More first issues

ALIENS AFTERMATH #1 by Benjamin Percy and Dave Watchter. The ALIEN franchise is red-hot once again and that leads Marvel back to one of the classics in the film series. Set 35 years after the end of ALIENS, a team is sent back to Hadley’s Hope. And it’s personal for one soldier, whose aunt was Vasquez. The story is fun, the art is nice, and it makes a cool connection to the original film. And of course…we have a cliffhanger!

AMAZING FANTASY #1 by Kaare Andrews. A teenaged Spider-Man, World War II vintage Captain America and Russian spy Black Widow team up in a weird alternate reality filled with dangers galore. While the story is quirky, Andrews’ art is great! This title is truly not for everyone, as it goes into some strange places. Plus, it’s worth checking out, if only for Andrews’ art.

AVENGERS/HULK FCBD 2021 by Jason Aaron, Donny Cates, Iban Coello and Ryan Ottley. Marvel previews the next arcs for THE AVENGERS and THE HULK with these two short stories setting up the new creative teams. The Avengers tale gives us an army of Deathloks while M.O.D.O.K. goes through a transformation in the Hulk tale. There should be plenty of these to go around from your retailer, so you might want to grab one and see what the future holds.

DARK AGES #1 by Tom Taylor and Iban Coello.What happens when the sun goes dark in the Marvel Universe. Well, first you have to realize this is an alternate Marvel Universe where Peter and Mary Jane are married and have a super powered daughter. Filled with a whole bunch of Marvel heroes, it’s a fun trip…but one which has no bearing on OUR Marvel Universe. So, if you’re expecting this to have a huge effect on current stories, you’d be wrong. Still, it’s a great deal of fun!

DARK BLOOD #1 by Latoya Morgan and Walt Barna. Meet Avery Aldridge. He’s a black man in 1955 Alabama and is not only facing racism but a robbery. That’s when his powers, called The Variance, erupts. Ten yeas earlier, he was fighting Nazis. So…where does this lead? Good question! But there is enough here, regarding his powers and their origin, to bring me back for a second issue.

DARKHAWK #1 by Kyle Higgins and Juanan Ramirez. Darkhawk gets another relaunch in this mini-series where a new hero gets the mantle. Chris Powell is out and Connor Young, a teen with MS, is in. Either way, it feels like a rehash of a classic Nineties series and did nothing for me. The story was predictable, the art was choppy and I won’t be following along with this. It just did nothing for me.

DEFENDERS #1 by Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez. Marvel’s original non-team is back with a new cast of characters…sort of. The Surfer and Doctor Strange are back with the team along with new members The Masked Rider, Harpy and Cloud. Ewing’s story is fun but Rodriguez’ artwork is the real star here. I expect this to be a fun ride as the cast list is cool and, being a long-time Defenders fan, I may be prejudiced.

EXTREME CARNAGE ALPHA by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Manuel Garcia. So, there’s a new VENOM film coming, and Carnage is the co-star, so that means Marvel needs a book which capitalizes on that. The big red bad guy is back and, by the way, so is Flash Thompson, who was dead but now isn’t. And let’s not forget the multiple one-shots featuring all the Venom family. It’s fun and a nice set up for what comes next, which is a NEW VENOM title by Al Ewing and a series of connected one-shots featuring the whole Venom family.

FIGHT GIRLS #1 by Frank Cho. Okay…so it’s basically BATTLE ROYALE with buff women. But it’s Frank Cho’s buff women! So the book looks amazing and the story is fun, especially because it’s too early to see where the endgame will take us. AWA Upshot continues to knock it out of the park with a tremendous lineup of mini-series.

KANG THE CONQUEROR #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Carlos Magno. Take two non-comic writers together and let them tell the true origin of Kang? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Surprise! It’s REALLY good! It ties together the various histories of Kang, Nathaniel Richards, Iron Lad, the Scarlet Centurian and Rama Tut, it will hopefully make sense of all those iterations of Richards. And Magno’s art looks amazing!

KA-ZAR LORD OF THE SAVAGE LAND #1 by Zac Thompson and German Garcia. I had such high hopes for the series. I really did. But the series will go on to feature Ka-Zar’s son, with Ka-Zar and Shanna being background players. While the story is kind of folksy and fun, Garcia’s art just doesn’t do it for me and I found it hard to truly appreciate the story itself.

KING SPAWN #1  by Todd McFarlane, Sean Lewis, Javi Fernandez, Stephen Segovia, Marcio Takara, Phillip Tan and Brett Booth. Spawn fans rejoice! The first new SPAWN title in years and the first of three, with GUNSLINGER SPAWN coming in October and THE SCORCHED coming in December. There are a lot of familiar characters here for regular readers and a lot of new ones for those just jumping back into the Spawn Universe, like myself. Stories feature King Spawn, Haunt, Nightmare, The Hero and Gunslinger, so you’ve got a lot to digest.

MAZEBOOK #1 by Jeff Lemire. Here’s a book you will either love or hate. Lemire’s SWEET TOOTH was a major hit, despite his quirky art style. This is a tale of a 50-year-old man going through a major mid-life crisis revolving around his 11-year-old daughter. This sends him on a search for her and for his own wellbeing. Again, it’s not for everyone but will probably be a great heartbreaking piece in the end.

MOON KNIGHT #1 by Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio. Everyone’s favorite multiple personality hero is back, with a therapist, a secretary and a fight against vampires. He also meets another follower of Khonshu who may be an ally or an adversary. MacKay’s dialogue is a bit clunky, but the story is intriguing and the art is cool and fits the narrative.

MOTHER OF MADNESS #1 by Emelia Clarke, Marguerite Bennett and Leila Leiz. It’s the Year 2049 and the world is more close-minded, sexist and chauvinistic than ever before. Maya Kuyper is single mom with special powers brought on by emotions. And to that end, she’s trying to fight the good fight for women and the disadvantaged. This three-issue series is certainly a bit preachy and will certainly cause concern for those folks troubled by Social Justice Warriors. In the end, it’s fun and has a big heart with some cool, quirky artwork.

NOT ALL ROBOTS #1 by Mark Russell and Mike Deodato Jr. It’s the future and robots do everything for us. But the robots are not happy and an uprising appears to be looming. I know it sounds familiar, but this is told mostly from the robot’s points of view. Russell’s writing is sharp and filled with some great moments and Deodato again knocks it out of the park with his art. AWA Upshot hits anther home run with this great mini-series.

PRIMORDIAL #1 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. What happened to those first test animals that were shot into space back in the day. The US and Russians say they died, but did they? Someone wants to find out and he may not like what he finds in the end. A curious little story that has a great cliffhanger ending to woo us into the next issue. Highly recommended!

SINISTER WAR #1 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley. Spencer’s Spider-Man run all comes down to this. The Savage Six are coming for a reformed Mysterio but the reformed Sinister Six is here to back him up. And let’s not forget about a certain Harry Osborn and then there’s Mephisto who may be looking to cash in on what Peter owes him. This will all lead to Spencer’s swan song issue where Ben Reilly returns as Spider-Man. Who lives, who dies? It all starts here!

SPIDER-MAN/VENOM FCBD 2021 by Zeb Wells, Ram V., Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, Patrick Gleason, Bryan Hitch and Greg Smallwood. Peter Parker is soon to be out as Spider-Man and Ben Reilly steps in. This is the first look at the new hero and his cast of characters. Plus, the new Venom series, which focuses on Eddie Brock and son in their dual missions. Plus, a bonus look at the future of Daredevil. Worth picking up to get a glimpse at the future of these corners of the Marvel Universe.

SPIDER-MAN: A LIFE STORY ANNUAL #1 by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley. In the alternate story of Spider-Man, Peter’s life turned out much different than we are used to and fans were divided on how they felt about it. In this one-shot annual, we look a JJJ as he battles the inner demons he faced because of Spider-Man’s actions. A great story and a surprise twist or two. If you liked the LIFE STORY series, you’ll love this!

STRAY DOGS #1 by Tony Fleecs and Trish Forstner.This looks like a cute funny animal book from the MY LITTLE PONY team. But it ain’t! It’s been called, not by me, ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN meets SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and that’s a pretty accurate description. It’s a touching, scary kind of book with a host of dogs and a possible killer. This book is on fire, but you may be able to pick up copies of the multiple printings at a decent price. Plus, the multiple printing variant takes on classic horror films is pretty cool! And don’t forget to ty to track down the FCBD special that features a new prequel story.

X-MEN #1 by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I as writing about a new X-Men title. Another year, another reboot with a new team made up of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Sunfire, Synch, Wolverine(X-23), Polaris and Rogue. It’s the same old stuff and just shows how far this once great title has drifted as there are just too many X books on the stands. Let’s be honest: the Eighties was a prime time for mutants and now…it’s just a continuing spewing out of mutant titles.

X-MEN: THE TRIAL OF MAGNETO #1 by Leah Williams and Lucas Wernick. SPOILER: The Scarlet Witch is dead and someone did it. And the clues seem to point to Magneto. But did he really kill his own daughter? That’s what this mini-series will try to unravel. But let’s be honest: no one REALLY stays dead in comics and especially someone so critical to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, in the end, it may make a big difference in the status quo, but I feel this may just be a set up for future stories.

DC UNIVERSE Month 43, Part 2

ICON & ROCKET: SEASON ONE #2 by Reginald Hudlin and Doug Braithwaite. Icon and Rocket are cleaning up Dakota, but that brings authorities to Raquel’s mom searching for her. N.S.A. Agent Baker meets with Augustus and demands they knock off their vigilante actions or else. Later, some of Dakota’s drug dealers look to confront Raquel’s mom, but Reverend Stone and some of his congregation intervene. Baker meets with Agent Lord, who explains he has been around for generations and reveals Augustus’ history: how he led a revot against slave owners and killed Jefferson Davis, who was replaced by a double.

I AM BATMAN #0 by John Ridley and Travel Foreman. In the past, Tim Fox is continuing his training in Japan with Katana and informs Ma that his name is now Jace. In the present, Jace tells his family he is moving out. Later, at work, he meets with an old acquaintance named Hadiyah. That night, he goes to a warehouse, searching for radicals connected to Arkadine. He finds six dead bodies and fights two guys, who set a bomb in the warehouse. After saving one of the pair, Jace is told the six were dead when he got there and he and his partner had been paid to make the explosion look like an accident. Meanwhile, a downtown demonstration is a false flag operation with some of Arkadine’s followers there to start a war with police. Jace arrives in a Batsuit and stops the shooters, but not before the Magistrate get involved. The optics on social media falsely claim Jace was attacking the protesters and that leads to him looking to find a way to upgrade the tech he will be using.

INFINITE FRONTIER #4 by Joshua Williamson, Xermanico, Jess Merino and Paul Pelletier. On Earth-23, Calvin Ellis and Thomas Wayne learn that Lex Luther has been working on multi-dimensional travel who is responsible for designing the ships that Director Bones, X-Tract, and Hector Hammond have been travelling around the Multiverse in. When then find Lex, he’s been killed. On Earth-0, Bones has captured Green Lantern and his son and reveals to Cameron Chase that he had made a deal to keep the Multiverse safe. His ship is ready to go to Hammond’s place in the bleed and Chase shoots him to ensure she is on the ship when it leaves. On Hammond’s ship, Jade figures out the Black Lantern is a resurrected Roy Harper and the team heads to Earth-Omega, where the Psycho Pirate has Barry Allen, but they encounter the Anti-Monitor’s Shadow Demons and their ship crash lands. Back at the House of Heroes, Machinehead betrays the team and brings forth a team of villains to ensure the Multiverse remains separate worlds.

THE JOKER #6 by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Guillem March and Sweeney Boo. Jim Gordon finds himself in France, tracking down a lead on The Joker. He calls Oracle, who informs him that there is chatter about a new Bane being created in Santa Prisca. After she informs him about how everything connected to the Sampson family has been buried, he calls Bullock, not a Private Detective, to assist in the investigation. In the end, Interpol arrests Jim, telling him his fingerprints are all over a murder scene. It seems The Joker has framed Jim Gordon. In the backup, Harper Row has made her way into Blackgate Prison under a false identity in in order to get closer to Punchline. But Punchline sees through the disguise, and it may cost Harper her life.

THE JOKER PRESENTS: A PUZZLEBOX #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Jesus Merino and Joshua Hixon. The Joker was having a party and that got broken up by Batman. With all the villains arrested, The Joker is interrogated by Gordon and Bullock and learns that The Riddler has been killed. The Joker explains it could have been because of The Master Engine: a box with a connection to the New Gods. He enlists a group of villains to find the five keys which will open the box and give them unspeakable power. Elsewhere, it seems that the GCPD already has the box.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #66 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V, Phil Hester and Sumit Kumar. Synmar Utopica has not come to Earth to gain revenge against Superman but to give the Earth to his planet. With the Hall of Justice destroyed, old members and current members unite to fight against Synmar Utopica. But where is Superman? He has gone into space to enlist the United Order to stop him. In the backup, Elnara Roshtu frees Randhir Singh’s mind and frees him. He claims he was imprisoned in his own mind by Merlin. Merlin continues his assault on Atlantis, where he plans to unleash The Darkworld.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: LAST RIDE #4 by Chip Zdarsky and Miguel Mendonca. In the past, Martian Manhunter sacrifices himself to stop Apokolips from launching Boom Nukes. In the present, the team has brought Lobo to Apokolips, but now has to deal with Mongol AND the Cyborg Superman.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #4 by Stephanie Phillips and Max Dunbar. In 1910, Charles Cobblepot is killed by a “ghost.” In preset day, Bruce Wayne buys an antique box containing artifacts from that murder. He discovers that the ghost was actually Cobblepot’s maid, who he had been abusing. In the end, Bruce donates money to create a women’s center.

MISTER MIRACLE: THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM #4 by Brandon Easton and Fico Ossio. Oberon shows Shilo a film Thaddeus made for Shilo. In it, he reveals how he fought for the rights of blacks in Hobbs Bay after receiving Mother Box as a child. He eventually marries Darla Morton and has a daughter named Rose. She marries a Metropolis police officer named Solomon Norman, revealing that Thaddeus is Shilo’s grandfather. He also reveals that baby Shilo accidentally triggered a Boom Tube that sent his parents off to an unknown place. When the film ends, Oberon reveals that N/Vir is headed to New Genesis ad that appears to bring Orion into the situation.

NIGHTWING #83 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Blockbuster and the police are about to bust down Melinda's door. She tells Dick that she isn’t working for Blockbuster and Dick flees, with Blockbuster in pursuit. After a battle that leaves Dick injured, he ends up with Barbara and Tim. When he wakes, he makes the decision to help his city. The following day, after meeting with the Leslie, Lucious, the Titans and Superman, and a kiss with Barbara, he meets the press and reveals he is starting the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation. In the end, the man who is Heartless makes plans against the person who made him.

ROBIN #5 by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Stephanie Brown received word from Ravager that Damian was in this tournament so they go after Damian. He agrees to go back with them to Gotham if they're able to catch him. Dick does and gives him a birthday gift: a metal bar that came from Dick’s old trapeze. He lets Damian go to find his destiny and he arrives back on the island just in time for the tournament to begin.

SHAZAM! #2 by Tim Sheridan and Clayton Henry. Billy Batson and Dane have gone to Hell where they end up in the Casino de Dante Carlo. Billy meets Amoreena while Dane cheats and the pair get to meet head demon Sulibak. Billy’s powers won’t work and he flees with Amoreena’s help. She helps him find the Rock of Eternity. She reveals she is Sulibak’s daughter, just as the demons catch up with him. Billy momentarily is able to use his powers, but those soon fail. Luckily, Dane arrives, revealing himself to be Nevermore, son of the Underlord.

SUICIDE SQUAD #6 by Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica and Dexter Soy. The team captures Night Terror because Waller claims she needs to join them on their mission to Earth-3 to save Bloodsport. They head to Earth-3 and are immediately attacked by Ultraman, who kills Branch. The team finds Bloodsport and transport away, ending up in Russia where they encounter…a leather jacket wearing Superboy? Meanwhile, Peacemaker and his team continue their search for Swamp Thing.

SUICIDE SQUAD: GET JOKER! BOOK ONE by Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev. Jason Todd was killed by the Joker. But he was reborn and took to his own way of fighting crime as Red Hood. He was arrested and now Amanda Waller convinces him to become part of Task Force X and hunt down Joker. His team consists of Firefly, Plastique, Silver Banshee, Wild Dog, Yonder Man, Meow Meow, Pebbles and Harley Quinn. They meet up with Toyman and head to bar, where they find out they have been played by the Joker, which leads them into a fight with Russian henchmen. Red Hood calls Waller, who is in an apartment in Gotham waiting for a pizza delivery. But that pizza place is closed and Waller gets beaten with a crowbar by Joker and his crew. He now has the box which triggers brain bombs and Joker kills Firefly.

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW #3 by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. Supergirl and Ruthye are searching for Krem on the planet of Maypole. But everything is not what it seems. They discover there was once blue people and purple, but the purples were considered lower class and he convinced the townspeople to convince the invading Brigands to eradicate the purples. They revealed Krem and, along with the Brigands, they committed mass genocide of the purples.

SUPERMAN AND THE AUTHORITY #2 by Grant Morrison, Evan Cagle, Mikel Janin, Fico Ossio and Travel Foreman. Superman is running tests on his diminishing powers while Manchester Black explains how he is working on putting a team together made up of Natasha Irons, Midnighter, Apollo, and Enchantress.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #2 by Tom Taylor and John Timms. Jon goes off to college in the undercover disguise of Finn Connors. But that doesn’t last long as he has to reveal himself to stop a student with a gun. After a discussion with his father, he is entrusted to care for the Fortess and given one of Cark’s original capes. Later, he saves a boat filled with refugees from Gamorra and brings them to safety in Metropolis. The person behind The Truth podcasts, Jay Nakamura, also one of the students from the college, meets with Jon and explains what is going on in Gamorra. He also explains how the President of that country will come after him. The President? Henry Bendix-formerly a member of The Authority.

THE SWAMP THING #6 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. The Suicide Squad has been tasked to capture the Swamp Thing, dead or alive. They detonate a toxin that cuts off a portion the jungle from the Green to help trap Swamp Thing. Heatwave finds an unconscious Levi in the jungle and sets him on fire, forcing him into the water. Eventually, he spawns into Swamp Thing and looks poised to attack an unsuspecting Heatwave.

WONDER WOMAN #777 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jordie Belaire, Emanuela Lupacchino and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana, Siegfried and Rotatosk have made it to Earth but discover it is Earth 11 where the Justice League is an all-female team known as the Justice Guild. They get attacked by Wonder Man, who has teamed up with Janus. Janus captures Deadman and transports away with him, leading Diana, Siegfried and Rotatosk to follow. In the backup, young Diana discovers that Herakles and his army came to Themyscira and, after one of the men threatened Antiope, the Amazons killed them all.

WONDER WOMAN #778 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jordie Belaire,Travis Moore and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana, Siegfried and Rotatosk travel to the Phantom Zone where they are attacked by Xa-Du. Aethyr arrives and sends our heroes away to track down Janus, which leads them to the Fifth Dimension, where they meet Bat-Mite, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Wonder Mite. They find Janus, who uses a portal and transports to Gemworld, then prehistoric times. After another portal jump into the blank space of Ascension, Diana fnds Deadman is dead. In the backup, Diana meets with Magala and retrieves the spear that her mother used against Herakles‘ army. She returns to her mother and convinces her to reveal the truth to the Amazons.

DC UNIVERSE Month 43, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1034 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Christian Duce and Michael Avon Oeming. The Phaelosians kill Thao-La’s companions and that sends her into a rage and kills the warriors with a blast from her eyes. Meanwhile, things escalate between Atlantis and the military leading to Superman forcibly taking the Warworld artifact and, along with Jon and Kara, head back to the Fortress. Upon arrival, he finds the carnage, leading to a confrontation between Thao-La and himself. In the backup, Midnighter and Shilo Norman continue to take out Trojan Solutions soldiers on their trip to confront Andrej.

BATMAN #111 by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez and Clayton Cowles. Peacekeeper-01 is ready to kill Miracle Molly and Squeak, but Squeak and Molly use their abilities to help them get away. As the pair flees, Breaker gets involved and takes on Peacekeeper-01, allowing the pair, including a wounded Squeak, to reunite with Master Wyze. Batman, Ghostmaker and Harley show up to lend a hand takes down Peacekeeper-01, allowing them to escape. While Ghostmaker operates on Squeak, Batman decides to take on Scarecrow, who is having problems of his own. Saint realizes the Scarecrow is out of control and orders Peacekeeper-01 to take him down. But Scarecrow has upped the Fear Gas level and Peacekeeper-01 is now under his control.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #6 by Tom King and Clay Mann. In the past, Selina decorates a Christmas tree with The Joker and talks about how she stole all the ornaments. In the present, Batman goes to rescue Selina from Phantasm,leading to Selina taking him down and telling Andrea that it’s time to go kill The Joker. In the future, Commissioner Grayson lights the Bat Signal and old lady Catwoman arrives with her daughter, going out and fighting crime together. Selina also reveals she did kill The Joker.

BATMAN: REPTILIAN #3 by Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp. The creature has taken out most of Gotham’s villains and Batman is trying to figure out what it is and why it is on a rampage. He learns of a hostage situation enacted by The Joker and goes to the site. He confront The Joker, who is attacked by the creature and mutilated by it.

BATMAN SECRET FILES: CLOWNHUTER #1 by Ed Brisson and Rosi Kampe. Two years ago, Bao Pham was a kid at Gotham Academy who got bullied and beaten up. A year later, he learned to fight back, even though he continued to get beat up. Now, he is the vigilante Clownhunter and is tracking down clowns. One of them sets off a bomb, injuring Bao, leaving him at the mercy of the clown. While Punchline teases him vis video chat from her place in prison, he fights back. But that victory is short lived as a large group of clowns attack him. He keeps fighting overwhelming odds and eventually gets saved by Red Hood, who offers to train him and take down the Joker together.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #21 by Gene Luen Yang and Ivan Reis. Superman, Batman, and Robin battle Etrigan while Alanna of Rann and El Diablo fight off demons. Superman finally convinces Etrigan the Auteur.IO is not God and Etrigan turns on him, freeing the other Superman and Batman in the process. The worlds get separated, Auteur.IO’s armor now serves him, and he becomes Observer.IO.In the end, a Paradaemon brings one of the archive film reels to Darkseid. To be continued in  BATMAN/SUPERMAN 2021 ANNUAL #1.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #6 by Chip Zdarsky, Matthew Rosenberg, Meghan Fitzmartin, Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Scot Eaton, Marcus To, Chris Sprouse, Belen Ortega and Trevor Hairsine. Jason repurposes a Batsuit and heads out to save Batman, who is under the effects of Cheerdrops. Jason gets dosed but fights off the effects long enough to give Batman the antidote and release him from the drug. Tyler’s mom recovers and Bruce and Jason patch things up, with Jason declaring he’s done using guns. In the first backup, Zealot mixes it up with Wonder Woman, as both have gone after Maxwell Lord. The fight ends in a draw, but Zealot acquires some of Diana’s blood and is bringing it back to the WildC.A.T.S. In the second backup, Tim teams up with his friend Bernard to save him, leading to a reunion in the end and a potential date for the pair. In the last story, Black Canary becomes a member of T.R.U.S.T. after saving the life of Juliette Ballantine from hat turns out to be a staged assassination attempt. After learning her parents were members, Canary is sent on a mission with Deathstroke. But who was behind the assassination attempt? Talia. Continued in DEATHSTROKE INC. #1.

CATWOMAN #34 by Ram V and Fernando Blanco. Detective Hadley fires up the Bat Signal, telling Batman about Father Valley’s plan to kill Selina. He saves her from last issue’s cliffhanger and gives her a drive with all the information he has been able to gather on Valley. She tracks down Valley and they fight. But he has a plan, as he has a sniper rifle aimed at her sister. He triggers the gun, sets off a bomb and flees. Maggie doesn’t get shot…but Hadley does.

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER SONS #5 by Peter J. Tomasi, Max Raynor and Evan Stanley. The boys save Aquaman and discover their names on next on the scroll. In the distant past, they team up with Rora, who may still be an agent of Faust and Savage.

CHECKMATE #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Weeks ago, Superman invaded the country of Markovia, now known as Leviathan, so that he could rescue Talia Al'Ghul. Today, Mark Shaw has kidnapped Lois Lane and teleports her from the country of Leviathan to the Hall of Justice. Lois meets with Checkmate and reveals that she believes Shaw’s endgame is to get into the Hall of Justice computer system. Trevor meets with Talia in jail, but we learn that she was visited by Shaw and she may actually be working with him. In the end, Mr. King meets with Toyman, who says it may be time for King to reveal who he is.

CRIME SYNDICATE #6 by Andy Schmidt, Kieran McKowen and Bryan Hitch. The Crime Syndicate attacked Alexander Luthor's Watchtower. Now, the hidden member of the Legion of Justice, Ultragirl, is battling it out with Utraman while the remainder of the team faces off against Sinestro and Emerald Knight. Superwoman severs the ring from John Stewart’s hand and the ring kills Sinestro, leading to Stewart siding with the Syndicate. Atomica makes her way inside of Ultragirl’s head and kills her. With that, the Crime Syndicate now rules Earth 3. In the backup, Atomica muses on how she met and learned from Johnny Quick. But Luthor is now a captive of the Syndicate and she will make him her plaything.

CRUSH & LOBO #3 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Lobo and his fellow prisoners are in a group therapy session while Crush waits to meet with her dad. He bares his soul to his daughter, before taking her hand and leaving the meeting. Amazingly, Lobo gets scanned as a visitor and walks out of the prison. This is because he transferred his prisoner monitor chip to his daughter when he held her hand and now she is recognized as Inmate 2981. The Main Man is free, and Crush is now incarcerated.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1041 by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora. Gotham is in disarray. Mayor Nakano sends his people out to search for Worth and Vile; the latter of which is being experimented on. With his house gone and the sewers blown up and leaving him away from his Bat Caves, Oracle sends him to the docks, where he gets one of his classic blue and grey suits. He meets with The Jury, who puts him on trial for the death of Sarah Worth. He is found guilty and, while he escapes, he gets shot with a bullet containing some of Vile’s blood. Batman is now infected. In the backup, Deb Donovan gets a note slipped into her pocket, which leads her to the morgue where she sees the bodies of Bane and Man Bat and the empty drawer which had contained the Arkham Knight. Later, she meets with Vicki Vale who agrees with Batman. Donovan goes home and finds the person who gave her the note sitting in her apartment-Red Hood. This leads into TASK FORCE Z, coming in October.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1042 by Mariko Tamaki and Viktor Bogdanovich. Batman has been shot with a bullet containing Vile's venom and now he is infected Vile, thought to be dead, arises and escapes while Batman defeat Worth. Huntress confront Vile and the infected Batman arrives. Huntress throws Batman at Vile, which forces the parasite out of it. She kills the creature which in turn kills Vile. Even with Vile dead, Huntress admits that she still gets visions of his victims. In the end, the coroners notice eggs escaping from Vile’s body. In the backup, Deb Donovan and Red Hood team up to try and find out why dead people are being abducted from the morgue.

THE FLASH #773 by Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. Wally is late for his first day at work and is tasked with getting copper rods to power a temporal energy device. When he learns of an incident elsewhere in Central City, he heads there, which puts him in battle with Heat Wave. He learns that Mick is dying and, even though he is apprehending him, offers to help him. Waly races back to work, where he installs the copper rods. He goes home to dinner with his family while Amanda Waller meets with Mick, offering him a purpose. This ties into recent issues of SUICIDE SQUAD and THE SWAMP THING. Elsewhere, Jessica Cruz, now a Yellow Lantern encounters something in space that could prove dangerous.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #4 by Dennis Culver, Michael Golden, Nikola Cizmesija and Jason Pearson. Hunter Panic enters the fray, as Harley searches for Punchline. The three end up in an all-out battle, with Punchline being subdued. Her message: the Net Joker is coming. In the mostly silent backup, Batman battles a bunch of clowns, who learn to late that the Joker will sacrifice anyone if it leads him to Batman.

GREEN LANTERN #5 by Geoffrey Thorne, Tom Raney, Marco Santucci and Andy MacDonald. Keli Quintela has headed to New Korugar to take on Sinestro and his Yellow Lanterns. A mysterious Yellow Lantern battles her and Simon Baz, with the Lantern making the decision to let them go…a Lantern who knows who Simon is. Meanwhile, Joan Stewart evacuates the planet in an effort to save them from the Slavers. They go to Oa, where John gets a cool reception. But there is no time for that as a distress call comes in from Killowog.

HARDWARE: SEASON ONE #1 by Brandon Thomas and Denys Cowan. Curtis Metcalf is a genius who, at a young age, was supported monetarily and emotionally by Edwin Alva. The genius inventor worked for Alva Industries to improve his world. But that was before the Big Bang and now he is being blamed for it as Alva has made him the scapegoat. To save himself, Curtis creates a suit of armor and fights back.

HARLEY QUINN #6 by Stephanie Phillips and Laura Braga. Harley is searching for the manufacturing facility making Strange's drug which leads her to Alleytown. She teams up with Catwoman and they find the facility, but not before Harley gets dosed and saved by Selina. Elsewhere, Strange meets with Scarecrow, who is not happy that Keepsake stole his toxin and modified it.