DC'S NEW 52, Month 25, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #25: It’s prior to ZERO YEAR and we see Lana Lang leaving Smallville and Clark Kent behind. Four years go by and later, Clark has moved to Metropolis and has become Superman. We see him defeating a group of cultists who were going to sacrifice illegal immigrants to gods from the Fifth Dimension. Afterwards, he sees a news report about a super storm aiming towards Gotham City and decides to go there an lend a hand. Lana has become an electrical engineer working on a cargo vessel that is in the middle of the storm. Most of the workers are evacuated but she and a few of her co-workers stay. Superman arrives in time to try to keep a another ship from striking Lana’s. Lana is confused as to why there was no crash, but the captain congratulates her on a good work. Meanwhile, Superman goes to the shore and helps a man asks him to build a refuge. In the back-up, Clark realizes his talent allows him to hear every problem in Metropolis and around the world, but also knows he can’t solve every problem.So he decides to do small things to help people out unless there is a major crisis. Then he hears something underground. In Venezuela, Lana is working in a construction site when tremors cause a large creature to emerge.

An average issue here as Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder continue to pave new and better ground than their predecessors did. Set in the past, it is nice to see where Lana’s life took her after leaving Smallville. The back-up by Pak and Scott McDaniel, with a final page by Kuder, sets up the next storyline where, I imagine, we will get to see Lana and Clark reunited once more.

ALL STAR WESTERN #25: At the Burning Man Festival, Hex and Gina discover that the attendees had been replaced by demons called Ki'yathe. Constantine arrives and says this is just the beginning as a greater demon is coming. Constantine gets captured by it and hex intervenes, leading the demon to grab hex and discover exactly who and what Jonah Hex is. Constantine shoves the Anniquis into its back, capturing the demon within the knife. Constantine deduces that a Jonah has a former angel watching over him. after having some drinks, Jonah  wonders if Constantine can use his magic to send him back to his original time. john says it may be tough, but he needs the House of Secrets to do so. Gina, having grown attached to Jonah, wishes to come with him and Hex reluctantly agrees. As the pair go off into the bushes to have sex, the Swamp Thing arrives, unsure of whether he can help or not. Suddenly, an alien flower from sprouts within his body and he tells Jonah and Gina to flee or they will become victims too.

Hey, it’s another kick-ass issue from that kick-ass team of Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat. Jonah and his new lady get busy and up pops…Swamp thing? Now, which Swamp Thing is this and when? Keep reading and you will understand! Anyway, this tale has taken so many twists and turns. We went from Jonah and Booster fighting crime in the Old West to Jonah coming to the present, dealing with Bruce Wayne and now he finds himself yearning to go home and needs to House of Secrets to do it. This is an awesome series and I am SO HAPPY that we have lost the back-ups tales.

ANIMAL MAN #25: When we last saw our hero, the Church of Blood had taken the Hollywood Screen Awards. Their demands were simple: Animal Man give himself up or the audience will die. Buddy and Ellen leave their home and head there in the hopes to stop this and save Maxine, who is in The Red, running from Brother Blood. As Buddy and Ellen land at the Hollywood Palace, the skies begin raining blood. Once inside, Buddy battles Clinton Hogue while Ellen has her own battle with a cultist, who she knocks out with Buddy's winning trophy for Best Actor. Hogue orders all the cultists to slit their own throats, surviving in spirit form once dead. The Church of Blood is trying to gain followers who witness this miracle on live television. As badly as Buddy wants to kill Hogue, Ellen convinces him not to make him a martyr. Suddenly, Buddy disappears and is transported to another planet.

Well, it’s nice to know after all he has been through, and is going through, Buddy Baker wins the Best Actor award for his role in TIGHTS! Jeff Lemire and Rafael Albuquerque do a great job of leading us down this twisted road as Brother Blood and his cultists use television to get the message across. What was it that Marshall McLuhan once said: The medium IS the message. Enjoy the title while you can as DC has announced it's cancellation.

AQUAMAN#25: Arthur and Vulko head to the coast of Spain, where they find an abandoned shipwreck and take the scepter of the Dead King. Aquaman plans to control the Trench and defeat the Dead King. Back in Atlantis, the Dead King, whose given name is Atlan, has commanded Nereus to search for the other sea kingdoms he founded or he shall kill Mera or any other Atlanteans loyal to Arthur. Nereus visits Mera and says he will release her if she marries him, but she refuses. Just then, Arthur and the Trench attack Atlantis, freeing Mera and the other Atlanteans. Tula, Mera and Swatt apologize for attempting to free Orm and bow to their king. Atlan stabs Arthur with the trident, but the Atlanteans along with the Trench, defend him. Arthur kills Atlan and destroys the scepter. He decides to become the king again but Mera leaves him, going to Amnesty Bay to consider her decision. Later, she returns and they become the king and queen of Atlantis once again. Meanwhile, Orm has decided to live in peace in Louisiana. That is until Nereus finds him and tells him he discovered the other four kingdoms.

Geoff Johns and Paul Pelletier bring this epic tale to a dramatic conclusion with Atlan being killed by Arthur, who rightfully ascends again to the throne of Atlantis with his wife by his side. This is a nice little ending that ties up loose threads and introduces potentially others as Orm may or may not turn villain again. It’s a perfect jumping off point for some and will lead to next issue being a perfect jumping on point for others. Nice job, gentlemen!

BATGIRL #25: Back in the days of ZERO YEAR, Barbara Gordon has been out gathering supplies for her family as the super storm approaches Gotham City. But now her father was on his way to G.C.P.D. and she had the responsibility of protecting her home and her younger brother. Soon, she discovers that her home had been declared a possible flood zone and would have to leave. They end up with others at a fire station where she meets a friendly guy named Henry. Soon the windows of the fire station begin to leak and James Jr. realizes the building is flooding. As the building fills, Barbara begins to help people there. Along with Henry, they make a desperate escape to the next building. But, in the process, the hero turned, stealing their packs full of their valuables  and leaving them all to die. Barbara leapt across the building and fought with him, with him eventually falling into the water below. He swam away, promising that he would see her around. The future Batgirl returned to the others and waited for the worst of the storm to come.

I’m pretty ambivalent about this issue. While the writing and art are good, the story does nothing for me. Yawn! Okay-Barbara Gordon learns that nice people will sometimes do anything to save themselves or their family. And we see her as the superhero she eventually becomes. Other than that, Marguerite Bennett and Fernando Pasarin give me nothing great here. Oh, that is except the photo-realistic cover by Alex Garner.

BATMAN #25: The issue begins with G.C.P. D. chasing Batman and, just when they think they have him trapped, his Batmobile attaches to the roof of the tunnel it’s in and speeds away, much to the disgust of Commissioner Loeb. Lt. Jim Gordon reports that the Batman was at the crime scene, but only as an observer. Apparently someone is injecting poison into victims and causing their bones to burst out of their bodies. The current victim, a Doctor Paji was a speculative botanist for Wayne Enterprises. The only witness was a research assistant named Pamela Isley. Meanwhile, Batman has designed a signal jammer that will keep Edward Nygma, the man the newspapers call "The Riddler", from knocking out the grid again once power is restored. He has also isolated formula used to kill Kelver and Paji. It was developed by a former Wayne employee by the name of Dr. Karl Helfern. Whoever is responsible for these murders is being called Dr. Death. Exiting the cave via a well, he is greeted by a curious Lt. Gordon and we learn that he was one of the officers at the scene of the crime when the Waynes died and there are secrets about their death that Bruce doesn't know. Bruce meets with Lucius Fox, who was recently fired by Bruce’s late uncle Philip Kane. He inquires about Dr. Helfern and receives some startling information. The serum was a joint effort between himself and Helfern. At this point, Fox injects Bruce with a syringe and warns that Doctor Death is coming and nobody will be able to stop him. In the back-up, Harper Row and her brother Cullen find a way to chase away the fear in the darkness as their father has left them alone during the blackout.

And this is why BATMAN is probably THE best NEW 52 title on the shelf today! What Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo do is deliver a tale of Batman’s past that is totally filled with hints, tips and Easter Eggs for fans to drool over. Plus, we get the official introduction of Pamela Isley, she who will become Poison Ivy. Dr. Helfern? Helfern? FERN? So totally cool! And just what does Jim Gordon know about the deaths of the Waynes that our boy Bruce doesn’t? While we ARE rewiring history by putting Gordon at the scene of the deaths, it all works. Nygma earns his name from the media, Gordon gets bitten by a bat after being too nosy and Lucius Fox has his bad guy moment. Even the back-up works, painting Harper Row as the heroine she might possibly become.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #25: Erin McKillen is in jail and uses her one phone call to call Bruce Wayne. But Gordon notices a highly corrosive substance is leaking through the ceiling, so he races to the roof to find that half of the Bat-Signal has been corroded away by acid. Two-Face observes from a distance while Batman tells him that she must go through the system and pay for what she did to his wife and to him. Two-Face tosses him a bomb which allows him to get away. It seems that some time ago, Erin had arrived at the Dent’s house and held them hostage. She shoved a letter opener into Gilda's chest, killing her. Harvey shot her accomplices but was eventually knocked unconscious. Back in present day, Wayne met with Erin and we learn that they had spent time in school together, but she really called him to use his connection to Batman Incorporated to protect her from Harvey Dent. he refuses saying that Batman Incorporated. She reminds him that he once had come to her for help in finding Joe Chill-the man who had killed his parents. In Blackgate, Erin is attacked by inmates who Two-Face have demanded kill her. She gets saved by Matches Malone, who acts as her protector and who, by doing so, leads to a riot that allows Matches and McKillen to escape the prison. Malone injects her with a sedative and when she wakes, she is greeted by her old romance and realizes she is in Wayne Manor.

Okay, is it me or does it seem like EVERYONE gets out of Blackgate with relative ease? Maybe THAT is why almost all the guards got killed during FOREVER EVIL!  That having been said, Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason bring us another chapter in the life AFTER DAMIAN of Bruce Wayne, where we learn that McKillen (GREAT NAME!) murdered Gilda Dent with a letter opener! Again, great stuff!  So, for everyone who thought this title was doomed with the death of Robin, you were SO WRONG!!! By the way, rumor has it that the original version of the cover, which shows a close-up of Two-face’s scarred coin, was to have Carrie Kelly’s face on it. Interesting…

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #25: Oswald Cobblepot decides he needs Clayface broken out of Arkham. But Clayface is not too happy, saying he has paid his debt to the Penguin. While Comissioner Gordon wonders why Clayface broke out, Batman arrives to say it was because he lost his audience. Clayface has begun to kidnap people off the street, injected them with a mild version of Joker Toxin that will keep that alive and laughing, and has taken then to an abandoned theatre to watch him perform. Batman has no time to search for all the possible places, so Alfred convinces Black Canary and Condor to lend a hand. batman finally finds the right theater and battles the former actor, knocking him from a catwalk into a vat of chemicals. Canary and Condor arrive, freeing the captives. Batman has devised a special prison for Clayface this time, which is designed to keep him in this time.

This is a nice conclusion to this mini-epic by Gregg Hurwitz and Alex Maleev, as both have turned in some of the best work of their careers. Hurwitz has painted Karlo as a madman but one we feel sympathy for. Maleev has just turned himself loose on this title and I hope he stays with it for some time. This was a title that was floundering for awhile with a rotating cast of creators. But now, with new life, I hope this will be one of the premiere Batman titles.

BATWOMAN #25: With a ZERO YEAR tale, Kate Kane travels to her home town of Gotham for the funeral of her uncle Phillip, killed at the hands of the Red Hood. At the funeral, she is reunited with Alfred Pennyworth and ends up at a reception at Wayne Manor following the burial. On the way there, she hears of impending tropical storm Rene and also learns of the Riddler's attack on Gotham. So big is this event, that members of the Metropolis Police Department, including Maggie Sawyer, have been sent to help GCPD.  At Wayne Manor, Kate  reconnects with Bruce, asking him if he believes the family is cursed. Later, back at her father’s house, she decides to go out and patrol the streets to help maintain the peace. In the process, she ends up in a tussle with a gang of thieves and gets shot in the process. Faking her own death, she beats up the crooks until she has a gun pointed at her by Maggie Sawyer. later, her father takes her home from the hospital and she sleeps as he realizes she was a good soldier.

Here we see the once and future Batwoman and the love of her life in a story which would have been a little different if DC had let the ORIGINAL CREATORS tell the story they wanted to. Instead, we get a tie-in to the ZERO YEAR and a name for the super storm (I think this is the first time I have seen it mentioned as Tropical Storm Rene). Marc Andreyko tells a nice story about a homecoming and a hero and allows the two future lovers to meet. Art from the combined efforts of Trevor McCarthy, Abdrea Mutti, Jim Fern, and Pat Plliffe fit in well. The question from here is where does the character go with a new creative team in place.

BIRDS OF PREY #25: Set during ZERO YEAR, Dinah Drake had taken over her old sensei's dojo following his death. We see her chases out one of the local gangs trying to get protection money out of her. Despite chasing them away, one of her students withdrew because one of the gang members lived nearby him. With a super storm on its’ way to Gotham, she visited the sensei’s grave and recalled how they met and everything he had done to make her the person she was. Discovering he was dying of brain cancer, he decided to leave the dojo to Dinah. As the storm approached, she helped other passengers off a subway train and help them through the tunnel. Meanwhile, John Lynch was trying to find a field agent he had sent to Gotham to investigate the blackout. Dinah found her neighborhood and dojo subject to vandalism and looting and, while trying to intervene, discovered a gravely wounded Agent Ye / He handed her a device and begged her to find Lynch, even as he died in her arms. She then found herself battling off ninjas with swords. Eventually, Lunch catches up with her and she delivers the device. As he explained what the device was and drove her home, they got word that the dojo had burned down. So Lynch offered to recruit her and she accepted.

And how many people think the fire at the dojo was an accident and not some way for Lynch to recruit her? Raise your hands! Jorge Molina gives us a great looking cover while Christy Marx once again gives us a winded ninja tale. Remember-Christy Marx LOVES writing modified Sword and Sorcery stuff, so this tale of redemption and loss and all this stuff from a Bruce lee movie is just that-rehashed Kurosawa come Kung Fu. Sorry kids: this title is on wobbly legs with me.

CATWOMAN #25: Back in the day of the ZERO YEAR, Selina Kyle decided to hang around during the super storm and break into the home of socialite Arnett Crocker, whose crew had recently roughed up store owner Mr. Archeluta and emptied the grocery store because he could. Selina, once inside, grabbed a black dress and mingled with those at the party. Among the guests are Oswald Cobblepot and Basil Karlo. Crocker approaches and she suggests they go to one of his back rooms; the place for drunken orgies. Crocker firsts meets with the crook Selina had fought earlier and he informs him of some earlier news. Selina tries to listen through the keyhole but gets caught by the scarred crook and dragged in to see Crocker, who immediately orders her killed. But she uses a bullwhip stolen from one of the sex-rooms to keep the thug at bay. She cleaned out Crocker's safe including special batteries that allowed her to power her own city block. It also gave her the idea that she would be a great master thief.

So what we learn here is that Selina Kyle was a small time crook who discovered her legendary bullwhip in a SEX ROOM while she was canvassing Arnett Crocker’s penthouse. Wow! That’s some pretty messed up stuff! And we get to see early DC glimpses of the future Penguin and Clayface. All in all, this was a very cool pseudo origin story for Catwoman and definitely a nice break from the current storyline. It is also nice to see Aaron Lopresti handling the art chores, as I really like his work, always have, and miss seeing it on a regular basis. And, if that wasn’t enough, we get a killer cover from Terry and Rachel Dodson.

CONSTANTINE #8: John Constantine has been seduced by Sargon the Sorceress and Mister E attacks,, trying to tear his soul from his body. He gets Mister E's cane from his hand and breaks the spell upon him. He realizes that Sargon and Tannarak were setting both himself and Mister E up. John uses his moonblade to kill Mister E. With his death, all of the magic inside him transfers into his allies. John agrees to join the Cult and kisses Sargon. Later, he calls on the spirit of Mister E, who is trapped in the moonblade. He reveals the treachery of Sargon and Tannarak and challenges Mister E to tell him everything about the Cold Flame. If he is satisfied, he will give Mister E the honor of telling him who to kill first. Later, John discovers that the battle for the Pandora's Box is not going very well.

Ray Fawkes puts an end to Mister E but not the Cult of the Cold Flame as John Constantine plays the game and works his way into the operation just to get revenge. but, before he can do that, he needs to get involved with Justice League Dark and the whole FOREVER EVIL event. A nice story from Fawkes who has truly managed to make this book the success I thought it would never be after its first issue. And who is Aco? Apparently he(or she) is another DC artist new to the scene. This is starting to remind me of the Philippine invasion into Marvel back in the Seventies. There’s nothing wrong with it but don’t we have a lot of starving artists here?

DETECTIVE COMICS #25: During ZERO YEAR, Lt. Jim Gordon was in the process of taking down Roman Sionis' criminal empire when he was betrayed by one of the GCPD's own. Sionis had Jim thrown from the Trigate Bridge. Sionis had been leading the Black Mask gang. Jim Gordon also discovered a connection between recent Black Mask robberies and Janus Cosmetics. Commissioner Loeb warned him not to investigate Janus' CEO, Roman Sionis. Instead, he told him to bring in the Batman. He did the opposite. Loeb finally agreed to get him some help in the form of Zachary Henshaw from Internal Affairs. It was Henshaw who had been working for Sionis the whole time, that betrayed him. Surprised that he survived the fall off the bridge, returned to the precinct to find Henshaw talking about the discovery of Gordon’s suicide. Gordon punched out Henshaw and placed him under arrest, but the other officers turned on him. Gordon had broken into the Henshaw's apartment and discovered the files containing all of the evidence he had collected against the other officers. At that moment, Laney pulled a gun on his partner and it was Harvey Bullock who saved Jim's life. Sionis managed to escape and became the Black Mask. He also made sure that all of the police on his payroll, including Laney and Henshaw, were killed. Whether he knew it or not, his flashlight acted as a signal and it was the Batman who had saved his life that night. In the back-up, Commissioner Gordon and Officer Henry Wallace investigate an apparent suicide from the New Trigate Bridge. Apparently, Kirk Langstrom  is involved and that’s a bad thing.

This is another great offbeat story from John Layman with absolutely awesome art from Jason Fabok. This is a nice tale, featuring the origin of the Black Mask, the beginnings of friendship/partnership with Harvey Bullock and a cute comparison between the flashlight and the Bat Signal. Even the backup by Layman and Jorge Lucas is okay and, as you know, I am not a huge fan of back-up tales adding a dollar to my book.

EARTH 2 #17: Superman appears to be reborn as a servant of Darkseid and Earth 2 appears to be out of options. But General Sam lane has one and downloads Lois Lane’s consciousness into Red Tornado. Inside World Army Headquarters, Mister Terrific suggest they need Kryptonite to stop him. But Doctor fate believes he has to use magic this time and heads off to fight Superman. Meanwhile, Headquarters are breached as Batman breaks in and takes on members of the World Army in search of the chambers where they keep their prisoners. Doctor Fate battles Superman and suffers a horrific beating. Jay Garrick arrives and saves Doctor Fate, who mumbles something about “crumbles”. Back at World Army Headquarters, Lois watches her father die as batman arrives at the stasis chamber, intent on freeing the criminals and madmen who may save Earth.

Again, we are left with more questions than answers here. Thank you Tom Taylor! First off: who is this resurrected Superman? Has anyone noticed that his eyes shoot Omega Rays. Does that tell us he is really from Apokolips? Second: who is the New Batman? This guy is plenty beefy looking and seems almost Frank Miller DARK KNIGHT tough. Third: at what point in history did General Lane manage to get hold of his daughter’s consciousness and store it for implantation into a sexy looking Red Tornado? Fourth: no points for the line NO MORE MAGIC as we already lived through NO MORE MUTANTS at the competition. And just how does Batman expect to let the villains of Earth 2 save the world? Doesn’t that make the problem become THEIR VERSION of FOREVER EVIL? That all having been said, with Nicola and Trevor Scott’s art behind it, this book is picking up steam from where James Robinson, off to write FANTASTIC FOUR, left his enthusiasm.

GREEN ARROW #25: In the ZERO YEAR, Walter Emerson is visited by a hooded man who reveals himself to be Oliver Queen. He explained how he had been caught in explosion on a Queen Industries oil rig and ended up on an island until three weeks ago. He also learned that his mother Moira Queen went to Gotham to help with the blackout. Despite warnings from her head of security John Diggle, Moira stays there and finds her shelter attacked. Batman, armed with a small crossbow, tries to free her from the terrorist known as The Moth, who targeted her for her money. Soon Oliver arrives with a bow of his own. Despite Batman’s insistence, once the Moth was defeated, that he would get her out of Gotham, she decided to go with the hooded man, aware that he might be her son. She confirmed her suspicion, even though he was not ready to tell her what had happened on the island.

Another great issue from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, even if it feels like a fill-in issue because of the whole ZERO YEAR thing. No real light is shed on the Queen legacy except that this represents the first meeting between Arrow and The Bat and we get to see a tearful reunion between mother and son. As always, Sorrentino’s art is amazing and Jeff Lemire, who spends his time moving between scary stories and cool superhero stuff, never ceases to amaze me.

GREEN LANTERN #25: Following the destruction of Oa and Kyle Rayner’s assumed death during the LIGHTS OUT story, many Green Lanterns are now hesitant to use the rings, for fear it will lead to the destruction of this universe. Hal, however, seems to think the power battery being constructed anew has refilled the energy reservoir. But, to be safe, he wants to punish unauthorized ring users, which leads to a verbal fight between Jordan and Carol Ferris. Hal decides their next mission is to hunt down renegade Star Sapphire Nol Anj. Killowog and Jordan attempt to arrest her for the murder of Green Lantern Cossite but soon find themselves outnumbered by a number of her supporters.

If this is the direction the NEW Green Lantern Universe is going to take, I’m taking to the road. Robert Venditti does a great job of emasculating the Green Lantern Corps by allowing Hal Jordan to become more of a whiner than he was in the early days of the classic Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams run. And Killowog is his Robin? Nice art from Billy Tan can’t salvage this issue which wallows too much in the whole idea of power and responsibility that just doesn’t work. Hal Jordan has lost his energy and maybe it’s time for that OTHER Green Lantern to take over-you know: the one that everyone thought was a terrorist and no one really cares about. He may be better than this guy!

THE GREEN TEAM #6: During the battle with Icicle, he smashes the meteor everyone is on, destroying the shuttle and sending everybody and everything crashing down into Earth’s atmosphere and landing in Chicago, just outside of the office of .Bellachek Temple. Bellachek, who was responsible for creating the special discs the team uses, and Commodore 64 debate about whose version of idealism is the right one. Temple decides to have his men kill Commodore 64 but Cecilia jumps in front and takes the bullet for him, apparently dying in the process. J.P. is devastated and turns into a werewolf.

Yes…you did read that right. J.P. turns into a werewolf after Cecilia gets killed. This book continues on it’s final run as no one understands what Art Baltazaar and Franco are doing with this title.