More first issues

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #1 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. Here’s Marvel next big event book and, based on initial sales and response, it’s truly an event book. Carnage is back and he’s poised to gather up all the missing pieces of the symbiote that has made it’s way to other people. So, Spidey and Venom have to team up and let’s not forget that Norman Osborn is infected too. A huge, pricey read but a great start to this mini-series that reaches through so many titles to come.

AGE OF X-MAN OMEGA #1 by Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler and Simone Buonfantino. Another Marvel “Event Book”, which is actually the last part of the multiple mini-series dealing with most of the X-Men being transported to another reality by X-Man. So…picture AGE OF APOCALYPSE for the 21^st Century. This wraps the whole thing up and, guess what-it pretty much resets everything and leads into HOUSE OF X and Jonathan Hickman’s rebooting of the franchise.

ARCHIE THE MARRIED LIFE 10^TH ANIVERSARY by Michael Uslan and Dan Parent. A decade ago, Archie Comics did something unusual: they created two timelines for Archie and his gang-one where he married Veronica and another where he married Betty; running in LIFE WITH ARCHIE #600-606. This led to a 35 issue LIFE WITH ARCHIE : THE MARRIED LIFE which ended with the death of Archie. Well, ten years later and we revisit what has happened since then. So, you get to short stories running concurrently from different realities. Confused yet? Well, considering Archie DIED at the end of the last run…yeah: I’m really confused!

ARCHIE VS PREDATOR II by Alex DeCampi and Robert Hack. When we last left our teens and their battle against Predator, Archie was dead, as was most of the supporting cast, and he was inhabited by a Predator. So it becomes a road trip with Betty, Veronica and Predator Archie who try to leave Riverdale but end up in a Riverdale here everyone is still alive and going Trick or Treating. What?! Okay Alex: I can’t wait to se what’s next!

AVENGERS: EDGE OF INFINITY #1 by Ralph Macchio and Andrea Di Vito. Talk about a cash grab! Legendary writer Ralph Macchio gives us this non continuity, I hope tale involving Cap, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Black Widow, some Lava Men and M.O.D.O.K. While it looks amazing, it feels like an old 80’s tale. It even feels like something Marvel found in their unused file. Don’t expect anything amazing out of this and certainly don’t expect it to have anything to do with that Thanos guy.

THE AVENGERS: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by Jason Aaron, Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli and Mike Deodato Jr. This Marvel  FCBD release The first story sets up storylines for future issues of The Avengers, including the upcoming war with Namor and The Squadron Supreme of America. The second tale brings the Savage Avengers characters into the Marvel Universe, complete with bringing in Stick and Elektra. A good lead-in and it’s FREE!

BATMAN THE CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #1 by Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth. It’s the sequel to Murphy’s huge success of last year, where we saw The Joker as the hero. This time around, Joker is still incarcerated but Batman has a new foil on the rise and his name is soon to be Azrael. It’s not the average Batman book and, because of DC’s new rebranding strategy, it’s a Black Label title now, which means we can use bad words!

BLACK CAT #1 by Jed Mackay, Nao Fuji, Travel Foreman and Mike Dowling. Felicia Hardy is back in business and business means stealing stuff. And that means putting a team together. So…if you like CATWOMAN, you’ll like this. But it takes three tales to give us a glimpse into Felicia’s life and none of them are fantastic. This book just moves along and without much heart to it. Yeah…this is a one and done for me.

DEATH’S HEAD #1 by Tini Howard and Kei Zama. Marvel resurrects this Marvel UK hero/anti-hero and puts a modern spin on it. Throw in Hulking and Wiccan and we should have a cool title. Nope! This just wallows in our hero’s love affair with each other and doesn’t bother to set the stage for who Death’s Head is and all. Basically, if you have no clue, you will still have no clue. Marvel: hat is this about? Planning on pushing a trade paperback to augment the back story you have glossed over? This was a MAJOR disappointment for me!

DCEASED #1 by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano and James Harren. What happens when the DC Universe gets infected? You get this, where our heroes become crazed flesh-eating zombies. This is such a strange book, which feels like INJUSTICE meets George Romero’s THE CRAZIES. Not sure how this is going to feel as it goes forward. But for now: it’s dumb fun.

DOOM PATROL; WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS #1 by Gerard Way and Jeremy Lambert. Hot on the heels of their well-received DC Universe show, these strange heroes are back for another round from former My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. Prepare to be mind-blown and maybe not in a good way. I had to read it twice and actually felt I needed mind-altering drugs to totally enjoy it. This is a fun read but truly not for everyone.

FANTASTIC FOUR: THE PRODIGAL SUN #1 by Peter David and Francesco Manna. Another Marvel mini-crossover series here. Prodigal is an alien who bears a resemblance to an old New Universe character and comes to our planet and comes out swinging. The Marvel first family ends up in the Savage Land and that means KaZar is here too. In the end, it just leads into another title, this time featuring Silver Surfer. Unfortunately, despite Peter David writing it, I really don’t care for the character, so the chances of reading the Silver Surfer book are slim.

FIVE YEARS #1 by Terry Moore. If you are a fan of Terry Moore’s work over the years, including STRANGERS IN PARADISE, ECHO, RACHEL RISING and MOTOR GIRL, this series is a definite purchase, The world is going to end in five years, as explained in STRANGERS IN PARADISE XXV and now it’s time to see what will happen and how it can (hopefully) be averted. This series ties all of Moore’s previous series together by bringing in characters and storylines. Moore is a tremendous storyteller and this could be the culmination of over 25 years of stories.

FUTURE FOUNDATION #1 by Jeremy Whitley and Will Robson. Now this is what a fun title should be! The rest of hat was the Future Foundation, Alex and Julie Powers, Bentley-23, Dragon Man and others, continue on with their learning, with special guest lecturer Yondu. Julie has just had a break-up with her girlfriend, has flunked out of school and is trying to get her life together. But that’s not happening anytime soon as she gets dragged back into the action and the drama. With guest appearances and snappy dialogue, this is a great read!

GIANT-SIZE X-STATIX #1 by Peter Milligan and Michael “Doc” Allred. That strange superhero team, which I like to think may have been an inspiration for Way’s DOOM PATROL run, is back in this one shot and, as expected, it’s wildly trippy! I’m a fan of Milligan’s writing and truly love Allred’s work going back to his MADMAN days. So, for me, this was an easy add on to my regular titles and I loved it. Allred’s work is quirky, the story is rambling at times but, all in all, I enjoyed the heck out of it and want a regular series again.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAZY ANNUAL #1 by Donny Cates, John McCrea, Tini Howard, Ibraham Moustafa, Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler. Three tales highlight this annual. The first follows Nova and the former Quasar. The second tale is about Adam Warlock, who must deal with a society that sees him as a god. The third tale involves Darkhawk and will be followed in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #7, where he has to deal with the repercussions of being turned into a child.

HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1 by Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez. Mark Waid attempts the impossible by trying to cohesively tell the history of the Marvel Universe from it’s ancient origins to present day in a mini-series t and hat many have scoffed at. In this first issue, he touches on the ancient races, Celestials, miscellaneous gods, various races, vampires, demons and even slides briefly into the Wild West and Logan’s origin. Does it succeed? I personally think it’s too early to tell. With the birth of the Modern Day heroes coming next issue, we’ll see just how well he can pull all these pieces together.

HOUSE OF X #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz. What has been touted as the major retooling of the X-Universe begins here and now with this first part of a weekly 12 issue series that runs along with POWERS OF X. The heroes are back, they are on Karkoa and it looks like Charles Xavier is running the show along with Magneto and some of the key players. But is this really the X-Men? It’s a book that I read twice just to get all the nuances in it and some secrets which I think will be revealed. Is this the big, be-all and end-all that everyone hopes for? We’ll see.

JANE FOSTER VALKYRIE #1 by Jason Aaron, Al Ewing and Cafu. Coming out the events in WAR OF THE REALMS, Valkyrie is dead and Jane Foster is the new Valkyrie. Yeah…THAT Jane Foster. And what she learns is that this isn’t just about being a hero, it’s about having to be someone who comforts those on the other side. THAT is what makes this thing work. I truly expected this to be very lightweight, but was pleasantly surprised.

JUGHEAD TIME POLICE #1 by Sina Grace and Derek Charm. Jughead screws up and is disqualified for life after he accidentally puts fish oil into his cooking entry. So he constructs a time machine to go back and fix things. Well…we all know how time travel leads to problems-just ask the Avengers! Basically, it’s a fun, dumb comic that appeals to me as someone who wasn’t a big Archie fan as a kid. No heavy lifting here: it’s just a fun read without earth shattering consequences.

LOKI #1 by Daniel Kibblesmith and Oscar Bazaldua. The God of Lies has become a hero, coming out of the WAR OF THE REALMS, and now rules Jotunheim. But let’s not forget, he’s still Loki, so we know how that goes. This new series tries yet again to make

Loki a key player in the Marvel Universe.  Unfortunately, like previous efforts, I find it a little too foolish for my taste. It’s a buddy book…sort of.

MARVELS EPILOGUE by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. Coming on the heels of the release of the anniversary run of MARVELS, we get this: a short little story set during X-MEN #98. Yes, Busiek and Ross have crafted a deal set in those opening ages. And it’s an expensive read for a 16 page story, plus some extras like sketch book pages and an interview with Busiek and Ross, but…c’mon: it’s 16 pages of Alex Ross!

PETER PARKER ANNUAL #1 by Jason Latour, Clayton Cowles, David Lafuente, Phil Lord and Cristopher Miller. Do ya like Funny Animal Comics? Well…you’ll like this. The entire issue is an adventure featuring Peter Porker, Spider Ham. He battles The Ringmaster, crosses paths with animal versions of classic Marvel characters and saves the Universe. If you enjoyed our hero in INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, you’ll love this. If you’re looking for Miles Morales, you’ll be bummed.

POWERS OF X #1 by Jonathan Hickman and R. B. Silva. Here is the other piece of Hickman’s reboot and this is as weird as the HOUSE OF X title. Set in the future, you are going to read this and truly wonder what the heck is going on. I’m sure, like with all of Hickman’s work, there is an endgame coming. And when it does, you’ll go back and re-read all of this and it will make sense. Until then, just go with the ride.

RAGNAROK THE BREAKING OF HELHEIM #1 by Walt Simonson. What some have called the best Thor book on the market is back once again. It’s typical Simonson style and it tells the tale of a Thor who is pissed off and ready to rule. Take that blonde-haired god and that MCU Thor and put them out of your mind. This is truly different Thor and you may find an issue with that. Me-I just think that anytime I can get a Simonson tale, I’m in.

RED SONJA AND VAMPIRELLA MEET BETTY AND VERONICA #1 by Amy Chu and Maria Sanapo. Just when you thought Dynamite couldn’t throw together another team up with their two biggest ladies, they come up with this. Vampi and her best girl pal Red Sonja track down the Cult of Chaos to Riverdale, where they meet some of the fine folks there and try to pass as high school students. We get a cool bunch of cameos, some nice art of a really crazy story. I shouldn’t complain too much as ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR was one of my favorite silly Archie themed tales.

SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITH #1 by Kelly Thompson, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish.  The fascination with the Riverdale gang continues with this new title. Where the Netflix show, which as based on the last Sabrina series, was truly seeped in the occult, this is a lighter take and much more in line with the current ARCHIE story.The tale is light hearted, he art is nice and, right now, it’s the only Sabrina book we have to work with.

SAVAGE AVENGERS #1 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr. What happens when an Avengers mini-series brings Conan from the Hyborean Game to the present? Outside of fans flipping out about it, we get a new Avengers team. We get Conan, Wolverine, Brother Voodoo and the Punisher, some mumbo jumbo, the Savage Land and some great art. Is this for everyone? Probably not, but Deodato’s art makes up for the confusing story.

SECOND COMING #1 by Mark Russell and Richard Pace. DC had tis on their schedule and then scuttled it. So another publisher stepped up and here it is. It’s the tale of Jesus coming to Earth to help a struggling superhero with his trials. Yeah-that’s the basic premise. And if you think this will piss people off, you’re probably right. That having been said, hit this with an open mind and realize Russell has his tongue firmly in his cheek.

SILVER SURFER BLACK #1 by Donny Cates and Tradd Moore. Everyone’s favorite herald of Galactus is back in this mini-series. Coming out of the recent events in Marvel Comics, with Thanos being killed, the Surfer finds himself in a Black Hole fighting for his life. It’s typical Donny Cates, which means it goes into strange places. Moore’s art is very trippy, seemingly channeling Jim Steranko’s best Pop Art pieces of the Sixties. What that means for the hardened comic reader is this is a Surfer tale like you have never experienced before. Aliens, drama, pathos and Knull…remember that nae because it will pop up throughout the year.

SUPERMAN YEAR ONE #1 by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. Frank Miller has decided to tell his own version of Superman’s origin. It’s a mess. It seems a baby Kal-El was cognizant of everything that went on as a baby, from the destruction of Krypton to his landing in Smallville. He learns of his powers, uses them to defend his friends and always wants to go home. He romances Lana Lang, shows his powers to her and eventually decides to join the Navy. What?! The story is convoluted, the dialogue is weak and the whole concept of changing history, even though it is not considered part of DC continuity, annoys me. On the plus side, this may be some of Romita’s best work in a while. It’s eight bucks, so the trip is your own choice.

SYMBIOTE SPIDER-,MAN #1 by Peter David and Greg Land. Set in the days of the black suit, Spidey faces off against Mysterio, fools around with Felicia Hardy and has no idea how bad the suit is for him. This is a beautiful, fun tale by David and Land that, while set in the past, feels fresh. I went into this with little expectations but, as David and Land knock it out of the park. This is a fun romp that brings back great memories!

THANOS #1 by Tini Howard and Ariel Olivetti. Gamora tells the tale of Thanos in the days when she was a child. Seems Thanos has been killing off his crew members to appease Lady Death and that leads to a meeting with Magus and eventually meeting a young Gamora. I expected this to feel like a big cash grab, but ended up really enjoying it, especially as it brought Magus back into Marvel continuity and into the hands of new readers. The story was fun and the art was amazing. I definitely look forward to the next issue.

VAMPIRELLA: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by Christopher Priest, Ergun Gunduz, Kurt Busiek and Arthur Adams. Dynamite again decides tyo reboot the classic character and, as they do with almost every reboot, they change it up. Fans of the classic character won’t like this but…it IS Priest, which means it is going to be filed with lots of twists, turns and red herrings. It’s modern day, Vampirella is a Goth chick and she has a disciple. The back-up is a reprint from the 1993 CREEPY FEARBOOK and is a call back to the days of classic Vampirella and her buddy Pendragon. While the main story leaves more questions than answers, I love what Priest has dropped thus far and looking forward to what’s coming.

VAMPIRELLA #1 by Christopher Priest and Ergun Gunduz. It starts with a plane crash, runs through out favorite vampire lady going to her therapist and touches on whether vampires really exist. Oh yeah: Vampi’s mom Lilith shows up too. This is a true Priest jaunt with his style showing through all over the place. The narrative is weird and slightly disjointed. But that’s Priest’s style and if you’re a fan of his DEATHSTROKE work, you’ll eat this up.

THE WAR OF THE REALMS #1 by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman. It’s been all leading up to this: Marvel’s next big event, Malkith is on a rampage and all the Realms of the universe are in peril. Leave it to a collection of diverse heroes to take on the challenge. This will lead to multiple spin-off mini-series, new series and a lot of time and money invested by the fans. Before it is done, the Agents of Atlas will reform, Loki and others will get their own series and the universe will be changed…forever, Oh yeah-Loki gets eaten by his father!

THE WAR OF THE REALMS: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #1 by The McElroys and Andre Lima Araujo. Marvel has a whole bunch of mini-series connected to WAR OF THE REALMS. Probably way too many of them! But this one could be the best of the bunch. A team comprised of Miles Morales, Balder the Brave, Kate Bishop, Deathlok 2.0, Stephen Strange, Thori the dog, and Wonder Man have been charged with caring for Thor’s baby sister. So, tis wild adventures feels like a cross between the greatest buddy film of all time mixed with RAISING ARIZONA. The dialogue is snappy and the action is hilarious. Nothing like watching Doctor Strange try and babysit!

THE WAR OF THE REALMS: NEW AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 by Greg Pak and Gang Hyuk Lim. The War of the Realms is the current Marvel crossover series and, as expected, there are many connecting mini-series. Jimmy Woo has put a new team together along with Ms. Marvel, Silk, Shang-Chi, Amadeus Cho and new heroes White Fox, Crescent and Luna Snow. This isn’t the team I know and love, although it does have a nice collection of under-utilized characters.  

THE WAR OF THE REALMS: THE PUNISHER #1 by Gerry Duggan and Marcelo Ferreira. Here’s another of the WAR OF THE REALMS mini-series. In this issue, The Punisher puts a team together filled with convicts, many of whom have a vendetta against Frank. It’s a nice nod to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK witch Frank and his team trying to get out of trouble and save some civilians in the process. Filled with Punisher action, mindless violence and monsters. Some fun!

THE WAR OF THE REALMS OMEGA #1 by Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, Daniel Kibblesmith, Gerry Duggan, Juan Ferreyra, Oscar Bazaldua, Cafu and Ron Garney. Don’t expect this to be a wrap-up to the whole mini-series but rather an introduction to new series coming out of it. Outside of the Daredevil piece by Aaron and Garney, which wraps up that storyline, we get lead-ins to JANE FOSTER VALKYRIE, LOKI and PUNISHER KILL KREW. Really Marvel? If I wanted to know how we are getting there, you should have put out three LOW PRICE mini-comics as #0 issues. Just sayin’!

WEB OF VENOM: CULT OF CARNAGE #1 by Frank Tieri and Danilo S, Beyruth. Some tie ago, Crangage took over a small Colorado town. Now it’s up to Misty Knight and John Jameson to figure it all out. This is a great lead-in to the next big event this summer involving Carnage and Venom. The story is fun, while the artwork fits. If you’re a fan of Venom, you need this in the collection.

WEB OF VENOM: FUNERAL PYRE #1 by Cullen Bunn, Joshua Cassara and Alberto Alburquerque. Marvel continues its’ lead-up to AB OSULTE CARNAGE with this one-shot dealing with Andi Benton and her symbiote. If you’re  completist and ant the full story of what will go on in that “Event Series”, then this is for you.

DC UNIVERSE Month 20, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #13 by James Tynion IV, Mark Buckingham and Daniel Sampere. The team tries to regroup from the recent end to the Lords of Order, while trying to convince Kent to once again take up the mantle of Doctor Fate. He agrees to stay behind to work with Khalid. Elsewhere, Zatanna meets with John Constantine, who reveals that he was aware of everything coming and that his part was put in play by Zatanna’s father. Meanwhile, Lex meets with Circe and presents an offer.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #1 by James Tynion IV, Ram V and Guillem March. Dr. Oleander Sorrel is a scientist who appears to have an origin very similar to that of Alec Holland, complete with being turned into a plant creature. He begins to recreate his family from his memory, which is when Swamp Thing gets involved. Along the lines, Jason Woodrue comes in and tries to convince the Sorrel creature to continue on his mission. Swamp Thing deduces that Sorrel actually didn’t die in an explosion, but actually committed suicide by immersing himself in his plant chemicals. Swamp Thing saves Sorfrel’s wife from the swamp while Woodrue gives in to his hunger and eats Sorrel, transforming him. Circe shows up with a proposition for Woodrue.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #11 by Dan Abnett and Will Conrad. Lex Luthor wants to make an Offer to Darkseid, but Brainiac insists that Darkseid is out of the game because he is too weak and can’t get better because Brainiac has hidden all the relics needed to achieve Sepulkore. But Darkseid’s Odyssey team has retrieved ten relics and Darkseid himself has retrieved 50.  He tells the tem he is no longer a threat, but if they don’t help him, everything dies. Most of the team turn their back on him, but Cyborg goes to talk with him. Darkseid explains that Victor Stone is truly dead and he ws chosen by Darkseid because he is more machine than anything. Cyborg begins “pinging” and tries to fight against Darkseid. But, in the end, Cyborg has been taken over and attacks Jessica.

LOIS LANE #1 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. Lois is on a quest to find out what happened to a fellow reporter from Russia who has died of an “alleged” suicide. She sends The Question off to get some answers. In the end, Lois gets into a verbal debate with the White House Press Secretary about separating children from their families, which leaves the hite House looking bad.

NAOMI #6 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker and Jamal Campbell. Dee gets the alert and heads to see Naomi's parents and  Annabelle.  Meanwhile, Naomi is on her birth world with Zumbado who killed her parents and was responsible for the chaos the planet is in. Zumbado insists that he was friends of her parents and she needs to let her anger out. Realizing Zumbado is the villain here, she battles him. Akira arrives and sends her back home. She promises lots of training and work to be a true superhero.

NIGHTWING #62 by Dan Jurgens and Ronan Cliquet. Ric continues to adjust to his new life and ratchets up his relationship with Bea. In the end, Lex Luthor brings an offer to a new player: Talon.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #36 by Scott Lobdell and Pete Woods. Penguin, who was freed by Bunker, has Jason at gunpoint as Jason swears that he is just a hired hand of Red Hood. Jason’s dog saves the day and Jason explains how Penguin’s European contacts have been cut loose by Red Hood. Bunker arrives, allowing Penguin to escape and says he freed Penguin because he thought Red Hood had gone straight. Bunker leaves as Wingman arrives, with Jason explaining the shot Penguin with a blank, but the blast shattered his monocle and that caused his injury. He turns over the club to Suzie Su as he and Wingman head out, as Jason plans on handling other business on his own. Wingman is revealed to be Willis Todd. In the end, Luthor arrives with an offer to Red Hood.

RED HOOD OUTLAW ANNUAL #3 by Scott Lobdell, Adam Pollina and Pete Woods. What has happened to Bizarro and Artemis is finally revealed. They end up lost in the Multiverse in a place where the superheroes lost their powers and are all dead, while regular people gained all the powers. They meet up with a small band of “good” folks with powers, but Artemis and Jack Knife still manage to get captured. Six months later, Bizarro is ready to free her, even as Artemis and Jack are brought before a powered up Sam Lane, who plans to open the gates of the Multiverse and drop his genetic bomb on all of the worlds, with the help of a mutated Luthor who has reconstructed the Quantum Doorway. Bizarro arrives with the heroes, defeats the villains and delivers a jewel which ill help to reverse the effects of the genetic bomb. Then he and Artemis leave through doorway, which will hopefully bring them back to their earth.

SUPERGIRL #32 by Marc Andreyko and Kevin Maguire. Supergirl, Jon, and Krypto have been being tracked by Gandelo to the Throneworld of the Trillium Collective. Once there, they are attacked by a horde of aliens. Kara gets free and stops the Gandelo, who again tries to flee. And that is when Rogol Zaar arrives and calls for his axe, so he can kill Gandelo, but Supergirl intervenes. Zn’dr arrives and this helps Kara get the axe. Gandelo attacks Zaar who kills her with his bare hands. Kara and Zaar struggle for control of the axe, but Jon and Krypto arrive and Jon uses his sit to teleport them away, but the axe is left behind in Zaar’s control. In the end, Lex Luthor’s craft meets with Brainiac-1 and delivers an offer from Luthor.

SUPERMAN #13 by Brian Michael Bendis, Brandon Peterson and Ivan Reis. It’s the last days of Krypton and Jor-El is having issues with the Science Council not wanting to meet with him. He meets with The Circle, who proceed to tell him he is wrong about Krypton’s impending destruction. A member of The Circle asks Jor’El if he knows who Rogol Zaar is and that leads Jor-El on a search for him, narrowly avoiding a Thangarian assignation attempt. Krypton starts to crumble and he meets again with member of The Circle, who explain it’s too late for Krypton. Back in the present, Superman asks his father why they have come to the remains of Krypton and or-El explains that this is here it all ends. In the end, Luthor's drone goes to Lois Lane’s apartment and presents a mysterious box to her.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #1 by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber. In the beginning, we see how one of Jimmy's ancestors got killed over a land dispute. Next we see a conversation between Julian Olsen and Lex Luthor, where it is explained that the Olsen’s had a role in establishing and developing Metropolis. That when Luthor reminds him that Jimmy, something of an Internet celebrity, got turned into a giant turtle while in space and while crashing to Earth, ended up destroying the “Luthor Lion”. Perry White complains about how much Jimmy’s stunts have cost the Planet, but he is the only one making money for The Planet, so Leone agrees to keep him on, but send him far away from Metropolis. So he ends up in a rundown hotel, where he posts a Planet headline showing tat Jimmy Olsen has been murdered.

TEEN TITANS #32 by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. Crush has been beat bloody by Lobo, but she recovers. That’s a good thing because Lobo is back to complete his mission. Dkinn finally unleashes Crush’ big bad chain, and that takes don Lobo. Djinn uses her powers to change Lobo and, in the end, he is on the moon, where Luthor meets with him and presents him with an offer.

THE TERRIFICS #18 by Gene Luen Yang and Stephem Segovia. The team continues to battle against the avatar of the Noosphere, even as the Noosphere attempts to take over everyone through their electronic devices. Mr. Terrific allows Metamorpho to bond with him and he enters the Noosphere, eventually giving it a T-Sphere to call home. That decision, even though it solves the crisis, leads to a war of words and opinions between Mr. Terrific and Ms. Terrific. In the end, Luthor has an offer for Bizarro of Earth-29.

WONDER TWINS #6 by Mark Russell and Stephen Byrne. The heroes of Earth have 30 days to stop the Scrambler from taking control of everyone on Earth. It seems like an impossible task and, at the end of the 30 days, the countries of the world decide to come together for the betterment of mankind. But just before it is scheduled to go down, the Justice League busts the Scrambler and Polly, who were discovered by Zan who became a water droplet and literally made his way through every house in the city. Zayna insists that Polly is her friend, leading Polly to deny it. Scambler ends up in prison, but he still may be able to activate his Scramble through electronic mail.

WONDER WOMAN #74 by G. Willow Wilson, Jesus Merino and Xermanico. Wonder Woman and company fight a fake Hippolyta and, during the process they fall off a cliff, only to be rescued by Antiope. We learn that when Ares died and Themyscira was torn apart, General Antiope and Philippus led the survivors to Dimension Chi. But Grail is also there and has captured Hippolyta.  and imprisoning her in the process. Now they band together to free the Amazons.

WONDER WOMAN #75 by G. Willow Wilson, Xermanico, Jesus Merino and Vicente Cifuentes. Wonder Woman gets reunited with most of her Amazon sisters who have not joined Grail. That leads to a massive battle between both sides with Grail fleeing and threatening to kill Isadore. Just as she is about to strike, Nubia changes sides and defeats Grail. In the end, mother and daughter reunite while Luthor’s craft meets with Cheetah with an offer.

YOUNG JUSTICE #7 by Brian Michael Bendis, John Timms, Dan Hipp and David Lafuente. The team has been bounced into The Multiverse where they first land in a strange cartoon world populated by childlike versions of the Justice League. They next go to Earth-26, where they meet up with Captain Carrot and his Zoo Crew. Then they are transported to Earth-22 where they meet with the heroes of KINGDOM COME. After joining together to battle and defeat the Sons of the Bat, Dr. Fate sends them home. Only problem: he thinks he sent them to the wrong Earth.

DC UNIVERSE, Month 20, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1013 by Brian  Michael Bendis and Syzmon Kudrankski. Leone gets visited by Lex Luthor with an offer, leading to her engaging in a full house protocol, resulting in her house disappearing. Meanwhile, Goode tells Perry White the story of how Rose met with Leviathan and refused their offer. Superman arrives and confronts the Leviathan minion, who realizes that he is wired to explode, and does so transporting Superman to India. While relating the story, Goode begins to change into her alter ego. In the end, Luthor arrives to meet with Red Cloud and has an offer for her.

ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #12 by Peter J. Tomasi and Carlos Barberi. Rex has his ultimate weapon and Jon and Damian are trapped inside of it. They meet with the being inhabiting it, known as The Place, who reveals it was influenced by heroes and villains of the Multiverse. Puppeteer arrives inside and together, with the help of The Pace, they break free and attack Luthor. Using their connection and energy, they turn the cube on Luthor and defeat him. They make their way back home, only to find out this adventure ahs lasted all throughout their summer. In the end, and in the future, the older heroes proceed to tell another tale of their past.

AQUAMAN #50 by Kelly Sue DaConnick and Robson Rocha. Aquaman returns to Amnesty Bay with the refugee gods. Wonder Woman also arrives, as the whole town is delighted to see him return. She asks what is going on with Mera and child, leading Aquaman to explain how their relationship is complicated. Deciding it’s not a good idea to have the gods remain in Amnesty Bay, the thought is to have them move to an old lighthouse, where a legendary catain lived, wrote and went mad. Aquaman gets a call from someone he doesn’t know who has been arrested-Jackson Hyde. In Atlantis, Vulko explains that Aquaman has returned to Amnesty Bay and asks if she plans on seeing him. Vulko explains that the citizens and Council is concerned about her pregnancy and the only way to settle the line of succession is through marriage or war. Mera reveals that her plan is to marry…Vulko. In the end, Luthor finds Black Manta and makes him an offer.

BATGIRL #36 by Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier. Batgirl continues to battle the Terrible Trio as the building burns around them. Fox turns on his partners, knocking out one and leaving a gravely injured Shark behind as he flees. Batgirl tries to help Shark, who sacrifices himself to save her. Barbara finally gets to meet with Alysia, who explains to her that her company has been subject to a hostile takeover. Jason shows up and offers to help her pack her personal belongings, but she goes it alone and moves to her new apartment in The Narrows.

BATGIRL #37 by Cecil Castelucci and Carmine DiGiandomenico. The reformed Terrible Trio, with a new guy playing Shark, make their way into an apparent laboratory/stronghold in the Blue Ridge Mountains where they encounter a being seeking a password. After numerus attempts, the Trio flees, leading to Luthor arriving and offering the being a name. That name is Oracle. Elsewhere, Izzy takes Bard to a concert where they run into her friend Bea(from NIGHTWING). Meanwhile, Batgirl fights with Killer Moth

BATMAN #74 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Batman and Flashpoint Batman continue their desert trek, Finally arriving at a Lazarus Pit. The pair begin to brawl and Batman reveals that he buried his mother in the desert while Flashpoint Batman slept. Batman is defeated and left in the pit, while his “father” leaves. In the end, we see a single had emerging from the pit.

BATMAN #75 by Tom King and Tony S. Daniel. Om a time described as “later”, Joker and The Riddler are investigating a murder, working for Commissioner Strange. Batman arrives on the scene and we learn it’s the Flashpoint Batman, who has taken over the Batcave and is now served by his butler, The Ventriloquist. At a secret hideout where Two Face is holed up, Batman arrives with Gotham Girl, where they take down the villains and Batman throws a batarang into Harvey’s right eye. He explains to Strange that he hasn’t killed Two-Face, just destroyed the Harvey side of him. Two Face is taken into captivity and is greeted by the Psycho Pirate, who apparently has managed to change this future with is powers. Elsewhere, Bruce makes his way to the mountain where he was trained, only to find that most of the monks are dead. He is beaten and left in the snow, which leads to a reunion with Catwoman. In the end, Luthor’s plan continues, as an offer is made to Bane.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #3 by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. Sofia is trapped inside a “dragon” by Ra’s Al Ghul, who tells her she must fight and kill Ishmael if she wants to become the person she needs to be. Elsewhere, the rest of the Outsiders battle a mysterious figure who turns out to be Batman in disguise, testing them and, more specifically, testing Black Lightning. In the end, we see that Luthor have previously shower up, met with Ra’s and gave him an offer.

BATMAN BEYOND #34 by Dan Jurgens and Rick Leonardi.  Bruce Wayne is finally free of False face’ clutches and Batman is back fighting crime, but with a harder edge. Later, Batman returns to the cave and tells Bruce he will fight crime his way. He goes after Splitt, but then offers them a deal: join together and rule. That’s when Bruce and the others realize that Batman is really False Face. Elsewhere, Terry wakes up after a violent robbery at a restaurant, holding a gun. And he wonders who he actually is.

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #7 by Scott Snyder and Jock. Batman and the Batman Who Laughs face off, with Batman slowly becoming poisoned and Batman Who Laughs revealing that he plans to kill himself so his protégé can take over for him. But Batman has tinkered with Batman Who Laughs tech and this leads to a violent confrontation with Batman gaining the upper hand, but not alone, as the Joker arrives to put the final touches on the victory. Meanwhile, the Grim Knight continues to taunt James Gordon, encouraging to kill his father while he remains helpless to protect the water supply. Gordon is left with two choices: kill his son or drink from the contaminated water. But James ends up being the hero in the end and saves his father, although it seems that the Gordon may have been infected by the water.

CATWOMAN #13 by Joelle Jones and Fernando Blanco. Carlos gets beat up by Detective Yilmaz and ends up in the clutches of the Creels, where his nosebleed drips onto the artifact and activates it, momentarily producing a world map that quickly disappears. Catwoman arrives and beats everyone up, freeing Carlos and his mother, but it struck down by a knife wound caused by Creel’s reanimated son. Later, Raymond Creel visits his mother, who slicks his throat open so she can use him as a blood sacrifice and again gain control of the map. In the end, Luthor shows up at Catwoman’s apartment with an offer.

DEATHSTROKE #45 by Christopher priest and Fernando Pasarin. Rose is trying to complete her father’s final contract, but it seems Shado has the same idea. During their battle, Rose learns that Shado’s daughter was responsible for Slade’s death. Joe shows up and claims that he actually was responsible for Slade’s death, leading to a fight between the pair. Rose takes Joe out and then heads off to take out Red Arrow. In the end, Luthor shows up with an offer for Joe

DETECTIVE COMICS #1007 by Peter J. Tomasi and Kyle Hotz. The Cult of the Divine Hand has taken Jim Corrigan and they are preparing to sacrifice him. In the Batcave, Bruce is trying to put his skills to use regarding the crime scene while The Spectre gives him his backstory. Bruce agrees to let Spectre help in finding Corrigan provided he doesn’t kill anyone. They find the criminal Bruce beat up previousy and, after being terrorized by The Spectre, they get the intel they need, finding Corrigan in a church and ork together to free him, at the cost of the church and some cultist lives.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1008 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. The Joker is loose and is inviting Gothamites to a local amusement park to have fun and die together. Everyone at the park has been equipped with a clown-faced device around their necks that will releases chemicals Jokerize them. When Batman shows up, Joker takes him on a tour of the park, including riding a bunch of rides together. Batman deduces the control for the gas devices is in a fortune telling machine and he breaks it, but allows the Joker to get away in the process. In the end, Luthor visits Victor Fries and makes him an offer to restore his wife.

DIAL H FOR HERO #5 by Sam Humphries and Joe Quinones. Miguel has ben captured by Mister Thunderbolt who leads him on a chase through the Heroverse until The Operator shows up to save him. The Operator shows him of his origin as Robby Reed and how he decided to use his life to visit other Multiverse locations, eventually taking him to The Bleed and the Speed Force wall. He eventually ended up at the Pantheon of the Gods and, after a series of trials, was granted access to the Heroverse. He gets Miguel to tell his origin, how his parents died in a pane crash that Superman couldn’t get to in time to stop from happening. Mister Thunderbolt, now with the power of the dial, manages to broadcast to everyone with a phone and convinces them to Dial H for Hero. Elsewhere, Summer uses a Supermobile to crash land in Metropolis just as everyone dials H.

EVENT LEVIATHAN #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Red Hood is in Seattle investigating the attacks on Batgirl and Green Arrow when Batman arrives. He tells how a Levathan operative showed up to take out Sam Lane, but The Question was there keeping watch. Lane shoots the operative and then shoots at The Question, forcing him to leave. The Question took the body of the operative, who it is revealed was a former A.R.G.U.S. agent. Plastic Man makes his way into the morgue to investigate the operative when Leviathan shows up and makes an offer, before taking the body away with him. With that, Batman and his team head off to further the investigation.

THE FLASH #74 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Barry, who is on a date with Iris, finds himself face to face with Future Turtle, who has Future Flash chained up. Iris leaves to investigate and Barry changes into The Flash to face off with Turtle. Although Turtle is doing well to hold Barry at bay, he gets free long enough to free Future Flash. Future Flash reveals he is dying. Turtle needs to drain Barry’s Speed Force to construct a shell that will allow him to merge present and future time. With Iris captured by Turtle’s men, Barry completes his Flash ring and goes after Turtle, who has brought this time’s Turtle to him with upgraded tech.

THE FLASH #75 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Central City’ citizens are chained up by the Still Force and Iris smashes one of Turtle’s computers, freeing them. Future Turtle sends his past self off to handle Iris while he continues his fight with Barry, who is being hampered by the Still Force. He sees how strong Iris is fighting and uses the Speed Force to gain momentum in the fight, taking everyone a few seconds into the future and severing Turtle’s connection and causing Future Turtle and Future Flash to disappear. Iris comforts a defeated Turtle while Barry, in his plain clothes, tells her the whole battle is over.  Later, we find that February 1th is Flash Day when Iris shows up and introduces her two nephews. Barry makes a connection with Wally and, from outside, we see lightning strike. In the present, Barry meets Steadfast, the new avatar of the Still Force. Barry is helping to rebuild the Flash Museum. In the end, Lex Luthor meets with Captain Cold, who accepts Lex’ offer.

THE GREEN LANTERN #9 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. In deep space, Marvel Maid, Logi, Quisto and others are wiped out. Hal goes to Planet Athmoora, where he meets with the citizens and learns of the attack and helps them battle Ah-Bah-Nazzur, who is really Abin Sur from an alternate universe. In the end, alternate versions of Green Lantern, Batman and some strange hippie guy arrive, representing the Guardians of the Universe.

GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #1 by Grant Morrison and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Hal wakes up in a bathtub, having been part of a reunion party the night before. All of the adults are asleep but the kids are fine and they have all been trapped in the house by an alien named Zzyptzz, who live off the energy we use our wi-fi with. His people are mad at humans for using all the Wi-Fi and, despite saying he needs help, he is actually looking to defeat the human race and take back their wi-fi. Hal fights back but his ring quits on him, leading to Air Wave arriving and saving everyone…for now.

HARLEY QUINN #63 by Sam Humphries and Otto Schmidt. Harley’s mom is dying and she is bummed about it. She goes to an old video store, where she is greeted by Comet Witch, ho actually turns out to be Death, who says he will see her soon. Back with her mother, she finds she has slipped into a coma and decides to read to her from a HARLEY QUINN comic, which is a YEAR OF THE VILLAIN issue. In it, Luthor shows up and has an offer for her.

HAWKMAN #14 by Robert Venditti and Pat Olliffe. Carter Hall is having issues with being filled with so many memories. He goes to a quiet spot in Kenya, but gets attacked by Shadow Thief. Who uses his improved powers to steal Hawkman’s shadow. In the end, we discover that Shadow Thief has new powers courtesy of…Lex Luthor.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #27 by James Tynion IV and Javier Fernandez. Martian Manhunter has been captured by a mechanical Lionel Luthor, who is the making of Professor Ivo, who sends Amazo to retrieve Manhunter and put him back in a prison. It turns out that Ivo was approached by Luthor to fix Brainiac and now he is prepared to remove what Luthor called the Apex Predator from J’onn. Hawkgirl shows up and frees him. J’onn destroys all of Ivo’s constructs and then discovers that Luthor’s ship is watching, leading to Luthor making an offer. Meanwhile, Mar Novu has joined the rest of the League and they go off looking for the Anti-Monitor of Qward.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #28 by James Tynion IV and Javi Fernandez. Jonn and Kendra fly to the Midwest to meet up with Luthor. Luthor makes J’onn put Kendra to sleep so they can talk like old friends. Lex explains how he has made a worldwide offer and he wants J’onn to join him. He then proceeds to drain J’onn, giving himself a huge upgrade. Meanwhile, the rest of the Justice League is in the Antimatter Universe looking for the Anti-Monitor, but he is gone, leaving behind a message and a bunch of dead Weaponeers. And Starman sees the end of everything, which concerns Jarro and Shayne.