DC UNIVERSE Month 80, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN #43 by Tini Howard, Alexis Quasarano, Sweeney Boo, and Riccardo Federici. With Robin captured, Harley fights alone against Mr. Freeze. When he realizes he is defeated, he encases himself and Nora in a block of ice and allows himself to be captured. Later, Harley disguises herself as Pulaski to visit her daughter, convincing her to call her mother in an effort to seek justice. Pulaski is the chief prosecution witness against Maxie Zeus but Harley brings in a witness of her own in Bella Pulanski and her testimony crushes her mother’s credibility, resulting in the case against Zeus being dismissed. In the end, Harley suggests a road trip for her and Ivy. In the backup, Harley the Barbarian and her crew battle the Kraken.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA # 11 by Geoff Johns and Marco Santucci. Because of the situation involving a young Mordru, the Justice Society of America are forced to face-off against the Legion of Super-Heroes. Dr. fate arrives along with the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, declaring there is a traitor in their midst, that turns out to be Yolanda, who turns out to be influenced by Eclipso. And he begins to influence many of the heroes. Mordru gets Huntress to fire a crossbow arrow at him, causing him to dissolve and freeing everyone again. Mordru takes the Black Diamond, which now holds Eclipso, and declares he will bring it to Gemworld. In the end, Huntress puts together a new JSA in the 31^st Century.

OUTSIDERS #11 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Robert Carey. In the void, the carrier holds back the wave of destruction that the Drummer released. Telling Jakita that they are the only two stories in existence. As the Carrier’s mind begins to dissolve, she shows Jakita a different timeline. In it, Batwoman and the Final Knight kill each other six months from now. Lucius Fox dies alone in a hospital eight years from now. In Neo-Gotham, Luke Fox is killed by the Challengers of the Unknown thirty-seven years in the future. Just before their deaths, the carrier pulls them out of this timeline and tells them they are the authors of the story and need to write a better one. Lucius, Luke, Batwoman and Jakita end up in the Multiversal Library where Lucius tells Jakita the Carrier is dead; dying to stop Jakita’s plan. They fight Jakita who overpowers them with Lucius challenging her to write a better story than the one she had been given. Jakita takes out the Planetary Guide, scrapes the Planetary logo off the cover and writes ‘OUTSIDERS’ on it instead. Placing the book back on the shelf, the Outsiders fade away. The spirit of the carrier appears and tells her she is doing the right thing. The Outsiders wake on the Carrier, realizing that Jakita has manage to restore reality. Two months later, Luke meets with Batwoman, telling her he has quit The Outsiders, that Jenny Crisis has joined them and wants to recruit other Century babies. He is again a vigilante in Gotham and hints that he wants to build a new version of The Authority. Meanwhile, Jakita finishes the Outsiders book and puts it back on the shelf. She finds another book called PLANETARY and finds a comic book inside that tells of her adventures with The Planetary.

THE PENGUIN #12 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre. The Penguin, who has killed his son, finds himself at the end of a gun held by Spider when Batman arrives and saves him. Moving to a moment from the very beginning of this mini-series, Batman and The Penguin are in a sinking Batmobile when they get rescued by The Help. When Bruce awakes, he is being cared for by The Help. Oswald meets with his daughter and they appear to mend fences until she is shot in the head and killed by Spider, as revenge for his lover’s death. Spider strikes a deal with Copplepot, saluting the Penguin of Gotham. Later, Oswald meets with Lisa and others, using his guile to continue to elevate himself to power. In the end, he just prefers to feed the birds and watch the city.

PLASTIC MAN NO MORE #1 by Christopher Cantwell, Alex Lims, and Jacob Edgar. Many years ago, Eel O’Brien was a petty criminal who was in and out of jail until he got transformed into Plastic Man. Always considered a joke by the rest of the Justice League, After many years of absorbing death rays, Plastic Man soon discovers that his body is slowly depolymerizing and decides he needs to get his life in order in his final days, the first of which is to reconnect with his son, which does not go well. In the end, he decides to try and build a bomb big enough to recreate the effects of his original exposure to nuclear radiation. By the way, the hand that oozed off his body appears to have new life.

POISON IVY #25 by G. Willow Wilson, Joanne Starer, Grace Ellis, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Dan Watters, Marcio Takara, Haining, Brian Level, Atagun Ilhan, and Dani. With their last battle against Woodrue over, Poison and her friends try to adjust to their life. Along the way, we see various moments in Ivy’s life in the past and the repercussions regarding the mushrooms and those who became her followers.

POWER GIRL #13 by Leah Williams and Adriana Melo. Omen goes to a party in downtown Metropolis where she meets up with Natasha Irons, who had asked her attend to make sure nothing bad happens. When Perry White comes onstage, Omen uses her telepathic powers to scan the crowd, hearing the thoughts of one man who is aware of her presence and even knows her name. The catwalk she is sitting on suddenly breaks and she finds herself attacked by Ejectra, saying she is just trying to protect the people in the building, although some have been injured or killed by it. She invites Omen to read her mind and she is shocked by what she finds, allowing Ejectra to attack her before leaving and telling her how Omen’s actions killed people. Omen leaves and goes to another party to spend time with Paige. The pair dance but Omen eventually collapses in Paige’s arms.

SHAZAM #15 by Josie Campbell and Emanuela Lupacchino. Mary and Uncle Dudley fight against the Submen while elsewhere Billy and the child flee from one of them. It turns out the child is actually a young version of Zeus, who convinces Billy to make amends with the Captain, unleashing him into the fight. All of the Submen are defeated except for their leader, who calls himself the right hand of Chronos. That is when the emissary is hit by lightning as a transformed Freddy Freeman has arrived.

SUPERMAN #18 by Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. To gain the Map of Mordru, Neron asks what each of the heroes is willing to give to acquire it. He ultimately asks Superman to lie to him and Superman agrees. He gives Zatanna the map and whispers to Superman that he knows his secret. They take the map and head to the Dark Roads. They head to the House of Heroes to recruit help from the Multiverse. The Map is draining Zatanna of her powers and her life force, admitting she will do anything to get her powers back. The House of Heroes has been destroyed and only Doctor Light is there, explaining that Waller has blocked access to the Multiverse with the help of someone she had laying wait in The Bleed. It turns out that Waller’s agent was an Earth 3 version of a fused together Batman and Superman called Konfusion, who creates a construct of Ultraman. As the House begins to collapse, Superman helps Zatanna to open a shadow portal to escape, leaving Konfusion behind as the House collapse. Elsewhere, Marcy, Lois, Lex and Siobhan go to the Fortress of Solitude and find it destroyed. Mercy and Lois send the others back to Metropolis as they wait for another attack, but it turns out to be Superman, Doctor Light and Zatanna. Superman, Zatanna and Doctor Light seek out Batman and Wonder Woman while the others are sent to Metropolis to fight Waller’s disinformation campaign. In Hell, Doomsday breaks through the gate holding him and heads back to Earth. To be concluded in ABSOLUTE POWER #4.

TITANS #15 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer. The team, with help from other heroes, fight against Trigon with poor results. Gar goes to speak with the Dark Winged Queen and that manages to free the real raven from her captivity. Gar convinces the pair to join together again and raven is reborn in a new white outfit, helping to resurrect Nightwing, who died during the attack. She battles Trigon and stabs him, explaining that she couldn’t kill him because demons do not die. Later, they meet with Waller, accusing her of making a deal with the devil and saying the world is protected by the Titans. This led into ABSOLUTE POWER.

WONDER WOMAN #13 by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel, and Khary Randolph. Wonder Woman has now reunited with Steve. While the pair kiss, Damian tells them they have bigger things to worry about. and they set about making their way into the facility. Steve goes to shut the prison’s locking system down and Wonder Woman and Damian prepare to hold off the Bureau’s troops. Wonder Woman is injured during it all but Damian manages to free their friends from their cells. Together, they use Zatanna’s portal to take them through the Dark Roads. In the backup, Damián tells Trinity the story of how Wonder Woman and he became so close and managed to inspire Diana, which neither Jon or Trinity believe. Jon says she should use the Lasso of Truth on him but she wants to use the Lasso of Death so she doesn’t have to listen to any more of his stories, leading Damian to say he will never tell this story again.

DC UNIVERSE Month 80, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER #3 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Brainiac Queen, along with Jon Kent, are ordered to search the world looking for the heroes in hiding. Dr. Mid-Nite, now blind because the Global Guardian took his ability,  wakes up on the shores of Themyscira. Wally reveals he still has a chunk of Kryptonite on him and many want him to use that to stop Jon, but Nightwing shoots the idea down. Hal Jordan outfits those here with weapons he stole from the Hall of Order. Nightwing order Hal and Wally to go back to the Hall of Order to get intel on the Amazos, while a team led by Aquaman is sent to get the Tim Commander. The team rescues Time Commander, but Red Tornado gets shot in the head by Deadeye. Meanwhile, Failsafe and the Brainiac Queen go to China, declaring that the Bureau of Sovereignty has divorced themselves from the United State and that they have all of China’s classified data. Waller calls Failsafe and explains that Task Force VII is not operating as best they can. He then gets a call from a mysterious voice telling him to get to Gamorra. Back on Themyscira, Mr. Terrific constructs a trap and, when Brainiac Queen and Jon show up, the trap is sprung. The Brainiac Queen glitches and when Waller tries to force her to regain control of Jon, Batman comes in on a Boom Tube and sends her to Pluto. Superman reunites with his son as Nightwing tells the heroes they need to take the fight to Waller now. On Gamorra, Barry finds the Multiversal Bridge and realizes what Waller is doing. That is when he is attacked from behind by her army.

ABSOLUTE POWER ORIGINS #3 by John Ridley and Alitha Martinez. At an undetermined time in the past, Batman invades Task Force X headquarters just so he can intimidate Waller. It turns out that he didn’t break in, but had been here all along, disguised as Matches Malone. After having met with her pregnant daughter, she found herself out of her daughter’s life. Later, with her daughter giving birth to Amanda’s grandchild, she is still told to go away. She meets with her son and promises to find a way to bring them all together again.

ABSOLUTE POWER: SUPER SON #1 by Sina Grace, Nicole Mianes, John Timms, and Travis Mercer  Jon Kent has mostly shaken off the control from the Brainiac Queen, but is still working with the Amazons to completely free himself from her control and the memories she has corrupted him with. His guide along the way in his dreams and memories is Dreamer, who died destroying the Brainiac Queen. Finally free of Brainiac Queen, Jon reconnects with his boyfriend Jay, who is glad Dreamer is dead as she was responsible for his mother being killed.. In the end, the pair make the decision to move to San Francisco and share their lives together.

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #6 by Stephanie Williams and Khary Randolph. Waller sends  Paradise Lost to Themyscira to get revenge for what happened to the Brainiac Queen. While the Amazons try their best to fight Paradise Lost, the Amazo makes its’ way to the Well of Souls and absorbs the powers of the dead superheroines there, and then destroys the Well, effectively sealing off Themyscira from the rest of the world. On Gamorra, Steve finds himself on the run from Waller’s task force and, while hiding, crosses paths with Diana and Robin

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #7 by San Watters and Fran Galen. Global Guardian, with the New Global Guardians, has been sent to capture superheroes around the world. He attacks Eurocrops and overpowers them but Failsafe reboots Task Force VII and this causes him to freeze and fall to the earth. Belphegor arrives to arrest the New Global Guardians, which leads to an argument between the two sides. Intercorps uses a Boom Tube to send them to their headquarters, saying they must work together to stop Waller. A rebooted Failsafe arrives and depowers these metahumans. Back on Gamorra, Steve Trevor reenters the prison to get any captives out but, while trying to free Frankenstein, he is caught by Bureau soldiers and finds himself pinned down by gunfire. He calls Wonder Woman to let her know that Waller is planning to recruit villains from the Multiverse as part of her army. To be concluded in ABSOLUTE POWER #4.

ACTION COMICS #1069 by Gail Simone, Rainbow Rowell, Eddy Barrows, and Cian Tormey. Superman is beaten up and exhausted but still offers Grunhar one last chance to surrender, which he declines. Goor looks for seconds for Superman, as Lois and Jimmy have snuck away and gone into the ship. To Goor’s surprise, all the spectators volunteer, but he selects a Thangarian named Tamar Nal and a Khund named Koma as Superman’s seconds as the Man of Steel prepares to face a powerful Daxamite named Hux-Ur. In this final battle, the loser is the first person to leave the ring. The pair battle with Hux-Ur possessing a piece of Kryptonite that weakens Superman. Hux-Ur throws the piece away and Superman ends up winning, revealing that Grunhar cheated, voiding all the results. With the combined force of all the Kandorians, that Jimmy and Lois freed from Kandor, Grunhar is forced to withdraw. Back on Earth, Superman arrests the developer who was trying to shut down the developer who was trying to shut down the Siegel Youth Centre. In the backup, Lois and Clark meet to resolve the issue with his new assignment, which he agrees to continue doing as it has given him new perspective.

BATMAN #152 by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne. Batman faces off against the Suicide Squad, allowing Catwoman to get away and retrieve the Boom Box. She gets attacked by Black Alice and the timer on the Boom Box goes off and the crypt begins to disappear. Batman tells Deadeye that the crypt contains his mother’s coffin, causing Deadeye to head back towards the crypt. Batman modifies the force field around the crypt and, after tricking Bizarro, in a move the cuts of Bizarro’s arm. With the Suicide Squad being attacked by the flying scorpions, they flee through the Boom Tube back to Earth, leaving Gunsmith, Batman, and Catwoman stranded. He realizes what is happening, the scorpions drop and an energy blast disintegrates Gunsmith. Batman and Catwoman leap through the Boom Tube as Darkseid arrives. Our heroes end up on a tropical island and walk together.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #13 by Joshua Williamson and Juan Ferreyra. Damian has been transformed and is determined to kill Bane, but Batman gets him to stand down, with bane breaking Vengeance’s gun, telling her enough is enough. He then tells Batman he will help he and Damian and then Batman can take him back to Gotham. They team up to fight Kobra, even as Maya shows up and injects Damian with anti-venom. Kobra is defeated, Vengeance flees, and the heroes take Bane back to prison. In the end, Damian begins to go back to his artistic work before he and his father go out crimefighting.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #31 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Some time ago, on the Justice League satellite when Green Lantern, Black Canary and Green Arrow find themselves possessed by Eclipso. When Eclipso make presence known, he defeats the League, but Red Tornado escapes, landing in Civic City where the Justice Society is ready to join the fight.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #17 by Michael W. Conrad, Zipporah Smith, Alex Segura, Troy Peteri, G. Willow Wilson, Miguel Mendonca, Christopher Mitten, Mike Norton, Andy MacDonald, David Baldeon, and Jason Shawn Alexander. A hostage situation caused by the Calendar Man forces officers Brooks and Bullock to attempt the impossible to rescue them. In the second tale, Constantine teams up with Streaky the cat do deal with events surrounding a talisman with a missing stone and the mystical events resulting from it. In the third story, Montoya continues to deal with the after effects of having her hero alter ego outed while discovering that Zero is really Jordan Rich. To be continued in THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER. In the fourth story, Billy Batson, seeking advice, meets with Oliver Queen when they are forced to deal with Clayface.

BIRDS OF PREY #13 by Kelly Thompson and Gavin Guidry. In the Pocket Dimension, the team faces off against Maia, with some assistance from her sisters, who have been brought here from the Spirit World. In the end, Cela sends her sister back through the portal and the team, along with Cela, come back to their world.

CATWOMAN #68 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Selina is dying and it is up to Hush to save her as Flamingo watches. Even though Batman objects, he allows the surgery to go on, as he watches from a distance and uses a radio signal to communicate to her using the fillings in her mouth. In the space between life and death, Selina meets with Valmont and also the god Ptah, in the form of a giant bat. The combined efforts brings her back to life and she angrily takes out both Hush and Flamingo. Together, the Cat Family team up to take down Viceroy, even though the villainess gets away.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1089 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Guillem March, and Christopher Mitten. Batman fights against the Orgham Queen and her followers while getting an assist from the reborn Arzen Orgham and Tali Al Ghul. As the rest of the Bat Family work to break the Orgham spell that has fallen over Gotham, Batman finds Crane and forces him to see Batman and fear him. With Gotham saved, Mr. Freeze realizes it is time to move on. Harvey Dent, suffering from a bullet wound, flips his coin and it appears he is also moving on…to Bludhaven. The Ten Eyed man is also making decisions and appears he is looking for a change. With Gotham finally free of the Orgham grip, Batman meets with Selina and is ready to once again take the mantle of Gotham’s protector.

THE FLASH #13 by Si Spurrier and Ramon Perez. Wally and Barry team-up to cut the Corona Contrarium out but is still having an effect on the Deep Change. Wally enters the Deep Change to help heal it just as the Arc Angles arrive. Barry tries to convince Wally to come back just as Inspector Pilgrim opens a portal and brings Barry back to Earth, instructing him to bring the Corona Contrarium with him. The Arc Angles try ot convince Wally to stop and threaten the lives of Linda and his children if he does not. Wally uses his new abilities to attack the Angles and save his family. The Deep Change awakens and shows Jai how to turn the Arc Angles into The Stillness, with Wally convincing them they are explorers and they need to go as far away as possible. Linda realizes that the Deep Change is about to give birth, which is does and goes back to sleep. Back in the Flash Museum, they find a small dog wearing a collar with a Flash symbol and all admit they seemingly know the dog, referring to it as Foxy. They get a call that Waller is doing something big(ABSOLUTE POWER) and the Flash Family race off, except for Wally who tells Linda he saw a future where there were two Flashes who did not trust each other. Linda asks if that was Wally and Barry and he says they were both named Wally. He leaves to help the others and tells her they will talk soon.

GREEN ARROW #16 by Joshua Williamson and Amancay Nahuelpan. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. Team Arrow fights against Bright, with Ollie and Connor teaming together. Bright reveals he is from Earth 3 and was once the White Lantern until his world’s Oliver Queen, known as Deadeye, betrayed him and left him for dead. Ollie pushes Bright out of the plane and flies the craft back to the Hall of Order, where he hands Team Arrow over to the Bureau. Ollie shows Ivo the plans for Task Force VII, noting that they have Chrono Healing that makes them virtually invulnerable. Later, using Time Commander’s hourglass and Martian Manhunter’s mysterious box, Ollie begins to build a device. Black Canary, Zatanna and Doctor Light, via the Dark Roads, arrive and tells him they are going to Gamorra. He refuses to come and they leave. In the end, Waller calls him and says that the war is coming. To be concluded in ABSOLUTE POWER #4.

GREEN LANTERN #15 by Jeremy Adams, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Montos,  and Fernando Pasarin. An ABSOLUTE POWER Tie-In. Wally and Hal make their way to the Hall, where they break in so Wally can download all of Waller’s data about the Amazos. In the process, they are forced to face off against Major Force. Alan Scott continues to try to humanize Jadestone, who finally gains something akin to free will and defeats Major Force. Jadestone takes Hal to the site of the Power Battery, allowing Hal to get his powers back once more.  Meanwhile, Star Sapphire and Dove face the ire of the citizens of Coast City, who have been changed by Waller. They save many citizens and then Nate arrives, transformed into Sorrow. He is suffering from the heartbreak of losing Carol and she is forced to fight him, then leaves, finding Hal at the Power Battery and they reunite with a kiss. In the backup, an epilogue to GREEN LANTERN WAR JOURNAL, John Stewart adjust to life with his reborn sister and the ‘ghost’ of his mother. Both stories will continue in GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL.

Even more first issues

ARCHIE THE DECISION #1 by Tom King and Dan Parent. So, sue me: I’m a sucker for Archie comics, buying many but not all. But when I heard that King and Parent were doing an Archie comic and allegedly Archie was finally going to decide who he was going to make his true girlfriend, I got excited. In the end, he doesn’t do the deed and it just feels like a regular Archie jaunt. It’s fun and there is really nothing earth-shaking here. Recommended by Archie fans or fans of King’s work.

THE AUTUMN KINGDOM #1 by Cullen Bunn and Christopher Mitten. This came highly recommended by my local comic guy so I gave it a shot. When a family goes on vacation. The family of a writer go on a vacation as he tries to finish his newest book. But strange things happen and his daughters suddenly find themselves thrust into a world of strange creatures and trying to save their parents. It was entertaining and I’m curious to see what’s next.

BABS #1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. When you see the names of Ennis and Burrows together on a book, you had best figure it is going to be a wild romp, based on past history. This is no exception! Picture Red Sonya as written by Garth Freakin’ Ennis!  I got to Page Two, saw our heroine complain about her chainmail bra, a nice call back to a similar complaint in a early issue of CEREBUS, and I was in hysterics. And it only gets wilder from there. Somewhat gory, certainly NSFW language and a ton of genre breaking tropes, this is about as perfect a satire as you can imagine from the creative hands of these two. This may be my absolute favorite book of recent months. Seek this book out!

BLOOD HUNTERS #1 by Erica Schultz and Robert Gill.  Coming off the BLOOD HUNT mini-series, this unusual team of monster hunters is back. Dagger, Elsa Bloodstone, White Widow, and Hallows’ Eve come together again; each with their own agenda as they hunt vampires, including a certain Wall-Crawling one. I just love Elsa Bloodstone’s character and feel she has been very underutilized over the years and anytime we can get more Dagger I am a happy guy. It won’t be for everyone but I’m all in.

CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS TRUTH OR DARE #1 by Ron Robbins and Laura Braga. It’s another Archie one-shot, this time starring Trula twist and Ethel, plus the regular gang as supporting players. Kind of cool, great art from Braga, but I still hanker for some more AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE. Perfect for die-hard readers of the Riverdale gang.

CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE #1 by Jim Zub and Jonas Scharf. Sword and sorcery fans: prepare yourself for a long haul. This is part of an epic storyline that actually begins in SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4, runs through the other three issues of this mini-series, and also in the novel CONAN: CULT OF THE OBSIDIAN MOON.. It also ties together so many of Robert E. Howard’s characters including El Borak and Soloman Kane. Zub’s story is what it is and Scharf’s art fits the tale, even if it is not as dynamic as regular series artists Braithwaite and De La Torre.

CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 by Matt Kindt, Corinna Bechko, Chris Condon, Ben H. Winters, Kano, Caitlin Yarsky, Jonathan Case, and Artyom Toplin. Oni-Lion Forge again mines the long dead concept and name of EC Comics, this time tapping into a Science-Fiction vein. Four fun stories that try to harken the classic EC stuff but ultimately fall short. Nothing earth-shattering here but some nice stories in general. All I can tell you is to get ready for more EC titles as Oni as already announced the addition of two more titles: a holiday themed one-shot entitled SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES and the Fantasy anthology CRUEL KINGDOM, that will replace this title after five issues.

THE CURSED LIBRARY ALPHA #1 by Eliot Rahal, Magdalene Visaggio, and Craig Cermak. Over the past few years, Archie Comics has been weaving a strange collection of one-shots into some sort of cohesive universe. Now, they promise to tie all those various threats together. Jinx, Danni and Madam Satan all play prominent roles as we learn that all of these one-shots were actually stories from the Cursed Library. Obviously, this will not appeal to all readers but will certainly be grabbed up by fans of this corner of the Archie Universe.

DC VS VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt. At last, a sequel to the highly successful DC VS VAMPIRES series, that picks up the plot threads from the previous run. In those issues, the world was split between the last humans and DC heroes and villains turned into vampires. In the end of the run, a new status quo was established and  an actual truce was initiated, even though vampires still rule the world, with Batgirl being the Queen of one group of bloodsuckers and the other under the control of vampire Damian Wayne. It is a little confusing if you were not a reader of the original series, but Roseberg nails it and this Elsewhere tale works really well.

DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #1 by Rob Liefeld. Here is all you need to know about this book: it’s Deadpool as brought to life by Liefeld. Oh yeah: we also get the return of Crystar. So, who else might show up in the future issues. It’s Deadpool so you may or may not want to dive into this, depending on how you feel about this character.

DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH #1 by Dan Didio and Jim Califiore. Mad Cave does it again and mines classic heroes of many readers’ youth. Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, Lothar, and the Phantom band together once again to fight evildoers. The story has a decided throwback feel to it, even if these characters have aged and mostly retired. Califiore always delivers the good from an artistic standpoint and this is no exception. While not as good as their FLASH GORDON series, it is worth a look, especially if you remember the cartoon.

DUCK AND COVER #1 by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque. This was not a book I was looking to buy and, honestly, was not on my radar. But I saw that it was Snyder and Albuquerque and figured to take a chance. Here’s the quick synopsis: it’s 1955 and the Russians drop the bomb on a small town. A group of kids, who were hiding under their desk, survive and now have to survive during what looks to be World War III. The big question: how did these individuals manage to survive by hiding under their desks? There is a bunch of back story leading up to this that does a great job of defining the characters and setting the table. This was a surprise grab and I loved it. Highly recommended!

EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 by J. Holtham, Chris Condon, Stephanie Phillips, Brian Azzarello, Jorge Fornes, Peter Krause, Phil Hester, and Vlad Legostaev. EC Comics is back, sort of, from Oni Comics. The first in a new line of EC titles, with CRUEL UNIVERSE coming in August, four writer/artist teams try to recreate the glory that was EC. To be honest, the stories are good and have a bit of shock value to them but I have to admit that CREEPSHOW has been doing it better. But they get points for mirroring the EC styles, right down to the classic EC font in the stories. I will continue to support the title in hopes that future stories will be a bit more intriguing.

EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1 by Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero. With the fall of Krakoa, the X-Men have splintered across the world. At the moment, Kitty Pryde is a bartender at Lulu’s Tavern, having put her past behind her. But a chance encounter with a mutant leads her to have to consider her choices. But let’s not forget that Emma Frost is looming in the background of the lives of the mutants and is making plans for her future too. With all the relaunches of the X-Men line, this may be one of my favorites, simply because it is not all about slam, bam action. There is a wonderful story with some heart to it.

FLASH GORDON #1 by Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. When I saw the FCBD release for this book, I got real excited, as it had a great story and the art had a certain homage to the great Alex Raymond. Well, the first issue does not disappoint as Flash finds himself captured, Mongo is in turmoil and Dale . . . is the Empress? Wow! This just takes the classic Flash and turns it sideways. Love it! At the same time, Mad Cave has also introduced FLASH GORDON QUATERLY #1 by Dennis Culver, Louis Southard, Nuno Plati, and Pasquale Qualano. This title has two stories in it and they are okay-nothing tremendous, although the Western story is kind of fun.

HELLO DARKNESS #1 by Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Robert Hack, Dave Cook, James Tynion IV, Sarah Andersen, Steve Orlando, Garth Ennis, Letizia Cadonici, David Cousens, Werther Dell’edera, A.L. Kaplan, and Beck Cloonan. This must be the month for horror anthologies to come rolling out as Boom dropped this new series on us. Seven tales including a SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN multi-parter and a piece by Ennis that is also a multi-parter. Overall, the stories are a bit more diverse and, at times, hit a bit harder than EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS did for me. The focus, while having horror elements, seems to aim more to a psychological bent than just straight our gore. Of the pair, this is the better book, in my opinion.

IRON FIST 50^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Chris Claremont, Alyssa Wong, Justina Ireland, Frank Tieri, Jason Loo, Lan Medina, Van Randal, Elena Casagrande, Ty Templeton, and Whilce Portacio. Danny Rand’s hero reaches its’ 50^th anniversary from Iron Fist’s first appearance and it’s a nice collection of five stories  that tie-in the various Iron Fists in the Marvel Universe, as Danny Rand has since given up that mantle and his power. Probably the most important piece of this, SPOILER, is that the book ends with a battle between Danny and Ch’I-Lin that ends in Danny’s apparent death. However, there is a QR code which shows that possibly tells us that nobody really stays dead in comics.

JONNY QUEST #1 by joe Casey and Sebastian Piriz. The Jonny Quest cartoon truly was my favorite cartoon growing up, so to see these characters getting a reboot, as has already been done by Dynamite on titles like POWERPUFF GIRLS, THUNDERCATS, and SPACE GHOST, made this old guy feel like a kid again. The story is mostly set in the era the cartoon was in but something happens that propels Jonny, Race, Dr. Quest, Hadji, and Bandit in our present, where they discover that things have changed and an old adversary is still around. The story is a ton of fun, so much so I can hear their voices as I read it, and the art smacks!  This is such a fun book that I almost wish it was a bi-weekly series!

KARDAK THE MYSTIC #1 by Joe Corallo and Butch Mapa. Archie brings us the tale of a magician who gains ability from a mystic amulet he acquires. Kardak is not a new character to comic fans but has been given new life in this one-shot. It has a 1950’s, pre-Code mystery series’ feel to it, in both the story and the look. It is not great, but does the job, actually a bit better than some of the stories in the new EC reboots.

LADY MECHANIKA: THE DEVIL IN THE LAKE #1 by Joe Benitez, M.M. Chen, and Sya Oum. The good news? LADY MECHANIKA is back! The bad news? Benitez is not handling the art on this. Either way, the story is a ton of fun and Oum does a good job handling the art. Fans of this character will love this, as the story continues from the previous run. For new readers, it’s a quirky little Cyberpunk inspired tale with a character who has grown since her beginning. Go find the trades and catch up before diving in.

MARVEL 85^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Ryan North, Iman Vellani, Sobir Pirzada, Alan Davis, Christopher Priest, Yuji Kaku, Steve Skroce, Joshua Cassera, Stephen Byrne, and Carlo Paguayan, It’s the 85^th Century and Earth is not what it used to be, as evident by Wolverine and an aged Deadpool head in a jar, tour a museum that shows off artifacts from a bygone age of the Marvel Universe. That leads us into a host of stories from an earlier time. As it turns out, the Wolverine/Deadpool connecting pieces are the most fun, as everything else feels like leftover stories that had been sitting in a vault and Marvel was looking to publish. Ms. Marvel, Excalibur, Spider-Man, and more all get their turn before the dynamic duo get their day. Honestly, it was eight bucks I will never see again!

MARVEL ZOMBIES: DAWN OF DECAY #1 by Thomas Krajewski and Jason Muhr. I have loved the Marvel Zombie line of books because they are just a ton of strange, grisly fun. In this run, Groot is responsible for bringing a space virus back to Earth and accidentally infects the Avengers, leading to tons of chaos as the World’s Greatest Heroes become zombies. Can The Hulk stop them? Tune in next issue to find out. This may or may not be your cup of tea, but I thought it was a cool ride, although I got more mileage out of the DCEASED series of titles.

THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #1 BY James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. Welcome back to the NICE HOUSE universe in this sequel of sorts. As in the previous book, a group of people with diverse talents have been housed together as the world ends. Just like the last one, it is an interesting combination of plot and characterization as you spend the first issue trying to acclimate yourself with all of them. I loved the first series, even if I had to go back and read the entire epic once it was finished to capture all the nuances of it. I expect the same will happen with this one. But the first issue is a great start and I would recommend anyone who if thinking of picking it up to read THE NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE first, so as not to be confused.

NIGHTWATCHERS #1 by Juni Ba and Fero Pe. IDW has been rebooting their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, following the conclusion of the long run. In the main series, things have happened and each issue focuses on the individual turtles. This spin-off, follows Nightwatcher, whose identity is unknown until the very end of the book although, if you did read the previous run, you probably figured out who they were early on. Either way, it was a fun story and, between this and the rebooted series, might have made me a TMNT fan again.

NYX #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Francesco Mortarino. Following the end of the Krakoan Era for Marvel’s mutants, several new teams have sprung up. This is one of them, consisting of Anole, Prodigy, Sophie Cuckoo, Ms. Marvel, and Wolverine…the other one. In the first issue, while they all get used to each other, they face off against The Krakoan, formerly Hellion. Oh yeah: Krakoan isn’t alone as there is a whole group of mutants with their own agenda, including the other Cuckoos. And, as has become tradition with Marvel mutant titles as of late, there is a QR code at the end of the issue that gives you an extra page, essential to everything. An interesting start but I need to see where they go from here to give it a full thumbs up.

PEEPSHOW #15 by Joe Matt. Not a first issue, but it almost feels like one since it had been 16 years since issue#14 appeared. And it will certainly be his last as Matt passed away from a heart attack in September at age 60; literally dying at his drawing board. In fact, the last four pages of this posthumously released book were inked by his longtime friend Chester Brown, best known for YUMMY FUR. Back in the Eighties, PEEPSHOW was part of a whole plethora of autobiographical comics and was one of the better ones. This is a great tribute and final word from an underrated cartoonist who literally died for his art. Go find back issues or the collected trades.

PHOENIX #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo. Jean Grey is back from the dead and now once again the host of the Phoenix. Her new mission, with the end of the Krakoan Era, is to defend the universe, which leads her to being part of a new team that includes her father-in-law. Fun stuff if you like the space stories that Marvel delivers. And don’t forget to scan that QR code for an extra page of story.

THE ROCKETEER BREAKS FREE #1 by Stephen Mooney and Staz Johnson. IDW turns out another ROCKETEER mini-series and there isn’t much more to say that I haven’t said before. I was a Rocketeer fan from the first time I saw Dave Steven’s work and have remained that way ever since. Mooney writes a fun story and Johnson does his best Stevens imitation. Lots of action and excitement and hey…Betty! It won’t be for everyone, as it’s kind of the different between Classic Coke and New Coke. But it does certainly scratch an itch that I have missed since Steven’s untimely death 16 years ago.

STANDSTILL #1 by Lee Loughridge and Andrew Robinson. Did you ever wish you had the power to stop time and do whatever you wanted to? Well, that is the whole premise of this book as our main character  has that ability. Telling you more than that would spoil it, especially because we don’t get to know what his mission in. And I love that, as we don’t know if he is a hero or villain. A bit grim and grisly but overall a great first issue.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINA TURTLES #1 by Jason Aaron and Joelle Jones. I have drifted back and forth with TMNT over the years, although I am proud to say I was there at the beginning of it all; back when this weird looking black and white book hit the comic shelves. All these years later, despite the spin-offs, movies and cartoons, I still love them. This new series, written by Aaron with a rotating cast of artists, finds Raphael in prison and, over the course of the issue, we discover that he has incarcerated for an un yet revealed crime and is also acting as an informer for the warden. The story is fun, Jones’ art is not her normal stuff and it fits. The next few issues feature art by Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang, Chris Burnham and Darick Robertson, as each will tell a single tale of the rest of the group.

UNCANNY X-MEN #1 by Gail Simone and David Marquez. If you have read this far, you know that Krakoa is gone and it is a new day for Marvel’s mutants and there are a host of teams out there: some in the open and some in hiding. This run, by Simone and Marquez, focuses on the Uncanny team, made up of Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler. Besides having our mutants, a dragon, a sketchy group operating in the former mansion, we get a new group of mutants who arrive, as our team is on the road. It is an interesting take on things but I severely wish we could go back to one or two X-titles and not all of these. Giev me ONE or TWO teams and move on.

UNIVERSAL MONSTER FRANKENSTEIN #1 by Michael Walsh and Toni Marie Griffin. Image comes out with their third series based on the classic Universal Monsters, this time with the Frankenstein Monster. As in the previous series, this takes the concepts and twists them a bit and the result is incredibly satisfying. The story has nothing to really do with the legend of the creature, but does involve new characters interacting with him. A nice little tale that sets the table for the forthcoming issues.

VENOM WAR #1 by Al Ewing and Iban Coello. Is it just me, or are we all getting tired of Venom and his entire collection of symbiotes? This one allegedly will finally settle the idea of who will carry the original Venom symbiote. Let’s be honest: Eddie Brock has his team and his son Dylan has his and, somehow, Spider-Man finds himself with the original creature and may carry that mantle. The art is great and the story is fine. But Marvel: ENOUGH! There are no less than TEN mini-series/one shots connected to this event. Tell a simple story, keep it streamlined and move on. The end of this mini-series may also represent the end of my connection with venom, unless Marvel can pull a rabbit out of its’ hat.

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1 by Jason Loo and Sergio Davila. Marvel does suddenly LOVE their Red Band books. Now, don’t get me wrong: I LOVE having Jack Russell back as the REAL Werewolf by Night and hopefully this will lead to Marvel resurrecting some of their other classic creatures, specifically Frankenstein. Honestly, this is probably the goriest of their Red Band books as Jack Russell needs to figure out if he is responsible for a series of murders or is it someone or something else. The story is a great little mystery tale with some of my favorite B level characters in it, that have gotten new reader life thanks to the recent BLOOD HUNT. The highlight is Davila’s art, that feels like the classic 70’s titles.

WOLVERINE #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Martin Coccolo. Welcome to another new #1 from the X-Universe. Wolverine is kind of pissed at the world and has screwed off to the wilds of Canada to get his head together. Unfortunately, Cyber has decided to hunt him and Nightcrawler has decided to find him. Pity poor Logan, who only wants to be left alone but the brutal killing of his family of wolves only seeks to enrage him. The title is just okay, because we have seen all of this before. Logan gets mad, Logan kills people, Logan sulks. The art is okay too.

WOLVERINE: REVENGE #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Gerg Capullo. Welcome to Wolverine overload as this Red Band title tries to cash-in on the renewed interest in the Canuck. Logan is hanging out in the Savage Land, hunting with the locals when nick Fury…the REAL Nick Fury…shows up and recruits him to fight alongside Captain America, Winter Soldier and others in a fight against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, currently run by Mastermind. Things go from bad to worse when it is revealed the Brotherhood consists of Sabretooth, Omega Red, Deadpool and Colossus. It is a different take on Wolverine and, based on what happens in the story, is set in some corner of the Multiverse. Red Band? Sure, a couple of grisly moments but nothing most have not seen before. Hey Marvel: STOP trying to punch up sales by bagging stuff!

X-FACTOR #1 by Mark Russell and Bob Quinn. Here we go, gang-ANOTHER X-book! This team consists of Angel, Feral, Firefist, Xyber, Cameo and Jacok. This is the public team, complete with a PR firm backing them. It is Mark Russell, so I expected it to be filled with a bunch of in-jokes and some quirky characters. Before the issue is done, almost the entire team is replaced, for any number of reasons…death included!  It’s not as much fun as you might expect, but it does represent another side of the Mutant world.

X-FORCE #1 by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To. With the Krakoan Age ended, there is still a need for an extreme mutant team and it looks like that duty falls on Forge. So he puts together that team, featuring himself, Sage, Tankm Captain Britain…the new one…and Askani, better known as Rachel Summers. And, one might expect, the stuff going on that they must faced has a bit of a connection to none other than Nathaniel Essex. The story is fun and, except for a bit of craziness involving Deadpool, not as outrageous as some of the previous versions of the team.

X-MEN #1 by Jed McKay and Ryan Stegman. As you may have seen by now, the end of the Krakoan Era has resulted in a batch of new mutant teams. Does anyone remember when we only had three or four? The classic team, the New Mutants, and X-Factor? Since then, we’ve had X-Force, X-Men, Dark X-Men, Extreme X-Men, and just about every possible iteration you could think of. Good ole’ Slim Summers is running this team from their base in…Merle, Alaska? It was here that Sentinels were once built and some of them are still there. This team, featuring Cyclops, Beast, Magneto, Psylocke, Kid Omega, Temper, Magik, and Juggernaut, with some guest appearances, seems to be the most cohesive. And don’t forget that QR code to find out a bit more about the shadowy forces hiding in the background and try to figure out who they are, although fans already have some ideas, including Cassandra Nova and her brother.

DC UNIVERSE Month 79, Part 2

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #8 by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. After meeting with Sinestro, Zod continues with his plan, finally getting the rest of his crew in tow and heading off to Khundia.to wage war with them.

NIGHTWING #117 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Dick is still trying to conquer his newfound fears with Deadman. Later, he contacts Oracle who reveals that Dick had been poisoned by Shelton Lyle who they deduce is Heartless. At the same time, Nightwing two, AKA Bruce Wayne, is making his way into Shel Pharmaceuticals. Dick decides he must go back to the real world and Deadman sticks him on a mountain ledge, forcing him to conquer his fears. After 24 hours on the ledge, Deadman finally assist him to make the fall and travel back to Bludhaven. Meanwhile, Zucco has made his way to Dick’s sister and is threatening her and her mother when Nightwing arrives. He corners Zucco, saying he finally figured things out: that his parents were not supposed to die, Dick was.

OUTSIDERS #10 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Batwoman meets with Luke and tells him how she has figured out the plan, based on the Book of the Planetary, Meanwhile, Drummer and Carrier get ready to enact their plan, but carrier, who claims to be friends with all of the Outsiders, has not only invited Batwoman to this meeting, but also a creature bent on destroying everything. In the end, everything turns to white as the universe appears to be ending.

POWER GIRL #12 by Leah Williams and Travis Moore. Power Girl goes on a date to Valhalla with Axel, where they first meet Ratatosk and then Siegfried, who is Axel’s cousin. Later, they all eat in the great hall of fallen heroes before the pair go off together, where they share a kiss. Axel works for Asgard, collecting and protecting relics that could be dangerous to the mortal realm. The pair end up at Charnel House where Axel directs Power Girl to the Mirror of Mimir, telling her she can ask it anything. She asks it to show her what Omen is up to and she sees a horrible sight that seems to say Omen is a time-bomb ready to explode..

SHAZAM #14 by Josie Campbell and Emanuella Lupacchino. Freddy tells his captors he wants to parley while Billy, Mary and Uncle Dudley try to sort things out. A creature attacks and The Captain wants to be freed but Billy says he cannot trust him. Hoppy creates a portal that sends Dudley and Billy away. Mary does her best but cannot stop the creature. The Captain begs Billy to free him but he still refuses Meanwhile, Freddy enjoys a meal with his captors before discovering they are part of an underground race bent on conquering the surface world. He gets transported away and meets with the girl who opened the portal to King Kull in the first place and she asks him if he knows how to make a ghost, preparing to show him. Billy and Dudley see a child on the train tracks and try to help him but that leads them to a doorway that takes him to a field where the boy is. The boy is in a panic and tells Billy that the end of the world is here as it is now the Time of the Monsters.

SUPERMAN #17 by Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. In the past, Superboy is being beaten up by someone named Kid Warlock. In the present, Superman and Zatanna are in the abandoned headquarters of Justice League Dark, in search of the Map of Mordru. They continue to search, looking for Swamp Thing but find task force members trying to burn down the Parliament of Trees. They They find a short story written by the Queen of Fables and that allows them access to the Oblivion Bar. While there, Superman berates the magic users for hiding out and not helping, which once again brings him into conflict with Kid Warlock, defeating him this time. Again, he insists that someone needs to help and the person who volunteers is…Neron. Elsewhere, Lois, wearing one of Lex’s suits, has hidden Jimmy, Mercy and Lena in Lena’s apartment. But that could be problematic as the task force can probably track the suit.

TITANS #14 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer. Cyborg and Nightwing reveal what they have discovered, showing the rest of the core team that raven is not who they once knew. That results in the arrival of The Spectre along with her brothers, who are determined to stop the dark-winged queen. As The Spectre leaves, the Titans rush off to get to Raven before The Spectre does. But they are late and raven absorbs her brothers, saying she just needs one more piece. As Gar tries to talks sense into raven, The Spectre arrives and splits her in half . But she puts herself back together again and dispatches The Spectre, growing in size and now becoming the unleashed darked-winged queen. Swamp Thing arrives and claims the Green is in pain, If that were not enough, Trigon arrives and teams up with his daughter, leading the Titans to say they need reinforcement from every hero.

WONDER WOMAN #12 by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel, and Belen Ortega. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. Damian and Wonder Woman have captured Captain Boomerang and they repeatedly try their best to convince him to give up Waller’s secret prison, with Wonder Woman preaching love and kindness and Damian using fear tactics. They take him to meet with his son, thinking that reunion will soften Boomerang up but all that does is further the wall between them as Boomerang figures out that his son only did this to get some release time out of prison. Finally, in a moment of forgetfulness, Boomerang reveals the location as Gamorra Island. In the backup, the trio of future heroes spend an agonizing 73 days on their way to stop the Mongol of Infinite Earths. When they finally arrive, they take him out in quick fashion and realize that it will now be an agonizing 94 days heading home, leading them to ponder if they should wake Mongol and continue to beat him up.

ZERO HOUR 40^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Dan Jurgens, Ron Marz, Darryl Banks, Kelley Jones, Tom Grummett, Norm Rapmund, Jerry Ordway, Paul Pelletier, Howard Porter, and Brett Breeding.  While Wally West begs for help from his friend Kyle Rayner, Kyle gets sucked into a portal that takes him to Earth…but not the Earth he knew. Along the way, he meets alternate versions of The Flash, who dies in Kyle’s arms, Batgirl, an wheelchair bound older Bruce Wayne, Supergirl, Azrael, and The Ray: all of whom think he murdered The Flash. Meanwhile, The Fatal Five, having escaped from their world destruction, have teamed up with Parallax, who has made this pocket universe after he was defeated by Earth’s heroes following the destruction of Coast City. Ultimately, Donna Troy believes everything Kyle is saying and that leads to the heroes joining together against Parallax and the Fatal Five. Invisible Kid and Waverider arrive and Waverider explains that this place should never exist and takes Kyle back to his Earth, even as this Universe dissolves, but not before Donna gives him a memento to remember her by. Wracked by guilt, Kyle moves on, even as it appears the real Parallax has managed to escape the destruction.

DC UNIVERSE Month 79, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER ##2 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Over 80% of the superheroes have either been depowered or captured by Waller and her Task Force VII and prepares her team for a full assault on the other 20%, At the Fortress of Solitude, many of the heroes are trying to get a plan together, with Superman livid because his son had been turned against him. Nightwing takes charge of the meeting, as Superman unveils special tactical suits and weapons to replace their missing powers. Jon and the Brainiac Queen arrive and attack the heroes. Aquaman breaks open the Bottle City of Kandor and all of those superpowered individuals invest the Brainiac Queen. Mister Terrific and Blue beetle, along with Air Wave, create a temporary exit and Superman initiates a self-destruct code that destroys the Fortress.while Dreamer, fed up with Waller’s actions, detains the villains, apparently sacrificing herself in the process. In the end, Ollie finds Hourman’s hourglass and declares that time is up.

ABSOLUTE POWER ORIGINS #2 by John Ridley and Alitha Martinez. After the death of part of her family, Amanda Waller has made power moves to assure that she will someday eliminate the superhero problem. Amanda convinces a captured Cyclotron to join Task Force X. Later, she meets with a man named Dante, who is in a relationship with her daughter and threatens him. Task Force X comes together with Lobo as some sort of leader. Their first mission is to take on the powered heroes of dictator The Great Sun. In the process, Cyclotron tries to convince the rest of the team to not be Waller’s puppets, leading Waller to order Lobo to kill him. He does and that sets off a nuclear explosion that apparently kills everyone. In the end, it is revealed that Amanda managed to get some material from Cyclotron’s remains that she can now use to negate the powers of supers.

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #4 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Claire Roe. In the Maze of the Owls, Voodoo finds herself confronted by Failsafe. Meanwhile, Nightwing, Robin, Miss Martian, and The Ray work on ways to defeat the villains without their powers. Just as Voodoo is about to be captured by Failsafe, Nightwing appears and rescues her. But that only appears to be temporary as Failsafe reboots and repairs itself. On Nightwing’s orders, the maze tunnels are blown up, apparently killing Miss Martian in the process. Elsewhere, on Gamorra Island, Trevor sees that a giant Boom Tube is being built.

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #5 by Alex Paknadel and Pete Woods. In Central City, another Amazo, powered by the Speed Force attacks, leading to a battle with Barry Allen. On Gamorra Island, Waller fires it up and brings forth a new band of supers; evil powered and led by Donna Troy.

ACTION COMICS #1068 by Gail Simone, Rainbow Rowell, Eddy Barrows, and Cian Tormey. With the carrier crafting, Superman must use all of his strength and intelligence to save Lois and Jimmy and deposit the carrier into the water, mostly safely. Lois and Jimmy, as Superman’s seconds, are transported into space to take his place. Superman gets revived and heads into space where he sees his next challenge is to save the Bottle City of Kandor from being destroyed by the alien’s creation, which he does. Now will come the next challenge: a Daxamite. In the backup, Clark continues to find himself given regular assignments, separating his life as Superman from his job as Clark Kent.

BATMAN #151 by Chip Zdarsky, Tini Howard, Marianna Ignazzi, and Mike Hawthorne. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. Bruce and Selina go undercover to infiltrate Okinowa, in search of the Mother Box. Batman gets attacked by the Suicide Squad but manages to defeat most and confuse Bizarro, allowing him to escape and meet up with Catwoman, who shows him the functioning Boom Tube. They go into the active Boom Tube and it leads them to where the Mother Box is, which is actually Czarnia. The pair are taken down by Gunsmith just as the Suicide Squad arrives. In the backup, Harley becomes the hero, having to stop The Riddler from blowing up the Gotham Power Plant.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #12 by Joshua Williamson and Juan Ferreyra. As Damian heads off, on a pterodactyl to fight the man who killed Alfred, Vengeance battles Batman. Damian is being badly bested until he gets the upper hand through deception. Vengeance explains that Bane is trying to preserve the island from Kobra and use Venom for his own machinations. But Kobra turned on him and now they are trying to defeat them. Maya arrives and knocks out Vengeance. Damian defeats Bane and is prepared to execute him but changes his mind. Batman and Maya arrive but so does Venance who shoots Damian with a dose of Venom, transforming him.

BATMAN: OFF WORLD #5 by Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke. Batman continues his fight with the Thangarian, eventually defeating and capturing him. The Blakksun twins arrive at Hudu-Goom and manage to stop the rebellion by killing everyone.-over 12 billion. Ione arrives and turns on him, capturing him and delivering him to the twins.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #30 by Mark Waid and Gleb Melnihov. In the past, Batman, Robin, and Superman head to Themyscira for their first meeting with the Amazons. They have been called here to investigate a murder of the scientist Dyatrine. This leads Superman and Robin to meet with Magala, who is bound to the Well of Souls. Once there, she claims she was attacked by some sort of monster. Meanwhile, Batman and Wonder Woman continue to investigate, finding out that there is no Dyatrine, but Apate used magic to convince the Amazons otherwise. There was no murder: Apate used this to distract everyone from her brother Dolos stealing the Flame of Prometheus.They begin to shift reality until Wonder Woman gets Superman and Batman to grab her lasso, using their combined power to defeat the duo and seal them behind Doom’s Doorway. In the end, Diana agrees they will forever be comrades in arms.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #16 by Tim Seeley, Jay Faerber, Allex Segura, Stephanie Williams, Kelley Jones, PH Holden, Andy McDonald, and Asiah Fulmore. Nightwing continues his journey, meeting with what he believes are his parents along the way. Deadman, still inhabiting Acton’s body, learns that .she is following The Unfallen, who Deadman describes as the Aniti-Rama Kushna. She tries to convince Deadman to stay in Acton body, as her brother is suffering from vascular dementia and he agrees to give her the obol coin. But Deadman actually made a deal with Charron, who takes Stella. Nightwing defeats his demons and the two reunite, where Dick realizes that his vision of his parents was actually Rama Kushna. In the second story, two Metropolis cops learn the lesson that you don’t have to be Superman to be a hero. In the third story, Montoya continues to deal with the person tormenting her and responsible for the attacks on her friends. But she may have also been outed as The Question. In the final story, Mak Duncan and his new wife try to enjoy their honeymoon, but end up breaking up a heist in the process.

BIRDS OF PREY #12 by Kelly Thompson, Javier Pina, and Gavin Guidry. Stuck in the Pocket Dimension, the Birds jump into a portal that takes them into an Anime inspired place where they find themselves battling gun toting bunnies. They defeat the bunnies and attempt to leave but are stopped by Maia. Thanks to Megaera, they capture Maia and head back into the portal. Back on Earth, Constantine enlists the help of Xanthe Zhou and she heads into the portal.

BLUE BEETLE #11 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. Jaime gets a visit from his family, which drives him crazy as that is the last thing he wants right now. At a Kord Board of Directors meeting, ted asks his sister to step down and, as she leaves in a huf, she is arrested for Brenda’s attempted murder. As Paco gets to spend some time with his girlfriend, Praying Mantis attacks, leading her to transform and defeat the villain. Elsewhere, Traci meets with Madame Xanadu and, because this is the way to save the world, awakens Javier. During his family’s shopping trip, Oo’li shows up, telling Jaime that Ood has decided to stay in Palmera City, followed by her kissing him. Jaime turns into Beetle and flies off to start his Freshman year,

DETECTIVE COMICS #1088 by Ram V and Dan Watters. Joker’s daughter has taken her anger out on the Shadow Angel and reveals that she has placed bombs throughout Gotham and either Batman can save them or the citizens have to help each other and save themselves. Shavhod has been taken out of the picture by the Ten-Eyed Man, angering the Orgham Queen. Batman slowly and dutifully begin removing the Queen’s gang from the table. Neang has been put on ice by Mr. Freeze but manages to chip himself free, but the addition of an anticoagulant in the ice means that Neang’s body is causing him a painfully death. Tenclaw catches Two-Face, but he shoots himself to kill Neang. Batman meets up with the Orgham Queen and, during the battle, she tells Batman that she has hooked up his brain to the Thelemus Engine and now that will cause the citizens to know fear, even as she seemingly transforms into something akin to an insect queen. In the backup, Talia resurrects the Golden Child and now pans to accompany him as he heads back to take revenge on the mother who killed him.

THE FLASH #12 by Simon Spurrier and Ramon Perez. As Wally does his best to get his bearings after the Arc Angles destroyed The Stillness, the rest of the Flash Family try to find him and save him. Jai is able to reach him, although Wally is unresponsive. Using her new powers, Linda makes her way to him. The rest of the family reach out to him and assist him on his run. But it’s Barry who finally reaches him and tells him that together they need to cut out the poison that still is attached to Wally.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #1 by Leah Williams and Matteo Lolli. A young woman named Jaina hears the rumble of hoof steps as White Rabbit finds herself feeling from cowboys on horseback. Catwoman sneaks behind the woman, telling her to be quiet as the cowboys continue their pursuit. In Gotham Park, Harley Quinn observes bisons followed by cowboys on ATVs pursuing them. Harley catches them and, as she is questioning them,, one of them utters a phrase and they immediately seem to die. Apparently, there has also been riots in the demand for something called XO Punch. Later, as Harley disposes of the bodies of the two men, Jaina explains how she was asked to participate in a game and when she turned it down, she was hunted. Her other self is White Rabbit, who has been captured by the cowboys. It appears this game, known as Trigger Warning, is a first person shooter with live targets and is being run by…Punchline.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #2 by Leah Williams and Daniel Hillyard.  The Sirens concoct a plan to go to the distillery where Punchline is making XO Punch and also has White Rabbit captive. Punchline explains to White Rabbit that XO Punch will eventually give her complete control of a person’s body and mind. Selena and Harley pay off a bodega worker to take his newest truckload of XO Punch. Dressed as cowgirls, they end up hijacking the truck. But when they arrive at Punchline’s, they discover it is all a trap and are so gassed and put to sleep.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #3 by Leah Williams and Matteo Lolli. The girls have been captured and the heat is being turned up on them in an effort to get them to crack and drink the XO Punch. Meanwhile, a group of high-rollers arrive and begin their hunt, shooting live animals they believe to be virtual, which infuriates a helpless White Rabbit. She clones herself and releases her alter ego Dumb bunny, who breaks the girls out of their prison. Escaping from pursuing cowboys, Ivy uses her powers to set up a blockade of plants. But, as Punchline and her guests escape in a helicopter, zombified game players make their way to attack our heroes.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #4 by Leah Williams and Daniel Hillyard.  Ivy uses her powers to break the gamers from being zombified while Harley goes after the helicopter. A giant Ivy snatches the helicopter  and brings it crashing to the ground, killing all onboard except Punchline, who shoots Dumb Bunny, injuring White Rabbit in the process. White Rabbit and Catwoman break into the lab and capture a scientist, asking about what she knows about XO Punch. She directs them to a flash drive in her pocket but that releases XO gas which puts the pair on a bad trip. Dumb bunny frees a captured Ivy and tells her that XO Punch is made from one of her own pheromone compounds, causing her to react and defeat Punchline, freeing all the captured animals being used for sport in the process.

GREEN ARROW #15 by Joshua Williamson and Amancay Nahuelpan. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. Ollie digs up a mysterious glowing box once given to him by Martian Manhunter. When he tries to order in retrieval, he is told that Bright has the task force and that Ollie ordered Bright on a mission. Elsewhere, the rest of Red Arrow, Arsenal, Red Canary, Speedy, Arrowette and Connor are dealing with an attack from Tomorrow Woman, who is searching for Ivo. Ivo is on the task force plane, where Jade and Lian are hiding. Ivo cuts a deal with Jade to betray Roy that will allow them to free him. Bright intervenes and confronts Roy. Bright captures Jade and Lian and threatens to kill them. That is when Ollie arrives, telling Bright to leave his granddaughter alone.

GREEN LANTERN #14 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. A captured Hal Jordan has managed to get free and gotten his ring in the process, but now finds himself on the run from his captors. Meanwhile, Alan Scott is playing chess with the Amazo robot who he allowed to capture him, which he has named Jadestone. In the course of Hal’s escape, he encounters Jadestone, who is now set on capturing him once again. Hal fights back, using magic to stall the robot and transport himself to Themyscira. Elsewhere, Carol Ferris is in the Tower of fate where the heroes are convincing her to be their eyes and ears. She makes her way to Hub City but, despite being cautious, arouses the interest of a super powered being, who insists she will know their sorrow. In the backup, it is the sad tale of a Shadow Lantern who ends up doing the bidding of Thaaros.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #12 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. As the heroes approach the heart of the Star Shroud, Byla is mortally wounded by Ajna, freeing the Radiant Host. Byla tells John to take Olgrun’s ring and keep it safe. John uses the ring to face off against Ajna, apologizing to her as he defeats her and the Radiant Host. Meanwhile, John’s mother continues to flee from the Star Shroud, using the construct to turn her into a knight, but she is mortally wounded by Varron. John arrives, with Shepherd and Guy to defeat Varron. As she lays dying, John uses Olgrun’s ring to remove the Radiant from within her. Together, John, his sister and his constructed, restored mother, go off to help restore things in Botswana.

DC UNIVERSE Month 78, Part 2

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA # 10 by Geoff Johns and Mikel Janin. In the 31^st Century, the Legion of Substitue Heroes debate if they should get involved or not. In the present, the JSA battles undead warriors being led by Gentleman Ghost. He has also unleashed Surtur. During the battle, Mordru drains Hawkman’s life force and gives it to the Gentleman Ghost, sending him back to the land of the dead. After, at a meeting of the team, Hawkman insists that Mordru go away. The team votes to keep him in. The Legion of Superheroes arrives and, saying the future is changed, demands that the JSA turn over Mordru to them or else.

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #7 by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. While one of Zod’s faithful finds several coconspirators dead, Zod battles the Emerald Empress, who believes that Zod is the person who imprisoned and tortured her. She hits Zod with an energy blast from the giant eye and escapes. Zod goes to meet with some of his crew and then is informed that two other convicts are fighting, leading to Zod arriving and facing off again with a recently arrived Emerald Empress. A wounded G’raffe meets his way from the medical bay and opens an airlock, which sucks both Zod and the Empress out into space. The eye sits itself in Ekron’s head and swallow Zod and the Empress, before throwing Zod up. An angry Zod makes his way back into the ship and, despite Jarmax pledging loyalty to him, he freezes her and kicks her head off. On the bridge, a massive power source is seen in the distance. That source is Sinestro.

NIGHTWING #116 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Dick Grayson is arrested and charged with being Heartless. The press puts together various clues, many of which are false ones, and come to the conclusion that Dick is Heartless. Dick wakes up in a hospital and escapes. He goes to see Barbara and tells her that he knows where he has to go. He begins a long trek that brings him to Nanada Parbat, where he meets with the person who was one of his friends and confidents back in his Haly Circus days: Boston Brand, now known as Deadman. Back in Bludhaven, Heartless broadcasts to the city, claiming to be Dick Grayson, before demanding the Titans leave the city or he will kill one person every hour. Heartless demands Nightwing come face him and it looks like Nightwing will…but it’s actually Bruce Wayne in the suit.

OUTSIDERS #9 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Jakita leads Luke and his father to the Lost City of Cannon where they see a giant piece of artillery that she believes will be able to reunite her with the lost members of the Planetary. They are attacked by warrior who serve the Lords of Order and they capture Lucius, which results in Luke surrounding. While imprisoned, the Outsiders are visited by Teekl. One warrior arrives with the Helmet of Fate with Nabu explaining there are four cycles in the world and the Lords of Chaos want to break that cycle. Chaos and Order have been fighting for control and if Chaos wins, they will fire the gun, destroy the Prime Universe and the Multiverse will descend into complete disarray. If Order gains control, they will wipe out the Multiverse and Earth-0 will be the only one. Teekl frees The Outsiders and they see the two forces fighting for control. Luke calls in the Carrier and they take they cannon before heading into the Bleed. There, they reunite with Batwoman and marvel that they now have two guns, the cannons and Jinny Hex’s gun, that can destroy the world. In the end, Jakita takes Jinny’s gun from where it is locked up.

POISON IVY #24 by G. Willow Wilson and Haining. Ivy is dead and everyone is sad. Grundy takes her body into the swamp and Ivy talks with the forces of the Green before being reborn. As they all reunite, Janet from HR confesses her brief fling with Harley, which causes everyone to laugh. From here, it is anyone’s guess as to what is next.

POWER GIRL #11 by Leah Williams and Adriana Melo. Power GHirl, masquerading as Dr. Paige Stetler, prepares to go on a date with Axel Gust. Later, she meets with Lois Lane, who takes her off her current assignment and has her now become a reporter in the field, where she can create long-form stories. While on their date together, Aquus shows up to release the captured fish at the aquarium Axel and Power Girl are at. Steel arrives to battle Aquus while Paige changes into Power Girl, surprising Axel who then produces magical daggers. As they both apologize to each other, Axel prepares to take Power Girl…to Asgard.

RED HOOD: THE HILL #6 by Shawn Martinbrough and Tony Akins. Batman and Red Hood, along with Strike, capture one of the Grand Imperial soldiers and interrogate him, with no results. Batman tells Strike that her sister is on her way to the home where Korlee Sr. is and that is where Strike heads off to. Meanwhile, Omar talks to Demetrius, angered at how things went down. Then Batman calls Demetrius and tells him that he is ready for him. Demetrius heads to his father’s home, but Diana is already there and threatened at gunpoint by Demetrius’ men until Strike arrives and saves her. Diana goes inside and interviews Korlee Sr. while Red Hood confronts Omar and tells him that Demetrius was the person responsible for his daughter’s death. At the Korlee estate, Demetrius arrives with Lenora killing his father’s bodyguard. Once inside, son confronts the father with the son killing his father. In the end, Tommy Maxx tells Omar how Demetrius purposely set up Omar’s daughter’s death to win him over, with Maxx now looking to carry to torch of chaos. Batman visits Demetrius, who insists he be called Sire when next they meet. In the end, Batman observes Ms. Ahsha as she tries to recruit once more.

SHAZAM #13 by Josie Campbell and Mike Norton. Freddy, Mary, Hoppy and Tawny head out looking for clues that will lead them to Billy. Billy is in the subway station and meets with Shazam who tells him the Rock must have a reason for being near Philadelphia. Billy says they should have picked someone else but The Captain tells Billy he was chosen for a reason. That is when he is attacked by monsters; the same monsters who have been attacking Freddy and Mary. Mary becomes Mary Marvel with Freddy being captured, along with a full train of people. Mary summons a lightning bolt and that leaves her weakened and she gets saved by Uncle Marvel. A mysterious girl sprays the train with graffiti and it disappears, with Freddy being transported to the lair of King Kull.

SINISTER SONS #6 by Peter J. Tomasi and Vasco Georgiev. While Lor-Zod and Korg begins working, Korg demands to meet with Sinestro. Korg shoots SInestro with the hypogun and says he believes Sinestro is his father. Sinestro destroys the gun and tells him he doesn’t need to know if he is Korg’s father to become who he is destined to be. He gives Korg a vial of his blood before grabbing Korb=g and telling him he is insignificant. Lor-Zod intervenes, leading to Sinson to begin to fight with Lor-Zod as he tries to protect Sinestro. Sinestro eventually breaks up the fight, saying it was a test. He also says he is going after the person who destroyed the Yellow Lantern battery and leaves the boys in charge of protecting New Korugar.

SUPERMAN #16 by Joshua Williamson and Jamal Capbell. At the Fortress, Mr. terrific and Cyborg are fighting to save Superman’s life.  Meanwhile, Zatanna is confronted by two members of the Bureau of Sovereignty and is saved by Mercy Graves, who takes her to the Fortress. Superman is now up and around and asks where Jon and Connor are, with Mercy saying she could only save him. Zatanna reveals that she and Superman can use the Dark Roads to try to find and save other depowered heroes.  Elsewhere, Jimmy Siobhan and Lex sneak into Supercorp, with Lena hoping the building will help restore his memory, but it doesn’t They notice one of the super suits is missing and that is when Peacemaker and Peacewrecker and troops arrive, but are now faced with support for the Supercorp team in the form of Lois in the missing super suit.

TITANS #13 by Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Hera meets with Blaze: the current ruler of Hell. Her plan is to help take down the Dark Winged Queen with the help of The Spectre. Meanwhile, Nightwing is attacked by a corrupted Raven, revealing her true nature to Gar and Cyborg. But she changes the narrative and that moment is wiped away, with Gar and Cyborg heading to Kravia to help protect the president of that country. Once there, a green tiger attacks, leading some to believe it is Gar. In actuality, it is Apex Ave: one of the remaining Starro spores. The two battle until Raven arrives and captures Apex Ava

WONDER WOMAN #11 by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel, Julian Torino Tedesco, and Belen Ortega. Diana and other heroes are playing cards while they hide at the Watergate Hotel. Paradise Lost arrives and grabs Constantine, taking some of his ability. The captain fights hit, knocking Paradise Lost out of the building but the robot comes back and begins to harvest the powers of the heroes. In the backup, Damian, Jon and Trinity go to see a Black Canary concert. By the end of the show, Damian is not only a fan but gets to go onstage with her. In the end, while fighting Darkseid, they discover he is a fan of her music, which ends the fight quickly.