THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #1 by Gerry Conway and Ryuan Stegman. So what we have is a direct spin-off from the RENEW YOUR VOWS mini-series that ran during SECRET WARS. In that series, Peter Parker and Mary Jane are married have a daughter, Annie May. In that mini-series, they teamed up to help to defeat the villain Regent. And, in this new title, they continue to battle villains, including the Mole Man. And we have a familiar supporting cast including JJJ and Robbie. But what the heck universe/timeline is this in? Confused. Oh…we also get two back-ups: one that highlights the relationship between father and daughter by Anthony Holden and the other involving Mary Jane and Annie May by Kate Leth and Marguerite Sauvage. While I loved the mini-series, this one left me confused as to where it fits in the world of Marvel. Bring back the Multiverse!
THE AVENGERS 1.1 by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson. Welcome to the never revealed tale of the second team of Avengers: Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Giant Man, Wasp and Iron Man decide to disband the team and that leaves Cap with the new recruits. This harkens back to the good old days of The Avengers and, even though it is moved up a bit in the timeline, it still has that classic Marvel feel. Waid writes a fun story and Kitson’s art is classic Kitson. Throw in the Frightful Four, Jarvis and a wicked beat down and you have the makings of a killer title…maybe even better than the real Avengers titles masquerading as Avengers titles.
THE AVENGERS #1 by Mark Waid and Mike DelMundo. So you know: this isn’t daddy’s Avengers. This team is made up of Wasp Nadia Pym(yeah…Janet’s dead, remember?), Jane Foster Thor(yeah…the other one is “unworthy”), Sam Wilson Captain America(yeah…there’s two now), Vision, Spider Man(the Peter Parker one) and Hercules. So, here they are with Vision declaring war on Kang the Conqueror. You know THAT can’t be good! Waid writes a fun story and even though Del Mundo’s art takes some getting used to, I’m a sucker for a Kang story. Not sure if I’ll follow through on this for the long haul, but it does bear investigating.
CEREBUS IN HELL? #0 by Dave Sim, Sandeep Atwal and Gustave Dore. So, Dave Sim, the mad genius behind the epic CEREBUS tale hasn’t been able to draw since February of 2015. But there needed to be NEW Cerebus for the 40th Anniversary of the book. That’s where Dave and Sandeep come in by WRITING a new story that tells us what happened after Cerebus died 12 years ago. What that entails is pasting existing images of “Most Holy” onto panels from Dore’s illustrations for Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY, better known as DANTE’S INFERNO and writing bad schtick. How that comes off is…well…just like it sounds: pretty unfunny! Big disappointment Dave! Fans: go to HEAVY METAL where you get to watch Dave former illustrating partner Gerhard tear it up with some GREAT STUFF!
ETHER #1 by Matt Kindt and David Rubin, is a trippy little Sci-Fi adventure starring time and dimension travelling hero Boone Dias and a crazy cast of characters as they move across the gateway between Earth and Ether. Truly a head trip book with Kindt’s usual punctuated writing and Rubin’s Pop Art inspired art. Definitely worth checking out!
GHOST RIDER #1 by Felipe Smith and Danilo S. Beyruth. Once upon a time, Ghost Rider was western hero Carter Slade. Then he was Johnny Blaze. Then Danny Ketch. Then SHE was Alejandra Jones. And now: Robbie Reyes. I lost interest after Danny Ketch, especially when we got Reyes and he drives a 1969 Dodge Charger instead of a motorcycle. Uh…no! Give me a break! I don’t like the character, don’t like the supporting cast and absolutely don’t like the concept. Give me Nick Cage over this!
HARBINGER RENEGADE #1 by Rafer Roberts, Raul Allen, Juan Jose Ryp, and Darick Robertson. In the rebooted Valiant world, the Renegades were made up of Peter, Kris, Faith, Charlene, Ax, and Torque. They went after Toya Harada and his Harbinger Foundation, defeating them, but costing Charlene her life in the process. In the end, the team split up, leaving Faith as the only operating superhero. But Harada is still active and now there is a whole thing going on with people trying to become Psiots. Faith is trying to put the team back together and it make take Peter to return to Earth to help. If you didn’t read the series before this, prepare to be a little lost. But it’s worth searching for back issues and diving in. Hey-there’s even a coupon to get HARBINGER RENEGADE #0, like in the old days of Valiant.
INHUMANS VS. XMEN #0 by Charles Soule and Kenneth Rocafort. Welcome to the BIG event of the next few months at Marvel which, considering there is a BIG EVENT every few months is no big thing to me. Heck-we haven’t finished the LAST BIG EVENT yet! Basically, this is lining up the players and the events that will lead to EARTH SHATTERING CHANGES in the world of mutants and Inhumans. Yadda, yadda, yadda…blah, blah blah! We’ve heard it all before and this will result in MORE X-titles and such. I’m skeptical of it all, but it is a nice story by Soule and Rocafort turns in his usually cool stuff.
INVINSIBLE IRON MAN #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli. In case you haven’t heard, SOMETHING has happened to Tony Stark during CIVIL WAR II…which we don’t know because the damned thing STILL isn’t over! To that end, Riri Williams has become the NEW IRON MAN…more specifically-IRONHEART! She gets a great origin story and gets to meet THE MAN…well sort of. I’m not convinced that this NEW ERA of Iron heroes should be Riri and Victor Von Doom but hey-if Tony and Rhodey are dead…what’cha gonna do?
MAYDAY #1 by Alex DeCampi and Tony Parker. The 70’s were a crazy time, especially when you get the C.I.A. and the KGB involved. Throw in some hippies, killer music, Truth Serum and LSD and you have an amazing start to a killer five-issue series. Alex DeCampi writes it with the heart and soul that she throws into all her works. It’s gritty and nasty and a whole lot of fun! And Tony Parker’s art is a perfect fit for it. I love where this is going and cannot wait to get to the next installment!
MOTHER PANIC #1 by Jody Houser and Tommy Lee Edwards. Young Animal comes to Gotham City and crime fighting just took a twisted turn. The newest vigilante is on the scene and so is a psychotic artist. To say anymore would certainly ruin the beauty of this quirky new series. Like anything else so far from Young Animal, it crosses the line between DCU and Vertigo and is required reading!
MOTOR CRUSH #1 by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr. Meet Domino-she’s a racer in the World Grand Prix of motorcycle racing. Win a race and you get a supply of the Crush-a highly potent drug. But don’t cross the producers or they will make you pay. Unfortunately for Domino, she has done just that. And now she finds herself in deep. It’s an interesting concept from the BATGIRL trio, but I’m not sure how well it will play out.
MOTOR GIRL #1 by Terry Moore. Meet Sam and Mike. She’s a mechanic working in a junkyard. Mike is her gorilla friend and confidant. It also seems that Libby, who owns the place, has someone offering to buy the place…someone who may have ulterior motives. Oh…did I mention that there are aliens who need their spaceship fixed? Yeah…it’s Terry Moore’s newest soon-to-be masterpiece and is filled with a hot looking babe, creepy government types and a gorilla. What more could you want from Moore?
REGGIE AND ME #1 by Tom DeFalco and Sandy Jarrell. Archie Comics continues their rebooting of the line with this newest addition to it. Reggie is up to his old tricks and nasty self and his fellow students pay for his wrath. It’s just an okay read, as it seems that many of these new reboots have lost steam. Personally, I want a new issue of AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE before another issue of this title.
THANOS #1 by Jeff Lemire and Mike Deodato. Well…everyone’s favorite mad god is back and is not very happy about the state of things. Corvus has taken over Thanos’ sector and now he wants it back. And to make things worse, he is dying. Oh yeah: Starfox is back and Tryco Slatterus has commandeered him to go find the mad god. Lemire and Deodato are in great form here as the book is interesting and looks awesome! Despite this team, I was convinced I would be one and done. Boy…was I wrong!
TRIGGERMAN #1 by Matz, Jef and Walter Hill. Leave it to Titan Comics to finally make use of the Hard Case Crime name and turn out a Noir comic that delivers! Walter Hill is a legendary director who has the basis of this 1930’s gangster epic. It’s got hard fighting men, loose women and some serious gunfire. It looks great and reads as well! Hey-I’m a sucker for the Hard Case Crime novels anyway, so this fits right into my wheel house.
UBER INVASION #1 by Kieron Gillen and Daniel Gele. In 2013, Keiron Gillen and Caanan White unleashed UBER on the comics world. In it, an alternate World War II scenario was depicted-one where the Nazis created a super soldier known as the Ubermenschen. Ultimately, Berlin is saved from defeat at the hands of the Russians, the Japanese end up with their own Super Soldier and this forces the Allies to develop the same. Now begins the next chapter in this epic, violent saga, where the war comes to our shores…specifically starting in Massachusetts. It’s a great jumping on point for a controversial series that features great and grotesque art from Gele. If you’re a fan of the unusual, this one is for you. But be aware: this is NOT a kid’s tale.
THE ULTIMATES2 #1 by Al Ewing and Travel Foreman. I read the first issue of the last series and wasn’t impressed and all I know about it is that it was a cosmic team made up of Black Panther, Blue Marvel, Spectrum(the former Captain Marvel), Ms. America and Captain Marvel. The biggest story that came from it was that Galactus ended up being a good guy, becoming the Lifebringer of Worlds, and Thanos got reborn. So, besides running into Blue Marvel’s enemy Anti-Man, Galactus shows up and wants to reform the team as his newest heralds. Yeah…still not a fan.
THE UNWORTHY THOR #1 by Jason Aaron and Olivier Coipel. The Mighty Thor, the classic Thor, has been laid low ever since the day the Watcher told him a secret and he found he was no longer able to pick up the hammer. Now, calling himself Odinson, he ends up on the moon, where the Watcher was murdered. He gets visited by The Unseen: the NEW Watcher who is actually Nick Fury, Odinson goes searching for Asgard to find it gone and finds Beta Ray Bill there, who offers him use of HIS hammer. I, for one, am dying to see how all this resolves. I miss my classic Thor, even if I am enjoying Jane Foster as a cancer-ridden female Thor. Aaron’s story is fun and Coipel’s art shines.s
VENOM #1 by Mike Costa and Gerardo Sandoval. I’m sorry, but I can’t keep track of who is the symbiote now. And yes, I had to research this. Eddie Brock to Ann Weying to Patricia Robertson to Angelo Fortunato to Mac Gargan(who appears in this book) to Flash Thompson(who made a hero out of the character) and now Lee Price. The symbiote wants Lee to be a hero like Flash but Lee would rather use the creature for his own means. Don’t care, don’t care, don’t care.
VIOLENT LOVE #1 by Frank J. Barbiere and Victor Santos. Sit back and check out this crime drama as Lou tells young Penny the story of Rock Bradley and Daisy Jane: two crooks who he explains “saved his life”. From there, it’s a wild ride filled with nasty folks and torture. In other words, this is a wild violent ride that is a must for fans of crime dramas.
WWE #1 by Dennis Hopeless, Dan Mora, Ross Thibodeaux, Rob Guillory, Rob Schamberger, Derek Fridolfs and Daniel Bayliss. Boom Studios teams up with the WWE to bring this weird and uneven comic telling the tale of several WWE Superstars. This first tale, by Hopeless and Mora, is about Seth Rollins and, unfortunately, is about 18 months out of date, for those folks who follow the storylines. The New Day tale by Thibodeaux and Guillory, is the most imaginative and funniest. Schamberger, who does many great looking posters for WWE, gives us a nice, inspirational Sasha Banks tale while Fridolfs gives us a nice Popeye inspired tale of Tugboat. Throw in some classic WWE Superstars on one page, history pin-ups by Bayliss and you have a hefty book for four bucks. A must have if you’re a die hard fan, but not for the casual fan.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
DC REBIRTH Month 6, Part 2
MIDNIGHTER AND APOLLO #2 by Steve Orlando and Fernando Blanco. Despite his best efforts, Apollo is dead and is being tortured in Hell by Neron. That leaves Midnighter desperate and he discovers a way to go to Hell to save his lover.
NEW SUPER-MAN #5 by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic. Kenan has discovered that his father is the leader of the Freedom Fighters of China. His father explain how he and his mother protested against the government and she was The Liberty Goddess, who died in a plane crash. He belies that she was killed by the Ministry of Self Reliance. He convinces Kenan to accompany him on his mission and he discovers that Starro has taken control of the Freedom Fighters of China. Kenan loses his powers and his father begs Dr. Omen to save him. In return, he promises to surrender in the end, once they complete their mission to take on the Freedom Fighters.
NIGHTWING #8 by Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez. Raptor has captured Bruce Wayne and plans on making a huge profit from his investment in Wayne Tech stocks. But Nightwing arrives and the two of them have it out, as Raptor reveals more about the relationship he had with Dick'’ mom. In the end, Dick cripples Raptor, even though he won't kill him. Tiger arrives and takes Raptor into custody.
NIGHTWING #9 by Tim Selley and Marcio Takara. Superman arrives at Nightwing’s apartment and tells him about a plot by Dr. Destiny. So Dick is put to sleep so he and Superman can battle through these nightmares Dick has been experiencing. IN the end, we find out that it was Kobra using Dr. Destiny’s powers Dick also decides he is not needed in Gotham, but in Bludhaven.
RAVEN #3 by Marv Wolfman and Alisson Borges. Raven continues to battle Azar for the souls of the townspeople. She ends up defeating the creature, but it has dire result for her. Meanwhile, the super villain terrorists decide it’s a good time to ask for 5 billion dollars or they blow up San Francisco,
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #4 by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy. Jason continues to try and control Bizarro and keep himself undercover within Black Mask’ employ. Artemis escapes and observes Back Mask and Jason, as Black Mask shows him the spools of war. As it turns out, Black Mask is aware of Jason and is prepared to eliminate him, with Bizarro’s help.
SUICIDE SQUAD #6 by Rob Williams, Jim Lee, and Carlos D’Anda. Katana stops the bullet meant for Waller and Waller knocks Deadshot out. It turns out everyone in Belle Reve has gone insane, except for Waller and Harley, who has been cured of her insanity. In the back-up, we get a previously untold story of Killer Croc as a child-tried and committed for a death he was not responsible for.
SUICIDE SQUAD #7 by Rob Williams, Jim Lee, and Christian Ward. Harley fights back against everyone in Belle Reve that has been affected by the sphere. Meanwhile, Captain Boomerang reaches out from the beyond to say he wants to come back. In the back-up, Enchantress fights to save the life of a General who has been possessed.
SUPERMAN #10 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. The meeting of the Super Sons is here. Superboy is captured by Robin, as it appears he may be too dangerous to be out and about. Batman arrives and tries to convince him to release Superboy but then Superman arrives and it looks like a brawl is going to ensue between the Big Blue Boy Scout and the Caped Crusader. The boys end up brawling but, in the end, a now careful friends.
SUPERMAN #11 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. As part of a test, the boys and Maya engage in a series of tasks that forces them to work together. In the end, Alfred declares them to be the Super Sons.
SUPERMAN REBIRTH ANNUAL #1 by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Jorge Jimenez. Superman meets with and fights with Swamp Thing, to convince him that, even though he is an alien, he is here for the good of the Earth.
SUPERWOMAN #4 by Phil Jimenez and Emanuela Lupacchino. Lana meets with the ghost of Lois Lane, who wants Lana to carry on the Lane Legacy. Later, Lois and Superwoman show up at MCU Headquarters to talk with Wrath and try to unravel the mystery. Meanwhile, Lex is still being held captive by his sister, who has created an entire Bizarro army and is unleashing them on Metropolis.
TEEN TITANS #2 by Benjamin Percy and Diogenes Neves. In a flashback, Talia meets with Damian and makes him aware that there are five assassins who will come for him in the form of the Demon’s Fist. In the present, the Demon’s Fist attacks the Teen Titans who are forced to flee and regroup. Also, Robin has to explains his relationship to both Batman and Ra’s Al Ghul.
TITANS #5 by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth. Wally has to race against time and save all of thew Titans and Linda before they get killed by the fake Titans. In the end, he saved his teammates AND Linda, but he gets lost in the Time Stream yet again.
TRINITY #3 by Francis Manapul and Clay Mann. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman watch as Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered. At the same time, Lois is trying to break into the barn where they are all being held captive by the Mercy Plant. Soon the Trinity watch as a young Bruce gets treated by Dr. Quinn. In the end, Bruce and Batman get support from their respective friends and family while Lois drives through the barn door and confronts Ivy.
VIGILANTE SOUTHLAND #2 by Cary Phillips and Elena Casagrande. Donny finds out from Dorrie’s mom that she believes the hit-and-run driver murdered her because she was doing Mike’s work. Mike, it seems, used to be the Vigilante, although he was known as the Eastsider. Donny dons the mask and goes to question Gardner Fallon, who is currently getting whipped by a dominatrix. Later, after getting trained by Mike, he goes to Vance Childers house to confront him about Dorrie’s murder. Unfortunately, Vance is killed by a sniper’s bullet and Donny is left holding the guilt bag.
WONDER WOMAN #10 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. In Year One Part Four, Steve, Etta, Barbara and Diana go off to the mall. After finding out her lasso is a universal translator, terrorists attack the mall. Steve and Diana take down the terrorists, but not before there are casualties. They also discover that they have the tree tattooed on their chest-the symbol of the Sear Group.
WONDER WOMAN #11 by Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp. In the concluding chapter of The Lies, it appears that Sasha Bordeaux has been brainwashed by Veronica Cale and delivers the remains of Urzkartaga to her in a park. Etta arrives and pulls a gun Cale, who orders Sasha to kill Etta. Etta shoots her and discovers she is really a robot. So Cale sends her demonic Dobermans after her. Meanwhile, Diana is welcomed home by her mother and there is a great feast on Themyscira. As Steve explains how everything here is wrong, Diana uses her lasso to shatter her reality. Everything that happened during New 52 was a lie.
NEW SUPER-MAN #5 by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic. Kenan has discovered that his father is the leader of the Freedom Fighters of China. His father explain how he and his mother protested against the government and she was The Liberty Goddess, who died in a plane crash. He belies that she was killed by the Ministry of Self Reliance. He convinces Kenan to accompany him on his mission and he discovers that Starro has taken control of the Freedom Fighters of China. Kenan loses his powers and his father begs Dr. Omen to save him. In return, he promises to surrender in the end, once they complete their mission to take on the Freedom Fighters.
NIGHTWING #8 by Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez. Raptor has captured Bruce Wayne and plans on making a huge profit from his investment in Wayne Tech stocks. But Nightwing arrives and the two of them have it out, as Raptor reveals more about the relationship he had with Dick'’ mom. In the end, Dick cripples Raptor, even though he won't kill him. Tiger arrives and takes Raptor into custody.
NIGHTWING #9 by Tim Selley and Marcio Takara. Superman arrives at Nightwing’s apartment and tells him about a plot by Dr. Destiny. So Dick is put to sleep so he and Superman can battle through these nightmares Dick has been experiencing. IN the end, we find out that it was Kobra using Dr. Destiny’s powers Dick also decides he is not needed in Gotham, but in Bludhaven.
RAVEN #3 by Marv Wolfman and Alisson Borges. Raven continues to battle Azar for the souls of the townspeople. She ends up defeating the creature, but it has dire result for her. Meanwhile, the super villain terrorists decide it’s a good time to ask for 5 billion dollars or they blow up San Francisco,
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #4 by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy. Jason continues to try and control Bizarro and keep himself undercover within Black Mask’ employ. Artemis escapes and observes Back Mask and Jason, as Black Mask shows him the spools of war. As it turns out, Black Mask is aware of Jason and is prepared to eliminate him, with Bizarro’s help.
SUICIDE SQUAD #6 by Rob Williams, Jim Lee, and Carlos D’Anda. Katana stops the bullet meant for Waller and Waller knocks Deadshot out. It turns out everyone in Belle Reve has gone insane, except for Waller and Harley, who has been cured of her insanity. In the back-up, we get a previously untold story of Killer Croc as a child-tried and committed for a death he was not responsible for.
SUICIDE SQUAD #7 by Rob Williams, Jim Lee, and Christian Ward. Harley fights back against everyone in Belle Reve that has been affected by the sphere. Meanwhile, Captain Boomerang reaches out from the beyond to say he wants to come back. In the back-up, Enchantress fights to save the life of a General who has been possessed.
SUPERMAN #10 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. The meeting of the Super Sons is here. Superboy is captured by Robin, as it appears he may be too dangerous to be out and about. Batman arrives and tries to convince him to release Superboy but then Superman arrives and it looks like a brawl is going to ensue between the Big Blue Boy Scout and the Caped Crusader. The boys end up brawling but, in the end, a now careful friends.
SUPERMAN #11 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. As part of a test, the boys and Maya engage in a series of tasks that forces them to work together. In the end, Alfred declares them to be the Super Sons.
SUPERMAN REBIRTH ANNUAL #1 by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Jorge Jimenez. Superman meets with and fights with Swamp Thing, to convince him that, even though he is an alien, he is here for the good of the Earth.
SUPERWOMAN #4 by Phil Jimenez and Emanuela Lupacchino. Lana meets with the ghost of Lois Lane, who wants Lana to carry on the Lane Legacy. Later, Lois and Superwoman show up at MCU Headquarters to talk with Wrath and try to unravel the mystery. Meanwhile, Lex is still being held captive by his sister, who has created an entire Bizarro army and is unleashing them on Metropolis.
TEEN TITANS #2 by Benjamin Percy and Diogenes Neves. In a flashback, Talia meets with Damian and makes him aware that there are five assassins who will come for him in the form of the Demon’s Fist. In the present, the Demon’s Fist attacks the Teen Titans who are forced to flee and regroup. Also, Robin has to explains his relationship to both Batman and Ra’s Al Ghul.
TITANS #5 by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth. Wally has to race against time and save all of thew Titans and Linda before they get killed by the fake Titans. In the end, he saved his teammates AND Linda, but he gets lost in the Time Stream yet again.
TRINITY #3 by Francis Manapul and Clay Mann. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman watch as Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered. At the same time, Lois is trying to break into the barn where they are all being held captive by the Mercy Plant. Soon the Trinity watch as a young Bruce gets treated by Dr. Quinn. In the end, Bruce and Batman get support from their respective friends and family while Lois drives through the barn door and confronts Ivy.
VIGILANTE SOUTHLAND #2 by Cary Phillips and Elena Casagrande. Donny finds out from Dorrie’s mom that she believes the hit-and-run driver murdered her because she was doing Mike’s work. Mike, it seems, used to be the Vigilante, although he was known as the Eastsider. Donny dons the mask and goes to question Gardner Fallon, who is currently getting whipped by a dominatrix. Later, after getting trained by Mike, he goes to Vance Childers house to confront him about Dorrie’s murder. Unfortunately, Vance is killed by a sniper’s bullet and Donny is left holding the guilt bag.
WONDER WOMAN #10 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. In Year One Part Four, Steve, Etta, Barbara and Diana go off to the mall. After finding out her lasso is a universal translator, terrorists attack the mall. Steve and Diana take down the terrorists, but not before there are casualties. They also discover that they have the tree tattooed on their chest-the symbol of the Sear Group.
WONDER WOMAN #11 by Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp. In the concluding chapter of The Lies, it appears that Sasha Bordeaux has been brainwashed by Veronica Cale and delivers the remains of Urzkartaga to her in a park. Etta arrives and pulls a gun Cale, who orders Sasha to kill Etta. Etta shoots her and discovers she is really a robot. So Cale sends her demonic Dobermans after her. Meanwhile, Diana is welcomed home by her mother and there is a great feast on Themyscira. As Steve explains how everything here is wrong, Diana uses her lasso to shatter her reality. Everything that happened during New 52 was a lie.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
DC REBIRTH Month 6, Part 1
ACTION COMICS #967 by Dan Jurgens and Tyler Kirkham. We begin with Zade and L’Call observing what will be Earth’s final hours unless they stop Lex Luthor.Superman and son are in the Amazon where they come across the missing Geneticron building. Meanwhile, Lois is visiting with Luthor when he gets attacked by with Zade and L’Call. Clark uses his signal watch to call for Superman, who comes to Metropolis to help. In the end, L’Call tells Luthro that he his destined to become the new Darkseid and therefore must die.
ACTION COMICS #968 by Dan Jurgens and Tyler Kirkham. The battle continues between Zade, L’Call, Luthor and Superman. L’Call reveals to Superman Luthor’s future role as the new Darkseid. L’Call shoots Superman in the face and just when it looks like he is going to execute him, Jon pleads for his father’s life and he is granted a reprieve. Zade and L’Call temporarily leave and Clark questions whether they should let Luthor die to save the future.
ALL STAR BATMAN #4 by Scott Snyder, John Romits Jr. and Declan Shalvey. Even though he has been blinded and is in danger of drowning, Batman and Duke fight on, freeing themselves from the battalion that The Court of the Owls loaned to Two-Face. Duke and Batman once again take Two-face captive and, from the small airport they are at, borrow a crop dusting plane to continue their journey. The KGB Beast shows up and soon Batman, Duke and Two-Face are captive in his lair as Cobblepot and company watch. They want the password and just when things look bad, an army of villains that two-Face has drafted shows up with guns blazing. In the back-up, Duke solves the Diane Boone mystery, but it costs her her life at the hands of Zsasz.
AQUAMAN #10 by Dan Abnett and David Walker. At the Oracle of the Widowhood, Mera and the oracles view an image of destruction and it looks like Mera may be the cause. She leaves the Oracle and heads back to Amnesty Bay, despite the fact that Cetea is threatening to stop her to save the world. Heading home, she finds a note from Lt. Stubbs, and goes off to meet with her. During the meeting, Stubbs tell Mera about N.E.M.O. and that leads to Black Jack to attack. Stubbs and Mera work together and defeat him. Stubbs reveals to Mera that Arthur has been seriously injured and is in a hospital.
AQUAMAN #11 by Dan Abnett and Philippe Briones. Mera makes her way to the hospital and meets with Arthur, telling him that the Widowhood doesn’t want them to marry. The Justice League arrives and Superman tells him they will stand behind him as he pursues the people responsible for hostilities between the surface world and the undersea world. Arthus, Mera and Stubbs go to Atlantis, where they learn that the surface world is being attacked by “Atlantis”-a ploy arranged by Black Manta and N.E.M.O.
BATGIRL #5 by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque. Batgirl learns that Teacher is suffering from hair loss because of her use of the drug. Batgirl and teacher battle over the formula and Batgirl gets knocked out, leading to her having lengthy conversation with Fruit Bat and Kai during her unconsciousness. When she wakes, she pursues teacher, who has now gone bald because of the drug. Defeating her, she returns Teacher and the formula to Grandfather, which repays Kai’s debt. She also has turned them all into the police. In the end, Batgirl has the students go learn from Fruit Bat, tells Kai to go home and never come back to China, and then heads back to Burnside.
BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #4 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson and Roge Antonio. Huntress tracks down the Snake Gang and gets some unwanted help from Batgirl and Black canary. Later, Helena explains how her family was killed in the war between the Bertinellis and the Cassamentos and she ended up in Italy where she trained. The trio heads to the Gotham Tower where they encounter a group of robot copies of Gotham villains. Once inside Oracle’s lair, they discover that Oracle has a big of a fanboy/girl crush on Batgirl.
BATMAN #10 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Batman goes to Santa Prisca to challenge bane and get the Psycho Pirate. Despite battling an overwhelming number of Bane’s followers, he is captured and broken by Bane and tossed into a water filled pit. As the water rises, Batman struggles to get free, which he eventually does. Once outside, he meets up with Catwoman and the Ventriloquist and they head back inside to break bane’s back.
BATMAN #11 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Once inside, Batman, Catwoman and the Ventriloquist make their way throughout Bane’s lair while Punch, Jewelee and Bronze Tiger meet with Bane, revealing that the League of Assassins are looking for advice on how to break the Batman. Catwoman jumps down, slashes Punch and Jewelee’s throats and knocks out Tiger. She reveals Batman’s plan to Bane and asks for safe passage and money to completely betray him.
BATMAN REBIRTH ANNUAL #1 by Tom King, David Finch, Scott Snyder, Ray Fawkes, Declan Shalvey, Paul Dini, Neal Adams, Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, ScottBryan Wilson, and Bilquis Evely. In the first story, we get the origin of Ace the Bat Hound, who apparently began as one of The Joker’s vicious dogs. The second story follows Batman as he watches a quiet night in Gotham City. The third story is about Harley Quinn doing a ride along with the Dark Knight. The fourth story introduces us to hundred year old Barry O’Neill and The Stag, who is supposed to play a part in Batman mythos in 2017. The final story features Haunter and a guest appearance by The Scarecrow.
BATMAN BEYOND #2 by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. Carter explains to Dana how the Joker died by going through the blades of a giant snowblower. Apparently, he was badly injured but his henchmen ferried him away and put him into a cryogenic holding cell and that is wait he remained until Carter found him. The Batmobile arrives piloted by Matt and Max. But the Batmobile gets shot out of the sky by Trey Malone, who claims to be Matches Malone’s son. In actuality, it’s Terry in disguise. .
BLUE BEETLE #3 by Keith Giffen and Scott Kolins. Blue Beetle battles some strange creatures in the tunnel before getting free. He meets with Ted Kord to tell him what happened, who somewhat explains about what Doctor Fate had told him about his future. While a mysterious beetle creature in disguise arrives at El Paso International, Teri meets the private investigators that Kord hired: Sugar Plumm and Spike Wilson.
CATWOMAN: ELECTION NIGHT by Meredith Finch, Shane Davis, Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell. It’s election season in Gotham and Oswald Cobblepott and Constance Hill are running for Mayor. Hill is concerned the most about keeping Miss Kitty’s fostor home from falling to the wrecking ball. After some investigation, Catwoman discovers that Constance used to be Jaime, who once lived at Miss Kitty’s. Jaime had murdered a girl named Kelly who was going to be adopted and got adopted instead. So Constance gets arrested for murder, Penguin is found to have purchased land at a cheap price based on the potential for a wall being built. In the end, a girl named Beth tells Miss Kitty that she will be President someday. In the back-up, it’s a tale of future President Beth.
CYBORG #4 by John Semper Jr. and Timoty Green II. In the virtual world, Cyborg is forced to battle the Justice League, Darkseid and the malware that is disrupting his system. In the end, he defeats the malware and decides that he still needs to figure out who is trying to ruin his life, unaware it is the person masquerading as his father..
CYBORG #5 by John Semper Jr, Allan Jefferson and Derec Donovan. After spending some time with Blue, who arranges a special celebration from the local Veterans Disability Center, his “father” convinces him to assist in the case of Scarlett Taylor. Severely injured in Baghdad, he is convinced to help replicate the accident that created him, so that Scarlett can become a female cyborg like Victor.
DEATH OF HAWKMAN #2 by Marc Andreyko and Aaron Lopresti. In the present, Adam Strange and Hawkman fight for their life on the battle ravaged planet of Rann. In the past, Hawkman is dispensing his own brand of justice on Thanagar while Strange is on Rann, finding out how Alanna's father died during the attack on Rann. The Rannian’s are plenty mad and are ready to go to war against Thanagar. Adam believes that someone is going about impersonating him and, unbeknownst to him, it may very well be Despero. In an effort to get to the bottom of things, Adam uses the Zta Bams to transport himself into Katar's home, where he comes face to face with a named Katar.
DEATHSTROKE #6 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama and Carlo Pagulayan. Deathstroke and Wintergreen go to Africa where they save The Red Lion. Red Lion interrogates Richard and finds out that he loves Rose but hates Deathstroke because of an incident when he was very young that occurred between Slade and Richard/Luis’ mom. Meanwhile, Joey meets with Dr. Ikon and a discussion ensues regarding who is dating who and who is marrying who. Joe commandeers Ikon’s mind, shuts off his power suit and leaps off a tall building.
DEATHSTROKE #7 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama and Carlo Pagulayan. Joe is now a superhero wearing Dr. Ikon’s suit and, after saving some children, meets with his sister, who finds it hard to believe that Slade put a hit out on her. Slade goes to visit his ex-wife and discovers that she is responsible for most of what has been going around his world, including having Luis working for her. In the end, many people connected to Slade get text messages asking if they really know who they are working for while Slade’s current mission seems to go south and Superman gets involved.
DETECTIVE COMICS #944 by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows. The gala is under attack and that leads to the team coming to help. They get attacked by a group called The Victim Syndicate who claim they are all people who ended up the way they are because of the actions of the heroes. The challenge: every day that Batman does not unmask, they will attack the people who support him. After a gassing with Fear Gas, that especially affects Spoiler, the police end of shooting and many end up in the hospital, allowing the Syndicate to escape. Later, in the Belfry, Batwing reveals who the members of the Syndicate are and how they came to be. Batman leaves to go visit Spoiler at Leslie Thompkin’s clinic, Stephanie is visited by The First Victim.
DETECTIVE COMICS #945 by James Tynion IV, Al Barrionuevo and Carmen Carnero. Stephanie reveals to Batman that The First Victim visited to her to say that the Syndicate was sorry. Later, The Syndicate shows up at the clinic and gets into a confrontation with Jean-Paul, digging out his flaming sword in the process. Meanwhile, Leslie goes to The Belfry and has a series of one-on-ones with the team members, trying to make connections with the Syndicate members. During her session with Stephanie, Spoiler tears into Batman and storms out of the room. That’s when she meets…Red Robin.
THE FLASH #10 by Joshua Williamson and Felipe Watanabe. Papercut is on a rampage and Barry can’t stop him because he is with iris. Luckily, her nephew shows up to take him down. His aunt makes a stink about him not being in school and that gives Barry time to get away and become The Flash and put the bad guy away. Following the arrest, Barry takes Kid Flash away and chastises him for recklessness, which leads to Wally mouthing off about how he doesn’t even know The Flash’ secret identity. Later, Iris grounds Wally, but he still goes out and runs into The Darkness: a corrupt version of The Shade.
THE FLASH #11 by Joshua Williamson and David Gianfelice. Wally is still trapped in The Darkness and Iris and The Flash end up inside to try and rescue him. Flash encounters Wally and The Shade, who explains he is in here in what he calls the Shadowlands as he looks for his girlfriend, Hope. He tells them they must journey to the Tower of Darkness to find her and, when they get there, they find out that Hope AND Iris have become the new queens of Shadowland and they want the heroes dead.
GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #3 by Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl and Adam Archer. Maps and a whole bunch of the other students are still under the witches’ spell. Eric has a confrontation with her and she steals his book, which leads to the whole gang chasing after Amanda and, once they get the hat off, she’s back to her old self. Katherine reveals that they witches are all out in the woods and the gang goes in search of them. Map throws Eric’s book in the fire and Olive sees her mom in there. Maps hat gets removed and she stops Haxan, who is revealed to be Professor Pio. In the end, Colton is expelled from school.
GREEN ARROW #10 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra. Ollie, Dinah and Diggle jump on the high speed train, only to discover that it’s a party celebrating the maiden voyage of the Empire Empress. The trio all decide to work their way into the crowd, with Diggle being mistaken as part of the security detail by Eddie Feyers while Dinah cozies up to Amin Mustafa. Ollie finds Diggle injured and tells him to find the assassin, which turns out of be Feyers, who poisons Mustafa. Before he can be apprehended, he disappears and leaves Ollie and Dinah as the potential suspects.
GREEN ARROW #11 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra. While Dinah and Ollie have to convince the guards on the train that they didn’t kill Amin Mustafa, Feyers continues to get away. When they catch up with him, he seems to make his getaway, but not before he left a bomb behind that threatens to destroy everything, Dinah, Ollie get out while Diggle gets the train the out in spectacular fashion to the amazement of Broderick and Hillary Clinton.
GREEN LANTERNS #10 by Sam Humphries and Eduardo Pansica. Frank Laminski makes his way to Dearborn, Michigan in an effort to claim that Phantom Ring. While Simon and Jessica fight a fire and save a bunch of children, Frank sneaks into Simon's house makes a grab for the ring, but is confronted by Rami. Volthoom shows up and takes out Rami, allowing Frank to possess the Phantom Ring and begin his reign of terror.
GREEN LANTERNS #11 by Sam Humphries and Robson Rocha. Frank ends up in Kansas, where he saves a family from a tornado there. Simon and Jessica arrive and so does a news crew. Suffice it to say, the Lanterns don’t do a good job representing the Corps or the Justice league either. But Jessica sets Frank off when she tells him that the greatest Lantern of all time told her that she and Simon deserve the ring and he becomes a greedy Orange Lantern.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #8 by Robert Vendetti and Ethan Van Sciver. With the Lanterns trying to comprehend the fact that Sinestro, Lyssa and Hal are dead and Warworld is no more, they head off to Xudar, where the citizens are being taken over by Starro the Conqueror. Midway through their fight, Starro leaves and the Lanterns find out they are trapped by a force field. Actually, they are in a glass container, as they have been captured by Brainiac. In the end, Hal Jordan’s ring finds the planet of Nok and gives hope to two Guardians.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #9 by Robert Vendetti and Rafa Sandoval. The Lanterns try to deal with the unthinkable fact that Hal and Sinestro may both be dead and that they have been captured by Brainiac. And we still have the Xudarians being controlled by Starro, but Lantern Rot Lop rings his F-Sharp Bell and that causes Starro to give up control. Elsewhere, it turns out that Hal is in Emerald Space where he comes across Abin Sur. But, to free Hal, Ganthet and Sayd have to find White Lantern Kyle Rayner.
HARLEY QUINN #7 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and John Timms. Harley is still undercover as a punk rock star, but it seems like the jig may be up as her appearance has come to the attention of Fowl Play club owner Oswald Cobblepot. Meanwhile, Harley has Tony, Red Tool and Eggy check out Purple Satin’s place, but they get run over by a truck and they get captured by Purple Satin. Eggy convinces them that they were just big fans looking to steal their arrangements and Purple Satin gets flattered and they all drink together. At the club, the jig is truly up and Billy convinces the crowd to beat up Harley, but she fights back. Billy and Jello try to leave but they run into Oswald, who kills them both. In the end, Harley gets free and meets up with the rest of her band, finding out the rest of Purple Satin have passed out due to alcohol poisoning.
HARLEY QUINN #8 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Chad Hardin and Andrew Robinson. At the suggestion of therapist Frank Tieri, Harley and Ivy head to the Bahamas on vacation. But they soon find out they are staying at Sy Borgman’s condo in a nudist colony. After a week, Ivy explains that she needs to go back to the real world and do what she does, leaving Harley sad and depressed. Even with a week in a nudist colony, Harley still can’t get a tan.
THE HELLBLAZER #4 by Simon Oliver and Moritat. Constantine and Chas have been captured by Chas’ bookie White Boy. He plans on killing Chas if John won’t tell him his magic secrets and that leads to Constantine giving them a laundry list of items he needs. After getting the stuff he needs, John casts a spell, calling upon Djinns to do his dirty work and eliminate the threat. Meanwhile, in Rotworld, Swamp Thing has to use all of his energy to keep from being swallowed by The Rot while Mercury searches, unsuccessfully, for Abby. Once back in the real world, Constantine shows up and that could be trouble.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 by Bryan Hitch and Neil Edwards. With the battle with the Kindred over, the League goes back to business as usual. Cyborg and Batman’s systems get hacked and the Watchtower falls towards Earth. This may all be connected to family members of Diane Palmer-the one long person who died during the Kindred affair. It looks like Batman may be dead and now the hacker has found a way to tap into Green Lantern Simon Baz’ power.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 by Bryan Hitch and Neil Edwards. Batman is still alive and the League is still trying to survive the cyber attacks. Simon, who is attacking the League, gains enough willpower to stop the hacker from taking control of his constructs. In the end, Batman has figured out who is behind the attacks and the Justice League ends up at the home of Diane Palmer’s family looking for her husband.
ACTION COMICS #968 by Dan Jurgens and Tyler Kirkham. The battle continues between Zade, L’Call, Luthor and Superman. L’Call reveals to Superman Luthor’s future role as the new Darkseid. L’Call shoots Superman in the face and just when it looks like he is going to execute him, Jon pleads for his father’s life and he is granted a reprieve. Zade and L’Call temporarily leave and Clark questions whether they should let Luthor die to save the future.
ALL STAR BATMAN #4 by Scott Snyder, John Romits Jr. and Declan Shalvey. Even though he has been blinded and is in danger of drowning, Batman and Duke fight on, freeing themselves from the battalion that The Court of the Owls loaned to Two-Face. Duke and Batman once again take Two-face captive and, from the small airport they are at, borrow a crop dusting plane to continue their journey. The KGB Beast shows up and soon Batman, Duke and Two-Face are captive in his lair as Cobblepot and company watch. They want the password and just when things look bad, an army of villains that two-Face has drafted shows up with guns blazing. In the back-up, Duke solves the Diane Boone mystery, but it costs her her life at the hands of Zsasz.
AQUAMAN #10 by Dan Abnett and David Walker. At the Oracle of the Widowhood, Mera and the oracles view an image of destruction and it looks like Mera may be the cause. She leaves the Oracle and heads back to Amnesty Bay, despite the fact that Cetea is threatening to stop her to save the world. Heading home, she finds a note from Lt. Stubbs, and goes off to meet with her. During the meeting, Stubbs tell Mera about N.E.M.O. and that leads to Black Jack to attack. Stubbs and Mera work together and defeat him. Stubbs reveals to Mera that Arthur has been seriously injured and is in a hospital.
AQUAMAN #11 by Dan Abnett and Philippe Briones. Mera makes her way to the hospital and meets with Arthur, telling him that the Widowhood doesn’t want them to marry. The Justice League arrives and Superman tells him they will stand behind him as he pursues the people responsible for hostilities between the surface world and the undersea world. Arthus, Mera and Stubbs go to Atlantis, where they learn that the surface world is being attacked by “Atlantis”-a ploy arranged by Black Manta and N.E.M.O.
BATGIRL #5 by Hope Larson and Rafael Albuquerque. Batgirl learns that Teacher is suffering from hair loss because of her use of the drug. Batgirl and teacher battle over the formula and Batgirl gets knocked out, leading to her having lengthy conversation with Fruit Bat and Kai during her unconsciousness. When she wakes, she pursues teacher, who has now gone bald because of the drug. Defeating her, she returns Teacher and the formula to Grandfather, which repays Kai’s debt. She also has turned them all into the police. In the end, Batgirl has the students go learn from Fruit Bat, tells Kai to go home and never come back to China, and then heads back to Burnside.
BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #4 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson and Roge Antonio. Huntress tracks down the Snake Gang and gets some unwanted help from Batgirl and Black canary. Later, Helena explains how her family was killed in the war between the Bertinellis and the Cassamentos and she ended up in Italy where she trained. The trio heads to the Gotham Tower where they encounter a group of robot copies of Gotham villains. Once inside Oracle’s lair, they discover that Oracle has a big of a fanboy/girl crush on Batgirl.
BATMAN #10 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Batman goes to Santa Prisca to challenge bane and get the Psycho Pirate. Despite battling an overwhelming number of Bane’s followers, he is captured and broken by Bane and tossed into a water filled pit. As the water rises, Batman struggles to get free, which he eventually does. Once outside, he meets up with Catwoman and the Ventriloquist and they head back inside to break bane’s back.
BATMAN #11 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Once inside, Batman, Catwoman and the Ventriloquist make their way throughout Bane’s lair while Punch, Jewelee and Bronze Tiger meet with Bane, revealing that the League of Assassins are looking for advice on how to break the Batman. Catwoman jumps down, slashes Punch and Jewelee’s throats and knocks out Tiger. She reveals Batman’s plan to Bane and asks for safe passage and money to completely betray him.
BATMAN REBIRTH ANNUAL #1 by Tom King, David Finch, Scott Snyder, Ray Fawkes, Declan Shalvey, Paul Dini, Neal Adams, Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, ScottBryan Wilson, and Bilquis Evely. In the first story, we get the origin of Ace the Bat Hound, who apparently began as one of The Joker’s vicious dogs. The second story follows Batman as he watches a quiet night in Gotham City. The third story is about Harley Quinn doing a ride along with the Dark Knight. The fourth story introduces us to hundred year old Barry O’Neill and The Stag, who is supposed to play a part in Batman mythos in 2017. The final story features Haunter and a guest appearance by The Scarecrow.
BATMAN BEYOND #2 by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. Carter explains to Dana how the Joker died by going through the blades of a giant snowblower. Apparently, he was badly injured but his henchmen ferried him away and put him into a cryogenic holding cell and that is wait he remained until Carter found him. The Batmobile arrives piloted by Matt and Max. But the Batmobile gets shot out of the sky by Trey Malone, who claims to be Matches Malone’s son. In actuality, it’s Terry in disguise. .
BLUE BEETLE #3 by Keith Giffen and Scott Kolins. Blue Beetle battles some strange creatures in the tunnel before getting free. He meets with Ted Kord to tell him what happened, who somewhat explains about what Doctor Fate had told him about his future. While a mysterious beetle creature in disguise arrives at El Paso International, Teri meets the private investigators that Kord hired: Sugar Plumm and Spike Wilson.
CATWOMAN: ELECTION NIGHT by Meredith Finch, Shane Davis, Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell. It’s election season in Gotham and Oswald Cobblepott and Constance Hill are running for Mayor. Hill is concerned the most about keeping Miss Kitty’s fostor home from falling to the wrecking ball. After some investigation, Catwoman discovers that Constance used to be Jaime, who once lived at Miss Kitty’s. Jaime had murdered a girl named Kelly who was going to be adopted and got adopted instead. So Constance gets arrested for murder, Penguin is found to have purchased land at a cheap price based on the potential for a wall being built. In the end, a girl named Beth tells Miss Kitty that she will be President someday. In the back-up, it’s a tale of future President Beth.
CYBORG #4 by John Semper Jr. and Timoty Green II. In the virtual world, Cyborg is forced to battle the Justice League, Darkseid and the malware that is disrupting his system. In the end, he defeats the malware and decides that he still needs to figure out who is trying to ruin his life, unaware it is the person masquerading as his father..
CYBORG #5 by John Semper Jr, Allan Jefferson and Derec Donovan. After spending some time with Blue, who arranges a special celebration from the local Veterans Disability Center, his “father” convinces him to assist in the case of Scarlett Taylor. Severely injured in Baghdad, he is convinced to help replicate the accident that created him, so that Scarlett can become a female cyborg like Victor.
DEATH OF HAWKMAN #2 by Marc Andreyko and Aaron Lopresti. In the present, Adam Strange and Hawkman fight for their life on the battle ravaged planet of Rann. In the past, Hawkman is dispensing his own brand of justice on Thanagar while Strange is on Rann, finding out how Alanna's father died during the attack on Rann. The Rannian’s are plenty mad and are ready to go to war against Thanagar. Adam believes that someone is going about impersonating him and, unbeknownst to him, it may very well be Despero. In an effort to get to the bottom of things, Adam uses the Zta Bams to transport himself into Katar's home, where he comes face to face with a named Katar.
DEATHSTROKE #6 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama and Carlo Pagulayan. Deathstroke and Wintergreen go to Africa where they save The Red Lion. Red Lion interrogates Richard and finds out that he loves Rose but hates Deathstroke because of an incident when he was very young that occurred between Slade and Richard/Luis’ mom. Meanwhile, Joey meets with Dr. Ikon and a discussion ensues regarding who is dating who and who is marrying who. Joe commandeers Ikon’s mind, shuts off his power suit and leaps off a tall building.
DEATHSTROKE #7 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama and Carlo Pagulayan. Joe is now a superhero wearing Dr. Ikon’s suit and, after saving some children, meets with his sister, who finds it hard to believe that Slade put a hit out on her. Slade goes to visit his ex-wife and discovers that she is responsible for most of what has been going around his world, including having Luis working for her. In the end, many people connected to Slade get text messages asking if they really know who they are working for while Slade’s current mission seems to go south and Superman gets involved.
DETECTIVE COMICS #944 by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows. The gala is under attack and that leads to the team coming to help. They get attacked by a group called The Victim Syndicate who claim they are all people who ended up the way they are because of the actions of the heroes. The challenge: every day that Batman does not unmask, they will attack the people who support him. After a gassing with Fear Gas, that especially affects Spoiler, the police end of shooting and many end up in the hospital, allowing the Syndicate to escape. Later, in the Belfry, Batwing reveals who the members of the Syndicate are and how they came to be. Batman leaves to go visit Spoiler at Leslie Thompkin’s clinic, Stephanie is visited by The First Victim.
DETECTIVE COMICS #945 by James Tynion IV, Al Barrionuevo and Carmen Carnero. Stephanie reveals to Batman that The First Victim visited to her to say that the Syndicate was sorry. Later, The Syndicate shows up at the clinic and gets into a confrontation with Jean-Paul, digging out his flaming sword in the process. Meanwhile, Leslie goes to The Belfry and has a series of one-on-ones with the team members, trying to make connections with the Syndicate members. During her session with Stephanie, Spoiler tears into Batman and storms out of the room. That’s when she meets…Red Robin.
THE FLASH #10 by Joshua Williamson and Felipe Watanabe. Papercut is on a rampage and Barry can’t stop him because he is with iris. Luckily, her nephew shows up to take him down. His aunt makes a stink about him not being in school and that gives Barry time to get away and become The Flash and put the bad guy away. Following the arrest, Barry takes Kid Flash away and chastises him for recklessness, which leads to Wally mouthing off about how he doesn’t even know The Flash’ secret identity. Later, Iris grounds Wally, but he still goes out and runs into The Darkness: a corrupt version of The Shade.
THE FLASH #11 by Joshua Williamson and David Gianfelice. Wally is still trapped in The Darkness and Iris and The Flash end up inside to try and rescue him. Flash encounters Wally and The Shade, who explains he is in here in what he calls the Shadowlands as he looks for his girlfriend, Hope. He tells them they must journey to the Tower of Darkness to find her and, when they get there, they find out that Hope AND Iris have become the new queens of Shadowland and they want the heroes dead.
GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #3 by Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl and Adam Archer. Maps and a whole bunch of the other students are still under the witches’ spell. Eric has a confrontation with her and she steals his book, which leads to the whole gang chasing after Amanda and, once they get the hat off, she’s back to her old self. Katherine reveals that they witches are all out in the woods and the gang goes in search of them. Map throws Eric’s book in the fire and Olive sees her mom in there. Maps hat gets removed and she stops Haxan, who is revealed to be Professor Pio. In the end, Colton is expelled from school.
GREEN ARROW #10 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra. Ollie, Dinah and Diggle jump on the high speed train, only to discover that it’s a party celebrating the maiden voyage of the Empire Empress. The trio all decide to work their way into the crowd, with Diggle being mistaken as part of the security detail by Eddie Feyers while Dinah cozies up to Amin Mustafa. Ollie finds Diggle injured and tells him to find the assassin, which turns out of be Feyers, who poisons Mustafa. Before he can be apprehended, he disappears and leaves Ollie and Dinah as the potential suspects.
GREEN ARROW #11 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra. While Dinah and Ollie have to convince the guards on the train that they didn’t kill Amin Mustafa, Feyers continues to get away. When they catch up with him, he seems to make his getaway, but not before he left a bomb behind that threatens to destroy everything, Dinah, Ollie get out while Diggle gets the train the out in spectacular fashion to the amazement of Broderick and Hillary Clinton.
GREEN LANTERNS #10 by Sam Humphries and Eduardo Pansica. Frank Laminski makes his way to Dearborn, Michigan in an effort to claim that Phantom Ring. While Simon and Jessica fight a fire and save a bunch of children, Frank sneaks into Simon's house makes a grab for the ring, but is confronted by Rami. Volthoom shows up and takes out Rami, allowing Frank to possess the Phantom Ring and begin his reign of terror.
GREEN LANTERNS #11 by Sam Humphries and Robson Rocha. Frank ends up in Kansas, where he saves a family from a tornado there. Simon and Jessica arrive and so does a news crew. Suffice it to say, the Lanterns don’t do a good job representing the Corps or the Justice league either. But Jessica sets Frank off when she tells him that the greatest Lantern of all time told her that she and Simon deserve the ring and he becomes a greedy Orange Lantern.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #8 by Robert Vendetti and Ethan Van Sciver. With the Lanterns trying to comprehend the fact that Sinestro, Lyssa and Hal are dead and Warworld is no more, they head off to Xudar, where the citizens are being taken over by Starro the Conqueror. Midway through their fight, Starro leaves and the Lanterns find out they are trapped by a force field. Actually, they are in a glass container, as they have been captured by Brainiac. In the end, Hal Jordan’s ring finds the planet of Nok and gives hope to two Guardians.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #9 by Robert Vendetti and Rafa Sandoval. The Lanterns try to deal with the unthinkable fact that Hal and Sinestro may both be dead and that they have been captured by Brainiac. And we still have the Xudarians being controlled by Starro, but Lantern Rot Lop rings his F-Sharp Bell and that causes Starro to give up control. Elsewhere, it turns out that Hal is in Emerald Space where he comes across Abin Sur. But, to free Hal, Ganthet and Sayd have to find White Lantern Kyle Rayner.
HARLEY QUINN #7 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and John Timms. Harley is still undercover as a punk rock star, but it seems like the jig may be up as her appearance has come to the attention of Fowl Play club owner Oswald Cobblepot. Meanwhile, Harley has Tony, Red Tool and Eggy check out Purple Satin’s place, but they get run over by a truck and they get captured by Purple Satin. Eggy convinces them that they were just big fans looking to steal their arrangements and Purple Satin gets flattered and they all drink together. At the club, the jig is truly up and Billy convinces the crowd to beat up Harley, but she fights back. Billy and Jello try to leave but they run into Oswald, who kills them both. In the end, Harley gets free and meets up with the rest of her band, finding out the rest of Purple Satin have passed out due to alcohol poisoning.
HARLEY QUINN #8 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Chad Hardin and Andrew Robinson. At the suggestion of therapist Frank Tieri, Harley and Ivy head to the Bahamas on vacation. But they soon find out they are staying at Sy Borgman’s condo in a nudist colony. After a week, Ivy explains that she needs to go back to the real world and do what she does, leaving Harley sad and depressed. Even with a week in a nudist colony, Harley still can’t get a tan.
THE HELLBLAZER #4 by Simon Oliver and Moritat. Constantine and Chas have been captured by Chas’ bookie White Boy. He plans on killing Chas if John won’t tell him his magic secrets and that leads to Constantine giving them a laundry list of items he needs. After getting the stuff he needs, John casts a spell, calling upon Djinns to do his dirty work and eliminate the threat. Meanwhile, in Rotworld, Swamp Thing has to use all of his energy to keep from being swallowed by The Rot while Mercury searches, unsuccessfully, for Abby. Once back in the real world, Constantine shows up and that could be trouble.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 by Bryan Hitch and Neil Edwards. With the battle with the Kindred over, the League goes back to business as usual. Cyborg and Batman’s systems get hacked and the Watchtower falls towards Earth. This may all be connected to family members of Diane Palmer-the one long person who died during the Kindred affair. It looks like Batman may be dead and now the hacker has found a way to tap into Green Lantern Simon Baz’ power.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 by Bryan Hitch and Neil Edwards. Batman is still alive and the League is still trying to survive the cyber attacks. Simon, who is attacking the League, gains enough willpower to stop the hacker from taking control of his constructs. In the end, Batman has figured out who is behind the attacks and the Justice League ends up at the home of Diane Palmer’s family looking for her husband.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
DC YOU Month 18
DOCTOR FATE #18 by Paul Levitz and Brendan McCarthy. In this final issue, Fate has a conversation with Thoth regarding the various his future, before he is sent off to encounter the Web Spinners of Fate. In the end, Khalid defeats the creatures and returns back to his home.
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #18 by Dan Abnett and Bruno Redondo. Huntress, Batman and his son are stuck in the limbo that is now Earth 2 where they are forced to fight off creatures who resemble Sandman. Elsewhere, Red Tornado, Superman, Flash, Fury, Power Girl and Hawkgirl realize that this limbo is actually a wall leading to another reality which looks very much like old Metropolis. In the end, cohesion occurs and both teams find themselves in old, classic Metropolis.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA by Bryan Hitch. The team battles against Rao's seemingly endless hordes of followers. On Krypton, the older Rao convinces his younger self to follow him to Metropolis. Meanwhile, Alexis, Vincent, and Jane head to Krypton to talk to the Forever Stones, where they convince them to not let them die. With that, Rao's attempted conquest ends, especially when his younger self beheads him
SIX PACK & DOG WELDER HARD TRAVELIN' HEROEZ #4 by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun. Constantine and the team find themselves having to battle undead mummies when Dogwelder finds himself in the Hall of Dogwelders, where he discovers that he is just the latest in a long-line of DogWelding heroes. It seems Isis, Osiris and some of the other gods were responsible for creating the first DogWelder, after he was responsible for creating Anubis. The DogWelding gig is a curse put down by Anubis. He transfers back into the here and now and they all go outside to wait for the Second Sign.
SUICIDE SQUAD’S MOST WANTED: EL DIABLO AND BOOMERANG #4 by Jai Nitz, Cliff Richards, Christopher Sebela and Brian Level. Sin Tzu explains the whole concept of Project Beowulf to El Diablo and Azucar before he releases the creatures against them. During the battle, Azucar is mortally wounded and luckily, Batman arrives to lend a hand. El Diablo leave with Azucar and they head to the desert, where she heals and they are visited by Xolotl. Just when things are looking up, Waller’s newest team comes calling for them. In the Killer Croc tale, Croc takes out the pair responsible for creating all those creatures here and leaves them to their fate. Then, he is forced to fight one of the monsters that Waller wants him to bring back to her Task Force X. Instead, he kills the creature as an act of mercy and that just makes Waller mad.
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #18 by Dan Abnett and Bruno Redondo. Huntress, Batman and his son are stuck in the limbo that is now Earth 2 where they are forced to fight off creatures who resemble Sandman. Elsewhere, Red Tornado, Superman, Flash, Fury, Power Girl and Hawkgirl realize that this limbo is actually a wall leading to another reality which looks very much like old Metropolis. In the end, cohesion occurs and both teams find themselves in old, classic Metropolis.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA by Bryan Hitch. The team battles against Rao's seemingly endless hordes of followers. On Krypton, the older Rao convinces his younger self to follow him to Metropolis. Meanwhile, Alexis, Vincent, and Jane head to Krypton to talk to the Forever Stones, where they convince them to not let them die. With that, Rao's attempted conquest ends, especially when his younger self beheads him
SIX PACK & DOG WELDER HARD TRAVELIN' HEROEZ #4 by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun. Constantine and the team find themselves having to battle undead mummies when Dogwelder finds himself in the Hall of Dogwelders, where he discovers that he is just the latest in a long-line of DogWelding heroes. It seems Isis, Osiris and some of the other gods were responsible for creating the first DogWelder, after he was responsible for creating Anubis. The DogWelding gig is a curse put down by Anubis. He transfers back into the here and now and they all go outside to wait for the Second Sign.
SUICIDE SQUAD’S MOST WANTED: EL DIABLO AND BOOMERANG #4 by Jai Nitz, Cliff Richards, Christopher Sebela and Brian Level. Sin Tzu explains the whole concept of Project Beowulf to El Diablo and Azucar before he releases the creatures against them. During the battle, Azucar is mortally wounded and luckily, Batman arrives to lend a hand. El Diablo leave with Azucar and they head to the desert, where she heals and they are visited by Xolotl. Just when things are looking up, Waller’s newest team comes calling for them. In the Killer Croc tale, Croc takes out the pair responsible for creating all those creatures here and leaves them to their fate. Then, he is forced to fight one of the monsters that Waller wants him to bring back to her Task Force X. Instead, he kills the creature as an act of mercy and that just makes Waller mad.
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