More first issues reviewed

BATMAN: DARK AGE #1 by Mark Russell and Michael Allred.  If you drop two names onto a book, I am immediately hooked. First, we have Mark Russell, who has turned out such gems as THE FLINSTONES, EXIT STAGE LEFT,  PREZ, FANTASTIC FOUR: LIFE STORY, TRAVELLING TO MARS, NOT ALL ROBOTS and the amazing SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE. Speaking of that last one, you have Michael Allred, whose bibliography is lengthy but highlighted by MADMAN, I ZOMBIE, X-STATIX, X-FORCE, and a wonderful 2014 run on SILVER SURFER. It’s a Batman origin story but with a lot of twists, complete with early appearances by both Black Mask and Pariah. It is just an amazing and captivating turn on a story we have seen and read a million times before.

THE BAT-MEN: FIRST KNIGHT #1 by Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins. It’s 1939 and as the world waits to see what will happen with events in Europe, crime continues in Gotham. Jim Gordon investigates the murder of a City Councilor as part of a continued crime wave on politicians. If that wasn’t enough, there are also reports of a group of deformed men and a mysterious Bat creature. This is the Bat-Man of an earlier age in this amazing Black Label title. The  story is fun and is filled with all sorts of Thirties cliches and dialogues. In the importance of transparency, I had not planned to pick this one up until I got a look at the artwork and was immediately captivated by it. There is such a beautiful feel to the book that just enhances Jurgen’s story. This may be one of my favorite first issues of the past few months. It’s a winner!

BLUE BOOK #1 by James Tynion IV, Zac Thompson, Michael Avon Oeming, and Gavin Fullerton. Tynion, who has crated some pretty popular stuff such as SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN and his award winning DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH, launches a new series and a new mystery. Set in 1947, an enterprising man investigates all the appearances of UFOs and tries to make sense of it all. Fun stuff if you’re into conspiracies. And I’m a big fan of Oeming’s work so this was a natural for me.

CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS…POP’S CHOCKLIT SHOPPE OF HORRORS: FRESH MEAT #1 by Amy Chase, Ryan Cady, Jordan Morris, Federico Sabbatini, Chris Panda, and Liana Kangas. The Archie folks are back with a new one-shot where Pop, with his business failing, makes a deal with the Devil to gain the advantage once again. Three stories are woven together, including one heavily inspired by LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS. Don’t expect anything earth-shattering here. It’s just a bunch of fun and sometimes gruesome stuff.

CREEPSHOW: JOE HILL’S WOLVERTON STATION #1 by Joe Hill, Jason Ciaramella, and Michael Walsh. Joe Hill is certainly a chip off his father’s block. A dealer is interested in rare artifacts and will screw anyone over if he needs to gain them. What follows is a trip to London where he encounters a bevy of werewolves along the way. What follows is a nightmare fueled trip where our “hero” is both rude and crude and equally fearful as he has to deal with a fair amount of blood and guts along the way in a tale that ends with a typical ending obviously inspired by old EC Comics. I love the CREEPSHOW line of books and this is a nice filler until we get a third volume.

DEADPOOL #1 by Cody Ziglar and Roge Antonio. Well, there’s a new Deadpool movie on the way and that means it is time for Marvel to publish another new Deadpool title. And, as expected, it’s more of the usual. Deadpool and his symbiote dog, fourth wall breaks, gratuitous violence, and a new villain. Oh yeah: he gets to reunite with his daughter. If you’re a Deadpool fan, this one is for you.

FERAL #1 by Tony Fleecs, Trish Firstner, and Tone Rodriguez. STRAY DOGS, despite being a heart-wrenching read, was one of my favorite books of the last few years. The creative team is back at it, this time with cats. And it is said to be a regular series, not a limited one like STRAY DOGS was. Without giving too much away, it involves cats…and rabies.  And based on where the first issue is already going, I expect this one won’t be a happy cheerful ride either.

FIRE AND ICE: TEEGRA #1 by Bill Willingham and Gabriele Di Caro. Completely inspired by both the comic and the film that proceeded this, Teegra has been selected to marry a man not of her dreams. This leads to her fleeing and having the adventure of a lifetime. It’s a fun story for anyone who is reading the (sometimes) monthly comic but will leave most comic fans cold, even the fans of Sword and Sorcery titles. Di Caro’s art is amazing and, as much as I am a fan of Willingham’s legendary career, is the highlight of this title.

GEIGER #1 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. The first regular title in the Ghost Machine imprint arrives and it’s a winner, as expected. I was a huge fan of the previous tales of one of the survivors of a nuclear war 25 years before this story. He’s a bit radioactive and wanders the wastelands looking for a cure. With his two-headed wolf and new companion Nate the Nuclear Knight, he continues his journey and all it will bring. It’s a fun story and the art looks great. So looking forward to the continuing adventures.

GHOST RIDER: FINAL VENGEANCE #1 by Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim. Johnny Blaze, just one of so many who has had the Spirit of Vengeance reside within them, suddenly has that entity leave him and makes its’ way through a number of people with expected results as the entity searches for a new home; causing havoc and destruction along the way. In the end, and HERE’S THE SPOILER, it finds a new home in the form of Parker Robbins, better known as The Hood. So, Robbins is now the new Ghost Rider and apparently will be for the near future, as his character is supposed to appear to the Disney+ show IRONHEART. The read is a quick one mostly relying on the artwork to carry the story along. But, considering it is a jumping-on point for a new run with a new character, I guess it could have been worse.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAZY ANNUAL #1 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Kev Walker. And how do we end a storyline and a title when your movie bombs, the audience walks away, and no one seems to use the phrase ‘cancelled’ anymore? We do an annual. And thus the newest version of the Guardians comes to an end. We have endured a Peter Quill who was more gunslinger than space hero, appearances by much of the cosmic end of the Marvel Universe, deaths of key characters, and transformations of others. Is this the final run for this team? Probably not because almost no one stays dead in comics, right? What I do know is this was an incredible run and possibly one of the best yet, with great and sometimes confusing stories and some amazing art.

LITTLE BLACK BOOK #1 by Jeff McComsey and Felipe Cunha. Cole Moyer’s father has passed and he is willed a Mediterranean house in East Arizona. In the process, Cole discovers a little black book and discovers his father may have been equivalent to The Wolf from PULP FICTION. When Cole’s girlfriend gets in trouble, a group of cleaners arrives to fix things. What has Cole gotten involved with? It’s a killer mystery tale with amazing art and this title will definitely bring you back for more with each issue, I’m certain.

NAPALM LULLABY #1 by Rick Remender and Bengal. Once upon a time, in Norfolk, Nebraska, a couple work with the followers of their god, Glokor. The couple crosses paths with some soldiers hunting a Mechawomb, which reveals a baby inside that uses its’ powers to incinerate the soldiers. The couple takes the baby and drives away. Fifty years later, the world has changed and most of it revolves around the Cult of Glokor. What follows is an attempted heist, some sex and violence and more questions than answers. I’m uncertain if I like this or not as the breadcrumbs are sparse and I am sure we will be forced to see what develops over time. For now, know that Remember and Bengal make a great team and  this has the makings of a classic.

THE ONE HAND  #1 BY Ram V and Laurence Campbell and THE SIX FINGERS #1 by Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar. Why am I reviewing two titles together like this? Well, because they both share the similar title designs in their lettering, graphics and images. They also both deal with someone with six fingers. And there are similarities in a wall filled with symbols. Are they interconnected or is this just a weird coincidence. They are obviously connected but we have yet to figure it out. Is THE SIX FINGERS a prequel of sorts as it deals with a main character who has grown a sixth finger due to exposure to some toxins, while THE ONE HAND deals with a series of murders by a six fingered killer. And then there are the symbols. I cannot wait to see where this one goes. But note: you should read both titles to get the full story.

REDCOAT #1 by Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch. British soldier Simon Pure has ended up gaining immortality and lived and died many times. Now it is 1892 and he now has to face a cult that is after him. And a young Albert Einstein is the person who is feeding him information about it all. Another Ghost Machine title and a whole lot of fun. What were the Founding Fathers up to and how did the ritual that gave out hero immortality come about? I can’t wait to see where this one goes, making this the second Ghost Machine title to be a winner.

ROOK EXODUS #1 by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. A Ghost Machine title that is not part of The Unnamed continuity that GEIGER and REDCOAT are. It’s a great Science Fiction story about the Rooks and trying to find their way off the war-torn world Exodus and get back home. It’s an amazing epic tale with one hell of a back story that plays out in flashbacks while the main story progresses.  Johns’ continues to write some incredibly fun stuff while fabok’s art is so good. But we already knew that.

SAM AND TWITCH CASE FILES #1 by Todd McFarlane, Jon Goff, and Szymon Kudranski. Those classic detectives from the Spawn Universe are back in a long awaited new series. It starts with a murder and goes from there as the oddest couple in policing break the rules and find themselves involved in a case they had not expected, especially after the pair is suspended from the source. The story iust fine, but let’s talks about Szymon Kudranski.’s amazing artwork that totally brings all the pieces together. If you like detective stories with a bit of a dark theme to them, this one is for you.

SOMETHING EPIC #8 by Szymon Kudranski. Kudranski’s long-awaited second arc finally appears. Welcome to a world where the real world bleeds into the fictional one and a detective, who is also a duck that looks a lot like a certain duck named Howard, enlists help a paranormal investigator that leads them both into a weird world of fictional characters including Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty, Doctor Watson and so many more literar6y characters. It’s a beautifully illustrated piece that is so masterfully written, as it drops easter eggs and subtle references as it tells the story. An amazing work that will certainly send me looking for either back issues or the trade paperback.

SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOLUME 2 #1 by Suzanne Cafiero and Thiago Vale. Everyone’s favorite sweetie and her Vigilante Squad are back in one of the wildest tales Dynamite has brought us over the years. As our heroine searches for what happened to her parents, she finds herself in the midst of fights with the local bad guys and, using her special powers, carnage erupts with lots of blood and guts along the way. This is just a guilty pleasure book with good girl art and a whacked out story that should satisfy your sweet tooth. Such a fun book that I am thrilled is back at last.

TORPEDO 1972 by Enrique Sanchez Abuli and Eduardo Risso. Back in 1981, Abdul collaborated with Alex Toth to create the main character of hitman Luca Torelli. But after a parting of the ways, Abdul worked with Jordi Bernet to create the Spanish series that became known as TORPEDO 1936. 45 years later and we get a reimagined tale, set in 1972, with a journalist and his girlfriend interviewing and researching the deeds of the now elderly hitman and his partner Rascal. Abdul is collaborating with acclaimed 100 BULLETS artist Risso to bring a book that feels so dark and grim that you can’t help but make comparisons to 100 BULLETS. This is such an amazing issue and I truly wish it was a weekly instead of a monthly. It has the right feel and look and is so very highly recommended!

ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER #1 by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caselli. Following the monumental success of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN  #1, Marvel gives us the next piece of the Ultimate Universe puzzle. The Panther rules the nation of Wakanda but there is unrest and that is led by the followers of Khonshu and Ra. It becomes the task of the Panther, along with Killmonger, to lead an army against the Moon Knight and his followers. While I wasn’t as blown away as I was with the first entry in this universe, it was a fun read. The story is filled with action and political intrigued while the art does the job of carrying the narrative along.

ULTIMATE X-MEN  #1 by Peach Momoko. The third Ultimate release is about a Japanese girl with mysterious powers who is troubled by the death of a close friend. How did she get these powers? Was it from a mysterious charm given to her by her dead friend? And what is with the equally dark creature that seems to torment her? This is one weird title and feels like Momoko’s DEMON DAYS series. This is my least favorite of the three Ultimate titles thus far and I think much of that is because I do not know where the heck it is going. Our heroine is not realty a mutant and we have seen no others. So what is going on here? I will certainly give it another shot but this may drop off my pull list if we do not get answers soon.

VAMPIRELLA #666 by Christopher Priest and Ergun Gunduz. It seems Dynamite has done some math and have gone to Legacy numbering as they march towards #700. Picking up from all the previous threads and so many of the characters from the earliest of Priest’s recent run, with characters including Victory, Draculina, Lilith, Benny, and Shane…even a little bit of Dracula here…unless that FBI guy she is schtupping  and calling her husband turns out to be someone else.  Someone want to tell him she is also getting busy with some of her lady friends too? But this harkens back to the early run in both feeling and look, thanks to art by Gunduz. If the plan is to have this whole storyline reach a conclusion with #700, we have a way to go to see Priest’s endgame.

THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #1 by Greg Weisman and Humberto Ramos. Oh look: ANOTHER SPIDER-MAN series! Feels like the Eighties again when we had three, plus GIANT-SIZE! This time, Peter teams up with Miles to battles a rampaging creature known as The Jackal. Not that Jackal, ALTHOUGH IT COULD BE, BECAUSE…YOOU KNOW: CLONES! But it may have been made by THAT Jackal-AKA Miles Warren, as we learn from Miles Warren’s brother(wait-he had a brother? Oh yeah: forgot about that!). Apparently the creature got loose while Doctor Seymour Krepps was inventorying Miles lab. Or maybe it IS Miles back again. Either way, the book touches on a lot of Spider-Man history and the inclusion of Miles Morales just seems to be a chance to keep the character relevant while we wait for the next movie(yes I know there is a monthly book with Morales but I’m not a huge fan of it). All in all, a fun read if you understand the history of The Jackal and others.

DC UNIVERSE Month 74, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN # 38 by Tini Howard, Natacha Bustos, Brandt, and Stein. Harley’s friends throw her a birthday party and she renews her friendship with the Bodu Doubles. Later, she and Ivy take down some bad guys who are deforesting the planet to make chocolate. Harley later teams up with the Body Doubles and decides to turn back towards her life of crime. The trio attack the head of the recently attacked chocolate factory with Carmen getting shot in the process. They blow up the boat, after stealing the cash stash, possibly killing everyone on board. In the end, Mr. Freeze meets with Harley, saying he needs a teacher and she is it. In the backup, Harley battles Kite-man, finally apprehending him after some humorous moments.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #6 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. With Godzilla currently secured at the bottom of the sea and Superman still in a coma, the League tries to figure their next move. Luthor has activated Mechagodzilla but Batman has created his own mech. Green Lantern creates a construct mech and the teams face off. When Kong, Grodd and Kara arrive, Kara fights against her teammates, as she has been compromised by Grodd. In the process, Grodd kills Guy Gardner, but loses his mind-controlling crown in the process, allowing Kara to break free of his control. As the battle rages, Superman, free from his coma, heads underwater to fight Godzilla.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA # 9 by Geoff Johns and Mikel Janin. The current team continues to recruit villains to become part of their team. Quiz Kid meets with Mr. Terrific, explaining he is using one of his Q-Spheres to put the Fair Play Club back together. Meanwhile, Hawkman, Stargirl, Power Girl and the Witch Girl meet with Harlequin’s son as he is torturing an abuser. They try to take him down but that does not occur until a mysterious stranger known as The Legionnaire arrives to help apprehend him. It is explained he is an obscure Golden Age hero who once assisted members of the JSA. He explains that, because of Helena Wayne’s presence, the team is the only chance to change his future. When he removes his mask, he reveals himself as Mordru, who will eventually destroy the 31sy Century and this time period also.

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #3 by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. Dru-Zod and ursa lead an attack on the Khunds, severely depleting the Khunds forces. The Khunds come up with the idea to block one of the two yellow suns providing the Zods with their super-strength. Despite becoming powerless, Dru-Zod finds a way to restore the sun, even as the Khunds launch a missile striker. Dru-Zod finds Ursa and she appears to be dead.

NIGHTWING #112 by Tom Taylor, Michael W. Conrad, Francesco Francavilla,  and Sam Basri. Dick goes to visit Iko but finds him missing, although he left a note saying HELP. He and batman discover that Iko had been kidnapped by his uncle, who also killed Iko’s father, and they are headed to Ho Chi Minh City. After borrowing a jet from the Titans, the pair head to Ho Chi Minh City, rescuing Iko and apprehending his uncle. In the backup, Gray’s Son fights against his captors but gets stabbed by the Joker character. Despite his wound, he fights back. Many years later, The Joker person remarks how he is troubled that Gray’s Son is still out there somewhere.

OUTSIDERS #5 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Luke and Kate attend a gala filled with some of the worst villains and hosted by Nocturna. Luke finds a captive girl and works to free her from this place while Kate is introduced to Nocturna’s son, who she calls The End. Nocturna explains that he will eventually kill everyone in this universe. Luke frees the girl, who reveals herself to actually be Klarion, who explains he just saved Luke’s life. Meanwhile, Drummer goes to the Demon Bar and strikes a deal with a demon in exchange for him telling her how to find the “place between”. He insists that she kill someone in his name and Drummer does that, killing him after he reveals the secret. The trio meets outside, with Drummer and Luke going off to pursue an angle and Kate putting on her Batwoman outfit and watching over the city.

THE PENGUIN #8 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre. Jim Gordon investigates a massacre resulting in 37 dead, including the Force of July. In a flashback, we see how Penguin’s children ae actively trying to kill their father. He meets with The Riddler, explaining that he himself will take out his children. Batman tells Penguin that, even though he may be back, the rules are their same. Later, Penguin meets with his daughter, who tells him she will kill his team, St. Claire and him, before they tell each other she loves him. In the end, we see that one of the 37 killed is Penguin’s son, who has an umbrella jammed into his chest.

POISON IVY #20 by G. Willow Wilson and Mariko Takara. In the past, Pam continues to do experimental work for Woodrue, who has a mysterious rash on his neck, and he tasks her with breaking into a lab and steal more items he needs. Back in school, she meets a new student, Bella Garten, who will eventually become known as The Gardener. Woodrue immediately takes a liking to Garten and brings her into the fold but, during the course of things, Ivy starts a secret romantic relationship with Garten. Garten creates a creature and Woodrue has mutated along the way and Ivy agrees to be one of his test subjects.

POWER GIRL #7 by Leah Williams and Maugerite Sauvage. Supergirl and Power Girl, both powerless, wander through Ferimbia, seeking the missing people. They meet Epione Pruxis, who explains that after Madame Avice was defeated in POWER GIRL #5, she ended up here and took over the kingdom from Queen Adroris. The two heroes go off to take on Avice’s henchmen Comedy and Tragedy and stop the production of Avalon. They lead an attack on the castle, free the Queen, who banishes Avice, and stops the production of Avalon. In the end, they are declared Champions of Ferimbia.

RED HOOD: THE HILL #2 by Shawn Martinbrough and Sanford Greene. It is revealed that, during the Joker War, Omar’s wife and daughter were killed, which may have led to his turn. Dana is struggling to keep her team together, even as a pair of her team want to leave to start a family. Omar has been working for Demetrius, who no longer likes the methods Omar is using to propagate his agenda. While Jason meets with the team and appears to take control, Demetrius goes to find help from…Killer Croc?

SHAZAM #9 by Mark Waid and Gordon Emanuela Lupacchino. Billy endures an uncomfortable interview with Jack Ryder. Following the interview, Ryder tricks Billy into reading words, which turns him into The Captain. In return, Ryder turns into The Creeper. And the pair head to a train that is inhabited by riders who have been turned into shadows by Shadow Thief. Shadow Thief has a ransom that is half a trillion in untraceable Crypto. The train crashes and, while they work to save people, The Captain turns back into Billy so he can see Shadow Thief. Working together, Creeper and The Captain work together to secure Shadow Thief and force him to free the passengers. In the end, Ryder returns home and is greeted by Metamorpho, who he previously referred to as “Souffle face”.

SINISTER SONS #2 by Peter J. Tomasi, Vasco Georgiev, and David Lafuente. The sons of Sinestro and Zod fight over control of Lor-Zod’s ship. During their fight, they end up inside of a giant space creature. Eventually leaving the ship, they encounter a strange traveler inside the bowels of the creature.

SPEED FORCE #5 by Jarrett Williams and Daniele Di Nicuolo. In the recent past, Fiddler meets with Madame Xanadu, who reveals he will achieve his goals but at a cost to all around him. Meanwhile the team continue to deal with effects from the app, including battling with Mas Y Menos, and get saved by Roundhouse. They eventually meet with Mister Terrific, who reveals his T-Mask was probably responsible for him not being affected by the brainwashing effects of the app. With the assistance of Blue Beetle and Roundhouse, they invade the dance club where they find captive, brainwashed scientists. Wallace heads to the dance floor where Booster Gold is hosting the Symphonee Music Festival. He introduces Mumble-Bee, who is actually Klarion and his cat Teekl. It is time for Wallace to end this.

SUICIDE SQUAD: DREAM TEAM #1 by Nicole Maines and Eddy Barrows. Amanda Waller has put together a new Task Force X team consisting of Harley Quinn, Deadeye, Clock King, Dreamer, Bizarro, and Black Alice. She sends them to Gamorra with the goal to take make the defense systems and lower the shield dome that surrounds the island. Rather than enter normally, the team is sent through the Dream Realm with Dreamer’s help. They enter through someone’s dream, only to find that person is dead, meaning their way out is gone. With Bizarro off on a rampage, Dreamer, who confesses to being Trans, tells Harley that Amanda is threatening her home, which has led her to siding with Amanda. Using her predictive powers, she sees how all of this ends, with lots of deaths including superman, Ivy, and The Flash, among others.

SUPERMAN #12 by Joshua Williamson and David Baldeon. As the heroes try to find a way to counteract the Kryptonite cloud, Lex tells how it all began. As a y9ung boy, he found a small piece of Kryptonite and it became his life goal to find more. Later, when he has grown, he faces off against Pharm and Graft but, when he sees they have Kryptonite, they form an alliance, which Luthor eventually broke. Using Parasite, the Kryptonite gets drained from the atmosphere as Luthor battles his mother. Lena has LL-01 shut down both her father and grandmother’s armor, forcing Superman to save them both. In the end, with all the villains in jail, Lobo frees himself and it appears Brainiac is coming.

TITANS #9 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer. The members of the Quintessence note the Dark-Winged Queen is rising. On Earth, the Titans, without Gar, continue to clean up after the storm that devastated Key West. Raven’s father notes this and is concerned she will not embrace her destiny. He goes to visit Waller, where he offers her the Presidency but she says she wants a better deal. Hermes arrives to tell Donna Troy of the impending danger but he is dispatched by raven, saying he was only a demon in disguise.

WESLEY DODDS: THE SANDMAN #6 by Robert Venditti and Riley Rossimo. Vanderlyle is ready to kill Humphries when Sandman arrives. The two fight, with Wesley being severely beaten and stabbed. But he manages to retrieve his notes about his gas and burns them in the fireplace. Just as Vanderlyle is about to kill Wesley, Dian arrives and shoots the villain, killing him and saving Wesley. In the end, Wesley meets Dian’s nephew Sandy when he gets a visit from the future Justice Society of America, who invite him to join.

WONDER WOMAN #7 by Tom King and Guillem March. In a tale from just after WONDER WOMAN #5, Wonder Woman and Superman head off to the Andromeda Mall to buy a birthday present for Batman. ,They window shop, eat, take in a movie, and get manicures and pedicures, while also talking about Diana’s recent troubles. In the end, they settle on a coal-crushed diamond and a series of photos from a photo booth as the present, with batman giving the diamond to someone who can benefit from it.

DC UNIVERSE Month 74, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1063 by Jason Aaron and John Timms. In his mind, Superman is sill battling with Bizarro. But, in the real world, The Joker is one of the last people not infected by Bizarro and he is acting as Superman’s guide to help him fight. Inside his mind, Superman dies and does so many times. Eventually, he gains control and meets with The Joker, who actually provides enough motivation for Superman to break free, allowing him to break the magic spell responsible for all of this. It frees everyone and, in the process, turns Joker back into the madman he has always been. Despite being back to normal, Superman knows that a part of Bizarro will always be deep inside of him.

ALAN SCOTT: THE GREEN LANTERN #5 by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey. While Alan, now possessing the power of the Red Flame, fights against the red Lantern, his body is slowly being destroyed by the power. Vladimir confesses that the red energy is the only thing keeping him alive after he had been killed and resurrected many times by the Russian experiments. Meanwhile, his partner activate the Lantern and Alan suddenly finds himself somewhere between life and death and is told about the Guardians and how the green energy is a part of the spectrum found in the Starheart. He is revived and now possess his power again, even as multiple crimson energy spikes erupt throughout the city. Valdimir finds he was betrayed by the government and the Crimson Host has arrived to be Red Lantern’s replacement. Vladimir’s lantern is destroyed and things look bad…until the Justice Society arrives.

AMAZONS ATTACK #6 by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev. The defeated Amazons discover that the person calling themselves Asylum is an ancient Amazon who has inhabited Ismene Dimakos and has set all the recent events in motion to punished the Amazons for her death so long ago. With Sivana poised to unleash the rest of the apples, she feels the Amazons will have to flee to Greece and she will take them. Hoppy frees Nubia and she frees Faruka, Yara, and Mary Marvel. While the Amazons fight Asylum, Mary and Happy travel around the world to stops Ivana’s plan. The combined forces defeat Asylum and, in exchange for their names being cleared, Nubia tells Sarge Steel they will turn over Asylum to A.X.E.

BATMAN #145 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, and Michele Bandini. Batman is still captured alongside The Joker, who has just revealed what may have been his origin. Batman manages to pick the lock of their cell and makes his escape, finding that Vandal Savage is also jailed here. He asks Vandal what his endgame is but, before he can get an answer, Batman is attacked by Failsafe’s robots. When he awakes, he finds himself  meeting Daniel Captio, his former mentor who also may have mentored The Joker. He reveals that The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh has made him the warden. Meanwhile, Failsafe is out delivering his own, violent brand of justice. Jason gets in the fight but is defeated. Failsafe visits The Riddler and apprehends him. Damian arrives and Failsafe convinces him that he is actually his father. In the backup, it is revealed how Captio worked with The Joker and tasked him with finding a way to bring the dark self out of The Batman.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #7 by Joshua Williamson and Simone Di Meo. Man Bat has managed to draft a horde of followers and Shush finds herself at odds with Man Bat, as she has her own agenda. Meanwhile, Flatline is here now and she is looking for assistance to find her sister, who had gone off to find Flatline. Damian agrees to help while his father plans to continue investigating Man Bat’s cult. Flatline reveals that she was running Lord Death Man’s criminal empire but found it boring, so finding her sister was just what she was looking for to keep herself entertained. As it turns out, Ras is in her head and insists that she tell Damian the real reason she wanted to see Damian. Their search leads them to the Iceberg Lounge where they find that Flatline’s sister may not have been a hostage. Batman apprehends Walter Murray who takes a pill given to him by Man Bat, which transforms and kills him. As Batman wonders why Langstrom is doing this, Shush arrives, telling Batman that Man-Bat lied to Murray and to her and she suggests that she and Batman team up.

BATMAN DYLAN DOG #1 by Roberto Recchioni, Gigi Cavenago, and Werther Dell’Edera. In the recent past, a man meets The Joker and delivers a letter, before being killed by the clown. Inside is a plane ticket to London and a letter from a Dr. Xabaras. Xabaras met The Joker in the past and not only inspired him but did some reconstructive surgery on him. Before he leaves, he cuts a wicked grin into the face of a woman he has had captive. Xabaras has Dylan Dog and his associates captive as he is going to use them to continue his experiments with making people live forever. But Dylan manages to get everyone free and sets off a bomb that apparently kills the doctor and his creations. Currently, Batman is tormenting the criminals of the underworld searching for The Joker, who is in England with Killer Croc and meets with Xabaras. Bruce and Alfred go to England, where they meet Dylan’s personal assistant Groucho, and also Dylan, who has been sharing a bed with Selina Kyle. Bruce explains he needs to find Xabaras and .Dylan insists on a séance, as the doctor is dead. Dylan and Groucho go searching in the London sewers and run into Croc, with them getting saved by Catwoman, who takes on Croc herself. The undead arrive and chase after Dylan and Groucho, but get saved by Batman. Dylan dispatches most of the undead but Groucho disappears in the process. Groucho and Catwoman are kidnapped by The Joker, who plans to use Xabaras’ serum on them. Catwoman frees herself and flees but this leaves Groucho behind. Batman and Dylan agree to team up when a badly injured Catwoman arrives.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #25 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, and Steve Pugh. Many years ago, Batman and Superman apprehend The Joker and take him to Arkham, where he meets Lex Luthor. Some time later, the pair team up to try and find and steal a magical artifact of unimagined power. The pair find the hidden entrance and soon find themselves travelling through a cavern where they see statues of the Seven Deadly Sins. As they progress through a series of dimensional rifts, they see all manner of places including one where observe Jonah Hex. They eventually find the artifact which they fight over, resulting in the item breaking. In the backup, which is a prologue to IMPOSSIBLE, something strange is happening in the Batcave, with the giant dinosaur and Abraham Lincoln coming to life and fighting each other.. They decide to call Superman, but he emerges from a rift with many of the creatures from his alien zoo. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite appear, looking for help as someone is murdering their friends and swearing they were not responsible for what has happened.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #11 by Karl Kerschl, Christos Gage, Delilah S. Dawson, Michael W. Conrad, Zac Thompson, Norm Rapamund, Danny Kim, Serg Acuna, PJ Holden, and Ashley Wood. With Tristan turned into a bat, he flees while Maps gets students to hide. She reaches out to Bruce, forcing him to leave his date with Isla. Maps and Batman team up to chase Tristan, which leads them to follow four bat creatures to the old St. Augustine church. He captures one of the creatures, who begs for help before fleeing. Bruce goes to visit Anastasia and finds himself in the middle of a party with what turns out to be a group of vampires. He meets the Mother of the group and flees. He ends up at Langstrom’s, who tries to counteract the vampire bite, but Bruce flees, arriving at Isla’s house, asking to be invited in. In the second tale, Bat Lash is forced to fight for his life and for money against one of the toughest guys in the West. Luckily, Bat Lash’s sister saves him in the end. In the third tale, Artemis deals with the poison in her system, coming through it and heading off to her next challenge. In the fourth tale, a bunch of soldiers are captured and tortured when one of the soldiers named Stein reveals himself at Sgt. Rock and frees everyone. In the final tale, Batman investigates the grisly death of Ratcatcher, only to ultimately discover the Zodiac Master is responsible.

BIRDS OF PREY #7 .by Kelly Thompson and Javier Pina. Dinah, Barbara and Meridian try to find out what is going on with both Dinah and a mysterious traveler’s trip through time and how they are connected to both The Green and The Red. Meanwhile, Barda and Cass are continuing to train Sin. Barbara and Dinah meet with Mari, who recently woke up to find herself in the middle of committing a robbery. She enlists the help of the Birds and that means they go undercover as runway models.

BLUE BEETLE #7 by Josh Trujillo, Natacha Bustos, Howard Porter, Cully Hamner, Scott Kolins, and Adrian Gutierrez. Jaime and Booster Gold team up so they can find ted Kord, who was “chopped up in the time stream”. The goal is to create anchors at various spots in time to bring Ted home. They first go to the Justice League International embassy, where Jaime meets Maxwell Lord. Next stop takes them to the future, where Blue Beetle teams up with L.E.G.I.O.N. Lastly, Beetle ends up in El Paso with his mother. As he leaves the Time Stream, he is captured by Lobo, who brings him to Jonni DC, who chides him for having a confusing back story. Ted finds himself back where he belongs and Booster leaves. In the end, Nitida meets with Ted’s sister, asking her to help her get rid of her beetle.

CATWOMAN #63 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Catwoman travels undersea to rescue filmmaker Justice Jordan from Veronica Viceroy and her N.E.M.O. cell. She succeeds at the cost of one of her lives but eventually goes back to rescue his documentary, which almost costs her another life. She meets with Bast who explains it was not her who saved her. In the end, Santa Espada and Eduardo Flamingo meet Viceroy and a partnership appears to be forming.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1083 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Riccardo Federici, and Stefano Raffaele. Batman continues to fight off the effects of Azmer while dreaming of a meeting with Dr. Hurt in his dreams. And defeats him, while also defeating Dr. Hurt within his mind. Along the way he comes face to face with the Azmer and defeats him. Meanwhile, Talia faces off against Flamingo and, with Batman’s help, assist her and defeats him. At the same time, Jim Gordon meets with The Question, who is trying to solve Henry Fielding’s murder. They get menaced by armed men and suddenly Batman arrives. In the backup, Selma, who claims she is Dr. Hurt, introduces her captive, Lieutenant James, to the real Dr. Hurt. To her surprise, she finds there are multiple Dr. Hurt persons and that the castle is actually a sentient pocket dimension and he dispatches her. He talks to the captive and tells him to wake. When James wakes, he finds that this is all part of an experiment and he has been given a hallucinogen as part of an experiment by Dr. Hurt.

THE FLASH #7 by Si Spurrier and Ramon Perez. Max Mercury and Impulse get taken captive by The Linear Men, who inform them that someone has murdered the future and that the Speed Force is falling apart. He shows them the collected speedsters and tells them that reality is crumbling because the speedsters keep using their speed powers, which is when Impulse realizes they haven’t been rescued but arrested. Meanwhile, Barry meets with Linda. He admits to having gaps in his memory and Linda nonchalantly tells him to stop worrying because her husband is a superhero.. He heads off  and attacks Mr. Terrific’s lab. He gets restrained and is informed that Wally has gained the ability to shift between the layers of existence. In the end, Wally finds himself in the Gallery and sees what is presumed to be an Arc Angle.

GREEN ARROW #10 by Joshua Williamson and Sean Izaakse. Oliver and Connor head off to find Roy, running into Arrowette, Red Arrow, and Red Canary in the process. Mia Dearden, AKA Speedy, is also here and it is revealed they are all working with Roy. Ollie manages to get into the structure they find, revealing it is a Justice League facility. Once inside, he battles Roy, who is convinced that Ollie is just a part of the Sanctuary program. Ollie reveals the brain bombs that have been installed are actually transporters, which explains the recent transporting episodes that affected Ollie and Lian. They decide to get the Sanctuary program and leave but the system resets and now they are facing Justice league heroes created by the program.

GREEN LANTERN #9 by Jeremy Adams, Sam Humphries, Xermanico, and Yasmin Flores Montanez. Hal enters the cave he was sent to by Madame Xanadu. In this spectacular garden he finds within, he also finds longtime friend Tom Kalmaku, who was once one of the New Guardians but is now retired with his wife and children. He temporarily gave that up and, as the last of the New Guardians, he was told that he had been called here and was tasked to guard it until a Lantern arrived. Tom opens The Green, revealing an Oan Power Battery, which was left as a failsafe in case something happened to the power battery on Oa. It opens to reveal enough Lantern rings for every Lantern in Sector 2814. Hal dons a ring and finds his powers are back. Hal heads into space and finds himself battling Lanterns who see him as a traitor. In the process, Joe Mullen arrives to lend a hand. In the backup, Jessica Cruz has been captured by Thaaros and his followers and is being tried for treason. Lantern Endicott explains how Cruz stopped Endicott from destroying the Orange Central Power Battery. Cruz explains that what she did was stop the Orange Energy from spilling out into the universe. A mysterious assassin arrives and Cruz saves Thaaros. She agrees to side with Thaaros, which is only part of her plan to get inside his organization.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #7 6 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. John finds himself lost in space, at a breach between time and space,  and meets Byla, who tells him of a pending war between gods and mortals. He observes a war occurring and is warned of the coming of the Star Shroud. Meanwhile, the Steel family and Lantern Shepherd visit John’s mother, trying to convince the Ellie construct to say they do not like the care she is currently getting from her.

DC UNIVERSE Month 73, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN # 37 by Tini Howard, Erica Henderson, Logan Faeber, Sweeney Boo, Kelly Jones, Elena G. Bansh, Stefano Raefaele, Mindy Lee, and Marguerite Sauvage. With the help of her students, Harley slips into the Dark Multiverse, where she experiences different lives in a bunch of different settings. In some she is a hero and others a villain and she has to deal with A.I. Harley in all of them.  Back on Earth, she surrenders and goes to Quark, where they find that there is nothing inside her that made her a figure of Multiversal power other than her will to be herself. Ivy arrives and they go home, In the backup, she has a Blair Witch inspired dream filled with almost every version of The Joker in existence, from his earliest appearance through to today.

JAY GARRICK: THE FLASH #5 by Jeremy Adams and Diego Olortegui. The robot from last issue, which contains the voice and attitude of Hughes, kills Slate and then explodes but not before Jay and Judy save everyone but Slate. Jay and Judy, looking to take the fight to Doctor Elemental,  go to Brazil to meet with Pieter Cross, who is actually Dr. Mid-Nite, and visit his lab, where they discover that Ro-Bear is back. And is here. Jay and Mid-Nite battle Ro-Bear as Doctor Elemental kidnaps her, telling her it is time to fulfill her destiny. Ro-Bear is defeated and, now powerless, is told that he needs to reveal where Judy is…or else.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #5 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. With Superman still in a comatose state, Lois reaches out to Mercy Graves, who tells her that the Dreamstone is responsible for the monsters. Meanwhile, Aquaman, Mera, Flash and Wonder Woman try to stop the undersea battle with the monsters, which manages to crack the undersea dome. The Green Lanterns arrive to seal the dome, but so does Godzilla who attacks the Kraken. Aquaman uses a giant lock and chain made of Nth Metal to secure Godzilla. Elsewhere, Oliie is forced to flee the boat where he has discovered the monster skull. Supergirl heads to Kong Island looking for Ollie and finds Grodd and the gorillas of Gorilla City meeting with the ape. Grodd uses his powers to get Kara to knock Kong out. Shazam, bothered by the guilt that he may have been responsible for Superman’s injury, invades the Legion of Doom headquarters but is stopped by Giganta. In the end, Lex brings Mechagodzilla online.

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #2 by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. Zod tortures a Khund prisoner looking for information but all he gets is that they knew he was planning something nefarious. Zod reveals to his wife that he is preparing for a war but she strokes him, seeing him as becoming weak and more concerned with building himself a throne before anything else. She berates him, even as he prepares his people for war. His wife, in the end, says that when they are victorious, Zof will kneel before her.

NIGHTWING #111 by Tom Taylor, Michael W. Conrad, Francesco Francavilla,  and Sam Basri. In Gotham, a man dies suddenly, leaving his young son Iko without a father. The death at first appears to be the work of Heartless, but further investigation seems to represent a copycat. Dick begins to bond with Iko, until he is released to his uncle. In the end, the uncle, upset that superheroes are involved with his plan, takes Iko away. In the backup, set in the 14^th Century, a young man attempts to avenge his family, meeting with the leader of those attackers: someone who bears a striking resemblance to The Joker. The young man? He is the son of Gray.

OUTSIDERS #4 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Many years ago, a girl named Jennifer Cressi was born. Her powers, as was soon discovered, were connected to her emotions. When she was happy, things in the world were good. When she was depressed, things went wrong. Two days ago, she met a girl and fell in love. But that was not meant to be and that has unleashed death and destruction across the world. The Outsiders track her down and she and Drummer have a long conversation. She refers to herself as Jenny Crisis, even as she is told she needs to find a way to control her emotions. She is invited to join The Outsiders, which she turns down.

THE PENGUIN #7 by Tom King and Stevan Subic. The Penguin now runs the Iceberg Lounge but is still acting as a snitch to Batman. He kills one of his men but then blames it on the Bertinellis, hinting at the start of a gang war. After killing another of his men, he tells Batman this is all happening because of his relationship with The Dark Knight. Later, he bathes with Lisa St.Claire who convinces him to upgrade his image, convincing him to embrace what became his trademark look, complete with monocle and cigarette in an opera holder. Again meeting with Batman, he convinces him to beat him up to convince people that he is not working with Batman. In the end, The help hands Oswald a note with a name on it: Bruce Wayne.

POISON IVY #19 by G. Willow Wilson and Mariko Takara. Gravely injured, Ivy recalls how she was a promising student who fell for Jason Woodrue. Woodrue gets Ivy and Linda Holland to work with him on a special experiment. As time goes on, their romance becomes more intense and he eventually shows her his secret lab, but also asks her to steal some supplies to continue his experiment. She breaks into the university but is discovered and finds herself on the run as the issue ends.

POWER GIRL #65 by Leah Williams and Maugerite Sauvage. Supergirl, Power Girl, and Omen team up to investigate a new strain of drug called Avalon that have been causing students to take it and then disappear. Supergirl and Power Girl track down the dealers, who disappear in the middle of a chase. Using the drug to paint an image, the girls find themselves in Ferimbia. They are told by one of the students that they can never leave and discover they have no powers here, which Madame Avice finds interesting. Outside of her castle, students toil endlessly.

RED HOOD: THE HILL #1 by Shawn Martinbrough and Sanford Greene. Some time ago, on the eve of the Joker War, men in joker’s masks burst into a diner, threatening Marcus Samuelson, Dana Harlowe and an old woman referred to as ‘Chief Justice’. The old woman kills the Jokers and then tells Dana and Marcus she will teach them balance. Now, Red Hood and a group of masked vigilantes burst  into a ,meeting where masked criminals are threatening a priest. During the fight, one of the men unleash a strobe E.M.P. and flee, revealing Marcus as one of the men. Dana’s sister Denise is an journalist with her own television show who has a valuable information source, which she is hesitant to reveal. Later, it is revealed that Dana is the masked vigilante Strike and meets with a police officer, who is killed during the meeting by Marcus and his men.

SHAZAM #8 by Mark Waid and Gordon Sudzuka. Billy’s family home is destroyed in his fight with Black Adam, who is now wracked with guilt and leaves. Billy tells the dinosaurs that their Auditor needs to stay and the dinosaurs leave but then engage in a leaflet drop asking people if they have seen the Auditor. Billy tells his family what happened and they are devastated. Seeing the leaflets, he convinces Darla to go with him to meet with the dinosaurs, with her endless answering questions with “why”, finally agree to let the Auditor stay. The Captain visits Zeus and asks for a favor to help him rebuild the home. Black Adam arrives and says he agrees with The Captain. Upon returning home, The Captain finds the house rebuilt. He goes to meet with Adam and says he owes him. In the end, Tawny goes to get something from a kitchen cabinet and, unseen by him, is being observed by three strange eyes.

SINISTER SONS #1 by Peter J. Tomasi and David Lafuente. Sinson, the son of Sinestro, is out on his own and has assembled a group of young followers he calls the Sinson Corps. Elsewhere, Lor-Zod has also left his family and, in his spaceship, approaches the planet of Xela, where Sinson and his friends are hunting for creds. Lor-Zod lands on the planet, claiming he is in command.. But he ends up face to face with Sinson when Sinestro’s son steals Lor-Zod’s ship.

SPEED FORCE #4 by Jarrett Williams and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Superboy has gone crazy because of the app and it takes Wallace, along with help from Avery, to defeat him. Also, the full story on the app is revealed and its’ success is due to a mysterious benefactor.

SUPERMAN #11 by Joshua Williamson and David Baldeon. Lena meets with the A.I. version of Lex, who explains that she was given by Lex to Brainiac 13 and raised as his avatar. With Superman missing, Lena decides she must go help him but Supercorp is attacked by an armored individual working for Pharm and Graft. The armored individual reveals herself as Lex’ mother, who complains that she is doing this because Lex stole her company. Superman, who was in the Old West, returns and runs into Lena, but is so taken down the  Revenge Squad, where he is given the choice to join them or Lena dies.. Graft exposes Superman to Red Kryptonite which sends him on a rage, instructing him to kill Lex. He takes out the revenge Squad instead, but then turns his rage towards Lex. Lex injects Superman with Green Kryptonite, which counters the Red K. Graft reveals how the ultimate weapon has been released: a Kryptonite gas that will eventually affect all humans. Lex reveals this was not Pharm and Graft’s plan-it was his, created with them many years ago.

TITANS #8 by Tom Taylor and Stephen Segovia. Following the recent events, raven, whose body is now controlled by her evil side, meets with her father Trigon. Because of what happened, the world still mistrusts the Titans, especially Gar. They receive notification that there is a tropical storm heading towards Florida and the team, in their new T-Jet, head there to assist. Gar attempts to save a young boy, but finds himself attacked by the boy’s father, forcing him to let Raven save the child and his father. When Raven later tells her father she is trying to play the good Raven to fool the rest of the Titans, Trigon leads her to what he calls will be her destiny.

WESLEY DODDS: THE SANDMAN #5 by Robert Venditti and Riley Rossimo. After being grilled by the police about the dead assailant on the street below, Wesley breaks into Fort Hamilton where he kidnaps Colonel Brekinridge, eventually getting him to confess to his crimes, which Wesley records. In the end, Wheeler Vanderlyle knocks out Dodds’ butler, claiming he is a casualty of war.

WONDER WOMAN #6 by Tom King, Daniel Sampere, and Belen Ortega. Wonder Woman is meeting with Steve Trevor when the villains attack. She defeats all of those who are sent after her, leading to her having to battle Grail, who she eventually defeats before passing out. In the backup, Damian and Jon do their best to try to put Lizzie Prince to sleep, with exasperating results.

DC UNIVERSE Month 73, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1062 by Jason Aaron and John Timms. In metropolis, everyone in the city, including Superman and Lois, has been turned into Bizarros and the city is in chaos. Superman continues to fight to get Bizarro out of his head and temporarily succeeds, but is unable to break the hold Bizarro has on the citizens. Batman arrives, telling Superman that Doctor fate has been turned and Zatanna and Xanadu are keeping him subdued. Constantine and Blue Devil are trying to find a way to use magic top counteract this. In the end, Superman turns to the only person he thinks can help him make sense of this…The Joker..

AMAZONS ATTACK #5 by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev. Peacemaker and his team has captured Nubia and he observes Faruka reaching behind her back. Thinking it is a weapon, he has her men search her and they discover it is a bag of carrots. They toss the bag away and it gets eaten by Hoppy who begins transporting the Amazons, and Peacemaker, across the country. In Santa Fe, a young boy, fearing his sister is in danger from the Amazons, shoots Nubia. Hoppy transports the Amazons away and Faruka patches up her queen. While Nubia talks about  the journey she went on after emerging from the Well of Souls, Faruka attacks her and knocks her out. When she wakes, she sees that Mary Marvel has also been captured and Faruka and most of the other Amazons are possessed and responsible, welcoming them to Asylum.

BATMAN #142 by Chip Zdarsky, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Andrea Sorrentino. The Joker Year One Part 1. In the past, The Joker, not long after he transitions into the villain, visits Sally, telling her he looks like he does because of what he did for her. Six months later, a broke Joker puts on makeup and goes out in public where, after winning a bar fight, he meets with Red Hood gang member 22. Another former member calls Number 2, who is revealed to be crooked cop Manny Gabria. The Joker sees Batman patrolling Gotham and has a mental break until he is met by someone who trained batman and promises to train him too. In the present, The Joker strikes again and has turned everyone in Gotham into Jokers.

BATMAN #143 by Chip Zdarsky, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Andrea Sorrentino. The Joker Year One Part 2. In the past, Batman experiments on a dead body, injecting the corpse with chemicals found at the crime scene. The chemicals turn the body white, just like The Joker. Officer Blair, now in custody, refuses to answer questions but Manny Gabria meets with him and Blair gets free, leading the Gabria killing him. Jim Gordon strikes Gabria, leading to Commissioner McLeod to suspend Gordon. The Joker meets with the man who trained Bruce, as revealed in BATMAN: THE KNIGHT, who is convinced he can gain his revenge by telling The Joker everything he needs to defeat the Dark Knight. After long training sessions, The Joker refers to him as being the father to both himself and The Batman and kills him. In the present, Batman meets with The Joker and then meets with Selina, who has covered her ears to keep from being infected by The Joker’s attack. She has secured the rest of the Bat Family, who are all infected. But The Joker shows up and removes her hearing protection, infecting her..

BATMAN #144 by Chip Zdarsky, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Andrea Sorrentino. The Joker Year One Part 3. In the past, the red Hood Gang is still causing havoc and Jim Gordon lets Batman know about corrupt cop Manny Gabria. Manny unleashes his plan at GCPD, but a clown from a kid’s party reveals himself to be The Joker. While Gordon battles Manny, the Red Hood Gang take their spoils and flee. But there is a Joker bomb in their heist, turning them all into Jokers and killing them. Manny is apprehended but is later killed by The Joker. In the present, the Batman family has been corrupted and turned into Jokers. The Joker confronts Batman and gives him a laughing bag with high pitched sonics that brings bats to the battle. The sonic cry of the bats cures the victims. Later, the police find former police commissioner McLeod, who was once the leader of the Red Hood Gang, and it is revealed that he was Patient Zero.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #6 by Joshua Williamson and Nikola Cizmesija. Zach, wearing a homemade costume, attempts to break Zsasz out of his prison transport. Zsasz takes Zach hostage, allowing Robin to get the drop on him. Zach tries to intervene, telling Robin to leave his father alone. Zsasz laughs, claiming Zach is not his son. And this allows Batman to knock the villain out. Robin notes that Zach was obviously trained by someone and he thinks he knows who that is. With Zach out of the school, Damian now becomes part of the soccer team, telling the coach, who he believes is Shush, that he will be watching her. Later that night, the Dynamic Duo show up for a meeting of followers who think Man-Bat is their hero. Someone shows up to help Batman and Robin and that turns out to be Flatline.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #24 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Darkseid has arrived and the heroes of Earth-22 attack him, but are defeated, with many of them killed. David kills Gog, which defeats Darkseid’s plan and he leaves. But Superman and Batman tell David he is not the hero here and has crossed a line. David heads away and The Spectre arrives, revealing David’s future, which is the story of KINGDOM COME. In a time beyond that, Superman visits a grieving David, convincing him to put together a new superhero team.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #10 by Karl Kerschl, Delilah S. Dawson, Matt Harding, Torunn Gronbekk, Dan Watters, Serg Acuna, George Kambadais, Mike Henderson, Tom Derenick, and Ricardo Lopez Ortix. Batman delivers a girl named Olive to Gotham Academy and then begins dating Professor Isla McPherson. While on a date, a woman named Anastasia is assaulted, leaving bite holes in her neck. Batman meets with Professor Langstrom, who tells him of a student named Tristan who is in full transformation. Batman enlists the aid of Mia Mizoguchi, because Tristen is a classmate and a friend. Dressed as Robin, Mia meets with Tristan, who begs for her to leave before he attacks her. In the second story, Artemis deals with guilt after allowing her queen to be murdered. During her soul searching, she is bitten by a snake and realizes that Amazons are not invulnerable to poison. In the third tale, one of Joker’s men is dying because of his repeated exposure to Joker Gas, so he goes on a crime spree, eventually fighting The Signal. Using a variety of weapons stolen from other villains, he declares himself the Nameless and sets his venomized dog of The Signal. The Signal saves the dog and defeats nameless, who bites down on a capsule of Joker gas and kills himself. In the fourth tale, Lois investigates the death of an old school friend who was part of a treasure hunt group that accidentally exposed a Congressman’s improprieties. In the final story, Batman, sticking to the healthiest of diets, encounters Clayface at a burger restaurant. In the end, Batman breaks training and enjoys a cheeseburger.

BIRDS OF PREY #6 .by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero. Sin has been corrupted by Megaera and Zealot, seeing the problem, stabs Sin forcing Megaera to flee. Sin threatens to kill herself to keep Megaera from getting loose on the world. The Birds crack open the urn and that sucks in Megaera’s tendrils, but not Sin, after Megaera agrees to let Sin stay in control. Megaera tells the Birds that she does not want to conquer the world, just live in it. Sin agrees to stay on the island for everyone’s safety and the rest of the Birds return home. Later, Maps meets with Dinah and shows her that, no matter how many times they would have tried another way, Barbara and Sin would have died. Cass later visits and Dinah decides it is time to put a new team together.

BLUE BEETLE #6 5 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. Jaime and his friends face off against Kha-Ef-Re and his followers. After a lengthy fight, Jaime must face his friend Javier alone, with Javier finally telling Jaime to kill him, which Khaji  does when Jaime’s body is taken over by the scarab. As Jaime mourns what has happened, tachyon interference is detected and Jaime disappears, leaving his friends confused.

CATWOMAN #62 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Long ago, Catwoman is involved in a heist that brings her directly into contact with Amanda Waller. To save her own life, she agrees to do just one mission for Waller to wipe the slate clean. Today, Selina is in Cairo with a new version of the Suicide Squad, where they are tasked to steal the Beard of Hatshepsut from under Black Adam’s nose. In the process, Selina has a vision where she meets with Bastet, who tells her to say the magic word and the ethereal cats will come. They secure the Beard and Jeanette uses her magic powers to get the team out of trouble. Later, Selina meets with Waller who betrays her and goes to activate the bomb inside Selina’s head. Selina uses the magic word SHAZAM and leaves..

DETECTIVE COMICS #1082 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Christopher Mitten, Riccardo Federici, and Stefano Raffaele. Following his hanging, Batman battles with his inner demons in a hellish version of Gotham. Talia’s men find someone, possibly Bruce, dying in the desert. But who is the man with the knife watching over them? In the second part of The Question’s story, she comes face to face with Cassandra while she is fighting the Orghams. They capture one of the paramilitary men, who reveals that everything seems to lead back to Shavhod Erhad.. In the backup, many people are invited to Dr. Hurt’s Semi Centennial Masked Macabre. All have been affected by Hurt and most are looking for revenge. James and Selma become the last to alive in what appears to be a mass murder/suicide. As it turns out, Selma is actually Dr. Hurt., whose brain patterns were overwritten by his.

FIRE & ICE: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE #6 by Joanne Starer and Natacha Bustos. Rocky is possessed and causing havoc in Smallville while Martha is being menaced by Crave. Martha gets free but rave corrupts the child with her. Still, she makes her way to town where l-Ron has been able to almost free Rocky by removing the mask. Crave arrives and Linka manages to use her psychic powers to free everyone from Crave’s influence. In the end, Fire and Ice leave Smallville, with Bea suggesting they build a place called new Kooey where the caves are. She even suggest starting a new League.

THE FLASH #6 by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr. Wally takes Linda on an “activity date” to London, but the city is being invaded by things from the Blobsphere. Barry joins in to help but The Stillness arrives to, along with the Uncoiled. The Stillness gives Wally the means to stop the Uncoiled. And, after doing that, jai arrives saying he needs help. Back in Central City he finds everyone frozen in stasis, including his daughter, and they are surrounded by ghosts. After The Stillness arrives again, refusing to explain what is happening, Barry and Wally head into the Speed Force, where Barry tells Wally that he is a poor replacement and that all of this is his fault. Then he stabs Wally. In the end, mysterious vices say that Flash will soon be responsible for a virus called the Cornoa Contrarium.-the Crown of Thawnes.

GREEN ARROW #9 by Joshua Williamson and Sean Izaakse. Peacemaker and Peacewrecker are in the process of directing a team .to move everything out of the former Hall of Justice and into a secure location. Of course, that is being supervised by both Amanda Waller and Bones. Peacemaker marvels at all the security in the building and anyone would be foolish to try and break in. That foolish person is Ollie. He gets caught and Waller offers him a deal to get Roy out from under her control: steal Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Connor heads to Corto Maltese and meets with Diggle, offering a chance for him to take down Malcom Merlyn.

GREEN LANTERN #8 by Jeremy Adams, Ron Marz, Amanxay Nahuelpan, and Dale Eaglesham. Hal learns from Razer how the Blue Central Power Battery on Odym was destroyed, along with those on Ysmault and New Korugar. Hal tries numerous times to gain the will power to leave the atmosphere but fails each time. Carol visits, with Hal saying he would stay if she asks him too. She leaves without an answer and Razer and Hal go to visit Madame Xanadu. While she tries to figure out why Hal cannot leave when they are attacked by United Planets Lanterns, who kidnap Razer. Xanadu tells Hal to go find the Green and that takes him to Galacia, where he feels the power. In the backup, Kyle talks with his deceased girlfriend Alex, explaining why he loves being a lantern. Soujourner visits him and tells him she thinks she knows what is going on with the United Planet’s Lantern takeover and he agrees to join up with her to help.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #6 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. John, Kyle and Shepherd continue to battle Varron, the Radiant Dead, and the Revenant Queen, with Stewart using one of his constructs to defeat Varron. Katanak is grabbed by the Queen and, knowing he will die, cuts off his hand, allowing his ring to find a replacement. Shepherd becomes infected and john gets him to use his will to defeat the infection. The Queen grabs hold of Stewart, after revealing her name is Olgrun of the First World(last seen during the Superman Warworld saga), and tosses him back to Earth. On Earth, although she is a construct, his sister tells her mother that she thinks it will be a while before John comes home.

DC Universe Month 72, Part 2

JAY GARRICK: THE FLASH #4 by Jeremy Adams and Diego Olortegui. Jay and his daughter go to S.T.A.R. Labs to see Slate, who reveals that Professor Hughes was the person who was the silent partner who had the money and plans to start S.T.A.R. Labs. It is revealed that Hughes was inspired to begin his experiments after seeing footage of the original Green Lantern on television. With numerous failures at hand, he begins looking for possible candidates in the student population at Midwestern University, ultimately deciding to make Jay Garrick his guinea pig. Hughes purposely caused a table filled with chemicals to fall upon Garrick, transforming him, but not before taking a sample of blood from him. While Jay recuperated, Hughes questioned Garrick’s doctor, learning of the speed powers, before killing the doctor. Over time, with multiple failures, Hughes develops his own lab and creations. What he learns over time is that Judy also possessed the metagene needed but, before he could act, she was spirited away, leaving her parents with no memory of her. S.T.A.R. Labs was created to act as a front for Hughes’ experiments. Slate reveals where Hughes currently is, just as his secretary enters and begins shooting.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #4 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. Atom smasher has been critically injured and Superman is dead. Despite the obvious lack of life signs, the heroes are treating Clark with a solar array to attempt to regenerate the cells in his body. Batman deduces that the Dreamstone is missing from the Fortress of Solitude and that is how Toyman brought the creatures back. On Skull Island, Supergirl is having a staredown with Kong, but then leaves as she hears about her cousin’s condition, leaving Ollie alone with the ape. That is when the League of Assassins shows up and attacks him. Kong attacks the League, allowing Ollie a chance to escape. He ends up on a ship and discovers a giant monster skull on board. Lois arrives at the Fortress and visits  with her comatose husband, showing him the engagement ring she found in his jacket and imploring him to get better so she can wear that ring. The heroes leave to help Auquaman in his undersea fight and Lois observes security footage, seeing Toyman with the Dreamstone and telling the heroes to look for the red stone.  While Luthor has now secured the beacon, the heroes fight an undersea creature when Godzilla arrives to fight the monster. Aquaman makes a bold move and releases the Kraken to hopefully stop the creatures.

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #1 by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. On New Kandor, Dru-Zod is tormented and teased by Jor-el, which turns out to be only an illusion. Later, while meeting with his wife ursa, it is revealed that the Forbidden Sector has been breached. Zod goes there to find it is his son who has breached the sector, who accuses his father for plotting for a war by his father building an ultimate weapon. Father strikes son and the two battle with Zod winning and demanding his son leave New Kandor, which he does. A month later, New Kandor is attacked by Khunds, who he defeats. In the end, Zod meets with the Council who have heard of open hostilities in his sector. He tells them it is inaccurate. In actuality, Zod continues his plan and had a Khund captive he is torturing for information.

NIGHTWING #110 by Tom Taylor and Sam Basri. On the first day of Beast World, a tattooed woman calling herself Apex Ava kills a spore and then eats it, transforming her. Later, Jon and Nightwing go to the Iceberg Lounge, as Jon can hear Damian’s heartbeat. What they discover is that there is a fight club where the transformed civilians battle each other. Damian, transformed and now known as Mr. Mittens, has to fight Gail the Slayer, with Damian turning loose on her, with Ava imploring him to tear her throat out. That is when Jon and Dick intervene. The spore exits Gail’s mouth and Dick kills it. They take Damian away and, as the spore goes to leave, Jon destroys it with his heat vision. Damian and Dick head back to the arena and confront Ava, who turns into a bird and flies away. Until a cure can be found, zoologists are tasked to care for the infected.

OUTSIDERS #3 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Luke and Kate head through a “magic door” and it takes them to a twisted version of Wayne Manor, where they find multiple versions of both Batman and Batwoman. One of the Batmen arrives, determined to kill the others. Luke learns that this new Batman is Duke Thomas. Duke has seen what will come and is determined to stop it. Batwoman save Luke and, after inspiration from the other Batman variants, they rejoin Drummer and exit The Bleed. In the end, Batwoman has visions of bats.

THE PENGUIN #6 by Tom King and Stevan Subic. In a tale set in the past, Oswald Cobblepot is working as a bartender in the Iceberg lounge, which gives him access to many of Gotham’s underworld, whose intimate plans he eagerly gives to Batman. He also is dealing with his foster mother, who seemingly could care less about him. he turns on Falcone, allowing Batman to apprehend him. In the process he gains ownership of the Iceberg Lounge. Finding himself at the top of the world, he pushes his mother off the top of their apartment building.

POISON IVY #18 by G. Willow Wilson and Luanna Vecchio. Ivy, Croc and Grundy team up to fight the zombies, which they defeat. Later, as she considers how to defeat this plague, Batman arrives and he and Ivy talk, with her telling him about the potential zombie outbreak. He accepts the vial of her antidote. As he leaves, she is wracked by pain and something moving in her stomach. Janet from HR arrives bringing donuts. As ivy continues to work, she again is struck with intense pain and is suddenly split open in her midsection as Jason Woodrue bursts forth from her.

POWER GIRL #5 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. It’s a cat’s tale as Squeaky saves a group of captured small animals that are being used for testing. In the end, Supergirl visits Power Girl and suggests they team-up..

SHAZAM #7 by Mark Waid and Gordon Sudzuka. The captain battles Bizarro Captain. He defeats him and discovers that Bizarro captain is a creation of Felix Faust, who is discovered robbing a bank vault. Meanwhile, in Kahdaq, Black Adam confronts the space dinosaurs who have come looking for their missing companion. They find where the Batson home is and fire a missile to distract Black Adam. Back in Fawcett City, Billy finds that the foster parents have purchased them a new home. Tawny calls Billy and tells him the dinosaurs have arrived here. He transforms into the Captain and confronts them. But Adam also arrives and attacks the dinosaurs. Billy begs him to leave and Adam insults Billy’s foster parents, leading the them brawling throughout the new home. When Billy finally gets him to stop, they realize they have destroyed the new home.

SPEED FORCE #3 by Jarrett Williams and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Ava and Roundhouse are training with Mr. terrific while Wallace and Jaime  are getting their hair cut. Later, Superboy and Wallace attack Music Meister and Mas Y Menos, but Music Meister manages to corrupt Superboy, who now may find himself joining Mas Y Menos.

SUPERMAN #10 by Joshua Williamson and Bruno Redondo. Superman and Marilyn Moonlight are in the Western past where Superman and Marilyn comes face-to-face with Terra-Man, who took his time machine to the past. While Superman confronts him, Marilyn notices a woman and she notices her too. Terra-Man, believing Superman to be powerless, challenges him to a gunfight, where he shoots Superman who, to his surprise, is uninjured. When Terra-Man attempts to leave, he is captured by Marilyn. She reveals that she is the woman who saw her in town and that inspired her to become Marilyn Moonlight. After she died, someone resurrected her and turned her into a ghost, and will stay that way until she finds who did this to her. As they talk, Superman uses the time machine to bring them back to the present. He heads back to Supercorp only to be attacked and subdued by the Lex Luthor Revenge Squad, who tells him to join them or watch Metropolis fall.

TITANS #7 by Tom Taylor and Travis Moore. Cyborg and Raven search for Garth below Titans Tower while Starfire battles Xand’R, who was masquerading as Brother Eternity. He was responsible for allowing Starfire’s parents to be killed, in exchange for the Dominators giving him the last pieces of the Necrostar, which he took to Earth. He has a spore go into Cyborg, but he cannot be turned because he is only half human. A transformed Nightwing attacks Barbara and Wally and garth arrives to join the attack against his teammates. Garth undergoes flash dehydration and that causes the spore to leave him and be destroyed. With Garth restored and Xand’R defeated, Starfire chokes Nightwing, forcing the spore out into her mouth, where she chews it and kills it.  Later, Starfire sends Xand’R to the Phantom Zone, before the team goes out to help save the world.

TITANS: BEAST WORLD #4 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer. Peacemaker, after killing  Chester Runk’s transformed son, kidnaps him for Amanda Waller’s devious purposes. In Ivy Town, Giganta gets transformed by one of the Starro creatures and she begins to destroy the town. Leading the Titans to band together with Jon Kent and Swamp Thing to both stop her and save her. Of course, Sgt. Steel becomes the face of the government, claiming that if the Titans won’t save the Earth, he and his people will. Nightwing agrees that the Titans will do everything they can to save Gar. Meanwhile, Waller and Peacemaker meet with Luthor and use his Justice League teleporter to send Runk into space where he finds himself inside Garro. Runk’s power is a internal Black Hole and that kills both him and, apparently, Gar.

TITANS: BEAST WORLD #5 by Tom Taylor Ivan Reis, and Eduardo Pansica. Gar is dead, apparently, and now the Titans not only mourn but must find out who is ultimately responsible. The official stance, led by Amanda Waller, is that the Titans are responsible, Chester Runk is a hero, and she is going to unleash an attack to target those people who have been corrupted by the spores, meaning the death of a potential million people. Raven consults with Donna Troy, telling her she is torn about what to do, but that she is tempted to release the demon side of her within her gem. Raven, Nightwing and Flash head to the Bureau of Sovereignty to stop the mass executions. Nightwing confronts Waller and Peacemaker, defeating Peacemaker and discovering that Waller has already launched the drones. This leads to Cyborg hacking into the military’s system and that the government is no longer in control of the drones. That makes Waller smile as she knows this will not sit well with the public. Raven arrives and attacks Waller but she is saved by Doctor Hate, who reveals herself as Raven’s demon side..

TITANS: BEAST WORLD #6 by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, Lucas Meyer, and Eduardo Pansica. Raven finds herself face to face with Doctor Hate, who is the evil side of herself. She sends Nightwing back to Titans Tower so she can find herself. Dick says he knows the spores are attracted to the most powerful people, so he reaches out to Jon Kent, who is able to finally free Batman from his spore. The gathered heroes proceed to go out and stop the planned assault on the infected, using their abilities to free the infected. Along the way, they discover that Gar’s consciousness is in the spores, even though they have been eliminating them. To get him back to something resembling what he once was, they now have to capture the spores and not kill them. Starfire joins Raven’s fight against her evil self, with Flash stealing Doctor hate’s helm, which allows Raven to fight back and contain her evil self in the gem. They take the captured spores and are able to rebuild Gar, but he is only a physical body with half-memories. The heroes go to the Boomerang Nebula and retrieve the biggest piece of the creature and manage to combine the piece with Gar, restoring his mind. Amanda Waller tells the world that the Titans are not heroes and renames the Hall of Justic as the Hall of Order. In the end, it is revealed that Raven lost to her evil self and the real Raven is trapped in the gem.

TITANS: BEAST WORLD ATLANTIS #1 by Sina Grace, Frank Tieri, Meghan Fitzmartin, Riccardo Federici,  Valentine De Lando, and M.L. Sanapo. Aquaman, garth and Tula battle the sea creatures that have been affected by the spores. In the spores, a spore ends up in Arthur and he is transformed, forcing them to lock him up until they can save him. In the second tale, police in Amnesty Bay find a dead body and then the mayor, who refuses to close the beach, it attacked by a mutated stingray, cutting him in half. Captain Boomerang, Vixen and Deadeye arrive and go off to find the creature, which turns out to be a transformed Black Manta. Deadeye gets inside and removes the spore, saving Manta. While Deadeye and Vixen talk with Manta, Boomerang calls Waller and informs her of Deadeye’s plan to put a team together. When she hangs up, she admits she is responsible for all of this and now a captured Dolphin  is infected by a spore. In the final tale, Jackson and Mera go off to save some of the underwater creatures. But Mera is infected by a spore and immediately goes after her daughter. Andy uses her powers to repel her mother, who flees into the ocean.

TITANS: BEAST WORLD STAR CITY #1 by Joshua Williamson, Ryan Parrott, Robert Venditti, Brandt, Jamal Campbell, Roger Cruz, Gavin Guidry, and Stein. Connor and Ollie are trying to deal with the Beast World situation, which brings them face to face with the Resurrection Twins. Ollie gets captured, meaning it is up to Connor to save his father. Connor rescues his father and they team up to capture the infected. In the second story, Red Canary and Black Canary team up to fight the people infected by the spores. In the process, Dinah is infected, turning into a giant canary. In the third story, Jay Garrick and Alan Scott have been infected, leading to Stargirl and Huntress teaming up with Red Arrow to battle them. Together they capture their friends.

WESLEY DODDS: THE SANDMAN #4 by Robert Venditti and Riley Rossimo. Wesley experiences nightmares of the past, present, and future after being exposed to his own gas. When he eventually comes out of the nightmare, he believes that Colonel Breckinridge is the boss responsible for setting things into motion and he goes to visit Wheeler Vanderlyle, only to find him being assaulted by the man who attacked him at his home. The two fight and the man falls through a window to the street below. With his journal now gone, he believes it has ended up with the military and that means he could face treason charges.

WONDER WOMAN #5 by Tom King, Daniel Sampere, and Belen Ortega. Sergeant Steel goes out to recruit villains to help him kill Wonder Woman, bring Giganta, Circe, Dr. Psycho, Grail, Silver Swan, and Angle Man. Meanwhile, Diana has a series of skill tests with her fellow Amazons, Wonder Girl, Yara, and Donna Troy, telling them if she defeats each of them, they must swear to not interfere in Diana’s forthcoming fight. In the end, despite all of them being defeated, they all refuse to stay on the sidelines. In the backup, Lizzie, Jon and Damian engage in a kangaroo race on Themyscira, with her winning. She declares the three of them represent a new generation of heroes, that gets referred to as ‘Gen-S’.