Some beginnings and some endings in the comics world.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #800 by Dan Slott, Nick Bradshaw, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stuart Immomen and Marcos Martin. A monstrous, ten dollar finale to GO DOWN SWINGING. A host of atists, fourteen variant covers and a whole bunch of action and surprises. Superior Octopus turns face, Spidey gets possessed by the Venom symbioite and Flash Thompson dies, after revealing he knows Peter is Spidey. It’s heroics and heartbreak and a nice set-up for Slott’s ending his epic run on this title.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #801 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin. A nice epilogue to the lengthy run by Slott. Spider-Man saves a young man from certain death and, many years later, he gets to return the favor by helping Spider-Man catch some bad guys. It all ends up about how important everyone is to everyone, even if you can’t remember their name because you have had so many interactions over the years. A nice way to go out, especially after the drama and turmoil of the last issue. From here, it’s a new AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 by Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley.

AVENGERS #1 by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuiness. The original trio, Cap, Tony and the Odinson are back together and are putting a new team together. And the threat that leads them to this is the apparent deaths of the Celestial by the Final Host. Aaron’s story is fun and McGuiness’ art is amazing. While the dialogue gets a little clunky at times, there are some nice bits and it’s a blast seeing where the former team members ends up. This is a great beginning for this series and I hope it continues.

BARRIER #1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. What we have here is a story about illegal aliens and a rancher who end up being abducted by aliens. Originally a digital comic, and presented in landscape fashion to emphasize the widescreen, this story is wild and trippy. However, I think I need to learn Spanish as our illegal alien hero speaks only Spanish, meaning that a lot of the story translates through the visuals. Vaughan hits a homer with this, as it’s a great allegory about the state of the Nation today.

BLACK PANTHER #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Daniel Coates. Two thousand years ago, a whole bunch of Wakandans went into space and set up the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. They have existed outside of our galaxy and have done what they wanted, taking slaves and conquering. But now, they are heading to our galaxy and have the Black Panther as part of their slaves: a man ho has brief glimpses of his past but Can’t remember much. With guest appearances by Nakia and M’Baku, we ask how could all of this happen? In a radical shift from the last series, this book is filled with some interesting concepts and leaves me wondering what’s next. Acuna’s at is amazing!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #704 by Mark Waid and Leonardo Romero. Waid finishes his run, and this title’s run, with the conclusion of the future relative of Steve Rogers and his fight against and with The Red Skull. I have found this storyline so out there that I really didn’t care about what happened at all, even though it is always nice to see the Skull in action. Make way for CAPTAIN AMERICA #1, coming on July 4^th, by Ta-Hehisi Coates and Leinil Francis Yu.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Leinil Franci Yu. Cap is back and dealing with repercussions from the whole SECRET EMPIRE thing. Sharon is still old, after having been trapped by Zola, Cap is still trying to restore his good name and Selene is involved and decides that HYDRA is dead. Also, Thunderbolt Ross arrives to run a tea, made up of Agent 13 and the Winter Soldier. Wait? Wasn’t he dead at some point? Anyway, it’s a new beginning for Cap, which at least recognizes what has one on before, as opposed to Mark Waid’s run which was a crazy futuristic mess.

COSMIC GHOST RIDER #1 by Donny Cates and Dylan Burnett. Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, is dead and has gone to Valhalla, where he is causing all sorts of trouble. So Odin shows up and decides to resurrect him again, sending him off to meet a young Thanos. Frank’s goal: kill him. But…that may not be how it goes. It’s Cates, who created the Cosmic Ghost Rider and that means anything is possible. This has a crazy, unorganized feel to it, but I expect it will tie together nicely before it is done.

DEADPOOL #300 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Hawthorne. Not a first issue, but an end of things. The massive storyline where the Marvel Universe is hunting Deadpool for serving the fake Steve Rogers during the SECRET EMPIRE story comes to an end. Plus, he killed off Phil Coulson, so he’s got that against him. Along the way, he battles Avengers and even ills Duggan. Wade decides to end it all and that leads to another hilarious rebirth. I’m not a fan of this character, as he has become a great parody of himself. But Duggan and Hawthorne send hi off it style as we await the new series by Scottie Young.

DEADPOOL #1 by Scottie Young, Nic Klein and Scott Hepburn. Wade is back from the dead and looking to get back in the mercenary for money business by taking out a biker ho looks like Lobo. Hey: it is basically Lobo. With his teenage sidekick, he gets back to who he was and now it looks like he may have to be the savior of the Earth. Guest appearances by Tony Stark and the Guardians of the Galaxy. There is also a back-up where Wade tries to recreate a new origin for himself and it looks like he may be fighting someone with an origin very much like Bruce Wayne’s.

DEATH OF THE INHUMANS #1 by Donny Cates and Ariel Olivetti. The Kree have decided that it’s time for the Inhumans to join them or die, which means we could see a high body count before it is done. Heck, in the first issue alone, New Arctilan gets attacked, Triton gets blown up, Medusa suffer a critical injury and Lockjaw and Maximus get disintegrated. Talk about a reshuffling of the deck! This is an interesting setup issue from Cates with great art by Olivetti. Looking forward to see where this goes and what the repercussions are.

DEATH OR GLORY #1 by Rick Remender and Bengal. This is a great crime-noir caper by Remender and Bengal. The characters are great, the art rocks and this is a must read. Remender’s work is hot and cold, but this is amazing. Cool dudes, hot chicks and lots of action.  

DOCTOR STRANGE #390 by Donny Cates, Frazer Irving and Chip Zdarsky. All various plot threads from Cates amazing run get wrapped up here in preparation of a new #1 by Mark Waid and Jesus Saiz, that will put the Master of Mystic Arts into space. Guest starring Spider-Man, this is a wild ride with Doc, his apprentice, his ghost dog and a talking spider. With an end sequence harkening back to Cates start of his run, this is a nice love letter to a classic character. Hey Mark…in the words of Cates: “Don’t f&@$ this up!”

DOCTOR STRANGE #1 by Mark Waid and Jesus Saiz. So here we are: Doc has learned that he can’t control the magic like he once did. He goes to visit Tony Stark, who suggests that he tap into the mystical energies of other worlds. So Tony sets him up in a spacecraft and off goes Doctor Strange to explore strange new worlds and try to get his mojo back. All in all, Waid is giving us a neat little tale, although I was skeptical when I heard this run was about Doc Strange In Space! But it’s a fun read with some nice quirky lines, especially the dialogue between Strange and Stark. And Saiz’ art is magnificent!

ELVIRA MISTRESS OF THE DARK #1 by David Avallone and Dave Acosta. The original Scream Queen is here and up to her old tricks. She gets transported to the days of Shelley and Byron and fights a knight looking for a good time. But she ain’t having none of it. The art is good and the dialogue is full of Pop Culture references and innuendos…lots and lots of innuendos! If you’re looking for something a little too beyond the serous realm, this is the book for you!

HARBINGER WARS 2 PRELUDE #1 by Eric Heisserer and Raul Allen. Livewire has had enough of of the meddling and hunting of Psiots and she is taking matters into her n hands. This series brings together the heroes of the Valiant Universe to take down Livewire, who has truly overstepped her authorities. This comes on the heels of the previous HARBINGER WARS and amps up the action. Go find the trade from that series and the recent mini-series that lead into this.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #717 by Greg Pak and Carlo Barberi. Pak’s run on this title featuring Amadeus Cho ends in preparation of the new THE IMMORTAL HULK series starring Bruce Banner. Plot lines are tied up and resolved, Cho gets powered down and prepares to go back to his role in the Champions. I was never a huge fan of this run, so it’s nice to see Cho step aside for the original big bad Green Guy. It’s not the most satisfying ending, but an ending nonetheless.

THE IMMORTAL HULK #1 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett. Bruce Banner is back from the dead and that means his green partner is too. After a convenience store robbery results in the death of a bunch of innocent people, the folks responsible get attacked by theb ig green guy. All the while, a detective and a reporter follow the clues which seen to show dead Bruce Banner is back. The story us fun and Bennett’s art, specifically a two-page centerspread, are amazing. My only complaint is that we were promised a return to the savage Hulk of old and this one seems to toe the line between the angry, vengeful Hulk and Mr. Fixit. In other words, he’s like a big green Punisher, dealing out retribution for those who have wronged the innocent. Let’s see where this takes us. As of now, it could be some of Ewing’s best work.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #600 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stefano Caselli, Alex Maleev, David Marquez, Daniel Acuna, Lenil Francis You, Jim Cheung, Mike Deodato Jr., Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy and Andrea Sorrentino. A virtual who’s who of artists are on hand for this truly oversized last Marvel story by Bendis. It wraps up the storylines from his lengthy run and reestablishes Tony Stark as THE Iron Man. This is a big one! Tony takes the suit back, he resurrects Rhodey, meets his REAL father, battles The Hood and his gang, meets Leonardo DiVinci and may, someday, become the NEW Doctor Strange with Kurt Wagner acting as the new Wong.. And Doom gets his face scarred…again! All in all, it’s a huge piece that establishes a future for Tony and his supporting cast.

THE MAGIC ORDER #1 by Mark Millar and Olivier Coipel. Welcome to what would happen if HARRY POTTER had sex with THE SOPRANOS and gave birth to this!  It’s about two groups of magicians and there is a certain war brewing. This is a slight step sideways for Millar and his take on the gangster genre works nicely. And Coipel’s art is beautiful This first issue didn’t totally grab me, but I’m willing to see where Millar goes with it

MARVEL 2 IN ONE ANNUAL #1 by Chip Zdarsky and Declan Shalvey. It’s a story continuing from the regular title as the Human Torch, The Thing and the Infamous Doctor Doom travel to find the rest of the missing Fantastic Four. That means they encounter a hole different group of Fantastic Four characters in another universe, including another Victor Von Doom. Of course, our Doom is trying to be good and s wrestling with his past and his emotions. Throw in a special guest appearance by the Council of Reeds. This series has been a blast and this issue is no exception as the road to the reappearance of the original FF is clearly being paved.

MULTIPLE MAN #1 by Matt Rosenberg and Andy MacDonald. Jaime Madrox is back from the dead…well: sort of. He is back in a form, well…many forms and is looking to time travel to correct things in his life. This leads to some crazy action that feels more like a bad situation comedy than a serous attempt. Although the surprise ending was, well…a surprise, the book as a whole felt flat and confusing. I may give issue #2 a shot, but I have low expectations for a book that I had such high hopes for.

S.H.I.E.L.D. THE REBIRTH #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver. This collects he four issues of Hickman and Weaver’s series about the earliest days of S.H.I.E.L.D. which brought such folks as DaVinci Michelangelo and Isaac Newton together in a whirlwind tale. Since Marvel canned the book before it was done, they bring this out and it will be followed by issues five and six later this month. This is typical Hickman as it drops bread crumbs throughout and forces the reader to follow these crumbs. It’s a wild ride and highly recommended.

THE MIGHTY THOR AT THE GATES OF VALHALLA by Jason Aaron, Jen Bartel and Ramon Perez. While waiting for the new THOR series, Marvel throws us this. Two tales make up the book. The first is about the Tomorrow Girls, Odinson’s granddaughters, as they travel through time, meeting Thor’s of the past and future before meeting Jane Foster and offering her advice. In the second tale, Malekith continues his battles and, with the help of Roxxon, gets ready to kick-off the War of the Realms as it will soon come to Earth. It’s a filler book just designed to drop a few hints about the future and tide us over. Find a copy in the cheap back issue bins in a few months. For me, it was five bucks wasted.

PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Mike Drucker, Michael Allred and Chris Bachalo. The main story is all about J. Jonah Jameson and, with call backs to his past, we see Jonah trying to make good on his new-found love for Spider-Man. Bring in a new version of the Spider Slayer, throw in some old school characters and let Zdarsky and Allred do their thing. Great art, if you’re a fan of Allred, and a fun story by Zdarsky, who continues to write this book as a throwback to the glorious Sixties. The back-up by Drucker and Bachalo is all about Spider-Mn realizing that h has to do hat a hero does, even if it hurts those he loves. All in all, a fun issue that feels more like classic Spider-Man than the angst filled, dram filled sister title.

THE SENTRY #1 by Jeff Lemire and Kim Jacinto. Bob Reynolds is the most powerful of superheroes, but has a darkness that shares his life. He has worked with Doctor Strange to keep The Void at bay, but that involves transporting to another space in time to fight with his team. In his every day life, he’s a cook at a diner. When he discovers that the device that transports him is missing, the real horror begins as someone has crossed over and begins to kill his other worldly friends. Confused? You bet! This is very trippy and required a couple of reads to figure it all out.

THOR #1 by Jason Aaron, Mike DelMundo and Christian Ward. Odinson is back, Heimdal is still blind, Jane Foster is still battling cancer, Volstag is recovering and the War of the Realms is progressing. But without the rainbow bridge, how can Thor get there? Bring in Loki, the dog Thori and a little magic. In the back-up, set “untold eons from now, the universe is ending and Thor goes on a quest. At the end of that road, he finds a Logan/Phoenix mashup. This is a little uneven issue with interesting art, some funny  its and a pair of stories that were just okay. With such a high profile character making a return to his own title, it was a bit disappointing.

TONY STARK IRON MAN #1 by Dan Slott and Valerio Schiti. Well, he e go again: another IRON MAN #1 and another character reboot. Slott jumps in with both feet and immediately Tony starts throwing out quips like he’s Spider-Man. There are some nice call backs, however, including the reintroduction of Bethany Cabe, Jocasta, the Controller and…Fin Fang Foom. Dumb moments include a Voltronesque robot Iron Man called the Fin Fang Foombuster. All in all, it’s a bit of a rocky start for this title, as it becomes all about Tony being a mash up of Peter Parker and Robert Downey Jr. Personally, I’m thrilled to have Stark back in the armor, but leave the jokes at home!

VAMPIRELLA ROSES FOR THE DEAD #1 by Kristina Deak-Linsner and Joseph Michael Linsner. Well, there is a promise of having the classic Vampi back, as opposed to some of the stuff Dynamite has shoved at readers in the last few years. Vampi is looking for a vampire and so is Witch Evily, which leads to an interesting team-up. The book looks great and I think Deak-Linsner is on the right track, going as far to give us a brief origin recap about Vampi being from Drakulon. No Buffy the Vampire swipes, no futuristic tale and no team ups with KISS. This looks like it might set our girl on the right path AT LAST! Of course, Dynamite has already announced a Vampirella/Dejah Thoris team-up book which only makes me groan again!

VENOM #1 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. Cates has been burning it up lately with killer runs on DOCTOR STRANGE and THANOS. Now he takes on everyone’s favorite symbioite. Eddy Brock is having trouble as his creature is having control issues. And we have other symbioites showing up. And Eddy gets killed. Now THAT’S how you crank out a first issue. It’s a fun ride and Stegman’s art rocks!

X-MEN: THE WEDDING SPECIAL #1 by Chris Claremont, Marc Guggenheim, Kelly Thompson, Todd Nauck, Greg Land and Marika Cresta. In celebration of the upcoming nuptials for Kitty and Peter, Marvel releases this over-sized one-shot with three stories revolving around the event. In the first, we get a recap of Kitty’s life and she meets with some of the ghosts of her past that give her a bit more confidence to her future. In the second tale, the boys go out for their bachelor arty where they brawl with a mutant hating monster. In the final tale, it’s girls’ night out, with a conversation between Kitty and Calisto.

DC UNIVERSE Month 7, Part 2

MAN OF STEEL #2 by Brian Michael Bendis, Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, and Jay Fabok. Superman battles the original Toyman. He defeats him and passes him off to Hal Jordan. Fter being quizzed about how he is doing, Superman goes off to work at the Planet, where everyone wants to know what is going on between Clark and Lois, as they are apparently “estranged”. More fires break out mysteriously in Metropolis and Rogol Zaar, who may have been somewhat responsible for the destruction of Krypton, heads to Earth.

MAN OF STEEL #3 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ryan Sook and Jason Fabok. Rogol Zaar comes to Earth and invades the Fortress of Solitude, destroying Kelex in the process. Meanwhile, Madison Moore, along with Superman and Batman, investigate the most recent fire in Metropolis. Superman hears a signal and races to the Fortress, where he finds Supergirl. He also finds that the bottled city of Kandor has been destroyed, killing everyone. This sends them off to find the culprit and binging them face to face with Rogol Zaar. And what is going on with the mysterious ship with the bald-headed pilot that has appeared at some point in the Kent’s apartment?

MAN OF STEEL #4 by Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Maguire and Jason Fabok. Superman and Supergirl continue to battle Rogol Zaar, who knocks out Superman during their fight. After reliving the arrival of what turns out to be Jor-El, who wants to take Jon with him, he wakes to find that Green Lantern has arrived. Knowing that Zaar is looking to eliminate all Kryptonians, just like he did with Krypton, Superman goes to the Fortress of Solitude, where it seems Zaar has plans to kill all of his family, including Lois and Jon. This angers Superman and his powers cause him to go Super-Nova.

MAN OF STEEL #5 by Brian Michael Bendis, Adam Hughes and Jason Fabok. Superman battles Rogol Zaar in deep space, while Supergirl continues to save people from the rash of fires happening in Metropolis. Kara heads out to find her cousin beaten badly on the surface of the moon. Back at Justice League headquarters, a healing Superman finally realizes that Zaar is planning to destroy the Earth as he did Krypton, which leads him to the center of the Earth for a confrontation. And Jor-El: he has plans to taken Jon into space to learn Kryptonian ways and Jon wants to go.

MERA QUEEN OF ATLANTIS #5 by Dan Abnett and Lan Medina. Mera gets attacked by Leron, her original teacher. She explains hat’s happening and thy go off to see Nereus. He agrees to help her fight Corum Rath, but only if Orm is instated as King of Atlantis. To push her, Tula has been captured and she will be Nereus’ bride if she doesn’t agree. She decides that she will fight Orm for the kingdom, and he accepts.

MOTHER PANIC GOTHAM A.D. #4  by Jody Houser and Ibrahim Moustafa. Jason Todd is still trying to clen up Gotham and has eliminated all other Robins and the Joker. He sends his own child Joker out to cause havoc and Fox and Panic get involved, with Fox taking him don by severing the muscles behind his ankles. A wounded Scarecrow goes back to Jason, to explain their failure and Todd kills him.

NEW CHALLENGERS #2 by Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie and Andy Kubert. As we learn that Moses Barber was a hacker who was murdered by some mysterious mummies after finding some mysterious code he pulled off a LexCorp server, we jump into the action with the team fighting the giant crab monster. Aquaman arrives to help save them but is then troubled by a vision of Atlantis falling. The team continue on and faces some strange new opponents. Prof instructs them to leave but Moses goes after an item he feels connected to, even encountering another mummy in the process. He gets the item and they head back to base. Prof says he will explain everything until he gets shot…by the classic Challengers team

NEW SUPER-MAN AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF CHINA #24 by Gene Luen Yang and Brent Peeples. Baixi and Kenan battle each other in a vide game before Kenan travels t the Realm of Ghosts to free Master I-Ching. But he has transported the League with him. They are then forced to fight evil future versions of themselves. Kenan meets with his future self before Master I-Ching arrives to defeat the future Kenan and explain that Kenan needs to focus on the goodness that is him and not the goodness that will never be. By using is mind, he transports his friends back home.

NIGHTWING #45 by Ben Percy and Chris Mooneyham. Dick wakes up and finds himself in bed with Barbara Gordon. But this may all be a part of him being infected by the Phantasm system. Dick goes off to train Willelm at the Bludhaven docks and Willem finds a dead body in the ocean. Detective Svoboda shows u and explains that the dead guy was killed virtually.  Dick calls Barbara, who is off saving a dog. He gets home and finds that Barbara is really a digital monster created by the Phantasm system.

PLASTIC MAN #1 by Gail Simone and Adriana Melo. Eel O’Brien, currently undercover, finds himself getting beat up by some thugs who he once worked with. But that’s okay because Eel got hit with some kind of gas on their last job and that turned him into Plastic Man. Later, he goes out and beats up some of these guys looking for information, as it seems he may have killed a security guard during this last heist. Back in his apartment, Spyral’s Obscura shows up and requests his help. Suddenly, he gets a call from his old friend Benny. When he shos up, Benny is dying and scrawls the letters JLA on the wall in his blood. Before he can react, the military arrives and have Plastic Man in their sights for allegedly killing Benny.

RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #6 by Marv Wolfman and Pop Mhan. Raven dies at the hands of her father, but she is brought back to life by the combined sacrifice of the faceless girls. Trigon transports himself back to an earlier time and it takes Raven and the faceless ones, living in her soul gem, to defeat him. This all leads to her being part of Baron Wnter’s new Night Force. In the end, Teri goes off to lie with her new family, Raven’s mom and aunt make amends and Raven must prepare for the next arc: battling the Shadow Riders.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #23 by Scott Lobdell and Trevor Hairsine. Jason finally gets to read the letters he was given. They are from his father, who is in prison after many years of working as a henchman for many of Gotham’s most famous villains. Dad took many of these jobs to care for his son and his drug addicted wife. In the end, Jason is seen digging up his father’s grave while the Penguin is preparing to kill Red Hood. Jason finds the grave empty, as his father is not dead and may actually be getting an early release.

SIDEWAYS #5 by Robert Gill and Justin Jordan. While it seemed that Tempus Fuginaut was going to train Derek, he actually has appeared to ask him to help keep the fabric of reality safe. Then it’s off to school where The Showman arrives looking for a fight and trying to get Sideways to reveal his real identity. He uses his powers to control the students. But Sideways transports the both of them to a desert location, here he knocks the bad guy out. Meanwhile, Derek’s mom sees a file at her job on her son and wonders what is going on.

THE SILENCER #6 by Dan Abnett and Viktor Bogdanovic. Talia and Silerncer fight against Leviathan, leading to a final battle between the to where Silencer stabs Talia in the chest. Taking her son, who has been trapped in a bubble and playing with a mutated boy only he can see, she tells the family they are leaving on a vacation. Meanwhile, they are being observed by Cradle and Grave, who now are ready to attack after making their transformation from old woman and child to meta-human monsters.

SUICIDE SQUAD #43 by Rob Williams and Philippe Briones. Batman and Deadshot survive their encounter with the transformed snake monster, Batman flips out on Deadshot because he killed a Kobra follower who talked trash about Deadshot’s captured daughter. Then Harley, Boomerang and Captain Cold show up to take the pair down. Unfortunately, Harley is flying the helicopter, which means it all goes bad really fast, resulting in a major crash. Meanwhile, Kobra is ready to transform Lawton’s daughter.

TEEN TITANS SPECIAL #1 by Adam Glass and Robson Rocha. Three tales involving Robin, Kid Flash and Red Arrow. Robin’s favorite restaurant gets attacked by Black Mask’s men, leading to a vendetta hunt by Damian. When he finds Mask, he draws a gun and a shot rings out. Red Arrow tries to stop her mom from assassinating a prominent official at the Emerald City Summit. They battle, and Emiko is poisoned. She counteracts the poison with a jolt of electricity but is too late to save the official. Kid Flash fights to save the life of a criminal from Harley and El Diablo and succeeds with the help of Wally West. But she turns up dead too. In the end, the team decides that they will be doing things a little outside of the law, if needed and that means putting together a new team of Titans.

THE TERRIFICS #5 by Jeff Lemire and Doc Shaner. Mr. Terrific continues to run tests and Linnya to find out how to cure her, while Eel deals with a child he didn’t know he had and Metamorpho breaks p with Sapphire. They receive a distress call and go off to find people are being turned into versions of Metamorpho. This is all the doing of Algon, the Ancient Elemental Man, who transports most of the them to different places on the Elemental World and Rex to the Kingdom of Elements, where he is shown the Orb of Ra. Algon reveals that it’s Rex’ tie to  take the reigns as custodian of the Elemental World.

TITANS SPECIAL #1 by Dan Abnett, Sergio Davila, Vincente Cifuentes, Brent Peeples, Matt Santorelli, Brian Ching, Nicola Scott, Max Raynor, and Ben Oliver. Nightwing, with the blessing of the Justice League, puts together a new team of Titans made up of Raven, Beast Boy, Donna Troy, Steel/Natasha Irons and Miss Martian.  It seems their next big challenge will be dealing with the fact that the energies from the broken Source Wall are creating new Meta-Humans. And, if that wasn’t enough, Brother Blood is preparing to conquer the universe.

THE UNEXPECTED #1 by Steve Orlando, Ryan Sook and Cary Nord. Meet Firebrand, a paramedic who lost her life during the days of METAL but was resurrected by Civil Solutions. They gave her a new heart called the Conflict Engine and also gave her flame powers. But she must fight someone every 24 hours to feed the heart or she dies. She works at a VA Hospital under the name of Ronan and it is there she meets Bad Samaritan, who is intent on stealing her Conflict Engine. The Unexpected show up and battle with Bad Samaritan, with some causalities. Ronan must pull it together as the Multiverse may be in danger from a Thanagarian Hawk God straight out of METAL. Meanwhile, beneath Thanagar, someone else hungers for the heat and also a new Nth Metal isotope that Bad Samaritan has apparently created.

WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #2 by James Robinson, Marc Laming, Frazer Irving, J. Calafiore, and Stephen Segovia. Wonder Woman is on Zamaron, the home of the Star Sapphires, where she learns they have also been invaded by the Dark Gods. So, it’s time for Diana to become a Star Sapphire again and take on Karnell, one of the Dark Gods. All the Sapphires band together to defeat him. She heads back to Earth and that’s when she needs to fight another Dark God.

WONDER WOMAN #48 by James Robinson and Jesus Marino. Continuing from WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #2, Jason battles with Dark Gods Mob God, Savage Fire and the God with No Name. He defeats them with the help of Supergirl. But that means King Best is next and the Justice League arrive to help. But it may take the combined might of Jason and Diana, who finally arrives from Zamaron, to win the day.

WONDER WOMAN #49 by James Robinson and Jesus Marino. Diana and Jason battle King Best, while learning from Steve that the other Dark Gods are wreaking havoc across the globe by using their powers to change people into their servants. They defeat King Best and Diana goes to talk to Steve while Jason takes on Savage Fire in Paraguay. When Diana arrives, she finds that her brother is now under the influence of the Dark Gods.

DC UNIVERSE Month 7, Part 1

AQUAMAN #37 by Dan Abnett and Riccardo Federici. Aquaman and company continue to battle against Corum Rath, now possessed by an Atlantean demon. Murk gets severely injured and the battle stops so Aquaman can get him to safety and get him medical help. This allows Rath to escape and get even more power from his demonic master, who sends him out to destroy Atlantis and the headquarters of the Widowhood. Aquaman gets chastised by the Widowhood for letting Rath escape death and dooming them all. Vulko, Dolphi and Odine arrive with the Elder Null, along with the severed head of Kadevar. They’re here to join the fight. Ut they best act quickly as Rath is no super powered beyond belief and seems poised to win the day.

BANE CONQUEST #11 by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan. The team invades Bakedu, in a search for the next Kobra leader. Despite squabbles amongst themselves, and the fact that Kiang and “Baby Man” are back home, tapping into Bane’s bank account, they infiltrate Kobra’s base. Bane sets off on his own, trying to figure which member of his team is really Batman in disguise. He breaks Faraday’s back, only to discover he isn’t the one.

BANE CONQUEST #12 by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan. As Valentina and her troops attack Bane’s army, Batman arrives and takes the baby Bane has been searching for. As he tries to escape with the child, Bane pursues and it becomes Batman’s honor to save him. A truce is declared, everyone gets out, Rampo is killed by Kobra and the baby is placed in Saint Dismas Orphanage, with a wad of cash and a very old teddy bear.

BATGIRL #24 by Shawn Aldridge and Scott Godlewski. Batgirl discovers that a new version of Adderall is being peddled by the Street Demonz and has resulted in some deaths. She discovers that an old high school friend, Jacob Cesaro, is involved and follows him, only to find out he is working for Two-Face. The pair get captured and Jacob reveals that Two-Face has set bombs all over the city. Batgirl gets free and takes down Two-Face, only to discover that Jacob wants the bombs to go off, because events in the city were responsible for the deaths of his parents. He sets things in motion via computer but Batgirl has the skills to hack the system and stop the bombs.

BATMAN #48 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Joker, still looking to be Batman’s Best Mn, slaughters a group of people in a church.  Batman arrives, and Joker kills his hostage before having a long talk about life and salvation. He triggers a bomb which incapacitates Batman. With that, he prepares to kill the Dark Knight.

BATMAN #49 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. Catwoman shows up and she and Joker have a long sit-down chat, while he contemplates killing her but that would also allow him to bleed out in the process. She tells him that she never had fun in those days of running with the other villains and he confesses that he needs Batman to be Batman and she will just ruin their relationship. When he goes to kill her, he passes out from blood loss. Next up: the wedding.

BATMAN PRELUDE TO THE WEDDING: NIGHTWING VS. HUSH #1 by Tim Seeley and Travis Moore. Nightwing and Superman take Batman to Bat Burger for his Bachelor Party. Before their next stop. Hush shows up and he and Nightwing end up falling through a Lightning Door which takes them to the Betwixt, which is an in-between world filled with Gone Men. While they have to fight together to get back home, Hush reveals he has [plastic surgery again and hs now become Dick Grayson, because Dick has always been Bruce’ best friend. Batman and Superman manages to free Dick, but Hush is left behind. Bruce and Dick talk about Cark being Bruce’ Best Man and all seems right with the world. In the end, it seems the Joker continues to make his presence felt, this time involving The Riddler.

BATMAN PRELUDE TO THE WEDDING: BATGIRL VS. THE RIDDLER #1 by Tim Seeley and Minkyu Jung. Riddler has kidnapped four people and put them into deathtraps and it’s up to Batgirl to solve them all. He is suffering from the romance bug and wants to see if Batgirl would be a suitable mate for him. She saves the hostages and beats up Riddler, but he gets away. In the end, he is confronted by Harley who wants to know where she can find The Joker.

BATMAN PRELUDE TO THE WEDDING: RED HOOD VS. ANARKY #1 by Tim Seeley, Javier Fernandez and Hugo Petrus. Selina and her lady friends are out for her Bachelorette Party and Red Hood has been tasked with being her hidden bodyguard.  But Anarky is on the loose and controlling people so it’s up to Jason to stop him. He does, but not after Selina sees him and Batman lets Jason know about it. In the end, picking up from the story in DC NATION #0, The Joker continues to look for his invitation to the wedding.

  

BATMAN PRELUDE TO THE WEDDING: HARLEY QUINN VS. THE JOKER #1 by Tim Seeley and Sami Basri. Harley captures Joker and tries to drown him in a vat of Tapioca. When that doesn’t work, she knocks him up and chains him up here she plans to have a henchman known as Truck behead him. But he is really on Joker’s side and now she has to fight a series of holographic Jokers. The real Mr. J hits her with the axe, knocking her. Out. With a kiss, he leaves and heads off to a church, which leads into BATMAN #48.

BATMAN BEYOND #21 by Dan Jurgens and Will Conrad. It seems everyone in Gotham thinks the Batman is a horrible monster, including his girlfriend/ex-girlfriend Dana. Later, he tries to stop rioters from tearing don the statue of Batman and the mob attacks him. Commissioner Gordon shows up to save the day, but that means having her men attack Batman. Elsewhere, Matt is angry about not getting the respect he deserves and that leads Bruce to explain that it is all Batman’s fault.

BATWOMAN #16 by Marguerite Bennett and Fernando Blanco. The bats have been destroyed, but now Julia needs to start spraying the city with the antidote to the virus or else all is lost. Batman confronts Alice and Kate arrives, with him explaining she must be taken to Arkham. Kate objects and that and Alice is about to trigger the device when Beth’ persona comes back and disables the trigger. Alice regains control and blows the roof, sending them all tumbling below. Kate and Batman still argue, and Kate knocks a statue onto him and she insists that she needs to care for Beth. Batman reminds her that this is Strike Two and Stroke Three means he will end her tie as Batwoman. In the end, Kate hugs her sister and apologizes for everything.

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE #3 by Philip Tan and Justin Jordan. After defeating the Hound from last issue, Joe and Annie find the Salesman, who has their dad as a hostage. With a threat to kill dad, the Salesman wants Joe to reach his full potential. While Brimstone battles The Hound, Salesman tries to get Annie to make a deal, but she turns him down and Brimstone explodes, turning his father to ash in the process. Annie kills the Salesman and she and Joe take his car and ledger and head off to make things right.

CYBORG #23 by Marv Wolfman and Tom Derenick. Cyborg finds himself held captive, with his Mother Box removed and his father ready to carve him up. But it’s only a bad dream. Later, he is trying to find out why his dad has been avoiding him, which leads him to make friends with Starlite. Everything that is happening is because N-Jin has had a heart attack and has need of Cyborg's mother box. In the end, Cyborg fights a giant robot and that leads to N-Jin starting to merge with him

DAMAGE #6 by Robert Venditti, Larry Hama and Diogenes Neves. Damage battles Grodd, who is attempting to use his mind-control abilities to take Damage down. Ivy steps in, feeling she has been used by Grodd, and that allows Damage to win the fight. She puts him into a flower bed and he rests, waking up later with Swamp Thing around him. Swamp Thing is willing to have his friends help Ethan find who did this to him, but he wants a promise that the Green Ivy has created won’t be destroyed. In the end, Jonas’ plot to capture Ethan continues.

DEATHSTROKE #32 by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan and Roberto Viacara. Slade and Batman are working together to bring down Human Dynamo.  What we learn is that Human Dynamo hired the duo and is actually a surviving member of the Justice Experience. Despite Slade and Batman trying to kill each other during all of this, Batman keeps Dynamo for being killed by the heroes and transports him to Sanctuary. But Slade puts an end to this by putting a bullet in Human Dynamo’s head. In the end, Commissioner Gordon sees a court order freezing all of Bruce Wayne’s assets and Tim tells Damian he knows everything bout who his father really is.

DETECTIVE COMICS #982 by Michael Moreci and Sebastian Fiumara. In an effort to save a kidnapped kid, Batman battles Deacon Blackfire. He does after realizing he is never truly alone.

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DETECTIVE COMICS #983 by Bryan Hill and Miguel Mendonca. Darin Griffin is a ViewTube sensation who worships Batman. A week after a television appearance, Darrin is kidnapped, and The Signal tries to save him. But an explosion kills the boy and seriously injures Duke. Batman meets with Martian Manhunter, who suggests a team-up with Black Lightning. Batman confronts Jefferson, who is not a fan of the idea. Later, Batman continues the hint for the killer. Elsewhere, Cassandra goes off to see duke, hen the mysterious killer blows up her motorcycle, the trains a gun on her, saying she is responsible for making Batman weaker.

THE FLASH #48 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Wally confronts Hunter, who is telling him that he can find a way to reconnect Wally with the kids he has lost, despite everything he has done previously to torment Wally. Meanwhile, despite Cold telling Barry it is best for he and Iris to go to jail, because she did kill Reverse Flash, Barry has other plans and busts free, with he and Cold ending u with Wally and Zoom. Wally runs off and Barry follows, trying to convince him not to destroy the Speed Force to change time. In the end, the pair are off and running.

THE FLASH #49 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Both Barry and Wally continue their race around the world and now even the Justice League has been called in to stop them. They end up not breaking the Speed Force, but breaking the Speed Force barrier. Zolomon shows up, admits to Wally that he lied and that he conned Wally. Carrying Barry’s original ring, Zolomon becomes The Flash and now wants to take back the life that was taken from him.

GREEN ARROW #41 by Mairghread Scott and Mathew Clark. The Justice League sends Ollie off to accompany the transfer of The Parasite to a new prison facility.  He begins absorbing powers and manages to escape, along with most of the other prisoners, which leads Green Arrow to a fight for his life to get out of prison and recapture Parasite.

GREEN LANTERNS #48 by Aaron Gillepsie and Ronan Cliquet. Jessica is wanted by the Green Lanterns Corp for beating up some peace officers and trashing a city. She doesn’t remember it but recalls meeting with a prisoner and allowing him to escape, in exchange for something. She spends most of the issue hiding at Athene’s house before she convinces Liseth to take her to a bar to meet the prisoner. The pair are ready to do an exchange when Simon shows up to take her down.

GREEN LANTERNS #49 by Aaron Gillespie and Roge Antonio. Simon confronts Jessica and, rather than arrest her, he takes her away and decides o help find out what is happening to her. This leads to a meeting with Accampo, o explains that he is just a petty crook who was working for A’Obazaya and has stolen critical information and THAT was on the drive he was going to give to Jessica He meets with one of A’Obazaya’s henchmen and Jessica and Simon show up. The device is destroyed, and they get attacked, but Hal arrives and tries to arrest them both, until it’s revealed that a device was being used to corrupt people and Hal, still not happy, must give them a pass, but not until Jessica tells Hal to bite her! In the end, it’s all about pancakes.

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #45 by Robert Vendetti and Clayton Henry. Hal has managed to break Hector Hammond out of prison while John has gotten Zod and the Eradicator to join him. Orion and Highfather show up to meet with Kyle and the recuperating Cabbie and take their Mother Box back from Cabbie’s ride. Guy Gardener, now a Darkstar, shows up on Earth with a mission to kill his abusive father. Luckily Arkillo arrives in time to stop him, leading to a big battle that is coming.

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #46 by Robert Vendetti and Fernando Pasarin. Hector Hammond has taken Hal to a dead world in space where he is trying to convince Hal, who no longer remembers that he is a Green Lantern, to join him in his mission to kill all villains. After much soul searching, Hal rebels and Hammond, who as doing all of this to test Hal, joins him in the fight against the Darkstars. Elsewhere, Arkillo fights to keep Guy from killing his own father, resulting in Guy breaking free of the Darkstar’s control. On Mogo, with most of the Lanterns out of commission, the army of Darkstars has arrived.

HARLEY QUINN #43 by Christopher Sebela and Mirka Andolfo. After Harley deals with some robbers who ripped off her favorite place to eat, she meets with a youth ho has been turned into a version of a Dollotron by Professor Pyg. This sends them on a journey to find him, but they end up in the clutches of The Reaper.

HARLEY QUINN #44 by Christopher Sebela, Mirka Andolfo and Max Raynor. Harley and the Dollotron are captured by the Reaper, who is in cohoots with

Professor Pyg. With the help of a rogue member of the Resper gang, they convince the Dollotrons to rise up and defeat their captors. And Dollotron boy and Reaper girl fall in love. In the the Gang of Harleys arrive and tell Harley the crook who robbed her favorite store was captured. They also eplain the note Harley found didn’t mean someone was going to “destroy Zerstore” it just was part of her prescription for Zerstorequell.

HAWKMAN #1 by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch. Hawkmn is in Greece, where he is looking to gain possession of the treasures of Neptune, specifically a relic known as the Nautilus. Later, he meets with Madame Xanadu and she performs a ritual which lets him see his many lives, including Prince Khufu, Katar Hol, Catar-Ol of Krypton, and Carter Hall. He also sees the end of the world. Xanadu tells him that he will die a hundred more deaths before he discovers his place in the world and how to stop the future destruction.

THE HELLBLAZER #23 by Tim Seeley and Davide Fabbri. The Day family has been reunited and that means it’s time for Hell on Earth. But the brother who is inhabiting Margaret Ames is slowly burning out this body and needs a sacrifice of virgin blood. Constantine and Huntress prepare to take them out, but John visits Blythe and makes a deal: she helps him, and he will let her stay on Earth. Just before the sacrifice can happen, Huntress arrives and starts dispatching demons, while Father Day has a change to heart and kills his recently resurrected brother, which leads to Margaret killing him. But his is virgin blood and that saves Ames. Constantine dispatches the demons back to hell, all but Ames, who is now ready to steal his soul.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 by Scott Snyder and Jim Cheung. While the ne Justice League fights bad guys and saves lives, Lex Luthor is off to take down Vandal Savage. The League discovers that there is a energy source coming from the Source Wall and will impact Earth in three minutes. Meanwhile, Lex has put together a headquarters and formed the Legion of Doom made up of Grodd, Sinestro, Cheetah and The Joker. In the end, the heroes go off and Lex kills Vandal Savage.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 by Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez. Samp Thing comes to John Stewart to deliver a message from Batman, saying he must help them in this new cosmic fight which is coming to Earth and has managed to transform Killer Croc. Meanwhile, Lex continues to build his Legion of Doom and introduces them to a baby which is the true evil genius behind his plans to gain the seven cosmic forces hidden throughout the universe. While Superman and Martian Manhunter enter to dome, with miniaturized Batman and Hawkgirl inside them, Stewart encounter Sinestro. Stewart arrives at the Hall of Justice, where he proclaims he is a member of the Ultraviolet Lanterns and he must kill the Justice League.