DC UNIVERSE Month 9, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #2 by Jmes Tynion Iv and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. The team confronts the Otherkind, which they manage to defeat. They head off to Salem to meet with Kirk Nelson-Dr. Fate, while Swamp Thing goes to meet with Constantine, who believes the swamp creature is more concerned with protecting the Tree of Wonder than helping restore magic. While the team meets with Fate and demands to speak to Nabu, Kirk and Bobo wander off and accidentally knocks over a vase with a boy on it. The boy comes to life and reveals that he is Khalid Nassour, the most recent Dr. Fate, and that Nabu is bringing the Otherkind to the world. Before he ends up back on the vase. Fate, possessed by Nabu, flees and leaves Zatanna and Diana at the mercy of The Otherkind.

MOTHER PANIC GOTHAM A.D. #6 by Jody Houser and Ibraham Moustafa. Violet and Fenex Fox go up against Red Hood and his minions. Violet’s mom arrives and convinces Jason that Batman is gone and she can be the light in his life that he needs. Violet discovers that she is actually a clone created from herself, that is in stasis. Her other form has been here for 20 years, ever since the fire at the Collective’s School that almost killed her. She breaks her out and the original Violet dies. Her brother arrives and Violet puts him in stasis as punishment. Now it is time for all parties to adjust to their new lives.

NEW CHALLENGERS #4 by Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie and V. Ken Marion. The new team is on Skartaris, fighting dinosaurs and barbarians. In the process, Bathany gets injured and recalls her past, as a soldier who eventually died after her boyfriend as killed-an innocent bystander during a fight between Green Arrow and some armed thugs. The killer Prof ends his mummies to attack the team, leading to them taking the shard away from Moses. Defeated, the team heads back to the mountain to recharge their hourglass tattoos, They find the mountain in flames, realize it didn’t restore their hourglasses and they get visited by…another Bethany.

NIGHTWING #47 by Benjamin Percy and Chris Mooneyham. Nightwing is still battling against the techno virus that has taken over the city. Batgirl gets involved and, along with Nightwing, they find Willem, who is responsible for all this plus the murder of the men who pushed hi in front of a train when he was young. But Wyrm gets involved and draws Willem away inside of a cell phone. Dick admits that Bludhaven was the first strike and that means that Gotham is probably next.

NIGHTWING ANNUAL #1 by Benjamin Percy and Otto Schmidt. Nightwing goes up against Vire, who is taking over all types of media and corrupting it. What he learns is that Vire has managed to send Vicki Vale into the same cell phone nethersphere that Willem is in. And it looks like he won’t be able to stop any of it.

PLASTIC MAN #3 by Gail Simone and Adriana Melo. Plastic Man teams up with Man Bat to free and save themselves and the child, who isn’t sure yet if he is a boy or a girl. He eventually drops the kid off with his gang of female friends, as he goes out looking for the likely culprit in all of this. Meanwhile, Sammy takes Janet for a ride and may just have to kill her to turn her into…Plastic Woman?

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #25 by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy. The police are after Red Hood for the murder of The Penguin, but their ship is crashing and Bizarro has lost his intelligence and can’t stop it. so is Batman. Red Hood tries to make his way onto the invisible ship, but Batman stops him and beats him badly. Bizarro shows up to stop Batman by driving him through the roof of the building Hood and Batman are fighting on. Back in the ship, Bizarro grabs a cable and drags the ship through the Quantum doorway. With a kiss, Artemis bids goodbye to Red Hood and goes into the doorway with the ship. Batman arrives again and Roy saves Jason. In the backup, Ma Henkle reads a story of The Outsiders. She is then visited by Willis and she reveals that she knows that Jason is her grandson.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS ANNUAL #2 by Scott Lobdell, Clayton Henry and Neil Googe. Fresh from escaping from Batman, Jason tries recuperating, with Roy’s help, on a remote island where it is revealed that the crashed Tamaranean cruiser from the earlier run involving these characters is here and still somewhat functional. Jason gets to talk to a virtual Starfire while Roy checks in with Killer Croc, who is her sponsor in rehab. Once healed, the pair go searching for the person responsible for some of the drug trade, only to find Suzie Su hospitalized. But the Sisters of Suzie Su are more than ready to defend and ick up the slack, leading to a massive battle. But you can’t keep Suzie down and she reveals that the drug shipment thing was a setup, meaning Jason has something to look for while his have ended up in an alternate timeline where Earth has been destroyed and the Hall of Justice has become the Hall of Punishment.

RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #7 by Marv Wolfman and Pop Mhan. Paula Faust enters our realm but is immediately attacked by the Shadow Riders. After a tiring day in school, Raven comes home to find that Violet is dying and she immediately brings her to a hospital to help save her. Baron Winters contacts her and she learns of the history of the Shadow Riders. Later, he brings Traci Thirteen and Skye into the fold of his ner Night Force. Meanwhile, a young boy is possessed by an unknown entity that may have a connection to everything.

SIDEWAYS #7 by Dan DiDio and Kenneth Rocafort. While six of the Seven Soldiers of victory discuss how Derek will fit into their plans and flesh out their team, Mr. Flynn goes to the morgue to identify his wife’s body and Derek also makes a trip, to say his final goodbye. After being tormented at school about his mother’s death, Derek freaks out and uses his powers on some of his classmates. Luckily, the remaining Seven Soldiers, Klarion, The Shining Knight, Shilo Norman, The Bulleteer, Zatanna and Frankenstein, arrive to ask him to help them with the upcoming Harrowing.

THE SILENCER #8 by Dan Abnett and Jon Bogdanovic. Honor and her family are off on a faux vacation, so she can learn more about Leviathan and Talia. She visits Iverson, who fills her in on how far reaching Leviathan has become. Meanwhile, Quietus arrives to find he has been betrayed by his inner circle. Later, he goes head to head with The Silencer. But there is a witch woman in the works and she manages to force Quietus and Silencer to switch bodies, whether they like it or not.

THE SILENCER ANNUAL #1 by Dan Abnett and Jack Herbert. Set eight years in the past, Honor meets her future husband for the first time while on a mission in Gotham for Talia. Her mission: find Batman. What she later learns, after a tussle with and then a team up with The Dark Knight, is that her mission as to help him and keep him safe against The Reaper.

SUICIDE SQUAD #45 by Rob Williams, Dan Abnett and Jose Luis. SINK ATLANTIS Part 1. With Mera ready to be coronated, Waller sends Task Force X to get Atlantis back under the sea. The team heads out with two new members: Lord zsatanis and Master Jailer. They meet with Urcell, who is helping because she doesn’t recognize Mera as rightful ruler. Soon they discover that the device they were given isn’t a bomb to take Atlantis back under the sea…it’s a nuke designed to destroy Atlantis.

SUICIDE SQUAD ANNUAL #1 by Cullen Bunn and Roman Cliquet. A atinet who is found to have male and female bodies joined together, breaks loose and flees Belle Reve. Waller wants the patient back, but her Task Force X is involved in the mission to SINK ATLANTIS. So she calls in the B Team: Scream Queen, Shimmer, Skorpio, Tao Jones, Baby Boom and Rag Doll. The patient ends up in the swamp, here she is protected by Swamp Thing. The B Team arrives and find themselves in a fight with Swamp Thing and the surgically altered ghosts who have some connection to the patient. Almost all of the team dies, except for Merlyn and Scream Queen, fighting the ghosts, who are the haunted spirits of the man this woman was joined to. To save themselves, Merlyn kills the woman. Back at Belle Reve, Scream Queen dares Waller to use the brain bomb and she does, blowing off the illain’s head. Swamp Thing shows up in Waller’s fruit salad and reminds her the ghosts are everywhere.

SUPERGIRL #21 by Marc Andreyko and Kevin Maguire. After the destruction of Kandor by Rogol Zaar, Supergirl decides she needs to take some time away from Earth. She leaves a message for the Danvers, then heads to the remains of the Fortress of solitude to retrieve Zaar’s axe. She asks for Hal Jordan’s help to scan the axe, which leads to an alert 42 star systems away. Back at th Fortress, she dons a solar collecting suit which resembles her classic suit from the 1960’s, but is surprised by Krypto, who has been sent by Superman to accompany her on her journey to Mogo

SUPERMAN #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis. Many years ago, the Tamarans battled the Thangareans, who are being led by Rogol Zaar. In the present, Earth is in the Phantom Zone and Superman is trying to find a way to figure it out and deal with the disasters affecting the planet. Flash meets with him and passes out, the League is in tough shape and this is going to lead to another confrontation with Zaar.

TEEN TITANS #21 by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. The team goes up against and takes down a group dealing in illegal weapons. But there is a catch: their leader has a nuclear bomb set to go off in four minutes unless they can find it and stop it. He reveals he is the bomb, forcing Robin to have Djinn go inside his mind to figure how to stop it. Finding there is no way to get it ut of the city in time, Roundhouse takes flight with it. There is a huge explosion in the sky and it looks like Roundhouse is dead.

THE TERRIFICS #7 by Jeff Lemire and Dale Eaglesham. Tom Strong battles and defeats Paul Saveen. Later, he is kidnapped by the mysterious villain known as Dread. Meanwhile, the Terrifics are recovering from their last adventure and that Metamorpho is now human. Either way, they still need to be connected to each other or they will die. Mr. Terrific convinces the team to head off in his T-Sphere to find Strong and that ends u with them being attacked and captured by killer trees. This leads them to Strong who informs them they need to find a way out of this mess or they are all dead.

TITANS #24 by Dan Abnett and Brent Peeples. Raven and Steel come across an old man on a park bench and suddenly they are attacked by the Urkesh. It is revealed that the Urkesh and their leader, Seneschal, are creations from the old man’s literary works. The remainder of the team arrive, and, with the help of Miss Martian, old man Hinton, Martian and Raven are transported to the fictional realm of Unearth, where they remove it from his memory. The world is restored to normal, but Seneschal has managed to get out and is now living with Hinton. Unfortunately, Raven is stuck on Unearth.

THE UNEXPECTED #3 by Steve Orlando and Cary Nord. Neon nd Firebrand meet with June Robbins who explains how Elligh was here since the dawn of time. When she hears of the explosion that killed him and how that isotope will explode again, she sends them on a mission to Monster Valley to find Elligh’s stash and possibly the isotope. They find the place, but Onimar Synn is there first, leading to a battle. The lace gets destroyed, but the isotope remains intact, even as Synn transports away. Neon and Firebrand are transported to…to Gotham, where they come face to face with The Huntress.

WONDER WOMAN #52 by Steve Orlando and Aco. Wonder Woman goes to Gateway City and meets with Nayeli: the current Aztek. Aztek reveals she has had a vision where what turns out to be Diana’s great aunt Atalanta was trapped in a battle in Tezcatlipoca. They meet with Artemis and the trio head to Tezcatlipoca. Once inside the temple there, they run into and battle the Nazgul, defeating it with the help of Atalanta. But there is no time for family reunions, as the armies of Tezcatlipoca are ready to attack.

WONDER WOMAN #53 by Steve Orlando and Aco. Diana, Aztek and Atalanta team up to battle the Shadow God. Using their cunning and combined strength, they defat him and send him back to the Gods of the Thirteen Heavens. Later, they relax and Diana contemplates on what has happened in Themyscria since she eft. If only she knew there was a new queen on the throne…

DC UNIVERSE Month 9, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1002 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gleason. A petty criminal is dropped to his death, allegedly by Superman and that leads Clark and the Planet crew to investigate. Goode continues to be shady and continues her infiltration of The Planet. The Guardian shows up to deal with the criminal element, but runs into Red Cloud, which puts him in the hospital in critical condition. In the end, Clark finds out that Lois’ book has been published and is surprised to see her back in Metropolis and in disguise.

ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #1 by Peter J. Tomasi and Carlo Barberi. Robin and a newly returned to Earth Superboy battle a giant Superman statue that is being controlled by The Puppeteer. After defeating him, they head off to their recently rebuilt headquarters and then taken on Shaggy Boy. He is a member of The Gang: a team of intergalactic kid villains made up of Ice Princess, Kid Deadshot, Joker Jr., Brainiac 6 and Rex Luthor. Luthor whips out some Gold Kryptonite and proceeds to beat on Superboy.

AQUAMAN #39 by Dan Abnett, Rob Williams and Joe Bennett.  SINK ATLANTIS PART TWO. Atlantis has risen and Task Force X has been tasked to blow it up, leading to dissention in the ranks. Aquaman and Mera discuss options and Arthur decides he needs a Black Ops mission and needs to acquire some help.

BATGIRL #25 by Mairghread Scott, Marguerite Bennett, Paul Dini, Emanuela Lupacchino, Tom Derenick, Dan Panosian, and Paul Pelletier. In a quartet of tales, Batgirl deals with the death of an acquaintance killed in the Joker church rampage, spends quality time with Dick Grayson, goes up against the March Hare and continues to track down Grotesque.

BATGIRL #26 by Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier. Batgirl continues her crusade against Grotesque while having problems with having issues with implants. In the end, she goes to Gotham Police, steals some information off a computer and then passes out, foaming at the mouth, in her father’s arms.

BATGIRL ANNUAL #2 by Mairghread Scott and Elena Casagrande. There is a serial killer in Gotham and Batgirl goes to talk to her brother, as it looks like his M.O. She discovers he as been getting letters from female fans and she investigates them. In the end, she finds the killer and it looks like she may have been inspired by her brother, who is well on is way to acquiring his newest follower.

BATMAN #52 by Tom King and Lee Weeks. Bruce and the jury continue to debate on the innocence of Mr. Freeze, with Bruce arguing for his release. In the end, Bruce says he can prove that Batman is not the hero everyone thinks he is.

BATMAN #53 by Tom King and Lee Weeks. Bruce continues to try and convince the jury as to why they should acquit Mr. Freeze. In the end, he does and decides to go back to his original costume to fight crime.

BATMAN BEYOND #23 by Dan Jurgens and Will Conrad. Batman and Robin battle the new Scarecrow and the mindless minions of Gotham that is being controlled by the villain. The heroes gas the controlled and head to the Batcave, where Bruce and Jack Ryder are meeting. They determine that Scarecrow is using something other than gas to control the city, which leads Jack to find Adalyn, who reveals herself as The Scarecrow. Batman and Robin head to find the source of her power, when Gordon takes them down and Robin turns on his brother.

BATWOMAN #18 by Marguerite Bennett and Fernando Blanco. Rene and Kate team up to take down the Clock King, leading to them having a meal together. This could be the start of a renewed relationship.

CATWOMAN #2 by Joelle Jones. Catwoman finds herself in a battle with an army of Catwomen, taking them all out and finding out that it may have been set up through the Governor’s wife. When the Governor’s wife finds out that the mission went south, she has one of her goons break the girl’s hand…for starters. Later, Carlos sets Selina up with some special weapons to put in her arsenal. Governor Creel holds a press conference to announce he is resigning due to hi having Prostrate Cancer. That night, Selina shows up at a Creel fundraiser and Creel’s son, who is doing his mom’s bidding, introduces himself to her.

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE #5 by Justin Jordan, Philip and Jose Luis. The siblings end up in Marienbad, West Virginia: a town where the children have all been possessed by a dark evil. They meet Jack Smith, who explains it all and he tries to convince Joe to turn into Brimstone to fight their leader, now named Slackjaw.

DAMAGE #8 by Robert Venditti, Diogenes Neves and Tom Derenick. Ethan wakes up in a Veteran’s Hospital in Missouri to find the Unknown Soldier by his side. Jonas sends her newest hires after them, which leads to a massive fight with Ethan and the Soldier getting away. Soldier explains that he was responsible for making sure he got free when he was captured. Ethan transforms and takes down the hired hands, leaving him face to face with Jonas.

DAMAGE ANNUAL #1 by Robert Venditti and Aaron Lopresti. In a tale before current continuity, Damage is sent to Bialya to confront a bunch of failed Damage type creatures. He battles them all, killing most, but when he discovers the last one has turned back into a man, the conscience that is Ethan takes over and spares him. As the man flees for home, Colonel Jonas arrives and has him gunned down, while she commands her team to develop a cover story for the whole incident.

DEATHSTROKE #34 by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan. Deathstroke ends up in Bruce’s mansion and forces him to go down to the Batcave. There, he explains that he knows Damian Wayne is Robin and Robin is Batman’s son. The two battle fiercely until they both pass out from their wounds. Meanwhile, Federal Agents storm the house and Deathstroke’s ex meets with Jim Gordan.

DETECTIVE COMICS #986 by Bryan Hill and Philippe Briones. Batman goes off to confront Fleet Delmar while Orphan, as the only member of the team still capable of action, goes off to try and save the kidnapped children. Lucky for her, Black Lightning tags along. The kids are wired to an explosive and Lightning, using his powers, is able to contain the blast and save their lives. Batman stabs Delmar with a special Batarang that sends the villain away from the scene and allows him to escape for another day. In the end, Batman believes he needs someone who can truly teach him how to beat Karma. And that person is Katana.

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DETECTIVE COMICS #987 by Bryan Hill and Miguel Mendonca. Karma is still on the loose and that means Batman puts a new team of Outsiders together, made up of Katana, Black Lightning, Orphan and The Signal. The new team goes off to free some hostages thatKarma’s men have taken wile Batman confronts Karma. Using what he was taught by Katana, Batman is able to block Karma’s mind powers until the right moment, when he allows all of his memories to flood into the villain, driving him mad. Batman promises to get him help provided he tells hat he knows about Markovia. In Markovia, Martina flexes his might and reveals it is time to stop playing dead, ordering one of her henchmen to get Roderick.

THE FLASH #52 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. Flash meets with the other Speedsters from the Multiverse at the House of Heroes to explain that there is three new Forces that were released by the destruction of the Source Wall. No one here knows about it but the suggestion is Flash go on a Force Quest. Meanwhile, Trickster is meeting to tell his tale of mistreatment in Iron Heights when he gets kidnapped by Para-Angels. Flash and Commander Cold arrive to lend a hand and Trickster escapes, but is dragged beneath the streets into a fiery pit. With Trickster at large, Barry meets with Iris, who remembers more moments in the past, including their wedding day. Cold texts him and says he’s found Trickster, who has mutated into a monster and takes down Flash and Cold.

THE FLASH #53 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. Flash and Commander Cold team up to stop the genetically altered Trickster. Once contained, they bring him back to Iron Heights, where Flash wants to see how they are going to help him. But thigs go wrong and Flash also becomes a genetic monster, leading old to believe the only way to stop them is to kill them. Meanwhile, Iris memories continue to come back to her and she thinks she may have actually heard of all these various Forces before.

GREEN ARROW #43 by Julie Benson, Shauna Benson and Javier Fernandez. Arsenal and Arrow team up to rescue some people from a tenement that slum lord Jubal Slade is blowing up. Later, a mysterious villain broadcasts that he is about to take down rich criminals and Slade is his first target. Ollie and Canary race to save Slade, but he has been beheaded in a home-made guillotine. The villain then announces his next target…is Oliver Queen.

GREEN LANTERNS #52 by Dan Jurgens and Marco Santucci. While most of the Lanterns are fighting a losing battle around the planet Penelo, the Guardians, still mourning the loss of one of their own, watch as John Stewart hovers near death. Hal, off on a little vacation, received a garbled transmission and heads to join the teams near Penelo. During this, Simon goes off on a mission of his own that his ring has sent him on. Soon Jessica also leaves, meeting with Simon. Both their rings try to convince them that the other is a traitor.

GREEN LANTERNS #53 by Dan Jurgens and Marco Santucci. Sion’s ring is sending him back to Earth to help out on a situation there. Meanwhile, Jessica, Hal and the other Lanterns battle Eon and his followers. Eon orders the command ship blown up, killing some of his men, the flees. This leave the Lanterns to try to save the survivors of Penelo. Simon ends up at Superman’s Fortress of solitude, with Superman saying he is trapped inside. In actuality, the “Superman” inside is the Cyborg Superman.

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #50 by Robert Venditti and Rafa Sandoval. John Stewart and the Lanterns and their accomplices battle the Darkstars while Hal battles Tomar-Re. Hal defeats him, which allows Hammond to arrive and take down the telepathic link on the Controllers. Hal then uses his ring to infuse all of the Darkstars with ill, causing them all to stop fighting. Zod, craving revenge, leaves the Lanterns and heads over to Hal and Tomar, seeking to kill Tomar. Tomar takes matters into his own hands and commits suicide. Later, it’s a new day and John welcomes the newest recruits. Hal takes a much-needed vacation and visits with Carol Ferris which ends with a kiss.

HARLEY QUINN #47 by Sam Humphries and John Timms. Granny’s girl Bernadeth is trying to scramble the brain of Harley Quinn, but to no avail. Harley breaks out of prison with Petite Tina and they end up in Granny’s creepy boudoir. After hearing Tina’s tale of being degraded, the to team up. Granny has fixed her Subjekator and is preparing to do her worst, when Darkseid shows up. Actually, it’s Harley in disguise and she and Tina battle Granny, destroying the Subjukator and freeing the prisoners. Granny demands the Splinter of Destiny, but Harley tosses it into a Boom Tube. Tina defeats Granny and we discover that the Splinter is now in the hands of Lobo. Harley and Tina go back to Earth, where Coach informs Harley that her building is being torn down.

HARLEY QUINN #48 by Sam Humphries and Alisson Borges. Harley’s Secret Headquarters is being torn down, which leads her and Tina into action to stop it. Solution: she needs to get a job. Lots of jobs. That sends her out looking for Lord Dead Man, ho has a huge bounty on his head. She catches up with him, kills him and removes his heart as proof of the deed. She grinds it up and pours it into a glass. But someone is here to drink from the glass. Proof that you just can’t kill Lord Dead Man!

HAWKMAN #3 by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch. Hawkman finds himself on Dinosaur Island where he fights dinosaurs and Hawkmen. Eventually, he connects with the oldest Hawkman, who sends him on a search for an ancient relic. He finds a planetarium with the image of Kalmoan on the walls, which triggers a memory for him. But he doesn’t have time to dwell on it as he is transported to Thanagar, where he is held at gunpoint by Katar Hol of the Thanagarian police force.

THE IMMORTAL MEN #5 by Jmes Tynion IV and Tyler Kirkham. A gentleman goes into a toy store and reveals that it is an A.R.G.U.S. Black Site, which leads to him being captured, all the while insisting he needs to meet with Amanda Waller. Meanwhile, the Immortal Man is dead and the team prepares to bury him. Caden meets with a woman known as Communion and he gets covered in a goo she calls the Bloodmask. When he returns to the team, they see him as the nee Immortal Man and together, they go off to save Reload.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 by James Tynion IV and Doug Mahnke. Lex reveals how he ended up knowing how to become the leader of his Legion of Doom. In the recent past, Sinestro learned of the truce and Luthor came to him and told him he had discovered the key to everything. He also met with Grodd. Luthor revealed that, after NO JUSTICE, he re-engineered his Mother Box and used it to travel to one million years in the future. There, he discovered that he was revered as a god, but that people finally had embraced the ideals that he believed in, creating Lexor City. He was also known as The Geat Tragedy because he missed the one thing which could have given him power…something called Doom. He went back to the remains of his father’s destroyed Legionnaire’s Club and discovered the doorknob which would, when all the components were out in place, allo him to unlock the hidden energies of the universe. After unlocking the Ultraviolet Spectrum and finding Turtle, ho gave him access to the Still Force, he made his way into Superman’s brain and now controls him in the fight for Doom.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 by Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez. Just when Lex thinks he has everything he needs to control the Universe, Batman arrives and battles him, having used his Kryptonite ring to keep Supeman’s cells from eating him. So Joker takes over Martian Manhunter and tries to use him to defeat Superman, by sliding his tendril like fingers inside the Man of Steel. Hawkgirl gets free and defeats Joker, allowing J’onn to get free and all of them to transfer back to the Hall of Justice. With Flash still frozen in time, John Stewart pilots Flash’ car and uses the Speed Force to circumnavigate the Earth. The world gets brighter, but that is because it is being lit by a worldwide image like that on Luthor’s doorknob.

Another batch of firsts and lasts...

ALTERED REALITY ORIGINS: MS. MARAUDER by Jarrett Melendez, Mike Vosburg, Dylan Andrews, Ian Chase Nichols, Joe St. Pierre and Chris Campagna. AR Comics is back with another book in their growing line of show exclusives. This one, exclusive to the 2018 Colorado Springs Comic Con, stars Ms. Marauder in four tales set during four different times. The art throughout is great and Melendez’ story is entertaining and ties each chapter together well. Just another piece of the AR Comics Universe.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 by Nick Spencer and Ryan Otley. Our web-slinging hero is back in another new #1 (unless you’re a Legacy numbering guy, and then it’s #802). After having endured everything Dan Slott through at our hero, Spencer tries to get back to Ground Zero with this issue. He’s rooming with Robbie Robertson’s son and Fred Myers, who is also the villain Boomerang. He works for the Bugle. He’s trying to get his life back on track with Mary Jane. And then, it hits the fan. He loses his college accreditation, gets fired from the Bugle, embarrasses Aunt May and, to top it off, Mysterio is back, along with a very special last page surprise! And someone is pulling Mysterio’s strings too. Spencer’s story is fun and Otley’s work echoes Mark Bagley, which means it doesn’t look like his work on INVINCIBLE. All in all, a good first issue. While you’re at it, find the BEHIND THE SCENES book for this. It’s free and contains the pencil work for the issue; always fun if you want to scan them and try inking on your own!

ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 by Jeff Parker, Michael Moreci and Dan Parent. Just when you thought there were no more crossovers for Archie, here’s comes another. They’ve already met The Ramones, Sharknado and been torn apart by Predators. Well, Siren is using her vocal talents to mess with the fine folks of Riverdale and that means it’s time for the Caped Crusader and the gang to help out! Featuring guest appearances by Posion Ivy, Bookworm, The Penguin, The Joker and Catwoman. Tons of Sixties fun!

ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 by Cullen Bunn and Mateo Lolli. Well, since the Guardians are no ore, at the moment, Marvel has put a NEW team together. Led by Angela, you remember her, she was in SPAWN, they are made up of Valkyrie, The Destroyer, Skurge the Executioner, Thunderstrike (Eric Peterson…formerly Thor) and Throg (yes…the frog Thor). Together they run afoul of Nebula, who is causing havoc now that her sister has killed Thanos. And, to top it off, Kid Loki is back in the game. Kind of fun, not a great deal of catching up for anyone who missed the stories involving the Fearless Defenders, but there is a nice piece explaining who these characters are. Art looks great and the overall team is a nice mix of Asgard related heroes.

ASTONISHING X-MEN ANNUAL #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Travel Foreman. Confusion reigns as the team, along with X, who is really Charles Xavier, travel to Lago, New York, where things get weird really quickly. It seems Lucifer, remember him from the original X-MEN series way back when, has taken over the town and the transplanted kids have to stop him. A bit on the long side, but a nice nod to a classic villain that hasn’t been seen in ages.

BATMAN KINGS OF FEAR #1 by Scott Peterson and Kelley Jones.  DC unleashes another Batman mini-series which is probably not in continuity, but it’s drawn by Kelley Jones, so that makes it worth picking up. Batman apprehends the Joker and brings him to Arkham, where one of the doctor’s berates him. The villains team up and Batman goes wild! In the end, Scarecrow gets loose and now Batman must face his fears. The story is okay, but the art is tremendous!

CABLE #159 by Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson and German Peralta. It’s the end of the comic road for Natahn Summers as the storyline and this book come to an end. Nathan faces his past and corrects a mistake, while doing his best to keep hope live…pun intended. In the end, it all falls kind of flat. Next stop: EXTERMINATION.

CATWOMAN/TWEETY & SYLVESTER #1 by Gail Simone, She Fontana, Walter Carzon and Inaki Miranda.  Three witches make a bet that involves cats and dogs, which brings Catwoman, Tweety, Sylvester and a host of cat and dog heroes and villains into the fray to save their lives. Tons of guest stars populate this one-shot tale. In the back-up, it’s a quiet night at Tweety’s house when Sylvester tries to get in and Catwoman tries to bust in. Hilarity ensues!

COVER #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack. Bendis and Mack, long-time collaborators, team up here on this this tale of a comic book creator who is being courted/stalked by the CIA. It’s a strange, sometimes confusing concept, that contains much of Bendis’ wit throughout. But the real star here is Mack, who drifts seamlessly through a variety of styles throughout. This is another winner in the Bendisworld line.

DIE! DIE! DIE! #1 by Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple and Chris Burnham.  How crazy is a book that starts off with major bloodshed and a guy getting his nose cut off? This crazy! And then, it only gets weirder with intrigue, Presidents, kill orders and more. And of course, there’s that nose! This is not on par with Kirkman’s work on THE WALKING DEAD or INVINCIBLE, but it sure is crazy fun. And Brunham’s artwork smokes!

THE DREAMING #1 by Simon Spurrier and Bilquis Evely. The King of Dreams has gone astray and that has put everyone is The Dreaming on edge. Continuing from  the recent Sandman one-shot, this title seeks to enhance the Sandman Universe and, fear not, almost all of your favorite characters from that Universe make an appearance or are promised to. It’s a fun story and Evely’s art is great. While not for everyone, it will certainly appeal to Gaiman’s fans.

EDGE OF SPIDERGEDDON #1 by Jed MacKay and Gerardo Sandoval. Meet Hobie Brown, the Spider Man of Earth-138. Actually, if you read any of the Spiderverse stories, you already know him. Well, he’s back, teamed up with this world’s Hulk and Captain Captain Anarchy to fight against Kang the Conglomerator. While the book is weird and kind of funny, you have to love a book where the last line comes from a Mohawk wearing Hulk quoting Motorhead. Hey…”I don’t want to live forever”!

EXTERMINATION #1 by Ed Brisson and Pepe Larraz. Welcome to the new big mutant event! How do you deal with the time displaced original X Men? You bring in a villain to eliminate them. Not just write them out of continuity-kill them off! Wel, the body count starts here with the kidnapping of Bobby Drake and the deaths of Bloodstorm: the vampire alternate universe Storm and…Cable? And they have been  killed by a young Nathan Summers, who is here to correct the timeline. Wow! I thought this was going to be a hackneyed “event book”, but there is enough going on to make me want to come back for more. When it is all said and done…we’ll have a new Uncanny X-Men title. Hopefully…just ONE X-Men title!

FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli. After far too long, Reed and Sue and back…sort of. Well…they’re not here yet, but they do appear as they try to come back to our planet and eventually give a sign that they’re returning. Plus, Ben finally proposes to Alicia! And, if that wasn’t enough, Doctor Doom is back to rule his kingdom. And his face is scarred again. What? He was just fine and dandy in the last IRON MAN run. Yeah…it’s been a long time coming and hopefully the tea of Slott and Pichelli can bring them back to greatness.

FARMHAND #1 by Rob Guillory. After CHEW, what the heck do you do for an encore? THIS! It’s a lovely tale of family relations, Stem Cell Research and farming. How do those relate? Well, it’s all about growing and harvesting body parts. And I do mean growing and harvesting. Need a new liver? We’ll harvest it off one of our trees. New arm? No problem! This is just so much silly fun and then there’s a twist! Guillory has done it again!

HARLEY QUINN/GOSSAMER #1 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Sholly Fisch, Dave Alvarez and Pier Brito. Here we have another DC/Warner mash up book, this time with Harley rescuing Gossamer from a crate and making the hairy creature her pet/friend. Eventually, she seeks his real master and all sorts of hilarity ensues. In the back-up, we have more of a traditional Warner Brothers take, where the Doctor, who Harley thinks might be Huge Strange, is creating Gossamer for his fiendish devices.

HEY KIDS! COMICS #`1 by Howard Chaykin. Chaykin, in his usual biting way, takes a team of comic creators from 1945 to 2001. It’s a twisted, sometimes confusing tale that obviously pays homage to and references some of the greatest in comic’s history…although they have all been greatly fictionalized. But, if you know your comics, you can kind of figure out who is who. Typical Chaykin fun!

HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: DEAD ENDS #1 by Charles Soule and Ramon Rosanas. Leading into the RETURN OF WOLVERINE, this one-shot wraps up the multiple mini-series, which had teams of Marvel heroes going out to find the Ragin’ Cajun. But the book spends the first half explaining what happened in those mini-series, which feels like Marvel has cheated everyone who read those books and shelled out their hard earned cash for them. In the end, it turns out a villain named Persephone is to blame and she has Wolverine all tied up.

INFINITY WARS PRIME #1 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr. It all starts here. Well…not really. It actually all started in the INFINITY COUNTDOWN series and connecting books. But the whole prelude to war, the fight for the Infinity Gems, starts here. Loki discovers multiple universes exist and he’s in them. Adam Warlock, who has recently worked with Kang, dies and is resurrected thanks to the Time Gem. And Thanos? Well, he loses his head over it all…quite literally!  This is an interesting first strike that lays out a lot of bread crumbs for readers to follow, if they like, through the next 24 chapters, counting all of the connecting titles, which includes some interesting Mavel hero mash-ups. All of this ends in December with the final five books.

INFINITY WARS #1 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr. Well…after months of the lead up, here it is. The holders of all the Infinity Stones meet to discuss what to do when Thanos comes for them. But they also earn that Thanos is dead. Loki meets with an alternate version of himself, who dies at the hands of the soul-eater of worlds. Requiem arrives with the head of Thanos and is revealed to be Gamora, who wants the stones so she can be whole again. Then she kills Star Lord. It’s an action filled first issue, but I must say I saw Gamora as Requiem coming a mile away, what with her whining over the COUNTDOWN issues about not being whole and…well: she IS Thanos’ daughter and all.

THE JOKER/DAFFY DUCK #1 by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth, Joey Cavalieri and Luciano Vecchio. Another round of DC/Warner Brothers specials rolls on with this fun little jaunt. In the first tale by Lobdell and Booth, Daffy goes to work for The Joker, until he discovers that Mr. J. is really bad, and he sabotages his plans. In the back-up, Daffy is hired to play psychiatrist for The Joker and it’s a great tour de force with Fourth Wall breaks, shots at Dan DiDio and the whole comics genre. Four dollars’ worth of mindless fun.

LEX LUTHOR/PORKY PIG #1 by Mark Russell, Brad Walker, Jim Fanning and John Loter. The DC/Warner Brothers team ups roll on with this one-shot. In the first tale by Russell and Walker, a destitute Porky goes to work for Lex, who has teamed up with Dr. Sivana and Professor Ivo, to corner the pharmaceutical market. But Porky never figures it out and ends up being the new pig in jail. In the back-up, Porky meets with Lex and finds out that Lex has a plan designed to take down Superman. Porky throws a wrench in those plans and all ends well.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 by Margaret Stohl and Carlos Pacheco. In what is being called the definitive origin of Carol Danvers, Carol goes back home and visits her family, with less than desirable results. In the process, we get to see her abusive father, meet her mom and brother and learn that maybe she is much more influenced by the Kree than we have been led to believe. It’s a bit preachy and a bit predictable, but it does have its’ moments.

MR. and MRS. X #1 by Kelly Thompson and Oscar Bazaldua. The cat is out of the bag: Colossus and Kitty Pryde didn’t get married , but that not-wedding turned into a marriage for Gambit and Rogue. Beginning with their wedding, and an unexpected guest, we head to the honeymoon where they get interrupted by an important mission. I was surprised how much fun this title was! There are some killer bits of dialogue and it feels like a Mutant marriage of REMINGTON STEELE and MOONLIGHTING. All, in all, I liked it a lot!

OLD MAN LOGAN ANNUAL #1 by Ed Brisson and Simone DiMeo. Just how much money CAN Marvel mine from this franchise. In a departure from the regular series, this is set in the Wastelands with Logan running into a supposedly dead Frank Castle. All he wants to do is take his name, his memories and his reputation back from the gang of thugs calling themselves The Punishers. All Logan wants is to save some kids from them. They team up and face off against the gang. Totally not a fan of this, especially since this hole continuity should have been erased after SECRET WARS. So…give me my OLD MAN HAWKEYE and let this thing go!

PEARL #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos. Bendis’ first creator owned title is here and it’s the tale of…I’m not really sure. Pearl is tattooed gun for hire. That’s about it, but it’s a beautifully illustrated, winding tale tat involves some interesting characters and some mystery. With that, I’m looking forward to seeing where this all goes!

PUNISHER #228 by Matthew Rosenberg and Guiu Vilanova. Marvel wraps up this run of the adventures of Frank Castle as War Machine Punisher. Frank continues his attack on the remnants of Hydra, but also has to fight Iron Man and Rhodey, who wants his armor back. In the end, it looks like Frank may end up working with Bucky and Natasha…stayed tuned. Next up: a NEW Punisher series by Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski.

THE PUNISHER #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Sxymon Kudranski. Frank Castle is back, out of the War Machine armor, and back on the streets to take don crime, specifically Baron Zemo. But he is also targeting The Mandarin, and that leads to one heck of a cliff hanger. The story is compelling, and the art is amazing. I never thought I would be writing a glowing review over a Punisher title, but Rosenberg is firing on all cylinders. Ultra violent and lots of fun!

SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1 by Neil Gaiman, Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Waters, Biquis Everly, Tom Fowler, Dominike ‘Domo’ Stanton, Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara. For Gaiman it is never say never again as he writes the story behind this multi chapter introduction to four new titles set in the Endless Universe. In September and October, we get the new Vertigo series for THE DREAMING, HOUSE OF WHISPERS, LUCIFER, and BOOKS OF MAGIC. Despite the different creative teams for each chapter, the book has great continuity, we get some of the classic characters and some new ones and, if you were a SANDMAN fan, you’ll be all over this. But be aware: he doesn’t really appear in the book, which is why this is a great jumping on point for the other series.

SCARLET #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Continuing from the Marvel Icon series that was published infrequently between 2010 and 2016. It tells the story of Scarlet Rue who has gone against a corrupt America and brought about a new American Revolution in a dystopian future. The story is a bit confusing if you haven’t read the previous, especially with all the Fourth Wall breaks, but it feels right and Maleev’ art is top notch.  

SILVER SURFER ANNUAL #1 by Ethan Sacks and Andre Lima Araujo. Set in the earliest of the days of the Silver Surfer, the former Norin Radd must do Galactus’ bidding or else his planet is lost. But this leads to a conflict of conscience for our hero and he also learns of Galactus’ wrath for betrayal. An interesting, if not overly long tale, that adds some nice notes to the legend of the Silver.

THANOS LEGACY #1 by Donny Cates, Brian Level, Gerry Duggan and Cory Smith.

Spoiler: Thanos is dead, yet he seems to be able to tell this tale from the grace. In it, Cates has him explain how he went and resolved the issue of future Thanos. But wait: isn’t the Cosmic Ghost Rider trying to do the same thing in his mini-series. I’m confused! My head hurts! Especially when he visits the devil, tells him to leave Castle alone (meaning he can keep the Rider from being born) and then finds out about Hela’s wedding. But before he can do more, Gamora kills him and cuts off his head. So Eros shows up with the Rider and…to be continued! WHAT? Are you kidding me? And then, we get a silent back-up by Duggan and Smith that tells a tale of a young Gamora and lends a bit of why she has come to hate her father. Overall, recommended for fans of the Mad Titan. Be sure to look out for the variant cover by legend Gorge Perez.

UNITED STATES VS. MURDER INC. #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The teams responsible for POWERS hit a major home run with this title, which involves a young girl who gets revenge for her father’s murder and then is trained to be a hit girl for the mob. It’s dark and twisted and hits all of those classic notes Bendis and Oeming are famous for. The art is quirky, but if you liked it on POWERS, you will love it here.

WEB OF VENOM: VE’NAM #1 by Donny Cates and Juanan Ramirez. Cates has embraced Venom and that has led to this one-shot, which tells the tale of how Rex Strickland came into contact with the symbiote back in 1966 Vietnam. It is actually a pretty weak story that only works because it ties the symbiote to the current story, and also brings in Nick Fury…the RIGHT ONE…and a government conspiracy. In its’ own way, it ties into continuity and gives a little needed back story.

WEST COAST AVNGERS #1 by Kelly Thompson and Stefano Caselli. Kate Bishop moves to the West Coast and starts a new team, made up of Clint Barton, America Chavez, Gwenpool, Fuse and Kid Omega. Oh yeah: there is a 60 ft. Tigra who shows up too! The story is fun, with some great moments that hearken back to the feel of FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE. And Caselli’s art fits perfectly! This is such dumb fun that I am hooked right out of the gate!

VENOM: FIRST HOST #1 by Mike Costa and Mark Bagley. Venom is hot right now, especially with a new movie coming this Christmas. So, why not have a new mini-series telling a tale of a symbiote during the Kree/Skrull War and bringing it all into present day. Costa’s story is good but Bagley’s art shines throughout! If you’re following the regular series, this is the perfect tie-in. If you’re not, you’ll probably want to skip it.

X-23 #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Juann Cabal. Flying out of ALL NEW WOLVERINE, it’s the further adventures of Laura Kinney and her sister Gabby, better known as Honey Badger. X-Men fans should be thrilled to see the Cuckoos back and that may also mean we see more Cockoos than we figured on. I wasn’t reading the previous series but this one, with Tamaki at the helm, has major promise. The dialogue is fun and the action is sweet. Add into that a few plot twists and this has the makings of being one of Marvel’s better books.