Even more new releases and first issues!

ASTRO CITY: THAT WAS THEN #1 by Kurt Busiek and Brent Eric Anderson.  . The Award winning series is back…finally.  It’s a tale of heroes in their own universe and, as was true with the previous series, it’s truly a love story by Busiek to the superhero loving fans. Great characters and a perfect jumping on point for readers not familiar with the other runs. Anderson’s art shines and having Alex Ross do your covers and character design can’t hurt.

BATMAN: BEYOND THE WHITE KNIGHT #1 by Sean Murphy and Dave Stewart. The continuing tale of an alternate universe Batman for DC’s Black Label continues in a new volume. Bruce Wayne is in prison,  Jason is a captain of the guards and Dick works for Powers and runs the GTO. Harley is raising kids and, after a breakout, it looks like The Joker is back. Oh, did I tell you Batman Beyond is here too? Great stuff, especially if you enjoyed the previous mini-series.

CAPTAIN CARTER #1 by Jamie McKelvie and Marika Cresta. Captain Carter sacrificed herself during World War II to save the world. In the present, her frozen body is found, and she is brought back to life. So basically, this is the WHAT IF? Animated story brought t the next level. Carter is this universe’ version of Captain America and now she has to deal with living in the now. Recommended if you were a fan of that WHAT IF? Episode.

CARNAGE FOREVER #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Ram V, Ty Templeton, Edgar Salazar and Salvador Larroca. Cletus Cassidy may have had his body destroyed, but the creature known as Carnage is still on the loose looking fo a host. One of them is a little girl named Elsie and the other is a prisoner named Santiago Vellez. These stories act as a setup for the forthcoming regular CARNAGE series. If you’re a fan of Venom and Carnage, you will love this, including the “fun” page from Templeton. The art is killer and it’s pretty obvious this series will be dark. I can’t wait! Regarding the regular CARNAGE series, it was kind of a letdown. The main tale, by Ram V and Francesco Manna, sets up what’s to come as we introduce out detective hero, a murder and a host of unsavory characters. The backup by legendary creators David Michelinie and Ron Lim, is a gory revenge tale that may lead somewhere, but I doubt it.

CRASHPAD #1 by Gary Panter. Panter is a legendary, post underground creator  whose most famous work was JIMBO, ADVENTURES IN PARADISE and FACETASM. But he is best known for his work as a set designer on PEE WEE’S PLAYHOUSE, where he won three Emmys. His newest work is this: a collection of pieces he worked on in 2018 and 2019. His work is like a drug infused cocktail put on paper and may be best enjoyed that way. It’s a weird journey that will surely be a hit with those who grew up on/enjoyed the classic underground books. Suffice it to say, it’s a wild ride that just proves anyone can create a comic if your mind and will allows you to..

DRACULINA #1 by Christopher Priest and Michael Sta. Maria. Priest’s run on the VAMPIRELLA titles, or some of them, continues. I love Priest’s work and pretty much everything about it from his stories, his storytelling ability and his pacing. Couple that with Michael Sta. Maria’s art and this book just adds to the legacy of these titles. This is a winner for sure.

FANTASTIC FOUR: RECKONING WAR #1 by Dan Slott, Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz and Carlos Magno. For those who missed it, Nick Fury killed The Watcher and he replaced him, becoming The Unseen. Well, The Watcher has come back to life, coming out of his own eye. And now he has to do what The Watcher’s have always said they would never do: interfere in the progression of things to save the universe from a distant enemy that has been around throughout all of Marvel history. Of course the FF and most of the Marvel heroes get involved in the first of a twisting tale that will run through FANTASTIC FOUR over the next few months.

GEIGER 80 PAGE GIANT #1 by Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi, Sterling Gates, Leon Hendrix III, Pornsak Pichetshote, Janet Harvey Nevala, Jay Faerber, Bryan Hitch, Gary Frank, Paul Pelletier, Peter Snejbjerg, Kelley Jones, Staz Johnson, Sean Galloway, Megan Levens and Joe Prado. A huge anthology title set in the post-apocalyptic world of GEIGER. 10 tales by some amazing talents, plus preview pages from the forthcoming JUNKYARD JOE. Highly recommended for fans of this great sci-fi series.

GHOST RIDER #1 by Benjamin Percy and Cory Smith. Johnny Blaze is back from his time as the ruler of Hell and all seems right with the world. He is back with his family, has a satisfying job and has a good therapist. But all is not as it seems. Johnny has always been MY Ghost Rider and I’m thrilled to have him bac in my reading collection! The story is filled with twists and some interesting tropes and Smith’s art is very evocative of classic Don Perlin stuff. Totally looking forward to this series as I try to get the taste of the last series, and Jaime, out of my mouth…even though he still invades my reading in AVENGERS FOREVER.

HULK: GRAND DESIGN #1 by Jim Rugg. This book is a wonderful love story to the big green guy. Starting with his origin and moving all the way to issue #30, Rugg retells key moments in Hulk’s history in chronological order in a cool, retro pop art style that also pays homage to the creators and styles of the past. I bought this on a whim because the art looked cool and stayed with it because he did his homework. Totally recommended!

IRON FIST #1 by Alyssa Wong and Michael Yg. Danny Rand has given up his powers to save the world and now Lin Lie has taken up the mantle. I tried…really tried to like this, but it just feels like a bad Shang Chi clone. I don’t like his character, don’t care about his family, even if something is suspicious there, and just don’t care. Rand, over the years, developed into a deep, well-rounded hero. Again, this just feels off. Maybe I’m too old-school but I want a Danny Rand hanging with Luke Cage as much as I want Fu Manchu to be Shang Chi’s father. I won’t be following the rest of this series.

MAESTRO WORLD WAR M #1 by Peter David and German Peralta. Peter David unveils the final part of his post-Apocalyptic tale of a transformed Hulk as ruler of the world. This has been a fun alternate future run and promises to go out with a true bang. Great art from Peralta just adds to the story.

PEACEMAKER: DISTURBING THE PEACE #1 by Garth Ennis and Garry Brown. At last, an origin story. And it’s got everything from his parent’s death to his relationship with his foster/adoptive parents to his mercenary service. It’s revealing and often ugly. But what would I expect from Ennis. Fun stuff.

THE PERAPHANAUTS TRIANGLE #1 by Rodd Dezago and Crag Rousseau. Back in 2005, Todd and Craig created this team of supernatural investigators working for a top-secret government agency known as Bedlam. There are two teams: Red and Blue. The prime focus is on the Blue team, consisting of Aris Hines(who has psychic powers), Choopie(a Chupacabra), Molly MacAllistar/9a ghost), MG(who can travel to other dimensions), Big(the Sasquatch) and Karl the Mothman. Basically, it’s a fun clever throwback with some very cool characters and equally fun adventures. Highly recommended for all ages!

PUNISHER #1 by Jason Aaron, Jesus Saiz and Paul Azaceta. Frank Castle is back. He has a new look(yes…the skull logo is gone) and a new mission. He is now a member of The Hand and while he has totally traded in his guns for swords, he is now encouraged to make the blade his main weapon. But he has not lost any of his lust for blood and guts and total mayhem., dismembering and shooting up like mad. And that’s not all that has changed. (SPOILER) his dead wife is alive again! It’s a fun, fun read with a lot of mystery involving how Frank got to where he is. Plus Saiz’ art is amazing!

RECKONING WAR: TRIAL OF THE WATCHER #1 by Dan Slott and Javier Rodriguez. So, Uatu is alive again and now standing trial for apparently screwing up when he gave the Fantastic Four the Ultimate Nulifier back in FANTASTIC FOUR #48-50. See, if he had let them figure it out themselves they would have defeated Galactus, despite sustaining major injuries, the Surfer would be forever free and Galactus would never threaten the universe again. Despite that, the Prosilicans are returning to threaten the universe. Cue Nick Fury. The tale continues in FANTASTIC FOUR.

RED ROOM: TRIGGER WARNING #1 by Ed Piskor. More grisly internet torture and killing courtesy of Ed Piskor. Picking u from the original series, this is a gruesome bloodbath in black and white. Part of what makes it work, besides waiting for the baddies to get their comeuppance, is the tale is told in three concurrent stories on each page. So, read the first, then the middle and then the final and you get the full details. Cool concept in storytelling.

ROGUES BOOK ONE by Joshus Williamson and Leomacs. In this Black Label title, the Rogues have broken up by Len Snart has decided to put the band back together for one last score. All your favorites are here: his sister, Mick, Trickster, Bronze Tiger, Frances Kane and a highly sedated Mirror Master, who they break out of prison. And of course, things go wrong right from the start. A fun take on what happens to villains when they are too old to cut the mustard anymore.

SAGA #55 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Not a first issue…but a first issue in a long, long time. One of the best character-driven sci-fi/fantasy titles out there. If you’re a fan of titles like STRANGERS IN PARADISE, you’ll love this. Just go out and pick up the collected works while you’re grabbing the new issues.

SPIDER-GWEN: GWEN-VERSE #1 by Tim Seeley and Jodi Nishijima.  Spider-Gwen is back and now on a mission that will send her through various universes, meeting various versions of herself, including Spider-Zero and a version that hold’s Thor’s hammer. What? Yeah…wild, crazy stuff that seems to make no sense but may in the end. A fun read, but I’m not holding out hope that this will all make sense in the end.

STRANGE #1 by Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira. In case you missed it, Doctor Strange was murdered and a younger Strange took his place to try and solve his murder. His estranged wife Clea also returned. Our Strange got resurrected but that didn’t last long and, before dying again, he gave Clea the Eye of Agamotto and the Cloak of Levitation. Now she is the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension. But everything is a learning curve and this journey is no different. She has to deal with Doctor Doom, who believes he should be Sorcerer Supreme, a hung over Wong, and the Blasphemy Cartel. She deals out justice but less like Strange and more like Mike Fleisher’s Spectre run. This is a fun but grim take on the role of the Sorcerer Supreme, with witty dialogue and great art. Really curious to see where this goes.

WE HAVE DEMONS #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. That award winning team is at it again in a new original series for Dark Horse. Our heroine finds out demons are real, especially the neighbors. Seems her father was a demon hunter and  Lam is going to have to carry on the family tradition. With the help of her father’s partner Gus, she is ready to battle all who come her way with her newly constructed, weaponized arm. It is a wild read, looks great and has the entire script added in the back of the book, so you can see how it went from concept to finished story. Highly recommended!

X-CELLENT #1 by Peter Milligan and Michael Allred. I loved Milligan and Allred’s run of X-STATIX, which was quirky and twisted. But that team disbanded and former member U-Girl gained new abilities and has put together a new team. Now those two teams meet and sparks fly. I’ll be the first to admit this book is not for everyone. Milligan’s characters are really weird and Allred’s art, made famous on BATMAN ’66 and especially MADMAN, is equally unusual. But I have aways thought these creators were so underrated and this title is just pur proof of their combined talents.

X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy and Federico Vincentini. Tying in with X LIVES OF WOLVERINE #1, this issue follows Moira, who had her arm cut off by Mystique and is now on the run. This tells the other half f the story that is being told in the other title. Curious to see how Percy ties them together. Vincentini’s art fits the bill.

X LIVES OF WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassara. Professor X sends Wolverine in a mental journey through all the important moments of his life. It is a nice way to tie all of the various origins that we have seen over the years, Percy’s story is a nice linear tale with nice art from Cassara. This will tie in with X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #1, supposedly creating a cohesive interlocked tale. A mini-series which will eventually end in a rebooting of the mutant titles.

 

DC UNIVERSE Month 50, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE #5 by Joshus Williamson, Dennis Culver, Andrei Bressan and Jess Marino. Darkseid battles against the Empty Hand, while Justice League Incarnate battles their teammates who have fallen under the Great Darkness’ control. Doctor Multiverse deduces that she and Avery can use their speed vibrations to separate the heroes from the Great Darkness  The Empty Hand creates a portal through which he and Darkseid enter, transporting them into pure darkness. The portal continues to grow and Orion is declared the successor to Darkseid by Grail. Avery, President Superman, Doctor Multiverse and Captain Carrot head into the portal to find Barry Allen. They end up on Earth-Flash.1 where Barry is living happily and reluctant to leave. Pariah arrives, telling the team he can make each of them as happy as Barry is. The team leaves, meeting back up with the rest of the group, minus Orion, on Harbinger as they try to outrun the Great Darkness. In the end, Darkseid has become one with The Dark. To be continued in JUSTICE LEAGUE #75: THE DEATH OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski. A year before the formation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Kala Lour is visited by Gdon, who presents him a gold Lantern ring. In the present, Gold Lantern is at the Hall of Justice, where the League has disappeared. He also sees a great darkness in the sky. The League finds themselves in the 31st Centuries, where they meet the Legion of Super-Heroes. Computo warns everyone about a powerful darkness in the skies of New Earth: the same darkness Kala Lour sees in the 21^st Century. While it is uncertain how the two events are connected,  Brainiac-5 sees it as the end of everything.

MONKEY PRINCE #2 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. Batman and Robin battle a headless Money Prince. Shifu Pigsy arrives, reattaches Marcus’ head and they depart. He renounces the magic circlet and goes back to his regular life, convinced this was all a dream. Later, he learns he can control the magic burbs and meets with Mr. Zhu, where he learns that he cannot be rid of the magic circlet. He also earns he has the power to fly. Elsewhere, Penguin has been turned into a golden horned monster hungry for Qi, killing people in the process. In the end, servants of the Great Ruler of Flame Planet meet with the transformed Penguin. The ruler arrives and instructs Penguin to consume the Qi of the city’s hero-Batman.

NAOMI: SEASON TWO #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and Jamal Campbell. Naomi tries to adjust to her new life and powers after her confrontation with Black Adam. She reconnects with Dee and later, hen she goes to visit him, she finds he is gone, possibly kidnapped and her father is there, causing her to ask what he has done.

NIGHTWING #90 by Tom Taylor and Geraldo Borges. Dick Grayson is still being hunted to the point that his apartment complex is blown up by assassins. When Wally West sees this on the news, he heads to Bludhaven to help out. Eventually, he convinces Dick to move in with him and Linda for the time being’ Later, Barbara is kidnapped by KGBeat’s men, but she gets a message out to Dick. When they open the van, they find Nightwing and The Flash instead.

NUBIA & THE AMAZONS #6 by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala and Alitha Martinez. TRIAL OF THE AMAZONS PART 2. Hippolyta has been murdered and the tribes of Themyscira, Esquecida, and Bana-Mighdall have gathered to mourn her loss. After her funeral, there is a debate on whether the Trials should continue or not and it is decided the Trial should go on. Wonder Girl offers to continue her own investigation into the murder. At Doom's Doorway, there is a sense that something isn't right. In the end, Diana intervenes and says she will use her Lasso of Truth to get the answer. To be continued in WONDER WOMAN #785.

ONE-STAR SQUADRON #4 by Mark Russell and Steve Lieber. Red Tornado has to fire half the HEROZ4U staff to cut costs. Power Girl calls the Board of Directors and discovers her scheme has backfired and she is on the chopping block. Tornado decides he can’t to the firing and meets with the Board of Directors, who tell him not to worry about it as they have found a buyer for the company. When he leaves, he heads to the office…only to find it is burning to the ground.

ROBIN #12 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz. The Lazarus Tournament is over and so is the Demon threat, so Damian hijacks his mother’s jet and flies away, preparing to get Lazarus fluid to Alfred’s corpse. Arriving in Gotham, Damian discovers that he is still suffering from the effects of Mother Soul's magic and is forced to fight an evil version of himself. During the battle, Damian goes through a moral decision and destroys the sample. Talia arrives and convinces him to join with her as her son and not as her heir. In Tokyo, Flatline delivers Lazarus fluid  and a heart to a mysterious man with a skull head. In the end, Ra’s talks with his mother, who tells him he is dying. To be continued in SHADOW WAR ALPHA #1.

ROBINS #5 by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas.  The team battles through a massive game in an effort to find Tim. Batman continues to investigate, looking for clues. In the end, Tim is still being held captive and tis may all be the work of…The Escape Artist.

SHADOW WAR: ALPHA #1 by Joshua Williamson and Viktor Bogdanovic. Damian is doing swordplay with his mother while his grandfather watches, The problem is that Ra’s mother has told him that the Lazarus Pits are cursed and Ra’s is dying. Later, Ra’s and Talia turn themselves in to Gotham authorities and, during a speech, Ra’s is assassinated and Talia is injured by Deathstroke. Despite Ra’s being shot in the head, Damian tries to save him and Batman stops him, as Deathstroke has a bomb set to go off. This causes a fight between Damian and his father and Damian leaves to find and kill Deathstroke. Back in Nepal, Talia outs a team together to go out and eradicate Deathstroke and his people. In Zandia, Deathstroke sees the news and swears he did not do this. That is when Talia’s army storms his castle. To be continued in BATMAN #122.

STATIC: SEASON ONE #6 by Vita Ayala and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. Static and his team alternately face off and try to convince the other Bang Babies to join them. He musters all his power to fry the machines and free everyone. In the end, he decides to keep training, with his family’s blessing and gets a new suit. He hijacks the airwaves and gives a message, urging others to speak to power.

SUICIDE SQUAD #13 by Dennis Hopeless, Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira and Dexter Soy. WAR FOR EARTH-3 PART 2. Rick and has team fight Waller’s team. Emerald Knight takes out Peacemaker and Ultraman disposes of Rodriguez/Clayface, forcing Rick and what’s eft of his team to flee. Nocturna is prepared to bite Waller, but Match takes Nocturna away and they kiss. But Brainiac 666 sends them to hell. Peacemaker and Ambush Bug transport to a Karaoke Bar before going to Ultraman’s Fortress, where they discover the Phantom Zone Projector. Superwoman arrives, incensed that Owlman is dead and wants the Phantom Zone Projector to kill Ultraman. Johnny Quick arrives and steals the projector, bringing it to Black Siren who uses her power to bring the Fortress down. Elsewhere, Flag, Mirror Master and Bloodsport patch their wounds. In the end, Culebra meets with Talon, who has been tasked with bringing Waller Owlman’s body. Owlman is alive and the goal is to get into his computer system to see how to defeat the Syndicate. But he has no clue and we learn that Johnny Quick had killed Culebra, who knows has a Deadman type ability and enters Owlman’s body. Continued in THE FLASH #780.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #9 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Nightwing confronts The Rising when Jon shows up to lend a hand. Two of the members flee and the third is captured by Dick and Jon. Before he can reveal any information, Bendix blows him up, emotionally devastating Jon. Later, Jay arrives a Jon’s house, revealing to Dick that he is the editor of The Truth. He also reveals footage of Bendix’ murder of The Rising member and reveals that Gamorra’s spin on it is that Jon killed him. Nightwing tells Jon he is going to work with him on this.

THE SWAMP THING #11 by Ram V and Mike Perkins Jennifer meets with Tefe Holand in an attempt to track down Levi.  Meanwhile, Woodrue is trying his best to save Mr. Pilgrim  and he performs an unusual medical procedure which turns him into some sort of Swamp Thing hybrid. In the end, Jack Hawksmoor arrives at the remnants of the lab and realizes that The Green has called him here for a specific reason.

TASK FORCE Z #6 by Matthew Rosenberg and Jack Herbert. Many months ago, Dr. Albrecht is meeting with his team, including Mr. Bloom and the Resurrection Man, touring his research success. But Bloom purposely blows up the place. When Geri Powers and her team arrive, with an injured Albrecht, they discover that the Resurrection Man is still alive and he promptly quits. Bloom visits Mr. O’onnor and convinces him to work with him. Later, Dent is shown a resurrected fish man, leading him to meet with Waller and show her a resurrected Arkham Knight. In the present, Dent brings his team to meet with a captive Jason, who gets free and Bane quits the team. KGBeast triggers a bomb and Mr. Freeze saves Jason. Dent convinces Jason to once again work with the team, which leads to a confrontation between Jason and Batman. When Dent goes back to his now destroyed lab, he discovers that Bloom is working for Powers International and his men were responsible for this. They discover that fish man’s head has been taken by Bloom, they are out of resin and O’Connor has been killed by Bloom. When they head to Waller’s office, they find her gone…but they see enough of her planning to know it is time to kill Bloom.

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #13 by Tim Sheridan and Tom Derenick. Part 4 of WAR FOR EARTH-3. Cyborg and Changeling are still comatose but Gregg believes he can save them. Rick Flag and is team make their ay into what now passes for the Academy and, after fighting with the Titans, asks for their help. After he eplains what Waller is doing, they agree and head off to Earth-3, unaware that they have student stowaways. To be concluded in WAR FOR EARTH-3 #2.

TITANS UNITED #7 by Cavan Scott, Jose Luis and Daniel Hor. Blackfire reveals she was only doing all this to protect earth from the invading Citadel. She teams up with the Titans to stop the invasion and turn all the affected sleeper agents back to normal.

TRIAL OF THE AMAZONS #1 by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, Joëlle Jones, Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Laura Braga, Skylar Partridge, Joëlle Jones and Elena Casagrande. The various tribes of Amazons have gathered to engage in a trial where the ultimate champion will earn the right to be the watcher of Doom's Doorway. The Themyscirans and Bana-Mighdall agree to meet and the Esquecidas also arrive, leading to debate between the tribes. In the end, Nubia goes to meet Hippolyta and finds that she has been poisoned by drink and is dead. Who has murdered Wonder Woman’s mother? To be continued in NUBIA & THE AMAZONS #6.

TRIAL OF THE AMAZONS:WONDER GIRL #1 by Joëlle Jones. Continued from WONDER WOMAN # 785. One of the  Esquecidas has a vision about Doom's Doorway and their Queen summons them to go to Themyscira. Along the way, Cassie continues to investigate who killed Hippolyta. In the end, something breaks through Doom’s Doorway and the four champions are chosen: Diana, Philippus, Yara Flor and Donna Troy. To be continued in WONDER WOMAN #786.

WAR FOR EARTH-3 #1 by Robbie Thompson, Dennis Hopeless, Steve Pugh, Dexter Soy and Brent Peeples. Amanda Waller and her team arrive on Earth-3 and, after Etrigan the Brainiac 666 turns Match back into his Bizarro self, she declares herself the ruler of the city. Ultraman sees this, but also sees Owlman in bed with Superwoman, so he sends Power Ring/Emerald Knight to deal with Waller and he goes to deal with Owlman. Emerald Knight seems to have things handled until Black Hand reaches him. Waller challenges Ultraman to come to Metropolis, but he sends Owlman, as he deals with Superwoman. Match takes out Owlman, meaning Ultraman and Superwoman have to go to Metropolis. Match, whose goal is to keep Superwoman occupied, detains her,  Match leaving Ultraman to have to deal with the situation. Ultraman learns that Johnny Quick, presumed to be dead, is with Waller, who tells him that they should team up, eliminating his headaches and distractions. To prove her point, she has Talon breal Owlman’s back. Meanwhile, Rick Flag's Suicide Squad has to deal with Clayface. Rodriguez injects herself and transforms into a Clayface herself, arriving to put Clayface to sleep. Armed with a new ally in the form of Clayface, they transport to Earth-3, where they discover Waller has added Ultraman and Emeralds Knight to her team. To be continued in SUICIDE SQUAD #13.

WAR FOR EARTH-3 #2 by Robbie Thompson, Dennis Hopeless, Kieran McKeown, Dexter Vines, Ariel Olivetti, Julio Ferreira and Brent Peeples. The Titans team up with Rick Flag’s team to fight against Amanda Waller’s Multiversal army, during which Talon has his brain bomb exploded, killing him. Waller captures some of the Academy students and Nightwing cuts a deal allowing them to all head home. Flag convinces Ultraman that Waller is just using him and he heads off to get revenge on her but runs into a battle with Superwoman and Mirror Master. Realizing the Pantom Zone projector is dangerous, Flag smashes it, causing the rest of his team to convince Yorick to fashion a new one. Power Ring defeats him and he is eventually sent to the Phantom Zone. In the end, Waller comes back to Earth Zero with her new team: a mix of Crime Syndictae members and her newest members-Nocturna and Match.

WONDER WOMAN # 785 by Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellaire, Michael Conrad, Rosi Kämpe and Paulina Ganucheau. TRIAL OF THE AMAZONS PART 3. Diana and Cassie actively try to find her Hippolyta’s killer. Later, the tribes select their chsmpions. The Themyscirans select Philippus. Diana competes for the Amazons. The Esquecidans select Yara Flor. And the Bana-Mighdall choose Donna Troy. In the backup, Young Diana earns how to get a green thumb. To be continued in TRIAL OF THE AMAZONS:WONDER GIRL #1

WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION #5 by Stephanie Phillips and Mike Hawthorne. In a lab, Project Titan has been initiated. Meanwhile, Diana has been captured by the Amazons and is now facing a verbal berating from her mother. Later, after a visit from her younger self, she is forced to face Poseidon’s latest abomination, who she tames. She flees from the attacking Amazons and is rescued by Donna Troy, who tells her none of this is real.

WORLD OF KRYPTON #4 by Robert Venditti and Michael Avon Oeming. Zod confronts Jor-El with his idea of decreasing the population to stop the energy use. His plan is to send people to the Phantom Zone. This leads to a fight between the two, until Lara breaks it up and order Zod to leave. Jor-El broadcasts to the citizens that they must start decreasing energy now while Zod enacts his plan by sending all prisoners to the Phantom Zone. Meanwhile, Zor-El plans on going back to the search for a Survival Zone and Lara tells Jor-El they have to talk. Is this to tell him she is with child?

DC UNIVERSE Month 50, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1041 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Shawn Aldridge, Dale Eaglesham, Will Conrad and Adriana Melo. Midnighter goes on a lengthy rampage to free Apollo, killing slavers and freeing slaves, who join him on his mission. Along the way, Steel learns that the slavers have brought O.M.A.C.  to kill her. Before that happens, Superman, along with Midnighter and his rag-tag team, arrives. In the backup, J'onn continues his hunt for VULTURE, leading him to confront his past and the Court of Owls.

AQUAMAN/GREEN ARROW-DEEP TARGET #6 by Brandon Thomas and Ronan Cliquet. Aquaman and Green Arrow have been restored to their own bodies and, with the help of dinosaur Anderton, take down his crew. The human version of Anderton wonders why he is being attacked and dinosaur Anderton gets dragged beneath the waves by a fish monster, leading to Aquaman saving him. Anderton is captured and delivered to the Justice League. But something is wrong here has J’onn is actually masquerading as Anderton. J’onn explains what he has found to Oliver and eight days later, Oliver invades Atlantis, demanding to see Aquaman.

AQUAMEN #2 by Brandon Thomas, Chuck Brown and Sami Basri. Jackson has discovered that Arthur has teamed up with Black Manta and storms off, taking the body Manta was dissecting with him. He takes it to meet with Mera and discovers that Doctor Shin is there working with the Atlanteans. Elsewhere, the investigators into the explosion in Ohio discovers what appears to be letters left behind in the rubble. Back in Atlantis, it is revealed that the letters in Ohio are an ancient Atlantean language. Meanwhile, Manta and Arthur discover a broadcast station which sent out the Atlantean letters, which apparently acted as a distress signal, and they reactivate the machine in an attempt to shut it down. In the end, Jackson meets with a captive Orm and torments him to reveal who activated the distress signal.

ARKHAM CITY: THE ORDER OF THE WORLD #6 by Dan Watters and Dani. A week after Dr. Joy discovered that Professor Pyg was behind everything, she has decided to stay and continuing Pyg’s work to build a new Arkham. He decides to free Azrael and that’s a bad idea as Azrael takes revenge on Pyg and the escaped Arkham inmates. Detective Stone arrives, sees the carnage and shatters the Arkham skull the Ten Eyed Man has. He goes to kill the Ten Eyed Man, but Joy saves him and takes the bullet instead. Stone is knocked out, the Ten Eyed Man flees and Dr. Joy dies.

BATGIRLS #4 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Jorge Corona. Stephanie and Cassandra continue to try to put the pieces together to find the Hill Ripper's identity, who they currently think may be their neighbor Mr. Greene. Meanwhile, Babs continues to create a more secure network that Seer cannot hack into. Later, the girls track down and capture Tutor, but the Saints are also tracking them down. They turn Tutor over to Babs ex-boyfriend Charles, who is billed as a criminal psychologist and art therapist. Too bad they did not realize that Charles is the man behind Tutor and is the villain Spellbinder.

BATMAN #121 by Joshua Williamson, Jorge Molina, Mikel Janin and Karl Kerschl. In a flashback, Lex Luthor finds out about Batman Inc and plans to go to Badhnisia. In the present, a blind Batman and Lex face off against Abyss and Batman Inc. Abyss explains he was used as part of an experiment by Luthor to create a new Batman and, when it went awry, he sent Batman Inc. after Abyss. Batman says "Code: Club of Heroes," and Batman Inc. reveal they were undercover the whole time. Abyss flees and Batman gets Luthor’s secret weapon off of his wrist which will provide enough light for Batman to see. Catching up with Abyss, he throws a powder at Batman which allows him to see again. At the same time, we see that Abyss is also permanently blind. He flees and Batman goes back to Luthor. Batman Inc. reveals that they never cashed Luthor’s money and everything they have done is to seek out the other Abyss projects Lex has created. Before heading back to Gotham, Batman tells Cayha that Badhnisia doesn’t need Batman Inc. and she should let him know when she is ready. In the epilogues, Batman contacts Ghostmaker to have he and Clownhunter keep an eye on something for him(continued in BATMAN 2022 ANNUAL coming in May). Cayha finds Luthor’s lab and wonders what he was up to. Prometheus tells his boss, Deathstroke, that Batman is back in Gotham(to be continued in SHADOW WAR: ALPHA). In the backup, Batman and Maps save Lindsay from the Kappa, finding out that her grandfather had his house filled with them. Batman sends her home, but she leaves him a flower which turns out to be Katherine Karlo. She tells Batman that Maps is going to Lindsay’s grandfather’s house. Mia discovers that grandpa is now a Kappa himself and Batman comes to the rescue to save her.

BATMAN: KILLING TIME #1 by Tom King and David Marquez. Three days ago, a security guard wants to spend time with one of the dancers at Penguin’s club. He makes a deal with Penguin to help in an upcoming bank robbery. An hour before the robbery, Catwoman is posing as a tennis pro and takes the wife of a bank president hostage. At the same time, Croc robs a bank, with the security guard getting killed, although Penguin promised him that wouldn’t happen. Croc is robbing the bank so he can get money to make himself human for a girl he loves, who eventually gets the money delivered to her for safe keeping until Croc gets out of jail. At the same time, Riddler gets into the vault of another bank-the same one that is connected to the president’s captive wife. He gets an object from the vault, which has connections to ancient Greece and meets with Catwoman and Penguin, where Riddler beats Penguin with his own umbrella. Batman is now on the case, as he is well aware of what is in the vault.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #1 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Many years ago, Batman, Robin and Superman team up to take down The Penguin. This is early in their association and the heroes promise to watch each other’s’ backs going forward. In the not-so-distant past, Poison Ivy teams up with Metallo and battles Superman, Batman and Robin. The Dynamic Dup take down the villains but not before Metallo injects Superman with a Red Kryptonite cocktail. In the present, Superman is fighting the effects of Red K, which continues to change him with varying deadly effects. He begins to hallucinate, believing that he is being attacked by various villains from his Rogue’s Gallery. The Doom Patrol show up to help and Negative Man manages to contain him. That leads Batman and Robin to take a trip to visit Dr. Niles Caulder to try and find a cure.

BATMAN: THE KNIGHT #3 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Henri Ducard faces off with Bruce and Lucie while the police investigate Glonet's mansion.  Ducard reveals he is here because Alfred has hired him to find Bruce. The trio work together and deduce that Glonet, who is the serial killer known as The Foundling, is killing off specific people throughout his life and will next go after one of his classmates, Claude Laurent. Bruce goes after Glonet and stops his reign of terror but is not in time to save Laurent. In the end, he decides to stay in France and train with Ducard.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #13 by Vita Ayala, Ram V, Mohale Mashigo, Mark Russell, Nikola Cizmesija, Anano Rk, Arist Deyn and Karl Mostert. Zatanna, Batman and Constantine fight together to stop the approaching evil that has been unleashed. But Eos is stronger than they imagined. In the first backup, the Wight Witch gains bsack more memory, including a previous relationship with Ghostmaker. After a rampage, Sait kills her again, meaning her next rebirth will reveal more of her memory. In the second backup, Eternity thinks he has solved the murder and Creasy is arrested. But it turns out Regina and Creasy’s wife, both of whom are dead, committed the crime, as their souls were intertwined after their deaths. In the end, a man in black takes Regina away and warns Eternity to stay away from the dead. In the final backup, Batman is still captured and it’s up to the Super Pets to save him.

BLUE & GOLD #7 by Dan Jurgens, Phil Hester and Paul Pelletier. A mysterious villain has captured Jaime Reyes and is planning to unleash Nullifex on the world. When Nullifex begins a rampage in town, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold jump into action, eventually getting help from a recently freed Jaime Reyes. The trio defeat Nullifex because of Booster’s mistake which results in the villain accidentally killing himself. Jaime turns down the offer to permanently join the team. In the end, the master villain is revealed-Black Beetle.

CATWOMAN #41 by Tini Howard and Nico Leon. Dario and Noah are meeting with Dario’s father and it’s obvious he is becoming more distant from the family. Meanwhile, Selina and Valmont are waiting for Flamingo to arrive to dispose of the bodies of the two family members Valmont killed last issue. Onyx Adams shows up and questions why Selina is teamed up with Valmont. She explains how they are working to avenge Kristi and take down the Tomasso crime family. Later, they stop Dario from blowing up a meeting between his father and other bosses, including Black Mask and Eiko Hasigawa. In the end, Dario crashes in Selina’s apartment and, while he sleeps, Eiko’s hit squad arrives.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #7 by Joshua Williamson and Stephen Segovia. Respawn and Rose make their way into Deathstroke’s stronghold where he has gathered his Secret Society.Once unmasked, Respawn is revealed to be a genetically merged version of Damian Wayne and Slade himself and was tortured for years by Ra’s. Respawn pitches Rose out the window and joins Sade in his group. In the end, Lex meets with the other Legion of Doom members, who wonder what they are going to do about Slade.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1055 by Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg, Fernando Blanco and Amancay. Dr. Wear has been tossed from the tower by Nero, Ana and Siphon, killing him. They are trying to take control of the Tower and are taking hostages, including Nakano’s wife Koyuki. Ana had pursued Koyuki, but Huntress saved her, getting stabbed in the process. Despite her injuries, Huntress pursues Ana, but crosses paths with Mr. Freeze. They battle and Nightwing, previously seen with an unconscious Psycho Pirate, arrives to lend a hand. During the fight, Psycho Pirate flees and Nightwing ends up falling down a deep hole inside the building. Koyuki ends up with Pyscho Pirate and Nightwing ends up captured. In the end, Nightwing’s abductor encounters the leaders of the revolt, telling them it is time for his revenge. The abductor? Scarecrow. In the backup, the boy encounters an earthquake during the NO MAN’S LAND storyline and ends up with a group of survivors. Discovering that something stole their food, he goes out to find the person responsible, which turns out to be Croc. He cuts a deal with Croc to get some of their food back and also eliminate the group’s sadistic leader in the process.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1056 by Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg, Amancay and Fernando Blanco. The Scarcrow has captured Nightwing, Koyuli is holed up with Pyscho Pirate and Huntress, finally defeating Mr. Freeze, heads out to find Nightwing. While Stephanie gathers with a group of hostages, a group of Party Crashers find the captive Dr. Meridian, who is saved by Harley Quinn. Harley takes down the security building and the Bat Family converges on the Tower. Scarecrow throws Nightwing from the Tower, but Batwoman can’t save him. Luckily Batman arrives and he saves Nightwing. In the end, Ana finds Koyuli and the Pyscho Pirate. She points her gun and pulls the trigger. In the backup, the boy leads his group through Gotham, stealing food to bring to Leslie’s clinic. He meets with Helena and later engages in a fight with her as Huntress. Batman arrives and he is dressed down by the boy for how he was treated as a young child. Batman allows him to continue his operation as long as no one gets hurt.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1057 by Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg, Amancay and Fernando Blanco. Batman has arrived and takes down some of the Party Crashers. The Pyscho Pirate has been shot and Ana tries to goad Koyuli into taking his mask and using it. Huntress shows up and takes down Ana, allowing Koyuli and the Pyscho Pirate to escape. Elsewhere, Tim and Steph need backup to help them against Penguin’s squad and get it in the form of Batwoman. Harley fends off attackers with the help from Lady Clayface. Tim, Cass and Batman confront Scarecrow, getting assistance from Psycho Pirate. During the confusion, Pyscho Pirate’s mask hits the floor and Koyuli puts it on. In the backup, Batman and Jason confront Elliot Maslow, who Jason once knew when they were both at Ma Gunn’s. Batman accuses him of working with The Joker, which he denies. That leads Batman, Jason, Tim and Dick underground to further investigate when they are attacked by Clayface, Croc and Scarecrow. It’s a trap and now the tunnel is flooding.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1058 Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg, Amancay and Fernando Blanco. The Tower siege has ended. It is revealed that Wear was behind the whole thing. The Penguin decides that he needs Psycho Pirate and sends a team out to apprehend him sat a motel. The Bat Family is waiting and defeat the team of bad guys. Later, at Wear’s funeral, Nakano tells Meridian that she is now in charge of the Tower. In the end, Psycho-Pirate gets help from Batman, who now has to deal with The Riddler. In the backup, Batman has a final meeting with the boy and the two come to an agreement. But the boy runs into The Penguin, telling him this is his story. Telling the boy he is just a minor caracter, The Penguin kills the boy.

THE FLASH #780 by Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. WAR FOR EARTH-3 PART 3. Linda is dealing with the fact that she now has Speed Force powers. Wally and the kids come back from their adventure in Gemworld. Over at Iron Heights, Warden Wolf is working on a new project and is going to be using Blacksmith to achieve his goals. Johnny Quick arrives at the Flash Musesum, where he is trying to get the Cosmic Treadmill and bring it to Amanda Waller. Wally intervenes, but Mirror Master arrives, allowing Quick to get the treadmill. To be continued in TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #13.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #11 by Dennis Culver, Geoffo and Rafael Albuquerque. Jason and Batman hide from the Next Joker, leading to Tobias fleeing. He gets captured by Harley Quinn and Hunter Panic. They get cornered by Joker and his Jokerbots, forcing them to fight back. Elsewhere, Nightwing gets his first treatment of Brane, which gives him insight on where Damian is, before collapsing. Batman and Jason head to one of Bruce’s satellite caves, where Jason shows off some prototypes he has been working on. The pair, wearing the armored prototypes show up to help Harley Quinn and Hunter Panic. In the backup, Batman travels down the River Styx with Deadman, where he is forced to relive traumatic failures in his life. It turns out to be illusions created by Scarecrow and Batman overcomes them and defeats the villain.

HARLEY QUINN #13 by Stephanie Phillips and Riley Rossmo. A vigilante killer masquerading as Harley frames her for a series of gangland killings. At the same time, Harley and her team steal food trucks to feed the hungry. In the end, she is arrested for the killings and thrown into Blackgate.

THE HUMAN TARGET #6 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. The clock is ticking and Chance is still dying. He and Ice have a fight after she learns he is investigating Fire. Later, when the pair try to reconcile, Guy shows up to reveal he has recovered his ring and attacks the pair. Ice freezes Guy and Chance smashes the frozen Lantern, killing him. In the end, Chance pays a visit to Fire.

I AM BATMAN #7 by John Ridley and Christian Duce. Chubb and Whitaker meet with Batman, who seems more concerned with getting guns off the street than helping to solve Devlin Rubel’s murder. He decides to investigate the murder while they go after the street gang, which they eventually capture. Later, Jace and Vol narrow their suspect list down to Rubel’s security head, Tyron Burrows. Batman tracks down Burrows, who convinces Batman he is innocent. Batman investigates further, leading him to the hiding place of the killer artist named Manray.

ICON & ROCKET: SEASON ONE #6 by Reginald Hudlin, Leon Chills and Douglas Braithwaite. Rocket confronts the alien and gets a huge assist from Static. Icon, Lil Bit and Xiomara arrive, leading to a final battle between Icon and the alien, with Lil Bit shrinking the creature and Icon crushing him with his boot. In the end, Icon gets Rocket enrolled in Switzerland. And Edward Alva, Hardware’s chief villain, appears, revealing he has plans for the future.

THE JOKER #13 by The Sawyer Family indulge in an exquisite cannibal dinner while The Joker waits in a cage before he ends up as the main course. He taunts the cook enough and gets free, killing the cook. Vengeance arrives and slaughters the Sawyers. She is just about to take out revenge on The Joker when Bane and Batman arrive, with Bane telling his “daughter” that they need to talk. In the backup, Punchline’s trial continues with Cullen admitting on the stand that the Royal Flush Gang instructed him to lie about Punchline. When the verdict comes in, Punchline is found…not guilty.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #73 by Brian Michael Bendis, Szymon Kudranski, Emanuela Lupacchino, Wade Von Grawbadger and Scott Hanna. In ancient times, the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos band together to stop Xanadoth. In the present, Xanadoth has taken possession of Black Adam and Zatanna battles him. Madame anadu tries to lend an assist with Xanadoth offerg a gift. Etrigan and Dr. Fate arrive to lend a hand, but are quickly defeated with Xanadoth taking Fate’s helm. The Justice League arrives and Adam flees. Later, the combined League and Dark call upon Nabu, who takes offense at being disturbed. He meets Naomi and, in a flash of light she is transported away. In the end, Xanadoth tells Xanadu that they have history together and Xanadoth is her future.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #74 by Brian Michael Bendis, Szymon Kudranski, Emanuela Lupacchino and Wade Von Grawbadger. With Naomi in a white void where she speaks with Nabu, the rest of the team battles Xanadoth. The magic users manage to separate Black Adam from Xanadoth and, with Naomi back and powered by Nabu, the villain begins to weaken. Nabu joins back up with Doctor Fate and Xanadoth is forced into the void until Black Adam confronts her and Naomi uses her new powers to defeat her. In the end, the team receives a priority alert and heads off.