DC UNIVERSE Month 81, Part 2

CATWOMAN #69 by Torunn Gronbekk and Fabriana Mascolo. Things have changed for Selina, especially when she finds that Evie Hall has been murdered in Berlin. The night before, she is at a gathering and a chairman of a corporation gets murdered. She finds herself on the run and in a new, prototype costume. In disguise, she ends up going to Berlin to find out who killed Eve, who was actually one of her aliases, and her friends. Unfortunately, someone has been watching her and she has been found in Berlin.

DC ALL IN SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Daniel Sampere, Dan Mora, and Wes Craig. The book is divided into two parts. In ALPHA, 52 days after Waller’s defeat, a new Watchtower has been constructed and the decision has been made to include all heroes to join the Justice League, to be known as Justice League Unlimited. Superman invites Booster Gold to join and he recalls seeing a blank membership card from his time in the future. At the first meeting, Mister Terrific reveals there will always be a blank card for any new members: the same card Booster had once seen. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning possess Hal and Zatanna and Darkseid’s voice comes from them saying the Spectre will reveal the truth. Lightning from the heroes opens a Boom Tube and Darkseid appears, with an axe replacing one of his hands. Hal declares that Darkseid has bonded with The Spectre and is now death itself. Skeet detects a rift in reality and that Darkseid is out of sync with reality and the future has been altered. Darkseid begins building a gateway. The magic users craft a spell and Superman carries it to Darkseid demanding that he free The Spectre. Darkseid thanks him, saying “Darkseid ends” before disappearing in an explosion. Later, the League meets with Orion who says a Darkseid must always exist, so a new one is probably being created. Batman and Mister Terrific examine the membership card which now contains Anti-Life energy and they believes it is a gateway to The Elseworlds, once known as the undeveloped Alpha World, and it is still developing. A time traveler is the only one who can get there and Booster Gold accepts the mission. Arriving there, he finds that Elseworld is a second Apokolips. He gets attacked by Darkseid and a corrupted version of the Legion of Superheroes.

In OMEGA, set 52 days before ALPHA, Darkseid has an idea to create a device that will give him ultimate power but there must be a blood sacrifice so he cuts off his left hand to provide the blood. He tells his most loyal followers that this will be a journey he takes alone and, when Kalibak objects, Darkseid kills him and tosses him into the machine. Darkseid goes to a number of places in search of The Spectre, apparently killing Eclipso in the process. Ultimately, he finds The Spectre and bonds himself to him, leading to him attacking the heroes as seen in ALPHA. Darkseid’s death on Earth-0 results in the further development of The Elseworld, where heroes do exist but in radically different forms. Wonder Woman was raised in Hell, while Batman and Superman are also completely different. When Booster Gold arrives, he reveals his army. To be continued in ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1, ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1, and ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1.

DC HORROR PRESENTS #1 by David Dastmalchian, Leah Kilpatrick, the Boulet Brothers, Cat Staggs, and Butch Mara. A woman discovers that her boyfriend has fallen out of their apartment window and is dead on the pavement below. She commandeers the ambulance and goes to visit her father, Dollmaker, and asks him to resurrect her boyfriend. He does and then she kills him again because he was breaking up with her. In the second story, there are Amazons being killed on Themyscira. They open Hippolyta’s tomb, which has been tampered with, When they open it, Hippolyta corpse has been corrupted and begins attacking and killing the Amazons. Diana fights her and, along with the surviving Amazons, is able to seal the animated corpse up. In the end, it turns out to be a creepy gift from Circe.

DC HORROR PRESENTS CREATURE COMMANDOS #1 by David Dastmalchian and Jesus Hervas. Two weeks from now, the Creature Commandos are attacked, causing the death of a young girl. Now, in a secret laboratory, a Dr. West is talking to a corpse when she is visited by a mind reader named Mina and General Eiling, who seems to run the facility. Lieutenant Shrieve arrives, saying he is now in command of the Creature Unit. This leads to a recruiting session, with West, Eiling, and Shrieve going out to get creatures for the team. First they acquire vampire Vincent Velcro and then a werewolf named Wanda. With their version of a Frankenstein Monster named Lucky  repaired, the team is formed. They are told by Eiling that a dangerous weapon is being developed on Namibia and that is their next mission. On Namibia, General Buzzword has her followers beat on a elderly woman but she kills them all, to the pleasure of both Buzzword and Eiling. In the end, it seems Brainiac is behind it all and has plans to cause terror and death anywhere in the world.

DC’S I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST CRISIS #1 by Cavan Scott, Nathan Cayanan, Ashley Allen, Matthew Levine, Dan Didio, Rachel Pinnelas, Dave Wielgosz, Rex Ogle, Ario Anindito, V Ken Marion, Jose Luis, Jordi Tarragona, M.L. Sanapo, Will Robson, Sid Kotian, and Adam Graphite. During CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #4, Batgirl tries to save a young girl from Killer Croc, who reveals he is not threatening her but just looking for someplace warm and safe. In the second tale, set during MILLENIUM, Dr. Light is forced to battle Cormac Manhunter. In the third tale, set during FINAL NIGHT, Black Canary is forced to fight her demons courtesy of Scarecrow and Silver Banshee. In the fourth story, set during ZERO HOUR, the JSA is forced to face off against the villainous Extant. In the fifth story, set during INFINITE CRISIS, Nightwing faces a changed Connor Kent, who locks him in a endless loop where he dies forever, believing he is saving his world by doing this. In the sixth tale, set during BLACKEST NIGHT, sees the Scarecrow tormenting a young man, before Jonathan Crane is offered a yellow Lantern ring. In the seventh tale, set during FINAL CRISIS,  Lex Luthor has to deal with his personal demons before deciding to join with the heroes to fight against Libra. In the final tale, set during FLASHPOINT, Midnighter is forced to go out and deal with Pyg.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1090 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Many years ago, Thomas Wayne saves the life of an abuser, while also treating his victim and her baby. Later, one of Thomas’ patient with severe burns needs to be sedated. As it turns out, that patient is Joe Chill. In the present, Batman responds to a robbery gone bad and a young man finds himself on the run. When Batman finds him, the teen has been murdered; the latest in a series of murders. Later, he goes to an event as Bruce Wayne and meets with Scarlett Martha Scott, who takes him to a lab where a serum called Sangraal that promises to extend life. Three weeks from now, Batman confronts a villain who is threatening to execute someone, saying this person is not worth Batman’s mercy and he should not make the same mistake his father did.

THE FLASH #14 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. Two weeks ago, Weather Wizard goes to the Arctic Circle and meets with a man riding a dinosaur. Two days ago, the Flash Family goes to a cookout to celebrate Barry Allen’s retirement. Now, the family find themselves on a vacation in Skartaris. But this is a bit of a ruse as Wally had a message from Travis Morgan saying he needed Wally to come there to help them against Weather Wizard. Wally tells Linda of the mission and she thinks it’s awesome. Irey races off to the Watchtower and finds…her dad. Wait: isn’t he supposed to be in Skartaris?

GREEN ARROW #17 by Joshua Williamson, Chris Condon, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Montos. Peacemaker and Peacekeeper are on the run and get apprehended by Green Arrow. When he drops them off, he visits with Waller, telling her if she ever tries something like this again he will have no problem pulling the trigger. He then goes to the Watchtower, to explain what happened and is welcomed back to the Justice League. Later, he goes to his company with the idea of taking it back. In the backup, batman visits Ollie and tells him he still has issues with how things went down. At the same time, the former head of a chemical company is murdered, apparently with water his company polluted.

GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL #1 by Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson. John Stewart and his sister get attacked by Killowog, who has been resurrected and now wears a Yellow Lantern uniform. He steals John’s Darkstar ring and heads off. Twelve hours later, John is being cared for by Sheperd, Hal, Carol and Guy. The team make the decision to go off and retrieve the ring, along with help from former Amazo Jadestone., who has been guarding the new Central Power Battery. On Oa, Alan Scott arrives at the Chamber of Unseeing. Meanwhile, John and Sheperd go to Oa, where Alan has created a construct to fight the members of the Chamber. John and Sheperd release Larfleeze who now acts as a distraction to the guards, as he is looking for his orange light. Hal, Carol and Jonh go to Thanagar to tell them of the  upcoming takeover, only to find out that Thaaros has taken over and fights back, releasing the Radiant Dead. With things going badly, the Durlans release the Star Shroud, who murders Thaaros..As Thaaros dies, he uses his last bits of energy to corrupt Mogo. To be continued in GREEN LANTERN #16

GREEN LANTERN #16 by Jeremy Adams and Xermanico. Continued from GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL #1.  Mogo, now a Red Lantern, has unleashed its’ fury on Thanagar, killing billions. Hal, John and Carol are on a Rannian battle cruiser with the thousands they could save, but the aft thruster of the ship is damaged, causing Hal to tell Carol to handle things on the ship. Elsewhere, on the Durlan flagship, we learn that they plan to continue with their designs, even that their scientists have made in-roads in freeing the Spectrum from Keli Quintela: Teen Lantern. Keli is visited by the Ellie Stewart construct, promising to free her. John and Hal attack the Durlan ship, but are subsequently attacked by the Star Shroud. On the Rannian ship, Carol uses her power to restart the ship, which tears through Star Shroud. Star Shroud arrives on the Durlan ship and orders them to go to Oa. In deep space, Thaaros is reborn and heads to Oa also. Guy and Sheperd free the prisoners on Oa, including Jo Mullen. But things are not perfect as a giant creature, either from Thaaros or the Star Shroud, is poised to attack the Rannian ship.

HARLEY QUINN #44 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee. Harley is back in Gotham and separated from Ivy. She also reveals how, when she was young, she had an interaction with someone named Chicken Fingers that changed her life. She goes out and finds that the city has changed and is now clean, thanks to the work of folks in Nowegosoe Tower. Harley visits it, finding security guards beating up Chicken Fingers. Has she faces off with them, she meets Althea Klang, who managers the tower. Based on their interaction, she starts the Harley Quinn Destructive Agency. But Klang has other plans and talks with someone about stopping Harley.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12 by Geoff Johns and Todd Nuack. As Courtney prepares to graduate high school and move on with her superhero life, she recalls the events that led to this, from childhood to becoming a superhero. 

NIGHTWING #118 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Tony Zucco has been arrested for murdering the Graysons, but is quickly freed by a police officer whose family is being held hostage by Heartless. Speaking of Heartless, Gerald tells Shelton that the heart he got from Blockbuster is wearing out and he will need a new one, which he plans to replace with Nightwing’s. Heartless, claiming to be Dick Grayson, goes broadcasts that he and his men will demolish Haven within the hour. Dick shaves and dons civilian clothing while the Bat-Family searches for the kidnapped children. The Heartless army is in the midst of a confrontation with citizens when Dick arrives, revealing he knows Heartless is Shelton. He gets a call telling him the children have been found and freed, which Dick tells to the Heartless army and they turn on heartless, who flees to the docks, telling Gerald and Zucco to meet him there. Dick becomes Nightwing and chases him, as does Hayley. Dick catches up with him, having conquered the effects of the Fear Toxin, and attacks. Gerald is ready to shoot Nightwing and Hayley bites him, leading to Gerald shooting the dog. Gerald falls into the water and presumably drowns. Shelton attacks Zucco and rips his brain out. Shelton and Dick brawl and then Shelton falls, as his heart has given out and he dies. In the end, Dick takes Melinda and her wife to their parents’ grave. In the end, he looks over the city with Barbara and Hayley.

NIGHTWING #118 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Someone who is part of the Cirque Du Sin introduces the tale. Members of Gotham’s gang community, represented by Mama Bear, Boss Bludgeon, Dr. Proboscis, and the Blockbuster Gang, meet to discuss their plans moving forward after months of territorial fighting. Nightwing interrupts the meeting and discoivers a bomb, which goes off, killing all the gang members. Later, Dick Grayson goes to visit his sister, who is having a meeting with Olivia Pearce: the C.E.O. of Spheric Solutions. To help with the warfare, she is offering the city upgraded weapons to the police force. That night, Nightwing injects himself into the gang war, telling them he is giving them a pass until after he solves the murders of their leaders. Unknown to Nightwing, the head of Cirque Du Sin has met with Pearce and it appears there is another bomb ready to take Nightwing out.

POISON IVY #26 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Janet goes out shopping and is caught in a explosion at the grocery store caused by a follower of the ecoterrorist known as The Green Knight. Ivy goes to investigate this small town that is abandoned but also just popped up in the last week. With Ivy investigating, Janet gets freaked out by memorials to the Green that appear in the hallway of her building and calls Croc, who offers to come and hang with her. Then she calls Ivy, still investigating the new town, when a news report comes on. It looks like Ivy has now been identified as The Green Knight..

POWER GIRL #14 by Leah Williams and Adriana Melo. Ejecta is a hero and a media sensation who also beat the stuffing out of Omen last issue, causing Omen to hide away in her apartment. Power Girl, in her civilian guise, goes to the Daily Planet and pitches the idea of an expose piece on Ejecta to Mariposa, only to find that Mariposa has been investigating who built Ejecta’s cybernetic enhancements. They visit Omen and Paige reveals herself as Power Girl to Mariposa. Omen, Natasha and Power Girl go to the old Daily Star building, breaking in to get Ejecta’s attention. She uses her powers to cause Omen to be scared enough to pass out, then leaves, going to Dolira and meeting with her father. He tells her to eat up as he believes she needs her strength to kill Power Girl next.

SHAZAM #16 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid. It’s Christmas time and the Vasquez family is in a financial bind as they have spent so much money on legal fees to keep their children while Billy’s mother continues to try to gain custody. Billy sees a television interview with Freddy, who is now calling himself The Commander, With his siblings busy, Billy decides to ask his neighbor Beau on a date and receives help from Mary, Darka and Shazam. But Freddy has beaten him to the punch and talks to Beau, who informs him of a new app called Society which gives information about superheroes. Together, they all go to investigate a robot attacking the city. En route, they get attacked by the robot, leading to the siblings to transform. Mary and Freddy take down the robot while Shazam tries to stop a thief but is disoriented by a special weapon the thief has. A high-ranking official from Society offers The Commander ahis business card and they later find out Freddy is now the new spokesperson for Society. In the end, the official meets with Georgia Sivana along with the pilot who operated the robot. A green worm comes out of the man’s face and it’s obvious Mister Mind is again targeting the Shazam Family.

SUPERMAN #19 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. In a moment from the end of time, Superman confronts the Time Trapper. Today, Lois, now working as Superwoman after the Abolute Power event, joins her husband on a mission against the Atomic Skull and his atomic powered pets. Finishing that, they are faced with a giant version of Doomsday, who has been released from Hell. During their battle, time stops and suddenly only Superman is moving. That is when the Time Trapper shows up and reveals himself…as an older version of Doomsday, telling Superman that, despite being enemies for millennia, he needs the Man of Steel’s help now.

TITANS #16 by John Layman and Pete Woods. The Titans tour the Watchtower and Gar accidentally sets off a transformation on a space creature. Back at the Tower, Nightwing asks Donna to take over as team leader. All the team starts having vicious memories of past trauma. Raven attacks and they are all knocked out. When Roy wakes, he finds Clock King is responsible for their memories, thanks to new powers he got during the Absolute Power event. But Donna is not about to let him do this without a fight.

WONDER WOMAN #14 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. On Day 1 after her release from the Sovereign, Diana and Steve Trevor sit on the beach as she tells him she was able to keep her sanity in captivity because she knew he was always with her. On Day 3, Dr. Psycho meets with the Sovereign. On Day 5, Steve Trevor tells Diana that he is going to meet with the Sovereign. On Day 12, Steve meets with the Sovereign, who shoots and kills Trevor. On Day 15, Trevor’s body is found floating in the Tidal Basin in Washington, under the shadow of the Washington Monument. On Day 16, word gets out about Trevor’s death, even reaching as far as the Justice League Watchtower. On Day 17, Clark and Bruce meet with Diana. She is unaware of his death at this point. On Day 19, Steve Trevor is laid to rest with full military honors. On Day 22, the Sovereign gathers allies to protect him from Diana, including Grail, Angle Man and others. On Day 27, a distant relative who of Steve Trevor, who has claimed his personal effects, realizes that the flag he was buried in is missing, with a note saying that the person who wrote it is sorry for the woman’s loss. On Day 29, Wonder Woman is seen nestled in a cave, holding Steve’s flag and crying. On Day 32, Superman and Batman meet with Donna Troy, Yara, and Cassie, as they try to locate Diana. On Day 37, Diana decides she must stop mourning and get up, but discovers she cannot. On Day 50, three women search through endless drawers searching for a certain spool of thread. Wonder Woman removes her costume and wades into the ocean. She meets with Trevor in the afterlife as he takes the boat to the next place. Diana surfaces, and, using her hair, along with two pieces of thread, apparently representing herself and Steve, creates a gold thread. She then creates an infant from the clay on the beach, rubbing the thread on the child’s head. She then names the baby Elizabeth Marston Prince On Day 51, the women find the spool of thread they were seeking and notice that some of the thread is missing and they will need a new one of gold, apparently representing Diana’s new daughter..

DC UNIVERSE Month 81, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER #4 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Ollie orders all the Bureau forces on Gamorra to reform in preparation of a full assault. Waller has Failsafe activate her Multiversal Gate. In the Dark Roads, the heroes discuss their plan. Hal goes to deal with the Gate while Batman uses a Boom Tube to take on Bureau. Sarge Steel instructs the Bureau’s troops to fire on the heroes but their weapons backfire and shock them; exhibiting Ollie’s work to destroy the Bureau from the inside, much to Waller’s anger. The heroes make their way into the facility, running into Task Force VII. Jon and Nightwing break into Waller’s command center but she uses a piece of Kryptonite to keep Jon down. Failsafe restrains Nightwing, leading Waller to declare she will kill all the superheroes. Batman, Blue Beetle and Time Commander complete the device that Ollie was building, which will reverse the timelines to just before Task Force VII stole their powers and then restore them. But they are attacked and Ollie arrives and uses the device to restore the powers to the heroes, even though some powers have now been switched.  He reveals that Martian Manhunter had implanted a belief in him that Waller was right-all to keep the Bureau’s psychics from detecting his deep cover.

Waller prepares to kill Nightwing but Dreamer arrives and subdues Waller, explaining that Jon’s dreams of her resurrected her. Waller rants about how she fooled the whole world but Air Wave has managed to broadcast her rant to the whole world. Elsewhere, Barry fights the three evil speedsters but Johnny Quick activates the gate, but Hal creates a barrier to hold them back while Barry tries to deactivate the Gate. The barrier begins to crack and the Flash Family arrives to reinforce it. Barry shuts down the Gate, cutting Earth-0 from the Multiverse forever. Two days later, Jay and Wally confirm their access to the Multiverse is gone and Barry no longer has his powers. Waller wakes in prison and is confronted by Dreamer, who reveals she has locked Waller’s memories of the heroes’ secrets, while also hinting she has had a Brain Bomb implanted in Waller’s head. While the Fortress is being rebuilt, Ollie calls Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman together, saying that they need to reform the Justice League. In turn, they show him plans for a new Watchtower.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Secret agent Alfred Pennyworth has been pulled off a five-year search for a target and sent to Gotham, where he attempts to call his daughter Julia. On a video call with his handlers, her learns to a terrorist group known as the Party Animals who have increased the murder rate by 700%. While being told to observe only, he is also made aware of a vigilante, which Alfred has permission to engage with if needed. As he leaves his safehouse, he notes his motorcycle has been stolen. The following day, civil engineer Bruce Wayne is working out in Croc’s Gym, owned by childhood friend Waylon Jones. Waylon tries to convince him to come to a poker game with his other childhood friends: Oz, Eddie, Harvey and Selina. Elsewhere. The heads of Gotham’s crime families meet with Roman Sionis: the leader of the Party Animals. He is told to leave Gotham by dawn or they will have him and the Party Animals killed but Sionis has them all killed instead. That night, at a town meeting, the townspeople blame Mayor Gordon for the recent problems. Alfred observes the Party Animals making their way to the meeting and asks his superiors for permission to engage but is told to only observe. Martha Wayne tells tries to calm the townspeople down as a smoke grenade fills the room and the Party Animals gun Gordon down. Barbara Gordon tells the police to secure a perimeter and when she opens a door, she sees Batman who orders her to shut it and stay inside. Alfred observes Batman as he battles the Party Animals and, at one point, one of them pulls out a cleaver and attacks. Batman, who pulls out an axe and cuts off the hand of the attacker. Alfred engages Batman but his easily disarmed, with Batman escaping with Alfred’s gun. At this point, Alfred realizes that Batman is Bruce Wayne. Bruce’s story is that he won a student engineering competition and the prize was a trip to the zoo, where the zoo was attacked by a mass shooter that resulted in his father’s death. After time as a juvenile delinquent, he gets an athletic scholarship but fakes an injury in order to devote his time to the subjects he would need as a crimefighter. The next day, Afred follows Bruce to his mother’s house, planning to kill him, but is distracted by a text from Julia telling him to never contact him again. That night, he tracks Bruce to his hideout and Bruce shoots Alfred with the gun he took, which has transformed into a non-lethal weapon. He then jumps on the motorcycle and drives it out of the skyscraper; flying away with the help of the wings on his costume. In the epilogue, a private helicopter in manila picks up Alfred’s original target: a mysterious billionaire who has been training the with the most dangerous people in the world before killing them. No one knows his real name but, because he has never laughed, is known as The Joker.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In Gateway City, a strange flying object arrives and horrible monsters fly out of it, attacking the citizens. In the midst of it, a masked woman riding a skeletal flying horse arrives to fight the creatures. She removes the mask and, speaking an unknown language, clangs her bracelets together and there is a huge explosion. In flashback, on the prison of Circe located on the Isle of Hell, Circe arrives and delivers Diana: a baby who is the last of the Amazons. Circe also declares that the child can never be reunited with her sisters again and the word Amazon can never be said by the woman ever again. Over time, the child grows up and discovers she has natural skill that allows her to calm even the most savage creatures. Eventually, as Diana grows up, she finally manages to say the word Amazon and embraces it. Back in the present, Diana tries to reason with the main creature but has no effect, leading to her to declare herself the last of the Amazons and the Princess of Hell and she has no plans to let these creatures take this world.

ACTION COMICS #1070 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. Fifty-two days between Waller’s defeat and Darkseid attacking the Watchtower, the Phantom Zone Projector in the rebuilt Fortress of Solitude cracks and opens a portal that allows three prisoners who had been fused together to escape. They head to Metropolis and attack Superman, overpowering him until he is rescued by Supergirl. Superman heads to Ethiopia where he digs up a lead canister containing Gold Kryptonite, which would rob the prisoners of their powers but would do the same to Superman and Supergirl. While fighting the escapees, the canister is knocked away and Jimmy Olsen uses his signal watch to distract them and use the Gold K on them. Kara tells them that they are screaming in Kryptonese to kill them. Superman miniaturizes them and sends them to a hospital in Kandor. He tells the family that he is going into the Phantom Zone to investigate but finds himself confronted by a band of armed men when he arrives. In the backup, Supergirl has Steel build her a spaceship to head to Thanagar and then uses circuitry in her eye to erase his memories. Power Girl attempts to stop her and she again uses her power to erase her memory. Arriving at Thanagar, she meets with an official at a United Planets outpost before also erasing his memories.

ACTION COMICS #1071 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. In the Phantom Zone, Superman is attacked by armed denizens of the place. He takes them out, but does so at a cost as the special battery bracelets he wears are running out of power. He also gets attacked by giant spider creatures and that forces him to use more energy. That is when the Phantom King arrives and Superman is taken into custody. The Phantom King reveals himself to be Superman’s old friend Mon-El. Also, Jon and the Superman of China are forced to end their baseball game and head to the Fortress, where they are in for a surprise. In the backup, Supergirl heads to the High Court of Thanagar to retrieve a prisoner. But a strange spider creature attacks and takes out and kidnaps the judge, leaving Kara wondering how to find both the judge and the prisoner.

ACTION COMICS #1072 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. Superman meets with Mon-El who shows him he has captured the real Captain Xa-Du. Mon-El explains that a being named Aethyr who arrived in the Phantom Zone and promised to make the world more like how things were in the material world. But he quickly became a dictator, turning the place into his own personal prison, with Xa-Du as his handpicked warden. Many Kryptonians rebelled, capturing Xa-Du and killing the survivors, much to Superman’s dismay. They soon discover that Xa-Du has escaped and he has made his way back to Aethyr, who claims he is in the process of destroying Earth. Meanwhile, Jon and the Superman of China discover that all the artifacts in the Fortress has been stolen. A portal opens up and both are transported somewhere; somewhere that has all the artifacts set up like in a museum. In the backup, Supergirl finds the captured judge and gets attacked by the alien creatures. The judge gives Kara the coordinates to deliver the prisoner and, telling Kara to finish the mission, promises to finish hers.

ACTION COMICS #1073 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. As Superman and Mon-El travel through the Phantom Zone, they get attacked by Xa-Du’s ship where Superman, whose bracelets are almost out of power, is forced to attacked Xa-Du. Mon-El ends up saving him from a face to face with Xa-Du, leaving Superman to face Aethyr. Angry with Xa-Du, Aethyr tosses him into the Eye of the Zone and does the same to Superman. But the Man of Steel undesratnds this is a fall through time and manages to break through one of the walls and ends up…on Krypton as it once was. Meanwhile, Jon and the Superman of China meet the curator of the Royal Museum of Space. In the backup, Supergirl continues on her journey to deliver the prisoner to their final destination.

BATMAN #153 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Batman meets with Jim Gordon as the city rebuilds and comes back to normal. At the same time, Edward Nygma, with the help of Wayne Enterprises, has started a tech giant called Nygmatech. Even though he has been exonerated for his crimes, Mayor Nakano is suspicious. Leonid from the Court of Owls meets with him and threatens to reveal his alleged indiscretions. Batman meets with Nygma and, while impressed by his technology, explains he will be watching him. Nakano’s wife makes the decision to leave him, taking their son with her. At Wayne Enterprises, Bruce is advised to look at merging with Nygma’s company; something being arranged by Bruce’s own personal assistant. Later, Batman apprehends some criminals and runs into a new, gun-toting vigilante named Commander Star. Commissioner Savage arrives and declares they don’t need two vigilantes and orders his men to arrest Batman, who flees. In the end, an alleged brother files a claim against Bruce for half of his shares and someone shoots Nakano in the chest, seemingly killing him.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #14 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. In 1892, Nicodemus dies but there may be a promise of him to come back to life sometime in the future. In the present, Batman and Robin are fighting a gang of criminals that are connected to the Order of the Green Knight. Later on, Bruce and Damian go to an event celebrating the rebirth of the Scared Heart Medical Center. Before entering, Bruce is hassled by someone that he will be ground up by “the wheel” criminals who are followers of Nicodemus move in and assault the place. While Bruce becomes Batman to fight against them, there is an explosion and Damian is caught in it.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #32 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Eclipso has destroyed the Watchtower and captured most of the heroes, except for Batman and Superman, who have been corrupted. Robin gets involved and heads to the Justice Society headquarters, getting them to split up to try and help out. The Spectre gets called in and appears to break Robin’s neck, which snaps the Dark Knight out of his possession. The rest of the Justice Society manages to toss Superman into the sun, which burns out his possession. The now freed heroes, along with Batman and Superman, attack Eclipso. But he attacks back and now there heroes have been altered and stopped in their tracks.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #18 by Christian Ward, Zipporah Smith, Jeremy Adams, Mauguerite Sauvage, Brendan Hay, Patric Reynolds, Mike Norton, Laura Braga, and Marco Santucci. Batman has to deal with a villain named Doubt whose voice allows him to corrupt people’s mind with his negative words. Batman is forced to fight through those suggestions and finally recalls a conversation with Alfred when he was young to help him defeat the villain by using his own voice. In the second feature, Constantine and Streaky continue to team-up to defeat someone who was using the Talisman of Osiris to reanimate the dead; specifically his deceased friend. He eventually realizes this is a cruel fate for his friend’s beloved pet and destroys the talisman, reversing everything. In the third tale, M’Gann and Jackson team up to defeat a villain trying to bring new life to Mars by draining the water from Earth. In the next tale, Harley faces of against the Ghosting Master, who has been stealing identities from millions of people. In the final story, the Robins team up to find out who has been kidnapping Robin cosplayers, only to get captured themselves by Killer Moth.

BIRDS OF PREY #14 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Cassandra Cain, using the name of Shen, attends a meeting where she is forced to fight off bodyguards. As it turns out, the meeting gets rescheduled. Apparently, Cass has gone undercover to rescue five Amazons who have been captured by this organization known as the Ninth Day. When she finally gets that meeting, she is taken to an underground laboratory and finds the Amazons. At the same time, Onyx and Grace engage in a violent training session with Barda.

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.