JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6: While Aquaman handles the Rao problem in Atlantis, Superman battles it out with Rao in the Fortress of Solitude. Aquaman ends up being transported to what was left of Olympus where he and Wonder Woman encounter more of Rao’s followers who destroy what is left of Olympus. Back in 1961, the Flash is being told about the Forever Stones and how Superman’s future death will lead to the end of time. Meanwhile, on ancient Krypton, Hal and Rao arrive at the Citadel of Argo to discover that it’s an Infinity Corp.
Bryan Hitch continues to write and draw his epic version of the JLA. And, what one must keep in mind, is that this is an example of telling a great story that is out of continuity. Because this is WAY out of continuity. I somehow expect it will loop itself around and, by the end of it, it will tie back in. Or maybe I’m just hoping…
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #7: Beginning with a flashback, Teri gets through the battle with the Scullions as Supergirl arrives and gets them out there. In present time, Teri still mourns what has happened while Supergirl talks to Fire and Ice and we learn that Barry Allen and Hal Jordan died in the battle. Guy Gardner and the new Batman arrive and it looks like the next version of the Justice League is going to be an all-female one, led by Supergirl.
J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen continue to turn this book inside out. I’m a bit bummed to have Chris Batista doing the guest penciller job, especially after having a Colleen Doran stint a month back. But the story continues to deal with the aftermath of the death of Superman. With the old League dead and a new one poised to begin, this book is truly at the point where, if you are not already doing so, you need to be reading this title.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #16: We begin with a flashback from two months back when Adam and Alanna learned the Breakers were on their way to Earth. The team is in Western Connecticut are at the House of Secrets, where they have followed the Breakers. After meeting Abel, Stargirl, Equinox, Animal Man and Alanna Strange each encounter their own dreamlike nightmares. Equinox sees a bizarre ancient ritual that may involve her. Stargirl sees Deadman's origin, which now includes the Phantom Stranger. Animal Man witnesses the Kents as they take Kal-El and make him their own. Alanna realizes that Abel is the Breaker and blasts at him with her energy weapon, severing off his right arm. Adam Strange arrives and destroys Abel’s house, freeing our heroes. But, in the process, he manages to get trapped inside the Zeta Beam. What that does is allow him to see what the team configuration best suited for any mission is. In the present day, Alanna explains what she saw in the House of Secrets. She learned that Sardath was really her father and he used Adam to test a theory. She orders that he end his experiment and bring Adam back home, which he does, resulting in a happy ending.
We do understand that a HAPPY ENDING is not THAT KIND of HAPPY ENDING, right? Jeff Parker and Travel Foreman bring this series to an abrupt ending. And, here’s the whole thing about this series: it was completely uneven. Some issues, like the last arc, were brilliant and others were just so-so. This issue tried to tie up the entire series in one 22 page issue and drops in Alanna’s origin story…sort of. What I DID like here was seeing the House of Secrets pop in complete with Abel, even if he was only a Breaker. So, here we are: a series that had great premise that just never really got out of the starting blocks.
LOBO #13: Lobo has been taking out hunters all across the galaxy and now has his sights set on Hal Jordan. Hal fends him off, leaving Lobo to have to deal with the ghosts of his former comrades. That just fires him up and he attacks again, with Hal putting him down again. Hal drags Lobo out into space and then hurls him back to the planet’s surface, where he burns up on re-entry. He gets rescued by someone from the Citadel and is hauled off to heal. Unfortunately, the Czarnian isn’t about to let anyone use him anymore and he kills his rescuer.
And thus ends Lobo’s run as a book headliner. This book got so much better in the last four months, but the first nine were so uneven that the book was truly living on borrowed time. Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere did an awesome job of taking this guy from the Metrosexual Lobo who managed to slay OUR Lobo in the opening pages of the first issue to giving him a vibe of his own. Robson Rocha and Ethan Van Sciver handle the art beautifully too. In retrospect, this ended up being a fun series and hopefully they won’t just toss him off to the side now that the series is done. I expect we will end up seeing him chasing after Hal Jordan again and probably soon.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #7: With the state of ouor world being compromised by Mars, Pearl takes it out on Martian Manhunter, who she calls Martian Mankiller. Mould asks J'onn why Mars is sick and decaying like before. That leads to Manhunter heading off to confront an army of Martian tanks. Unfortunately, the army runs Mould over. Wessel whips out his badge and finds out that the leader of the Martians is a grown-up Alicia, who is prepared to take out Wessel and Mr. Biscuits. In the end, Martian Manhunter sends a message out to all Martians and tells them that he’s going to protect them against the war.
While this is not the best issue of the series so far, partly because of Ronan Cliquet doing the art this issue, but Rob Williams continues to write one hell of a tale. I don’t even know what is going on in this issue…THAT’S how good it is! Our hero has been split into multiple personalities but also has been restored? Wow! And the brain is now dead? Well…that explains a lot! This book is so good, so mind-numbing, that you can’t resist it. Now, you may have to read each issue a couple of times, but it’s surely worth your time.
MIDNIGHTER #7: Midnighter has been stabbed by his lover, who turns out to be Prometheus, who claims he is the God of Forethought. As the two battle, Prometheus monologues about how he stole the God Garden Tech and Midnighter's history. Midnighter takes Prometheus out and loses his history at the same time. In the end, Midnighter goes off to spend some time with Jason while Apollo gets an unwanted gift from his ex. Meanwhile, Deadshot gathers the Perdition Pistol as he attempts to track down Garden tech for Amanda Waller.
While this series has been a real drag up until now, this issue did a nice job of wrapping up a story that has been brewing since issue #1. Midnighter comes off a breakup and then finds out his boyfriend is his betrayer. Maybe that should have been the title of the issue…old school, like in the Marvel days. We need a big bold MY BOYFRIEND, MY BETRAYER across the cover. Anyway, Steve Orlando, Aco and Hugh Petrus wraps things up, leaving our hero still in the dark about his past. And as far as his future goes, we shall see…
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #15: The team is flying off to Dallas so Waller and Deadshot can confront the Calvary Corporation CEO Ms. Pesta while Harley and Boomerang help Parasite get his energy back. Pesta tells Waller that Task Force X has been screwing up business deals worldwide. So they created their own team of metahumans but mothballed it because of expense. They made use of Vic Sage, who planned on releasing a Task Force X prisoner and blaming it on Waller and company, leading to the government shutting down the Squad. She offers up the evidence that will implicate Sage. In the end, Black Manta escapes from Belle Reve.
So, this is the road to the swan song for Sean Ryan and Philippe Briones as the new creative team is going to be Tim Seeley and Juan Ferreyra. DC continues to make this one of the more exciting books out there and they will do so as the movie gets closer to final release. I have loved what Ryan has done thus far and hope the new team continues to make this the coolest oddball team in comics.
OMEGA MEN #7: Kyle Rayner and Princess Kalista are still on the run from The Citadel and are planning to escape Hyn’xx at all costs. Kyle sells his grandmother’s crucifix to pay for their flight on planet. But it turns out that the Omega Men are flying the ship and are taking Kyle to Voorl, whether he likes it or not.
Tom King is an ex-CIA guy who writes from the heart and from experience. If you’re not reading any of his books, then you are truly missing out on a rising talent in this business. And Barnaby Bagenda’s art is just mind blowing. This book and these characters are so cool that you truly have to have it as part of your pull list. The book has twists, turns, and just proves that there are really good books out there worth saving, despite bad sales numbers. This is one of them.
PREZ #6: America is still suffering with the weight of the cat-flu and that leads to the fine folks from Pharmaduke to offer up a deal. They have a cure to offer up, but they want a law that allows patenting any living organism. President Ross quickly sends them away. Unfortunately, both political parties come together to override her veto. On the plus side, the President has managed to patent the DNA of those celebrating suits and that means Fred Wayne owns them and they are violating his copyright. Meanwhile, the War Beast is still having issues with its’ identify and joins a LGBTQR support group. She also is still the subject of attacks by the military that doesn’t believe she is no longer dangerous. In the end, a “cat zone” is created along the Arizona/New Mexico border to quarantine the cats. That doesn’t sit well with everyone and Tina the War Beast, who gets the job as the President’s personal bodyguard, thwarts a death threat. In the end, cat flu cases decline and the President's’ approval rating soars.
The first arc in Mark Russell’s brilliantly biting but misunderstood series comes to an end. The book has a nice little cliffhanger built into the last panel that promises to be resolved in Part 2. DC has said this is actually a mini-series and that we will see Part 2 soon. I love Ben Caldwell’s art and that has always been a great part of the appeal. This has been a wonderfully funny book and I wish the fans had embraced it more. Do yourself a favor and pick up the issues or a trade paperback if that comes out. This is a really witty series that deserves better than cancellation.
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #7: See the synopsis/review in the ROBIN WAR December blog post
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #7: See the synopsis/review in the ROBIN WAR December blog post
SECRET SIX #9: When we last saw our heroes, they were apparently drowning at the bottom of the sea as the magic bubble they are in begins to crack and let water in. Porcelain shatters the pillar that is draining Black Alice’s life as the Children of Arion transport them to safety. Over at Scandal Savage’s apartment, Black Alice begins to mumble something about not trusting the Children of Arion. She also finds out that if the team succeeds the world dies. This leads her to Meanwhile, the team has been sent to Perdition to blow up the next pillar. Upon arriving, they find out that the townspeople are under the control of an Elder God known as M’nagalah, who also has control of the pillar at the bottom of the town’s mine. They also run into a rather drained Swamp Thing who brawls with Etrigan, allowing Big Shot to crush M’nagalah with the pillar. Looks like the town is going to get to eat tonight!
Gail Simone and Tom Derenick, who is filling in for the ever amazing Dale Eaglesham this month, gives us another great chapter in this series. This book is quickly becoming one of my favorites thanks to Simone’s quirky use of characterization and the art styles of Eaglesham and Derenick. The book is always beautiful to look at and the characters are so well developed even as there is a ton of mystery around some of them, specifically Big Shot. Let’s be honest: this is a wild take on the man who we know as the Elongated Man!
SINESTRO #18: The Paling battles Sinestro's team but also mange to make their way to Earth in the process and they are responsible for resurrecting fallen members of the Corps. Sinestro sends out the Manhunters while the yellow rings seek out new members including Scarecrow, Deathstroke, Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, and Superman.
While Cullen Bunn uncork a non-stop action issue, Brad Walker shares art with Neil Edwards to make it look amazing! I love where Bunn has been taking this title, of which I was highly critical, since the Sinestro Rising storyline. The Palling has suddenly become major players in the Lantern corner of the universe and that’s great, because we needed a new villain to take the place of the Guardians. Again, I was totally critical of this title but now feel like it’s finally coming together.
STARFIRE #7: Kori and her friend Sol go off on a date on the Sea Queen at the same time that Dick Grayson is in disguise on a Spyral mission. Sol is trying to cope with dating again after the death of his fiance Maria, who died during the hurricane. Meanwhile, Dick is battling it out with someone who has a briefcase he needs. Kori overcomes the shock of seeing Dick alive and lends a hand in retrieving the briefcase. Dick tells her that the briefcase has a trigger for a weapon and that leads Kori to destroy it so it can’t be used, much to Dick’s dismay. In the end, Dick ends up sucking down some wine and the two kiss.
We have another lackluster issue here as Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Emanuela Lupacchino gives us a beautiful looking book with a ditz of a character. And we even bring Dick Grayson in and he doesn’t notice that his ex has lost most of her I.Q. since he saw her last. So, I guess he may have lost some of his I.Q. too!
SUPERMAN #47: As Superman battles and defeats his sand clone, Jimmy gets taken to the hospital where it’s revealed that he will live. Clark heads off to fight Mythbrawl where the wrestling gods go up against Hordr_Root and his robots. The good guys win the day and Condesa downloads Hordr_Root's consciousness into a hard drive, as it’s revealed that Root had hopped into Jimmy's body. The hard drive is turned over to Mister Terrific. Jimmy has a flashback and we see that Hordr_Root’s creator was a paralyzed son of Vandal Savage, who ultimately was killed by his creation. In the end, Savage breaks into Mister Terrific's lab to get his son back.
So we get Howard Porter art throughout most of the book…up until the battle with Hodr ends. At that point we get Raymund Bermudez and it just makes the ending feel forced. It totally feels like the ending was changed along the way. I just can’t believe that Porter would get that far into the book and then not finish it. That having been said, I hope this storyline ends soon. Gene Luen Yang’s story is weird and the whole thing with the wrestling gods was just annoying.
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #3: (NOTE: read the SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #24 review before reading this review). Beginning on Krypton, Im-El goes up against the Kryptonian High Council to save everyone from a comet heading for the planet. His actions deflects the comet to Earth, where it results in the creation of Vandal Savage, who spends his immortal life affecting events in China, Rome and even during World War 2. In the present day, a depowered Superman confronts Savage, Wrath, Hordr_Root, and Frankenstein, who have commanded Stormwatch's Carrier and killed everyone in Superman’s immediate vicinity. Even in his present condition, Clark is going to do everything he can to stop Savage and his team.
Greg Pak, Gene Luen Yang, Peter J. Tomasi, and Aaron Kuder, the crew currently writing the Superman titles, come together here to give us a winding tale that lays out a bunch of the puzzle pieces that have been falling throughout those titles. What we end up with is a killer tale that, among other things, redefines Savage and makes a connection between him and Krypton as part of a revised origin. Dan Jurgens, Rafa Sandoval and Ben Oliver handle the art while Bill Sienkiewicz and Oliver ink it and that results in a story that while reading great, is a mess to look at. Actually, that’s not fair. It looks awesome, but there are two many conflicting styles to not be a distraction. Where does it go from here? ACTION COMICS #48.
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #3: In a flashback, Clark battles Blanque who, as a telepath, is extremely dangerous to the safety of Clark and Lois. He also wants to know if Clark is Superman’s brother. Clark decides to put him somewhere that he can’t hurt anyone ever again, which results in him building his version of the Fortress of Solitude. Back in the present, Lois and Clark talk about their recent run in with Intergang and work real hard at hiding his secret identity from Jon. Clark heads off to Fortress of Solitude, where he reveals that he has Hank Henshaw there. Henshaw wakes up and takes out Clark who has an ally in the form of Blanque, who can read Clark’s mind. This means he now knows about the destruction of Coast City, along with Lois and Jon. Meanwhile, Bruno Mannheim shows what he does to people who fail him and the Oblivion Stone story drops another hint as a Dominator is killed over it.
If someone had told me that Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks would be writing a killer tale involving a displaced Lois and Clark, I would have thought you were crazy. But…here it is! This is one of the bigger surprises of the last six months. After the disaster that was CONVERGENCE, I thought that would be that and this would be awful. But it’s not! It’s Jurgens at some of his best by bringing in classic characters into the current universe…folks like the Dominators and Mannheim. And Weeks is giving us some of his best work in an illustrious career. I know you probably don’t believe it, but this is a book that has a love of its’ character and should be on your pull list.
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #24: Wonder Woman is still trapped in the suit that drains powers while a depowered Superman tries to save her. But he’s too weak to do it and Bend ends up with them being captured. While Bend monologues, Wonder Woman encourages her boyfriend to fight back and he frees himself. Clark grabs Parasite and the two of them manage to defeat Bend, who ends up back in Blackgate. Superman proves he can lie as good as the rest, as he proves to Parasite, who gets to go back to Belle Reve. In the end, Vandal Savage shows up at Blackgate and tears his son’s heart out of his chest.
Peter J. Tomasi finishes off this storyline and sets things in motion that get revealed in SUPERMAN ANNUAL #3. And we can slowly see the love between Wonder Woman and Superman slipping away leading to what I believe will be there ultimate breakup. Doug Mahnke handles the layouts while Ardian Syaf and Tom Derenick were responsible for the actual pencils in this issue. Maybe we might even get Firestorm back into a regular series after this outing.
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #2: Beginning and ending with Superman sitting on the porch of his childhood home looking at photos of his parents, it moves to various episodes featuring Clark and Diana. They enjoy a nice dinner with Aquaman and Mera, where Diana sees how their relationships with their men are similar. Next, we have Superman and Wonder Woman going to Pakistan, where they fight a Demigod named Dichara, where it gets revealed that she is the God of War and probably should have told Clark. Next, a depowered Superman is ordered to stay behind as Wonder Woman goes off to battle a monster. Her answer to him after the fact is that she was protecting him. That does NOT sit well with the Man of Steel. In the end, he realizes there is no good time to give her that engagement ring.
So, this was a little change of pace. Sholly Fisch, K. Perkins, Keith Champagne and Peter J. Tomasi combine to tell four stories that represent the crumbling relationship between two of the most powerful of superheroes. Each chapter gets a different writer and that means each gets a different artist in the form of Marco Santucci, Chriscross, Ken Lashley, and Matthew Clark. Overall, it was a beautifully written and equally beautiful illustrated tale of what it means to be a hero. You know: great power and great responsibility. But in the end, it’s still a man and a woman trying to co-exist.
TEEN TITANS #14: After the debacle at the Metropolis Armory Ward, the Teen Titans have been arrested. During transport, Reiser shows up and breaks them out of their moving prison. Alpha Centurian shows up with the Pax Galactica who manages to get taken out by the Titans. In the end, the team finds out that Red Robin had Raven transport him elsewhere…to meet with Jason Todd and look into the upcoming ROBIN WAR.
So, we tie up one storyline, introduce the character of Doomed to the Titans pantheon, and we send Red Robin off to the Robin War. Will Pfeifer and Scott Lobdell do an okay job of writing the story and bringing Lobdell’s Reiser into this book, now that he has had his own book cancelled on him. But Noel Rodriguez art just doesn’t appeal to me. Is EVERYONE now drawing angular styled stuff these days? This is becoming an increasing trend and I’m a bit tired of it. The real question here is if Reiser is going to replace Tim Drake. Yeah…like we need that!
TEEN TITANS #15: See the synopsis/review in the ROBIN WAR December blog post
TELOS #3: Telos and his team take on Validus and defeat him, allowing them to continue on their journey on Colu. They end up at Computo’s facility and discover all of his failed experiments. They are mercifully destroyed but that doesn’t stop Computo and Brainiac from subduing them and revealing a rebuilt Validus.
This is the second weakest issue thus far in the series, only just a notch above issue #1. Jeff King wrote it, Stephen Segovia and Igor Vitorino illustrated it and I really, REALLY didn’t like reading it. The plot was too jumbled and the cast, only three issues out, are really getting on my nerves. We have made Captain Comet into a cardboard hero and K-Rot is like a cross between Rocket Raccoon and Captain carrot. But I have good news: apparently this is now a six issue mini-series, which means we’re at the halfway point!
TITANS HUNT #3: Donna Troy has shown up to battle it out with Dick Grayson and Garth. The fight eventually ends with Donna getting tossed through the outside wall of the reading Hatton Corners Teen Titans Club House. Meanwhile, Lilith is haunted by the mysterious voice known as Mister Twister and Gnarrk breaks Roy out of prison. Twister unleashes a powerful noise that affects our heroes, with Mal seeming to take the worst of it. Elsewhere, Hawk and Dove are on patrol and Hank hears the sound while Dawn does not.
This issue is another labor of love for Dan Abnett as he touches on all the cool things that made the original Teen Titans so cool. I like the fact that Dawn does not hear the sound that Mister Twister unleashes because SHE wasn’t the original Dove-Don Hall was. But Don died during the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. But, even more confusing, if CRISIS never happened, as revealed in CONVERGENCE, would that mean that Don is still alive? Maybe HE is Mister Twister.After all, he and Lilith did date for a time while in Teen Titans West. The art is by Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges and it just does a great job of giving the book wonderful Eighties feel. I love this title, even if it throws a bunch of unexpected curves into your reading, most of which revolve around Gnarrk, who most modern readers don’t even remember.
WE ARE ROBIN #7: See the synopsis/review in the ROBIN WAR December blog post
WONDER WOMAN #47: Dessa comes to Diana to inform her that many Amazons are dead thanks to Cheetah who has headed off to capture the Eye of Antiope and gain immortality. Diana gives hunt and runs into an injured Anastasios along the way. He’s had to cut off his own arm to free himself after the Amazons attacked he and his brothers and he’s still pretty pissed about it. She promises to help him sort things out after she tracks down Cheetah. Finding her, they battle, but Hera’s vision stops Diana from pursuing Cheetah. She soon learns that to be immortal means losing her animal powers and Cheetah leaves the stone behind. The issue ends with Diana thanking her mother.
What? Did I just drop four bucks and this? Meredith Finch writes what I could best call a fill-in issue and it certainly was a step below what she has been doing, which has been spotty at best. Sure, it’s nice to give us some Cheetah action, but this is not the way to do it. There is way too much dialogue going on and too many predictable monologues for my liking. Miguel Mendonca knocks it out of the park, especially with a two-page spread featuring Diana and Cheetah in combat
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