DC NEW 52, Month 38, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #38: As a boy, Clark battled a monster in a flaming cornfield with results that brought the fire inside the school. Today, Clark wakes and realizes that the monster he fought then is the same one attacking Smallville now. Going to his family home, he finds his parents corpses ready to serve him breakfast. The creature shows itself, with Lana in its tentacles, and leaves, causing the corpses of Clark’s parents to collapse. Steel and Hiro head to the farm where they have learned that they can kill the creatures attached to them but the physical pain is tremendous. Clark’s elementary school teacher explains that she and Mr. Santiago got their powers from Brainiac's attack.  Santiago explains that they have been using their powers to create the mist and hold back the crack to the Phantom Zone. When Superman tried to break apart the mist, the crack grew wider and more creatures, which feed on fear, came out. He is told to kill the creatures so they can close the portal. Just then, the creature on the back of one of the children grows larger and uses Lana’s voice to tell Clark to give up and feed the monster on his back.

Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder and Jae Lee bring what I hope will be the penultimate chapter in this saga. Pak’s writing is great and letting Kuder and Lee work on the book is killer! I just am getting tired of this story. Can we please move on to something else? You know: get this done and give us a fill-in before CONVERGENCE.

AQUAMAN #38: Grodd and Aquaman make their way into the Labyrinth of Monsters before Aquaman makes his way back through the portal without him. Shin and Evans arrive through the portal with news of how the Atlanteans knew how to reach pocket dimensions. Shin believes the Maelstrom will lead to the place where Aquaman’s mother had gone. Aquaman and Mera go through the gate and land in Polynesia and are attacked by giant stone statues. Defeating them and gaining a trident in the process, they pass through the Maelstrom gate where a very angry Atlanna awaits. 

Let’s see how Arthur gets out of invading his mom’s land. I bet he gets more than just a spanking. Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier turn in a fun issue that reminds me to the classic days of Haney and Aparo. But since we don’t have Haney and Aparo, I’ll setlle for this. Let’s hope that the next team, coming following CONVERGENCE, can do this character justice.

AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #9: Gary Korec has possessed the body of Dominick Torrez and is in the process of trying to kill the man who killed him: Cole Sr. Seems that Korec was working with Cole and accidentally was killed during a fight with the KGBeast. Cole fights back and, with Ya’Wara’s help, gets away. Korec meets with KGBeast as we learn that he was once a Soviet plant who was trying to help the Beast escape when he was killed. Torrez returns, claiming he has taken control of his body again. Meanwhile, Vostok discovers that he is only a clone of someone who was one of four clones and whose abusive family left him bitter. He also learns that he became an orphan after his mother was purposely killed by a hit and run driver. The Beast tries to convince him to join his team and leave the Others. Back on earth, Korec proves he was faking, shoots Ya’Wara and steals the launch codes, which he sends to Mayhem.

Dan Jurgens and Lan Medina provide another winner this time. While I am getting annoyed with this title and will be glad to see it go, the creative team has upped the ante recently and turned out some really good issues. Vostok finds the truth about himself while Torrez has a dead traitor possessing him. This has a very Eighties feel to it…but in a good way!

ARKHAM MANOR #4: Bruce discovers that a piece of Clayface has been infected by Joker Venom. In the middle of it all, Sybil Silverlock escapes. Bruce then decides to get help from Mr. Freeze and gets to use his liquid nitrogen on Clayface. In return, he promises Freeze an escape out of the manor. Later, in the Batcave, Alfred taunts Hush by cooking a delicious meal for Bruce and serving Tommy Elliot gruel. Bruce then returns to the manor as Batman and tells Arkham he knows who the killer is and that Arkham is the next victim. Batman climbs into the ceiling and tells the doctor to put the building on lockdown.

Well…we all know that The Joker has been hiding out as part of the staff, but is HE the killer? Or is it someone else. This book, that ends with CONVERGENCE, has been a ball to read and the art hasn’t been that bad either. Nice work here by Gerry Duggan and Shawn Crystal.

BATGIRL #38: Batgirl has become a social media celebrity, much to the concern of Dinah. Barbara tells her that if this is a problem, she needs to pack her things and go, which she does. Later, while on a date with Liam, where she vents about the situation with Dinah. Paparazzi are hounding Jordan Barberi, whose is making his living on a reality show called Gotham Heights. He also remarks that Batgirl makes things worse for crooks by acting as a vigilante. Back at her apartment, Frankie is trying to get a virus off the Hooq servers and tells Barbara that Dinah is probably staying with the band she is in. Later, Barbara gripes to Nadimah how she is going to have to meet with Professor Krupke, even though her thesis is lost and she will never be able to rewrite the millions of lines of code she lost. Batgirl heads to a bar to scout out Barberi, only to find Dinah's band playing. He comes over and challenges her to a drag race. Drunk, he heads off and she gives chase, leading to him crashing into a diner. Liam arrives and attempts to arrest her, but she throws a smoke grenade and escapes. The next day, Liam rants about how Batgirl destroyed his favorite coffee shop before apologizing for behaving like this when she is having problems with her brother. As he leaves momentarily, she realizes she never mention her brother to him. Liam's phone begins ringing with a call from Barbara, even though it isn’t her. She answers it and the person on the other ends promises to tell Liam all her secrets.

I cannot believe this title is still going. I cannot believe we have dumbed down such classic characters. I cannot believe that Dinah is now singing in a rock band-what universe did we fall into? And DC claims this is a hit thanks to Cameron Stewart(the Eisner Award and Shuster Award-winning Cameron Stewart), Brenden Fletcher (who also writes the equally awful GOTHAM ACADEMY And is being rewarded with the NEW BLACK CANARY title) and Babs Tarr. Already, the comics world is referring to DC’s planned revamp towards a new audience as the “Batgirling” of the line. Sounds like they are bending over backwards to be politically correct.

BATMAN #38: Batman and Duke head toward Jim Gordon’s apartment in Foundry Square and finds his friend with a hatchet in his chest. Duke goes to the bathroom for a first aid kit, as Gordon removes the hatchet and, affected by the Joker Venom, turns on Batman. Julia hits him with two tranquilizer darts, knocking him out. She then informs Batman that the venom causes cellular degeneration and is fatal. As he searches for the person responsible for the toxin, Dick calls Batman and says the sample he has, which is from The Joker. Realizing the Joker cannot die, he realizes he needs the Joker’s blood to counter the Venom. Dick and Bruce narrow the suspects down to three people who were connected to Arkham: Dr. Karl Helfern, Dr. Hugo Strange, and Dr. Paul Dekker. Helfern is dead, Strange is not in Gotham and that just leaves Dekker, who had been released a year and a half ago by Eric Border (AKA The Joker). Dick claims there is nothing to do to defeat him as he can’t be killed, as poisoned the city and knows Batman’s real identity. Batman goes to Dekker’s old lab and is attacked by Dekker himself, who tells him of the three people who have been affected by it over the years: The Savage, The Demon and the pale man who laughs. As Batman dangles the former villain known as Crazy Quite out a window looking for answers, Dekker says that The Joker has lived for centuries. Julia calls and says that the virus runs its’ course in 24 hours. And, by using facial recognition software, it seems that The Joker is in numerous photos from Gotham's history. Dekker injects himself and begins to rot, falling to the crowd below who tear him apart. Batman is desperate now and heads to the Court of Owls for information and help.

In the second story, Cassidy talks about his secret mission in the military where people were being trained to be Batman. Upon returning home, he cracked into a computer and was booted out of the military. He did some research and found documents from Zero Year that suggested a secret base in Gotham and an army of Batmen. He ended up in Arkham where The Joker claimed that HE was the first of the Batmen and he wanted Cassidy to go to the heart in the middle of the city. And that is where Mahreen is being taken to.

Wow! Wow! WOW! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo rewrite history and make the Joker immortal, joining Vandal Savage and Ra’s al Ghul. I have nothing more to say about this except this is stiull the one book that ALWAYS gets read the minute I get my hands on it. The second story, which is just a little long and boring for my taste, is highlight by artwork from Sam Kieth. Oh my: THE MAXX’ Sam Keith? Nice to see his work after so long and it fits the very dreamlike feel of this story. The next two issues will finish the story, just in time for CONVERGENCE.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #38: Batman and Damian go out on patrol while Damian complains that he wants to go out alone and test out his new powers. Batman quickly shoots that down. Running into a gang of crooks who fire on them, Damian jumps in front of the gunman, and the bullets bounce off him. He follows that up by crushing the gun in his hands. Having dispatched them, Damian insists on flying back to the car with no results, as Batman grabs him by the ankles, throws him into the Batmobile and grounds him for the rest of the week. That night, Damian has a nightmare involving his mother and grandfather and heads off to the island where he was born. After destroying the equipment that led to him and the other Sons of Batman being born, he tracks down Aquaman, and demands that the other Sons of Batman be turned over to him. He does and brings them to the surface in specially designed air bubbles. Once there, Damian opens the bubbles and explains that they are free and the island belongs to them. With that, he leaves.

What started out as just another Batman and Robin story, with a super-powered Robin, turned into this sweet and kind of melancholy tale of Damian and his brothers. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason so hit a Home Run with this story. It looks fantastic and was so touching to read. With this title ending  in March, I am very curious to see how the replacement title fares. Personally, I think it’s going to be a winner.

BATMAN ETERNAL #40-43: In issue #40, Batman's enemies have been handed gadgets that once belonged to him to use against him. Selina Kyle arrives and claims that they should join her or else. Firefly torches her limo and it blows up, with her inside. With Clayface taking Batman’s identity, the villains prepare to attack Gotham. Selina, having escaped the blast, gets into a waiting car driven by Killer Croc. She sets about looking at bounties and discovers that there is a big one on the head of Stephanie Brown. Meanwhile, an intern named Patrick has shot Warren Spacey and it looks like Vicki Vale might be next. She manages to spray mace in his face and knocks him out with his own gun before calling 911. Also, Batman and The Riddler get out from the avalanche that buried them, even as Nygma begs Batman not to go to Gotham, saying they will die there. Lastly, Jim Corrigan and Maxie Zeus, no longer possessed by Deacon Blackfire, finally get out of the tunnels beneath Arkham.

In issue #41, Red Robin and Batgirl help Harper Row get involved with The Mad Hatter, who they think is responsible for framing Jim Gordon. He claims that his tech had been stolen, but he sends his nanobots after Robin, who orders Harper away. She returns to her apartment, leaves a video message for her brother, makes a costume and heads out. Meanwhile, Stephanie Brown fights off another assassin, who claims he was hired to protect her. His ruse allows him to knock her unconscious.

In issue #42, Harper Row heads off to save the mind-controlled Batgirl, Red Robin, and Red Hood, along with her brother Cullen. Getting inside, she finds herself attacked by the infected, including the four she specifically came to save. As Hatter attempts to infect her, she manages to get his hat and use it to destroys his antenna device and free everyone. As the Hatter tries to escape, Batman arrives and wants to know who he is working for. The Hatter cannot tell him but the Caped Crusader finds another invitation to the devastation of Gotham in Jervis’ pocket. Meanwhile, Stephanie wakes to find herself in her bad with her mother telling her she sent Killshot to find her. Later, she finds her mother tied up and gagged and soon finds herself chloroformed by Selina Kyle.

In issue #43, Batman meets with Harper, who now calls herself Bluebird to have her watch and protect Stephanie Brown, who is getting friendly with Harper’s brother. Flashing back six hours, we find Stephanie held captive at The Egyptian, with a $200 million dollar bounty on her head. At the same time, Tim Drake met with Harper to have her get into The Egyptian and activate a device that will allow them to find and retrieve Stephanie. Selina discovers that someone has snuck into the casino with an old password as Bluebird and Batman fought their way to where Stephanie was being held. Selina turns her over to Batman, who Stephanie fears more than being out on the streets. Returning to the present, Stephanie reveals that she cannot trust Batman because the man who was giving her father order was Bruce Wayne.

With everything happening here at the same time at BATMAN #28, it might get a little confusing. Especially when you realize that was 10 months ago. So, go back and check your books…I’ll wait. Actually, I’ll help you. Harper and Batman make their way into The Egyptian where they meet the only person who knows how to stop what is coming: Stephanie. This preview introduced readers to BATMAN ETERNAL. NOW…it makes sense. 10 months back, it just seemed…weird. Now that we have covered that, let’s just say this is another series of killer issues leading towards what should be a killer compulsion. Thanks to Ray Fawkes, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins, Tim Seeley with art by David Furno, Joe Quinones, Jed Dougherty and David Lafuente, we are that much closer to finding out the mastermind. And really-think about it. Who do you know that hates Batman and Bruce Wayne specifically THAT MUCH? C’mon: you know who it is. Just say it. Yep-you’re right.

BATMAN SUPERMAN #18: While Carlos Gutierrez' is buried, Superman looks for his killer. When he goes to use the repository of Kryptonian knowledge at the Fortress, Supergirl warns him if he breaks the Fortress, they may not be able to retrieve Kandor from the Phantom Zone. Lois calls Superman and mentions their secret romance, leading Superman to realize that Batman is using her as bait. Superman arrives at Lois’ location just in time to stop the bullet fired at her, but it turns and heads towards Batman. Batman is wearing body armor containing Kryptonite and the bullet is really a dead Kandorian. They take the Kandorian, Kan Ko,  to the Ant Farm for study. Lois thinks that Brainiac is responsible although Batman feels the killer does not fit the profile. Ray Palmer discovers a circle of melted glass in the Black Sand Desert in Iceland. In the center of it is a bottle that could be Kandor.

Greg Pak and Ardian Syaf keep sliding hints in but haven’t revealed the guilty party yet. And apparently won’t any time soon. The story is awesome and Syaf’ art really it at its’ apex. These guys have two months to wrap this up before CONVERGENCE arrives. They are professionals so I know they can do it. I just hope that they don’t race through the story to achieve the conclusion and ruin it in the process.

BATWOMAN #38: Morgaine le Fey faces off against Batwoman and Etrigan when Ragman crashes through the window and joins the battle. The Demon breaks a gas line and lights it up, causing the building to explode but not before Batwoman, Ragman and Clayface get out. Fearing that Morgaine might gain control of Clayface again, Ragman offers to take him so he can help him find his memories. Batwoman returns to the site of the explosion and ends up in a verbal confrontation with Maggie Sawyer. Elsewhere, Alex Witherspoon is found murdered. Batwoman returns to her penthouse and soon Nocturna arrives and demands that she not see Maggie anymore. She also tells Kate to prove her love to her as she licks her neck. Ragman has put Clayface in his bathtub and goes to get a bite. When he truens around, Clayface is there warning that Morgaine will kill again. And she does, as she realizes she needs a new body. She finds that in the form of a babysitter. After Nocturna leaves, Kate gets an unpleasant surprise from her sister.

This book is so far away from the greatness it once was. Marc Andreyko and Juan Jose Ryp are trying their best, but we all know the book ends in two months and it’s obvious the creative team no longer has their heart in it. And that’s a shame as this was such a great title until DC Editorial PISSED OFF the creative team and well-this is what you get. It’s nice to see Ragman, but a shame to see the star of our book being left as a supporting player.

CATWOMAN #38: As we have seen, Selina has had her cousin Nick killed for being an informer. Now she has received an invitation from Black Mask that she accepts, although she knows it is probably a trap. When one of Black Mask’s men pulls a gun on her, she stabs him through his hand with the sharpened heel of her shoe, warning the next time she will wear these shows when she walks on his grave. That night, as Selina and Antonia watch the guns being loaded into a tanker and getting them out of the city, Batman arrives. She asks him to trust her and, shortly there after, the police arrive, arresting Antonia and the Falcone criminals working the job. Eiko, dressed as Catwoman, arrives and claims to be here to stop the arms deal. Later, Eiko's father ends up being unhappy on how the deal went down and orders her to meet with Black Mask. At police headquarters, Antonia tells Detective Keyes that they are caught in the middle of a feud with the Calabreses. While she is being bailed out, Selina is watching the meeting amongst some of the families where they end up deadlocked as The Penguin abstains. Later, Selina is saved from being hit by a car by Aiden Mason who tells her he would never let anything happen to his sister.

What?! Did I miss something? Aiden Mason, who seems prepared to have Antonia killed, claims he is Selina’s brother. Who hasn’t Rex Calabrese managed to father? Anyway, I am starting to get used to Genevieve Valentine and Garry Brown’s portrayal of the former Catwoman as crime boss of Gotham, although I miss the catsuit as worn by Selina Kyle. Eiko as the wanna-be Catwoman just does not work for me and I’m sure it works a lot less for The Dark Knight

CONSTANTINE #21: Doctor Fate is offering help to both John Constantines by suggesting that our Constantine put on the Helm of Fate. But he knows this will allow the Helm to gain a new host and also that the other Constantine is the one who deserves to live. Knowing something must be done as the Parademons attack, our Constantine thrusts a knife into his Earth 2 version, which gives him more power to complete his spell. Fate leaves and John’s double’s family attack him. Maureen, the deceased’s girlfriend, tightens her grip on him and he begins to pass out, just as the spell starts to work.

As part of the shake-up following CONVERGENCE, John Constantine will still have a book-just a slightly different one. And that’s good, considering we now have only ONE John Constantine to deal with. The question is will the OTHER John Constantine’s family survive the end of Earth 2 and become part of Constantine’s family? My guess is a strong no, but who knows. With Ray Fawkes and Jeremy Haun behind it, anything is possible.

DEATHSTROKE #4: Slade and Red Fury have captured Bronze Tiger and a false memory is implanted to make Odysseus believe Slade is dead. Slade injects Red Fury with truth serum and that leads to a fight where Red Fury’s cleavage is revealed. This is Kendal James of the Dead Bastards: a group that helps the CIA and Interpol. Victor Ruiz, arrives to put a plan they put in place is to keep Odysseus from finding Jericho, which makes Slade agree to kill his father. Meanwhile, Odysseus suggests that Lady Shiva become leader of the League of Assassins. Bronze Tiger arrives, says he killed Deathstroke and tells them they can find Jericho in Gotham City. Jericho IS in Gotham and gets saved from a mugging by his sister Rose. In Gotham, Slade meets with Harley Quinn and begs her to help him find Rose in exchange for free her from Amanda Waller’s control. She leads him to an abandoned Middle School filled with decapitated corpses. Just as he realizes that he has been set up, Batman arrives. Harley will get her revenge for Slade’s betrayal of the Suicide Squad.

This title has more plot turns in it that a bad soap opera. And more action and more blood too! Tony S. Daniel does a great job with the art and his writing skills is not that bad either. But I do have to ask the question: now that he has two good eyes again, how did Slade NOT notice that Red Fury was a woman? Really? How bulky a costume must you be wearing to convince his that you are NOT a woman? Sorry, I just can’t buy that one.

DETECTIVE COMICS #38: Batman has used a compound to stop the fire at Wayne Towers but not before Anarky has burned a huge A into the side of the building. Anarky goes on television, declaring he has erased everyone’s digital presence and left each of them a blank mask as his Christmas present to them. The following morning City Councilman Sam Young goes on television to criticize the Mayor and then is quizzed by Bullock and Yip about Jeb Lester. Masquerading as Matches Malone, he gets a former hacker named Lonnie to tell him he sold the back-door entry key to WayneTech to Lester. Then he visits the Mad Hatter and tries to get him to admit he killed the children whose bodies he had found. A call from Alfred sends Batman to a hostage situation at the Gotham National Bank. One of the crooks steals a police car and takes off with a hostage, who grabs the wheel and causes a crash. The crook leads Yip and Bullock on a foot chase, causing Yip to take a shot at him, even with a crowd of people in the line of fire. Her shot kills Lonnie and the crowd blames Batman.

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato continue to totally reinvent this title. As they had done on THE FLASH, they have proven to be a great writer/artist combination. I am thrilled that this team will stay on the book following CONVERGENCE because this title is truly awesome.

EARTH 2 #30: Sam Zhou’s early life is told. When he dies, he is chosen to become the Avatar of the White. At the same moment, Alan Scott became the Avatar of the Green. Solomon Grundy had already been chosen as the Avatar of the Black. In Ancient Atlantis, Azathoth is chosen to become the Avatar of the Blue. In Mexico, Hermanito Montez is chosen as the Avatar of the red, but his sister Yolanda takes his place to save his life.  Now the five of them stand ready to try to save Earth 2.

The countdown to the end continues, so we get a minor rest from the action here so we can have the origins of the Avatars of Earth 2. Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson provide the story while Andy Smith, Tyler Kirkham, and Cliff Richards give us the illustrations. With only a few issues to go, I am curious to see how this is going to get sewn up.

EARTH 2 WORLD’S END #14-17: In issue #14, Commander Khan is ready to sacrifice himself to destroy Apokolips but Darkseid destroys Khan and the assault craft he flies with his Omega Beams. Meanwhile, Atom’s Haven opens up to the refugees from above. Jimmy Olsen, who is now connected through a Mother Box, informs Major Sato that she is in charge with the death of Commander Khan. Flash and Hawkgirl head to London and find the remains of Famine. In Chicago, Ted Grant teaches Dick Grayson how to fight so he can go find his son. In the Geneva Firepit, our heroes attempt to separate the Red Avatar from Desaad’s clutches. Near Siberia, the Avatars of the Earth have their powers enhanced by the Parliament of the Earth. Inside the Slums of Apokolips,  Sandman triggers a nuclear bomb to blow up Apokolips.

In issue #15, on Apokolips, Barda meets with Darkseid and is given orders to awaken the horde. On Amazonia, Jimmy Olsen’s Mother Box is called back to Mister Miracle, leading to speculation that the mission on Apokolips was a success. Flash and Hawkgirl learn from Famine that her sisters can be stopped, but at a heavy cost. In Russia, the Avatars battle the Sisters of the Apokolips, including the transformed Huntress. They learn that War is Tamaranean, Pestilence is Czarnian and Death is a Martian.In Chacago, Dick Grayson continues to search for his missing son. He finds Johnny’s teddy bear and hope’s that means he is still alive. In the labyrinth of Desaad, Superman sacrifices himself one last time to save his friends.

In issue #16, as the heroes mourn  Kal-El, the Avatar of the Red helps them escape from the Labyrinth of Desaad. In Russia, the toehr Avatars continue their fight against the Sisters of Apokolips when the Red Avatar arrives to lend a hand. Since she was being used to run the firepits, the Parademons no longer have power and begin to die. Val and kara find a place to bury Kal as Lois gives Kara the crest of El from off Superman’s costume. It melds to her costume, changing it forever. In Amazonia, Mister Miracle and his team return to be told that Terry Sloan has been hiding a craft capable of holding a hundred thousand people and they need to get it. Val, Kara and Lois head to Russia and  join in the battle, finally freeing Helena from the evil that possessed her. 

In issue #17, in Russia, the heroes take care of Helena, now that she is freed from the control of Apokolips, by letting Batman inject her with Venom. Meanwhile, Death gives birth to the Deathspawn of Apokolips, which heads off for the Parliament of Earth. In the Crypt of Desaad, Big Barda tells him what a failure he is and gathers an army of Protofuries to go destroy the last humans on Earth 2. In China, Hawkgirl and The Flash help Famine to safety when they are attacked by the Protofuries. Meanwhile, Lois, Val and Kara head to Atom’s Haven and engage Barda and company. She escapes down a tunnel just in time for have Kalibak arrive.

With less than two months to go, the heroes of Earth 2 are doing their best to try and keep their planet from dying. Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, and Mike Johnson continue to write the tale while Scott McDaniel, Eddy Barrows, R. B. Silva, Tyler Kirkham, Eduardo Pansica, Jorge Jimenez, and Robson Rocha draw it. Bonus for us old time fans: legendary artist Paul Neary does some inking and proves he still has it!

THE FLASH #38: Barry Allen and Patty Spivot are in the process of cataloging all the dead from the Crime Syndicate’s attack. Using his super speed to start the work, he discovers Overload's first kill. Iris West shows up and thanks Barry for the tip that might lead her to a Pulitzer. Barry snaps at her, saying these were people not just fodder for a story. Before she can apologize, she hears that Mirror Master is in the financial district and heads off to cover the story. Meanwhile, within the Speed Force, Selkirk tells Barry how he came to be here and promises to help him get his powers back. But his journey outside of the fort will be a dangerous one. Back in Central City, Mirror Master and Napalm are attacking a bank and Mirror Master is not happy with his partner’s behavior. The Flash arrives and Mirror Master tells him that he is just taking back what he was owed for saving Central City. Naplam starts a fire and Mirror Master tries to save people by using mirrors to deflect the flames before heading into Mirror World with napalm. Flash smashes the mirror before Napalm gets through, causing him to lose an arm. He prepares to kill Napalm until he sees Iris and decides to speed away. Patty is discovers that the fibers she recovered from the boy who was killed have not been developed yet. Now she needs to go off with James to investigate what Flash did to Napalm at the bank. She has concerns that The Flash may have been involved in the killing.

Man, the whole idea of two Barry Allen’s existing in two separate times and having stories running parallel to each other is mind-blowingly awesome! Robert Venditti, Van Jensen and Brett Booth gives us a great looking, great reading book that just continues to expand on the legend of The Flash. Now, with CONVERGENCE coming in a few short months, it will be interesting to see what happens afterwards, especially since this creative team stays on the title. By the way: best line of the issue goes to Iris West for said: “It's about time someone other than Lois-freaking-Lane won one."

GOTHAM ACADEMY #4: Olive and Pomeline have managed to convince themselves that they did not see the ghost of Millie Jane Cobblepot in the North Hall. But Olive also has a meeting with the Headmaster. While she is waiting, she views a familiar symbol and overhears a conversation between Ms. MacPherson and Bruce Wayne. She gets caught by the Headmaster who warns her that the North Hall is dangerous. Later, she finds a note in her copy of Millie Jane Cobblepot’s Diary with the same symbol she had seen earlier. Olive meets with Maps and they quiz Eric, who is in Maps’ art class, about the symbol. He runs away but drops some pages from Macbeth. They investigate and find he he making props for the play. They find Eric in the prop room and he admits to having seen the symbols all over the campus. That night, Maps sees what looks like a ghost at her window. Olive goes to check it out and discovers it to be a fake controlled by Heathcliffe and another girl. He says he did it to make Pomeline think her obsession is real. Olive agrees not to tell and then asks who the blonde boy is she has been seeing. He is an exchange student named Tristian Grey. She spots the symbol in the stairs and opens a secret passage. She ends up in the wall that leads behind most of the dorm rooms. She overhears her roommate complaining about her. As she moves on, she finds a photo of her with her mother. She turns around to see Killer Croc standing there. Sensing he is just looking for a place to hide, she promises not to tell anyone about him…as long as he can tell her about her mother.

Okay, so this issue doesn’t suck as bad as previous ones, but that still doesn’t make it the best read on the market. Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl tell the tale of what feels like Harry Potter written for girls. Now, before someone beats me up for what sounds like a sexist remark, READ THE BOOK. And I am not saying that is a BAD thing. Every comic story has a niche audience. The idea is to make it appeal to a wide audience. The common complaint has always been that comics don’t attract enough female readers and I have also been a big proponent of getting women into comic shops. But, at the same time, I have a 6-year-old who thinks the Power Rangers are cool and that has nothing to do with corny stories. Oh wait: maybe it does! Either way, this book needs to get to the point and soon. Solve the mystery, lose the love sick heroine and get on with it.

GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #3: Many years ago, Lisa Drake and a friend were entrusted with killing a captured Jim Corrigan. She pulled her gun and revealed that she was an undercover GCPD officer. She let out a scream that caused the dealers to fall, allowing her to shoot them all. She arrested Fred and rescued Corrigan , who suggested he had a job on a special task force for her. Currently, Detective Drake and Jim Corrigan are at Gotham County Hospital, where a patients’ shadow seems to move on its’ own. Darke and Dr. Patel go into to the patients’ room and the shadow reaches through his protective suit and causes him to dissolve. Dr. Tarr and Sister Justine are still trying to decipher the strange language that had been spoken by the children on their last case when Corrigan calls looking for assistance. Dr. Tarr arrives and begins to communicate with the shadow, which calls itself Ikkt. Drake shines a flashlight on the shadow and it burns it away. Ikkt was one of the names on Sister Justine’s list, meaning Gotham is under attack.

This is another unusual issue by Ray Fawkes with the equally unusual art stylings of Ben Templesmith. As I have said before, this title is certainly not for everyone, especially with Templesmith’s art. I believe this is one of the titles gone following CONVERGENCE, so that gives them only a few issues to resolve these plot threads.

GRAYSON #6: We begin on the island of Gageo-Do where Dick is told about a group of criminal deserters called The AWOL. While Matron is explaining the operation, a zombie whale with legs, further backing the belief that the island may be heavy in radiation attacks them. After dispatching the whale, they head to the ruins of the prison where they discover that most of The AWOL have already been killed. Matron interrogates him using her Hypnos, while Grayson go off to something strange. Everything the prisoner has ever experienced is giving her post-mental integration trauma and needs Dick’s help. He has been grabbed by Midnighter and taken through a portal. They end up at a place called the God Garden and he vents about how Dick messed up his mission in Russia. When Dick tries to use his Hypnos on Midnighter, he discovers it’s been disabled, but his attempt fails, and the Hypnos is disabled by Midnighter's own special device. His intention is to take out every Spyral agent but Dick says "Tsuchigumo" which causes Midnighter to collapse, as it’s a subliminal trigger. An old woman appears and she and Dick walk through her garden. She tells him she needs him to save the God Garden. At Spyral HQ, Dr. Poppy Ashmore barges in on a meeting between Minos and Spyder, but he uses his ability to make her forget it. They offer him the chance to erase any memories that cause him pain, but he declines saying that’s all he has left. He contacts Matron, telling her the Fist of Cain is going to use the Paragon Brain to psychically attack the people at the Tel-Aviv Rally for Peace, causing them to kill each other.

Tim Seeley, Tom King with Mikel Janín continues to make this a killer book. Hey, SECRET SERVICE was a fun book, although the movie based on it looks horribly bad, but this is the coolest spy comic since the glory days of S.H.I.E.L.D. Yeah, we don’t have Jim Steranko and Dick isn’t as cool as Nick Fury(again-Nick Fury BEFORE they messed with his whole story with the ORIGINAL SIN thing), but it is definitely action packed and weird…like THE PRISONER weird but without the British accents. Give Dick a martini and let’s rock!

GREEN ARROW #38: Green Lantern has saved Oliver and company, but a man in a metal suit shooting rockets at them attacks. John King has kidnapped his daughter, demanding what Mack Morgan told her before he had him killed. She refuses, spitting in his face and reminding him that he killed her mother. He shows her a photo on his telephone of a captured Zehra, saying what Mia does will decide what happens to Zehra. At the hospital,  Dr. Cross finds Dr. Reynolds getting ready to pull the plug on one of his patients. He is told not to interfere or he will be eliminated. As he runs for his life, Katana arrives to save him. Oliver and Hal arrive, taking out two of Reynolds' men. Reynolds explains that Reynolds has been euthanizing patients. Katana is here because she has been has been tracking King's Clan and got no help from A.R.G.U.S. Reynolds cuts the power to all life support forcing Hal to create breathing tubes with his Ring. With Felcitiy’s help, Oliver tracks down Reynolds and knocks him out. A news conference has Green Arrow as the most wanted man in Seattle as the police commissioner has put out a five million-dollar bounty because he attacked John King. Meanwhile, King begins torturing Zehra.

The way I see it, there are only a couple of months left for Ben Sokolowski, Andrew Kreisberg and Daniel Sampere to wrap this whole thing up. We know CONVERGENCE is coming real soon and the rebooted book will have a new creative team. So, will John King kill Zehra? Will Hal be in trouble with the rest of the Corps since he used his ring on Earth? Will Mia tell her father what he wants to know? Will any of this matter when June comes around? Stick around folks!

GREEN LANTERN #38: The Guardians, bothered by his recent actions, send Hal Jordan back to Earth. But he gets stopped by the Lantern of Earth, Guy Gardner. The two of them end up at Pancho’s where they drink beer, play pool, and talk about Gardner’s recent problems. Then Barry Allen shows up to play pool, complain about life in Central City and drink beer. Later in the night, Barry trips and spills a pitcher of beer on  a pilot and that leads to a brawl initiated by Guy. The trio are tossed out, Hal gets angry and heads back inside to do more drinking. Unfortunately, Carol Ferris is already there, which means they have a sit down to hash out their problems. He tells her he still believes they have a chance and wishes her a good life with Kyle. She turns into Star Sapphire and flies off, telling Hal that he will find himself someday.

I want to call this a fill-in issue, but it really isn’t. I guess you could call this the “Hal Company have a bag full of problems and he and his friends get drunk to solve them” issue. Robert Venditti does a wonderful job of taking the major issues in the lives of our three heroes out of their books and putting them all here and ties up some loose ends in the process. The art by Admira Wijaya, with colors by Andrew Dalhouse, is just spectacular. I still love old school art but when someone does the painted style right, it is impressive.This was a nice, fun issue overall. And, if you get the chance, hunt down the FLASH 75TH ANNIVERSARY Variant cover. It’s by Doug Mahnke and David Baron and is totally in the style of Gil Kane.

HARLEY QUINN #13: Harley tries to get ready and realizes that Edgar Yeung's legs are beating up a prisoner  - without being attached to Edgar. Harley goes to take a shower and, finding no hot water, checks with Tony to find a broken hot water heater. Mason Macabre offers to get one cheap and only wants a dinner from her as payment. Heading upstairs, she finds that Dr. Hertz wants her at work immediately, so she hops on a skateboard and heads to work. On the way, she screws up while trying to stop a purse snatching and she gives up her money to cover it. Her first client is Seymour Bupkin, who Harley has bound and gagged to satisfy his kink. Unfortunately, Hertz needs her to stay late so she has to cancel with Mason. Later she finds that one of her patients didn’t show up and finds her passed out in her room. Luckily, Harley uses her training to get her breathing as the doctors arrive to save her. Harley sneaks into Mason’s room and lies down next to him, only to find out it’s The Joker and he is trying to kill her. She wakes and cancels with Mason, who invites his mother out to dinner instead. Harley gets a call from Summer at the roller derby and tells her they have a game in 15 minutes. Sakim covers her shift and Harley grabs a cab. But the driver tries to rob her, so she knocks him out and takes the cab. She doesn’t make the game, so they all go out to dinner which is bad because Mason and his mother see her and become irate. Harley is going to fix her life even if it means killing someone.

Okay…I have finally decided that this book has jumped the shark. A day in the life of Harley Quinn shouldn’t be about psych patients and missed dates. I don’t know: maybe I’m just getting bored with the story. And let’s be honest: I have been a big fan of this book from the beginning. Maybe it’s the overabundance of “Special” that get thrown into the mix. And soon-a Harley/Power Girl title? Yeah, thank you Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin: I may be going after CONVERGENCE.

INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE #7: Serafina has a battle with Doctor Skuba and ends up taking back the Cosmic cartridge she had previously given him. And she leaves him at sea to fend for himself. The team decides they want to celebrate New years Eve, but Mark isn’t in the mood. Serafina goes to talk to him and they kiss. A little later, Leilani visits him to reveal she is employed by Lord Aagog of the Cult of the Yuga Khan, which leads to him getting beat up and badly. Here’s the deal: bring Dreamer to them or die.

How about this choice: bring Dreamer to them or be forced to endure this book! Hey: I’m a big defender of Dan Didio and Keith Giffen playing with old Jack Kirby characters, but this issue, which spends way too much time dealing with Doctor Skuba and then Mark’s hormonal issues, was just a grueling task to get through. Daniel HDR does the art, and that’s kind of the highlight of the book. I’m just totally bummed that it couldn’t have had a little more of the old FOREVER PEOPLE feel to it. but, I guess none of us are as tuned in as we once were.

THE MUTLIVERSITY GUIDEBOOK #1:

It’s Earth 42 and the Li'l Leaguers are being attacked by the League of Sivanas. They escape through a Transmatter Cube while the last of the League makes a final stand. Hawkman and Green Arrow run for their lives while Batman, who is really Dick Grayson, is rescued by the Batman from Earth 17. He discovers a copy of the comic book that the Sivanas used as a map to the Multiverse. On the first page, he sees Earth 51, where Kamandi and his friends are searching for his friend Flower. They discover the empty tomb of Darkseid, Un-Lord of Apokolips. The New Gods, who note that Darkseid looks to be rebuilding his Godhead, are watching Kamandi. Ben Boxer uses Brother Eye to transform into biOMAC and open up the tomb. On the walls are pictograms of the story of creation. Of greater interest is a comic showing how Barry Allen had read about another Flash in a comic when he was a boy. Barry’s curiosity led to the discovery of the Multiverse. Later he created the Cosmic Treadmill to explore the Multiverse.

Eventually, there was a crisis on infinite Earths and worlds were merged into one unstable universe. Then Hal Jordan became Parallax, which resulted in more changes. Further changes came in the creation of the Multiverse of 52 worlds. No one remembered these things except for the Monitors who housed that knowledge in the comic books of Earth 33. Li'l Batman explains that the Transmatter Cubes look to be gateways to the parallel Earths in the comic book. Batman of Earth 17 shoots energy into the Cube while Li'l Batman sifts through the guidebook to see where they want to go. Meanwhile,  Kamandi realizes that his world is just one of many, even as Nix Uotan enters the tomb and the skies on Kamandi’s world turns red. Li'l Batman sacrifices himself as he gives the Batman of Earth 17 a message: the Grail is not on Earth 42. He grabs a strange flower that had been Flower of Earth 51 and lands on Earth 17. When the inhabitants see the flower, they welcome him to Novamerika. Batman of Earth 17 ends up at the House of Heroes which is currently under attack by The Gentry. On Earth 42, The Empty Hand raises the dead to serve him.

Grant Morrison creates his finest, most mind-blowing issue yet. With the help of artsits like Ben Oliver, Chris Sprouse, Dan Jurgens, Cameron Stewart, Klaus Janson, Gary Frank, and more, this book covers all the worlds of the Multiverse in a guidebook that is a part of the story. If you buy this as a true guidebook to the DC Universe, then this could be of great help during CONVERGENCE. Especially cool was that the New Gods apparently exist in all worlds, not just our world. Simply put, this is the most amazing thing I have seen Morrison create.

D's plans after CONVERGENCE: 24 new titles and 25 continuing ones.

So, if you have been following this blog for some time, you know that I have invested an awful love of time in reviewing DC’s NEW 52. Well, apparently, after four years, they have somewhat decided to abandon the NEW 52. In a press release DC issued on Friday, February 6th,  they declared that “Iconic Super Heroes & Super-Villains Universe is Diversifying To Make Room for More Types of Storytelling, More Fans.”

Oh really? Tell us more.

“DC Entertainment launches a bold new direction for the DC Universe (DCU) that is even more inclusive and accessible to a wider group of readers as the publisher continues to evolve comic storytelling for its next generation of fans.” Translation: the comic market is changing and we better figure out what to do about it or else we may have to move BACK to New York from our new home in Burbank! “Beginning June 3, the DC Comics line of comic books will consist of 24 brand-new series that will begin at issue number one, as well as 25 on-going, best selling fan favorite series that will continue without a break in the issue numbering.” Translation: we’re getting rid of all the low hanging fruit and only keeping the Top 25 titles.

Dan Didio declared: “This heralds in a new era for the DC Universe which will allow us to publish something for everyone, be more expansive and modern in our approach and tell stories that better reflect the society around us.”  Translation: we are going to try and go back to what we FIRST SAID back when NEW 52 came around-we’re going to have comics featuring women, men, minorities, straight and gay. Or, as they declared, their diversified reading audience. “Whether you’ve been a DC fan your whole life, or whether you are new to comics – there will be a book for you beginning in June.” Translation: please buy one of our titles!

Jim Lee said: “Truly there will be something for everybody as we simultaneously celebrate our rich legacy while embracing new voices and concepts.” Translation: PLEASE BUY OUR BOOKS! “A first look at upcoming storylines will be the focus of DC Entertainment’s Free Comic Book Day issue – DC COMICS: DIVERGENCE – available Saturday, May 2.” Okay, so we go from NEW 52 to CONVERGENCE to DIVERGENCE to a whole New World. So what, is this now a song from ALADDIN? “More than half-a million free issues of the DC Entertainment sampler will be given away at comic book retailers globally.” Translation: PLEASE BUY OUR BOOKS!

Dan Didio added: “In this new era of storytelling, story will trump continuity as we continue to empower creators to tell the best stories in the industry.” Translation: we just threw the baby out with the bath water and continuity, the thing that allows comics to have some kind of relevance, just went out the window with it. So, a good story means it’s better than continuity? Well, sure…if you are WATCHMAN, or DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, or any of the EARTH ONE books. But you’re HONEST AND TRULY Deep Sixing continuity? Why? Because Marvel has decided to try and merge their multiple universes into one big ball of poop so you’re following them?

That having been said, DC will publish 24 new #1 issues along with the 25 existing titles that will continue from where they left off in March. Now, they are continuing their NUMBERING…who the hell knows WHAT kind of stories we’ll get! And I may be a bit HASTY in saying they are trashing the NEW 52. They are just de-emphasizing the continuity and emphasizing diversify. What I love the best is the buzz words that ends up in the full press release. Words like “fresh”, “offbeat”, “irreverently funny”, “keenly focused”,  “accessible”, “inclusive”, “modern”, and my personal favorite, “contemporary tonality”. Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?

"We're seeing more diversity in our audience,” said Didio. “We're seeing a younger crowd." So, can we see the end of Mature books? Or T rated books? Is everything now going to be aimed at an audience who CAN’T afford all their titles and insult the intelligence of those of us dropping a ton of coin? Hope not because your adult comic fan is STILL your bread and butter!

That having been said, here’s the scoop…or the poop…on the 25 titles that will get the live on AFTER CONVERGENCE.

ACTION COMICS by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder. This is the same great team that has put a nice shot of energy into this title, although the last story arc did get under my skin. IF the NEW 52 storyline is to continue DESPITE CONITUNITY ISSUES, this should be a nice cornerstone of the line.

AQUAMAN by Cullen Bunn and Trevor McCarthy. This could be a winner or a stinker. Bunn’s work has been real uneven with his most recent work, SINESTRO and LOBO being very disappointing. Let’s face it: Lobo is a stinker from the word go. Can’t totally blame him-I’m sure DC Editorial thought it was a good idea. McCarthy? Well, he’s done a bunch of work, including his lengthy run on the previous NIGHTWING series. So, Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier are out.

BATGIRL by Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr. This is the current team that DC claims is such a hit with fans. Again, maybe fans who are pre-pubescent females. I want Gail Simone back!

BATMAN by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Now, they are claiming things will be different following CONVERGENCE. The way I see it-why mess with success.

DETECTIVE COMICS  by Brian Buccelato and Francis Manapul. See above comments.

BATMAN SUPERMAN by Greg Pak and Ardian Syaf. Ditto

CATWOMAN by Genevieve Valentine and David Messina. Garry Brown is out as artist, and David Messina is in.  This could be interesting as Messina’s style is…interesting. He has done wotk for IDW, Marvel and Image but has also erotic comics including  SALLY POTTER, THE BIG PERVERT and THE “X” FACTOR.

DEATHSTROKE by Tony Daniel. Again, why mess with a good thing. And Daniel has pretty much stayed on deadline with no fill-ins so far.

FLASH by Rob Venditti, Van Jensen and Brett Booth. This is a great team that replaced an equally great one. Let’s hope that continuity DOES mean something

GOTHAM ACADEMY by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl. Oh man: couldn’t this title have been sucked up in the CONVERGENCE? Well, if we’re responding to diversity and a younger audience…

GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT by Ray Fawkes and Juan Ferreyra. Ben Templesmith exits, Juan Ferreyra enters. He is an Argentinian artist who has worked on FALLING SKIES, ABE SIMIEN, CHOPPER, REX MUNDI and others.

GRAYSON by Tim King, Tim Seeley and Mikel Janin. Yeah…I got no complaints here as this book continues to grow on me. Now, DON’T SCREW IT UP!

GREEN ARROW by Ben Percy and Richard Zircher. Ben Sokolowski, Andrew Kreisberg and Daniel Sampere are all gone off this one. Percy comes from the literary world where, besides writing for THE NEW YORK TIMES and TIME, has published novels including THE LANGUAGE OF ELK and THE WILDING. Richard Zircher? Any relation to PATRICK ZIRCHER or is he changing his name to be diverse?

GREEN LANTERN by Robert Venditti and Billy Tan. Same creative team here. Now if they can just get Hal to stop being such a whiny superhero!

HARLEY QUINN by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin. Same creative team and the same jokes. THIS will fit into DC’s new humorous titles line.

JUSTICE LEAGUE by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. The Amazo storyline was in place before CONVERGENCE. Let’s see where this takes us.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED by  TBD, Travel Foreman & Paul Pelletier. I SO LOVE TBD’s work, as I have been reading it in solicitations all my life, so he MUST be good! Travel Foreman did some nice work on ANIMAL MAN and, if this means Pelletier is INKING HIM…wow!

LOBO by Cullen Bunn and Cliff Richards. Oh God…they couldn’t cancel this? Or at least give us back the REAL Lobo?

SECRET SIX by Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham. And exactly WHERE is issue #2? That being said, it’s nice to see Eaglesham back in the fold!

SINESTRO by Cullen Bunn and Brad Walker. Really? And who is Brad Walker? He was the artist on GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS. At least they found a gig for him when the canned that title!

NEW SUICIDE SQUAD by Sean Ryan and Carlos D’Anda. Well, we knew this book was staying, with the movie in the works. Sean Ryan stays, Tom Derenick, and Rob Hunter leave and Carlos D’Anda comes on board, having worked on STORMWATCH and DEATHBLOW.

SUPERMAN by Gene Luen Yang and John Romita Jr. Geoff Johns steps away from the Man of Steel and leaves Gene Luen Yang is his place. He got into comics by getting a Xeric Grant and from there won an Eisner for his graph novel AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. I guess he should be able to put a fresh spin on Superman being a true stranger in a strange land.

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. Same great taste and still less filling. So I guess a reboot doesn’t mean Clark and Lois will be doing the Horizontal Bop anytime soon…

TEEN TITANS by Will Pfeifer by Kenneth Rocafort. Just keep repeating to yourself: diversity, younger audience, diversity, younger audience…

WONDER WOMAN by Meredith Finch and David Finch. This is not Azzarello and Chaing but then again, it’s not Strazynski. The verdict is still out on this title.

And here are the 24 new titles:

BATMAN BEYOND by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. Now this could be interesting. Now that Terry McGuiness has made his way into the NEW 52 Universe, will this tie-in to what has come before? Or is this a total reset? Oh yeah: Conituity…doesn’t count, right?

BAT-MITE by Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell. Again, DC plans on putting out humorous superhero titles. Well, I can hear Paul Reubens voice and I somehow hope they dig up old issues of JERRY LEWIS and BOB HOPE and find out what funny is. Although, it IS Jurgens so…

BIZZARO by Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte. Who and who? Orson wrote the movies JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR, BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM and JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS. Duarte is, acocording to Wikipedia, a Brazilian cartoonist “known by his usually silent comics”. Anyway, I guess Bizarro is no longer that poor creature who died during FOREVER EVIL. And this is supposed to be funny. Great: and entire comic devoted to Bizarro World. This is either going to be brilliant or absolutely horrible!

BLACK CANARY by Brenden Fletcher and Annie Wu. Because Fletcher knows so much about writing female superheroes. Oh yeah: he has Black Canary’s alter-ego co-starring in BATGIRL. So, that means instead of having a possible mate for Green Arrow someday, we’ll have a creepy super hero with a cell phone.

CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER by Ming Doyle and Riley Rossmo. So, our favorite anti-hero gets a new title and a new numbering system(third one in his comic career). Doyle has done a bunch of things, including a handful of Vertogo books, so I guess that will give Constantine a darker feel. Rossmo has done a bunch of things, most notably DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE.

CYBORG by David L. Walker and Ivan Reis with Joe Prado. I’m loving the artist team her! Walker? He’s currently at work on a SHAFT comic. And DC promises Cyborg is one of the characters they plan on reinventing. What…again?

DARK UNIVERSE by James Tynion IV and Ming Doyle. Wow! Mr. Doyle is going to be busy! He’s writing CONSTANTINE and drawing this, which is what used to be JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. Guess this has a title change based on the upcoming movie by Guillermo del Toro. And James Tynion IV? We all know what he can do with a script!

DOOMED by Scott Lobdell and Javier Fernandez. First off: Scott Lobdell, who is still stuck in the early 90’s, is writing it! No one knows for sure what this book will be but Fernandez has gone on social media saying how thrilled he is to be working with one of his childhood heroes. Yeah…I’m thinking Doomsday gets reborn!

DR. FATE by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew. This could go either way. Levitz is great when he is on and not so great when he is not. Liew is best known for his work on MY FAITH IN FRANKIE and THE SHADOW HERO that he did with Gene Luen Yang. Who is THIS Dr. Fate? Is he from Earth 2 or is this someone new?

EARTH 2: SOCIETY by Daniel H. Wilson and Jorge Jimenez. Didn’t Earth 2 go away right before or during CONVERGENCE? I’m so confused! However, if anyone is going to write this, it should be Wilson, who has been writing the EARTH 2: WORLD’S END title.

GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY by Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz with Javi Pina. So, why do I think this is going to be a combination of all the cancelled Lantern series rolled into one possibly sloppy mess. Now, with Bunn writing this and SINESTRO, maybe continuity won’t be totally out the window. I do look forward to Saiz and Pina’s work, as both have been active and can turn out some nice stuff if given the chance to.

HARLEY QUINN/ POWER GIRL by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Justin Gray and Stephane Roux. Well, when these two teamed up for a run in HARLEY QUINN, who knew this would result? But it takes Palmiotti, Conner AND Gray to write it? That’s a bad mix. Give me Jimmy and Justin or Jimmy and Amanda. One gives us killer stories and the other funny stories. But a killer, funny story? Meh…

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA by Brian Hitch. Say no more: we have out winner!Brian Hitch writing, Brian Hitch illustrating. Brain Hitch does it all! What kind of team is he putting together? Don’t forget-this is the genius who gave us The Authority. Again, this is TRULY the winner in my eyes of the new batch!

JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter. What would you expect after JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000? Basically this is the previous book set one year later. I personally love that book, so I am excited about this!

MARTIAN MANHUNTER by Rob Williams and artists Ben Oliver with Paulo Siqueira. Let’s see how this goes, as Rob Williams has done some American books but is most known for working on 2000 AD and JUDGE DREDD. Ben Oliver has also worked on 2000 AD on JUDGE DREDD, but has also done some work on THE AUTHORITY and THE LOSERS, plus some Marvel work. His style is nice. My only thing is what can we expect from this version of Martian Manhunter?

MIDNIGHTER by Steve Orlando and  ACO. Don’t know who Steve Orlando is? Well, he’s fairly active on Twitter and writes UNDERTOW for Image. ACO ha done a bunch of DC covers and a few issues, including some WONDER WOMAN work and his style should fit right in with this title. Now, is this going to be a badass Midnighter or one who spends half his time being tough and having his time smooching with Apollo? I don’t have a problem with that, but how successful was that with BATWOMAN? Don’t forget: DC Editorial had big issues with stories and that led to the exodus which led to changes.

MYSTIC U by Alisa Kwitney and Mauricet. This is the question mark of the new titles, as DC has been very hush about it. In fact, they don’t even list Mauricet as the artist. Their own web site claims “stay tuned for artist info!” Internet speculation attaches Kwitney to Tim hunter, so this could be DC’s attempt to bring back a character that has long been a fan favorite. Or, it could be a place to stick Klarion now this his horrible book is gone.

OMEGA MEN by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda. I hope this is a rebooting of the classic 80’s series as that would make me literally jump for joy! If so, in Tom King’s hands, this title would rock! Add to that, the amazing art of Barnaby Bagenda and this book could be a major surprise and a hidden gem.

PREZ by Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell. For those too young to remember, PREZ: FIRST TEEN PRESIDENT  was short lived comic that DC put out in 1973. Created by Joe Simon and Jerry Granedetti, it was four and done, with a fifth issue that showed up in the infamous CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE. He has made various appearances over the years and has actually been referenced twice in the mythology of the NEW 52: as past president on Earth-23 and as the immortal president of Earth-47. But this could be the real deal! Now if this is played straight, this could be awesome! Mark Russell is best known for the graphic novel GOD IS DISAPPOINTED IN YOU, which he did with TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN’s Shannon Wheeler. Caldwell is best known for his work on the Wonder Woman story that ran in WEDNESDAY COMICS.

RED HOOD/ARSENAL by Scott Lobdell and Denis Medri. Basically, this is RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS minus STARFIRE. Of course, this could also be a great buddy book like the classic GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW series. Nah-who am I kidding? I am not a huge fan of Medri’s work, as it has that same quirky feel that Kenneth Roquefort has. Personally, it’s a buddy book that may or not work.

ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN by Pat Gleason. Well, with the demise of BATMAN AND ROBIN, we get this. It should look amazing and we just need to see how good Gleason is as a storyteller. If he can do that AND keep on deadline, what with doing both writing and illustrating, this could be a great book. If his writing is weak or the book is plagued by fill-in artists, Damian could end up back in the Bat Cave for an extended time-out with Bat Cow!

SECTION EIGHT by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. The team and characters from HITMAN return! LIFE IS GOOD! And Ennis and McCrea are doing it! As I mentioned with Hitch’ JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, this could also be a major winner! Face it: there’s an entire generation of comic fans that don’t know what this team can TRULY do. Think about it: the team responsible for HITMAN, DICKS,  and THE BOYS (which ended in 2012 and had a dedicated but small following) are together again on characters they delivered to us back almost 20 years ago. I expect this to be a laugh a minute book that will push the boundaries of what Ennis can get away with.

STARFIRE by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Emanuela Lupacchino. So, I am guessing this will be another humor book. How many titles is Palmiotti and Conner doing? Let’s see: two Harley titles and this. Do we really NEED another humor book? I mean, really!? I will start asking for JERRY LEWIS and BOB HOPE to come back along with SUGAR AND SPIKE. What about DOBIE GILLIS or ANGEL AND THE APE? FOX AND THE CROW? STANLEY AND HIS MONSTER? Should I go on?

WE ARE ROBIN by Lee Bermejo and Rob Haynes with Khary Randolph. And all I hear in my head is the commercial for Farmer’s Insurance (we are Robin…bom de dum dum bum de dum!). So, killer artist Lee Bermejo teams up with Rob Haynes, who has a lot of credits to his name, but not so many in recent years(his most notable work for DC is work he did for BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE.  Bermejo did a great job writing BATMAN: NOEL and has a Vertigo book called SUICIDERS in the works for this year. Where this book will either succeed or fail is in the premise with a group of teenagers banding together to help Batman. It all comes out of DETECTIVE COMICS: ENDGAME #1 in March.

So that’s the scoop, with what DC promises will be more titles during the rest of the year. As with most titles, I will give them a read and see what sticks. But story over continuity? That still bothers the hell out of me!