JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #1: Currently, Lois Lane has managed to download her consciousness into the body of Ariel Masters and wants nothing more than to take out the Justice League. She checks in with Sinestro, who is busy getting busy. Superman, Batman, the female Guy Gardner, Wonder Woman and the Flash are on Wodin Twelve, where Starro consciousness has taken over every person on the planet. Guy heads to the Office Of Fathomless Bureaucracy on Moonshadow Six while over on Camelot Nine, Fire tells Ice how wonderful sex was with Etrigan. And, somewhere in the middle of all this, a craft carrying Kara Zor-El is heading towards Wodin Twelve.
Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter are back for more merriment in the 31st Century. I so love this book! It is just great to see how heroes twisted and turned this way. And hey: we’ve even got Superman checking out Guy Gardner’s ass! Porter’s art has never looked as good and Giffen and DeMatteis make the humorous tag team Palmiotti and Conner WISH they could be. If you like your heroes turned upside down and inside out, this is truly the book for you!
LOBO #7: On Praxis Prime, Lobo is ready to take out his newest target: Varnu Vain. But a kill squad has showed up and killed Vain and some semi-innocent bystanders in the process. He takes out most of them but is captured by a team led by Kadra from the Void Whisper. As he realizes the Siamese twins he had bedded have set him up, he gains his revenge by depositing a bomb in the mouth of one of them, blowing her head off. Working for the Void Whisper, he meets with a priest, who gets killed by a tracker. No sooner does he realize there is a problem then he gets attacked by a Thangarian, a Daemonite and a Martian. Things don’t look good for the Last Czarnian.
Cullen Bunn and Cliff Richards give us more of what this book has previously offered: sex, blood, guts and a so-so story. So…exactly what we had prior to CONVERGENCE. Richards’ art is dynamite. You will love it if you like dismembered bodies, head shots and such. I can’t believe this book is rated T+ because I think it’s a bit gory for a T+ title. Maybe this should be a Vertigo book or get an M rating. Anyway, the story is so-so, the art rocks and I'm not certain if I'm going to continue or not. It's kind of like a car crash. You don't want to look but can't help to.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1: A bunch of kids dare a little girl to go wake an alien creature by the name of Mr. Biscuits. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter, the alleged last of his kind, saves a passenger jet in trouble while revealing that his people have come to Earth. In Dubai, a cat burglar watches a royal prince be murdered by a Martian creature. In fact, there is a sudden outbreak of murder and terrorist incidents around the world, which leads J’onn to his friend Helen Demoff, where he asks her to kill him.
This book is totally the shining gem in DC’s releases for Week Three of the DC You lunch. Rob Williams gives us a story that poses more questions than answers. How is it that Martians now exist after we have long been told that J’onn was the last of his kind? Why the rise in murder and terrorism? Who is Mr. Bisquits? Why does J’onn need to die? This book is awesome! And Eddy Barrows art, with Eder Ferreira inking, is some of the best of his career. So…bottom line: the book LOOKS GREAT, READS GREAT and is a roller coaster ride from page one until the end. Add this to your pull list. This is required reading!
MIDNIGHTER #1: Someone who wants the Dragon’s Gold is attacking The Gardener in the God Garden. Meanwhile, Midnighter and his date are interrupted during dinner by an armed team looking for Modoran traitors. That means Midnighter is soon taking people out. Later, in a pool hall in Boston, he plays some pool, then takes his boyfriend to Moscow and Oakland before ending the day with some hot loving. Hours later, the two share a meaningful conversation about relationships before Midnighter injects Jason with a Smartmark tracker that allows Jason to contact Midnighter if he needs him. The Gardener calls to him and he goes to her, where he finds out that the mysterious assailant took the file that tells everything there is to tell about Midnighter.
So, if you’re reading this, you hopefully know that Midnighter is a gay character. That’s important to the whole story and, if you didn’t know that, you will figure it out real quick when you see he and Jason in about as graphic a situation as you can squeeze into a T+ rated book. Steve Orlando does a great job of mixing the action with the romance and Aco’s art fits the story nicely. Do I expect there will be some ire from some group about the gay angle? Sure I do. And DC will answer that they are only trying to appeal to their diverse audience. Do I think they are going to amp up that side of our anti-hero because they want to appeal to that diverse audience? Sure I do. And I am okay with that as long as it all fits into the story and they’re just not exploiting it because they can.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #9: Deadshot, Black Manta, and Captain Boomerang are informed of their newest mission. With Harley, Parasite, and Reverse Flash as their back-up, they are to infiltrate the League: the new version of the League of Assassins. Arriving in Turkey, they gain entrance into the organization. Once inside, they are tortured until they conform to the rules and goals of the League. Then they are taken out in the desert where they are forced to kill three would be heroes who have been frozen. It’s amazing what baseball bats will do to frozen people.
Sean Ryan writes us a killer story…literally! This is a dark and nasty issue, punctuated with some dark humor. And my favorite line? Floyd Lawton saying that Parasite is “kinda like if Grimace had sex with a nightmare”. Couple this with Philippe Briones awesome art and this book is a winner for sure! This is DC’s newest cash cow and they are going to make it as entertaining as possible. So yeah: this works!
OMEGA MEN #1: After “killing” the White Lantern, members of the Omega Men are hiding on the planet Ogyptu. As the police on the planet use strong-arm tactics to find them, they eventually run into Tigorr, Broot, Scrapps, and Primus. Defeating their hunters, the team blows up the place and makes their escape. And joining them, whether he wants to our not, is Kyle Rayner, who is kept in the dark and mutters Carol’s name.
Okay…you might find this a little hard to follow and that is because it is. Tom King gives us a great introduction for new fans and a re-introduction for long time fans of this team. But the book is far darker than the original and paints them as terrorists. But, obviously, they are the good kind of terrorists that are trying to take down the “Evil Empire”, if you will. Barnaby Bagenda’s painted art is nice, but I really wish we had his art from the preview story instead. It seemed to be darker and not as colorful, although we do get to see one of the Citadel soldier’s heads explode in living color! Again, another T+ book crawling with adult themes. I want to see where King is going with this and hope the next issue will fill in some of the holes in the story.
PREZ #1: Welcome to 2036 where the powers that be are looking for the best candidate to be President following the next election. The field is a joke and the spin on them is even worse. 19-year-old corn dog fry cook Beth Ross goes to visit her dying father in the hospital. She attempts to go on the show Double Dare Billionaire, but the show runs out of time. Her Sickstarter campaign is going even worse and she has nowhere near the 4 million dollars she needs to pay dad’s medical bills. Along the way, the Hacker Collective Anonymous runs a campaign to have her in the Presidential race. When all is done, no one has enough Electoral votes to win, so a Secret CEO meeting at the Build-A-Burger Headquarters, and Boss Smiley, seems to hold the key to our next President.
Close behind MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1, this is my second favorite book of Week #3. And that is a complete surprise, considering how awful the 8 page preview of this title was. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell gives us a hysterical, historical romp. If NATIONAL LAMPOON MAGAZINE, the CLASSIC Seventies LAMPOON, mated with a CLASSIC SNL political sketch and had a baby, THIS would be that baby. Filled with way too many jokes that most teens will not get (Specifically the Hacker Collective Anonymous group that are all wearing there V FOR VENDETTA masks!), this book was laugh out loud funny at points. The satire is ripe and so is the topic. Definitely a must read, even if it has no connection to the classic DC series starring Prez Rickard. Now, I want BROTHER POWER back!
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #1: Roy Harper is in the middle of the Arizona Desert, observing a meet between Tara Battleworth and some terrorists. They have a captured CIA agent and the deal is to sell him back to the Senator that Battleworth works for. It all goes back fast, leading to Roy having to take action and take out the terrorists. Unfortunately, they shoot the Senator, leading Roy to realize that things have gotten that much worse. But then the Senator springs back to life and we all realize that it is really Red Hood in disguise. The real Senator is safely being held in a car trunk. Despite their bickering, maybe this team should work for the government, as Battleworth offers.
Okay…so this is exactly as I expected. It is the same book we previously had MINUS Starfire. That means, we have bickering between our heroes and some silly adventuring. Scott Lobdell does what he does and writes as he always has, meaning the characters sound like they came out of the Nineties and are full of easy to identify personality. And, as much as Lobdell gets bashed for this, I actually LIKED this isue, except I totally saw where the reveal with the Jason/Senator was goingThe art from Denis Medri, who previously worked on Image’s 13 CHAMBERS, is kind of different but fitting, reminding me of some of the better independent comic folks out there. All in all, I have read worse.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #1: Robin and his pet griffin Goliath are being held captive in Bialya because Goliath got caught poaching their blessed cows. Elsewhere, Morgan Ducard’s daughter finds her father’s skeletal remains and his mask. Eventually Daman and Goliath get free as he screams that “the year of atonement is at hand”. In the end, a lone figure rises up in Nanda Parbat. If this REALLY Talia Al Ghul?
Wow! This one just pulls all the bits and pieces from the previous BATMAN AND ROBIN runs together into one amazing book! Patrick Gleason, artist extraordinaire, handles scripting and art chores on this book and it rocks! We bring in the Year of Blood, the late Morgan Ducard, a crazy dream sequence, a trip to Al Ghul Island, and a griffin named Goliath. This thing looks great, reads liked Peter Tomasi never left it and is setting some cool plot points for the future. If you were a fan of the previous incarnations, this one will put you right where you want to be.
SECRET SIX #3: It’s two days after our team has escaped Mockingbird and they are currently in hiding in Big Shot’s house. Catman is having a bit of an issue with a cop who likes to beta his dog and that may be an issue later. Unfortunately, they aren’t the best house guests as a bunch of them have had weird sex on his couch. Black Alice reveals her name is really Lori Zechlin and her origin may be tied to an accident involving her and her parents. Porcelain and the Ventriloquist go out to get some food and that results in them taking out a harassing tough guy who isn't as tough as he thought. When it comes time for dinner, Strix sets the table, even though she doesn’t know how.Catman finds out the cop next door has been beating his dog again and this leads to him beating the cop and taking possession of his dog. Later, we find that Big Shot is really Mr. Dibney and that Ed Nygma is Mockingbird.
This would be a killer book…if it would stay on schedule. There was a gap between issue #1 and issue #2 and then two months off for CONVERGENCE and no one remembers what the heck was going on. Okay, so this group has come together because they were held captive by someone named Mockingbird. But it’s two months later and we don’t remember what was happening. Gail Simone gives us the best story to date, as we get some background on the characters. And Dale Eaglesham comes on-board as artist and kicks the doors down! The characters jump off the page. I especially like that Big Shot looks like a character right out of Wrightson’s work on CAPTAIN STERN. And who is Mr. Dibney really? If this title would stay on track, this could be a great book. Unfortunately, it’s just another title hampered by scheduling issues.
SINESTRO #12: Sinestro and Soranik argue about his machinations. Later, Dez informs Sinestro that Soranik has made her move against her father, leading to a battle between father and daughter. In the end, Sinestro takes her Green Lantern ring from her and replaces it with a Yellow Lantern ring.
Here’s the highlight of the book: Brad Walker's art. Spectacular and fits the feel of the book beautifully! Cullen Bunn does a nice job in giving a wonderful father/daughter battle. I am still not a huge fan of this book, but this is one of the better issues thus far. For anyone who thinks that Sinestro is a great anti-hero, realize that Sinestro is in it for himself and allegedly for his people. He’s a bad guy, people. Deal with it!
STARFIRE #1: Picking up from the 8 page preview we got during CONVERGENCE, Kori is trying to start a new life in Key West. She is trying to convince Sheriff Gomez, who describes her as a “big orange Supergirl”, to help her. They go to a pawnshop, where she trades in her alien rock collection for “three large”. After, Starfire and Stella go out drinking, which leads to a couple of guys fighting over Kori. Next, they head off to a trailer park where Kori can rent a place until something permanent comes along. The issue ends with a huge storm bearing down on Key West and Stella’s brother in the Coast Guard, totally depressed sense the loss of his Maria two years before, is smack dab in the middle of it all. Looks to me like he may need to be saved by his soon to be new girlfriend, Starfire.
What we have here is Starfire suddenly sounding like a cross between Harley Quinn and Chrissy on THREE’S COMPANY. When did she become so naïve that she sounds DUMB? Oh wait: could it be that the team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are writing this book AND HARLEY QUINN? Yeah…could be! We have a ditsy super heroine, a guy who is described by his own grandmother as being “horny as an alley cat”, and a sheriff who pumps her newest friends with booze while the big storm is coming. The highlight of this title is the art of Italian artist Emanuela Lupacchino. Her work, along with the inks of Ray McCarthy and the coloring job by Hi-Fi, makes this book stand out visually. Lupacchino lists her influences as people like Dave Stevens, Steve Rude, and Adam Hughes and it is obvious by the attention to the female form. Unfortunately, this beautiful looking book can’t save the awful story that goes with it.
SUPERMAN #41: Clark gets an anonymous text message from a mysterious individual revealing the “unknown source” for technology advanced weapons. Clark and Jimmy head off to a factory in Technology Park where a well-dressed man is showing off his huge 3D printer which is making the advanced weapons. Clark and Jimmy get spotted by some guards, but Clark becomes Superman and is forced to use his solar flare to take out the 3D printer robot. Later they discover that the man in the suit is a recently elected Senator who no longer has a mustache. That leads to his arrest and celebration in the Daily Planet office. Clark gets another text informing him of a woman with blue hair coming to see him and instructs him to turn her over to the authorities or else. And he does. Later still, he rescues the woman from the “authorities” and gets shot in the process. Unfortunately, Lois gets involved with her snooping and jumps into Jimmy’s getaway car. Apparently the woman has information about who's really behind the weapons, but Clark may not be able to live to tell the tale.
TRUTH continues to move in mysterious ways as Gene Luen Yang takes over as writer, coupled with John Romita Jr.’s art. Fans were wondering exactly how good Yang’s work would be and, based on this first issue, I see it as a bonus to the franchise! His pacing is dead-on and the characterization jumps back and forth between feeling like the 21st Century Man of Steel meets his Sixties counterpart. This book feels right and hopefully won’t drift off into silly places. For now, I like the direction…especially because I want to know how this whole TRUTH story ties together.
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #18: Clark and Diana are lying in bed when Clark gets a three A.M. panic call from Lana, telling him there is something in her parent’s house in Smallville. When Clark and Diana arrive at the house, no one is there and there is no sign of a struggle. Later, they go into town, where some of the regular folks question his being here and suggest that trouble follows him and they don’t want trouble anymore. Then they find out that they family home has been taken away, as has every Kent buried in town. That is when the Suicide Squad shows up to capture and collect.
Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke give us their unique chapter as part of the TRUTH storyline. I really like where this Superman story is going, but I want to know HOW did we get to this point. What happened, outside of Lois revealing Clark's secret identity, to cause Superman to become both powerless and hated? When are we going to have this piece of the puzzle revealed to us. You would think that, with four Superman titles issued in a month, we would have some answers by now. The book is a great read, considering I am not a big fan of the Diana and Clark relationship. MY CLARK KENT has a relationship with LOIS LANE.
TEEN TITANS #9: Red Robin and Chimera are setting up warning sensors in Chciago in hopes of capturing that mass-murdering Superboy. At street level, Bunker, Beast Boy and Raven are accosted by their fans when Superboy arrives and stops a train from hitting a girl. Manchester Black notices Superboy’s arrival and gathers his team-Power Girl, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Guardian, and Klarion-and sends them into action. The Titans manage to get Superboy out of there, but Blacks’ team arrives and Wonder Girl demands they release Kon to her.
Will Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort get points for turning what could have been a completely boring issue into only a halfway boring issue. And it has nothing to do with the creative team as it does the characters. This is NOT my Teen Titans. And who let Guardian and Klarion in here? Klarion ESPECIALLY!!! I like that we have could old, Manchester Black stirring up the pot, but even THIS VERSION is not the cold, calculating Manchester Black I love. So, the story was good, the art was equally as impressive….and we just need to shake up the team a bit. Once that’s done, I will LOVE this book!
WE ARE ROBIN #1: We begin with Duke Thomas getting beat up on the school yard for dating someone’s sister. He ends up at Leslie Thompkins place, which results in him being put into another foster home, as his parents have been missing since they were infected with Joker Toxin. Duke runs away and ends up under Gotham where he discovers an entire city of people being led by a madman who wants to tear Gotham down. Duke gets spotted but, before he can be captured, is saved by the group known as We Are Robin. In the end, we see the headquarters of the mysterious person known as "The Nest".
For those who don’t know, this title features Duke Thomas. He played a major role during ZERO YEAR and eventually became Robin in BATMAN AND ROBIN FUTURE’S END. So, if you followed those books, you are somewhat invested in this character. I’m guessing that this team and it’s mysterious benefactor will fight crime and help Duke find his parents. Lee Bermejo and Jorge Corona do a nice job of telling the tale, although I wish Bermejo had drawn it. I’m not completely thrilled with it Corona’s art and also wonder how DC gets away with a T Rating while dropping words like “ass” and “bitch” into it. Oh yeah: what’s with the $3.99 cover price DC “drawing the line at $2.99”? Is that because it’s a first issue? Shame on you!
WONDER WOMAN #41: Diana heads to Mount Olympus to check in on Donna Troy, who is being held captive there after leading the massacre of the brothers of the Amazons. She then goes to visit Zola and Zeke, who are chilling by the Pool of the Gods. Later, she checks in with Hephaestus to see how the captive Amazons there are doing and discovers that he has crafted a new costume for her. Later, she runs into some kid who is threatening to blow himself up. The two of them scuffle before he slips loose and gets away, after telling her that he knows she is the God of War. He goes to a secret location and learns that he needs a weapon powerful enough to kill a god to become the God of War.
While the story is cool, the costume SUCKS SO BADLY! Meredith Finch is responsible for this new design and it looks like an amalgam of a bunch of heroes, including stealing from Black Widow and Captain America. Why have we gotten rid of the classic image? If you are truly going to do this, can we just go back to the white pantsuit look from the Seventies? At least she looked bad ass instead of ridiculous. While David Finch’ art is his usual fine work, I cannot get past this horrible costume. Seriously, can we bring back Mod Girl Wonder Woman, get Denny O’Neal on-board, and get back to the days of pissing off feminists?
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