More first issues reviewed.

ALICE EVER AFTER #1 by Dan Panosian, Giorgio Spalletta and Fabiana Mascolo.  I picked this up on a whim thanks to a pretty amazing J. Scott Campbell variant cover. Set in Victorian England, we find that dear sweet Alice is a drug addict and, when she takes her pills, she drifts off into Wonderand. But when her dealer gets murdered, it appears she must now deal with the Red Queen. This book is so cool! And when Alice goes to Wonderland, Mascolo takes over the art chores and you go from very muted art to vibrant, well defined colored art. I love the plot and can’t wait to see where it goes next.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. So, here’s the setup. We begin with Peter in a smoking crater outside York, Pennsylvania. Now six months after this and apparently he has pissed off everyone he knows. Aunt May is pissed that he keeps lying to her and now she is living together in a small apartment. Randy is pissed at him because he’s still on the hook for Peter’s apartment which Randy does not live in anymore.  And MJ is asking Peter to stop bothering her. She has a new guy in her life now and to kids that call her Mommy. Throw in some classic villains, Tombstone looking for a Spider-Man team-up and  more stuff than I can cover here. Yeah…new #1 ones suck! Just go back to full-on Legacy numbering and be done with it! Other than that-great fun!

ARCHIE MEETS RIVERDALE #1 by Daniel Kibblesmith, Pat Kennedy and Tim Kennedy. Classic Archie Riverdale intersects with CW's RIVERDALE, recently cancelled, in this wild and wacky tale thanks to Dilton screwing around. Just a bunch of dumb fun here, so don’t expect any earth-shattering stuff. Just sit back, read and enjoy.

A TOWN CALLED TERROR #1 by Steve Niles and Simon Kudranski. Looking for a crazy tale with vampires, possibly zombies and some creepy Black Ops guys? Yeah…this is it. It’s a slow moving first issue, but that’s what I’ve come to expect from Niles. And Kudranski’s art is beautifully twisted. This was a fun first take despite the sluggish speed.

AVENGERS/X-MEN #1(FCBD) by Keiron Gillen, Danny Lore, Dustin Weaver and Karen S. Darboe.  It’s that time of year for another epic Marvel crossover. This time, it’s the X-Men versus the Eternals with the Avengers caught in the middle. Now that the mutants have conquered death, they may be viewed as immortals but not Eternals in the eyes of the Eternals. So they must be Deviants and that means trouble for our mutant heroes. In the second tale, he meet Brielle-daughter of Blade. This short tale leads into the forthcoming BLOODLINE series coming in the Fall. In the second backup, Mary Jane Watson is going out as a spokeswoman for the Krakoa meds that are relieving Aunt Anna’s dementia and gets invited to the Hellfire Gala. But she doesn’t get there because it will be a certain Moira McTaggert going instead. If you are going to follow any of these stories in the coming months, this book is essential!

BLOOD STAINED TEETH #1 by Christian Ward and Patric Reynolds.Atticus Sloane finds himself trapped in a world of vampires and crazy drugs. By the way: he’s a vampire too! This is one weird reading, crazy looking book! Horror elements, social commentary and just some eye-popping visuals.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #0 by Tochi Onyebuchi, Jacson Lanzing, Colin Kelly and Mattia De Lulis. Yep…another Cap reboot. But this time, it results in two titles instead on just one. Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson team up to fight Arnin Zola. Sounds simple enough, but plot points are dropped that will lead into the two new series. While the story is a fun ride with two classic characters teaming together, the highlight is De Lulis beautiful painted art throughout. Pick this one up. It’s got a nice old school feel to it and has some nice GREEN ARROW/GREEN LANTERN elements to it.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: SYMBOL OF TRUTH #1 by Tochi Onyebuchi and R.B. Silva. Sam Wilson is now one of two Captain Americas and he has his own sidekick with him in the form of the new Falcon. Together they find themselves taking on human traffickers, anti-immigration politicians, a possible rekindling of his relationship with Misty Knight and maybe even Crossbones. Fun start to the series and the addition of a new Falcon is kind of fun and curious to see where he will ultimately fit into this. And Silva’s art, as always, is crisp and clean. If you want a Cap that seems like he is going to be handling less super baddies, then this looks like it could be the book for you.

THE CLOSET #1 by James Tynion IV and Gavin Fullerton. Thom, his wife and son are moving and Thom is having issues with his wife. His son is having issues too, from the monster in his closet. Of course, we all know it’s not real, right? Until that monster shows up and decides to accompany the faily on their trip. A creepy first issue filled with a lot of exposition as Thom fights with his wife and tries to reassure his son that everything will be fine. Pat psychological drama, part horror story, Tynion does a great job laying the framework for what is to come.

DEVIL’S HIGHWAY VOLUME 2 #1 by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover. Hot on the heels of Volume 1, Sharon and disgraced agent Skinner are back investigating a series of human trafficking cases and ritual murders that seem connected to the snake worshipping cult from Volume 1. How deep into the government does this go? The first series was a wonderful horror/grindhouse romp and this looks to be following in its’ footsteps. Grim and gritty, it’s another inner from AWA.

FABLES #151 by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham. Not really a first issue but picking up from where FABLES #150 left off over five years ago. Fabletown has been revealed to have been sharing space with the real world for over two thousand years and now the townsfolks are displaced. The intrigue is the same as Bigby Wolf, Snow White and their family head out to explore the Black Forest. This was such a fun series that, as far as I’m concerned inspired ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME. His writing is clever and Buckingham’s art, with inks from legendary Steve Leialoha, gives this such a beautiful fairy tale feel. If you have never picked up an issue before, now is the time and this is the perfect jumping on point.

THE FOX FAMILY VALUES #1 by Dean Haspiel, Vito Delsante, Alex Toth and Richard Ortiz. The strange Archie Comics superhero is back in a pair of short stories and a classic Alex Toth reprint from 1983. The Fox defines himself as a “freak magnet” and that just messes with his family, including his superhero wife and son. Nothing great here…just a fun, little read which you can blast through in 20 minutes of less.

G.I.L.T. #1 by Alisa Kwitney and Mauricet. G.I.L.T.  stands for the Guild of Independent Lady Temporalists. Basically, time travelers. And that’s where the fun begins as Hildy and her home health aid end up bouncing to places in Hildy’s younger life without totally making a mess of it. Yeah: you know how that works out! This was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to see where issue #2 takes us. Truly a book which does not take itself seriously as there are a bunch of inside jokes and wink-wink-nudge-nudge inside jokes.

HULK GRAND DESIGN #1 by Jim Rugg. Rugg caught everyone’s attention with his X-MEN GRAND DESIGN mini-series which used a Pop Art approach to telling the complete history of the X-Men. Well, he’s done it again with the Incredible Hulk. The first issue from his beginnings to the late 1990’s plus the addition of the FUTURE IMPERFECT story. It feels like old school Marvel and sure looks like it. Plus, he has a detailed list of where all of his references came from, so it’s perfect for completists trying to decipher the Green Guy’s tangled history.

HULK VS. THOR: BANNER OF WAR ALPHA by Donny Cates and Martin Coccolo. Donny Cates is currently writing a very weird HULK run. Donny Cates is also writing THOR. So why not have a massive five-issue crossover that begins here. Thor goes after the spaceship known as Hulk(don’t even dare try to get me to explain that!) and that leads to a battle for supremacy. Very weird and trippy, but it’s Cates and I would expect no less.

IMMORTAL X-MEN #1 by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck. It’s a new year and that means that it’s time for Marvel to reboot and renumber their books. Seems like a truly annual event, doesn’t it? So, Mr. Sinister continues to plot and Magneto decides to resign from the Quiet Council and go to Arakko. That means there needs to be a vote to see who replaces him. After much debate and many potential candidates, Hope ends up on the Council, leaving Selene pretty pissed and Sinister upset, as his pans have gone sideways. But he always has a backup plan. Basically, this is just a continuation of existing storylines with a new number one issue.

LEGION OF X #1 by Si Spurrier and Jan Bazaldua. Another Mutant series, this time a team led by Nightcrawer. He basically leads a mutant police force, so he has built a headquarters within a reality constructed by Legion. It’s a team comprising Juggernaut, Pixie, Doctor Nemesis, Forgetmenot, Lost and Fabian Cortez. It’s a bit of a mellower version of X-Force. Story is okay and the art is too. Just another X book for you fans.

MARAUDERS #1 by Steve Orlando and Eleonora Carlini.  Oh look: another mutant themed Number One issue! What a surprise! With Kitty Pryde leading the way, as she did in the last MARAUDERS series, they have a new mission: save mutants and offer them safe haven on Karkoa. Along the way, Kitty decides to add a new member: Cassandra Nova, who previously was a very evil villain but now appears to have reformed. Their first mission sends them into space where they run into Erik the Red. I’m unsure of this at the moment, especially because I’m not a huge fan of Orlando’s writing and really not a fan of Carlini’s anime inspired art.

MIDNIGHT ROSE #1 by Jim Starlin and Nikkol Jelenic.. Rose is a young woman who may have had her DNA manipulated on the night she was conceived, resulting in her having plant powers. Over the course of her life, she uses these powers to gain revenge on anyway who has wronged her. Picture a much more violent female Swamp Thing. Starlin’s story is truly horrific and Jelenic delivers some incredibly gory visuals throughout. This was a cool, horror tinged graphic novel by a legend.

NAUGHTY LIST #1 by Nick Santora and Lee Ferguson. A long time ago, a man named Nicholas Sinter-Klass wished upon a star and soon started whittling and delivering toys to the impoverished children in his town. But he soon found out he could not die, so he continued to do as the star demanded throughout the centuries. One day reindeers arrived. At another time, little drunk men showed up. Eventually a machine arrived with a list of bad people. So, we get it: he’s Santa Claus. But someone has stolen the machine that makes the naughty list and that brings out the worst in Nicholas. This is a totally crazy Santa Claus origin story that soon becomes The Punisher. One of my absolute favorite new releases of the last few months.

PEARL #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos. Not a true first issue as this is now the THIRD PEARL series, this time from Dark Horse.  And it picks up from where we last left off with Pearl Tanaka dealing with repercussions from burning don the Endo Twins porn business and pissing off lots of Yakuzas. If you read the earlier volumes, you’ll love this. If not, do yourself a favor and pick up those first 12 issues. It’s a great looking crime themed drama that hits all the right notes. Certainly a  far cry from Bendis’ superhero work. and

THE ROCKETEER #1 by Stephen Mooney. I have been a huge Rocketeer fan ever since I saw the first promo art piece way back on the back cover of STARSLAYER #1. Dave Stevens was a tremendous artist and one of the best inkers of my generation, along with Mark Schultz. So even though Stevens is gone, his legacy lives on in this character, even if Disney did make a mess of the movie. It has that wonderful nostalgic look, great good girl art and a fun story. The Variant cover is by Mooney and would make Stevens proud! While I recommend going back and finding the Stevens issues, this is a great introduction to the whole cast and adventure.

SAVAGE AVENGERS #1 by David Pepose and Carlos Magnos. Didn’t we just CANCEL a SAVAGE AVENGERS title? Yeah, they did. But now they’re back with a modified lineup. What starts with a Deathlok coming into our era to eradicate Conan from the timeline continues on with a gathering of heroes to take on a Deathlok and hopefully stop a mad cult from setting off a MadBomb. And what a lineup it is: Daredevil(Elektra), Weapon H, Anti-Venom, The Black Knight and Cloak and Dagger. This one goes to the top of my pull list just by putting those heroes together and doing something  with them. It’s a fun story with great art and some classic characters!

THE SHAOLIN COWBOY: CRUEL TO BE KIN #1 by Geoff Darrow. It’s another amazing Darrow romp featuring the legendary cowboy. Beautiful and strange landscapes, weird creatures and dynamic action. If you haven’t read any of his appearances, you need to jump in. It’s a wild Japanese action film meets classic John Ford Western inspired tale and you need to sign up for this seven issue series.

SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA by Steve Orlando and Paul Fry. Miguel O’Hara is back in what was once New York City. And he teams up with Ghost Rider 2099. And it looks like Norman Osborn may have a had in it. Osborn? How is that possible? It’s a crazy tale that you will either like or hate, depending on how you feel about the character. The story is okay and so is the art. Your mileage will vary depending on your interest level.

STAR WARS: OBI-WAN #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Ario Anindito. Just in time for the Disney+ mini-series, Old Obi-Wan recalls a tale of his youth. His early youth and training days. Because the whole story is a flashback, we get a shift in art style, going from classically illustrated Obi-Wan to something looking Anime inspired. Personally, I found that a bit jarring. I lost interest in the story early on because of that. Honestly, I was not a fan of this at all.

UNLIMITED X-MEN: LATITUDE #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Declan Shalvey. Marvel releases another in a series of anthology books set at different times in the X-Men Universe. Just like X-MEN LEGENDS, this series promises to give exciting tales from various eras with a host of classic mutant characters. The biggest thing is that we’ll get them at sporadic times, as they will appear online digitally first and eventually be collected into print volumes. Sorry: while I like the idea of these stories, I am not a fan of the whole digital first thing. Just give me the stores instead of waiting months for the next chapter. So who knows when the next collection will drop and I don’t know if I really ant to wait for it.

VAMPIRELLA STRIKES #1 by Thomas Sniegoski and Jonathan Lau. Picking up fifteen years after VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA ended, the world is changed as humans and supernatural are adjusting to living together. But there is still weird and creepy stuff going on so it’s time for Vampirella to swing back into action again. I liked the previous run, although I felt it ran a few issues too long, so this was a no brainer for me. The story thus far is concise and looks like it could be fun. If you didn’t read the previous book, this will leave you a bit in the dark, so go find those issues. Sniegowski has been writing Vampi on and off for decades, so he knows her well.

WEST OF SUNDOWN #1 by Tim Seeley and Aaron Campbell. Another impulse purchase spurred on by the amazing cover. A soldier in the Civil War saves a woman who had been buried, only to find out she is a vampire. This leads to a long term relationship and eventually leads to a cross country trek to return her to the soil of her ancestors. It’s part vampire story, part Western adventure and good fun. The art style is nice, but the story is the thing. It’s a wild ride for sure!

X-MEN RED #1 by Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli. Wow: another X-Men first issue! In this one, set on Arakko, Magneto is trying to get himself together after leaving the Quiet Council and Storm is dealing with being the Queen of Arakko. There are the usual anger issues between team members, including Sunspot ho has set up his own bar on the planet, and John Proudstar who is dealing with internal stuff after being resurrected from his death way back in GIANT SIZED X-MEN #1. In the end, Storm has a new look, similar to a classic look and a new attitude. Truly a fan service book. 

DC UNIVERSE, Month 52, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE: ROAD TO DARK CRISIS #1 by Joshua Williamson, Jeremy Adams, Chuck Brown, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Stephanie Phillips, Dan Jurgens, Rosi Kampe, Fico Ossio, Leila Del Duca and Clayton Henry. A host of stories dealing with the remaining heroes after the death of the Justice League. Jon Kent and Dick Grayson  agree that their fathers would want them to carry on without them. Wally and Wallace work together to take down Giganta and agree they need to step in to fight the bad guys with the League gone. Jackson Hyde teams up with Hal Jordan, where he reveals that the League members are dead. Pariah deals with the demons of his past and decides to save his world with the Great Darkness. Nocturna meets Spoiler and has to decide if she wants to join the Secret Society.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski. Gold Lantern is stuck in the present, the Justice LEaue and the rest of the Legion are stuck in the future and the Great Darkness is coming. Suddenly, the future team finds them hit by a temporal anomaly, with members going missing. Mon-El, Naomi and Brainiac end up in a different place in time where they meet Kamandi. He takes them to an old Leviathan science lab. Meanwhile, a second group of missing Legionnaires, including Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad meet up with Terry McGuiness: Batman Beyond. Aquaman and Ultra-Boy have ended up in the distant past where they are menaced by a group of dinosaurs. As the Darkness continues to evolve, Gold Lantern finds himself in 1930’s Metropolis.

MONKEY PRINCE #4 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. Monkey Prince and Robin reluctantly team up to rescue Marcus’ parents but get attacked by the possessed Penguin. Batman arrives to lend a hand and secures The Penguin, but demons also arrive and it’s up to Shifu to give Marcus a special can of soda which allows him to distract The Penguin and Robin takes him out, reverting him back to normal and forcing the Golden Horn King out of him. Monkey Prince makes his escape, as does the Golden Horn King and his servants, who head back to the Flame Planet through a Boom Tube. In the end, Riz apologizes to Marcus and I t looks like he will get some quality time with Kaya. But his parents arrive and take him away, as they explain their job here has ended. Next stop: Amnesty Bay.

NIGHTWING #92  by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. In the past Robin tries to take on some bad guys by himself and gets beat for his trouble. Later, back at home, Bruce tells him that he can’t save everyone. In the present, Bruce arrives at the Haven opening to see the statue of Alfred that is outside of the place. There is also a food truck run by Marv(Wolfman) and George(Perez). Blockbuster is here to, making vague threats. That night, vandals attack the building, with Nightwing defeating them. Later, Blockbuster, who is behind the attacks, is greeted by someone with a proposal: Heartless.

NUBIA: CORONATION SPECIAL #1 by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, Marguerite Sauvage, Colleen Doran, Darryl Banks, Jill Thompson and Alitha Martinez. An all-star tribute from Bunia’s ancient history, through her resurrection and proceeding to her coronation as the Queen of the Amazons.

ONE-STAR SQUADRON #6 by Mark Russell and Steve Lieber. Fifteen months after the conclusion of the last issue, Red Tornado visits the grave of Gangbuster and apologizes for not having done more. Later, he hears a news report stating that Minute Man is dead. Red goes to the morgue to confirm it, telling the morgue attendant it is, even though he knows it is not Terry. He later meets with G.I. Robot, who is teaching school and with Power Girl, ho apologizes for how she treated him. When he gets home, he sees a letter from Terry, who reveals how he almost killed himself, kicked his addiction and moved to Montana, where he opened an ice cream stand. He also gave him his Employee of the Year award, closing by stating everyone needs a second chance.

ROBIN #14 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz. SHADOW WAR PART 7. Deathstroke, ravager and his team are in Nepal, attacking Talia and her followers. Batman, Robin and members of Batman Inc. head off to stop Deathstroke from killing. Talia, leading to an uncomfortable reunion between Ghostmaker and Angel Breaker. Robin meets with Ravager, who informs him that Respawn is dead. During their battle, Talia kills Slade. That’s when the fake Deathstroke arrives, revealing himself as Geo-Force: former Outsiders member. To be concluded in SHADOW WAR: OMEGA #1.

SHADOW WAR ZONE #1 by Joshua Wiliamson, Nadia Shammas, Ed Brisson, Stephanie Phillips, Otto Schmidt, Sweeney Boo, Mike Bowden and Ann Maulina. In the first tale, Angel Breaker battles Black Canary, which will be continued in SHADOW WAR: OMEGA. In the second tale, young Talia learns from her grandmother that she was once put into the Lazarus Pit as a young child and that there are demon’s in all of them. In the third tale, Ghost Maker, Clownhunter and Ghost Spider battle ninjas. In the final tale, Harley Quinn battles ninjas, leading to Luke and Lashina considering adding her to their team.

SHADOW WAR: OMEGA #1 by Joshua Williamson, Stephen Segovia, Mike Henderson and Howard Porter. Geo-Force has revealed himself as Ra’s killer and explains that he did all of this because Talia was bent on ending Leviathan and wiped Markovia out in the process.  Everyone flees, with the help of Black Canary, as Geo-Force uses his powers to transform into a giant rock creature. It takes the combined efforts of the heroes to defeat him. Director Chase arrests Geo-Force and lock him in Belle Reve. The Secret Society takes Slade’s  body, which Ravager is now poised to investigate. Angel Breaker escaped with the rest of the Demon’s Shadow. Talia turns herself in as promised. In the end, the Shadow Society uses a Lazarus Pit to resurrect Slade, whose goal now is to kill everyone. Continued in DARK CRISIS #1.

SUICIDE SQUAD #15 by Dennis Hopeless, Jesus Merino, Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira. The team breaks into multiple groups in their attempt to kidnap Lex Luthor. But keep failing. Eventually they join together and subdue him. In the end, they team celebrates their victory and Lex may have just bought himself a team.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #11 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. Batman has taken the Lents, including Jon, to a safe house, where he explains that Jon’s boyfriend is a terrorist. Jon later meets with NIghtwing asking his opinion of Jay before finally going to meet with his boyfriend, who explains the history of the Revolutionaries and how they saved him when he was escaping Gammora. Jon goes off to the Hall of Justice, where he sees that the ‘Burning Man’ has a device in his head which can trigger his powers remotely. The Atom goes inside the man’s head to try to remove the device, but Bendix takes over and triggers it as Flash races to get The Atom free. Jon take the man into space and destroys the device through micro-surgery. In the end, Bendix contacts Luthor and tells him it is time for him to kill Superman.

THE SWAMP THING #13 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. Swamp Thing teams up with Jack Hawksmoor to defeat a creature brought to life by influence created in abandoned factories. We learn that Levi was selected to be the next Swamp Thing because a member of the Parliament of Trees liked his personality when he was a young boy:  fact that upsets his brother. Meanwhile, Trinity is still dealing with being alive and is befriended by a man who she accidentally kills because of the radiation she exudes. In the end, Levi is visited by Hal Jordan, who explains that there is a botanical armada heading to Earth and enlists him to help stop the forthcoming war..

TASK FORCE Z #7 by Matthew Rosenberg and Jack Herbert. Jason finds himself batting some of Gotham’s toughest villains when he gets an assist from Nightwing and Batgirl, who suddenly turn into zombies, revealing it was only a nightmare.. KGBeast has been put back together thanks to the remainder of the Lazarus resin taken from the Fishman and added to the team, which now goes after the Suicide Squad members that got away. At Powers International, Bloom has created a Man Bat baby when Harvey shows up and tells Geri Powers she has 24 hours to clean up her act. He returns to headquarters and finds that Freeze took the last remaining sample If that wasn’t bad enough, they now have a team of dead members and the only remaining sample in existence now belongs to Batman.

TASK FORCE Z #8 by Matthew Rosenberg, Jesus Merino, Jack Herbert and Vincente Cifuentes. Jason heads to the Batcave to steal the last of the Lazarus Resin, which he gave to Batman. But Barbara is there, so that plan needs some work. He distracts her and steals the resin. Dent and his team, what’s left of it create a distraction to keep Batman out of the picture but the rest of the Bat Family confronts and fights with Jason. Once subdued, they discover he doesn’t have the resin as he passed it off to an “innocent bystander” during their fight. Meanwhile, Mr. Bloom is still working on creating a full-blown Man-Bat,

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #15 by Tim Sheridan and Tom Derenick. Young Justice Dark battles on Apokolips to save Shazam. They do and Matt Price discovers that he has Omega Beam powers. Upon returning home, they learn that Raven has managed to create the illusion of Cyborg and Changeling being separated. We also see that Titans Tower has been rebuilt, just in time for the next semester to begin.’

WONDER WOMAN #787 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jordie Bellaire, Emanuela Lupacchino and Paulina Ganucheau. After blaming herself for her mother’s death, Diana battles Altuum in his submarine.  There, she uses her lasso to show him everything he believed as a lie and he decides to die as his submarine sinks. Back in the real world, Diana sees that Dr. Cizko still turning people against Steve, Etta and Diana. In the end, he creates Villainy Incorporated: Sweetheart, Dr. Poison, Professor Calculus and the Twin Shadows. In the backup, young Diana gets closer to the recently return Antiope, who gifts her a decorative breastplate. But what is Antiope’s real plan?

WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION #7 by Stephanie Phillips and Stefano Raffaele. Diana continues to battle against the illusions that Dr. Hill has created for her. But she finally breaks free and now must battle…Silver Swan.

WORLD OF KRYPTON #6 by Robert Venditti and Michael Avon Oeming. With destruction looming and Zod sending his troops out into the streets to quell riots, Jor-El .battles Zod, eventually defeating him and sending him off to the Phantom Zone. Arriving home, Lara tells him that she has found a planet suitable for their son.

 

DC UNIVERSE, Month 52, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1043 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Riccardo Federici and Will Conrad. Superman and his team head into Teacher’s Citadel to rescue Manchester Black. During the process, they find and rescue an infant in a jar. The team begins to plan to rescue Apollo and discover that Kryl-Ux has found the Enchantress.  Later, Byla tells Superman of Mongul’s origin, revealing that Warworld is not just a battle station but a trial to be faced. Meanwhile, Lord Mongul utilizes Apollo to bring Warworld to the village of Vylishei. In the backup, we are told how a Warzoom named Guldejo once killed an alien and became the first Mongul.

ACTION COMICS 2022 ANNUAL #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Si Spurrier and Dale Eaglesham. In a story with two interconnecting tales, we get a glimpse of Clark’s childhood and that of Mongul. In Smallville, Clark uses his power to deal with a bully, but is chastised by his mother for it. Later, he saves the boy’s angry father from certain death. We also learn that Martha Kent is fighting Cancer, which led to the bully making fun of her for being bald. In the end, the bully shaves his head to show solidarity with Martha Kent. In the Mongul piece of the story, we see how the child who would become Mongul and his mother are thrown out of the Warzooms and that his mother treats the caring child badly. Eventually, his mother is killed defending herself and the boy transforms into the killer he would become.

AQUAMEN #4 by Brandon Thomas, Chuck Brown and Sami Basri. After being indoctrinated, Scavenger appears to be the one responsible for activating the machine which is influencing people. Black Manta battles Scavenger, who runs off in defeat but not before critically injuring Manta. Arthur explains his trip to Mars, which was a lie. Instead, he was tracking down sleeper agents. The Aqua-team concocts a plan to find and fight the agents, but a sleeper agent invades the U.N. Security Council and sets off a bomb, leading to Mera getting help from Mr. Terrific to build a machine to counteract the sleepers..

BATGIRLS #6 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Jorge Corona. Spellbinder has captured Babs but she manages to escape and take him out, sending out a transmission exposing his plan to the world. Over at the old Arkham Asylum, Steph and Cassie battle Tutor, who activates a bomb designed to kill everyone. With only seconds to spare, Steph throws the bomb in the back of Bondo and drives off a nearby pier, destroying the car and apparently killing her. Although the world thinks she is dead, Steph did survive and the trio is reunited and gets a surprise visitor asking for their help.

BATMAN #123 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. SHADOW WAR PART 5. Batman and Robin interrogate a fake Deathstroke in prison and he reveals he as hired by the Royal Flush Gang. This sends the duo looking for a man named Gambi who makes the outfits for the Rogues. They discover Gambi unconscious and are attacked by the Deathsroke who killed Ra’s.  Meanwhile, Ghostmaker, Clownhunter, and Batman inc. trying to protect Deathstroke's Secret Society and Slade. Slade has taken Respawn and Ravager to the scene of Ra's murder, and just as he declares he knows who the killer is, they are attacked by Talia's ninjas.  During the battle, Ravager saves Slade’s life and dies in the process. In the backup, Batman, Robin and Deathstroke team up to take down The Joker.

BATMAN ANNUAL  #1 by Ed Brisson and John Timms.  Back in the past, young Bruce Wayne and Ghostmaker fight some villains and discuss their plans for the future. In the present, Batman has decided to break Batman Inc. into two teams: one local and one International. The International team goes to Chechnya to see how Luthor may have been involved in something known as Project Black Wolf. What they discover is a group of refugees hiding from Gray Wolf. The team sets out to find him but discovers that these refugees have been given diluted doses of Lazarus Resin, making them unstable. Gray Wolf arrives, saying these people are under his protection. But Clownhunter accidentally frees them, meaning a team up to stop and save them. They develop an antidote and change the refugees back, with Ghostmaker inviting Gray Wolf to join the team.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO-YEAR #2  by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Max Dunbar. Without the benefit of Bruce Wayne’s money, Terry finds his available resources running out. Despite that, he decides to go after the person behind a series of jewel thefts which rings him into direct contact with the living AI that is slowly taking over Gotham. This battle takes him to Joker Town where he is forced to battle clowns. In the end, he confronts the AI and offers them the stolen jewels, which he believes is part of their plan, if they want it. The AI does not take the jewels, but a mysterious stranger does.

BATMAN: FORTRESS #1 by Gary Whitta and Darrick Robertson. There is a planet wide blackout and it seems the Justice League, and specifically Superman, are not around. So Batman has to handle things alone, which is a problem as the security system in Gotham has gone dark with the power failure and all of those classic villains are loose.

BATMAN: KILLING TIME #3  by Tom King and David Marquez. In 1372, an artifact known as the "Eye of Christ." Is buried and later discovered by Ra’s al Ghul. In the distant past, Bruce trains with Ra’s and, upon completion, he gives him a small box containing the "Eye of Christ."  In the present, a critically injured Penguin tells one of his men to call The Help, who is a trained assassin. At the safehouse, Riddler answers the door and is shot by The Help. Just after the shooting, Batman arrives and battles The Help. Batman is defeated, but not killed, as The Help left his calling card for him. While unconscious, the buyer arrives and is killed by The Help. During their battle, Catwoman steals the Batmobile and takes the injured Riddler with her, later destroying the car as they steal a long-haul truck. She takes Riddler to Fred Carey, demanding he operate on him. Batman discovers the dead buyer and later his destroyed vehicle. In the end, The Help visits his employer and demands to know what the buyer was looking to purchase.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORD’S FINEST #3 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Batman, Superman and Billy Batson are trapped in Hell, which turns out to only be an illusion cast by Felix Faust. Faust. Billy is possessed by the spirit of Lord Nezha and tells the heroes that his servants will be responsible for the death of superheroes. The Doom Patrol travels to Switzerland where they meet with General Immortus, who now has Alzheimer’s and cannot remember who they are but reveals that there is a tomb off an island near Corto Matese which may contain Nezha. In ancient China, Supergirl and Robin battle the Warriors of Ji ho eventually reveal that many of their warriors died trying to contain Nexha in a tomb they had built but apparently could not contain him. Meanhile, Flash is battling against Mirror Master, but he ends up being sucked into a magic mirror powered by Nexha. Batman discovers that Wonder Woman has been turned into clay by Dr. Alchemy. Superman arrives to help defeat the villain and Hal Jordan arrives, creating a cage construct trapping the heroes. Batman calls to Alfred who explains everything within the Justice League computer looks fine. But Alfred has been compromised by Lord Nezha.

BATMAN: THE KNIGHT #5 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Bruce and Anton are in a Russian jail after asking questions in search of ex-KGB agent Avery Oblonsky. After numerous beatings, they discover their captor is really Avery in disguise. She sends them on a series of missions to improve their skills, including one where they are to infiltrate a party and whoever gets the package she wants them to steal wins the challenge. Bruce is clumsy in his role and Anton gets the package, but Bruce, depressed about not being as good as he thinks he should be, reveals he actually stole the package from Anton, before tossing it into the water to keep it out of dangerous hands, like Avery.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #15 by Vita Ayala, Joey Esposito, Che Grayson, Mark Russell, Nikola Cizmesija, Jason Howard, Serg Acuna and Karl Mostert. Batman, Zatanna and Constantine continue to fight back against the evil threatening our world. In the first backup, Batman teams up with Plastic Man against KGBeast in an effort to save an old friend of Ell O’Brien’s. In the second backup, the Birds of Prey have captured Noah and are trying to solve the mystery of the Memory App, which results in Katana having a problem with how they are handling it. In the final backup, the Super Pets continue to make their way and save Batman, with the chicken dying in the process. They had best hurry, as Batman is now facing off the bear in the arena.

BLOOD SYNDICATE: SEASON ONE #1 by Geoffrey Thorne and ChrisCross. Wise Son and Tech-9 have returned from active duty in the Middle East only to discover that Dakota City is not what it was when they left. Superheroes have appeared thanks to the Big Bang and have eliminated the drug trade, allowing smaller gangs to arise in a gang war. The gang leader is a super-powered tough named Holocaust. Tech-9 gets a tour of the city with his old friends Fade and Sara. There is a drive-by with some of Holocaust’s men, leading to Tech-9 crafting a weapon and using it to take the gang down. But Holocaust arrives, forcing Fade to use his powers to phase them through the ground into the sewers.

CATWOMAN #43 by Tini Howard and Bengal. Black Mask enlists the Tomasso Family to put a hit out on Catwoman, who has stolen his mask. He wants his mask and her head. This puts Catwoman on the run with her cat Duchess and Harley Quinn. It’s a road trip, with stops at a sketchy gas station for snacks and then a trip to Roller Derby. En route, they are attacked by  one of the hit men, but send his car off the road. Later, Selina is attacked in their motel room but fights him off, which leads to spooning time that night with Harley. The next morning, the pair try out for the Roller Derby team and both make it. During a break in the action, Selina is confronted by Red Claw in the locker room.

DARK CRISIS SPECIAL EDITION(FCBD) #0 by Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver, Jim Cheung, Chris Burnham and Rafa Sandoval. In the first tale, some kids get a tour of the Hall of Justice, where they are told about the Justice League and ho they were the greatest of heroes. But the tour guide is really Clayface in disguise, looking to steal Darkseid’s Mother Box. Wally West Flash shows up and defeats Clayface, telling one child that the world needs a new Justice League, but who? In the backup, a brief history of the Multiverse is told, ending with the current crisis.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #9 by Joshua Williamson and Paolo Pantalena. SHADOW WAR PART 6. Slade and his daughter mourn the death of Respawn, with the pair teaming up to taken down Talia. They reunite with his team and they take on Ghost Maker and Clown Hunter, forcing Ghost Maker to surrender and let Deathstroke go. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin face the fake Deathstroke who killed Ras.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1060 by Mariko Tamaki, Nadia Shammas, Sina Grace, Ivan Reis and David Lapham. Bruce Wayne is on a date with Judge Carolyn Donovan, where he tries to pump her for information about the recent attack on her. Later, Oracle advises him of a break-in at the Gotham Gazette where Deb Donovan is doing some late night work. She discovers that John Harper accidentally killed a young boy when he was 15 and she thinks it might be related to the various attacks. Thanks to Oracle, he later discovers that Deb Donovan recently too out a loan from the same bank that Harper gassed. Martin Ashen is the D.A.’s brother and Caroline almost always rules in Ashen’s favor. He also discovers that hair he fund in the Gazette belongs to Darby Turner.  Batman visits Talia, looking for information on Darby, who shows up at the Gazette and takes Deb hostage.  Batman arrives and disarms Darby and Perry shows up. He explains they have been getting blackmailed and it will never end. Darby jumps off the roof and Batman saves her. And then Perry is shot…by Caroline Donovan. In the backup, Gotham Girl continues to try and solve her friend’s death. Her investigation leads her to Dr. Meridian, who she kidnaps.

DUO #1 by Greg Pak and Khoi Pham. Dr. Kelly Vu and Dr. David Kim are friends and lovers who have developed a type of Infinite Cellular Regeneration through the use of Nanobots. Dr. Marius Chung offers then one Billion dollars to sell it to him, but they turn him down. In response, a strange creature shows up that night, attacking David and burning him and their home. When David wakes, he is fully healed, but learns that Kelly has died and all that remains are her bones and engagement ring. He realizes that the Nanobots have saved him and healed him. He gets attacked by Chung’s assassins and discovers that Kelly is a part of him now as the Nanobots not only healed him but transferred her consciousness into him. In the end, Chung calls a meeting with his family of immortals.

THE FLASH #782 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. Wally and Wallace battle Girder, finally subduing him after they use their Speed Force to magnetize him. They transport him back to Blackgate where Warden Wolfe seems to not really care and quickly finishes his conversation with the pair. Wolf meets with Girder, admonishing him for failing at the one job he had and promises punishment. Wally is convinced that Wolfe is up to something, so they don Stealth Suits and break back into Blackgate, where they find Girder has been crushed into a metal ball. They also discover that Wolfe is panning on running for Mayor of Central City. Meanwhile, the West kids are playing soccer and Iris is forced to use her new powers and explain it to the kids. In the end, Wally is called away on a mission just before Linda can tell him of her powers…but Wallace is now aware.

FLASHPOINT BEYOND #1 by Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, Tim Sheridan, Xermánico, Mikel Janín. Thomas Wayne has taken in Harvey Dent’s son Dexter after his father’s death. Cobblepot arrives and Thomas leaves to “go fishing”, leaving Oswald to teach Dexter how to shoot a gun. Wayne heads to Britain, where the Atlanteans have Wonder Woman captive. Batman arrives and slays her tormenters and asks to borrow her magic lasso, telling her she can do whatever she wants to the world because he does not care. Batman confronts Aquaman, who reveals he does not know who sent the Scavenger to kill Barry Allen. Batman realizes this was all a ruse to get him out of Gotham. Diana slays Aquaman with his own trident. She reveals that she loved him and he reveals he only loved Mera and Diana killed her. On our Earth, Flash meets with Bruce and says that someone is messing with time. When he leaves, Corky Smith appears and says it is not to late to undo this. Bruce replies that it is.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM  #13 by Dennis Culver, Mariko Tamaki, Ram V, Otto Schmidt, Dan Mora and Geoffo. Batman battles Peacekeeper-01, as seen in FUTURE STATE: DARK DETECTIVE #4, which ends with an explosion, apparently killing both. That was the past. In the present, Dick meets with Talia and decides he is going to be Batman again. He also reveals that Bruce is alive and on a bullet train, which leads Talia to make an assault on the train, as seen in FUTURE STATE: CATWOMAN #1 and 2. Later, Bruce meets with Talia and tells her he is going  to go find Damian. Meanwhile, Hush is putting a team together made up of Clayface, Croc, Two-Face and more. Dick breaks into the meeting and battles the baddies. Bruce and Talia go to Lazarus Island, where they discover a captive Zauriel. He explains that Damian used dark magic was responsible and went to Hell looking for Bruce. In the end, Damian is back from Hell, courtesy of a transformed Grifter. He has come to Gotham as Batman 666.

HARDWARE: SEASON ONE #5 by Brandon Thomas and Denys Cowan. Curtis and Asher are trapped after the missile attack by Alva. They discover a sub-basement and manage to escape. Asher tells Curtis of a jet which can take him to Alva and Hardware departs. Elsewhere, Barraki, Tiffany and Draymond are attacked by Alva’s men, but Barraki makes a deal that allows her to be in Alva’s clutches while allowing  Tiffany and Draymond to leave. Curtis arrives at the airfield but blows up the plane allowing for his escape. Alva has a second plan and manages to corrupt Hardware’s suit. He crashes and now has to fight one of Alva’s hired hands, who can multiply himself.

HARDWARE: SEASON ONE #5 by Brandon Thomas and Denys Cowan. Hardware battles Alva’s hit man and then heads to him, where he is holding Barraki hostage. This leads to a face-off between the pair, with Hardware winning out in the end. He goes off to heal from his wounds, but not before he’s inspired by the sight of Icon flying through the skies of Daktoa.

HARLEY QUINN #15 by Stephanie Phillips and Riley Rossmo. Batwoman has broken Harley out of jail and they set about trying to find out who the mysterious fake Harley is. They plan a heist at the GCPD's evidence locker. They team up with a GCPD officer and deduce that the villain, who Harley calls Verdict, is hiding out in one of Ivy’s old greenhouses. They battle Verdict, who gets away when a bomb is ignited. In the end, the injured villain ends up at Kevin’s place and reveals she is Sam: his girlfriend..

I AM BATMAN #9  by John Ridley and Christian Duce. Jace is mad he was defeated by the serial killer Manray, who admitted he was inspired by Batman, and he takes it out on a bunch of street level gang members. Elsewhere, Vol is looking to set up a special location for his client with “peculiar tastes”. Tanya meets with the Mayor, angry that he let a racist be police commissioner. Chubb finds Keenan digging for information in her computer, as he plans on not letting Batman do their job. Later, Jace meets with Hadiyah who takes him to an art museum and teaches him about the world of surrealist art, which gives him many possible leads as to who Manray might be. That night, Chubb’s detectives go searching through various lofts apparently rented by Manray and, in one, they discover his plans for this next target-the Mayor.