DC UNIVERSE Month 29, Part 2

THE JOKER 80^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Gary Whitta, Greg Miller, Denny O'Neil, Peter J. Tomasi, Paul Dini, Tom Taylor, Eduardo Medeiros, Rafael Albuquerque, Tony S. Daniel, Brian Azzarello, Jock, Mikel Janin, Dan Mora, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Simone Bianchi, Riley Rossmo, Eduardo Risso, Rafael Albuquerque and Lee Bermejo. An 80^th anniversary collection of stories about the Clown Prince of Crime. The most important, to current continuity, is the story of a college girl named Alexis, who is being berated for wearing a Joker shirt during “dress like your hero day”. While claiming that society made her who she is, she infects him with a homemade version of Joker Toxin. Then she puts on makeup and transforms into Punchline. While the administrator laughs and delevops the grin, The Joker steps out of the closet, pleased that she has passed her audition.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #44 by Robert Venditti and Xermanico. The team is in the South Pole and Tartarus has opened up. From out of the pit comes mythical beats including a hydra and a manticore. Suddenly the Spectre shows up and each team member find themselves possessed by his vengeful spirit.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #45 by Robert Venditti and Eddy Barrows. The team fights itself, as they have been possessed by The Spectre. It seems Jim Corrigan has decided to separate himself from The Spectre, allowing the vengeful spirit to run free. Wonder Woman opens a pathway to Themyscira, which brings about the wrath of the Amazons.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #46 by Robert Venditti, Xermanico and Robson Rocha. The team battles the Amazons of Themyscira, who have been infected by the spirit of The Spectre. Eventually, the Justice League get to Mount Tartarus, where they find Jim Corrigan. He tells them he’s been there for twenty years, even though it is much less than that in “real time”. That’s when Tartarus shows up and says he is now free.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #47 by Robert Venditti and Eddy Barrows. The team battles Tartarus, while the repercussions from Jim Corrigan’s separation from the Spectre is tearing the world apart as people fight with each other, fueled by rage. While the stakes have been building with each and every issue that we've gotten from this arc, this conclusion really just kind of comes out of nowhere for everything that it has set up as one big letdown because it seems that with all the grudges coming to the surface. Corrigan finally forgives God, as the League forgive each other, leading Corrigan to join with The Spectre again. This reverses everything and peace comes to the world again.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #22 by Ram V, James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. Wonder Woman, Detective Chimp, and Animal Man fight against The Grey, while Zatanna and Constantine have gone to The Rot to find Abigail Arcane. Animal Man takes control of a flatworm and convinces The Divided. Meanwhile, Doctor Fate talks with the Parliaments of Stone, Waves, Flame and Vapors. Constantine and Zatanna battle Anton Aracne, who has tried to take over The Rot by keeping Abigail in a forced sleep, where she dreams of her past. In the end, Wonder Woman, Detective Chimp, and Animal Man arrive to battle Arcane.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #23 by Ram V, James Tynion IV and Kyle Hotz. With the team arriving to battle Arcane, Abby awakes and joins the team, even as Zatanna has been infected by The Rot. Arcane flees and the team head back to base to help cure Zatanna. Dr. Fate prepares a ritual that will restore the Parliament of Trees and that means Constantine is going to use the Floronic Man, who was responsible for the vine in The Rot that put Abby to sleep, as a sacrifice. They convene the Parliaments and the Guardians must give up their powers. One by one, Woodrue, Animal Man Abby are called but Abby changes plans and attacks the Parliament of Flowers, destroying them. John gathers a seed and heads to The Rot, where he confronts Arcane. Swamp Thing arrives, grown from the seed Constantine planted. Arcane is turned into a tree and the Guardians are restored. Swamp Thing is like a child, with some memories but not all. In the end, Zatanna is recovering, but troubled by dreams of an old enemy: The Upside Down Man.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #20 by Dan Abnett and Cliff Richards. Starfire has been killed by her sister Blackfire, and Azrael has arrived to attack Epoch. This leads to Jessica taking on Azrael, with some unexpected help from Blackfire, who kills Azrael. Blackfire and Orion tell her there was no other way. She comes up with the idea to use Epoch's time manipulator to go back in time and send a message to Cyborg. It may or may not have worked but, either way, Darkseid had arrived.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #21 by Dan Abnett and Cliff Richards. Darkseid and his new New Gods have arrived and are trying to get Epoch’s time machine. Dex-Starr unleashes Eskaton and it seemingly destroys Darkseid. Jessica goes to Epoch and tells him to destroy his machine, but he snaps his fingers and makes her disappear.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. Brainiac 5 announces a Level 5 emergency and orders everyone off Earth, as the Horraz pirates have landed and are attacking. The Legion fights back and gets some unexpected help from The Gold Lantern. After defeating the invaders, the President declares it’s a great day as the Earth is getting its’ oceans back. But General Crav is not happy about it, resigns from the United Planets and threatens war.

LOIS LANE #10 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. Renee Montoya explains to Sister Clarice and that they have been affected by the Multiverse becoming thinner. It seems that the different personas from other universes are melding together. Meanwhile, The Kiss of Death shows up at Lois’ apartment and is preparing to kill her. But Jessica Midnight casts a spell at that exact moment and The Kiss is transported away, changing places with Sister Clarice. She ends up in Jessica’s apartment as she pulls the trigger…and shoots Renee.

LOIS LANE #11 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins.  Lois sends a text to the dying Renee, instructing her to put her mask on. She does and the Kiss of Death has a flash of memories revealing she was Renee’s lover. By using magic, Anti-Life is transferred to life from Kiss to Renee. The Kiss is no more and now is revealed as Elicia Sanchez, who was influenced by the Religion of Crime. Now Lois is prepared to reveal all.

METAL MEN #6 by Dan Didio and Shane Davis. Almost all of the Metal Men have been altered by the Nth Metal Man from the Dark Multiverse. He gives Tina a file on Christina Novak, who's Tina's responsometer is supposed to be based on. She meets with Christina, only to discover that Will’s alleged love for her wasn’t reciprocal. Disturbed by it, Tina goes back to the Nth Metal Man and accepts his offer to give her a new version of life. Elsewhere, Chemo is free again.

METAL MEN #7 by Dan Didio and Shane Davis. Camp Holzherr is being attacked by the Missile Men when Doc Magnus arrives with his new Metal Mammals(Oxygen the wolf, Xenon the gorilla, Helium the falcon, Fluorine the cobra and Nitrogen the bear). They defeat the Missile Men and Magnus talks with their leader, Z-1, who says he is searching for his missing love, Tina. She has gone off with the Nth Metal Man and no one can find her. The old team go to a bar to try and live like humans, when they discover Will has created replacements for them. Later, Will and Janet discuss their relationship while the new team fight among themselves. In the end, Chemo attacks Manhattan.

NIGHTWING #71 by Dan Jurgens and Ronan Cliquet. Ric and Bea are hanging at the Prodigal Bar when he hears a siren and goes off. He gets into a battle with Tusk and discovers a card revealing that The Joker may be behind it. Elsewhere, Sap has been beaten and is going into surgery. Before he apparently dies, he says one word: Joker.

Ric takes out Tusk and heads back to Bea, where Joker is waiting. He threatens Bea and Ric and then uses The Memory Crystal to mess with Ric’s memory, trying to tell him that The Joker was his mentor.

NIGHTWING ANNUAL #3 by Dan Jurgens and Inaki Miranda. The issue begins in the past with Ric as the Gray Son Talon Ric attacking Condor Red.  In the distant past, Nightwing is being attacked by the Blood Knights when Condor Red arrives to help. Nightwing gets poisoned and is taken to the Condor home base in Montana, where they nvince him to put on a Condor power suit for a test run. They go back after the chief villain, Blockbuster, and work as a team to defeat him. Nightwing turns down their offer to join them. In the end, they deduce that Nightwing was certainly Talon. And they may not be done with him yet.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #45 by Scott Lobdell and Paolo Pantalena. Bizarro, Red Hood and General Glory continue their fight against the infected people of Qurac. General Glory is infected by The Untitled and their energy calls up the Dark Obelisks, which allows the Untitled to travel anywhere in time and space. Meanwhile, Artemis taking on Essence, who is possessing Jason's ex-girlfriend Isabel and gets assistance from her Mistress. In the end, it looks like Monsieur Mallah and the Brain are going to be the new teachers for Generation Outlaw.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #46 by Scott Lobdell and Paolo Pantalena. While Bizarro and Jason find themselves in a deep labyrinth to fight the All-Caste, Artemis and the human version of her Mistress talk with Essence. Jason uses the All-Blade to kill the Unspoken, which frees General Glory. Artemis, Mistress and Essence transports to Jason and Bizarro with S’Aru, who is revealed to be the “traitor” behind the betrayal of the All-Caste, leading to Essence apologizing for doubting Jason. She also reveals that the bad guy behind all of this…is Trigon. Bizarro. S’Aru opens a door and Bizarro passes through it to battle Trigon.

SHAZAM #12 by Jeff Loveness and Brandon Peterson. Set before the events in SHAZAM #1, Shazam is fighting crime with his buddy Freddy Freeman by his side. Later, Freddie kids with him, saying that he doesn’t have a big Rogue’s Gallery like Batman does. This leads Shazam to Gotham, where he saves some kidnapped people and takes on The Scarecrow, with less than spectacular results. Scarecrow gets into Shazam’s head and makes him fear himself. Batman arrives and gets Billy to conquer his fear and the pair take down Scarecrow. In the end, Billy beams, as he believes that he has been in his first team-up with the Dark Knight.

SUICIDE SQUAD #5 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Jog is injured during the battle to capture Captain Boomerang, but Osita is there and she wants to kill Digger. Deadshot helps cooler heads to prevail and the team takes Digger back to Belle Reve. Lok orders Deadshot to kill Digger, but he refuses and, in turn, blows Lok’s head off. The team ends up in a battle with Lok’s people and one of them triggers the brain bomb that kills Jog. They capture one of the soldiers and find out that the person behind Lok and the new team is…Ted Kord. Now on the run, the team is going after Kord.

SUICIDE SQUAD #6 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. The team is in Gotham, where an escapee from Arkham has removed the brain bombs from the team. The escapee tries to poison them and is quickly dispatched. They also discover that Deadshot and Harley had been given pardons. Either way, there is a bounty on the team’s heads and that leads to them being attacked by assassins looking to collect. When the team decides to attack, they discover they have been taken out by Batman. Batman learns that Amanda Waller is no longer in control and the team, minus Deadshot who stays to explain things to Batman, has stolen the Batmobile.

SUPERGIRL #41 by Jody Houser and Rachael Stott. Coming off of her possession by The Batman Who Laughs, Supergirl reunites with Krypto but continues to have

Hallucinations dealing with the destruction of Krypton. As she moves through Smallville, she realizes that most people are gone, as a series of storms are bearing down on Smallville. In the end, a woman from the US Government, who thinks Supergirl herself is responsible for the storms, shows up, dressed in some sort of power suit, and tells her to surrender.

SUPERMAN #22 by Brian Michael Bendis and Kevin Maguire. While Cameron Chase is interrogating Lois regarding Superman’s "King of Earth" comment, Superman is in space fighting Mongul. Chase reveals that the government has retroactively given Superman “sanctioned intergalactic representational authority”. In space, Superman defeats Mongul and tries to get the United Federation of Planets back in business.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #10 by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber. Jimmy and his wife use bananas to defeat a space alien. Later, we discover that Jimmy crashing into the Monarch of Metropolis upset Julian Olsen-even more so hen Julian discovers he is broke and only Jimmy has money left from the family trust. This sets in motion a series of events where Porcadillo attends a meeting led by a mysterious Mister X, who wants Jimmy killed. Porcadillo goes to Detective Corrigan and tells him he believes that Mister X is Julian Olsen. In the end, Jimmy hits the road while Julian gets a visit from an old “lady friend” who is not happy to see him.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #11 by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber. Jimmy meets with The Scrubb and asks for help in battling the space alien. The Scrubb and Jimmy come back to Earth and, with Metamorpho as a suit for Jimmy, they battle the alien and defeat him. Jimmy presents his wife with annulment papers, meaning she is now his ex-wife. Meanwhile, Detective Corrigan has Porcadillo tell what he knows to other detectives and one of them, who is in Luthor’s pocket, calls his boss to let him know that Porcadillo has told them about Julian Olsen’s murder attempt on his brother. In the end, the rogue detective runs…literally…into Superman, who demands he be told everything that is going on.

TEEN TITANS #41 by Adam Glass, Robbie Thompson and Eduardo Pansica. The Titans appear to be dead and are trapped in Djinn’s dimension while Jakeem tries to bring them back. He calls for his Thunderbolt and the energy developed brings everyone back, including Djinn. Reunited, they head to Heaven’s Gate to find that Elias has killed or maimed many angels. They all attack and Elias spears Djinn, seemingly killing her. He captures the team but his stabbed himself by Djinn, who had created the illusion of Djinn that Elias killed. Djinn then frees all the other genies before trapping Elias in her ring. Djinn returns his staff back to Jakeem, which frees Thunderbolt. The team transports home and show their displeasure of Damian’s prison plan and everyone leaves, technically ending the team.

TEEN TITANS #42 by Robbie Thompson and Javier Fernandez. The Djinn War is over and the Titans are in disarray. Crush goes to see Roundhouse and are eventually joined by Kid Flash and Red Arrow. They learn that a body has been found and someone has killed Brother Blood. Damian arrives and suggest they work together to discover who killed Brother Blood. They go to his hideout and discover vats of a poison that were designed to kill millions. They get attacked by some of Blood’s followers, who are quickly dispatched. Later, they agree to work together to find the answer, even as it seems Batman may get involved.

THE TERRIFICS #27 by Gene Luen Yang and Sergio Davila. Beneath Gateway City, The Terrifics have teamed up with the T-Council to try and find the holo-transit passengers who have been turned into monsters, including Plastic Man’s son.  Meanwhile, Sapphire is trying to find her father while Staggatron tells her her father is dead and he needs to find a rightful heir. Down below, the teams follow the transformed Luke, which leads them to Sleroku, the King of the Monsters. It seems Simon, who is now controlled by the creature, made a deal to attempt to live forever. The team beats the creature, allowing the passengers to return to normal, but it still manages to run a tentacle through Stagg, killing him.

WONDER WOMAN #755 by Steve Orlando and Jesus Merino. Donna Troy gets attacked by Devastation and Armageddon, who are trying to make her the Fourth Horsewomen. Elsewhere, Diana gets teleported to Paula Von Gunther in Norway.  Von Gunther tells Diana she has learned the truth and the Valkyries were slain by the Amazons, who were not just defending themselves. Diana has to make a choice: help Donna in Boston or stop Genocide who is about to breal through the barrier and invade Themyscira. 

WONDER WOMAN #756 by Steve Orlando and Jesus Merino. Donna continues to battle Devastation and Armageddon, while Diana battles Paula. Von Gunther gets the upper hand and travels to Themyscira to join Genocide in the attack. Donna wins her fight and travels to Norway, finding Diana and heading off together to Themyscira.

WONDER WOMAN #757 by Steve Orlando and Jesus Merino. In the past, we see that Gudra and her Valkyries did indeed attack the Amazons. In the present, Paula Von Gunther is fighting Hippolyta, while Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, and Maggie battle Genocide.  Diana is able to put the lasso around Paula so she can finally see her truth. This causes Genocide to stop fighting and she is taken down. Diana agrees to help Paula heal, but the Phantom Stranger arrives ad turns Paula to stone. He transports Diana and Paula to the Gates of Heaven, where Wonder Woman will have to confront the higher power for the fate of Von Gunther.

YOUNG JUSTICE #15 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker and John Timms. Yung Justice arrives to help Conner in his fight with Dr. Glory. Impulse reveals he has seen how things have happened in the Multiverse. Glory had kidnapped Conner and sent him to Gemworld and, while he was gone, the universe was altered and the team’s memories were erased and altered. The FBI arrives and arrests Glory. Tim decides that they need this new team to be a thing and declares they are the Young Justice League. They all leave except for Impulse and Conner, who wants to know what Bart has seen and what he is not telling.

DC UNIVERSE Month 29, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1022 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita. Conner and Superman are trying to figure out where Conner came from and who he is when Jon and Brainiac-5 arrive from the future. They all head to Smallville, as Conner says that is where he was raised by the Kents. The Kents are elated to see Conner, leaving Superman confused, as he doesn’t know Conner or why he has no memory of him. Meanwhile, Perry White and his staff are trying to deal with the revelation that the Daily Planet is now owned by a gangster. Lois gets a tip as that leads her to Leone’s mansion, but what she and Jimmy find is…Red Cloud, who has a love/hate relationship with Lois.

AQUAMAN #59 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha. Aquaman has hunted down Orm, blaming him for the kidnapping of his daughter. Orm claims no knowledge and offers to help, as he has changed since becoming a father. Back in Amnesty Bay, the search continues and Caille demands the gods do something to help. That leads to Aqualad and Caille to go on their own search, finding part of Black Manta’s destroyed ship. The A.I. goes a step further and Black Manta arrives. Elsewhere, we see that Lernea, one of Orm’s followers, releases the kidnapped Andy to the sea, which Orm says is for the greater good.

AQUAMAN #60 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Miguel Mendonca. Aqualad and Caille bringing the Black Manta A.I. to shore, although Aquaman is not happy about it. They fix the machine and, with Aquaman’s telepathic help, use it to find Aquaman’s daughter. The Old Gods decide that they need to take Andy away to somewhere that her kidnappers can’t find her. Elsewhere, Dolphin is tasked to find Lernea, who is beside herself as Andy is missing. The Old Gods take Andy to Mother Shark, who reaches out to the comatose Mera to inform her that Andy is safe. This brings Mera out of her coma. She meets with Vulko who informs her they are to be married…tomorrow.

BATGIRL #46 by Cecil Castellucci and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Batgirl and Batwoman are dealing with Dasha Berlova. It appears Dasha's mother and people in their village were turned into molten metal and she is using the homeless to gain their life force and bring them back to life. Batgirl breaks free and she and Batwoman fight KGBeast.  Dasha discovers the electricity and morphing metal is in her and she gains power. KGBeat changes his mind, deciding he doesn’t want to die here. They all work together to shut off the power and stop Dasha. In the end, Dasha goes to Arkham and things heat up between Jason Bard and Barbara. But Barbara goes home alone and has a surprise visitor…The Joker.

BATMAN #92 by James Tynion IV and Guillem March. Police are visiting The Penguin in Gotham Hospital, where they charge him with murder. At the same time, The Riddler appears on all the video screens in Gotham, who has created a crossword using Gotham City blocks as the grid for the game. He blocks all of Batman’s communication and tasks him with solving the puzzle. Meanwhile, Catwoman and Harley Quinn are traveling through the sewers to contact the Underbroker but find themselves fighting zombies on the way. Once there, they encounter members of the Joker’s Gang and his new “partner”, Punchline. Back with Batman and Deathstroke, they take the Bat-Train towards Riddler, which angers him and he considers cheating. Suddenly Batman appears behind him, saying he recognized his lair from the video. He tranquilizes Riddler and Deathstroke and hears a voice from behind him, revealing they are in Bruce Wayne’s office. The Designer is there and reveals that he knows who Batman really is.

BATMAN #93 by James Tynion IV and Guillem March. Batman and the Designer face off at Wayne Enterprises, where he has Batman explain what he believed was the Designer’s plan. Penguin would control the politics of the city, Selina would steal his money, Riddler would kill Gordon and control the police, and The Joker would kill Batman and Robin. While the pair fight, Selina and the Underbroker steals Bruce’ money. Harley Quinn fights Punchline, who slits Harley’s throat. Just as Selina finishes the money transfer, Punchline shoots her, as the Underbroker reveals the money didn’t go to Selina. Batman discovers the Designer is just a reanimated corpse and Deathstroke stabs Batman. In the end, The Joker has Wayne’s billions.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #12 by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. We find the team back in the Batcave with a new “member”: Shiva. The team heads off to face Ra's, who has discovered a long-buried spaceship. Upon their arrival, they discover that Ra’s has killed everyone, including Kaliber and Ishmael. They play a video message from Ra’s, where he reveals he has powered up, destroyed a village and all in it and will do the same to all cities unless Batman disbands the team, gives Duke, Cassandra and Sofia to him and orders Jefferson to kill Shiva.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #13 by Bryan Hill and Gleb Melnikov. Black Lightning meets with Batman and are joined by Martian Manhunter, who explains that he knows what weapon Ra’s has obtained. At home base, Cass and Duke train and Shiva has a heart-to-heart with her daughter, promising to train them both and help them get revenge. In the end, Jefferson gets a power upgrade to combat Ra’s, who is counting on the power of the Lazarus pit if his plan fails.

BATMAN BEYOND #43 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. In the Himalayas, Zeh-ro has come home, thanks to The Master. Batman is back in action, taking out a gang of Slamjackers. Dick demands Elainna never become Batwoman again, although Barbara Gordon doesn’t agree. With the Bat Cave destroyed during the battle with Blight, Bruce moves into The Batsuite: a new headquarters hidden holographically in Wayne Tower.  Batman goes after more Slamjackers, which leads him into a confrontation with Goliath, who leads Batman to a badly injured Damian Wayne.

BATMAN BEYOND #44 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. Terry and Goliath race back to Bruce with the injured Damian when he is forced to battle members of the League of Assassins. Meanwhile clean-up in the Batcave continues and Dick shows his daughter something she believes is “perfect”. Terry gets back to the BatSuite and Damian is placed in a recovery tank which is fueled by fluid from the Lazarus Pit. Damian is resurrected and reveals that Mr. Zero is looking to start a new Ice Age.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #9 by Joshua Williamson and Clayton Henry. Bodies wired with technology begin washing up on the shores of Gotham. Batman heads off to destruction being caused by the Atomic Skull. Skull, who recently was a member of the Metropolis Police Department, apologizes for everything and says to beware because the person controlling him is going to use Batman to get to Superman. He then explodes, killing himself and burying Batman. Superman breaks off date night with Lois and flies to Gotham. At Gotham Harbor, the villain of the piece, the Ultra-Humanite, is revealed and he is building an atomic army.

CATWOMAN #22 by Paula Sevenbergen and Aneke. Taking place before the recent storyline, Catwoman comes across a group of escorts/burglers known as the Dust Bunnies. She gets sprayed with a mind sanitizer and is kidnapped. But apparently it doesn’t work on women, so she breaks free and defeats the crooks.

CATWOMAN 80^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL by Paul Dini, Ann Nocenti, Tom King, Jeff Parker, Liam Sharp, Mindy Newell, Chuck Dixon, Will Pfeifer, Ram V., Ed Brubaker, Emanuela Lupacchino, Robson Rocha, Mikel Janin, Jonathan Case, Lee Garbett, Kelley Jones, Pia Guerra, Fernando Blanco and Cameron Stewart. Ten stories from different incarnations of Selina Kyle/s life highlight this issue. Included are a Batman '66 story, a battle with Clayface, a strange adventure at a comic convention,  a Bat/Cat story continuing from BATMAN ANNUAL #2 featuring the birth of baby Helena future and the lead-in to CATWOMAN #25, with Selina on her sister on the road from Villa Hermosa to West Memphis and back to Gotham again.

DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Sgt. Rock begins the story with dietary advice. Next, we go to Hell, which used to be Theyscira, where Diana talks with the withered form of Swamp Thing while she cuts apart her Invisible Jet. Three versions of Batman, one of which is a dinosaur, arrive with a prisoner. Batman telepathically contacts her and tries to get her to remember who she once was. Later, The Batman Who Laughs has gathered his dark Justice League and reveals that Perpetua has destroyed Earth-22. When the final eight Earths are destroyed, he and his team will remake the universe. Batman arrives and uses the Black Lantern ring to resurrect some long dead Revolutionary War soldiers and join the fight. Meanwhile, off in deep space, Lobo has found something that could liven things up. Back in Hell, Diana goes to visit the prisoner, who turns out to be Wally West. Wally explains that all power in the universe revolves around positive energy and crisis energy and Perpetua started this universe with crisis energy. If the create an anti-crisis they could stop things. That’s when The Batman Who Laughs arrives and Diana destroys him. The goblins seek out the body of the final Bruce Wayne to prepare him. In the end, Batman gathers up the dismembered form of Sgt. Rock and they go off to join the final fight.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1022 by Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker. Batman has been captured by Two Face, who is about to drop our hero into an acid vat. Batman cuts himself free and destroys the vat leading to the death and disfigurement of most of the followers. Batman goes after Two Face’ gang and captures his right-hand man, who explains finding Two Face after he had shot himself in the head in BATMAN & ROBIN #28. He and another homeless person decided to nurse Two Face back to health when . the Joker showed up. The Joker had Hugo Strange put a device in his brain that would make the bullet "jump when we say jump". He also used a device from Mad Hatter to make him forget The Joker was behind it all. In the end, in the present, The Joker has found another pawn to use.

THE FLASH #753 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. After illustrating the many deaths of Eobard Thawne, it is revealed that his many deaths have created a time paradox that allows him to be continually reborn. In the present, Barry is using his newly made Cosmic Treadmill in order to find Eobard and ends up in the 25^th century, where he goes to the Flash Museum to discover how the Reverse-Flash defeated Paradox. Black Hole  arrives and they capture Barry, as they are here to deal with any speedster threat.  A temporal shift occurs and Barry escapes to his childhood home. He wants to stop the death of his mother, but he remembers what happened with Flashpoint and is forced to wait outside until Thawne kills his mother. The pair fight, as Barry explains he is here to stop Paradox. There is another temporal shift and Thawne says that they will team up  and, in exchange, he will help Barry defeat Paradox. In the present, Paradox forces Godspeed to use the Cosmic Treadmill and they travel back in time to when Flash defeated King Cold. Paradox kills them both, allowing him to get stronger, as he has erased them from the timeline.

THE FLASH #754 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. In the 25^th Century, the new team of Barry and Eobard go to the remains of the Flash Museum where Thawne retrieves his lightning rod, which he had used to drain Paradox’ energy until he was weak enough to be captured. Meanwhile, Paradox and Godspeed travel through Flash’s history, killing him over and over again. He detects However, no matter how Flash moving through the time stream and they follow. Flash and Thawne have come back in time to before Paradox became a villain. Eobard reveals that his plan is to kill him before he can become Paradox. Barry objects and they fight, until Paradox arrives and removes him from reality. Paradox grabs the rod and destroys it, before declaring he will remove the people that love The Flash from reality and begins to use his powers to wipe out the universe by wiping out the time stream.

THE FLASH #755 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. Flash, Reverse-Flash and Gospeed end up in Paradox’ pocket universe, since their world has been destroyed. As Paradox attacks, Eobard returns to the day Flash fought Turtle and, instead of killing the man who would become Paradox, he saves him, thus erasing Paradox from reality. Eobard returns to them and by the three of them running together, they return to the present. Iris greets them and she and Barry embrace. August asks if Eobard knows who killed his brother. Eobard reveals it was him and then breaks Godspeed’s neck. Eobard flees, saying it’s time he creates a Reverse-Flash Family.

THE FLASH #756 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. Many years ago, Reverse-Flash meets with Grodd. Two years ago, Reverse-Flash meets with Captain Cold and Golden Glider. He also meets with Trickster and looks to free Turtle. In the present, Flash deals with August’s death and informs Avery and Wallace about that and that Thawne is alive again. In the far future, Thawne continues to put a family together with two people who may be Wally Wood’s kids.

THE FLASH ANNUAL #3 by Joshua Williamson, Stephen Segovia, Brandon Peterson and Carlo Pagulayan. Captain Boomerang is in police custody and tells a tall tale of how The Flash, who was out to capture Digger, joined up with the new Suicide Squad on a mission. Deathstroke arrives and apparently kills The Flash and Digger saves the day. But that’s not what happened, as the police reveal they saw Digger beaten down by Deathstroke. As Boomerang is being led to prisoner transport to send him back to Belle Reve, he is picked up by The Flash, who reveals he was able to vibrate to make it look as though Deathstroke had killed him and that it was The Flash who transported the team and the jet they were after out of the desert. He then saved Boomerang from being killed by Deathstroke and also dropped off the captured Deathstroke with the cops. Flash returns Digger to his home in Australia and tells him to live am honest life. Boomerang receive a message that confirms he has rejoined the Rogues.

GREEN LANTERN 80^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL by James Tynion IV, Geoff Johns, Cullen Bunn, Dennis O'Neil, Ron Marz, Peter J.Tomasi, Charlotte (Fullerton) McDuffie, ChrisCross, Robert Venditti, Mariko Tamaki, Sina Grace, Gary Frank, Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke, Mike Grell, Darryl Banks, Hi-Fi, Josh Reed, Fernando Pasarin, Rafa Sandoval, Mirka Andolfo, and Ramon Villalobos. This is an all-star collection featuring tales of Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, John Stewart, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz

GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO #3 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Hal gets involved with the repercussions around the X-300 planes teleportation drive and how  Jillian “Cowgirl” Pearlman, Gil Hernandez and Jonathan “Herc” Stone are missing while Shane “Rocketman” Sellers has been injured. Also, a sentient cloud creature has appeared, poised to attack a nearby city.  Hal flies into an other dimension where he finds Cowgirl and Pearlman and that Gil is dead. They escape back to Earth, discovering the connection between the cloud creature and past events at Wonder Mountain. In a brief epilogue, and Powerlord discuss how the wedding of Hyperboy and Princess Illistra must go on, even if it means killing another Green Lantern.

GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO #3 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Green Lantern meets with The Flash and they meet with Hal's ex-girlfriend Olivia Reynolds, who gets grabbed by a Golden Giant. This leads the heroes to a fabricated planet populated by the Golden Giants, who just want to use everyone as their toys. They all must complete tests to keep the Giants from possibly invading. Olivia unleashes her U-Mind talent, which means she has the power to destroy universes. Once back home after defeating the Giants, Hal and Barry reiterate how it’s important that she forgets her power. In the end, Hal gets attacked by Lady Q, who is determined to kill him.

HARLEY QUINN #72 by Sam Humphries and Abel. Harley is getting beat in the wrestling ring but gets some help from Booster Gold, who allows them to escape. She meets with Alicia’s daughter and promises that she will prove that Baby Face murdered her mother. They end up in a cult community where Harley figures that Jonathan Wittleson killed Alicia. After she and Booster almost share a kiss, she goes and confronts

HARLEY QUINN #73 by Sam Humphries and Sami Basri. Harley has beaten down Wittleson's hired hands and is ready to take him down with this piece of Apokoliptic tech she stole from the cult. He reveals a suicide note from Alicia, effectively ending the case. He also reveals he is the money man behind the wrestling business and is Harley’s biggest fan. She visits Becca and reveals all, leading to Becca throwing a fit. Harley visits Charity XO, who tells her future. She gets back in the wrestling ring and fights a huge Nazi wrestler, who is wearing the Jade Feather. As she beats him down, he reveals that Alicia was murdered…by Granny Goodness.

HAWKMAN #23 by Robert Venditti, Marcio Takara and Fernando Pasarin. This issue features how Hawkman and Hawkwoman's past incarnation met in Spain in 1650 during the Black Plague. In the present, Carter is how free of the infection of the Sky Tyrant but they have landed where it all began: in the realm of the banished Lord Beyond The Void.

HAWKMAN #24 by Robert Venditti and Fernando Pasarin. Hawkman and Hawkwoman are in the realm of the Lord Beyond The Void. He recalls how they met and says he was Ktar the Deathbringer. This leads the slaves to attack him, but the Deathbringers save him. He declares he is no longer Ktar the Deathbringer and they attack him. Hawkman and Hawkwoman battle and defeat all the Deathbringers, essentially freeing the slaves. That is when the Lord Beyond The Void arrives.

DC UNIVERSE Month 28, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #21 by Ram V, James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez. Wonder Woman, Detective Chimp and Animal Man are in Los Angeles fighting off the people who are infected by The Grey. Kent Nelson is keeping guard on the Floronic Man. Meanwhile, Zatanna and Constantine are traveling to the Rot to find Abigail Arcane. What they find there, is a resurrected Anton Arcane.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #19 by Dan Abnett and Cliff Richards. Some of the New Gods, along with Starfire, Psykot, and Shadowheart have been sent out to check on Jessica Cruz, Blackfire, Orion, Dex-Starr, and Hex, who have been joined by Gamma Knife and Epoch. Epoch is the Lord of Time and is trying to reset time and end the two-prong assaults by Darkseid and Lex Luthor. He explains that the New Gods are on their way and he has worked the scenario multiple times and each time, the New Gods massacre them. He plans on using The Revision Mechanism to reset the entire Multiverse. But someone arrives and may have plans of stopping all of this.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. The Legion is being captured by the police. But this is only an orientation exercise that is part of showing Jon Kent how the Legion came to be formed. It is revealed that Madame President Brande got her inspiration from the Justice League and the Teen Titans. After bringing Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, and Lightning Lad together, they go out and recruit Brainiac-5. He reveals that time is not a straight line and they must bring Jon Kent to the future to prepare him for what will come.

LOIS LANE #9 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. Renee Montoya goes to Gotham and meets with Batman, in search of information into what Lois is investigating. Meanwhile,

Jessica Midnight, formerly of Checkmate, travels to Chicago. In the end, Renee and Lis meet with Jessica. It’s revealed she is a witch and they need her help to catch a killer.

  

NIGHTWING #70 by Dan Jurgens and Ryan Benjamin. With Ric wrestling with his memories and Zak, Colleen, and Hutch at the hospital, Sap is out looking for the Talon. What he finds instead, or what finds him, is The Joker.  Over at the Prodigal Bar, Ric does get Bea's help while The Joker breaks into an apartment and finds a necklace…meaning Bea may be his next target.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #44 by Scott Lobdell and Paolo Pantalena. Jason and Bizarro are doing undercover work in a food truck in Qurac, while Artemis is masquerading as the Amazon bodyguard to the ruler of the country, who they believe is working with the Untitled. Elsewhere, Essence has taken over Isabel Ardila and is on her way to 's body as she makes her way to Qurac to join Jason. But Essence crosses paths with Artemis and they may or not work together. Jason and Bizarro find the Untitled and they turn on them. Meanwhile, Ma Gunn has tea with The Brain and it appears Mallah may be jealous.

ROBIN 80^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL by Marv Wolfman, Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson, Tim Seeley, Tom King, Judd Winick, Adam Beechen, James Tynion IV, Amy Wolfram, Peter J. Tomasi, Robbie Thompson, Tom Grummett, Scott McDaniel, Dan Jurgens, Mikel Janin, Dustin Nguyen, Freddie E. Williams II, Javier Fernandez, Damion Scott, Jorge Jimenez, and Ramon Villalobos. DC presents ten stories highlighting previously untold stories of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne: the young men and woman who has been Robin.

  

SUICIDE SQUAD #4 by Tom Taylor and Daniel Sampere. Captain Boomerang is getting drunk in a bar and the Squad has been tasked to find him and apprehend him. Osita reveals she managed to get herself on the team to gain revenge on Boomerang, who was responsible for the death of her wife. They track down Digger and Jog goes to attack him, but Digger triggers a bomb and Jog is set on fire.

SUPERGIRL #40 by Jody Houser and Rachael Stott. As Supergirl relishes in her newfound power, Wonder Woman battles her to save her. Supergirl gets the upper hand and tries to infect Diana, but Krypto steps in to stop her. Gaining a moment of clarity, Supergirl flies towards the sun, hoping the light will burn away her infection. She falls back to the Earth, but the infection still has control of her.

SUPERMAN #21 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis. Superman battles Mongul, eventually defeating him. But not really as it appears Mongul has made his way to Earth

Meanwhile, Lois is questioned by Bethany Snow, who claims Superman has declared himself the King of Earth.  Later, Cameron Chase of the F.B.I. shows up looking for Superman.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #9 by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber. The Annihilator Junior Junior, now going by the name of The Porcadillo, explains how he knows Jimmy from a photo shoot and how Jimmy asks for his help if some super villain tried t kill him. Also, Jimmy meets with Lex, who tells him that it’s Jimmy’s brother who is trying to kill him.

  

SUPERMAN VILLAINS #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jody Houser, Michael Gaydos, Riley Rossmo, Scott Godlewski, Bryan Hitch, Cully Hamner, Steve Lieber, Jim Mahfood, Ivan Plascencia, Gabe Eltaeb, Alex Sinclair, Dave McCaig, Nathan Fairbairn, Dave Sharpe, Clayton Cowles, Tom Napolitano, Troy Peteri and Josh Reed. This book presents a series of vignettes with villains and Superman’s family and friends reacting to Clark revealing his identity to the world.

TEEN TITANS #40 by Adam Glass, Robbie Thompson and Eduardo Pansica. Damian convinces his teammates to drink a fluid which will paralyze them and temporarily stop their hearts, allowing them to go to the Gates of Hell and save Djinn. Once there, they are each forced to face their darkest fears. They reach the Gates of Hell and find Djinn, who tells them they are too late and are already dead. Back in the real world, it appears they have all flatlined.

THE TERRIFICS #26 by Gene Luen Yang and Sergio Davila. Simon Stagg learns he has Pancreatic Cancer and only has three months left to live. Later, The Terrifics and Stagg unveil their new rapid transit to Gateway City. There is a crash and it seems that Stagg, Luke, and the other riders are gone and there are claw marks inside the transport. They discover that Staggatron, Simon’s personal security is responsible. But so is Stagg and when they find him hiding underground, the team is attacked by creatures. But that is when The Council, made up of Tom Strong, Blue Beetle, Man Bat, Atom and others, arrive to assist.

WONDER WOMAN #753 by Steve Orlando and Max Raynor. Wonder Woman continues her fight against the Chromium Minotaur, who is made of the same quantum metal that Captain Atom is. Valda mans up and attacks the Minotaur sacrificing herself to save the day. Elsewhere, Von Gunther tells Armageddon and Devastation they still need to recruit two more Horsemen. After the battle, Diana goes to her apartment where she finds Princess Maxima.

WONDER WOMAN #754 by Steve Orlando and Gleb Melnikou. Maxima apologizes for coming to Diana, but she needs help. She is betrothed to Ultraa, who is the king of Almerac. But this is not who she loves, even if it is designed to continue the bloodline. She and Diana. They are met by Primaa and together they break up Ultraa’s coronation. Diana subdues Ultraa with her lasso as Maxima reveals that the founders were not a man and a woman, but both female. This allows Maxima to marry Primaa. Meanwhile, Von Gunther, Armageddon and Devastation go to the Tyrrhenian Sea where Von Gunther creates her newest Horsewoman, Genocide.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN HELL ARISEN #4 by James Tynion IV and Steve Epting.

Lex squares off against The Batman Who Laughs. During the fight, Luthor injects The Batman Who Laughs with a fluid that blocks the dark energy and this causes the Infected to be returned to normal. Lex teleports himself, Mercy Graves, and the Batman Who Laughs off to the Godhead, where he meets with Perpetua. He convinces her that she needs him and not Lex, who attacks. Perpetua strips Lex of his power and sends he and Mercy back to Earth, where Lex declares that they are all dead now. To be continued…in DEATH METAL.

YOUNG JUSTICE #14 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker, John Timms and Michael Avon Oeming. Young Justice needs to find Superboy, who is trapped in Skartaris. This means bolstering their team, so they recruit Sideways, Arrowette, Spoiler and Aqualad. They all end up in New Mexico, where they attempt to shut down Dr. Glory and S.T.A.R. Labs for good. While the rest of the combined team fight monsters, Impulse, Wonder Girl and Sideways get to Glory and manage to control the transportation device, sending them to Skartaris and saving Conner. In the end, the reunited team reaches Glory who promises to tell them what really happened to Young Justice and why they don’t remember each other.

DC UNIVERSE Month 28, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1021 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita. The Legion of Doom have almost killed Superman and now it looks like Red Cloud will finish the job. Conner arrives to lend a hand but Red Cloud has a change of heart, saving Superman and allowing him to fight back. Leviathan arrives, declaring he is not a villain, but leaves the heroes the task of cleaning up the mess. In the end, Robinson Good meets with Leone and, with the knowledge that Superman is about to reveal his identity to the world, their plan is going into full gear.

AQUAMAN #58 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Miguel Mendonca. The story begins ten months after the birth of Aquaman and Mera’s daughter Andy. He is getting used to being a single dad, as Mera is still in a coma, with Aquaman visiting her every night. In the Ninth Tride, Orm is agitating his followers but also appears to be caring for them and trying to get a cure for their disease. In the end, Vulko announces that his “marriage” to Mera will become legal and he will become king. When Aquaman goes to check on Andy, he finds her gone.

BATGIRL #45 by Cecil Castellucci and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Batgirl breaks up a kidnapping and finds an old woman dying, bleeding some king of liquid gold nanobots. This leads her to a Russian scientist named Dasha Berlova who has developed this metal, which feeds off human energy. Batwoman arrives and so does the KGBeast, who grabs Batgirl. Looks like she will be the next source for this liquid.

BATMAN #90 by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez. While Harley uses military drones to chase after Deathstroke, Catwoman tells Batman of a meeting some time ago with The Designer that also included Joker, Riddler, and Penguin. The Designer offers his assistance to them, as he explains that each of them need to come up with the most elaborate crimes imaginable and he will help them bring those to reality. After meeting with The Joker, The Designer orders his men to kill all four of them. Joker kills The Designer and his gang with a hidden gun. They decide to burn the place down and pretend that they have never met them. She also reveals that her target had been Batman himself and, if The Designer is successful, Batman will lose everything.

BATMAN #91 by James Tynion IV, Rafael Albuquerque, Jorge Jimenez, and Carlo Pagulayan. Joker is in a bar and telling his side of his meeting with The Designer. The Designer allegedly wanted Gotham for himself, leading The Joker to kill him.

Joker has kidnapped the patrons in the bar and he makes a call saying he is ready to make his move. Meanwhile, Deathstroke is still fleeing from the attacking drones, but Batman calls off Harley’s attack, so he himself can attack Deathstroke. They battle on the Batwing, leading to the two falling out of the sky. Elsewhere, Catwoman teams up with Harley, but The Designer sends his controlled followers after them. Batman uses a grappling hook to save he and Deathstroke, but The Designer has a new ally in the form of The Riddler, who has his own series if traps to unleash n the Caped Crusader.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #11 by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. Sofia tries to convince Batman to make her like him. He takes her to an old Court of the Owls headquarters where he will show her what she will become. In Cambodia, The Outsiders battle Kaliber and his crew. The team wins, but Kaliber sets off explosives in Cambodia, allowing himself to flee while the team goes to help the injured. In the end, Ra’s has found a spaceship in Markovia.

BATMAN BEYOND #42 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. Blight invades Wayne Manor but he will end up facing the new Batwoman and a restored Terry. Once there, Terry dons the original Batman Beyond suit and he teams up with Batwoman to subdue Bight. Dick Grayson uses a gun that was once Firefly’s and captures Blight long enough for Terry to bury Blight underground, where his radiation causes him to explode. Terry survives and a reunited Bat Family celebrates their victory.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #8 by Joshua Williamson and Nick Derington. Zod has used the Lazarus Pit to resurrect Kandor. But the Kandorians have gone insane and attack our heroes. After fighting about what Zod has done, Ra’s breaks open the restored bottle, leading to a battle between them. Batman convinces Zod not to kill Ra’s, and Zod leaves with half the Kandorians. Superman has a second bottle and brings that to the Fortress, where he has put them in stasis. Zod brings his bottle to his son, until a time he can use some Lazarus Pit material to restore them.

CATWOMAN #21 by Joelle Jones and Fernando Blanco. Catwoman battles the zombies, leading to a final confrontation with Raina Creel. After telling part of her life story, Selina watches as a zombified Adam kills his mother. In the end, Selina and her sister leave for Gotham, but she leaves a parting gift for Carlos and asks him to look after the city. She leaves him a pair of her damaged goggles.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1021 by Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker. Cult members have killed themselves and Two-Face is wrestling with both his personalities while directing his followers to threaten other criminals. Batman does an autopsy on some of the dead cultists and discovers they all had terminal illnesses. As he leaves the Batcave, he comes across Harvey Dent, who doesn’t understand what’s going on. They drive to the Superior Courthouse, where Batman finds cultists and Harvey is taken over by Two-Face, causing him to enter the Courthouse and shoot Batman.

  

THE FLASH #750 by Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Marv Wolfman, Joshus Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Stephen Segovia, Scott Kolins, Riley Rossmo, David Marquez and Brett Booth. While Barry rekindles his relationship with Iris, Godspeed arrives to warn Barry about Paradox. They head off to the Flash Museum where they encounter Paradox, who orders Godspeed to kill The Flash. There are a variety of backups featuring members of the Rogues Gallery, Jay Garrick and Wally West who now sits in the Mobius Chair and is ready for changes that he may be able to stop.

THE FLASH #751 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. The Flash and Godspeed battle while Paradox watches. Godspeed reveals he was just going along with Paradox as a ruse and now helps The Flash, but is quickly taken down. Meanwhile, Iris sneaks past the battle to get into the Speed Lab. She searches through the computers and finds a message from Commander Cold; getting shocked by what she sees. She contacts The Flash and tells him the only way Paradox was defeated in the 25^th Century was because of the powers of the Reverse Flash. Before Barry can react, Paradox attacks and hits The Flash with a beam that causes him to disintegrate.  Paradox grabs Godspeed and drags him into the museum. Barry finds himself in a place unfamiliar to him, but here he finds his mother.

THE FLASH #752 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. At the Flash Museum, Paradox still has hold of Godspeed, as he looks to use the Cosmic Treadmill. Meanwhile, Barry embraces his mother in this strange place that could be Heaven, where Flash City has been built. Through it all, Barry believes this is not real. He discovers this place has no vibrational frequency, meaning this is all not real. His mother and all the residents of Flash City begin to attack him. He begins vibrating causing the illusion to break, sending him somewhere else in the Multiverse. He discovers the construct that Paradox built and begins scavenging for parts. He builds a Cosmic Treadmill and travels back in time to the night that Eobard Thawne killed his mother.

GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO #2 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Hal Jordan and Eve Doremus come across an ancient bird race that is enslaving her father.  They also have plans on conquering the entire planet. Hal eventually defeats their leader, and everyone comes home. In the end, Hal gets a call from the Guardians and finds himself on the road again, even as bird men circle Eve’s home.

HARLEY QUINN #71 by Sam Humphries and Sami Basri. Harley starts to investigate her friend Alicia’s death and what happened to the Jade Feather. She meets with Booster Gold to help her with her investigation. She ties the death to the promoters running the wrestling business and ties them into a Nazi group. But she ends up in the ring with an army of wrestlers standing against her.

HAWKMAN #22 by Robert Venditti and Fernando Pasarin. With Carter in stasis, Hawkwoman touches the artifact and sees all of her past lives. Sky Tyrant breaks free, leading to a breach in the ship. Atom and Adam Strange arrive to find the breach and quickly seal it. Sky Tyrant attacks everyone, even as Carter wrestles with him. Sky Tyrant gains control and when he and Hawkwoman reach out for the artifact, they both disappear.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #42 by Robert Venditti and Aaron Lopresti. The Eradicator begins to drain Wonder Woman when Seantor Yat stops him. Most of the team races from Scotland to battle The Eradicator while John Stewart helps Madame Xanadu create a mystic portal. Flash is able to use his speed to get the villains into the portal, transporting everyone to a distant planet for a final battle.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #43 by Robert Venditti and Doug Mahnke. The two teams battle on a distant sunless planet. With the team down, Superman allows himself to be captured and The Eradicator begins to drain him. Wonder Woman sneaks up behind him and decapitates him. In the end, Batman meets with Xanadu and she says a reckoning is coming.

More first issues...

A little late with these, as much of the publishing world halted during Covid-19.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Christos Gage and Diego Olortegui. The Cancerverse has invaded the Negative Zone and Annihilus and Bastaar have had to team up to stop it. Enter the FF, who are dragged into the fight and forced to fight Cancerverse versions of themselves. All in all, it’s another tie-in to this “event”. The art is great, the story runs from silly to predictable and it takes Johnny Storm to rally the denizens of the Negative Zone.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE NOVA #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Ibraim Roberson. Nova teams up with Annihilus to lead the good fight against the Cancerverse, where he had previously been trapped. It leads to a battle against The Sentry and one he probably won’t win. Rosenberg does a great job of characterizing Ryder as a troubled soul, who has trepidation about reliving his own past again. I just wish the art lived up to the story.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE SILVER SURFER #1 by Dan Abnett and Paul Davidson. Silver Surfer, now Black Surfer(see SILVER SURFER BLACK if you don’t believe me), gets involved in the fight against the Cancerverse. He meets up with The Sentry’s other half and merges with him. Hey-it’s Dan Abnett and if anyone knows how to write a space adventure, it’s him. Paul Davidson’s art style certainly feels like SILVER SURFER BLACK. All in all, one of the best entries in this mini-series of offshoots.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE BETA RAY BILL #1 by Michael Moreci and Alberto Alburquerque. Beta Ray Bill teams up with Lockjaw and fights The Sentry. In the end, Bill is reborn and that takes us to ANNIHILATION SCOURGE OMEGA #1. Nothing fantastic to see here, although it’s nice to see Lockjaw getting some use.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE  OMEGA #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Manuel Garcia. The combined forces fight against the Cancerverse with severe consequences. Nova realizes that he must absorb the Cancerverse to save the universe and so, once again, he makes the supreme sacrifice. But wait: leave it to Annihilus to throw a curve-ball towards the ending. He brings Nova back to life, although he still has the Cancerverse within him. So wait: four one-shots and to bookend titles and this is what we get? Rich Ryder lives again and now Nova possesses the power of the Cancerverse inside him. Couldn’t we have gotten all this out of the way in a really big one-shot?

ARCHIE MEETS THE B-52’S #1 by Alex Seeura, Matthew Rosenberg and Dan Parent. Well kids: get down to the Love Shack, bring Planet Claire and do the Rock Lobster. Don’t expect major plot points-just rock and roll in this wonderful slice of nostalgia.

AVENGERS OF THE WASTELAND #1 by Ed Brisson and Jonas Scharf. Coming out of the events that ended in the death of Old Man Logan, a new team is forged in the future, born out of Battleworld, timeline. Luke Cage’ daughter, Bruce Banner’s son, and a new Ant Man join together to fight Doctor Doom. This whole alternate Earth timeline has been fun and this is the next logical move. Brisson’s dialogue is neat and Scharf’ artwork fits. But wait: is that the REAL Captain America? Read it while you can as Marvel has now made this a digital only release from here on out.

BASKETFUL OF HEADS #1 by Joe Hill and Leomacs. DC dives headlong into the horror vein with the new line of Hill House Comics. Hill, son of Stephen King, is a noted horror writer in his own right. Set in 1983 Maine, it’s a twisted tale of murder and, yeah: a head in a basket(although not in this issue)! It’s bloody good fun. Also included is the first part of a serialized tale, running through all the Hill House titles, called Sea Dogs, by Hill and Dan McDaid.

BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT: VON FREEZE #1 by San Murphy and Klaus Janson. In this spin-off from the popular series, we get the origin story for the famous villain. Nazis, experiments, Thomas Wayne and more. It ties in beautifully to the White Night universe and Janson’s art is some of his best. Highly recommended, even if you haven’t read any of the other titles.

CABLE #1 by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto. Marvel unleashes yet another X title with this new series starring the unaged Cable. He’s brash, sometimes silly and not the wise sage I am used to. What we do get is a fight with Wolverine, some Spaceknights, a big-ass sword and…the REAL Cable? So far, I feel this is the weakest book in the line, both from story to art.

DAPHNE BYRNE #1 by Laura Marks and Kelley Jones. Another of the titles in the Hill House Comics line. It’s a fun Gothic horror story with ghosts, demons and creepy people. The highlight is Jones’ truly twisted artwork.

DCEASED: UNKILLABLES #1 by Tom Taylor and Kark Monstert. DC continues to mine the post-apocalyptic world of the DCU, focusing this time on Deathstroke and his team of survivors along with Red Hood and his group. If you’re a fan of the zombie superhero genre, you’ll love this.

DOCTOR STRANGE ANNUAL #1 by Tini Howard, Pornsak Pichetshote, Andy MacDonald and Lalit Kumar Sharma. It’s Halloween at Strange’ and that means a gathering of some of the magic folks from the Marvel Universe. The backup also is a Halloween tale, starring Wong as the protagonist. It’s all a fun lead-in into the new Doctor Strange series.

DOCTOR STRANGE SURGEON SUPREME #1 by Mark Waid and Kev Walker. Doc is back in action but, thanks to a deadly deal he made, he has use of his hands again. So, he finds himself working as both a surgeon and a sorcerer. Bet he didn’t expect to have to face off against The Wrecker, who now has a magically enhanced crowbar. It’s a fun, different take on the character and the addition of a classic Thor villain just amps up the whole thing.

GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1: JEAN GREY AND EMMA FROST by Jonathan Hickman and Russell Dauterman. The first in a planned series of one-shots, this focuses on two of the dynamic females in the X Universe. Short of dialogue but long on visuals, it’s a quick and beautiful read.

GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1: NIGHTCRAWLER by Jonathan Hickman and Alan Davis. The second in a planned series of one-shots y Hickman. This time, it features not only Nightcrawler, but many of who we would refer to as the old New Mutants. A mysterious mission, appearances by old friends and a metamorphosis or tow. Fun read, iller art and worth five bucks.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 by Al Ewing and Juann Cabal. Well, the space based team is back and, after their last series, things have changed. So has the lineup. And Rocket, still recovering from his near death in the last series, wears a suit now. And Hercules is here too! I like the Guardians series because they’re just so much silly fun. Action, adventure and great dialogue.

HARLEY QUINN AND THE BIRDS OF PREY by Ananda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti. Just I time for the movie…well…later than the movie, this was supposed to be a DCU mini-series, then a one shot and now an oversized Black Lavel title. That means we have familiar characters BASED on a movie most didn’t see. The dialogue, while profanity filled, is snappy and Connor’s art is her typical work. It’s fun and bloody but not sure if I’d continue to shell out six bucks for it.

HAWKEYE FREEFALL #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt. Hawkeye is back in action and so is Ronin. But are they one and the same That’s what The Winter Soldier and the Winter Soldier want to know. I probably wouldn’t have picked this up, but Rosenberg’s writing is so much fun and he totally gets the smarmy archer right. The issue ends with a mystery that probably won’t be solved for a few issues, so I guess I’m in for a few months anyway. Read it while you can as Marvel has now made this a digital only release from here on out.

HELLIONS #1 by Zeb Wells and Stephen Segovia. The new era of Marvel Mutants continues on with ANOTHER X-book…I believe this is now the ELEVENTH monthly title. The team is Havok, Orphan-Maker, Nanny, Wild Child, Empath, Scalphunter, Mr. Sinister and Psylocke. Okay: another team, a long of arguing, some fights and the return of an old villain. I have yet to figure out the agenda of all this, but the team makeup is fun.

INCOMING #1 by a whole host of folks. What was originally supposed to be MARVEL COMICS # 1002 comes out, designed to set up plots that will play out throughout the Marvel Universe in 2020. There’s a murder and a search for the murderer. That leads to Skrulls, secret plans, tie ins to the teen superhero titles and MEET THE SKRULLS. In the end, groundwork is placed that will lead to space conflict, a host of new mini-series, EMPYRE and OUTLAWED-where teen heroes are outlawed. All in all, it’s a very expensive way to set up a year’s worth of stories.

IRON MAN 2020 #1 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Pete Woods. Tony Stark has revealed that he is an A.I. and the A.I.’s of the world are starting a revolution. So who’s in the suit? Tony’s brother Arno Stark, who has seized control of Stark Unlimited. What follows is a confusing, boring tale with a host of spin-off series. Yeah-not interested.

JOHN CONSTANTINE HELLBLAZER #1 by Simon Spurrier and Aaron Campbell. Another entry into the Sandman Universe of titles is here and it brings back the classic, manipulating, heavy drinking, smoking and swearing Constantine we love. Spurrier nails his character to perfection and it’s great to see classic Constantine back in action. While I’m not reading the rest of the titles, of which plot threads tie into, I am all over this!

JOKER: KILLER SMILE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. This is a severely twisted tale about a therapist treating The Joker and the repercussions. And when I say twisted, believe it. Death, blood and a truly confusing story. This is a mystery like an onion, filled with layers. Lemire’s story is a wild one and Sorrentino’s art is truly beautiful. This is not your standard Joker tale but is highly recommended.

KILLING RED SONJA #1 by Mark Russell, Bryce Ingman and Craig Rousseau. A young warrior boy goes off on a mission of revenge to kill the legendary warrior. Sonja doesn’t truly appear throughout the story because it is not HER story to tell: it’s Orion’s. Russell’s tale is about growth and change, with a touch of adventure. Rousseau’s style is a loose one, which gives the book more of a storybook feel than a true comic story. This was fun and I look forward to here this is going.

THE LOW LOW WOODS #1 by Carmen Maria Machado and Dani. Another entry into the Joe Hill line of comics. A strange tale about to teenage girls and a mysterious secret in their lives. This totally feels like an independent book with art very reminiscent of 100 BULLETS. The pacing has a nice build-up to the eventual conclusion and the mystery around things is intriguing. Plus, another chapter of SEA DOGS.

MARVEL #1 by Alex Ross, Steve Darnall, Frank Espinosa, Kurt Busiek, Sajan Saini and Steve Rude. Thirty years ago, Alex Ross created this great mini-series that was a loving tribute to the classic days of Marvel. This one shot hearkens back to that epic mini-series with three tales from the earliest days of Marvel modern history. The highlight for me is the Avengers tale illustrated by the always amazing Steve Rude. This was fun and ends with “to be continued”, which it will in a series of eight forthcoming one-shots. Great stuff.

MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer and Benjamin Dewey. Another SNAPSHOTS one-shots and this one is set in the groovy Sixties. Johnny Storm goes to his high school reunion and meets with folks from his past, many for the first time since he became a superhero. It’s beautifully illustrated in a Sixties style and has that old-school feel to it. Dorkin and Dyer, the creators behind such diverse works as MILK AND CHEESE and SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST deliver a fun story with heart that is out of their normal wheelhouse. Another must read book for the Marvel fan.

MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: SUB-MARINER #1 by Alan Bennett and Jerry Ordway. The first of eight spin-offs is a beautiful tribute to the Golden Age of Marvel. Subby, along with classic versions of Captain America, Bucky and the rest of the All Winners Squad are here and it’s just so refreshing. Beautiful art from the ever dependable Jerry Ordway. This series has brought together some of the greats in comics and I can’t wait to see what else is in the pipe.

OUTLAWED #1 by Eve Ewing and Kim Jacinto. The lead-in one-shot to what could best be described as a teenage version of The Super Human Registration Act finds an incident outlawing teenage superheroes. Everyone you would expect to be here is: The Champions, Power Pack, The New Warriors, Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel. While the art doesn’t live up, in my opinion, the story does what it is meant to do: set up for a  whole batch of one-shots, all promising major changes in the status  quo going forward.

PLUNGE #1 by Joe Hill and Stuart Immonen. Another Joe Hill title with a horror bent. This time, a group of explorers go looking for a ship missing for 40 years and quickly find that there are strange, eerie things connected together at the site. Creepy story with decent art. Not up to par with the other Hill titles, but the premise is fun.

THE QUESTION: THE DEATHS OF VIC SAGE #1 by Jeff Lemire, Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz. Another Black Label title that digs into a case featuring one of the MANY Questions throughout DC history. Vic Sage is alive and well and has a case. Lemire hits all the right notes as he channels Frank Miller’s noir style from SIN CITY, giving us a well-crafted, gritty tale. Cowan and Sienkiewicz combine for some great looking art. Not the most popular character in the DCU, but a great tale nonetheless.

REVENGE OF THE COSMIC GHOST RIDER #1 by Dennis Hallum and Scott Hepburn. Marvel continues to mine the success it found by the introduction of Frank Castle-Cosmic Ghost Rider. I liked the previous entry, but this is just a cash grab where our space faring anti-hero goes off into space to …well, get revenge. Hallum’s story is truly “hopeless” and Hepburn’s art style leaves me cold. Recommended for die hard fans only.

ROAD TO EMPYRE #1 by Robbie Thompson, Javier Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez and Mattia Delulis. The run-up to the next Marvel “event” is here. With a new Kree-Skrull war looming, the Warners, straight out of a mini-series that almost no one read, including me, are Skrull spies posing as humans. Their world has been turned upside down by the murder of Mr. Warner and now they are poised to take revenge on those responsible. Along the ay, there is a retelling of the entire history of the Krees and the Skrulls. As a primer to what has been and will come, it’s good. Of course, this ill lead into numerous one-shots and crossovers over the next few months.

SPIDER -WOMAN #1 by Karla Pacheco, ere Perez and Paulo Siqueira. Jessica Drew has always been a character that I have enjoyed. In her career she has had her origin messed with, been an Avenger and a mom. So, to see her in her on series again, and wearing her classic costume, was a no-brainer for me. But she’s not in her old costume, except for briefly in the beautifully illustrated back-up, and her mouth is more like Deadpool, with expletives carefully edited out throughout. Both tales were fun, with a nice cliff hanger ending in the main story. This is a keeper for me.

STAR WARS #1 by Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz. Having gotten the rights to the Lucas legend back in their grasp, Marvel continues to mine the success of their previous series with this one. Set immediately after the events at the end of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Soule and Saiz chart a path to connect Episode Five to Episode Six. The story hits all the right notes to make fans happy and Saiz’ phot realistic art gets all the characters right. This title is sure to please fans of the property.

STRANGE ACADEMY #1 by Scottie Young and Humberto Ramos. Marvel introduces its own version of Hogwarts and brigs us a whole new cast of potential magic users I this surprisingly delightful tale. You just have to love a series where the teaching staff is Strange, Hellstrom, Nico Minoru, the Scarlet Witch, Magik and Shaman, among others. Young’s dialogue is fun, Ramos’ art shines and this could be one of my favorite new titles. Silly but fun.

STRANGE ADVENTURES #1 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The team that turned Mister Miracle upside down is back to do the same to Adam Strange. He’s a fighter and an author and a father and a hero. But he is fighting a demon which we think we know about but it’s still a mystery. If you loved MISTER MIRACLE, you will love this.

2099, including CONAN, DOOM, THE PUNISHER, GHOST RIDER, VENOM, SPIDER-MAN and 2099 OMEGA. The future is changing, and it may affect our past. This was a series of one shots and, for me was a waste of my time and money. The stories were wonky and the art didn’t do anything for me. And the entire overarching story just left me bored, as I really couldn’t get to care for the characters. I loved the old 2099 series, but this was just a waste.

THOR #1 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein. The Thunder God has got his mojo back, got his hammer back and is now the ruler of Asgard. He still has daddy issues and problems with his family, but the classic Thor is back. Sort of. By the end of the tale, he has had a costume change and become the Herald of Thunder. Cates has made quite the name of himself with his recent turns and great stories with so many Marvel characters that had loss their way. Hopefully, he will do the same here.

WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert and Viktor Bogdanovic. The ragin’ Cajun is back and joins the ever-growing lineup of X titles. And he does what he does: he drinks, he battles, he gets shredded, he regenerates and repeat. It’s standard Wolverine fare. Kubert’s art is the saving grace, although the inking and coloring softens it a bit. Bogdanovic channels Marc Silvestri’s style in the back-up, but that too is standard Wolverine fare. It’s an okay book, but not what this highly recognized and fan-appreciated character should be.

WONDER WOMAN DEAD EARTH #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson. The creator behind EXTREMITY and the critically acclaimed MURDER FALCON gives us his take on the Amazon Princess. Set on a long dead Earth, it’s an epic story of retribution and takes Diana to a place she has never been. Picture MAD MAX in the DC Universe. His story is great even as his art style takes a bit to get used to. Another Black Label title that allows creators to step outside of the standard comic box. Is it worth seven bucks? I’ll figure that out once I get into issue #2.