DC's ZERO MONTH WEEK #3

BATWOMAN #0: We get the tale of Kate Kane and her twin sister Beth as they grew up. If Beth was bullied, Kate would defend her. Beth and her mother were slaughtered in a terrorist kidnapping. Kate’s ultimate way of dealing with their deaths was to focus on her studies and get into West Point. During that time, she met her new girlfriend Sophie. But that relationship lead to her being thrown out of West Point during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. She found herself sinking in drink to wash away her pain. As part of her training to be Batwoman, her father sent her to the Four Corners of the world on treacherous missions. On her last mission, her father confronts her. Eventually she returns to Gotham and realizes that her father betrayed her by not telling her that her sister Beth was still alive. That led to the birth of Batwoman.

J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman retell the story of Kate Kane and add some new pieces to it. What I love about Williams art is that it shifts from this beautifully painted style to a very cartoony one. The pair writes a good story that moves along nicely. You don’t have to have full knowledge of Batwoman’s pre NEW 52 adventures, but it helps. But they do a good enough job of filling in holes to eliminate a lot of that need. A great character with a great story.

BIRDS OF PREY #0: The story begins one year ago with Dinah Lance, formerly of Team 7, chasing after Basilisk. Biding her time, she goes to work for Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge. Penguin nicknames her Black Canary to keep with his bird theme. She meets and becomes friends with Eve Crawford, who has been named Starling. Dinah hears that a deal with Basilisk is going down but the meet she observes gets broken up when Batgirl ruins it by getting involved. After a scuffle, Dinah and Batgirl admit they were both after the same thing: a mutation bomb (similar to the one from SUICIDE SQUAD #0?). They finally observe the buyer, go after him, and take him out. But Starling gets the drop on Batgirl, putting a gun to her head. Dinah convinces her that they are all on the same side and the trio head off in a speed boat. In the epilogue, Dinah realizes she missed the ‘team adventure’ and liked the idea of having someone watching her back. Meanwhile, Starling reports to  Amanda Waller, who tells Starling to remain friendly with Dinah. We also see Dinah’s “late” husband kept in stasis in Waller’s control.

WOW!!! Duane Swierczynski makes every effort to impress on this one and does! We find how Canary got her name, how she and Starling became friends and that they might really be friends. Kurt Lance on ice…REALLY!? Again, we have Amanda Waller pulling strings. And Romano Molenaar’s art rocks! I would take his art any day and every month on this book!

BLUE BEETLE #0: We start at Reachworld, long, long ago when Khaji-Da was created. It seeks out a host and bonds itself onto a littler alien girl named Styx. Styx uses the powers she never knew she had to fend off the scarab and we are told she has grown up to become Lady Styx: “her name is a byword for terror”. Attacked by a Green Lantern, the injured scarab ends up in the Yucatan Peninsula where it changes form and becomes known as the Sky Witness, defending the people of the land. Eventually, it would be known as the cruel god Quetzalcoatl. Over the centuries, the scarab is found and lost and traded until it ends up in the possession of Jaime Reyes who becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle. When last we saw him, O.M.A.C. transported him into deep space. Now he floats through space and is about to be attacked by other scarab creatures.

I found this a fun read, especially since I don’t read the title. Keith Giffen and Tony Bedard craft a brilliant story about the history of the scarab, as narrated by the scarab itself. Ig Guara and J.P. Mayer handle the art chores and, while it’s nothing stunning, it is also not so off-putting to take away from the story. If this book read this good each month, I would probably buy it.

CAPTAIN ATOM #0: Set several years ago, Nathaniel “Nate” Adams finds himself so overcome by his father’s death that he tries to fly his jet to the moon, which gets him to volunteer for a secret, inter-dimensional experiment run by Doctor Megala. Something goes hideously wrong and he appears to die during the experiment. He reappears some time later as a being of pure energy.

J. T. Krul’s story gives me nothing that would make me want to read this title which, thankfully, has been cancelled. Here’s a military guy with a complete dislike of the military who suddenly becomes a weapon or the military. Sorry: that makes no sense to me! And Freddie Williams III art is a poor man’s version of Bill Sienkiewicz…and that’s being kind. The character is shallow, the art is miserable and I think it’s time he gets re-imagined yet again…by someone who can develop him properly!

CATWOMAN #0: Set a few years ago, Selina Kyle is hired by the mayor's as the Mistress of Protocol and Invitation Management, which gives her more clearance. She wants to find out where her brother, who ended up in another foster home, ended up.

A co-worker helps and finds Selina’s image, but with a Russian name. That was when the computer crashed. A year earlier, She was involved in burglary, but she got caught and got taken in to the second chance program with the mayor's office. The day after the computer crash, she was called up to speak with the man who put her in the second chance program. He accused her of triggering the crash by looking into her file and throws her off the building. But an awning breaks her fall. On the ground, stray cats surround her. Months pass and Selina has transformed into Catwoman, using the cloth from the awning to make her first costume. She broke into her old office to steal stole some computer files. She takes the files to a computer expert and he claims the files have been wiped and there was no record of the Second Chances program.

Ann Nocenti steps into Judd Winick’s shoes and does an commendable job of it. She throws in this brilliant hook that will move the story along for the next few months if not the next year. Who is Selina Kyle? Really? We also have a wonderful art job from Adriana Melo who seems to be the new kid on the block replacing Guillem March, although March does turn in a breathtaking cover. And I’m okay with that! This book continues to do wonders and rocks my world! I cannot wait to see how this all ties together. It is now a far cry from the book that disturbed so many people because it began with Batman and Catwoman having sex!

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #0: In the first story, we see how Max Lord and Brother Eye collaborated on the O.M.A.C. project and how Kevin Kho was chosen to be the host. Next we get Michael Holt as he makes his transformation from the smartest man in the world to Mister Terrific. He sees visions of the past, present and near future, including a vision of his deceased son. But it turns out his son is actually someone else who will be causing trouble for the heroes of Earth 2. Next, the origin of the team of Hawk and Dove, thanks to the manipulating of the Goddess of Order and the God of Chaos. The next tale is of the early days of the Blackhawks. Set five years ago during the war with Darkseid, we see how the team fought valiantly, how Lady Blackhawk lost her eye and our first look at Mother Machine. Finally, we have an early tale of Deadman, who is adjusting to try and work with Rama Kushna.

Welcome to the $6.00 NEW 52 version of the 1978 CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE(bits and pieces from 20 DC comics cancelled during what was called the DC IMPLOSION). Each of these characters (except for Deadman, who appeared in the first DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS story) had series shot out from under them. And, for the most part, we can see why.  Of all of these characters, the only one I gravitated to was O.M.A.C. and even this tale is weak. Of all the stories here, the one that looks the best is the Hawk and Dove tale. But keep in mind it IS Rob Liefeld and therefore the writing leaves something to be desired. This was a very expensive way to keep these characters in the public eye. Merge them into something and be done with them.

GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #0:  Following the events of GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL VOL. 5 #1, Carol Ferris and Kyle Rayner search for Hal Jordan, but end up battling Black Lantern zombies. Harnessing the powers of his ring, which now has all the colors of the various Lanterns within it, Kyle defeats the zombies and discovers that Hal Jordan is no more. Meanwhile, The Zamorrans are ready to usher out the Lanterns and usher in their own era.

Tony Bedard, Aaron Kuder and Andrei Bressan carve out the next chapter in the upcoming crossover in the Lantern titles. For me, all it serves to do is fill in some holes for me. I haven’t read the title since the first issue, so I knew nothing about Kyle’s ring acquiring new powers. And to be honest, I really don’t care. I have never been a Kyle Rayner fan, except for that moment when he found his girlfriend dead in his fridge. And even that wasn’t me liking his character-it was me missing Alex.

 JUSTICE LEAGUE #0: Black Adam has arrived and he is looking for the wizard. Billy Batson examines the tunnel, finding and activating all the statues that make up the name SHAZAM. Eventually he is called to the Wizard, who resembles the aborigine Gateway from UNCANNY X-MEN. He proclaims he is the last of the Council of Wizards and the keeper of the Rock of Eternity. He is seeking the pure individual, which we know Billy is not. But he knows Black Adam is loose and does see potential in the boy. The wizard tells him to say that magical word and he does with one word…SHAZAM! After admonishing him for wasting his powers, the wizard dies and Billy transports himself back to the surface where Freddy is. The pair cause some havoc in town but Billy saves a young woman from a mugger and accepts a $20 tip. At this point, he and Freddie see the ultimate get rich scheme.

FINALLY-SHAZAM is born. Sorry…can’t get used to calling him that, even after all these years. he’s Captain Marvel: the Big Red Cheese. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank make a character who should have his own book…if we need another anti-hero. Supposedly he has the good within in. So how come all we can see is the nasty in him. Where this goes and hour this will play out during the upcoming issues of JUSTICE LEAGUE could be very entertaining.

 LEGION OF SUPERHEROES #0: We start shortly after the founding of the Legion. Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy battle a creature on Colu, which, for the uninitiated, is Brianiac’s homeworld. And, whether he meant it or not, Brianiac 5 was responsible for these robotic bugs getting loose when he opened the lab door. Oh, and we also get the origin of Tharok and meet a Colun child who may be important down the road.

Once again, I find myself craving the good old days of the Legion. I like Scott Kolin’s art as a rule, but it doesn’t hold my attention on this book. And Paul Levitz’ time as a Legion writer has long passed. So Brainiac 5 is accountable for the villain and we will reward him by making him a Legionnaire. Yeah-let us all know how that works out for ya!

NIGHTWING #0: As kids, Dick Grayson and his friend Raymond get in some trouble playing in a rail yard. Despite being grounded, he presented a bracelet with two robins on them to his mother for her birthday. That night, after Tony Zucco threatens C.C. Haly, the adult Graysons fell to their deaths. As Bruce Wayne took him away, Dick took back the robin bracelet. Dick spent his spare time looking for Zucco under the guise of playing video games. He also made it a pint of sneaking out at night and doing his own detective work. One night he saw Batman in action and immediately realized it was Bruce Wayne. Eventually, Bruce began training Dick and made him a part of his world of vigilantism. Making a costume out of spare Batsuit parts, Dick ended up in a  battle with the notorious assassin Lady Shiva. Referring to him as Bat Boy, he declared himself to be Robin. Despite defeating him, she offered to have him come to her for some real training. 

This is a very pleasing take on the legend of Robin the Boy Wonder. The death of the Graysons, the contribution of Boss Zucco, becoming Bruce Wayne’s ward-that’s all part of the legend. What becomes new here is where Robin comes from (his mother) and how he revealed his understanding that Bruce was Batman to Bruce. This sort of echoes the Bucky Barnes meets Captain America origin and feels a bit cheap. And Lady Shiva as a possible mentor for Dick? That doesn’t feel right either. But Tom DeFalco writes a comfortable story and Kyle Higgins provides some awesome artwork.

RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #0: Our story begins with the birth and young life of Jason Todd. His father was a thief; his mother was a drug addict. Ultimately his father died in prison and his mom has an overdose. A child of the streets, he gets helped by Leslie Thomson and has an eventual run in with the Batman, who makes his the second Robin. The two are not the ideal partners, as they are often at opposite ends of the spectrum. One night, he sees a photo on the Bat Computer and realizes his mother is still alive. They meet at last and soon he is captured by the Joker and beaten to death. He dies and eventually reborn thanks to the Lazarus Pit. In the second half of the  story, The Joker tells his version of how all that happened, complete with faking Jason’s mother’s initial overdose and being totally responsible for the death of Robin and the eventual rebirth as Red Hood.

They say every story has two sides and we get great detail on both of them. This has, by far, been my favorite issue of the series. The great DC anti-hero (next to Deathstroke) is Jason Todd and Scott Lobdell tells the tale that takes him from the punk we all wanted to die back in BATMAN #428 to the guy we wished we had sympathized with. Lobdell has succeeded in making him a poor soul who suffered through life, death and the afterlife. We get stunning artwork throughout both from Pasquel Ferry, Ig Guara and Brett Booth. A nearly perfect issue!

SUPERGIRL #0: Both Zor-El and his brother Jor-El knew that Krypton was dying, even though they had an argument which led to a rift that had yet to be repaired. Zor-El was searching for a way to save his daughter Kara. He built many machines to produce a force field protecting Argo when the destruction came. Eventually Zor-El took Kara to his power generators and showed her a pod. Inside was a suit bearing the family crest. As Kara went off to try it on, her mother, encountered a stranger from the House of El who promised to show her a way to say goodbye to her daughter before it was too late. Kara becomes weak while wearing the suit and Zor-El places her in the pod. He began toi record a message to her but was interrupted by his wife, who shot him with his own non-lethal weapon. Zor-El entered the launch sequence and the rocket left Krypton, just as the force field formed around Argo.

Again, this was a title that I loved when it started and then it just petered out. This origin story is not the perfect jumping on pint for me as I truly don’t like the character. Give me Power Girl any day, as she strikes me as more of the person Supergirl was. At least give her the tacky Sixties outfit with the little skirt and the bob hair and maybe I might be interested again.

SWORD OF SORCERY #0: Amy Winston is a high school student who is far from popular. The new girl in town, her only other friend is a girl named Beryl. During her 17^th birthday party, Amy leaves as her mother had always promised she could go home for her 17th birthday. Meanwhile, on the world of Nilaa, Lady Mordiel, the heir of the Amethyst house, has tracked down another of the bloodline and has the girl killed. Back in our world, Amy arrives at the football field as three men try to rape Beryl. Amy’s training allows her to beat up thew boys but freaks out Beryl in the process. Amy heads home and is told it is time to leave. Where they are going, they will have enemies who wish to kill them; especially Graciel’s sister, Lady Mordiel. Using a gemstone to open a portal, Graciel grabs Amy’s hand and they head into a New World, where they are greeted by a group of warriors who kneel before them. The women’s clothes and hair changes color and Amy grabs a sword to be by her mother’s side. The book ends with John Constantine picking up the portal crystal and walking away.

In the back-up, Wigstaf, the son of Weostahn, has been chosen to send a message to Beowulf. As the group approaches, Beowulf arises from his cryochamber and sees the group on a video screen. One warrior walks inside the chamber and is cut in two by the mighty warrior. The boy pretends he was a prisoner and he thanks Beowulf for saving him. He begs Beowulf to come north and slay Grendel. After some discussion, he agrees.

Back in the day, when I was single and comics were a lot cheaper, I bought AMETHYST PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD. In fact, I have a full collection. It was a fun read with great art by Ernie Colon back when I was 23. However, add 30 years to me and I really do not care about these characters. Now Christy Marx is a well established and talented author having done such work as diverse as G.I. Joe and SISTERHOOD OF STEEL (another comic I own a complete set of). So she has the sword and sorcery thing down. But the characters are boring to me. Maybe that’s because I’m not a 17 year old girl. I do love Aaron Lopresti’s artwork but not enough to cough up four bucks each month. Regarding the backup, Tony Bedard and Jesus Saiz take an interesting approach to the classic character. This must be set either in a distant world or a far flung future. I love the idea that this warrior of legend comes out of a cryochamber and watches the outside world on a video monitor. Here’s a thought: cancel some other low selling book, take this out of the back-up slot and make this a mini-series. THAT I would buy!

WONDER WOMAN #0: Princess Diana turns twelve she stole a harpy’s egg and gained favor with God Ares. During the celebration Diana  and Aleka fight, which gets nasty as the “clay” reference to Diana’s heritage is used like an epithet (she knows nothing of her revised origin at this point). She flips out and savagely attacks the girl until she is pulled off of her. In shame, she runs away. Crying by a stream, the god of war arrives and offers to teach her the way of a warrior. She agrees and they regularly begin to train and do so for a year. On her thirteenth birthday, she faces the Minotaur. She defeats the beats but refuses to kill him. Disgusted, Area vowed to never help her again.

I cannot say enough about Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chaing’s work on this title except it is quickly becoming the standard many other writers and artists wish they could attain. The book is always filled with humor, energy and some of the best plot twists in comics today. I could go on at length, but if you have read any of my recent reviews in the last years, you know I love this title dearly.

DC's ZERO MONTH, WEEK TWO

BATGIRL #0: The story begins four years ago where Barbara Gordon was studying Criminology. She and her brother James spend an afternoon at GCPD and took an interest in an alleged mass murder named Harry X. An attempted breakout occurs and Barbara and James are trapped. Barbara gets free and dressed in a Batman costume the department was working with. She eventually gets lucky and gets a blow in that knocks him out. Over the next year, she trained and became Batgirl. But one day she made a big mistake and hung up her costume. Three years ago, the Joker showed up at her door and crippled her.

Well, Gail Simone adds a bit more history and color to our heroine, but still doesn’t reveal the whole miracle of Barbara getting her legs back. And we get to see that James Jr., even at his young age, is being seen as defective. By the way: Ed Benes artwork is stunning throughout this entire issue!

BATMAN #0:  Six years ago, the Red Hood Gang decides to rob the newly redesigned Gotham National Bank. The Red Hood poisoned the celebratory cake and killed everyone. Red Hood #5 turns out to be Bruce Wayne in disguise. Bruce manages to escape while the GCPD battles with the gang. Bruce retreats to a brownstone he lives in not far from Crime Alley. There he tests out a type of boomerang he designed. Lieutenant Gordon arrives to discuss some possible dirty dealings that Bruce’s cousin Philip Kane may have been involved in. Gordon also asks what he may know about a vigilante in the area, meanwhile, the Red Hood Gang recognized Bruce's brownstone and decides to take him out of the game. In the back-up story, Lieutenant Gordon is preparing to move to Gotham City. Young Timothy Drake gets in trouble for hacking into a school computer but manages to blackmail his way out ofd trouble. Elsewhere, two guys rob a convenience store. One of them kills a hostage having heard the others’ name-Jason. Jason ran after his partner and beat him up until the police arrived, Meanwhile, Dick Grayson, taking a night off from Haly’s Circus, takes out a purse snatcher. Then, up in the sky, it’s the Bat Signal, seen by all partners involved.

Two interesting tales here. In the first, we see the infamous Red Hood gang and realize that the Red Hood was insane before he became The Joker. The idea of Bruce operating out of the mansion? I’m not too keen on that concept but that is a minor thing with me. As far as the back-up, I like how it ties together the lives of Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson. This serves as a perfect reminder that there will a deaths in the upcoming DEATH OF THE FAMILY storyline in the Bat books.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #0: This is Damien’s life story,  beginning with his birth from an artificial womb, complete with the death of a nurse killed by his beloved mother Talia. On his fifth birthday, Damien began  to be trained in swordsmanship.At this age, Damien began inquiring as to who his father was. He soon discovered Batman’s cowl and gets to wear it. Talia tells him  he has some of the Bat in him. She also says his name means "to tame." Soon he was training with the League of Assassins. On his tenth birthday, he escaped a team of assassins while in free-fall from thousands of feet above the ground. After defeating them, she throws a giant man-bat at him, which he also defeated. He battled his mother to discover the truth about his and defeated her. They traveled to London where Batman was introduced to his ten year old son.

Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason do what they do best: write a clever, kick ass comic book!  The secret upbringing of Damien Wayne within the house of Talia al Ghul. We get treated to the curiosity of a child wanting to know his father. We get countless battle scenes as he spends each year trying to defeat his mother in combat and learn that information. Best of all, we get the final line where Damien says to his father: “I imagined you taller!” He is a trained, hardened killer who will never totally fit in to the Wayne/Batman family. But it sure is fun watching him try.
DEATHSTROKE #0: Slade Wilson meets his future wife Adeline who trains him to be a member of Team 7. During a mission to Gamorra, Slade is badly wounded and is experimented on while going through rehabilitation. Following his recovery, they are married, Shortly after, he discovers that his close friend Wintergreene was being held in Somalia and he goes to rescue him. This is the night that Deathstroke is born. After that, he became a contract killer for hire to support his wife and tow sons. Many years later, the family, which now included Wintergreene’s son Peabody, is attacked, apparently killing his wife and son Joseph. He also loses his eye in that battle. Soon it is a two man army as Slade’s son Grant joined him in his mission. In the present day, Slade received a special present from his wife and son, now known as Jericho.

Hey look: it’s another Rob Liefeld craptacular where the only thing worse than the art is the story. Every single character looks the same and don’t even get me started about his lack of proportion! As far as that story goes: really?! Let me get this straight: his wife is his trainer, he gets experimented after a mission gone bad, raises a family, gets his family killed but not really and now they seek revenge? Didn’t we already have ONE SON seeking revenge? Real original Rob!
DEMON KNIGHTS #0: The Demon Etrigan serves Lucifer, who treats him like a lesser demon. He is forced to fight all of the demons in Hell to gain favor. Jason of Norwich toils in King Arthur’s court and gets no magical assistance from Merlin. He is also not very good at it and ends up in prison after laying hands on King Arthur himelf. Merlin meets with Morgaine LeFay, who tells him of Jason’s cursed future. Merlin goes to Hell and meets with his father, Lucifer and tells him of a bargain. Lucifer banishes a rebellious Etrigan who ends up in Merlin’s cage. The next thing you know, the castle is being attacked by Stormwatch and Merlin binds Etirgan to Jason of Norwich.

Paul Cornell and Bernard Chang gives us the origin of Etrigan and Jason Blood…and I don’t care. Somewhere I expect Jack Kirby is spinning in his grave. And must Wildstorm appear in EVERYTHING? Oh yeah, I forgot: Stormwatch is responsible for everything since the dawn of time. Jim Lee needs to take his Wildstorm stuff and pack it out of DCville. And yeah: I’m an old school Wildstorm fan.  But enough is enough! Next issue resolves the cliffhanger. Depending on how that goes, I may go too!

FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #0: We witness the birth of the Frankenstein monster. When he frees himself from Victor, he begins what becomes known as the ten thousand mile journey. But he is pursued by Victor and his army of creations all the while. The creature ends up making a home in the Amazon and becomes one with the natives. ut Victor soon arrives and slaughters the natives, angering the beast made from the dead He defeats his creator and gets to meet father: a woman in a dress and carrying a parasol. From there, Frankenstein becomes an agent of justice.

Matt Kindt and Alberto Ponticelli weave a wonderful story that continues to humanize the creature. We also discover that S.H.A.D.E. manages to slip through time, as they took parts from Victor’s failed crations to make Frankenstein’s future mate.  just love this book and am finally getting totally comfortable with Ponticelli’s art. It’s truly quirky and truly fits!

 

GREEN LANTERN CORPS#0: We see Guy Gardner as a long=haired Green Lantern in trasining and watgching his team be slaughtered in the process. We get a flashback to three months earlier, as his sister graduates from the police academy. Guy gtries to make amends with a retired policeman father who he has grown distant from and that goes badly. He hears a police distress call from his brother(yeah…the whole family afre police officers except Guy) and heads to the rescue. His brother is in the midst of a shootout and his partner is dead. As Guy tries to drive the officers from the scene, a gfreen ring seeks him out and he gains the power to put the two officers into a hospital(and assuming the partner is now alibe). Back in the recent past, Guy proves himself and takes out the enemy. He goes to Oa and gets to graudate from being a trainee. He, Kilowog and Hal Jordan head off for a drink together.

This was a nice fun issue from Peter Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin that fleshes out Guys’ story beautifully. If this kind of storytelling had continued early in the series, I probably wouldn’t have dropped the title.  The art rocks and Tomasi actually puts a ton of  character into one of DC’s greatest characters. He’s not such a pompous ass here: he’s still learning how to do that. For now, he’s just a guy with family problems that I trying to make a go of a new job. Great stuff, guys!
GRIFTER #0:  We begin two years in the past, with Cole Cash, Max Cash and John Lynch on a mission. Things start to go wrong and we meet Warwick, who is actually a hologram. Cole Cash is hooked up to machines and being programmed by the Daemonites and infused with Daemontie DNA to battle Helspont. Warwick breaks in to the facility and busts Cash out. He leaves a change of identity and disappears. When he awakes, he is confused, as this is the third time this has happened.

First off, I have a question for writer and cover artist Rob Liefeld. Rob: are those guns on the cover or are you happy to see your audience??? What the hell? Now on to the story. So Grifter was a member of Team Seven two years ago? Wasn’t Team 7 GONE more than two years back. Hello? CONTINUITY is a BITCH, ain’t it guys!!! And we start with a Team 7 adventure. Or not. No, it’s a ruse and now non-readers like myself are confused and don’t care(that would be me personally!). Art by Scott Clark ngoes from really good to really bad; in some cases it looks like hastily drawn pencil sketches. Strill not enough to make me run out and by the book, even with the addition of Voodoo, who had her own series shut down earlier in the year, joining the book next issue.
LEGION LOST #0: We get treated to Timber Wolf’s origin. Sometime in the 31st Century, a young Brin Londo watches as his father experiments. He has developed a serum that can cure any disease by tapping into the host’s Genomes. Lord Vykor wants it delivered to him immediately. When Brin’s father refuses, Vykor kills Brin’s mother and leave him with an ultimatum: one month to finish the serum or he’ll come back and kill Brin. Over the next month, his father finishes his work and then injects Brin and himself. Vykor arrives, Brin’s father attacks and gets his son out before blowing the placer up. Brin, now an orphan, spends most of his young life searching for Vykor and acting as a sometimes vigilante. Eventually finding him, he battles Vykor’s enhanced son Tor. Asnhe is about to slaughter Tor, Vykor pleads for his life saying that Tor is innocent, as was Brin’s mother. Brin does the right thing and turns them over to the police. He names himself Timber Wolf “for sentimental reasons”.

What is it about Tom DeFalco, Legion titles, and boredom? They all reign here. I used to love the LEGION OF SUPERHEROES, especially back in the good old days when greats such as Cary Bates, Jim Shooter , and Paul Levitz was writing with James Sherman, Paul Broderick, Keith Giffen, Bruce Patterson and others were illustrating the team with a cast of thousands. This book, which is a NEW 52 version of the 12 issue mini-series that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning were responsible for, is a shadow of that book. Everything I have seen in recent years that said Legion on it was boring. This book does not interest me, just as issue #1 didn’t. If you are a Legion fan, I’m sorry: sorry for not sharing your enthusiasm and sorry this is the best you can get without hunting through the back issues.
 

THE RAVAGERS #0: Some time ago, Gar Logan is under the Antarctic in The Colony and is being experimented on. It turns out his DNA has been tweaked and he turns into a red beast. Running the experiments is Harvest and his crew. They are also experimenting on Tara Markov, who has been given the codename Terra. They are also experimenting on Thunder, his sister Lightning and an individual named Ridge. Tara and Gar eventually end up in an arena and impress their captors.

YAWN!!! Sorry, I recall now why I do not read this series. That is because it is a watered down variation of GEN 13. Only it doesn’t have J. Scott Campbell’s art (not that Ian Churchill is too shabby). But Howard Mackie’s script is convoluted and cliché ridden.

RESURRECTION MAN #0: Continuing from where issue #12 left off, Hooker and the Transhuman are still dead and Mitch meet Mitch: the mysterious man in charge. Now comes the flashback. Five years ago, the original Mitch Shelley was doing biotech testing on the soldiers in Iraq. When Mitch lost his arm during an attack, Deathstroke helped evacuate them. Everyone injured gets injected with the Tektite solution including Shelley, Hooker and the soldiers who became the Body Doubles: Carmen Leno and Bonnie Hoffman. Mitch’s arm gets reattached and begins to heal.  But soon it must be removed as his body began to grow a new arm. The rejected arm was burned but its’ ashes eventually led to the building of an exact copy of Mitch Shelley. The real Mitch, behind the scenes, put Hooker and the Body Doubles in charge of finding the new Mitch so he could use him to help heal himself, as he was becoming weak and dying (the real Mitch, that is). Mitch realizes he lives because it’s his destiny to balance out the evil the original Mitch did. Then the forces of Heaven and Hell arrive to collect a Mitch soul. Suriel plunges her sword into the original Mitch and claims his soul. The demon explains that Mitch’s soul get more powerful with each resurrection and THAT is the soul this demon will someday take to Hell.

This was kind of a weird and wonky ending to one of my favorite series. So we learn that the Mitch Shelley we have followed all this time is actually made from material left by a burned up reattached arm from an evil Mitch Shelley. And the Body Doubles were actually teammates of the evil Mitch Shelley, along with Hooker. So, are they evil…well-Hooker is dead. But the Doubles are almost able to live forever. So…maybe we can get a REAL Body Doubles series like we once had, but in the NEW 52 style! I’d be okay with that. Until then, Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett’s classic character rides off into the sunset. Hope to se you soon although, with the mystery finally revealed, I don’t know if it will be as much fun.
 

SUICIDE SQUAD #0: Set in Malaysia in the “not so distant past”, Staff Sergeant Lawrence Duren was sent to find Captain Amanda Waller. Once found, she is asked to return to active duty but says after Team 7, she was one a permanent vacation. Apparently Duren was presumed dead but ended up running CIA Black Ops in Afghanistan. He tells her the mission he needs her for has to do with Regulus. It seems that Basilisk (regular SUICIDE SQUAD readers know that name) was somewhere in Malaysia with a WMD ready to be detonated in the next 24 hours. In Melenka, Amanda, Duren and his team track Regulus. Waller ends up facing Regulus who explains that Duren and his men were the keys to a gene bomb that would create metahumans. The bomb detonates, Regulus escapes, and all of the townspeople, including Duren are horribly transformed. Waller has no choice but to kill her old friend. She return to America and informs Duren’s mother of his death. Soon after, Waller ends up in Washington, D.C. to pitch her plan for a Suicide Squad.

Spurred on by revenge and guilt, Amanda Waller decides to create Suicide Squad with expendable forces. Great story from Adam Glass and Fernando Dagnino. I have always stood up and claimed this was one of my favorite NEW 52 titles. And this is why. We get a great story full of action, intrigue, and back-story. We get huge art from Dagnino and every issue ends up making me want the story to continue and find myself hating to wait 30 days for the next installment. With the exception of one of two issues, this is still the star of the NEW 52.
SUPERBOY #0: Hundred of years ago, we meet Krytonian warrior Kon, who led a clone uprising on the planet. The clones get betrayed and destroyed and cloning gets outlawed on the planet. Flash forward to several months ago as Lord Harvest, aware of the legend of Kon, observes N.O.W.H.E.R.E. making their own Kryptronian clone. While Superbpy is being programmed on one level, harvest has attached a second program to him that features him as Kon-El leading the rebellion on Krypton. Of course, he is also being taken down by Superboy-the Superboy we all now and love from before New 52, Does that mean this Superboy will try to remake this planet in his own image? We shall see.
 

I am no longer impressed with this title now that Tom DeFalco has taken over. R. B. Silva’s art continues to impress, but I am tiring of this Boy of Steel. In the last few issues, he has become money hungry and has managed to do whatever he wanted to because he could. Now we understand that maybe his demeanor is due to his programming. Either way, I no longer care. The following issue promises that the police will be on his trail. I don’t expect to be continuing on after this issue.
TEAM 7 #0: Set five years ago, the US Government began working on the so-called Majestic Project, in case the newly discovered genome spreading throughout the Earth got out of control. Thus Team 7 was created with John Lynch in charge. The team consisted of Dinah Drake, Kurt Lance, Slade Wilson, Alex Fairchild, James Bronson, Captain Summer Ramos, Cole Cash, Dean Higgins and Amanda Waller. Each was chosen for their various abilities. With his team in place, Lynch states that “the superhuman arms race” had begun and it was time for Team 7 to save the world. had already begun. It was time for Team 7 to save the world.
 
Well, this is an action filled issue that only exists to set the plate for what is to come in the coming months. Justin Jordan writes a really fun story while Jesus Merino does his usual capable job of drawing it. The real test for this book will come starting next month when the TEAM 7 book debuts. For the uninitiated, the old Wildstorm version of Team 7 featured Lynch, Fairchild (who should be revealed as Caitlin Fairchild’s father at some point), Cash(who we all know as Grifter), Mark Slayton (Backlash), Michael Cray (Deathblow), Christie Blaze, Stephen Callahan, and Jackson Dane (Arclight, who was in WETWORKS). I would love to see some of these characters introduced into the NEW 52  mythos.

BEFORE WATCHMEN Month Three

RORSCHACH #1: The dark mystery man fights crime on the streets in 1977. He seeks out a drug kingpin and starts with a junkie who he threatens to anally rape with the junkie’s own hand. From there, he tracks down the kingpin and gets severely beat up for his troubles. Along with all of this, a serial killer called The Bard strikes again and will eventually end sup crossing paths with Rorschach.

A dark, nasty book by Brian Azzarello with even darker, totally detailed art from the amazing Lee Bermejo. Every page oozes with filth. While I was hoping for more back story, we get none. All we get is a gritty crime tale that bathes us in the world the The Watchmen as the end nears.

DR. MANHATTAN #1:  This is the story of Jonathan Osterman. Son of a watchmaker, he receives a beautiful clock for his ninth birthday. He spends much of his youth as an introverted child playing with gears and making certain everything is in order. He forgoes trips with friends and is mostly a shut in. In 1959, he begins research concerning the 'intrinsic fields' of physical objects at a base at Gila Flats. There he meets and begins dating Janey Slater. Later, he finds himself having to fix her damaged watch. Unfortunately, the watch is in his lab coat which is inside the intrinsic field experiment test chamber. The door closes and Jon is torn to pieces as his intrinsic field is removed. While his father grieves, Jon’s body rebuilds itself into something far advanced. The Fifties become the Sixties and Jon’s relationship with Jamey crumbles even as he joins The Minutemen. Time continually shifts for the man now known as Dr. Manhattan.
 
You truly have to know WATCHMEN to understand this book as J. Michael Straczynski writes the book like Dr. Manhattan thinks:. One moment and we are in 1949 and the next we are in 1985. Then it’s 1966 and then 1959 and then back again. The continuity is all over the place but it is correct and proper. Like a Quentin Tarrantino film, you just need to read it and then put it together in a linear fashion. And the art by Adam Hughes? Hell-it’s ADAM HUGHES!!! I need to say no more.

MINUTEMEN #3: Norbert Veldon arrives at Hollis Mason’s garage to complain about the manuscript for Mason’s book. He is a friend if Nelson’s and apparently it is causing him severe distress…enough that he is suicidal and wants to sue Mason. Then we flashback to 1940 where we see The Comedian is being expelled from the Minutemen because of his assault on Sally Jupiter. This leads to a fight between The Comedian and The Hangman that involves some nasty sexual epithets.  A year goes by and we see Silhouette and Silk Spectre posing for pin-up pictures for the troops overseas. Meanwhile The Comedian gets recruited by the FBI. The Silhouette continues her campaign against child abusers including one incident where she can’t save a girl and almost dies herself in the process. That’s when Hollis arrives and takes her to her doctor friend/lover Gretchen.

Again, Darwyn Cooke shows a complete love for these characters. His art style totally fits the book and, at times, there are inserted panels which run parallel to the tale and are drawn in an over the top 1940’s comic style. Silhouette’s true self  comes out and we see the road that The Comedian took to get to where he was in the government. Great stuff…probably one of my favorite of the BEFORE WATCHMEN titles.

NITE OWL #3: Nite Owl continues his team-up with The Twilight Lady, leading him to a swirlie interrogation on a Colombian running a prostitution ring. They end up busting up the ring and having sex together. Later, Dan meets up with Hollis Mason and gets his first look at UNDER THE HOOD. Meanwhile, Rorschach discovers a lot of bodies and a very evil preacher who thinks he is God’s messenger.

J. Michael Straczynski continues to weave a twisted tale. And it gets kinkier with every issue. And a corrupt preacher? Say it ain’t so!!! I’m wondering if this is Joe Kubert’s final art work as the art stryle shifts half way through the issue as Bill Sienkiewicz takes over on the inking chores. And it is terribly evident and a shame that he couldn’t finish the series.

OZYMANDIAS #3: Ozymandias continues his battle with The Comedian, eventually allowing the government operative to defeat him. Later, after Dr. Manhattan arrives on the scene of popular culture, he arranges to invest in bomb fallout shelters. He begins building his stronghold in the Arctic and manages to weasel his way into a fund raiser to benefit the Red Cross and the Foundation of India, just so he can meet Dr. Manhattan. They don’t truly meet, as he spies on him, although Dr. Manhattan is aware of his presence the entire time. Once his fortress is completed, he begins watching Manhattan on multiple video screens.
 

Len Wein continues to craft a wonderful tale about the guy who becomes the ultimate villain in the original WATCHMEN. And the longer this goes on, we see him less as a villain but more as a paranoid genius preparing for the future. And the fact the Jae Lee’s artwork is the best of his career sure helps!
 

SILK SPECTRE #3:  Laurie Juspeczyk has an awakening, good and bad, while on a drug trip. The following morning, she awakes to find that her boyfriend Greg has overdosed and he is rushes to the hospital where they pledge undying love for each other. Leaving the hospital, she vandalizes a shoe store to acquire the last piece she needs for her costume. As Silk Spectre, she ends up at Gurustein’s place, beating him up while someone who looks an awful lot like The Chairman of The Board watches. Back home, she quietly waits for Greg. But Greg isn’t coming. Sally Jupiter has contacted The Comedian, Laurie’s biological father, and he has taken care of Greg. He forces Greg to write a breakup letter which The Comedian delivers(taking a certain smiley face button in the process) and ships him off to Vietnam.

Once again, Darwyn Cooke absolutely scores a winner with this issue and now all the pieces begin to come together, especially the happy face button!  And is that REALLY Frank Sinatra? Why not: Cooke and Amanda Conner did manage to insert four mop tops from Liverpool into an earlier issue. With only one more issue to go in this mini-series, I am very curious to see how we get from here to there in one short issue.

COMEDIAN #3: The Comedian is off in Hawaii and in major hot water with the Attorney General Robert Kennedy. It seems Eddie came back from Vietnam and face d protesters at the airport. Things got nasty and ugly and a riot ensued. But that’s not what Eddie is in trouble for. The bigoted racist sees riot in Los Angeles on television and decides to get himself involved. Before it is all finished, he has managed to incite more than he has managed to quell. He even goes as far as to throw dog excrement at the chief of police. But Eddie doesn’t care. He’s on vacation with a beautiful girl and he’s going to get some.

We get another ho-hum issue from Brian Azzarello. The dialogue is great but the story is boring. He we have The Comedian being dropped into another major event in our history and it becomes a case of showing how much of a total jerk he is. Azzarello seems content on proving something any reader of WATCHMEN already knew: The Comedian got what he deserved when he was tossed out that window! Again, you have to know history to understand what is going on. Azzarello has dropped Eddie into The Watts Rebellion of August 1965. The six-day in the Los Angeles suburb resulted in 34 deaths, thousands injured and over three thousand arrests. So, for the history lesson(or lack thereof…go look it up)we thank you. And we also thank J. G. Jones for continuing to blow the book away with killer art. Let me see: three issues to go-what’s next? My guess is the deaths of Martin Luther King and then Bobby Kennedy himself.

And, as a continued bonus, each issue has two pages from Len Wein and John Higgin’s pirate drama THE CURSE OF THE CRIMSON CORSAIR. which has taken on a new arc. The Evil that Men Do, follows our hero in servitude on the Flying Dutchman. He has to deal with filth, voodoo and the plague. And that’s just the beginning

ZERO MONTH, WEEK ONE

ACTION COMICS #0:  Set five years ago, Clark Kent gets his first job at the Daily Star and promptly orders 200 T-shirts with the now classic 'S' symbol on the chest.  We also see he has been bunking with Jimmy Olsen for a while until he got a place of his own. Apparently Jimmy hasn’t had the easiest life. His mother had been a model, but lost all her money and ended up in the Bowery. Still, he lives fairly well, as his rich father dropped a fortune on him after feeling guilty. Later, Superman stops a crime involving Glen Glemorgan’s gang, but ends up being knocked unconscious by an RPG blast. In the process, a young boy finds him and takes his cape. The boy endures an abusive home life but now the cape protects him and his brother. The boys escape and end up in a rail yard where Superman saves the day and gets his cape back. Lois and Jimmy spy the incident and capture it on film, giving the world the first printed story about Superman. Also, Clark meets his landlady, Mrs. Nyxly and he sees pictures of her nephew Ferlin and her husband, Mystic Mr. Triple X. He was a magician who ended up in a coma thanks to a prank by a rival magician. In the backup, Erik Drekken travels to Smallville to continue the research of Professor Emery Zackro and to try and find the infamous Blake Farm Ghost.  John Blake throws him off the farm but, on his way out of town, Drekker encounters a UFO and is saved by Adam Blake, who was Zackro’s test subject. The Oort-Kind appears to take Adam away, who explains that he was leaving to save many worlds on a list of doomed worlds. And Earth was on that list. Drekker would then continue to do research into the radiation that had provided Adam his power. He also didn’t know what that would lead to eventually.
 
Grant Morrison turns in an interesting little tale here which, on the surface, looks to be all fluff and stuff. And actually has a lot of that. But it also gives us a nice look into the supporting cast, specifically Jimmy Olsen’s life and that of Clark’s landlady. It also features nicely painted art from Ben Oliver. As far as the back-up goes: I consider it fuller from Sholly Fisch, who is responsible for a number of the back-up tales throughout the NEW 52, and Cafu. We get some background on Adam Blake. But, quite frankly, he’s a character I really didn’t care that much about so, for now, I find it a waste of space.
 
ANIMAL MAN #0: We start five years ago, back at the first appearance of the heroes. The Animal Man of that time period lived in the Republic of Congo and is killed by Anton Arcane. The Parliament of Limbs attempt to figure out what to do now that their champion is dead. The decision is to create a new champion and use the next Avatar’s father. That man is Buddy Baker., who is working as a stunt man at the time. On his way home to his son’s birthday party, he sees what he thinks is a UFO crashing. When he investigates the fake ship (the Totems of The Parliament created the vision), he meets the fake aliens (the Tailors masquerading as yellow aliens). Buddy wakes up naked with a spandex suit near him. Once he figures out the mechanics of flying, he heads home and gives Cliff an aerial trip as a present. Over the next six months, Buddy does his fair share of superhero antics while Anton Arcane watches Buddy’s daughter be born; totally aware that she is the next Avatar.
 
Jeff Lemire and Steve Pugh add some cool color to the legend of Animal man. What most fans forget is that the “original” Animal Man is a far cry from the Grant Morrison days. He was created in 1965 and allegedly got his animal powers when an alien spaceship blew up and he became irradiated. That was Pre-Crisis and this is Post FLASHPOINT, so nods to the past are cool but all bets are off as far as his future goes. Animal Man in Grant Morrison’s days was a true Vertigo hero and it looks like he may be again. Only he is merely the protector of the Avatar now.
 
BATWING #0: David Zavimbe fights in the streets of Africa. At an early age, he and his brother Isaac were trained as child soldiers. Isaac was murdered by General Keita and David ended up being raised out of an orphanage by Matu and Rene. Several years later and David is on the Tinasha Police Department. The department is totally corrupt and he has issues with cops trying to give him their collected bribes. A Metahuman named Death Jack attacks Matu and Rene, resulting in her death. David vows to make the criminals and does so with serious and righteous vengeance: sometimes on his own and some times with a team. One night, Batman arrives and offers to assist David. The Dark Knight takes David and Matu back to Gotham City and asks him to join Batman Incorporated, eventually presenting him with the Batwing suit.
 
Judd Winick does a nice job of fleshing out the back story of the Batman of Africa. We now understand why he has anger issues. And I still don’t really care. Sorry, DC: if you’re going to create a character and incorporate them into the batman corner of the universe, you probably want to make them memorable. Let’s not make them lame like this one. Marcus To does a nice job of providing the art, but it still isn’t enough to sell me on the book. And, for what it’s worth, I wasn’t a big fan of the character when he was appearing in JUSTICE LEAGUE INCORPORATED..
 
DETECTIVE COMICS #0: The story begins 10 years in the past as Bruce Wayne is in the Himalayas training with a Zen-Buddhist monk named Shihan Matsuda. Over time, Bruce learns the various disciplines and becomes smitten by Mio, the daughter of the sword sharpener in the village. Shihan continues to warn Bruce that affection and grief will be his downfall. Shihan’s wife advises him otherwise, saying that Shihan had become a recluse because of his lack of emotion. Bruce sneaks out to follow his heart and meet Mio, but she sends him away and wants to meet him at the monastery. bruce agrees and tells her he will leave a window unlocked for her. Later, a hooded swordsman sneaks into the monastery and stabs Shihan through the chest. Bruce fights the attacker and sends the swordsman through a window. When he rips off the mask, he sees that it is Mio, who is dying of her wounds. He discovers it was all a ruse to distract him and that she was paid by Shihan's own wife, who is preparing to finish off her husband when he manages to stab her himself. All three people Bruce had come to love were now dead, bringing Shaihan’s lesson to fruition. In the backup story, it’s seven years ago and Bruce Wayne has been gone for many years. Alfred is dealing a Mr. Shaw who represents the relatives of Martha Wayne. he claims with Bruce out of the picture, the Kane family had a legal right to the Wayne fortune. Shaw tries to bribe Alfred with an actor’s role with the Gotham Shakespeare Company. Alfred gets violent and throws Shaw out. Shortly thereafter, Bruce returns to tell the butler his story and prepare for the future.
 
So now we get a little more of Bruce’s training in the Himalayas, complete with the whole idea of not falling in love complex. Gregg Hurwitz writes a nice story but Tony S. Daniel’s art falls flat. I don’t know if it’s because it has been rushed or because of the inking job that Richard Friend has put on top. It could even be that Pere Perez has added “additional art” to the tale and we’re seeing more of that than Daniels’ own work. As for the back-up, Bruce comes home to start his career and we fully understand the connection between Kate Kane and the Wayne family.
 
DIAL H #0:  Back in the days of ancient Babylon, a sun dial must be correctly positioned at noon for four consecutive days to spell out H-E-R-O in the native language. Mushusso, the great Beast of Babylon,  is poised to attacked Laodice and her people. She uses the sundial to transform herself into Bumper Carla and defeat the beast. Laodice is worshipped by her people and becomes a queen. Many years later, Bumper Carla returns to Babylon to and exacts revenge on Laodice. It seems that Bumper Carla is actually a super hero from a parallel world who was hijacked to this world to fight the Beast of Babylon. While she was gone from hr world, tragedy struck and, with no protector, dire consequences occurred and many died. Carla’s fellow superhero, Slim, sends the now guilty hero off to prison as Babylon mourns its’ queen.
 
I had to read this issue five times to finally get it! Either I’m getting slower and dimwitted as I grow old or this was one doozy of a tale from China Mieville and Ricardo Burchielli. The dial doesn’t’ create heroes? The dial takes them from other planes of existence? That’s absolutely brilliant! The person trades places with no memory when they return. And it’s a theory that you can trace all the way back to Robby Reed in the classic DIAL H FOR H-E-R-O series. This one issue just turned to heat way up on a title that has had people scratching their heads since issue #1. The whole book just got that much more intriguing!
 

EARTH 2 #0: We start six years in the past and three years after the armies of Apokolips invaded Earth. Terry Sloan has joined with the Ternion: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to attack the invaders. At one time there were eight heroes, known as the Eight Wonders of the World but these four are all that is left. Battling Steppenwolf and his minions, Terry exposes Superman to Opal Kryptonite, which drives him insane. Superman attacks his team mates. Terry claims he his doing this because of  a future he saw in an alternate dimension. Batman tries to stop him, but Terry detonates a series of bombs, destroying most of Europe and South America. Terry escapes into the Ninth Dimension while his former partners escape their fates. The tale ends with Terry Sloan mulling the future, which he claims he has already seen.
 
I have to give a great big yawn to James Robinson for this issue. With the exception of introducing Terry Sloan, not the Mister Terrific we all knew and loved (with a different spelling and the NEW 52 Mister Terrific was Michael Holt), and giving us some Fourth World tidbits like Steppenwolf and the minions of Apokolips, there is nothing great about this book. The writing is standard fare, Tomas Giorello does a competent job of mirroring  George Perez and we get some nice looking action sequences. This has been, by far, the weakest issue of the series.
 
G.I. COMBAT #0: The Unknown Soldier learns that there has always been an Unknown Soldier and he experiences their history vividly. And, in the middle of all that, terrorism strikes again, blowing up a plane on takeoff. In thr War that Time Forgot back-up story, a soldier in North Korea ends up battling for survival in a Prehistoric place and time.
 
So the Unknown Soldier is eternal in his own way. Well, that explains a lot and explains absolutely nothing. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti need to stick to Wild West Comics and not war comics because this one is awful. And Staz Johnson’s artwork is uninspired. As far as the back-up, it’s a beautiful Ariel Olivetti painted job with a boring J. T. Krul story…if you can even call it that. It’s 10 pages about a G. I. surviving in the prehistoric environment. Well, in case you haven’t heard, DC Comics has cancelled this title with issue #7. This is the first of their Second Wave titles to bite the dust although it basically got cancelled months ago when MEN OF WAR went down. What’s next, guys? STAR SPANGLED WAR?
 
GREEN ARROW #0: Our tale begins several years ago when playboy Oliver Queen is partying with his friends on an oil rig where his father has him working. He shows off his archery skills to his girlfriend of seven years, Leena,  and his friend Tommy Merlyn. Then the helicopter that is bringing a rock star to the party has been taken over by terrorists. The terrorists wire the platform with explosives, along with several of those on the rig, including Leena. Ollie uses his longbow, shooting through the terrorist leader's wrist and he drops the detonator into the ocean. On the way down, the detonator becomes activated. Everyone is killed in the explosion except for Ollie and Tommy, who is badly burned. Ollie ends up on the shore of an island where he has to forage for food and use his archery skills. A year goes by and Roy Harper finds himself bailed out of jail by Ollie, who is running Queen Industries. Harper had been caught hacking into the company’s main R&D hub. Ollie offers Harper a job and they become partners while Ollie becomes the Green Arrow. Flashing forward to today, a burn patient awakes at the monastery he has been at since he was found. The burn victim is Tommy Merlyn.
 
I’m not a regular reader of this title, as I was totally put off by the dialogue and plot in the first issue. This issue, written by new regular scribe Ann Nocenti, reads much better than the horrendous issue #1, but still isn’t enough to make me want to read this regularly. Freddie Williams II does a good job illustrating the tale; possibly because everyone looks like they stepped out of an Image comic circa 1988. And with this becoming the newest origin of Green Arrow, I find this one exciting but totally miles away from the classic origin with Ollie’s parents killed by lions and raised by his uncle, before becoming lost at seas and training on Starfish Island. The idea of a fallen playboy becoming a hero is Iron Man old and much more believable than this. So…bad news DC: I STILL won’t be reading this title.
 
GREEN LANTERN #0: It’s September 11, 2001 and young Simon Baz and his family watch the attacks on TV. Over the years, the Baz family has endured abuse from people. It’s 2012 and Simon drives a stolen van with a bomb inside. He calls his sister and tells her that there is a safety deposit box and the contents belong to her and her son. He gets caught and is taken to a government prison where he is interrogated.  He explains that he doesn’t know where the bomb came from as he stole the van from someone else. Believing him to be a terrorist, the government agents prepare to torture him. That’s when a malfunctioning Green Lantern ring breaks into the prison and helps Simon escape. Soon Amanda Waller, Batman and Cyborg all know of the new Green Lantern. And what of Hal Jordan and Sinestro? They have survived the Black Hand’s attack and find themselves in a realm of darkness.
 
Geoff Johns hits a home run with this tale of the New Green Lantern who, by the look of the cover, is going to carrying a gun. Interesting! As always, great art from Doug Mahnke with an army of inkers. This title has been one of Geoff Johns’ best works since issue #1. Now we prepare for the RISE OF THE THIRD ARMY running throughout all four Lantern titles.
 
PHANTOM STRANGER #0: Taking the story from the NEW 52 FCBD one shot and adding more details, he (until we can officially call him the Phantom Stranger) tells us how he betrayed his best friend and then tried to commit suicide. He ended up being transported to the Council of Wizards to be dealt his fate. There are two others there with him (read my review of the NEW 52 FCBD one shot) and they make up the Trinity of Sin. He is found guilty and branded with the thirty pieces of silver that he had earned. He woke in a field and a voice told him to put on the robe of the friend he betrayed. From then on he became the Phantom Stranger. Eventually he ends up being directed to former police detective Jim Corrigan who is looking for his fiancee Gwen Sterling who had been taken by a mob boss. He tries to intervene and Corrigan gets shot dead. Corrigan’s “vengeful spirit” comes out of his body to do other things. One of the 30 silver pieces fell from his neck and he realized that every time he served the voice he would be closer to redemption.
 
Take everything that Dan Didio has ever written and put it on top of a very high pedestal because this is the WORST thing I have ever endured from him. I have been a constant defender of his work on titles like O.M.A.C. and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN because he revered the characters. This isn’t reverence this is out and out RAPE!  For those unaware, there are four different speculations on the identity of the Phantom Stranger ranging from Wandering Jew to fallen angel. But Didio makes no bones about who he thinks THIS Stranger is. Six pages into the book and he has tried to hang himself for killing his best friend, begs to be forgiven as “HE would” and has the coins that were a reminder of his greed thrown at him. One page after, and he’s on the “field of blood” and forced to wear “his robe” and carry the necklace of the thirty piece of silver. Okay…even dumbed down, we GET IT. This is Judas Iscariot and he betrayed Jesus Christ, his best friend, for 30 pieces of silver. Now he wanders the earth, wearing the robe and the necklace made from those coins. And then, if that wasn’t enough, he ends up being responsible for Jim Corrigan’s death, creating The Spectre, who promptly tries to wreak vengeance on the Stranger but is called away by the Voice of God(speculating here). But his creation brings the Phantom Stranger one step closer to redemption. Wow! What a tremendous piece of crap! Next issue is Trigon. So…that is going to work out how??? The only high spot in this title is Brent Anderson’s always awesome art. Other than that, this is a steaming pile of poop and a disgraced to a storied character who deserves a better fate than this!

STORMWATCH #0: Adam-One, thought dead since STORMWATCH #5, reveals himself to jenny Quantum and explains the secret history of Stormwatch. We find ourselves in Araby in 1013 where Jenny is Princess Janeen and Merlin himself invites her to join the Demon Knights. Using the power of mathematics, she later battles robot dolphins alongside the Demon Knights.  She is also Countess Jeannie, a crusader who is done in by the Shadow Lords. She is Sister J. during the 14th Century and she uses the power of religion to battle the enemy. And she and Merlin also share some intimate moments. It seems that Merlin ages backwards. It is during this period that the Red Storm appears (didn’t this happen in CRISIS) that the Demon Knights rename themselves Stormwatch. We see her as Jenny Freedom: an African American slave during the 19th Century who had control over Steam and Light. Lastly, we have Jenny Sparks. When all is said and done, she is appointed the savior of Stormwatch as Adam-One tells her that everyone dies someday soon.
 
THANK YOU PETER MILLIGAN for finally giving me a story with some meat to it. While I am not totally happy that Adam-One is Merlin, although we sort of suspected that all along, I do like the way that the team’s history ties into the DCnU. Will Conrad’s art is first rate and tells a good story. And I know, having already heard from fans, that this is not sitting well. How dare Jim Lee tie Wildstorm into DC. Yeah-I’m not totally happy about it either. But here’s my advice: suck it up and deal with it or get out of the books. They are one company and this is how the people running/ruining the ship want it.
 
SWAMP THING #0: It’s 1897 and the current Avatar of The Green, Jack Crow, rescues a young girl from the bitter cold. The girl is actually Anton Arcane-Avatar of the Rot, who proceeds to kill Crow. Over 100 years later, Arcane disguises himself as a scientist named Ross who is working alongside Alec Holland on a Bio-Restorative Formula. Arcane has learned that Holland is due to be the next and most powerful Avatar. Ross finds his way into Alec and Linda Holland’s house and he takes control of Linda’s body.  She opens the vat of Bio-Restorative Formula and sets the houses on fire, causing the flaming Alec Holland to rushed out and end up into the swamp. With Holland dead, the Parliament of Trees is forced to create a replacement. Five years later, Alec Holland returns.
 
What a great issue, rewriting some of Swamp Thing’s history while tying together part’s of his legendary past. But Scott Snyder, with art by Kano, raises as many questions as he answers. Who was the replacement Avatar? Is five years now and, if so, how do we explain Swamp Thing’s past adventures, which he and Abby recall?  Was he the Avatar and this is all just a dream? I cannot wait to see where Snyder runs this. And, despite all the naysayers, I believe he has enough respect for the character not to totally mess it up.
 

WORLDS’ FINEST #0: The tale begins several years ago with Helena Wayne, in her guise as Robin, fighting crime in her own way under the supervision of her mother Catwoman. When Batman finds out, he is less than pleased, even as Catwoman and he share a kiss. Meanwhile Superman trains his cousin Kara in Micronesia, convinced that she will be able to survive the threat of Darkseid, where his wife Lois did not.  back in Gotham, Helena hears a sudden alarm from the Batcave. She suits up and arrives at the scene finding her father kneeling over her dead mother's body. Helena races into a burning building in search of her mother’s killers only to find men with alien weapons. Suddenly, Supergirl bursts through the wall of the building after hearing Batman’s signal which he sent to Superman. The gunmen disappear through a boom tube and the two teens agree to become friends.
 
Just like the monthly book, I get more thrills and enjoyment from reading stories set in the past. This is a cool origin, especially in regards to Helena’s story as Robin and the death of Selena. Kevin Maguire’s art is spectacular as always. I do figure to give issue #5 a shot and see if it improves from the first four. If so, you’ll continue to read my reviews or it. If not, it ends with #5.