A whole new batch of first issues to check out

ALIEN ARMAGEDDON #2 by James Mascia and Enn Art. I have to review issue #2 because I never saw issue #1 which the publisher, Dren Productions, has available for $13.00! What? Basically, you have a pair of female spies who are working in Paris to take out the Nazis. Along the way, one of the two finds herself falling in love with the nazi she has cozied up to. But she has a job to do and, in a rather graphic scene, puts out for one the Germans. Oh yeah: there are aliens among some of the Germans. The art is cool and the story reads quickly. It’s a fun dumb read if you can find it.

CREEPSHOW IN LOVE 2025 SPECIAL by Mirka Andolfo, Patrick Horvath, Yul-Pyeong Oh, and Pure. A trio of stories with both love and horror in it. As expected, it has tons of twists in each tale with my favorite being Andolfo’s, although all of them are fun. If you’re into the regular CREEPSHOW series, you’ll love this one. Pun intended!

CRUEL KINGDOM #1 by Greg Pak, Al Ewing, Chris Condon, Ben H. Winters, Leomacs, Kano, Charlie Adlard, and Andrea Mutti. The newest title in the revised EC imprint is here with the theme being sorcery. Four tales that try to evoke what EC was known for: surprise endings that makes the reader think. Unfortunately, this is probably the weakest of the series thus far as none of the tales, even those that slip in some Science Fiction subplots, never really hit the mark. It’s as if the publishers are trying to reach for what WEIRD SCIENCE did but with more of a concentration on elves and barbarians. While the art looks great and the stories themselves should nail it, it often feels like someone read too much CONAN as a kid…not that there is anything wrong with it.

DAREDEVIL: COLD DAY IN HELL #1 by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. In the future, Wilson Fisk is dead and Matt Murdock is an old man and no longer has his abilities. At the end of the day, it is a completely different world, caused by a group known as the Deebees, as people struggle survive and heroes are no more. But the villains are still here and maybe this means Matt should come out of retirement, especially after seeing an old acquaintance die. This was so good! The story draws you in and the art is very Milleresque. Highly recommended!

DAREDEVIL UNLEASH IN HELL #1 by Erica Schultz, Valentina Pinti, and Jose Luis. Marvel’s new thing is to bring us tales that are so violent that they are considered Red Band books because of that content. Here’s is their newest, once again polybagged for your protection. It’s Elektra as Daredevil who takes on a drug ring as the first part of the story. But then it gets deeper as one of Matt’s “artistic” villains makes himself the chief villain. And the blood count is high with one particularly nasty murder. But this could easily have been done without all the gore, making it seem like it was all done just for shock value. The story is fun and all but still feels it could have been done without diving into the Red Band.

DEADPOOL/WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassara. Hot off the success of the movie, Marvel decides to cash in with the obvious team-up no one asked for. Honestly, we didn’t need this title that pairs the two heroes together for what seems like no other reason than to let them trade lines and fight. And some positively bloody fights indeed; so much so that THIS should have been a Red Band title as the gore count on a couple of pages outdoes the Red band books. The story is a fun one and brings back an old villain we haven’t seen in some time, so that was cool. But it IS Deadpool, so your mileage may vary.

DOCTOR DOOM & ROCKET RACOON #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Will Robson. Beginning in the month of February, Straczynski is writing a bunch of Marvel one-shots and this first one is a silly hoot. Doom summons Rocket to his castle as the good doctor wants to adjust his time platform to go back to the very beginning of time. What follows, even before they finally get the platform working, is a ton of funny exposition, goofy dialogue, and a retelling of Doon’s origin. As I often say, your mileage may vary but I found it a lot of fun. And the art by Robson rocks!

DUST TO DUST #1 by JG Jones and Phil Bram. Wow! That’s all I can really say about this. And that’s before I read one word of the book. Anyone who knows Jones art knows what I am talking about as every panel on every page is a masterpiece. Set during the Dust Bowl, there is truly an onion of a plot as there are so many layers, from the family leaving their dried-up farm to the sheriff to the newspaper photographer who is in town to document things. To that end, if you were expecting a big plot point drop you won’t get it. I have the feeling this isn’t going to come for a few issues, so it’s gonna be playing the long game. Hang in there as I’m sure the payoff when it comes is going to be incredible.

FREE FOR ALL #1 by Patrick Horvath. It is a time in a future world where if you do something wrong, you find yourself in the Free For All: a violent mortal combat that is one of the biggest sporting events. But that is just the beginning as the main story revolves around a crappy business deal between spouses, resulting in them going head to head (literally) in this game. It’s wild and violent with some incredibly eye-popping moments. The art is as quirky as the story is but it’s a fun read that hopefully will result in a sequel.  

GATCHAMAN: ONLY ONE EARTH #1 by Tommy Lee Edwards and Nuno Plati. Another mini-series in the GATCHAMAN Universe. Galactor has a plan and that involves killing the queen of Altrena along the way. There’s a car race, a volcanic explosion, a betrayal by Galactor and dire peril for some of the Gatchaman team. Definitely a book that will appeal to fans of the Anime series, even with art reminiscent of a Manga.

GREEN HORNET/MISS FURY #1 by Alex Segura, Henry Barajas, and Federico Sorressa. Two classic, old school comic heroes come together and…it’s a disappointment. The plot is threadbare and the art is the saving grace. Sure we get the Silver Shrike and Kato in the mix, but there is so little back story that I feel as if I missed something, like a previous connection in their stories. Not a fan and that’s a drag!

THE HERCULOIDS #1 by Tom Sniegnoski and Craig Rousseau. One of those much loved Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the Sixties gets its’ own title from Dynamite. Now, the original cartoon only ran for 18 episodes but to children of a certain generation, it will live forever. The story is basic enough to introduce the characters: Zandor, Tara and Dorno, along with Zok, Igoo, Tundro, Glopp and Gleep. While it is a fun read with great art in the Toth style from Rousseau, it is an incredibly short and fast read. But it is nice to see these character getting new life.

THE HIVE #1 by AJ Lieberman and Mike Henderson. This is the first issue of a weird crime drama meets heist story. There is a secret organization called The Hive in the middle of it and a whole bunch of characters that appear to be interchangeable. I haven’t made a decision one way or the other on this series as there is so much happening that it is sometimes tough to follow. But I will give it a second chance and hope that things clear up. The story, as I said, is a bit confusing and the art is passable and reminiscent of David Lapham’s style.  

I WAS A FASHION SCHOOL SERIAL KILLER #1 by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard. So, you’re a Goth high school girl trying to fit in at a fashion school among all the mean girls. But you’re also a bit of a vigilante who is using the various body parts of your victims as part of your designs. Sounds crazy, right? Well, it totally is! From the folks who have previously brought you VINYL, PLUSH, PLASTIC, and PLASTIC: DEATH & DOLLS, this wild book will fit perfectly into your collection if you’re a fan of smart tongue-in-cheek humor and horror movies. This is highly recommended! Go seek out the great Janet Jackson ROLLING STONE tribute cover variant.

MAGIK #1 by Ashley Allen and German Peralta. Marvel continues to roll out solo adventures of their mutants following the fall of Krakoa. This time, it’s the Darkchild getting involved and fighting demons along the way as she tries to help as young  mutant, dealing with racists at the same time. It’s an okay book primarily aimed for completists, who feel the need to own all these stories, even if it probably won’t result in anything earthshattering or canon defining.

MONEY SHOT: BIG BANG #0 by Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Patton Oswalt, Garth Graham, Rebekah Isaacs, Caroline Leigh Layne, and Gisele Lagace. I have a hard time describing this book, keeping in mind this is a #0 issue but not the first MONEY SHOT comic. It’s about a group, as they are described, of XXX-plorers who go into the reaches of space to bring alien sex acts to their subscribers. And it is as bizarre as it sounds! So, you get wild space action and alien sex! Bonus is a cameo appearance by the legendary Cherry Poptart! It’s a load of fun in 24 pages but, if you go in for the black bag edition, it will set you back TEN BUCKS!

MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE #1 by David Petersen and Gabriel Rodriguez. This amazing title is back with a new series. If you are unaware of this Eisner Award winning series, it is basically about mice trying to survive in a world of harsh predators. But these mice are more like warriors than scared little creatures. There have been a host of MOUSE GUARD tales and it has even spawned a role-playing game and an alphabet book. It is perfect for fans of D&D and CONAN and looks gorgeous! Highly recommended!

NEW CHAMPIONS #1 by Steve Foxe, Ivan Fiorelli, and IG Guara. Who remember the Champions title from back in the day? Well, marvel has resurrected something to tap into that nostalgia with a team of mostly unknown heroes, although it seems like we have seen this team before. Oh yeah: they used to be known as The Assembly and previously had a run a few years back in Spider-Woman. If you didn’t read those issues, have no fear as there is a brief recap of their story, which unfortunately comes right near the end of the book. And by that time, I kind of lost interest. It’s another teen hero book with teens I don’t care about.

NICK FURY VS. FIN FANG FOOM #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Elema Casagrande. Marvel brings us another Straczynski mash-up one-shot. Set in the days just prior to World War II, Nick Fury is sent on a mission to the Chinese border where he meets the Howling Commandos for the first time and  finds himself having to go head-to-head against the legendary Fin Fang Foom. It’s fun in a classic Marvel way and will probably appeal to fans of those classic Sixties tales, while most modern fans will not be entertained.

PINUPOCALYPSE #1 by Andrew Tarusov. So, here’s why having a dynamic cover is often a great selling point for a book, especially a new one. It was the attractive cover image by Tarusov that brought me to this title and thrilled it did. What starts as a quiet day in 1950’s Pinupolis for Foxy turns twisted fast as soon she finds herself in the middle of a zombie outbreak. The story is fun and the art is fitting. Personally, I can’t wait for issue #2.

ROGUE: THE SAVAGE LAND #1  by Tim Seeley and Zulema Scotto Lavina. While it’s great to get a Rogue mini-series, be aware it is set right after UNCANNY X-MEN #247, where Rogue sacrificed herself and went through the magical gate known as the Siege Perilous. What happened is she found herself in the Savage Land and has to get used to surviving in it. What follows is a struggle for survival and a chance meeting with Magneto. There is even a Ka-Zar appearance. It’s an interesting start and recommended for fans who remember that era of X-Men.

SAVAGE TALES #1 by David Avallone, Kurt Busiek, Hamish Cook, Eman Casallos, Mariano Benitez Chapo, and Benjamin Dewey. What seems cool for fans of some of Dynamtie’s core licensed characters ends up being a bit confusing and disappointing. Right off the bat, we get Chapter 3 of Gullivar of Mars. I’m sorry: what happened to Chapter 1? Was there two previous SAVAGE TALES one-shots? Possibly. Then a John Carter tale and a Vampirella story, ending with a reprinted Red Sonja tale, which is my favorite from both a story and art standpoint.

ULTIMATE WOLVERINE #1 by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio. The reborn Ultimate Universe expands with this new title, introducing their version of the fan-fave character. But this Logan is much more feral as he is experimented on and is sent to dispatch the enemy, in the form of this Universe’s Colossus, Nightcrawler, Raven, Marik and Omega Red. Suffice it to say, lots of these characters are butchered in issue #1. I’m curious to see where things go from here. Is he friend or foe or just a tool of The Maker?

WE’RE TAKING EVERYONE DOWN WITH US #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini. In what appears to possibly be a post-Apocalyptic world, or at least a New World Order, a young girl is living in isolation with her scientist father, his assistant and her two robot companions. But there is certainly something evil amiss and her father may be to blame. But there is also an organization called V.E.L.L. that may be the actual culprits. So, where does that lead us? Down into a very deep rabbit hole with a surprise ending and a cliffhanger to drag us into the next issue. Great stuff from the always dependable Roseberg.

DC UNIVERSE Month 86, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN #49 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee. Harley pays Althea Klang, who has related to readers how she grew up poor and traumatized, a visit. She demands that Althea stop her from trying to takeover Throatcutter Hill but she unleashes Amygdala on her, even though he died in CATWOMAN #50. As he tries to crush her in his arms, Harley tickles him, which lets her get free and pull a birthday prank by setting off a time bomb in the building’s septic system, filling the lobby with poop. Althea pulls out a knife and, before she kills her, Harley kisses her on the nose and flees. Althea notes her goal in life is to smash Harley because she thinks she is in love with her.

JSA #5 by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui. Hawkman, still trapped in the Demon Dimension, gets freed from the ghost who thinks she is the new Kid Eternity. Now freed, he is able to retrieve his wings and weapons and soon they are overwhelmed by demons until Hawkgirl assist them, with all three heading back to the Tower of Fate. Elsewhere, Dr. Mid-Nite is attacked by Scandal Savage but gets the upper hand when she manages to turn off the sole light in the room and takes Scandal down. Meanwhile, the consciousnesses of Obsidian and Jakeem escape by breaking through a wall, only to find that the outside world is a huge maze. While this is happening, the fake Obsidian tells the JSA members that sensors have picked up Beth’s communicator and they need to take action now. Jade meets with Sandman, with both agreeing there is a traitor on the team. In the Demon Dimension, Grundy and Gentleman Ghost arrive and an army of demons is set to attack and destroy the Tower of Fate.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #5 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Justice league continues to try to unravel both the mystery and the antics of Inferno, even considering that this may be connected to the Legion of Doom. In Australia, members of the team fight against twisted creatures while trying to save civilians. Flash sidelines Impulse, who notices one particular person not reacting to the dilemma. When he confronts him, he transforms and has Impulse forget what he has observed. Flash decides to transport everyone to an adjacent dimension, which turns out to be the Phantom Zone, but Supergirl is able to get them through the Phantom Zone gate and onto The Watchtower. Air Wave is then ordered to keep his part of the bargain and as the civilian Impulse thought was Inferno reveals himself as Grodd. Air Wave transports him to the Legion of Doom headquarters where he meets with the reformed group: Scarecrow, Joker, Sinestro, Bizarro, Captain Cold and…Lex Luthor.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE ATOM PROJECT #3 by Ryan Parrott, John Ridley, and Mike Perkins. In the past, the Atoms are pleased that they seemed to get Captain Atom partially under control. But the remedy cannot be administered fast enough to the others on The Watchtower who need help and they find their powers becoming out of control and Captain Atom has to save them by absorbing all of their powers. In the present, Nathaniel is prepared to get rid of his powers and possibly end his life but The Atoms have tinkered with the machine and actually saved his life. But Captain Atom does not see it that way. All he wants to do is die but they convince him to let them find a way to remove his powers and never let anyone be able to recreate them again. That is when Major Force arrives.

METAMORPHO THE ELEMENT MAN #4 by Al Ewing and Steve Leiber. With Metamorpho walking away from the Staggs, Simon Stagg decides to use everything he knows about Rex and create Metamorpho II and plans to have his daughter marry him. But he also now has his robotic headquarters on the loose thanks to something Mad Mod had done previously, accidentally unleashing a Trojan Horse that had been installed by Mister 3. Rex becomes a giant balloon to fight the building while Java and Element Girl make their way inside and, finding a way to combat the security system, shut the building down. But it is not over yet as The Thunderer arrives, threatening to not only conquer Earth but also the sun.

THE NEW GODS #4 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Jorge Fornes. In the distant past, Highfather and Himon create New Genesis and the planet-sized Mother Box that is the heart of the city. In the present, New Genesis is being invaded by Karak, so Highfather sends Shadowfall the archer to defend them, but the numbers are too great. With no other choice, Highfather puts his armor on and prepares for battle. Meanwhile, on Earth, Barda and Scott take on the mercenaries who have been chasing after the boy and his adoptive parents. Then Orion arrives to kill the boy, explaining that seven days in the Fourth World is much shorter than seven days on Earth.

NIGHTWING #124 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Nightwing decides to help the Flyboiz and offers to be the personal give his blood through a transfusion to save their lives. The problem is there are three Flyboiz who need immediate attention and that represents a lot of blood leaving Dick. While in the process, he sees visions of Zanni, who he previously had seen when he was dosed as a child by Olivia Pearse. Zanni tells Dick he is dying and he will make a great ringmaster in the Cirque Du Sin. Nightwing is able to save one of the Flyboiz, even as two pass away, Teddies show up with plans to kill the Flyboiz and Bryce convinces them to leave. Later, Dick talks to his sister and chastises her for allowing Pearse to let her robots loose on the streets. The Mayor, seeing what these robots are doing, orders Pearse to shut them down but, removing the mask that hides her face, she says she has been part of the Cirque for so long that she is no longer who she was. Dick faces off against the robots and visualizes one of them as a giant elephant. Then a shot rings out and Dick is able to finish it. That is when he sees Bryce with a smoking gun, now wearing a small Bat symbol on his chest, calling Dick ‘boss’.

POISON IVY #31 by G. Willow Wilson and Brian Level. Ivy wakes from a nightmare to find Janet in bed with her. Promising to return to the city when this is through, Ivy goes to meet with Peter Undine, who allows her to see the history of Marshview. Developers came in and that led to wildlife being killed and the marsh fought back, with most of the residents being killed or leaving to save their lives. Only one person remain in the end-a janitor named Ed Cooper, but even he disappeared. Coming out of the vision, a horrible creature comes towards them. It seems that Ed is back.

POWER GIRL #19 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. While dinosaurs are moving about inside The Star, and a battle rages both outside of The star and beneath it. Working together, they manage to stop the threat. Afterwards, mariposa goes on television to reveal that she The Star is going to be the world’s most honest social media platform. She also reveals she is the new editor-in-chief; something that Power Girl will now need to tell Lois Lane about. When Aquus, Sprig and Bruin return to their mother, she dishes out appropriate punishment to them. The following day, Paige has an uncomfortable phone call with Lois when she cuts off that call because Karen Starr is on television with news of her new A.I. app.

THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER #5 by Alex Segura and Cian Tormey. Renee is forced to fight both Blue beetles and manages to take them down. As she does, Jaime hands her a small device he tells her to take to the trash chute near the elevator. She also takes down Nightshade, freeing her from Cyborg Superman’s control too. But she now has to fight her former lover Kate Kane to fulfill her mission. Meanwhile, even though he thinks he controls everyone, Cyborg Superman  discovers that The Eradicator is not 100% with having those in his control kill the Question and threatens to leave, so Cyborg Superman beats him into submission. Renee makes her way to the trash chute and sees the dog who has been captured and sees something on his collar that Jaime sent her to retrieve. She releases the dog who warns her of Kate’s presence. The two face off but end up kissing and teaming up. The item on the dog’s collar turns out to be some sort of failsafe for the Phantom Zone containment unit and she hopes it will reverse the polarity on her gun. Charlie, the other Question, arrives, saying he came onboard to lend a hand. They observe The Eradicator and the Beetles captured and releases them but that also occurs as Cyborg Superman bursts through The Watchtower sending Renee, Kate and everyone else tumbling into space.

SECRET SIX #1 by Nicole Maines and Stephen Segovia. In the beginning, Jon Kent is fighting against a cyborg enhanced version of Bizarro as he tries to escape from Belle Reve. At the same time, Dreamer has a dream about a surgery on her going horribly wrong as many of her past associates press her for information about Amanda Waller. Jon goes to visit Jay Nakamura, who is still dealing with both the death of his mother and the destruction of Gamorra, who has yet to apologize for being involved in Jay’s mother’s death. She tells them Waller has escaped, which leads the trip to Belle Reve to investigate. Once inside, they are called over to Black Alice’s cell, telling them she has information she will give them if they get her out. Guards arrive firing tranquilizer darts, which leads to Jay freeing Black Alice, who teleports them to a safe house in Vermont. That is when they see Deadshot standing over the unconscious body of Catman.

SHAZAM #21 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid. As Mr. Mind spreads his infection, he asks Beautia about the guy who pretended to be her father and she explains he too has been infected. He only pretended to be her father to get information on his real daughter, who was the person who led Freddy to the Amber Lightning. Only half of his essence was in the Amber Lightning while the other half was in the corpse of the oldest human host. He then orders the capture of Billy and Freddy, with his robot sealing their mouths to keep them from saying the magic word. He brings them to the Society’s tower and plans to keep them there until the Justice League arrives and he can possess them. Billy is stunned to find Beau is working with Mr. Mind. Freddy manages to release himself from Mind’s control and he and Billy are able to transform as the rest of the Marvel Family arrive. Defeating the Society, Eugene and Pedro hack the app and free the users from Mind’s control. As Mind attempts to escape, Georgia vaporizes his human host, capturing Mind and Beau for her future plans. In the end, Billy visits his birth mother, who insists that she doesn’t want him to leave his new family, giving him a photo to add to his family album.

SUPERMAN #24 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. Mercy summons Superman and Superwoman for a meeting, where they find Lex and Mercy kissing. Mercy shows off a new line of Superman-branded technology and wants to sell them to the public, to which the Man of Steel objects. Mr. terrific contacts Superman and tells him of a crisis in Markovia, but Lois decides to go so Superman can see all these things that Supercorp has built. In Markovia, Hawkgirl tells Superwoman than the Khunds have invaded and she needs to find their leader, so the Creeper joins her in the search. They discover the Khunds building some kind of cannon and The Creeper attacks. Superwoman takes out the cannon and the rest of the Leaguers capture the rest of the Khunds. Mister Terrific tells Lois that the Khunds came here to test new weapons and Lois is shocked when she examines one of their guns. Back at Supercorp, Lena and Lex show off  a stasis bubble they built and Superman is concerned about this technology being used for offensive reasons and it should not be sold for profit. Chief Kekoa and the MPD arrive and arrest Lex, who goes willingly, saying he needs to pay for his crimes. Superman admits that he told the police that Lex was getting his memory back because he was concerned about him returning to his old self, but Mercy says it is not Lex that he should be worried about. Superwoman arrives telling him the gun she found in Markovia had a Superman symbol on it. Mercy admits she has been selling weapons to the Khunds, leading to Superman firing her. She opens up her chest and reveals Metallo’s Kryptonite heart, which cripples the pair. Telling them that Lex couldn’t do the job, she built a new one, revealing a clone wearing a Kryptonian suit and with eyes glowing with heat vision.

TITANS #21 by John Layman and Pete Woods. The Psycho Pirate has captured raven and has taken her over. Roy wakes up in Central Park and had Cyborg Boom Tube him back to the titans, where he sees that Cyborg has rebuilt and reprogrammed Vanadia. Cyborg wants to know why Roy left S.T.A.R. Labs and the rest of the team and he reveals he was never there. The three of them Boom Tube over to S.T.A.R. Labs where they find a corrupted Raven, who commands the Titans to attack and kill each other. But Raven breaks his control and unleashes her other half, dispatching him. Raven admits it was unfair to keep her other half locked down and they merge into a whole, complete Raven. With the situation under control, Raven says they have a bigger problem as it was Deathstroke who hired Psycho Pirate, leading Donna to insist they take the fight to him.

TWO-FACE #4 by Christian Ward and Fabio Veras. Inside of his mind, Harvey finds himself on trial against Two-Face. We learn that Harvey’s father was both a man of ambition but also abused his son for being weak. When the parents got divorced, it was his mother who took him in meaning Harvey’s other self was left behind. We also see that the trademark coin was inspired by Harvey’s own father who would use it to decide how and if Harvey was punished. When Harvey was scarred, his other self was unleashed again. As the trial ends, the coin is about to be flipped but Harvey says he is still in control and he locks up his other half once again. In the end, ‘Bad Harvey’ is visited by his mother, who shows him that she holds the key to release him once and for all.

WONDER WOMAN #19 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. Diana has made her way into the White House and now is face to face with The Sovereign, who surrenders to her. He asks for mercy but she is not having any part of it and summons a dagger and hands it to him, willing him to carve the word LIAR into his chest. With her revenge complete, she takes him to Themyscira to be jailed. In another part of the world, Emelie, who murdered men in Montana that led to Amazons being banned on United States soil, gives birth to her child with the help of Etta Candy. Naming the baby Lyssa, she claims the child is a curse and they have also been captured by the Mouse Man and his followers. In the future, The Sovereign finishes this story he has been relating to the adult Trinity. Wanting to know more, she wraps her lasso around his neck. He knows, even if he is not telling, that Lyssa, also known as The Matriarch, killed Wonder Woman along with Donna, Cassie and Yara with the dagger, leaving it buried in Diana’s chest. Lyssa ended the legend of Wonder Woman and The Sovereign knows she will also end Trinity’s story soon.

ZATANNA #2 by Jamal Campbell. In the distant past, a young magician was pulled into a portal but saved by a blonde woman who took him to the Oblivion Bar, telling him that if he ever got lost, he could come back to the bar by just thinking about oblivion. They separated but legend said they would not remain that way for long. In the present, Blue Devil, Detective Chimp and Madame Xanadu are bemoaning the lack of customers when Zatanna comes crashing in. Later, she explains how she had been stabbed by Lady White’s sword and it is affecting her spells. When she tries to remove it, she is haunted by visions of people she could not save. Meanwhile, the Lady White and Adam meet with Brother Night and he agrees to reward Adam for his deed. Zatanna goes to Adam’s apartment where she is greeted by Blue Devil, who has agreed to help her and she reluctantly agrees. They enter and find piles of flesh and bones along with Adam’s withered corpse, meaning he has been dead for weeks and that the Adam helping Brother Night is a fake. A TV screen in the room turns on and shows Lady White dancing with someone familiar. Zatanna binds Blue Devil with chains and enters the screen. When she reaches the man Lady White was dancing with, she realizes it is Bruce Wayne.

DC UNIVERSE Month 86, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #6 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. An injured Bruce takes refuge in Waylon's gym where he finds out that Bruce is Batman and is upset about just finding out about it, as are his other close childhood friends. Meanwhile, Gordon and Martha are trying to defend themselves amidst the chaos in the streets. Crates containing Party Animal masks drop from the sky and the built-in display shows target information and cash prizes, with Gordon and Martha having bounties of one million dollars each. At the same time, Julia Pennyworth’s train is attacked by the Party Animals but Alfred abducts her from it, with plans to leave the country and take her with him. Batman convinces Oswald to fly a helicopter that will take Bruce to Black Mask’s yacht, where he believes the servers are. He battles with Black Mask and uses his mask’s ears to blind the villain, beating him bloody and blowing up the yacht. With the yacht gone, the bounties end and Martha and Gordon dispatch them. In the water after the explosion, Batman is rescued by Alfred who says he is sticking around. In the end, The Joker is receiving transfusions from infants and, when informed that Black Mask has failed, he orders his assistant to get Bane.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #1 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. In a desert, 15 year old Wally West panics as lightning explodes from within him. Two days earlier,  a confused Wally makes his way back to Fort Fox, the Army base where he lives with his father. A guard threatens to notify his father about being out after curfew but scientist Barry Allen intervenes, taking him to an underground lab known as Project Olympus. Intrigued by their research into physics and biology, Barry offers him a part time job which is rebuked by Wally’s father, who orders the two not to have contact again. On the following day, Wally and his father have an argument and Wally sneaking out, seeing a man with red vertical rectangles around him as he enters the mountain lab. He sees Barry in a special containment chamber and yells for Wally to get out before there is an explosion that kills Barry. Back in the present a tank approaches Wally and he is attacked by a boomerang shaped drone, forcing him to flee into a cave. The Captain and Digger exit the tank and follow Wally. As he goes deeper into the cave, Wally discovers Barry’s corpse and blames himself for his death. In the end, set one year in the future, a shadowy figure emerges from a piece of metal in Barry’s ruined lab. He pulls up the archives of Project Olympus and watches Wally’s exploits, commenting that it is time to make the world fail.

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez. A suicide bomber named Mike Miller sets off an explosion at a coffee shop which gravely injures FBI Agent John Jones. His wife Bridget encourages Jones to take time off, as do his superiors, but he insists to continue working. His bosses even insist that he stay away from the Miller case. Still, he continues  while being tormented by multi-colored smoke that he sees everywhere, while also filling him with the thoughts of people he meets. In the end, as he feels he is losing his grip on reality, it becomes apparent a mysterious green being is telling him that he saved Jones…and the green man may actually be Jones.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #5 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. Six years ago, the Els escape from the Law Guild shock troopers that had been sent to kill them. In the Rao Mountains, their friends and neighbors are waiting to leave the planet with them and there is only a limited number they can take with them. As they load in, Kal goes back to collect some Kryptonian soil and the ground opens beneath him, forcing him to be saved by Krypto. On the crumbling planet, people riot and try to get on the Science league’s starships, which are soon destroyed. The exploding planet destroys all of the refugees pods, leaving only Kal -El’s ship. All of his family and neighbors are gone. In the present Superman breaks into the Peacemaker outpost in Pakistan, looking for Smith. He orders Sol to locate Smith but is told that Lazarus’ cyber defense are beyond Earth’s capabilities and Smith’s location is encrypted. Sol tells Superman that Brainiac is hacking into Lazarus and trying to get into Sol’s system, but he is able to find that Brainiac is in the Lazarus facility in Nevada. He also discovers that Brainiac’s lab has miniaturized cities in bottles filled with screaming people. Brainiac sends Superman a message telling him he can reveal Smith’s location to him but ignores it, landing in Kansas. He tells Sol he is afraid of what he would do if he found Smith and wants to be alone and reminded of home. He walks down the road towards the nearest town-Smallville.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #6 by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis. Diana finds herself having to explain her recent actions to Hades. When one of his followers goes to grab her lasso, he gets shocked. Diana explains how she scaled Mount Prometheus and temporarily freed Prometheus in exchange for a vial of his blood. He cuts off the tip of his finger and creates the skeletal Pegasus to assist Diana. Unsatisfied by her story, Diana then tells him how she slew the Basilisk by blinding herself and cutting off the creatures head. None of this explains the creation of the Nemesis lasso, and Hades shows how he has captured Circe.

ACTION COMICS #1084 by John Ridley and Inaki Miranda. The aliens, known as the Foreverers, tell Superman that they have been purchasing the telomeres of super villains in order to extend their lives. Superman is determined to stop them and attacks them but is overwhelmed because of their new powers. Scorch plans to help him but Manheim tells her not to and threatens to tell the truth about Major Disaster. In response, she opens a portal to Hell and he is dragged into it. Superman throws the Foreverers into it and their leader follows, saying he will return when Superman is dead. Superman insists on being told the truth and Scorch says she cannot but teleports them to Canada where they meet with Penny Booker. She explains that she went to see her father and, when angered, accidentally caused the earthquake that killed Boykin. Her father had Scorch teleport her away and he took the fall to protect her. As a form of penance, Superman makes her join the Titans. Even as he continues to allow her father to be jailed, which troubles him until Lois comforts him.

AQUAMAN #3 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. Arion and the Lady of the Lake, named Vivienne lead Aquaman to a lake surrounded by walls of ice, telling Aquaman that the lake is her home. Dagon observes this from The Blue and sends his Mercenary Maids, led by Lori Lemaris, after them. Vivienne points to an anvil and says that the fire still burns within the ice and they will have to create a new weapon to kill Dagon and fulfill the prophecy as The Dark Tide. Arion tells Aquaman that Dagon is the person who took Aquaman’s family. As Aquaman waits outside the barrier as the weapon is being created, the Mercenary Maids show up, with Lori stabbing him, transforming him into ice. When Aquaman awakes, he finds himself chained to the mast of a galley and being transported to Dagon.

BATGIRL #5 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Batgirl battles the Unburied and seems to get the upper hand until a powder is sprayed into her face, leading her to fall asleep where she has dreams involving her mother and Stephanie. When she wakes, she finds herself captured along with her mother.

BATMAN #158 by Geof Loeb, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams. Batman stops a clown-masked crook who is hauling Joker Fish in a truck. Suddenly The Joker attacks with a crowbar and knocks Batman into a reservoir filled with piranha. Luckily the electronics in his suit stuns the fish and he manages to gets free, eventually being rescued by Talia al Ghul. At the same time, someone going by the name of Silence stuns Joker with a voice amplifier that ruptures the villains eardrums. When Batman deduces the short circuit may have compromised communications with the Bat Family, he orders them all to shut down all their systems for now. He then examines The Joker’s shoe that he found and that leads him to an abandoned carnival, where he finds that the villain alive, while still alive, had been tortured. Observing a series of videos and a table filled with scalpels, he deduces that Hush has returned.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. Batman and Robin continue to fight crime, even as Batman has recurring visions during the fights. He sends Robin back home, telling him to never face Memento alone. Oracle reaches out to Batman, saying that Bashar had worked in Kahndaq and his work was funded by a group called Manos Sanadoras that later seemed to morph into Novo Comeco and had ties to the League of Assassins. Lautrec meets with Crane who tells her that Professor Blye, presumed to be dead, remembers her and she insists that Blye’s body needs to be exhumed. That night, Damian goes to work with Bashir but finds a listening device his father had planted. Bashir takes Damian to the sub-basement where Memento kills Bashir. Batman goes to help his son, who is trying to flee. When he arrives, he finds Bashir’s body and his “spirit” tells Batman that Damian has been captured by the devil wearing Crowe’s face.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #37 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Lori has kissed Superman and this angers Ronal. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing is trying to stop the influence of Woodrue, whose plan was to get the two factions in Atlantis to war with each other. Aquaman has a heart-to-heart with Ronal and they team up to help the other heroes to battle Woodrue. But he soon learns that this is a trap and Aquaman, Ronal, and Mera all launch an attack on Woodrue, defeating him. In the end, Ronal and Lori work at repairing their relationship.

BIRDS OF PREY #19 by Kelly Thompson and Juann Cabal. At the safe house, Sin and Canary are attacked and seem to be doing well until Canary is shot by a sniper. Megaera breaks loose and scares the assailants away, giving Canary medical treatment after they’re gone. Meanwhile, in the Seam, Barda and Batgirl fight demons, with Batgirl capturing the demon possessing Constantine, tossing him back into our world and saving Constantine.

BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #5 by Tom King and Ryan Sook. It’s Round Five between Canary and Shiva, beginning with Shiva telling Canary that she is a white trash loser, just like her dead mommy. While the fight continues, there is a flashback to Canary siting with her mother in hospital as she fights for her life. In the end, as part of the flashback, it appears that Canary’s mother has died, even as she says she will find a way to save her.

BLACK LIGHTNING #5 by Brandon Thomas and Fico Ossio. The Sons of Liberty beat up a powerless Black Lightning until Thunder arrives to take them down. MCPD arrives and orders her to power down and she is able to do so with Grace Choi’s help. The reunited team, with powers restored, confront Volcana and her team, with Black Lightning saying how Volcana sent Windfall to the Sons of Liberty with the nullifier and turned it on Windfall, that leads to a brawl between the pair. There is a massive brawl and Thunder uses her powers to eventually defeat Volcana. In the end, Black Lightning meets with Councilman Harriman and he tells him that he knows everything and will be watching him. Later, he meets with Josiah Power, telling him it’s time to talk about The Power Company.

CATWOMAN #74 by Torunn Gronbekk and Marianna Ignazzi. “Long John” Johnson gets assassinated and that leads Suzy to contact Selina, as Evie. Evie orders her to check out any security cameras at Alexander’s warehouse. Currently, Suzy tells her that Anton is at the warehouse leading to Evie blowing up the warehouse. Evie is nowhere near the warehouse and she is making her way into Alexander’s vault, subduing him in the process. As she proceeds forward, Anton attacks her and takes her down. In the end, a surprise visitor arrives and she passes out.

CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #4 by Christopher Cantwell and Sean Isaaske. Ace, Hal and Captain Comet head out to check out an anomaly on an asteroid. Once there, Red hears a cry for help and dives into a deep crater, with Hal following. They find the digested body of Cave Carson with a message written on the wall in Red’s blood, asking why he brought Cave here. Suddenly he is hit with a vision first of him being trapped on the plane that created the Challengers and then of Black Manta carrying Aquaman’s dead son. Hal carries Red out and he reveals he cannot feel his legs. Back on the Watchtower and confined to a wheelchair, he is quarantined with the other Challengers, except for Rocky who has not exhibited any signs of the anomaly effecting his teammates. In the end, Wonder Woman and Rocky visit the others, telling them they will not like what they have to be told.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1095 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman has been handed an envelope by Asema which appears to contain everything he has been looking for. Inside are the medical records confirming his life was saved by Thomas Wayne. It also shows that Scarlett Scott is Chill’s daughter and was taken away from Chill by Martha Wayne. He also learns that Theromise is made from the blood of the murdered teens. Batman visits and beats Chill, deducing he didn’t target the Waynes. He meets with Superman and provides the information about Theromise, which gets broadcast to the world and ruins the company. Batman then confronts Scarlett, who says she did not know the identity of her father. But she also tells him they need to be afraid of the organization that has been watching her, named Elixir. That is when an explosion happens that may have killed them both.

THE FLASH #19 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. As he is having an episode, Wally is Boom Tubed into space, allowing Green Arrow to freeze him with an arrow that has been treated with Grodd’s stasis tech. But he manages to phase through stasis and disappear. He ends up falling through the Spectraverse along with Pilgrim, who tells him the beams of colored light they see are the streaks of the sun, moon, Earth and the Atlantean machine in Skartaris, which causes Wally to leave. Back in Skartaris, the other Wally is being beaten by Y’hil. The Flash Family all arrive and, with Foxy with them, their powers come back and Wally defeats Y’hil. Linda speaks to her and tells her that Eclipso is not planning to marry her but kill her, which he admits to. She destroys the machine which causes his rage to force him to leave Warlord’s body and threaten to eat the Flash Family to find the energy he feels. Foxy attacks and is devoured by Eclipso, who feeds off the energy and they disappear through the portal. Jai teleports them to the moon and the two Wallys meet and agree to become one but the Skartaris Wally hears Foxy and is distracted, leading to Eclipso blasting the other Flash. Eclipso has now become Hellophage, threatens to take Darkseid’s throne and says Earth will submit or be destroyed.

GREEN ARROW #22 by Chris Condon and Montos. At a meeting where the evils of Freshwater are presented to citizens, it seems that there may be an uprising coming. With the Freshwater Killer who attacked Ollie in custody, Ollie goes back on the hunt and follows Benitez to Freshwater. Benitez gets confronted by a gang wearing Freshwater Killer masks and Arrow the dog tries to defend her but is savagely beaten and she is taken away by them. Ollie arrives and finds Arrow, tending to him and putting him in Benitez’s car before going on the hunt for her.

GREEN LANTERN #21 by Jeremy Adams and Jack Herbert. Kyle, Odyssey and Kon-El fight Starbreaker over possession of the Source Energy orb. Hal shows up to help but, in the process, Sorrow Lantern snatches the orb and escapes with Starbreaker. Later a plan is hatched where the Corps will rebuild all the destroyed Power Batteries before Starbreaker can build his own. Then Kyle and his team head to Reach to find Nth Metal. Hal returns to Earth and he and Carol take down a villain named Mind-Bomber. But when the Department of Extranormal Operations arrive to take the villain, he is shocked to see Hector Hammond working for the DEO. Carol gets Dove to infiltrate DEO to check on Hammond, only to find he is siphoning off Mind-Bomber’s powers to restore himself to the villain he once was.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #2 by Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton, and Fernado Pasarin. The team of John Stewart, Kilowog, and Razer, along with Shayera, arrive on what is left of Thanagar and find many Thanagarian refugees. Meanwhile, Atrocitus and his team are on a ship which is firing  a drilling laser to steal a wealth of Nth Metal beneath the planet’s surface. John and Shayera make their way onto the ship and find Zillius Zox strapped to the engine to siphon off his Rage. While Atrocitus goes after them, Kilowog and Razer watch as Atrocitus’ team uncovers a cache of Nth metal buried underground. That is when Sorrow Lantern arrive to take the Nth Metal , but the cave collapses and reveals a huge egg made of the metal.

DC UNIVERSE Month 85, Part 2

GREEN LANTERN #20 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin, The chaos that has been affecting the Emotional Spectrum continues as Hal gets a message about an Rage flare-up on Alteon-X. he finds a blacksmith named Erastus affected by Rage Lantern powers and is taking revenge on those who have tormented him. Even as Hal tries to help, the energy causes Erastus to explode. Meanwhile, Kyle, Connor Kent and Odyssey arrive at the Source Wall, searching for the components that Sorrow Lantern needs to make a Central Power Battery. They find it after a wild adventure, but Starbreaker and Sorrow Lantern have arrived to take it.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1 by Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton, and Fernado Pasarin. Kanjar Ro attacks a space ship, looking to steal their goods and sell the passengers into slavery. But that never happens as John Stewart and a team of Lanterns arrest him. Back on OA, John gets advised of a large spike of Fear Energy on Tamaran and he takes he team with him, including Sinestro. They discover Queen Blackfire battling a yellow construct of X’Hal.John and the team contain the construct while Sinestro searches for the person responsible. He finds Vexar’u and shows her own to control her fear, resulting her being given a Green Lantern ring. In the end, John is sent to help refugees from Thanagar and is ordered to work with his former lover, Shayera Hol.

HARLEY QUINN #48 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee. Harley and Ivy are spending quiet time in the swamp, with Harley troubled by the voices in her head. That is when Professor Pyg’s Dollotrons show up and the girls get drugged. Harley wakes to find Pyg preparing to make Ivy into a Dollotron and then professes his love for her. Harley wriggles free and beats on him as Ivy awakens, telling her that she was fine, as her body filters out chemicals and such. Seeing her love is fine, she trashes Pyg and tosses him into the swamp. In the end, true love reigns supreme. .

JSA #4 by Jeff Lemire and Joey Vazquez. Dr. Mid-Nite wakes in the Injustice Society’s underground base and, thanks to some tricks she was taught by Mister Miracle, she escapes from Solomon Grundy. Making her way to their meeting room, she overhears how they need the Helm of Fate and the Spear of Destiny to enact their ultimate plan. But the only person who knows where the Spear is would be Hawkman who has managed to escape. Elsewhere, Obsidian awakes in a hospital room and is told he was in a car accident and is quickly sedated. Eventually, he gains strength from a shadow in the room and escapes. He finds Jakeem and frees him. But, when he tries to summon Thunderbolt, nothing happens. In the end, Dr. Mid-Nite finds an unconscious Obsidian hooked up to a machine but, before she can free him, she is attacked by Scandal.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #4 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Mr. Terrific engages a reluctant Tefe Holland to come with him and use her powers to help the team stop the infrno raging through the rainforest. Meanwhile, Batman travels to Egypt and finds Martian Manhunter there, with Batman revealing that he knows J’onn had lost his telepathic powers. He manages to convince him that he is not a danger to the team and eventually convinces him to come back. With Tefe’s help, she summons the powers of The Green and, with Swamp thing’s powers augmented bby the magic users, defeat Inferno. In the end, he goes back to his masters and tells them he failed. They tell him not to worry as they have a man on the inside…Air Wave.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE ATOM PROJECT #2 by Ryan Parrott, John Ridley, and Mike Perkins. In the past, the Atoms figure a way to track where Captain Atom’s powers went only to find that his powers are now in a grizzly bear. After a fight with the beast, Captain Atom arrives and undergoes the transference, which restores his powers. In the present, the Atoms investigate the train Captain Atom had been seen on. Finding some Speed Force there, they summon Wally West. The military makes plans to destroy Atom if he is found. In the end, Captain Atom reaches out to someone involved in his origin and asks to help destroy his powers.

METAMORPHO THE ELEMENT MAN #3 by Al Ewing and Steve Leiber. Having had enough of the Stagg’s shenanigans, Metamorpho backs his bags and leaves. Later, Lady Metamorpho meets with him and tells her he is done with S.H.A.D.E. shenanigans, as she tells him she has found Mad mod in Santa Prisca. But she isn’t looking for his help-she is planning on taking Java with her. The three of them go to Santa Prisca where they find a pyramid that has been built with the image of Vandal Savage on it.. java accidentally finds the entrance and stumbles inside, only to find Mad Mod ties up with an apple in his mouth, as Savage is through with him. While Metamorpho and Lady Metamorpho go through an endless maze, Savage tries to convince Java to join him. Eventually, the trio meet up, with Java discovering Savage is a robot. They burst out in a rocket ship construct and head home, where trouble is brewing as Stagg’s latest idea has turned his building into a giant robot!

MILESTONE UNIVERSE: THE SHADOW CABINET #4 by Joseph Illidge, Daryl Banks, and Atagun Ilhan. Edward Riva has transformed and now he is fighting the combined forces of Rocket and Icon. Statis arrives on the scene and engages him, soon followed by the Blood Syndicate. Rocket uses the Nanotech technology in her suit to infect Alva and, getting sent back in time, he encounters Hardware and he is defeated. In the end, Angela Riva sees a plan for something called Brainiac II, Curtis goes on trial, and Statis and Rocket appear to be the new superhero team in town.

THE NEW GODS #3 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Ricard Federici. In a flashback to the distant past, the story of the old gods, Parzunem, Arbor Struta and Nyctar, is told. Arbor Struta led his people to start anew after the war. Nyctar sent his people to outer space and was known as the god of wanderers. Parzurem became the god of invention. Nyctar was consumed by a great darkness and killed and consumed his sister Arbor Struta, making him powerful enough to get Parzurem to build war machines for him. he refused and sent the fractures of the mind-the Moder and the Paeter away to find freedom. Moder ended up on what would become New Genesis while Paeter came to Earth. Paeter took the shape of a human, eventually learning death. Over time, he created a weapon that would come to life if darkness came to Earth; the weapon being the child Scott is trying to protect.. Scott and Barda seek out Oberon to help find the child

NIGHTWING #123 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. With Bosogni looking to replace the current Mayor, Mayor Grayson-Lin tries to step up her anti-gang operation with the help of Olivia Pearse. After Nightwing visits the Teddies to reassure them he is trying to stop all the violence, he hears from Oracle about a distress call from the Flyboiz, which leads him to an underground bunker where he finds many Flyboiz mutated, possibly from chemicals buried here after the Chemo attack. Nightwing makes a promise to help the last Flyboiz while the Mayor makes a deal with Pearse.

POISON IVY #30 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Janet from HR goes out searching of Ivy, only to cross paths with a representative for the Parliament of Trees. He gives her an acorn and tells her to whisper Ivy’s words to it when she hears Ivy speak of them and it will grant her her heart’s desires. At the same time, Ivy is greeted by a representative of the Grey, telling her they need an ambassador. Eventually, both Ivy and janet meet up with each other.

POWER GIRL #18 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. Power Girl, Omen and Steel find themselves trapped inside the barrier around the Star Building, leaving Mariposa to have to handle the guests for the party. Outside the bubble, the siblings wake their brother and now make up the Void Three and tells Bruin to level the building and everyone in it.

THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER #4 by Alex Segura and Cian Tormey. Cyborg Superman unleashes his team on the Justice League members, taking them down one by one ending with The Question. His plan is to engage the self-destruct system on the Watchtower. He asks about Blue beetle and Nightshade reluctantly tells him thet Jaime is dead. Batwoman and The Question wake inside containment tubes in a sub-basement they were not aware existed and they see Animal Man controlling the area. Renee puts on her mask and plays to Buddy’s emotions, finally get him to snap out of it by mentioning his son. Together, they head off to take the Watchtower back. The Question gets Nightshade to snap out of her trance, but Cyborg Superman has corrupted all of her allies and now Renee is in the worst trouble of her life. 

SHAZAM #20 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid. In a tale from before the current storyline, Jonn Kent arrives seeking The Captain’s help, as something has happened and he has regressed to a younger version of himself. Eventually, after meeting with many of those people in his life, he says the magic word SHAZAM and that transforms him back into his normal self. In the end, Jon gets to spend some quality  time with his boyfriend.

SUPERMAN #23 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. Superwoman and Time Trapper, in the midst of time being frozen, have a conversation where he tells her he wants her to help him achieve godhood. Unfreezing time, Radiant fights Superman and Doomsday, with a blast getting deflected and hits Jimmy. Luthor has deduced a plan and shoots a ray gun which miniaturizes Radiant and Doomsday and they are put into a Kandorian sized jar, where time has been slowed. Jimmy gets taken to a hospital where he is in a coma, which leads to Silver Banshee blaming Superwoman for what happened to him. In the end, Zod decides to come to Earth and Time Trapper gets a visit at the end of time from Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, who are part of Darkseid’s Legion.

TITANS #20 by John Layman and Pete Woods. There’s trouble in paradise as Donna and Roy kiss during an argument, with both agreeing to tell no one about it. Meanwhile, Gar and Raven are out on a date with her about to tell him that she loves him when he is hit by a errant basketball and they get tormented by a group of punks. Raven struggles to stay calm, but Gar transforms into a giant gorilla until Raven can calm him down and he transforms into a cute Quokka. Raven finally gets to tell him she loves him and they kiss. The rest of the Titans arrive and find that everyone in the street is kissing and they get Raven to distract them all. They later meet with Bumblebee who is going to use experimental technology on Raven’s brain to try and control her emotions. But that may go badly as the machine is being monitored by…Psycho Pirate.

TWO-FACE #3 by Christian Ward and Fabio Veras. While the mental battle inside of Harvey’s head continues, Harvey and Lila go to meet with someone in search of Scarface only to find that Baby-Doll has Wesker’s animated dummy. They track Baby-Doll down and, when she dispatches her assistant to take Harvey and Lila, Harvey shoots her. That’s when a mystery man, part of the Shadow Hand, is revealed. Harvey demands to know who the leader of Shadow Hand is and he is told it is actually himself, as he has been orchestrating everything they have done. It seems Two-Face has been winning all along.

WONDER WOMAN #18 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. With The Sovereign, the President and Grail holed up in the White House, Diana walks through the gates amongst gunfire. She deflects that and then is confronted by Sgt. Steel, who says she needs to stop as he has Amazons in ten locations at gunpoint. He is told the League has already rescued them and rips off his new robotic hand. She is then confronted by General Glory, who she knocks out with one punch. Grail comes out to meet her, but Cheetah attacks her, allowing Diana to walk into the White House.

ZATANNA #2 by Jamal Campbell. During rehearsals for her upcoming show, Zatanna has a trick with Adam, who accidentally runs her trhough with a sword.. Luckily, it does no damage as it is all part of the illusion. While touring the gallery of portraits at the theater, the Lady White comes to life and captures Adam. But he is not the only one as Andre is taken to the Astral Plane, forcing Zatanna to come in to save him and the rest of the crew. But when she goes to save Adam, she is confronted by Lady White and finds herself run through with a magic sword.

DC UNIVERSE Month 85, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #5 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. In the past, Bruce’s circle of family and friends try to console him after his father’s death. Leslie Thompkins tends to him after he was attacked by bats at the zoo and Commissioner Gordon tells Bruce he is going to have the zoo torn down, but Bruce tells him he wants it to remain as a symbol. In the present, Batman meets with Black Mask who has wire him money to keep Batman out of his affairs. Batman turns on a Bat-Signal made from the memorial spotlight at the zoo, with Black Mask’s money representing a bat, which burns from the heat of the spotlight. Party Animals attack and Black Mask has his men attack and beat Batman, who falls to the street below but escapes down a sewer thanks to help from Officer Barbara Gordon. Batman feels he has made progress because he transmitted the beating but Black Mask spins it, offering membership in the Party Animals to all the disaffected citizens.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #4 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. Agent Lane arrests Peacekeeper Smith for the incident at the end of the last issue. During a mandated therapy session with Brainiac A.I., Smith gets convinced that he harmed no one, is given a gun and sent back into the field. Later, Lois gets a call from her father telling her to take out Superman and beware of the terrorists known as Omega Men. Lane goes to Brazil where she is confronted by a junior member of the Omega Men, Jimmy Olsen. He tries to convince her that the Omega Men are not terrorists but she doesn’t believe him and subdues him until Primus arrives and fights her. Superman arrives and Primus tries to convince him to join them, which he refuses. Lois tries to talk to Superman but more Peacekeepers arrive to take Superman into custody. He freezes them and flees. In the end, Smith blacks out and when he comes to, he realizes he has slaughtered again.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #5 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In the past, while in Hell, Diana is gifted her magic lasso, called Sacrifice, by Circe. This lasso has the power to transform whatever it touches. In the present, the Tetracide heals itself and Dinah, after fending off stray missiles, uses the lasso to transform herself into Medusa and turns the creature to stone. With it destroyed, Steve goes to Medusa and, at great risk, gets Diana to transform back to her normal self. With everything seeming restored, the ground opens up and a hand from Hell grabs her and drags her down.

ACTION COMICS #1083 by John Ridley and Inaki Miranda. Clark wakes up in the Batcave, where he is recouping from being attacked in the last issue by someone who apparently used Red Solar Energy. Later, Clark investigates the person killed in Major Disaster’s robbery. As it turns out, Max Boykin was a therapist who helped criminals reform, including Atomic Skull. He visits Atomic Skull and that leads to Superman  revisiting Scorch. She teleports them to a pocket dimension run by Bruno Manheim, who explains he runs a program where criminals donate parts of their DNA for an anti-aging process he sells to the wealthy. Scorch gets orders to kill Superman if he interferes but Scorch gets her to side with him. After taking out Manheim’s mercenaries, the gangster summons another group to enter the fray.

AQUAMAN #2 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. Aquaman has gone through the Omega shaped portal and finds himself of a distant world filled with shipwrecks and other debris. Arthur gets attacked by a group of creatures riding giant lizards. He uses his new abilities to blind them and takes the lizard, arriving at a castle made of debris, where he meets Jenny Greenteeth: the queen who sent her amphibian men to capture Arthur..She subdues him with stranglewood, where she will collect his blood in order to get the water out of it. With him is a man who has been here for a long time and is revealed to be Arion. Arthur manages to free himself and Arion and removes the parasite from Jenny Greenteeth. In the end, Arion and a rescued woman with an antler growing from her head, kneel in front of Arthur, declaring him as the Dark Tide and the New God.

BATGIRL #4 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Batgirl reluctantly joins Lady Shiva and her allies as the Unburied attack. A fierce battle occurs with many casualties. A second attack occurs and Batgirl and Lady Shiva fight valiantly but are defeated. Batgirl wakes along and Jayesh arrives, telling her to join him, which she does and they leave together.

BATMAN #157 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, and Tony S. Daniel. Batman races to stop Leonid as he is trying to leave the country with the nuclear codes. He makes his way onto the jet and battles with Leonid’s bodyguards. Meanwhile, Nygma and Gordon try to make their way out of Nygma’s skyscraper, which shifts and begins to collapse. At street level, Bullock wants to take action but is threatened with termination. Despite that, he orders his men into action as Commander Star continues to rile up the crowd. Batman battles with Leonid who injures the pilots, forcing the plane to do into a dive. In the process, a ricochet critically injures Leonid. In an amazing effort, Batman gets the plan to crash into the streets and battles KGBeast, beating him badly. In the end, Bruce meets with William, discovering they are not biological siblings.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #18 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. Batman and Jason Todd team up, despite Batman having repeated visions of a beaten Jason Todd as Robin. Meanwhile, Robin and Lautrec find Scarecrow’s lab  where they believe the Gravedigger’s Toxin originated. They find a monkey that has the same symptoms as the Arkham victims and Lautrec reveals that Professor Blye died after being convicted of the original Memento murders  At the same time, Batman reveals to Jason that he once saw Blye and Memento together and couldn’t testified to it because he was in London illegally. Robin and Lautrec get attacked and, with some effort, Robin and her escape. Later, Robin returns back to his father and, declaring he is going to capture Memento when Bruce could not and then declares he no longer wants to be Robin.

BATMAN: OFF WORLD #6 by Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke. In the recent past, Batman revealed his plan to Ione; a plan she does not like. He gives himself to the Blakksuns and they torture him. As Ione and her crew attack, Sister Blakksun leaves and Batman whispers something to Brother Blakksun that causes him great distress. While the battle rages, Batman appears and joins the fight, revealing he told Brother Blakksun “I’m Batman”. With the pair defeated, Batman locks them away, as Brother Blakksun continues to scream endlessly. Returning home after a final kiss to Ione, Batman seeks out the Akkarian and defeats him. Meanwhile, Ione has donned a familiar costume and continues to fight against evil as the Batman of Outer Space.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #36 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Batman and Robin have been captured by the Floronic Man, who created the plague affecting Poseidon and Triton. The pair free themselves and attack the Floronic Man, who escapes. Elsewhere, Superman is trapped and even Lori cannot free him but Batman and Robin arrive and do just that. Meanwhile, the two armies are ready to fight, as Batman calls on Swamp Thing to help stop the fight. Superman arrives to stop the fight between Aquaman and Ronal, but is told to stay out of it. The pair fight but then they see that Superman is kissing…Lori?

BIRDS OF PREY #18 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Sin is still being hunted and the decision is made for she and Canary to go to a safe house north of Gotham. Meanwhile, Barda and Batgirl head into The Seam to hunt a demon

BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #4 by Tom King and Ryan Sook. In the distant past, Dinah meets and trains Oliver Queen, eventually leading to her telling him he is now her boyfriend. In the recent past, Dinah and her mom go out drinking, resulting in a test from Ted Grant and her agreeing to the fight. In the present, Round 4 commences and Dinah comes back and savagely beats her opponent. But, before she can finish her, she allows Shiva to reach the end of the round, meaning the fight will continue.

BLACK LIGHTNING #4 by Brandon Thomas and Fico Ossio. Black Lightning continues to try to reach out to his daughter while she is locked up in the Watchtower. Elsewhere, the Sons of Liberty bring Issac’s mother to see him and convince him to join them. Black Lightning and Lightning investigate, leading them into direct confrontation with members of the paramilitary group.

CATWOMAN #73 by Torunn Gronbekk and Marianna Ignazzi. With Selina, deisguised at Evie, still on the run, she ends up with The Nightmover, looking for weapons. Her search leads her to a grim scene where one of those tracking her has been tortured. When she questions him, he shoots himself in the head. In the end, she knows she is being watched and challenges them to find her.

CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #3 by Christopher Cantwell and Sean Isaaske. Prof and the Atoms head to Dinosaur Island to investigate the DS-Anomoly-C situation and, besides running tinto dinosaurs, encounter Anthro and Embra, who leads them to The Optimum. The Optimum is revealed to be Prof from the future who reveals to Prof that he managed to merge both the Life and Anti-Life Equations and the secret is in the Atom Project, which Prof demands to have access to. They deny him and Prof attacks The Optimum, leading to a fight between all parties. Back on the Watchtower, Mr. terrific revokes Prof’s clearance to the Atom Project, leading to him joining the others in isolation. That leads to Rocky gathering the other Challenger team members, with the goal to shut the Watchtower down.

DC HORROR PRESENTS CREATURE COMMANDOS #5 by David Dastmalchian and Jesus Hervas. The team continues to fight their way into Brainiac’s base, even as Eiling wants them terminated. Dr. West refuses and the team tear apart Eiling’s soldiers. In the end, he exclaims that, if the team doesn’t come out with those soldiers alive, they will be enemies of the United States.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1094 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman summons a remote device to call the Batmobile and injects himself with an antidote to Asema’s poison. Batman gets the grievously injured Spenser to the hospital where Bullock and the GCPD provide a constant guard. This leads to Batman and Damian realizing the trail leads to the Juvenile Detention Center and Damian goes undercover. While there, Damian starts a revolt to protest the inmates treatment. Damian surrenders but is punished by having some of his blood extracted. Bruce offers to invest in the prison and gains an early release for Damian. When they arrive home, they find an envelope from Aesma that allegedly contains everything they need to know.

THE FLASH #18 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. Jai, with Foxy’s help, is able to twist the shadows in time that he sees, observing the figures who once stood on the moon, including Eclipso and The Spectre. Jai constructs an energy ball that he throws through the center of the construct, with both he and Foxy following suit. Meanwhile, in Skartaris, Eclipso explains to The Flash that the Quintessence hire him to keep The Spectre away from Darkseid. When Darkseid found them, he destroyed Eclipso’s body and had him sent into the Atlantean machine on the moon, where he was then jettisoned to Skartaris. At that point, he took control of Warlord and plotted against Darkseid, only to find he was dead. He gets to the point where he has controlled the citizens and finally vents his rage to the surface into the seven-pointed star. He also remembered that Darkseid said there was a new power coming and he thought it was Wally, but now believes otherwise. That leads him to have Y’hil engage with Wally in a fight to the death. On the surface, the other Wally loses control and even Nightwing and Black Canary cannot stop him, leading Nightwing to sed out a Vermillion Protocol alert to the Justice League..

GREEN ARROW #21 by Chris Condon and Montos. Ollie is attacked by someone dressed like the Freshwater Killer. After defeating him, he is revealed to be Ted Shepard, who came here to teach Ollie a lesson for what happened because of Horton Chemical, because Oliver Queen was the president of Horton Chemical. Elsewhere, Detective Beneitz and Hartley head to Freshwater to investigate further.

DC UNIVERSE Month 84, Part 2

METAMORPHO THE ELEMENT MAN #2 by Al Ewing and Steve Leiber. Sapphire is troubled by the sudden success of new Pop star Sugar Sweet. This leads Simon Stagg to visit his underground lab where Mad Mod shows that Sugar Sweet is just am android. Sapphire uploads a video of her and the Element Girl and that changes up the algorithm in such a way that Sugar Sweet comes back on line as Yesterday Woman, who goes after Rex. Rex teams up with Element Woman, eventually defeating the android. Following it, Rex walks out saying that Sapphire was as kooky as her father. In the end, Mad Mod calls Vandal Savage, who decides it is time to visit an old friend in the form of Java.

MILESTONE UNIVERSE: THE SHADOW CABINET #3 by Joseph Illidge, Daryl Banks, and Atagun Ilhan. Raquel discovers that Curtis has either been captured or is dead. As she investigates, she meets David Kim/Kelly Vu: Duo. They explain things and present Raquel with a new, much improved costume. Curtis is tied to a chair as Angela Alva tells the secret history of her family, starting in the 1920’s when a wealthy black man named Chamberlain, passing himself off as white, lost his fortune in the stock market crash and, after the death of his wife, became a recluse. His sons, Arthur and Dewey, grew apart with Dewey changing his name from Chamberlain to Alva. He married and had a son named Edwin who eventually founded Alva Industries. Edwin had a brother who turned out to “looking like butterscotch candy”, leading to them paying the black maid to take the child and raise the child as her own. The child was Angela Jefferson/Alva. When she was almost killed in a car accident, her “mother” told her the truth. Once recovered, she set about finding a way to resurrect Edwin, and did so using the powers from the Blood Syndicate. With quantum energy within him, he leaves, claiming he will be all the world requires. The first thing he does is go and attack Icon In Dakota City, Virgil hears the news about martial law being declared and his mom convinces him that he needs to be part of the fight, even as Dharma muses that he is running out of time to save the world.

THE NEW GODS #2 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Jorge Fornes. Karak the Scavenger, following the death of Darkseid, sets about to destroy Apololips. Meanwhile, on Earth, Mister Miracle is ready to leave to find the special child that Orion has been told to kill, with Barda deciding to accompany him, whether he wants her to or not. Meanwhile, the adoptive parents of the child are in hiding from Max Lord’s forces. In a flashback, it is revealed Lord was tasked to find the child by Metron and he is currently answering to Serifan of the Forever People. In the end, Desaad learns from Metron that this child may be the one to restore Apokolips and become Darkseid’s heir.

NIGHTWING #122 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Nightwing meets with the head of the GCPD and the Mayor and tells them that, although crime is down, he believes that Olivia Pearce is not who she appears, explaining that he believes she is really Colombia, who he encountered when he was young and who was a member of the Cirque du Sin. The Mator tells him that he needs to provide concrete proof. There is a explosion at one of the GCPD offices and he goes to investigate, capturing the bomber who refuses to tell who sent him to bomb the office. In the end, a woman connected to the Flyboiz, reaches out for Nightwing’s help.

POISON IVY #29 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Constructs after her.vy has been transported to Seattle. Here, she tries to disguise herself but also attends a rally by supporters of the Green Knight. When the police arrive to arrest the protestors as domestic terrorists, ivy reacts and reveals herself. She then asks the followers to take her to their leader, Reverand Disciple, who is revealed to be Bella Garten.-The Gardener, her former friend and lover. Despite Ivy trying to tell her they are actually on the same side, Garten unleashes, forcing her to flee.  

POWER GIRL #17 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. Men and Streaky have arrived at “Karen Starr’s” new home and so too has Axel, who has brought a relic that warns the holder of it of danger. Power Girl joins them and, in a brand new suit, they begin remodeling the place, eventually calling it The Star. As they plan a party to celebrate, the Sprig of the Void Three notices the building and decides to liberate his sister, Aquus, from Stryker’s island. Her breakout allows Livewire, Amalgam, Shockwave and others to also escape. Power Girl and the others are forced to deal with the other escapees, allowing Aquus and Sprig to escape. Aquus asks about their brother Bruin and Spring reveals that he knows how to awaken him so they can continue their destruction. In the end, with the escapees returned to prison, they return to The Star and find it bathed in a purple light that reveals…dinosaurs around the building?

THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER #3 by Alex Segura and Cian Tormey. Renee meets with Batwoman, taking back the Green Lantern ring to interrogate The Eradicator. During the process, the Watchtower begins to morph and attack the heroes. In the meantime, a possessed Nightshade knocks out Jaime and begins releases Hank Henshaw: the Cyborg Superman. Later, she takes out Ted Kord, releasing Conduit. In the end, the villains stand united as Henshaw declares that the Watchtower now belongs to him.

SHAZAM #19 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid.. Mary Marvel is trapped on the moon by Georgia Sivana, who has been consumed by Mr. Mind. Billy tells everything going on in his life to Beau, who also confesses her problems and the two share a kiss. Billy goes off the confront The Commander, who has been corrupted by the Amber Lightning and Mr. Mind. But Freddy’s mind is on the Rock of Eternity and he is convinced by Hephaestus that he has the power within him to be the hero and breaks through the mind control, teaming up with Billy.to defeat the robots. Later, the Sivana children meet and it is revealed the beau is really Beautia Sivana and together they unleash Mr. mind’s creatures on the world

SUPERMAN #22 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. Superman and Superwoman meet the leader of the Calaton ships, who claims he is the leader of a group of survivors of Doomsday that is called The Aftermath. He tells them to hand over Doomsday and they will leave in peace, telling Superman that their goal is to make sure Doomsday will never kill again. He unmasks and reveals himself to be the resurrected radiant and says he will take Doomsday or destroy Earth in the process. Superman and Radiant fight, landing in Supercorp, where Radiant hits Doomsday with an energy blast that frees him. Superman and Doomsday end up fighting alongside each other while Time Trapper visits Lois.

SUPERMAN: LEX LUTHOR SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson and Eddy Barrows. Superman meets with Mr. Terrific, who explains that with the creation of Elseworld, he and the Totality have uncovered a hidden piece of reality that can only be discovered with the advanced scientific help of Lex Luthor, who has no memory. Meanwhile, Lex and Mercy spend the afternoon together as he tries to restore his memory. Lena has bought him a piano, hoping that he can recall the music he created on a radio wave emitter as a child, when he tried to impress his father with his ability and failing miserably. A crowd gathers and threaten to attack Lex, who is saved by Superman. In the end, Mister Terrific tells Superman that he just got designs for a radio transmitter that lets them reach out through the Multiverse. Shortly, Superman hears a familiar songs that tells him Lex has recalled inventing the musical gift that his father rebuked. Is this a sign that the old Lex is back?

TITANS #19 by John Layman and Serge Acuna. Killer Frost is now part of the Justice League, but she thinks everyone is suspecting her, which leads her unleash her powers on the city. Starfire and Raven work together to stop her, even as Batman arrives and takes Frost away, even as Donna protests. In the end, it seems the Psycho Pirate, working for Clock King, is responsible and plans on unleashing his power on Raven next.

TWO-FACE #2 by Christian Ward and Fabio Veras. While the two sides of Harvey Dent fight within his mind, he tries another case in The White Church. This one involves a messy situation between the King and Queen of the Royal Flush Gang, as the King has been accused of unfaithfulness regarding an affair with The White Rabbit. With help from his new found apprentice, it is shown that the King in the compromising photos was actually False Face, who is also disguised as the Queen’s attorney. He manages to escape under a cloud of smoke. In the end, someone mysterious is pulling the strings and has an army known as The Shadow hand assembled, consisting of White rabbit, Die, Doubt, Jaina Hudson, and False Face. Harvey has wronged someone and the mysterious person is looking for revenge.

WONDER WOMAN #17 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. As Diana makes a statue of Steve while telling her daughter about him, the rest of the Wonder family works to take down The Sovereign. Donna Troy attacks Giganta, who ends up destroying Sovereign’s mansion in the process. Yara finds Silver Swan in the fallen mansion and they battle. Cassie seeks out and takes out Angle Man. But the Wonder Girls cannot fully defeat their opponents, so they switch it up and take on each other’s opponents. When them defeated, Grail escorts The Sovereign through an underground tunnel to the final place where he can hide: the White House.