BATMAN BEYOND #15: In the middle of rolling blackouts throughout Neo Gotham and that means Batman and Barbara Gordon are super busy trying to keep the peace. Then Rewire, who thinks he is Davis Dusk, and Spellbinder, who is posing as Mrs. Shelby, capture Barbara. When Tim finds out, he goes hunting, ending up in what used to be Blackgate Prison, which turns out to be a trap. First he must face a brainwashed Barbara Gordon and then finds out, along with Matt McGinnis, that Terry McGinnis is alive. Terry believes that the only chance he has to stay alive is by killing Tim and using the Batman suit to power his pace maker.
But how DID Terry end up here when he died in FUTURE’S END in our present day? And how did Spellbinder manage to keep him alive? Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang push this story to its’ final climax next month. Now, advance solicitations show that Terry McGinnis will be Batman once again, so that leads to the question of what happens to Tim Drake? I can’t wait for the ending and can’t wait for what comes next. Oh yeah: Aparo Park? NICE!!!
BLOODLINES #5: As everyone figures out what to do, Duncan threatens to kill Blake before he can turn into a demon. Out on the street, the entire towns has been turned and are being led by the good reverend. They all begin to use their powers and battle the reverend, who defeats them and takes the townspeople to the site of the crater. Inside the hole, they find a gigantic monster with townspeople hanging there. Just when they decide to act, they notice that Blake has turned.
So…if I wanted to go back to the 80’s, I’d check into MTV Classic. J.T. Krul and V. Ken Marion truly continue to mine 80’s drama here with this truly annoying story that has more cliches than I care to count. The characters are truly cookie cutter and predictable as a teen in a slasher film. Marion gets points for drawing like Brett Booth, but I’d certainly rather have him on the book. One more issue…I can get through it!
DOCTOR FATE #15: Mummies are loose in Central Park and it’s up to Khalid to try and stop them, especially since Shaya is smack dab in the middle of it! Meanwhile, a peaceful protest in Bay Ridge turns ugly when the mummies show up there too. Khalid manages to dispatch them all and, in the end, an unknown evil looms.
I’m sorry: I want the REAL Dr. Fate back. Not Khalid, not even this version of Kent Nelson. Paul Levitz and Inaki Miranda gave us the main story in issue #14, which totally feels like a fill-in story. The back-up is by Levitz and Breno Tamura and also feels like a fill-in. Issue #15 is by Levitz and Sonny Liew, although the credits say it’s Moustafa. So…we get two full issues with nothing to move the story of our hero along. In fact, it’s the same every issue: Khalid gets a near impossible task that he must accomplish on his own and spends most of his time whining about it before he actually goes off and gets it done. So, when this ends, our hero moves on to appear in BLUE BEETLE. Yay…
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #15: Firepattern has been ordered to kill Dick Grayson, but he realizes it’s his “daddy” and refuses before fleeing. Fury secures the casket and Dick begs Huntress to find his son. An argument ensues as to whether the casket should be destroyed until Flash reminds them that Captain Steel might die. Alan Scott realizes that Ultra-Humanite is responsible and the Humanite breaks into the video feed to tell them that he is in control. To prove his point, he takes control of Alan, makes him will his ring back to him and now he is once again the most powerful person on the planet. And to make matters worse, he is under the control of the Ultra-Humanite and is heading for the casket.
So, when I saw Tony Harris’ name in the credits, I was rather excited. I mean, here was the guy who made such a great impression on me with his work on STARMAN. But then I saw he was only doing the first eight pages, while Angel Hernandez was handling the rest of the book. But then I saw his work and was glad he only did eight pages. I don’t know what happened, but his style has become radically different and angular and left me wondering what happened. Dan Abnett is still writing it and it looks like it all comes to an end next issue. Of course, there is a new EARTH 2 title coming, so what happens next will set the stage for the future. Oh wait: Huntress’ search for John Grayson won’t end in the next issue, as that storyline is continued in the forthcoming EARTH 2 ANNUAL #1.
EARTH 2 SOCIETY ANNUAL #1: We begin with John Grayson fighting Grief before going to a flash-forward, where John and his father are talking. Dick drones on about how he’s not a very good Batman. Then we flashback again to John as Firepattern trying to break the control of the Ultra-Humanite. Huntress shows up and tries to convince Firepattern to come with her back to Batman Grief shows up, leading to an all-out brawl between her and Grief, as John hides. Being Huntress, she takes Grief down, allowing her and John to head back to Dick. Dick promises that he will protect his son and the trio head off to battle the Ultra-Humanite.
This was a disappointing issue by Dan Abnett, Bruno Redondo, and Diogenes Neves. Basically, there was no real movement of the plot. It consisted of a fight sequence and a lot of monologuing by Dick Grayson. And unfortunately, his monologuing is all the same: “woe is me…I’m a horrible Batman. I’m not Bruce Wayne…I’m a horrible Batman.” Here’s hoping that the next issue of EARTH 2 SOCIETY brings this tale to an end and just furthers along Dick Grayson’s self-flagellating.
GOTHAM ACADEMY ANNUAL #1: During a thunder storm, Maps sees someone in a cape near the chapel and, the next day, the Detective Club checks out the damage from the lightning that hit the chapel. Colton makes mention that a lot of people have turned up sick and Pomeline believes it is because there is a vampire on campus. She knows this because she saw bite marks on Jen Thompson’s neck and the garlic is missing from the kitchen. Colton feels that visiting lecturer Derek Powers must be resposnible and is actually poisoning the students. So Pomeline and Tristan follow their leads while Colton and Kyle break into Powers’ office. Inside, they hear a heartbeat coming from beneath the floorboards. As it turns out, Kyle, Colton and maps finds a grandfather’s clock with a beating heart in it. Warren McGinnis gets turned into a vampire and tries to attack Pomeline, leading to Tristan turning into Man Bat and making the save. Vampire Gustav Decobra shows up, as does Powers, beter known as Blight,who is here from the future to kill Warren, who will become Terry McGinnis father. Pom buries a stake in Gustav’s hear, but it does nothing because his heart is in the clock, which is actually a time machine. Colton tricks Powers into following he and Warren into the clock, sending him back to the future, while Pomeline shoots an arrow at the clock face, killing Gustav. So, whether it was the flu, radiation poisoning, or vampirism, everyone gets better.
This was a fun book and a nice way to put an end to this title before it is reborn in REBIRTH. Brenden Fletcher and Becky Cloonan did a great job on the story, which managed to put the Detective Club back together, give us a vampire, AND bring us Blight! Art by Adam Archer, Msassyk, Michael Dialynas and Chris Wildgoose mirrored the feel of the regular title. This was one of those books that bounced back and forth with me as far as how much I liked or didn’t like it. This was a nice way to close it all out.
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #4: The issue begins with Hannukah Quinn defending her uncle Sy Borgman from an assassination attempt. She saves him but gets cut in the process and passes out. Sy attempts to bring her to the hospital, but Coach rules against it and has him go to meet a “guy” that Tony knows. Coach and Tony pay a visit to Mr. Brand and reveal they know that his daughter is really Harley Sinn. He tells them she is on the Island of Horrible Death, where we discover that Harley Quinn is in a bikini getting attacked by a Joker Shark. In actuality, Harley Sinn has her in a holographic room. Meanwhile, the gang heads to the Island of Horrible Death where they fight off killer robotic joker fish, killer seaweed and robotic versions of Power Girl, Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
How can I tell that Frank Tieri is working with Jimmy Palmiotti and NOT Amanda Conner on this book? The sexual innuendo count is way WAY down. Basically, there’s a butt biting joke. That’s it! To that end, the story is fun without all the extra added smut that makes Harley Quinn the Harley we know and love! Mauricet’s art is tight and sexy at the same time. And, if you haven’t figured it out, Brand is Trump…just saying!
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #5: Harley Sinn reveals her origin. Born to a very rich real estate magnate and his wife, he used his money to cover up all the bad things she did as a youth. After she burns down her house and killing two people, her parents send her away to a remote island to live. As much as she has everything she could ask for, she is not happy. Eventually, she gets off the island and blackmails her father before making amends with him as her mother’s funeral. He remarries and his Sinn falls in love with her step-sister, Gina, until she dies of a heroin overdose. Sinn is preparing to kill herself when she sees an article about Harley in the newspaper and becomes enamored with her. She even goes as far as auditioning for the Gang of Harleys but when she doesn’t get in, decides to kill them all. And she is offering ten million dollars for the head of Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, the Gang of Harleys are getting beat on by the Power Girl, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman robots and Harlem issues the retreat order. But this is just a ruse to get the robots to follow them through the Eggy minefield. They find Harley up a tree where she is being attacks by some kind of monster goats and they use the weapon pieces from the destroyed robots to destroy them. No it’s time to kick some booty!
You know: I am enjoying this mini-series far more than I think I should be! With snappy, not slutty, dialogue by Jimmy Palmiotti & Frank Tieri and blockbuster art from Mauricet, this book has become the book that MERCS FOR MONEY wants to be with the boys and girls from Marvel. While I will be glad to see this end and have our Gang of Harleys roll back into the regular book, I am totally liking the Harley Sinn character and hope she ends up as a permanent part of Harley’s Rogues Gallery.
HARLEY'S LITTLE BLACK BOOK #4: We begin with Harley and the DC Bombshells going on a mission. From there, we flash back to six days from now where Harley is messing with a Time Travel ball she took from Superman’s Fortress in the NEXT issue of this title. That causes her to end up in Worls War II Europe where Amanda Waller is her commander and Bombshells Batwoman and Bombshells Big Barda are her teammates. Sgt. Rock explains their mission: parachute onto the Alps, infiltrate Hozenverfen Castle, and free captured General Beatty. They end up in Verfen, where Catwoman, who gets them into town through a secret tunnel, meets them. Over at the castle, we find out that Commander Hausser is waiting for Schlachterochter: a female interrogator picked by Adolf Hitler, who may visit to watch her work over the General. Meanwhile, the girls are en route towards the castle when there is a car accident where
Bombshell Harley Quinn and Harley Quinn meet, with our Harley getting knocked out in the process. Seems that the WWII Harley is Die Schlachterochter and is working deep undercover to gain access to Hitler. Our Harley is in dreamland and has a dream about being wooed and eventually killing Count Jokula. She wakes in a meat locker, but makes an escape an heads out to find the rest of the Bombshells. Along the way, she gets picked up by Adolph Hitler and his driver, leading to her eliminating him from the game...maybe. She makes her way to the castle and, with the other Bombshells, frees General Beatty, kills a bunch of Nazi’s and causes Hitler to take himself out permanently. Just when it looks like she may be here for awhile, the time travel spell wears off and she ends up back in her apartment with Tony and her beaver.
This was a blast! Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti give us a fun story that makes me think I should be reading DC BOMBSHELLS…just because it’s a weird take on our heroines. But the biggest highlight here is the art team. The majority of the book is by Billy Tucci, who gives this issue such a fresh look. Flaviano gives us the pages set in our time and they fit the usual style of regular HARLEY QUINN artist Chad Hardin. The extra special bonus is the dream sequence which is by the always talented Joseph Michael Linsner. This could be the best single comic issue I have looked at in some time…certainly the best issue of this title to date.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9: Flash and the Infinity Corporation are in Rao's cathedral prior to him coming to Earth and converting everyone. Eventually, Flash and company time shift and head back to the present where Superman is dead. Diana refuses to take that as an answer and skews him with her bolt that manages to revive him. Meanwhile, Green Lantern is still being held captive in Ancient Krypton by future Rao, even though Ancient Rao does not agree with that. Future Rao, armed with Kryptonian warriors, and the Life and Forever Stones, transports ancient Krypton to the present day Earth. Good thing that Hal has managed to get free.
Ugh…this is so confusing. Last issue, which was a million years ago, the Infinity Corporation was in 1961 and Superman was dead. Now, the Infinity Corporation is somewhere different, we have a world’s worth of time traveling confusion, and Superman was still dead. Bryan hitch’ art is great, but this story, which should have been over months ago, just continues to limp on. The World’s Greatest Superheroes are second rate in this book.
LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #6: We begin the FIRESTORM tale with Firestorm battling the creatures that have come out of the various realities. Multiplex is bullying Dr. Cunningham and General Eiling has launched an attack on Multiplex’ base, which will kill them all. Ronnie and Professor Stein decide to separate, allowing Ronnie to attack Multiplex while Stein shuts down the Quantum Field Generator, which gets rid of the manifests. Firestorm reforms and flies out with Dr. Cunningham, leaving Multiplex to the mercy of the missiles being fired from Eiling’s jets. In the end, Jason reschedules his interview with Glo-Tech and Ronnie turns down the scholarship.
In the METAMORPHO tale, Metamorpho takes on and defeats Java, with the help of a sedative given by Sapphire. She goes with Rex to return to Orb to its’ proper home and that’s when Kanjar Ro attacks and the Orb gets cracked in the process. It merges with Sapphire, turning her into Unity, who will stay here and maintain the planet. Kanjar Ro escapes and Rex leaves the planet, returning home with Java and confronts Stagg.
In the SUGAR AND SPICE tale, the pair are setting up shop at the Metahuman Museum of Oddities when Saturn Girl, Lightning Boy and Cosmic Boy arrive. They want to hire Sugar and Spike to track down the Trans-Dimensional Modulating Refractor, which will cause problems in the 30th Century. Shortly thereafter, Supergirl, Brainiac 5 and Lightning Lad arrive and we discover that there may be a problem with a Time Paradox. Supergirl and Sugar go to S.T.A.R. Labs to attain the Trans-Dimensional Modulating Refractor and return to the Museum, where they discover a LOT of Legionnaires. Then Starfinger shows up and they a;; fight, except for Sugar, Supergirl and Spike, who asks Supergirl if she is seeing anyone.
In the METAL MEN tale, the old Metal Men and the new Metal Men team up to battle Chemo, but are all destroyed in the process. Tin is the last survivor and crafts himself into an arrow that pierces Chemo and causes the creature to be drained, but destroys Tin in the process. Mother Machine, last seen in the BLACKHAWKS, arrives and we find out she is the big bad from the previous five issues. She demands the responsometers but Magnus figures a way to have her suck inside forever. In the end, the General gets shipped to Antarctica and Magnus creates a new look line of Metal Men
And that is that! Firestorm was by Gerry Conway and Eduardo Pansica, Metamorpho was by Aaron Lopresti, Sugar and Spice was by Keith Giffen and Bilquis Eveley, and Metal Men was by Len Wein and Yildiray Cinar. I still was not thrilled with Firestorm but I warmed up to Sugar and Spice in the very end because Giffen added some really nice nostalgic touches including a picture of the young Sugar and Spice. The METAMORPHO piece ended up being my favorite, although I wasn’t thrilled to see Sapphire written off as a cosmic deity. And to have the metal Men updated…not a fan. In the end, I could go for series with all except Firestorm, just because I find this too wrapped up in feeling like it came from a television show
SIX PACK & DOG WELDER HARD TRAVELIN HEROEZ #1: Dog Welder spies on his family, with kids no longer having dogs on their faces and a new daddy figure in their life. Meanwhile, over at Noonan’s, Six Pack is reading classic GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW and tells Hacken he wants to go out and fix America. While Starfire, Power Girl and Catwoman sip drinks with Guts, and sexually harass Baytor, we find out that Bueno has been cheating on Guts with every dumpster in town. Dog Welder shows up and town and gets met by Constantine, who does his best to explain to Dog Welder that he is somehow connected with Ancient Egypt. The team goes outside and finds that The Spectre is here and is coming for “the fugitive from divine justice”. So is that Dog Welder or Six Pack?
I was a huge fan of the first SECTION 8 series and it looks like this is going to be no different. Garth Ennis has written another sick and twisted book and Russ Braun does a wonderful job of providing us with some pretty disgusting visuals. And how can you not love Catwoman getting frisky with Baytor? To make it better, Neal Adams did the variant cover, which is a total send-up of one of his classic GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW #76 cover. Guess what I’ll be looking to buy as a print when I see him in November.
SUICIDE SQUAD’S MOST WANTED: EL DIABLO AND BOOMERANG #1: In the first story, El Diablo is ordered to burn down a church during a mission, after which he decides he wants out of Task Force X. Waller refuses and has two potential Task Force X recruits beat him up. That’s when Uncle Sam, now a part of Checkmate, arrives to save him and offer him a deal. He heads to his old stomping grounds in East L.A. where Pinche Cabron, altered into a tentacled creature by some general, battle, leading to Cabron being defeated and El Diablo accepting Sam’s offer.
In the Boomerang story, a mission in South America goes bad and the Suicide Squad is forced to leave Captain Boomerang behind. Now he needs to make his way through the countryside while being chased by a group of superhumans. In the process, a girl with powers named Breaker meets up with him and teams up to get them both out.
Once again, the fine folks at DC attempt to capitalize on the Suicide Squad franchise. Unfortunately, the movie has already left the theaters and while it held its’ own at the box office, didn’t exactly set records. Jai Nitz and Cliff Richards are responsible for the El Diablo tale and I found it quite enjoyable, as we touch on Santana’s guilt and his wanting out of the business. Nitz writes some great dialogue and Richards’ art is pretty rocking too! Michael Moreci and Oscar Bazaldua are the team on the Boomerange story and it’s just okay. I mean, hero gets left behind and muct get out. I’m sorry-I saw BLACKHAWK DOWN.
TEEN TITANS #23: With the team hanging out in New Orleans, H.I.V.E. Queen shows up and begins possessing the townspeople. Bunker and Wonder Girl go off to destroy a satellite dish on top of the Superdome, while Power Girl and Beast Boy head off to do the same with the dish in Jackson Square. Unfortunately, they get affected and are possessed, leaving Red Robin and Raven to break into her lair, only to get possessed too. The H.I.V.E. Queen takes a look into Tim’s mind, screams, and faints. It seems Time set a Chaos Trap in her mind. And that’s what Titans do-win.
Tony Bedard and Miguel Mendonca bring this era of the Teen Titans to a close. And it does what it is supposed to do: tie up plotlines and leave us all with a final, good-feeling, splash page. To be honest, I expect no more or no less. Let’s see where the REBIRTH TEEN TITANS takes us…
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