DC UNIVERSE Month 94, Part 2

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #10 by Morgan Hampton, Ig Guara, Will Conrad, Oclair Albert and Fernando Pasarin. With things back to something resembling normal, the newest Lanterns are run through Kilowog’s Corps Academy with Guy Gardner as their chief instructor. Their first test is an endurance drill called the No-Win Dilemma-without the benefit of their rings. As expected, they do not win but they do prove their ability to work as a team. Elsewhere, John comes back to say goodbye and return to his newfound peaceful life but an escaped prisoner situation reels him back into action again. During the attempted apprehension, John sees the prisoner is his ex, Yrra Cynril. Glinn is tasked with taking a baby made of some sort of goo to the infirmary and is soon possessed by the creature. John and Yrra end up fighting all the way to Larfleeze’s island, where John tells her she is not the last of the Xanshis and her home still exists in the Dark Sectors. She agrees to go to the families of the Lanterns she has killed to try and make amends. Glinn has been tasked with accompanying her but she finds Glinn is now a withered husk and the creature known as Enquar suggests they both get revenge on the Lanterns.

HARLEY & IVY: LIFE & CRIMES #1 by Erica Henderson.  In the “definitive origin” of their love story, Ivy is in the old Ace Chemical Plant and working on something to stop the toxic poisoning of  the planet and Harley is in the same place, debating if she wants to go back to Mr. J. Harley attempts to stop Ivy from blowing it up because she insists the chemicals here are not poison. The two fight and Ivy’s creation blooms just as The Joker arrives, knocking out Harley and accusing Ivy of trying to take her from him. Ivy grabs Harley and flees, leaving The Joker behind to plot his next move.

HARLEY QUINN #56 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley and Mayfly are on the run from Gunbunny’s father while Gunbunny finds herself held captive by her father and his manservant Winifred. She convinces him to go off and take the others down without his guns and he agrees. Meanwhile, Mayfly and Harley encounter Convoy, who was last seen getting blown up by Harley in a smoothie shop. Brock Blomquist arrives and, in the process, takes out Convoy, who ends up teaming up with Mayfly, who gets a message from Gunbunny, telling her to head to the manor house where there is an armory stashed. Blomquist attempts to sedate Harley but Quinty helps her fight it off. Just then, Convoy and Mayfly arrive riding gnus and head off to the manor house. Gunbunny meets them there but so do Blomquist and Winifred who are quickly dispatched. The girls agree to team up, steak all the weapons and head back to Throatcutter Hill, where all hell has broken loose due to The Deconspirator’s influence; the same guy who  is with Mrs. Grimaldi. She is resisting his influence and that leads to him trying to convince her son Richie to kill his mother.

JSA #12 by Jeff Lemire and Gavin Guidry. It’s the Summer of 1940 and the members of the future JSA are engaged in their regular activities. Alan Scott has dinner with his friend Gordon, who is shaken by something going on involving Starco and the tunnel expansion project. Gordon leaves in a hurry and later, Alan, as Green Lantern, finds his friend stabbed through the heart. Elsewhere, Hourman makes his way into Starco, only to find The Sandman there, revealing he had a dream about him dying in this place.Hawkgirl and Hawkman are in their lives as archeologists near the borders of Ecuador and Peru when they are attacked by Sportsmaster, who threatens to kill Hawkwoman. Johnny Thunder meets with Jay Garrick and accuses him of being The Flash. In Gotham’s East End, The Atom bursts into a card game and, upon further investigation, find Nazi items and a pamphlet about the Committee for a Pure America meeting.

JUSTICE LEAGUE RED #4 by Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry. Red Canary is still dealing with his recent capture and the manifesting of her powers. In a team meeting, they are all shocked to find that the Red Tornado construct they have been dealing with is the result of him dissecting his body and removing emotion from his being, allowing him to see future events brought on by The Feast of Worlds that Black Adam is about to perform. The feast itself is a ritual that will transform Black Adam into a being who will be looking to seize Darkseid’s power. Tasked with killing Black Adam, despite their reservations, the team heads to Kahndaq and are quickly defeated.  

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #13 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Mr. Terrific and his team of time displaced heroes go to Hell and are immediately attacked by the Demons Three. Power Girl and Guy Gardner fight the creatures so their companions can escape, which costs them their lives. The remaining team arrives at a large gate guarded by a demon and Terrific, to save his team, offers to play a game of true or false with the demon, which he wins by tricking her with a paradox. She unleashes an army of snakes against them but they have all breached the gate, escept for Alan Scott is who torn to pieces. In the end, Neron watches and sends out reinforcements to face off against the surviving heroes. Meanwhile, at the Watchtower, Blue Beetle announces that many villains, who made a deal with Neron, stayed behind during the evacuation and are heading for Oklahoma City. On Earth, Wallace West, Martian Manhunter, and Doctor Occult face off against a trio of villains and Rainbow Raider. Once defeated, Wallace reveals he knows what the villains are planning and, in his own words, “it’s really bad”.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #5 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. Ghiddrah and Rodan have arrived on the scene, making this battle even more perilous than it was as the displaced League members now have to contend with these creatures AND Godzilla. They get a momentary saving grace when King Kong shows up and engages the creatures. Just when things are looking up, Superman’s serum wears off and Ghiddrah escapes, taking down Godzilla and opening up a hole that Kong falls into. Meanwhile, The Flash has the Rogues locked up and learns that Waller is dead and that Colonel Shaw is responsible for everything they have been dealing with. Inside of Hollow Earth, Lex tells what is left of his team that they need to be ready for what he calls Phase Three.

THE NEW GODS #12 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Phil Hester. The final battle is set to begin as Kamal is driven deeper into the Singularity and Scott battles various traps set in place by Desaad; fighting back and defeating the villainous god, allowing him to make his way to Orion. He goes after Kamal and rescues him from potential annihilation. The Black Racer arrives and takes out the invading forces. But Kamal ascends and finishes the job by deconstructing them. In the end, Scott Free is poised to become Highfather and Orion leaves with Metron to stop Darkseid and pursue his ultimate destiny.

NIGHTWING #132 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Bryce is comatose, having been badly injured in the last issue. Seeking Zanni, Nightwing goes after Pearce, who is now almost evenly matched with Nightwing in her abilities because she is wearing the suit he had worn. She reveals that she had been part of Zanni’s gang under the name Columbina and had hoped the Dynamic Duo would come so Zanni could finish his plan. But they never came and Zanni beheaded her. She is as she always has been: a living corpse inhabited by Zanni. As Nightwing confronts her, the confrontation is broadcast to the world and, as her head falls off, all viewers see is Nightwing apparently beheading Olivia Pearce. Nightwing, devastated, demands to know where the children are and Zanni tells him they are at Cirque du Sin and invites Nightwing to enter.

POISON IVY #38 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Angered at how she was betrayed by Janet, Ivy takes Janet deeper into the woods; still trying to decide if she is going to kill the woman or not. Janet passes out and Ivy confronts Bog Venus, who explains that The Grey wants to accelerate Earth’s destruction so the Undeath can rule. Ivy proposes an agreement where Bog Venus hides Marghview away and she will tell Cylon that she is no longer an ambassador between the Green and the Grey. Ivy tells Janet she is not going to kill her and will take her home. Once inside, Ivy gets a large knife and corrupts it with her to, then kisses Janet as Bog Venus arrives. Ivy detains Bog Venus with her power, with the creature admits she poisoned Janet, leading to the two women attacking the creature with their knives, killing it. But not before a I final warning that they will die tomorrow.

POISON IVY 2025 ANNUAL #1 by G. Willow Wilson and Mark Buckingham. On a trip to the Tree of Knowledge, Ivy learns of an ancient tale about a sorceress who ends up coming into a kingdom and, after a brief Romantic interlude with the king, becomes known as the Lady of the Lake. The sorceress crafts a special sword for the king as a wedding present. At the wedding, a mysterious magician shows up to train the new queen but his intentions are evil and the sorceress warns the queen. But she is soon attacked by the magician, who drowns her. Sometime later, the queen goes out in a boat and the Lady of the Lake hands her the sword she had crafted. Revenge is enacted by the Lady of the Lake and the evil magician is transformed into a tree. Over the years, despite a promise to keep the woods and everything as it was, the kingdom prospers and is transformed. Many years later, the queen arrives at the edge of the lake, carrying the broken sword. Both are now aged and the sorceress says that, because of the broken promises, the Green will never aid the kingdom ever again. The lesson taught in present day to Ivy is to never give up.

SUPERGIRL #7 by Sophie Campbell and Tamra Bonvillain. Supergirl has been turned into a mermaid, meaning she has to go underwater to survive. There she meets Princess Shark, who reveals she needs the hero’s help. She reveals that a sea hag is responsible for her transformation but she wants to transform back as she can no longer communicate with her brothers and sisters. She also reveals that she was doing Sea Hag’s bidding because of the curse. She accepts the request and the pair go off to meet with Sea Hag, who threatens top curse Supergirl too. Sea hag reveals she simply wants her leg back that the shark had eaten. What is found is a baby haggling in the shark’s belly that Supergirl withdraws and presents to the creature. She tells Supergirl the curse on her will end at sundown and Princess Shark no longer has to serve Sea Hag, but the change to her true form is permanent. Meanwhile, the Danvers are preparing for Thanksgiving when Superman and Lois arrive, causing Lesla to leave. She goes to visit Lena who wants to pass on Thanksgiving with the Danvers. Luna arrives and also tries to convince her with no good results. Supergirl invites Princess Shark to dinner and Lena actually attends. All seems well except someone may be looking to come into the world, exiting from a tree.

SUPERMAN #32 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, and Eber Ferreira. With the spectre of an all-out fight to become King Omega looming, the decision is made by Mr. Terrific to send the villains they have there, Starro, Giganta, Cheetah, and King Shark, to the Phantom Zone against their wishes. But, unbeknownst to the heroes, Luthor has managed to redirect them to his hideout. He poses the idea of taking their own plaxce in the tournament by going into the Nexus that will take them to the site of the tournament in Skartaris in their Kryptonian battlesuits. In the first round, a two out of three battle to the death, Superman is forced to battle Captain Atom while Luthor fights Etrigan. Meanwhile, inside the Fortress of Solitude, Lois, now with her Superwoman powers back again, takes on Sun Boy and other Legion of Darkseid members while being cheered on by Prime, whjo is trying to defend the Kryptonian archives. Superman arrives and the trio defeat the Legion. But Superman is revealed to be one of the old Superman robots, even though Lois first thinks it is Cyborg Superman. Prime tells her that they need to get this robot to Time Trapper so that the real Superman can be fully informed. To be continued in DC K.O.: SUPERMAN VS. CAPTAIN ATOM #1..

SUPERMAN: THE KRYPTONITE SPECTRUM #4 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. In out world, Clark is still in a dream state where he is working as a reporter in the Fifth Dimension. Batman calls in Doctor Fate to assist with the situation, who declares that they must find a way to get him out of the Fifth Dimension or Superman will die. In the Fifth Dimension, Clark is visited by Myxzptlk, who tells him that Superman needs to find a way to stop Bianiac…not Brainiac…from destroying the Fifth Dimension and he is sent through a cartoon universe as he fights Brianiac and his paper bag wearing minions. In our world, Superman is in great distress and Batman insists that he be sent into the Fifth Dimension to help him, which he reluctantly does. After interactions with Bat-Mite, Batman finds his friend and tells him to quickly dream up something and he produces Kal-Elf. Despite their fight, everyone but Superman gets sucked out of the Fifth Dimension. Superman is told by Brian that none of what happened actually happened but Superman uses what he learned from Captain Shazamarvel to bring Batman, Bat-Mite, Kal-Elf, and Myxzptlk back, with Bat-Mite sending Brian to the North Pole. With the fifth Dimension saved, Batman and Superman come back to their own Earth, only to find out that Lex has an army behind him and his very own Kryptonite Man.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #7 by Dan Slott, Jeremy Adams, and Lucas Meyer. Jon Kent is training with Steel and Lana, before making his way to Smallville where his mother has set up a satellite Daily Planet office, since he is now expected to become a reporter. She challenges him to find a story, write it and pubish it within the next two days. Besides going back to Steelworks to begin writing his story, he lerns that Steelworks has been working on producing alien corn that can be used to create a renewable form of ethanol. Jon is aware of missing farmers in Smallville and a missing cow and he puts things together, heading back to Smallville, where he finds the cow. But he also finds and is attacked by a mechanical mole. With help from Steel and Lana, they learn the mole is here because of miners digging. Inside of the robotic mole are…mole men: straight from the 1951 film SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN. They all head over the the malt shop and Jon gets his story, as Smallville welcomes their newest neighbors.  

TITANS #29 by John Layman and Pete Woods. As the crisis continues, Nightwing and Raven evacuate much of the population to Gemworld. While there, the heroes are asked to find the missing parents of a little girl. But before they can do much more, they are confronted by Jinx, who declares she is now the Princess of Gemworld. Outnumbered by creation made by Jinx’ magic, Raven heads below and frees Terra. Starfire is having problems with her refugees as their ships are now surrounded by The Furies. Luckily, she doesn’t have to fight alone as the Green Lantern Corps arrive and so does Starfire’s sister, Queen Blackfire. Beast Boy and Beast Girl have brought their refugees to what was supposed to be an uninhabited planet…but is not! In the end, Cyborg has to convince himself to go off into battle as part of the contest to be King Omega.

TRINITY DAUGHTER OF WONDER WOMAN #5 by Tom King and Belen Ortega. Lizzie continues her tale, since she still needed to rescue Super Corgi. She actually found the corgi, but then she saw Robin giving chase to Mad Hatter and, smitten from their last encounter, decides to assist him, telling him she is still looking for the missing dog and they go out on patrol together to search. They fight criminals and eventually share a picnic basket lunch that Alfred had prepared for him. The entire time, the curgi is around and Lizzie purposely ignores his presence. Eventually, they interrupt a robbery by The Scarecrow. Later, Robin sees the corgi right in front of him but Lizzie claims he is only seeing it because it was a side-effect of The Scarecrow’s gas. He confesses that he is afraid the real corgi will show up and then he will lose Lizzie. With the dog finally secured, Lizzie got back in the bubble and came back to her selves, expressing how alone she feels and that she is waiting for a miracle.

WONDER WOMAN #27 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. In a recent flashback, Etta, Emilie, and Trinity have made their way to Etta’s father’s ranch. But snipers in support of Mouse Man have also arrived and they kill Emilie. Diana is dealing with Mouse Man, who demands she gets on her knees, as she has been told that he has Trinity, but she refuses and fights back. At the same time, the girl is being interrogated and has begun to say words, including the name Wonder Woman. Diana beats up Mouse Man, throwing him through several walls. Seemingly defeated, she tosses a gun towards him and he fires at her, but her bracelets deflect them, injuring Mouse Man. The girl arrives and says she has changed, with Diana saying she has changed too.

DC UNIVERSE Month 94, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #14 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Waylon and Bruce are in a lab and a doctor tells Bruce there is only two doses of venom in his system. Meanwhile, Mayor Hill goes out on television and says that Batman is a terrorist while also denying there are monsters under Gotham and calling off the big fight, although Bullock gets ba call telling him to keep people away as it is still on. Bane is also preparing for the fight as Doctor Arkham tell him that Batman has at least one more dose within him. With Harley streaming the fight, Batman and Bane battle, with Batman using projectiles in the fight to weaken Bane, who continues to fight as he grows larger due to Arkham pumping venom into him. The fight is vicious, with Batman pulling out one of Bane’s eyes. Waylon is released into the fight, both distracting bane and taking a beating in the process, with Bruce severing Bane’s spine to save his friend. Batman orders Selina to take a shot with the venom but the shot goes into Bane, filling him with so much venom that he explodes in a puddle of goo that Batman dumps into the sea. In the end, Selina leaves Gotham, but takes a vial of venom with her. What is left of Bane floats in stasis when he is visited by a video of Joker, telling him this is a setback and now Bane can retire.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #9 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. While Wally has an outer body conversation with Barry, the Rogues try to convince Wally to join them in their plan to find Wally’s father, confront Thawne and stop Project Olympus. Although he is filled with concern, Wally agrees. Thawne tells Rudy West she is expecting the Rogues and they will all die, but Wally is the key to her interdimensional machine and that of Olympus. Enroute to Olympus, Wally is plagued by visions and Jesse betrays the team, telling Thawne the package is secured, which leads to Thawne blowing up their ship. Jesse and Wally are together and Grodd saves the others who work together to survive, leading to Wally defeating Jesse. The team continues on their journey even as Thawne reveals that Barry built the doorway and Wally will help her to open it.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #8 by Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay. Sojourner Mullen’s story before the events in Evergreen are related. Her father moves her to Evergreen as a young child and she grows up influenced by her friend Harold, with the assumption that Harold is actually Hal Jordan. She eventually becomes an officer on the Evergreen Police Department where she meets Renee Montoya, who she eventually shares a very brief kiss with. When she discovers corruption in the department and the chief is willing to slide it under the rug, she quits and moves to Coast City. One night, in a gay bar, she meets Cameron Chase and starts a relationship with. Because of the responsibilities of Chase’s job, Sojourner is ready to end the relationship when Cameron proposes, leading to their marriage. Sometime later, a chance meeting between Mullen and Montoya leads to a relationship between them. When Mullen confesses, the marriage ends. In the present, Mullen has brought an injured Hal to her ex-wife’s door.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #13 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. It is six weeks after Lazarus rolled into Smallville and Superman, suffering from previous encounters, is having Sol make any decisions while strengthening the town. In response, Lazarus builds a concentration camp to house citizens even as the resistance sets up a radio network to get the word out to the citizens, while they are hiding themselves in tunnels dug out by Superman. At the same time, the mail carrier for the Kents reveals he was the person who outed Superman, who rebuffs him and refuses to forgives the man. Meanwhile, Ra’s and Talia are utilizing Father Box to develop new weapons containing Kryptonite. Brainiac uses his psychic abilities to disable Sol. Ra’s and Talia attack, capturing Superman’s friends, with Ra’s demanding that Kal-El accept his position as Ra’s son.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #14 by Kelly Thompson and Matais Bergara. Diana faces off against the entity in Delphi with no positive results. She then is visited by a vision and she links her magic to Diana, possibly cursing her in the process. Back at the Heiron, Diana reveals that the only way she can defeat this extension of herself is to die. Back in battle, she does indeed die but has a conversation with Gaia, who ultimately agrees to help her. The entity is defeated thanks to Gaia herself. While talking with Steve, they hear a broadcast from Gotham saying that a burning symbol was found near the body of a murder victim and Diana recognizes it as the Mark of Hecate.

ACTION COMICS #1092 by Mark Waid and Cian Tormey. Superboy still finds himself adjusting to his powers and rescuing people in both Smallville and around the world. All seems to go well except for one instance when he saves a blind woman who does not speak English, which leads to outrage from civilians who do not understand. He also finds himself struggling, as Clark, with his attraction to Lana, who only has eyes for Superboy. Smallville is suffering as families are disappearing and farms are facing foreclosures. General Lane and his men roll into town to apprehend Superboy and Lana asks him to go with them to keep the peace. But the townsfolk rally behind him, leading to he and Lane sitting down for a conversation where Superboy agrees to work with them as long as it does not involve anything illegal or unethical and they leave Smallville alone. Unbeknownst to him, a mysterious item in the Metropolis Science Museum is seeking him out.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #3 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. Inside the Fortress, Superman and Ronan battle Brainiac and his forces. Superman says that Kryl-Ux brought him here but is told that Kry-Ux fears Superman and has been waiting for this and now will destroy the planet. Meanwhile, Jimmy is trying to save the records when he is confronted by the Summer Men. Jimmy survives their attack and transforms into a giant turtle. Ronan arrives to assist Superman and they cause Brainiac to shut down, but not before he says that he has seen every Multiversal reality and Ronan fails in all of them. That night, Superman prepares to travel back in time to stop everything that has happened but Jimmy tells him that the twins are gone and if Superman goes back in time he will never find where they were taken by Kril-Ux. They soon are visited by a vision of Kril-Ux telling them he has gathered four of the God-Aspects of Olgrun and orders Superman to find the other three if he ever has a chance of seeing the twins again. A portion of Lois’ diary reveals that she traveled to Oa after Clark and the twins disappeared where she ate a solar empyrean seed to give her temporary powers and that Jimmy ate the other, which reacted to his previous time as Turtle Boy.

AQUAMAN #11 by Jeremy Adams and Nimit Malavia. Garth manages to open a portal, allowing escape from Atlantis but there is only room for one to leave and that is Mera. Meanwhile, Aquaman and Justice League Blue go to a cruise ship that is being attacked by Parademons. After saving the people on the cruise, the team goes underwater to find the Deep Six trying to replicate the firepits of Apokolips, leading to Aquaman unleashing his new powers on them and shutting down their operation. Meanwhile, Mera returns to Xebel, where she meets with Nereus.

BATGIRL #13 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Cass is still troubled and haunted by the people in her life who have died. Along with Jade Tiger and Angel Breaker, who is trying to rekindle her romantic relationship with Nyssa, head off to take on the Unburied. Disguised, they head into a tunnel where Batgirl sees that Samsara belonged to The Unburied and that Nyssa has lied to them. She is filled with mixed feelings and, when Kaldeen arrives, Jade Tiger is ready to act.

BATMAN #3 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. While working on a school project, Huston Gray stumbles upon a crime scene where Vandal Savage is planting evidence implicating Batman in the death of the police officer in the previous issue and captures it on his phone, leading him to meet with newspaperman Jack Dean. While many of the officers are in the hospital following those events, Savage bullies one of them into implicating Batman. At the same time, with Bruce visiting an injured Tim, Bernard arrives, basically telling Bruce that the relationship Bruce has with Tim is borderline abusive. Later, at a Wayne Enterprises meeting, Bruce rejects the idea of creations being used for the military and refuses to have his family name put on any of it. Later, batman meets with Gordon and Bullock who inform Batman that Savage has issued “shoot to kill” orders. The Bat visits The Riddler who is in a state of mania, forcing Batman to sedate him. Thanks to the help of a ghostly Alfred, he deduces that Nygma was trying to tell him that Dr. has been using his experimental brain device on Arkham inmates.

BATMAN #162 by Geof Loeb, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams. Batman is confronted by the rest of the Bat Family and is forced to inject Barbara, paralyzing her and bringing back unpleasant memories. As he flees, he is confronted by Selina and the two have a long chat, with her saying all she wants is what is best for him. Midway through the conversation, he is lassoed by Damian, who drags him through the streets of Gotham until they encounter The Riddler, who immediately begins to pummel Batman until the Dark Knight shocks him with electricity. He talks with Nygma and this sends Batman back to Dick and Barbara, just as Hush arrive and shoots at them, with them getting saved by The Huntress. Batman arrives and finds himself in a confrontation with Jason. When Batman goes to leave, Nightwing demands he stop but Batman gets in the Batmobile and an explosion is triggered, meaning he has saved them. Unfortunately, it has dropped him below the surface and right in the clutches of the villains, including The Joker.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #27 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Fico Ossio. Batman and Robin find themselves in the middle of the fight between The Penguin, Two-Face, and The Quiet Man, who is upset that Batman is risking Robin’s life during all of this. He saves Robin and flees, allowing Robin to save Batman who has been buried beneath of pile of fallen metal. Batman calls Simone Blair, who is taking care of Arnold Wesker. Wesker has had his memory erased and has no memory of his time as The Ventriloquist. Bruce decides not to do a training session, as he has invited Clark and Jon to the house. Jon and Damian go out for food from Mojo’s, which ends up with them hanging out with some kids in Robinson Park. Bruce asks Clark how he manages to handle having a child, having concerns he is not raising him right. In the end, Penguin and Two-Face show up at Blair’s business because they have business with Wesker.

BATMAN/STATIC: BEYOND #1 by Evan Narcisse and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. In the future, an adult Static talks about going from a Physics student to being a part of an intergalactic alliance. Together with Batman, Superman, Icon, Warhawk and the members of the League test a superluminal spacecraft, but are ambushed by the Khunds in the process, but get help from Green Lantern. Later, in Neo-Gotham, a student protest over the Q-Grid power station gets violent as the Jokerz arrive, leading to Terry and his teammates intervening. One of the Jokerz fires a bazooka and that may have cost Terry’s friend Melvin his life.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #45 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Bruce and Clark are watching a football game when Clark hears an alarm from S.T.A.R. Labs where they have been developing an artificial neuroenhancer. As the heroes arrive, Luthor disappears, having been taken away from the scene courtesy of a dematerializer developed by The Joker. In his lair, The joker shows him the object of what he wants to possess: the Absorbacon, which he claims provides the key to infinite knowledge. They make their way to Midway City and break into the museum, bringing them into direct contact with Hawkman. Batman and Superman arrive and Lex brings the roof down, allowing the villains to escape. But they continue to fight over the Absorbacon and fall to the ground below, resulting in a huge explosion. When the dust clears, the two villains have merged and are now dematerialized, meaning they cannot be touched, now or ever.

BIRDS OF PREY #27 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. The team make their way into The Seam and Batgirl heads to the Unreality Building and visits Vivi, telling her that she needs to stop the game because of the super-villain threat. Vivi explains that her twin sister was taken many years ago and she has been looking for the entrance to the seam to find her ever since. The rest of the team enters the game again and battles with the Shadow Army, even as Oracle is betrayed by Inque. During the battle, Sin is shot with an arrow and falls.

CATWOMAN #81 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. At the ball, Selina finally gets to meet The Goddess. Later, she is confronted by Aldo, who threatens to kill her but she fights back and subdues him, even wile asking why Carmine is looking to sell the pearl. In the end, a meeting between Zervas and Carmine could be foreshadowing of what is to come as carmine appears to have a plan.

CHEETAH & CHESHIRE ROB THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. The team continues to plan their heist with Jade benching Cheetah because Wonder Woman is the Officer of the Watch, leading to Lian offering to step in instead. Meanwhile, Hazard and Klarion head to Baja where she uses her power to trigger a small crack on the fault line before heading to the Beaver Valley nuclear plant. L:ian transport up with a membership card saying she is Lian but the card identifies her as Sideways, leading to the Justice Leaguer’s having their suspicions. When the Challengers open an arriving craft, rats come flooding out, along with Cheetah, who has stowed away on it, but gets discovered by Wonder Woman.

DC K.O. #2 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico. In a flashback,  Clark, Bruce, Lois and Diana are playing a game where they each have to pick what they would be if they didn’t have their current roles. In the present, the 32 champions are tasked to hunt one of 16 powerful artifacts, including such items as the God Killer Sword, Lantern rings, the Lasso of Truth and a mystery item. Wonder Woman battles Etrigan for Atom’s belt when The Joker arrives, seemingly killing Etrigan. Plastic Man and Metamorpho fight over the God Killer Sword with Metamorpho using his powers to melt Plastic Man. Lex battles Superman, skewering him  with Kryptonite shards. Starro is able to control Aquaman, Wonder Woman and others to grab the remaining artifacts but Zatanna uses magic to fight back. As heroes and villains alike fight for the items, Luthor grabs a Black Lantern ring and reanimates the corpses of the gods Darkseid had killed. Superman deduces that the mystery item is the Omega Sanction, which he claims and uses to kill the reanimated elder gods. The Heart of Apokolips announces the first round is over as all items have been claimed. Of the 32 combatants, there are now only 16 left; pairing as follows: Superman vs. Captain Atom, Guy Gardner vs. Jay Garrick, Aquaman vs. Hawkman, Luthor vs. Etrigan, Wonder Woman vs. Lobo, Swamp Thing vs. Cyborg, The Joker vs. Red Hood, Zatanna vs. Harley Quinn. On the Watchtower, Darkseid steps into the arena as he has taken over Booster Gold.

DC K.O. KNIGHTFIGHT #1 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora.  After the events in DC K.O., Batman is resurrected in a future Gotham where the city is filled with Robins: all of whom have been trained by Dick Grayson, who has become Batman. Bruce is labeled ‘The Bat Who Fell’ and finds himself hunted by the Robins. Dick shows him the Bat-Tower and reveals that the heroes have banded together for a new Gotham; even as Bruce wonders who won the tournament. Eventually, Bruce confronts Dick, who reveals that his mentor’s obsession about being Batman led to Gotham’s downfall. The two fight and Dick reveals that Damian, Tim, and Jason are not around because irt was Bruce who killed them.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1103 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman is still suffering from the effects of the virus as Superman rescues him from the Batplane. Batman insists he needs to go to Metropolis and meet with lois while he sends Superman to the destroyed mountain base of The Lion in Kasnia. He asks Lois to help him get into S.T.A.R. Labs to investigate their connection to The Lion. She meets with Dr. Lee, inquiring about the recent spate of deaths and Lee explains this was all a part of Project Courage. Lois and Batman go to meet with the last survivor of the project, only to find that Intergang has him.. Batman defeats Intergang but the doctor flees out the window, being rescued by Batman before he can die. They interrogate him and learn there is a cure if they can find it. Meanwhile, Scarecrow has been taken by The Lion and that may be just what he has in mind to lead to a confrontation with Batman.

THE FLASH #27 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell and Vasco Georgiev. Impulse is in the hands of the Legion of Darkseid and Max Mercury. Bart flees and Wally, seeing this, gives chase, only to find himself embroiled in a battle with Max and the Legion. Bart ends up in Siberia and is briefly taken down by XS before the pair fight on the Trans-Siberian Express. Wally arrives, finding that Bart refuses to fight this version of his cousin. The rest of the League arrives and the speedsters now have to save the train and everyone on it while the villains escape.

GOTHAM ACADEMY: FIRST YEAR #2 by Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, and Marco Ferrari. Olive continues to try and fit in at Gotham Academy, helping a student named Heathcliff with his studies and striking up a friendship while also becoming closer to Kyle. They eventually kiss and she spends a weekend at his family’s home, where she meets his sister Mia. Mia takes to her room and show off her fascination with all things maps; a foreshadowing of her future nickname.. Later, Olive goes to visit her mother and finds the staff in a panic as Scarecrow has gotten loose. As she makes her way through the prison, encountering Clayface and Mr. Freeze in the process,  When she finally gets to her mother, she is met with angry comments. The Scarecrowd comes upon her and asks her to help him get out so they can help her mother while also hoping to blow up the prison in the process.

GREEN ARROW #30 by Chris Condon and Montos. Ollie faces off with Vraney, who reveals he has managed to cheat death several times and remade himself each time. Ollie fires an explosive arrow that hits the chemical tank, causing a huge explosion. Lian and Roy see it and race to the scene where Green Arrow is evacuating the injured workers. A helicopter arrives to help Vraney escape but Arrow and his partners thwart that. As they all battle, Vraney takes the worst of it; being peppered with arrows. As he goes to stand one ast time, he falls off the rooftop; presumably to his death.

GREEN LANTERN #29 by Jeremy Adams and Carmine Di Giandomemico. Hal is finding it hard to deal with some of what he has learned of late, thanks to the Book of Oa, and that leads him to teaming up with his old partner Green Arrow. Arrow relates how a company called Omega Construction has been properties around their headquarters as of late. It’s a company that didn’t exist until Darkseid exploded in the ALL IN SPECIAL. The heroes go to the corporate offices and discover X-Tingency: a metanoid that has been tasked ith protecting the building as it became aware last year of the pending crisis and the building is a state of the art survival bunker.  They get attacked by a giant robot tasked with killing them. The pair team up and thanks to a giant bow and arrow construct defeat the robot. In the end, X-Tingency ends up at The Watchtower and Hal heads off to meet with someone who might help him unravel the thoughts in his head, meaning he is off to Gotham City..

DC UNIVERSE Month 93, Part 2

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #9 by Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton, and Fernando Pasarin. The Starbreaker Supremecy Part 6. John Stewart is dead and Hal leads the Leanterns back to Oa where all hope rests on the freed criminals wielding rings. The Starbreaker Corps arrive and Lanterns of all colors unite to fight back. But their constructs are eaten by the enemy leading to the Guardians coming up with a counterattack. Ellie, now possessing a Blue Lantern ring, joins the fight and the grand plan results in the Starbreaker Corps entering the various Lantern batteries, where they are trapped forever. In the aftermath, Simon appears, possessed by the mind of Krona. In the end, John’s ring enters the Dark Sector and calls to him, where he is working on his farm.

HARLEY QUINN #55 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley, Gunbunny, and Mayfly have been captured by the Coast City Police but Harley being Harley manages to escape, with her inner brain telling her to go back to rescue the others. She runs, literally, into Fire and Ice, forcing her to flee back inside the jail, with her breaking the villains out. Fire and Ice end up in pursuit but Harley outfoxes them. Soon, Harley and Mayfly get tranquilized by Brock Blomquist, who is revealed to be Gunbunny’s father and prepares to hunt Harley and Mayfly. Meanwhile, the mysterious man continue to exert his evil influence on city residents, forcing Delores to shoot Marcisak.

JSA #11 by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui. The Unnamed Ones have arrived and the JSA finds themselves in a fight with Johnny Sorrow and his team. Doctor fate takes control and forces the villains to flee. Kid Eternity travels to meet the dead heroes and Ted Grant whispers a secret to her to help defeat the bad guys. She returns and whispers to Doctor Fate, who takes on the Unnamed Ones, telling them he knows their true names and faces, destroying them. In the end, Kid Eternity whispers something to Wildcat that Ted told her which makes her cry with joy. In the end, Kid Eternity meets with The Spectre and is now that vessel.

JUSTICE LEAGUE RED #3 by Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry. Simon and Cyborg battle the Blood Tabernacle and a dragon-like creature which Simon slays with a sword construct. Defeating the dragon and the first wave, they make their way inside the hideout to save Red Canary, only to encounter Father Blood. The heroes are soon trapped and a waking Red Canary unleashes powerful red energy that destroys everything in the building-presumably Father Blood also. Meanwhile, Kara deals with the vision of her parents that Red Tornado has created, which he says is a gift he created to thank her for joining the team. He explains he was able to do that thanks to help from Deadman. When Cyborg, Canary, and Simon return, Reddy tells them that they have almost completed their mission and now need to kill Black Adam on their most dangerous mission yet.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE OMEGA ACT SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson, Yasmine  Putri, and Cian Tormey. Years ago, on Krypton, Lara and Ursa discover an old data pad revealing a time when Krypton still cooperated with other worlds and civilizations. They also find what appears to be a Mother Box and an ancient weapon of some sorts that may be the Heart of Apokolips, along with a wall with a symbol that says KING OMEGA. In the present, Time Trapper reveals how time is fractured when Booster Gold appears and is taken by the Trapper into a weird field of energy with the Flash being caught in it as well. They arrive in the 853^rd century where Justice League Alpha is being devastated by the legion of Darkseid. It is revealed that this is happening throughout all timelines and the present will be the Legion’s next stop. Booster and The Flash get caught in the battle, with Booster unleashing Omega Energy to defeat the Legion as the trio heads back to the present. Time Trapper tells the gathered heroes that they must all work together to defeat Darkseid. At the same time, in Krypton’s past, ursa shows a device she took from the cave, telling how it said a great danger was coming and an ultimate weapon was needed to defeat it. Lara reveals that Ursa got the translation wrong and it actually says “Ultimate Champion”. To be continued in DC K.O. #1. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #12 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. A DC K.O. tie-in. As of now, 62% of the planet has been evacuated but The Atom hears about a bank robbery, leading to he and Batgirl investigating, finding Polka-Dot Man responsible. The Atom punches him and the villain explodes; severely injuring Ray and Barbara. Apparently, this is not an isolated incident as other low-level villains are giving the Justice League members still on Earth problems, causing Mr. Terrific to deduce that Neron is responsible because of a deal he had made many years ago to increase their power levels in exchange for their souls. Terrific then puts a team together made up of time-lost members of the League: Aquaman, Superman Blue, and Power Girl from the past, Guy Gardner Warrior, Green Lantern from KINGDOM COME, Futures End Batman, Dr. Fate of the 31^st Century, the Gold Hawk of Andrino, and Dc One Million Owlwoman. Because of the battle with the Legion of Doom, Universe-0 is gone and these heroes cannot return home and if the Justice League fixes the damage Darkseid has caused, these heroes will cease to exist. Before their mission, they meet with various League members. Guy tries to connect with Ice. Aquaman visits his counterpart’s room and is confused to see a picture of a daughter he was not aware of. Power Girl records a video message to her current self. The Watchtower receives an urgent message from Air Wave begging for assistance against Darkseid’s forces while Terrific activates a Boom Tube to bring them to Hell.

KRYPTO: THE LAST DOG OF KRYPTON #5 by Ryan North and Mike Norton. Krypto is in Kansas and helps save a family from a robber. The children recognize that the dog has super powers and suddenly Krypto smells something and flies away, landing at the Kent farm. Jonathan brings him home and the dog and Clark bond. Jonathan recalls something found in Clark’s cradle and fetches it; revealing what looks to be a dog tag in the shape and symbol of the El family. Clark changes into his outfit and gives Krypto a cape and attaches the dog tag. Krypto now has a forever home.

THE NEW GODS #11 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Denys Cowan. Otis Tennant has been troubled by visions of the spaceships heading to Earth, resulting in his turning into the Black Racer. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Barda fight the Furies, with Barda eventually growing large in size and defeating them. In space, Orion and Scott Free are set on saving Kamal, with Mister Miracle confronting Desaad and Orion dealing with Maxwell Lord. A brainwashed Kamal unleashes his power on Orion in an attempt to break him. Killowog and Jo see the size and scope of the spaceship armada and get backup in the form of the Black Racer.

NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE #4 by Mark Waid, Howard Porter and Hayden Sherman. Barry Allen’s documenting of the DC Universe concludes, beginning with the creation of the Black Lantern Corps. From there, Flashpoint occurs, Barbara Gordon resumes her activity as Batgirl, Amanda Waller reforms the Suicide Squad, Batman and his family fight the Court of Owls and Red Hood forms The Outlaws. The League has to fight Earth 3’s Crime Syndicate while Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz become Green Lanterns. A new Dr. Fate comes along in the person of Khalid Nassour, Wallace West starts his career and multiple Batwings arrive. The lost Wally West returns but the Dark Multiverse comes into being. It is discovered that much of what happened, specifically New 52, was caused by Doctor Manhattan, who ultimately returned the Justice Society to their place in history. A new Titans team was formed as did a new Young Justice. Pariah attempted to revive the Pre-Crisis Multiverse, which eventually ended up creating the Omniverse. Amanda Waller put her dark plan in place, eventually defeating her and resulting in changes to the power set of many heroes. In the end, the future is not fully written, especially with the DC K.O. event still happening.

NIGHTWING #131 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. A wanderer robot is returned to Spheric Solutions, having been destroyed by Nightwing-Prime, as noted by The Zanni. Elsewhere, Killer Moth is in his submarine and fires a missile at Nightwing’s speedboat until Oracle hacks into his system, forcing him to flee in his Moth-Rowboat. Nightwing gets attacked by the mutated Clean Cutters, leading to Nightwing-Prime to recue him. Back in the apartment they share, Nightwing has Prime go back to his studies while Dick goes to visit Commissioner Sawyer, who explains there are children missing and it seems to tie to Cirque Du Sin. Nightwing looks at the drawings of one of the kids and sees The Zanni in it. Prime heads out on patrol and encounters Killer Moth.  But, before he can apprehend him, he is struck by a Kryptonite blast to his chest, Nightwing finds him and encourages him to hang on even as Prime says he can hear circus music.

POISON IVY #37 by G. Willow Wilson and Atagun Ilhan. Janet continues to get sicker and that leads Ivy into making a trip to Gotham to seek out Dr. Leslie Tomplins, convincing her to come back with Ivy, despite Batman’s objections. Tompkins decides that Janet has an advance case of Mycosis worse than she has ever seen in someone so young. Tompkins declares that she cannot help her and she needs to be taken to Gotham General. Wendy arrives and reveals that it was Janet who betrayed Ivy and Ivy takes matters into her own hands by dragging Janet into The Green.

SUPERGIRL #6 by Sophie Campbell and Rosi Kampe. Supergirl finds herself trapped in Mindworld, where she is tormented by numerous nightmare interactions, including the Red Lanterns. The next day, when she wakes, she goes out on patrol with Lesla and nods out in the process; visualizing herself in battle with a Red Lantern version of herself that turns into Nightflame. Luna Lustrum, out Trick or Treating, finds Supergirl hiding under a shrub; attracted to her by her aura. Supergirl cannot wake from her nightmare and Lena convinces Luna to use psionics to go inside Supergirl’s head. Together, her friends tell her how much she is loved and that gives her the energy to deal with monsters in the Innerverse, telling them she will see them again tomorrow. She wakes and they all go to a Halloween party.

SUPERMAN #31 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, and Eber Ferreira. A DC K.O. tie-in. Superman confronts Time Trapper, who tells Superman he must journey to the Heart of Apokolips and helps crown a King Omega to defeat Darkseid. Superman goes to the Fortress and questions the simulation of his father about Krypton and its’ connection to Darkseid. The program has no answer because any memories have been erased from history. Later, Mercy Graves tells Superman of the Apokoliptian fire pits popping up across the planet and that Lex has built ships to help evacuate the planet. Before he heads off to this series of battles, he spends time with his family as Lois heads to the Fortress and quizzes Jor-El but gets Lara, who reveals  a ‘Destroyer’ legend featuring a Dark Omega and an Alpha, which she believes to be Doomsday. Suddenly, Superboy-Prime crashes into the Fortress followed by Sun-Boy from the Legion of Darkseid. But Sun-Boy’s power reactivates Lois’s dormant power and Superwoman is reborn.

SUPERMAN: THE KRYPTONITE SPECTRUM #3 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. Clark is now a boy again and he is okaying a game with Billy Batson’s in Batson’s bedroom. Batson tells Clark that he does art therapy at school and that helps him deal with his feelings. Elsewhere, Lex has teamed up with Toyman and Sivana, who have created a theme park called Nostalgia Springs, which the heroes go to. They are not there in this abandoned place for long when they are attacked by Bizarro Bots. The heroes end up riding the Canonical Coaster of Doom, where they encounter animatronic moments from their histories, although inaccurate. They escape by being shot out on a version of the rocket that brought Kal-El to Earth. Upon their exit, The Captain is shot by a ray of raw light and Superboy hit with a Kryptonite ray. Batman arrives and takes out the villains and gives Clark a drink that restores him to Superman. Meanwhile, Batman deduces that the Rainbow K is not from Krypton but is actually a distress signal from the Fifth Dimension. Batman shows him a message from the Fifth Dimension saying HELP MXY and he suddenly finds himself as Clark in the Planet Office…somewhere in the Fifth Dimension.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #6 by Dan Slott and Rafael Albuquerque. In Tunnel One, Superman is dealing with the effects of Kryptonite poisoning, with the Krypto-Knights trying to protect him from the Kobra cult. Elsewhere in the tunnel, Castilho threatens Lois who whistles for the Supermobile, which Superman hears and uses his golden aura, taking out Kobra. Lois jumps in the Supermobile and uses the robotic arms to take the crystal from Castilho. The leader sends his knights after her and Superman follows. But his aura wears off while he fights one of the Krypto-Knights and Lois must grab him, with the crystal falling to the ground and growing massive green crystals. Castilho is overjoyed as he now has a Kryptonian fortress. He then orders Superman, Lois and the Planet team to leave the country they entered illegally. With his enemies gone, Castilho declares himself to be the King of Krypton and plans on using this fortress to make Kryptonian weapons.

TITANS #28 by John Layman and Pete Woods. A DC K.O. tie-in. With Darkseid’s arrival imminent, the Titans go about enacting a grand plan to evacuate everyone on Earth, launching the multiple Titans Towers into space. That still only allows them to evacuated 34% of the population so they press on, even as many citizens are protesting it. Things go from bad to worse as Granny Goodness, her Furies, and Parademons attack the ship that Starfire is piloting, forcing her to call for backup.

 WONDER WOMAN #26 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. At a time in the past, an elderly man named Ernest Pye addressing a gathering held by the American government, saying his wife died during a Crisis and saying that people need a place where they can be free of superheroes and he takes people to Moray Island. One of those in the crowd is Carl Denter, who becomes the Mouse Man and he talks to Pye and joins everyone on the journey to Moray Island. Crime on the island rises, leading to Denter using his mice to kill any criminals, which gains him followers that dress like mice. Over time, he takes control of the government and kills any who oppose him, including his mentor. To avid more opposition, he orders the residents to only say “Mouse Man knows” and “mice have ears”; symbolizing that Mouse Man is aware of everything that happens on the island. In the present, Diana attacks Mouse Man’s fortress, dispatching his followers and attacking him directly by throwing her tiara at him, which he snaps with one hand. She eventually defeats him but, when she asks him to surrender, he reveals that Lizzie has been captured by his people. 

DC UNIVERSE Month 93, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #13 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta.  Bruce, having been visited by Selina in her Catwoman guise, talk and make love. Then the pair head off to meet with the Red Hood gang, now led by Harley Quinn, who likes the idea of a plan involving taking down Ark M. Elsewhere, Bane and his scientists push the amount of venom his boy can take to the maximum. Batman hijacks a city-wide video feed and challenges Bane to a fight in the Veterans Arena to be broadcast live. Before he leaves, he bids goodbye to Alfred and Selena and then leaves a box filled with raw meat for his friend Waylon.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson and James Warren. In the first story, a young Bruce goes to buy weapons to use when he sees a group attacking a pair of immigrants. But when he intervenes, the weapons merchant knocks him out and Bruce gets saved by a priest, who takes him home to tend to his wounds. He tells Bruce that the guy named Deejay is hell bent on getting rid of the immigrant camp. When Deejay and his gang, aided by the police, attack the camp, Batman arrives and, in violent fashion, ultimately eliminating the threat. In the second tale, a masked gang breaks into a former priest’s church looking for guns. Batman arrives and, after a bloody brawl, the bad guys are defeated and the priest and his son, who he has been estranged from, reunite.

ABSOLUTE EVIL #1 by Al Ewing, Giuseppe Cammuncoli, and Stefano Nesi. In 1951, Hawkman has a meeting with the House Un-American Activities Committee, where they demand he unmask. Ultra Right Wing Carter Hall agrees and then proceeds to tattle on those superheroes he believes to be Communists. In the present, Oliver Queen gets a call from his friend Roy, telling him he is going after billionaire pedophile Jubal Slade. At the same time, Slade calls Hector Hammond, who believes he can pay off Queen. Hammond then goes to a meeting room with Veronica Cale, Elenore Thawne, Ra’s al Ghul, and The Joker. Cale gives a presentation involving many of the heroes of the past. Wesley Dodds was found dead and his research involving knockout gas was stolen which seemingly resulted in the military developing nerve gas that won World War II. Later, Ted Grant was framed for murder and became a vigilante, eventually taking a payoff and opening a gym. Iron Munro was called before the HUAC but refused to give names and soon found himself blacklisted in Hollywood. He died after being ‘accidentally’ exposed to nerve gas. Cale goes on to explain this was how people who tried to act outside of the “status quo” were dealt with. But, after the “Gateway Event” and the arrival of Wonder Woman, Superman and more, things have changed and they all need to work together. Hammond refuses and Cale calls in Hawkman, who dumps the corpse of Oliver Queen on their table. While Hammond and Thawne still are not on board, The Joker reveals that a particle physics lab he owns made a recent, relevant discovery he refers to as the ‘Omega Particle’ and he proclaims their group should be known as the Justice League. As Brainiac watches all this through Ra’s al Ghul’s sunglasses, he meets with Mirror Master, telling him this group needs another member and suggests a candidate he saw in the Mirror World. In the end, a man and his wife are enjoying some peace on their farm when he receives a phone call. He reveals he is Lex Luthor and asks how he can help the person on the other end.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #8 by Jeff Lemire and Travis Moore. In the past, Barry Allen is lecturing at Keystone University. Elenore Thawne meets with him after class with an offer to continue his research in quantum mechanics. They fly to Fort Fox where she shows him her grandfather’s journals when Eobard Thawne was heading up a government project called Blue Trinity, which was trying to connect with an alternate dimension of pure energy. The government shut him down but he went out to the desert and built his machine. Captain Jay Garrick tries to stop him but Thawne has opened a portal and he throws Garrick into it and he is disintegrated. When the machine exploded, Thawne disappeared and is presumed dead. Barry becomes interested in the equations on the chalkboard here and begins correcting them. Two years later, Barry has rebuilt Eobard’s machine and Thawne brings in Rudy West, who wants to have weapons built for the military. Thawne tells him he needs to play along to continue to receive funding. Later, he opens a portal to what is being called Still Point and sends in a three person team to collect samples of ‘Red Matter’ and they fins a spaceship they bring back to base where alien technology and the bodies of the crew are studied, allowing the creation of Grodd and the Rogues’ equipment. Barry hears the voice of Eobard calling him and when Barry touches this red lightning, he sees himself from the future in the containment suit, telling him to stop and that it must be Wally.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #7 by Al Ewing, Jason Howard and Riley Rossmo. In deep space, a Black Star possessed Mogo, led by Killowog, attacks members of the Green Lanterns with devastating results before moving on and destroying J586. Later, Tomar-Re, coupled with Red Lantern energy, attacks and dispatches Killowog. Turned into a cube, the cube flies through space before ending up with someone who possesses the Yellow Light-someone who appears to be a version of Sinestro and then destroys a miniature version of Starro.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #12 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. While Ma kent rambles on and seems to recognize that maybe her son may be back, Sol takes Superman to Kansas, in an effort to keep him safe. But he is still dealing with the effects of Brainiac’s mental torture. Jimmy and Lois take in a meal at a Smallville Diner where they meet Lana Lang and discover there may be some support for Superman and resistance against Lazarus. On their return to the farm, they find Superman enveloped in a fortress that doubles as his cape; constructed by Sol. He introduces himself as Kal-El and warms that Ra’s and Talia are coming-and they have quite the army with them.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #13 by Kelly Thompson and Matais Bergara. At the Hieron, Diana hears a news alert abut something destroying a casino in Reno and she heads there. She not only sees the destruction but also senses “pure malice” in the air as she confronts an energy creature that lashes out with a psychic attack before disappearing over the Pacific. Back at the Hieron, Diana, Barbara, Etta, and Gia analyze this and other attacks that seem to have been unleashed at ancient Amazon battle sites. Diana heads to the next location in Delphi, Greece where she realizes the monster is her own magical balance-that she is responsible for all of this.

ACTION COMICS #1091 by Mark Waid and Skylar Partridge. Clark escape from the military and heads back home, telling the Kents what happened. Later, he meets with Captain Comet, who reveals he was responsible for the military showing up as part of a test. He later reveals that he is suffering from an incurable alien infection. Clark insists that Captain Comet needs to go back into space to save his life but Comet declares he must stay here and both help and teach Clark. Ultimately, Clark gets the dying hero into his spaceship and propels him back into space to hopefully save his life.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #2 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. Superman has saved a distant relative named Ronan Kent and learns that he has been transported to the far future and Smallville has become Tropolis Kyne and is run by Luthor. Well…a Luthor that is actually a robotic construct as Lord Ux rules all. Ronan takes Superman into the remnants of the Fortress of Solitude where Clark revisits old memories. Ronan goes off ahead to meet with an old man before bringing him to meet Superman. It is revealed that the old man is in fact Jimmy Olsen. Before he can reveal too much to his old friend, they are attacked by some of Lord Ux’s ‘Summer Men’. In the first backup, from Brandon Kent’s journal, it is revealed the Luthor isn’t being controlled by Brainiac-he IS Brainiac. In the second entry, from the Chronicles of the House of El, it is revealed that the last three Luthors have been an entity sent by Kryl-Ux to watch for Superman’s return.

AQUAMAN #10 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. The citizens of Atlantis remain trapped behind a magical barrier, even as Mera, Jackson, and Garth try to find away to break out. On the surface, a ghost pirate ship appears and causes havoc. Aquaman and his team work together to defeat the pirates who manage to dig up an artifact that they have been searching for. But they are quickly dispatched by Aquaman’s daughter from a future timeline who takes the artifact and heads off.

BATGIRL #12 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Batgirl, Jade Tiger, and Jaya Jayesh fight their way through The Blood, even as Cass is troubled by visions of her dead mother. They eventually make their way into the hidden city of Samsara, where she meets with Nyssa al Ghul. She tells Cassie that there are blue poppies that gives the Unburied their power and those flowers must be destroyed. Before Cass can agree to join Nyssa, Chodak the Unbowed breaks free and attacks Nyssa, leading to Batgirl saving her and defeating him and agreeing to help stop The Unburied.

BATMAN #2 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. Tim Drake Robin breaks up a gang of crooks who are stealing baby formula. When the police arrive, one of them shoots a fleeing suspect in the back. When Tim attempts to flee, he is shot by a police officer and captured and place in a police van with other criminals. Tim fights for his life, dispatching them and freeing himself from his bonds in the process. The van gets stopped by well-deployed Bat Spikes and Tim is freed. The police officers threaten to shoot batman and fire, hitting each other in the process, although Batman takes a glancing shotgun blast off his head in the process. In the aftermath, one officer is dead and the other is wounded and Vandal Savage declares war on Batman and Robin.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #26 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Fico Ossio. Batman and Robin interrogate The Penguin following the attack at The Iceberg Lounge. Penguin insists he does not know who was responsible even as Batman reveals that the assailant puts coins on the eyes of the dead. When the heroes leave, Cobblepot has one of his men make arrangements to have a meet with Harvey Dent. Because Batman left a microphone in the Iceberg Lounge, he knows that a meet is happening at Asher Estate and he sends Robin to stake it out. While waiting, Damian gets a visit from the Gotham Irregulars, who want to help out. The killer arrives to the meeting and demands Harvey gives up The Penguin, declaring he is the person responsible for killing his boy. Batman intervenes and disarms him. That is when Batman recalls a cold case he never solved and realizes the man is really after The Ventriloquist.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #44 by Mark Waid, Mark Russell and Lucas Meyer. While Batman and Superman deal with Toyman and Mad Hatter in Bolivia, Batman reveals he has sent Robin to scope out Ardora Industries: a subsidiary of Lexcorp. Superman calls in his cousin to back up Robin. He makes his way into Adora but his disguise his subterfuge soon fails and Supergirl arrives to help. But they have Kryptonite and that results in them being captured. They distract their captor, who is going through a crisis of a personal nature, leading to them insisting that they are not dating. Using her super-breath, Supergirl manages to get the access card to freedom, which Robin tosses with his mouth to get the door to open. Escaping but still trapped in a chair, a stray bullet from the thugs breaks the Kryptonite chains, defeating the bad guys and hitting the self-destruct button, with the pair flying away and her delivering a kiss as they do. In the end, Batman and Robin find them in Robin’s car in something resembling a romantic embrace when they are actually looking for the shutoff for the proximity button in the car.

BIRDS OF PREY #26 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Batgirl and Black Canary make their way into the server room and install a piggyback into the system, even while Canary thinks there is a missing piece. Back at their temporary headquarters, they discuss their plan, where they will get placed directly into the game’s finale. After making their way through the game by answering a bunch of riddles, Barda and canary are stop by police who open fire on them with Barda taking wounds protecting Canary. Reuniting with Sin and Cass, Cass says she has solved the game. Leading them to a solid wall, she says that Vivi is looking for entrance to the Seam and is very close. 

CATWOMAN #80 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. Selina continues her search for Palmero Pearl. In the process, she rescues a reporter named David Moran who has been caught photographing Zervas and the Falcones. That night, she attends the ball but, even disguised, someone knows who she is.

CHEETAH & CHESHIRE ROB THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. Cheshire and Cheetah have assembled their team, consisting of Hazard, Klarion and Teekl, and Featherweight, whose mother once tried to kill Superman. They are told of the mission to steal the Power bank, but also of the hoops they will need to jump through, including finding a way onto the Watchtower and making it past the security there. Cheshire and Hazard make their way into Ferris, allowing Hazard to download the schematics for the Watchtower and also leave an executable that will give them a back door to it. As part of their plan, Featherweight and Lian manage to steal a Justice League membership card from a distracted Sideways. But Klarion, who has taken an immediate liking to Featherweight, has his own plan and meets with a group looking for the Power Bank-a group led by…Black Adam.

DC K.O. #1 by Scott Snyder, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico. We begin with Game Night at the Kents when a god-like Darkseid appears, soundly defeating and killing the heroes. This is revealed to those on the Watchtower by the Quantum Quorum, who says this has already happened but they have rewound time seven days. They reveal that Darkseid will trigger a cosmic crisis with the Heart of Apokolips reshaping the Earth. They propose a tournament where heroes and villains will compete to become the new King Omega, who could challenge Darkseid and remake the universe. For the next seven days, the heroes make their preparations. At last, on the seventh day, the battles begin with surprise villains entering the fray. Immediately, some of the combatants, such as Adam Strange, Damage, and even Batman are eliminated. The final result leaves 32 champions, heroes and villains, to face off against each other. In the end, it is revealed the Darkseid himself as the master manipulator of the Quantum Quorum and that he has taken the form of one of the 32.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1102 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman has only two days to solve this mystery of the virus that will result in his death. Clues point to a company called King Chemicals: run by a man who made his fortune at poker. He makes his way to Kasnia to engage in a high-stakes poker game with Louis King. Oracle learns that everything in King’s past has been created or altered through AI. Batman makes his way into King Chemicals and discovers there is no real labs there and he faces off against The Lion: the person responsible for everything. Batman is brutally beaten and escapes but may be in worse shape than he originally believed as he passes out in the Batplane.

THE FLASH #26 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell and Vasco Georgiev. A DC K.O. tie-in. Wally is pursuing Alchemist in Arizona; capturing him near the Grand Canyon. Later, Wally is on the Watchtower where Time Trapper and World Forger are devising a tournament to select King Omega. Bart vibrates into the Time Stream where Omega energy is tainting everything. The two speedsters experience altered memories as they come face to face with Darkseid in a slowed down past. Bart ends up in Tunguska, Russia in 1908 where a blast of Omega Energy has left mass destruction(NOTE: 6/8/08 in Tunguska is the site of the Tunguska asteroid impact in our world, not the fictional one). He encounters Max Mercury who has joined the Legion of Darkseid.

GOTHAM ACADEMY: FIRST YEAR #1 by Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, and Marco Ferrari. Following previous events and pre-dating the first GOTHAM ACADEMY series, Olive Silverlock moves into Gotham Academy where she meets her roommate Lucy Hunt. Later, even as he deals with her traumatic past, she meets Kyle Mizoguchi and develops a friendship. Later, she goes to visit her mother in Arkham Asylum and meets Jonathan Crane, who gives her some of the same pills her mother takes, saying that madness is often hereditary.

GREEN ARROW #29 by Chris Condon and Montos. Ollie continues to follow the trail of the Crimson Archer, discovering a series of passports; one of which belongs to Herb Vraney. Ollie recalls Vraney from a mission in Cambodia. Digging further, he finds a secret space where the drug is being stored and he destroys the vials. He makes his way to Advance Pharmaceuticals, where he finds workers making the drug. That brings him into conflict with Vraney: the man he thought he killed in Cambodia.

GREEN LANTERN #28 by Jeremy Adams and V. Ken Marion. Guy and Jo explore the Castle of Desolate Stone, finding the stolen Book of Oa, where they find a page declares ‘Hal Jordan’. Hal is handling a dangerous criminal in Coast City when he is called back to Oa, where he sees the Book of Oa, specifically his name, and he is hit with an energy blast. While he is rushed to the medical bay, the Guardians see the book and believe that Hal has received certain information, just as they did when they exited the Source Lantern and make the decision to leave Oa. Meanwhile, Krona wanted to take the Corps apart and has put his consciousness into a body like Hal’s, but that body is breaking down. He needs to fix this and retrieve the information that the Guardians now possess. Hal heads back to Earth where he is hit with visions of a black tower and his fighting with the Guardians. He gets a message from the Justice League and he heads to Star City, where it seems he will reunite with Oliver Queen.

An epic list of first issues

 

ALL-NEW SPIDER-GWEN GHOST-SPIDER #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Paolo Villanelli. If you haven’t been following, Gwen Stacy . . . yeah: not the dead one . . . has permanently relocated to Earth 616, where she has made new friends and also new enemies. And started a new band. What was once a bit of a lighter feeling title has gotten really dark. I still like the character and supporting cast but am not a fan of the new grim tone. I’ll see how this goes before I decide if it’s worth keeping.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: TORN #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Pere Perez. Straczynski steps back into a character that he once wrote and, depending on who you listen to, ruined with his run. Peter is still in college, gwen is still alive and it’s all about a mysterious artifact. It looks great and it’s not a bad read, once you realize this is not a canon story. But it is kind of fun and not such a bad read. But it’s only for true fans of the author and the character.

AMAZING X-MEN #1 by Jed McKay and Mahmud Asrar. Another AGE OF REVELATION title.You will see a lot of these unusual X-Men themed titles here this time around as the newest crossover “event” has begun. In this alternate timeline, Doug Ramsey has become revelation and, with the X-Virus sweeping across the United States, the world has changed and Revelation runs the show. In this one, Cyclop’s and Beast’s minds have ended up in their future selves bodies and they must negotiate the future as Revelation has killed Magneto, Forge and Archangel and the surviving team members have to escape from Revelation’s Angel of death-Wolverine. As with all of these AGE OF REVELATION titles, it will only appeal to fans of the mutants. That said, I’m curious to see where it goes in future issues, especially after an interesting cliffhanger ending!

ARTIFICIAL #1 by Maria Llovet. I have become a huge fan of Maria Llovet’s work in the last year or so. From CRAVE to VIOLENT FLOWERS and ALL THE THINGS WE DIDN’T DO LAST NIGHT. In this story, a girl ends up in a relationship with an artificial man from a company called Date-X. As the press piece on it calls it, it truly is 9 ½ WEEKS meets THE TERMINATOR. It’s a love story, kind of, that hits the right emotional buttons. Llovet’s art is captivating and her dialogue is crisp and fun.

BATMAN: SECOND KNIGHT BOOK ONE by Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins. DC’s newest oversized Black Label titles follows directly out of the amazing FIRST KNIGHT. It’s 1940 and their influence of the Nazis are being felt. But there are also underworld thugs and enhanced villains, like Scarecrow. And when a reporter from Metropolis arrives in town, we all know Lois Lane will be in the thick of it all. This is a proper sequel and I’m curious to see if we get a certain man from Krypton by the end.

BATTLEWORLD #1 by Christos Gage and Marcus To. Just like happened during SECRET WARS, heroes have been plucked from the timeline and sent to a place where survival is the key. The highlight of this, if there is one, is the surprise ending and who is behind it all. I was never a fan of the original BATTLEWORLD and I’m probably less of a fan of this, although the art is nice.

BIG RIG #1 by Post Malone, Adrian Wassel, and Nathan Gooden. I don’t exactly know how to describe this one. We have monks, Satanist, crazy monsters, demons…and a big f*cking truck! When our ‘hero’ gets in that truck, he becomes Trucker: Deliverer of Vengeance. And it just gets crazier from there as he teams up with the granddaughter of a legendary witch. The art is AMAZING and the story ain’t half bad either. Expensive as comics go(at $7.00 for the ‘standard version’) but filled to the brim with a ton of fun! 

BINARY #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Giada Belviso. Here’s another AGE OF REVELATION title. In this future, Carol Danvers, possessing the Phoenix force, defends the town where she has been elected as mayor. Is it an uphill battle? This title may be as it’s a lot of Carol whining and having self-doubt.

BLACK CAT #1 by G. Willow Wilson and Gleb Melnikov. Felicia Hardy gets her own series and it starts with a bang as she is sitting in Night Nurse’s office with heroes and villains. And the story goes from there, with her tangling with The Lizard and deciding to be a crime fighter. It’s fun, Wilson’s dialogue is snappy and the plot has potential. Loving it!

BLOOD HONEY #1 by Sean Peacock. Two people at Manderlay Academy have a strained relationship. And they soon find out that they hate each other and are each scheming to kill each other. From there, it’s a riotous look at ideal love versus lust. The art is a bit rough and reminds me of some of the cheap Horror titles of the Fifties. And the dialogue is a mixed bag. But the concept is pretty cool and something new.

BLUE FALCON AND DYNOMUTT #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti and Pasquale Qualand. Dynamite continues to dig into the world of old school Pop Culture television, having already taken deep dives into THUNDERCATS, JONNY QUEST, SPACE GHOST, HERCULOIDS, and more. Not much to say here as we meet out hero and his dog and a horrible thing happens before the end of issue #1. I was a fan of this cartoon and loved the take on him on HARVEY BIRDMAN ATTORNEY AT LAW. However, not a huge fan of this as it tries to be dark and fails.

CLOSER #1 by Kieron Gillen and Steve Lieber. This is such an incredibly weird one shot. A woman takes part in a research project and, apparently, birds appear when she is near. Okay…see where this might be going? Well, it gets wilder as we get angels, devils, hell and multiple Burt Bacharach references. If you liked Gillen’s PHONOGRAM, you will love this. It’s not action packed and very thought provoking.

DEATH TO PACHUCO #1 by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill. The hook for me was David Lapham turning in a beautiful cover and that it’s a period book set in the 1940’s However, the story is kind of sparse and the art even more so. It’s a mystery tale and it’s a mystery to me how this will be a hit. Personally, I’m one and done as I didn’t really embrace the characters and part of that is because I don’t know Spanish, so maybe that’s on me.

DISAVOWED #1 by Josh Blaylock and Pop Mhan. It’s 1997 and, while playing with a friend, a kid finds his father’s gun. That leads to a flashback to 1989 when his father was a part of a military team. Basically, this is G.I. Joe amped to 11! And I’m sure there is a lot of tongue in cheek with this one, complete with ninjas in black and a villain named Mantis…because Cobra was taken. For someone who grew up with the original Marvel series and has even dipped his toe into what has come since, I love it! It’s fun in a nostalgic kind of way. And a lot more blood and guts!

ESCAPE #1 by Rick Rememder and Daniel Acuna. Here’s the pitch: it’s World War II and the Allies are out on a bombing run against the Nazis. Things go badly and the sole survivor finds himself hiding out behind enemy lines. The difference? It’s an anthropomorphic tale and the Nazis are biped bats. The story is engaging and the art is incredible. This may be one of my new favorite titles!

EVERYTHING DEAD & DYING #1 by Tate Brombal and Jacob Phillips. Holy moley! This is weird and dark and somewhat twisted. A farmer is all about taking care of his husband and family and loves his farming and his connections to his neighbors. But he is also troubled by visions. Guess what(SPOILER): everything IS dead and dying. To say more, would be bad. Just know the story will hold you up until the last page when you realize the world is a bit different now.

FLOW #1 by Paula Sevenbergen and Claudia Balboni. Here is a book that will certainly hit hard with one section of the audience but not all. Coming from Mad Cave, who has been turning out some amazing works as of late, it’s set in both the past and the present. In the past, a girl named Dara Lund goes to camp and experiences her first period, leading to her fellow camp goers being cruel and making her do all sorts of horrible things to free her from the curse. But in the present, something happens that reminds those other campers of it and tends to reveal that maybe things ended badly and, many years later, is coming back to haunt them. Such an engaging read and find it with the truly horrifying Colleen Doran variant cover!

GOOD AS DEAD #1 by David and Maria Lapham. I have been a long-time fan of the Lapham’s work, going back to issue #1 of STRAY BULLETS. What they do is write some incredibly engaging crime stories. And here is another one. When a scientists blows himself up along with some important documents and files, the sheriff gets involved and it may have something to do with where it happened and the various families involved in the town’s history. So, in true Lapham fashion, you get just little bits of information that will eventually play out, although it may take many, MANY issues to do that. The story is great and the art is that which we have all gotten accustomed to.

IMMORTAL LEGEND BATMAN#1 by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom. DC unloads a new Elseworlds title and this one takes Batman into the future and turns everything sideways. There’s a Batman on the loose and this one is apparently filled with vengeance. And when you get the back story of how many Batman’s there have been and who has been in the suit, you will be captivated. While I am not a fan of the art, I LOVE the story and where it can go.

IRON & FROST #1 by Cavan Scott and Avairi Coleman. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. As part of all that has transpired, the X-Men are splintered. Carmella Unuscione has been responsible for the death of Eris’ mother and Marrow has stabbed Emma, forcing her to remain in diamond form, even as the mansion collapsing, taking Emma and Marrow with it. Tony mourns and pines for her. Years later, Eris finds Emma and so does Tony, now known as the Iron King. Crazy stuff here and one of the better titles in this event.

LAURA KINNEY: SABRETOOTH #1 by Erica Schultz and Valentina Pinti. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. Things have change as Laura is now aligned with Revelation while gabby is not. Either way, Laura needs a favor from her kid sister: take her son out of the revelation territories. Well, you know THAT won’t sit well with Revelation and that means he has his people watching her. Like the other books in this run, it depends on how you feel about all of it.

LONGSHOT #1 by Gerry Duggan, Jonathan Hickman, and Alan Robinson. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. And this one is the most fun and I credit Hickman for that! Mojo needs to get his ratings back up so, after conferring with the X-Babies, he tasks Major Domo to find him some talent, resulting in Hellcat, Bishop, Kraven, Rhino, and Wonder Man. It’s a rollicking romp and a bit bloody too! This was so awesome with some incredible wit mixed in! Buy this book, even if you don’t buy any of the others!

MARVEL ALL-ON-ONE #1 by Ryan North and Ed McGuiness. Simple premise executed nicely! The Thing ends up fighting the entire Marvel Universe in a book completely made up of splash pages and two-page spreads! Don’t expect anything earth-shattering here but it looks amazing! So, Marvel puts out what essentially is a pin-up book with a story. McGuiness’s art shines and makes the story palatable.

MARVEL KNIGHTS: THE PUNISHER #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti and Dan Panosian. In the world of Marvel Knights, things are different. Take Frank Castle. He takes his violence to a whole new level. But he gets caught and eventually gets brainwashed into becoming El Zombie. And now he is working for the man whose son Frank killed: taking out whoever he is told. Great, gritty stuff here from Palmiotti and Panosian.

MARVEL/DC: DEADPOOL/BATMAN #1 by Zeb Wells, Greg Capullo, Chip Zdarsky, Terry Dodson, Kelly Thompson, Guruihiru, Kevin Smith, Adam Kubert, Al Ewing, Dike Ruan, Frank Miller, Ryan North and Ryan Stegman. This is the team-up of companies that fans wanted and, now that we’ve got it, did we need it? The Batman/ Desdpool story is fun and Capullo’s art shines. Wonder Woman and Captain America? Could have done without it. Jeff and Krypto? A mostly silent story that left me not wanting more. Kevin Smith on Green Arrow and Daredevil? Well, it was nice to see him return to a pair of characters he loves. Rocket and green Lantern? Two pages of filler, as far as I’m concerned. Batman and Wolverine by Miller? Would have been nice to see this 30 years ago. Now…not so much. And Logo? A Wolverine/Lobo mash-up that is thankfully only three pages long. All in all, I saw it as a bit overpriced for what we got.

MURDER BY PODCAST #1 by Jeremy Haun and Mike Tisserand. Marketing: it’s a beautiful thing. I ended up buying this title because of a gimmick Ignition Press sent to the LCSs. That intrigued me. In the story, people are committing murder because of things being said on a True Crime podcast. The podcast seems innocent but something is obviously underlying in the message, The art is fine enough but the story is the real thing here. I cannot wait to see how this plays out.

NO MAN’S LAND #1 by Szymon Kudranski. The amazing Kudranski, the genius behind SOMETHING EPIC and BLOOD COMMANDMENT, is back with his newest epic. It’s the early 1960’s and an agent of the Department of Justice is ready to retire when his retirement gets put on hold to investigate the death of a woman found frozen in the ice bridge between Alaska and Russia. What happened? How did she die and who is responsible? It’s a mystery that will change the agent and possibly the whole country forever. It looks great and the mystery is fascinating.

ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM: G.O.D.S. #1 by Ryan North and Francesco Mortarino. Further proof that everyone wants to be included in this event. And it only makes sense for those who embraced Hickman’s G.O.D.S. series. Wyn and Mia face off against Doom with predictable results. Again, only essential for fans of the other book. Mostly, you can pass in it, especially because Hickman is not involved.

ORLA #1 by John Lees and Sally Cantirino. Poor Orla. She’s not the prettiest and she certainly is not the thinnest. All she wants is to find a man. But when she finds one, she changes into a man eating monster.  But when someone she actually likes gets involved, will she be able to keep the monster at bay? The story is cool and the art style is very reminiscent of the old school Underground comics.  It’s not for everyone but I like it!

THE PUNISHER RED BAND #1 by Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta. He’s back! Frank Castle is back in action and he’s giving out bloody justice. There’s only one problem: Frank is injured and doesn’t know who he is.

QUICK STOPS VOLUME #3 #2 by Kevin Smith and Ryan Gajda. Not a first issue but needs to be included. This is a wonderful love letter to the late Shannen Doherty that  reveals a scene from what was supposed to be TWILIGHT OF THE MALLRATS: the sequel that will probably never be made. I say probably but you can never tell. It gets points for Kevin actually using the book to pay tribute to his departed friend.

RACER X #1 by Mark Russell and Nuno Plati. Mad Cave come out with a title connected to their SPEED RACER universe. It gives us a bit of a retelling of Rex Racer’s origin story, complete with having him getting scarred in the accident that “allegedly” killed him and that leads to him hooking up with the Car Acrobatic Team. The art is cartoony and the story shifts so far from cartoon canon that I can’t go here.

RED BOOK #1 by James Tynion IV and Michael Avon Oeming. The likely successor to Tynion’s BLUE BOOK. But this series looks at U.F.O. instances throughout history in the Soviet Union. Fascinating stuff if you are into it. I really like BLUE BOOK a lot and love the art.

RED HOOD #1 by Gretchen Felker-Martin and Jeff Spokes. This was a mini-series and I should be reviewing it over on my DC UNIVERSE page. But author Felker-Martin got themselves in the foot with comments made regarding Charlie Kirk and DC fired them and cancelled this title with issue #1; going as far as offering to take issues back from comic stores. Instead, a collectible was created with prices going between $25 and $100. Now, is it any good? Not really. I was looking forward to a Red Hood Huntress team-up but the story is clunky, with the art being the saving grace.

RETURN TO PLANET HULK #1 by Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan. For fans of the PLANET HULK run, this one is for you. Sakaarson is back and he just wants to be left alone. But that isn’t going to happen. Pak knows this character so well and Pagulayan’s art is incredible. I’m not sure if you want to consider it canon or not, but it was a nice return to a classic run.

ROGUE STORM #1 by Murewa Ayodele and Roland Boschi. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. Rogue, Gateway and their allies go in search of Storm, who has been become Mother and is now a target. But, just to confuse things, there are two Rogues, split into two personalities by The Collector. So what happens when Rogue goes after The Last God? A bunch of death and a battle that Rogue, at least one of them, will probably not survive. It’s fine. Nothing fantastic here but it’s a fine read with some unusual hooks.

SINISTER’S SIX #1 by David Marquez and Rafael Loureiro. Misty Knight and Colleen Wing are out doing S.H.I.E.L.D.    work when they end up fighting Black Cat…a greatly different Black Cat than we have seen before. And she didn’t come alone as Omega Red, Lady Fantomex and Domino are with he and led by Havok. They’re not here looking for the girls-they’re hunting Venom. All of this is because Mr. Sinister needs a powerful team to take out Revelation. The art is great and the story is interesting enough. Hopefully, it doesn’t let up from here.

SKINBREAKER #1 by Robert Kirkman and David Finch. This is a barbarian tale that covers some familiar ground: the passing of a torch in a trial by fight. The highlight here is Finch’s art which may be some of his best work ever. Every panels is amazing and I can understand why because this project has been in the work for eight years. And is also available as a treasury-sized edition that further highlights his work. Amazing looking stuff!

SONJA REBORN #1 by Christopher Priest and Alessandro Miracolo. With the exception of the recent RED SONJA VS. MARS ATTACKS, you would not see me buying a Red Sonja comic as most of what I have seen, despite some good writing, has dreadful art. But I jumped on this for one reason: Christopher Priest! His VAMPIRELLA stuff has been amazing and I figured I would give this a shot. Maggie Sutherland has a an to grind and ends up falling into a deep hole in a tunnel. When she wakes, she’s Sonja and may have to save the woman she was going to kill. It’s typical Priest as there are cool little moments throughout. Even the art isn’t that bad. I’m so in for this!

SPEED RACER #1 by David Pepose and Davide Tinto. One of my favorite cartoons as a kid was this one, so I was really excited for it. And it looks great! The story is good too. Just don’t see this as something directly coming from that cartoon. Sure, the characters are there and all but the only thing even reminiscent to the classic story is Pop’s Racer having a heart attack and Speed racing to pay his bills. If you can get around history, kind of like a Marvel or DC film, you’ll be into it.

SPIDER-MAN NOIR #1 by Erik Larsen and Andrea Broccardo. It’s Peter Parker as a P.I. on an Earth where it’s still the Roaring Twenties, but he still has all those Parker problems. He’s in danger of losing his office because he can’t pay the rent. He still has an aunt checking on him who knows his secret. And he gets hired by Gwen Stacy to look into her father’s death. But the highlight is Spider-Man: dressed in black and firing twin pistols. And he fights a Nazi bat…no kidding! Fun, silly stuff that is pure Larsen!

STAKE PRESENTS JESSAMY #1 by David A. Byrne and Francesca Fantini, An unusual vampire tale presented in muted tones of black, white and brown. We’ve got vampires, slaves, and mystery in a beautifully illustrated tale. This was solicited months ago and was worth the wait. The story hits all the right notes in a Gothic sense.

SUPER CREEPSHOW #1 by Dan Watters, Ryan Stegman, Ed Brisson, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Riley Rossmo, and Andrei Bressan. So, we already have CREEPSHOW so what makes this SUPER CREEPSHOW? It’s all about three tales of horror and superheroes. Things go badly for our characters and they all end as we would expect: blood, guts, and our characters suffering throughout.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: JOURNEYS #1 by Peter Laird and Jim Lawson. This is one of those books that hit the right notes. Not only for TMNT fans but comic fans who know their history. Laird returns to write his characters with Lawson coming along to provide very familiar art. Lawson has a history with TMNT and this just feels like classic Eastman/Laird. It tells a fun story and certainly will attract older fans, like me. It isn’t fantastic but it does give you the feels!

THOR #1 by Al Ewing and Pasqual Ferry. For those who have not been following things, Thor is dead. But, in his place, we have Sigurd Jarlson: a Norwegian who has little memory of his life but he knows it involved a hammer. He’s just a guy looking to get a job as a day laborer but also a girl named Lucky, who we basically realize is Loki. While this is NOT Thor, this guy is violent if pushed and that gives us some of the more grisly moments in the book. The concept is cool but I’m not sure how long Marvel can run with this before it gets old hat.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE #1 by Dan Watters and Morgan Beem. I had such high hopes for this as I grew up on and have been a longtime fan of this classic show. But I am highly disappointed and that all falls on Beem’s art. It was just so simplistic that it distracts from Watter’s story. I hate crapping on someone doing something I can’t do but I knew people in my high school who could render art better than this. I realize that the creative teams will shift with each issue and maybe the next one will be better. But I just find it hard to move forward with this title as I don’t see this as a great first step.

ULTIMATE HAWKEYE #1 by Deniz Camp, B. Earl, Taboo, Juan Frigeri, and Michael Sta. Maria. Charli Ramsey has become Hawkeye when the person who was supposed to have that role simply walked away, leaving their bow and arrow behind. Now Charli is working to take down Roxxon and Midas Inc. And, somewhere within this tale, we get Ronin. The first story, as short as it is, has Hawkeye taking on Ulysses Klaue and the longer and more beautiful one, features the eventual Ronin battle. With the Ultimate Universe winding down, it seems like a weird time to introduce a character and a non-binary one at that, Kudos for the character themselves but it’s a bit late in the game as far as I’m concerned.

UNBREAKABLE X-MEN #1 by Gail Simone and Lucas Werneck. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. Seven years from now, after the X-Gene incident, Rogue leads an X-team that faces off against Galactus. She takes out the eater of worlds but becomes a giant mashed-up statue that sits behind Gambit’s house. But Galactus is not really dead and his body at the bottom of the ocean has recently shown signs of new life. And all Gambit wants to do is die and be with the love of his life. This is a great, heartbreaking story from Simone that also makes me wonder how Rogue can be a giant statue when we have seen that there are TWO Rogues in existence. Is this one of those and, if so, where does ROGUE STORM fall in the timeline?

THE UNDEAD IRON FIST #1 by Jason Loo and Fran Galan. When Luke Cage goes to visit the grave of his friend Danny Rand, he discovers the grave is empty. That’s because Danny is back, having clawed bis way out of the underworld. He is surrounded by creatures that hunt the people connected to K’un Lun and is fighting against them. But they have inhabited themselves into regular folks and that leads him into a face-off with Miles Morales. And he may need help from the Iron Fists of the past to help him out. It’s an okay book that taps into the history of Iron Fist.

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: THE INVISIBLE MAN #1 by James Tynion IV and Dani. Finally, we get to what could be the end of these little mini-series, although we still need a Wolfman run. That having been said, Tynion weaves an interesting take on this classic character whose ulterior motive has to do with not only his experiments but his fascination with killing the father of his lover. And Dani’s art is great, as always!

VAMPIRELLA: ARMAGEDDON #1 by Tom Sniegoski and Kewber Baal. Now, don’t get confused here. This is NOT the Priest timeline but the one established by Sniegoski and follows all the plotlines from his last run. The only thing, in this world, is it has gotten a little crazy and Vampirella finds herself in Hell, which is a massive desert. This is perfect if you have read the previous run(s) but you will be beyond lost if you haven’t.

VOYEUR #1 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. What happens when the world’s most famous art thief gets caught after becoming mesmerized by a woman who resides near where he is currently staking out a museum? What happens when he wants to get closer to her and finds that she’s been watching things too? And a sexual encounter could result to them working together or just getting what each wants. Williams gives us a good story and Baldeon’s art, some of which is NSFW, rocks!

WOLVERINES AND DEADPOOLS #1 by Cody Ziglar and Roge Antonio. This just simply needed to be the newest issue of the recent DEADPOOL series. Logan and Wade team-up with Laura and Ellie for fun and mayhem. Again, it should have been the next issue and not a mini-series. If you’re a Deadpool fan, you’ll like it.

WORLD OF REVELATION #1 by Al Ewing, Steve Foxe, Ryan North, Augustin Alessio, Jesus Merino, and Adam Szalowski. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. With the world changed, this book has stories from that world. The highlight, for me, is Alessio’s beautifully painted Ewing tale, with a nice surprise ending. But we also get a Wiccan/Hulkling story and Franklin Richards. Basic feelings from all three is heartbreak as there are some truly tragic moments.

X-MEN: AGE OF REVELATION #0 and X-MEN: AGE OF REVELATION: OVERTURE #1 by Jed MacKay, Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman. And this is where it starts. Doug Ramsey has become Revelation and now leads the mutants in his own image. And an older Scott Summers awaits the arrival of the consciousness of his younger self and, when he does arrive, he’s in for a major shock. The United States is mostly overgrown and divided into territories. Allies are now enemies as Kid Omega is part of that team and Wolverine is now the Angel of Death. These are the essential reads for this event.

X-MEN OF APOCALYPSE ALPHA #1 by Jeph Loeb and Simone Di Meo. Welcome to the newest crossover/reboot from Marvel. It’s the Age of Apocalypse all over again and it starts with a bang with the death of Havok who, along with his brother Scott, is against this current team. This is a topsy-turvey world as, among other things, Gambit is single and Rogue is married to Magneto. The timeline is screwed up and the current team needs to fix it. But where it takes them is almost as crazy and will lead to a bunch of connected spin-off titles. It’s an interesting read, giving me ABSOLUTE vibes as published by the competition. Loeb knows how to craft a good story and hopefully this will lead to some good tie-in titles and not just cannon fodder for a few moths.