A new batch of first issues

AIN’T NO GRAVE #1 by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona. A supernatural Western tale? You bet!  A lady gunfighter is making her way to Cypress to kill death, as it is slowly consuming her. The story is fun, with lots of flashbacks and some killer art. Highly recommended!

ALL THE THINGS WE DIDN’T DO LAST NIGHT #1 by Maria Llovet. I became a big fan of Llovet’s work after diving into CRAVE and so look forward to her VIOLENT FLOWERS in September. A random meeting between our two characters results in a whole series of interconnected moments, a murder and a couple of lies or two. It is mildly fragmented and seriously needs a second read to catch all the bits and pieces. This is not for everyone, as CRAVE was not for everyone, but it’s a nice step away from your typical capes and tights story.

THE AMORY WARS: GOOD APOLLO, I’M BURNING STAR IV, VOL. II #1 by Claudio Sanchez, Chondra Echert, and Guillaume Martinez. At last, the final chapter in THE AMORY WARS saga is here. Claudio Sanchez’ epic science-fictyion opera ends here, picking up from the previous volume. It would take me this entire post to explain everything. Suffice it to say that you will be totally lost if you start here, meaning you have to go back and find the previous run by Sanchez and Rags Morales. If you know the story from the Coheed and Cambria records, you’ll love it and finally figure out what it meant!

ARCHIE COMICS: JUDGMENT DAY #1 by Aubrey Sitterson and Megan Hutchinson. Once again, this is the closest thing we will get to a real Archie Comics relaunch of AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE. It’s another mini-series with a horror theme, with Archie being possessed by a demon and the less than hilarious consequences that follow. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, even as it takes pieces from previous stories and kind of rehashes them here. It’s okay but not my favorite of the recent tales.

BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT-THE KRYPTONIAN AGE #1 by Andy Diggle and Leanoro Fernandez. The ELSEWORLDS line is officially back and this is the first title, playing in the same universe as the classic GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT. As expected, we get Bat Man, a Selina Catwoman, hints of a Superman appearance and even a version of Talia. It looks great and certainly is not in any Batman continuity. This first entry will soon be followed by a new DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL release, along with a new DC VS. VAMPIRES mini-series, BATMAN THE BARBARIAN, GREEN LANTERN DARK, and BATMAN NIGHTFIRE.

BLOOD HUNT #1 by Jed McKay and Pepe Larraz. Welcome to Marvels’ big summer crossover event. It seems that all Darkforce users are suddenly being affected and becoming portals to the Darkforce Dimension. That results in the sun and the moon being blocked out and now vampires are on a rampage worldwide. Heroes around the world are now at war and the Avengers face off against the Bloodcoven with disastrous results. It’s up to Dr. Strange to figure a way to end all of this by crafting a spell to kill all the vampires. Unfortunately, the Master who is pulling the strings is one of his allies This is the first strike that will cross into lots of Marvel titles for the next few months, not to mention launching many mini-series connected to the saga, It is an okay story with a surprising twist ending that was sort of revealed by the cover of MIDNIGHT SONS #1.

DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL: ALLWINTER #1 by Jay Kristoff, Tom Taylor, Tirso, and Riccardo Federici. I had not read the previous DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL, as I didn’t feel the need to go into that realm, just as I didn’t read the various DC VS VAMPIRES series. But all of these worlds are wrapped into a revived ELSEWORLDS imprint, so I figured I would give this a shot, mostly based on seeing some of the preliminary artwork. And I am thrilled to see that it is not only a great looking book but a fun read too. Deathstroke takes the lead here but we also see many other familiar DC heroes in this barbaric world. Picture Conan meets the DC Universe. The back up involves the first part of a tale starring Jonathan and Martha Kent, along with a surprise appearance by Black Manta. All in all, I look forward to the next installment.

DEATH IN THE FAMILY: ROBIN LIVES #1 by J.M. DeMatteis and Rick Leonardi. DC once again goes into what MIGHT have been if Jason Todd had not been killed by the Joker back in the day. Basically, Jason has been injured at The Joker’s hands and Batman seeks the ultimate revenge, before Superman steps in. When Jason finally is up to it, he battles Scarecrow with disastrous results. I wasn’t thrilled with this and feel it should have been left in the vaults. It certainly didn’t hold the same weight as the previous ROBIN LIVES story.

DESTRO #1 by Dan Watters and Andrei Bressan. The merging of G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS into the Energon Universe continues with this title featuring everyone’s favorite bad guy…well, next to Cobra Commander. It ties into all of the Joe series and mini-series, reads like a well-crafted television episode and looks great. Just a fun romp!

DICK TRACY #1 by Alex Segura, Michael Moreci, and Geraldo Borges. My all-time favorite comic cop is back! It’s 1947 and the world Tracy lives in is ultraviolent, considering we get three pages in and there’s a wealth of blood.  This apparently is an origin story as one of the murdered is the father of Tess Trueheart, who eventually becomes his girlfriend, wife and mother of their children. We get a nice handful of classic Tracy villains too, including Mumbles and Flattop. The story is fun, the art fits the book and, to be honest, it’s so good to have someone I spent my youth reading every single day back in my life.

DRAWING BLOOD #1 by David Avallone and Ben Bishop. Spiro is an artist who has been involved in creating a famous comic entity known as Ronin Ragdolls. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well over the years and he finds himself dealing with unsavory characters as he tries to resurrect his career. Co-created by Kevin Eastman, you can definitely see the nods to Eastman’s most famous creation. The story is fun and Bisjhop, who is a show regular in these parts, does a great job with everything. It’s recommended.

FLASH GORDON FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. If you grew up like I did, reading classic FLASH GORDON Alex Raymond strips and watching the movie serials on Saturday afternoon television, you get a love for this character. Flash and Dale are on Mongo and, of course, there is Ming the Merciless, so you know it’s gonna be a crazy story. This teaser is certainly all it is, until Mad Cave releases the full book. The story is enticing and the art definitely echoes Raymond’s style. So looking forward to this series.

GATCHAMAN: GALACTOR #1 by Steve Orlando and Kath Lobo. I am a huge GATCHAMAN fan(yes…GATCHAMAN and not BATTLE OF THE PLANETS), so getting this was an easy choice. Berg Katse is the prime villain here(yes…Katse and NOT Zoltar) and his job is to find a mole within the criminal organization that is Galactor. It is a lot of fun and will certainly appeal to us long-time fans, while other folks will say it is not the BATTLE OF THE PLANETS they grew up with. Yes, IT IS NOT!  So, jump in but also read the main book as they are connected. And save some money for the upcoming GATCHAMAN: KEN and GATCHAMAN: JUN.

GET FURY #1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. Ennis and Burrows turn in a MAX mini-series set in the days of the Vietnam War. Frank Castle dances to the beat of his own drum and is sent off on a mission to find Nick Fury, who has been captured by the Viet Cong. It is not a rescue mission though; it is a mission to assassinate Fury. This is not a book for kids! Filled with extremely violent images and equally harsh language, this certainly lives up to the MAX imprint. I am a big fan of Ennis’ work and also Burrows and the two work well together. It is truly a wild ride and this is only the first issue.

GROMMETS #1 by Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, and Brett Parson. Here’s a wonderful slice of life coming that is somewhat autobiographical. It’s 1984 and the new kid in a new school needs to make friends. He ends up with a bunch of skateboarders and the tale goes from there. The story is fun and the art firs it in so many ways. It’s filled with a lot of timely references on styles and music and I can’t wait for issue #2.

GUN HONEY: COLLISION COURSE #1 by Charles Adai and Ang Hor Kheng. It’s been a year since Joanna Tan has been seen , as she and Agent Brook Barrow have high-tailed it to Borneo to hide out. Now they’re back and ready for a new mission. If you loved the previous series, you’ll love this one too.

HATE REVISITED #1 by Peter Bagge. Straight out of the 1990s, Buddy Bradley and his friends are back in one of the most outrageous comics this year. Actually, only outrageous if you aren’t familiar with the character and Bagge’s style. Understand, this is not set back in the Nineties. It’s happening in real time now, complete with references to Trump, BLM and many of the topics of the day. I loved HATE and NEAT STUFF and, having met Bagge, love his take on things.

NAMOR #1 by Jason Aaron, Paul Davidson, and Alex Lins. Marvel’s first mutant gets a new mini-series, coming after Namor has been jailed for crimes against humanity. But he has also sworn to never go back in the sea again. Marvel touts this as a series that will change Namor forever…like we have not heard THAT before. The story is okay but is filled with too many childhood flashbacks that are supposed to flesh out who Namor is. Personally, it falls flat for me, at least in the first chapter. But it IS Jason Aaron so there is hope it will get better.

SCARLETT #1 by Kelly Thompson and Marco Ferrarai. Another G.I. JOE mini-series that follows the famed redhead on a secret mission, complete with Ninja action. Nice story with some cool flashback moments to events before she became the kick-ass warrior we know and love. Thompson’s story is a fun one and Ferrari’s art, while a little different from what we are getting in the main JOE book, does the job,

SPACE GHOST #1 by David Pepose and Jonathan Lau. One of my all-time favorite cartoons of my youth, right next to Jonny Quest, gets rebooted by Dynamite and it is a wild one. Jan and Jace, and Blip too, are with their father, who is working on a special project. They get attacked by aliens and then the Galactic Patrol, led by Brak. Luckily for them, Space Ghost arrives, saving them even though their father is now dead. The story is fun, giving us a great back story on how two kids and a monkey end up with our hero. And the art fits too, giving it a less cartoon feel than previous SG stories. I cannot wait to see what the title is like from here.

SPIDER-GWEN: GHOST SPIDER #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Federica Mancin. For those who may have missed what’s going on, our heroine has been all over the multiverse but now finds herself stuck on Earth 616.  She’s a Gwen Stacy that should not be here, as our Gwen is long dead and has even been cloned. She’s more than willing to do some crime-fighting here but she also visited by the T.V.A.  Oh yeah: she also runs afoul of Karven the Hunter. The story is perfect for this character and the art fits too. If she is your cup of tea, go grab this book.

SPIDER-MAN: REIGN 2 byKaare Andrews. In 2006, Kaare Andrews unveiled a four-issue series called REIGN. Set 30 years in the future on Earth 70237, it featured a retired hero who came back to do battle with the Sinner Six and Venom, while also mourning his deceased wife Mary Jane, who died of terminal cancer after years of being exposed to his radioactive fluids(YUCCH!!!). In this long-awaited sequel. Peter is held captive, the Kingpin is a grossly altered ruler and Peter is finally broken out to work with an elderly Green Goblin. And one of the people pulling Kingpin’s strings? Miles Morales. Go find the original series and jump on this. It looks great and the story is a ton of fun that, at the moment, doesn’t have the dark tone that existed in the original run. Highest recommendation from me!

THE ULTIMATES  #1 by Deniz Camp and Juan Figeri. Thanks to Jonathan Hickman, the Ultimate Universe is back and completely different from what you may remember. The Maker, formerly Reed Richards of the old Ultimate Universe, is controlling things and Tony Stark is a wanted and the heroes are considered murderers for something they had no control over but are blamed for,. So, with a Captain America frozen in ice, a team of heroes, considered terrorists, come together to fight against the Maker’s Council. It is a team made of Thor, Sif, Tony Stark(as Iron Lad), and Doom: a broken Reed Richards. Of the new titles, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is still my favorite but this is certainly a close second.

UNCLE SCROOGE AND THE INFINITY DIME #1 by Jason Aaron, Paolo Mottura, Francesco D’Ippolito, Alessandro Pastrovicchio, and Giada Perissinotto. So, we all know about the partnership as it were between Marvel and ‘the Mouse’ and, if you’ve been following, we have had a whole host of Disney inspired variant covers. Well, Aaron, who apparently fell in love with Don Rosa and Carl Barks work has written a tale inspired by one of the legendary Uncle Csrooge stories. It’s a bit of fun and certainly shows his love for the character. And we get no less than a dozen variants! It’s kind of a fun change of pace from superhero books.

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON #1 by Dan Watters, Ram V, and Matthew Roberts. Image’s second UNIVERSAL MONSTERS books is here and it is a fresh take on this classic creature. A reporter finds herself in Peru tracking down someone who apparently tried to kill her…that’s the inference. In the process, she learns of a series of murders and instantly believes it is this person, although the locals insist it a certain sea creature. So it becomes a mystery wrapped around a monster tale. This looks amazing and the story is captivating as you try to figure out what the mystery man did to this woman and is it REALLY a creature committing these murders.

WITCHBLADE #1 by Marguerite Bennett and Giuseppe Cafaro. Nearly 30 years ago, Marc Silverstri created a comic sensation that had a multiple of talents working on it over its’ 20 year run, including the late Michael Turner, who was the series co-creator. It even became a television series starring Yancy Butler, a soundtrack album featuring Roger Daltrey and Suicidal Tendencies, an Anime, and a Manga. Almost a decade after the series ended, it’s back with a new #1, which retells the origin of the character based on the groundwork laid down by the old series. It feels like the book did and even has that look that Michael Turner provided. It’s a lot of fun and feels like it did back in 95. Bennet’s writing, as a rule, is usually up and down but this looks to be in her wheelhouse.

THE X-MEN WEDDING SPECIAL #1 by Keiron Gillen, Tini Howard, Tate Brombal, Yoon Ha Lee, Wyatt Kennedy, Rachel Stott, Phillip Sevy, Emilio Pilliu, Stephen Byrne, and Jenn St-Onge. After all of this time, Mystique and Destiny get hitched in what is probably one of the longest courtships in comic’s history. It basically is a nice story that finally ties up loose ends in there story. Basically, the book is a huge Pride special filled with a lot of back-up stories. To be clear, it’s a $10.00 Pride special and that’s okay. Personally, I would like to see a Pride Special and then this as a stand alone tale because, by the time the main event is done, you really don’t care about the backups.

X-MEN # 35(AKA Legacy #700) by Gerry Duggan, Al Ewing, Kieron Gillen, Joshua Cassara, Phil Noto, Lucas Werneck, Leinil Francis Yu, John Romita Jr., Jerome Opena, Luciano Vecchio, Stefano Caselli, and Sara Pichelli.  For so many months, the world of the mutants has been turned completely upside down. They have been on the run, betrayed by their mentor and on the run from Orchis and Moira. This is the issue, a very LARGE ISSUE indeed, that wraps up all these storylines. In the end, as so often happens, the team is changed forever…or at least until the new series begin dropping in July., including a new X-MEN title, followed in short order by X-FORCE, PHOENIX, and NYX.

DC Universe Month 77, Part 2

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD #6 by Joe Casey and Dan McDaid. Zod forces the freed prisoners to take him to see what lurks below decks on the ship. Once they finally make their way inside, a giant eye attacks them and they see the woman who controls it.

NIGHTWING #115 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Dick tries to get everyone out from the fire but is soon drugged by Shelton and taken into an ambulance. The ambulance takes him to Zucco, who discovers he is Nightwing. Gerald kills all of the ambulance drivers and puts the Nightwing back on Dick’s person. When he awakes, he finds the reporter from the fundraiser dead and is caught with Heartless’s heart removal device and is also wearing the Heartless mask. He gets captured and when the mask is removed, it is revealed that Heartless is Dick Grayson.

OUTSIDERS #8 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey. Batwoman finds herself in a Western town with Jinny Hex. Jinny reveals they are in Ghost Town Zero and they are pursued by the ghosts of the past. Two weeks earlier, Kate got a call from Jenny Crisis, which has led her to where she is now. The ghost of Jonah Hex arrives, who explains that she has now cursed herself by taking possession of his gun and the only way she can ever be free is to use the gun to kill herself. Batwoman takes the gun to save K=Jinny and then proceeds to kill Jonah and all the ghosts with it. She calls the team and says they are about to face a major threat. But no one answers, as the phone lies unattended near the lost city of Cannon.

THE PENGUIN #11 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre. Batman beats up Oswald and tells him that he is done; now just a regular citizen who needs to keep on the straight and narrow. It doesn’t bother him, as he has a stash of gold, which The Help finds is gone, with a Batarang as the only thing in the room. Oswald discovers that Lisa has left him, telling him to call her if he gets out of this alive. Addison tells Black Spider that they killed his boyfriend last night and they threatened to kill him. Oswald meets with Sparkler and gives him a bus ticket home. Addison sends a strike force, led by Aiden, to take out her father but they meet up against the Force of July, and they are dispatched. The FBI arrives and a shootout occurs, with mass casualties. A critically wounded Aiden goes into his father’s room and Oswald stabs him with the tip of his umbrella.

POISON IVY #23 by G. Willow Wilson and Haining. Icy is being killed by the creatures when Harley arrives to help her. After meeting with janet and Croc, she finds a badly wounded Ivy who says the only way to stop it is to get rid of Woodrue for good. Janet tries to confess her love for Ivy and Harley, but that fails and Harly, Croc, and Grundy attack the creatures. Jason shows up with an antidote that Batman has cooked up. Harley uses her motorbike to burn up Woodrue and, in the process, Ivy seems to die in Harley’s arms.

POWER GIRL #10 by Leah Williams and Eduardo Pansica. A HOUSE OF BRAINIAC tie-in. Power Girl and Crush team up to free the Holliday Girls from their captors, with the pair riding a fire-breathing dragon motorcycle. The pair free the girls and cage up the perpetrators but, after they leave, Symbio arrives and either cuts them loose and kills them. In the end, Crush and the girls, alone with Dawg, go on a cross-country trip while we see the Loboized perps floating deep in the water.

RED HOOD: THE HILL #5 by Shawn Martinbrough and Tony Akins. Demetrius meets with Dana and tries to propose a truce, trying to convince her that they are fighting the same enemy. Later, he tells Lenora of his plan: visit his father, that the world thinks is dead, and distract Batman and Strike. Jason meets with Dana and she says that she has been invited to Demetrius’s black tie event and plans to go. Demetrius sees his father, who accidentally calls him Teddy. Later, at the Waynetech Facility, Red Hood arrives and that means he is in for a fight. Dana arrives at the gala and presents a gift to Demetrius that shocks him. Bruce Wayne is also here. The Slayers attack the Batmobile, which is piloted by a sentry that gets destroyed. Slayer reports that the Waynetech weapons are theirs and Red Hood is done, while Bruce tells Oracle to research for real estate purchases in upper Gotham and see the connection to Demetrius.

SHAZAM #12 by Mark Waid and Emanuela Lupacchino. Billy confronts The Captain, who explains that there is a leak in the Rock of Eternity and it will grow worse unless Billy lets him out, but Billy refuses and traps him. The captain gets Hoppy to transport Darla and her siblings to him, where he explains that the magical leak is Billy. Billy, Freddy and Mary go to meet Billy’s mother, who reveals she not only has a new life but a new child, which causes Billy to run off and his anger causes a further crack in the Rock of Eternity. Meanwhile monster arrive and Billy now understands this is all his fault and he calls on The Captain. He transports back to the family home and, to stop the invasion, sends the Rock of Eternity away, meaning Billy is now lost forever.

SINISTER SONS #5 by Peter J. Tomasi and Vasco Georgiev. Sinestro confronts the Sons and agrees to take them to New Korugar while Major Tom stays with his whale. Once there, Lor wants to know why Sinestro’s son didn’t quiz his father, with him explaining the time wasn’t right. After they clean themselves up, the pair head off, with Sinestro’s son looking to get a blood sample from him or take it from him by force.

SUICIDE SQUAD: DREAM TEAM #4 by Nicole Maines and Eddy Barrows. Dreamer has been captured by the Suicide Squad and manages to get free long enough to invade Black Alice’s mind. As she continues to get free, she blows up the blimp they are all travelling in. Bizarro saves her but the fate of the rest of the team is unknown. Dreamer makes her way to Waller. It is revealed that brain bombs have been hooked to Dreamer’s parents and if Waller dies, they do too, leading to Dreamer now having to do whatever Waller wants. Continued in ABSOLUTE POWER: GROUND ZERO #1.

SUPERMAN #15 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. HOUSE OF BRAINIAC Part 6.  Luthor and his daughter are connected to the Brainiac hiveship. Where they are fighting virtual enemies. Meanwhile, brainiac has turned his family against the Superman, Lobo and Supergirl while the other heroes are fighting against Brainiac’s robot slaves. Lex connects with the hive mind and begins deleting, which eliminates the connection to Brainiac’s family. But this causes the ship to start to implode, with Lobo gathering up the bottled cities. Superman implores Brainiac to follow him out of the ship but Brainiac stays behind, transferring his remaining intelligence to his deceased queen. In the end, Brainiac’s family establishes Colu 2.0, the Superman family reunites and Superman visits Lex, who does not even recognize that he is Lex Luthor.

TITANS #12 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer. Many years ago, when she was a child, vanessa gets a message from Donna Troy as part of the Text a Titan program. In the now, a transformed Vanessa fights what she believes are not the Titans. Cyborg is able to deprogram her and she sees that they are not monsters. Raven arrives and kills her. In the process, they learn that this is all T.O. Morrow’s doing and head to S.T.A.R. Labs, telling him he needs to find a way to bring Vanessa back to life. In the end, Raven confronts Dick and wants to know what he has been doing in his own mind.

WONDER WOMAN #10 by Tom King, Daniel Sampere, and Belen Ortega. Wonder Woman is finally free…sort of. She finds herself on an island where she is forced to fight Cheetah. Eventually, they come to an understanding and Diana reveals that she allowed herself to be captured to free Cheetah. By now, Yara, Donna and Cassie have arrived and Diana wants them to join together and kick some ass. In the backup, Trinity unsuccessfully tries to fly a kite, leading to an adventure with jon and Damian and eventually getting Kite Man to help her.

 

DC Universe Month 77, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER: GROUND ZERO #1 by Nicole Maines, Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Chip Zdarsky, Gleb Melnikov, Ken Marion, and Skylar Patridge. On Gamorra Island, Jay Nakamura is on the run after Waller has not only taken over Gamorra but has killed his mother. Just when he thinks he is getting saved by Dreamer, she takes him down. Later, she explains that she did this to save her family and that upsets Jay, who feels betrayed by her. Dreamer knows she is being used by Waller but she has a plan brewing. In the second story, John Starr is resurrected by Waller using his hourglass and now she wants him to use his ability to bring Failsafe back to life. He also tries to escape but is ultimately captured again, with Waller telling him to give birth to six more murder monsters. In the third tale, Waller finds the Brainiac queen and proceeds to spend the next 20 hours living in a virtual world where she grooms the girl inside the queen’s mind for a virtual 20 years; convincing her that she needs to eliminate the supers.

ACTION COMICS #1066 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. HOUSE OF BRAINIAC Part 6. Brainiac has killed all of Lobo’s fellow citizens and is now preparing to connect Luthor’s daughter to his machines to use her to provide power to Brainiac’s queen. Superboy fights back and destroys the machine, causing the death of the queen. Brainiac’s family arrive and tells him this must stop and he agrees, but he actually manages to compromise them. Lex dons a helmet that he says will help him defeat Brainiac and allow him to save his daughter. In the backup, Lex has a heart to heart with his daughter as they both enter Brainiac’s virtual world in the hive mainframe.

BATMAN #148 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Damian has been captured by the other version of him: a cloned version of a young Bruce Wayne. Later, Failsafe and The Warden experiment on The Riddler to cure him of his desire to be the criminal he is. The rest of the Bat Family meet up with Bruce, who convinces them to work together to defeat Failsafe.  Tim attacks the cloned Bruce and, with the help of a freed Damian, defeats him. Meanwhile, Jason appears to die while battling Failsafe and The Warden uses his code word to stop Bruce, even as he has managed to use what he has learned to shut down Failsafe. But Jason’s death is a ruse and he takes out The Warden, who claims a storm is coming.

BATMAN #149 by Chip Zdarsky, Michelle Bandini and Steve Lieber. The cloned Bruce is out beating up criminals when batman arrives and tries to comfort him, knowing that Failsafe is dead. Bruce takes him home and reveals that Zur accelerated his aging and that means he is racing towards his own death. Bruce goes to Waynetech and finds that Zur has managed to make Bruce rich again. Then he learns that the cloned Bruce, in an effort to be like the real Bruce, has cut off his own right hand. As he quickly ages and slowly dies, Bruce takes his clone to visit the former Wayne Manor and the clone peacefully passes. Batman visits Savage, who tells them they can continue their war on crime and that he will give him back the cave and the Manor. Batman blows up the Bat Signal and tells Savage he’s out. Instead, Bruce reveals he has purchased a dilapidated piece of property in Old Gotham and will turn the main house into Pennyworth Manor. In the end, Selina arrives and he proceeds to give her a tour of the new home.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 by Joshua Williamson and Nikola Cizmesija. Damian frees his father, who is being dragged off by Man Bat, and the pair battle the cult. At the hospital, the injured Shush gives Flatline something she says will allow the Dynamic Duo to defeat Man Bat. As Batman battles Man Bat, Flatline arrives and gives Damian a gun containing gas pellets that turns the bat creatures against Man Bat and they attack him, turning him back into Kirk Langstrom. Stone is arrested and Flatline leaves, telling the ghost of Ra’s that it wasn’t time to tell Damian about him.  In the end, Goliath returns with a video message from Maya, revealing she has found Bane..

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #28 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Jimmy is given Mxy’s powers to fight against the master villain, turning Mxy into something resembling human. Meanwhile, in the Sixth Dimension, batman, Superman, and bat Mite try to find a way out, making their way through to the First Dimension. In the real world, Jimmy rallies the other imps to fight together, even as the heroes in the First Dimension arrive to assist, but are seemingly killed in the process.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #14 by Tim Seeley, Mark Russell, Cavan Scott, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Hayden Syerman, Kelley Jones, Jon Mikel, Travis Mercer, and Lisandro Estherren. Dick and Deadman continue their search into the dead woman who visited Dick, which takes them to a circus. The fire-eater seats the place on fire, endangering everyone. While Dick get people out, he meets the brother of the young woman, whose name was Stella and was an acrobat in the circus. The fire-eater dies and Boston gets attacked by someone who may be Rama. Stella’s sister confesses that he told her about a place called The End of the Road and now Deadman wants to go there to bring her soul home. In the second story, Booster is still dealing with having messed up the future and goes back in time to make sure an asteroid hits the Earth and wipes out the dinosaur. The problem: in the  present, now that he has corrected the timeline, is that  an asteroid is heading towards Earth. In the third story, The Flash races about to assist with problems and get back in time to give his wife coffee. In the fourth tale, Guy and Batman continue to investigate the alien sighting and Batman finds a wounded alien, but gets infected by the creature’s blood, causing hallucinations. But Guy is off bringing an injured woman to the hospital and Batman is alone. In the final tale, Batman questions just how much he matters in the world.

BIRDS OF PREY #10 by Kelly Thompson and Robbi Rodriguez. Inside the other place, Barda gets shot by Maia and eventually becomes infected. Cela tells how she was once one of seven children who all developed powers. After their mother was killed, they escaped into this pocket dimension they called The Wardrobe. Once there, Maia started killing each of them and taking their powers. She also reveals that, in the future, Barbara kills their mother, who was the villain known as The Velvet Tiger. An infected Barda attacks her friends until Cass can calm her down and she vomits out the infection. In the end, Sin goes through the portal and wonders which personality will be in charge.

BLUE BEETLE #10 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. As Jaime and the displaced citizens fight against Pinnacle, ted teams up with his sister to help them defeat it. In the end, Victoria wants Jaime to destroy the last fragment, but he refuses, leading to Kaiji commending him on making the right decision.

CATWOMAN #66 by Tini Howard, Ivan Shavrin, and Carmine Di Giandomenico. As part of their plan, Scandal calls the White Glove, offering Paola a special item for her only. But she has also called Flamingo and offered the same: a captured and sedated Catwoman. Catwoman escapes from one box and makes her way to a second one, where Paola observes the captured kitty. When Flamingo again wants to look inside, Selina is forced to go back again and this time Paola sees the double-cross, leading the Scandal and Catwoman fighting them. They reveal that Viceroy knows of all of this and, with Paola and Flamingo burning their assets, they all need to team up. In the end, Scandal reveals she believes that Selina has a piece of that meteor lodged in her skull and, if she doesn’t get it out soon, it will kill her.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1086 by Ram V, Alex Paknadel, Lisandro Estherren,  and Stefano Raffaele.  Batman meets with Two-Face and finally gets Harvey out, with batman telling him he needs to keep struggling against the influence of The Azmer. He also meets with the Ten-Eyed Man, with Batman realizing that Crane has been missing. The city is burning and the resurrected Orgham son, now dubbed the Shadow Angel, is preparing for a final fight with Batman. The Joker meets with Duela Dent, explaining in graphic detail how he killed a neighbor’s cat in a microwave and how they will probably put the blame on her. . He also returns her mask to her. In the end, Duella has killed her neighbors and is prepared to take on the mantle of her previous self again. In the backup, Two Face put one of his own on trial before declaring he is going to go to war.

THE FLASH #10 by Simon Spurrier, Ramon Perez, and Vasco Georgiev. Flash fights a giant Batsuit with someone claiming to be Batman, sut is actually Green Arrow doing Waller’s bidding. Meanwhile, Jai figures out that the data numbers a re right but the equation is wrong because a higher power has messed with the Speed Force and someone is trying to blame it on The Flash. Back at the fight, the Flash Family joins in to take down the Batsuit with Waller transferring Arrow away. Flash meets with the divine power, telling him that they are going to murder time itself.

GREEN ARROW #13 by Joshua Williamson and Amancay Nahuelpan. With the battle with Merlyn and the search for Sanctuary ended, the Arrow family settles into some relaxing time. But Ollie leaves and goes to his new boss: Amanda Waller, presenting her the Sanctuary mask. Roy and his daughter burst into Belle Reve North to free Cheshire but are caught by Waller’s troops, forcing them to fight back. Cheshire and her daughter escape but Ollie catches Roy and tosses him out a window, forcing him to be saved by Cheshire. In the end, Connor makes the decision that he needs to be the new Green Arrow.

GREEN LANTERN #12 by Jeremy Adams, Xermanico, and Kevin Maguire.Kyle has made his way to the Oa Resistance base. Meanwhile, Hall and his allies fight back against the Ring Hunters. Hal bursts free of the citadel and encounters three mysterious Lanterns, but is saved from them by Star Sapphire. She grabs an injured Hal and transports away, bringing him back to his motor home. Tharros meets with Waller and enlists her help, leading to Killer Shark and a team arriving at Hal’s. In the backup, Guy and his Lobo teammate continue their journey. But that all goes badly when a transport beam now has them dropping out of space to who knows where.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #10 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos.  Shepherd desperately races to save John while Stewart finds himself in what can best be described as a fever dream. John ends up fighting what he refers to as a poisoned shadow of Olgrun. John’s mother is attacked by the Star Shroud when Steel comes to help but is turned away. The construct of John’s dead sister comes to her aid and promises to take her home.  In the end, Shepherd is taken away by Guy Gardner to find the Dark Star of Fenn.

HARLEY QUINN #41 by Tini Howard, Gretchen Felker-Martin, DaNi, and Sweeney Boo. Harley has been arrested but she has a ‘get out of jail free card’. All she has to do is get Officer Pulaski Batman. She gets released but with a listening device, so her conversations with Ivy once she gets home is by holding up signs. After fighting with Tim Drake, the pair head off to Freeze’s ice tower, but she manages to communicate to Tim that she is being bugged and she needs to face Freeze on her own. Instead, she goes to visit Zeus in jail and passes him a note saying she is being bugged and she is on his side. Pulaski arrives after Harley leaves and gets her hands on the note, realizing she has been played. In the backup, Harley has another dream where she has to fight a bat to save Ivy.