintlock pistol he was given and Selkirk promises to help get Barry home. Meanwhile, in Central City, Iris has discovered refrigerated trucks filled with the bodies of people who died during the Crime Syndicate's attack and that the Mayor’s office condoned it. The Barry Allen from the Future offers to work on identifying the bodies. The police department’s pathologist is working on a victim from the college who died mysteriously and discovers his heart was pureed from the inside. Patty knows that the only persons who could have done this is the Reverse-Flash and Barry. Later, Patty and Barry have dinner where he promises to track down the killer. As they walk home, a man is talking on his cellphone while riding in a horse and carriage. The driver becomes annoyed, causes cellphone to explode, and blow the rider’s head off.
Robert Venditti, Van Jensen with Brett Booth gave us an average issue here. It didn’t have as much action as previous issues, but enough to keep this book on the top of anyone’s list. At the same time, this title has made so many changes to the Flash mythos that die-hard fans can’t stand it. I agree with some of that feeling because I still have issues with Wally West being a punk and Barry now being with Iris. But at the same time, I look at it as a new adventure and what the heck: things are probably going to change after CONVERGENCE anyway.
GOTHAM ACADEMY #3: Olive Silverlock finds herself in detention because of the fire she caused. While there, Colton tells her to be his lookout so he can break into the headmaster's office. Lucy screams that she has seen a ghost that may be the ghost of Millie Jane Cobblepot. Pomeline claims she summoned the ghost with her Order of the Bat. Later, Olive meets up with Pomeline who tells her to never say anything about her mother which Pomeline promises to do. Pomeline's boyfriend Heathcliff arrives and Olive asks him why he is involved with the Order of the Bat. He admits he is doing it for her. Kyle shows up and takes Olive to the river, where she explains that she still cares about him and that her mom is in a possible life-ending coma. Later, Maps is looking through her binoculars and sees a pair of glowing eyes looking out from the north hall. The next day, Maps delivers an invitation for Colton to meet them and he manages to open the doors to the north hall. Olive suffers a flashback of having been there before and insists they need to leave as she feels something is in there with them. Colton discovers a hole in the floor surrounded by markings. Pomeline takes pictures of the markings with her phone and accidentally drops it in a hole. When she reaches in to retrieve it, something grabs her arm.
This is like a bad version of Harry Potter without the wizards. Or any warlocks. Or anything even cool. This is a train wreck. Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl are responsible. That is all.
GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #2: Jim Corrigan and Sgt. Rook are in the abandoned schoolhouse with some missing children and a ghost nun. Corrigan plays the tone of a school bell through his phone and that ends the school and the haunting. Calling in the case to Lt. Weaver, he asks Rook how he would write this up for Internal Affairs. Meanwhile, Det. Drake tells Sister Justine to leave the Atwood house because she is freaking out the Atwood girls. Sister Justine recalls how she had seen drooling green stuff into the mouths of sleeping men in the shelter. Later, the priest transformed into a hideous creature and said he planned on drooling the green stuff into her mouth. That was when The Spectre came in an issued vengeance upon all but Sister Justine, who was pure enough to withstand his revenge. Turning back to Corrigan, he suggested she help him on the cases he works. Her purity was so rare as to be an asset. Back at the Precinct, Jim explains to Sister Justine that the children were afraid of someone who looked like her. She mentions that the recordings of the strange language are actually the names of the creatures Father Keller and Sister Clara had worshipped. Corrigan explains that the children need to be quarantined before this epidemic spreads.
Ray Fawkes and Ben Templesmith continue their journey into the supernatural side of Gotham City. And, as I stated last month, I do not expect DC to fully support this book and I don’t expect the fans to either. They supernatural side of the DCU has not exactly met with great support from the fans, with the exception of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. If this was a straight out SPECTRE book, old school like the Michael Fleisher/ Jim Aparo Spectre who dealt vengeance that pushed the boundaries of the Comic Code, it would be in demand. And Templesmith’s art is either hit or miss with fans and there is no in-between. Personally, I like it and hope it continues. But…don’t hold your breath!
GRAYSON #5: We begin with Helena trying to pilot a damaged plane while Dick and Midnighter try to deliver a baby in the back of the plane. She manages to land it on a sand dune but the mother dies giving birth. With few supplies and hundreds of miles ahead of them, the trio take the baby and head out. Two days into their journey, Midnighter suggests they use the baby’s metahuman heart to help them survive. Helena threatens him with a knife and that ends the discussion. On the fourth day, Helena collapses. Dick builds a makeshift tent for her and the trio continues their journey. Midnighter insists that Spyral is going to kill the baby and use the heart. By the seventh day, Midnighter can go no further. Dick leaves him a canteen of water and moves on. Over the next two days, Dick tells the baby a story. By the ninth day, Dick begins to lose consciousness. On the tenth day, a truck driver spots Dick and the baby lying in the sand. He and his wife had been hoping for a child and now they had one. Some time later, Mr. Minos debriefed Helena and Dick and Agent 19 was part of an exchange that sent Midnighter to Stormwatch. Dick claimed that the child had been lost in the crash. In actuality, Dick Grayson left the child with the couple that saved them.
Why do I love this book so much, or at least am getting to totally enjoy it. Old times fans like me will note that the title of this issue is “Everyone Dies At Dawn”. Is a nod to a classic BATMAN story entitled “Robin Dies at Dawn”. Now I have to admit that I had to do some research to find some of this out but, but that story, by the legendary Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, appeared on the front cover and second story of BATMAN #156, way WAY back in 1963. The significance of all this is that the story Robin tells the baby IS THAT STORY. Now, there is no need to the fine folks at DC to do that, but Tim Seeley, Tom King and Mikel Janín DID! For an old comic geek like me, that is one of the coolest things. So, keep on doing what you guys are doing. I am actually getting used to Robin being a international spy.
GRAYSON ANNUAL #1: In Dublin, Rock tells his friend Paddy that he has captured Helena Bertinelli. Paddy arranges a meeting between Rock and Claire, who wants to know how he came upon her. He explains how he needed reconstructive surgery after an accident while making a bomb and came to Ireland to recuperate. He happened to notice her watching him one day because his head one negated the effects of her hypnos. He kidnapped her, put an explosive device on her and put her in his trunk. Claire doesn’t trust him, puts a gun to his head and calls her contact in Gotham, Matches Malone. She agrees to take him tomorrow to meet with St. Francis, so they can do the deal. When they arrive, Rock is surprised to see St. Francis is dressed as a monk and has a strange green glow around him. Rock shakes his hand and proceeds to knock him out. He removes his disguise to reveal he is Dick Grayson and now Helena has joined him. Later, Paddy finds himself held at gunpoint as Claire has no memory of what happened. She tells him she will have her own story to tell her bosses and kills him.
And the moral of the story: if you are talking to Matches Malone as your “go to guy”, you may have a problem. This issue was just okay, especially for an over sized annual. But I figured out from the start that Rock was Grayson in disguise and the story took way to long to get from Point A to Point B. The continuing story throughout about the ancient Irish warrior wore thin with me to the point of wanting to skip over it and get to the good stuff. Unfotunately, the best stuff in this tale by Tom King, Tim Seeley with art by Stephen Mooney was having an allegedly drunk Rock singing WHISKEY IN THE JAR. Somewhere, Phil Lynott has cracked a smile over that one.
GREEN ARROW #37: ‘The King’ has hired Tommy Merlyn to capture Mia Dearden. Oliver catches up with him but loses him when they pass under a tunnel. Meanwhile, Katana visits a priest who, after some persuasion on her part, admits he is working for ‘The King’. She decides knocks him unconscious and vows that Soultaker will take him soon. Mia explains John King is her father and she saw him murder her mother. She has stolen a USB that Felicity cracks, discovering almost ten thousand names on it. Oliver calls Zehra to set up a meeting with John King and that means getting extra invitations to a fundraiser for that night. King explains that he knows Oliver is the Green Arrow. Soon, Oliver is facing a roomful of guns. King opens a glass panel and Oliver, John, and Felicity are suck outside and high above Seattle. Luckily, Green Lantern arrives in time to save them.
Ben Sokolowski, Andrew Kreisberg and Daniel Sampere continue again to try and recreate some kind of energy that the last creative team gave us. Unfortunately, they have a big mountain to climb to get there. The issue has some good moments in it, but now Green Arrow has gone back to being just a superhero without any powers and a bow instead of this cool looking vigilante discovering his legacy. And now that the whole Clan thing is over and done with, we have just kind of left his sister and Shado off in someplace other than here? A mini-series would be nice.
GREEN LANTERN #37: Previously reviewed as part of GODHEAD ACT 3.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #37: Previously reviewed as part of GODHEAD ACT 3.
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #37: Previously reviewed as part of of GODHEAD ACT 3.
HARLEY QUINN #13: Power Girl and Harley Quinn battle Sportsmaster and the Clock King, resulting in an explosion that may have killed Sportsmaster. So Clock king turns back time to save him. Back at Harley's place, Big Tony reminds that Power Girl that she is going to be a strong woman in that night’s show.She dresses in an outfit that Harley and Eggy picked out and makes her debut as Beatriz La Bomba. After being hit on the head with a falling stage-light, the audience begins to suspect she may be Power Girl, so Tony lets the squirrel monkeys loose! While she fights with the creatures, Harley finds out that Clock King and Sportsmaster are on the loose and they head to Central Park where Power Girl has an interesting conversation with a mugger. Harley dispatches Clock King and Sportsmaster by wounding them with the mugger's gun.Harley tells Power Girl her origin story, since she has no memory. She says she was born in Nebraska and her parents had gained their powers from a meteor they were exposed to.A bird poops on Power Girl's head, causing her memory to return. After Harley explains what she did, it seems all is forgiven. Then Harley makes an inappropriate remark that results in her being tied to the Eiffel Tower.
While I don’t expect this book to disappear anytime soon, what with a Suicide Squad movie on the way, I do think that Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin may have hit a creative wall. The book has deteriorated to bad T&A jokes and we have a bird pooping on Power Girl’s head to bring her memory back. And Jimmy and Amanda have themselves drawn into a panel during the strong woman show. They are the couple asking Power Girl to marry them. Speaking of walls, the creative team does allow Harley to break through the Fourth Wall. Tony suggests a sitcom starring Harley and company and she says that’s a gimmick to be saved for something like HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1 or the HARLEY QUINN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1. Sorry DC: this ain’t DEADPOOL!
HARLEY QUINN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1: Harley Quinn decides to give out several litters of kittens and puppies as holiday gifts by going to the mall and putting them into people’s packages. She gives away a pug that she decides after that she really wants. So she beaks into the police station and forces an officer to give her the address of the person she gave the dog to. She steals a Hummer and heads towards Queens. She gets into the house where he is, drinks eggnog and falls asleep under the tree. In the morning, Cindy wakes up and goes to the tree where she sees Harley and the pug. Her father tells Harley she can stay here and can’t leave unless she proves to Cindy that she is a bad toy. After a whole host of incidents, Cindy admits she knows Harley isn’t a toy and they have a plan to make things in the house like they were when her mom was still there. Harley chases Cindy around with an axe, causing Cindy’s father to step in and protect his little girl. Harley returns home to find a holiday party in her loft.
In the second story, Harley hears something humming "Jingle Bells" in her ear drum.
She makes her way to the store's Santa display and asks for help. He lays her across his lap and sticks a candy cane in her ear. The creature inside her ear takes a bite out of it and Santa pulls it out, explaining the creature is a humbug. Later, at the kosher deli, Harley, Santa, and the humbug wish everyone Shalom and Chag Sameach.
In the third story, it’s New Year's Eve and Harley finds she has a gray hair which Big Tony tells her to blame on Father Time. She decides if she can keep Father Time from welcoming the New Year's Baby, she won't get older. She goes to Assisted Living facility intent on saving the life of Harold Tyme. She goes to his room where she sees his granddaughter Lillian and believes she is the New Year's Baby. As she comes to realize that time can't be stopped, Lillian pulls the gray hair out. Harley assumes the baby turned back time and calls the Tyme family her family.As she calls for her dogs, she finds out they have all found new homes with the elderly patients. She waves goodbye to them and believes this will be the best New Years ever.
Well, I would like this five bucks back. And I’m a Harley Quinn fan! All three stories were by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner with art by Mauricet, Brandt Peters, and Darwyn Cooke. Now, the last story was the best of the three but that owes a lot to Darwyn Cooke’s art. The jokes were okay and the art was on and off. So, does that mean that we can expect a Valentine’s Day Special too, since there seems to be a Harley Quinn Special for every season.
INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE #6: While Guy Gardner battles the Forever People, they activate their Mother Box and Infinity Man arrives. Guy tries to vomits blood on him and he repels it right back onto Guy. B’Dog arranges to a giant robot construct to be built to battle Infinity Man, which results in a battle that destroys part of the city. Infinity Man puts Gardner to sleep and then, seeing King Faraday in the wreckage, offers to help him. Later, B’Dog explains to the Forever People that the Lanterns need to handle the Godshead crisis. Big Bear makes the decision that they must kill Highfather if they ever want to be free of Infinity Man.
First off, we have a futile attempt at tying this into GODSHEAD in the form of B’Dog explaining the battle with Highfather that all of the Lanterns have been involved with. Three pages from the end of the book makes this a tie-in? Second, when did the Forever People EVER want to be separated from Infinity Man and how do you do that? Kill Highfather? Well, if the Lanterns couldn’t, can they? Dan Didio and Keith Giffen gives us a Boston joke which only New Englanders and baseball fans will get, King Faraday(can we call this a FUTURE’S END tie-in too?) and a battle straight out of the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS. On the plus side, Tom Grummett’s art looks awesome!
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000: Blue Beetles and Booster Gold have a conversation with Sherrif Tariq about how they ended up on Takron-Galtos and what they remember before their placement into a cryogenic chamber. Terry is aware of the heroes being awakened and is okay with letting them roam around the planet and seeing the sights for the next week, when he puts an order out to have them at Cadmus for studying. Come to find out, there is a rather overweight guy wearing one of Beetle’s old suits and trying to be a hero. Meanwhile on Camelot Nine, Superman suggests they call their group Team Superman while Wonder Woman is out helping Arthur’s cause by killing demons. Back on Old Earth, Booster and Beetle find the place where Beetle kept his extra Bug Ship and get attacked by the overweight imposter who insists it is HIS ship. Realizing they are outgunned, they decide to run away. But mutated creatures and the guy in the Bug Ship trap them. How are they gonna get out of this one?
This is a book you either love or hate and personally, I have a ball with every issue. This is no exception at J.M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen and Howard Porter walk the fine line between silly, super silly and cool. The boys are back, Ted Kord isn’t dead, references are made to Maxwell Lord and Elongated Man and we have a pudgy Blue Beetle imposter. Plus you get Superman wanting to call this whole thing Team Superman. This is taking silly to a whole new level of goodness! And, don’t forget to check out the cameos in the streets of Takron-Galtos including J’onn J’Onzz, Despero, Frankenstein and Starro the Conqueror. This is a much better title than the Canadain League and should be on your list!
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