ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS #1: The Avengers are a different team than they once were. Sam Wilson is Captain America and he’s broke, having to rely on Tony Stark’s charity to get along. Avenger’s Tower has been sold and the buyer has manager to bring the alien Warbringer to Earth. Spider Man Miles Morales spies the evil goings on and gets tossed out of the building, onlyh to be saved by Tony Stark. Warbringer unleashes his fury and levels Cap, Iron Man and Spider Man. Oh yeah-Ms. Marvel calls Nova a jerk. In the back-up, Nova and Ms. Marvel fight an alien and he unmasks in front of her. She doesn’t and that causes a rift.
Wow! I never thought I could see myself NOT READING an AVENGERS title. But I already was disappointed with UNCANNY AVENGERS and this is not better. Adam Kubert’s art is not up to his usual high standard as he tries to completely emulate his father’s style with limited success. And Mark Waid, one of my all time favorite writers, delivers a story that just doesn’t do much for me. Most of all, I think it has to do with the team. I don’t LIKE Sam Wilson as Captain America. I don’t LIKE Sam Humphries as Nova. I don’t LIKE this Ms. Marvel. Miles Morales is NOT my Spider Man. So, when you put all these characters together, you end up with a team that leaves me rooting for the bad guys. And the back-up by Waid and Mahmud Asrar, outside of looking real nice, also did nothing for me.This could be the first time in my life that I DON’T collect an AVENGERS title. Nice going, Marvel!
ALL NEW HAWKEYE #1: There are two Hawkeyes on the case, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, even though they have been falling apart as of late. Twnety years from now, the team comes back together only to have Kate be taken out by the Mandarin.
Truth: I am a HUGE FAN of Jeff Lemire’s work. To that end, I had to read this book. Unfortunately, I found it a bit confusing and felt like I was reading rehashed GREEN ARROW story ideas. Sure, Lemire wrote some killer stuff for that title, but this just feels weak..like his heart isn’t in it. The time jump also didn’t help make this readable. Ramon Perez’ artwork is following the industry idea of the Batgirling of titles and looks like that was the inspiration. I may read issue #2, but right now, I’m not a fan of this.
ALL NEW WOLVERINE #1: Laura Kinney is also known as X-23. With Logan dead and gone, she has taken over for him as the All New Wolverine. In Paris, she stops an assassination attempt and gets shot in the process. While out, she has a visitation with her mentor, who encourages her to keep fighting. She awakens and goes after the shooter, with them tumbling off the Eiffel Tower. Angel saves her mid fall and when they again land, it’s revealed that the shooter is Laura Kinney.
Tom Taylor gives us a really wild, action filled story that is so much better than just about anything he has been writing for DC lately. With David Lopes and David Navarrot handling the art, this book just zips along beautifully. My problem is that I don’t like the character. When X-23 was first introduced, I thought she was a cook character and I liked her origin and where she was going. But now, it just feels like we needed to put someone in the suit. Now I understand that she is the logical successor and the whole idea of there being TWO Laura Kinney’s is intriguing, I just can’t get into the character. By the way: were Laura and Warren an item at some point?
BLACK KNIGHT #1: Dane Whitman is the Black Knight and is the ruler of Weirdworld. Weird things are apparent here in Weirdworld as we see later on when a World War 2 submarine is discovered, complete with mementos still on board. It seems Dane has collected lots of mementos, including a Two Gun Kid Wanted poster and Herbie the Robot. Later, Dane is told that they have visitors: the Uncanny Avengers.
Confused? I am too! See, it’s hard to judge a title when we don’t know how Weirdworld still exists after the end of SECRET WARS. I understand how these mementos are here, coming from the merging of worlds in SECRET WARS. But how does this place still exist and how does the Uncanny Avengers manage to travel here? Frank Tieri’s story feels like a rehash, complete with a Hamlet type conversation midway through the book that attempts to explain it, but falls flat. Luca Pizzari’s art is quirky and unsatisfying here. This won’t be a title I’ll be following, just because it takes a classic character and reduces him to a depressed king.
CARNAGE#1: Cletus Kasady is the crazy, murderous psychotic known as Carnage. He finds out that Manuela Calderon, the sole survivor of Kasady’s first murderous spree, is still alive and it sets him off, killing everyone in the diner he was eating at. At a mine in West Virginia, Colonel John Jameson and former Venom Eddie Brock look to set a trap to capture Carnage in a mine. Unfortunately things go from bad to worse as Kasady gets captured, but the ground below him gives way and he is now loose in an abandoned mine.
Welcome to the world of horror fiction, Marvel! And it’s a killer! No really: this is awesome! Let’s start with Mike Perkins art which is superbly creepy, especially Carnage’ murderous spree in the diner. Did I mention that the series is being written by Marvel legend Gerry Conway? While his recent work on the SPIDER MAN POINT ONE books was very disappointing, this one nails it! By bringing in Calderon, Brock, who ends up screwing things up(what a surprise!) and Jameson, some memorable SPIDER MAN characters come back to life and look poised to be in starring roles as opposed to being also-rans. I really look forward to the next issue!
DEADPOOL #1: Deadpool is in Korea and he ends up in a battle The White Fox. But THIS Deadpool is actually James Bourne, also known as Solo. It seems Deadpool is everywhere and being portrayed by a whole host of characters including Terror, Foolkiller, Madcap, Stingray and more. It seems that Deadpool has started Deadpool’s Heroes For Hire, which really upsets Luke Cage who wants to sue over the name theft. In the end, Wade just wants to know who was responsible for making him kill his parents.
I look at Deadpool like I look at Harley Quinn-they have both jumped the shark. I expected this to be a complete one and done book, but I find that I’m intrigued by it all. Gerry Duggan’s story is just plain fun! Yeah-I LOVE IT! By introducing all these Deadpools, it just becomes a cool ride that I didn’t expect! And Mike Hawthorne’s art fits it beautifully. This isn’t Rob Liefeld and that’s okay! By the way, track down the #SecretComic Variant Cover Edition that will present one page of comic story month in and month out. Sorry…this is just too much fun and cool!
DRAX #1: Drax the Destroyer is still hunting Thanos, so he borrows Rocket Raccoon’s Space Sucker spaceship, crash lands on a planet and runs into Terrax.
Shortest . Review. Ever. C. M. Punk and Cullen Bunn write this tale, and I use the term loosely. Drax is now Deadpool in that he gets credit for being the character I want to read THE LEAST! Scott Hepburn provides the art and it’s fine. There won’t be a second issue for me
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #1: Storm has a conversation with the ghost of Charles Xavier when she is told that Magick is in New Delhi where she is trying to rescue a new mutant and her family from a mob. She does so, bringing her to X-Haven. Magick then goes to Russia, where she meets with her brother who has given up the superhero life in favor of being a farmer. Nightcrawler is underneath the city, battling bad guys and spouting out Bible verses. Later, Storm goes to Empire State University and tries to convince Jan Grey into coming back with her to X-haven, which Jean turns down. She does say that, despite the fact that there will never be any more new mutants, someone who is not supposed to be here is. Storm and Iceman go to find this person and are surprised to find out it’s a much older Logan.
This is supposed to be the flagship X-Men title in the new Marvel Universe. My first take is that it bounces all over the place, which is what the old UNCANNY title used to do. Yeah, I’m a huge Jeff Lemire fan and this is more of his good work. It’s not GREEN ARROW or SWEET TOOTH, but it is a good superhero story. And Humberto Ramos is turning out some really nice artwork here too. So, if you liked where the old X series took you, you’ll like this. If you feel that too many X books are just too many, then stay clear.
HERCULES #1: Hercules is living in Astoria, New York and has decided to start his own business where he will perform labors. Two boys come to him, looking for help and find that he has Gilgamesh living with him. One of the boys needs Hercules to get rid of the monster that is datig his sister. No really…it’s a monster! Using his strength and wits and a taser, he defeats the creature and then goes off to battle a sea monster. In the end, he goes home and, after putting a collectible card into his collection of artifacts, he and Gil discuss what to do for dinner.
Well, this is certainly a strange take on the legendary god. So, he finds himself on Earth, rooming with the equally legendary Gilgamesh and runs a business where he undertakes labors. Strange, very strange. I love Dan Abnett’s writing, but this just feels forced to me. It’s a wild concept and all, but once the monster came into the picture, the point where it should have gotten really good, it fell really flat. Luke Ross’ art is cool and he does a nice job of making the god look good. Unfortunately, their combined work didn’t leave me wanting more.
HOWARD THE DUCK #1:Three months ago, bad things were happening at the mansion. One month ago, Howard left his office, where may Parker is running things, to meet with Doctor Strange about finding a way to get home. Doc mentions that the Abundant glove may be a way for our fowl feathered friend to get home, In the here and now, Howard and the shape shifting Tara end up at the nexus of All Realities and battle it out with the Wizard and Titania. Just when all sems bad, two creatures, one of which is a duck, come through the portal. In the back-up, we meet GwenPool…really!
Okay…so here’s my advice to Chip Zdarsky: stick to writing JUGHEAD. Aunt May is a secretary for the talking duck? Oh how our hero has fallen! I didn’t read the last series, having read the first issue and cringing! Joe Quinones handles the art and that’s fine. Chris Hastings and Danilo Beyruth are responsible for the back up and I see no reason for it except to introduce the character of GwenPool. This book will be joining the LAST version of this character on my reserve list. All I know is this makes me yearn for the days of Steve Gerber, Frank Brunner and even the HOWARD THE DUCK movie. Yeah-I WENT THERE!
ILLUMINATI #1: Titania visits with her husband, the Absorbing Man, in prison. Later, She Hulk visits with her and arranges to get her a job at a Pawn Shop. She helps break up a robbery, but Luke Cage and Iron Fist show up and blame her for the incident. The Hood arrives and takes her out of the battle and takes her to his house, where he tells her of his plan to break into Asgard and steal the weapons of the gods. He introduces her to the rest of his Illuminati: Thunderball, Mad Thinker, Enchantress and Black Ant. In the end, Hood breaks into the Manhattan Detention Center and kills the crooks her had sent to rob the Pawn Shop. He had set Titania up and this was all part of his plan to bring her into the Illuminati.
This was a title I looked forward to reading and it was a cool story. I liked the fact that we have taken some of the former top tier villains and brought them together as a super team. Joshua Williamson’s story is great, especially with the added twist at the end. What I didn’t like was Shawn Crystal’s artwork. I know adult coloring books are all the rage, big enough that DC is doing a bunch of adult coloring book variant covers. But this book looks like it was colored with colored pencils. Because of that, I couldn’t enjoy the book as much as I would have liked and probably won’t buy a second issue.
THE MIGHTY THOR #1: Jane Foster is Thor and Jane Foster is battling cancer. Although she is going through treatment, every time she changes into Thor, it negates the treatment and her cancer continues to grow. While undergoing treatment and watching the news, she sees Roxx News Space Station fall under siege from the dead bodies of white elves. She transforms again and saves them, turning over the injured to the Avengers. Back in Asgardia, she deals with the hate and prejudice of the citizens and also visits the All-Mother, who has been jailed by Odin. As she prepares to leave Asgardia, the Thunder Guard arrives to arrest her. In the end, it seems the death of the white elves may have something to do with the God of Mischief being bad once again. It seems Loki has turned heel yet again.
I hadn’t planned on liking this book, especially because it’s NOT the classic Don Blake Thor. It’s Jane Foster and she’s dying. So, I went into the read expecting to hate it and came out loving it! Jason Aaron’s story is compelling and a fun read while Russell Dauterman’s art is great! What I liked the least about this was the five dollar cover price, although we did get extra pages and a monstrous fold-out cover, even if it was printed in color and black and white. This is a notable start to a character with a ton of history. You either nail it or you don’t. This one nails it!
MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1: Lunella LaFayette is a brilliant young girl who is too smart for her school, leading to her being teased by classmates who call her ‘Moon Girl’. Later, she finds the Nightstone, which has made its’ way to our time from The Valley of Flame, many years ago. Moon Boy is fatally wounded and sends Devil Dinosaur through the portal with the Nightstone. In the middle of gym class in the present day, her gym teacher starts to play with the Nightstone and suddenly Devil Dinosaur and a bunch of monkey tribesmen show up. The monkeys take the orb and run off, leading Devil Dinosaur to pick up Ludella in his teeth and give chase.
Who at Marvel thought this would be a good idea for a series? Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare write a fun little tale of a girl who probably should have ended up in the Future Foundation, if that even exists any more. And Natacha Bustos art is nice…if you like the current Batgirling trend. Personally, I would like to have seen Reeder do the art, as her cover is killer! Now, back to the idea of who thought this would be a successful book. Are we still trying to shoot books at a specific demographic and if so, is this meant for a true female minority reader? While only lasting nine issues, I was a fan of Jack Kirby’s DEVIL DINOSAUR. But that was in the Seventies and his various appearances in books like FALLEN ANGELS didn’t live up. I just don’t see this being a success, despite the love the creators have seemingly put into it.
MS. MARVEL #1: Kamala Khan is Ms. Marvel and she is trying to adjust to life after the world almost ended. She also finds out that the guy who has been her best friend and crush since they were young has managed to move on to another girl. Why should this be a surprise to her as it’s been eight months. The she finds out someone has put her face on billboards and it seems like she is being associated with the town’s redevelopment movement. In the end, she gets to ride a giant amphibian and her ex-boyfriend gets to enjoy peace and quiet with his new girlfriend.
Well, I didn’t like the previous version of this title and this one leaves me the same. Actually, that’s not totally true, as I actually like this better than the previous series. Why? Because we’re not being slammed over the head with Kamala’s ethnicity. G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona give us a fun tale about a teen girl trying to adjust. Of course, not knowing WHAT happened for the last eight months doesn’t make telling this tale any easier. I am not a fan of the character but, for those who like her, you’ll like this. Me: my favorite teen heroes are still the classic ones.
NOVA #1: Sam Humphries is a teenager who is also Nova and fights injustice with his dad, who is also a Nova. Dad’s Nova helmet has been giving him problems, but they still manage to save a cat during a house fire. Later, Sam’s dad is at work and discovers a huge underground tunnel. Also, it seems his dad is not the person we all thought he was.
Yeah…no. Sorry, my Nova isn’t Sam Humphries or his father. While it looks like the Mole man may be showing up, based on this huge tunnel, Sean Ryan and Cory Smith did nothing that made me sit up and want to read more. Here’s a clue, Marvel: STOP trying to make EVERY teen character into a Peter Parker clone.
SILK #1: Silk’s story continues from her last series, where she rescued her brother Albert from the Goblin Army gang. So she wants to beat up as many Goblin Army members as possible to find out the location of the Goblin King. She also has a go-round with Mockingbird, showing that she is truly a villain now as she works as a thief for the Black Cat. In actuality, she’s undercover with the Black Cat and is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. In her day job, Cindy Moon works for J. Jonah Jameson at the Fact Channel: Marvel’s version of TMZ.
I didn’t read the last incarnation of SILK as I had no interest. But…when did JJJ end up being Harvey Levin? Robbie Thompson and Stacey Lee are responsible for this and I won’t say the book is a mess, because it actually reads really well and looks okay. I just don’t have an interest in the character and didn’t like her when she made her appearance in AMAZING SPIDER MAN. I especially didn’t like the whole thought that they felt the need to mate when they got close to each other. That was just wrong and creepy! So, I guess if you LIKED SILK before, you’ll like her again.
SPIDER-WOMAN #1: Jessica Drew, a very pregnant Jessica Drew, is about to go off on maternity leave. This will mean her friends Ben Urich and Porcupine will be taking over in her place. Following a party featuring many of the Marvel universe’ finest, Jessica goes off to visit an intergalactic maternity doctor. Unfortunately, the Skrulls are here too!
So someone knocked up Spider Woman and that’s part of the mystery and attraction to this series. I wasn’t a follower of her prior to this relaunch and I don’t find this a title I like. While Dennis Hopeless’ story was a fun one, complete with Tony Stark making the mistake of asking who the father is, and Javier Rodriguez art is quirky but very reminiscent of Jaime Hernandez art, the whole thing just doesn’t appeal to me. My Spider Woman fights bad guys not deals with cravings and cramps.
STAR LORD #1: Peter Quill is a space ship mechanic who desperately wants to be a pilot. His attitude, and the fact that he isn’t respected by the pilots whose ships he works on, leads to a fight between him and one of the pilots, which leads to him being fired. Determined to find the ship that killed his mother 8 years ago, Quill steals a Kree Warbird. His fellow pilots quickly follow him, but he manages to get the ship’s warp drive online and gets away. Unfortunately, the ship shuts down and he finds himself alone and lost in space.
I never bought into the whole GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY hype and have openly stated that this band of heroes is NOT my Guardians. Sam Humphries and Javier Garron give us a story that leaves me scratching my head. So we’re to believe that Quill, the FORMER STAR LORD, is only 18 years old now. What the heck happened during SECRET WARS? Wasn’t he dating Kitty Pryde or someone connected to the X-Men? This is not a title I will continue to pick up just because I don’t care about the character. Nothing personal, Marvel.
THE ULTIMATES #1:A new super team is in town, headquartered in a building known as the Triskelion. Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Blue Marvel are preparing to take on the Devourer while Ms. America and Spectrum find themselves on the planet Moroder-9, facing a giant flying creature that unleashes move flying creatures. The Marvels take on a team on robots called The Punishers before they end up encountering Galactus. He challenges them to try and end his life. They explain they are here not to kill him, but to help him.
If you didn’t know that the Triskelion was the primary headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D., then you haven’t seen most Marvel movies or certainly, the AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. television show. But here, it has become the base for the new Ultimates, which were the superhero team in the Ultimate Universe. But we all know that the Ultimate Universe went the way of the original Marvel Universe during SECRET WARS. So, we have a team of Marvel Universe heroes that have stolen the name from their other world counterparts. How they end up here is anyone’s guess, as we still haven’t seen the end of the SECRET WARS saga. That having been said, Al Ewing gives us an intrigung story that I expect will become clearer as we go. Kenneth Rocafort is handling the art and he is an acquired taste. Having seen his work on SUPERMAN, RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS, SUPERGIRL, and TEEN TITANS, I KNOW WHEN HE’S ON AND WHEN HE’S OFF. On this book, he’s spot on.
THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1: Squirrel Girl, Tippy Toe, Nancy Whitehead, Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi do stuff.
I apologize for this lackluster review. I made a promise that I would buy all the new #1’s and read them all. And I will keep to that. But I CANNOT STAND THIS BOOK. First off: I really don’t like the characters and had a hard time figuring out who was who. It has a complete cartoonish look courtesy of Erica Henderson. I’m okay with cartoonish, but not when proportions go out the window. That only works with Warner Brothers and Tex Avery. Ryan North writes it and I just find the whole affair childish. The coolest part of the book is the continuing running commentary at the bottom of every page. There is some funny stuff there…probably the best stuff in the book. But it’s not enough to save this title for me!
VENOM SPACE KNIGHT #1: Flash Thompson is bonded to the former Venom, which is no longer evil as it was purified on the planet Klyntar. And now Flash has been made an Agent of the Cosmos. Above a distant planet, he finds a robot known as 803 who begs to be put out of his misery in exchange for showing him where the YT-19 is being held. It turns out thew YT-19 is an alien family and that sends Venom off the deep end, attacking the space pirates. The pirates are destroyed, the YT-19 is delivered back safely to their family, and Flash and 803 head off to future adventures.
Well, this was kind of fun. Robbie Thompson, no relation to Flash, writes a action filled issue with some nice bits of humor, best of which is that Flash consistently wants to know what an Agent of the Cosmos is. The real highlight of this book is the beautifully painted art of Ariel Olivetti. From the cover to the last page, it looks amazing. It’s nice to see Flash getting used in a new way and it’s nice to see him not as the huge butthead he always was in the past. Nicely done .
THE VISION #1: Vision has purged the emotions associated with his memories, created a family and moved to the suburbs in Arlington, Virginia. He has a wife named Virginia, and twin children: a son named Vin and a daughter Viv. The neighbors come to visit bearing cookies, which Virginia throws out after they leave because they don’t need to eat food. Over time, they learn the neighborhood and make friends. The kids go off to school and try their best to fit in. Vision gets called away to a mission and Virginia is working with the kids on their homework when a blade comes through Viv’s chest. The Grim Reaper has arrived, causing Virginia to flip out and seemingly kill him. Virginia turns to Vin and asks him not to tell his father.
If you’re reading GRAYSON, and if you’re not WHY NOT, then you already know what kind of writer Tom King is. His work on that DC title makes it consistently one of my favorites. His work on this book is equally as good…and maybe even better! He has crafted a creepy book here, complete with the revelation that one of the members of the family will set the neighbor’s house on fire, killing them. The entire concept here is that they are strangers in a strange land. Where STARFIRE presents the alien as a ditz, this book presents them almost as if they were refugees in a new country. And Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s art is perfect for this book which has this wonderful paranoid feel. This is a wonderful surprise and I highly recommend it.
WEB WARRIORS #1: On Earth-3015, a cartoon universe, the Web Warriors fight a bunch of familiar Spider villains and an equally familiar version of Spider-Man. Back on Earth-001, the team gathers and then heads in different directions. Gwen and may head to Earth-9105 where their lunch is interrupted by a group of villains including a version of Electro. In the battle, Gwen is knocked out and captured by the villains. She wakes up on Earth-1082, where she discovers that spiders aren’t the only things inhabiting the web. In the back-up, we get a tale of the lady spider of Earth-803, who meets with that version of the Black Cat.
I totally cannot get use to the whole idea of multiple Earths with a bunch of versions of Spider Man going about and righting wrongs. I didn’t like the Edge of Spiderverse saga, don’t watch the television show and, with the exception of the first issues, don’t read any of the titles that DON’T feature Peter Parker. This is one of those books. I’m still getting over the fact that our old Marvel Universe is gone and now you want me to deal with multiple Earths in that universe. I would probably have enjoyed Mike Costa’s story and David Baldeon’s art if I actually cared about these characters, although I do like the spot on version of the 1967 Spider Man and his villains in the opening part of the book. At the same time, I really liked Denis Medri’s art on the back up, but didn’t care for the story. And, if you came in late to these characters, don’t worry: there is a two page piece giving you the brief origins and back stories on the seven members of this team. Me…I won’t be reading another issue. It’s not because it is bad: I just don’t care for the characters.
Monday, November 30, 2015
DC YOU Month 6, Part 1
ACTION COMICS #46: Superman, partially under the influence of the Black Mass, frees the captives that have been held in the secret facility and been experimented on. He tells everyone, including Lee, to wait for John Henry and Lana and then heads off to West Virginia where Wrath is amassing an army. He confronts her and finds that Lee also came through the shadows here and that Wrath has her. Together, the two of them defeat her army…until Frankenstein comes riding in on a creature. The two of them, now both under the influence of the Black Mass, battle each other as Wrath takes control of Lee.
So this tale of an infected Superman, who is losing more of his ability and free will all the time, continues. I like Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder’s writing and the way this series is tying into many other Superman appearances across the DC Universe. And generally, I like Scott Kolins artwork, although it doesn’t quite hit me on this title. It’s not because it isn’t any good-I just feel it fits the title. It’s a personal preference thing. Despite that, I like seeing Frankenstein back from the world of cancelled comic heaven.
AQUAMAN #46: Aquaman confronts Entriax regarding not being told that Mera had been replaced by Siren or that he was supposed to destroy Thule. Before he can explain, Wonder Woman arrives to argue with Aquaman about why he never told the League about the invasion of Thule. The Atlantean assassins arrive and battle our heroes, but lose in the process. She assures Aquaman that he won’t have to fight them alone, even as an attack is launched on Amnesty Bay.
If you haven’t heard, Cullen Bunn is leaving this title after issue #48, based on the
reaction from fans which Bunn said was “brutal”. I don’t condone the hate mail and such that he got, but yeah…this is NOT his best work. The real treat this issue is the art of Vincente Cifuentes. It TOTALLY makes the book worth reading.
BATMAN #46: Bloom arrives at a party at the Powers Building and proceeds to start murdering every person he can. Batman shows up with gun blazing before Bloom stabs him with one of his murderous tendrils. Just when things look bad, Julia shows up and bails him out. Still, Bloom manages to escape. Later, he heads out and tracks Bloom down, only to have his robot half, nicknamed Rookie, turn on him. Meanwhile, Bruce and Julie enjoy some quality time in the shower after he tells her that he wants her to marry him. Elsewhere, Duke is breaking into the Iceberg Lounge, where he finds something in Penguin’s office that amazes him. Penguin and his crew catch him, but he plays Death Metal music to distract them and escape.
While this was not the best issue of the series, it could have been a lot worse. I have given a lot of praise to the team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo over the years for their innovative stories and beautiful art. But, while the art was still kicking, I found the story a bit disjointed. I mean, we have Jim Gordon fighting the mysterious Bloom, Duke breaking into to the Iceberg and facing off with Penguin and Bruce and Julie bumping uglies in the shower. Well…he WAS a billionaire playboy, remember? Yeah. I could have done without that whole subplot. By the way: enjoy Capullo now because he’ll be taking a break from the title as of issue #48 and will be replaced by Yanick Paquette.
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL: #5-8: Issue #5 begins with a Batman and Robin flashback involving Dr. Crane, Orphan and eventually Cassandra Cain, who interrupts the meeting between Crane and Orphan. Switching to present day, Dick is visiting the Drake residence where he is passing himself off as a solicitor. It isn’t long after he arrives that Poppy shows up. As the Drakes hide, Mrs. Drake says CNEMIAL and the living room turns into Sanctuary. After a bit of a battle, Dick knocks her out. Tim shows up and has a tearful reunion with his parents before he goes over and punches Dick in the mouth. Meanwhile, Harper and Cassandra have made their way to the church we saw in the flashback. Unfortunately, orphan is there too. In the course of battle, Cassandra cuts off his right arm, forcing him to flee but not before Harper hits him with a tracker.
In #6, we see Dick looking in on Bruce as he works with the kids at the Rec Center, before he and Jason meet at St. Elijah’s and they discover Orphan and Cassandra’s training facility beneath the church. This leads to a Batman and Robin flashback with them chasing the Scarecrow after the events of last issue. Unfortunately, Dick makes a mistake and the villain gets away. Bruce heads off to a fundraiser where his friend Maxwell tells Bruce how he bought his wife from Mother for forty million dollars. Then he changes his story and says he met her at a pottery class in Prague. Later, he discovers that Maxwell and his wife have been murdered by the Orphan, which results in he and Robin heading to Prague. Back in the present, Dick rounds up Cassandra and Harper to head off to Prague. Mother knows they’re coming and that doesn’t seem to bother her at all.
In #7, we have a flashback to several years ago as Batman and Robin are looking for Crane in Prague. Later, Bruce Wayne requests an audience with Mother and is told to go to the ballet. Moving to today, Dick, Harper and are in a Batcave and they are heading off to the Prague Ballet to prevent Orphan from attacking star ballerina Sarangarel Jalair. At the same time, Tim and Jason arrive in Gamorra, where they end up in a bar together. At the ballet, Cassandra and Harper realize that this is a trap and that Sarangarel has connections to Mother. Speaking of which, she pops up and meets with Dick as he is tracing orphan’s signal.
In #8, we have a flashback where Bruce gets to meet with Mother and we see that Bruce has come to her looking for an heir.In the present, Dick meets with mother who offers to show him who that heir was, as long as he comes with her and leave Harper and Cassandra to fight for their lives. Of course, he turns it down and helps the girls out. Once free, Harper tugs on Cassandra’s hair, causing her to freak out and flee. Back at the Prague Batcave, they realize that Cassandra is gone and that’s a big problem. Meanwhile, Jason and Tim go to a church to meet with Jean Metier, who is one of the biggest dealers of tech in Gamorra. But he’s mentally unhinged, as he claims her has been visited by the Angel of Death while mumbling that “the circle around the circle is the fullness of God… the circle protects me from oblivion”.
Well, here we have four more killer issue from the writing team of James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Steve Orlando, Genevieve Valentine with Scot Eaton, Ronan Cliquet, Steve Pugh, Tony S. Daniel, and Alvaro Martinez handling the art. So, after all this, the question remains: who did Bruce get as an heir? He already had Dick, so that leaves Jason, Tim and possibly Damian. The obvious choice would be Jason but it IS Tynion and Snyder, so don’t expect the obvious.
BATMAN BEYOND #6: Tim Drake, dressed in Jim Gordon’s old robot Batsuit while Barbara and Micron try to hold off the heroes who have been turned into cyborgs. Tim gets into a one on one with Brother Eyebut it’s Inque who comes to save the day. In order to make sure that Tim keeps his promise top save her daughter, she uses her ability to infest and shut Brother Eye down. This causes a chain reaction that destroys the moon complex and Brother Eye. This also causes all of the superhero cyborgs to stop working.
Okay…so this could be a good stepping off point on this series by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. I mean, we have reached an end, it even says THE END in the end. Brother Eye, the Big Bad of the future, has finally been destroyed and now Tim, the younger can spend his later years with Barbara the older…or something like that. This title had great beginnings and then just got on the weird treadmill of me not caring. However, I do LOVE the variant cover by the great Craig Rousseau.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #26: Back in Siberia, Superman, Batgirl, Red Hood and Grayson are trying to help the folks who have been threatened by Vandal Savage. Savage’s Shadow Monsters show up. Batman arrives too, chastising them all before lending a land. In the end, he blasts the ice and it reveals a very large Nazi airship hooked up to the artificial sun.
That’s a short synopsis for an issue, but that about sums up everything that went on. Greg Pak gives us a great issue with some cool dialogue and some even cooler in-jokes while the art team of Ardian Syaf, and Cliff Richards makes it all look so good. I love how Pak manages to tie the events in his current Superman writings with what’s going on here. Again, nicely done. And what’s up with this Nazi airship?
BAT-MITE #6: We begin with Reagan’s boss blasting her for the way Bat-Mite has been causing mischief across the country, even as our hero is meeting with the President with an offer to help him. Then he discovers that Gridlock has thrown his hat into the political arena. Bat-Mite confronts him and gets gassed for his trouble. When he wakes, he finds himself captured by Gridlock who DOES have the GALAXY TREK pilot. Through Bat-Mite’s power, they end up inside the episode and the crew attack Gridlock, who they accuse of killing one of the Red Shirts. He pops out of the show and has to battle The Sentry Silent, who has come to take him back home. In the end, three cloaked figures pass judgment on him. They are the Justice Mites of America and they need him to help them battle Canceltron.
Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell conclude this fun series with some more fun! And if you’re are a fan of certain politicians, especially Hillary and The Donald, you may NOT want to read this as there is some pretty nice slaps at them! This was such a fun mini-series that I can only hope for a return at some point.
BIZARRO #6: Jimmy is slowly dying in the Nevada desert when he gets picked up and kidnapped by King and Queen Tut. Meanwhile, Bizarro meets Superman, who heads the other way when he learns Jimmy is in trouble. Colin the Chupacabra is in deep space and gets the message, causing him to head directly to Seattle. He’s not alone, as Bizarro, Talliwag, Big Munk, Zatanna, Chastity Hex, Deadman, the FBI agents come together to form the Bizarro League and return things to normal. Bizarro and Jimmy make up and, after Bizarro buys a car from the diamonds he has made from coal, they finish their road trip, with Colin the Chupacabra joining them. Unfortunately they get stopped at the Canadian border, but are given a gift basket filled with Tim Hortons donuts, moose jerky and Molson Beer! Back in Metropolis, Jimmy finds out that Clark has gotten Bizarro an internship at the Daily Planet.
This is the final issue of one of this truly hilarious series! Thank you Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte for one wild ride. And special thanks to guest artist turns from Dave Stewart and Tim Sale. I cannot say enough about how much fun this was. Either you got it or you didn’t. I am so glad that this turned out to be the silly, slightly wacky and totally fun book I had hoped it would be. I sure hope that, based on the ending, a sequel is in order.
CATWOMAN #46: Killer Croc informs Eiko that heads of the families have arrived, as she prepares for their slaughter. Antonia arrives to offer condolences, at which Eiko sends her away and Croc informs her that the hit squads are ready. The teams quickly take out gang members all over the city and Alvarez and Keyes discover one crime scene. Catwoman takes down one of the assassins and then Stephanie arrives and tells Selina it’s Eiko’s doing. She confesses that she killed Bill Turner, to which Selina tells her Bill had been shot, so she wasn’t fully to blame. Selina confronts Eiko, which ends up in a fight and a stalemate with Selina bidding Eiko goodbye. Selina heads to the underground, looking for Penguin, only to find Antonia as his guest. Penguin is quite happy how the eliminating of the crime families has been a bonus for him Later, Antonia and Selina discuss how Eiko’s actions benefited the Calabrese Family. In the end, Catwoman bids goodbye to Gotham City.
And with that, Selins Kyle heads out of Gotham and Genevieve Valentine and David Messina do the same, to be replaced by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda. This has been a fun, but uneven ride for the creative team as they struggled to take Catwoman from semi-superhero to crime boss. We have seen her move into a role much like Don Corleone, complete with the awful task of her one of her own family eliminated. Tieri and Miranda will have some big shoes to fill here. Tieri has recently done GRIFTER and a couple of the CONVERGENCE mini-series for DC while Miranda has worked on FAIREST and BIRDS OF PREY. It would nice to see this book NOT evolve back into just a woman in tights series again. By the way: seek out the variant cover by Darwyn Cooke featuring Catwoman and Tweety Bird!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #6: With a great big monster coming out and making it’s way through the halls of the apartment building where Constantine lives, it takes John to use a puzzle box style trap to have it stop bothering a former Arch-Duke of Hell. Then he sits around naked in his house before deciding to place an online ad soliciting himself as an exorcist. He spends most of the rest of book going around and helping people for a fee, getting rid of demons and such. He has a bit of a conversation with a gargoyle named Bartleby, before going back to the business of exorcising. In the end, he ends up making a connection with an old lover named Oliver. By the way-Papa Mnidnite is coming!
So, while this was one of the better issues of this title, it is still not the rotten, nasty Constantine we all know and love. And I have to ask the question: is sexual ambiguity and homosexuality the new routine in comics? Between Catwoman, Midnighter and Constantine, for starters, the DC Universe is going into grounds which might make some readers feels a bit…quirky? James Tynion IV and Ming Doyle write a great story, with a lot of nice bits, specifically all of John’s exorcising missions, some of which are really funny! Riley Rossmo provides the art and it’s okay, but I find it still going into the Batgirling of the line. While time may tell, I think time is running out on this title.
DEATHSTROKE #12: Deathstroke and Black Manta are battling it out underwater before Slade uses Manta’s speed to toss him out of the water. This is all because Slade wants to kill Waller for what has happened to his daughter. In the middle of all this, Harley and Deadshot get involved. The Belle Reve's shock troops show up to attack and that leads to Slade taking Harley out of the mix so she can lead him to Waller’s office. It’s a bloody and messy trek to the office but Waller is not there. She’s being held by Snakebite, who has no problem taking out anyone trying to rescue her. Things look bad for Slade and Harley until Catwoman shows up.
James Bonny and Tony S. Daniel combine with Tyler Kirkham to give us another action filled issue with not a lot of mental substance to it. What I mean is this book flows over you and doesn’t require a lot of thinking. It’s a good looking, action adventure book where people get shot and beat up and we have a fair share of bad puns (Harley bashes some of the Belle Reve guards by saying “clean up on Aisle Five). All in all, I have read worse. Picture G.I. JOE with blood and guts and you have this!
DETECTIVE COMICS #46: Batman and the Justice League are off in the Himalayas where they are investigating a giant monster skeleton, which they figure out has been murdered by a stalactite. They find anther creature inside a cave that they assume had committed suicide. When a second creature arrives and seemingly attacks them, they figure out that the second creature is a child and the mother killed herself so the baby could live. The child is slowly dying due to lack of food and earth’s own atmosphere. They project an image of the child’s mother and he lies down with her, slowly dying. Batman stays with the child and sings it a lullaby.
A beautifully sweet ending to a pretty awful issue! I have been a big fan of Peter Tomasi for some time, but this whole story just felt uneven and forced fel to it. I don’t buy this Batman as part of the Justice League and the fact that most of the team comes off sounding sluggish doesn’t help. And I really don’t like Marcio Takara’s artwork. Here’s hoping next issue gets back on some kind of normal track, like chasing bad guys and solving crime in Gotham. You want to play in the Justice League, find a way to work him INTO their book!
DOCTOR FATE #6: Khalid has become blind and can only see while he is wearing the helm of Doctor Fate. Meanwhile, Anubis continues to mess with the world, as the rain continues to fall. After a visit from the cat, Khalid decides he needs to do what he needs to do and attacks Anubis. He reaches a point where he thinks he has the Egyptian god on the ropes, but finds himself swallowed up by it. And Khlaid’s dad, now that he can see again, gets busy with Khalid’s mom!
Sorry…still can’t get into this series. I cannot believe that we’re six issues in and we’re still monkeying around with this storyline. And, after all this, I still cannot believe that we still have very little on our character and his supporting cast. It’s all just a lot of confusion. It’s brought to you courtesy of Paul Levitz and Sonny Lew.
DOOMED #6: Alpha Centurian is here and he, Superman and Doomed team up to battle Mother Herd, who drops a battleship on them. Because of his reduced powers, Superman is struggling to get free and it’s Doomed who saves them from a watery grave. In the process, Mother Herd loses her head, which means she loses her minions too. Superman dissuades Alpha Centurian from killing Doomed. Actually, he knocks Alpha Centurian out. Doomed begins to speak in words that Superman can understand and then he transforms back to Reiser and convinces Superman not to take him to S.T.A.R. labs. So he gets to go back home with Oui-Oui and continuing his heroic adventures…with the Teen Titans.
Okay…so can we all admit that this book existed to get the character introduced and get him a gig in TEEN TITANS? If that was the purpose of this series, then I am good with it. If this was someone at DC’s idea of what a successful series is meant to be, then I want the chance to pitch them MY comic idea. This is the end of this series, which DC has claimed that it was “always” a six issue limited series. Yeah…I believe that has been retconned! Anyway, Scott Lobdell wrote it and Javier Fernandez illustrated it and I’m glad to see it come to an end. I do have to admit that Reiser’s character did get interesting towards the end and perhaps he will play well over in TEEN TITANS…even if Lobdell is no longer writing it.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #6: Flash , Batman and Val face off against Jimmy Olsen, now known as Doctor Impossible, Johnny Sorrow and Miss Anarky when Hourman shows up to lend the villains a hand. Jimmy, the murderer of Terry Sloan, manages to slip away through a Boom Tube. Flashback three months ago where Jimmy, Huntress and Red Arrow are at work on a new Source Vault when it explodes in Helena's face. Red Arrow quickly lays the blame at Jimmy’s feet. A week later, Rick Tyler breaks into Waynecorp to steal back his father's Miraclo. But Jimmy teleports him away and convinces him that he needs to worship Jimmy. got him to start worshiping his Doctor Impossible persona. In the present, Power Girl and Huntress are checking out the Green Lantern quarantined zone, when Jimmy shows up and takes Huntress by the hand. Looks like she has gone to the Dark Side too!
To this point, I have truly been really disappointed by this series. But now that we have a gathering of villains, business has picked up! Daniel H. Wilson and Alison Borges bring us a powerhouse issue filled with unexpected turns. I mean, Jimmy Olsen is a bad guy, Hourman is a bad guy, and now it looks like Huntress is bad too! This is truly the best issue of the series to date. I still have issues about the art, but the story has truly gotten better with this issue. I really have a hard time seeing these heroes twisted this way, but it is making for some interesting reading!
FLASH #46: As Frye continues to blame the Flash for destroying the Precinct and "nearly" killing half of his men, Zoom shows up with Folding Man, Block and Roscoe and proceeds to make things even worse. Elsewhere, Henry Allen tends to Magali, who has had her powers stripped by the power hungry Zoom. They head off to the battle, while Selkirk begs them not to let Zoom get to him. They show up at the battle and convince the others that Zoom is only out for his own self, leading to their turning on him and teaming up with the Flash. Zoom grabs Henry and heads off, telling him that his son is the Flash. The issue concludes with them being dumped for a final battle at the Allen home.
If you're as big a fan of Brett Booth’s artwork as I am, enjoy this issue and the next one, as he is departing for greener pastures. His work has really taken this book to a new place and elevated to the level it needs to be at. Robert Venditti and Van Jensen continue to write a killer story and, with the finale of this arc next issue, I cannot wait to see where they are taking it. While this is a long way from the classic Flash/Zoom story we knew, it is a super re-imagining of it and I love it. Between this and the television show, we’ve got lots of Zoom!
GRAYSON #14: Otto Netz explains the origin of Spyral, from the beginning of the of his days as Agent Zero to his creation of a Leviathan and his becoming Doctor Dedalus. Discovering he had Alzheimers, he created Kate and Elisabeth Netz. Meanwhile, Dick, Tiger and Ladytron are battling Spyral security spiders before Dick knocks out Tiger yet again, before getting Ladytron to tap into “Mister Malevo” to gain access regarding Agent Zero. Spyder orders Helena to dispose of him and she releases the Nanobots. Luckily Ladytron was able to shut them down before Dick shuts her down. In the end, Tiger awakens and tries to kill Dick, whio insists that they have to destroy Spyral.
Tim Seeley and Tom king combine to give us another roller coaster issue with tons of plot twists and turns. And just how creepy is Otto Netz? REALLY CREEPY, complete with bug eyed glasses. And what does all of this whole thing going on with the Netz’ and Helena? I love where this book is going. The only bummer from this issue was Stephen Mooney on the art. Mooney’s art is good, but he’s certainly not Mikel Janin. We get a breather next month as the story stops long enough for Part 2 of the ROBIN WAR event. Personally, I don’t know if I can wait until January to see where this thing is going!
GREEN ARROW #46: In Juarez, Mexico, a man named Miguel tried to send his daughter Sophia away, but the bus she is on gets stopped by the bone cult. They killed everyone on the bus but her, who drove the bus for them to save her life. Tarantula and Oliver go to Juarez and head into a bar for a drink. But when blood drops into Ollie’s glass and he finds the bartender stabbed to the ceiling, he realizes it’s a trap. Unfortunately, Catalina has already been captured and Ollie surrenders. Back at Jefe’s compound, he tells Green Arrow how Tarantula was going to use Ollie to swap for her niece, Sophia. That goes bad quickly and he breaks free, killing all of the bone cult members in the room. Tarantula, Sophia and Green Arrow jump out a window and he has them leave as he is going to be the sacrifice that will save them.
Benjamin Percy and Patrick Zircher turn in another interesting issue that seems to owe more to the television show than to previous issues of the comic. My favorite moment is as Catalina and Oliver are driving into town and he shuts off the radio because it’s playing a Black Canary song. Unfortunately, that seems to be what is happening with sale of the book, so I guess art imitates art! This is definitely not the book that Lemire and Sorrentino gave us not so long ago, but it’s also not the Ann Nocenti version from the first 18 months, so I guess things could be worse.
GREEN LANTERN #46: While Trapper, Virgo and Darlene head off into space, Hal brings an unconscious Black Hand to Relic, who is investigating the crack in the Source Wall that developed when Black Hand broke free. Black Hand gets free and now begins hurling hunks of stone at Hal and Relic, but the arrival of Trapper, Virgo and Darlene, who fire a large hook that knocks him into the wall, saves them as he is absorbed by it. Hal then decides to head home with his crew and it’s a good thing as some terrorists from the former Sovereign Nation of Modora are planning to attack Coast City.
So here’s the good of this issue: most of it! Robert Venditti turns in another great script where Hal Jordan isn’t a whining pain! Billy Tan’s art is his usual awesome work, although there are times where Mark Irwin’s inks seem a little less than complimentary. All in all, the new” Green Lantern is far more interesting than the old one..although I am still a bit upset that Hal now looks like he’s wearing the Spectre’s clothes!
GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY #6: The Lost Army battles it out with Lightsmiths of every colors who are trying to gain access to the main Power Battery on Mogo. Mogo gets transformed into an emotional converter and therefore can control all the different energies. And Guy loses his red ring in exchange for a green one while Two-Six becomes a Blue Lantern. In the end, John tries to get the team back through the hole in the Source Wall when Hal Jordan seals the wall from his side, trapping John and the rest of the Lost Army. Now they need to go looking for another way out which they may or may not find in GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EDGE OF OBLIVION.
Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz brign this series to a much needed close. But wait: we ain’t done yet! GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EDGE OF OBLIVION will pick up where this series left off and leaves me to ask WHY? Didn’t DC learn that this book didn’t sell? What makes them think a sequel will be any better?
HARLEY QUINN #22: Harley comes back from her adventures in Beverly Hills to settle into life in Brooklyn, when she finds out that Zena Bendemova has been reborn and has a hit out on her. She also finds out that Zena’s kidnapped Sy Borgman not to mention that Mason Macabre is having a bear of a time in prison. His mom is told that he’s as good as dead. Harley gathers up the rest of the Harleys and has half the team go off the help find Sy while the balance goes off to free mason.
First off, you need to go back 16 issues and read HARLEY QUINN #6, which is where the whole Zena Bendemova/Sy Borgman story developed. In case you haven’t figured it out, it’s another Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti/Chad Hardin romp. One of the things I have noticed is that this book, while maintaining a bunch of its’ humorous moments, cue the Harley Queens boob joke, is that it has managed to take a more serious tone in recent months. And that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, especially with the HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL book and the forthcoming HARLEY QUINN’S LITTLE BLACK BOOK poised to continue with the humor. At the same time, I don’t think most people will get the Texas bell tower joke and the emotional abuse issue with the Joker doll was a bit hard to take.
HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL #5: Our heroes have to battle the Harvester of Sorrow. Harley consults her spirit animal and ends up inside, and the thing turns into a giant Joker’s head. Harley bursts free and destroys it, but not before she decides to manscape Vartox’s upper lip. With the universe safe again, Vartox drops to one knee in front of Power Girl and whips out a diamond ring.
One more to go, right? Oh thank goodness! Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray wrote it with their respective tongues in each others’ cheeks. Stephane Roux drew it in the usual bombastic way. And all six issues fit in between a panel in an issue of HARLEY QUINN? Sure. Well…this will end just in time for the NEW HARLEY QUINN title…which comes in a black bag for your protection!
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – FLASH #1: With The Flash now possessed by the Black Racer and having killed Darkseid, Barry tries to outrun the Racer, but he sees a ghost of his mom and that allows the Racer to inhabit him again. He is told that if he takes just one life, then the Universe will continue to live. He goes to visit Iris, explains his problem but refuses to kill her. So he kills the Black Racer instead, but unknowingly releases death to kill universes. Of course, this all happens inside Barry’s head. So, he decides he must accept the mantle of the Black Racer.
So…does this mean the next issue of THE FLASH will be called THE BLACK RACER instead. Rob Williams and Jesús Merino do a nice job in this side story to the main THE DARKSEID WAR piece running out of JUSTICE LEAGUE. I certainly have found it more satisfying than the SUPERMAN tale, which I write about next. It was interesting that they had Barry visit Iris as opposed to his long time love Patty, even if the two of them are splitsville. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – GREEN LANTERN #1: The Parademons have landed on Oa and merged Darkseid’s Motherbox with the central power battery. A beat up John Stewart sends a distress signal to Hal Jordan. When Hal arrives, he finds that the Green Lanterns have been turned into Parademons. To save his friends, Hal accepts the role of the God of Light and then uses his powers to restore Oa and the Corps. Throughout the book, we get flashbacks of a young Hal being visited at a Catholic church by a stranger in a bomber jacket. We learn that Hal uses his new found powers to become that stranger. And then he realizes that he doesn’t want to be the God of Light, and gets Motherbox to destroy itself, turning himself back to Hal Jordan.
I sort of half expected this book to really be another lame crossover title that goes nowhere. And I was pleasantly surprised to have that NOT be the case. Tom King and Doc Shaner do a great job of giving us a story that allows Oa to be wiped out and then restored again. I liked the nice touch of having Hal visit Hal, even if I did figure it out almost immediately without figuring out how…so that worked. What I am confused about, and this must tie into the whole idea of telling great stories and not worrying about continuity, is how Oa is still around. Didn’t Oa go down thanks to Relic and that’s why Mogo is now the home of the Lanterns? But, lo and behold, here it is. Confused…
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – SHAZAM #1: Shazam ends up in a neighborhood in South Philadelphia. After the death of Darkseid, six New Gods have pushed out the six ancients gods that used to be a part of Billy Batson’s hero and he finds himself trying to force them out. He says that magic word and transforms to Billy Batson, who meets with Anapel and then the rest of the New Gods within him. They are S’ivaa, H’ronmeer, Anapel, Zonuz, Ate, and Mamaragan. Zonuz, we learn, is also known as Yuga Khan and is the father of Darkseid and he has gotten his hands on the Wizard’s staff. Shazam brings down the lightning upon Zonuz and defeats him, gaining him as one of his gods in the process. He meets with Mamaragan, who is the Wizard transformed. In the end, Billy is a new Shazam.
But he STILL is not Captain Freakin’ Marvel! Steve Orlando and Scott Kolins craft a tale that explains the origin of the NEW SHAZAM…provided this all stays the same when this whole DARKSEID WAR ends. Orlando gives us a tale better than his recent issues of MIDNIGHTER while Kolins work is as good as his usual stuff. All in all, this fits in nicely to the ongoing story and didn’t feel like it was written just to sell another book.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – SUPERMAN #1: A much angrier Superman, one all in black, comes back to earth and defeats an alien in a giant robot. Then he goes off to eat pie and then tosses Jimmy Olsen through a window, saying that what happens in Metropolis doesn’t matter because he isn’t human. A black mass not unlike that which has been running through the Superman titles attacks everyone in Metropolis, ultimately saves the day, before leaving again.
I was a fan of Francis Manapul and his work on THE FLASH, but this is disappointing. With a plot straight out of SUPERMAN III, which featured a Superman with a far nastier demeanor than we had seen before, this issue goes nowhere fast. And obviously it’s set PRIOR to the events in Superman, as he still has what seems like all of his powers and Perry White doesn’t hate him! Bong Dazo’s art though is nice.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5: Set in the past, J’onn J’onzz is on the Watchtower with the rest of the League. Then there is a shift to Nevada and then Japan where he disguises himself as a human and gets involved in a murder mystery. In the process, he meets a red Martian that calls himself The Unnamed. In the end, he destroys The Unnamed and decides to spend his time on Earth protecting, watching, and learning.
If you have been following Bryan Hitch’ series and wonder what the heck this is all about, you are not alone. We have gone from a cliffhanger ending last issue to this: a pretty obvious filler issue. What went from the League dealing with Rao goes to a Martian Manhunter that turns out to be a murder mystery and the first taste that there are other Martians out there besides J’onn. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, the book ends with “Discover the truth about J’onn and Mars in MARTIAN MANHUNTER”, which means this book acts as a mainstream hype piece for a book which is critically acclaimed but doesn’t sell well. Matt Kindt and Rob Williams, who does awesome work on the MARTIAN MANHUNTER series, wrote it while Philip Tan drew it. If this came after the end of the Rao story, I would have been fine with it. But, to drop it here means that the Rao piece loses a ton of steam.
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #6: While Supergirl wants to have Tina Sung arrested, Batman convinces her to bring her back to Camelot Nine where he can adopt her. Meanwhile, her best friend, and archenemy Harley Quinn gets killed by two silver android creatures known as Scullions. They show up and attack Batman and Kara and we discover that these creatures regenerate after being injured. It seems that there are lots of Scullions and they are currently destroying Cadmusworld. Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman show up on Takron-Galtos to lend a hand, resulting in Superman getting his head blown off. In the end, the Scullions prepare to kill them all!
Well…that could be a problem! So, the hero with the biggest ego gets toasted. Big bummer! I LOVE THIS SERIES and I LOVE THIS ISSUE!. There are a ton of good jokes, courtesy of J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen. What makes this work is that the jokes flow nicely and don’t feel forced as they often do in HARLEY QUINN. The real highlight for me is the art by guest artist, the legendary Colleen Doran. If you don’t known Colleen’s work-WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? Three words: A DISTANT SOIL! And that’s just for starters. So, besides this book being a hoot to read, it looks awesome too! As far as I’m concerned, she could do this gig regularly.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #15: Over in Arracourt France, the battle rages on. Robotman and Steel battle OMAC while Stargirl saves the Enemy Ace. Frankenstein and company watch the action and then join in and help. Vandal Savage reveals himself as a good guy and explains how he was responsible for getting them all together. The Unknown Soldier appears and tosses a grenade, with Robotman making the save. With repairs made to G.I. Robot, they all form an alliance and charge back into battle. The Unknown Soldier appears again, but Sgt. Rock opens him up with a bayonet, causing energy to explode from within him. Soon Robotman, Steel, Batgirl and Stargirl are in modern day Arracourt, Rock and Easy are back in 1944 and the Enemy Ace is back in 1918.
If you were as big a fan of DC’s war comics back in the day, you would be thrilled with these last few issues of JLU. Jeff Pelletier gets all sorts of high marks for this story, right down to the Joe Kubert tribute on the last page (DC’s war books during the Vietnam War era were famous for inserting the slogan "Make War No More" at the end of every issue). And while that is an extremely cool nod to a legend in the field, seeing all of these classic characters together in one tale is mind-blowing. And we even have a version of the Unknown Soldier too. Best of all, we have the unbelievable art of Paul Pelletier that just puts the icing on this wonderful cake. So…can we REALLY bring back the CLASSIC war books?
So this tale of an infected Superman, who is losing more of his ability and free will all the time, continues. I like Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder’s writing and the way this series is tying into many other Superman appearances across the DC Universe. And generally, I like Scott Kolins artwork, although it doesn’t quite hit me on this title. It’s not because it isn’t any good-I just feel it fits the title. It’s a personal preference thing. Despite that, I like seeing Frankenstein back from the world of cancelled comic heaven.
AQUAMAN #46: Aquaman confronts Entriax regarding not being told that Mera had been replaced by Siren or that he was supposed to destroy Thule. Before he can explain, Wonder Woman arrives to argue with Aquaman about why he never told the League about the invasion of Thule. The Atlantean assassins arrive and battle our heroes, but lose in the process. She assures Aquaman that he won’t have to fight them alone, even as an attack is launched on Amnesty Bay.
If you haven’t heard, Cullen Bunn is leaving this title after issue #48, based on the
reaction from fans which Bunn said was “brutal”. I don’t condone the hate mail and such that he got, but yeah…this is NOT his best work. The real treat this issue is the art of Vincente Cifuentes. It TOTALLY makes the book worth reading.
BATMAN #46: Bloom arrives at a party at the Powers Building and proceeds to start murdering every person he can. Batman shows up with gun blazing before Bloom stabs him with one of his murderous tendrils. Just when things look bad, Julia shows up and bails him out. Still, Bloom manages to escape. Later, he heads out and tracks Bloom down, only to have his robot half, nicknamed Rookie, turn on him. Meanwhile, Bruce and Julie enjoy some quality time in the shower after he tells her that he wants her to marry him. Elsewhere, Duke is breaking into the Iceberg Lounge, where he finds something in Penguin’s office that amazes him. Penguin and his crew catch him, but he plays Death Metal music to distract them and escape.
While this was not the best issue of the series, it could have been a lot worse. I have given a lot of praise to the team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo over the years for their innovative stories and beautiful art. But, while the art was still kicking, I found the story a bit disjointed. I mean, we have Jim Gordon fighting the mysterious Bloom, Duke breaking into to the Iceberg and facing off with Penguin and Bruce and Julie bumping uglies in the shower. Well…he WAS a billionaire playboy, remember? Yeah. I could have done without that whole subplot. By the way: enjoy Capullo now because he’ll be taking a break from the title as of issue #48 and will be replaced by Yanick Paquette.
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL: #5-8: Issue #5 begins with a Batman and Robin flashback involving Dr. Crane, Orphan and eventually Cassandra Cain, who interrupts the meeting between Crane and Orphan. Switching to present day, Dick is visiting the Drake residence where he is passing himself off as a solicitor. It isn’t long after he arrives that Poppy shows up. As the Drakes hide, Mrs. Drake says CNEMIAL and the living room turns into Sanctuary. After a bit of a battle, Dick knocks her out. Tim shows up and has a tearful reunion with his parents before he goes over and punches Dick in the mouth. Meanwhile, Harper and Cassandra have made their way to the church we saw in the flashback. Unfortunately, orphan is there too. In the course of battle, Cassandra cuts off his right arm, forcing him to flee but not before Harper hits him with a tracker.
In #6, we see Dick looking in on Bruce as he works with the kids at the Rec Center, before he and Jason meet at St. Elijah’s and they discover Orphan and Cassandra’s training facility beneath the church. This leads to a Batman and Robin flashback with them chasing the Scarecrow after the events of last issue. Unfortunately, Dick makes a mistake and the villain gets away. Bruce heads off to a fundraiser where his friend Maxwell tells Bruce how he bought his wife from Mother for forty million dollars. Then he changes his story and says he met her at a pottery class in Prague. Later, he discovers that Maxwell and his wife have been murdered by the Orphan, which results in he and Robin heading to Prague. Back in the present, Dick rounds up Cassandra and Harper to head off to Prague. Mother knows they’re coming and that doesn’t seem to bother her at all.
In #7, we have a flashback to several years ago as Batman and Robin are looking for Crane in Prague. Later, Bruce Wayne requests an audience with Mother and is told to go to the ballet. Moving to today, Dick, Harper and are in a Batcave and they are heading off to the Prague Ballet to prevent Orphan from attacking star ballerina Sarangarel Jalair. At the same time, Tim and Jason arrive in Gamorra, where they end up in a bar together. At the ballet, Cassandra and Harper realize that this is a trap and that Sarangarel has connections to Mother. Speaking of which, she pops up and meets with Dick as he is tracing orphan’s signal.
In #8, we have a flashback where Bruce gets to meet with Mother and we see that Bruce has come to her looking for an heir.In the present, Dick meets with mother who offers to show him who that heir was, as long as he comes with her and leave Harper and Cassandra to fight for their lives. Of course, he turns it down and helps the girls out. Once free, Harper tugs on Cassandra’s hair, causing her to freak out and flee. Back at the Prague Batcave, they realize that Cassandra is gone and that’s a big problem. Meanwhile, Jason and Tim go to a church to meet with Jean Metier, who is one of the biggest dealers of tech in Gamorra. But he’s mentally unhinged, as he claims her has been visited by the Angel of Death while mumbling that “the circle around the circle is the fullness of God… the circle protects me from oblivion”.
Well, here we have four more killer issue from the writing team of James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Steve Orlando, Genevieve Valentine with Scot Eaton, Ronan Cliquet, Steve Pugh, Tony S. Daniel, and Alvaro Martinez handling the art. So, after all this, the question remains: who did Bruce get as an heir? He already had Dick, so that leaves Jason, Tim and possibly Damian. The obvious choice would be Jason but it IS Tynion and Snyder, so don’t expect the obvious.
BATMAN BEYOND #6: Tim Drake, dressed in Jim Gordon’s old robot Batsuit while Barbara and Micron try to hold off the heroes who have been turned into cyborgs. Tim gets into a one on one with Brother Eyebut it’s Inque who comes to save the day. In order to make sure that Tim keeps his promise top save her daughter, she uses her ability to infest and shut Brother Eye down. This causes a chain reaction that destroys the moon complex and Brother Eye. This also causes all of the superhero cyborgs to stop working.
Okay…so this could be a good stepping off point on this series by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. I mean, we have reached an end, it even says THE END in the end. Brother Eye, the Big Bad of the future, has finally been destroyed and now Tim, the younger can spend his later years with Barbara the older…or something like that. This title had great beginnings and then just got on the weird treadmill of me not caring. However, I do LOVE the variant cover by the great Craig Rousseau.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #26: Back in Siberia, Superman, Batgirl, Red Hood and Grayson are trying to help the folks who have been threatened by Vandal Savage. Savage’s Shadow Monsters show up. Batman arrives too, chastising them all before lending a land. In the end, he blasts the ice and it reveals a very large Nazi airship hooked up to the artificial sun.
That’s a short synopsis for an issue, but that about sums up everything that went on. Greg Pak gives us a great issue with some cool dialogue and some even cooler in-jokes while the art team of Ardian Syaf, and Cliff Richards makes it all look so good. I love how Pak manages to tie the events in his current Superman writings with what’s going on here. Again, nicely done. And what’s up with this Nazi airship?
BAT-MITE #6: We begin with Reagan’s boss blasting her for the way Bat-Mite has been causing mischief across the country, even as our hero is meeting with the President with an offer to help him. Then he discovers that Gridlock has thrown his hat into the political arena. Bat-Mite confronts him and gets gassed for his trouble. When he wakes, he finds himself captured by Gridlock who DOES have the GALAXY TREK pilot. Through Bat-Mite’s power, they end up inside the episode and the crew attack Gridlock, who they accuse of killing one of the Red Shirts. He pops out of the show and has to battle The Sentry Silent, who has come to take him back home. In the end, three cloaked figures pass judgment on him. They are the Justice Mites of America and they need him to help them battle Canceltron.
Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell conclude this fun series with some more fun! And if you’re are a fan of certain politicians, especially Hillary and The Donald, you may NOT want to read this as there is some pretty nice slaps at them! This was such a fun mini-series that I can only hope for a return at some point.
BIZARRO #6: Jimmy is slowly dying in the Nevada desert when he gets picked up and kidnapped by King and Queen Tut. Meanwhile, Bizarro meets Superman, who heads the other way when he learns Jimmy is in trouble. Colin the Chupacabra is in deep space and gets the message, causing him to head directly to Seattle. He’s not alone, as Bizarro, Talliwag, Big Munk, Zatanna, Chastity Hex, Deadman, the FBI agents come together to form the Bizarro League and return things to normal. Bizarro and Jimmy make up and, after Bizarro buys a car from the diamonds he has made from coal, they finish their road trip, with Colin the Chupacabra joining them. Unfortunately they get stopped at the Canadian border, but are given a gift basket filled with Tim Hortons donuts, moose jerky and Molson Beer! Back in Metropolis, Jimmy finds out that Clark has gotten Bizarro an internship at the Daily Planet.
This is the final issue of one of this truly hilarious series! Thank you Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte for one wild ride. And special thanks to guest artist turns from Dave Stewart and Tim Sale. I cannot say enough about how much fun this was. Either you got it or you didn’t. I am so glad that this turned out to be the silly, slightly wacky and totally fun book I had hoped it would be. I sure hope that, based on the ending, a sequel is in order.
CATWOMAN #46: Killer Croc informs Eiko that heads of the families have arrived, as she prepares for their slaughter. Antonia arrives to offer condolences, at which Eiko sends her away and Croc informs her that the hit squads are ready. The teams quickly take out gang members all over the city and Alvarez and Keyes discover one crime scene. Catwoman takes down one of the assassins and then Stephanie arrives and tells Selina it’s Eiko’s doing. She confesses that she killed Bill Turner, to which Selina tells her Bill had been shot, so she wasn’t fully to blame. Selina confronts Eiko, which ends up in a fight and a stalemate with Selina bidding Eiko goodbye. Selina heads to the underground, looking for Penguin, only to find Antonia as his guest. Penguin is quite happy how the eliminating of the crime families has been a bonus for him Later, Antonia and Selina discuss how Eiko’s actions benefited the Calabrese Family. In the end, Catwoman bids goodbye to Gotham City.
And with that, Selins Kyle heads out of Gotham and Genevieve Valentine and David Messina do the same, to be replaced by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda. This has been a fun, but uneven ride for the creative team as they struggled to take Catwoman from semi-superhero to crime boss. We have seen her move into a role much like Don Corleone, complete with the awful task of her one of her own family eliminated. Tieri and Miranda will have some big shoes to fill here. Tieri has recently done GRIFTER and a couple of the CONVERGENCE mini-series for DC while Miranda has worked on FAIREST and BIRDS OF PREY. It would nice to see this book NOT evolve back into just a woman in tights series again. By the way: seek out the variant cover by Darwyn Cooke featuring Catwoman and Tweety Bird!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #6: With a great big monster coming out and making it’s way through the halls of the apartment building where Constantine lives, it takes John to use a puzzle box style trap to have it stop bothering a former Arch-Duke of Hell. Then he sits around naked in his house before deciding to place an online ad soliciting himself as an exorcist. He spends most of the rest of book going around and helping people for a fee, getting rid of demons and such. He has a bit of a conversation with a gargoyle named Bartleby, before going back to the business of exorcising. In the end, he ends up making a connection with an old lover named Oliver. By the way-Papa Mnidnite is coming!
So, while this was one of the better issues of this title, it is still not the rotten, nasty Constantine we all know and love. And I have to ask the question: is sexual ambiguity and homosexuality the new routine in comics? Between Catwoman, Midnighter and Constantine, for starters, the DC Universe is going into grounds which might make some readers feels a bit…quirky? James Tynion IV and Ming Doyle write a great story, with a lot of nice bits, specifically all of John’s exorcising missions, some of which are really funny! Riley Rossmo provides the art and it’s okay, but I find it still going into the Batgirling of the line. While time may tell, I think time is running out on this title.
DEATHSTROKE #12: Deathstroke and Black Manta are battling it out underwater before Slade uses Manta’s speed to toss him out of the water. This is all because Slade wants to kill Waller for what has happened to his daughter. In the middle of all this, Harley and Deadshot get involved. The Belle Reve's shock troops show up to attack and that leads to Slade taking Harley out of the mix so she can lead him to Waller’s office. It’s a bloody and messy trek to the office but Waller is not there. She’s being held by Snakebite, who has no problem taking out anyone trying to rescue her. Things look bad for Slade and Harley until Catwoman shows up.
James Bonny and Tony S. Daniel combine with Tyler Kirkham to give us another action filled issue with not a lot of mental substance to it. What I mean is this book flows over you and doesn’t require a lot of thinking. It’s a good looking, action adventure book where people get shot and beat up and we have a fair share of bad puns (Harley bashes some of the Belle Reve guards by saying “clean up on Aisle Five). All in all, I have read worse. Picture G.I. JOE with blood and guts and you have this!
DETECTIVE COMICS #46: Batman and the Justice League are off in the Himalayas where they are investigating a giant monster skeleton, which they figure out has been murdered by a stalactite. They find anther creature inside a cave that they assume had committed suicide. When a second creature arrives and seemingly attacks them, they figure out that the second creature is a child and the mother killed herself so the baby could live. The child is slowly dying due to lack of food and earth’s own atmosphere. They project an image of the child’s mother and he lies down with her, slowly dying. Batman stays with the child and sings it a lullaby.
A beautifully sweet ending to a pretty awful issue! I have been a big fan of Peter Tomasi for some time, but this whole story just felt uneven and forced fel to it. I don’t buy this Batman as part of the Justice League and the fact that most of the team comes off sounding sluggish doesn’t help. And I really don’t like Marcio Takara’s artwork. Here’s hoping next issue gets back on some kind of normal track, like chasing bad guys and solving crime in Gotham. You want to play in the Justice League, find a way to work him INTO their book!
DOCTOR FATE #6: Khalid has become blind and can only see while he is wearing the helm of Doctor Fate. Meanwhile, Anubis continues to mess with the world, as the rain continues to fall. After a visit from the cat, Khalid decides he needs to do what he needs to do and attacks Anubis. He reaches a point where he thinks he has the Egyptian god on the ropes, but finds himself swallowed up by it. And Khlaid’s dad, now that he can see again, gets busy with Khalid’s mom!
Sorry…still can’t get into this series. I cannot believe that we’re six issues in and we’re still monkeying around with this storyline. And, after all this, I still cannot believe that we still have very little on our character and his supporting cast. It’s all just a lot of confusion. It’s brought to you courtesy of Paul Levitz and Sonny Lew.
DOOMED #6: Alpha Centurian is here and he, Superman and Doomed team up to battle Mother Herd, who drops a battleship on them. Because of his reduced powers, Superman is struggling to get free and it’s Doomed who saves them from a watery grave. In the process, Mother Herd loses her head, which means she loses her minions too. Superman dissuades Alpha Centurian from killing Doomed. Actually, he knocks Alpha Centurian out. Doomed begins to speak in words that Superman can understand and then he transforms back to Reiser and convinces Superman not to take him to S.T.A.R. labs. So he gets to go back home with Oui-Oui and continuing his heroic adventures…with the Teen Titans.
Okay…so can we all admit that this book existed to get the character introduced and get him a gig in TEEN TITANS? If that was the purpose of this series, then I am good with it. If this was someone at DC’s idea of what a successful series is meant to be, then I want the chance to pitch them MY comic idea. This is the end of this series, which DC has claimed that it was “always” a six issue limited series. Yeah…I believe that has been retconned! Anyway, Scott Lobdell wrote it and Javier Fernandez illustrated it and I’m glad to see it come to an end. I do have to admit that Reiser’s character did get interesting towards the end and perhaps he will play well over in TEEN TITANS…even if Lobdell is no longer writing it.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #6: Flash , Batman and Val face off against Jimmy Olsen, now known as Doctor Impossible, Johnny Sorrow and Miss Anarky when Hourman shows up to lend the villains a hand. Jimmy, the murderer of Terry Sloan, manages to slip away through a Boom Tube. Flashback three months ago where Jimmy, Huntress and Red Arrow are at work on a new Source Vault when it explodes in Helena's face. Red Arrow quickly lays the blame at Jimmy’s feet. A week later, Rick Tyler breaks into Waynecorp to steal back his father's Miraclo. But Jimmy teleports him away and convinces him that he needs to worship Jimmy. got him to start worshiping his Doctor Impossible persona. In the present, Power Girl and Huntress are checking out the Green Lantern quarantined zone, when Jimmy shows up and takes Huntress by the hand. Looks like she has gone to the Dark Side too!
To this point, I have truly been really disappointed by this series. But now that we have a gathering of villains, business has picked up! Daniel H. Wilson and Alison Borges bring us a powerhouse issue filled with unexpected turns. I mean, Jimmy Olsen is a bad guy, Hourman is a bad guy, and now it looks like Huntress is bad too! This is truly the best issue of the series to date. I still have issues about the art, but the story has truly gotten better with this issue. I really have a hard time seeing these heroes twisted this way, but it is making for some interesting reading!
FLASH #46: As Frye continues to blame the Flash for destroying the Precinct and "nearly" killing half of his men, Zoom shows up with Folding Man, Block and Roscoe and proceeds to make things even worse. Elsewhere, Henry Allen tends to Magali, who has had her powers stripped by the power hungry Zoom. They head off to the battle, while Selkirk begs them not to let Zoom get to him. They show up at the battle and convince the others that Zoom is only out for his own self, leading to their turning on him and teaming up with the Flash. Zoom grabs Henry and heads off, telling him that his son is the Flash. The issue concludes with them being dumped for a final battle at the Allen home.
If you're as big a fan of Brett Booth’s artwork as I am, enjoy this issue and the next one, as he is departing for greener pastures. His work has really taken this book to a new place and elevated to the level it needs to be at. Robert Venditti and Van Jensen continue to write a killer story and, with the finale of this arc next issue, I cannot wait to see where they are taking it. While this is a long way from the classic Flash/Zoom story we knew, it is a super re-imagining of it and I love it. Between this and the television show, we’ve got lots of Zoom!
GRAYSON #14: Otto Netz explains the origin of Spyral, from the beginning of the of his days as Agent Zero to his creation of a Leviathan and his becoming Doctor Dedalus. Discovering he had Alzheimers, he created Kate and Elisabeth Netz. Meanwhile, Dick, Tiger and Ladytron are battling Spyral security spiders before Dick knocks out Tiger yet again, before getting Ladytron to tap into “Mister Malevo” to gain access regarding Agent Zero. Spyder orders Helena to dispose of him and she releases the Nanobots. Luckily Ladytron was able to shut them down before Dick shuts her down. In the end, Tiger awakens and tries to kill Dick, whio insists that they have to destroy Spyral.
Tim Seeley and Tom king combine to give us another roller coaster issue with tons of plot twists and turns. And just how creepy is Otto Netz? REALLY CREEPY, complete with bug eyed glasses. And what does all of this whole thing going on with the Netz’ and Helena? I love where this book is going. The only bummer from this issue was Stephen Mooney on the art. Mooney’s art is good, but he’s certainly not Mikel Janin. We get a breather next month as the story stops long enough for Part 2 of the ROBIN WAR event. Personally, I don’t know if I can wait until January to see where this thing is going!
GREEN ARROW #46: In Juarez, Mexico, a man named Miguel tried to send his daughter Sophia away, but the bus she is on gets stopped by the bone cult. They killed everyone on the bus but her, who drove the bus for them to save her life. Tarantula and Oliver go to Juarez and head into a bar for a drink. But when blood drops into Ollie’s glass and he finds the bartender stabbed to the ceiling, he realizes it’s a trap. Unfortunately, Catalina has already been captured and Ollie surrenders. Back at Jefe’s compound, he tells Green Arrow how Tarantula was going to use Ollie to swap for her niece, Sophia. That goes bad quickly and he breaks free, killing all of the bone cult members in the room. Tarantula, Sophia and Green Arrow jump out a window and he has them leave as he is going to be the sacrifice that will save them.
Benjamin Percy and Patrick Zircher turn in another interesting issue that seems to owe more to the television show than to previous issues of the comic. My favorite moment is as Catalina and Oliver are driving into town and he shuts off the radio because it’s playing a Black Canary song. Unfortunately, that seems to be what is happening with sale of the book, so I guess art imitates art! This is definitely not the book that Lemire and Sorrentino gave us not so long ago, but it’s also not the Ann Nocenti version from the first 18 months, so I guess things could be worse.
GREEN LANTERN #46: While Trapper, Virgo and Darlene head off into space, Hal brings an unconscious Black Hand to Relic, who is investigating the crack in the Source Wall that developed when Black Hand broke free. Black Hand gets free and now begins hurling hunks of stone at Hal and Relic, but the arrival of Trapper, Virgo and Darlene, who fire a large hook that knocks him into the wall, saves them as he is absorbed by it. Hal then decides to head home with his crew and it’s a good thing as some terrorists from the former Sovereign Nation of Modora are planning to attack Coast City.
So here’s the good of this issue: most of it! Robert Venditti turns in another great script where Hal Jordan isn’t a whining pain! Billy Tan’s art is his usual awesome work, although there are times where Mark Irwin’s inks seem a little less than complimentary. All in all, the new” Green Lantern is far more interesting than the old one..although I am still a bit upset that Hal now looks like he’s wearing the Spectre’s clothes!
GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY #6: The Lost Army battles it out with Lightsmiths of every colors who are trying to gain access to the main Power Battery on Mogo. Mogo gets transformed into an emotional converter and therefore can control all the different energies. And Guy loses his red ring in exchange for a green one while Two-Six becomes a Blue Lantern. In the end, John tries to get the team back through the hole in the Source Wall when Hal Jordan seals the wall from his side, trapping John and the rest of the Lost Army. Now they need to go looking for another way out which they may or may not find in GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EDGE OF OBLIVION.
Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz brign this series to a much needed close. But wait: we ain’t done yet! GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EDGE OF OBLIVION will pick up where this series left off and leaves me to ask WHY? Didn’t DC learn that this book didn’t sell? What makes them think a sequel will be any better?
HARLEY QUINN #22: Harley comes back from her adventures in Beverly Hills to settle into life in Brooklyn, when she finds out that Zena Bendemova has been reborn and has a hit out on her. She also finds out that Zena’s kidnapped Sy Borgman not to mention that Mason Macabre is having a bear of a time in prison. His mom is told that he’s as good as dead. Harley gathers up the rest of the Harleys and has half the team go off the help find Sy while the balance goes off to free mason.
First off, you need to go back 16 issues and read HARLEY QUINN #6, which is where the whole Zena Bendemova/Sy Borgman story developed. In case you haven’t figured it out, it’s another Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti/Chad Hardin romp. One of the things I have noticed is that this book, while maintaining a bunch of its’ humorous moments, cue the Harley Queens boob joke, is that it has managed to take a more serious tone in recent months. And that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, especially with the HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL book and the forthcoming HARLEY QUINN’S LITTLE BLACK BOOK poised to continue with the humor. At the same time, I don’t think most people will get the Texas bell tower joke and the emotional abuse issue with the Joker doll was a bit hard to take.
HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL #5: Our heroes have to battle the Harvester of Sorrow. Harley consults her spirit animal and ends up inside, and the thing turns into a giant Joker’s head. Harley bursts free and destroys it, but not before she decides to manscape Vartox’s upper lip. With the universe safe again, Vartox drops to one knee in front of Power Girl and whips out a diamond ring.
One more to go, right? Oh thank goodness! Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray wrote it with their respective tongues in each others’ cheeks. Stephane Roux drew it in the usual bombastic way. And all six issues fit in between a panel in an issue of HARLEY QUINN? Sure. Well…this will end just in time for the NEW HARLEY QUINN title…which comes in a black bag for your protection!
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – FLASH #1: With The Flash now possessed by the Black Racer and having killed Darkseid, Barry tries to outrun the Racer, but he sees a ghost of his mom and that allows the Racer to inhabit him again. He is told that if he takes just one life, then the Universe will continue to live. He goes to visit Iris, explains his problem but refuses to kill her. So he kills the Black Racer instead, but unknowingly releases death to kill universes. Of course, this all happens inside Barry’s head. So, he decides he must accept the mantle of the Black Racer.
So…does this mean the next issue of THE FLASH will be called THE BLACK RACER instead. Rob Williams and Jesús Merino do a nice job in this side story to the main THE DARKSEID WAR piece running out of JUSTICE LEAGUE. I certainly have found it more satisfying than the SUPERMAN tale, which I write about next. It was interesting that they had Barry visit Iris as opposed to his long time love Patty, even if the two of them are splitsville. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – GREEN LANTERN #1: The Parademons have landed on Oa and merged Darkseid’s Motherbox with the central power battery. A beat up John Stewart sends a distress signal to Hal Jordan. When Hal arrives, he finds that the Green Lanterns have been turned into Parademons. To save his friends, Hal accepts the role of the God of Light and then uses his powers to restore Oa and the Corps. Throughout the book, we get flashbacks of a young Hal being visited at a Catholic church by a stranger in a bomber jacket. We learn that Hal uses his new found powers to become that stranger. And then he realizes that he doesn’t want to be the God of Light, and gets Motherbox to destroy itself, turning himself back to Hal Jordan.
I sort of half expected this book to really be another lame crossover title that goes nowhere. And I was pleasantly surprised to have that NOT be the case. Tom King and Doc Shaner do a great job of giving us a story that allows Oa to be wiped out and then restored again. I liked the nice touch of having Hal visit Hal, even if I did figure it out almost immediately without figuring out how…so that worked. What I am confused about, and this must tie into the whole idea of telling great stories and not worrying about continuity, is how Oa is still around. Didn’t Oa go down thanks to Relic and that’s why Mogo is now the home of the Lanterns? But, lo and behold, here it is. Confused…
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – SHAZAM #1: Shazam ends up in a neighborhood in South Philadelphia. After the death of Darkseid, six New Gods have pushed out the six ancients gods that used to be a part of Billy Batson’s hero and he finds himself trying to force them out. He says that magic word and transforms to Billy Batson, who meets with Anapel and then the rest of the New Gods within him. They are S’ivaa, H’ronmeer, Anapel, Zonuz, Ate, and Mamaragan. Zonuz, we learn, is also known as Yuga Khan and is the father of Darkseid and he has gotten his hands on the Wizard’s staff. Shazam brings down the lightning upon Zonuz and defeats him, gaining him as one of his gods in the process. He meets with Mamaragan, who is the Wizard transformed. In the end, Billy is a new Shazam.
But he STILL is not Captain Freakin’ Marvel! Steve Orlando and Scott Kolins craft a tale that explains the origin of the NEW SHAZAM…provided this all stays the same when this whole DARKSEID WAR ends. Orlando gives us a tale better than his recent issues of MIDNIGHTER while Kolins work is as good as his usual stuff. All in all, this fits in nicely to the ongoing story and didn’t feel like it was written just to sell another book.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – SUPERMAN #1: A much angrier Superman, one all in black, comes back to earth and defeats an alien in a giant robot. Then he goes off to eat pie and then tosses Jimmy Olsen through a window, saying that what happens in Metropolis doesn’t matter because he isn’t human. A black mass not unlike that which has been running through the Superman titles attacks everyone in Metropolis, ultimately saves the day, before leaving again.
I was a fan of Francis Manapul and his work on THE FLASH, but this is disappointing. With a plot straight out of SUPERMAN III, which featured a Superman with a far nastier demeanor than we had seen before, this issue goes nowhere fast. And obviously it’s set PRIOR to the events in Superman, as he still has what seems like all of his powers and Perry White doesn’t hate him! Bong Dazo’s art though is nice.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5: Set in the past, J’onn J’onzz is on the Watchtower with the rest of the League. Then there is a shift to Nevada and then Japan where he disguises himself as a human and gets involved in a murder mystery. In the process, he meets a red Martian that calls himself The Unnamed. In the end, he destroys The Unnamed and decides to spend his time on Earth protecting, watching, and learning.
If you have been following Bryan Hitch’ series and wonder what the heck this is all about, you are not alone. We have gone from a cliffhanger ending last issue to this: a pretty obvious filler issue. What went from the League dealing with Rao goes to a Martian Manhunter that turns out to be a murder mystery and the first taste that there are other Martians out there besides J’onn. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, the book ends with “Discover the truth about J’onn and Mars in MARTIAN MANHUNTER”, which means this book acts as a mainstream hype piece for a book which is critically acclaimed but doesn’t sell well. Matt Kindt and Rob Williams, who does awesome work on the MARTIAN MANHUNTER series, wrote it while Philip Tan drew it. If this came after the end of the Rao story, I would have been fine with it. But, to drop it here means that the Rao piece loses a ton of steam.
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #6: While Supergirl wants to have Tina Sung arrested, Batman convinces her to bring her back to Camelot Nine where he can adopt her. Meanwhile, her best friend, and archenemy Harley Quinn gets killed by two silver android creatures known as Scullions. They show up and attack Batman and Kara and we discover that these creatures regenerate after being injured. It seems that there are lots of Scullions and they are currently destroying Cadmusworld. Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman show up on Takron-Galtos to lend a hand, resulting in Superman getting his head blown off. In the end, the Scullions prepare to kill them all!
Well…that could be a problem! So, the hero with the biggest ego gets toasted. Big bummer! I LOVE THIS SERIES and I LOVE THIS ISSUE!. There are a ton of good jokes, courtesy of J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen. What makes this work is that the jokes flow nicely and don’t feel forced as they often do in HARLEY QUINN. The real highlight for me is the art by guest artist, the legendary Colleen Doran. If you don’t known Colleen’s work-WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? Three words: A DISTANT SOIL! And that’s just for starters. So, besides this book being a hoot to read, it looks awesome too! As far as I’m concerned, she could do this gig regularly.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #15: Over in Arracourt France, the battle rages on. Robotman and Steel battle OMAC while Stargirl saves the Enemy Ace. Frankenstein and company watch the action and then join in and help. Vandal Savage reveals himself as a good guy and explains how he was responsible for getting them all together. The Unknown Soldier appears and tosses a grenade, with Robotman making the save. With repairs made to G.I. Robot, they all form an alliance and charge back into battle. The Unknown Soldier appears again, but Sgt. Rock opens him up with a bayonet, causing energy to explode from within him. Soon Robotman, Steel, Batgirl and Stargirl are in modern day Arracourt, Rock and Easy are back in 1944 and the Enemy Ace is back in 1918.
If you were as big a fan of DC’s war comics back in the day, you would be thrilled with these last few issues of JLU. Jeff Pelletier gets all sorts of high marks for this story, right down to the Joe Kubert tribute on the last page (DC’s war books during the Vietnam War era were famous for inserting the slogan "Make War No More" at the end of every issue). And while that is an extremely cool nod to a legend in the field, seeing all of these classic characters together in one tale is mind-blowing. And we even have a version of the Unknown Soldier too. Best of all, we have the unbelievable art of Paul Pelletier that just puts the icing on this wonderful cake. So…can we REALLY bring back the CLASSIC war books?
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Various new series reviewed
Some more short takes:
ART OPS #1: So, art is real and the people stuck in art are alive. It’s up to the Art operatives to free those people from their prisons. That is the basic premise of this great new book from Vertigo. Shaun Simon writes a great book with a killer bunch of unusual characters. And when you let Michael and Laura Allred handle the art, you either love it or hate it. I am a longtime fan of Allred’s work, so guess which way I lean? This was just plain fun and has a nice origin story that has enough holes in it to get me coming back for more. Remember: this is Vertigo, so it’s gonna be weird. But I recommend it!
A TRAIN CALLED LOVE #1: As we have learned, when you let Garth Ennis loose on a book, anything can happen and usually does! This book is no exception. With artist Mark Dos Santos in tow, Ennis gives us a caper title filled with all kinds of wild, quirky characters. The art is okay but the dialogue and characters more than makes up for those shortcomings. If you’re a fan of unusual titles and killer dialogue, this is the book for you. It’s only a four issue run, so it’s not like your investment is that long.
CLEAN ROOM #1: Did you have read a comic and ask yourself “what is this thing about”? Did you ever then say “I don’t know why, but I love it”? Welcome to the newest work from Gail Simone. The book, with art from Jon Davis-Hunt, jumps from Germany to Florida and revolves a self-help organization that may be behind a series of weird, sometimes deadly incidents. It is a creepy book in the tradition of some of the new horror titles like HARROW COUNTY and I really don’t know what it is all about, but I LOVE IT! There is just enough plot to make you come back for more and just enough gore to satisfy that craving. This was a ball to read and I want to see where it goes from here.
G.I. JOE : COBRA WORLD ORDER PRELUDE: In case you’re not aware, G.I. JOE is still going strong after all these years and still has a pretty rapid following. And longtime scribe Larry Hama is still cranking out the action. This book is the Prelude book that will lead into seven-part story that will run through issues #219-225. It’s been an earth shaking few months for the Joes, complete with the death of the original Snake Eyes and this book, with art by S.L. Gallant fills in some gaps and puts in enough plot devices to satisfy both newcomers and old time fans. Looking for a change of pace? This may be your fix for the next few months!
THE HANGMAN #1: Michael Minetta is a nice family man who is actually a hit man for the mob. He’s about to execute someone when The Hangman shows up and executes him and then elevates to the next place. What? Okay…this was a foul mouthed, gritty tale with a lot of violence and colorful words. When the “hero” finally shows up, it’s quick and painless and then that ending. This title, by Frank Tieri and Felix Ruiz, is the weakest of the Dark Circle title to be released so far. Hopefully the second issue will explain much of this and give us a ton more plot than this one did.
IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND 007 #1: Just in time for the new movie, Garth Ennis and Jason Masters bring us their take on this classic secret agent. The book looks great and Ennis does his usual thing-writes a killer story. The fact that we can get through the first 8 pages without a single word and still be able to tell a great story is a credit to the abilities of this creative team. Cool twists abound here, including turning M and Moneypenny into dark sinned folks as opposed to their usual white characters. This is a fun first issue and I look forward to see where this is going from here.
I HATE FAIRYLAND #1: Oh my god! Image has let crazy Marvel artist Skottie Young run wild! Once upon a time, a little girl named Gertrude wished she could go to Fairyland and, unfortunately for her, she did and breaks her arm in the process. Now it’s 27 years later and Gertrude is pretty pissed off about things. She blows up things, cannibalizes others and generally causes more trouble than you can imagine. This is DEFINITELY not for kids, as one could tell my the F**K FAIRYLAND variant cover! Put your tongue deep into your cheek and jump onto this wild ride!
JUGHEAD #1: First off, you have to be told that the new reboot of ARCHIE and JUGHEAD is not the Archie and Jughead you or your parents grew up with. Sure, it has the same characters we know and love and even some of them have the same traits. Take Jughead: he’s still Jonesing for hamburgers. And we get appearances from Archie, Betty, Mr. Weatherbee and a bunch of the rest. In fact, Mr. Weatherbee is put out to pasture in this issue! What we do get is a whole new level of writing and art courtesy of Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson and it’s a whole ton of fun. Not as dark as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and not as drama filled as ARCHIE, it’s just a fun read. PLUS, you get a story from the original JUGHEAD #1 from 1949!
PAPER GIRLS #1: It’s 1988 and 12 year old Erin is introduced, along with some of the other neighborhood paper girls. There’s a spaceship, aliens, mystery, and an Ipod. This is a great looking book, thank to Cliff Chiang. His lines are nice and clean and Matt Wilson’s colors enhance his great work. The whole thing is from the mind of Brian K. Vaughan and it goes into a great number of places. Setting it in the Eighties means he can throw in some nice cultural references, like the MONSTER SQUAD poster in Erin’s room and the misconceptions about AIDS. I love the story, the cool little American Newspaper Delivery Guild back-up, and the way that this is a Science Fiction story UNDER the main story. This is a great little book!
THE SHIELD #1: The Shield has lived throughout history and continues to do so today. This book kind of feels like ASSASSIN’S CREED meets ALIAS. Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendio write a fun little book which takes the character and twists it in some cool new ways, especially if you read the original Red Circle series. Drew Johnson’s art is really sharp there are a couple of two page spreads that are really beautiful. This is another chapter in the Dark Circle line and it fits in nicely with the rest of the line. If you have read any of the other series and liked them, this will fit your bill.
SURVIVOR’S CLUB #1: Six people with mysterious pasts come together in this horror story that features a demon-summoning video games. This is a weird book by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen and artist Ryan Kelly and I can’t quite recommend it yet. The characters, who have all had something happen to them in 1987, are all a bit quirky and we only get a back-story on a South African girl who had an experience with the previously mentioned video game. But we also get a an insect attack and a girl named Alice who gets to switch with a doppelganger. Again, I am intrigued by the whole thing, but rather confused as to the direction and connections. I will give it another read, but I want more than I got in issue #1. On the plus side, Kelly’s art is dynamite!
THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN #1: Gilbert Hernandez is the legendary LOVE AND ROCKETS author/artist known for writing about the town of Palomar. Darwyn Cooke is a legendary comic author/artist who has been responsible for turning out some amazingly beautiful work in his career. This title brings the two of them together with Hernandez turning out a mysterious tale set on an island, complete with romance, sex and missing children. As always, his characters are clever and cool and his dialogue is amazing. I have always put him in with his brothers Mario and Jaime and Terry Moore as far as being able to deliver some amazing believable dialogue. Cooke’s art is his usual amazing work and hearkens back to his work on THE SPIRIT, CATWOMAN and of course, THE NEW FRONTIER. When Vertigo announced a number of new series/mini-series, this was the one that made me sit up and tale notice. I’m glad to see I wasn’t disappointed. Realize that this is NOT a hero in tights book. If you want a beautiful written and equally beautifully illustrated comic this is it.
ART OPS #1: So, art is real and the people stuck in art are alive. It’s up to the Art operatives to free those people from their prisons. That is the basic premise of this great new book from Vertigo. Shaun Simon writes a great book with a killer bunch of unusual characters. And when you let Michael and Laura Allred handle the art, you either love it or hate it. I am a longtime fan of Allred’s work, so guess which way I lean? This was just plain fun and has a nice origin story that has enough holes in it to get me coming back for more. Remember: this is Vertigo, so it’s gonna be weird. But I recommend it!
A TRAIN CALLED LOVE #1: As we have learned, when you let Garth Ennis loose on a book, anything can happen and usually does! This book is no exception. With artist Mark Dos Santos in tow, Ennis gives us a caper title filled with all kinds of wild, quirky characters. The art is okay but the dialogue and characters more than makes up for those shortcomings. If you’re a fan of unusual titles and killer dialogue, this is the book for you. It’s only a four issue run, so it’s not like your investment is that long.
CLEAN ROOM #1: Did you have read a comic and ask yourself “what is this thing about”? Did you ever then say “I don’t know why, but I love it”? Welcome to the newest work from Gail Simone. The book, with art from Jon Davis-Hunt, jumps from Germany to Florida and revolves a self-help organization that may be behind a series of weird, sometimes deadly incidents. It is a creepy book in the tradition of some of the new horror titles like HARROW COUNTY and I really don’t know what it is all about, but I LOVE IT! There is just enough plot to make you come back for more and just enough gore to satisfy that craving. This was a ball to read and I want to see where it goes from here.
G.I. JOE : COBRA WORLD ORDER PRELUDE: In case you’re not aware, G.I. JOE is still going strong after all these years and still has a pretty rapid following. And longtime scribe Larry Hama is still cranking out the action. This book is the Prelude book that will lead into seven-part story that will run through issues #219-225. It’s been an earth shaking few months for the Joes, complete with the death of the original Snake Eyes and this book, with art by S.L. Gallant fills in some gaps and puts in enough plot devices to satisfy both newcomers and old time fans. Looking for a change of pace? This may be your fix for the next few months!
THE HANGMAN #1: Michael Minetta is a nice family man who is actually a hit man for the mob. He’s about to execute someone when The Hangman shows up and executes him and then elevates to the next place. What? Okay…this was a foul mouthed, gritty tale with a lot of violence and colorful words. When the “hero” finally shows up, it’s quick and painless and then that ending. This title, by Frank Tieri and Felix Ruiz, is the weakest of the Dark Circle title to be released so far. Hopefully the second issue will explain much of this and give us a ton more plot than this one did.
IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND 007 #1: Just in time for the new movie, Garth Ennis and Jason Masters bring us their take on this classic secret agent. The book looks great and Ennis does his usual thing-writes a killer story. The fact that we can get through the first 8 pages without a single word and still be able to tell a great story is a credit to the abilities of this creative team. Cool twists abound here, including turning M and Moneypenny into dark sinned folks as opposed to their usual white characters. This is a fun first issue and I look forward to see where this is going from here.
I HATE FAIRYLAND #1: Oh my god! Image has let crazy Marvel artist Skottie Young run wild! Once upon a time, a little girl named Gertrude wished she could go to Fairyland and, unfortunately for her, she did and breaks her arm in the process. Now it’s 27 years later and Gertrude is pretty pissed off about things. She blows up things, cannibalizes others and generally causes more trouble than you can imagine. This is DEFINITELY not for kids, as one could tell my the F**K FAIRYLAND variant cover! Put your tongue deep into your cheek and jump onto this wild ride!
JUGHEAD #1: First off, you have to be told that the new reboot of ARCHIE and JUGHEAD is not the Archie and Jughead you or your parents grew up with. Sure, it has the same characters we know and love and even some of them have the same traits. Take Jughead: he’s still Jonesing for hamburgers. And we get appearances from Archie, Betty, Mr. Weatherbee and a bunch of the rest. In fact, Mr. Weatherbee is put out to pasture in this issue! What we do get is a whole new level of writing and art courtesy of Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson and it’s a whole ton of fun. Not as dark as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and not as drama filled as ARCHIE, it’s just a fun read. PLUS, you get a story from the original JUGHEAD #1 from 1949!
PAPER GIRLS #1: It’s 1988 and 12 year old Erin is introduced, along with some of the other neighborhood paper girls. There’s a spaceship, aliens, mystery, and an Ipod. This is a great looking book, thank to Cliff Chiang. His lines are nice and clean and Matt Wilson’s colors enhance his great work. The whole thing is from the mind of Brian K. Vaughan and it goes into a great number of places. Setting it in the Eighties means he can throw in some nice cultural references, like the MONSTER SQUAD poster in Erin’s room and the misconceptions about AIDS. I love the story, the cool little American Newspaper Delivery Guild back-up, and the way that this is a Science Fiction story UNDER the main story. This is a great little book!
THE SHIELD #1: The Shield has lived throughout history and continues to do so today. This book kind of feels like ASSASSIN’S CREED meets ALIAS. Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendio write a fun little book which takes the character and twists it in some cool new ways, especially if you read the original Red Circle series. Drew Johnson’s art is really sharp there are a couple of two page spreads that are really beautiful. This is another chapter in the Dark Circle line and it fits in nicely with the rest of the line. If you have read any of the other series and liked them, this will fit your bill.
SURVIVOR’S CLUB #1: Six people with mysterious pasts come together in this horror story that features a demon-summoning video games. This is a weird book by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen and artist Ryan Kelly and I can’t quite recommend it yet. The characters, who have all had something happen to them in 1987, are all a bit quirky and we only get a back-story on a South African girl who had an experience with the previously mentioned video game. But we also get a an insect attack and a girl named Alice who gets to switch with a doppelganger. Again, I am intrigued by the whole thing, but rather confused as to the direction and connections. I will give it another read, but I want more than I got in issue #1. On the plus side, Kelly’s art is dynamite!
THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN #1: Gilbert Hernandez is the legendary LOVE AND ROCKETS author/artist known for writing about the town of Palomar. Darwyn Cooke is a legendary comic author/artist who has been responsible for turning out some amazingly beautiful work in his career. This title brings the two of them together with Hernandez turning out a mysterious tale set on an island, complete with romance, sex and missing children. As always, his characters are clever and cool and his dialogue is amazing. I have always put him in with his brothers Mario and Jaime and Terry Moore as far as being able to deliver some amazing believable dialogue. Cooke’s art is his usual amazing work and hearkens back to his work on THE SPIRIT, CATWOMAN and of course, THE NEW FRONTIER. When Vertigo announced a number of new series/mini-series, this was the one that made me sit up and tale notice. I’m glad to see I wasn’t disappointed. Realize that this is NOT a hero in tights book. If you want a beautiful written and equally beautifully illustrated comic this is it.
DC YOU Month 6, Part 2
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – BATMAN #1: Now possessing the power of the Mobius Chair, Batman returns to Gotham City and explains to Jim Gordon that he is engaging in pre-emptive strikes to stop crime. While this is a good idea, he behaves a bit like the Spectre as he brings a man with the potential to murder his wife to Themyscira, He visits the scene of his origin and then has the chair bring him to Joe Chill. He takes Chill out of his prison cell and takes him back to Crime Alley, where he reveals himself to Chill, before eventually returning him back to his cell and declaring that Batman now is Chill’s bogeyman. He returns to the Batcave and decides to use his absolute power on only one criminal-The Joker.
I certainly hope the rest of these side stories connected to The Darkseid War are this good! This was an amazingly well written look at the darkness Batman has slipped into thanks to the always-amazing writing skills of. Peter J. Tomasi. Add into that Fernando Pararn’s amazing art, with inking by the always dependable Matt Ryan, and this book is an amazing read! When you get to the final page, filled with classic images of the Clown Prince of Crime, you will lose your mind! It is everything from Laughing Fish vintage to Killing Joke to the current incarnation. This was one of the best things I read all month long from DC. Absolutely a real treat that I didn’t mind paying four dollars for! .
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4: Superman brings Cyborg some Kryptonian blood where he is working on a secret project for Batman. Meanwhile, Green Lantern is meeting with Rao 250,000 years in Krypton's past, where Rao is looking for Hal to accompany him on a peace mission to Argo City. He has some of his prophets give him part of their life so he can be young again. Back on Earth, Rao is gathering more prophets and they continue to spread his word. Aquaman and Mera watch all this on television and wonder how good an idea is was to leave a prophet in Atlantis. Part of Rao’s acts deposit protein markers in people’s blood that changes them and makes them calmer. That’s when Rao and some of his prophets arrive at Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
As much as this book looks beautiful, it can’t end soon enough. Bryan Hitch’ story is so far out of continuity that I want to think of it as an imaginary tale. His writing is just so long-winded that I get tired reading it. Again, the art is beautiful but the story is so bogged down that it stops making sense. For example, Aquaman is watching television and NOT helping the League? What’s up with that?
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #5: Guy Gardner is having a hard time not only adjusting to being a woman but having a roommate in the form of the Starro Consciousness and asks Firestorm for help in fixing her. Meanwhile, Fire and Ice take Jimmy Olsen to Area 13, where he will be locked up for the rest of his life. Supergirl and Batman battle the new armored Batman, which turns out to be a fifteen-year-old girl piloting the Batbot. When they take her away, a disgruntle Harley Quinn shows up and expresses her extreme displeasure about losing her playmate. Lois continues to plot and has Bane bring her old body to her, as she might want to switch back. That may be smart, especially since Superman just found out that to Ariel is working with the Injustice League.
Here’s a message to Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter: thank you. Thank you for giving us a superhero book that is fun, action packed and silly all at the same time. If you have read this blog before, you know my feelings about this title. And again, we get another issue with all of those wonderful elements presented to us. Harley Quinn is here, Lois is insane, guy Gardner is confused and Bane likes to dress up Lois’ body and have tea parties! Yeah-it’s that kind of book!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #14: Sgt. Rock and Easy Company have captured Vandal Savage but, lucky for him, Batgirl shows up with a smoke grenade and frees him. They run into a patrol of Germans, but manage to fight their way out, even as the Unknown Soldier watches them. Stargirl is still with the Enemy Ace when she realizes that her staff has fallen from the sky and impaled a poor GI. Not to worry as the GI is GI Zombie and he unleashes the Creature Commandos upon Cyborg and Robotman. Cyborg wrestles Stargirl’s staff from GI Zombie’s hands, wondering how they were able to shoot he and Robotman down. That is when the real culprit shows up to claim responsibility: the One Machine Attack Construct-OMAC.
You know: if you’re going to cancel a book, you may as well line everything up and have it go out with a bang. That’s what is going on here. I understand the lackluster sales on the book, as it was very uneven for the first dozen issues. But these last two issues have been fun and action packed! Thanks to Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier for injecting some life into this book. Tune in next month for the last stand of the Justice League United.
LOBO #11: Atrocitus is in the process of creating new Red Lanterns while Lobo observes and decides that he will be the hardest Lantern to defeat. And then he attacks, slaying Dex-Starr first, before slaying the rest. But before he can destroy their power battery, Rage Mother gives birth to them yet again. Not only is Sinestro not going to be happy, this could be a problem.
If you want an all out action filled issue with lots of blood and guts, then this is your baby! Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere, along with artist Robson Rocha, turn this issue into what the old RED LANTERNS title was: a bloodbath! With a killer cover by industry legend Leonardo Manco, this is probably the best issue of the series to date. If they had all been this rocking, then the title wouldn’t be in the unenviable place it is.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #5: Mr. Biscuits is trying to make his way through the airport, even if he is in multiple bags, while telling Agent Wessel that Mould is going to make everything okay. Wessel, Leo, Alicia and Mr. Biscuits and getting onto a flight out of Dulles International Airport. Biscuits puts himself back together and then says goodbye to Alicia, knowing that none of them will likely return from this mission. Immediately after, the Martians show up to abduct her. Meanwhile, Aquaman tries to awaken Pearl, who begins to make out with him before he beings her to Mould. They end up at a crater where it looks like Mars once landed in the past…and is ready to live again on Earth.
Rob Williams and Eddy Barrows are creating what I can only describe as once of the coolest and trippiest books on the market. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Wessel, Leo, Alicia, Pearl, Mould, and Mr. Biscuits are all parts of Martian Manhunter’s consciousness. So, Pearl is really J’onn J’onzz and she was making out with Aquaman. Like I said, TRIPPY!! You should be reading this book as I feel it is going to be looked at by future critics as one of the best titles to come out of DC in years. To be honest, it is so weird that it should be a Vertigo title.
MIDNIGHTER #5: Midnighter is in Hazan, where he and Grayson are battling the Russians while he is also chatting with his boyfriend back in the States. He handcuffs himself to Grayson and they end up on a train filled with "weaponized bears, werewolves and other creatures of folklore, leading to them eventually meeting Akakyevich. But he has some God Garden tech and makes a quick getaway. But Midnighter has a trick up his sleeve and teleports back to Akakyevich and paralyzes him. Akakyevich reveals that he was just the middle-man, so the hunt will continue. Later, Midnighter and his boyfriend are having Thanksgiving dinner while a sniper takes aim.
I am really starting to hate this series, although this issue did a nice job of tying Grayson, Midnighter and the whole God Garden tech thing together, as the God Garden stuff has been running in Grayson’s own book. The book gets silly as Steve Orlando has Midnighter talking with his boyfriend while he’s fighting the Russians. So silly! It was nice to see Stephen Mooney back on the art, but even that can’t save this from being an unintentionally silly book. When Midnighter and Apollo were together in The Authority, they had their relationship thing, but it didn’t account for most of the plot.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #13: A meeting in Rio with someone selling a new drug designed to give a random superpower goes bad and Boomerang and Deadshot have their cover blown, meaning Harley, Parasite and Amanda Waller need to come into save the day. The bad guys have taken the drug and have their own super powers now and Deadshot reveals to Waller that he is still having issues from being injured recently. Parasite begins to absorb the bad guys’ powers, which causes him to overload and explode. The riot police show up to arrest them, but Boomerang stirs up the crowd to riot, allowing the team to make a quick getaway. Waller gets away, hunts down the drug dealer, and executes him. Waller calls Bonnie and tells her the team is going off the grid. Bonnie immediately tells Sage, despite Waller telling her NOT TO, and he gets ready to explode the team’s neck bombs.
Sean Ryan gives us a brand new arc and that means, after what happened last time, Waller is part of the field team. I miss Reverse Flash. but He gave his life for the team because that is why they are called Suicide Squad. Sop, things look bad for our team except we all know they’re NOT going to die because there’s a movie coming! By the way, I am not a fan of Philippe Briones’s art. I really want Paul Pelletier on this book because his style fits nicely to these characters.
OMEGA MEN #5: Broot and Scapps are walking up the stairs of the Changralynian Temple and being hit with insults and dung, joins the rest of the Omega Men inside. This is all so there can be a peaceful exchange for the kidnapped Princess Kalista, who is actually part of the Omega Men. The Omega Men are here to gain the Key of Omega, which is their key to salvation. Since they are using Broot to try and get it, we learn that his name was Charis-Nar and he was raised by the High Pontifix. He accused the Temple of Sin of corruption and was branded a "Broot". The Pontifix has sold out the Omega Men to the Citadel. Brott gains the Key, but the rest of the team has been captured in the process.
Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda bring us another great issue in the series that was slated to die, but has been given new life…for now. This is such a strange and wonderful ride! And it is not your daddy’s OMEGA MEN book. I am totally thrilled this book is getting to finish it’s storyline, even if it won’t continue past twelve issues. I just hope the fan following increases enough to warrant going past 12.
PREZ #5: While the cat-flu epidemic continues to rage across America, President Beth Ross travels to Vietnam, Nicaragua, Japan, and Iraq to apologize for everything the United States did in the past. All accept her apology except Iraq who gives her a big F U. The World Apology Tour moves on to Pakistan, where she helps save the life of the Pakistani Ambassador by giving her a hot dog heart. Meanwhile, War Beast decides he needs to be forgiven and wants to be called Tina.
This is the next to last issue of what was originally solicited as a 12 issue series. I will be sorry to see it go, as it has been a fun biting commentary on our world while trying to pass itself off as a comic book. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell have been doing a great job and hopefully this will get resurrected in the future. Until then, go find the first five issues and get ready for the ride. After all, the best part apart the upcoming political season is that we can read all the silliness here instead of watching it on television.
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #5: It’s Batman and the remaining two-thirds of the Outlaws battling Underbelly. We learn that Underbelly was born when the psychic siphon, that Arkham created to lobotomize patients, got broken. Underbelly went on to make multiple versions of itself all over the world. Back at the battle, Roy uses a special arrow that disrupts and destroys this particular Underbelly, which will eliminate all the other ones. While Suzie Su gathers her new team, known as Hero Manifesto, Jason goes to the Rec Center he grew up at and sees Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, Joker’s Daughter sneaks up on Roy and puts a gun to his head. The last thing we see is a gunshot.
This was quite the cliffhanger from Scott Lobdell and Denis Medri. While I am not a fan of this series or of Lobdell’s writing in general, this was a really good couple of issues. I liked Medri’s art on it and the story flowed nicely…even if the whole concept of Underbelly was a bit weird.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #5: Damian continues on his quest to redeem himself from all the wrongs that he did when Talia returns. As the two of them argue, we find out that Damian has inadvertently allowed the Lu’un Darga to be reborn. This leads to al Ghul Island being destroyed and Damian’s failed clone brothers sacing their lives by paying with their own. In the end, they all escape in a submarine Ravi had prepared.
Patrick Gleason does another great job with this title. His writing is crisp and so is his art. It was great seeing Talia return in the role of hero for a change. You know you’re a good writer when you drop in two pages where Damian’s cloned brothers appear and sacrifice themselves in the name of family and totally bring your reader to tears. Nice job Patrick!
SECRET SIX #7: We begin with a meeting between Deadman, Felix Faust, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Thirteen, Zatanna, and Baron Winters, who wonder what they should do about Black Alice. It seems her super power is stealing the powers of the magical denizens of the Universe. Their solution, by the time Cheetah, Blue Devil, Klarion, and Eclipso show up, is to go to the hospital she is in and kill her. The team is split, as most of them have been off playing basketball and then miniature golf. But Etrigan has attacked them, so they can’t get to the hospital to help Dibney and Catman. Luckily Black Alice is awake and bearing the powers that she has purloined.
Gail Simone’s story is just a ton of fun, although I don’t get all these sorcerers and elementals getting together for a party…especially since some of them are villains. What’s the old saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But Dale Eaglesham’s artwork is the true highlight of this book. It just gets better with every issue and Jason Wright’s vibrant colors just blow the top off the book. We all know there were delays and problems in the beginning getting this book out. But it’s here now and it rocks!
SINESTRO #16: Sinestro and his Corps come to Khandaq where he meets with Black Adam, asking who the Pale Bishop is and seeking advice on how to defeat The Paling. The two head to the Vaults of Wisdom and discover the mummified corpse of the Pale Bishop. It comes to life and everyone is surprised to see that it’s a Guardian of the Universe.
Without question, this is the BEST issue of this series to date! We get these two powerful individuals joining together for the first time since they battled the Crime Syndicate and they are fantastic together. They are such amazing and dynamic anti-heroes that there is no other need for the rest of the Corps to be involved, except for a page or two. This issue, superbly written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Brad Walker and Ethan Van Sciver, is about these two and their journey together. Add into it the last moment cliffhanger, and this is a winner!
STARFIRE #5: Starfire and Soren Hook are having drinks when she suddenly sees his creepy secret origin where he was a doctor who had the ability to absorb cancer out of people. Unfortunately for him, he began growing a tumor of his own and killed one of his colleagues in the process. This whole thing freaks her out. Later, she goes off to an interview at an aquarium, which she doesn’t get. But then she begins talking to the dolphin, so they hire her. That night, at a party to celebrate her success, Sol is found in a pool of blood and Soren needs to talk.
Ugh! Can’t this be a six issue series and we can be done with it next issue? Kori continues to be dumb, the plot continues to ramble from Point A to Point B and I continue to shake my head that a book this awful continues to sell enough for DC to keep it going. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti have done for stupidity what they have done for insane former sidekick chicks. Meanwhile, the highlight, as it were, continues to be Emanuela Lupacchino’s art. Other than that, I cannot recommend this book. And yeah: that’s what SHE said!
SUPERMAN #45: Superman meets with Condesa to learn all he can about Hordr, which leads to him bailing on the meeting. Before he goes, she tells him about a company called Sungetix and that leads our hero literally hopping on a plane to Oakland, California. Once there, he makes his way inside and quickly discovers that it’s a secret Hordr complex. He gets attacked by by Apolaki, who is being controlled by Hordr_Root. This leads Superman to the Thousand One House, an underground Fight Club for super powered individuals and eventually results in him becoming one of the fighters. Welcome to Mythbrawl.
Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter continue to weave a strange, twisted tale of the former Big Blue Boy Scout. I like where this book is going, even if it is taking our hero into strange new places. Porter’s art is his usual fine work and this is just a fun ride. Seeing our hero having to ride an airplane as opposed to flying from place to place is truly bizarre and I wonder how long his being depowered will last. For now, it’s a wild ride.
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #1: We begin with the history of how this Superman observed the New 52 Justice League battled Darkseid. He left the battle to head back to the home he shred with his wife Lois. This is all because their universe was gone and Telos and company, following the defeat of the Anti-Monitor during the Convergence event, reset things. But that was then and now, they now live in that same house with their young son Jon and Lois is a successful author. Reading the paper, a bearded Clark sees that the Excalibur returns to Earth today. In what was their universe, this event created the Cyborg Superman, which sends our black suited hero off to make sure it doesn’t happen here. What he discovers is that Henshaw is alone in the ship and the rest of the crew is gone. In the end, someone in a distant star system is pretty pissed off that someone has pilfered the Oblivion Stone.
Because…we really need another Superman title, right? Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks do their best to make this book interesting but it’s just not there. I mean, how many Supermen do we need? And why is this one flying about in a black suit? There are a bunch of dangling plots here and I cannot believe that not a single member of the Justice League has questioned that someone is stopping natural disasters and such. C’mon: these guys are all so super snoopy that someone farts and they know about it. So you expect me to believe that THIS Superman is getting under their radar? Yeah…so much for the suspension of disbelief here!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #22: A blood-splattered Clark Kent arrives on the Justice League satellite, knocks out the Flash, steals a shuttle, and flies into the sun in an effort to recharge the solar batteries in his cells. Wonder Woman follows him, as they get transported back to the satellite, he tells her that he is uncertain if he still loves her. They team up to attack a military helicopter heading towards Belle Reve and free Parasite. That leads to Superman grabbing Parasite by the throat and saying that it’s time to make a deal.
Wow! This is one of the best LOOKING books of the month. Thank you Doug Mahnke! Couple that with a great story from Peter J. Tomasi and this book continues to elevate to truly cool new levels! It has managed to make its’ way from being about the romantic attraction between these two super-powers to being about the crumbling relationship. And there’s a boatload of action too!
TEEN TITANS #12: Superboy wants his life back and Red Robin tells him that they all need to work together to figure out what’s going on. They discover that they have lost their powers and that’s when Harvest shows up and each Titan is forced to live a life from their past. Harvest explains that he tried to raise Kon as his son, leading Superboy to join Harvest. He then reveals that the team came together to fulfill their destiny: to join his army.
Well, that turns thing to an interesting place. First off, this book has becoming much more interesting with Will Pfeifer joining Scott Lobdell. His influence on the story is evident and the book just seems new again. It will never be where it was in the golden days of Wolfman and Perez, but it is probably the best this title has been since the launch of the New 52. Ian Churchill turns in another killer issue on the art side of the ledger. All in all, if this is where this book should have been twelve issues ago, I wouldn’t have spent the last year talking about how awful it was.
TELOS #1: Telos confronts Brainiac about how he feels that he was lied to regarding where he could find his family. Brainiac says that he lost most of his memories and that’s why what he told Telos was wrong. So he sends Telos off to fight Computo and rendezvous with the resistance leader, Techne.
There are so many plot holes in Jeff King’s story that I could drive several buses through it. The most notable is that Brainiac was still a giant when he told Telos where he could find his family. So the tale that he gave that information after his memory loss is either a lie or a bad plot point. The best part of the book, out side of Carlos Pagulayan’s art, is the appearance of LEGION OF SUPERHEROES favorites Computo and Validus. This is a horrible, wordy first issue that goes nowhere. Here’s hoping #2 goes somewhere better than this.
TITANS HUNT #1: Roy Harper suffers a bit of deja vu when Gnarrk sells him a bottle of booze. Meanwhile, Grayson is trying to stop a black market organ-selling ring. He gets help from Garth, who arrives and kills all those responsible, which leads to Dick having a deja vu moment. He later gets visited by a psychic projection of Lilith who tells him that he needs to find “them” because time is running out. We learn that Lilith is an addiction counselor and has a series of files on all the people that were once Titans in the Pre Convergence timeline. She breaks the Fourth Wall and declares that she will not let this hidden person get them.
Leave it to Dan Abnett to turn out a gem like this. Now, this book will mean NOTHING to you unless you were reading the Titans BEFORE the NEW 52 came around. But, for an old time fan like me, I’m blown away! We get a drunk Roy Harper, a modern day Caveboy, a confused Dick Grayson, a vengeful Aqualad, a protective Lilith and the potential for appearances by Donna Troy, Mal, Hawk and Dove and more. Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges turn in a tremendous job on the art, which really helps to push the narrative along. This book was a treat and my favorite of the three new titles introduced this month.
WE ARE ROBIN #5: Robin Izzy is working as a waitress and got confronted by some gang members, when Riko and Duke show up and lend a hand. Turns out that the ringleader of the gang is her brother. Several years ago, he put her in a hospital because she wouldn’t join his gang. Flashing forward, we see the Robins meet for the first since Troy died, followed by the arrival of The Nest, complete with a huge Robin truck that is to be their Command Center. A disagreement between Duke and Dre leads to Dre and Dax leaving the group. The gang bangers show up and open fire on the team, hitting Duke in the process. A Talon arrives and carves up the gang members, calls himself the Robins’ new father and promises to show them how to dish out real justice.
I still have mixed emotions about this title, although this is one of the better issues. I truly wish that Lee Bermejo was drawing this, instead of Jorge Corona, but that’s not my problem with the book. My biggest complaint is that Bermejo is throwing all of these kids together and giving us so little to go on to actually make us LIKE these characters or even CARE about them. We don’t know enough about them to make us have a relationship with them. I have a problem with that. Sure, you need to have some mystery here. But these kids have so little back story, with the exception of Robina’s reveal this issue, for me to want to invest my time in.
WONDER WOMAN #45: Aegeus beats on Wonder Woman until Strife shows up, threatening to eat him, which leads to his quick exit. Back in London, Violet leads Donna Troy on a sight-seeing tour before bidding her goodbye, but saying that they’ll meet again. Violet forgets her purse and Donna tracks her down, just in time to see the poor girl’s pimp kill her. Wonder Woman shows up and Donna attacks her. Aegeus arrives and shoots a God Killer Arrow through Donna’s heart, seemingly killing her. Apparently, this was not part of the plan and Eirene, the Goddess of Peace, is not pleased.
Wha? While the art of David Finch makes this book look beautiful, the story by his wife Meredith is just a jumbled mess. It jumps from Aegeus wanting to kill Diana to saving her. We get a wonderful supporting cast character in the form of Violet get murdered by her pimp. And we bump off Donna Troy…maybe. This was just a really confusing issue, as has become common with this title since the Finch’s came on board. What was once a great title has slipped a lot.
I certainly hope the rest of these side stories connected to The Darkseid War are this good! This was an amazingly well written look at the darkness Batman has slipped into thanks to the always-amazing writing skills of. Peter J. Tomasi. Add into that Fernando Pararn’s amazing art, with inking by the always dependable Matt Ryan, and this book is an amazing read! When you get to the final page, filled with classic images of the Clown Prince of Crime, you will lose your mind! It is everything from Laughing Fish vintage to Killing Joke to the current incarnation. This was one of the best things I read all month long from DC. Absolutely a real treat that I didn’t mind paying four dollars for! .
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4: Superman brings Cyborg some Kryptonian blood where he is working on a secret project for Batman. Meanwhile, Green Lantern is meeting with Rao 250,000 years in Krypton's past, where Rao is looking for Hal to accompany him on a peace mission to Argo City. He has some of his prophets give him part of their life so he can be young again. Back on Earth, Rao is gathering more prophets and they continue to spread his word. Aquaman and Mera watch all this on television and wonder how good an idea is was to leave a prophet in Atlantis. Part of Rao’s acts deposit protein markers in people’s blood that changes them and makes them calmer. That’s when Rao and some of his prophets arrive at Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
As much as this book looks beautiful, it can’t end soon enough. Bryan Hitch’ story is so far out of continuity that I want to think of it as an imaginary tale. His writing is just so long-winded that I get tired reading it. Again, the art is beautiful but the story is so bogged down that it stops making sense. For example, Aquaman is watching television and NOT helping the League? What’s up with that?
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #5: Guy Gardner is having a hard time not only adjusting to being a woman but having a roommate in the form of the Starro Consciousness and asks Firestorm for help in fixing her. Meanwhile, Fire and Ice take Jimmy Olsen to Area 13, where he will be locked up for the rest of his life. Supergirl and Batman battle the new armored Batman, which turns out to be a fifteen-year-old girl piloting the Batbot. When they take her away, a disgruntle Harley Quinn shows up and expresses her extreme displeasure about losing her playmate. Lois continues to plot and has Bane bring her old body to her, as she might want to switch back. That may be smart, especially since Superman just found out that to Ariel is working with the Injustice League.
Here’s a message to Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter: thank you. Thank you for giving us a superhero book that is fun, action packed and silly all at the same time. If you have read this blog before, you know my feelings about this title. And again, we get another issue with all of those wonderful elements presented to us. Harley Quinn is here, Lois is insane, guy Gardner is confused and Bane likes to dress up Lois’ body and have tea parties! Yeah-it’s that kind of book!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #14: Sgt. Rock and Easy Company have captured Vandal Savage but, lucky for him, Batgirl shows up with a smoke grenade and frees him. They run into a patrol of Germans, but manage to fight their way out, even as the Unknown Soldier watches them. Stargirl is still with the Enemy Ace when she realizes that her staff has fallen from the sky and impaled a poor GI. Not to worry as the GI is GI Zombie and he unleashes the Creature Commandos upon Cyborg and Robotman. Cyborg wrestles Stargirl’s staff from GI Zombie’s hands, wondering how they were able to shoot he and Robotman down. That is when the real culprit shows up to claim responsibility: the One Machine Attack Construct-OMAC.
You know: if you’re going to cancel a book, you may as well line everything up and have it go out with a bang. That’s what is going on here. I understand the lackluster sales on the book, as it was very uneven for the first dozen issues. But these last two issues have been fun and action packed! Thanks to Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier for injecting some life into this book. Tune in next month for the last stand of the Justice League United.
LOBO #11: Atrocitus is in the process of creating new Red Lanterns while Lobo observes and decides that he will be the hardest Lantern to defeat. And then he attacks, slaying Dex-Starr first, before slaying the rest. But before he can destroy their power battery, Rage Mother gives birth to them yet again. Not only is Sinestro not going to be happy, this could be a problem.
If you want an all out action filled issue with lots of blood and guts, then this is your baby! Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere, along with artist Robson Rocha, turn this issue into what the old RED LANTERNS title was: a bloodbath! With a killer cover by industry legend Leonardo Manco, this is probably the best issue of the series to date. If they had all been this rocking, then the title wouldn’t be in the unenviable place it is.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #5: Mr. Biscuits is trying to make his way through the airport, even if he is in multiple bags, while telling Agent Wessel that Mould is going to make everything okay. Wessel, Leo, Alicia and Mr. Biscuits and getting onto a flight out of Dulles International Airport. Biscuits puts himself back together and then says goodbye to Alicia, knowing that none of them will likely return from this mission. Immediately after, the Martians show up to abduct her. Meanwhile, Aquaman tries to awaken Pearl, who begins to make out with him before he beings her to Mould. They end up at a crater where it looks like Mars once landed in the past…and is ready to live again on Earth.
Rob Williams and Eddy Barrows are creating what I can only describe as once of the coolest and trippiest books on the market. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Wessel, Leo, Alicia, Pearl, Mould, and Mr. Biscuits are all parts of Martian Manhunter’s consciousness. So, Pearl is really J’onn J’onzz and she was making out with Aquaman. Like I said, TRIPPY!! You should be reading this book as I feel it is going to be looked at by future critics as one of the best titles to come out of DC in years. To be honest, it is so weird that it should be a Vertigo title.
MIDNIGHTER #5: Midnighter is in Hazan, where he and Grayson are battling the Russians while he is also chatting with his boyfriend back in the States. He handcuffs himself to Grayson and they end up on a train filled with "weaponized bears, werewolves and other creatures of folklore, leading to them eventually meeting Akakyevich. But he has some God Garden tech and makes a quick getaway. But Midnighter has a trick up his sleeve and teleports back to Akakyevich and paralyzes him. Akakyevich reveals that he was just the middle-man, so the hunt will continue. Later, Midnighter and his boyfriend are having Thanksgiving dinner while a sniper takes aim.
I am really starting to hate this series, although this issue did a nice job of tying Grayson, Midnighter and the whole God Garden tech thing together, as the God Garden stuff has been running in Grayson’s own book. The book gets silly as Steve Orlando has Midnighter talking with his boyfriend while he’s fighting the Russians. So silly! It was nice to see Stephen Mooney back on the art, but even that can’t save this from being an unintentionally silly book. When Midnighter and Apollo were together in The Authority, they had their relationship thing, but it didn’t account for most of the plot.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #13: A meeting in Rio with someone selling a new drug designed to give a random superpower goes bad and Boomerang and Deadshot have their cover blown, meaning Harley, Parasite and Amanda Waller need to come into save the day. The bad guys have taken the drug and have their own super powers now and Deadshot reveals to Waller that he is still having issues from being injured recently. Parasite begins to absorb the bad guys’ powers, which causes him to overload and explode. The riot police show up to arrest them, but Boomerang stirs up the crowd to riot, allowing the team to make a quick getaway. Waller gets away, hunts down the drug dealer, and executes him. Waller calls Bonnie and tells her the team is going off the grid. Bonnie immediately tells Sage, despite Waller telling her NOT TO, and he gets ready to explode the team’s neck bombs.
Sean Ryan gives us a brand new arc and that means, after what happened last time, Waller is part of the field team. I miss Reverse Flash. but He gave his life for the team because that is why they are called Suicide Squad. Sop, things look bad for our team except we all know they’re NOT going to die because there’s a movie coming! By the way, I am not a fan of Philippe Briones’s art. I really want Paul Pelletier on this book because his style fits nicely to these characters.
OMEGA MEN #5: Broot and Scapps are walking up the stairs of the Changralynian Temple and being hit with insults and dung, joins the rest of the Omega Men inside. This is all so there can be a peaceful exchange for the kidnapped Princess Kalista, who is actually part of the Omega Men. The Omega Men are here to gain the Key of Omega, which is their key to salvation. Since they are using Broot to try and get it, we learn that his name was Charis-Nar and he was raised by the High Pontifix. He accused the Temple of Sin of corruption and was branded a "Broot". The Pontifix has sold out the Omega Men to the Citadel. Brott gains the Key, but the rest of the team has been captured in the process.
Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda bring us another great issue in the series that was slated to die, but has been given new life…for now. This is such a strange and wonderful ride! And it is not your daddy’s OMEGA MEN book. I am totally thrilled this book is getting to finish it’s storyline, even if it won’t continue past twelve issues. I just hope the fan following increases enough to warrant going past 12.
PREZ #5: While the cat-flu epidemic continues to rage across America, President Beth Ross travels to Vietnam, Nicaragua, Japan, and Iraq to apologize for everything the United States did in the past. All accept her apology except Iraq who gives her a big F U. The World Apology Tour moves on to Pakistan, where she helps save the life of the Pakistani Ambassador by giving her a hot dog heart. Meanwhile, War Beast decides he needs to be forgiven and wants to be called Tina.
This is the next to last issue of what was originally solicited as a 12 issue series. I will be sorry to see it go, as it has been a fun biting commentary on our world while trying to pass itself off as a comic book. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell have been doing a great job and hopefully this will get resurrected in the future. Until then, go find the first five issues and get ready for the ride. After all, the best part apart the upcoming political season is that we can read all the silliness here instead of watching it on television.
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #5: It’s Batman and the remaining two-thirds of the Outlaws battling Underbelly. We learn that Underbelly was born when the psychic siphon, that Arkham created to lobotomize patients, got broken. Underbelly went on to make multiple versions of itself all over the world. Back at the battle, Roy uses a special arrow that disrupts and destroys this particular Underbelly, which will eliminate all the other ones. While Suzie Su gathers her new team, known as Hero Manifesto, Jason goes to the Rec Center he grew up at and sees Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, Joker’s Daughter sneaks up on Roy and puts a gun to his head. The last thing we see is a gunshot.
This was quite the cliffhanger from Scott Lobdell and Denis Medri. While I am not a fan of this series or of Lobdell’s writing in general, this was a really good couple of issues. I liked Medri’s art on it and the story flowed nicely…even if the whole concept of Underbelly was a bit weird.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #5: Damian continues on his quest to redeem himself from all the wrongs that he did when Talia returns. As the two of them argue, we find out that Damian has inadvertently allowed the Lu’un Darga to be reborn. This leads to al Ghul Island being destroyed and Damian’s failed clone brothers sacing their lives by paying with their own. In the end, they all escape in a submarine Ravi had prepared.
Patrick Gleason does another great job with this title. His writing is crisp and so is his art. It was great seeing Talia return in the role of hero for a change. You know you’re a good writer when you drop in two pages where Damian’s cloned brothers appear and sacrifice themselves in the name of family and totally bring your reader to tears. Nice job Patrick!
SECRET SIX #7: We begin with a meeting between Deadman, Felix Faust, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Thirteen, Zatanna, and Baron Winters, who wonder what they should do about Black Alice. It seems her super power is stealing the powers of the magical denizens of the Universe. Their solution, by the time Cheetah, Blue Devil, Klarion, and Eclipso show up, is to go to the hospital she is in and kill her. The team is split, as most of them have been off playing basketball and then miniature golf. But Etrigan has attacked them, so they can’t get to the hospital to help Dibney and Catman. Luckily Black Alice is awake and bearing the powers that she has purloined.
Gail Simone’s story is just a ton of fun, although I don’t get all these sorcerers and elementals getting together for a party…especially since some of them are villains. What’s the old saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But Dale Eaglesham’s artwork is the true highlight of this book. It just gets better with every issue and Jason Wright’s vibrant colors just blow the top off the book. We all know there were delays and problems in the beginning getting this book out. But it’s here now and it rocks!
SINESTRO #16: Sinestro and his Corps come to Khandaq where he meets with Black Adam, asking who the Pale Bishop is and seeking advice on how to defeat The Paling. The two head to the Vaults of Wisdom and discover the mummified corpse of the Pale Bishop. It comes to life and everyone is surprised to see that it’s a Guardian of the Universe.
Without question, this is the BEST issue of this series to date! We get these two powerful individuals joining together for the first time since they battled the Crime Syndicate and they are fantastic together. They are such amazing and dynamic anti-heroes that there is no other need for the rest of the Corps to be involved, except for a page or two. This issue, superbly written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Brad Walker and Ethan Van Sciver, is about these two and their journey together. Add into it the last moment cliffhanger, and this is a winner!
STARFIRE #5: Starfire and Soren Hook are having drinks when she suddenly sees his creepy secret origin where he was a doctor who had the ability to absorb cancer out of people. Unfortunately for him, he began growing a tumor of his own and killed one of his colleagues in the process. This whole thing freaks her out. Later, she goes off to an interview at an aquarium, which she doesn’t get. But then she begins talking to the dolphin, so they hire her. That night, at a party to celebrate her success, Sol is found in a pool of blood and Soren needs to talk.
Ugh! Can’t this be a six issue series and we can be done with it next issue? Kori continues to be dumb, the plot continues to ramble from Point A to Point B and I continue to shake my head that a book this awful continues to sell enough for DC to keep it going. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti have done for stupidity what they have done for insane former sidekick chicks. Meanwhile, the highlight, as it were, continues to be Emanuela Lupacchino’s art. Other than that, I cannot recommend this book. And yeah: that’s what SHE said!
SUPERMAN #45: Superman meets with Condesa to learn all he can about Hordr, which leads to him bailing on the meeting. Before he goes, she tells him about a company called Sungetix and that leads our hero literally hopping on a plane to Oakland, California. Once there, he makes his way inside and quickly discovers that it’s a secret Hordr complex. He gets attacked by by Apolaki, who is being controlled by Hordr_Root. This leads Superman to the Thousand One House, an underground Fight Club for super powered individuals and eventually results in him becoming one of the fighters. Welcome to Mythbrawl.
Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter continue to weave a strange, twisted tale of the former Big Blue Boy Scout. I like where this book is going, even if it is taking our hero into strange new places. Porter’s art is his usual fine work and this is just a fun ride. Seeing our hero having to ride an airplane as opposed to flying from place to place is truly bizarre and I wonder how long his being depowered will last. For now, it’s a wild ride.
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #1: We begin with the history of how this Superman observed the New 52 Justice League battled Darkseid. He left the battle to head back to the home he shred with his wife Lois. This is all because their universe was gone and Telos and company, following the defeat of the Anti-Monitor during the Convergence event, reset things. But that was then and now, they now live in that same house with their young son Jon and Lois is a successful author. Reading the paper, a bearded Clark sees that the Excalibur returns to Earth today. In what was their universe, this event created the Cyborg Superman, which sends our black suited hero off to make sure it doesn’t happen here. What he discovers is that Henshaw is alone in the ship and the rest of the crew is gone. In the end, someone in a distant star system is pretty pissed off that someone has pilfered the Oblivion Stone.
Because…we really need another Superman title, right? Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks do their best to make this book interesting but it’s just not there. I mean, how many Supermen do we need? And why is this one flying about in a black suit? There are a bunch of dangling plots here and I cannot believe that not a single member of the Justice League has questioned that someone is stopping natural disasters and such. C’mon: these guys are all so super snoopy that someone farts and they know about it. So you expect me to believe that THIS Superman is getting under their radar? Yeah…so much for the suspension of disbelief here!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #22: A blood-splattered Clark Kent arrives on the Justice League satellite, knocks out the Flash, steals a shuttle, and flies into the sun in an effort to recharge the solar batteries in his cells. Wonder Woman follows him, as they get transported back to the satellite, he tells her that he is uncertain if he still loves her. They team up to attack a military helicopter heading towards Belle Reve and free Parasite. That leads to Superman grabbing Parasite by the throat and saying that it’s time to make a deal.
Wow! This is one of the best LOOKING books of the month. Thank you Doug Mahnke! Couple that with a great story from Peter J. Tomasi and this book continues to elevate to truly cool new levels! It has managed to make its’ way from being about the romantic attraction between these two super-powers to being about the crumbling relationship. And there’s a boatload of action too!
TEEN TITANS #12: Superboy wants his life back and Red Robin tells him that they all need to work together to figure out what’s going on. They discover that they have lost their powers and that’s when Harvest shows up and each Titan is forced to live a life from their past. Harvest explains that he tried to raise Kon as his son, leading Superboy to join Harvest. He then reveals that the team came together to fulfill their destiny: to join his army.
Well, that turns thing to an interesting place. First off, this book has becoming much more interesting with Will Pfeifer joining Scott Lobdell. His influence on the story is evident and the book just seems new again. It will never be where it was in the golden days of Wolfman and Perez, but it is probably the best this title has been since the launch of the New 52. Ian Churchill turns in another killer issue on the art side of the ledger. All in all, if this is where this book should have been twelve issues ago, I wouldn’t have spent the last year talking about how awful it was.
TELOS #1: Telos confronts Brainiac about how he feels that he was lied to regarding where he could find his family. Brainiac says that he lost most of his memories and that’s why what he told Telos was wrong. So he sends Telos off to fight Computo and rendezvous with the resistance leader, Techne.
There are so many plot holes in Jeff King’s story that I could drive several buses through it. The most notable is that Brainiac was still a giant when he told Telos where he could find his family. So the tale that he gave that information after his memory loss is either a lie or a bad plot point. The best part of the book, out side of Carlos Pagulayan’s art, is the appearance of LEGION OF SUPERHEROES favorites Computo and Validus. This is a horrible, wordy first issue that goes nowhere. Here’s hoping #2 goes somewhere better than this.
TITANS HUNT #1: Roy Harper suffers a bit of deja vu when Gnarrk sells him a bottle of booze. Meanwhile, Grayson is trying to stop a black market organ-selling ring. He gets help from Garth, who arrives and kills all those responsible, which leads to Dick having a deja vu moment. He later gets visited by a psychic projection of Lilith who tells him that he needs to find “them” because time is running out. We learn that Lilith is an addiction counselor and has a series of files on all the people that were once Titans in the Pre Convergence timeline. She breaks the Fourth Wall and declares that she will not let this hidden person get them.
Leave it to Dan Abnett to turn out a gem like this. Now, this book will mean NOTHING to you unless you were reading the Titans BEFORE the NEW 52 came around. But, for an old time fan like me, I’m blown away! We get a drunk Roy Harper, a modern day Caveboy, a confused Dick Grayson, a vengeful Aqualad, a protective Lilith and the potential for appearances by Donna Troy, Mal, Hawk and Dove and more. Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges turn in a tremendous job on the art, which really helps to push the narrative along. This book was a treat and my favorite of the three new titles introduced this month.
WE ARE ROBIN #5: Robin Izzy is working as a waitress and got confronted by some gang members, when Riko and Duke show up and lend a hand. Turns out that the ringleader of the gang is her brother. Several years ago, he put her in a hospital because she wouldn’t join his gang. Flashing forward, we see the Robins meet for the first since Troy died, followed by the arrival of The Nest, complete with a huge Robin truck that is to be their Command Center. A disagreement between Duke and Dre leads to Dre and Dax leaving the group. The gang bangers show up and open fire on the team, hitting Duke in the process. A Talon arrives and carves up the gang members, calls himself the Robins’ new father and promises to show them how to dish out real justice.
I still have mixed emotions about this title, although this is one of the better issues. I truly wish that Lee Bermejo was drawing this, instead of Jorge Corona, but that’s not my problem with the book. My biggest complaint is that Bermejo is throwing all of these kids together and giving us so little to go on to actually make us LIKE these characters or even CARE about them. We don’t know enough about them to make us have a relationship with them. I have a problem with that. Sure, you need to have some mystery here. But these kids have so little back story, with the exception of Robina’s reveal this issue, for me to want to invest my time in.
WONDER WOMAN #45: Aegeus beats on Wonder Woman until Strife shows up, threatening to eat him, which leads to his quick exit. Back in London, Violet leads Donna Troy on a sight-seeing tour before bidding her goodbye, but saying that they’ll meet again. Violet forgets her purse and Donna tracks her down, just in time to see the poor girl’s pimp kill her. Wonder Woman shows up and Donna attacks her. Aegeus arrives and shoots a God Killer Arrow through Donna’s heart, seemingly killing her. Apparently, this was not part of the plan and Eirene, the Goddess of Peace, is not pleased.
Wha? While the art of David Finch makes this book look beautiful, the story by his wife Meredith is just a jumbled mess. It jumps from Aegeus wanting to kill Diana to saving her. We get a wonderful supporting cast character in the form of Violet get murdered by her pimp. And we bump off Donna Troy…maybe. This was just a really confusing issue, as has become common with this title since the Finch’s came on board. What was once a great title has slipped a lot.
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