DC NEW 52 ZERO MONTH WEEK FOUR

ALL STAR WESTERN #0: We begin on the night that Jonah Hex is born. His father, Woodson Hex,  is roughed up by a gang sent by Colonel William Jennings. His goal is to find and murder fugitive Mormons. Woodson murdered the gang even as his son was born. Many years go by and we see that Woodson has become an abusive alcoholic. One night young Jonah came to his mother’s defense, which ended up with him being beaten before his mother sends the man away. Soon after, Jonah’s mother ran off with a travelling salesman leaving Jonah stuck with his father, who dumped jumped with the Apache in exchange for passage through their lands. Raised as an Apache, he was never accepted, especially by the chief's son Noh-Taute. During their last test of strength, Hex was betrayed by Noh-Taute and battle with the Kiowa tribe alone. Jonah survived the encounter and joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. Eventually, following his being whipped by a Union Colonel, Jonah returned to the Apache tribe. Once again, he was forced to face Noh-Taute again. The Apache cheated but so did Hex who was punished for his actions. The chief agreed to let Jonah live with the mark of the demon upon him. The chief heated a tomahawk and pressed the searing blade into Jonah's cheek. The story moves to present day, Reginald Forsythe offers three thousand dollars to locate the thief who has been stealing a medical formula from Dr. Henry Jekyll. Meanwhile, Rogan McKee, bearing the mysterious formula, returns to Haly’s Circus and gives the formula to his uncle Kirk. And, if that wasn’t enough, a mysterious woman returns to Gotham to get her mother back.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat do a magnificent job of fleshing out the “true” origin of Jonah Hex. The battered mom who runs off with a travelling salesman sounds like a punch line in a joke, but it happens and does so effectively. The drunken father who sells him for safe passage through Apache territory also sounds like a punch line, but it too works beautifully. Betrayed by his Apache brother, branded by his adoptive Indian father, Jonah Hex has an attitude and for good reason. And, not to mention the origin, we get more of the mystery involving Dr. Jekyll plus the mysterious woman in the last panel. Could it be Tallulah Black’s daughter?

AQUAMAN #0: Set six years ago, Arthur Curry’s father, dying following an attack by Black Manta, asks his son to go to Atlantis and find his mother. Arthur leaves the lighthouse and jumps into the sea after being besieged by reporters. He encounters a shark and, using telepathy, makes the shark leave. He also saves a boat trapped in a storm. He tells him of his search for Atlantis and they send him to seek a man named Vulko. When they meet, Vulko kneels before him, calling him the King of Atlantis. He also tells that Arthur’s mother died many years ago. He tells the story of how Tom and Atlanna met, romanced and how Arthur was born. He also tells him how she was forced to marry the captain of the Atlantean Guard and bore a second son, Orm. Vulko believes that Orm murdered Atlanna and Vulko, being loyal to her, fled for his safety. Arthur is given a map and stones from the first king of Atlantis. Then they leave Norway and travel across the sea before finally reaching Atlantis.

Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis do it again and put a great curve in it by having Vulko be on the run and living in the surface world. This is certainly Reis’ best work of his career and Johns actually writes to the comic fan and not a 5^th grader. This is truly the book and the character that he has always needed to be.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #0: Beginning with the bat bursting through his study, Bruce Wayne decides that the world needs a worldwide organization of crime fighters. Despite a certain Mr. Treadwell, who gets arrested for various crimes, Bruce Wayne introduces BATMAN INCORPORATED to the board. From there, it becomes a worldwide jaunt for members. Squire and Knight come on board from England. Dark Ranger joins as he is visited in Australia by Squire. Add in Nightrunner from France and Batman Japan and El Gaucho and, eventually, Batwing, and you have a worldwide enterprise.

Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham bring you the not so secret, secret origin of Batman Incorporated. A less than spectacular outing here and Frazier Irving’s painted style absolutely detracts from what I usually get in a BATMAN INCORPORATED comic. If this was the issue that was designed to make me jump on, I would jump off. Luckily I have been impressed thus far and will continue on with the title.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #0: From the time that Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, Bruce obsessed with finding out why they were killed. Fpor a long time he thought it had to do with his father’s wealth and fame. One night, Bruce sneaks out of the Wayne Manor and wends up bribing a homeless man with his father’s watch to garner information. All that got him was a kick into the garbage and the watch was lost to him. As he grew older, Bruce excelled in academics and the various martial arts. He eventually returned to Park Row to find the cloudy eyed homeless man, who revealed it was Joe Chill who killed the Waynes. And he reluctantly returned the watch to Bruce. After beating up a bunch of bar patrons, Bruce got a gun, broke into Joe Chill’s home and demanded answers. He discovered the man was only looking for his next drink and had no idea how famous the Waynes were. Bruce lowered the gun and soon after went to Tibet to begin his training.

Sheer brilliance from Gregg Hurwitz!  Hurwitz is fitting in nicely to the pantheon of Batman and doing a great job of embellishing the legacy. Not only do we get to see Bruce as he grows up and continues his quest to find his parents’ killers, we get to see him actually carry a gun! What is interesting in almost all the recent revamped origins of Batman ( BATMAN INCORPORATED being the exception) is the lack of the iconic bat vision that encouraged him to become a creature of the night. The art from Mico Suayan and Juan Jose Ryp is quite stylish and fits the story. This is just a really awesome story!

THE FLASH #0: Set five years ago on the anniversary of his mother’s death, Barry visited his father in prison. His father had been accused of Nora’s murder and Barry has constantly promised to prove his innocence. Later on, frustrated by everything he throws his computer through a window, which allows lightning to come in and strike him. He dropped the chemicals he was carrying which burned him while still being struck by the lightning. Barry spent some time in a hospital bed in a coma and dreaming of his past. his most vivid memory was of the spelling B his father took him too shortly after he had been served divorce papers by Barry’s mom. The following day, as Barry was out of the house, he came home to find his mother murdered and his father arrested. This jolts him out of his coma and he finds himself having run to Africa. Three weeks later, he made his debut as a super powered vigilante known as The Flash.

I will admit that I am not a fan of this new version of The Flash. I will also admit that Wally West doesn’t exist in the Universe. I specifically don’t like the new versions of The Rogues. But they don’t appear here, so it’s a moot point. Francis Manapul’s story is fine but it just manages to rehash the classic origin with some new pieces added. At this point, the Speed Force is merely a plot devise for down the road. And Brian Buccellato’s art style doesn’t appeal to me. It isn’t that he can’t draw; I just am not a fan of his angular style. So, while the Zero Issues are designed to be jumping on points for readers, this one doesn’t encourage me at all.

FURY OF FIRESTORM #0:  We begin several months after the Firestorms have been wiped out and Jason and Ronnie have become powerless. Jason is thinking about Professor Stein and how his experiments led to their creation. In a flash, the room is full of balloons and Jason thinks that maybe his powers have come back. Ronnie is not happy about it, as he wishes to have a normal life again. Later, during a football game, Helix crashes, telling Ronnie he can feel the fire within him. Jason tries to help and transforms them both into a single Firestorm. With Ronnie as the body and Jason as the brain, they take Helix into space and cause a huge explosion. They are now literally Firestorm the Nuclear Man.

There is a reason I don’t read this book: I don’t get it. Well, I GET IT and I GOT IT when it was Ronnie and Professor Stein. I don’t like Jason’s character and didn’t when he was introduced. I find him to be the Jason Todd version of Firestorm. Joe Harris’ writing is fine and Yildirav Cinar does an adequate job with the art. But I don’t really understand what’s going on not do I care. Sorry guys: this is NOT a jumping on point for me.

I, VAMPIRE #0: We get Andrew Bennett’s origin in this issue. Once a lord in a wealthy family, he angered his father and mother by running away with a woman named Mary Seward. As he runs away to be with her, the carriage he is riding in has an accident, killing the driver and injuring Andrew. A dark, cloaked figure approached and Andrew, fearing for his life, thrust a dagger into his chest, to no avail as the man didn’t even bleed. About to die, he asked the man to tell his story. The creature had made himself a promise many years before that if he ever fed on a true innocent, he would be cursed to spend his days “locked in a vacuum of naught, eternally.” Andrew tries to convince the man, known as Cain, that he was the innocent, but to no avail. The stranger transformed into a wolf and attacked. Upon sinking his fangs into Andrew, Cain realized that there was enough innocence in the boy to trap him forever. Soon Andrew found himself reborn and hungry. He wrote a letter to Mary saying they could never be together.

But we DO KNOW they eventually came together, as he was responsible for turning her. This is a great tale of virtue, revulsion and misfortune, which is why the tale ends with lines from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino turn in another spectacular issue that just continues to make Andrew Bennett the most heartbreaking vampire in comics…yes, even more so than Michael Morbius!

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #0: Some time ago, apprentice magician John Constantine went to New York City to learn from Nick Necro. Necro had studied magic from the greats including Zatara and Baron Winters. Constantine tracked Necro down at the Oblivion Bar. Necro had no interest in speaking with Constantine, especially when his girlfriend Zatanna when on stage. Unfortunately, Constantine also took notice of the girl. Constantine saves the pair from a member of the Cult of the Cold Flame and Necro agrees to train him. Necro goes on a search for the legendary Books Of Magic, seeking to control all magic. Zatanna and Constantine become involved in a relationship. Nick ends up being caught by the Cult and Constantine and Zatanna go to save him. In actuality, it was a trap, trading the couple for the Cult’s knowledge. In the end, Constantine ended up sending Necro to Hell as he died. John took the one thing he needed to finish the tale: Necro’s trench coat.

Is this the true origin of John Constantine? Probably not!!! I also see Constantine as that mysterious warlock who has made a career of hanging out in Vertigo books. This guy is Constantine light, kind of what Keanu Reeves made him when he did the movie. But the origin story isn’t totally hackneyed and you can owe that to the talented Jeff Lemire. The artwork is awesome too, as handled by Lee Garbett and Cam Smith. A nice break from what has been a real roller coaster ride as of late for this title.

NATIONAL COMICS: ROSE & THORN #1: Rose Canton wakes up screaming to discover she is covered in someone else’ blood. And she has a new tramp stamp tattoo of a rose that says Thorn on it. At school, the popular girls now talk to Rose and tease her about being with a boy named Troy. Confused and having voices in her head, she goes to science and passes out when a photo of her kissing Troy gets posted online and circulated in class. Rose passes out and is taken to the nurse by her best friend Melinda, who reminds her that Rose tried to kiss her the other day. She also advises her to try again as she might be more receptive. She jumps in a taxi and heads to Troy’s house while looking at Thorn’s Facelook page. It’s obvious Thorn is Rose and the pictures there are highly embarrassing. Arriving at troy’s house, she has visions of being tattooed by Troy’s father and then her turning the tables on him. He arrives shortly still bearing the scars of the tattoo she put on his chest that says MINE (that explains the blood). Rose races home and receive a video message from Thorn. She tells her that Troy’s dad was someone responsible for what happened to “their” dad and Thorn is going to make them all pay. The issue ends with troy showing up.

 

To say this is one schizophrenic roller coaster ride would be a major understatement. This book has as many turns in it as a snake and is twice as creepy! I absolutely love it! The original Thorn was also Rose Canton and fought The Golden Age Flash. When she was cured, she actually married Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott and bore two children: Jade and Obsidian. She also eventually committed suicide after her split personality returned. In the Sixties, Robert Kanigher rebooted the character making Rose revert to Thorn while she slept, allowing her other personality to hunt member of The 100, who killed “their” Metropolis Policeman father.  I used to love that Sixties version but this one is so creepy it totally rocks my world. Author Tom Taylor is no fly by night author wither, having served time writing a bunch of Dark Horse STAR WARS titles, plus winning the 2012 'Stan Lee Excelsior Award'. Art by Neil Googe is quirky and the cover by Ryan Sook is salaciously sexy!!! DC: cancel something to make way for this book! So far, the NATIONAL COMICS books have been winners!

RED LANTERNS #0: We begin some time ago when Atrocitus was simply a husband and father named Atros. But he also has to endure the death of his wife and daughter at the hands of the Manhunters. This warps the loving family man and he proceeds to kill as many Manhunters as possible with his bare hands. Soon Atros is aligned with the Four Demons. Quill, Roixaeume, Orphram and Dal-Xuaix and they proceed to wage war against the Guardians of the Galaxy. They form the Empire of Tears and Atrocitus seduces Roixaeume to learn the secrets of Blood Prophecy. Eventually the Guardians capture the five and imprisoned them on Ysmault. Atrocitus, following a Blood Prophecy, ends up killing the demons and constructs the Red Lantern Power Battery. Then, conducting the Blood Prophecy again, he sees his future Lanterns:  Bleez, Skallox and Zilius Zox.

This rebooted origin is an interesting if less than totally faithful to the original origin surrounding BLACKEST NIGHT. The keys points are here: Atrocitus’ family was murdered by the Manhunters, he did hook up with the Four Demons and they did form the Empire of Tears. But Atrocitus was responsible for mortally wounding Abin Sur which led to him crashing to Earth. Despite that missing piece, it was an entertaining story by reliable Peter Milligan, with art by Adrian Syaf. Suffice it to say, this is my favorite issue thus far of Milligan’s run.

THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #0: Set on the planet Thanagar, Thal Provis sits on the throne. Ruling with him are his daughter Shayera and his son Corsar, but Katar Hol was made part of that family as he is dating Shayera. Not long after a peace meeting, the Daemonites left a disease which left the Thangarians wingless. With Thal’s death, Corsar took the throne and made plans to mine for nth metal. Mining continues for some time and Corsar ends up with the nth metal forming a blade on his arm. The nth metal binds itself with Katar and he gets his wings back. Katar and Corsar end up in a battle over Thal’s final wishes and Corsar is killed. Blamed for his death, Katar is now a hunted man who escapes to Earth. We flash to the present and see Shayera preparing to strip the nth metal from Katar form.

I have only reads two issues of this series: issue #1 and this one. Neither has greatly impressed me. And this origin pulls me light years away from the whole Hawkman and Hawkgirl resurrecting through the centuries. Sure, we have Thangar again, but not like this. Hawkman is running for his lives…haven’t I already see this happen this month? Say goodbye to Rob Liefeld with this issue as he officially makes his exit from DC in a huff and with a plethora of Tweets. Joe Bennett’s art is the nicest thing about the issue and that says nothing to me. Bennett is good, but I long for Joe Kubert!

SUPERMAN #0:  Jor-El is beneath the surface of Krypton and confirms his theories that the planet will be destroyed soon. But, on his way back topside, this green mass begins eating his suit and destroys any evidence. Even though he attempts to save it, a group of crazy Kryptonians want the planet to be destroyed in what they call The Cosmicide. Lara and Jor-El fight back and sent the bad guy to the Phantom Zone. And Superman knows this because he was there. Meanwhile, a herald blows the Horn of Confluence signaling…?

This is one big mess! First off, how does Kal-El get to witness the whole Jor-El and Lara become action heroes when he wasn’t there? Right after Jor-El gets home from his underground exploration, Lara tells him she is pregnant. Second, Scott Lobdell just phoned this script in because it strikes me as more filler than anything else. Greg Rocafort is the new artist? I can do without this as it’s too artsy to convey much of anything but art for art’s sake. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah: the herald and the Horn? Apparently they are heralds for an ancient entity called Oracle and this ties back to both early STORMWATCH and SUPERMAN issues. This isn’t the FANTASTIC FOUR and he’s not the Silver Surfer. What a horrible, horrible issue!

TALON #0:  We get the origin story of Calvin Rose. At a young age, he ran away from home, after being repeatedly abused by his father and joined Haly’s Circus and became an escape artist. When he was thirteen, he auditioned for someone who was connected to the Court of Owls. After months of training, he was given two final tasks. His first was to retire another Talon by slitting the man’s throat. Then he was told he would have to spend days in the labyrinth to prove himself to the Court. Calvin Rose was an escape artist, so he managed to escape the maze. The Court sent him to kill the 23 tear old daughter of a recently deceased CEO. But he arrived to see she had a two year old daughter. At that point, he quit the Court and became a wanted man.

Except for the fact that he is a former Talon and the Owls tie into Batman mythos, I had nothing to say about this book that would make me want to buy it. Scott Snyder did a wonderful job of crafting the whole legacy and legend of the Owls but this just strikes me as just another clichéd man on the run story. There really was nothing here that he or James Tynion IV wrote that made me thrilled to read this book.  I’ve have been here before, just on television alone: RUN BUDDY RUN, THE FUGITIVE…even MIDNIGHT RUN. This is a plot device that is long overused! On the plus side, art by Guillem March is awesome as always. Still, nothing here makes me want to continue past issue #1,

TEEN TITANS #0: This issue focuses on Tim Drake: an Olympic hopeful specializing in gymnastics. He had also been working on discovering Batman's secret identity and had decided that the Gotham Aviary was Batman's base. Batman arranges to meet him there and explains that all of the clues he had stumbled upon were planted. Batman warned him to stay away and give up his search. This only made Tim search harder and he used his hacking ability to steal all of Oswald Cobblepot’s fortune. Batman arrived in time to rescue Tim and decides that it’s best to put his parents in the Witness Protection program. They agree and ask Batman to watch over Tim. He told Tim he would take him on as the new Robin, but Tim needed to follow orders. Arriving in the Batcave, he decided NOT to take on the identity of Robin, in respect for Jason Todd. He designed his own costume, and took the name Red Robin.

Scott Lobdell and takes an interesting turn on the history of Timothy Drake, specifically regarding his athleticism and his parents. In the old DCU, Tim was in the audience when the Flying Grayson plunged to the deaths. Tim became an orphan when his mother died and his father was killed by Captain Boomerang. To date, he has not been adopted by Bruce Wayne, n or has he watched his girlfriend die (or even have her introduced into the NEW 52 Universe). Brett Booth does his usual awesome job on art.

VOODOO #0: Pricilla Kitaen believes she had been abducted by aliens and wakes in a vat, connected to life-support systems. She breaks free and learns that the aliens are looking to create sleeper agents. She gets caught and realizes she has developed wings and claws and the urge to kill all humans. She escapes through a window of the spacecraft and uses her wings to fly. The aliens give chase but are taken out by The Black Razors, who also manage to capture Pricilla. The aliens decide to clone their creation who is given the identity of an exotic dancer. Flash forward to today and Pricilla, now known as Voodoo, is joining forces with Cole Cash( Grifter) to stop the Deamonite invasion. 

Okay…so the exotic dancer in issue #1 WASN’T this character?  No, as I discovered from searching various spots online, Pricilla is the REAL KIDNAPPED HUMAN while Voodoo, specifically the exotic dancer from issue #1, is the clone who apparently now rules the Daemonites that live on Europa. And she’s pissed, as she seeks revenge on the Helspont (remember him from Superman?), the Daemonite lords, and poor Priscilla who was offered a job with the Black Razors but would rather work with Grifter. Well, someone should tell her she no longer has a book as this is the official last issue. Someone should also tell Joshua Williamson this is a confusing mess. But Sami Basri gets high marks as the art rocks!

DC's ZERO MONTH WEEK #3

BATWOMAN #0: We get the tale of Kate Kane and her twin sister Beth as they grew up. If Beth was bullied, Kate would defend her. Beth and her mother were slaughtered in a terrorist kidnapping. Kate’s ultimate way of dealing with their deaths was to focus on her studies and get into West Point. During that time, she met her new girlfriend Sophie. But that relationship lead to her being thrown out of West Point during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. She found herself sinking in drink to wash away her pain. As part of her training to be Batwoman, her father sent her to the Four Corners of the world on treacherous missions. On her last mission, her father confronts her. Eventually she returns to Gotham and realizes that her father betrayed her by not telling her that her sister Beth was still alive. That led to the birth of Batwoman.

J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman retell the story of Kate Kane and add some new pieces to it. What I love about Williams art is that it shifts from this beautifully painted style to a very cartoony one. The pair writes a good story that moves along nicely. You don’t have to have full knowledge of Batwoman’s pre NEW 52 adventures, but it helps. But they do a good enough job of filling in holes to eliminate a lot of that need. A great character with a great story.

BIRDS OF PREY #0: The story begins one year ago with Dinah Lance, formerly of Team 7, chasing after Basilisk. Biding her time, she goes to work for Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge. Penguin nicknames her Black Canary to keep with his bird theme. She meets and becomes friends with Eve Crawford, who has been named Starling. Dinah hears that a deal with Basilisk is going down but the meet she observes gets broken up when Batgirl ruins it by getting involved. After a scuffle, Dinah and Batgirl admit they were both after the same thing: a mutation bomb (similar to the one from SUICIDE SQUAD #0?). They finally observe the buyer, go after him, and take him out. But Starling gets the drop on Batgirl, putting a gun to her head. Dinah convinces her that they are all on the same side and the trio head off in a speed boat. In the epilogue, Dinah realizes she missed the ‘team adventure’ and liked the idea of having someone watching her back. Meanwhile, Starling reports to  Amanda Waller, who tells Starling to remain friendly with Dinah. We also see Dinah’s “late” husband kept in stasis in Waller’s control.

WOW!!! Duane Swierczynski makes every effort to impress on this one and does! We find how Canary got her name, how she and Starling became friends and that they might really be friends. Kurt Lance on ice…REALLY!? Again, we have Amanda Waller pulling strings. And Romano Molenaar’s art rocks! I would take his art any day and every month on this book!

BLUE BEETLE #0: We start at Reachworld, long, long ago when Khaji-Da was created. It seeks out a host and bonds itself onto a littler alien girl named Styx. Styx uses the powers she never knew she had to fend off the scarab and we are told she has grown up to become Lady Styx: “her name is a byword for terror”. Attacked by a Green Lantern, the injured scarab ends up in the Yucatan Peninsula where it changes form and becomes known as the Sky Witness, defending the people of the land. Eventually, it would be known as the cruel god Quetzalcoatl. Over the centuries, the scarab is found and lost and traded until it ends up in the possession of Jaime Reyes who becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle. When last we saw him, O.M.A.C. transported him into deep space. Now he floats through space and is about to be attacked by other scarab creatures.

I found this a fun read, especially since I don’t read the title. Keith Giffen and Tony Bedard craft a brilliant story about the history of the scarab, as narrated by the scarab itself. Ig Guara and J.P. Mayer handle the art chores and, while it’s nothing stunning, it is also not so off-putting to take away from the story. If this book read this good each month, I would probably buy it.

CAPTAIN ATOM #0: Set several years ago, Nathaniel “Nate” Adams finds himself so overcome by his father’s death that he tries to fly his jet to the moon, which gets him to volunteer for a secret, inter-dimensional experiment run by Doctor Megala. Something goes hideously wrong and he appears to die during the experiment. He reappears some time later as a being of pure energy.

J. T. Krul’s story gives me nothing that would make me want to read this title which, thankfully, has been cancelled. Here’s a military guy with a complete dislike of the military who suddenly becomes a weapon or the military. Sorry: that makes no sense to me! And Freddie Williams III art is a poor man’s version of Bill Sienkiewicz…and that’s being kind. The character is shallow, the art is miserable and I think it’s time he gets re-imagined yet again…by someone who can develop him properly!

CATWOMAN #0: Set a few years ago, Selina Kyle is hired by the mayor's as the Mistress of Protocol and Invitation Management, which gives her more clearance. She wants to find out where her brother, who ended up in another foster home, ended up.

A co-worker helps and finds Selina’s image, but with a Russian name. That was when the computer crashed. A year earlier, She was involved in burglary, but she got caught and got taken in to the second chance program with the mayor's office. The day after the computer crash, she was called up to speak with the man who put her in the second chance program. He accused her of triggering the crash by looking into her file and throws her off the building. But an awning breaks her fall. On the ground, stray cats surround her. Months pass and Selina has transformed into Catwoman, using the cloth from the awning to make her first costume. She broke into her old office to steal stole some computer files. She takes the files to a computer expert and he claims the files have been wiped and there was no record of the Second Chances program.

Ann Nocenti steps into Judd Winick’s shoes and does an commendable job of it. She throws in this brilliant hook that will move the story along for the next few months if not the next year. Who is Selina Kyle? Really? We also have a wonderful art job from Adriana Melo who seems to be the new kid on the block replacing Guillem March, although March does turn in a breathtaking cover. And I’m okay with that! This book continues to do wonders and rocks my world! I cannot wait to see how this all ties together. It is now a far cry from the book that disturbed so many people because it began with Batman and Catwoman having sex!

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #0: In the first story, we see how Max Lord and Brother Eye collaborated on the O.M.A.C. project and how Kevin Kho was chosen to be the host. Next we get Michael Holt as he makes his transformation from the smartest man in the world to Mister Terrific. He sees visions of the past, present and near future, including a vision of his deceased son. But it turns out his son is actually someone else who will be causing trouble for the heroes of Earth 2. Next, the origin of the team of Hawk and Dove, thanks to the manipulating of the Goddess of Order and the God of Chaos. The next tale is of the early days of the Blackhawks. Set five years ago during the war with Darkseid, we see how the team fought valiantly, how Lady Blackhawk lost her eye and our first look at Mother Machine. Finally, we have an early tale of Deadman, who is adjusting to try and work with Rama Kushna.

Welcome to the $6.00 NEW 52 version of the 1978 CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE(bits and pieces from 20 DC comics cancelled during what was called the DC IMPLOSION). Each of these characters (except for Deadman, who appeared in the first DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS story) had series shot out from under them. And, for the most part, we can see why.  Of all of these characters, the only one I gravitated to was O.M.A.C. and even this tale is weak. Of all the stories here, the one that looks the best is the Hawk and Dove tale. But keep in mind it IS Rob Liefeld and therefore the writing leaves something to be desired. This was a very expensive way to keep these characters in the public eye. Merge them into something and be done with them.

GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #0:  Following the events of GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL VOL. 5 #1, Carol Ferris and Kyle Rayner search for Hal Jordan, but end up battling Black Lantern zombies. Harnessing the powers of his ring, which now has all the colors of the various Lanterns within it, Kyle defeats the zombies and discovers that Hal Jordan is no more. Meanwhile, The Zamorrans are ready to usher out the Lanterns and usher in their own era.

Tony Bedard, Aaron Kuder and Andrei Bressan carve out the next chapter in the upcoming crossover in the Lantern titles. For me, all it serves to do is fill in some holes for me. I haven’t read the title since the first issue, so I knew nothing about Kyle’s ring acquiring new powers. And to be honest, I really don’t care. I have never been a Kyle Rayner fan, except for that moment when he found his girlfriend dead in his fridge. And even that wasn’t me liking his character-it was me missing Alex.

 JUSTICE LEAGUE #0: Black Adam has arrived and he is looking for the wizard. Billy Batson examines the tunnel, finding and activating all the statues that make up the name SHAZAM. Eventually he is called to the Wizard, who resembles the aborigine Gateway from UNCANNY X-MEN. He proclaims he is the last of the Council of Wizards and the keeper of the Rock of Eternity. He is seeking the pure individual, which we know Billy is not. But he knows Black Adam is loose and does see potential in the boy. The wizard tells him to say that magical word and he does with one word…SHAZAM! After admonishing him for wasting his powers, the wizard dies and Billy transports himself back to the surface where Freddy is. The pair cause some havoc in town but Billy saves a young woman from a mugger and accepts a $20 tip. At this point, he and Freddie see the ultimate get rich scheme.

FINALLY-SHAZAM is born. Sorry…can’t get used to calling him that, even after all these years. he’s Captain Marvel: the Big Red Cheese. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank make a character who should have his own book…if we need another anti-hero. Supposedly he has the good within in. So how come all we can see is the nasty in him. Where this goes and hour this will play out during the upcoming issues of JUSTICE LEAGUE could be very entertaining.

 LEGION OF SUPERHEROES #0: We start shortly after the founding of the Legion. Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy battle a creature on Colu, which, for the uninitiated, is Brianiac’s homeworld. And, whether he meant it or not, Brianiac 5 was responsible for these robotic bugs getting loose when he opened the lab door. Oh, and we also get the origin of Tharok and meet a Colun child who may be important down the road.

Once again, I find myself craving the good old days of the Legion. I like Scott Kolin’s art as a rule, but it doesn’t hold my attention on this book. And Paul Levitz’ time as a Legion writer has long passed. So Brainiac 5 is accountable for the villain and we will reward him by making him a Legionnaire. Yeah-let us all know how that works out for ya!

NIGHTWING #0: As kids, Dick Grayson and his friend Raymond get in some trouble playing in a rail yard. Despite being grounded, he presented a bracelet with two robins on them to his mother for her birthday. That night, after Tony Zucco threatens C.C. Haly, the adult Graysons fell to their deaths. As Bruce Wayne took him away, Dick took back the robin bracelet. Dick spent his spare time looking for Zucco under the guise of playing video games. He also made it a pint of sneaking out at night and doing his own detective work. One night he saw Batman in action and immediately realized it was Bruce Wayne. Eventually, Bruce began training Dick and made him a part of his world of vigilantism. Making a costume out of spare Batsuit parts, Dick ended up in a  battle with the notorious assassin Lady Shiva. Referring to him as Bat Boy, he declared himself to be Robin. Despite defeating him, she offered to have him come to her for some real training. 

This is a very pleasing take on the legend of Robin the Boy Wonder. The death of the Graysons, the contribution of Boss Zucco, becoming Bruce Wayne’s ward-that’s all part of the legend. What becomes new here is where Robin comes from (his mother) and how he revealed his understanding that Bruce was Batman to Bruce. This sort of echoes the Bucky Barnes meets Captain America origin and feels a bit cheap. And Lady Shiva as a possible mentor for Dick? That doesn’t feel right either. But Tom DeFalco writes a comfortable story and Kyle Higgins provides some awesome artwork.

RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #0: Our story begins with the birth and young life of Jason Todd. His father was a thief; his mother was a drug addict. Ultimately his father died in prison and his mom has an overdose. A child of the streets, he gets helped by Leslie Thomson and has an eventual run in with the Batman, who makes his the second Robin. The two are not the ideal partners, as they are often at opposite ends of the spectrum. One night, he sees a photo on the Bat Computer and realizes his mother is still alive. They meet at last and soon he is captured by the Joker and beaten to death. He dies and eventually reborn thanks to the Lazarus Pit. In the second half of the  story, The Joker tells his version of how all that happened, complete with faking Jason’s mother’s initial overdose and being totally responsible for the death of Robin and the eventual rebirth as Red Hood.

They say every story has two sides and we get great detail on both of them. This has, by far, been my favorite issue of the series. The great DC anti-hero (next to Deathstroke) is Jason Todd and Scott Lobdell tells the tale that takes him from the punk we all wanted to die back in BATMAN #428 to the guy we wished we had sympathized with. Lobdell has succeeded in making him a poor soul who suffered through life, death and the afterlife. We get stunning artwork throughout both from Pasquel Ferry, Ig Guara and Brett Booth. A nearly perfect issue!

SUPERGIRL #0: Both Zor-El and his brother Jor-El knew that Krypton was dying, even though they had an argument which led to a rift that had yet to be repaired. Zor-El was searching for a way to save his daughter Kara. He built many machines to produce a force field protecting Argo when the destruction came. Eventually Zor-El took Kara to his power generators and showed her a pod. Inside was a suit bearing the family crest. As Kara went off to try it on, her mother, encountered a stranger from the House of El who promised to show her a way to say goodbye to her daughter before it was too late. Kara becomes weak while wearing the suit and Zor-El places her in the pod. He began toi record a message to her but was interrupted by his wife, who shot him with his own non-lethal weapon. Zor-El entered the launch sequence and the rocket left Krypton, just as the force field formed around Argo.

Again, this was a title that I loved when it started and then it just petered out. This origin story is not the perfect jumping on pint for me as I truly don’t like the character. Give me Power Girl any day, as she strikes me as more of the person Supergirl was. At least give her the tacky Sixties outfit with the little skirt and the bob hair and maybe I might be interested again.

SWORD OF SORCERY #0: Amy Winston is a high school student who is far from popular. The new girl in town, her only other friend is a girl named Beryl. During her 17^th birthday party, Amy leaves as her mother had always promised she could go home for her 17th birthday. Meanwhile, on the world of Nilaa, Lady Mordiel, the heir of the Amethyst house, has tracked down another of the bloodline and has the girl killed. Back in our world, Amy arrives at the football field as three men try to rape Beryl. Amy’s training allows her to beat up thew boys but freaks out Beryl in the process. Amy heads home and is told it is time to leave. Where they are going, they will have enemies who wish to kill them; especially Graciel’s sister, Lady Mordiel. Using a gemstone to open a portal, Graciel grabs Amy’s hand and they head into a New World, where they are greeted by a group of warriors who kneel before them. The women’s clothes and hair changes color and Amy grabs a sword to be by her mother’s side. The book ends with John Constantine picking up the portal crystal and walking away.

In the back-up, Wigstaf, the son of Weostahn, has been chosen to send a message to Beowulf. As the group approaches, Beowulf arises from his cryochamber and sees the group on a video screen. One warrior walks inside the chamber and is cut in two by the mighty warrior. The boy pretends he was a prisoner and he thanks Beowulf for saving him. He begs Beowulf to come north and slay Grendel. After some discussion, he agrees.

Back in the day, when I was single and comics were a lot cheaper, I bought AMETHYST PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD. In fact, I have a full collection. It was a fun read with great art by Ernie Colon back when I was 23. However, add 30 years to me and I really do not care about these characters. Now Christy Marx is a well established and talented author having done such work as diverse as G.I. Joe and SISTERHOOD OF STEEL (another comic I own a complete set of). So she has the sword and sorcery thing down. But the characters are boring to me. Maybe that’s because I’m not a 17 year old girl. I do love Aaron Lopresti’s artwork but not enough to cough up four bucks each month. Regarding the backup, Tony Bedard and Jesus Saiz take an interesting approach to the classic character. This must be set either in a distant world or a far flung future. I love the idea that this warrior of legend comes out of a cryochamber and watches the outside world on a video monitor. Here’s a thought: cancel some other low selling book, take this out of the back-up slot and make this a mini-series. THAT I would buy!

WONDER WOMAN #0: Princess Diana turns twelve she stole a harpy’s egg and gained favor with God Ares. During the celebration Diana  and Aleka fight, which gets nasty as the “clay” reference to Diana’s heritage is used like an epithet (she knows nothing of her revised origin at this point). She flips out and savagely attacks the girl until she is pulled off of her. In shame, she runs away. Crying by a stream, the god of war arrives and offers to teach her the way of a warrior. She agrees and they regularly begin to train and do so for a year. On her thirteenth birthday, she faces the Minotaur. She defeats the beats but refuses to kill him. Disgusted, Area vowed to never help her again.

I cannot say enough about Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chaing’s work on this title except it is quickly becoming the standard many other writers and artists wish they could attain. The book is always filled with humor, energy and some of the best plot twists in comics today. I could go on at length, but if you have read any of my recent reviews in the last years, you know I love this title dearly.