Some recent first issues.
ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES #1: In the fictional world of Riverdale, all sorts of things can happen. Gee, the gang has previously crossed paths with The Punisher, Predator, and Sharknado. In this one-shot by Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg, and Gisele Lagace, the gang can’t seem to be able to get in the musical groove and ends up magically being transported back to New York in 1976 and meet the legendary band. The gang learns the importance of playing with heart and volume and that becomes their influence. This is a fun, non-offensive tribute.
BETTY BOOP #1: One of the classic characters from animation history makes her Dynamite debut along with her cast of supporting characters. The book looks and feels like those cartoons, thanks to Roger Langridge’s writing and Gisele Lagace’ art. My biggest complaint is that $3.99 for 19 pages is just a little too pricey for my blood! But, for fans of the gal, it’s a hit. And the cover by legend Howard Chaykin ain’t bad either!
THE BLACK HOOD Volume 2 #1: Greg Hettinger, a Highway Patrol Officer who has become a vigilante, has gone into hiding but is still attracting unwanted attention in Duane Swierczynski’s new volume of this Archie Comics Publication. Greg Scott’s art is dark and depressing while Swierczynski’s story is tightly written. This is a weird take on the vigilante character that Marvel made so famous with THE PUNISHER, but it works marvelously.
BLOODSHOT USA #1: Coming directly out of the regular BLOODSHOT series, the Bloodshot Squad makes their way to Manhattan, where the citizens have been infected by the Bloodshot nanites. Throw Deathmate, Ninjak, Livewire and Unity in the mix and you have Valiant attempting to woo me back into the fold after their BOOK OF DEATH series that turned me off. It’s a well-written first issue by Jeff Lemire with art by Doug Braithwaite that proves why this is one of the more popular Valiant characters.
BRITANNIA #1: I wrote off most of my valiant Comics collecting last year after their
“mega-event” turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me. But if you tell me that Peter Milligan is involved, that gets my attention. Couple that with the killer artwork of Juan Jose Ryp and we end up with a grisly historical tale set in Rome in 60 A.D. The art is amazing and so graphic that it might possibly turn some folks off. And the story will pretty much appeal to history buffs until the very end when the surprise drops in. I will probably give this another shot as I was intrigued and am curious to see where Milligan goes.
CANNIBAL #1: With CHEW being a big hit, this was likely to come along. J. Young and Brian Buccellato give us CANNIBAL. Set in Florida, we learn that a Category Five hurricane had caused mosquitoes carrying Yellow Fever to rear its’ ugly head. A medicine was created that cured the disease but left a side effect: the victims now craved human flesh. With the premise in place, Young introduces this malady into the locals. This is not your average flesh-eating tale. The characters are well defined, even in the first issue and who knows where it goes from here. This was a fun first issue and bears further investigating.
CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #1: Most people don’t remember Cave Carson but I sure do. He was a part of that wonderful group of superheroes who were just a bit on the fringe of the DCU. There was the Sea Devils, Rip Hunter, Doom Patrol, the Challengers of the Unknown…and Cave Carson. Well this Cave Carson is not the spelunker I grew up with. This one is a widower who is still troubled by his wife’s death and spends a lot of his time in his underground lab. He also hangs out for a bit with the Metal Men. And then it gets weird! Thanks to Gerard Way, Jon Rivera and artist Michael Avon Oeming for kick-starting this series into high gear right from the start. Oh yeah…you also get a cute little three page Wonder Twins back-up by Tom Scioli that is just twisted enough to catch my interest. This is such a fun trip and I truly cannot thank the creators enough for this. Here’s hoping it will have a long life supported by the fans!
CHAMPIONS #1: What happens when Ms. Marvel quits the Avengers? She puts together her own team of young heroes. Made up of a time displaced Cyclops, the Amadeus Cho Hulk, Nova, Miles Morales Spider Man and Vision’s daughter Viv, Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos try and recreate the excitement of the original series but don’t. The characters are cliched and the fact that Ms. Marvel is running point for this team baffles me. Personally, I’d let Morales or Cho run the team but hey…what do I know. Bring back the classic team again…please!
THE CLONE CONSPIRACY #1: Well…Jay Jameson is dead and Jonah is blaming Peter Parker for it. At the same time, Miles Warren is back and is bringing some classic Spider-Man characters with him. There’s Rhino and a female Electro and Gwen Stacy. Hey-even Doc Ock is back! And is that Captain Stacy? Yeah…the BIG Spider Man story is here in the form of this soon to be epic from Dan Slott and Jim Cheung. It looks awesome and Slott just hits all the right notes in the story. I cannot wait to read the next issue and will probably end up reading the tie-in books look the new PROWLER series.
DEATH OF X #1: It’s Marvel’s next big event book that is designed to fill in the eight month gap and how the status quo of the team became what it is. The creative team of Jeff Lemire, Charles Soule and Aaron Kuder gives us the tale of Mutant versus Inhumans. Cyclops, still alive at this point in history, accompanies his team to Muir Island where they discover that the Terrigen Mists are killing Mutants, especially Jamie Maddrox. The first issue sets up a future head-to-head that will hopefully get moving in the right direction. For now, this is a bit of a disappointment as too much time is sent with poor Scott Summers trying to be a cross between Charles Xavier and Magneto.
DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE SORCERERS SUPREME #1: Hey-did you know there is a NEW DOCTOR STRANGE movie on the horizon? Well, if you didn’t, all you have to do is look at Marvel’s publishing list and see a bunch of DOCTOR STRANGE title. The latest one is by Robbie Thompson and Javier Rodriguez and follows Stephen Strange as he is enlisted by Merlin to travel into the past and be part of a team of legendary sorcerers. Sir Isaac Newton, Kushala the Conjuror, an older Wiccan, and a younger Ancient One, Demon Rider, and the Mindless One(presently known as the Mindful One), band together to battle evil. If you’re a fan of the monthly title, this is the perfect tie-in.
DOOM PATROL #1: I am a HUGE fan of the Doom Patrol…all the Doom Patrols. I fell in love with the Arnold Drake crafted original team that “died” saving the world and then rode the Paul Kupperberg ride that gave us new members. But that was nothing compared to the crazy, creative and sometimes-bumpy train ride that was Grant Morrison, Rachel Pollack, John Arcudi, John Byrne and Keith Giffen. My Chemical Romance leader and comic creator Gerard Way, along with artist Nick Derington brings us the next chapter that introduces new characters and brings back such favorites as Niles Caulder, Robotman and Danny the Living Street. Strap in: this is Young Animal and it’s like Vertigo in the mainstream DC Universe.
THE GREAT LAKES AVENGERS #1: Back in the late Eighties, John Byrne created the misfit team known as The Great Lakes Avengers. Comprised of Mr. Immortal, Dinah Soar, Big Bertha, Flatman and Doorman, and later members such as Squirrel Girl, Deadpool, and Grasshopper. They have bounced around, mostly in the background, for the past 37 years. But now Marvel has brought them back and I was very thrilled…until I read it. Zac Gorman’s story falls flat and Will Robson’s art ends up being the high point of the book. Very disappointing to say the least.
INFAMOUS IRON MAN #1: Somewhere along the line in a CIVIL WAR II tale we have yet to read, Tony Stark has become an A.I.. And, following SECRET WARS, Victor Von Doom became healed. So, now Victor Von Doom has decided it’s time to put on Tony Stark’s armor and become a hero. But what kind of hero faces off with Diablo and turns him into dust to save the life of Maria Hill? The same kind that is being looked for by Ben Grimm, who we last saw with the Guardian of the Galaxy. And does this turn make Doom’s mama happy? You bet! Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev team up again and give us a great first issue. It’s a confusing bit as we still don’t know how Tony ended up as he did, but all will be revealed.
JESSICA JONES #1: well, it took a Netflix television show to bump up the interest in this character and the ALIAS series she was in back in 2001. This series from the creators on their series, Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, starts with Jessica getting out of prison and beginning her life anew as private investigator. That also means it brings back a supporting cast including Jessica Drew, Misty Knight and , of course, Luke cage. I’m a bit of a loss because I don’t know HOW she ended up in the slammer and then there is the obvious question of “where is the baby”.
JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS #1: Another classic Archie title gets a reboot as part of the new generation of Archie Comics. Marguerite Bennett, Cameron Deordio, and Audrey Monk combine to tell us how the legendary band came together. It looks great but the story leaves me wanting more. Personally, I miss the old band.
KISS #1: It’s almost 500 years after The Great War where the survivors have been forced to live underground in the city of Blackwell. Meet the four teenagers who question their existence and go looking for a way out. Their travel takes them through a tunnel filled with mystical symbols and eventually to the computer known as Morpheus. Amy Chu and Kewber Baal bring us the newest incarnation of the rock stars as superheroes. Does it work? Hard to tell at the moment as the “stars” of the book only show up on the last page and only as series of floating heads. This is just another take on the “man questioning their existence in a future society”. Personally, I think I’d rather watch LOGAN’S RUN.
LOVE AND ROCKETS Volume 4 #1: If you have never read L&R during it’s legendary career, then you have not only missed out on one of the first comic books in the Independent comics movement of the Eighties, but you have also missed out on one of the most amazing books since 1982. Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez bring us some truly fascinating slice of life stories with great art and plenty of heart, Gilbert brings us stories from the Mexican village of Palomar while Jaime tells Locas stories, set in Los Angeles and starring Maggie and Hopey and their friends. Storytelling at its’ finest!
PEEPLAND #1: I’m a HUGE FAN of the Hard Case Crimes series of novels. So I was VERY EXCITED to see that Titan Comics was doing a new series of Noir comics. Christa Faust and Gary Philips combine for this dark, gritty story set in the sleazy part of Times Square in 1986. Andrea Camerini provides the artwork and it’s the perfect fit. If you like crime stories, this is the start of a great relationship. Next up: Walter Hill’s TRIGGERMAN.
REBORN #1: One of the long-standing questions in life is where do we go when we die. What if we were reborn and came back to life in another place, fighting dragons, and such? Welcome to REBORN by Mark Millar and Greg Capullo. The concept is interesting and written well enough to entice me to come back for issue #2. As far as Capullo’s art goes: it’s Capullo. You either like it or you don’t.
SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #1: Megan Boyer is a teenage girl who is brain-dead. But she suddenly awakens and begins to live life again. But Megan isn’t really Megan. She is really an alien who has worn Shade’s cloak and made herself at home in Megan’s form. This is a trippy little tale that may also be epic mystery tale that will reveal who was responsible for Megan’s coma. This is another killer Young Animal comic, this time from the minds and pen of Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone.
SKYBOURNE #1: Once upon a Bible, Lazarus died and was resurrected. He lived long enough to father three children-Abraham, Thomas and Grace. Grace is a connected to the Mountain Top Foundation and she is currently in Turkey where she is retrieving Excalibur. It’s a bloody mess that leads to her battling an old man for possession of the sword. This is the newest creator-owned project by Frank Cho and it looks awesome…like everything Cho draws. And the amount of gore is staggering! The story is intriguing, if not for the fact that we have only met one of the Skybourne children. And…SPOILER…she may not make it until issue #2.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
DC REBIRTH Month 14, Part 2
NEW SUPER-MAN #3 by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic. Kenan continues to reveal his secret identity and reveals there is a Justice League of China. But Dr. Omen is smart enough to get the Batman and Wonder Woman of China to take him away before he reveals their identities. They end up at the meta-human prison for China called The Crab Shell. Back at the tower, Dr. Omen blasts Kenan with a Kryptonite gun and reprimands him for revealing the information about the team. Later, the trio has a long talk and Batman reveals that all of the targets so far are linked to each other, meaning the bad guys are trying to take out members of the Ministry. That night they go to Shanghai Ocean University where they meet The Freedom Fighters of China, who demand free passage out of there.
NIGHTWING #4 by Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez. Dr. Leviticus reveals that she has put all the information from the Book of Wisdom on a series of coins at the center of the Owl's labyrinth. Nightwing and Raptor release the prisoners within the labyrinth and discover that the leader of the Parliament is really an owl monster. They defeat the monster, but not before Raptor gets injured in the process, and get to the center of the labyrinth. Nightwing gets the coins and Raptor splits up, as he doesn’t want to end up caged. He also drops a bomb about knowing Dick’s mother. Raptor is also revealed to be working with Kobra.
NIGHTWING #5 by Steve Orlando, Tim Seeley, and Roge Antonio. Picking up where BATMAN #7 left ovff, Batman, Batwoman and Nightwing are trying to keep this bvig monster from destroying Gotham while Spoiler, Orphan and Clayface have moved the population to a cave high enough to save them from flood waters. Duke and Alfred are trying to figure out what is creating the Monster Men, but we do find out is that the first monster was actually Bob Castro, who committed suicide in BATMAN #2. Dick gets into the morgue and finds out there are four missing bodies and a lot of goo left behind. We also find out that the current monster was Oleg Balinoff: the Kobra agent who shot down the plane in BATMAN #1. In the end, a monster is making its’ way into Blackgate Prison. Not if Gotham Girl has her way.
RAVEN #1 by Marv Wolfman and Alisson Borges. Raven, now known as Rachel, goes to San Francisco to spend time with her human family in their suburban Christian home. That night, Raven has a nightmare about Trigon, but gets woken by the family. The next day, Raven goes to Madison High School where her sensitivity to people’s thoughts causes her to vomit. But she gets even when she makes those who laugh at her feel their worst fears. Soon she is making friends with some of the other kids who don’t fit in. She sees a poster for music star Night Mistress, she suffers another attack and sees someone. Her new friend Archer suddenly goes blind, forcing her to heal him. The next day, she sees the girl again and gives chase, only to be taken out by her. That night, a bunch of the kids go to the carnival, including the girl who scanned Raven. She leaves and gets taken away by a ball of light. At the same time, Raven is in her bed and being attacked by a spirit bird.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #2 by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy. After getting an abbreviated Artemis origin, we come back to Artemis battling Red Hood. His mask gets broken and she gets shocked, all of which impresses his boss, Black Mask. But she quickly recovers and soon Jason is protecting Artemis and they become friends. Black Mask steals a train car, so the duo break in to find…the creature who will be Bizarro.
SUICIDE SQUAD #2. In the main story, by Rob Williams and Jim Lee, Waller and NSA Agent Harcourt watch the Suicide Squad as they slowly drown in the North Atlantic. Katana manages to free Harley and Croc from their water filled suits while Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Rick Flag break into the Russian prison using the rocket they were hanging onto upon entry. Revived, the team proceeds to dismantle, literally, the guards, freeing the woman known as Hack. She transports them to the Black vault where they encounter a giant black sphere that somehow contains the Phantom Zone. It also fires a beam that blasts Boomerang, leaving only smoking boots behind. Out of the orb comes General Zod. In the back-up by Williams and Ivan Reis, Captain Boomerang tells Waller his origin, which makes him seem like Australia’s answer to James Bond.
SUICIDE SQUAD #3. In the main story, by Rob Williams and Jim Lee, General Zod is free and has disintegrated Captain Boomerang with his heat vision. June Moon turns into the Enchantress, but Zod hits her with Croc and that takes her out of the fight. Katana gets involved and slashes him open with her sword. The military shows up just as Deadshot and Harley Quinn crack out some guns they found to take them out. That’s when the Russian super-team, The Annihilation Brigade, shows up. In the back-up story by Williams and Philip Tan, Katana’s origin story is told by Amanda Waller.
SUPERGIRL #1 by Steve Orlando and Brian Ching. After a recap about her origin, we get snippets of her current life as a student in National City. Later, Supergirl takes down some terrorists on a train threatening to steal everyone’s identity with a gadget called Dataphage. Cat Grant is there, claims she was in control, and blames Supergirl for ruining things. When she gets to Blade, Cameron Chase chews her out for being reckless and not having been authorized to be involved. The Danvers try to make Kara feel better and, in the end, she ends up in the Fortress of Solitude where, apparently, so is daddy!
SUPERMAN #6 by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. Superman faces off with the Eradicator, eventually pulling Krypto back from inside. Together they team up and defeat the Eradicator, freeing the souls of Krypton. In the end, Superman meets with the rest of the Trinity, apologizes for trashing the moom based bat cave. And he also introduces Batman and Wonder Woman to…Superboy.
SUPERMAN #7 by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Jorge Jimenez. Clark, Lois and Jon go out for a night on the town and Clark promises not to use his powers at all. So off they go to the Hamilton County Fair, where some crooks are planning on a big robbery. Luckily Clark is there.
SUPERWOMAN #2 by Phil Jimenez. Lois Lane is dead, having been killed by a version of Superwoman from Earth-3. At the same time, Lex Luthor’s super suit doesn’t work so he can’t keep Mercy from launching an attack on Metropolis. Steel convinces Lana to go to Maggie Sawyer and tell her about what happened to Lois. At Steel’s apartment, his niece shows off a special suit designed to dampen her electricity powers that she has called the Insect Queen. The Atomic Skull attacks downtown Metropolis and demands to see Superman, but it’s Superwoman who appears. Meanwhile, Luthor gets attacked by Mercy, who is also a Bizarro version of herself. It’s a trap made possible by Lena Luthor.
TEEN TITANS REBIRTH #1 by Ben Percy and Jonboy Meyers. Beast Boy is partying down at a Los Angeles nightclub where he ends up in a pool with a hot girl before gets taken down by a mysterious attacker. In the Caribbean, Starfire is having a meeting regarding human trafficking when someone grabs a kid and runs away. When she stops him, he claims someone made him do it and then she gets taken out by a mysterious hand that sends electric shocks into her. Raven is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when she sees a painting of herself as a baby along with Trigon. She gets shot with a tranquilizer by a mysterious person and is knocked out. New 52 Wally West comes across an unconscious body in a subway tunnel. But the body is just a dummy and he gets hit with knockout gas. In the end, they find themselves being held captive…by Damian Wayne and Goliath.
TITANS #3 by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth. Garth has been blasted by Abra Kadabra, which leads to Wally battling the villain. But he disappears and takes the fake Titans with him. Wally has a theory that Kadabra created the fake Titans as a way to test them. Lilith's double tells Kadabra how she believes that Wally and Linda Park are connected and that gives the magician an idea as to who might have been responsible for all of this. Wally goes to meet with Linda but, before he can get too far into explanations, Kadabra shows up and kidnaps her.
TRINITY #1 by Francis Manapul. At the farm, a knock at the door leads Jon to try and look through the door and accidentally blasts Wonder Woman and Batman with his heat vision. Someone should have told him that Lois had invited Bruce and Diana over for dinner. During dinner, Clark tells Jon about Batman protecting Robin by wearing a rainbow Bat Suit as seen in DETECTIVE COMICS #241, although Bruce claims he has no memory of this (because it didn’t happened in the NEW 52 Universe). Bruce and Diana admit they are here because they need to find out if THIS Superman is like the one they knew. In the end, Lois and Diana get comfortable as friends and everyone enjoying being together. But what is going on in the barn and how can young Clark and his family be there?
WONDER WOMAN #6 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. In the third part of YEAR ONE, Diana and Steve are heading back to civilization in the Invisible Jet. They get to the Coronado Naval Base and one of the sailors makes the mistake of putting his hands on her. He convinces her to trust him, but there are bigger issues as it seems that his medical exam is revealing things that should not be and he is better than he was when he left. While Diana is in the holding cell, Steve goes to visit Nick's wife and son. Later, she is visited by Barbara Minerva and explains that the Gods visited her and they gave her gifts. She demonstrates by breaking out of her cell.
WONDER WOMAN #7 by Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp. In Part Four of THE LIES, Wonder Woman and Cheetah have freed the kidnapped women. The girls are led to safety by Steve’s colleagues while Diana and Barbara head off to save Steve from Urzkartaga. In the end, Wonder Woman defeats Urzkartaga and Barbara has reverted back to her original self.
NIGHTWING #4 by Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez. Dr. Leviticus reveals that she has put all the information from the Book of Wisdom on a series of coins at the center of the Owl's labyrinth. Nightwing and Raptor release the prisoners within the labyrinth and discover that the leader of the Parliament is really an owl monster. They defeat the monster, but not before Raptor gets injured in the process, and get to the center of the labyrinth. Nightwing gets the coins and Raptor splits up, as he doesn’t want to end up caged. He also drops a bomb about knowing Dick’s mother. Raptor is also revealed to be working with Kobra.
NIGHTWING #5 by Steve Orlando, Tim Seeley, and Roge Antonio. Picking up where BATMAN #7 left ovff, Batman, Batwoman and Nightwing are trying to keep this bvig monster from destroying Gotham while Spoiler, Orphan and Clayface have moved the population to a cave high enough to save them from flood waters. Duke and Alfred are trying to figure out what is creating the Monster Men, but we do find out is that the first monster was actually Bob Castro, who committed suicide in BATMAN #2. Dick gets into the morgue and finds out there are four missing bodies and a lot of goo left behind. We also find out that the current monster was Oleg Balinoff: the Kobra agent who shot down the plane in BATMAN #1. In the end, a monster is making its’ way into Blackgate Prison. Not if Gotham Girl has her way.
RAVEN #1 by Marv Wolfman and Alisson Borges. Raven, now known as Rachel, goes to San Francisco to spend time with her human family in their suburban Christian home. That night, Raven has a nightmare about Trigon, but gets woken by the family. The next day, Raven goes to Madison High School where her sensitivity to people’s thoughts causes her to vomit. But she gets even when she makes those who laugh at her feel their worst fears. Soon she is making friends with some of the other kids who don’t fit in. She sees a poster for music star Night Mistress, she suffers another attack and sees someone. Her new friend Archer suddenly goes blind, forcing her to heal him. The next day, she sees the girl again and gives chase, only to be taken out by her. That night, a bunch of the kids go to the carnival, including the girl who scanned Raven. She leaves and gets taken away by a ball of light. At the same time, Raven is in her bed and being attacked by a spirit bird.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #2 by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy. After getting an abbreviated Artemis origin, we come back to Artemis battling Red Hood. His mask gets broken and she gets shocked, all of which impresses his boss, Black Mask. But she quickly recovers and soon Jason is protecting Artemis and they become friends. Black Mask steals a train car, so the duo break in to find…the creature who will be Bizarro.
SUICIDE SQUAD #2. In the main story, by Rob Williams and Jim Lee, Waller and NSA Agent Harcourt watch the Suicide Squad as they slowly drown in the North Atlantic. Katana manages to free Harley and Croc from their water filled suits while Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Rick Flag break into the Russian prison using the rocket they were hanging onto upon entry. Revived, the team proceeds to dismantle, literally, the guards, freeing the woman known as Hack. She transports them to the Black vault where they encounter a giant black sphere that somehow contains the Phantom Zone. It also fires a beam that blasts Boomerang, leaving only smoking boots behind. Out of the orb comes General Zod. In the back-up by Williams and Ivan Reis, Captain Boomerang tells Waller his origin, which makes him seem like Australia’s answer to James Bond.
SUICIDE SQUAD #3. In the main story, by Rob Williams and Jim Lee, General Zod is free and has disintegrated Captain Boomerang with his heat vision. June Moon turns into the Enchantress, but Zod hits her with Croc and that takes her out of the fight. Katana gets involved and slashes him open with her sword. The military shows up just as Deadshot and Harley Quinn crack out some guns they found to take them out. That’s when the Russian super-team, The Annihilation Brigade, shows up. In the back-up story by Williams and Philip Tan, Katana’s origin story is told by Amanda Waller.
SUPERGIRL #1 by Steve Orlando and Brian Ching. After a recap about her origin, we get snippets of her current life as a student in National City. Later, Supergirl takes down some terrorists on a train threatening to steal everyone’s identity with a gadget called Dataphage. Cat Grant is there, claims she was in control, and blames Supergirl for ruining things. When she gets to Blade, Cameron Chase chews her out for being reckless and not having been authorized to be involved. The Danvers try to make Kara feel better and, in the end, she ends up in the Fortress of Solitude where, apparently, so is daddy!
SUPERMAN #6 by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. Superman faces off with the Eradicator, eventually pulling Krypto back from inside. Together they team up and defeat the Eradicator, freeing the souls of Krypton. In the end, Superman meets with the rest of the Trinity, apologizes for trashing the moom based bat cave. And he also introduces Batman and Wonder Woman to…Superboy.
SUPERMAN #7 by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Jorge Jimenez. Clark, Lois and Jon go out for a night on the town and Clark promises not to use his powers at all. So off they go to the Hamilton County Fair, where some crooks are planning on a big robbery. Luckily Clark is there.
SUPERWOMAN #2 by Phil Jimenez. Lois Lane is dead, having been killed by a version of Superwoman from Earth-3. At the same time, Lex Luthor’s super suit doesn’t work so he can’t keep Mercy from launching an attack on Metropolis. Steel convinces Lana to go to Maggie Sawyer and tell her about what happened to Lois. At Steel’s apartment, his niece shows off a special suit designed to dampen her electricity powers that she has called the Insect Queen. The Atomic Skull attacks downtown Metropolis and demands to see Superman, but it’s Superwoman who appears. Meanwhile, Luthor gets attacked by Mercy, who is also a Bizarro version of herself. It’s a trap made possible by Lena Luthor.
TEEN TITANS REBIRTH #1 by Ben Percy and Jonboy Meyers. Beast Boy is partying down at a Los Angeles nightclub where he ends up in a pool with a hot girl before gets taken down by a mysterious attacker. In the Caribbean, Starfire is having a meeting regarding human trafficking when someone grabs a kid and runs away. When she stops him, he claims someone made him do it and then she gets taken out by a mysterious hand that sends electric shocks into her. Raven is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when she sees a painting of herself as a baby along with Trigon. She gets shot with a tranquilizer by a mysterious person and is knocked out. New 52 Wally West comes across an unconscious body in a subway tunnel. But the body is just a dummy and he gets hit with knockout gas. In the end, they find themselves being held captive…by Damian Wayne and Goliath.
TITANS #3 by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth. Garth has been blasted by Abra Kadabra, which leads to Wally battling the villain. But he disappears and takes the fake Titans with him. Wally has a theory that Kadabra created the fake Titans as a way to test them. Lilith's double tells Kadabra how she believes that Wally and Linda Park are connected and that gives the magician an idea as to who might have been responsible for all of this. Wally goes to meet with Linda but, before he can get too far into explanations, Kadabra shows up and kidnaps her.
TRINITY #1 by Francis Manapul. At the farm, a knock at the door leads Jon to try and look through the door and accidentally blasts Wonder Woman and Batman with his heat vision. Someone should have told him that Lois had invited Bruce and Diana over for dinner. During dinner, Clark tells Jon about Batman protecting Robin by wearing a rainbow Bat Suit as seen in DETECTIVE COMICS #241, although Bruce claims he has no memory of this (because it didn’t happened in the NEW 52 Universe). Bruce and Diana admit they are here because they need to find out if THIS Superman is like the one they knew. In the end, Lois and Diana get comfortable as friends and everyone enjoying being together. But what is going on in the barn and how can young Clark and his family be there?
WONDER WOMAN #6 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. In the third part of YEAR ONE, Diana and Steve are heading back to civilization in the Invisible Jet. They get to the Coronado Naval Base and one of the sailors makes the mistake of putting his hands on her. He convinces her to trust him, but there are bigger issues as it seems that his medical exam is revealing things that should not be and he is better than he was when he left. While Diana is in the holding cell, Steve goes to visit Nick's wife and son. Later, she is visited by Barbara Minerva and explains that the Gods visited her and they gave her gifts. She demonstrates by breaking out of her cell.
WONDER WOMAN #7 by Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp. In Part Four of THE LIES, Wonder Woman and Cheetah have freed the kidnapped women. The girls are led to safety by Steve’s colleagues while Diana and Barbara head off to save Steve from Urzkartaga. In the end, Wonder Woman defeats Urzkartaga and Barbara has reverted back to her original self.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
DC REBIRTH Month 4, Part 1
Because it’s Con season and I have a million photo jobs staring me in the face(not a true million…but a lot!), I’m changing things up a little. I’ll be doing synopisis’ only this month, without doing an actual review on the books. Hopefully, that will change with the October titles. Thanks for understanding.
ACTION COMICS #963 by Dan Jurgens and Patrick Zircher. Clark Kent shows up at a Luthor Press Conference to tell his story, when someone tries to assassinate him. After a lie detector test proves he isn’t Superman, we see that Calrk has been doing research on the Geneticron Company. He gets caught by the Geneticron crew and is tossed off a roof, only to be saved by the Man of Steel who insists they need to talk.
ACTION COMICS #964 by Dan Jurgens and Patrick Zircher. Superman takes Clark Kent to his Fortress of Solitude where he uses an alien artifact to get at the truth. Clark’s parents were killed in a natural gas explosion and the Kent family adopted him. He grew up in Smallville with Kenny Braverman, Lana Lang and Pete Ross, before going off to college and going to work for the Daily Planet. It also seems that Doomsday was being kept at Geneticron before being sprung. Superman and Clark had back to Metropolis, only to find that the Geneticron building has disappeared. In the end, Clark writes a story about his time with Superman and we see a mystery man standing in front of a mysterious wall with a Superman crest on it. He claims the path is clear and the only answer is death.
ALL STAR BATMAN #2 by Scott Snyder and John Romita Jr. Two days from now, Gordon and Bullock are on their way to Wayne Manor and when they get there, they find the Batcave entrance inside the grandfather’s clock. 20 hours ago, Black Mask, Penguin and Great White are trying to get a certain Russian out of retirement. In the current time, Killer Croc, King Shark, Amygdala, Cheshire, Copperhead are just part of the crew trying to take out Batman. Dispatching them, Batman goes back to the process of getting Two-Face into custody when he gets shot in the head. He wakes inside a police van with Harvey and some of his henchmen when the van gets taken out by the no longer retired Russian-the KGBeast. In the Cursed Wheel backup, Duke visits his parents in between trying to help Batman are investigate Zsasz’ victims when he might be the latest one, as he gets slashed by him.
AQUAMAN #6 by Dan Abnett and Brad Walker. Superman has arrived to have a conversation with Aquaman concerning the current situation. When he is told he cannot leave, Aquaman slugs Superman and that leads to a huge fight between the three of them. Tula and the Atlantean army arrives and Aquaman sends them away, as Superman tells him he needs to fix things. Over in Antarctica, King Fisher tells Black Manta that he needs to follow orders. His response: he slits King Fisher’s throat and takes the throne.
AQUAMAN #7 by Dan Abnett and Scot Eaton. Aquaman and Mera are back in Atlantis, where he is getting upset that some of his closest advisors have a problem with Mera. Murk comes in and says that they found old Atlantean armor and weapons near the sunken ship, designed to make it look like the Atlanteans were responsible. Meanwhile, Black Manta and Black Jack show up at a N.E.M.O. meeting, kills some members and explains that he is in charge now. Back at the Penitentiary Vault, Aquaman and Mera visit terrorist leader Corum Rath who explains that, although he is a fan of the sinking, he and his people were not responsible. Arthur calls Agent Irving and asks for her help and she agrees. But N.E.M.O. has launched a secret weapon in the form of a giant monster on its' way to Atlantis.
BATGIRL #3 by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque. Babs has gotten her butt handed to her by Wen Lu, and then discovers that Wen Lu is deaf. She also recalls seeing the same tattoo that the ninja attacker had and realizes that Kai is in trouble. She gets to their place, finds a ninja lady named Moth, and proceeds to beat her down. She also discovers a spy cam and confronts Kai about his secrets before leaving. She traces the spy cam signal to South Korea and figures out that Kai is transporting bio-encrypted bacteria. Batgirl traces the signal to the top of a building and gets trapped by Moth and a construction guy, who tells her that “teacher” is heading to Shanghai. That certainly means Kai is in trouble.
BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #2 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson and Claire Roe. Batgirl and the Birds are riding with Jim Gordon and taking Santo to a safe house. The Birds head back to the Watchtower where they get paid a visit by the Dark Knight himself, who tells Batgirl he knows she doesn’t need him BUT will be around if she does.
Barbara gets a location on Oracle and the team heads there, only to find it abandoned. As Batgirl tries to download some information off one of the terminals there, they discover a bomb, which it takes the Huntress to save Batgirl and Canary. With the Birds tied up, Oracle has sent a group of snake powered meta-humans to the safe house.
BATMAN #6 by Tom King and Ivan Reis. Gotham Girl cuts her hair and continues to fight to defend Gotham, even as she talks to the brother she killed last issue. Batman follows her and reveals his identity to her, explaining how he knows the pain of loss. We end with Batman going to Amanda Waller that Bane is behind everything and he will have to face him to and we find out what Hugo Strange was up to, where Psycho Pirate is right now and who Batman will have to face to get the revenge/justice/cure for Claire that he desperately wants. However, next up is the Monster Men and I can't wait for all of these stories. I am 100% onboard.
BATMAN #7 by Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo. In the first part of the Monster Men crossover, a giant, zombie Baby Monster is attacking Gotham. The team takes down the creature and sends that DNA info to the Batcave where it is revealed that this was Anthony Castro, who we previously saw kill himself while declaring that the “Monster Men are here”.
BATMAN BEYOND REBIRTH #1 by Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook. The Jokerz are attacking a school bus full of kids when Batman, the Terry McGinnis Batman, arrives to break up the party. The cops arrive just in time to see the Jokerz die from Joker Venom.
We also get a flashback retelling of the Batman Beyond animated series origin. The Jokerz, led by an old high school friend of Dana Tan, kidnaps her. It seems they need her help in resurrecting The Joker.
BLUE BEETLE #1 by Keith Giffen and Scott Kolins. We begin with Jaime describing a dream he has had where Doctor Fate is battling a Blue Beetle type creature. At school, Ted Kord shows up for a presentation, before meeting with a member of the Posse and then taking Jamie with him back to his lab. Later they go off so Blue Beetle can investigate the disappearance of a bunch of his schoolmates, when he gets attacked by a creature. Beetle defeats the creature, which transforms back into one of the missing kids. But that doesn’t seem to be the end as mutated Posse members arrive on scene.
CYBORG REBIRTH #1 by John Semper Jr. and Paul Pelletier. Cyborg is attempting to stop a techno creature known as Malware from entering S.T.A.R. Labs. During the battle, we get a flashback involving Vic’s mother and father, the battle to find a cure for her cancer, her death, and the accident the caused his creation. Malware made its’ way to a secret room that only Vic’s father knew about that houses a secret database. Cyborg defeats the creature and when see that a cybernetic visitor is watching all the robot characters in the DC Universe to set them loose onto the population.
CYBORG #1 by John Semper Jr. and Paul Pelletier. Cyborg stops an armored car robbery while the mysterious cybernetic from last issue activates the creature named Kilg%re. Back at S.T.A.R., Vic’s father runs diagnostics on his son, who is still upset about finding the secret files last issue. Sarah takes him out to see a blind jazz musician and he realizes the importance of having a soul. Unfortunately, they leave the club and Kilg%re arrives.
DEATHSTROKE #2 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama, and Carlo Pagulayan. Slade's son Joey gets kidnapped by someone named Deathstroke. We move to a bar in Edinburgh, where Deathstroke and Wintergreen meet up with Fredric and try to figure out who sold out Wintergreen. Another flashback and we see a mission in Cambodia going bad, complete with an appearance by a young girl with silver hair. In the present, we learn that Fredric sold Wintergreen out. But Slade knew that already. He wants the "Canuck", who turns out to be a super-powered Dr. Ikon. Wintergreen, who has killed Fredric, contacts Slade and lets him know he has been in contact with Hosun and has found a message from Slade's daughter among his old messages. And she is dressed like Deathstroke. Ravager is back.
DEATHSTROKE #3 by Christopher Priest and Joe Bennett. As Deathstroke silently looks over his daughter and her man, she wakes to find he has left. This shifts to a clairvoyant girl who finds out the hit she was hired for was actually a setup. Deathstroke arrives and we discover that the hit girl is really Rose in disguise and she is thrilled to find out that Wintergreen is still alive. We get a flashback showing the results of "Call Me Deathstroke", where his son has had his throat cut and Adeline shoots Slade in the back of the head, costing him his eye. Back in the present, Deathstroke and Ravager go after the person who took out the contract to kill Rose. Slade finds the woman who was hired to engage the hit and decides to take the money. In the end, he’s pretty sure the money will lead him to someone rich in Gotham.
DETECTIVE COMICS #940 by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows. Up on the Colony Airship, Batwoman shows up and ends up in a brawl with her dad. Tim has barely survived the first round of drone attacks when a second one is in-bound. He calls Stephanie, tells her how much he loves her and seemingly dies in the second wave. Everyone mourns the loss of another Boy Wonder, especially when Batman finds out he was going off to college. It turns out that Tim isn’t dead and was transported to the abode of Mr. Oz, who tells Tim that he was trying to reconnect things that needed to stay apart.
DETECTIVE COMICS #941 by Steve Orlando and Andy McDonald. Batman and his team continue to fight the mutated creatures wreaking havoc in Gotham while continuing to deal with the loss of Tim Drake. Nightwing and Gotham Girl end up in Blackgate, where she ends up fighting former prisoner Oleg Barlinoff, who has become a spider monster. Gotham Girl tears the spider apart, causing her and Nightwing to be covered in its’ blood. That’s a big mistake as it leads to our heroes being transformed.
THE FLASH #6 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Godspeed continues to take out speedsters and villains alike, with his most recent victim being Billy Parks. Meanwhwhile, Barry is trying to deal with the sudden death of Meena. Wally finds out about her death and heads into action to find Flash. Barry figures out something based on Parks’ death and confronts August, who admits he killed Parks because he believed he was the person responsible for his brother’s death. He’s been killing speedsters accidentally, because he has been draining their powers and that allows him to be in two places at once.
THE FLASH #7 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Barry is getting beat badly by Godspeed, forcing him to flee and lick his wounds. Meanwhile, some Black Hole terrorists have taken prisoners at a bank and are planning on executing them if Dr. Carver isn't released. Godspeed arrives and executes them instead. Wally finds Flash and he explains how he has powers too and had them before the recent event. So the two team up and Barry figures out how to free the speedsters from the Speed Force. He absorbs their powers and brings himself back to full energy just a Godspeed arrives, attacks Avery and then heads to Irongate to kill all the guilty.
GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #1 by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl and Adam Archer. Olive and Professor Macpherson are having dinner at the start of Winter Break. Macpherson breaks their dinner date for the next night and Olive meets her new roommate Amy. Olive shows Amy around the campus including smashing one of Macpherson’s windows and breaking into the Wedgwood Museum, where Amy slashes a painting of Thomas Wayne. They end up in the séance room where Olive faints. When she wakes, Amy and Eric are there and we learn that Wedgwood was a Cobblepot. Amy steals Eric’s research, steals his inhaler, and locks them in. Olive finds a tunnel out and Mr. Scarlett, who has Eric’s asthma inhaler, discovers them. Winter Break is over and the kids are back.
GREEN ARROW #6 by Benjamin Percy and Stephen Byrne. We learn that Shado was a double agent working for the Yakuza and reporting on the Ninth Circle. In a flashback, we see that a watch from the Clock King affects Emiko and that watch brings drug addiction to a whole new level. In the present, Emiko makes her her debut at the Kumite and Oyabun, who owns her and her mother, wants to meet her.
GREEN ARROW #7 by Benjamin Percy and Stephen Byrne. We flashback to a year ago when Ollie found out that the Clock King was controlling his life through his watch. Ollie gets captured and it takes Emiko to save him. In present day, where Emiko meets with Oyabun and agrees to fight him, who is really a dragon, with the freedom of her and her mother at stake. Shado shows up and mother and daughter save the day.
GREEN LANTERNS #6 by Sam Humphries and Will Conrad. It looks like Atrocitus may be killing Simon, since the Lantern is alone and Jessica is nowhere to be found. When all seems lost, she appears from nowhere and, by making a construct, brings Hell Tower down. The Red Lanterns leave and Jessica makes Simon’s day by finding the teddy bear he thought was lost and destroyed.. Jessica reunites with her sister, Simon reunites with his family and the Guardian tells of the Phantom Ring. It’s not a total loss for the Red Lanterns as Dex-Starr planted the Rage Seed before Hell Tower came down, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
GREEN LANTERNS #7 by Sam Humphries and Ronan Cliquet. Simon is making Ma’amoul for Halloween and he’s awful at it. So Jessica lends a hand, while trying to convince him that he’s not a terrible son. In the end, Simon's mother arrives and, after getting over her disappointment about him being a Green Lantern, she tries the cookies and approves. He has finally managed to make his mother proud. But, just when things look good, Rami freaks out and claims that the the Dominators have followed him to Earth.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #4 by Robert Vendetti and Ethan Van Sciver. The Yellow Lanterns bring Sinestro a captured Green Lantern. But it’s Guy Gardner and that just pisses Sinestro off! Hal is in the custody of Sinestro’s daughter Soranik who is trying to revive him with a construct of her creation, that is leaving one heck of a scar. Sinestro shows Guy the Fear Engine before the Guardian kills a beer and crushes the can on his head to prove he’s tough. Meanwhile, John Stewart decides that too much time has elapsed and sends the other Lanterns to go look for their missing comrade.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #5 by Robert Vendetti and Ethan Van Sciver. Guy is trapped inside the Fear Engine where the Sacrament is torturing him. Meanwhile, Sinestro confides to Lyssa that the fact that his own daughter took Hal makes him rather angry and Lyssa suggests that maybe he should kill her. Soranik has used her medical skills to stitch up Hal and explains that she was once the leader of the Sinestro Corps when he was at a point near death. As he shows off his ability to construct a really cool glove, he swears that he is going to find a way to stop her father. John Stewart and Kilowog and the rest of the Lanterns are on their way to find Guy when they encounter a fleet of space ships. Turns out these are good guys who are coming together to take on Warworld.
HARLEY QUINN #3 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Bret Blevins. Red Tool gets an arm reattached, but it belongs to a deceased exhibitionist. Meanwhile, on planet Zhelbon, the parents of the alien that became hot god meat and started the whole zombie outbreak decide they need to go looking for their child. Harley and the crew go through some secret tunnels looking for food and end up coming across some zombies that chase after them. Luckily, the aliens find out their son has been cut into many thousands of pieces and they literally suck those pieces out of the zombies, curing them by killing them.
HARLEY QUINN #4 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Joseph Michael Linsner. Harley is walking the boardwalk and runs into Frank Tieri, who has a booth called “Frank Frank”, where he tells her “life is meaningless.” Then she finds herself on a flight to Mumbai with Bolly Quinn to deal with the scam artists trying to steal personal information from the elderly, leading them to be attacked by a giant robot at a call center. After defeating the robot, she heads to Russia and slits the throat of the mobster behind it all.
THE HELLBLAZER #2 by Simon Oliver and Moritat. While Mercury and Swamp Thing sit back and talk about Abby, John Constantine is getting his walking papers from Chas. He ends up at a Members Only club where he meets with Clarice Sackville, who tells him he may have messed up with getting rid of the demon from the REBIRTH issue. He ends up being followed around by a pair of freaky looking twins before he ends up falling down a strange spiral staircase he found in a subway tunnel.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 by Bryan Hitch and Jesus Merino. All of our heroes continue to try and stop the Kindred from allowing The Purge to happen. While Superman battles to survive the Earth’s Core, Wonder Woman threatens the Kindred, Barry loses his Speed Force and the Green Lanterns find an army made up of Cyborg looking creatures.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 by Bryan Hitch and Tony S. Daniel. The team continues to battle the Kindred to stop The Purge. But Cyborg has the ability to control the Purge and apparently THAT will stop the Kindred. In the end, the team saves the day, even though Batman says this is far from over.
ACTION COMICS #963 by Dan Jurgens and Patrick Zircher. Clark Kent shows up at a Luthor Press Conference to tell his story, when someone tries to assassinate him. After a lie detector test proves he isn’t Superman, we see that Calrk has been doing research on the Geneticron Company. He gets caught by the Geneticron crew and is tossed off a roof, only to be saved by the Man of Steel who insists they need to talk.
ACTION COMICS #964 by Dan Jurgens and Patrick Zircher. Superman takes Clark Kent to his Fortress of Solitude where he uses an alien artifact to get at the truth. Clark’s parents were killed in a natural gas explosion and the Kent family adopted him. He grew up in Smallville with Kenny Braverman, Lana Lang and Pete Ross, before going off to college and going to work for the Daily Planet. It also seems that Doomsday was being kept at Geneticron before being sprung. Superman and Clark had back to Metropolis, only to find that the Geneticron building has disappeared. In the end, Clark writes a story about his time with Superman and we see a mystery man standing in front of a mysterious wall with a Superman crest on it. He claims the path is clear and the only answer is death.
ALL STAR BATMAN #2 by Scott Snyder and John Romita Jr. Two days from now, Gordon and Bullock are on their way to Wayne Manor and when they get there, they find the Batcave entrance inside the grandfather’s clock. 20 hours ago, Black Mask, Penguin and Great White are trying to get a certain Russian out of retirement. In the current time, Killer Croc, King Shark, Amygdala, Cheshire, Copperhead are just part of the crew trying to take out Batman. Dispatching them, Batman goes back to the process of getting Two-Face into custody when he gets shot in the head. He wakes inside a police van with Harvey and some of his henchmen when the van gets taken out by the no longer retired Russian-the KGBeast. In the Cursed Wheel backup, Duke visits his parents in between trying to help Batman are investigate Zsasz’ victims when he might be the latest one, as he gets slashed by him.
AQUAMAN #6 by Dan Abnett and Brad Walker. Superman has arrived to have a conversation with Aquaman concerning the current situation. When he is told he cannot leave, Aquaman slugs Superman and that leads to a huge fight between the three of them. Tula and the Atlantean army arrives and Aquaman sends them away, as Superman tells him he needs to fix things. Over in Antarctica, King Fisher tells Black Manta that he needs to follow orders. His response: he slits King Fisher’s throat and takes the throne.
AQUAMAN #7 by Dan Abnett and Scot Eaton. Aquaman and Mera are back in Atlantis, where he is getting upset that some of his closest advisors have a problem with Mera. Murk comes in and says that they found old Atlantean armor and weapons near the sunken ship, designed to make it look like the Atlanteans were responsible. Meanwhile, Black Manta and Black Jack show up at a N.E.M.O. meeting, kills some members and explains that he is in charge now. Back at the Penitentiary Vault, Aquaman and Mera visit terrorist leader Corum Rath who explains that, although he is a fan of the sinking, he and his people were not responsible. Arthur calls Agent Irving and asks for her help and she agrees. But N.E.M.O. has launched a secret weapon in the form of a giant monster on its' way to Atlantis.
BATGIRL #3 by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque. Babs has gotten her butt handed to her by Wen Lu, and then discovers that Wen Lu is deaf. She also recalls seeing the same tattoo that the ninja attacker had and realizes that Kai is in trouble. She gets to their place, finds a ninja lady named Moth, and proceeds to beat her down. She also discovers a spy cam and confronts Kai about his secrets before leaving. She traces the spy cam signal to South Korea and figures out that Kai is transporting bio-encrypted bacteria. Batgirl traces the signal to the top of a building and gets trapped by Moth and a construction guy, who tells her that “teacher” is heading to Shanghai. That certainly means Kai is in trouble.
BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #2 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson and Claire Roe. Batgirl and the Birds are riding with Jim Gordon and taking Santo to a safe house. The Birds head back to the Watchtower where they get paid a visit by the Dark Knight himself, who tells Batgirl he knows she doesn’t need him BUT will be around if she does.
Barbara gets a location on Oracle and the team heads there, only to find it abandoned. As Batgirl tries to download some information off one of the terminals there, they discover a bomb, which it takes the Huntress to save Batgirl and Canary. With the Birds tied up, Oracle has sent a group of snake powered meta-humans to the safe house.
BATMAN #6 by Tom King and Ivan Reis. Gotham Girl cuts her hair and continues to fight to defend Gotham, even as she talks to the brother she killed last issue. Batman follows her and reveals his identity to her, explaining how he knows the pain of loss. We end with Batman going to Amanda Waller that Bane is behind everything and he will have to face him to and we find out what Hugo Strange was up to, where Psycho Pirate is right now and who Batman will have to face to get the revenge/justice/cure for Claire that he desperately wants. However, next up is the Monster Men and I can't wait for all of these stories. I am 100% onboard.
BATMAN #7 by Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo. In the first part of the Monster Men crossover, a giant, zombie Baby Monster is attacking Gotham. The team takes down the creature and sends that DNA info to the Batcave where it is revealed that this was Anthony Castro, who we previously saw kill himself while declaring that the “Monster Men are here”.
BATMAN BEYOND REBIRTH #1 by Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook. The Jokerz are attacking a school bus full of kids when Batman, the Terry McGinnis Batman, arrives to break up the party. The cops arrive just in time to see the Jokerz die from Joker Venom.
We also get a flashback retelling of the Batman Beyond animated series origin. The Jokerz, led by an old high school friend of Dana Tan, kidnaps her. It seems they need her help in resurrecting The Joker.
BLUE BEETLE #1 by Keith Giffen and Scott Kolins. We begin with Jaime describing a dream he has had where Doctor Fate is battling a Blue Beetle type creature. At school, Ted Kord shows up for a presentation, before meeting with a member of the Posse and then taking Jamie with him back to his lab. Later they go off so Blue Beetle can investigate the disappearance of a bunch of his schoolmates, when he gets attacked by a creature. Beetle defeats the creature, which transforms back into one of the missing kids. But that doesn’t seem to be the end as mutated Posse members arrive on scene.
CYBORG REBIRTH #1 by John Semper Jr. and Paul Pelletier. Cyborg is attempting to stop a techno creature known as Malware from entering S.T.A.R. Labs. During the battle, we get a flashback involving Vic’s mother and father, the battle to find a cure for her cancer, her death, and the accident the caused his creation. Malware made its’ way to a secret room that only Vic’s father knew about that houses a secret database. Cyborg defeats the creature and when see that a cybernetic visitor is watching all the robot characters in the DC Universe to set them loose onto the population.
CYBORG #1 by John Semper Jr. and Paul Pelletier. Cyborg stops an armored car robbery while the mysterious cybernetic from last issue activates the creature named Kilg%re. Back at S.T.A.R., Vic’s father runs diagnostics on his son, who is still upset about finding the secret files last issue. Sarah takes him out to see a blind jazz musician and he realizes the importance of having a soul. Unfortunately, they leave the club and Kilg%re arrives.
DEATHSTROKE #2 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama, and Carlo Pagulayan. Slade's son Joey gets kidnapped by someone named Deathstroke. We move to a bar in Edinburgh, where Deathstroke and Wintergreen meet up with Fredric and try to figure out who sold out Wintergreen. Another flashback and we see a mission in Cambodia going bad, complete with an appearance by a young girl with silver hair. In the present, we learn that Fredric sold Wintergreen out. But Slade knew that already. He wants the "Canuck", who turns out to be a super-powered Dr. Ikon. Wintergreen, who has killed Fredric, contacts Slade and lets him know he has been in contact with Hosun and has found a message from Slade's daughter among his old messages. And she is dressed like Deathstroke. Ravager is back.
DEATHSTROKE #3 by Christopher Priest and Joe Bennett. As Deathstroke silently looks over his daughter and her man, she wakes to find he has left. This shifts to a clairvoyant girl who finds out the hit she was hired for was actually a setup. Deathstroke arrives and we discover that the hit girl is really Rose in disguise and she is thrilled to find out that Wintergreen is still alive. We get a flashback showing the results of "Call Me Deathstroke", where his son has had his throat cut and Adeline shoots Slade in the back of the head, costing him his eye. Back in the present, Deathstroke and Ravager go after the person who took out the contract to kill Rose. Slade finds the woman who was hired to engage the hit and decides to take the money. In the end, he’s pretty sure the money will lead him to someone rich in Gotham.
DETECTIVE COMICS #940 by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows. Up on the Colony Airship, Batwoman shows up and ends up in a brawl with her dad. Tim has barely survived the first round of drone attacks when a second one is in-bound. He calls Stephanie, tells her how much he loves her and seemingly dies in the second wave. Everyone mourns the loss of another Boy Wonder, especially when Batman finds out he was going off to college. It turns out that Tim isn’t dead and was transported to the abode of Mr. Oz, who tells Tim that he was trying to reconnect things that needed to stay apart.
DETECTIVE COMICS #941 by Steve Orlando and Andy McDonald. Batman and his team continue to fight the mutated creatures wreaking havoc in Gotham while continuing to deal with the loss of Tim Drake. Nightwing and Gotham Girl end up in Blackgate, where she ends up fighting former prisoner Oleg Barlinoff, who has become a spider monster. Gotham Girl tears the spider apart, causing her and Nightwing to be covered in its’ blood. That’s a big mistake as it leads to our heroes being transformed.
THE FLASH #6 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Godspeed continues to take out speedsters and villains alike, with his most recent victim being Billy Parks. Meanwhwhile, Barry is trying to deal with the sudden death of Meena. Wally finds out about her death and heads into action to find Flash. Barry figures out something based on Parks’ death and confronts August, who admits he killed Parks because he believed he was the person responsible for his brother’s death. He’s been killing speedsters accidentally, because he has been draining their powers and that allows him to be in two places at once.
THE FLASH #7 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Barry is getting beat badly by Godspeed, forcing him to flee and lick his wounds. Meanwhile, some Black Hole terrorists have taken prisoners at a bank and are planning on executing them if Dr. Carver isn't released. Godspeed arrives and executes them instead. Wally finds Flash and he explains how he has powers too and had them before the recent event. So the two team up and Barry figures out how to free the speedsters from the Speed Force. He absorbs their powers and brings himself back to full energy just a Godspeed arrives, attacks Avery and then heads to Irongate to kill all the guilty.
GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #1 by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl and Adam Archer. Olive and Professor Macpherson are having dinner at the start of Winter Break. Macpherson breaks their dinner date for the next night and Olive meets her new roommate Amy. Olive shows Amy around the campus including smashing one of Macpherson’s windows and breaking into the Wedgwood Museum, where Amy slashes a painting of Thomas Wayne. They end up in the séance room where Olive faints. When she wakes, Amy and Eric are there and we learn that Wedgwood was a Cobblepot. Amy steals Eric’s research, steals his inhaler, and locks them in. Olive finds a tunnel out and Mr. Scarlett, who has Eric’s asthma inhaler, discovers them. Winter Break is over and the kids are back.
GREEN ARROW #6 by Benjamin Percy and Stephen Byrne. We learn that Shado was a double agent working for the Yakuza and reporting on the Ninth Circle. In a flashback, we see that a watch from the Clock King affects Emiko and that watch brings drug addiction to a whole new level. In the present, Emiko makes her her debut at the Kumite and Oyabun, who owns her and her mother, wants to meet her.
GREEN ARROW #7 by Benjamin Percy and Stephen Byrne. We flashback to a year ago when Ollie found out that the Clock King was controlling his life through his watch. Ollie gets captured and it takes Emiko to save him. In present day, where Emiko meets with Oyabun and agrees to fight him, who is really a dragon, with the freedom of her and her mother at stake. Shado shows up and mother and daughter save the day.
GREEN LANTERNS #6 by Sam Humphries and Will Conrad. It looks like Atrocitus may be killing Simon, since the Lantern is alone and Jessica is nowhere to be found. When all seems lost, she appears from nowhere and, by making a construct, brings Hell Tower down. The Red Lanterns leave and Jessica makes Simon’s day by finding the teddy bear he thought was lost and destroyed.. Jessica reunites with her sister, Simon reunites with his family and the Guardian tells of the Phantom Ring. It’s not a total loss for the Red Lanterns as Dex-Starr planted the Rage Seed before Hell Tower came down, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
GREEN LANTERNS #7 by Sam Humphries and Ronan Cliquet. Simon is making Ma’amoul for Halloween and he’s awful at it. So Jessica lends a hand, while trying to convince him that he’s not a terrible son. In the end, Simon's mother arrives and, after getting over her disappointment about him being a Green Lantern, she tries the cookies and approves. He has finally managed to make his mother proud. But, just when things look good, Rami freaks out and claims that the the Dominators have followed him to Earth.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #4 by Robert Vendetti and Ethan Van Sciver. The Yellow Lanterns bring Sinestro a captured Green Lantern. But it’s Guy Gardner and that just pisses Sinestro off! Hal is in the custody of Sinestro’s daughter Soranik who is trying to revive him with a construct of her creation, that is leaving one heck of a scar. Sinestro shows Guy the Fear Engine before the Guardian kills a beer and crushes the can on his head to prove he’s tough. Meanwhile, John Stewart decides that too much time has elapsed and sends the other Lanterns to go look for their missing comrade.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #5 by Robert Vendetti and Ethan Van Sciver. Guy is trapped inside the Fear Engine where the Sacrament is torturing him. Meanwhile, Sinestro confides to Lyssa that the fact that his own daughter took Hal makes him rather angry and Lyssa suggests that maybe he should kill her. Soranik has used her medical skills to stitch up Hal and explains that she was once the leader of the Sinestro Corps when he was at a point near death. As he shows off his ability to construct a really cool glove, he swears that he is going to find a way to stop her father. John Stewart and Kilowog and the rest of the Lanterns are on their way to find Guy when they encounter a fleet of space ships. Turns out these are good guys who are coming together to take on Warworld.
HARLEY QUINN #3 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Bret Blevins. Red Tool gets an arm reattached, but it belongs to a deceased exhibitionist. Meanwhile, on planet Zhelbon, the parents of the alien that became hot god meat and started the whole zombie outbreak decide they need to go looking for their child. Harley and the crew go through some secret tunnels looking for food and end up coming across some zombies that chase after them. Luckily, the aliens find out their son has been cut into many thousands of pieces and they literally suck those pieces out of the zombies, curing them by killing them.
HARLEY QUINN #4 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Joseph Michael Linsner. Harley is walking the boardwalk and runs into Frank Tieri, who has a booth called “Frank Frank”, where he tells her “life is meaningless.” Then she finds herself on a flight to Mumbai with Bolly Quinn to deal with the scam artists trying to steal personal information from the elderly, leading them to be attacked by a giant robot at a call center. After defeating the robot, she heads to Russia and slits the throat of the mobster behind it all.
THE HELLBLAZER #2 by Simon Oliver and Moritat. While Mercury and Swamp Thing sit back and talk about Abby, John Constantine is getting his walking papers from Chas. He ends up at a Members Only club where he meets with Clarice Sackville, who tells him he may have messed up with getting rid of the demon from the REBIRTH issue. He ends up being followed around by a pair of freaky looking twins before he ends up falling down a strange spiral staircase he found in a subway tunnel.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 by Bryan Hitch and Jesus Merino. All of our heroes continue to try and stop the Kindred from allowing The Purge to happen. While Superman battles to survive the Earth’s Core, Wonder Woman threatens the Kindred, Barry loses his Speed Force and the Green Lanterns find an army made up of Cyborg looking creatures.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 by Bryan Hitch and Tony S. Daniel. The team continues to battle the Kindred to stop The Purge. But Cyborg has the ability to control the Purge and apparently THAT will stop the Kindred. In the end, the team saves the day, even though Batman says this is far from over.
DC YOU Month 16
BATMAN BEYOND #16 by Dan Jurgens and Stephen Thompson. As Terry McGinnis and Tim Drake brawl, Matt McGinnis shows up with the Batmobile.Tim breaks Spellbinder’s hypnotic eye, freeing Terry and Barbara from it’s power. In the end, Tim explains that the timeline that terry died in got reconfigured and that explains why he is still alive. Terry retakes the Batsuite and Tim rides off into the sunset…only to be pulled into a bright light and disappear.
BLOODLINES #6 by J.T. Krul and V. Ken Marion. Haley is fighting Blake when Eddie knocks him out to save her. The mutated priest sets his followers loose on our heroes and Albert turns invisible and strangles him. Eddie takes out the giant monster while Haley uses her power to kill Blake. In the end, the crew heads out on a road trip Oh yeah: the creepy girl with the killer purple demon wipes out everyone in the Keystone Road House.
DOCTOR FATE #16 by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew. Osiris shows up and threatens Khalid and his family. Bastet shows up to tell Osiris that Anubis is lying and that Khalid is his champion. Osiris decides that Khalid should live and the son comes out.
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #16 by Dan Abnett and Angel Hernandez. Green Lantern takes out the rest of the Wonders and makes his way to the Pandora Casket. Red Arrow shows up, but so does Ultra-Humanite who apparently kills Queen. Batman, Huntress, Firepattern and Hawkgirl arrives and takes down Ultra-Humanite, which leads to Fury opening the Pandora Casket. And the world turns white…
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #6 by Frank Tieri, Jimmy Palmiotti and Mauricet. The team has come together and, thanks to some fine shooting by the Captain, manages to get away from Sinn's henchmen and women and heads to the compound. Harley has a one-on-one fight with Sinn, and takes her out with a chokehold. into a choke hold that knocks her out cold. In the end, it looks like Sinn is going to get the help she needs, as Harley promised her. Unfortunately, her dad has other pans and he sends her to Arkham Asylum, where she meets Mr. J.
SIX PACK & DOG WELDER HARD TRAVELIN HEROEZ #2 by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun. Constantine is wearing a space helmet and trying to have a conversation with Dog Welder, who now has a dog attached to his left arm. Meanwhile, The Spectre has arrived and he wants Baytor. To save their friend, the rest of the team and most of the neighborhood claim they are Baytor. Dog Welder shows up and the dog claims that they are all Baytor, which leads The Spectre to flee. Constantine tells the crew there is a job and it sounds like a job for Section Eight.
SUICIDE SQUAD’S MOST WANTED: EL DIABLO AND BOOMERANG #2: In the El Diablo tale by Jai Nitz and Cliff Richards, Diable faces off against Parasite and finds out that both Waller and Checkmate are using him. He meets a woman named Azucar who tells him they need to play dead and then she sticks her hand inside his head. In the Boomerang story by Michael Moreci and Oscar Bazaldua, Digger teams up with a bunch of enhanced kids in their battle to take on El Jaguar. In the end, one of the kids uses her power to disassemble the dictator and cause him to explode.
TEEN TITANS #24 by Tony Bedard and Ian Churchill. The Titans recall memories of their departed friend Tim Drake. In the end, Damian Wayne looks at the costume in the case.
BLOODLINES #6 by J.T. Krul and V. Ken Marion. Haley is fighting Blake when Eddie knocks him out to save her. The mutated priest sets his followers loose on our heroes and Albert turns invisible and strangles him. Eddie takes out the giant monster while Haley uses her power to kill Blake. In the end, the crew heads out on a road trip Oh yeah: the creepy girl with the killer purple demon wipes out everyone in the Keystone Road House.
DOCTOR FATE #16 by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew. Osiris shows up and threatens Khalid and his family. Bastet shows up to tell Osiris that Anubis is lying and that Khalid is his champion. Osiris decides that Khalid should live and the son comes out.
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #16 by Dan Abnett and Angel Hernandez. Green Lantern takes out the rest of the Wonders and makes his way to the Pandora Casket. Red Arrow shows up, but so does Ultra-Humanite who apparently kills Queen. Batman, Huntress, Firepattern and Hawkgirl arrives and takes down Ultra-Humanite, which leads to Fury opening the Pandora Casket. And the world turns white…
HARLEY QUINN AND HER GANG OF HARLEYS #6 by Frank Tieri, Jimmy Palmiotti and Mauricet. The team has come together and, thanks to some fine shooting by the Captain, manages to get away from Sinn's henchmen and women and heads to the compound. Harley has a one-on-one fight with Sinn, and takes her out with a chokehold. into a choke hold that knocks her out cold. In the end, it looks like Sinn is going to get the help she needs, as Harley promised her. Unfortunately, her dad has other pans and he sends her to Arkham Asylum, where she meets Mr. J.
SIX PACK & DOG WELDER HARD TRAVELIN HEROEZ #2 by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun. Constantine is wearing a space helmet and trying to have a conversation with Dog Welder, who now has a dog attached to his left arm. Meanwhile, The Spectre has arrived and he wants Baytor. To save their friend, the rest of the team and most of the neighborhood claim they are Baytor. Dog Welder shows up and the dog claims that they are all Baytor, which leads The Spectre to flee. Constantine tells the crew there is a job and it sounds like a job for Section Eight.
SUICIDE SQUAD’S MOST WANTED: EL DIABLO AND BOOMERANG #2: In the El Diablo tale by Jai Nitz and Cliff Richards, Diable faces off against Parasite and finds out that both Waller and Checkmate are using him. He meets a woman named Azucar who tells him they need to play dead and then she sticks her hand inside his head. In the Boomerang story by Michael Moreci and Oscar Bazaldua, Digger teams up with a bunch of enhanced kids in their battle to take on El Jaguar. In the end, one of the kids uses her power to disassemble the dictator and cause him to explode.
TEEN TITANS #24 by Tony Bedard and Ian Churchill. The Titans recall memories of their departed friend Tim Drake. In the end, Damian Wayne looks at the costume in the case.
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