DC UNIVERSE Month 70, Part 2

ICON VS. HARDWARE #5 by Reginald Hudlin, Leon Chills, Yasmin Flores Montanez, and Denys Cowan. Rocket battles the ‘mean girls while Xiomara is fighting Vandal Savage. Between the two of them, they take Savage’s powers and he disintegrates. Elsewhere, Brainiac’s robot arrives in Dakota and S.Y.S.T.E.M. arrives to stop him, but they are destroyed in the process. Icon and Hardware arrive and, working together, they defeat and destroy the robot. Hardware tells Icon that the only way to stop him is to kill him, after which he is told to mind his own business and Hardware leaves. Icon visits Rocket and she tells him this team is through. At Alva Industries, he is working on his cloning process while, at the Shadowspire, the decision is made to remake the Shadow Cabinet.

JAY GARRICK: THE FLASH #2 by Jeremy Adams and Diego Olortegui.  In the past, the Justice Society fights Nazis and their secret weapon, Ro-Bear. They defeat them and Ro-Bear insists that the secret lab they found, with the logo ISA on it, means the death of them all. Currently, Judy goes to the mall with Courtney, despite Jay’s concerns he heads off for a sneak peek to see what they are doing and finds that Ro-Bear is there to attack them, leading to a team up from the three heroes. The villain disappears and Judy wants to know what the heck is happening.

THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #12 by Matthew Rosenberg and Carmine Di Giandomenico. The Gotham Joker rallies his troops and later meets with Jason Todd, telling him that he wants Jason to kill the other Joker. The other Joker is on his way to Gotham on a train he has commandeered, leading to a confrontation between the pair. Jason gets involved and the Gotham Joker is captured. But Jason gets betrayed and the two clowns attack each other while Firefly ends up being Jason’s transport away, whether he wants to be or not. The pair of Jokers agree to jump off the train as Jason aims the Joker blimp at the train, blowing it up in the process. In the end, The Joker emerges from the wreckage carrying the head of the other Joker. But which joker survived and who is REALLY the real one?

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #2 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. As Superman faces off against Godzilla, which does not go well, it is revealed that other creatures are attacking Central City, Gotham, and Themyscira. Hawkgirl heads to Metropolis to assist Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and Supergirl go to Central City. While Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl and Green Arrow go to Themyscira, the Bat Family, with help from Cyborg and Black Canary. As they face their creature, Jason disobeys orders and shoots the creature in the eye, which only makes it angrier. Cyborg builds a sonic amplifier and, coupled with Canary’s scream, that takes the creature down. On the way to Themyscira, Ollie observes an island that should not exist and stays behind to investigate. At the Legion of Doom’s headquarters, Manta reveals that he believes Toyman is responsible, having using the Dreamstone. Back in Metropolis, The Captain arrives and utters his magic word, which wounds Godzilla but also results in Superman being taken down while saving the transformed Billy Batson.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA # 7 by Geoff Johns and Marco Santucci.  In Los Angeles, a vigilante is loose…a vigilante wearing the face of a harlequin and following in his mother’s footsteps. Meanwhile, the heroes go after Solomon Grundy. During the process of trying to subdue him, Salem uses her powers and accidentally burns Grundy to a crisp. As a result, Dr. fate takes Salem to the gates of Limbo Town. She fights back, saying she doesn’t want to go home. Instead, she wants her people to remove her curse and wants Fate’s helmet. He sends her away and then receives a vision telling him to save Grundy. At that moment he is visited by Animal Lad, Rainbow Girl, and Stone Boy, who tell him they need him to come to the 31^st Century with them. At Belle Reve, Mister Terrific, Power Girl and Johnny Thunder meet with Icicle and encourage him to join the Justice Society. At the Cold Coast Facility for the Criminally Insane, Dr. Mid-Nite meets with Jean Loring, asking her what it was like when she was possessed by Eclipso. She tells her to go find the person who insisted they go after Eclipso in the first place.

NIGHTWING #108 by Tom Taylor, Michael W. Conrad, Serg Acuna,  and Stephen Byrne. Nightwing discovers that Travis was the person responsible for Lucas being tossed overboard and he reveals that Beatrice’ brother sent him. The team sail to Blud’s hold: a full blown city hidden inside the base of a cliff. They make their way towards the seat of power inside the place when the door opens and Bea’s brother shoots and kills Lucas. Nightwing unleashes a smoke bomb and fights against Dirk’s thugs. Bea goes after her brother and is run through with a sword, before being dumped into the sea below.In the backup, during a night at the movies with Barbara, Dick encounters Hatch marlin: the man who has been pulling the strings with his various attacks on Dick. Dick quickly takes him down and, unable to get back into the movie, ends up spending the night with Barbara and the rest of the Bat Family.

OUTSIDERS #1 by Jacksin Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Batwoman is in the devastated area of Vahkar where she is greeted by Luke Fox, asking her to join his new team.  He takes her to meet Drummer, who is described as the world’s greatest living archeologist. Together they go into a large craft, described as being fifty miles long. In an effort to find their missing team members. Drummer informs them that the craft is known as The Carrier. Luke speaks to the craft, telling it he will help it find its’ home. . The other teams members are rescued, even as Drummer stays behind. Inside The Carrier, she discovers a group of costumed heroes in stasis and then opens a backpack…which contains a book called Planetary Guide.

THE PENGUIN #4 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre. The Penguin and his team travel to the St. Claire in Las Vegas to meet with the woman who was his wife. The Help goes to murder her when her bodyguard takes him down. As it turns out, all of The Penguin’s team is taken down, especially after Victory spilled was captured and told the plan. As he begs for his life, St. Claire shoot shim, ordering her bodyguard to call janitorial to clean things up. After several weeks in a hospital, the pair meet again, where he asks her to join him and they can run Gotham together. In the end,  the final step for the partnership happens, with The Help killing St. Claire’s bodyguard.

POISON IVY #16 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. The Lamia continues to spread and Ivy goes on a journey with Chuck, infected by the spores. Along the way, she meets Undine. But this is simply a hallucinogenic dream for Chuck, who soon succumbs and becomes a walking infected zombie. He meets up with a host of the infected and they slowly make their way towards Gotham.

POWER GIRL #3 by Leah Williams and Eduardo Pansica. In Metropolis, Lilith is dealing with people who have been possessed by Blue Earth, who insist that they are fighting back against the Kryptonian virus. Back at the Fortress, Superman finds a sad Power Girl sitting with the dying alien lion who she names Hamlet. After baring her soul to hamlet, she falls asleep. When she wakes, she finds Hamlet gone, eventually finding him  on the edge of an ice cliff where he has come to die. Kara stays with in until he passes, which breaks her heart. Later, she sees Hamlet’s corpse is gone and goes looking for him, only to find he is infected with the virus. She tells Kelex to get Superman and, when he arrives, he sees that she has been scratched by Hamlet and she is now infected by the virus.

STATIC: SHADOWS OF DAKOTA #7 by Nikolas draper-Ivey and Vita Ayala. Forty years ago, Fallon Lennox began her journey into morality; something she pursued throughout her adult life. Ten years ago, while doing highly illegal experiments into how a brain could be transferred into a computer, Dr. Alva meets with her and convinces her to work for him. Currently, she is ready to experiment on Ivan’s brother Adam when Ivan and Static arrive. She takes a serum that allows her to create an electro-concussive force field. But Virgil manages to get around it and forces Lennox to relive her most painful memories, mentally crippling her and allowing Adam to be freed. In the end, Ivan tells Virgil he will be back if things get out of hand yet again. Then Virgil delivers the eulogy to Quincy’s funeral. While it looks like Lennox is going to get an audience with Dr. Alva.

SHAZAM #5 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Billy is trapped in space and dying, so Mary Marvel calls down the lightning which turns him back into The Captain. Together they team up and defeat Queen Bee and her minions, forcing Garguax to vomit up the warp drive. This distraction gives Queen Bee a second chance at attacking and the gorillas realize they have a chance at the drive again. Ted drops the drive and sets it off, causing the moon to spin out of control. It tales all of the Captain’s powers to stop it. Later, back on Earth, Billy meets with the Gods and gives them a demand: let him control his powers or else he quits. Freddy arrives and declares that, if Billy does not want to power, he will take it.

SPEED FORCE #1 by Jarrett Williams and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Wallace and Avery Ho are playing video games when they have to go out and battle the super speedsters called The Bros. They speed off, causing Avery and Wallace to visit Mr. Terrific and Roundhouse. The Bros are on a version of treadmills in an operation being run by…The Music Meister.

STEELWORKS #7 by Michael Dorn and Sam Basri. Nat and Lana attack Walker’s giant robot while John and Superman take a break, trying to figure out the best plan of attack. Nat begins to get weak from the effects of the effects of the Genesis Radiation, but Lana keeps up the attack. Inside Steelworks, the Super Kids reveal that the younger heroes are being affected the most by the Zero-Point energy because the Genesis field originated on Warworld. Shawn Kerry shows up, wanting to make up for everything he did and reveals that the Termophasic radiation Walker used to create the Silver Mist can also allow the heroes to temporarily phase through the Genesis Radiation. Kerry enters the robot and removes the Zero-Point device, killing him in the process but stopping Walker and the robot. In the end, John reveals the world isn’t quite ready for ZPE and he and Lana go back to discussing wedding plans.. .

SUPERMAN #8 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, and Norm Rapmund. In the past, a young boy named Sammy Stryker is told he has Tactile Telekinesis: something Lex Luthor plans to capitalize on. Today, the grown up Sam is looking to kill Luthor when he is met by Dr. Pharm and Mr. Graft, who show him the person Lex has become. Superman, while helping to clean up the wreckage in Metropolis, meets with Lutho, who explains that Sammy’s father created the prison that Lex is in. Sammy shows up and attacks lex’ daughter. But Superman and Superboy have a plan and they drag Sammy out of the prison. In the process, lex tells Superman he locked Sammy up because he was responsible for killing his father. Sammy frees himself and heads back to Luthor while Superman heads to Supercorp to get a Luthor invention: Kryptonite gloves. The gloves slow Sammy down just enough for Supoerboy to capture him. but the cost to Superman is high, as it looks like he is suffering from Kryptonite poisoning.

TITANS #5 by Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott. Following the defeat of the Demolition team, the Titans head to meet Levi Kamel: the current Swamp Thing. He goes with them to Borneo where Starfire uses her powers to provide sunlight and energy to bring the green back to life there.I n the Titans Trophy Room, Linda tries to kill her husband, but Nightwing explains how all of the weapons there had been neutralized. She then tries to kill him with the parasite, but Wally’s speed allows it to miss him and Nightwing electrocutes it. In the end, the head of the Church of Eternity plans to unleash his master plan.

TITANS: BEAST WORLD #1 by Tom Taylor and Ivan Reis. Brother Eternity has sent his ‘Forevernauts’ to Titan, where he claims they will help that dreams of a better world will come about. There they find markings on the wall of a temple and Brother Eternity begins speaking in ancient Tamanmean, which causes Titan to shake and kills the Forevernauts in the process. Being broadcast live on television, this is observed by the Titans and Donna Troy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire head off to investigate. Once there, Starfire declares this is not a moon, but a prison for a god. Later, Starfire reveals to the heroes of Earth that this is called the Necrostar and almost half of the Tamaraneans died fighting it thirty million years ago. It was only defeated by Starro, who weakened it enough that her ancestors could freeze it in a prison, which it has now been unleashed from. While most of the heroes go off to stop the spores the creature is unleashing onto Earth, corrupting the population, as had been done to Linda West in THE FLASH, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy team up, with Gar becoming a whale, before transforming himself into a version of Starro and also unleashing a multitude of mini Starros. Calling himself Garro, Beast Boy heads into space to attack Necrostar. As his mini Starros manage to free the citizens from the spores, Garro sends Necrostar to the coldest place in the known universe, the Boomerang Nebula. Then he is visited by Doctor Hate who, after saying Amanda Waller thanks him, causes Beast Boy to lose his humanity and only Garro remains which causes all the mini Starros to begin to take control, starting with Black Adam.

THE VIGIL #6 by Ram V and Devmalya Pramanik. Castle faces off against Mr. Wall, using Arclight’s powers to destroy him. In the end, Castle tasks the team with regrowing Dynamo, who was turned to dust by Wall earlier. As the team takes off in their spaceship, fish fall from the sky. The team is travelling ow…in The Bleed.

WESLEY DODDS: THE SANDMAN #2 by Robert Venditti and Riley Rossimo. It’s the summer of 1940 and Wesley Dodds’ home has burned to the ground. While sifting through the rubble, he discovers that his journey, a mask and some of his gas guns have been stolen. That night, he goes to police headquarters to photograph some evidence there. Later, he confronts some of Igor Kluge’s associates looking for information, only to be told that Kluge was only a soldier and not the mastermind. Elsewhewre, someone has outfitted themselves as The Sandman.

WILDC.A.T.S #12 by Matthew Rosenberg, Danny Kim, and Tom Derenick. Maul, currently the home of Michael Cray, has been captured by Halo. Backlash visits him, staying he has been undercover with Halo for the last two years. Simultaneously, the team outside the building, Fairchild, Maxine, and Spartan battles Void, while Voodoo, Zealot, and Grifter battles Halliday and the Court of Owls. In Elias Park, some of the Justice League fight against the Seven Soldiers. Voodoo gets injured, leading to Zealot killing Warblade. Backlash shows up to lend a hand. Zealot leaves and Grifter is captured. But he tells Halliday to watch the news, where he sees an interview where Cash outs his teammates, Halo and Halliday. With Maxine badly injured, Caitlin throws a bag of radioactive stuff at Void, turning her back to an old woman, leading to Maxine blowing herself and the Void up. Two weeks later, Marlowe, Colt and Voodoo are on a beach, Caitlin is back in school, and Midnighter may not be himself, or soon may become inhabited by Cray. Maxine enjoys her best life, Cash has been incarcerated, and Zealot hides in the shadows.

WONDER WOMAN #3 by Tom King, Josie Campbell, Vasco Georgiev and Daniel Sampere. Diana heads to Southhide Defense Industries to meet with Sarge Steel. She makes her way through his soldiers and gets to see him, , demanding a lead on Emelie. He has called out his army but she has her invisible plane. He stands down and tells her that, wherever she is, she is carrying an Amazon child in her belly. Meanwhile, the old man uses the Lasso of Lies to get a soldier to kill himself, blaming Wonder Woman for his suicide. In the backup set in the future, Damian and Jon are babysitting Diana’s “daughter” Lizzie. With Jon off to handle a situation, Damian now has Lizzie, who accompanies him on a mission as Wonder Robin. Together the face off and defeat Killer Croc.

WORLD’S FINEST: TEEN TITANS #5 by Mark Waid and Emamuela Lupacchino. The Titans offer a potential recruit named Haywire to ride with them but that goes south because of his questionable actions and the team dismisses him. Months later, he shows up with a team of his own, that he calls the Anti-Titans. And, with the team in disarray, he may be able to take them all out.

DC UNIVERSE Month 70, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1059 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Gene Luen Yang, Greg Hahn, Travis Mercer, Viktor Bogdanovic, and Rafa Sandoval. Blue Earth shows up to stop a gang of thieves when Superman, dressed in armor and carrying a sword arrives with Steel to arrest the crooks and stop the Blue Earth “heroes” from misusing their powers. The Super family shows up and, while most are engaging with Blue Earth, Otho-ra is approached virtually by the Blue Earth leader, who tries to corrupt her and bring her to her side. Later, Superman’s powers are restored and, while watching a doctored propaganda video, Superman realizes that she is actually Bruce and Talia’s daughter from another universe. Otho gets kidnapped and taken to Earth Al Ghul. In the first backup, Kenan visits Master iI-Ching in the afterlife, who helps him come back to life. What is discovered is that the reporter who died did so because of the psychic bomb that Luthor had put into everyone’s minds that figured out Clark Kent was Superman. The Bat-Man of China shows up and tussles with Conner, with Kenan eventually stopping the fight and telling Bat-Man he is part of this team now, although Bat-Man promises to investigate them, which could lead to his death if he discovers Clark’s secret. In the second backup, Jon has to juggle his super life with needing some alone time with Jay.

ALAN SCOTT: THE GREEN LANTERN #2 by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey. In 1941, Green Lantern is investigating the murder of the bank robber, who appeared to be burned and drowned. Four years earlier, Alan Scott wakes at Arkham, where he was sent after his commanders figured out the homosexual relationship Alan had with his friend Johnny. One of the other inmates, Bill/Billie, creates a train lantern that he has painted green and gifted to Alan. One night, Alan notices Billie is missing and, when he eventually returns, he has been subjected to Arkham’s treatments and is no longer the person he was. Alan is even subjected to some of Arkham’s treatments. One night, he and other inmates break out and Alan spends two years on the rails, creating a railroad business and gaining new lovers along the way.  One day, Albert Dekker, his chief competitor blows up Alan’s train, killing forty-two and Alan himself, who is somehow resurrected by power of the lantern. In the end, the Red Lantern watches.

AMAZONS ATTACK #2 by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev. The Amazons find themselves being exposed to the world as terrorists when a man with a mysterious box and a golden apple corrupts the police, leading them to attack the women. Nubia realizes this is one of the Golden Apples of Discord and Eris must be involved. Mary is attacked by the mysterious man, saying he has come with a present from Dr. Sivana. Nubia gets the apple and she is given a vision where she is told she has lef the Amazons to their death. They transport away, looking to get to the Oracle. In the jungle, they find Anah and also a destroyed structure called Asylum.

BATMAN #139 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, and Jorge Corona. Batman investigates the murder of the heir to the Playtest Toys fortune and discovers what appears to be a map showing places he has visited. He investigates the home of Lohmuller’s grandmother and gets attacked by dolls. He gets attacked by one of Joker’s thugs and, in the process, discovers that The Joker is behind all of this, apparently looking to kill all of Batman’s mentors, as seen in BATMAN: THE KNIGHT. During their encounter, the various versions of Batman take control of him. In the backup, Vandal Savage arrives in Gotham and plans to make his home here…permanently.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #3 by Joshua Williamson and Simone Di Meo. Batman comes face to face with Shush, who informs him that there is a bomb somewhere in Blackgate, meaning he has to let her go. While he disarms the bomb, Robin goes off to find White Rabbit and runs into the Terrible Trio. Shush finds White Rabbit and the villains flee, leading to Batman giving chase. Batman encourages White Rabbit to jump from Shush’s car, which she does, before Shush’s car explodes and the villains make their escape. Batman is convinced that Shush is working for Hush, but White Rabbit tells him he is wrong. Robin goes to Gotham Zoo and finds Dr. Kafira. Before they can leave, Robin is attacked by a Man Bat.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO GOTHIC #5 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Max Dunbar. Terry and Kyle face off against the future versions of Ivy, Black Orchid, and Swamp Thing. They split up, with Kyle looking for the captured kids. Terry heads inside the tree, looking for that taproot and finds John Constantine, saying he has done what he did because the world is dying. Back in Neo-Gotham, Lumos is set to unleash his new vision onto Gotham. But, when the countdown goes to zero, a hyge sinkhole emerges and the creatures from underneath Neo-Gotham emerge.

BATMAN: OFF WORLD #1 by Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke. A small spaceship lands inside a much larger one and when the alien crew see the occupant, it turns out to be Batman, who makes his way violently through the crew. When he comes up against Captain Syyn, his efforts fail and he is taken captive. In captivity, he meets a tough Tamaranian named Nyreek, who clues him in on an escape plan, which he rejects. His job as a prisoner is to patch up robots and mop floors.  We ;earn that previously, Batman had faced what appears to be Captain Synn or one of his crew and was beaten by him. So this mission is to toughen himself up for a rematch.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #21 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. David lashes out against Batman and Superman, claiming they deserted him and forgot about him. Elsewhere, this Earth’s Clark Kent hears of the fight and hides himself away in an experimental sleep pod., allowing him to change into Superman and attack our Earth’s Superman.  Evenly matched, our Superman lures Earth 22’s into a cave and brings it down around him. This world’s Bruce Wayne suits up in an experimental flight suit and attacks Batman. The two are evenly matched until this world’s Dick Grayson arrives, but Batman prevails, saying he is here for Thunderman. Later, Batman and Superman meet up at the Kent Farm while this world’s Superman and Batman have questions about who David really is and what he is saying. While they debate this, Gog arrives. At the Kent Farm, Gog’s followers, all of the superheroes of this world arrive.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #7 by Guillem March, Kyle Starks, Gabriel Hardman, Matthew Rosenberg, Fernando Pasarin, and Matteo Scalera. Batman, still suffering from amnesia after his battle with The Joker, meets with Catwoman, who reveals only to help people, including the family that is currently caring for him. He then goes to meet with Jim Gordon, who attempts to have him arrested for being involved with a break-in. As he tussles with police, another Batman, the REAL Batman, arrives, explaining that the other person is really Frank Freeman: a hacker and martial artist who truly is responsible for the break-in. As his memories, especially of his daughter, come back, he gets a call from Aurora, telling him bad men were breaking in. This leads to the pair to team up and head to Aurora. In the second story, Wild Dog patrols the streets dishing out his own violent brand of justice. But there is someone who is hunting him as well and cannot wait to meet the vigilante and apparently someone named Alan has been served up to him. In the third tale, Aquaman faces off against The Dominators and then discovers that someone from Gorilla City needs his help. In the final tale, Batman crosses paths with The Demon, who is here to collect on a plea from a desperate woman. Batman catches the perpetrator, but lets him free, meaning The Demon can continue his hunt.

BIRDS OF PREY #3 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero. The Birds make their assault on Themyscira to free Sin. Dinah fins Sin and is prepared to bring her home. Meanwhile, in Washington, Green Arrow attacks Wonder Woman. But she soon deduces that this is simply a distraction to keep her away from what is happening in Themyscira, which is exactly where she heads.

BLUE BEETLE #3 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez.Traci B. takes Jaime to the Oblivion Bar, where Madame Zanadu tells his fortune and has Traci take him to Egypt. They enter Kha-Ef-Re’s tomb, where the two of them are attacked by the Blood Scarab. Looking at defeat and maybe death, Traci transports them away, telling him he needs to concentrate and decide how far he is willing to do to save the people he loves.

CATWOMAN #59 by Tini Howard and Nico Leon.. Following the end of the Gotham War, Selina discovers she now has a series of nine marks on her back, one of which has already been colored black, representing a life lost. Catwoman has travelled to Medellin, Columbia where she intends to return Duchess the cat to her original owner, Santa Espada. The two end up in conflict, where Selina tells Santa Espada that Valmont is dead and that she killed him. In response, Santa stabs Selina and kills her again. That does not last long and said they should be friends, which Selina denies.  Selina says she came because Valmont . In the end, she returns Duchess back to her partner in crime and then later realizes she has now died three times.

CITY BOY #7 by Greg Pak and Minkyu Jung. City Boy’s powers are out of control and Dr. Mokkarison and Intergang are looking to take advantage. He creates a version of his mother and it looks like Darkseid will win. His creatures that Camron has created are loose in Bludhaven, Gotham and Metropolis, along with Darkseid’s Parademons. Superman reaches out to him telepathically, telling him Darkseid is winning. Cameron realizes all of this is a lie and he unleashes the control on his constructs. The Parademons leave, grabbing Mokkarison and the Intergang members to take to Darkseid. In the end, Swamp thing tells Cameron the Green will grow back and, along with Nightwing, Batman and Superman, they pay respects to Cameron’s mother.

CYBORG #5 by Morgan Hampton, Tom Raney, and Travis Mercer.With the arrival of Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, See-More, A.T.L.A.S., and Billy Numerous, Cyborg transports to Titans Tower, seeking help. With backup in place, Cyborg heads to S.T.A.R. Labs and rescues Sarah. Later, he learns from his A.I. father that Markus has downloaded his consciousness into Solace. As Solace threatens his creator, Cyborg shows up. But it seems the A.I. construct has the upper hand.

DANGER STREET #11 by Tom King and Jorge Fornes. Jack Ryder visits Lady Cop, in an effort to try to get the helm of Dr. Fate away from her. He transforms into The creeper, forcing her to shoot and kill him. parked outside her house, Warlord hears the shots and goes to investigate, leaving Non-Fat in his vehicle. When he enters the home, Lady Cop shoots and kills Warlord. Non Fat enters and sees the carnage, which leads to him telling his story and how Orion said there is a way to resurrect his dead friend. She goes to the police station, stealing the helm and the bag of diamonds. Non Fat gathers the rest of the Dingbats, along with their deceased friend, and they go to Lady Cop’s apartment, where she is about to recite the spell that was taken from The Green team. Reconvene. Elsewhere, Highfather has fallen, telling Darkseid there will be no Fifth World. The Commodore has been captured by the Outsiders and, as Lady Cop reads the spell, the diamond sword once again reverts into Metamorpho’s arm. .

DETECTIVE COMICS #1077 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Jason Shawn Alexander, and Caspar Wijngaard. It’s three days before Batman is ready to be hung in front of the citizens of Gotham. Meanwhile, Selina and Jim Gordon are in the process of rallying allies to help him. Among those already in the group, including Jade, Cassandra, and Eiko, it is revealed that Mr. Freeze has also been brought into the fold. Selina visits with Bruce and tells him that they will come for him. In the end, it appears she may have a new ally in the form of Azrael. In the backup, Jade and her daughter meet and, despite her daughter rebuking her at first, the two team up together to fight their enemies.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1078 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Jason Shawn Alexander, and Caspar Wijngaard. Batman is about to be hanged in front of the citizens of Gotham, much to the delight of The Joker, among others. Hours before this, Jade gets to the cages and is prepared to release the prisoners. Meanwhile, the rest of the team puts their plan in place, complete with Azrael, who takes on the devil-beast. Catwoman slips inside the Orgham’s home and threatens to kill the prince unless they release batman. His mother says to go ahead and then orders the batman to be hanged. Someone pulls the switch and the Dark Knight’s feet dangle. In the backup, Eiko and Bette try to take the romance to the next level, but Eiko’s job gets in the way. In the end, Eiko calls Bette and tells her she is beneath her.

FIRE & ICE: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE #3 by Joanne Starer and Natacha Bustos. The girls continue to do their best to keep their salon running, so jimmy Olsen can give them a good review. With some trickery and some magic, he decides to give them that much needed review. Unfortunately, a cat causes him to sneeze and become a giant turtle. As they try to deal with that, it turns out that Gina has eaten Beefeater.

THE FLASH #3 by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr. Unable to figure out what is going on, Max Mercury meets with Wally and, by concentrating, Wally takes them to the Spirit Realm. Then they get taken to an alternate reality where the Folding Man is responsible for much of this. Max sends Wally away and, after ending up in another alternate reality, he comes back to Central City, where Impulse asks where Max is.

GREEN ARROW #6 by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, Trevor Hairsine, and Phil Hester. Ollie has been shot and relives his life before ending up in the circus along with his older self. The two of them fight before ending up trapped on a batch of land where they are met by Merlyn, thought to be dead. With the help of some time-travel tech, he has shown up and has been responsible for making Ollie’s life hell as of late. At his lowest and ready for death, Connor arrives as does Lian and they save Ollie. The three of them transport away and Ollie wakes on an island, where he is visited by Dinah, along with Connor and Lian, who asked where her father is. Roy and Jade are making their way into one of Waller’s safe houses when Jade and Roy are shot by Amanda Waller, Peacemaker, and Peacekeeper.

GREEN LANTERN #5 by Jeremy Adams, Peter J. Tomasi, David Lafuente, and Xermanico. Sinestro has sent the drones to Hub City and proceeds to decimate the downtown area. But there are other drones heading throughout the world. Hal realizes that Sinestro feeds off of fear, so he makes a public announcement, encouraging people not to give in to fear. He sends constructs to take out the other drones and then heads to Tuscon, where Sinestro has been tracked to. There he finds that Sinestro is no longer powered by people’s fear, but is now filled with rage. In the backup, Sinestro’s son continues to struggle with his place in life and also the rules of his foster father.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #3 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. John Stewart has been infected by Varron, which is hampering his fight. At the same time, Varron unleashes an attack on the train tracks containing the train Stewart’s mother is riding in. This leaves him the choice of either letting the Radiant Dead consume him as he saves her or continues his fight and lets her die. Varron gets carried away by constructs created by Lantern Caolan Shepherd. His constructs also lift the train off their tracks, saving all on board. Stewart, seeing a apocalyptic vision while he sleeps, wakes to find himself at Steelworks. He flies out to meet Shepherd, who takes Stewart to the Space Between Moments, when John meets with Kyle Rayner, who tells him he is not the person he needs to be at the moment. John says his goodbyes to his mother, as he is going to go off and fight both his affliction and Varron. Meanwhile, in the Amazon rainforest, Varron and the citizens corrupted by the Radiant Dead attack some soldiers.

HARLEY QUINN # 34 by Tini Howard, Grace Ellis, Steve Lieber, and Sweeney Boo. While Harley is still dealing with Bud and Lou, Lady Quarkhas created her own A.I. version of Harley, who shows up on Earth and creates a number of problems for her. She goes to visit Lux Kirby, explaining her problem to him. The pair travel to Earth-43, where Harley has already been killed. Inside Slaughter Swamp, where a dejected Ivy reveals that Bud and Loud tried to protect Harley. The pair travel again, with Harley getting back home with Ivy. But it appears her A.I. version may have other plans. In the backup, a dreaming Harley gets caught up in the various stages of her own comic book.

HAWKGIRL #4 by Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan. In the past, Trina is visited by Vulpecula, where she rebukes her offer. At that point, Hawkgirl shows up and, unknown to everyone else in the room, battles Vulpecula. The two of them continue to time slide through moments in Trina’s life, ending at a place four years ago when she attempted suicide when she sees all of her past lives. , which helped save her life. In Metropolis now, Hawkgirl is captive but the energy from the Nth metal causes an explosion and Hawkgirl finds herself in the Nth World.

RIVERDALE Season One

When RIVERDALE premiered in January of 2017, longtime fans of the comic were thrilled to finally see the characters they grew up loving portrayed on the screen.

Boy…were they in for a shock!

This is certainly NOT your or your father’s Archie, betty, veronica, and Jughead. This was a dark, gritty, and often steamy look at Riverdale and those classic characters. It was equal parts CW teen drama and TWIN PEAKS, complete with murders, infidelity, time shifts, witches, warlocks and enough movie and pop culture references to make peoples’ heads explodes.

To be honest, I watched the first two seasons religiously when they aired and absolutely loved it from Episode One. But, as with many shows and things to watch, I fell behind and not only lost interest but got away from the show. Recently, I binged all seven seasons…all 137 episodes. What follows is a full review/synopsis of those seven seasons, so obviously there will be MAJOR SPOILERS. You have been warned.

In the show’s premiere episode, we meet the cast of characters including Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), his father Fred (Luke Perry), girl next door Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and her parents, Reggie Mantle (Ross Butler), Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), her brother Jason (Trevor Stines) and their parents, Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) and his father, the sheriff (Martin Cummins), along with Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), who acts as the series’ narrator. Also introduced is the new girl in town, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), and her mother Hermoine (Marisol Nichols), who have  moved here from New York while her father Hiram (Mark Consuelos) is jailed as he awaits a trial on embezzling charges. The town is reeling from the alleged drowning death of Jason. As we learn, Archie, who wants a career in music, is having an affair with his music teacher Miss Grundy (Sarah Habel). On Fourth of July, the pair were having a rendezvous when a shot rings out: a shot heard by Kevin, who is having a romantic rendezvous with Moose Mason (Cody Kearsley).  As the season progresses, Jason’s body is found with a bullet hole between his eyes.  Cheryl later is arrested for her brother’s murder, as it is revealed that he was murdered a week after the Fourth of July.

Cheryl admits to her parents that Jason wanted to run away and she helped him fake his death, but did not murder him. Her parents throw blame on Betty’s sister Polly (Tiera Skovbye). Archie and Miss Grundy’s secret affair is in danger of coming to light while Veronica finds herself “slut shamed” by star football player Chuck Clayton, leading to Veronica and Betty drugging and torturing him, revealing Betty’s dark side, which will play out over the next few seasons. The girls investigate Miss Grundy and, after breaking into her car, find out that Miss Grundy isn’t how she says she is, and the real Miss Grundy died seven years ago. Plus, they find a gun in her car. She reveals that she took an alias to escaper an abusive relationship and, with their secret poised to come, she leaves town.

Jughead finds that his beloved drive-in, where he not only enjoys the world of film but also lives, is being sold and will be torn down. Later, Veronica sees her mother meeting with a member of the notorious Serpent biker gang. As it turns out, the gang leader is Jughead’s father (Skeet Ulrich) Because Cheryl had helped her brother run away, her parents ban her from speaking at his memorial service. During a search of the Blossom home while everyone was at the memorial service, Betty meets Cheryl’s grandmother(Barbara Wallace) who reveals Jason and Polly were engaged. Archie, concentrating on music, turns down the opportunity to be the captain of the football team, but also enlists the assistance of Valerie(Hayley Law), from the band Josie and the Pussycats, to help him prepare for his debut at the school’s annual variety show.

Betty and Jughead continue to investigate Jason’s death and that leads them to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy: a home for “wayward girls” where Polly had been sent. There, they discover that Polly is unaware of Jason’s death and is seven months pregnant. Betty and Jughead become closer and kiss. But they also discover a car in the woods, filled with drugs and Jason’s belongings. They contact the police but the car is torches, destroying all evidence. At the same time, Polly escapes from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, leading to a town wide search for her. Polly turns up at the Cooper home and Betty hides her until the Lodges offer to take her in. Meanwhile, Jughead’s father, F.P., is offered a job at the Andrews family construction business. It is revealed that F.P. and Fred were partners until Fred fired him because of F.P.’s abusing drugs and alcohol. Jughead gets arrested on suspicion of Jason’s murder but Fred provides an alibi for him. Unbeknownst to him, F.P. has Jason’s jacket in his trailer.

Polly meets with Sherriff Keller, telling him Jason was doing drug deliveries for The Serpents to earn enough money so they could both flee town. Fred’s crew walks off their job to go work for Clifford Blossom (Barclay Hope), but Archie and his pals dig in to help, as does F.P. and some of the Serpents. Later, much of the construction equipment is vandalized and it is revealed that Hiram Lodge was responsible for it. With the Coopers and the Blossoms fighting to see where Polly should live, it is revealed that Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro) wanted Polly to get an abortion, leading to his being thrown out of the Cooper house and Polly deciding to live with the Blossoms; all part of a ruse to investigate Jason’s death.

The Blossoms, the richest family in town, owes their fortune to their maple syrup business. At their annual tree tapping ceremony, Cheryl asks Archie to be her escort and her parents dangle an offer to an exclusive music school to sweeten his interest, even though he is torn between Betty and Veronica. At the same time, another classmate, Ethel Muggs (Shannon Purser), is revealed to be the daughter of one of those investors that Hiram fleeced and that her father has attempted suicide. Alice Cooper (Madchen Amick)…yes…that is her name…decides to publish an expose on the Blossoms, but her husband, who runs the town newspaper, rebukes her and that leads to Betty and Jughead offering to publish the expose in the school newspaper. With Fred heading out of town to finalize his divorce from his wife Mary(Molly Ringwald), a birthday party is held for Jughead The party goes badly when Cheryl shows up with Chuck and others, leading to F.P. and Alice to break things up, revealing how she had been a Serpent. When Fred returns home, Mary is with him, as the pair has reconciled.

F.P. comes under suspicion and is arrested for Jason’s murder. As F.P. confesses to everything, Jughead seeks to move in with his mother, but she turns him down. Betty and Alice discovers Hal destroying what is the family secret. That the Coopers and Blossoms are related by blood, which would make Polly and Jason’s relationship incest. In an effort to exonerate F.P., Jughead asks Serpent Joaquin to help him investigate some of the Serpents and they find one of them dead by an apparent drug overdose. They call the police, who discover a bag with Heroine’s initials on it. The bag is filled with cash. Despite that, Kevin gives Betty and Jughead a lead and they search Jason’s jacket, where they find a thumb drive. The gang reviews the contents on the drive and discover that Clifford Blossom murdered his son. As Hiram is released from jail and Mary returns back to Chicago, the police go to visit Clifford, only to find he has hanged himself.

Clifford was a drug lord and Jason found out about it, leading to his father murdering him to cover up and protect the business. Even though he has been cleared of all charges, F.P. remains in jail. Alice confesses to Betty how she got pregnant in high school and was taken to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, where she was forced to give up a child who would be Betty’s brother. With his father in jail, Jughead is given to a foster family and forced to now go to Southside High, where life is not like it is at Riverdale High. Cheryl is devastated by the reveal of her father’s secrets and his suicide, causing her to attempt to drown herself in the same river where Jason’s body was found. Archie saves her, but injures his guitar playing hand in the process. Cheryl burns down the family mansion with her and her mother Penelope(Nathalie Boltt) inside. Jughead is visited by the Southside Serpents and they invite him to join them, which he agrees to, much to betty’s dismay.

 At the end  of the first season, Archie has lunch with his father at Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe when a masked gunman comes in. As Archie attempts to intervene, the gunman shoots Fred.

End Season One.

The first season is a wild one but nothing compared to the seasons that came after. It was filled with mystery and intrigued sex…lots of sex by a bunch of young teenagers, murder, and, I said before, tons of pop culture references. Many of the episode titles are riffs on or actual famous works of film and fiction. Included are such titles as ANATOMY OF A MURDER, THE LOST WEEKEND, HEART OF DARKNESS, FASTER PUSSCATS! KILL! KILL! among others. Early on in the season, there is an episode called THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, where REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE is being screened. One of the coolest is while F.P. is in prison and his inmate number is 24601: the same inmate number as Jean Valjean in the film LES MSERABLES. If you know anything about the classic tale, that inmate number fits. Overall, there are just way too many to discuss, from Beyonce to IN COLD BLOOD to  MAD MEN and beyond.

Yeah, it’s a wild ride needing multiple viewings.

But again, this is only Season One: thirteen crazy episodes that just put down the road for the remainder of the series, with Season Two expanded to a full 22 episodes..

Another batch of first issues

ALICE COOPER #1 by Rodney Barnes and Edu Menna. The King of Shock Rock is back in a new titles; his first since Gaiman’s adapted THE LAST TEMPTATION OF ALICE. The devil is kidnapping famous musicians to add to his collection of musicians in the afterlife and now Alice must join that fight, thanks to a visit from Gabriel the Arcangel. It’s kind of fun and silly at the same time, so it will appeal to fans but probably not more than that, despite how great the art looks.

ALICE NEVER AFTER #1 by Dan Panosian and Giorgio Spalletta,  Picking up where the first series left off, Alice finds herself struggling between the real world and her drug-induced Wonderland. I absolutely LOVED the first series and this is the logical next step. The story is great and so is the art with Panosian handling the “real world” piece and Spalletta handling the craziness in Wonderland. Find the first series, either as individual issues or a trade paperback, and then dive into this!

AVENGERS INC. by Al Ewing and Leonard Kirk. Whirlwind is dead along with a whole bunch of other B list super villains, all of whom who may have been killed by a familiar vigilante who uses the phrase “justice is served”. The leads Janet Van Dyne into a mystery that pairs her with Victor Shade as she assembles a new team. This was a load of fun with some nice twists throughout. One of my favorite new Marvel series.

BATMAN: GARGOYLE OF GOTHAM #1 by Rafael Grampa. Another Black Label Batman story here but such a good one. A younger, very violent version of Batman faces off against a new criminal who is obsessed by an old cartoon character named Crytoon. But the mystery here is what is Crytoon’s ultimate goal. The story is well crafted and Grampa’s art is well worth the price of admission alone. Highly recommended!

THE BLOOD COMMANDMENT #1 by Szymon kUdranski. In a story that’s a little bit like THE LAST OF US (hence the variant cover take on that iconic video game cover image), with a mysterious were creature thrown in for good measure, this is a book sure to fly under most folks’ radar. But don’t sleep on it. The book looks incredible and the story has just enough going on to want you to come back for more.  Highly recommended.

CANARY #1 by Scott Snyder and Dan Panosian. Now here is a Western done right. We have a classic hero, a bunch of scary villains and some mysterious, twisted creatures. The story is great, Panosian’s art is his usual good stuff and you get 49 killer pages for five bucks. If you were on Comixology, you may have already read the full story. For the rest of us, this is a first look and will be released like a classic serial.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz. Marvel has once again rebooted a series, this time it’s CAPTAIN AMERICA. With Straczynski at the helm, fandom has been divided on what he could bring to this legendary character, as some folks are still salty over the way he handled Spider-Man; specifically the ‘One More Day’ storyline. The story bounces back and forth between the present and the distant path, where Steve Rogers sees Nazi’s in America before he enters the war. It’s a good beginning and Saiz’ art, coming off his run on THE PUNISHER, looks incredible! I’m not a fan of reboot after reboot, but this looks like a winner!

CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 by Ayssa Wong and Jan Bazaldua. Another first issue for Carol Danvers and this one actually gives a nod to the history of the original Captain Marvel. A young thief gets her hands on the Nega Bands and that means, when she clicks them together, Carol goes into the Negative Zone and has to fight her battles there. The book is a logical follow up to the last series and, as I have bitched about before, there was no need for a new #1. And, as I have also complained about, Marvel should just go back to legacy numbering on everything. All in all, the story is pretty good and I’m curious to see where it goes from here.

CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS…MADAM SATAN: HELL ON EARTH #1 by Eliot Rahal and Vincenzo Federici. Madam Satan has an issue with her powers and she needs to team up with Jinx to help her out. But Jinx has issues of her own an agenda of her own that might spell trouble for Madam Satan. Fun story, good looking art and a cliffhanger that we have NO IDEA when it will be resolved. Do we have to wait for next year’s Halloween themed books from Archie to get an answer? Hope not!

CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS…STRANGE SCIENCE #1 by Magdalene Visaggio and Butch Mapa. Jinx and her best friend Danni Malloy use a time machine where they end up in an alternate space filled with time monsters and their friend Dilton. Besides fighting to get back home, Danni must embrace the past to live comfortably in the present. It’s a neat tale with a ton of buzz on it because Danni Malloy, first introduced in the Eighties, is being reintroduced now as Archie Comics first transgender character. I’ll be interested to see if and when Archie gives us her new origin story.

CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS…WELCOME TO RIVERDALE #1 by Amy Chase and Liana Kangas. Ginger Snapp comes to Riverdale to be with her friend Nancy. Along the way, she meets up with veronica and some of the other kids. And everything seems fine until Amber Nightstone gets involved and then this turns from a quiet little tale to a ghastly one. If you’re a fan of the CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS series, you’ll love it.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 by Jim Zub and Rob De La Torre. If you had asked me six months or a year ago if I would be reading another Conan title, I would have flat out told you there was no way. However, with the license going to Titan Comics, I thought things might be different. But fifty years of stories had worn me out. When I saw the preview art of this title, I was hooked. First off, Zub has a story that feels right. But most of all, De La Torre’s art, with Jose Villarrubia handling colors, feels like it was literally lifted from the era of John Buscema or Ernie Chan. This totally feels like it was lifted from the Seventies, complete with a couple of amazing two page spreads and some equally killer splash pages! Seek this book out, which features a ton of variant covers, 32 by my count, from De La Torre, Artgerm, Patch Zircher, Mike Mignola, Jae Lee, Colleen Doran, Dan Panosian, Mark Schultz, Jay Anacleto and my friend Ian Chase Nichols.

CREEPSHOW VOLUME 2 #1 by Garth Ennis, Phil Hester, and Becky Cloonan. Image brings back a second season of this horror anthology and, with Garth Ennis leading the way, it’s a winner. Two stories included, both with the classic EC Comics feel to them.  Nothing more to say than that. If you can’t get your hands on original ED stuff, this is a great modern homage to them.

THE CULL #1 by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis. A group of teen girls set out to make a short film and that leads them into a mystery and a trip to a strange place. The story is nice, with enough cool dialogue that does not feel like fiction. Kudos to Thompson to who has a great ear for that. And Iulis’ art is superb! It’s truly beautiful and I’m sure much of it was done virtually rather than physical pages. If they were true painted pages, I would love to see the original works. This is a little like THE  BLAIR WITCH PROJECT meets STRANGER THINGS but I’m psyched for the second issue and beyond.

DAREDEVIL #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder. Once again, Marvel reboots a series. Matt Murdock has saved his best friend and made his way out of Hell, where he appears to now be a priest with a limited memory of his past life, although he still has his skills. Will a visit from Elektra…or not Elektra…bring back the real Daredevil? It’s a good story and the art is great. My biggest gripe? STOP REBOOTING SERIES!!! And let’s just go back to Legacy numbering on these series. Collectors really hate having to play this game!

DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #1 by Cullen Bunn and Gerardo Sandoval. Well, it has all been leading up to this. If you have been reading any of the various VENOM titles, you know what’s been going on. Carnage is on the loose and now he is looking to go to all the various universes and taking out all the other symbiotes. So it’s a universal battle across the Multiverse and it is up to the various symbiotes to fight back and save their respective worlds. All in all, it should lead to a new status quo but who knows? After all, it’s only comics!

FEARLESS DAWN: COLD #1 by Steve Mannion. I LOVE Steve Mannion’s artwork and hope to get to meet him at a show someday. His art style, somewhat influenced by Bill Elder and Wallt Wood, is so retro and cool. Anyway, his FEARLES DAWN is such a fun read and this one shot, nicely holding a space while we wait for the next installments of FEARLESS DAWN: THE BOMB, is just a fun romp told horizontally. We have got hot action, good girl art and Nazi zombies. Seek this out at your local coming shop or go online and order from Asylum. Hey: there’s even a Kickstarter that just launched too!

FEAR THE FUNHOUSE: TOYBOX OF TERROR #1 by Timmy Hague, Danielle Paige, Michael Northrop, Ryan Casey, Tango, and Ryan Jampole.  Three loosely connected tales involving a creepy looking doll. Okay…like I have seen every CHILD’S PLAY movie and the television series. So what am I going to get out of this. Not much. The artwork shifts from story to story and none of the stories broke new ground for me. I’m a big supporter of the Archie line of horror books but this one truly disappointed.

FIRE AND ICE #1 by Bill Willingham and Leonardo Manco. FIRE AND ICE is a legendary 1983 animated film written by comic legends Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas and brought to life by the equally legendary Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta. It was an epic sword and sorcery film and now Dynamite has brought it to comics. Now, I was a fan of the film and was intrigued by the book. More so when I saw the amazing art from Manco, whose work on HELLSTORM, HELLBLAZER, DEATHLOK and WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, thrilled fans back in the Nineties and 2000’s. Willingham’s story is great and the art is mind blowing! Well worth the read and go seek the over 30 covers by Bill Sienkiewicz, Frazetta, Francesco Francavilla, Joseph Michael Linsner, and my friends Buzz and Chris Campagna.

GARGOYLES #1 by Greg Weisman and George Kambadais. I understand there was a whole generation that grew up on this cartoon show. But I was not one of them and have only see a handful of episodes. Now Dynamite jumps into this ring, hoping to latch onto those kids now grown up and feeding their childhood desires. The story was okay, the art was about the same and I found myself buzzing through this in short order. If this is your fandom, go for it. Me? I’m out!

GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE ALPHA #1 by Benjamin Percy and Geoff Shaw. Many years ago, Wolverine and the X-Men encountered a young boy who apparently is not a mutant, much to Charles Xavier’s dismay.  He is haunted by his own demons and those come out in full force, even making their way into Johnny Blaze’ life. These many years later, it is happening again and that brings Wolverine and Ghost Rider together to fight again in a tale that starts here and moves through GHOST RIDER #17, WOLVERINE #36 and ends in GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF VENGEANCE OMEGA #1.

G.O.D.S. #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti. Jonathan Hickman dips his toes in the world of magic and introduces a whole new pantheons of higher powered individuals into the Marvel Universe. It’s a winding epic that is just getting started. It looks great but, as with many Hickman efforts, it’s incredibly wordy. I’ll be interested to see where this thing goes. At the moment, it feels a bit like Millar’s MAGIC ORDER, which is not always a bad thing.

HAUNTED GIRL #1 by Ethan Sacks, Naomi Sacks, and Marco Lorenzana. Fifteen years ago, in Japan, a young girl is visited by a strange being. Currently, that girl is in a hospital  dealing with personal issues. Upon her release, she tries to fit back in but she is visited by ghosts of her past. Cool story with great art and a series of hooks that will keep me coming back to see where it goes.

THE IMMORTAL THOR #1 by Al Ewing and Martin Coccolo. Yet again…a new #1 after a reboot. Odin is dead, Thor is the ruler of Asgard and apparently he has shaved…again! The good news, besides the art, is that it appears that Ewing, who did such amazing work on THE IMMORTAL HULK, seems like he is bring the God of Thunder back to spend a bit more time on Earth, but still be steeped in the Norse world of gods. The first issue felt like a good change to me as the end of the last run just left me WAITING for that series to end and let new blood come onboard.

MARVEL AGE #1000 by Mark Waid, Ryan Stegman, Rainbow Rowell, Dan Slott, Armando Iannucci, Steve McNiven, Jason Aaron, J. Michael Straczynski, Allessandro Cappuccio, JP Mayer, Marguerite Sauvage, Michael Allredm Adam Kubert, Pepe Larraz, and Kaare Andrews. Eight stories in anthology format from a huge cast of creators. Heroes represented here include the original Human Torch, Spider-Man, the original X-Men team, the original Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Jane Foster Thor, and the Silver Surfer, not to mention a sweet tale with three young boys named Jack, Steve and Stan. It’s a nice love letter to the Marvel Age of Comics as we knew it.

MS. MARVEL: THE NEW MUTANT #1 by Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada, Carlos Gomez, and Adam Gorham. Kamala Kahn was dead and now she is alive again. And she now knows she is not only an Inhuman but also a Mutant. And she is also a member of the X-Men, which immediately puts a target on her back, as with all the Mutants. While much of this story is about Kamala with her family and her school friends, there are some key plots that come about and further push the idea that her life isn’t going to get any easier. The story is okay although the art does leave me a bit cold. If you’re a fan of this character, you’ll love the book.

PROOF THAT THE DEVIL LOVES YOU by Gilbert Hernandez. I have bee a fan of LOVE AND ROCKETS for as long as that title has been around. Gilbert Hernandez has been responsible for crafting a whole lifetime of work revolving around the world of Palomar. Sometimes those stories are very, strange and openly sexual. Hernandez takes several of those characters and thrusts them into this unusual anthology and filled it with strange aliens, philosophical discussions and his titular heroine Fritz, who engages on a space mission. This hardcover graphic novel will not appeal to everyone but is worth a dive. Be warned: it is not your average superhero story.

PUNISHER #1 by David Pepose and Dave Wachter. Well, Frank Castle has moved on to a higher position in the shape of the world and that means Marvel has to come up with another guy to fill that skull shirt. That guy is Joe Garrison: a former  S.H.I.E.L.D. operative who once worked in the shadows and did the job that most would not. Someone obviously has it out for him as an attempt on his life kills his wife and two children. With Triple A by his side, he goes out to wage a war on those who deserve it. While the story has notable origins similar to Castle’s, I like where it is going and the art is a nice change.

RED LIGHT #1 by Sarah H. Cho and Priscilla Petraites. What happens when you have a world where A.I. become sex workers? You get this slightly twisted, very adult tale of one of those workers and what their life is like. And when, for the first time, our heroine discovers a young human who is being used for those practices, that’s when the story gets interesting. While the art is somewhere between cartoonish and super detailed…think Gerard Crepaux…the story has a hook in it that just makes you want to keep reading. Good stuff from AWA.

SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH ANNUAL SPECTACULAR #1 by Jamie L. Rotante, George Gladir, Al Hartley, Dick Malmgren, Ian Flynn, Holly G1, Dan Decarlo, Al Hartley, Harry Lucey, and Chad Thomas. We get two new stories, one featuring Sabrina along with her nemesis Amber Nightstone, Jade and Sapphire, and one starring Young Salem, plus three reprints, including what is her first appearance from  ARCHIE’S MADHOUSE #22. It’s always a fun time for me with the kids from Riverdale, but seeing the classic stuff makes it even more worthwhile.

THE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK #1 by Rainbow Rowell and Andres Genolet. Here we go again: Marvel cranking out a new first issue that picks up from the end of the last series run. Jennifer is still a lawyer and a superhero who is involved with Jack of Hearts. She is still dealing with super clients and saving folks. So, it’s just a reboot from the last series. If you liked it, you will like this. If you passed it by, you will probably be looking to do the same.

SHEENA QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE: FATAL EXAMS #1 by We Clark. Jr., Steven E. De Souza, and Ediano Silvia. Sheena, everyone’s favorite jungle girl, is adjusting to life in a school in Val Verde City. At the same time, she is also investigating a group of men who are ravaging the jungle and taking core samples. And, if that wasn’t enough, there are a group of ‘mean girls’ who are channeling some strange powers. I would normally not add this to my pull list, having been disappointed in the past by much of Dynamite’s titles, including their RED SONIA books. But the preliminary art of this intrigued me and I figured I would give it a shot. Glad I did, as it’s kind of fun and looks great.

SPIDER BOY #1 by Dan Slott and Paco Medina. Spider Boy, Spider Boy…was he created just to sell a toy? Yeah…he’s one of the hottest characters out there in the Marvel Universe, since his introduction earlier this year. He’s not an alien, but seems to have become what he has become due to experiments by some unsavory scientists .He claims to have been Spider Man’s sidekick, although no one seems to recall that. He has a rogue’s gallery of bad guys that no one has heard of. So, what’s his deal? You will have to read this title, month after month, to get the whole story. Slott’s writing is his usual faire and Medina’s art is very reminiscent of Mark Bagley’s, so that’s a plus. Overall, it’s a fun read with some nice twists to it.

STUFF OF NIGHTMARES: RED MURDER #1 by R.L. Stine and Adam Gorham. The anthology series STUFF OF NIGHTMARES is back with the tale of an actor who takes his role to new levels. The book tries its’ very best to be something from TALES FROM THE CRYPT, complete with a horror host who closes the book. Stine is best known for GOOSBUMPS and this is a more adult version of his writing. I found it predictable and did not do much for me. Personally, I would rather re-read those classic EC tales.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN RETURNS #1 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Mark Bagley, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Doc Ock is back and ready to take up his battle against Spider-Man. Along the way, he recalls his past days, as the Superior Spider-Man. That brings him into a working relationship with Estrella Lopez, even if that goes badly. In the present, Ms. Lopez comes into play again and seems aligned with Otto. This is the lead-in to the new Superior series by introducing all the players. So…think of it as a Zero issue.

TRANSFORMERS #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson. That classic toy team of the Eighties is back in an all-new series, which is sure to delight people of a certain age. Yeah, they’re all here: the good guys and the bad. And a whole host of new characters are along for the ride. I was excited for this, having never been a fan of the old stuff, as I hope it would make me see what everyone I knew was hyped about. But, despite loving Johnson’s art, it didn’t do it for me, feeling like it was just another book trying to cash in on nostalgia.

ULTIMATE UNIVERSE #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli. The Ultimate Universe, better known as Earth 6160, has been reborn and The Maker is the man in charge. A cataclysmic event sets the stage for what is likely to come. Hickman was a architect of the original Ultimate Universe and was also the guy who destroyed it. Heroes you know by heart in bold new ways, where heroes are actually villains and vice versa. This one shot sets the stage for the next three titles in the Universe: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN by Hickman and Marco Checchetto, ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER by Bryan Hill and  Stefano Caselli, and ULTIMATE X-MEN by Peach Momoko.

UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 by Gerry Duggan and Javier Garrion. Krakoa has fallen and mutants are either dead or on the run. So Captain America has put a new team together consisting of Deadpool, Quicksilver, Psylocke, Penance, Rogue and Cap himself. Of course, this leads them into conflict with not only Orchis but a host of villains led by Captain Krakoa, who was once Scott Summers. It’s a mini-series but I could easily go with this as a regular run as Duggan’s writing is crisp and his plot is both exciting and filled with questions. Garrion’s art is also a nice fit.

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: DRACULA #1 by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds. Image brings us this first in a planned series adapting classic  Universal Horror films, beginning with DRACULA. It follows the story quite well and the amazing illustrations are totally mind-blowing. This one is a winner to say the least as we get a beautifully illustrated tale that is a faithful one.

VAMPIRELLA: DEAD FLOWERS #1 by Sara Frazetta, Bob Freeman, and Alberto Locatelli. What do you call a book bringing in a classic character, a creepy mansion, a werewolf, a specter and even Frank Frazetta himself? I don’t know how I feel about this book. I really want to love it but it feels…off. Frazetta is trying to craft a story involving one of her father’s most famous images, even going so far as having both an homage cover by Lucio Parrillo and an icon variant featuring Frank’s famous image. But the story just doesn’t hold up and feels like a money grab by Dynamite. Sorry…it’s just not my cup of tea.

VAMPIRELLA/DRACULA’S: RAGE #1 by Christopher priest and Taylor Esposito. Vampirella had an affair with someone who turned out to be Dracula. They conceived a child and Vampi gave birth to it. But that child died and she’s pretty pissed about it! Not to mention that she blames Victory for the death. But Drac is back and tells Victory that the child is not dead and now the hunt begins. I love Priest’s writing style and the art harkens back to a bit of the classic Vampi art of Jose Gonzalez. Just one more cool piece in the legend of Vampirella.

DC UNIVERSE Month 69, Part 2

JAY GARRICK: THE FLASH #1 by Jeremy Adams and Diego Olortegui.  In 1963, Jay and his daughter Judy are trying to stop a bomb from destroying a water treatment plant where his wife is being held. He goes to save Joan and she asks where Judy is, with Jay telling her they never had a child. What he did not see was that Judy confronted Doctor Elemental, removing his mask and recognizing him. She saves her mother but then disappears. The villain comments how he will get a second chance, no matter how long it takes. In the present day, an aged Jay introduces Joan to their daughter. While she readjusts to life in the world, Judy, using her codename The Boom, goes off to help police stop some criminals, but it’s her father who ultimately stops them, later taking the chance to tell her that she cannot just go off like that..

THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #11 by Matthew Rosenberg and Carmine Di Giandomenico. In downtown Gotham, the Joker shows up and kidnaps a janitor that resembles him. Actually, several people that resemble him. At the same time, Manhunter and Ravager meet, with Manhunter intent on finding and killing The Joker. The Joker unleashes his plan with hundreds of fake Jokers but, at his lair, the other Joker arrives and dispatches his henchman. In the middle of the chaos, one of the fake Jokers begins to buzz and Firefly saves The Joker from the massive explosion caused by the fake Joker. Manhunter tracks down the Joker she has been chasing, only to find out that he is NOT The Joker she has been chasing.. Waffles observes it as Manhunter and Ravager have to fight off the army of fake Jokers. A sudden explosion seemingly takes out all the players, leading to Waffles finding The Joker and revealing to him he is NOT the real Joker…he’s actually John Keyser

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #1 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. Lois and Clark are having dinner when Clark drops to one knee, apparently to propose to Lois. That is when Godzilla rises from the sea. Twelve hours earlier, members of the League observe Superman battling Titano and Flash lends a hand. Elsewhere, Lex Luthor reveals to the Legion of Doom that the Titano “business” was only a distraction from his plan, leading to them to break into the Fortress of Solitude so they can steal the Mother Box. They accidentally set off a silent alarm that brings Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Supergirl to the Fortress. During the fight, the Mother Box gets activated and the villains are transported to Skull Island, where they observe Kong. Taking shelter in a command center there, Toyman uses a Kryptonian artifact to make a wish to bring back these creatures to fight the League.

NIGHTWING #107 by Tom Taylor, Michael W. Conrad, Serg Acuna,  and Stephen Byrne. Nightwing has been captured by Beatrice Bennett and she orders him taken to the brig. He learns that captain Blud is dead and that Blud was Bea’s father. He also deduces that Bludhaven is named for Blud’s Haven. She wants Nightwing to help find her brother Dirk, who her father had disowned some time ago. At one point, one of her crew falls overboard and Dick freezes during a rescue attempt, leading to Bea saving him. Lucas tells Bea that he did not fall, but was pushed. Now Dick makes the decision to stay with the crew and try to solve both the mystery and track down Dirk. In the backup, Jason and Dick are sitting in the Lowdown Tavern when they are observed by some unsavory looking characters who later attack them. The bad guys get defeated and Jason leaves a note for the man who apparently hired them.

THE PENGUIN #3 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre. The Penguin continues to put together his team, bringing together the former members of The Force of July: Lady Liberty, Major Victory, Sparkler, Mayflower, and Silent Majority.

POISON IVY #15 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Ivy is menaced by a transformed Peter Undine, who explains he created Greensteel and that this building is alive and he was reshaped by the Greensteel. He tells Ivy that he is not going to kill her but the building will never let her leave. She tries to fight her way out but it takes a visit from Croc to free her. As the building begins to crumble, she finds Undine and begs him to leave, but he explains that he cannot as this is the only perfect thing he ever built. Ivy and Croc flee and head back to Slaughter Swamp, where Croc tells her there are other people there who may not be so friendly to her.

POWER GIRL #2 by Leah Williams and Eduardo Pansica. Amalak gets corrupted by an alien creature and comes after Power Girl, eventually warning her that someone else is coming for her. All this is happening while she continues to investigate the Kryptonian virus.

RETURN OF SUPERMAN: 30^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, Karl Kessel, Travis Moore, Jon Bogdanove. Tom Grummett, and Brett Breeding. Metropolis is attacked by Cyborg Superman and our Superman is nowhere to be found. Ron presents Lois with a diary that Perry had written when Superman died, which details the birth of the four replacement Supermen. Steel, The Eradicator and Superboy band together to fight Cyborg Superman, with the Eradicator sending him back to the Phantom Zone.

SHAZAM #4 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Captain confront Garguax, who informs him that there is no missile and this was all a ruse by the gorillas to authorize an attack on the moon.  He is taken to meet Queen Bee, former Justice League villain, and she declares she will be queen of the cosmos once the gorilla parts are made into a warp engine. Moments before a kiss, The Captain says the magic word and becomes Billy Batson again, with Garguax saying he is now easier to kill. At that moment, the gorilla invasion begins. Back on Earth, Freddy’s mind is his own again and he tells his siblings that Billy is in trouble and they have to band together to save Billy from the gods themselves.  Queen bee uses her powers to stop the battle and then turns Garguax into a bug, as she demands her ship be prepared. She tracks down Billy and, before he can say his word, she tosses him into a deep pit.

SPIRIT WORLD #6 by Alyssa Wong and Haining. It is revealed that the former Verdant sorceress once had an experiment that went bad and sent part of a child back to the land of the living. That child was Xanthe Zhou. Elsewhere, Xanthe, Constantine and Batgirl battle the Gilded General, using the powers of her bracelet to defeat him. She surrenders to Wan Yujing, offering her peace and freeing her of the corruption within. She meets with the Council and orders them to reinstate reincarnation. In exchange, she is made a member of the Jade Court.

STEELWORKS #5 by Michael Dorn and Sam Basri. Walker uses his giant robot to attack Steelworks. His back story shows irons resigned from Walker’s company , after legal battles that drained his finances, his people discovered encrypted files of iron’s that dealt with phasing matter. Kerry got involved as he tried to commit suicide and was saved by Steel, resulting in his anger against him.

SUPERBOY: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #6 by Kenny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay. Connor fights against Travv, who has changed himself into Cyborg Superboy. He defeats him by unleashing to full range of his powers. The Green Lanterns arrive to arrest the rest of the Cosmoteers and Connor, his work done here, connects with Kelex and comes back to the Kent farm. During a reunion dinner, he is presented a new logo jacket. During the meal, he flies back into space to help his new friends.

SUPERGIRL SPECIAL #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Skylar Partridge. Supergirl is dealing with the appearance of Power Girl and is trying her best to be the best Supergirl…even if it risks the lives of others in the process.

SUPERMAN #7 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Edwin Galmon. While Perry White makes the announcement that he is running for Mayor, the recently released prisoner launches an attack on Metropolis, searching for Lex Luthor. Superman finally breaks free from his prison and engages with the villain, who causes enough chaos to distract Superman, allowing the freed prisoner to meet with Dr. Pharm and Mr. Graft, who tell him they arranged for his release to help them get their revenge on Lex. Elsewhere, Lois meets with Lex when his mother Leticia, once thought to be dead, arrives. Leticia has brought someone Lex has determined  should have never come back to Metropolis-his daughter Lena, who has three unusual marks on her head. In space, Brainiac has brought several Czarnians into his fold to further his plans.

TALES OF THE TITANS  #4 by Andrew Constant, Stein, and Brandt. Beast Boy  continues to deal with the after effects of losing his eye at the hands of Deathstroke. He goes on a journey and deals with a werewolf. Later, he meets Anthony Lupus, who is the werewolf, and finds that Lupus has captured him. Lupus tries to cure himself but that fails and Gar is forced to fight him. He defeats him, promising to take him somewhere safe, In the end, raven finds Gar and he tells her that she has managed to save him.

TITANS #4 by Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott. With Wally set to die in 24 hours, and the mysterious meteor still something to investigate, the team heads to Borneo to stop a group of traffickers, but run into the Demolition team. Back at Titans Tower, Garth arrives and meets with Linda; using the creature that has been implanted in him to take over her body too. Nightwing, Cyborg and Wally arrange to move Linda to Mars to keep her safe. Elsewhere, Waller meets with Peacemaker and says it is time to bring in “The Doctor”.

THE UNSTOPPABLE DOOM PATROL #7 by Dennis Culver and Chris Burnham.  General Immortus has been reborn as The Candlemaker. Robotman calls for backup, but the rest of the team is tied up fighting the new Brotherhood of Evil. Chief gets inside the head of The Quiz and takes her to The Underground: the place where all of Jane’s identities exist. There Sachiko meets with jane, who convinces her to fight alongside the Doom Patrol instead of against them. United, they all face off against The Candlemaker, with The Quiz sending him into The Bleed. Peacemaker shows up with a giant robot but the team again bands together to defeat it. In the end, The Candlemaker is met by The Batwoman Who Laughs.

WESLEY DODDS: THE SANDMAN #1 by Robert Venditti and Riley Rossimo. In the summer of 1940, The Sandman is fighting crime using a special gas he has created. But he is also troubled by nightmares he does not understand, including superheroes fighting an unknown villain, who we all realize is Per Degaton. Later, he pitches his sleep gas to the military for use in war, but they turn it down, saying that maiming and killing the enemy is a cheaper way to fight war. That night, after a depressing social evening with Dian, he fights more bad guys and then races off, as he learns his home is burning to the ground.

WONDER WOMAN #2 by Tom King, Josie Campbell, Vasco Georgiev and Daniel Sampere. Diana faces off against the might of the United States military, easily defeating them. In the story running along with it, a story from Diana’s past, she battles and defeats another Amazon: an Amazon named Emelie. In the backup, an unknown woman destroys a gas station. Meanwhile, an Amazon has a dreadful vision of death and destruction: the death of the Amazons. To be continued in AMAZONS ATTACK #1.

WORLD’S FINEST: TEEN TITANS #4 by Mark Waid and Emamuela Lupacchino. Wally invites Roy and Garth to his house for the weekend, which gets a bit weird as Garth is a water breather, Roy is rich and Wally’s parents just don’t understand. In fact, Wally’s father is concerned how mean Roy is to Garth and also likes to flaunt his wealth. Elsewhere, Karen ups her game and gives Mal the Guardian’s shield, which also has a special feature allowing him to change into his costume. While eating at a diner, Ant attacks and the pair have to fight him, as Ant has been tasked with killing a Titan. Meanwhile, Robin finds out that Donna raced in a Demolition Derby.

DC UNIVERSE Month 69, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1058 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Gene Luen Yang, Greg Hahn, Travis Mercer, Viktor Bogdanovic, and Rafa Sandoval. As Clark faces off against the other Superman, he uses Supercorp’s series of Anti-Superman satellites to defeat him. Norah Stone gives a press conference, saying that Blue Earth has everyone’s back. When Clark arrives home, he finds out an incident at Steelworks involving one of the Warworld children. Later, Kara tells the story of Red Son and Starchild, as contained in the fable “Nightwing and Flamebird”. Norah has a virtual meeting with some of her associates, saying she thinks she can turn one of Clark’s brood. With his powers temporarily taken away, Irons builds him a steel suit and equips him with a sword. In th first backup, the Warworld children are captured by the Worm Emperor, but get saved by the Super-Man of China, who they accuse of being a Chinese spy. He explains that a Chinese reporter was murdered, possibly by someone with laser vision. While he tries to explain, and in the middle of a fight with the children, Kenan falls down and dies. In the third story, the children create chaos during the Metropolis Day parade

ALAN SCOTT: THE GREEN LANTERN #1 by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey. In 1941, J. Edgar Hoover tries to convince to join the JSA by revealing compromising pictures of Alan with his boyfriend Johnny. The two were in the service together in 1936, working on a project that would make use of something called The Crimson Flame. Johnny had given Alan a ring to signify his love for Alan. During a test of The Crimson Flame, something goes wrong, with Johnny being torn away by the Flame. In 1941, Green Lantern arrives at a hostage situation when a strange red ball of energy erupts that he stops. He gets to the gunman and Jay Garrick says it looks like the gunman had drowned. That was when Alan realizes he knows the man…it’s Johnny. In the end, Alan is undergoing shock treatment in Arkham.

AMAZONS ATTACK #1 by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev. Continued from WONDER WOMAN #2. Following the recent incidents involving an alleged Amazon, Nubia travels to Washington to meet with the President. But, before that can happen, a mysterious gas turns the Secret Service against her., with Faruka saving her. As they flee, the pair end up going out a window and are saved by Mary Marvel. The police try to arrest the Amazons and, with news broadcasts claiming the Amazons attacked the President, it appears there is a war brewing.

BATMAN #138 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. At one point, Vandal Savage met with Ra’s as he was leaving his Lazarus Pit, where Savage reveals he is looking for the power from the meteor rocks that made him immortal. Meanwhile, Batman tells Jason that he has infected Jason with something that fills him with fear when his adrenaline kicks in. Later, Nightwing is confronted by Batman, with Dick explaining that he believes Bruce is out of control. At the same time, Tim and Damian fight, ending with Tim handcuffing Damian to a pipe to keep him out of Batman’s war.  Tim assaults Batman and then Nightwing comes along to beat on him worse, leading to a brawl between Tim and Dick, with Batman trapping them in a net to end the battle. They cut themselves free and free Damian, who is crying out for his father. Jason gets freed by Marquise, who reveals she is Scandal Savage. With Scandal by his side, Vandal reveals he has a grand plan.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 by Joshua Williamson and Simone Di Meo. Batman continues to struggle after being attacked by bats that were sent after him by Shush. He is able to save himself thanks to a smoke bomb made of eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary and thyme. At the Gotham Zoo, which Shush has made her home base, Croc dips out of her group even as her mysterious conspirator tells her that there is a loose end she must deal with. The next day, Damian finds himself bullied at school, which leads to him dipping out of school and heading to where White Rabbit is being held, only to find that Batman is already there and planning to interrogate her. They find that the guards  have been knocked out and Shush and her crew have gotten there first.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO GOTHIC #4 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Max Dunbar. As terry falls, he hallucinates memories of his mother, Robin and Bruce. When he wakes, he finds himself in an alley, where he discovers he is a cat. He observes Kyle being tormented by a group of anthropomorphic cats. Kyle is later saved by the elderly Constantine, who teaches him various lessons before he dies. Meanwhile, Terry battles a vision of a mutated Batman, before reuniting with Kyle. They find themselves in a garden where they face off against denizens of The Green.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN THE GOTHAM WAR: RED HOOD #2 by Matthew Rosenberg and Nikola Cizmesija. The Joker surprises two of Catwoman’s thieves, asking them to deliver something to Red Hood. Meanwhile, Jason is roughing up criminals, trying to find The Scarecrow. He meets with Ravager and they find one of Catwoman’s thieves, now dead, with the note to Red Hood. Over the next few days, as detailed in CATWOMAN #57 and BATMAN #138, Jason falls down a dark hole, with Batman injecting him with something that creates a fear response when his adrenaline kicks in. Jason goes to rescue people in a fire, as seen in CATWOMAN #58, where he is visited by both The Scarecrow and The Joker. The two villains fight and The Joker doses The Scarecrow with Grundy’s pee. As the building starts to collapse, The Joker flees, leaving Jason behind. To be continued in BATMAN/CATWOMAN THE GOTHAM WAR: SCROCRCHED EARTH and THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #12.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN THE GOTHAM WAR: SCORCHED EARTH #1 by Tini Howard, Chip Zdarsky, Mike Hawthorne, and Nikola Cizmesija. While Tim faces off against Savage’s army of villains, Jason, Selina and Bruce meet, with Bruce explaining that Savage is seeking out meteor fragments. The fragments are believed to make people immortal and enhanced and Bruce had the largest piece., which is now missing from Wayne Manor. He learns of what Tim is facing and sends the Bat Family, minus Jason, to assist while he goes after Savage.  Catwoman catches up with batman, who reveals that the fragments are not the source of power, but a homing beacon for a larger meteor.  The Bat Family takes out the villains and Batman alerts them that a meteor is coming and will wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard. That leads to Jason commandeering the Batwing and crashing it into the meteor. It breaks apart but a large piece does land. Savage stabs his daughter and places his hand on the meteor but it seemingly engulfs him while Batman and Catwoman save Scandal, with Selina falling into the green aura around the meteor, seemingly killing her. Two weeks later, the cleanup is complete and it has created something akin to a Lazarus Pit, giving hope that Selina and Savage have survived. Later, Batman has a virtual meeting with The Riddler, who informs him that The Joker is back and causing trouble. In the end, one of The Riddler’s henchmen finds Bruce’s newest lair and realizes that Bruce is Batman.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #20 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Flash meets with Batman and Superman, telling them that he has found Boy Thunder and he is on Earth-22. The pair of heroes use a modified Cosmic Treadmill to travel to Earth-22. They observe a much older David, along with this version of Superman, standing over the coffins of Ted Kord, Kara and Ray Palmer. They also see a sea of  gravestones with the names of the dead heroes of this Earth. They are then displaced, putting then into Metropolis, where they go to Planet Krypton. Outside, a hero battles Atom Smasher, using his powers to subdue the villain. The hero is David and he uses his power to attack Superman.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #6 by Guillem March, Ed Brisson, Rob Williams, Sean Lewis, Jeff Spokes, Stefano Landini, and Javier Fernandez. Batman, after his battle with The Joker, finds himself with a case of amnesia and being cared for by a young girl named Aurora and her mother. While he tries to regain his memory and abilities, with the hope to go back into being Batman, he becomes romantically involved with Aurora’s mother. At one point, while out helping people, Catwoman observes him. In the end, he sees the Bat Signal and that may trigger a memory. In the second story, Stormwatch faces off against Kanjar Ro before sending him to The Phantom Zone. Then the team seemingly breaks up, with Ghost Maker, Ravager and Peacekeeper staying behind, provided the latter can get to go after Batman at some point. In the third take, Harcourt continues her journey back from death, tracking down the man who killed her: Boomerang. In the final take, Batman investigates a possible murder in a theater, only to find it all a trick created by Rupert Pint..

BIRDS OF PREY #2 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero. Dinah continues to try and put her team together and her plan is to go to Themyscira and get Sin out. But Zealot has issues, saying she is not about killing Amazons, which she explains they are not going to do. As the team heads off, via Boom Tube, to different locations, Dinah meets with Constantine and they head to the Oblivion Bar. Eventual the entire team land in a place beneath the bar and have to band together to take on the guardians of the Barter so Constantine can regain his “bag of tricks”. Defeating the guardians, the team heads to East Gotham docks and eventually make their way to Themyscira where they are met by King Shark, who apparently is joining the team…sort of.

BLUE BEETLE #2 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. Ted Kord is in the hospital and his closest friends are there with him. Jaime’s biggest concern is that Ted’s sister is not here. Victoria Kord is still at the scene of the crime and looking to get revenge for what happened. At Estrella Plaza, Xiomara and Roma get attacked by the same person who attacked Ted, injuring Shepherd Ood in the process. What Jaime discovers are magic symbols on the ground, meaning he needs to contact his ex.

CATWOMAN #58 by Tini Howard and Nico Leon. Selina meets with bruce, who is traumatized by what has happened to Jason. Later, she meets with Vandal and Scandal and Vandal attacks her with a sword, decapitating her, only to find that this was actually Lady Clayface. Savage meets with many of Gotham’s villains. Jason tries to rescue people in a fire and has fear issues rise up within again. Scandal meets with Catwoman, who tells Selina that she is planning on being immortal like her father. Batman and Catwoman head to the fire, saving Jason. While a crowd observes the fire, the villains arrive.

CITY BOY #6 by Greg Pak and Minkyu Jung. Cameron, whose powers are out of control, meets with Swamp Thing, telling him that he is seeking his mother. Swamp Thing takes him on a journey, revealing that his parents hid in the woods when Bludhaven was hit with nukes. Together, they find her grave and Cameron allows his anger to further progress to the city, bringing much pleasure to a certain doctor responsible for all of this.

CYBORG #4 by Morgan Hampton and Esan Damien Hill. Marcus has been freed but that doesn’t mean the crisis has ended. While at lunch with Estelle, a group of Solace synths attack in a number of places, including free prisoners at S.T.A.R. labs and where Sarah is holed up. In the end, a captured Sarah is brought to the site of the battle between Victor and the synths.

DANGER STREET #10 by Tom King and Jorge Fornes. Jack Ryder goes to the roof of the GTN building and discovers the bodies of Manhunter and the Assassin. Commodore arrives and is more upset that they got blood on his diamond sword. He forces Jack to kneel before him. Meanwhile, Lady Cop, who has the helm of Dr. Fate in her possession, tries to get help from the FBI, but that gets her nowhere. She makes the decision and takes the helm with her on a flight to somewhere. Highfather tells Darkseid that he cannot hold back the sky, which pleases Darkseid. Warlord is with Non-Fat, telling him he needs to meet with Starman. He informs his blue friend that Orion is back and they need to find him.  Warlord tracks Orion down and find him very drunk. After a  brief scuffle, Warlord explains they have to revive the boy to get the soul Orion is searching for, but they need the body and the helmet.  Later, in a meeting with Commodore, Jack is forced to become The Creeper as the Outsiders arrive and threaten to kill Commodore. The Creeper talks them down, as they reveal that all they did wrong was step outside of the line and they want their lives to go back to the way it used to be. But, to achieve that, they need the helm.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1075 by Ram V, Francisco Francavilla, and Aaron Campbell. Batman continues to struggle because of the influence of the Azmer in his system. He goes to Wayne Manor where he is captured  by the Orghams. Arzen unmasks him, discovering him to be Bruce Wayne. While it looks as if The Batman is going to be hung in Gotham, Arzen questions the decision. In the backup, a young Bruce deals with his parents’ deaths and his possible future.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1076 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Jason Shawn Alexander, Christopher Mitten, Liam Sharp, and Aditya Bidikar. With Batman scheduled to be executed, Catwoman goes about gaining allies to help him, starting with Jim Gordon, and moving through Azrael, Poison Ivy and Commissioner Montoya. In the second story, The Question goes hunting for a serial kidnapper. In the third backup, Azrael meets with Karl and vengeance before deciding to put on his Bat armor once again. In the final story, a Summoner arises.

FIRE & ICE: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE #2 by Joanne Starer and Natacha Bustos. Fire films a mock fight with Ambush Bug in order to gain Social Media traction. While Fire goes to the bar Pour Decisions, where she learns the proprietor is Rocky’s sister,  Ice and Rocky go book shopping, where Ice finds that Rocky goes to the local medical center to deliver the books to ailing children. When Ice and Rocky return to the salon, they find it filled with villains, as part of Fire’s rehabilitation program. With cameras everywhere to capture the moments, a fight breaks out and, in the midst of it, Jimmy Olsen shows up.

THE FLASH #2 by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr. Wally battles The Uncoiled before being taken to The Stillness. Later, the gorilla’s attack and Wally is there to battle them. Mr. terrific informs him that the city has been marked. But who is marking it-The Uncoiled or The Stillness or both?

GREEN ARROW #5 by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, and Phil Hester. Ollie and his older self battle lizard creatures before ending up at the Arrow Cave. Elsewhere, Jade meets with Dinah and Roy, who reveals she knows that Waller has made deals and agrees to help find her and Roy’s daughter. In the end, Ollie battles his older self, revealed to be a robot. In the process, he is transported to a different place and time, where he meets his younger self. But a third Ollie arrives and our Ollie is shot with an arrow. Is Green Arrow dead again?

GREEN LANTERN #4 by Jeremy Adams and Xermanico. Sinestro meets with Hal, demanding Hal’s ring or else he would blow up several bombs placed throughout the city. Hal gives him the ring, which does not work for anyone but Hal, leading to Sinestro triggering the devices. Luckily, Barry is en route to find them and get rid of them Hal and Barry work as a team and save the city. Later, Barry and Hal investigate the theft at Ferris and Carol arrives, where Barry tells her that he is going to have Terrifictech to do forensic analysis on her planes. When she leaves, Barry gets a notification that someone was attacking Los Angeles, where they find Major Disaster and subdue him. Unfortunately, the Ferris aircraft are suddenly activated and head off somewhere. In the backup, a young boy, who turns out to be Sinestro’s son, tries to make a name for himself.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #2 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. In the Amazon rainforest, a group of Lanterns, searching for john Stewart, encounter a woman who announces that they will work together to punish Stewart. Elsewhere, John takes his mother to Steelworks, where he has a job interview. Later, they are attacked by the three Lanterns, who have been transformed by the woman they earlier interacted with. During the battle, one of the Lanterns stabs John and it looks like he is going to be transformed too.

HARLEY QUINN # 33 by Tini Howard, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Sweeney Boo, and Hayden Sherman. On Earth-26, Harely has been killed and Lux Kirby arrives to suggest a meeting with Captain Carrot. On Earth-), Lux tells Harley that Python Ivy also got killed. Besides teaching and worrying that her Ivy will suffer the same fate, Harly is at the back and call of Lady Quark, who makes her come to Warworld and supervise Liana’s riding lessons. In the process, they get attacked and Harley reaches out to Lux, who has information on who has been trying to kill her…and it seems like her own hyenas are responsible. In the backup, it’s another twisted Harley dream.

HAWKGIRL #4 by Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan. Seventeen years ago, a young Cyandi had an interaction with Vulpecula. Today, Metropolis is being attacked by a dragon, leading to Supergirl, Cyandi, Hawkigirl and Steel teaming up to fight it. Not having much luck, Cyandi supercharges her powers and transmutes them to Hawkgirl, giving her an impenetrable armor. She defeats the creature and, in the end, she meets a woman and it ytriggers a memory-a memory from seventeen years ago when she met Vulpecula.