More first issues

AMERICA CHAVEZ: MADE IN AMERICA #1 by Kalina Vazquez and Carlos Gomez. America’s mothers sacrificed themselves on the Utopian Planet she came from. Since landing on our Earth, she’s been a Young Avenger, an Ultimate and a west Coast Avenger. In this tale, she finds out she can go home again…even if it’s her second home. The story is a great introduction if you don’t know the characters. But Gomez’ art is the star here. A good first issue that just has a nice feel to it.

ARIA: HEAVENLY CREATURE #1 by Brian Holguin and Jay Anacleto. When the original ARIA series came out back in the day, I as blown away by this Anacleto guy. Flash forward all these ears later and I’m thrilled to see this character back and these creators back on it. This is probably the most amazing looking boo you will see this year. Every panel on every page just explodes with life. And the story is great too!

BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE #1 by James Tynion IV, J. H. Williams III, G. Willow Wilson, Emma Ríos, Paul Dini, Tradd Moore, Andy Kubert and Greg Smallwood. DC relaunches this classic series with 5 short stories in different style and during different places in the life of the Dark Knight. The stories are fun, the artwork is amazingly different from tale to tale and it’s a great call back t the previous series. I personally can’t wait for the next issue.

BLACK CAT #1 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa. Felicia Hardy is back in action in the second series in a little over a year since the last one ended. Knull has arrived (see later for my reviews of the KING IN BLACK titles) and Black Cat takes advantage of New York City being evacuated to rob SHIELD stashes. But that also gets her in the middle of things and maybe she should steal something from Knull. The story is fun, even if Hardy’s character tends to fall a little flat. She’s bad but she’s good…maybe. Villa’s artwork is bold and a nice enhancement to the tale. It’s an okay distraction from lots of stuff out there.

CHILDREN OF THE ATOM #1 by Vita Ayala and Bernard Chang. The X-universe continues to expand. Here we have a team of “mutants” who seem to pattern themselves after the classic X-Men. But are they really mutants and how did they get those powers? That is the mystery which isn’t answered in this first issue. The story is nice but containing enough holes to keep the reader guessing. The art is quite good and fits the hole X-Universe’ feel. It’s a good start, but we’ll see where it goes from here.

THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF ANIMATION #1 by Fred Van Lenta and Ryan Dunlavey. The team behind THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS is back with their take on the history of animation. Starting with the Victorian Era and moving up to the earliest days of Walt Disney, it is a factual tale not overly loaded with so many details that it bogs things down. The use of funny animals to represent the real life characters also contributes to the fun.

DEADPOOL: NERDY 30 YEARS #1 by Joe Kelly, Skottie Young, Kelly Thompson, Fabian Nicieza, Gail Simone, Daniel Way, Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, Rob Liefeld, Chad Bowers, Gerado Sandoval, Aaron Conley, Kevin Libranda, Bob Quinn, Patch Zircher, Michael Shelfer, Paco Medina, and Scott Koblish. Deadpool turns 30 and Marvel celebrates with this collection of eight stories featuring the Merc with a Mouth and a whole host of his various incarnations. Hey: it’s Deadpool! Nothing here to take seriously!

DRACULA MOTHERF**KER by Alex DeCami and Erica Henderson. I love Alex DeCampi’s writing style on such diverse projects as ARCHIE VS PREDATOR and GRINDHOUSE. So this is right up her alley and totally in her wheelhouse. Erica Henderson’s art is cool and quirky and totally fits. It’s a modern Dracula story with a few twists and is such a fun, quick ride! I would love to see a sequel.

ETERNALS #1 by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić. Kirby’s Classic ETERNALS is one of my favorite comics of the era. With word of an ETERNALS film, Marvel has decided to bring these characters into the 21^st Century. And we start with a murder mystery, as Zuras has been killed and Ikaris, along with a recently freed Sprite, must find the killer. That’s the basic story here. The story prances around and surely drifts from existing history of Eternals and Deviants. Sprite apparently has been the one responsible for killing most of The Eternals over time, so there’s that. But Ribic’ art is the true mind-blower here. Oh yeah: Thanos shows up too!

EVER by Terry Moore. Terry Moore writes some of the best, most believable dialogue in comics. I have said that ever since I read the very first issue of STRANGERS IN PARADISE so many years ago. Up until now, all of Terry’s works, SIP, ECHO, RACHEL RISING, MOTOR GIRL, FIVE, YEARS, and SERIAL, are all set in the same universe with the characters inter-connected. This is not…to our knowledge. But the story of a girl and an angel, is wonderful. The only drawback was the $18 cover price for what is essentially a paperback 72-page graphic novel. But it’s a great read that has nothing to do with heroes in tights!

FANTASTIC FOUR: ROAD TRIP #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Filipe Andrade. If memory serves me correctly, this book was supposed to be out last year, which explains the editor’s note that this story takes place before current events happening in the monthly book. The team goes to the Grand Canyon in what feels more like NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION than a Fantastic Four story, complete with Reed behaving like Chevy Chase. While the art is fine, the rest of the story is an insult to the legacy of these characters. As satire, it would work, but this isn’t supposed to be satire…I think.

GHOST RIDER: RETURN OF VENGEANCE #1 by Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares. The best thing about this book? JAVIER SALTARES. Fans of 90’s comics will remember Saltares for his work on GHOST RIDER and his style is still relevant today. So, as the title implies, this is the return of Vengeance: a 90’s incarnation of the Spirit of Vengeance who has escaped the pits of Hell to seek revenge on another one of Mephisto’s followers. It’s 90’s fun, which Mackie was so good at delivering back in the day. Need a bit of nostalgia? Then pick this up.

HELLBLAZER: RISE AND FALL #1 by Tom Taylor and Darick Robertson. A billionaire with angel wings falls from the sky and dies atop a church spire in the first death of many. Time for Detective Aisha Bukhari to call on childhood friend John Constantine to be on the case. It’s a crazy ride with guest appearances galore and, since it’s Constantine, you know it’s going to get weird. Fun story, great art and a guest appearance by Satan himself!

I BREATHED A BODY #1 by Zac Thompson and Andy MacDonald. A horror story for the Internet age. It is totally twisted, says a whole lot about social media and is one of the creepiest reads since GIDEON FALLS. While there are lots of plot points dropped with little answers, this is the perfect book to lead you back in for more. And the cover is disgusting enough to draw you in.

THE IMMORTAL HULK: FLATLINE #1 by Declan Shalvey. A very weird book which seems to be set before the current IMMORTAL HULK run and focuses on the continuing deaths of Bruce Banner. And, if you’re not reading the current book, you’ll appreciate the continuing references to the Green Door. The book reads great and while Shalvey’s art isn’t in the same category as Joe Bennett’s, it works with the concept. Yeah…it’s an essential part of the legend of The Hulk.

IRON FIST: HEAT OF THE DRAGON #1 by Larry Hama and David Wachter. Danny Rand and his faithful companion Fooh are ready for a tour of the Seven Heavenly Cities. But things don’t go as planned, leading to a fun filled romp that totally cried for Fooh to get his own series. Throw in Luke Cage, Lady Bullseye and a host of other cameos and this book is a winner. And, to be honest, after the debacle that was SHANG-CHI, I wasn’t expecting much and only jumped in because of Larry Hama. Good choice!

KING IN BLACK #1 by Nick Spencer and Ryan Stegman. Here’s Marvel’s next big crossover event. And it’s been slowly building in VENOM and the miscellaneous WEB OF VENOM one-shots over the past year. Symbiote god Knull is coming to take over the universe and our world. And it’s up to the heroes of our planet to save us. Unfortunately, many of them are finding themselves taken over by these creatures and it looks like Venom’s host Eddie Brock won’t survive it. This is a mega-event book with crossovers into many, many titles and several one-shots and mini-series including CAPTAIN AMERICA, GWENOM VS. CARNAGE, THE IMMORTAL HULK, IRON MAN/DOCTOR DOOM, NAMOR, PLANET OF THE SYMBIOTES, RETURN OF THE VALKYRIES, WICCAN & HULKLING and THUNDERBOLTS. While some of these feel like money grabs, especially NAMOR, some are really good, especially THUNDERBOLTS which puts together a new team consisting of Taskmaster, Mr. Fear, Rhino, Star, Batroc and others.

MAESTRO: WAR & PAX #1 by Peter David and Javier Pina. Following up on David’s last MAESTRO mini-series, the Maestro is back, having killed Hercules and now looking to rule what is left of the planet. Well, he has his work cut out for him because there are other immortals looking to stand in his way, not to mention Machine Man and Doctor Doom. If you were a fan of the last series, you will love to see where this is going.

MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: CAPTAIN MARVEL  #1 by Mark Waid and Claire Roe. Another month, another MARVELS SNAPSHOT title which, as they all do, focuses on people in the real world as opposed to the heroes. Sure, Captain Marvel is in it…so is Ms. Marvel. But they are only stage props for the main story. Yeah…it’s Waid and his dialogue is great. But I found the whole piece a little too forced for my taste.

M.O.D.O.K. HEAD GAMES #1 by Jordan Blum, Patton Oswalt and Scott Hepburn. M.O.D.O.K. is not dead and now he remembers his previous life as George Tarleton. In the process, Monica Rappaccini makes it her goal to turn all of A.I.M. against him and that may lead to M.O.D.O.K. enlisting help from Tony Stark. A great story with the wildest fight scene you have ever read. This was a total surprise and could be the sleeper of the year.

MORBIUS: BOND OF BLOOD #1 by Ralph Macchio and Tom Reilly. Hey-Marvel is making a Morbius film which we may see…someday. So we trot out this one shot which kind of retells Morbius’ history and that plays into the current story. But I don’t feel te character love I expected. It feels like this was just an inventory story that Marvel decided to put out to raise interest. Unfortunately, it didn’t do a lot for me.

NOCTERRA #1 by Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel. Snyder steps out with this creator owned series and hits the ground running. The sun has gone out and that leads to a semi post-apocalyptic tale which has elements of good sci-fi meeting MAD MAX. The tale is intriguing, with enough breadcrumbs left for the reader to follow. I wanted this to be a weekly, as I really wanted to see where it went next. And Daniel’s art is simply more of his best. This is a tremendous first issue and should be on everyone’s pull list!

NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN #1 by Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo. Do we really need another Spider-Man title? Really?! I guess the answer is yes! This is truly a non-stop action ride. Kelly knows how to write great action sequences and Bachalo’s art is…well…you either love it or hate it and I totally love his style and always have. And it literally begins with a bang, as the credits for the book don’t even appear until you hit page 21. This actually may be the best Spider-Man book on the market.

THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE BOOK ONE by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli. John Ridley has become a very hot comic book property, following the success of 12 YEARS A SLAVE. He’s written the Future State Batman series and now this. Consider it an illustrated history of Black Lightning, from Jefferson Pierce’ perspective. Long delayed, it’s a refreshing take on the full career of Black Lightning and feels more like a novel with pictures than a comic. Book Two focuses on Mal and Karen Duncan and is just as powerful, tying together there various incarnations through Titans history. Highly recommended!

THE PERHAPANAUTS FIRST BLOOD #1 by Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau. What more could you ask for in a cool Indy comic? The Perhapanauts are a team of secret agents whose mission is to investigate the strange creatures that walk our earth. We get Big Foot, Mothman and Chupacabra and a host of other creatures as the team investigates the case of the Kelly Goblins. This book is so much fun, bringing in the mysteries that shows like MOUNTAIN MONSTERS and HELLIER but with a superhero feel. So much fun!!!

RED SONJA: THE SUPERPOWERS #1 by Dan Abnett and Jonathan Lau. Red Sonja finds herself pursuing the crazy sorcerer Skarab Nor. But suddenly, she finds herself in the path of Captain Future and the Project Superpowers team. Are they friends or foe? It’s all a bit trippy and means next to nothing if you aren’t familiar with the PROJECT SUPERPOWERS titles that came before it. At the same time, Dynamite has released a Vampirella series, featuring the Dark Powers, by Abnett and Paul Davidson, which is actually the title that seems to be a bit more fun. But, to be perfectly honest, neither title holds up on their own unless you’re familiar with Project Superpowers.

SECOND COMING: ONLY BEGOTTEN SON #1 by Mark Russell, Carl Cafarelli, Tyrone Finch, Ed Catto, Daniel Schoeneck and Richard Pace. It’s back: the tale of a superhero and the resurrected Jesus Christ. Yeah…it’s as weird as it sounds. Actually, it’s three tales in this universe, which further enhances the legend…even if our hero’s story has more to do with Kal-El than Christ. It’s truly an acquired taste read!

SERIAL #1 by Terry Moore. Fans of RACHEL RISING and FIVE YEARS rejoice! Zoe is back! And there’s a murder! No, she didn’t commit it, but looks like she’ll be investigating it. It will make little or no sense unless you know the back story. But’s you deserve it! Go get them now! Trust me on this! Terry’s stuff is just so good!

SOLID BLOOD #17 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley. So how does SOLID BLOOD #17 qualify as a first issue. Because this was a surprise drop by Image of a book that Kirkman has said “shouldn’t exist” but feature characters he and Ottley had discussed using in a title. The comic apparently comes from a parallel Earth where THE WALKING DEAD comic was cancelled during it’s first year. Maybe that explains why a character who certainly appears to be Michonne buys it on page 4. And, because of that, this thing has a wide-ranging value, going from under $10 to over $150 in a 9.8 condition. Is it any good? Well…it’s Kirkman, so let’s go there!

STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTER #1 by Ethan Sacks and Paolo Villanelli. Marvel has latched into the popularity of THE MANDALORIAN and launched another STAR WARS title. It’s supposedly in canon and features a whole host of familiar and new characters. Sure…Bossk is there and Boba Fett makes an appearance too. Even a frozen Han Solo gets shown here, setting up a future multi-title crossover. Great read if you’re a STAR WARS fan.

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC #1 by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito. Another canon story set in the STAR WARS universe. This one follows Padawan Keeve Trennis and her Jedi master. Guest appearances by Grand Masters Veter and Yoda. It’s okay…probably my least favorite of the current Marvel STAR WARS titles, but my hope is it will get better as it creates a new piece in the STAR WARS legacy.

S.W.O.R.D. #1 by Al Ewing and Valerio Schiti Marte Garcia. Here we go with another X-title. Krakoa has relaunched the Sentient World Observation and Response Directorate. And that means Abigail Brand has her dirty fingers into mutant business. And there’s a whole host of familiar characters who pop in, from Cable and Magneto to Blink and Lila Cheney. It’s king of a disappointing first issue with a lot of seemingly meaningless dialogue and little action. Here’s hoping for better bits as the series progresses.

WOLVERINE: BLACK, WHITE AND RED #1 by Gerry Duggan, Declan Shalvey, and Matthew Rosenberg, Adam Kubert, Joshua Cassara. If you’re a Wolverine fan, this book is for you. It’s a trio of black and white tales with blood red accents-since that seems to be the new thing, as evident by the recent HARLEY QUINN and the forthcoming CARNAGE title. It’s a fun trio without a ton of back stories. Just simple self-contained tales, thus making for a relatively quick read. Again, recommended if you’re a Wolverine fan or a completist.

X-MEN LEGENDS #1 by Fabian Nicieza and Brett Booth. If you feel the current X-titles are too deep and confusing or if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, here’s the title for you.  This issue, set in the glorious days of the yellow and blue suits, focuses and the Summers brothers and introduces us to Adam-X, who it appears is a THIRD Summers brother. Well, if this turns out to be canon, this could be a game changer and I’m sure will send the speculators in a frenzy! It reads like an 80’s/90’s title with an art style straight from that period. If this series maintains this quality, it may quickly become by favorite x-series.

DC UNIVERSE Month 37(Future State Month 2)

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #3 by Tom King and Clay Mann. In the past, Catwoman beats up Joker for his latest crime. Later, we see Selina opening a safe and finds Joker inside, who tells her about his latest crime. This way, she can tell Batman and reveal their relationship to him. In the present, another of Joker’s men has been killed at the hands of The Phantasm. Batman confronts The Joker and threatens to release Joker. But the villain knows better-that Batman would never knowingly let him be killed. Later, a sleeping Selina is attacked by The Phantasm. In the future, a new Batgirl meets with the new Commissioner, Dick Grayson, who informs her about the death of someone they expect to be identified as The Joker. Later, Selina is eating dinner with her daughter Helena, who tells her about the body that was found in Florida. When Helena gets the results confirming the man was The Joker, she tells Selina she intends to investigate it, considering how close it was to her father’s death. After a trip to Florida, she tells Selina she found nothing…but that’s a lie.

FUTURE STATE: AQUAMAN #2 by Brandon Thomas and Daniel Sampere. Andy has lost her leg and finds herself washed up on an island. While calling for help, she accidentally absorbs a sentient glimmerfish, that ends up transforming into her missing leg. The rest of the fish speak to her and demand the return of their brother. She says she will when she finds Aquaman. Years pass and the glimmerfish send a continuing group of creatures to attack her. She eventually leaves to search for Aquaman, eventually finding Neptune, who tells her Aquaman has been captured. She manages to defeat the creatures holding him and they get reunited.

FUTURE STATE: BATMAN/SUPERMAN #2 by Gene Luen Yang and Ben Oliver. Batman finds Toad who has Superman on a stretcher with kryptonite taped to his chest. Toad sends his Un-men after Batman, who is forced to flee. Toad is working for Professor Pyg, who is working for the Magistrate in an effort to breed bio-weapons with Superman's DNA. Batman learns the Magistrate is using Superman's DNA to add organic surveillance cameras to rats, pigeons, and bats. Batman finds Pyg's lab, rescues Superman, and then they battle, with Pyg altered because of the False Face serum. After Superman and Batman trade enemies, the bad guys are defeated. Later, Batman orders Superman to get out of Gotham because he's become a liability.

FUTURE STATE: CATWOMAN #2 by Ram V and Otto Schmidt. Cheshire Cat faces Magistrate guards as she sets up remote explosives while Catwoman and Onomatopoeia make their way to the train's main control car. Catwoman briefly passes out and has a dream about Bruce's funeral. Talia, who is working with the resistance, and Bruce get to the security car first, where they work to slow the train so they can jump to freedom. But Bruce sees that Selina is on the train and races to save her from the guards. After an unexpected reunion, he makes the decision to go with Talia and the Resistance, allowing Selina and the children to be safe. In the end, Magistrate reinforcements show up to find the captain in handcuffs with the words "Batman Lives!" spray-painted on the wall above his head.

FUTURE STATE: DARK DETECTIVE #3 by Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg, Dan Mora and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Bruce is capturing Magistrate drones so he can hack into their network and crosses paths with the current Batman. They warn each other to stay out of each other’s way. Back at this apartment, Bruce cracks the drone codes to get into the Magistrate surveillance network, where he learns that the Magistrate was involved in the death of Bennington. After a visit by Hannah, he uses drone enhanced googles and finds drones are following Hannah. He also finds drones at his apartment, waiting to attack. In the backup, Grifter is tangling with the Huntress, but Luke offers to buy her help to get him out of Gotham. She agrees and they leave, but Magistrate forces spot them. At the docks, Grifter is met by Veil, who tases him because of money he owes. Using Luke's credit card, they all agree to get Luke out. But the Magistrate shows up, tipped off by Luke. This was all a setup to get Grifter to lead the Magistrate to Huntress so Luke could gain his freedom. During the ensuing fight, Grifter gets Huntress into the sub and she escapes, even as a smiling Grifter is taken away in handcuffs.

FUTURE STATE: DARK DETECTIVE #4 by Mariko Tamaki, Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora and Giannis Milonogiannis. It is revealed that Hannah is working for Peacekeeper-01. Her father calls and she goes home to confront Bruce, who knocks her out and carries her and her father out of the building, as Peacekeeper-01 comes along and destroys their home. She reveals she has been spying on The Magistrate, leading to the pair teaming up to gather intel to defeat The Magistrate. While she works to get the intel, Batman faces off with Peacekeeper-01, which ends with a large explosion that seems to kill them both. In the backup, Jason has a bounty on him and he and Rose team up to battle Whit Rabbit. After defeating her, Jason has his status with The Magistrate restored. In the end, he meets with Batman, who instructs him to keep up the fight.

FUTURE STATE: THE FLASH #2 by Brandon Vietti and Brandon Peterson. Barry is loading up with weapons from his rogues' gallery, so he can take out Wally, who has been possessed by Famine. A powerless Barry Allen takes on Wally West, but realizes it’s his hope that keeps feeding Famine. Giving up hope, Barry is force to walk through this world as an immortal ghost. In the end, Cybeast finds Barry’s ring and believes it can help the Titans a fighting chance.

FUTURE STATE: GREEN LANTERN #2 by Geoffrey Thorne, Josie Campbell, Robert Venditti, Tom Raney, Andie Tong, and Dexter Soy. G'Nort has died defending alien civilians from a Khund invasion and John Stewart is doing his best to give his team enough time to evacuate the population. Orion, the God of Red, shows up and inspires the people to fight back, with John as their leader. In the first backup, Teen Lantern is on Mogo, which is dying in The Void. In the second backup, Hal Jordan is trying to find out what happened to the Corps after the Power Battery went out. His journey leads him to fid everything gone, but is found by the FAR SECTOR Green Lantern, who wants to know where he was when the Corps needed him.

FUTURE STATE: HARLEY QUINN #2 by Stephanie Phillips and Simone DiMeo. In the middle of a meal, a Senator begins choking and becomes paralyzed. He has made a deal with Black Mask but the Senator has been using Black Mask's money to fund the Magistrate and now Roman uses a knife to make him pay. Later, Harley and Dr. Crane come up with a plan that involves Crane wearing the Scarecrow mask again. After a Magistrate raid that turns out to be an ambush that wipes out the Magistrate forces, Crane becomes the Scarecrow again. At the docks, Harley confronts Black Mask, but Scarecrow arrives and gasses Black Mask and his gang. The gang succumb, but Black Mask fights Scarecrow until Harley knocks out Scarecrow. Before Black Mask can thank her, she cracks his mask with her bat, allowing the fear toxin in. Harley put on the Scarecrow mask, causing Black Mask to collapse in terror. In the end, Harley escapes, while Crane and Black Mask are arrested. Crane decides that Harley destroyed his career because he worked with the Magistrate.

FUTURE STATE: IMMORTAL WONDER WOMAN #2 by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, L.L. McKinney, Jen Bartel, and Alitha Martinex. Wonder Woman is The Undoing as it tries to consume the last life left in the Universe. She finds the broken globe of the Daily Planet floating through space and this gives her hope. She recalls the fight between Superman and Darkseid, where Superman flies both of them into the Sun, causing it to blow up. In the present, she eventually spots an abandoned Brainiac ship with the last living entity in the universe: The Spectre. They say goodbye for the last time and wraps her lasso around him, orders him to give in and he dies. Being the last life in the universe., Diana allows the Undoing to consume her, but finally fights, striking her bands together and destroying the Undoing and herself. But the explosion gives light and life to the Universe again. In the backup, Nubia has been captured by Grail, who has the majority of the pieces to the key. Grail opens a portal that brings back Circe. They make a deal to get the last piece of the key: Nubia's crown. Circe attempts to take the crown but the magic that was used to create activates Nubia's strength and she breaks free. Grail escapes and Circe is sent back into her interdimensional prison. In the end, Nubia chides Aunt Nanci about not disclosing the crown was part of the key before leaving to start her life again.

FUTURE STATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 by Ram V, Joshua Williamson, Marcio Takara and Robson Rocha. The Hyperclan have sent the Justice League away and are impersonating them so they can put together their plan to take over the world. The Justice League try to get their bearings and get free, to attack their duplicates. Using what little they now about each other, the League defeats the Hyperclan and end up plotting who to add to their League. In the backup, Justice League Dark battles Merlin and his student Jason Blood. In the end, to spare the lives of his friends, Khalid agrees to serve Merlin as his oracle.

FUTURE STATE: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Riley Rossmo. The Legion attempts to track down and confront Element Lad about the destruction of the United Planets. The team seems to battle him, but this is just an illusion placed in his mind by Saturn Girl. She learns that he didn’t destroy the United Planets, but was Saturn Girl’s people, who had used her to gain the UP’s secrets. She confronts her people and eventually the Legion is reformed.

FUTURE STATE: KARA ZOR-EL SUPERWOMAN #2 by Marguerite Bennett and
Marguerite Sauvage. Aunty Kimara faces off with Supergirl, revealing that Lynari killed her father by forcing him to gift her the magic jewel. Aunty Kimara pulls out a Quantum Detonator and threatens to blow up the Moon. Kara unleashes her power on the space eels, but Lynari intervenes, absorbing Kara's power and fighting Aunty Kimara solo. Lynari destroys the jewel, burning out her own powers and Aunty Kimara's, making them simply human. In the end, it’s revealed how they became part of the moon’s population.

FUTURE STATE: THE NEXT BATMAN #3 by John Ridley, Brandon Thomas, Paul Jenkins, Jack Herbert, Sumit Kumar and Laura Braga. Batman has tracked down the killers, who have turned out to be the parents of a young girl that had gone missing. Before he can turn them in, they are attacked by the Magistrate’s forces. They eventually take refuge at an abandoned church. Batman decides to call the GCPD to take the parents, but the husband attacks by wrapping a rope around Batman’s neck in an attempt to kill him. In the first backup, the Outsiders battle Kaliber with Black Lightning’s new and deadly powers at the forefront. In the second backup, the Arkham Knights take on the Peacekeepers.

FUTURE STATE: THE NEXT BATMAN #4 by John Ridley, Vita Ayala, Paula Secenbergen, Emanuela Lupacchino, Aneke and Laura Braga. Batman breaks free from the man, who says he attacked to save his wife and begs that she gets a lighter sentence. Batman breaks into a nearby van and they make a break for City Hall. He gives them both a grenade to use if they get separated. They get chased by Magistrates forces and the man jumps out, sacrificing himself with the grenade to destroy the vehicles. Batman and the wife get out and he finds himself face to face with his mother, who he purposely injures to get away. After fighting and defeating the Peacekeeper, he eventually delivers the woman to City Hall. In the end, Jace meets with his mother in the hospital, where she says she is more determined than ever to stop the masks. In the first backup, the Batgirls find Barbara Gordon, breaking her out. In the end, Barbara and Dick share a kiss as the Batgirls rejoin the Resistance. In the second backup, Ivy, Selina and Dee Dee are on the run, which results in Dee Dee being killed. In the end, Ivy and Selina rename Slam Bradley’s speakeasy and rename it for their dead friend.

FUTURE STATE: NIGHTWING #2 by Andrew Constant and Nicola Scott. Batman teams up with Nightwing to take on The Magistrate’s forces. Batman calls in the Resistance which is the distraction needed for he and Nightwing to escape. But Peacekeeper catches up with them, leading to a fight where Nightwing reveals that he has hacked the news drones and is about to release all the unedited footage. In the end, Batman and Nightwing head off together to fifth

FUTURE STATE: ROBIN ETERNAL #2 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Eddy Barrows. Tim Drake has died, but he got covered in Lazarus Resin, bringing him back to life. Along with Stephanie and Darcy, they take on Peacekeeper-13 while Tim fights hallucinations due to the Lazarus Resin. Spoiler gets captured, leading to what was seen in THE NEXT BATMAN, but Tim powers through to save Darcy but leads to him possibly dying again…or maybe not.

FUTURE STATE: SHAZAM! #2 by Tim Sheridan and Eduardo Pansica. Shazam is not himself, as he has been separated from Billy, who is in Hell with Neron. The Spectre arrives and discovers the plan, leading to a possessed Shazam to kill The Spectre. The Phantom Stranger arrives, forcing Shazam to say the word. This frees Billy, but also unleashes the Queen of Hell.

FUTURE STATE: SUICIDE SQUAD #2 by Robbie Thompson, Jeremy Adams, Javier Fernandez and Fernando Pasarin. On Earth-3, the Justice Squad is being hunted by the Suicide Squad of Earth-0, who is on a mission to get Amanda Waller back to Earth-0. The two teams battle, with major losses, and the reveal that this isn’t Earth-0’s Waller. She seals off any chance that Earth-3 can be reached and tells Conner that he is now this world’s Superman. In the backup, Gold Beetle arrives to try to save the future, which results in the combined heroes meeting The Phantom Stranger, who takes them to the Tower of Fate, where they meet the Quintessence. The Unkindness begins to destroy the timeline and Resurrection Man reveals he is the gateway for them. The powers of magic battle the Unkindness, with Black Adam finally saying the magic word. But that sends him through time and space and he finds himself in Hell in 2021.

FUTURE STATE: SUPERMAN: HOUSE OF EL #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. In the year 3000 and Superman’s descendants are living in a Fortress on the moon, where they find themselves under attack by the Red King and his Parademons, Doomsdays and the current iteration of the Black Racer. The Red King is revealed to be Pyrrhos-the son of Kal-El and Circe. Along the way, Brandon Kent of Earth and Brainiac 4 are slain. In the end, an aged Superman arrives to take on his son and convinces him to come with his father and try to be something more than he is.

FUTURE STATE: SUPERMAN OF METROPOLIS #2 by Sean Lewis, Brandon Easton, John Timms, Valentine de Landro and Cully Hamner. Jon Kent has shrunk down Metropolis into a bottled city and it has been taken away by Brain Cells. Inside of Brain Cells, Jon is forced to fight created versions of his father, destroying the Nirodhium in the process. Supergirl arrives and returns the ray gun back to Brain Cells. Jon restores Metropolis to full size and declares himself to be Superman. In the first backup, Shilo Norman investigates the Metropolis dome while he's being attacked by battle drones. He gets blasted by a Kryptonian anomaly, resulting in his disappearing, probably bringing him to where he is in SUPERMAN: WORLDS OF WAR #2. In the second backup, the Guardian saves Jimmy from Mary, revealing himself to be a real hero for Metropolis. In the end, Jon arrives through the finally opened dome and apologizes for not helping them sooner.

FUTURE STATE: SUPERMAN VS. IMPERIUS LEX #2 by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh. Lex Luthor continues to try and get planet Lexor to be a part of the United Federation of Planets. Lois has been chosen to be the representative to visit the planet. While visiting the planet, Korban discovers a cache of deuterium crystals that can amplify energy. Lex feels this will make him rich until Lois informs him that the United Federation of Planets will take on Lexor’s debts, which means they get control of the crystals. Lexor’s robots are ordered to secure the crystals, with Korban being killed, and Lois being told to give up or be starved to death. Superman arrives, although weakened by the red sun, and battles Lex. But Lois gets free and defeats Lex with the help of a robot suit. Lex thinks he’ll still get rich, but Superman gathered crystals before he left and synthesized them in the Fortress, meaning the United Federation of Planets, who has released Lex from being in the UP, has all the crystals they need.

FUTURE STATE: SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #2 by Dan Watters and Leila Del Luca. Superman wakes up in the Fortress of Solitude where he finds Yara Flor trying to bridle the horseless moon mare. She explains she convinced Kuat to race her, and if she wins, Kuat will not interfere in the upcoming battle between Superman and Solaris. Superman races off to another room, pulls out an atomic bazooka and zaps a black hole in the room, revealing that if he doesn't do this every morning, the planet will be destroyed. Yara realizes the atomic bazooka is the solution, so they trade places with Superman going off to race Kuat in a 300-lap race from Pluto to Earth. Yara blasts Solaris with the bazooka, which turns him into a blue sun, freeing Superman from his effects and allows him to win the race. Kuat throws a fit and Superman punches the Sun and manages to knock Kuat out. In the end, Yara helps Superman with the chores and he brings her breakfast.

FUTURE STATE: SUPERMAN WORLDS AT WAR #2 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Brandon Easton, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Jeremy Adams, Mikel Janin, Valentine De Landro, Siya Oum and Michael Avon Oeming. Superman is fighting to break the chains of the slaves of Warworld, while Mongul is trying to break him. In the first backup, Shilo Norman is fighting to send a distress message to Earth to warn them about Warworld. But he sends a message to himself…in the past, as seen in FUTURE STATE: SUPERMAN OF METROPOLIS #2. In the second backup, Mignighter fights Andrej Trojan, who's in a robotic body that looks like Apollo. To defeat him, he gets help from his younger self. In the last backup, the new Black Racer fights her way through the rings of Warworld.

FUTURE STATE: SWAMP THING #2 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. Swamp Thing and his family of humanoid plants make their way to the base, finding it surrounded by  armed soldiers. Inside is Jason Woodrue, who has captured Obsidian and convinced the leader of these humans that they will use his powers to save them.  Swamp Thing and his family get inside and Swamp Thing destroyed civilization and it was Woodrue who saved who brought the survivors there. He sets off the weapon he designed to kill Swamp Thing but it will plunge the world into darkness. Swamp Thing kills Woodrue as the weapon kills Swamp Thing’s family. Swamp Thing morphs into a tree which would allow the humans to have shelter. Eventually, the sun returns and a single sprout bursts forth.

FUTURE STATE: TEEN TITANS #2 by Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval. The Teen Titans battle the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who were released during a Halloween game where the H-Dial had been turned into a Ouija board. The team battles and most get corrupted by the Horsemen, which includes corrupted versions of Roundhouse and Wally West. They use the H Dial to dial up the collected heroes of the past to fight the demons. But Raven is taken by the Kindness and Shazam opts to take her to the Rock of Eternity to get her safe.

FUTURE STATE: WONDER WOMAN #2 by Joëlle Jones. Yara Flor continues her journey through the underworld to bring back Potira. Upon arriving, she is confronted by three demons in charge of judging where the newly dead get to go. Hades arrives but, before  he can banish her to a bottomless pit, Persephone arrives and ask him to grant Yara's wish. He gives her until the sands in an hourglass runs out. She manages to pull Potira from an ocean of souls, running for their lives as the tunnels they are in begin to collapse behind them. Potira is caught by falling rubble and the sisters have to say goodbye.

GENERATIONS FORGED #1 by Dan Jurgens, Robert Venditti, Andy Schmidt, Mike Perkins, Marco Santucci, Paul Pelletier, Bernard Chang, Joe Prado, Colleen Doran and Bryan Hitch. Our heroes have been thrown into different times by Dominus and must each find a way to get back to Vanishing Point to end the crisis. Kamandi, Starfire and Dr. Light end up on Krypton, where they tell Jor-El that the planet is going to explode. Kamandi leaves the women, running into OMAC and Artemis. Dr. Light uses the sun’s energy to buy the planet a few months, giving time for Kal-El to be born. Together, the heroes convince OMAC and Artemis that Dominus sent them here to die. Steel and Superboy are trapped in prehistoric Thanagar where they have to fight the Eradicator and Nemesis Kid, who has been sent there by Dominus. They all battle, but the Goneness arrives and erases Eradicator and Nemesis Kid. Sinestro and Batman are trapped in the future where Sinestro is confronted by the Ultra-Humanite while Booster Gold is dealing with Major Force. The heroes convince the villains to join with them as they hack into Brother Eye, which brings everyone back together again at Vanishing Point. They figure out how to track down Dominus in Extracted Time and battle him. He loses his constructed family and fights back, leading to some of the heroes entering his body and destroying a turbine proving his Chronal Energy, restoring time. Before they are brought back to their real times, Waverider explains they are all from a Linearverse where people age much slower, which explains how the Batman of the 1930’s is the same Batman of 2021.

THE GREEN LANTERN SEASON TWO #11 Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Hal’s future as a Green Lantern is threatened as the Young Guardians’ plans to restructure the Corps moves forward. They explain they have better choices including Jo Mullein, Keki Quintela and Tai Pham. Having been fired, Hal heads to the sword-and-sorcery world of Athmoora where he learns that the Majistry has returned to greet Hal, bringing The Shark, Black Hand, Major Force Dr, Polaris, The Tattooed Man and Hector Hammond with him.

MAN-BAT #1 by Dave Weilgosz and Sumit Kumar. Man Bat tries to apprehend some crooks but his callus actions cause more damage than is worth. Batman takes him into custody, explaining that his serum is killing him and the bat portion is taking over. On the way to Arkham, the bat persona takes over and he breaks free. The means Amanda Waller may have to get the Suicide Squad in place to clean up what she calls Batman’s mess.