ACTION COMICS #52: Read BATMAN SUPERMAN #32 first. The Final Days of Superman Part 6. In a scene mirroring the opening of BATMAN SUPERMAN #32, Superman and Wonder Woman are holding hands as they fly away from China along with Batman, when the Man of Steel loses consciousness and falls onto the Batplane. Meanwhile, Lois and the parolee Superman chat and he offers to show her a secret. That means a trip to Salinas, California, where the Pre Flashpoint Clark and Jon are having breakfast. With a possible threat to Jon, Clark attacks the parolee Superman and drives him out of the house, leaving the New 52 Lois with Jon. Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman track the solar flare activity to Salinas, which brings the New 52 Superman face to face with the Pre-Flashpoint Superman. New 52 Lois comes home to find her home busted up and Clark shows up and whisks her, Jon and their pets away. In the end, the parolee Superman asks the Trinity if they are here to ask him to join the Justice League. Continued in SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #29.
Peter J. Tomasi, with Dale Eaglesham and Scot Eaton handling the art, brings the three Supermen together into this. I have yet to totally figure out how DC is going to make this all work. As of right now, we have three people who are Superman to a degree. And we believe that the New 52 Clark is dying while the Pre-Flashpoint Clark will be the flag bearer during REBIRTH. But what do we do and how do we handle TWO LOIS LANE’s. Unless this world’s Lois bites it somehow alone with the parolee Superman. We shall see.
AQUAMAN #52: Arthur battles Scavenger while Mera battles a recently escaped Dead Water. Once defeated, Scavenger explains how Payne and two companions encountered some weird water in a mini-sub. With only one oxygen tank, Payne killed the other two and headed back to the surface, but became transformed in the process. Now he is here and he wants revenge on Scavenger and begins to eat him. Aquaman reminds Dead Water that he killed two men to save himself and the human portion of Payne comes through and he kills himself on Aquaman's trident.
Dan Abnett and Vincente Cifuentes give us a lackluster ending as they wrap up this series. I say lackluster because there are some glaring plot point holes. For example: why would Dead Water commit suicide and leave behind an orphaned son that he was so concerned about earlier in the story arc. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. So, this one goes down hard on what should have been a wonderful trip towards REBIRTH.
BATGIRL #52: Gladius Commander is holding most of Gotham Academy hostage, but that is just what Barbara wants. She has amassed a team made up of Black Canary, Vixen, Spoiler, and Bluebird and they lead the charge against the villain. They are quickly taken down and we discover that Gladius Commander wasn’t really that Gladius Commander after all. She tracks down the real Gladius Commander and makes short work of her, which means she has time to get to her surprise going away party. The issue ends with the going away party and we get to see Barbara say her goodbyes to everyone she loves. So where is Luke Fox in all of this?
You would think that Babs Tarr, the person who was responsible for the look of Batgirl over the last year or so, would be here for this title’s final gasp. But she’s not. She has left the title in the hands of writer Brenden Fletcher and artists Eleonora Carlini and Minkyu Jung, who attempt to ape Tarr but are not that successful. It actually looks more like an issue of GOTHAM ACADEMY. Either way, Barbara leaves Burnside and heads back to Gotham where she will start her life over again. She will be running through two titles, as the Birds of Prey reunite. Or at least A VERSION of the Birds of Prey will appear, as she teams up with Black Canary and former Spyral agent Helena Bertinelli.
BATMAN #52: Just two weeks after his parents were murdered, Dr. Leslie Thompkins comes to visit a young Bruce Wayne. She suggests he start a book and list things he needs to do to move on. Flash forward through many years later, when he is training and is still carrying his book with him. Today, a high tech bank robber named Crypsis, who has stolen something important belonging to Bruce Wayne out of a safety deposit box. When Batman catches up with him, he brags that he has Bruce Wayne’s biggest secret and will sell it to the highest bidder. It turns out that it’s the notebook. In the end, Batman returns to the Batcave with the book and he and Alfred share a tender son/surrogate father moment.
James Tynion IV and Riley Rossmo present what I would best call a fill-in issue as Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo left the book last month. The tale that ties into Batman’s past and how Bruce’ notebook proved so important to him was just cute buut did nothing to flesh out the Dark Knight’s tale. Okay: cute but not essential to the legend of the Bat. This is the last issue before the renumbering and the new creative team. Let’s see if the new team can live up to the work that the old team did.
BATMAN BEYOND #12: We begin in the past, with old Bruce Wayne chewing out Terry McGinnis for going through some of his computer files. When Bruce walks off, Barbara shows Terry Red Robin’s costume in a display case. Tim Drake, as she tells him, just up and disappeared one day. In the present, Barbara finds that ironic as Tim, now in the Batsuit, as he goes after Rewire. Unfortunately, Rewire knows how to short circuit Tim’s suit and he finds himself powerless and gets dropped into a river. In the end, Rewire meets up with his mysterious partner who is only concerned with keeping Rewire alive.
Dan Jurgens and Philip Tan do a killer job on this issue! I have said before that Jurgens has done a great job of inspiring me to seek out the DVD’s for the BATMAN BEYOND show and actually go look for back issues of the comic series. And this is why: curve balls and characters that I never thought I would get to see. While this series has had a bunch of ups and downs, and many more downs than ups, it is really caught my attention and made me want to see where this will fit into REBIRTH when that happens.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #32: The Final Days of Superman Part 5. We begin with Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman trying to track down the parolee and they end up in China where they meet the Great Ten. And then they battle the Great Ten until they restore order by putting Hu Wei’s necklace back on again and it stops her berserk rage. The Trinity explains that they were tracking an energy source and it brought them here. The Great Ten take them to Dr. Omen, who shows off her Superman. He breaks loose and the Great ten promise to hunt him down. Meanwhile, the Superman parolee arrives at Lois’ apartment and wants to talk. Continued in ACTION COMICS #52.
Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke bring us the next chapter in the closing epic. Unfortunately, we spend almost the entire issue with the Trinity fighting the Great Ten and it becomes a long fight issue, minus a nice little “gee it’s great to have the band back together” moment involving Clark, Bruce and Diana. And who or what is a Hu Wei? Anyway, we get to look at what I believe is the first full appearance of the NEW SUPERMAN, who will soon have his own book during REBIRTH. As this races to an end, you have to wonder what will happen when this Lois eventually meets the OTHER Lois.
BLACK CANARY #12: Running late. This won’t ship until June 8 and will be reviewed next month.
BLOODLINES #2: The comet from last issue is seen again as it launches projectiles onto a handful of residents of the town. Next we go to Graham’s funeral followed by members of the Pine Ridge High School football team wanting to beat Eddie up for causing their friend’s death. Then we see various vignettes of the other people who have gained strange powers. We have high school student Dana who is vlogging herslef for YouTube. Haley is in a bar and pierces some guy’s hand with a weird tattoo that comes off of her. Officer Blake is getting frustrated texting his ex-girlfriend that he causes a bottle of beer to become a bomb. Faith is a spoiled child who uses her powers to slaughter everyone at a kid’s birthday party. Blake and his partner investigate it and they are greeted by Duncan who claims this is the end of the world. That night, Eddie wakes from a bad dream and decides to go skateboarding, which causes him to transform again. In the process, Albert appears and says they should talk.
Can someone explain why this book even exist? Is it because DC needed to renew the trademark on BLOODLINES or something. First the good news: V. Ken Marion’s art is great and sort of reminds me of Ian Churchill’s work. Anyway-here’s a major talent! Now the bad: J.T. Krul’s story. I don’t really think Krul, who previously wrote GREEN ARROW and CAPTAIN ATOM, is a bad writer. I just don’t understand where this book is going. If I wanted super-powered folks with no clue, I could go back and re-read THE RAVENGERS.
CATWOMAN #52: Selina is trying to figure out how it is that her ex-boyfriend David is still alive and is the White Mask. She breaks up a little private party he is having with a couple of girls and it’s time for each one to unmask, causing him to be totally surprised to see that Catwoman is his ex. This leads to a flashback that shows what happened with the meeting between David, Selina and Richard Sionis, where she and David were instructed to steal "The Faceless Mask". They steal the mask, end up back at Sionis’ place where David decides he would rather have a shoot ‘em up rather than give up the mask. That leads to him getting shot and “dying”. In actuality, it was a well-rehearsed ruse between Sionis and David, complete with blanks and fake blood. In the present, Black Mask arrives, tells the tale of David’s death, and explains how he is here to get revenge on David. Selina tell Black mask he can have David and leaves…but not before running off with the mask.
Frank Tieri, with Inaki Miranda and Pop Mhan, ends the NEW 52 run of everyone’s favorite kitty cat bad girl/good girl and does so with a wonderful story with a cool twist ending. While Miranda and Mhan combine for some great looking, highly atmospheric art, Tieri’s story puts a nice cap on the series and further proves that you can’t always trust a kitty. I’ll be curious to see what role Selina plays from here on out in the new DCU.
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #12: Constantine storms into Club Midnight, demanding to see Neron, only to find out that Papa Midnite and Blythe, who John left in hell a couple of issues back, have struck a deal with Neron. Neron interjects and Blythe informs John that he can’t exorcise them, forcing him to leave the Club without Oliver’s kids. When he returns to the bar to tell Oliver this, he storms out, leaving Constantineto hit on some woman at the bar. And that’s when he thinks of a loophole. Whatever it actually is, Constantine is planning to draft Zatanna, Deadman and Swamp Thing into his scheme.
What? Okay…so Constantine screws up, gets tossed out of Club Midnight, gets told off by his boyfriend, reveals how he kind of did that on purpose, then tries to pick up a WOMAN and finally ends up with his old JL Dark teammates. Gotta love that John Constantine! Anyway, Ming Doyle & James Tynion IV wrote it and Eryk Donovan illustrated it and it was a fun issue. One more to go and then our British mage disappears for a little while…until the next version of this title rears its’ ugly head.
CYBORG #11: Silas Stone is running some tests on Cyborg , which leads our hero to reach out across the Internet and finds out the plane with Dr. Sarah Charles is on has been hacked. After believing a woman from Afghanistan MUST be the cause, even though all she is doing is to travel to Detroit to see her fiancé, he discovers a series of warehouses being burned which has something to do with all of this. He makes his way into the Dark Web and stops the hackers. In the end, he and Sarah chat.
You know you could be in trouble when you have three pencilers working on a book in the form of Felipe Watanabe, Daniel HDR, and Julio Ferreira. What that gives us is a mixed up looking issue that tries to be cohesive but fails miserably. Marv Wolfman’s story is just there…no great moments and no killer bits. It just exists. Personally, this series seems to be limping along until REBIRTH.
DEATHSTROKE #18: Two months have passed since the end of last issue and Slade is in Monte Carlo and taking out Victor’s associates. Then it’s off to Nanda Parbat where Rose and Jericho are training and being observed by Slade and Ra’s. Over in Northern California, Lawman and Snakebite listen to the plans of the boss Mystasia and it’s a good thing too, as Jericho, Rose and Deathstroke attack their hideout. Of course a battle ensues, with Lawman taking over Rose’ mind and allowing her to attacks Slade. Jericho unleashes his power on Rose and nearly kills her, leading to Ra’s appearing and saying he can both save her and leave Slade in his debt forever.
James Bonny and Paolo Pantalena bring us closer to the end of this series but not quite. Looks like the only way that Slade can save his dear old daughter is to play nice with Ra’s al Ghul. Pantalena’s art is confusing and I find it hard sometimes to know who is who. And Bonny’s story is running about three issues too long. It is beginning to feel like he is stretching it to get to the end. Sigh! Hope for better in the new series.
DETECTIVE COMICS #52: Jim Gordon, in his super cool Batsuit, teams up with his Marine buddies to free their fellow Marines from the clutches of the followers of Amun-Set. The Marines fight it out with the followers while Amun-Set gets wrapped up like a mummy with strips of skin and goes after Gordon. The pair are pretty well even matched until Gordon lights up the containers holding the supply of skin. As Batman flees, his fellow Marines come back to kill a burning Amun-Set. They then bury the place and agree to tell no one and move on with their lives. In the end, Gordon returns Wyler’s dog tags to his widow.
Peter J. Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin bring the NEW 52 run of DETECTIVE COMICS, and Jim Gordon’s tenure as Batman, to an end with this tale. Okay-it was a nice change of pace that looked amazing. But let’s be honest: it’s not Bruce Wayne and we all want jim Gordon back with a stache and smoking! That’s just the way it is! Next month, we go back to the original numbering, like THAT isn’t going to mess with your database entries, and Batman and Batwoman team-up to train the next generation of heroes including…Clayface? Yeah…this will be an interesting ride.
DOCTOR FATE #12: Khalid is all set to be tossed out of school for his multiple absence when Dean Raskin has a heart attack and dies. But that doesn’t stop Khalid who spends the rest of the story chasing after Raskin’s soul, where he is forced to fight Anubia. In the end, Raskin lives, Khalid is allowed to stay in school, Bastet gets to go to his eternal rest, and our hero gets to meet his Uncle Kent. Kent Nelson, that is, who reminds Khalid that he has something that belongs to him.
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Kudos to Paul Levitz for at last having the sense to introduce the proper Dr. Fate into this mythology. For the first time since the beginning, I am actually interested in the next issue. Sonny Liew continues to give us his interesting style of art and, although I am not a fan of it, I am getting accustomed to it. I expect that this is Levitz’ way of paving the road for Kent Nelson’s return during REBIRTH. While this was a nice experiment, I won’t be sad to see it go.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #12: In an effort to keep the war from happening, Green lantern Alan Scott gives up his power to provide Earth 2 with all the energy it needs. In the end, we see that the Ultra Humanite has been pulling the strings that led us to this point and that makes his plan ready to move into full action.
I’m sorry: I just couldn’t bring myself to writing a long synopsis about the various factions pissing and moaning about acting or not acting. Dan Abnett’s dialogue is his usual work although I find Iban Coello’s art uninteresting and too angular for my tastes. Why is it there is a whole generation trying to draw like Frank Robbins and Irv Novick and not a one can hold a candle to either of them? What I DID enjoy was the appearance of the Ultra Humanite!
THE FLASH #51: The Riddler has revealed his plan to The Flash and the Rogues, involving the various death drones. Just when things seem bad for our hero, in rolls the Pied Piper to save the day. The police show up and the Riddler informs them of his plan and how they now work for him. He gets on the air and informs the Flash that he must surrender or his drones will kill everyone. And if THAT doesn’t work, there is always the chance to set off Heat Wave like a nuclear bomb. In the end, Barry reveals his secret identity and surrenders.
Major kudos to Van Jensen for the plot twist that I didn’t see coming! Barry unmasks himself and surrenders. Yeah-I saw the surrender coming, but not the open unmasking. Let’s see Jensen write his way out of this! Also, Gus Vasquez puts in a nice turn on the art. I love that The Riddler has become a major player in the New 52 Universe and not just in a Bat title. I also love the long-awaited return of the Pied Piper. He has been dormant too long in Flash Mythos.
THE FLASH #52: An unmasked Barry Allen is trapped in The Riddler’s lair with his head in a guillotine. Elsewhere, Wally West starts to run, which triggers the drones in the city, leading The Riddler to believe that Barry is a fake. Darryl gets Barry free and sends him off to finds the REAL Flash. He heads off to the Rogues’ base, messes with Axel’s robotic hand and that causes him to bring Lisa back to live…with a new power. As The Riddler wreaks havoc on the city, Flash and the Rogues team up to take out his drones. They end up back at Riddler’s hideout and Trickster uses his mechancial arm to blow Heat Wave out of his cell. Axel is badly injured, but Flash tells the Rogues he will survive. Back in Central City, Flash and the Rogues, with a lot of help from Pied Piper’s collection of rats, take out The Riddler. Darryl admits he was wrong and hopes that he and The Flash can work again in the future.
And thus ends the New 52 run of Barry Allen. The highlight of Van Jensen’s story was the long-awaited team-up between The Flash and The Rogues. That was a fan-boy’s dream! Jesus Merino’s art was on target to, especially with all of the action sequences peppered throughout the story. The downside of it all was I wanted a bit more than a few panel wrap up to our hero’s New 52 run. With REBIRTH, does all of this change? Does Barry end up with Iris and how do we account for what appears will be two Wally Wests? Again,. I wanted more of a wrap up than we got here. But it was an AWESOME moment with Barry and the Rogues!
GOTHAM ACADEMY #18: Yearbook Part Five. Maps and Olive continue to give chase to Robin, who has stolen Maps’ scarpbook. Along the way, we discover how Professor Milo was dismissed from the Academy for breaking into the Headmaster’s private chambers. We also see how Maps stole a silver solution from Mister Silversmith so she could make her monster fighting weapon. During the annual school talent show, Maps and Pom end up with a forced bonb that may eventually turn into a friendship. And Kyle teaches Mia how drive drive in a aspecially designed Bat Golf Cart. In the end, the scrapbook is found, with a special series of drawings that lead to a gift: a first edition of SERPENTS & SPELLS.
That’s all for GOTHAM ACADEMY until August when a one shot appears(and don’t forget the LUMBERJANES GOTHAM ACADEMY book), followed by a full REBIRTH series in September. Not a new series, mind you, as the numbering will continue. This issue was written by Brenden Fletcher, Steve Orlando, Natasha Alterici, and Faith Erin Hicks with art from Hicks, Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, Serge LaPointe, Minkyu Jung, and Natasha Alterici. I’m actually looking forward to the new series as I am curious to see how all of this will fit into REBIRTH continuity. Until then, class dismissed!
GRAYSON #20: Dick continues his battle with Doctor Daedalus, who is inside of Helena Bertinelli's body. He tells Daedalus to leave Helena’s body and enter his instead.
The couple kiss and then the transformation happens. Otto asks “Who is Dick Grayson” and that is when the Somnus Satellite from BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL kicks in and wipes everyone’s memory of who Dick Grayson was. This leads to a battle in the mind of Otto Netz with all Dick’s various incarnations joining in the fight. With one code word, Netz is defeated and forgotten. Meanwhile, Patron reveals that he has left Checkmate and proceeds to assassinate Alia, before returning back to Spyral. In the end, Dick bids goodbye to Helena and proceeds to his new destiny: as Nightwing.
Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, along with art from Roge Antonio, bring this series to an end and I have to give them a bunch of points. This team had to step into a killer title and pick up the pieces they were left with. To that end, it was a truly satisfying ending to a fun book. I certainly hope that the dangling plot twist gets resolved somewhere else. Unfortunately it looks like the new of the New 52 could mean the end of that plot and leave fans wondering for a while. But who knows: we may get a surprise yet. Just don’t hold your breath! Helena is set to be part of BIRDS OF PREY and Dick is set to serve in the Court of the Owls.
GREEN ARROW #52: Ollie is still alive because the machete that Deathstroke stabbed him with still had blood on it from when he cut Dr. Miracle's tongue. It cures Ollie of the Warg disease, but also heals his wound as soon as Emiko removes the blade. In an old WWII bomber, our heroes fly back to Seattle, where the Beserkers have arrived to break their fellow Wargs out of the internment camp they have been put in. Deathstroke delivers Dr. Miracle to Mr. Paragon, but he refuses to pay the full amount because he's seven hours past the deadline. Paragon reminds him he doesn’t have to pay him anything because the deal was no payment if late. Ollie and Emiko arrive and Slade, who is leaving with his money, tells them to undeliver the package…and kill Paragon at the same time. Ollie cuts off Paragon’s bloodline, pins Dana to the wall, and frees Dr. Miracle, with all of them making their way to the riot. Oillie calms the rioters down and demonstrates Miracle’s ability. Marrock takes a bite out of the Patriot leader before riding off with Green Arrow’s blessing.
That was a very anti-climatic end to this series. When Ben Percy and Szymon Kudranski took over the series, we saw how prejudiced the people of Seattle were. Now we reach the end and…same problem. The only thing that got resolved here was Olllie’s disease. REBIRTH means a new creative team. Let’s hope it feels more like classic GREEN ARROW and not a television show.
GREEN LANTERN #52: Hal is battling the Gray Agents who have commandeered his ship and that is going pretty well until Speechmaker gets hold of him and accesses his memory. When they find a memory of Star Sapphire, that sets Hal off and he turns into a construct again, causing him to lose complete control. Virgo and Trapper finally get him to come to his senses, but those results in Virgo getting taken hostage. It looks like a Mexican standoff, but Hal gives a construct gun to Trapper who manages to take down a Gray Agent and save Virgo. The Gray Agents retreat to save their wounded partner and Hal Jordan says goodbye to Trapper and Virgo.
So Hal flies off into the sunset, so to speak, and prepares to saddle up in HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS. Robert Venditti and Billy Tan do an adequate job of resolving the storyline and bringing the saga of this intergalactic trip to an end. I am still a fan of Venditti’s writing and love Tan’s art. Here’s hoping the next act for Hal is truly legendary.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS EDGE OF OBLIVION #5: We begin with a flashback of Guy Gardner's less than happy home life, which explains why Guy is the way he is. In the present, Guy realizes he was used by the World Eaters and now wants revenge. So the small band go after Dismas and Ausras, even though the ten other Lanterns are still under their control. That leads to an all-out war between Lantern factions. With Dismas and Ausras distracted, Xrill-Vrek unlocked the mind of Mogo, who blasts the pair with Lantern energy, revealing their true forms and causing the remainder of the Lanterns to snap out of the hypnotic haze.
Tom Taylor wrote it, while Scott McDaniel, Ardian Syaf, and Cliff Richards drew it. Basically, it’s an all out action issue with a lot of monologuing while fighting. It could be worse. I’ll be glad when this series ends and our Lanterns head off to their new place in the REBIRTH world.
HARLEY QUINN #28: Red Tool has taken an entire Brooklyn church hostage so he can get married to Harley. Actually, he has captured all of these people, as they are all New York City’s most wanted, including the pedophile priest. Chief Harry Spoonsdale leaves the mayor’s press conference to handle the situation. Harley knocks out Red Tool and walks out to tell the police she is not responsible for this, to which they open fire and kills or wounds most of those inside. Ordering a cease fire, the Chief walks inside to talk to Harley Quinn and Red Tool, where he cuts a deal with them. They all go on television, where the Chief introduces them as heroes, much to the ire of the mayor. Harely and Tool go to Nathan’s for some hot dogs, followed by a trip to the boardwalk and ends with Harley taking a moonlight swim while she dismisses him. Finally, Dominic finds out his son got killed in the Skate Club riot and he swears revenge on Harley.
It’s another Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti jaunt with art by John Timms and a cool dream sequences by Moritat. All in all, it’s more of what we expect every month: fart jokes, sexual jokes and overall T+ material.
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #2: Harley has staged a fake kidnapping and ends up being kidnapped by Harley Sinn and her gang. She sends out her assassins to kill off each member of Harley’s gang. The team, aware of a problem, decides to try and hide away their loved ones. Bolly Quinn sends her mom and grandma to somewhere in Astoria. Harvey Quinn puts his visiting parents up at a hotel and then goes off to meet Bolly at her family’s restaurant. Harlem Quinn is in the sights of one of Sinn’s gunmen when he is ordered to pull back. Angered, he decides to cut up some other folks, which causes Harlem take him down, before going to join Bolly and Harvey. When the bystanders try to hide his unconscious body, he ends up getting run over by a train. Harley Queens checks in on her parents before heading to the meet. Unfortunately, Sinn’s assassin is hiding behind mom and dad’s couch. Carli Quinn is also sent to the restaurant. Now that everyone is together, Sinn releases her plan: Sending a rocket launcher into the restaurant while she forces Harley to watch her gang get blown up.
Frank Tieri and Jimmy Palmiotti gives us a great story with almost no sex jokes, so I guess that tells me those are Amanda Conner’s doing. Mauricet’s art is super clean and highly delineated. Let’s put it this way: he sure knows how to draw sexy women. So, of the two Harley titles this month, this is the one that most resembles a super hero title. I like what it does and there cliff hanger is pretty cool too. I find myself looking forward to next issue.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #50: The battle for Earth rages as Grail sends a morphed Steve Trevor to attack the morphed Justice League. Even the Green Lanterns show up to join the fight. But with Superwoman uttering one word, "MAZAHS!", the baby steals Lex and Superman’s powers for himself. She is convinced that nothing can stop the Crime Syndicate now…until Grail kills her with one shot from her laser eyes much to Owlman’s dismay. Grail continues to utter "MAZAHS", stealing powers and taking down heroes at every turn. Her blast separeates Flash from the Black racer, meaning Flash could be next. Cyborg hacks into Volthoom, which allows Jessica Cruz to gain control and she steps between Barry and the Black racer, causing Power Ring to die. Grail realizes that Steve Trevor wasn't the first man to step foot on Paradise Island, so she utters the word and the baby becomes a reborn Darkseid, thanks to the Anti-Life Equation. Barda and the Furies show up to sontinue the fight for Darkseid. But Myrina realizes that her daughter has gone to far and sacrifices herself with her Grail hitting her with the Omega Beams. They go through her and into Darkseid. There is a huge explosion and Grail and baby are gone.
In the end, Hal puts his ring on Batman, which gets him out of the Mobius Chair. Jessica Cruz, not killed (that was only Volthoom) is turned into a Green Lantern. Barda explains she made a pact with the Furies and is forced to return to Apokolips, leaving Scot Free behind. Lex goes there to, seeming to be their new ruler. A dying Myrina tells Diana that she has a twin brother named Jason. Batman reveals to Hal that the Mobius chair told him there were THREE Jokers, not just one. Owlman takes control of the Mobius Chair and gets Grid to download itself into it. In space, they meet Metron and the two of them are vaporized by a mysterious figure.
Wow! That’s all I have to say is wow! Geoff Johns has given us an absolutely amazing story that wraps up the plots from the last six months or so and paves the way towards REBIRTH, as some of the closing plot pieces fall right into DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH. Jason Fabok’s art, as it has been throughout this whole storyline, is just amazing. This book, renumbered when it next appears, is poised for greatness with the arrival of REBIRTH. Bravo Geoff Johns and company for one amazing ride!
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #12: We start with a flashback to three years ago when Teri and Terry with beginning the resurrection of the Justice League. There’s the rebirth of Superman and the first inkling that Terry was totally involved with The Five. In the present, the Justice League battles the Legion of Doom, who have orders to kill all the League except for Flash. It’s revealed that Teri is Strix’ daughter and she has plans for her and she sends her and Batgirl back into the 21st Century. "To Be Continued...?" And Larfleeze? Well, he refuses to appear in a cancelled comic book.
I’m sad to say this is the end of a fun series and I will miss it dearly. Thank you Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis for leaving us with a cliffhanger, but for also giving me such a truly enjoyable time over these last two series. Special thanks to Colleen Doran for giving us a full dose of her always great looking art. Again, I can’t say anymore. Of all the titles which will drop by the wayside, this may be the one I may miss the most. Thanks for the ride, folks-it was a blast!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Son of the Revenge of the Return of More First Issues
More first issues.
ALOHA, HAWAIIAN DICK #1: This is the fourth installment in B. Clay Moore’s Hawaiian Dick series and you may be a bit confused if you are just walking into it for the first time. Here’s the quick story: in 1954, Byrd killed his younger brother, or so we are led to believe, and ended up on in Hawaii, where he took up residence as a detective. The story flashes back and forth between the 1950’s and 1972, where our hero relates his story to journalist Susan Summers. There is also a back up that introduces us to Tread Lightly, who plays a major role in the upcoming series. Moore does a great job of writing a cool noir piece while Jacob Wyatt’s equally cool the linework helps with that feel. It is fun and trippy and you can still get your hands on the previous runs as TPBs.
BLACK PANTHER #1: Wakanda, the most technologically advanced nation in the world, is in a crisis…which is better than it was during SECRET WARS. T'Challa, the Black Panther, must deal with an uprising that looks like it will completely mess up the balance of power in his country. There are subplots galore, a pair of lesbian fighters and his sister in suspended animation. All in all, it is a title filled with great promise, thanks to the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and the art of Brian Stelfreeze. Coates has said he is in this for 11 issues, so I guess we know how long this plot will last. While I admit that not everyone will find this book to their liking, I find it intriguing and am happy with the direction this character is finally getting to take after all these years.
CIVIL WAR II #0: Jennifer Walters is defending Jonathan Powers, formerly The Jester, for a crime he never committed while the President of the United States is prepping Rhodey to one day become his successor. Walters loses the case and Powers ends up getting killed in prison, causing Jennifer to question the law. The Terrigen Mists make their way to Ohio State University and it transforms two people. When they emerge, all hell breaks loose in a scene we never see. So, we get destruction and the echoes of what brought about the Super Hero Registration Act in Civil War I. Brian Michael Bendis sets things in motion with Olivier Coipel giving us great art. I found it a lackluster little introduction to what promises to be an epic storyline.
THE FIX #1:Here’s a premise: what if you wanted to go on a crime spree and you happened to be a pair of police officers. How would you do it? Welcome to THE FIX.
Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber give us a captivating, well-crafted pair of crooks who you want to hate but soon find yourself liking. This is a great little roller coaster ride for the bad guy in all of us. Oh yeah: hope you like dogs too!
GODZILLA OBLIVION #1: In IDW’s continuing use of the big green lizard, this time we have a plethora of classic Godzilla monsters like Mothra and Ghidrah running around on an alternate Earth where Godzilla is kept as a peace keeper. Joshua Fialkov, the writer behind I, VAMPIRE, and Brian Churilla bring us a fun, if not simple little tale that keep the Big G in the forefront of pop culture while waiting for the next movie to arrive. It’s not rocket science, but it is brain candy. Every now and then, you need a little brain candy.
HANNA BARBERA’S FUTURE QUEST #1: Welcome to the new age of Hanna Barbera, thanks to the crazy folks at DC. We get the very origin of Space Ghost. Then we visit with Race Bannon, Dr. Quest, along with Birdman and Avenger. Meanwhile, Jonny Quest and Hadji, along with Bandit, encounter Dr. Zin’s battle drones and that leads to the opening of a vortex containing classic HB heroes. If you were a kid in the Sixties, or have ever seen an old HB hero show on You Tube or cable, you need to buy this book. It is a loving memory brought to life by Jeff Parker, who along with Evan “Doc” Shaner, was responsible for one of the best CONVERGENCE titles. Parker, Shaner and legendary NEXUS artist Steve “The Dude” Rude, combine their talent to make this a fun title for all ages and not be bogged down with silly, cartoon stuff.
MISS FURY #1: Back in the Forties, June Tarpe Mills gave us Miss Fury: a cool female hero in the days of mostly male heroes. Corinna Bechko gives us a war-time mystery that involves some missing blueprints and it immediately feels like Forties Noir. Jonathan Lau’s art is great looking, with a touch a Jae Lee in his work. We even get Peri the Cat, who was the real life cat of Tarpe Mills. It is a fun little read that will certainly appeal to anyone who loved the pulp-era heroes like Doc Savage and The Shadow.
MOON KNIGHT #1: Poor Marc Spector. He has had his problems over the years in the comics world. He has had any number of origins and has been many people. This time around, he’s in a mental institution, where it seems that all of his adventures over the years have only been a fantasy in a journal he has kept since he was a child. Even his love Marlene is a resident here. But he is pretty sure that there are evil Egyptians out and about and that the outside world is being invade by Seth. But is it real or is he just crazy? That’s the premise in Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood’s take on this hero. Does it work? It’s kind of tough to tell. One thing is for sure: the reader will go on a wild ride where they need to decipher the clues.
NIGHTHAWK #1: If you are looking for an African alternative to The Punisher, than this is your book. Nighthawk, THIS NIGHTHAWK, is really Raymond Kane, who came here when his world was destroyed during SECRET WARS and serves with the Squadron Supreme. Where the original Nighthawk was Kyle Richmond who reformed his villainous ways and became part of The Defenders, this Nighthawk is an ultra-violent cross between Batman and The Punisher, complete with a tech-savvy sidekick. David F. Walker writes it like it’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and Ramon Villalobos does his best Steve Dillon imitation, complete with some poor guy being fed his wife’s fingers! Definitely not for the faint of heart!
POWER LINES #1: I’m a big fan of Jimmie Robinson's work, going beyond BOMB QUEEN and all the way back to CYBERZONE and CODE BLUE. SO I was really looking forward to this series. But it goes into a direct that I guess we needed but I wasn’t ready for. We get a tale of super powers, racism and classism that goes beyond the normal genre. I found the characters a bit on the bland side and can only hope that we get a bit more fleshing out with subsequent issues. I am impressed that it’s a one man show for Robinson by writing, drawing, lettering and just about everything else. Maybe he needs someone else to edit him as it could use some punching up. It could be good, but I can’t recommend it on first read.
THE PUNISHER #1: HE’S BACK! Yes, the classic kicking ass and taking names Frank Castle is back! In the hands of Becky Cloonan and Steve Dillon, our boy is back with a vengeance. Drugs flow freely and so does the blood! There is some of the wildest scenes of carnage that we have seen in some time! Cloonan, who was voted #3 of the top female artists of all time, writes a wild ride where out mostly silent vigilante just does what he does best. And Steve Dillon? C’mon-it’s Steve Freaking Dillon!
SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #1: What if you took one of the classic Hanna-Barbera properties, spun it around, and spit it out as a post apocalyptic tale? You would get SCOOBY APOCALYPSE (or the upcoming WACKY RACELAND). With Jim Lee responsible for the character designs, you know you’re going to get quality and with ever popular team of Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter contributing the story and art, you know it’s going to be out there. Daphne and Fred, have a once popular television show and they are trying to revive their ratings by revealing the ongoings at a secret government installation. Velma works for the installation and is the one who provided the tip to Fred and Daphne, while Shaggy is working as a dog trainer, developing combat read dogs. The government is producing nanites that will change the people of the world and that’s where the problem begins, with our heroes, and Scooby-the cybernetically enhanced dog, being the only beings unaffected. It’s a crazy ride that I’m pretty sure will just get better with each issue. This is highly recommended.
STEVE ROGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1: I have to confess that I haven’t read a CAPTAIN AMERICA book, except for the first Sam Wilson issue, since Steve Rogers found himself in Dimension Z and then got old. I wasn’t a fan of those issues and certainly couldn’t embrace the political correctness of the Sam Wilson Cap. But while fighting a sentient Cosmic Cube named Kobik, Steve was restored to his younger self again and has agreed to share the duties with him as they chases after Baron Zemo, the Red Skull and Kobik. With a supporting cast including Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, Jack Flag and Free Spirit, who have been dragged into this book from the Mark Gruenwald years, the team bands together to fight the good fight. Jesus Saiz’ art rocks the book and Cap looks great. I still have issue with Sharon growing old, but what can you do? Nick Spencer’s story is okay but, for anyone who hasn’t read the spoilers, the kicker comes at the end when Cap apparently kills Jack Flag and utters the immortal words “Hail Hydra”. Cap a traitor? That’s enough to keep me intrigued for another issue or two.
THUNDERBOLTS #1: Coming out of the events during AVENGERS STANDOFF: ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL, the team of bad guys made good are back in the form of The Thunderbolts. But this time, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes is in charge as they raid S.H.I.E.L.D. to wipe the records of their team from their database. After the raid, the team go to their headquarters and this book becomes a quintessential Nineties title with silly moments and quips between characters. And we add in Cosmic Cube energy creation Kobik, that thinks it’s a girl, and you end up with a book that seems to give homage to Rob Liefeld from a literary and artistic standpoint. That is the doing of Jim Zub and Jon Malin. Normally, I would be complaining, like when Scott Lobdell channels his Nineties work into TEEN TITANS. Somehow, on a weird level, this works. Of course, I was a huge THUNDERBOLTS fan anyway, so you really have to screw up that title to turn me away from it.
WILLIAM GIBSON’S ARCHANGEL #1: Here’s a fast-paced, science fiction thriller that will leave you wondering what’s next. Of course, the fact that it is written by legendary Cyberpunk creator William Gibson owes a lot to that success. Right off the bat, we have the villain of the piece, our vice president, travelling back to 1945 to take his grandfather's place. Then we jump forward to present day and then back to 1945, where we find out of an alien aircraft, actually a future aircraft, that has landed here and it is up to Naomi Givens of the RAF to investigate. One pilot is dead, but a second one lives and he carries not only the markings of 2016, but also some of the conveniences of the time. This is a great team effort by Gibson, Butch Guice and the legendary Tom Palmer that makes this a killer looking read as well as a thought provoking one. Suffice it to say, I think IDW has a winner here!
ALOHA, HAWAIIAN DICK #1: This is the fourth installment in B. Clay Moore’s Hawaiian Dick series and you may be a bit confused if you are just walking into it for the first time. Here’s the quick story: in 1954, Byrd killed his younger brother, or so we are led to believe, and ended up on in Hawaii, where he took up residence as a detective. The story flashes back and forth between the 1950’s and 1972, where our hero relates his story to journalist Susan Summers. There is also a back up that introduces us to Tread Lightly, who plays a major role in the upcoming series. Moore does a great job of writing a cool noir piece while Jacob Wyatt’s equally cool the linework helps with that feel. It is fun and trippy and you can still get your hands on the previous runs as TPBs.
BLACK PANTHER #1: Wakanda, the most technologically advanced nation in the world, is in a crisis…which is better than it was during SECRET WARS. T'Challa, the Black Panther, must deal with an uprising that looks like it will completely mess up the balance of power in his country. There are subplots galore, a pair of lesbian fighters and his sister in suspended animation. All in all, it is a title filled with great promise, thanks to the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and the art of Brian Stelfreeze. Coates has said he is in this for 11 issues, so I guess we know how long this plot will last. While I admit that not everyone will find this book to their liking, I find it intriguing and am happy with the direction this character is finally getting to take after all these years.
CIVIL WAR II #0: Jennifer Walters is defending Jonathan Powers, formerly The Jester, for a crime he never committed while the President of the United States is prepping Rhodey to one day become his successor. Walters loses the case and Powers ends up getting killed in prison, causing Jennifer to question the law. The Terrigen Mists make their way to Ohio State University and it transforms two people. When they emerge, all hell breaks loose in a scene we never see. So, we get destruction and the echoes of what brought about the Super Hero Registration Act in Civil War I. Brian Michael Bendis sets things in motion with Olivier Coipel giving us great art. I found it a lackluster little introduction to what promises to be an epic storyline.
THE FIX #1:Here’s a premise: what if you wanted to go on a crime spree and you happened to be a pair of police officers. How would you do it? Welcome to THE FIX.
Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber give us a captivating, well-crafted pair of crooks who you want to hate but soon find yourself liking. This is a great little roller coaster ride for the bad guy in all of us. Oh yeah: hope you like dogs too!
GODZILLA OBLIVION #1: In IDW’s continuing use of the big green lizard, this time we have a plethora of classic Godzilla monsters like Mothra and Ghidrah running around on an alternate Earth where Godzilla is kept as a peace keeper. Joshua Fialkov, the writer behind I, VAMPIRE, and Brian Churilla bring us a fun, if not simple little tale that keep the Big G in the forefront of pop culture while waiting for the next movie to arrive. It’s not rocket science, but it is brain candy. Every now and then, you need a little brain candy.
HANNA BARBERA’S FUTURE QUEST #1: Welcome to the new age of Hanna Barbera, thanks to the crazy folks at DC. We get the very origin of Space Ghost. Then we visit with Race Bannon, Dr. Quest, along with Birdman and Avenger. Meanwhile, Jonny Quest and Hadji, along with Bandit, encounter Dr. Zin’s battle drones and that leads to the opening of a vortex containing classic HB heroes. If you were a kid in the Sixties, or have ever seen an old HB hero show on You Tube or cable, you need to buy this book. It is a loving memory brought to life by Jeff Parker, who along with Evan “Doc” Shaner, was responsible for one of the best CONVERGENCE titles. Parker, Shaner and legendary NEXUS artist Steve “The Dude” Rude, combine their talent to make this a fun title for all ages and not be bogged down with silly, cartoon stuff.
MISS FURY #1: Back in the Forties, June Tarpe Mills gave us Miss Fury: a cool female hero in the days of mostly male heroes. Corinna Bechko gives us a war-time mystery that involves some missing blueprints and it immediately feels like Forties Noir. Jonathan Lau’s art is great looking, with a touch a Jae Lee in his work. We even get Peri the Cat, who was the real life cat of Tarpe Mills. It is a fun little read that will certainly appeal to anyone who loved the pulp-era heroes like Doc Savage and The Shadow.
MOON KNIGHT #1: Poor Marc Spector. He has had his problems over the years in the comics world. He has had any number of origins and has been many people. This time around, he’s in a mental institution, where it seems that all of his adventures over the years have only been a fantasy in a journal he has kept since he was a child. Even his love Marlene is a resident here. But he is pretty sure that there are evil Egyptians out and about and that the outside world is being invade by Seth. But is it real or is he just crazy? That’s the premise in Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood’s take on this hero. Does it work? It’s kind of tough to tell. One thing is for sure: the reader will go on a wild ride where they need to decipher the clues.
NIGHTHAWK #1: If you are looking for an African alternative to The Punisher, than this is your book. Nighthawk, THIS NIGHTHAWK, is really Raymond Kane, who came here when his world was destroyed during SECRET WARS and serves with the Squadron Supreme. Where the original Nighthawk was Kyle Richmond who reformed his villainous ways and became part of The Defenders, this Nighthawk is an ultra-violent cross between Batman and The Punisher, complete with a tech-savvy sidekick. David F. Walker writes it like it’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and Ramon Villalobos does his best Steve Dillon imitation, complete with some poor guy being fed his wife’s fingers! Definitely not for the faint of heart!
POWER LINES #1: I’m a big fan of Jimmie Robinson's work, going beyond BOMB QUEEN and all the way back to CYBERZONE and CODE BLUE. SO I was really looking forward to this series. But it goes into a direct that I guess we needed but I wasn’t ready for. We get a tale of super powers, racism and classism that goes beyond the normal genre. I found the characters a bit on the bland side and can only hope that we get a bit more fleshing out with subsequent issues. I am impressed that it’s a one man show for Robinson by writing, drawing, lettering and just about everything else. Maybe he needs someone else to edit him as it could use some punching up. It could be good, but I can’t recommend it on first read.
THE PUNISHER #1: HE’S BACK! Yes, the classic kicking ass and taking names Frank Castle is back! In the hands of Becky Cloonan and Steve Dillon, our boy is back with a vengeance. Drugs flow freely and so does the blood! There is some of the wildest scenes of carnage that we have seen in some time! Cloonan, who was voted #3 of the top female artists of all time, writes a wild ride where out mostly silent vigilante just does what he does best. And Steve Dillon? C’mon-it’s Steve Freaking Dillon!
SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #1: What if you took one of the classic Hanna-Barbera properties, spun it around, and spit it out as a post apocalyptic tale? You would get SCOOBY APOCALYPSE (or the upcoming WACKY RACELAND). With Jim Lee responsible for the character designs, you know you’re going to get quality and with ever popular team of Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter contributing the story and art, you know it’s going to be out there. Daphne and Fred, have a once popular television show and they are trying to revive their ratings by revealing the ongoings at a secret government installation. Velma works for the installation and is the one who provided the tip to Fred and Daphne, while Shaggy is working as a dog trainer, developing combat read dogs. The government is producing nanites that will change the people of the world and that’s where the problem begins, with our heroes, and Scooby-the cybernetically enhanced dog, being the only beings unaffected. It’s a crazy ride that I’m pretty sure will just get better with each issue. This is highly recommended.
STEVE ROGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1: I have to confess that I haven’t read a CAPTAIN AMERICA book, except for the first Sam Wilson issue, since Steve Rogers found himself in Dimension Z and then got old. I wasn’t a fan of those issues and certainly couldn’t embrace the political correctness of the Sam Wilson Cap. But while fighting a sentient Cosmic Cube named Kobik, Steve was restored to his younger self again and has agreed to share the duties with him as they chases after Baron Zemo, the Red Skull and Kobik. With a supporting cast including Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, Jack Flag and Free Spirit, who have been dragged into this book from the Mark Gruenwald years, the team bands together to fight the good fight. Jesus Saiz’ art rocks the book and Cap looks great. I still have issue with Sharon growing old, but what can you do? Nick Spencer’s story is okay but, for anyone who hasn’t read the spoilers, the kicker comes at the end when Cap apparently kills Jack Flag and utters the immortal words “Hail Hydra”. Cap a traitor? That’s enough to keep me intrigued for another issue or two.
THUNDERBOLTS #1: Coming out of the events during AVENGERS STANDOFF: ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL, the team of bad guys made good are back in the form of The Thunderbolts. But this time, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes is in charge as they raid S.H.I.E.L.D. to wipe the records of their team from their database. After the raid, the team go to their headquarters and this book becomes a quintessential Nineties title with silly moments and quips between characters. And we add in Cosmic Cube energy creation Kobik, that thinks it’s a girl, and you end up with a book that seems to give homage to Rob Liefeld from a literary and artistic standpoint. That is the doing of Jim Zub and Jon Malin. Normally, I would be complaining, like when Scott Lobdell channels his Nineties work into TEEN TITANS. Somehow, on a weird level, this works. Of course, I was a huge THUNDERBOLTS fan anyway, so you really have to screw up that title to turn me away from it.
WILLIAM GIBSON’S ARCHANGEL #1: Here’s a fast-paced, science fiction thriller that will leave you wondering what’s next. Of course, the fact that it is written by legendary Cyberpunk creator William Gibson owes a lot to that success. Right off the bat, we have the villain of the piece, our vice president, travelling back to 1945 to take his grandfather's place. Then we jump forward to present day and then back to 1945, where we find out of an alien aircraft, actually a future aircraft, that has landed here and it is up to Naomi Givens of the RAF to investigate. One pilot is dead, but a second one lives and he carries not only the markings of 2016, but also some of the conveniences of the time. This is a great team effort by Gibson, Butch Guice and the legendary Tom Palmer that makes this a killer looking read as well as a thought provoking one. Suffice it to say, I think IDW has a winner here!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
DC YOU Month 11, Part 2
LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #2: In the first story, Professor Stein has figured out that Jason's quantum waves are causing problems and begs them not to become Firestorm until he figures things out. His solution is to take the Firestorm Matrix away from Jason and transfer it to himself. That results in a Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein Firestorm. Oh yeah: Multiplex is loose and General Eiling is gearing up Major Force for a battle with Firestorm. And Tonya reveals that she is gay.
In the second story, Java has accidentally freed Rex Mason, which allows Metamorpho and Sapphire to make a break for it. They head to Egypt where Rex tells her how the combined powers of the Orb of Ra and a chemical her dad had used on him to kill him resulted in his new form. Inside the Pyramid of Ahk-Ton, Metamorpho places the Orb into its’ receptacle and they are transported to a strange planet. Meanwhile, Simon Stagg is visited by Kanjar Ro who reminds him of a bargain that had.
In the third tale, Sugar & Spike have been sent by Superman to his Superman shaped island and retrieve the Kryptonite he has stored there. When they arrive there, they discover the construction team being held at gunpoint by a robot toy lady and her toy followers. The duo defeat her and make their way to Superman's Kryptonite room, where they retrieve the green rock and leave. But a mysterious lady who is using the robot’s eye to spy is unknowingly watching them and threatening that this means war.
In the fourth tale, Will Magnus manages to sneak out the decommissioned Metal Men and hides at Robot Man’s heavily fortified cabin in the woods. But, since Nameless can't get the Metal Men, he hacks his way into Dr. T.O. Morrow's project Cyclone, which causes Red Tornado to attack an amusement park to try and draw the Metal Men out of hiding.
Firestorm is by Gerry Conway and Eduardo Pansica and I don’t like the fact that Martin Stein looks like Victor Garber. Sorry…I want my comics to be a little separated from the television world. The Metamorpho story is by Aaron Lopresti. It looks great, even if I’m not a fan of his Sapphire’s strong character. I’m sorry: I liked her as a bit of a lovable ditz! Sugar and Spike is by Keith Giffen and Bisques Evely and has just enough fun moments to make it worth reading. Really-a Superman shaped island? Metal Men is by Len Wein and Yildiray Cinar and, while I love these characters…and Robotman and Red Tornado too, I have a dislike that Will Magnus is as young as he is. Personally, I liked the old pipe smoking Will Magnus who had a thing going on with Platinum. All in all, eight bucks is a bit hard to swallow all in one shot, but you do get four stories for that price.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #11: Martian Manhunter and Pearl have gone through transformations and are ready to face off against Ma'alefa'ak, who has apparently killed Mr. Biscuits and buried Agent Wessel in a cave in. Ma'alefa'ak takes the Martian Child and Alicia, who will be his blood sacrifice to give life to Mars yet again. Over on Earth, Constantine, Etrigan, Zatanna, Sargon The Sorceress and Doctor Fate are at work to create a magical barrier to save Earth. Wessel believes that he's dying, but the living hand of the dead Mr. Biscuits convinces him that he needs to start acting like Martian Manhunter and he frees himself. Just as Ma'alefa'ak is ready to do the blood sacrifice with Alicia, Wessel arrives and shoves a spear through his head. The Martian Child sees Alicia ready to sacrifice herself for him and he realizes there is good qualities on Earth and drops the barrier around the planet so Martian Manhunter and Pearl can get through. But it may be too late as it seems that the planet is about to crash into Earth.
Wow! Thank you Steve Williams and Ben Oliver, filling in for Eddy Barrows, for giving us one incredible issue. Although we watch Mr. Biscuits storyline end, we do get some nice guest appearances and the end of the bad guy. Now it’s up to everyone to pull themselves together and save Earth. I feel that next issue will be a very emotional one and could be Williams’ finest hour.
MIDNIGHTER #11: Midnighter survived the explosion from last issue and wakes to find he was saved by and is being cared for by his former lover Apollo. The two of them team-up and head off to take on the various Suicide Squad members throughout the world including in Tacoma, Turkmenistan, Spyral Base, and a Suicide Squad Safe house. They take down everyone who had done Midnighter wrong before ending up in Modora, where they are ready foir a one-on-one with Bendix, who has managed to get the Kryptonian DNA he needed for the Unified.
Yes, this is one big fight issue with the loving couple back together again. It’s wild and violent thanks to the writing of Steve Orlando and the art of Aco. Next issue is a big finish and we’ll see if these do ride off into the sunset together.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #19: Adam Reed is a member of the Fist of Cain and his team of killer ninjas are eradicating a lot of Wildstorm heroes in a strange version of a game show where each hero is worth a certain number of points. Also, Reed promises the corpse of the Saint of Cain that he will personally kill Amanda Waller. And the Suicide Squad can’t escape or he will activate their neck bombs. So the surviving Wildstorm hero, Deathtrap, and the team join up to make their way through this. Meanwhile, Waller informs Mister Ashemore that she knows he is the former villainous Hunky Punk and it appears she wants him as part of the Squad. She also wakes up Captain Boomerang and it looks like a recue mission is under way.
A lot of blood and guts, a lot of action and a lot of Wildstorm heroes bite the dust.Thank you Tim Seeley and Juan Ferreyra for delivering a fun issue. And extra points for giving us a DC WHO’S WHO page featuring The Hunky Punk. Nicely played!
OMEGA MEN #11: Kyle Rayner, having seen the light, goes about buying an army to fight against the Citadel. He also gets his long lost crucifix back. Scrapps goes back to Broot's planet and forces the Pope to get her an army. Tigorr faces a trial by combat and he gains an army in the process. Primus goes on television, explains that he is a pacifist, but convinces the viewers that they need to go to war. Kalista kills her father and takes his place on the throne. The war rages for 182 until the Omega Men finally reach the home of the Citadel Empire.
Tom King and Barneby Bagenda totally bring it as this series winds down. I know many who were not fans of this run, but it did such an amazing job of redefining this team and also Kyle Rayner. I hope that his character will still maintain some of what he has learned when REBIRTH comes around. This is a series, much like PREZ, that needs to be re-examined in the future.
POISON IVY CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH #4: Catwoman is visiting Ivy and finds out that she has plant babies. Ivy also believes that her research has been stolen and that leads to Ivy, Catwoman, and Darshan breaking into the Botanical Gardens, where they find a bunch of dead researchers and Victor in the fridge. They also find a living plant girl and a bunch of failures in jars. Ivy flips out, kills Victor, and then uses her powers of the green to destroy the lab.
Amy Chu continues to write this rambling mini-series with pencils from Robson Rocha, Julio Ferreira, and Ethan Van Sciver. You know a book has issues when you have three pencillers working on it. The story just manages to promote the fact that Ivy is really not a bad girl after all. Sorry…you were a villain before DC made you into a role model for young girls!
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #11: We begin with Roy having a dream about his days with Iron Rule. He goes investigating and that leads to a final confrontation with them. Meanwhile, Jason and Duela talk about her starting school again and putting the whole concept of her being the Joker's Daughter behind her. Then he pulls out Joker’s face that she had hidden behind the baseboard and the jig is up. She dons the mask and pulls a gun
So this series is quickly coming to a merciful end. And I say merciful because the character that has been the most fun over the last few issues just got plugged in the chest. Bad move, folks…really bad move. Scott Lobdell write it and Dexter Soy drew it.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #11: Robin, Goliath, Talia Al Ghul, Maya, the League of Assassins and Batman all converge on Gorilla City where they battle Lu'un Darga and his followers. Darga gets to put the crown relic that gives him his power on and Maya, during their battle, gets transported with him to the location of the final artifact-Dinosaur Island.
While I am a fan of Ray Fawkes work, I do miss the previous creative team of Tomasi and Gleason, as they had his character nailed, stylistically and thematically. Ramon Bachs art is nowhere near as in depth as Gleason’s and it hurts the book in my opinion. It’s not that his style is bad, it just doesn’t fit the book.
SECRET SIX #12: Lady Shiva is indoctrinating Strix and that means her garden gnome has to die. She is given a text-to-speech tablet to replace her notepad and uses it because her former teammates lives are in danger if she doesn’t. Shiva sets up a test for Strix. She introduces six people who play the parts of the Secret Six and tells Strix she needs to kill each contestant within a minute or the real life Secret Six individuals will die. If she loses, they all die. In short order, she kills them all. Meanwhile, Ralph Dibney, once again the Elongated Man, has a barbecue while they figure what to do next. Catman gets a phone call from Scandal Savage and it looks like she and her friends want him for a sperm donor.
The end is near and I’ll be sad to see this really crazy series go. Gail Simone’s story has been wonderfully appealing since the first issue and Tom Derenick’s art has set the bar for great looking characters in comics. This has truly been one of my favorite if not THE favorite title from the DC YOU books introduced a year ago. It all ends next month and we can only hope that all these characters will find a place in the post REBIRTH DC Universe.
SINESTRO #22: Soranik is totally overwhelmed with the responsibility of leading the Sinestro Corps while Sinestro is still injured. But she has done some good, including sending out Lanterns to find out what happened to the Green Lantern Corps besides policing the universe in their absence. She has also agreed with her father to send out the Manhunters to search for the Lanterns. Oh wait: Dex-Starr, Bleez, Atrocitus and company are back and they take out Dez Trevius.
Cullen Bunn and Martin Coccolo bring back the Red Lanterns! Yay! Now if we could only get them to be more active in the forthcoming REBIRTH. This title is at the end of the road and it will be interesting to see where they end up in REBIRTH too. Bunn’s story is nice but not overly exciting while Coccolo’s art shines here.
STARFIRE #11: The attack is over and Kori, Stella and Atlee are enjoying some rest and relaxation, when they find out that you don’t rub Choor on the head or he will pop out little furry babies. Meanwhile, Sol is bonding with Kori’s pet Syl’Khee. The girls head home and discover a street party. Did someone say party?
What a mess! Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Elsa Charretier give us a miserable T&A title mixed with an episode of THE GILMORE GIRLS or PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. This book has so much touchy-feely girl stuff in it that I can only see it appealing to 13 year old girls. Now I know we want more women involved with comics, but if this is how to do it, then I think the industry is doomed. Maybe Kori will actually get her brain back when REBIRTH starts.
SUICIDE SQUAD MOST WANTED-DEADSHOT AND KATANA #4: Katana and the Suciide Squad has been captured by Kobra and his forces, but Captain Boomerang finds a way to get free and that leads to a bit of a tussle among the players. Kobra grabs hold of a gun from Eve and, when he fires it, it causes the neck bomb in Battleaxe’ head to go off, leading to a hasty retreat by the Squad, along with Prince Brion. They end up at Brion’s secret base where they all lick their wounds and Enchantress heals the injured cat. Later, Katana uses the sword’s powers to get a slain Kobra follower to reveal vital information. Enchantress reveals to Deadshot that she has gained Katana’s trust, which will make it easy for them to get the sword that Amanda Waller wants. Kobra’s ship arrives but it finds the signal that brought them there is not recognized, which leads them to seemingly incinerate our heroes. Meanwhile, Dr. Jace gets a special viewing of an amazing mystery.
In the Deadshot story, the new Deadshot is on a mission with the rest of the team to capture the twelve board directors running the annual red marketplace: a trade show for crooks and drug dealers. But Evans has his own agenda and begins taking out everyone in sight, which encourages the rest of the team to do the same. Unfortunately, Evans is also executing board members, totally against orders. He goes completely rogue and executes Santana, before going after the remaining board members and their helicopters. When Olivia goes to trigger his neck bomb, she discovers his trigger is missing and it costs her her life. This leaves Evans free to destroy the helicopters, killing all of the directors. In the aftermath, Waller realizes she made a mistake with bringing him on board and goes about seeing to free Floyd Lawson. But he is gone…
This series continues to baffle me. The Katana tale by Mike W. Barr and Diogenes Neves reveals some nice things about the soultaker sword we had not seen before and I love seeing Prince Brion again, especially in Barr’s hands. Can we resurrect the Outsiders, PLEASE? But the story itself is running long with no real payoff other than some fleeting moments with a bunch of C level Suicide Squad members. The Deadshot story by Brian Buccellato and Viktor Bogdanovic has been a winner since the first issue. And what started as a vendetta by Floyd to free himself from the ghosts of his past has now turned into a hunt for him AND the man who replaced him. Personally, I could go for a DEADSHOT series…again!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #28: Read ACTION COMICS #51 before you read this review. Diana and Clark discuss his pending death and that ultimately leads to…the kiss! They end up going to Stryker’s Island to check on the super-powered parolee who thinks he is Superman and it may have something to do with Clark’s acquisition of the Solar Flare. Superman goes to visit Ulysses while the parolee manages to break free, causing a power failure that frees Ulysses. The two rumble until the power eventually comes back and Ulysses realizes Superman is dying. Continued next month in BATMAN/SUPERMAN #32.
Peter J. Tomasi and Ed Benes brings us to the halfway point in THE FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN, which has now gone to second printings through DC because of the interest in this. We all know that the new REBIRTH series will feature the Pre-Flashpoint Superman and his family, so the death of this Superman is not only foretold but is going to be a reality. I’m sure the media will climb all over and that last issue will be a HUGE success. For now, it’s just a moment in time and this issue does a nice job of propelling the overall story along. Let’s face it: this was supposed to be about the Super-League Clark was going to form, but now it’s all about dealing with his own mortality.
SUPERMAN #51: The issue begins with testing himself and realizing that, after his recent battles with Rao, the exposure in the Kryptonite chamber and the fire pits of Apokolips, he is dying. He goes off to Lana Lang, informing her of what is happening to him and asking that she makes sure he is buried next to his parents. He also visits Lois Lane and asks her to tell the world about the life of Clark Kent and Superman. Meanwhile, a mysterious Chinese woman tries to hack into the Fortress of Solitude. She also has a mysterious being in a stasis tube, promising its’ the being’s time to shine. Also, an individual violating his parole gets struck by lightning and turns into a fiery looking version of Superman.
Peter J. Tomasi and Mikel Janin set into motion an arc that could possibly end with the demise of the NEW 52 Superman and give way to OUR Superman during REBIRTH. The story is pretty cool and pretty much allows out hero to begin wrapping up things in his life as he prepares to transition to the end of his life. Are they really going to bump off the NEW 52 Superman? It sure it anyone’s guess, but it definitely looks like Clark is doing what many people at the end of their lives do: make their peace and prepare for the next place in their journey. And could this individual in China be the forthcoming Chinese Superman? Pretty cool stuff!
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #7: Beginning many years ago with the beginnings of Author X's published career, we soon shift to the here and now where Jon is saving his mom from the fire that Manheim’s men have left them in. Meanwhile, Clark and Blackrock are battling and Clark just gets incredibly angry when he finds out this is all part of a reality show gone wrong. He eventually gets free and helps save Jon and Lois, leading to him having to fully explain things to Jon, who wants to know if his father is the real Superman. In the end, Hyathis confronts Chambers and Henshaw, demanding the other half of the artifact. They don’t have it, but we all see that it’s in a case…in his Fortress of Solitude.
Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks are turning out some absolutely amazing work on this title, which I have to admit, I thought would just be an attempt to cash in on these character’s appearances during CONVERGENCE. But this title has been a great surprise and it just gets me excited to see where the creators of REBIRTH are going to take this. You should be reading this book because it is that fun rush we all got back in the day of reading a FUN book!
SWAMP THING #4: Alec Holland has been returned to human form and Matt Cable is now the Swamp Thing. So it’s up to Alec to train Matt on how to be Swamp thing and how to use his new powers. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite gotten it all down, as he tears a hunter into pieces. Cable goes on his own personal one-man power trip and begins to trash the town of Houma and almost everyone in it. In the end, he makes a throne for himself and drags Alec into the ground.
Len Wein and Kelley Jones continue to try and replicate the classic days of this title by making it look and feel like the days of Wein and Wrightson. But let’s be honest: the Seventies aren’t coming back any time soon. However, they do a nice job of bringing that feeling to the title and having brought Matt Cable back was a great touch. Now, how long before we get Abby and Arcane in the picture? This title is not coming back during REBIRTH, so they better make a move and soon.
TEEN TITANS #19: Cassie has found out that she is the child of Lennox and Cassaandra wants her to use the Rod of Asclepius to bring him back to life. In actuality, Cassandra wants her to use the rod to restore her mind-controlling voice. She actually convinced herself that she wanted to save Lennox, which is how she tricked Wonder Woman’s lasso. Bunker blocks everyone’s ears with his bricks so they can’t hear her command to die. Wonder Girl dons her armor and slits her throat again. Then she uses the last wish from the rod to heal Cassandra’s throat but not her voice.
Yeah…this was fun! Greg Pak wrote the script, while Ian Churchill and Alvaro Martinez handled the pencils. While it is not a great read, it is far advanced from the work the Scott Lobdell was doing on it. I like Cassie as a character and can see how Pak has put pieces in motion for a possible future series(hint…hint).
TITANS HUNT #7: Honey Bun and Ding Dong Daddy are at Lilith’s clinic and easily taking down the Hawk and Dove. Then Lilith, Roy and Gnarrk get entangled in the fight and discover that Honey Bun and Daddy are “Strike Droids”. It takes a complete effort and a combined one, but they eventually take the droids down. Meanwhile, Bumble Bee fears for her life at the hands of Neil Richards, but suddenly manifests powers she didn’t remember she had. In the end. Nightwing, Donna Troy and Garth climb the spiral stairwell and see Mal and Mister Twister.
Dan Abnett and Paulo Siqueira just rip it up here. We all know that this is going to lead to the new TITANS series during REBIRTH. So this acts as a great lead in to that. My question will be how this will all play out with Dick, Donna and Roy living in this book along with WONDER WOMAN, NIGHTWING, and RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS. Abnett has a true love for these characters and it shows in everything he has them do. I can’t wait to see how this all ends.
WE ARE ROBIN #11: Smiley and his Jokers gang have broken into Middletown High School and are terrorizing everyone. Riko and Duke hide in the ladies room while they try to contact Izzy, who simply ignores the text. Soon, developments have hit Twitter and the police arrive. This leads Smiley to threaten to execute teachers if any police try to enter the building. Izzy finally meets up with Dalton, who is armed to the teeth with a pair of grappling guns. Inside, Dre finally reveals himself, having been undercover with the gang and he, Duke and Riko, with help from Izzy and Dalton, take down the gang. Later, The Nest appears, but the team tells him they are doing their thing their way.
We’re almost at the end here and I really don’t know if the powers that be know what they are doing with this book…or if they ever have. Lee Bermejo has tried his best to create a fun book with interesting characters. But my problem is I find almost all of them, except for Duke, to be somewhat interchangeable. And Jorge Cornoa’s obtuse art style hasn’t made me a fan either. What happens when this series ends? My guess would be the promising Robins end up as part of Batman and Batwoman’s training squad.
WONDER WOMAN #51: Diana is in the Tartarus Pit to free the Hecatonchires, but the Pit continues to bombard her with images of what she fears, like zombie versions of Zola and Zeke blaming her for not protecting them. She eventually meets with Hera, who has appeared here thanks to the orbs that Diana stole. Diana uses the lasso of truth to get them out, but they return to Mount Olympus where they find Zeke missing and Zola dead.
PLEASE…let’s get out of this and get to REBIRTH. Meredith Finsh spends an entire issue giving us Diana’s fears, including a date with Clark. But it all feels like padding. I do have to admit loving Miguel Mendonca’s art. Seriously, I like how it feels better than Mr. Finch’ art. So, the book is on its’ way to a new creative team led by Greg Rucka’s writing, and I welcome that! It can’t get much worse than this.
In the second story, Java has accidentally freed Rex Mason, which allows Metamorpho and Sapphire to make a break for it. They head to Egypt where Rex tells her how the combined powers of the Orb of Ra and a chemical her dad had used on him to kill him resulted in his new form. Inside the Pyramid of Ahk-Ton, Metamorpho places the Orb into its’ receptacle and they are transported to a strange planet. Meanwhile, Simon Stagg is visited by Kanjar Ro who reminds him of a bargain that had.
In the third tale, Sugar & Spike have been sent by Superman to his Superman shaped island and retrieve the Kryptonite he has stored there. When they arrive there, they discover the construction team being held at gunpoint by a robot toy lady and her toy followers. The duo defeat her and make their way to Superman's Kryptonite room, where they retrieve the green rock and leave. But a mysterious lady who is using the robot’s eye to spy is unknowingly watching them and threatening that this means war.
In the fourth tale, Will Magnus manages to sneak out the decommissioned Metal Men and hides at Robot Man’s heavily fortified cabin in the woods. But, since Nameless can't get the Metal Men, he hacks his way into Dr. T.O. Morrow's project Cyclone, which causes Red Tornado to attack an amusement park to try and draw the Metal Men out of hiding.
Firestorm is by Gerry Conway and Eduardo Pansica and I don’t like the fact that Martin Stein looks like Victor Garber. Sorry…I want my comics to be a little separated from the television world. The Metamorpho story is by Aaron Lopresti. It looks great, even if I’m not a fan of his Sapphire’s strong character. I’m sorry: I liked her as a bit of a lovable ditz! Sugar and Spike is by Keith Giffen and Bisques Evely and has just enough fun moments to make it worth reading. Really-a Superman shaped island? Metal Men is by Len Wein and Yildiray Cinar and, while I love these characters…and Robotman and Red Tornado too, I have a dislike that Will Magnus is as young as he is. Personally, I liked the old pipe smoking Will Magnus who had a thing going on with Platinum. All in all, eight bucks is a bit hard to swallow all in one shot, but you do get four stories for that price.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #11: Martian Manhunter and Pearl have gone through transformations and are ready to face off against Ma'alefa'ak, who has apparently killed Mr. Biscuits and buried Agent Wessel in a cave in. Ma'alefa'ak takes the Martian Child and Alicia, who will be his blood sacrifice to give life to Mars yet again. Over on Earth, Constantine, Etrigan, Zatanna, Sargon The Sorceress and Doctor Fate are at work to create a magical barrier to save Earth. Wessel believes that he's dying, but the living hand of the dead Mr. Biscuits convinces him that he needs to start acting like Martian Manhunter and he frees himself. Just as Ma'alefa'ak is ready to do the blood sacrifice with Alicia, Wessel arrives and shoves a spear through his head. The Martian Child sees Alicia ready to sacrifice herself for him and he realizes there is good qualities on Earth and drops the barrier around the planet so Martian Manhunter and Pearl can get through. But it may be too late as it seems that the planet is about to crash into Earth.
Wow! Thank you Steve Williams and Ben Oliver, filling in for Eddy Barrows, for giving us one incredible issue. Although we watch Mr. Biscuits storyline end, we do get some nice guest appearances and the end of the bad guy. Now it’s up to everyone to pull themselves together and save Earth. I feel that next issue will be a very emotional one and could be Williams’ finest hour.
MIDNIGHTER #11: Midnighter survived the explosion from last issue and wakes to find he was saved by and is being cared for by his former lover Apollo. The two of them team-up and head off to take on the various Suicide Squad members throughout the world including in Tacoma, Turkmenistan, Spyral Base, and a Suicide Squad Safe house. They take down everyone who had done Midnighter wrong before ending up in Modora, where they are ready foir a one-on-one with Bendix, who has managed to get the Kryptonian DNA he needed for the Unified.
Yes, this is one big fight issue with the loving couple back together again. It’s wild and violent thanks to the writing of Steve Orlando and the art of Aco. Next issue is a big finish and we’ll see if these do ride off into the sunset together.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #19: Adam Reed is a member of the Fist of Cain and his team of killer ninjas are eradicating a lot of Wildstorm heroes in a strange version of a game show where each hero is worth a certain number of points. Also, Reed promises the corpse of the Saint of Cain that he will personally kill Amanda Waller. And the Suicide Squad can’t escape or he will activate their neck bombs. So the surviving Wildstorm hero, Deathtrap, and the team join up to make their way through this. Meanwhile, Waller informs Mister Ashemore that she knows he is the former villainous Hunky Punk and it appears she wants him as part of the Squad. She also wakes up Captain Boomerang and it looks like a recue mission is under way.
A lot of blood and guts, a lot of action and a lot of Wildstorm heroes bite the dust.Thank you Tim Seeley and Juan Ferreyra for delivering a fun issue. And extra points for giving us a DC WHO’S WHO page featuring The Hunky Punk. Nicely played!
OMEGA MEN #11: Kyle Rayner, having seen the light, goes about buying an army to fight against the Citadel. He also gets his long lost crucifix back. Scrapps goes back to Broot's planet and forces the Pope to get her an army. Tigorr faces a trial by combat and he gains an army in the process. Primus goes on television, explains that he is a pacifist, but convinces the viewers that they need to go to war. Kalista kills her father and takes his place on the throne. The war rages for 182 until the Omega Men finally reach the home of the Citadel Empire.
Tom King and Barneby Bagenda totally bring it as this series winds down. I know many who were not fans of this run, but it did such an amazing job of redefining this team and also Kyle Rayner. I hope that his character will still maintain some of what he has learned when REBIRTH comes around. This is a series, much like PREZ, that needs to be re-examined in the future.
POISON IVY CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH #4: Catwoman is visiting Ivy and finds out that she has plant babies. Ivy also believes that her research has been stolen and that leads to Ivy, Catwoman, and Darshan breaking into the Botanical Gardens, where they find a bunch of dead researchers and Victor in the fridge. They also find a living plant girl and a bunch of failures in jars. Ivy flips out, kills Victor, and then uses her powers of the green to destroy the lab.
Amy Chu continues to write this rambling mini-series with pencils from Robson Rocha, Julio Ferreira, and Ethan Van Sciver. You know a book has issues when you have three pencillers working on it. The story just manages to promote the fact that Ivy is really not a bad girl after all. Sorry…you were a villain before DC made you into a role model for young girls!
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #11: We begin with Roy having a dream about his days with Iron Rule. He goes investigating and that leads to a final confrontation with them. Meanwhile, Jason and Duela talk about her starting school again and putting the whole concept of her being the Joker's Daughter behind her. Then he pulls out Joker’s face that she had hidden behind the baseboard and the jig is up. She dons the mask and pulls a gun
So this series is quickly coming to a merciful end. And I say merciful because the character that has been the most fun over the last few issues just got plugged in the chest. Bad move, folks…really bad move. Scott Lobdell write it and Dexter Soy drew it.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #11: Robin, Goliath, Talia Al Ghul, Maya, the League of Assassins and Batman all converge on Gorilla City where they battle Lu'un Darga and his followers. Darga gets to put the crown relic that gives him his power on and Maya, during their battle, gets transported with him to the location of the final artifact-Dinosaur Island.
While I am a fan of Ray Fawkes work, I do miss the previous creative team of Tomasi and Gleason, as they had his character nailed, stylistically and thematically. Ramon Bachs art is nowhere near as in depth as Gleason’s and it hurts the book in my opinion. It’s not that his style is bad, it just doesn’t fit the book.
SECRET SIX #12: Lady Shiva is indoctrinating Strix and that means her garden gnome has to die. She is given a text-to-speech tablet to replace her notepad and uses it because her former teammates lives are in danger if she doesn’t. Shiva sets up a test for Strix. She introduces six people who play the parts of the Secret Six and tells Strix she needs to kill each contestant within a minute or the real life Secret Six individuals will die. If she loses, they all die. In short order, she kills them all. Meanwhile, Ralph Dibney, once again the Elongated Man, has a barbecue while they figure what to do next. Catman gets a phone call from Scandal Savage and it looks like she and her friends want him for a sperm donor.
The end is near and I’ll be sad to see this really crazy series go. Gail Simone’s story has been wonderfully appealing since the first issue and Tom Derenick’s art has set the bar for great looking characters in comics. This has truly been one of my favorite if not THE favorite title from the DC YOU books introduced a year ago. It all ends next month and we can only hope that all these characters will find a place in the post REBIRTH DC Universe.
SINESTRO #22: Soranik is totally overwhelmed with the responsibility of leading the Sinestro Corps while Sinestro is still injured. But she has done some good, including sending out Lanterns to find out what happened to the Green Lantern Corps besides policing the universe in their absence. She has also agreed with her father to send out the Manhunters to search for the Lanterns. Oh wait: Dex-Starr, Bleez, Atrocitus and company are back and they take out Dez Trevius.
Cullen Bunn and Martin Coccolo bring back the Red Lanterns! Yay! Now if we could only get them to be more active in the forthcoming REBIRTH. This title is at the end of the road and it will be interesting to see where they end up in REBIRTH too. Bunn’s story is nice but not overly exciting while Coccolo’s art shines here.
STARFIRE #11: The attack is over and Kori, Stella and Atlee are enjoying some rest and relaxation, when they find out that you don’t rub Choor on the head or he will pop out little furry babies. Meanwhile, Sol is bonding with Kori’s pet Syl’Khee. The girls head home and discover a street party. Did someone say party?
What a mess! Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Elsa Charretier give us a miserable T&A title mixed with an episode of THE GILMORE GIRLS or PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. This book has so much touchy-feely girl stuff in it that I can only see it appealing to 13 year old girls. Now I know we want more women involved with comics, but if this is how to do it, then I think the industry is doomed. Maybe Kori will actually get her brain back when REBIRTH starts.
SUICIDE SQUAD MOST WANTED-DEADSHOT AND KATANA #4: Katana and the Suciide Squad has been captured by Kobra and his forces, but Captain Boomerang finds a way to get free and that leads to a bit of a tussle among the players. Kobra grabs hold of a gun from Eve and, when he fires it, it causes the neck bomb in Battleaxe’ head to go off, leading to a hasty retreat by the Squad, along with Prince Brion. They end up at Brion’s secret base where they all lick their wounds and Enchantress heals the injured cat. Later, Katana uses the sword’s powers to get a slain Kobra follower to reveal vital information. Enchantress reveals to Deadshot that she has gained Katana’s trust, which will make it easy for them to get the sword that Amanda Waller wants. Kobra’s ship arrives but it finds the signal that brought them there is not recognized, which leads them to seemingly incinerate our heroes. Meanwhile, Dr. Jace gets a special viewing of an amazing mystery.
In the Deadshot story, the new Deadshot is on a mission with the rest of the team to capture the twelve board directors running the annual red marketplace: a trade show for crooks and drug dealers. But Evans has his own agenda and begins taking out everyone in sight, which encourages the rest of the team to do the same. Unfortunately, Evans is also executing board members, totally against orders. He goes completely rogue and executes Santana, before going after the remaining board members and their helicopters. When Olivia goes to trigger his neck bomb, she discovers his trigger is missing and it costs her her life. This leaves Evans free to destroy the helicopters, killing all of the directors. In the aftermath, Waller realizes she made a mistake with bringing him on board and goes about seeing to free Floyd Lawson. But he is gone…
This series continues to baffle me. The Katana tale by Mike W. Barr and Diogenes Neves reveals some nice things about the soultaker sword we had not seen before and I love seeing Prince Brion again, especially in Barr’s hands. Can we resurrect the Outsiders, PLEASE? But the story itself is running long with no real payoff other than some fleeting moments with a bunch of C level Suicide Squad members. The Deadshot story by Brian Buccellato and Viktor Bogdanovic has been a winner since the first issue. And what started as a vendetta by Floyd to free himself from the ghosts of his past has now turned into a hunt for him AND the man who replaced him. Personally, I could go for a DEADSHOT series…again!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #28: Read ACTION COMICS #51 before you read this review. Diana and Clark discuss his pending death and that ultimately leads to…the kiss! They end up going to Stryker’s Island to check on the super-powered parolee who thinks he is Superman and it may have something to do with Clark’s acquisition of the Solar Flare. Superman goes to visit Ulysses while the parolee manages to break free, causing a power failure that frees Ulysses. The two rumble until the power eventually comes back and Ulysses realizes Superman is dying. Continued next month in BATMAN/SUPERMAN #32.
Peter J. Tomasi and Ed Benes brings us to the halfway point in THE FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN, which has now gone to second printings through DC because of the interest in this. We all know that the new REBIRTH series will feature the Pre-Flashpoint Superman and his family, so the death of this Superman is not only foretold but is going to be a reality. I’m sure the media will climb all over and that last issue will be a HUGE success. For now, it’s just a moment in time and this issue does a nice job of propelling the overall story along. Let’s face it: this was supposed to be about the Super-League Clark was going to form, but now it’s all about dealing with his own mortality.
SUPERMAN #51: The issue begins with testing himself and realizing that, after his recent battles with Rao, the exposure in the Kryptonite chamber and the fire pits of Apokolips, he is dying. He goes off to Lana Lang, informing her of what is happening to him and asking that she makes sure he is buried next to his parents. He also visits Lois Lane and asks her to tell the world about the life of Clark Kent and Superman. Meanwhile, a mysterious Chinese woman tries to hack into the Fortress of Solitude. She also has a mysterious being in a stasis tube, promising its’ the being’s time to shine. Also, an individual violating his parole gets struck by lightning and turns into a fiery looking version of Superman.
Peter J. Tomasi and Mikel Janin set into motion an arc that could possibly end with the demise of the NEW 52 Superman and give way to OUR Superman during REBIRTH. The story is pretty cool and pretty much allows out hero to begin wrapping up things in his life as he prepares to transition to the end of his life. Are they really going to bump off the NEW 52 Superman? It sure it anyone’s guess, but it definitely looks like Clark is doing what many people at the end of their lives do: make their peace and prepare for the next place in their journey. And could this individual in China be the forthcoming Chinese Superman? Pretty cool stuff!
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #7: Beginning many years ago with the beginnings of Author X's published career, we soon shift to the here and now where Jon is saving his mom from the fire that Manheim’s men have left them in. Meanwhile, Clark and Blackrock are battling and Clark just gets incredibly angry when he finds out this is all part of a reality show gone wrong. He eventually gets free and helps save Jon and Lois, leading to him having to fully explain things to Jon, who wants to know if his father is the real Superman. In the end, Hyathis confronts Chambers and Henshaw, demanding the other half of the artifact. They don’t have it, but we all see that it’s in a case…in his Fortress of Solitude.
Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks are turning out some absolutely amazing work on this title, which I have to admit, I thought would just be an attempt to cash in on these character’s appearances during CONVERGENCE. But this title has been a great surprise and it just gets me excited to see where the creators of REBIRTH are going to take this. You should be reading this book because it is that fun rush we all got back in the day of reading a FUN book!
SWAMP THING #4: Alec Holland has been returned to human form and Matt Cable is now the Swamp Thing. So it’s up to Alec to train Matt on how to be Swamp thing and how to use his new powers. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite gotten it all down, as he tears a hunter into pieces. Cable goes on his own personal one-man power trip and begins to trash the town of Houma and almost everyone in it. In the end, he makes a throne for himself and drags Alec into the ground.
Len Wein and Kelley Jones continue to try and replicate the classic days of this title by making it look and feel like the days of Wein and Wrightson. But let’s be honest: the Seventies aren’t coming back any time soon. However, they do a nice job of bringing that feeling to the title and having brought Matt Cable back was a great touch. Now, how long before we get Abby and Arcane in the picture? This title is not coming back during REBIRTH, so they better make a move and soon.
TEEN TITANS #19: Cassie has found out that she is the child of Lennox and Cassaandra wants her to use the Rod of Asclepius to bring him back to life. In actuality, Cassandra wants her to use the rod to restore her mind-controlling voice. She actually convinced herself that she wanted to save Lennox, which is how she tricked Wonder Woman’s lasso. Bunker blocks everyone’s ears with his bricks so they can’t hear her command to die. Wonder Girl dons her armor and slits her throat again. Then she uses the last wish from the rod to heal Cassandra’s throat but not her voice.
Yeah…this was fun! Greg Pak wrote the script, while Ian Churchill and Alvaro Martinez handled the pencils. While it is not a great read, it is far advanced from the work the Scott Lobdell was doing on it. I like Cassie as a character and can see how Pak has put pieces in motion for a possible future series(hint…hint).
TITANS HUNT #7: Honey Bun and Ding Dong Daddy are at Lilith’s clinic and easily taking down the Hawk and Dove. Then Lilith, Roy and Gnarrk get entangled in the fight and discover that Honey Bun and Daddy are “Strike Droids”. It takes a complete effort and a combined one, but they eventually take the droids down. Meanwhile, Bumble Bee fears for her life at the hands of Neil Richards, but suddenly manifests powers she didn’t remember she had. In the end. Nightwing, Donna Troy and Garth climb the spiral stairwell and see Mal and Mister Twister.
Dan Abnett and Paulo Siqueira just rip it up here. We all know that this is going to lead to the new TITANS series during REBIRTH. So this acts as a great lead in to that. My question will be how this will all play out with Dick, Donna and Roy living in this book along with WONDER WOMAN, NIGHTWING, and RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS. Abnett has a true love for these characters and it shows in everything he has them do. I can’t wait to see how this all ends.
WE ARE ROBIN #11: Smiley and his Jokers gang have broken into Middletown High School and are terrorizing everyone. Riko and Duke hide in the ladies room while they try to contact Izzy, who simply ignores the text. Soon, developments have hit Twitter and the police arrive. This leads Smiley to threaten to execute teachers if any police try to enter the building. Izzy finally meets up with Dalton, who is armed to the teeth with a pair of grappling guns. Inside, Dre finally reveals himself, having been undercover with the gang and he, Duke and Riko, with help from Izzy and Dalton, take down the gang. Later, The Nest appears, but the team tells him they are doing their thing their way.
We’re almost at the end here and I really don’t know if the powers that be know what they are doing with this book…or if they ever have. Lee Bermejo has tried his best to create a fun book with interesting characters. But my problem is I find almost all of them, except for Duke, to be somewhat interchangeable. And Jorge Cornoa’s obtuse art style hasn’t made me a fan either. What happens when this series ends? My guess would be the promising Robins end up as part of Batman and Batwoman’s training squad.
WONDER WOMAN #51: Diana is in the Tartarus Pit to free the Hecatonchires, but the Pit continues to bombard her with images of what she fears, like zombie versions of Zola and Zeke blaming her for not protecting them. She eventually meets with Hera, who has appeared here thanks to the orbs that Diana stole. Diana uses the lasso of truth to get them out, but they return to Mount Olympus where they find Zeke missing and Zola dead.
PLEASE…let’s get out of this and get to REBIRTH. Meredith Finsh spends an entire issue giving us Diana’s fears, including a date with Clark. But it all feels like padding. I do have to admit loving Miguel Mendonca’s art. Seriously, I like how it feels better than Mr. Finch’ art. So, the book is on its’ way to a new creative team led by Greg Rucka’s writing, and I welcome that! It can’t get much worse than this.
DC YOU Month 11, Part 1
ACTION COMICS #51: Read the synopsis for BATMAN SUPERMAN #31 first. Superman breaks into the Department of Extra-Normal Operations and saves Supergirl, although she is far from happy about it. She explains that she was having issues with her powers being drained and D.E.O. was trying to solve the problem when he came busting in. He explains that he is dying and he gives her the key to the Fortress of Solitude. That is when Wonder Woman shows up and wants to know why he hasn’t told her about his problem. Meanwhile, the surviving Chinese Dragon returns to Dr. Omen, who cuts off the Dragon’s hand which is covered in Superman's blood. Also, the parolee with the powers shows up at the Daily Planet and causes a world of mayhem, including using his heat vision to kill three security guards. Luckily, Lois knows how to use a taser.
Peter J. Tomasi and Paul Pelletier gives us the third chapter in what may be Superman’s last stand. I love that we have dropped the D.E.O. and Cameron Chase back into the mix…can we get her into the REBIRTH world? Tomasi’s story is great, especially with Lois zapping the big bad guy with the taser. And Pelletier’s art looks great, especially with Sandra Hope Archer inking him. Head on over to SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #28 for Part Four.
AQUAMAN #51: Scavenger gets a call from an FBI informant, telling him that Aquaman is hunting for him. Going back 12 hours earlier, we find that Jonah Payne, the man who was Dead Water, is being interrogated an, in its’ own way, being tortured. Payne is in a container that allows him to have no access to any water. The FBI shows up and Mera tells Payne that Dead Water has killed a bunch of people who allegedly wronged him, including his ex-wife. The last thing he remembers was working salvage for a guy named Peter Mortimer-The Scavenger. Arthur goes off after him and ends up being subdued by his huge aqua suit. Meanwhile, Payne breaks down and manages to crack his container, which also allows him to cry over his dead wife. That leads to Dead Water coming back.
Dan Abnett and Vicente Cifuentes continue to bring this arc to a conclusion before the NEW 52 becomes REBIRTH. Abnett’s story is fun, with Aquaman being tough as nails. And the appearance of The Scavenger was killer. Cifuentes is not Paul Pelletier, but his art style is pretty darned close. This book hasn’t had this much momentum since the first few issues. Hopefully, when it goes to twice a month during REBIRTH, this will continue. After all, Marvel’s answer to the King of the Sea is dead.
BATGIRL #50: We start three hours from now and it looks like the end for Batgirl. Back in the present, Fugue has put together a team made up of Dagger Type, Velvet Tiger, Killer Moth, The Jawbreakers and Corporal Punishment to go after Batgirl and her friends. From here, it’s a whole series of fight scenes between Batgirl’s friends and the villains. Batgirl finds out that Fugue is doing all of this just to be able to rob the Gotham Bank. She arrives and he tries to use her Neural Implant against her, so she uses the edge of her Batarang to cut into her head and disable the implant. This brings us back to the beginning of the book and Fugue shoots Batgirl, allegedly killing her. But it turns out that she has him in one of his tubes and has implanted false memories into him. In the end, Frankie patches up Barbara and introduces her to the new headquarters of Batgirl and Operator.
So, Brenden Fletcher and Cameron Stewart with art from Babs Tarr, Roger Robinson, John Timms, Eleonora Carlini, James Harvey, and Stewart, bring this story arc to an end and prepare to turn over the reigns of this series to a new direction come June. What was one book will become two as BLACK CANARY leaves the schedule and BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY arrives. I have not been a fan of this series since Fletcher and company took over and have been pretty vocal about it. A sleek and sexy super-heroine seemed to get young and just did not appeal to me. There was actually a point where I hope we would go back to Pre-Flashpoint Batgirl as Oracle. Now we will see what we get.
BATGIRL #51: We begin with spoiler chasing after a stolen SWAT van and it seems that Gladius is back in town. Unfortunately, Barbara gets wind of the fact that Frankie is running ops behind her back involving Qadir and chews her out for her troubles.While Black Canary is in Poland digging into the plot and the plot involves breaking out Gladius Commander. Batgirl arrives on the scene, but can’t keep her from getting away. Following this, Barbara asks Alysia to run Gordon Clean Energy and tells Luke and Frankie that she has to go away for a while. She also runs across Olive and Maps while she is in the Gotham Library doing research. The bad news is that Black Canary and Vixen arrive to let the cast know that Gladius Commander wants revenge on Barbara’s family and friends.
Brenden Fletcher is the only person left from the “critically acclaimed” BATGIRL run and he’s done a nice job with handling his character. In fact, I actually like this issue better than most because he has done a good job of bringing other Bat characters into the mix. Eleonora Carlini, Minkyu Jung, and Roger Robinson handle the art here and they are all just doing their best to look like Babs Tarr. But I want to know when Black Canary’s hair turned white!
BATMAN #51: This issue is all about different views of what Gothan really is. But we begin with Alfred and Bruce in the Batcave and Alfred has two hands again thanks to crazy Quilt’s Healing Stitch. While out on patrol, the power goes out in Gotham and that means the Dark Knight is going about to find out why. This takes him through Arkham, the Labyrinth of the Owls, the Iceberg Casino, Black Mask, Great White Shark, and someone who used to be the Joker. In the end, he meets with a columnist for the Gotham Gazette who writes a column called “Gotham Is”. In the end, the power outage was just a power outage.
I’m sorry: I thought last issue was Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s last. At least that was the word on the street. Anyway, it’s nice to see them together here again and this is a low-key but fun issue that is more about characterization than action. It looks great and it’s obviously these two have big shoes to fill with REBIRTH. But it was cool to see Bats in drag with the Court of the Owls!
BATMAN BEYOND #11: Batman has survived his apparent death last issue by using a cloaking device in the suit to escape and it was thanks to Matt McGinnis yelling C-3 that helped to activate it. At this point, Matt and the Bat are going to attempt to free Superman, specifically Superman’s son Jon. But Dr. Cuvier activates him first and sets him to kill Matt, but Tuftan breaks Cuvier's mind control remote, which puts the Man of Steel back into a right mind. That also leads to the rest of the League being freed from their mind control. The Justice League head to Neo Gotham and convince the rioters to stop their actions, bringing peace to Neo Gotham. But, in the end, Rewire is talking to his mysterious boss concerning conquering Neo Gotham while the Justice League are trying to rebuild Earth.
Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang just keep making this series such a delight to me. I was not reading the previous series and wasn’t ever a fan of the television show. But the coolness of this series, especially over the last six issues, has made me a believer who is now searching for the DVDs. I can’t wait to see where this series will go with REBIRTH.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #31: Read the review of SUPERMAN #51 first! We find Superman heading to Gotham to see Batman and explain to him that he is dying. Batman insists he can help save him, as he was able to bring Damian back from the dead. All he wants is help in finding his cousin Kara. Over in Metropolis, a flaming Superman, who is really a parole violator who THINKS he is Superman, rescues some people from a fire and seems to think he knows Jimmy Olsen. In the end, Superman and Batman encounter The Four Pillars of the Chinese Zodiac, who implode rather than be captured. That means, with all the questions swirling about, Superman needs to get to National City to rescue his cousin.
Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke give us a killer second chapter in THE FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN arc. There are some great moments throughout, especially between Batman and Superman. The introduction of the creatures of the Chinese Zodiac adds a nice little bit of intrigue to where this whole thing is going with REBIRTH and I love we finally get to see Supergirl again in our own time. Of course, I am curious to see how we’re going to get the explanation of how she ended up back here.
BLACK CANARY #10: Dinah meets with Barbara Gordon, who is fangirling all over the place because her friend is in the band Black Canary. They end up together, investigating an old recording studio where they are searching for clues about Dinah’s mother. The “ninja death cult” shows up and fights our heroes, as they want to get their hands on the Five Heavens Palm. Batgirl gets taken down and Greyeyes insists Dinah show him the Five Heavens Palm or he will have Batgirl killed. She shows him another move and that just buys Barabara time, who has now taken out his minions, leading to a one on one between them. Dinah wins, leading to Greyeyes committing suicide. In the end, Barbara, Frankie and Dinah go off to try and save the band, as it appears they may be walking into a trap.
Brendan Fletcher writes this issue alone with art by Moritat and Sandy Jarrell. This series has bounced around from really good to really bad and this is certainly somewhere between the two. The story rolls along nicely in the recording studio scenes until we get this dumb fight, a self-immolation, and a rushed ending. All in all, I look forward to seeing Dinah hooked up with Oliver Queen in the forthcoming GREEN ARROW series after REBIRTH.
BLACK CANARY #11: Dinah heads off from Burnside to Berlin where she is looking to free her band from the German ninja cult that is holding them captive in suburban Berlin. She arrives at Club Unverhofft Kommt Oft to find the band playing backup for Izak Orato, who has hypnotized the band with a strange German song. He then proceeds to do the same to her until she sees Ditto in the crowd and that makes then all wake from their slumber. As they fall through a trap door and into a hall of mirrors, he shows her visions of her past. She unleashes a Canary Cry that not only shatters the mirrors but reveals Orato as a monster with a great big mouth in his chest. She gets outside and joins Vixen in battle against the ninjas. Dinah’s aunt arrives and then runs a samurai sword through Dinah, before revealing herself as Orato.
Because of the dreaded deadline doom, we get two issues this month as this titles races towards its’ end. Brenden Fletcher and Sandy Jarrell combine to give us a wild story with a great cliffhanger ending! I am really dying to see how Fletcher writes himself out of this one.
BLOODLINES #1: In the quiet town of Pine Ridge, we meet Eddie: a young man who suffers from a degenerative disease that has him needing crutches to walk. On his way to school, his friend Graham gives him a ride and it turns out to be a semi-regular day at school for him. We also meet Dana, Faith, Haley, and Ricky-the rest of the supporting cast. That night, the students of Pine Ridge High School are having a party when this strange deer-beast creature bursts onto the scene and begins attacking the kids. Eddie gets angry and transforms into a big blue creature with red eyes and destroys the creature by tearing it’s head off. Unfortunately, it’s too late to save his buddy Graham.
What the heck is this all about? Based on the title, I thought it might possibly have a connection to the old series of the same name from back in the day. But, apparently I was wrong. Or not. This six issue mini-series will obviously continue on even after REBIRTH begins, so maybe there is a chance it will tie into REBIRTH. J.T. Krul wrote it and V. Ken Marion is responsible for the art, which is very much like Brett Booth in style. My curiosity is piqued and that means I will read the next issue to see where this is going.
CATWOMAN #51: We begin with a new report announcing the imminent death of Black Mask’s father, Richard Sionis. That takes us back to a flashback where Selina and a guy named David are pulling a credit scam at Richard Sionis’ expense. It comes back to bite them, however, as they get stopped by the False Face Society and their leader, Richard Sionis. Back in the present, Catwoman almost has a run in with the False Face Society and their new leader, White Mask, as he grabs the Faceless Mask She goes off to spy on the group and finds out that White Mask is actually her old friend David, who is supposed to be dead. In the end, Black Mask, dressed as a a nurse, visits his dying father and finishes the job.
Creepy…very, very creepy! I love it! Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda do a great job of weaving the past and the present together and leaving the mystery of the not-dead David as a mystery. Black Mask, White Mask and the False Face Society: this is a war waiting to explode. And I can’t wait!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #11: Constantine is in Los Angeles and he is not happy. He storms into a Hollywood party being thrown by the Archangel Gabriel. John is looking for help concerning the Neron problem, but Gabriel has more important things on his mind and refuses to help. So Constantine ends up at an amusement park with his old friend Bartleby. John says that he is through with trying to save New York City…until Bartleby reminds him that his boyfriend Oliver is still in New York City. He heads off to Declan’s Bar & Grill to drown his sorrows and ends up being possessed by Deadman, who kidnaps his body and forces him back to New York City, where he finds out that Oliver’s daughters have been kidnapped.
Ming Doyle & James Tynion IV gives us this continuously weird story while Travel Foreman provides the art. This book is soon going to be like the television show: missing an audience because it has been pulled from the lineup, although he will be back in a new book after REBIRTH begins. I would like to say I’m happy, but I really wanted this series to work out. John Constantine is a legendary con man and anti-hero. For him to go from being a lovesick puppy drooling over his Justice League Dark teammate to looking to shag with anything that moves. Maybe the next time around the powers that be will actually get it right.
CYBORG #10: Victor and his dad get to spend some quality time with Victor’s “mom” before he turns himself over to Holmes, who is going to experiment on him, even though it’s illegal according to the Cybernetics Act. It turns out the Holmes is really being controlled by the Technosapiens and that Victor’s mother is really a creation of the Technosapiens. But Victor is one step ahead and has managed to infect the Technosapiens systems, making them easy pickings for Cyborg and Shazam. In the end, Victor destroys the hologram that wasn’t his mother.
Marv Wolfman: the Eighties called and they want their plot devices back. Sorry…I have always been a huge fan of Wolfman but this issue just didn’t do it for me. Too many cliches, too predictable (there was a whole conversation between Vic’s father and his “mother” that just tipped off the “something’s not right” radar early on). Ivan Reis did the layouts while Felipe Watanabe, Daniel Hdr and Julio Ferreira did the pencils.
DEATHSTROKE #17: Slade has been captured by Lawman, who he discovers is his old partner Wardell Chambers, who was killed on a mission many years ago. Well, apparently he is not, as he is here and now has mind control powers that he has used to manipulate the hatred in Slade’s daughter Rose. The two begin a fight to the death that is interrupted by Red Hood, who has come to help out Deathstroke while Snakebite assist Lawman. But Lawman uses his powers to convince Red Hood that Batman has arrived and needs his help, which leads to a battle between the two again. In the process, Rose gets run through by Lawman and so does Slade. It looks like she is done until the pair disappear before the villains’ eyes thanks to a bit of mind control from Jericho who introduces his father to Ra’s al Ghul.
Things look like they’re going from bad to worse for Slade Wilson. Not only are he and his daughter seriously wounded, his estranged son has now brought him to Ras al Ghul himself. James Bonny and Tyler Kirkham give us a great issue that sets up for the big finish next month.
DETECTIVE COMICS #51: An old Marine buddy of Jim Gordon warns him about stuff going down from their past. That doesn’t last long as his friend is killed and his killer takes himself out with a foaming mouth suicide. After finding out that his friend and his killer had large strips of flesh stripped off their body. Gordon heads off to Afghanistan and he meets up with some of the Marines who know about what is going on with their comrades dying. He ends up doing some Batman style investigation and ends up at a meeting between Colonel Stone and one of the followers of Amun-Set who wants Gordon and all the rest dead. Gordon heads out in the desert and gets caught in a sandstorm. That is when we find out that Gordon and his fellow servicemen interrupted a ritualistic torture chamber.
Peter Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin give us what started to feel like a fill-in issue, but by the end, we realize that this is just the first act in the final arc before REBIRTH. The story is Tomasi’s typical solid writing and, of course, Pasarin just knocks it out of the park, especially with Matt Ryan inking him. The book just looks amazing! I can’t wait to see how Tomasi gets this out and makes the transition to REBIRTH, with Bruce back in the costume.
DOCTOR FATE #11: Khalid has been captured by the ghosts of Caesar and his Roman soldiers and they have brought him to a General who has great interest on his amulet. Unfortunately for the general, it does have a magical power that burns him when he tries to take it for himself. That angers the general and he demands that the ghosts eliminate Doctor Fate. Khalid figures out that the general has the knife that killed Caesar and that is what is giving him his power over them. Khalid uses his powers to free the knife from the general and that causes the ghosts to go to their rest. Without his ghosts, the general is powerless and is captured by Khalid. Good thing too as he has received word that he is about to get kicked out of school. Meanwhile, Khlaid’s mom and Puck the cat have a talk.
Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew have struggled through this series and it has never made a foothold in DC’s Universe. Personally, I think it has to do with the character, as Levitz has tried too hard to make him a Peter Parker clone. It has never really worked for me and I have never really warmed up to Liew’s art style. I will be curious to see what happens with REBIRTH. When Doctor fate gets introduced, who wears the helm?
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #11: Red Arrow and Ted Grant come charging through a window to try and save Batman from Hourman, but he has already found a way to take him down by using Anti-Miraclo. So Batman sends Arrow and Ted after Kyle Nimbus and they take him down as a team. Meanwhile, Green Lantern sets up a meeting between the soon to be warring Governors, but they blame Lantern and the Wonders for everything, including the fact that their planet is barren. Because of this, Sato, Steel and Sandman issue Martial Law and that means killing anyone who gets out of hand. In the end, Fury tells Hawkgirl how almost everyone on the Aphrodite died of radiation poisoning so she used the Pandora vessel to merge the souls of the Amazonians the dead to save them both.
Dan Abnett continues his run on this title, with Federico Dallocchio handling the art duties. I so wish I could love this series but I just don’t love these characters and it feels like Abnett is trying to put a Band-Aid on this book to keep it from getting worse. The characters got really flat at the end of the last series and now it just seems like it’s all going to hell for our heroes. There is a future for EARTH 2 in REBIRTH. I just hope it’s the CLASSIC EARTH 2!
THE FLASH #50: The Flash has been captured by the Rogues so Captain Frye has him sent to Iron Heights. Barry’s dad hears a radio report about it and immediately calls in a favor. Girder and Overload break loose and take the Flash with them, thanks to that phone call from Henry Allen. As Iron Heights loses power and an explosion almost kills Frye, Barry now has to deal with a whole bunch of loose convicts. The Rogues get involved but the Trickster has betrayed them in favor of supporting the person who has Heat Wave: The Riddler. In the back-up, we see Wally West understanding what makes up the Speed Force from his future self.
Van Jensen, with Jesus Merino and Paul Pelletier, handled the main story while Jensen and Joe Eisma did the back-up. The back-up was obviously a great lead in for Wally West’s new role in REBIRTH. The big bang was in the main story where we see that The Riddler is the bad guy here. Boy, for a guy who was a low grade, although classic, Batman villain, he sure has made a name for himself in the new 52. One more issue to go and then it’s REBIRTH time for the Fastest Man Alive.
GOTHAM ACADEMY #17: In YEARBOOK PART FOUR, Maps is freaking out because Robin broke in and took her book. This leads to a tale where the gang meets up with Heathcliff, who is acting as road manager for Black Canary. He then goes to talk to his crush, Pomeline, and they go off for a walk, where he hands her a special cassette tape that Lord Byron made for her and also autographed. He decides to play her a song, but she runs off, listening to him from inside her room. Then we get the story of Maps and Olive running into Teekl, who is in the process of bringing Klarion back his first spell book. Then we get the tale of what happened to the Gilkey Warlocks, who called forth a creature while playing a game of Serpents and Spells and were never heard from again. In the end, they might have another meeting real soon with a Robin who is doing his best to hide in plain sight.
We’re almost at the end here, as there is one more chapter to go in YEARBOOK. This issue was kind of fun and was brought to us by Brendan Fletcher, Adam Archer, Annie Wu, Michael Dialynas and David Peterson. It is a wonderful mix of writing and illustrated style here and my favorite piece was seeing Klarion come back in something resembling his CLASSIC FORM.
GRAYSON #19: Doctor Dredalus has return and his daughters are a bit upset about it, especially because Luka is tasked with killing her sister. But she is not dead and Dredalus kills Luka. Max Lord shows up and tells Netz he will save her if she turns over the Minos Files and reveals that he created Mister Minos and Minos is Max. She deletes the files as she dies, leaving Lord empty handed after all. Elsewhere, Dick and Tiger, who is working for Checkmate, fight it out while Midnighter, having seen that all that has happened was about bringing Doctor Dredalus back, splits the scene. In the end, Dick confronts Doctor Dredalus, who is in the body of Helena.
Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly take over the story, Roge Antonio has taken over the art, and that means this issue is a big disappointment. The story is fun, however, as the sisters die, Helena needs to be saved from Doctor Dredalus, Tiger is working for the bad guys and Max Lord proves, once again, that he is a major player in the world…and not in a good way. This is the penultimate issue that will wrap next month and lead to Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing again.
GREEN ARROW #51: Green Arrow, Emiko and George have been captured by an African militia who plan on ransoming our heroes. They also have Doctor Miracle, who they are using to heal their various injuries. Deathstroke is also here as he wants Doctor Miracle too, so that means he’s blasting his way through the camp. Slade kills all the militia and that leads to him killing Green Arrow. Really? Yeah-big old knife in the chest as Deathstroke captures Doctor Miracle.
Ush…that was a long issue with not much happening. Ben Percy has painted Ollie into a corner that I’m pretty sure that Doctor Miracle will get him out of and, I’m sure, will purge him of his current wolf illness. The highlight here is Szymon Kudranski’s art. Actually…that was the ONLY highlight here. Sorry…I didn’t need another Deathstroke book!
GREEN LANTERN #51: Hal is a green construct of what he was recently in space but doesn’t know who he really is. His brother Jim fills the construct in on Hal’s history Jordan, which finally convinces Hal to become Hal again. Now that he has become himself again, he decides that he needs to find the Green Lantern Corps and he leaves Earth. Out in space, Trapper and Virgo are being attacked by the Gray Agents and Darlene is getting disabled. They get transported to the Gray Agent's ship, where they decide to head to Earth. But Hal shows up and is preparfed to make sure that doesn’t happen.
I totally love Robert Venditti’s work, but this is not his best work. The whole Hal as a construct part of the story, complete with life history that tied up the first half dozen pages of the book was annoying. Then we have three pages of Hal deciding that he must search for the lost Lanterns…how did he know they were missing? And the rest of the book revisits a pair we haven’t seen in ages. On the plus side, Rafa Sandoval’s art is really great!
GREEN LANTERN CORPS EDGE OF OBLIVION #4: As Kilowog tells Guy that he was right to be concerned about protecting these aliens, the team gets beat up while fighting against Marniel. But Xrill-Vrek reveals that Marniel isn't the villain here, but that Ausras and Dismas are. It also seems that they can control minds and that leads to Guy want to have the rest of the Lanterns protect them.
Well, now that we have lost Ethan Van Sciver to the REBIRTH project, we get Aaron Kuder. That’s not a bad thing, but he’s not Ethan Van Sciver. Tom Taylor continues to write the book and the fact that we’re now two-thirds of the way through the series and we get the big reveal makes me a bit upset. Did I really just waste three issues of my reading life only to find out that this was a swerve? Looks like!
HARLEY QUINN #27: Harley battles Red Tool, but he gasses the place and takes her with him, singing all the while. He takes her to the top of the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel where he feeds her Nate Man’s hot dogs and fries. He starts to show her his secret origin, but the battery on his phone dies, leading to Harley eventually getting free and dumping him out of the Ferris wheel. Once she gets back to her Gang of Harleys, she finds out that what she thought was a bruise on her but is actually a phone number that Red Tool tattooed on her posterior. This leads her to a certain address where she discovers that Red Tool has set up their wedding day.
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, with art by John Timms, continue with their brand of sophomoric satire, complete with Red Tool being their version of Deadpool. It’s more of the same old same old. You will either like it or not. It’s not Chaucer, but it has it’s moments.
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #1: Meet the Gang of Harleys! We have Erica Zhang as Harley Queens, Antonia Moore as Harlem Harley, Shona Choudhury as Bolly Quinn, Harvey McPherson as Harvey Quinn, Carlita Alvarez as Carli Quinn, Hannah Borgman as Hanuquinn, and Holly Hamden as Coach. There job is to protect Coney Island from all manner of annoying people. Harley goes into a Port-a-Potti to drop a deuce and disappears. Apparently, she has been kidnapped right off the potty! The team takes to the town, going to Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island too in search of their fearless leader. In the end, it seems there is a new Harley in town-Harley Sinn
The first thing you notice is that Amanda Conner is nowhere to be seen and that makes all the difference. Jimmy Palmiotti and Frank Tieri wrote this and that means there are nowhere near as many off-color jokes in here (except for a reference about playing with her beaver). So I guess we know who the dirty one is in the Palmiotti household! Mauricet provides the art and it looks good. Of course, when you fill a book with that many scantily clad women(and one man), how could it not look good?
HARLEY QUINN AND THE SUICIDE SQUAD APRIL FOOL’S SPECIAL #1: Harley gets an invitation to join a villain support group called Evil Anonymous and she decides that she will actually use her psychiatrist’s degree to help the villains. She tries to subdue Man-Bat and gets knocked out in the process. She ministers to Enchantress, Ratcatcher, Starro, Toyman, Poison Ivy , Killer Moth and more. But then the Justice League busts in an captures her. This reveals that she has been dreaming all of this, as she has been under the hypnotic control of Amanda Waller. She is about to become part of the NEW NEW SUICIDE SQUAD, coming in June, starring Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Killer Croc and Katana.
While I did find parts of it humorous, I wouldn’t call it an April Fool’s Special. Rob Williams wrote it, which makes for a nice change from the usual Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti hijinx. However, it all just ends up being a lead-in for the June REBIRTH title. Sean “Cheeks” Galloway provides the bulk of this issue, as his cartoony style provides the fantasy piece where Harley does her therapy. The real highlight here is getting 20 pages of beautiful Jim Lee art. Lee is the guy responsible for the new series in June, so let’s hope that his stay will be lengthy, because this stuff looks awesome!
HARLEY QUINN’S BIG BLACK BOOK #3: An old amusement park ride called Hellgate 2 is ready to be torn down but it is haunted by Rick the Ringmaster, Betty the Tattooed Lady, and Bob the Lobsterman and they aren’t happy about that. Over at Harley’s apartment, she is dealing with her drunken British visitors while Tony’s newest boarder, Zatanna, is dealing with a visit from the ghosts. She scares them off, so they [pop upstairs to visit Harley who responds with some violence of her own. This leads to Zatanna showing up and the two girls teaming up. The ghosts explain that Jolly Straton, the original operator of Hellgate 2, was infected by a partially-summoned demon and he has been after them since 1911. Of course, they are safe within the confines of the ride, which is going to be torn down and that makes them vulnerable. Zatanna and Harley go to the spectral plane and ask Jolly to release the three. But he says he is a prisoner of a demon named Nad Oidid. So they go off to his pleasure palace filled with sexy naked people, where he sees he is in the presence of his favorite murderer in Harley and he agrees to free everyone if she spends a month with him in Hell. But she drives him nuts and he sends her home within 24 hours.
Here is all you need to know about this. Issue: Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner wrote it in their usual ridiculously silly style. And the demon is Dan Didio spelled backwards. The highlight? Joseph Michael Linsner drew the whole freaking thing! So, if you can wade through the silliness, you truly get treated by Linsner’s always amazing art! That IS the reason to buy this book. And, if you’re lucky, you can also find a copy with the Linsner variant cover.
JUSTICE LEAGUE THE DARKSEID WAR SPECIAL #1: Jessica Cruz’ consciousness is trapped inside Volthoom, along with everyone who ever wore the ring at some point, specifically the former Power Ring, Harold Jordan. He tries to convince her to stay and give into her fears. But she races to the light that she believes is Volthoom's main Power Battery. Actually, it turns out that it’s Cyborg. The other main story is the origin of Grail, who was born on the same night that Hippolyta gave birth to Diana. It appears that just as Hippolyta is about to name her daughter, Myrina spies something she shouldn’t and is chased after by the Amazons. Myrina and Grail flee Themyscira and spent their lives dealing with Grail’s quest to find the Anti-Monitor so she can kill Darkseid. In the end, we learn that Grail has captured Steve Trevor and transfers part of the Anti-Life Equation into him with a kiss. What happens next? Tune into JUSTICE LEAGUE #49
Geoff Johns contributes the story in this off shoot of the Darkseid War that seems to be going on forever. That’s not so much because the story is running long, it is just running behind. Two issues behind most of the rest of the New 52 books, in fact. The art is great and it should be, considering that Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oscar Jimenez, Paul Pelletier and Tony Kordos all leave their stand on it. Just remember that this will all lead to a new status quo for when REBIRTH begins. At least…that is the promise.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #49: While Superwoman prepares to give birth to the baby that the Crime Syndicate believes is the secret weapon to kill Mobius, Lex Luthor arrives and battles with Mobius. Superman shows up and joins the fight, along with Wonder Woman, while Lex is visited by the Black Racer influenced Flash, who informs him that death is coming. Big Barda, having realized that Lex and the Parademons are here, heads off to Apokolips to free the slaves. As the baby boy child is born, Grail, Myrina, and a powerful Steve Trevor arrive and Trevor uses his new found powers to kill Mobius. At this point, Grail announces that Steve is going to kill all of them next.
Picking up from where the DARKSEID WAR SPECIAL left off, Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok nail this one! The story is totally captivating and Fabok’s art is just utterly amazing. So, who is REALLY the father of Superwoman’s baby-a child that was supposedly going to have the powers we now see that Steve Trevor has? My guess: Darkseid. And that would lead to his resurrection somehow. This has been a weird, wild ride so far and I can’t wait to see how Johns gets out of this one!
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #11: While G'nort and Supergirl debate the good and bad points of Larfleeze, Ice convinces him to turn his attention to Lady Styx. Guy Gardner is fluctuating between the Guy and Shiryalla Tome personality and Ice tells Larfleeze that Lady Styx has his ring. Meanwhile, Eclipso tells Lady Styx that he will destroy the Justice League and she informs him to keep Teri alive. Over on Takron-Galtos, Wonder Woman, Flash and Batgirl make the decision to head back to Paradise Island where they talk with G'nort, until Eclipso and his Legion of Doom arrive, leading to a knock down, drag out fight between the two teams. During it all, Terry and Teri have a less than happy reunion. In the end, Lois Lane and Ariel Masters are on the run from the Scullions, who figure the best way to stop the girls is to neutralize the whole planet.
I am so sad that this book is not continuing with the coming of REBIRTH, but that will just free up Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Scott Kolins for some other greatness. This book has been fun from the beginning and this issue is no exception. With Batgirl in a Batsuit singing the Batman theme and Guy Gardner having a personality crisis of epic proportions, this title is just one long joke with some plot and action thrown in. How does that differ from HARLEY QUINN, which also has pushed the boundaries of humor? Well…this is actually funny!
Peter J. Tomasi and Paul Pelletier gives us the third chapter in what may be Superman’s last stand. I love that we have dropped the D.E.O. and Cameron Chase back into the mix…can we get her into the REBIRTH world? Tomasi’s story is great, especially with Lois zapping the big bad guy with the taser. And Pelletier’s art looks great, especially with Sandra Hope Archer inking him. Head on over to SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #28 for Part Four.
AQUAMAN #51: Scavenger gets a call from an FBI informant, telling him that Aquaman is hunting for him. Going back 12 hours earlier, we find that Jonah Payne, the man who was Dead Water, is being interrogated an, in its’ own way, being tortured. Payne is in a container that allows him to have no access to any water. The FBI shows up and Mera tells Payne that Dead Water has killed a bunch of people who allegedly wronged him, including his ex-wife. The last thing he remembers was working salvage for a guy named Peter Mortimer-The Scavenger. Arthur goes off after him and ends up being subdued by his huge aqua suit. Meanwhile, Payne breaks down and manages to crack his container, which also allows him to cry over his dead wife. That leads to Dead Water coming back.
Dan Abnett and Vicente Cifuentes continue to bring this arc to a conclusion before the NEW 52 becomes REBIRTH. Abnett’s story is fun, with Aquaman being tough as nails. And the appearance of The Scavenger was killer. Cifuentes is not Paul Pelletier, but his art style is pretty darned close. This book hasn’t had this much momentum since the first few issues. Hopefully, when it goes to twice a month during REBIRTH, this will continue. After all, Marvel’s answer to the King of the Sea is dead.
BATGIRL #50: We start three hours from now and it looks like the end for Batgirl. Back in the present, Fugue has put together a team made up of Dagger Type, Velvet Tiger, Killer Moth, The Jawbreakers and Corporal Punishment to go after Batgirl and her friends. From here, it’s a whole series of fight scenes between Batgirl’s friends and the villains. Batgirl finds out that Fugue is doing all of this just to be able to rob the Gotham Bank. She arrives and he tries to use her Neural Implant against her, so she uses the edge of her Batarang to cut into her head and disable the implant. This brings us back to the beginning of the book and Fugue shoots Batgirl, allegedly killing her. But it turns out that she has him in one of his tubes and has implanted false memories into him. In the end, Frankie patches up Barbara and introduces her to the new headquarters of Batgirl and Operator.
So, Brenden Fletcher and Cameron Stewart with art from Babs Tarr, Roger Robinson, John Timms, Eleonora Carlini, James Harvey, and Stewart, bring this story arc to an end and prepare to turn over the reigns of this series to a new direction come June. What was one book will become two as BLACK CANARY leaves the schedule and BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY arrives. I have not been a fan of this series since Fletcher and company took over and have been pretty vocal about it. A sleek and sexy super-heroine seemed to get young and just did not appeal to me. There was actually a point where I hope we would go back to Pre-Flashpoint Batgirl as Oracle. Now we will see what we get.
BATGIRL #51: We begin with spoiler chasing after a stolen SWAT van and it seems that Gladius is back in town. Unfortunately, Barbara gets wind of the fact that Frankie is running ops behind her back involving Qadir and chews her out for her troubles.While Black Canary is in Poland digging into the plot and the plot involves breaking out Gladius Commander. Batgirl arrives on the scene, but can’t keep her from getting away. Following this, Barbara asks Alysia to run Gordon Clean Energy and tells Luke and Frankie that she has to go away for a while. She also runs across Olive and Maps while she is in the Gotham Library doing research. The bad news is that Black Canary and Vixen arrive to let the cast know that Gladius Commander wants revenge on Barbara’s family and friends.
Brenden Fletcher is the only person left from the “critically acclaimed” BATGIRL run and he’s done a nice job with handling his character. In fact, I actually like this issue better than most because he has done a good job of bringing other Bat characters into the mix. Eleonora Carlini, Minkyu Jung, and Roger Robinson handle the art here and they are all just doing their best to look like Babs Tarr. But I want to know when Black Canary’s hair turned white!
BATMAN #51: This issue is all about different views of what Gothan really is. But we begin with Alfred and Bruce in the Batcave and Alfred has two hands again thanks to crazy Quilt’s Healing Stitch. While out on patrol, the power goes out in Gotham and that means the Dark Knight is going about to find out why. This takes him through Arkham, the Labyrinth of the Owls, the Iceberg Casino, Black Mask, Great White Shark, and someone who used to be the Joker. In the end, he meets with a columnist for the Gotham Gazette who writes a column called “Gotham Is”. In the end, the power outage was just a power outage.
I’m sorry: I thought last issue was Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s last. At least that was the word on the street. Anyway, it’s nice to see them together here again and this is a low-key but fun issue that is more about characterization than action. It looks great and it’s obviously these two have big shoes to fill with REBIRTH. But it was cool to see Bats in drag with the Court of the Owls!
BATMAN BEYOND #11: Batman has survived his apparent death last issue by using a cloaking device in the suit to escape and it was thanks to Matt McGinnis yelling C-3 that helped to activate it. At this point, Matt and the Bat are going to attempt to free Superman, specifically Superman’s son Jon. But Dr. Cuvier activates him first and sets him to kill Matt, but Tuftan breaks Cuvier's mind control remote, which puts the Man of Steel back into a right mind. That also leads to the rest of the League being freed from their mind control. The Justice League head to Neo Gotham and convince the rioters to stop their actions, bringing peace to Neo Gotham. But, in the end, Rewire is talking to his mysterious boss concerning conquering Neo Gotham while the Justice League are trying to rebuild Earth.
Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang just keep making this series such a delight to me. I was not reading the previous series and wasn’t ever a fan of the television show. But the coolness of this series, especially over the last six issues, has made me a believer who is now searching for the DVDs. I can’t wait to see where this series will go with REBIRTH.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #31: Read the review of SUPERMAN #51 first! We find Superman heading to Gotham to see Batman and explain to him that he is dying. Batman insists he can help save him, as he was able to bring Damian back from the dead. All he wants is help in finding his cousin Kara. Over in Metropolis, a flaming Superman, who is really a parole violator who THINKS he is Superman, rescues some people from a fire and seems to think he knows Jimmy Olsen. In the end, Superman and Batman encounter The Four Pillars of the Chinese Zodiac, who implode rather than be captured. That means, with all the questions swirling about, Superman needs to get to National City to rescue his cousin.
Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke give us a killer second chapter in THE FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN arc. There are some great moments throughout, especially between Batman and Superman. The introduction of the creatures of the Chinese Zodiac adds a nice little bit of intrigue to where this whole thing is going with REBIRTH and I love we finally get to see Supergirl again in our own time. Of course, I am curious to see how we’re going to get the explanation of how she ended up back here.
BLACK CANARY #10: Dinah meets with Barbara Gordon, who is fangirling all over the place because her friend is in the band Black Canary. They end up together, investigating an old recording studio where they are searching for clues about Dinah’s mother. The “ninja death cult” shows up and fights our heroes, as they want to get their hands on the Five Heavens Palm. Batgirl gets taken down and Greyeyes insists Dinah show him the Five Heavens Palm or he will have Batgirl killed. She shows him another move and that just buys Barabara time, who has now taken out his minions, leading to a one on one between them. Dinah wins, leading to Greyeyes committing suicide. In the end, Barbara, Frankie and Dinah go off to try and save the band, as it appears they may be walking into a trap.
Brendan Fletcher writes this issue alone with art by Moritat and Sandy Jarrell. This series has bounced around from really good to really bad and this is certainly somewhere between the two. The story rolls along nicely in the recording studio scenes until we get this dumb fight, a self-immolation, and a rushed ending. All in all, I look forward to seeing Dinah hooked up with Oliver Queen in the forthcoming GREEN ARROW series after REBIRTH.
BLACK CANARY #11: Dinah heads off from Burnside to Berlin where she is looking to free her band from the German ninja cult that is holding them captive in suburban Berlin. She arrives at Club Unverhofft Kommt Oft to find the band playing backup for Izak Orato, who has hypnotized the band with a strange German song. He then proceeds to do the same to her until she sees Ditto in the crowd and that makes then all wake from their slumber. As they fall through a trap door and into a hall of mirrors, he shows her visions of her past. She unleashes a Canary Cry that not only shatters the mirrors but reveals Orato as a monster with a great big mouth in his chest. She gets outside and joins Vixen in battle against the ninjas. Dinah’s aunt arrives and then runs a samurai sword through Dinah, before revealing herself as Orato.
Because of the dreaded deadline doom, we get two issues this month as this titles races towards its’ end. Brenden Fletcher and Sandy Jarrell combine to give us a wild story with a great cliffhanger ending! I am really dying to see how Fletcher writes himself out of this one.
BLOODLINES #1: In the quiet town of Pine Ridge, we meet Eddie: a young man who suffers from a degenerative disease that has him needing crutches to walk. On his way to school, his friend Graham gives him a ride and it turns out to be a semi-regular day at school for him. We also meet Dana, Faith, Haley, and Ricky-the rest of the supporting cast. That night, the students of Pine Ridge High School are having a party when this strange deer-beast creature bursts onto the scene and begins attacking the kids. Eddie gets angry and transforms into a big blue creature with red eyes and destroys the creature by tearing it’s head off. Unfortunately, it’s too late to save his buddy Graham.
What the heck is this all about? Based on the title, I thought it might possibly have a connection to the old series of the same name from back in the day. But, apparently I was wrong. Or not. This six issue mini-series will obviously continue on even after REBIRTH begins, so maybe there is a chance it will tie into REBIRTH. J.T. Krul wrote it and V. Ken Marion is responsible for the art, which is very much like Brett Booth in style. My curiosity is piqued and that means I will read the next issue to see where this is going.
CATWOMAN #51: We begin with a new report announcing the imminent death of Black Mask’s father, Richard Sionis. That takes us back to a flashback where Selina and a guy named David are pulling a credit scam at Richard Sionis’ expense. It comes back to bite them, however, as they get stopped by the False Face Society and their leader, Richard Sionis. Back in the present, Catwoman almost has a run in with the False Face Society and their new leader, White Mask, as he grabs the Faceless Mask She goes off to spy on the group and finds out that White Mask is actually her old friend David, who is supposed to be dead. In the end, Black Mask, dressed as a a nurse, visits his dying father and finishes the job.
Creepy…very, very creepy! I love it! Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda do a great job of weaving the past and the present together and leaving the mystery of the not-dead David as a mystery. Black Mask, White Mask and the False Face Society: this is a war waiting to explode. And I can’t wait!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #11: Constantine is in Los Angeles and he is not happy. He storms into a Hollywood party being thrown by the Archangel Gabriel. John is looking for help concerning the Neron problem, but Gabriel has more important things on his mind and refuses to help. So Constantine ends up at an amusement park with his old friend Bartleby. John says that he is through with trying to save New York City…until Bartleby reminds him that his boyfriend Oliver is still in New York City. He heads off to Declan’s Bar & Grill to drown his sorrows and ends up being possessed by Deadman, who kidnaps his body and forces him back to New York City, where he finds out that Oliver’s daughters have been kidnapped.
Ming Doyle & James Tynion IV gives us this continuously weird story while Travel Foreman provides the art. This book is soon going to be like the television show: missing an audience because it has been pulled from the lineup, although he will be back in a new book after REBIRTH begins. I would like to say I’m happy, but I really wanted this series to work out. John Constantine is a legendary con man and anti-hero. For him to go from being a lovesick puppy drooling over his Justice League Dark teammate to looking to shag with anything that moves. Maybe the next time around the powers that be will actually get it right.
CYBORG #10: Victor and his dad get to spend some quality time with Victor’s “mom” before he turns himself over to Holmes, who is going to experiment on him, even though it’s illegal according to the Cybernetics Act. It turns out the Holmes is really being controlled by the Technosapiens and that Victor’s mother is really a creation of the Technosapiens. But Victor is one step ahead and has managed to infect the Technosapiens systems, making them easy pickings for Cyborg and Shazam. In the end, Victor destroys the hologram that wasn’t his mother.
Marv Wolfman: the Eighties called and they want their plot devices back. Sorry…I have always been a huge fan of Wolfman but this issue just didn’t do it for me. Too many cliches, too predictable (there was a whole conversation between Vic’s father and his “mother” that just tipped off the “something’s not right” radar early on). Ivan Reis did the layouts while Felipe Watanabe, Daniel Hdr and Julio Ferreira did the pencils.
DEATHSTROKE #17: Slade has been captured by Lawman, who he discovers is his old partner Wardell Chambers, who was killed on a mission many years ago. Well, apparently he is not, as he is here and now has mind control powers that he has used to manipulate the hatred in Slade’s daughter Rose. The two begin a fight to the death that is interrupted by Red Hood, who has come to help out Deathstroke while Snakebite assist Lawman. But Lawman uses his powers to convince Red Hood that Batman has arrived and needs his help, which leads to a battle between the two again. In the process, Rose gets run through by Lawman and so does Slade. It looks like she is done until the pair disappear before the villains’ eyes thanks to a bit of mind control from Jericho who introduces his father to Ra’s al Ghul.
Things look like they’re going from bad to worse for Slade Wilson. Not only are he and his daughter seriously wounded, his estranged son has now brought him to Ras al Ghul himself. James Bonny and Tyler Kirkham give us a great issue that sets up for the big finish next month.
DETECTIVE COMICS #51: An old Marine buddy of Jim Gordon warns him about stuff going down from their past. That doesn’t last long as his friend is killed and his killer takes himself out with a foaming mouth suicide. After finding out that his friend and his killer had large strips of flesh stripped off their body. Gordon heads off to Afghanistan and he meets up with some of the Marines who know about what is going on with their comrades dying. He ends up doing some Batman style investigation and ends up at a meeting between Colonel Stone and one of the followers of Amun-Set who wants Gordon and all the rest dead. Gordon heads out in the desert and gets caught in a sandstorm. That is when we find out that Gordon and his fellow servicemen interrupted a ritualistic torture chamber.
Peter Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin give us what started to feel like a fill-in issue, but by the end, we realize that this is just the first act in the final arc before REBIRTH. The story is Tomasi’s typical solid writing and, of course, Pasarin just knocks it out of the park, especially with Matt Ryan inking him. The book just looks amazing! I can’t wait to see how Tomasi gets this out and makes the transition to REBIRTH, with Bruce back in the costume.
DOCTOR FATE #11: Khalid has been captured by the ghosts of Caesar and his Roman soldiers and they have brought him to a General who has great interest on his amulet. Unfortunately for the general, it does have a magical power that burns him when he tries to take it for himself. That angers the general and he demands that the ghosts eliminate Doctor Fate. Khalid figures out that the general has the knife that killed Caesar and that is what is giving him his power over them. Khalid uses his powers to free the knife from the general and that causes the ghosts to go to their rest. Without his ghosts, the general is powerless and is captured by Khalid. Good thing too as he has received word that he is about to get kicked out of school. Meanwhile, Khlaid’s mom and Puck the cat have a talk.
Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew have struggled through this series and it has never made a foothold in DC’s Universe. Personally, I think it has to do with the character, as Levitz has tried too hard to make him a Peter Parker clone. It has never really worked for me and I have never really warmed up to Liew’s art style. I will be curious to see what happens with REBIRTH. When Doctor fate gets introduced, who wears the helm?
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #11: Red Arrow and Ted Grant come charging through a window to try and save Batman from Hourman, but he has already found a way to take him down by using Anti-Miraclo. So Batman sends Arrow and Ted after Kyle Nimbus and they take him down as a team. Meanwhile, Green Lantern sets up a meeting between the soon to be warring Governors, but they blame Lantern and the Wonders for everything, including the fact that their planet is barren. Because of this, Sato, Steel and Sandman issue Martial Law and that means killing anyone who gets out of hand. In the end, Fury tells Hawkgirl how almost everyone on the Aphrodite died of radiation poisoning so she used the Pandora vessel to merge the souls of the Amazonians the dead to save them both.
Dan Abnett continues his run on this title, with Federico Dallocchio handling the art duties. I so wish I could love this series but I just don’t love these characters and it feels like Abnett is trying to put a Band-Aid on this book to keep it from getting worse. The characters got really flat at the end of the last series and now it just seems like it’s all going to hell for our heroes. There is a future for EARTH 2 in REBIRTH. I just hope it’s the CLASSIC EARTH 2!
THE FLASH #50: The Flash has been captured by the Rogues so Captain Frye has him sent to Iron Heights. Barry’s dad hears a radio report about it and immediately calls in a favor. Girder and Overload break loose and take the Flash with them, thanks to that phone call from Henry Allen. As Iron Heights loses power and an explosion almost kills Frye, Barry now has to deal with a whole bunch of loose convicts. The Rogues get involved but the Trickster has betrayed them in favor of supporting the person who has Heat Wave: The Riddler. In the back-up, we see Wally West understanding what makes up the Speed Force from his future self.
Van Jensen, with Jesus Merino and Paul Pelletier, handled the main story while Jensen and Joe Eisma did the back-up. The back-up was obviously a great lead in for Wally West’s new role in REBIRTH. The big bang was in the main story where we see that The Riddler is the bad guy here. Boy, for a guy who was a low grade, although classic, Batman villain, he sure has made a name for himself in the new 52. One more issue to go and then it’s REBIRTH time for the Fastest Man Alive.
GOTHAM ACADEMY #17: In YEARBOOK PART FOUR, Maps is freaking out because Robin broke in and took her book. This leads to a tale where the gang meets up with Heathcliff, who is acting as road manager for Black Canary. He then goes to talk to his crush, Pomeline, and they go off for a walk, where he hands her a special cassette tape that Lord Byron made for her and also autographed. He decides to play her a song, but she runs off, listening to him from inside her room. Then we get the story of Maps and Olive running into Teekl, who is in the process of bringing Klarion back his first spell book. Then we get the tale of what happened to the Gilkey Warlocks, who called forth a creature while playing a game of Serpents and Spells and were never heard from again. In the end, they might have another meeting real soon with a Robin who is doing his best to hide in plain sight.
We’re almost at the end here, as there is one more chapter to go in YEARBOOK. This issue was kind of fun and was brought to us by Brendan Fletcher, Adam Archer, Annie Wu, Michael Dialynas and David Peterson. It is a wonderful mix of writing and illustrated style here and my favorite piece was seeing Klarion come back in something resembling his CLASSIC FORM.
GRAYSON #19: Doctor Dredalus has return and his daughters are a bit upset about it, especially because Luka is tasked with killing her sister. But she is not dead and Dredalus kills Luka. Max Lord shows up and tells Netz he will save her if she turns over the Minos Files and reveals that he created Mister Minos and Minos is Max. She deletes the files as she dies, leaving Lord empty handed after all. Elsewhere, Dick and Tiger, who is working for Checkmate, fight it out while Midnighter, having seen that all that has happened was about bringing Doctor Dredalus back, splits the scene. In the end, Dick confronts Doctor Dredalus, who is in the body of Helena.
Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly take over the story, Roge Antonio has taken over the art, and that means this issue is a big disappointment. The story is fun, however, as the sisters die, Helena needs to be saved from Doctor Dredalus, Tiger is working for the bad guys and Max Lord proves, once again, that he is a major player in the world…and not in a good way. This is the penultimate issue that will wrap next month and lead to Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing again.
GREEN ARROW #51: Green Arrow, Emiko and George have been captured by an African militia who plan on ransoming our heroes. They also have Doctor Miracle, who they are using to heal their various injuries. Deathstroke is also here as he wants Doctor Miracle too, so that means he’s blasting his way through the camp. Slade kills all the militia and that leads to him killing Green Arrow. Really? Yeah-big old knife in the chest as Deathstroke captures Doctor Miracle.
Ush…that was a long issue with not much happening. Ben Percy has painted Ollie into a corner that I’m pretty sure that Doctor Miracle will get him out of and, I’m sure, will purge him of his current wolf illness. The highlight here is Szymon Kudranski’s art. Actually…that was the ONLY highlight here. Sorry…I didn’t need another Deathstroke book!
GREEN LANTERN #51: Hal is a green construct of what he was recently in space but doesn’t know who he really is. His brother Jim fills the construct in on Hal’s history Jordan, which finally convinces Hal to become Hal again. Now that he has become himself again, he decides that he needs to find the Green Lantern Corps and he leaves Earth. Out in space, Trapper and Virgo are being attacked by the Gray Agents and Darlene is getting disabled. They get transported to the Gray Agent's ship, where they decide to head to Earth. But Hal shows up and is preparfed to make sure that doesn’t happen.
I totally love Robert Venditti’s work, but this is not his best work. The whole Hal as a construct part of the story, complete with life history that tied up the first half dozen pages of the book was annoying. Then we have three pages of Hal deciding that he must search for the lost Lanterns…how did he know they were missing? And the rest of the book revisits a pair we haven’t seen in ages. On the plus side, Rafa Sandoval’s art is really great!
GREEN LANTERN CORPS EDGE OF OBLIVION #4: As Kilowog tells Guy that he was right to be concerned about protecting these aliens, the team gets beat up while fighting against Marniel. But Xrill-Vrek reveals that Marniel isn't the villain here, but that Ausras and Dismas are. It also seems that they can control minds and that leads to Guy want to have the rest of the Lanterns protect them.
Well, now that we have lost Ethan Van Sciver to the REBIRTH project, we get Aaron Kuder. That’s not a bad thing, but he’s not Ethan Van Sciver. Tom Taylor continues to write the book and the fact that we’re now two-thirds of the way through the series and we get the big reveal makes me a bit upset. Did I really just waste three issues of my reading life only to find out that this was a swerve? Looks like!
HARLEY QUINN #27: Harley battles Red Tool, but he gasses the place and takes her with him, singing all the while. He takes her to the top of the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel where he feeds her Nate Man’s hot dogs and fries. He starts to show her his secret origin, but the battery on his phone dies, leading to Harley eventually getting free and dumping him out of the Ferris wheel. Once she gets back to her Gang of Harleys, she finds out that what she thought was a bruise on her but is actually a phone number that Red Tool tattooed on her posterior. This leads her to a certain address where she discovers that Red Tool has set up their wedding day.
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, with art by John Timms, continue with their brand of sophomoric satire, complete with Red Tool being their version of Deadpool. It’s more of the same old same old. You will either like it or not. It’s not Chaucer, but it has it’s moments.
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #1: Meet the Gang of Harleys! We have Erica Zhang as Harley Queens, Antonia Moore as Harlem Harley, Shona Choudhury as Bolly Quinn, Harvey McPherson as Harvey Quinn, Carlita Alvarez as Carli Quinn, Hannah Borgman as Hanuquinn, and Holly Hamden as Coach. There job is to protect Coney Island from all manner of annoying people. Harley goes into a Port-a-Potti to drop a deuce and disappears. Apparently, she has been kidnapped right off the potty! The team takes to the town, going to Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island too in search of their fearless leader. In the end, it seems there is a new Harley in town-Harley Sinn
The first thing you notice is that Amanda Conner is nowhere to be seen and that makes all the difference. Jimmy Palmiotti and Frank Tieri wrote this and that means there are nowhere near as many off-color jokes in here (except for a reference about playing with her beaver). So I guess we know who the dirty one is in the Palmiotti household! Mauricet provides the art and it looks good. Of course, when you fill a book with that many scantily clad women(and one man), how could it not look good?
HARLEY QUINN AND THE SUICIDE SQUAD APRIL FOOL’S SPECIAL #1: Harley gets an invitation to join a villain support group called Evil Anonymous and she decides that she will actually use her psychiatrist’s degree to help the villains. She tries to subdue Man-Bat and gets knocked out in the process. She ministers to Enchantress, Ratcatcher, Starro, Toyman, Poison Ivy , Killer Moth and more. But then the Justice League busts in an captures her. This reveals that she has been dreaming all of this, as she has been under the hypnotic control of Amanda Waller. She is about to become part of the NEW NEW SUICIDE SQUAD, coming in June, starring Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Killer Croc and Katana.
While I did find parts of it humorous, I wouldn’t call it an April Fool’s Special. Rob Williams wrote it, which makes for a nice change from the usual Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti hijinx. However, it all just ends up being a lead-in for the June REBIRTH title. Sean “Cheeks” Galloway provides the bulk of this issue, as his cartoony style provides the fantasy piece where Harley does her therapy. The real highlight here is getting 20 pages of beautiful Jim Lee art. Lee is the guy responsible for the new series in June, so let’s hope that his stay will be lengthy, because this stuff looks awesome!
HARLEY QUINN’S BIG BLACK BOOK #3: An old amusement park ride called Hellgate 2 is ready to be torn down but it is haunted by Rick the Ringmaster, Betty the Tattooed Lady, and Bob the Lobsterman and they aren’t happy about that. Over at Harley’s apartment, she is dealing with her drunken British visitors while Tony’s newest boarder, Zatanna, is dealing with a visit from the ghosts. She scares them off, so they [pop upstairs to visit Harley who responds with some violence of her own. This leads to Zatanna showing up and the two girls teaming up. The ghosts explain that Jolly Straton, the original operator of Hellgate 2, was infected by a partially-summoned demon and he has been after them since 1911. Of course, they are safe within the confines of the ride, which is going to be torn down and that makes them vulnerable. Zatanna and Harley go to the spectral plane and ask Jolly to release the three. But he says he is a prisoner of a demon named Nad Oidid. So they go off to his pleasure palace filled with sexy naked people, where he sees he is in the presence of his favorite murderer in Harley and he agrees to free everyone if she spends a month with him in Hell. But she drives him nuts and he sends her home within 24 hours.
Here is all you need to know about this. Issue: Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner wrote it in their usual ridiculously silly style. And the demon is Dan Didio spelled backwards. The highlight? Joseph Michael Linsner drew the whole freaking thing! So, if you can wade through the silliness, you truly get treated by Linsner’s always amazing art! That IS the reason to buy this book. And, if you’re lucky, you can also find a copy with the Linsner variant cover.
JUSTICE LEAGUE THE DARKSEID WAR SPECIAL #1: Jessica Cruz’ consciousness is trapped inside Volthoom, along with everyone who ever wore the ring at some point, specifically the former Power Ring, Harold Jordan. He tries to convince her to stay and give into her fears. But she races to the light that she believes is Volthoom's main Power Battery. Actually, it turns out that it’s Cyborg. The other main story is the origin of Grail, who was born on the same night that Hippolyta gave birth to Diana. It appears that just as Hippolyta is about to name her daughter, Myrina spies something she shouldn’t and is chased after by the Amazons. Myrina and Grail flee Themyscira and spent their lives dealing with Grail’s quest to find the Anti-Monitor so she can kill Darkseid. In the end, we learn that Grail has captured Steve Trevor and transfers part of the Anti-Life Equation into him with a kiss. What happens next? Tune into JUSTICE LEAGUE #49
Geoff Johns contributes the story in this off shoot of the Darkseid War that seems to be going on forever. That’s not so much because the story is running long, it is just running behind. Two issues behind most of the rest of the New 52 books, in fact. The art is great and it should be, considering that Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oscar Jimenez, Paul Pelletier and Tony Kordos all leave their stand on it. Just remember that this will all lead to a new status quo for when REBIRTH begins. At least…that is the promise.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #49: While Superwoman prepares to give birth to the baby that the Crime Syndicate believes is the secret weapon to kill Mobius, Lex Luthor arrives and battles with Mobius. Superman shows up and joins the fight, along with Wonder Woman, while Lex is visited by the Black Racer influenced Flash, who informs him that death is coming. Big Barda, having realized that Lex and the Parademons are here, heads off to Apokolips to free the slaves. As the baby boy child is born, Grail, Myrina, and a powerful Steve Trevor arrive and Trevor uses his new found powers to kill Mobius. At this point, Grail announces that Steve is going to kill all of them next.
Picking up from where the DARKSEID WAR SPECIAL left off, Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok nail this one! The story is totally captivating and Fabok’s art is just utterly amazing. So, who is REALLY the father of Superwoman’s baby-a child that was supposedly going to have the powers we now see that Steve Trevor has? My guess: Darkseid. And that would lead to his resurrection somehow. This has been a weird, wild ride so far and I can’t wait to see how Johns gets out of this one!
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #11: While G'nort and Supergirl debate the good and bad points of Larfleeze, Ice convinces him to turn his attention to Lady Styx. Guy Gardner is fluctuating between the Guy and Shiryalla Tome personality and Ice tells Larfleeze that Lady Styx has his ring. Meanwhile, Eclipso tells Lady Styx that he will destroy the Justice League and she informs him to keep Teri alive. Over on Takron-Galtos, Wonder Woman, Flash and Batgirl make the decision to head back to Paradise Island where they talk with G'nort, until Eclipso and his Legion of Doom arrive, leading to a knock down, drag out fight between the two teams. During it all, Terry and Teri have a less than happy reunion. In the end, Lois Lane and Ariel Masters are on the run from the Scullions, who figure the best way to stop the girls is to neutralize the whole planet.
I am so sad that this book is not continuing with the coming of REBIRTH, but that will just free up Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Scott Kolins for some other greatness. This book has been fun from the beginning and this issue is no exception. With Batgirl in a Batsuit singing the Batman theme and Guy Gardner having a personality crisis of epic proportions, this title is just one long joke with some plot and action thrown in. How does that differ from HARLEY QUINN, which also has pushed the boundaries of humor? Well…this is actually funny!
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