Some short, quick reviews

A few quick takes:

ALICE COOPER VS. CHAOS: A great looking cover made me have high hopes for this title from Dynamite. Unfortunately, Jim Terry and Tim Seeley’s writing doesn’t hold that much weight and neither does Terry’s art. Sure, we get those classic Chaos Comics characters, but the story is incredibly silly. I guess it might have helped if I had read the PREVIOUS Cooper series. All in all, I found this to be a horrible first issue that just makes me realize how much the old MARVEL PREMIERE issue and the Gaiman mini-series were!

BEAUTY: So half of the country has contracted a new sexually transmitted disease that makes people become beautiful.  Unfortunately, this disease has deadly side effects. Following the police officers working the case of a beauty who combusted form within, we learn these people have more at stake than they knew. Jeremy Haun, who go wrote the story with Jason A. Hurley, also handles the art. The condept is fresh, although the idea of a sexually transmitted disease changing an individual for the better has already been worked with in DEATH SENTENCE and DEATH SENTENCE LONDON, even if the results of the STD is different. A great first issue and promise of a great story to come.

DANGER GIRL RENEGADE: If the idea of a DANGER GIRL comic sounds familiar, that’s because J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartnell created the character of Abbey Chase and the Danger Girl team some 17 years ago. Since then, no less than 14 mini-series or one-shots. This time around, IDW brings Hartnell and Stephen Molnar together for a fun romp that begins a dozen years ago with a great bit of back story and then races to the present where we find our heroine in danger again. I was really skeptical about this title, but gave the first issue a try and it was filled with that wondrous Nineties feel to it. In other words, although I wish the book carried a 1998 price tag, it’s a fun, mindless romp.

DARK CORRIDOR: From the warped mind of Rich Tommaso, the guy responsible for such great comic works as CLOVER HONEY and 8 ½ GHOSTS, comes DARK CORRIDOR: an anthology title set within the city of Red Circle.  We get two tales here: “The Red Circle” and “Seven Deadly Daughters”. In the first tale, we get a dog covered in blood that leads to a little detective work and a twist! In the second tale, police detectives question a man in the Emergency Room of a hospital, leading to a case of Karma biting him in the butt! Tommaso’s art style is a lot like Charles Burns meets Herge while his writing just WANTS to be Miller meets Spillane, even if it isn’t. Most will have issues with the art style because it’s not “typical comic art”, but work past it. 

KING TIGER: Leave it to Dark Horse to resurrect another of their old superhero titles. And once again, they hit it out of the park! Randy Stradley teams up with the ever-amazing Doug Wheatley for a legendary tale! Action, adventure, blood sacrifices, evil despots and scary monsters. The story is a rocket ride with great characters and cool dialogue, the art is killer and the only bad thing about this is that it’s only a four issue mini-series. With reboots this good, can we get more from the Comics Greatest World like X and THE MACHINE!

NEW ZODIAX: Joe St. Pierre. You know the name, as he has worked on a bunch of comics, both as a writer and an illustrator. You’ve seen his work on SECRET WEAPONS, RAI, SPIDER MAN, SUPERBOY, and many more. Now he’s out on his own and NEW ZODIAX is his baby. This wild ride features the orgin of a new hero in every issue of the series and obviously the heroes are inspired by and tie into the signs of the Zodiac. The action is incredibly fast moving, the plot is amazingly complex and the art is bombastic, over the top, superhero stuff in the very best way. The only drawback, if you want to call it that, is that you will find yourself going back and rereading earlier issues to make sure you don’t miss something in the plot. It is THAT complex and detailed. Read them all in one sitting or, if you can’t find the single issues, order the upcoming trade paperback. This is a great addition to your regular pull list!

PHONOGRAM THE IMMATERIAL GIRL: Nine years ago, the team responsible for the critically acclaimed THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, created a title called PHONOGRAM. This is the third volume in the series, which revolves around a coven of phonomancers. It is a series that is filled with musical references, wild parties, and magic with the focus on Emily Aster, who once sold half of her personality for the power to rule the coven. The main concept is Music is Magic and that will run through the whole mini-series as our heroine ends up living in the world of video. The book looks great and, if you’re a fan of THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, you’ll be wanting to read this!

PUBLIC RELATIONS: I totally don’t know how to tell you about this title. We have egotistical characters, flying dragons, romance, innuendos, sex, horny moms, castles, kings, wizards and so much more. The hero of our piece is Dan Clover who has suddenly reconnected with his father and a brother he never knew he had. The story by Matthew Sturges and Dave Justus is a riot and I found myself standing in my comic shop laughing out loud as I read some of the lines. David Hahn’s art is perfectly suited for the story; somewhere between cartoon and comic style. From Devil’s Due, you may have to have this book special ordered for you. But it’s worth the wait and worth the read.

SHO-TIE: The newest work from prolific creator Eric Lebow and his Deadboy Press is a great example of more bang for your buck. 68 pages, if I count right, for five bucks! Divide into two huge chapters, we start in Japan with the arrival of two sons to a barren couple and from there, it’s a non stop action ride with a great superhero, a magic dragon, and a bunch of classic 1930’s gangsters. Lebow writes and inks this huge tome with art from Bernard Kolle and Antonio Rojo. Actually, it’s a worldwide effort as there are contributions from France, Spain, Brazil and Slovenia. It’s a great undertaking with a fun, roller coaster ride of a story. My only real complaint is that I wish Lebow had drawn one of the two chapters as I am a long time fan of his art. Seek this out and lend some support to the small indys.

THIS DAMNED BAND: It’s 1974 and Motherfather is the hottest band in the world. Unfortunately, they are a heavy metal band that ingests far too many drugs and are devil worshippers. At a concert in Tokyo, their faith is totally tested. This book is like THIS IS SPINAL TAP on acid! It is a funny look at the life of a rock band in the Seventies who are having trouble controlling their own destinies. Paul Cornell’s story is great, complete with a two-page discography and fake T-shirt ad! And Tony Parker’s art is a mind-blowing trip without the drugs. This is a wild ride. You need to dive into this and just enjoy…preferably with some sweet Sixties psychedelic music for your soundtrack.

Double Take's Ultimate Night of the Living Dead Universe

You have to be pretty confident of your product to release TEN #1 issues in a single day in this comic book market (although DC did that when they released 50+ versions of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED a little over a year ago). But that is exactly what Double Take Comics did on September 16 when they dropped ten first issues into comic shops. Double Take is run by former Marvel vice president Bill Jemas and is backed by Take-Two Interactive: a video game company responsible for such classics as BIOSHOCK, BORDERLANDS and everyone’s favorite GRAND THEFT AUTO. Double Take has set all of their titles in the 1966 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD universe and even is bold enough to feature some of the recognizable characters within the books, complete with well known scenes and classic lines. Not the first time NOTLD was worked into comics, most notably a gory series from Avatar a few years back. So…does it all work?

SPRING #1: Sunday April 24th @ 12:00 PM. A collection of sights and sounds on a spring day in Eastern Pennsylvania that ends in tragedy when people start disappearing under the water of a local swimming hole.

Is this where it all begins? What a great, simple story that does no more than set the scene for what is about to come next. We go from car radios to beach conversations to missing swimmers in the course of 26 pages While Bill Jemas’ story, with scripting assist from Jenn Sodini and John Flynn, is pretty simple, being that it is bits and pieces of peoples’ lives, it is pretty impressive. And the art from Young Heller, Kurt Tiede and Derlis Santacruz is really nice, thanks in part to the dynamic color palette of Marta Mertinez. This was one of the most fun reads in this group of 10 just because it wasn’t so much about reading it as it was feeling it. Great job!

HONOR #1: Sunday April 24th @ 12:00 PM. Chief McClelland and Officer Long are running a radar trap when they stop an out of state speeder from New York. They ticket him and go back to their position while the speeder and his female companion get busy in the car. Soon, local resident Old Fred comes whizzing by in his souped-up tractor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see the copulating couple until it’s too late and the result is and accident that leaves Old Fred dead on the side of the road. The Chief puts Fred in a body bag but, as the police leave, that body bag sits up!

Like SPRING, this issue is set prior to NIGHT and is at the very beginning of the zombie incidents. There is a ton of character development in the story by Bill Jemas and Julian Rowe, with a script assist from Frank Ortega. I mean A TON on the part of Officer Long. Nice to see Chief McClelland making an appearance in the series, so as to validate it with the movie. Art from Julian Rowe and Carlos Rodriguez is uneven throughout. But check out the “Ultimate Technology Buyer’s Guide”showing off RCA color TV’s and AT&T Princess Phones. Very neat! And check out those prices!

MEDIC #1: An ambulance arrives at Universtiy Hospital with three injured people. The worst is a 27 year male with chest wounds. We also meet his 28 year old wife and a man with missing toes currently sitting in a cup of melting ice. Dr. Becker is the best dotor around but he also likes to talk about his youth, especially his first kiss. Not one to charm the nurses, he saves the man’s life and reports that to his wife. That’s when he gets a frantic call from the morgue. It seems the cadavers are coming back to life.

I assume this is where this title would go chronologically as it is the only one that doesn’t give a time or a place anywhere in the book. Bill Jemas and Brian Finkelstein provide the story, with scripting assistance from Mike Soviero and Michael Coast. Julian Rowe and Marcos Castiello are the artists and that gives the book a feel that is a cross between the Grantray-Lawrence Marvel cartoons of 1966(pretty appropriate since they debuted a little over five months after this story takes place) and Hanna Barbera. It is obvious major shortcuts have been taken and parts of panels are identical to each other. Truly, it feels like the barely animated Marvel Comics cartoons of the Sixties. The creepy photo realistic cover by Apple Qingyang Zhang is a highlight. Also cool is the statistical then and now between such things as world population, McDonald’s meal calories and the number of Wal Mart products made in China.

DEDICATION #1: Sunday April 24th @ 6:45 PM. It’s closing time at Geroge’s Supermarket and while George heads to the back to count his money, Trip and Joey are tasked with straightening all the shelves for tomorrow’s business. Before you know it, zombies have made their way inside and begun eating everything from boxes of cereal to flowers. Trip and Joey try to get them to leave and Joey makes what could be a critical mistake by waving her index finger near the mouth of one of the invaders. Meanwhile, George is counting his money and watching news reports from Washington and then from Dr.Grimes. That is when his three employees show up. Are they still alive or are they now undead?

This is a real unusual entry in the series as we have zombies who don’t LOOK like ZOMBIES. In fact, everyone looks quite normal, even if the art by Young Heller and JJ Dzialowski is extremely uneven and often amateurish. The story by Michael Coast, Matthew Summo, Bill Jemas, with a scripting assist by Mike Soviero, is a bit threadbare and really needs more depth to it. Not to mention, this is a book with zombies in it but no real action. I believe in setting up a storyline, but this needs more gas in the tank. And their LBJ looks nothing like him! However, Ruiz Burgos cover is stunning! I also love the opening page with “Ultimate Cocktail Party” recipes. Very, VERY cool!

HOME #1: Sunday April 24th @ 7:30 PM. Tim arrives at the Foster’s house for dinner and we get to meet the family, including an incredibly foul-mouthed little sister named Lisa. As dad tries to fly a kite with Lisa, Tim and daughter Linda are getting busy upstairs, but are interrupted because dad’s truck needs a push. Tim and Linda head off as the rest of the family goes into town for gasoline and some lunch. While at the diner, a zombie arrives and begins to eat some of the desserts. He gets chased outside but, in the process, falls on young Kevin who gets injured.

All I want to know is what is up with the little kid? I haven’t seen that much foul language out of a kid since THE EXORCIST! This was a very weird story, as it went an entire issue before dropping the zombie into the last few pages. I like that we have a bunch of different characters, especially the comic versions of Ward and June Cleaver. And the interracial relationship between Tim and Linda is pretty intense for 1966. A real unusual story from Michael Coast, Julian Rowe, Eric Hobbs and Bill Jemas with better than average art from Julian Rowe, Monica Catalano and Fernando Melek.

Z-MEN #1: Sunday April 24th @ 7:30 PM. Eddie Stevens is on his way home when he his stopped by local farmers and shot as he tries to get past their roadblock. Earlier that day, President Lyndon Johnson is reviewing the NSA information regarding the mass murders in Pennsylvania. He arranges for two of the members of the Secret Service motor pool, Clancy and Stuart, to go out to the site and investigate. Arriving at the roadblock, they are directed to see Chief McClelland but manage to get lost on the way. When Stuart asks someone on the side of the road for directions, he is attacked and only Clancy’s great aim saves him.

Story by Jeff McComsey and Bill Jemas is great fun, but the artwork by Kurt Tiede is very weak. I like bringing in both LBJ and Chief McClelland into it. That way, it feels like it is set in the proper time and place. I like the two Secret Service agents and I think their characters will get fleshed out in future issues.

RISE #1: Sunday April 24th @ 7:45 PM. In a very familiar scene, Barbara and Johnny are in the graveyard to put flowers on their grandfather’s grave. Barbara is attacked, Johnny tries to save her and whacks his head on a grave marker. She flees in their car, holing herself up in a nearby house. Johnny awakens and watches as a priest in the nearby church kills some of the zombies. Unfortunately, the zombies overwhelm the church and kill those inside. He hears the sound of an exploding vehicle and watches as the zombies devour what is left of Tom and Judy. He arrives at the house and carries Barbara out to safety. Arriving back in the graveyard, they are again attacked by the first zombie there, but manage to distract him from eating them by giving him some candy.

Well, I didn’t see that plot twist coming! So the zombies don’t necessarily hunger for flesh…just food of any kind? Again: didn’t see that coming. Here is a cool story by Bill Jemas and Michael Coast, with plotting assist from Jeff McComsey, that is hampered by bland art. Kurt Tiede did layouts while Frederica Manfredi handled the pencils. The art is flat and looks more like animation storyboards than comic art. If you can get past that, it’s another fun read, especially by having Johnny and Barbara survive.

REMOTE #1: Sunday April 24th @ 10:15 PM. Samantha Stanton is all alone and manning the airwaves at KBRF, Actually, she is not all alone as some of the station personnel, now zombies, are in there with her. Station owner Ed Grubler calls and informs her she will get a nice bonus, because everyone else is dead, but she is going to have to keep the station on the air. That also means she has to make her way outside to make sure the power is on. She manages to do that, running into the former Ms. Prendergast in the process. Getting back inside, she reads a wire report saying that the area will be sanitized by the Air Force at 23:00 hours. That’s when she realzies the station is now filled with zombies.

This, mainly because of the really simple artwork of Young Heller and David Wilson, is the weakest entry in the series by far. Colin Mitchell, Bill Jemas and Michael Coast contribute to the story, which is a variation on the classic  “heroine in distress” stories combined with “the monsters are coming and I’m all alone and defenseless” story. But I can forgive that. I can’t forgive the really disappointing art, especially when the cover by Jose Luis and Carlos Reno is so dynamic and image. A real bummer and, if this was the only title in the series you read, you’d stop right here and never read another. The standout highlight is the listings of classic TV shows that were introduced in the 1960’s.

SLAB #1: Sunday April 24th @ 11:45 PM. Over at KOV TV, Dr. Grimes is doing an on-air interview regarding the crisis and how the bodies of the recently deceased should be handled. The station’s director sees him as a ratings bonanza and sends Bradley to follow the doctor back to the hospital morgue, where they view a limbless reanimated corpse. Rumors abound from reporters in Washington and the station is more than happy enough to broadcast those rumors. Meanwhile, Dr. Grimes assistant goes to get his two daughters and bring them to safety. Unfortunately, his daughter Carol gets bit on the final page!

This is another good story that sets up the long-term story. What I loved here is bringing in Dr. Grimes, famous for his medical report in the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and making him a central character in this title, along with the newsman. It’s a rather in-depth, wordy story by Brian Finkelstein, Bill Jemas and Michael Coast and that’s a good thing as a number of these stories are short on dialogue. The art by Julian Rowe and Joseph Cooper is good and better than I had expected based on  the art on many of the titles in this series. This title seems to have the most potential for good old fashioned scary stuff! And check out the “Ultimate TV” Prime Time TV listings for the week of April 24-30, 1966. Pretty cool!

SOUL #1: Sunday April 25th @ 8:00 AM. It’s the morning after the Night of the Living Dead. The Army and local police are continuing to mop up. Chief McClelland accepts a cup of coffee and instructs his man Vince to shoot the zombie they believe is moving inside the house in front of them. Vince’ shot hits Ben in the temple, but does not kill him. He begins to shout that he is alive and that causes panic, especially in the White House where the realization is that a white man just shot a black man on live TV. The chief enters the house and interviews Ben, finding out how he arrived here and how they holed up to against the zombie attack. Meanwhile, in the basement, a seemingly dead Harry Cooper comes back to life.

Once again, the original NOTLD story gets turned on its’ ear as Ben survives the shooting and Harry resurrects! The story by Michael Coast, Julian Rowe and Bill Jemas does a nice job of picking up at the end of the film and bringing Chief McClelland back into this series for the third time out of ten books. While Carlos Reno’s art on the cover absolutely rocks, the interior work by Julian Rowe, Ricardo Sanchez, Jose Luis and Ricardo Silva is very uneven and, in spots panels, looks as if they were only pencilled and never inked. I am curious to see where this tale goes from here as it heads into new ground beyond the film.

To sum up, this is a very uneven bunch of books, but worth my time and investment. The concept of putting everything in a specific timeline in 1966 Pennsylvania is cool. Most of the stories work well while others need some serious fleshing out, pun intended! The biggest fault in all these tiles is the artwork that falls short on so many levels, especially when you start out with great looking covers. The best thing this series has working for them is the $2.50 cover price which means, if you have a subscription service, you can probably pick these up for around two bucks a pop! THAT’S A GREAT DEAL FOR 24+ pages of comic! It was pretty bold releasing all of these on one day and that, couple with a low print run, has made these hard to find, so I recommend you have your local retailer special order them. Bottom line: check them out. They are not on par with many titles put out by the bigger companies, but I find them an intriguing start and am DYING to see where they go from here!

DC YOU Month 3, Part 2

LOBO #9: Lobo is almost under the complete control of the Countesses’ spiderbot as she forces him to have sex with her. Later, she shows him her production room when his new friend from last issue arrives to help, but it only gets him injured in the process. He sets off an EMP that frees Lobo from his spiderbot and then introduces himself as Wyvern from the Citadel. Lobo only wants revenge right now on the Countess. Later, Wyvern attempts to hire Lobo to go after the Omega Men, but gets turned down. Instead, he gets hired by The Void to take on Sinestro. Meanwhile, Countess grows herself back and claims she has the pieces in place to build Czarnian flesh.

Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere are making this book totally more interesting than before. It’s just a shame that this issue came out AFTER the LOBO ANNUAL where the Sinestro storyline was resolved. That notwithstanding, the issue was fun and I love Szymon Kudranski’s art. And this Lobo, while still not MY LOBO (yes, I am still bitching about that), is getting better.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER #3: The White Martians are in a bit of a panic as they try and figure out what to do now that their weapon has killed himself. Ma'alefa'ak arrives and betrays his Martian brothers by turning the four into one big monster he calls the Martian Man-Eater. Meanwhile, Agent Wessel is in the hospital with the murderous kid who claims he killed his mother because she was a Martian. The ghost of Martian Manhunter appears and tells Wessel that his fellow agents are actually White Martians who are coming to kill him. After finding out that the kid was telling the truth, Wessel kidnaps him and runs head on into the Martian Man-Eater. Luckily Mr. Biscuits arrives and fights off the creature, then reveals himself as Martian Manhunter.

WOW! Thank you Rob Williams and Edy Barrows for just tearing it up on this title. This is truly one of the bright spots of the new DC YOU regular titles. The story keeps you guessing, the art is mind blowing and this is just so, SO good! I can’t wait for the next issue and that’s going some because I NEVER thought I would see the day where a MARTIAN MANHUNTER book would go to the TOP of my reading pile! Can we get Williams to pull a Gerry Duggan and write MOST of the DC YOU books?

MIDNIGHTER #3: Midnighter visits a mother whose daughter has been kidnapped and that means Midnighter to the rescue, which takes us to where the last issue ended. Of course, he saves her in ultra violent fashion. Then he goes to spend time with his new boyfriend and we get a glimpse of how his relationship with Apollo ended. The issue ends with Midnighter paying a visit to his old friend Agent 37-Grayson.

Steve Orlando: what have you done? The first issue was great and the second was okay but this one was just awful! The dialogue was so clunky and even the break-up with Apollo felt…weird! Aco’s art continues to shiner and that is about the only thing making me keep this book in the pile. We know that the psycho has a softer side, but to turn a quarter of the book into his latest flame and past love just doesn’t work for me. And to be honest, it wouldn’t work if it was a straight relationship either. It’s Midnighter: let’s get some blood and guts and move on.

NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #11: The League, along with Deadshot and Manta, is off to take out the Lazaraus Pit factories. Of course, they are missing Boomerang, who betrayed the League and is probably going to pay for his treachery. Waller and Sage get the word that the factories are going to be attacked and, since a British company owns it, that’s a bad thing. Sage insists they pull out, but Waller knows that means blowing the mission. So that means Plan C: have Parasite, Harley and Reverse Flash get involved to stop the League. As the battle rages, Parasite gets frozen, Harley is taken out, Reverse Flash gets blown out of the fight and Manta seems to have gone to the other side as he eliminates the leader of the team defending the facility. In the end, the team has been torn apart and the facility has been left in flames.

We get another great, action filled issue from Sean Ryan and Philippe Briones. The story rocks, even if the makeup of this team is not my favorite. I see where the concept of story over continuity plays in as we have Reverse Flash being involved here while he is making The Flash’ life hell in his own title. Plus, we have the Parasite involved in this battle while he also appears in this month’s SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN. I love the action and you know that DC isn’t going to let this book sink with the movie due soon.

OMEGA MEN #3: The Princess Kalista of Euphorix is killing off natives of the planet as part of her daily sword practice. Tigorr shows up, kills her assistant Talim and attempts to kidnap her. But she uses her sword play to take him out fairly quickly, Scrapps arrives next and both players take each other out. Primus and Broot show up and they finally succeed in kidnapping the Princess, along with picking up the wounded. Back at the Omega Men’s home base, the Princess is put in a cell with Kyle Rayner, who is drawing a sketch of Carol Ferris. Apparently both of them have now had bombs installed within them and they are linked to each other. Soon, Tigorr comes and takes her to see Primus and that leads to them kissing. Kalista is the REAL leader of the Omega Men!

Wow! I didn’t see that coming! Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda through a curveball with this one! This book continues to impress and amaze with the writing and the art and goes into some totally cool places! Again, I was a fan of the original series and had high hopes for this book. I am totally thrilled that it did not and continues to impress. Let’s hope that, despite wherever this falls regarding sales figures, that DC will stand behind this book.

PREZ #3: We begin with Beth's Grandma watching television and finding out that her granddaughter has been elected President. Over at Esposito Enterprises, Manny is packaging Sexy Frog statues before having to take a much needed bathroom break. Later, he gets to be part of a rah-rah meeting featuring the head of the Smiley Corporation. Even later, his boss fires him for taking too much time in the bathroom. An adventure capitalist arrives at Beth’ house and try to convince her to take out an expensive life insurance policy on herself. Her next order of business is selecting her cabinet, beginning with Franklin Holyfield as her science adviser, a Mr. Wycheck as her Secretary of State, leading her to fire her current ambassador. Two senators go on television to debate a law that protects pigs from sexual abuse. On Inauguration Day, there is an assassination attempt that gets prevented by a defense robot that has been hacked into by guys in Guy Fawkes masks. In the end, a Sexy Frog appears on Beth’s desk.

With all the craziness going on as election season gets into gear, this is the perfect book to read as a mental soundtrack to it all. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell nail it on the head with this issue, as they have with every one so far. It’s all fun and games and mind-bending stuff that totally skewers the political arena. Own this book! It’s a hoot!

RED HOOD/ARSENAL #3: Although Jason and Roy have earned a bunch of money from their last job, Roy has spent it all on ads for their new business Rent-A-Bat. The leads to their being fired by Tara Battleworth. So now they need to rely on someone to call them at (555) R-E-D - A-R-S-E. They head to Detroit to meet with a client who makes them guess what super-villain he works for. Come to find out that villain is someone called Underbelly. Arriving at his hideout, it turns out that Underbelly is a horrible creature who kills his assistant in front of the boys. Jason shoots him up, but the creature puts himself back together, explaining that he can’t be killed. Roy seemingly finishes him off by detonating an exploding arrow in his ass, leading the boys to think that their new calling is to use their business to take on the scum of the earth. So the boys head back to Gotham and run right into the middle…of the NEW Batman.

RED ARSE? C’mon Scott Lobdell: can’t you do better than that? Denis Medri turns in some nice looking art, but this whole thing feels like and Abbott and Costello movie. Honestly: these two got silly and Starfire, in her own book, got stupid. Not exactly a nice way to treat these heroes. Heck, it’s enough to have Speedy go back on the smack!

ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #3: Damian, Nobody and Goliath are trying to escape from Iceland without getting killed and the only way to do that is for Damian to drop their special gem. Being that they don’t like each other, Nobody and Damian mix it up and she knocks out one of his baby teeth. Realizing they need to work together, even if they don’t like each other, she shows off her stealth ship and explains that she plans on fulfilling her father's contracts. But, in the end, she decides to quite, which doesn’t make Deathstroke happy. Oh yeah: Talia’s back too!

Patrick Gleason does the near impossible and elevates this book to BATMAN AND ROBIN levels! The story is intriguing, the art is great and I just totally love the characterizations of Damian and Nobody. This is one book that I thought could go either way and I am thrilled to see that it went in the RIGHT direction! Keep up the GREAT WORK!

SECRET SIX #5: Big Shot hosts a cookout for all the team members, except for Alice, who seems to be in her room troubled by nightmares involving wizards and “this swamp guy”. Blake spies a photo of Big Shot’s widow and recognizes her as the woman who tried to kill him. Racing downstairs, he and Big Shot get into a brawl while the rest eat the wieners. Black Alice separates them and Big Shot explains his story. He confesses that Mockingbird is The Riddler who, at the moment, is dealing with the team that attacked the Six and failed. Big Shot confesses that he is not Damon Wells but really is a Detective named Ralph Dibny who, with his wife Susan, was working to retrieve the India Star, which was in the possession of The Riddler. Blake had been hired as security, as had Strix.In fact, all of them were there that night. Riddler unveiled the Star, proposed to Susan Dibney and then the lights went out, the star was stolen and the ship suffered an explosion that led people scurrying to lifeboats Dibney reached for his wife but a second explosion took her away from him. The team unloads at the docks, allegedly where Mockingbird hides out, only to find Sue Dibny alive and to be ambushed by The Riddler and his gang. It appears the Dibneys ARE in cohoots with Mockingbird after all.

Like a giddy child, I have to admit that THIS is the first title I grab out of my stack on the week it comes out. While some are calling Gail Simone’s work on SWORDS OF SORROW some of her worst, this run may feature some of her best! The characterizations are killer, filled with enough old school references to make long time readers smile. Dale Eaglesham and Tom Derenick are a true Dynamic Duo, turning out some amazing looking art that just draws you into the book. Heck, they opening splash page of Wells/Dibney’s distorted face screaming “RED HOT WIENERS FOR EVERYBODY!” is an image I want to own as a poster, since I could never afford the original artwork. You’ve got the true return of the Elongated Man and his wife who, when last we knew, were still dead after the events in IDENTITY CRISIS. And, best of all, we have The Riddler as The Mockingbird and still don’t know what the full ramifications of that are. In other words: BUY THIS BOOK!

SINESTRO #14: Sinestro recruits Nax of the Naidroth Collective as a new Yellow Lantern, along with the former Manhunters that have already been inducted into the ranks. He takes Nax to Soranik for further indoctrination and Nax performs psychic vivisection so they can try to figure out how The Paling is affecting the Lanterns. In the end, we see that Sinestro’s recruitment drive is all a part of him preparing for war.

Cullen Bunn gives us an above average issue with a lot of exposition and a who ton of dialogue, which actually did a great job of fleshing out these characters more than he has in the first 13 issues. But the real beauty of this book remains in Robson Rocha’s art. This book has wavered between being really awful and being really good, with this being one of the better issues. Sinestro’s true colors are being revealed which means our boy has a plan that is going to cause all sorts of problems for the DC Universe!

STARFIRE #3: We start with a cruise ship picking up a shipwrecked man named Soren Hook who goes on to use his mind powers to kill the crew. Off on Smather’s Beach, a clawed creature comes up from beneath the sane and causes some havoc. Meanwhile, is helping Stella and Sol put their house back together, including pulling the world’s largest supply of lawn gnomes out of their pool. Stella has agreed to let Kori stay here in the guest house until she can find a new home to replaced her destroyed trailer. She eats some baking soda and realizes this is not a good thing, so she ends up at the local market where she gets treated like royalty, even though she can’t figure out how to eat watermelon. Eventually, she ends up involved with the cruise ship murders, the sand creature (that comes in and busts up a bar) and a waitress named Atlee who has super powers and claims she is responsible for the creature. The book ends with Kori and Atlee giving chase.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti continue to write Starfire life she is Chrissy from THREE’S COMPANY. When did this stranger in a strange land become a bimbo in a strange land? If they’re trying to play it for laughs, it isn’t working. If they are truly trying to make her an innocent alien, THAT ain’t working either. The only thing that is great I this book is the art of Emanuela Lupacchino. Without that, this book would be totally unreadable and, to be honest, it’s pretty darned close to that now!

SUPERMAN #43: Clark wakes up in Lois’ apartment: naked and powered down after the incident involving the Hordr. Saying he is the person that she almost fell in love with, she promises not to reveal his secret to the world. Meanwhile, Jimmy gets sick and vomits out a robot that activates Clark's phone, revealing Hordr_Root on the screen. Clark is given coordinates to where is to meet Hordr_Root and Lois goes along for the ride. Once inside, Lois discovers a dead body and Clark is strapped into a chair so Hordr_Root can make him fire off his solar flares so his creatures can suck up his energy. To save him and those people that are being held hostage, Lois reveals his identity to the world, so that Hordr_Root no longer has anything on him. He breaks out and immediately proceeds to chastise Lois for revealing his identity, especially once General Lane shows up with a helicopter filled with Kryptonite filled armaments.

Gene Luen Yang continues to contribute to the shaking up of the status quo of the Big Blue Boy Scout. Along with John Romita Jr., and inks by the legendary Klaus Janson and Scott Hanna, this title continues to go off in a strange direction. The book has energy once again and, even though I am not a fan of the concept of stripping away everything that we have known and loved and doing the “Peter Parker reveal”, I love what the creative team is trying to do with it: making it as popular as BATMAN is.

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #20: Superman is in the Oval Office where he finds himself meeting with Steve Trevor and NOT the President. He explains that they reason he had a secret identity was both to protect his family and his friends, but also to lead the life of a regular person. We also learn that the government, while rebuilding the Kent farm and putting their remains back where they belong, have captured people in Clark’s life including Lois, Lana, Perry, Jimmy, John Henry Irons, Cat Grant, a resident of Smallville, and his grade school teacher. Wonder Woman finds that facility and busts them out. Meanwhile, the President arrives and he and Superman go for a walk, when they are attacked by the Parasite. Superman handles him as best he can until the Secret Service call the Parasite off, as it was their fault they released him as back-up. Trevor gives Superman the longitude and latitude of the captives and off he flies.

Peter J. Tomasi has taken the amazing writing he did on BATMAN AND ROBIN and turned those talents loose here. Throw in Doug Mahnke’s amazing art and you have a winner. And, the nice thing about this book now, especially since the beginning of the DARK TRUTH storyline, we have not concentrated on the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship…even though THAT is what the book is supposed to be about. This issue feels cool, the mystery of the abducted friends has yet to be addressed, and I’m sure that will be looked at next issue. But that alone is enough to make me come back for more.

TEEN TITANS #11: Manchester Black is taunting Red Robin and Raven, so Tim decides the only way of escape is to do a window dive, spread his wings and fly away. Black seems unfazed by it, as his plan is coming together. Two days later, the team meets and agree that they need to breaking into prison to clear Kon's name. Inside, Raven tells them that they need to see Despero, even as Gar delivers a computer worm that opens all of the prison cells. Eventually, after a huge battle with the escaped prisoners, Superboy arrives.

So I can’t beat up Scott Lobdell for writing the worst dialogue in comics as Will Pfeifer has managed to pretty much take the cake with this issue. It feels dumb and the whole plot is just out there: let’s break into a Super Max prison to clear Superboy’s name and visit with Despero while we’re at it. And we get a fill in artist in the form of someone named Ricken. This issue is just awful and the fact that Superboy arrives on the last page for what I assume will be a blow out involving Superboy and Despero really doesn’t help its’ cause. I can’t waited for the limited TITANS HUNT series coming in November. At least THAT’S a team I can get behind!

WE ARE ROBIN #3: The team is trying to get a cell phone signal so they can received instructions on how to disarm a bomb on the tracks. Above ground, hobos are attacking the citizens of Gotham and street Robins. Finally getting instructions, they team is forced to split up, as they learn of a second bomb in the electrical room. They manage to successfully disarm the second bomb, while the new batman arrives to contain the panic in the street. The Nest instructs the group to leave the bomb in the subway, but Troy insist and staying. As the train leaves the station, they see the bomb explode and it’s obvious we’re now a Robin down. We learn that Alfred is The Nest, he is troubled by Jason Todd’s costume, and decides The Nest needs to be brought to them.

I would love to see Lee Bermejo draw this book besides writing it, but I will settle for the quirky art of Jorge Corona. While finally learning that Alfred was The Nest was kind of a letdown, as I expected that right along, the loss of one of the characters this early on was a BIG SURPRISE. Twists and turns are nice, but there are way too many characters in this book, as obvious during the fight in Gotham and we have a boatload of Robins here too. It needs some work, but it is managing to hold my interest.

WONDER WOMAN #43: Donna Troy has managed an escape thanks to Strife, who shows up and taunt Wonder Woman about it. She goes off to see her brother Milan and asks him to use his sight beyond sight to find Donna. He catches some images but can’t find her. Meanwhile, Donna has made her way to London and tracked down the Three Fates, who explain that her destiny hasn’t been written as they have not sewn her destiny, as she was created from clay. As she leaves, someone enters. Diana arrives to discover the Fates have been murdered. Aegeus arrives and shoots her with an arrow, causing her eyes to bleed and then she collapses to the ground.

So, it didn’t take long for David Finch to exit, if only briefly, giving way to Ian Churchill, whose art is surprisingly fitting for this title. This is probably Meredith Finch’ best issue to date as we have a mystery on top of a murder on top of another mystery. And, like everyone else, I am not a fan of Wonder Woman’s new outfit, but…just be glad it’s not a white pant suit.

DC YOU Month 3, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #43: Picking up from last issue, Superman is punching out a cop. Only it isn’t really a cop, it’s this slimy shadow creature that is attacking everyone and everything until the police dispatches it with Superman’s help. The Mayor gets pictures of it, doesn’t like what she sees and orders Superman out of Metropolis. He and Jimmy head back to his apartment to find out it has been searched by the police and trashed, compete with GO HOME ALIEN spray painted on his floor. He meets with his neighbors and tells them they are all Superman now. Later, Officer Petruzelli meets with the Mayor to tell her side of what happened and it turns out that mayor’s aides are Shadow Creatures too. Luckily, Superman and the rest of the police arrive to try and save the day.

Greg Pak. Aaron Kuder. The most exciting Superman story in a long time. HARD TRUTH rolls on with a lot more questions than answers. This is great stuff and should absolutely be on the top of everyone’s reading list!

ALL STAR SECTION EIGHT #3: Beuno discovers that he needs to fight Sir Percival Orifice, Tape of the Wyrn for the honor and love of Guts. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter finds it an honor and a privilege to join Section Eight, even though he believes that Baytor may be an ancient Martian god. J’onn and Six Pack have a long heart to heart, leading Six Pack to realize this IS his calling and he believes he can lead the team into action. Unfortunately, J’onn goes to the bathroom and seeing what is transpiring between Sir Percival, Beuno and Guts, he flees in absolute disgust.

This book is TRULY not for the faint of heart! It is disgusting on all levels from visual to low brow and foul humor. We have out favorite DC heroes swearing up a storm! We have J’onn going to the bathroom because he feels a great movement coming on! We have a mostly naked Beuno fighting a tapeworm for the honor of Guts. Garth Ennis and John McCrea have outdone themselves here. But, when HAVEN’T they?

AQUAMAN #43: We begin with a flashback where Aquaman tells her how this other civilization can be saved and her response is to brand him a traitor and the break-up begins! Aquaman goes to visit Poseidon for advise and gives Aquaman his powers to help in the battle to save Thule. Back in the present, the former sea king battles Garth, King Shark a team of elite Atlantean soldiers. But a giant creature from Thule forces them to work together and Aquaman gets to test out his new powers. The Atlanteans allow him to leave for now and we discover that Mera isn’t really Mera, but someone who is impersonating her and referring to her as her sister.

Oh how this title has drifted down from the greatness it was. Cullen Bunn’s story is too warped and confusing for me, with too many obligatory flashbacks cluttering it up. And the dynamic art duo of Trevor McCarthy with Jesus Merino just doesn’t fit with this book. Not to mention, when I have characters in the background that barely have faces on them, I find that a problem! Just a major bummer since CONVERGENCE.

BATGIRL  #43: We begin with a tiger attack before jumping to Barbara helping Alysia with her wedding plans. Barbara learns of the tiger attack and heads to Foxtech to talk to Luke Fox.  She runs an algorithm and finds out that Qadir let the tiger out, even though he denies it. Another tiger attack and Batgirl shows up to find Frankie there. After chewing her up, she runs off to a dress fitting with Alysia. Barbara gets called away again as Frankie has figured where the next tiger attack will occur. Batgirl arrives to save the day, but not before getting scratched in the process. Back home, she has a fight with Frankie, who later goes out dressed as Batgirl and meets with Qadir. We end finding out that Jo was responsible for releasing the tigers and then the real villain arrives.

Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr continue what has become known as the “Batgirling” of DC Comics. And, as I have said since this revamp started, this is NOT the Batgirl we fans want. Now, DC claims that this is to bring more girls into the comic shops but my comics loving daughter reads MY LITTLE PONY and BATMAN. Oh yeah…and classic Sixties comics like SUPERBOY and T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS. She CERTAINLY doesn’t read this. IS IT bringing in female readers? You’d have to ask a retailer.

BATMAN #43: Jim Gordon reveals himself as Batman to a bearded Bruce Wayne and asks for his help dealing with this mysterious Mr. Bloom, who says he is no longer the person he was and can’t help him. Meanwhile, Clark Kent meets with Alfred and learns the real secret of Bruce Wayne. It seems Bruce DID die but somehow was brought back to life by the Dionesium, which also changed the paths in his brain. The OLD Bruce no longer exists and he knows nothing of his career as Batman. Clark threatens to tell Bruce but Alfred reveals, as he whips out a Kryptonite ring, that telling Bruce that would do no good, as he no longer has any of the fighting skills he once had. He also gets shown the one thing he had been working on: a way to use his DNA to always make a 27 year old version of him, so there would ALWAYS be a Batman. The New Batman goes out after Mr. Bloom and gets involved in a fight where he uses his new Batarang gun and a shark to defeat his enemies. But he also falls into a trap that Julia can’t help him out of, as she herself has been taken out. But then again, it looks like Oswald Cobblepot and his associates have been taken out too!

Wow! And the hits just keep on coming courtesy of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. The most popular DC title continues to rock and shock! Bruce Wayne lives but has never remembered being Batman and can no longer have the skills he once had? And who is Mr. Bloom and why does he have it out for everyone? And just what is the continued connection between Bruce and Duke Thomas? This book just keep getting better and better with each issue!

BATMAN BEYOND #3: We find Tim Drake drugged in a chair in The Lodge so that Brother Eye can find the location of Neo Gotham. Alfred shocks Tim and this disables the chair long enough for him to get the drugs out of his system, leading him into a fight with Inque. It seems that Inque has sold herself out because Brother Eye had kidnapped her daughter, but soon discovers that Deanna has gotten free. So Tim saves Barbara and Inque and destroys the place. Unfortunately, Brother Eye has injected itself into the Batman suit and now The Veil has been compromised. Micron arrives and it seems that Tim has doomed Neo Gotham instead of saving it.

Okay, this book is getting a little on the silly side now. Not to mention that Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang are giving us a supporting cast, with the exception of Tim and Barbara, that I really don’t have a loving connection with. Terry McGuiness’ brother is a jerk who seems to have it in for Tim because he didn’t get to be Johnny Bravo and wear the suit! The first issue really surprised me, but the quality of it has gone down increasingly since. C’mon guys: give me something to make me excited about.

BATMAN SUPERMAN #23: Superman goes underground to check out Ukur and finds an entire camp that is looking for light, not looking to conquer the Earth. In disguise as one of the Dawn Command, he saves one of the Upperworlder’s from attack and then gets the story. It appears that people have willingly left Gotham and other “unsafe” surface world cities to come down here an be protected by Ukur. Meanwhile, Gordon meets with Fox and wonders if Clark can be trusted. Then Gordon meets with Perry White, who is still hopping mad that he hired an alien. The Lois Lane, who is guarded by Metallo, meets with Gordon and suggests that although Clark will always do the right thing, his right thing may not always be everyone else’ idea of right. Down below, Ukur introduces his newest ally: Arthur of Atlantis.

TRUTH HURTS Part Three by Greg Pak and Adrian Syaf brings the relationship between Superman and his supporting cast to a whole new level of mistrust. Right from the start, Jim Gordon admits he’s NOT the old Batman. And it’s pretty clear that Perry White, who always saw Clark as an adopted son, is pretty pissed off at being lied to for so long. And Lois? We’re still not sure what led to her outing him in the first place but here she is acting the part of strong journalist with Metallo by her side. What we learn here is that Clark Kent WILL always do what’s right and in this case, it may be what’s right for the people living underground.

BAT-MITE #3: Damian Wayne is trying to retrieve the Batmoboile that Bat-Mite stole in issue #1 but gets into a battle with Gridlock, who paralyzes the Boy Wonder with just one touch. Meanwhile, Bat-Mite is becoming a bit of a bothersome house guest at the expense of Weed and Reagan, who apparently works for the government and wants to know everything they can about Bat-Mite. Gridlock announces that he has captured the Boy Wonder and Bat-Mite, armed with Bat Shark Repellent, pops into action to help. This doesn’t sit well with the Boy Wonder but, once Gridlock shows up, it’s time for a super-hero team-up. But Bat-Mite gets frozen by Gridlock’s touch allowing the bad guy to beat feet. Next up: it looks like Booster Gold is going to need Bat-Mite’s help.

Dan Jurgens and Colin Howell continue to make this the funniest book on the market. Bat-Mite is a cigar smoking, hard drinking little best trying his best to be a good superhero. Unfortunately, his good intentions aren’t always helpful. The art is cute, the stories are fun, and I just love this title. It’s a shame that it’s going to be a mini series only but what can you do? I now: ask for more!

BIZZARO #3: Chastity Hex is hunting for Jeremiah Blackhearse in the Ol' Gulch Ghost Town and that’s where she meets up with Jimmy and Bizzaro. In the process, the ghost of El Papagayo and his parrot Pepito arrive. And that means a battle with The Bizarro Kid. Unfortunately, El Papagayo possesses Bizarro. Jimmy goes to call Superman on his signal watch and it turns out that The Riddler stole it last issue so HE ends up with the Man of Steel in his house. Jimmy blows a bugle call and in comes the cavalry led by Jonah Hex himself. With things settled, Chastity, Jimmy and Bizarro are on the road to Branson Missouri where Zatanna, the Mistress of Magic is performing.

Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte continue to deliver a funny book that is all about taking the serious characters of Jimmy Olsen and Bizarro and twisting them all over the place! This book is great, I wish it wasn’t a mini-series and with that…GO READ THIS THING!

BLACK CANARY #3: Dinah confronts her ex husband, who tells her that Ditto is in danger due to the creepy operatives from her world. We also find out that our government wants Ditto too. It seems that they used her genes to give Dinah her sonic scream. Hearing this, Ditto leaves and gets picked up by Bo Meave. Yeah…that can’t be good.

Short review for a great book! Brenden Fletcher and Annie Wu do a wonderful job telling the tale of a rock star who was a superhero. The art is a bit quirky, but it fits the book perfectly. This is one of the interesting and surprisingly good newcomers that have the “Batgirl style”, which apparently DC higher ups have now wanted toned down due to lagging sales. Hopefully, this one WON’T be affected!

CATWOMAN #43: While Selina is at a party, she tells Ward and Antonia that they are in charge as she has Catwoman business to do.Meanwhile, Black Mask visits the Hisagawa training facility to discuss business regarding the various Gotham families. While out on a training mission, Spoiler and the Eiko Catwoman find a wounded Lewis and realize that Sionis is after Selina, leading to him shooting Eiko Catwoman. Antonia meets with Cobblepot who insists she bring him the head of Selina Kyle. Selina, as Catwoman, runs into the new Batman, who can’t manage to apprehend her but lets her know that he will someday. Selina changes up and goes to the Fox Center for Gotham Youth, where she meets a bearded Bruce Wayne. In the end, Selina Catwoman meets with Antonia while Croc seemingly attempts to rescue Eiko.

Genevieve Valentine writes another great issue here with more twists and turns than a British mystery show. And while I’m not fond of David Messina’s, but the story is great! This isn’t a costumed adventure book anymore: it’s a crime drama with teeth. And it’s some of the best this title has exhibited in years!

CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #3: In the past, Constantine, Gaz, Georgie and Veronica Delacroix are at a concert involving demons and a band known as The End of the World. In the present, John and Georgie are involved in the investigation of an orgy gone bad. This leads John to track down a Succubi responsible for the deaths. In actuality, the killer was an incubus and Georgie helps him dispatch it. John admits to Georgie that he needs help with his ghost issue. She also tells him that Veronica died three years ago and blames him for both her death and Gaz’. Maybe that explains the blood on his hands.

Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV are writing a really weird, non PC version of John Constantine. That having been said, this book just can’t seem to get out of the rut it is slowly putting itself into. We’re three issues in and we’re still messing around with this ghost issue that came into play in the first two issues. But this issue swerved away from the ghost chase to introduce some supporting cast that we may or may not see again. And John is still no closer to catching his ghosts. Doyle and Vanessa Del Rey handle the art, which seems to morph into something new with each issue. I had very high hopes for this title when it started, but it has slowly slipped downhill. I hope it gets better or it will last as long as the TV series did.

CYBORG #2: The Tekbreakers return home after their battle with the Technosapiens and being to talk about how they killed Cyborg in the Preview story from last May. Victor is troubled by a strange dream and then goes to S.T.A.R. Labs so they can test him against their newest cybernetic creations. Meanwhile, the protester from the first issue goes to an underground doctor and has surgery to have cybernetic prosthetics installed. Sebastian Cardona meets with Vic to let him know that his friend has had these cybernetics installed and Vic suffers from extreme pain as he realizes that "they" are coming. Of course, they have also come for Bobby

David Walker and Ivan Reis continues to tell the tale of the NEW Cyborg. Reis’ art is top notch, but Walker’s story is a bit confusing. Besides giving us a whole subplot with a guy from last issue who is getting illegal cybernetic upgrades, we get a reference to a story that appeared in CONVERGENCE: CRIME SYNDICATE #2. Now, in case you feel lost and didn’t read the CONVERGENCE mini-series (and that was most of the world as it BOMBED in sales allegedly was partially responsible for DC’s recently announced 2 million dollar loss), you can find it archived on line and download it for free from DC. So, can we guess that the other cyborg came from somewhere in the Multiverse? Again…confusing!

DEATHSTROKE #9: With Diana and Slade just back from last month’s annual, it’s right back into battle with Lapetus and his army, that is currently destroying the Amazons on Paradise Island. Slade follows Lapetus away from the battlefield for a fierce one on one. Unfortunately for Deathstroke, he and the Amazons are losing the battle. That’s when Superman arrives and attacks Deathstroke, thinking he is the cause and is responsible for his current sweetie being injured. Deathstoke uncorks the power of his sword and lets loose as the anti-hero and the Big Blue Boy Scout do battle. Eventually, Wonder Woman intervenes and explains to her boyfriend that Slade, as bad as he is, is actually here to help. It’s a good thing that they are all on the same page now as Lapetus comes back, stronger than ever and bearing a new toy of destruction.

When you thought to yourself “just how many issues can Tony S. Daniel keep up the one man attack and stay on track, what was your answer”. As we have noted over the past few months, it is less than nine issues…way less than nine issues. Tony S. Daniel has James Bonny by his side on the writing end and and Eduardo Pansica taking care of the art chores. The book looks fine as Pansica can ape Daniels’ work easily and, with all that blood and guts, can anyone really notice?  The story is a bit on the weak side, as it gets divided between an Amazon battle, a one on one with the bad guy and then a one on one with the Man of Steel. The storyline ends next month and maybe we can get back to the whole “why isn’t Slade old anymore” plot.

DETECTIVE COMICS #43: Bullock and company find an exhausted Batman, who has stepped out of the Robo Batsuit and taken down the members of La Morte, but the power core that had been stolen is missing. While Gordon, Bullock and Montoya try to figure who has to core and what is going on with Yip, who Bullock believes is dirty, a member of La Morte visits the Joker’s Daughter, seeking her help. Bullock confronts Yip, who admits to giving out the seating information for the circus to some unknown person. The La Morte mercenaries get sprung, leading Batman into action. Unfortunately, it looks like he may be fighting a mecha bigger than he is in the form of a Jokerbot may!

Brian Buccellato remains for a little while, even though Francis Manapul has departed. I don’t know when Buccellato’s last issue is, but I hope he can finish this arc before he splits. I’m dying to know who is behind all of this, although it seems that it may be part of the Falcone Family. But is THIS who Yip has been talking to? Fernando Blanco handles the art in a nice way. Again, it’s not manapul, but I’ll take it. And while BATMAN is the book with more bite, I like where this is going and concentrating on G.C.P.D.

DOOMED #3: Three years ago, during a terrorist attack, Roman becomes the Alpha Centurion. In the now of course, Roman is Reiser’s roommate. Reiser goes off to see Jayne and let her know that he took off his suit, even though he won’t tell her about his side effects.  Miles manages to get his hands on Oui Oui the dog, leading to Reiser’s transformation. The two battle and Miles is ready to dispatch our hero when he takes pity on him and leaves him be, telling him to lay low. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, some folks have learned about the whole Doomed thing and have called in Wonder Girl, Power Girl and Flash Boy(AKA Kid Flash).

Uh…what? Scott Lobdell wrote it, Javier Fernandez drew it and I can’t believe I am still READING IT! Looks like it just became another excuse to tie in the Teen Titans.

DR. FATE #3: Khalid uses the Dr. Fate helmet to deal with the flooding in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Anubis is on a quest to find the vessel of Bastet, who died in the first issue. Khalid gets a visit from Nabu, who makes him don the helmet again and use his powers to save a helicopter in trouble. Oh yeah: he forgot to text his girlfriend Shaya goodnight the night before and realizes he is in BIG TROUBLE!

What? Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew: just what in the name of the Wide Wide World of Sports(sorry Mel Brooks-had to use it!) are you doing to this classic character? He’s more concerned about NOT TEXTING his girlfriend then why Nabu chose him? Oh brother-why bother!

EARTH 2: SOCIETY #3: Terry Sloan is trying to get his terraforming machine to remake the new Earth 2 with everything to old Earth 2 had by using the Source Vault. Power Girl flies through the machine, causing lightning bolts to shoot down, hit Sloan and making a mess out of the machine. This leads to a flashback to a year ago when Red Tornado was an outcast looking for a permanent home and helping a mother and daughter get reunited with their husband and father. Back in the present, Green Lantern shows up to stop the monsters coming forth from the damaged machine. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, Terry Sloan has been killed and the Source Vault has been stolen.

Do I really care? Earth 2 should have ended before CONVERGENCE. This is just silly! Daniel H. Wilson and Jorge Jimenez: I blame you both. A plague on BOTH your houses. Nah…that’s a little too harsh. Seriously: let off the world and let it go already!

FLASH #43: We begin with Professor Zoom talking with his collection of New Rogues and telling them that it’s about killing The Flash and tearing down the image of the icon. Barry finds his father and the rest of the escaped cons (except for Girder who’s been caught). After a brief hug, Henry tells Barry that he needs to stay away from this Flash like speedster and sends his son away. After a visit with his roommate, the former Pied Piper, he heads off to a school event where Wally races a sports car he designed. Iris and Wally are so happy to see him, even if he does flip out on the football coach. Later, The Flash takes on a hostage situation involving the convicts to discover the hostages are only mannequins and the hostage taker is his dad. Henery tells him to keep his son safe by killing Eobard Thawne, the real murderer of Barry’s mother. Before you know it, Henry if off to jail but gets sprung by Block, Roscoe and the Folding Man, sending Barry to the bottom of the sea.

And here is another book with a big thumbs up and a great WOW factor! Robert Venditti and Van Jensen have been writing an incredible run on this title and with Brett Booth handling the art, it has been a dram to read. The whole reveal, AT LAST, that Thawne is Nora’s killer was a long time coming, even if we all knew it was coming! This book tows an interesting line between comic book and television show, much like GREEN ARROW has been doing as of late. But I’m okay with that and reintroducing Iris and Wally is a great move!

GOTHAM ACADEMY #9: Olive, Maps, Colton and Kyle get to work finding out what attacked Tristan. Colton goes into an old RV that has a computer and a lab so he can analyze the DNA from the fur they found. They go to visit Pomeline and she gives them silver to protect them from what they believe is a werewolf. Olive finds Katherine in her room and she leaves behind Olive’s school admission papers. Olive’s mother was a villain named Calamity and Olive had been placed here so she could be watched over, not because she had been given a Wayne Scholarship. Tristan was also put here to be watched, as Milo was responsible for turning him into a Man Bat. As he and Olive speak, the werewolf bursts in and Tristan transforms to save her. The team captures the werewolf with a tranquilizing dart and it’s revealed that it is Coach Humphrey. In the end, Pomeline tries to reveal some key information about Calamity when the villain appears at a school play rehearsal and the room bursts into flame. At least, it appears to be Calamity’s fault.

Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl do here so well what the other teen titles cannot. There is a lot of connection to the Batman mythos presented here They manage to give us a group of interesting characters, some with mysterious pasts, and bring them together into a modern day Scooby Gang. I love how their pasts are getting revealed one tiny piece at a time and not all at once. That alone keeps me reading, as does the whole Hogwarts vibe you get from the campus itself. This is just a fun ride!

GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #8: While people in downtown Gotham suddenly begin attacking each other for no good reason, Kate Spencer meets with Detective Rook, who has enough bad information on the Midnight Shift to put them all away for a long time. And he is more than willing to spill his guts to the Grand Jury. Corrigan visits Drake in the hospital, where she is being treated for her wounds from the downtown Gotham attack. Corrigan goes to downtown and meets with Tarr and finds out there is massive psychic action going on and the GNN television broadcasts are to blame. They sneak into the GNN studios and find a mass of bloodshed. They also find that the broadcasters have made some sort of deal with Hell and, in the end, they become monsters and both die from consuming each other. Tarr notes that the strange black flowers have begun to grow where Corrigan had been sitting. They race back to their office to find Peyton and Rook waiting with search warrants.

Ray Fawkes Juan Ferreyra slam another one out of the park! This is the coolest single issue yet! While Peyton and Rook work behind the scenes to nail the Midnight Shift to the wall, Corrigan tries to keep the Spectre in check as Dr. Tarr faces the evil possessed broadcasters. This issue feels like THEY LIVE with a twisted Wes Craven( Rest in Peace) twist to it. The story moves along nicely as we still don’t know what the ultimate evil that is responsible truly is. And Ferreyra delivers nicely with the art. I love this book and where it’s going and it is far more satisfying than all the other books from the previous “dark” line combined.

GRAYSON #11: When last wqe saw Dick, he was getting ready to kill Agent 1, but it quickly becomes obvious that THIS isn’t really Dick as a second Dick arrives. He begins guessing who is masquerading as him, with failed guesses of Clayface and Killer Croc and that leads to a battle with Dick on Dick. The other Dick drops all sorts of clues to Grayson’s identity, showing that someone knows who Agent 37 REALLY is. The fake Dick even accuses him of sleeping with Agent 8, Agent 1’s lover, and accuses him of letting her die. Then the fake Dick hacks into Grayson’s hypnos and controls him, dropping all the puzzle pieces in place from the last few issues. With the whisper of a magic word "Tsuchigumo", Dick passes out. Agent 1 awakens and rips the hypnos out of his eyes to reveal Agent 8. Later, Agent 1 tells Helena that Maxwell Lord, head of Checkmate, was the spy killer. Agent 37 quits Spyral and heads back to Gotham to find Bruce. In the end, Agent 8 meets with Doctor Netz, who reveals she and Agent 0 are sisters.

Tom King, Tim Seeley and Mikel Janin have created the BEST BOOK featuring Dick Grayson in the last two decades. Forget Batman and Robin, forget Nightwing…even forget his turn as the Dark Knight himself. This book is a mind blower and where it goes from here is anyone’s guess! This is truly becoming a classic in the genre and is redefining the former Boy Wonder. Left hanging by the man who put him here, it'’ a study of things going sour real quick! And we get Max Lord and Checkmate brought into the DC You too! What an absolutely amazing ride, even with the occasional butt jokes!

GREEN ARROW #43: Oliver is still being held captive by self claimed Supremacist Zimm, who reveals himself to be disguising himself as a racist to attract followers. While searching for him by boat, Emiko and George run afoul of one of the robots and she manages to destroy it, with George rescuing her and dragging her onto shore. Zimm’s albino partner arrives, realizing that Zimm is only using the White Supremacy cause as a ruse and plans to eliminate him. But Zimm is one step ahead and has his robot rip the man to pieces. In the process, Ollie slips free, meeting up with Emiko and George in the woods. Together they attack an army of the robots but don’t get all the help they need, as Henry is busy in the bathroom. Luckily, he is able to hack into the system, causing the robots to explode. All but one, which Zimm has been tangled up in and dragged to the bottom of the ocean, where a hungry shark awaits him.

While Ben Percy and Patrick Zircher aren’t the team of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, this run so far has been fun, if not a bit on the gory side. We’ve had racist murders and now the racist gets torn to pieces. Percy’ story has just enough dark humor in it, like Henry sitting on the toilet when he needs to be hacking into the robot’s system. And George having to save Emiko. Of course, there is a convenient plot hole there as it just so happens that George brings her on shore on the island where Zimm is. Zircher’s art is top notch and possibly the best of his career. This does have a bit of the ARROW feel to it now, but it still is a worthwhile read.

GREEN LANTERN #43: With Hal having lost the Corps and Virgo having lost his home and his people, the pair now have a common bond. Hal steps out to talk to Relic and we discover there is a huge hole in the Source Wall, which was caused by the monster that burst free at the conclusion of GODHEAD. And those pieces of the Source Wall are probably causing the calcification that is happening through the universe. Back on the ship, Virgo tries on Krona's Gauntlet, which sends out a surge of green emotional energy and alerts Relic, who believes he is going to be attacked. It also knocks out Virgo and plays havoc with “Darlene”’s system, causing Hal to eventually reboot her so they escape. In the end, there is a new problem on the horizon in the form of the Gray Agents. Oh yeah: Black Lantern has lost his touch and is headed back to the Coast City Cemetery.

Robert Venditti continues his epic where Hal Jordan has long hair and dresses like The Spectre! I like this Hal because he has finally stopped whining about his life, even though he has lost his beloved Lantern Corps. It was real nice to see Ethan Van Sciver on art, as I’ve always been a fan of his work. His Black Lantern is just SO CREEPY looking!!! I would love to see him make this his regular gig. This book has elevated from what it was and is still a way from what it could be. Here’s hoping…

GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY #3: The misplaced Lanterns meet up with Relic from a time before Relic was the Relic trying to stop the Lanterns from using up all the light energy and destroying the universe. He tells them how the War of the Dwindling Light goes on and he is looking for a reservoir. John Stewart tells him that the Lanterns know where there is a reservoir and they can guide him to it. Of course, this gets Guy all in a snit because he has a problem with Stewart lying to Relic. The Light Pirates show up and the Lanterns attack, only some of them may not make it back.

Well, I must say this is the most excitement we have seen thus far in this book. Unfortunately, that all happened in the last five pages of the story. Before that it was a lot of Blah Blah Blah from Cullen Bunn. And Jesus Saiz art seemed to get an upgrade on those last five pages. Maybe that is where Cliff Richards jumped in to help. Oooh: I knew this title was going to be weak, but I didn’t think it would be THIS WEAK.

HARLEY QUINN #19: Things start badly, as the parents of some of Harley’s gang come home to find their girls’ missing. Meanwhile, Harley, Ivy and Tony head out to help the captured girls (and boy). She parachutes onto Horatio Strong’s boat and attacks, leading him to race off to the bathroom. Gnarly volunteers to check on him after Harvey chickens out. Elsewhere, The girls’ mom show up at the Coney Island headquarters and threatens Eggy, Tony and Ivy. Over in Brooklyn, someone is stealing expensive medical equipment and Sy Borg intervenes, promising to help get her out of her predicament. Back on the boat, a thong wearing Horatio emerges with strange powers and multiple references to his bowel movement, leading Harley to make multiple references to vomit. Just as things look grim, mom flies in and rescues the team, causing everyone to find out that the girls are only 14, not 19 as they made themselves off to be. Everyone gets invited home for lasagna as Harley has to deal with a team five persons lighter. In the end, Harleen meets with Sam and the woman who was stealing the medical equipment. It seems a Hollywood cult kidnapped her daughter and is going to kill her, so Harley takes the case!

So the team of Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Chad Hardin are at it again, filling the book with gratuitous sexy shots and sophomoric, grade school puns. Yes, tell me why we need 7 new ways to say I POOPED and 10 new ways to say UPCHUCK! That’s what I thought. This was a better than average issue when it comes to plot, but just another excuse to have Harley be the Deadpool with Breasts of the DC Universe.

HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL #3: Harley and Power Girl, along with Groovicus,  continue their trip to find Vartox and get themselves back to Earth. Arriving at the Lustox Moon, they discover a ton of naughty statues of Power Girl.  After a brief space battle, they return to their ship to find a wasted Groovicus, which leads to a drug sequence featuring a modified Hunter S. Thompson and a familiar road trip. They finally get to Vartox, who attacks and seems to defeat Power Girl in a battle that could result in him killing her.

I would LOVE to say how much I like this book, but even the influence of Justin Gray cannot keep Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti to sinking below DEADPOOL humor as there are just way too many dick jokes (and I don’t mean Grayson!). To top it off, it takes three artists, Stephane Roux, Moritat, and Elliot Fernandez, to tell this tale. And let us not forget that the entire mini-series takes place between panels in an issue of HARLEY QUINN. Great concept but an overabundance of sophomoric toilet humor just ruins it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #43: Steppenwolf gathers Kalbak and tells him that Darkseid needs him, as he plans on going to Earth to bring back Grail and Myrina Black. Superman and Lex Luthor get attacked on Apokolips and it comes to their realization that there is no yellow sun available and Superman is SERIOUSLY underpowered…so much so that he is bleeding. Lex drops Superman into a fire pit, which provides the solar energy he needs to power back up, but also inspires him to want to kill Lex. Meanwhile, on the Rock of Eternity, the Justice League listens to Batman, who sits upon what he refers to as HIS Mobius Chair and gets the history about Grail. The only question it can’t answer is who the Anti-Monitor is. Scot Free arrives and, after shackling Metron so he can’t get free, transports everyone away using a Boom Tube. They arrive to where Grail and the Anti-Monitor is, but she has created a blood spell that has called for her father and he has arrived with his army.

Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok absolutely blow the top off of this book as they have done with every issue of this run so far. We get great drama, cool dialogue, a creepy Batman (old school…the new guy ain’t here…yet), fantastic looking art and a roller coaster ride from page one to the end of the book. This book has again become THE Justice League title to read...well: along with the DeMatteis/Giffen/Porter future giggle fest.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #3: Hal and Flash are on Oa due to a wormhole Hal created. This wormhole has place them on 250,000 years ago. Flash spins about fast enough to get out of there, leaving Hal alone with Kryptonian warriors who wish to take him to meet their god Rao. Wonder Woman is on what is left of Olympus as an Oraculum explains how the gods all left and she is stuck there. The Infinity Corporation is now in 1961, where it is revealed that THEY pulled Flash off of Oa. Back on Earth, Rao continues to answer the prayers of the people and tells the U.N. that he'll do whatever he wants to make life better. In true fashion, Batman doesn’t trust him and plans on keeping a close eye on him, despite what Superman thinks.

Bryan Hitch writes a great, I’m assuming, out of continuity story here as we still have Hal as part of the Lanterns and Bruce Wayne in the Batsuit. The story is totally confusing, what with the multiple timelines and all, but the artwork is killer! I really don’t see this title lasting as a monthly, as it feels more like it should be a mini-series. That being said, the ride is interesting if not a little bumpy along the way.

JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #3: Over on Woodin Twelve as Starro Prime tells them he is doing an awesome job running the planet. So they head back to Camelot Nine, where Supergirl can't believe how much of a jerk her cousin has become. But he and Batman head out drinking on Takron -Galtos and Batman tells him how much he misses his old best friend. That’s when they get a visit from Sheriff Tariq, causing them both to split. Clark chases after a purse snatcher only to find the thief roughed up with a bloody Bat Symbol painted above him.Meanwhile, Ariel Masters/Lois Lane and Guy Gardner have a meeting and it is decided that Guy has to baby-sit the Starro Consciousness. Problems continue for the rest of the team as Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire and Ice, Flash and Hal Jordan have to deal with a Giant Turtle that turns out to be Jimmy Olsen. In the end, Lois wants out of Ariel’s body, Guy and Wonder Woman have “coffee talk” and Supergirl, now roomies with The Flash, BEGS to be sent 1,000 years into the future.

J.M. Dematteis, Keith Giffen and Howard Porter continue to give us the greatest Justice League book on the market today. Full of wit and whimsy, we get Guy having identity issues as a “smokin’ hot babe”, Clark and Bruce having issues with their friendship and Lois wanting to break free from the prison she put herself in. Oh…did I mention we get the return of Jimmy Olsen as Turtle Man? Yeah: old school comic fan GEEKING OUT HERE!!! Buy this book before DC looks at the sale figures and cans it! Seriously! It’s the most twisted thing since…well, since the LAST THING DeMatteis and Giffen worked on!

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #12: Poison Ivy, Mera, Equinox and Etrigan are still stuck in the blood and guts monster that we were introduced to and are trying to find Swamp Thing. Through their combined efforts, they get the creature off the ground and Etrigan uses the fires of Hell to destroy it.  Swamp Thing is nothing besides a shriveled head, but Poison Ivy is going to do her best to nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, Alanna Strange visits with Dr. John Henry Irons to explain what is going on with system anomalies in the universe. Star Girl is in the Alps trying to explain all of this to the Doom Patrol, before heading to Burnside to let Batgirl know she is needed for the next mission.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. The idea of a rotating team is a bit like the Suicide Squad meets Justice League Dark and that’s not what I’m looking for. Now, the old JLU team was okay, but also never bowled me over. This feels a wee bit like the Marvel Universe where you have more Avenger and X-teams than you can keep track of.  I DO like Jeff Parker’s pacing and Travel Foreman’s extremely moody artwork. I also like the idea of reintroducing the Doom Patrol into this universe, as I don’t believe we have seen them since JUSTICE LEAGUE #30, where we found out the Niles Caulder was a bit more evil than the original DC Universe one. Which one will be here? Who knows. For that reason alone, I will still be reading this title. Better yet: give us a real DOOM PATROL title again!