Here comes a batch of first issues

ASTONISHING TALES FEATURING DEATHLOK #1 by Christopher Priest, Justina Irland, Denys Cowan, and Carlo Pagulayan. Finally: the REAL Deathlok returns to celebrate his 50th Anniversary. Luther Manning is back and I couldn’t be happier, as he brings his supporting cast with him. Top that off, there is a surprise ending featuring the newest Sorcerer Supreme. It is not the full-on reboot I would love to see, but I’ll take it.

BATMAN: FULL MOON #1 by Rodeny Barnes and Stevan Subic. People are being torn apart in Gotham in this Black Label title. Is it REALLY a werewolf haunting Gotham City. That’s the premise in this fun and beautifully illustrated book. Ot’s the perfect read for the Halloween season. The story is cool, there are some great cameos an, as I said previously, the art is great!

BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN: THE LAST HALLOWEEN #1 by Jeph Loeb and Eduardo Risso. With the untimely death of Tim Sale, DC unleashes this sequel to the classic THE LONG HALLOWEEN with this ten issue series featuring some of the best creators in the business. It picks up after that classic tale and drops lots of breadcrumbs along the way. I loved the original and it’s just a shame that Sale couldn’t be here to finish the story. Highly recommended.

BLADE #1 by Bryan Hill and C,F, Villa. Coming out of BLOOD HUNT, everything that affected Blade is changed. He is no longer being possessed by Varnae and he has healed from being almost killed by his daughter. Basically he is back and he is passed! I’m okay with a BLADE series but I don’t understand the need to make it a Red Band title, which is Marvel’s newest gimmick. Sure, the cover, at least the variant cover, is unsettling and there are some grisly moments inside but nothing a reader of EC Comics or other Horror books hasn’t seen before. Overall, a fun read.

THE CREEPING BELOW #1 by Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey. Heavy Metal music meets Horror. That is the best way to describe this new titles from BOOM! Studios. A photographer named Val ends up in a world where apparent devil worship meets a cast of strange characters, along with equally devious creatures. I’m a big fan of Azzarello’s work and this may be his weirdest piece yet. The art left me a bit cold but the story, even with some language barriers (you’ll understand when you read it) was a fun, sometimes confusing ride. 

THE CRYPT OF SHADOWS #1 by Steve Orlando, Chris Condon, Benjamin Percy, Jason Loo, Claire Roe, Djibril Morissette-Phan, Raffaele Ienco, and Carlos Magno. It’s Halloween season and Marvel trots out this anthology title, all held together by an opening and closing piece featuring Agatha Harkness because, well…there’s a tv show and all. The stories are kind of lackluster, featuring the Scarlet Witch, Namor, Man-Thing, and Werewolf by Night. All in all, only for completists.

DAZZLER #1 by Jason Loo and Rafael Loureiro. Everyone’s favorite mutant Rock Star is back in a new mini-series. I would like to say it’s a great return to form but it’s not. The art is great and the story is what it is, but it spend too much time with pages of our hero singing and not enough time with her doing superhero things. I am totally disappointed by it.

G.I. JOE #1 by Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly. Now, you may be reading this and are saying to yourself: “Wait! Isn’t there already a G.I. JOE series?” And you would be correct. This new series, written by Williamson, picks up after the various mini-series and comes early on in the careers of the Joes. This is not the Joes that you are familiar with. Even Baroness is a part of the team. So consider this not so much of a reboot but an origin story. The action is wild and the story and art fits. I am truly loving the current JOE series by Hama and company and enjoyed the mini-series, so this fits into my wheelhouse. 

GODFATHER OF HELL #1 by Cavan Scott and Pius Bak. This book intrigued me, mostly by the cover. Here’s the story: a small time crook disobeys his Mob boss and gets whacked because of it. He ends up in Hell and now it looks like he’s coming back to life to reap the souls of those who have sold them to Lucifer but refuse to pay up. So, he becomes a hitman for the Devil. The story is interesting, the art is reasonable and there are a couple of cool twists along the way. Seek this one out.

GREEN LANTERN DARK #1 by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell’edera. An Elseworlds tale where Rina Mori is the possessor of the Lantern’s light, even if she is reluctant to be the sole hero in a world filed with darkness and monsters, run by Grundy and his zombie horde. All the other heroes have died, including Superman and the Secrete Six and Rina is the only person to keep the creatures away. It’s a role she does not want. But what is more important: self or others. An interesting story with great art from  Dell’edera, who is most known for SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN. 

HEAT SEEKER: COMBUSTION #1 by Charles Ardai and Ace Continuado. Titan rolls out another mini-series in the continuing adventures of the GUN HONEY cast. It’s filled with intrigued, secret agent action and a bunch of nude men and women. I mean A LOT of nude men and women! But, looking beyond that, the story is a great set-up for the rest of the series, complete with a cool final page and a plot twist. Highly recommended, especially if you have read any of the previous runs.

HOUR OF THE WOLF #1 by Mark London and Danilo Beyruth. Mad cave is trying to establish its’ own universe which started with REVOLUTION 9 and will soon include EXIT CITY. This is the middle release and the promise from Mad Cave is that they will all come together in a final crossover. I really liked REVOLUTION 9 and was looking forward to this. And it delivers. There’s a strange, highly sought after painting that leads people into another world and traps them there. It’s very weird, slightly creepy and a whole lot of strange fun. I’m curious to see how these series and the forthcoming one will come together but count me in for the ride.

HOW TO STEAL AN ELECTION BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES #1 by Elisa Pocetta and Matteo Pizzolo. When a candidate running for President finds out her campaign is in deep trouble because of some leaked nudes, she goes into action to fight back and enlists a little help along the way. This is a fun, sexy and somewhat obscene journey filled with some great nods to current and past political situations. The story is a real trip and the Anime style artwork further enhances it. This is a sleeper for sure as far as collectors but it fits my reading perfectly. Basically, it was a fun read and I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

HYDE STREET #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Another new title as part of the Ghost Machine line of books. And this one is really trippy. Welcome to Hyde Street where folks who have skeletons in their closet will pay for their crimes while a former ad executive and a boy scout compete to complete their quotas. The story is a grim one and Reis’ art is dynamic! This is such a fun book in a creepy sort of way, with a back story for the ad executive that fills in a bunch of details. Where is Hyde Street and how do you get there? Still to be revealed and I cannot wait. 

IRON MAN #1 by Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta. Because, Marvel just LOVES turning out new first issues when there seems to be no need. But here we go again. After the events in the last series, Tony Stark has managed to get Stark Unlimited back in his control. Unfortunately, it looks like A.I.M. and Roxxon are looking to take it over and use it to start making weapons once again. And that’s where Tony’s problems begin and it only gets worse from there. The story is fine, the art is acceptable and tis could be a fun storyline. But that remains to be seen. For now, it’s a great filer until something better comes along. 

IT HAPPENED ON HYDE STREET: DEVOUR #1 by Maytal Zchut and Leila Leiz. This one shot from out of the Ghost Machine initiative, ties directly into the HYDE STREET series. So, you’re getting married and you need to lose some weight. That leads you to Fat Free where you get your weight loss solution. Well, maybe not the BEST solution, but it is something your mother and grandmother have used. Let’s just say that the results may be fine but the way to get there isn’t pretty. A wonderful little horror tale with some nice body horror twists in it.

MARK SPEARS MONSTERS #1 by Mark Spears. This was a recommendation from my LCS and I’m glad he called this out to me. It is filled with vampires, werewolves and some of the most amazing photorealistic art out there. The story bounces between the past and the present and that means the art shifts between color and black and white. The story is okay but you’re really going to want to go in for the art.

MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU #1 by Cynthia Von Buhler. Well, this is a ton of fun expanding on research done by Von Buhler. This is her third book to utilize Mindy Woodcock, following both THE GIRL WHO HANDCUFFED HOUDINI and THE GIRL WHO ELECTRIFIED TESLA. In all fairness, I didn’t read either and now I’m bummed about it. Woodcock is a private investigator who gets involved with Betty May, Houdini, HP Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley, among others. The art is very cartoony and has a nice 1920’s feel to it. Von Buhler is an award winning author and artist and this book is just a great, refreshing read.

MOON KNIGHT: FIST OF KHONSHU #1 by Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio. Marc Spector died saving New York City and he was replaced by his friends and followers at the Midnight Mission. But Spector got resurrected by Khonshu. So the original Moon Knight is back in a new series that picks up threads from the previous series. It’s okay, especially if you are a fan of the character and the mythology surrounding him. Again, your mileage made vary a bit but it’s a decent title.

MYSTIQUE #1 by Declan Shalvey. Everyone’s favorite Mutant hero/anti-hero is here with a four-issue mini-series with Mystique seemingly playing both sides as she looks for something named Protozoa. Throw in Sabretooth, Maverick, Maria Hill, and both Nick Furys. Shalvey’s story is an intriguing one and his art fits his style. It ends with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait for issue #2.

OLD DOG: OPERATIONS #1 by Declan Shalvey, Leonardo Romero, PJ Holden, Alex Paknadel, Rory McConville, Charles Soule, Sumeyve Kesgin, Gavin Guidry, Matias Bergara, and John McCrea. A short story anthology featuring former CIA operative Jack Lynch and his supporting cast. It’s a wild, often confusing ride, especially if you did not read the previous series. But, for those fans, you get a bit of back story into how Jack became who he currently is. Again, it will certainly appeal to readers who jumped on the original run. New readers? You probably want to seek out the predecessor.

PSYLOCKE #1 by Alyssa Wong and Vincenzo Carratu. Here comes another Mutant mini-series, following the fall of Krakoa. Psylocke gets involved with a group kidnapping mutant children and the deeper she goes, the more intense it gets. The story is okay while the art really shines. It is one of those books that will truly just attract a core group of readers, especially when you realize that this only briefly ties into the main Mutant continuity. Overall, it’s not bad, just not great.

THE ROCKETFELLERS #1 by Peter J. Tomasi and Francis Manapul. Here’s the story of a family in the 25th century that is forced to flee to 2024 and live their life here and now, even as they are trying to get back to their own time and stop the impending evil present. Basically, it is a little like LOST IN SPACE meets the FANTASTIC FOUR but with a bit more humor. That’s the best way I can describe it. The story is a ton of fun, the dialogue is snappy, and the whole concept of a future family having to learn to live in the present  is pretty cool. And the art surely helps push things along. If you’ve been reading any of the GHOST MACHINE titles, you’ll love this one too.

SENTINELS #1 by Alex Paknadel and Justin Mason. Here is a weird mini-series that comes after the Fall of Krakoa. And I don’t quite know what to make of it. A team has been put together with enhanced abilities, thanks to a resurrected Lawrence Trask and his using patients from a VA Hospital to be turned into his hybrids. Are they the good guys or the bad? It’s tough to say. They get sent on missions and with the head of Greymalkin involved, you know it could go badly fast for everyone involved. The story is a little cut and paste and the art is okay. Not my favorite new title of these new Mutant based series.

SHI: RETURN OF THE WARRIOR #1 by Steven Peros, Billy Tucci, Gardenio Lima, and Ricardo Silva. Thirty years ago, Billy Tucci created this amazing warrior woman and the book, coming out in a time when “girl heroes” weren’t popular was an amazing success. Now, Ana Ishikawa is back, in a story set fifteen years after Ana hung up her armor. She now has a daughter named Hotaru and her ex-husband is in jail. Her daughter has leaned the ways of the warrior, even as the two of them try to live normal lives. But the past comes back to their doorstep and it looks like the war is ready to begin again. For those of us who enjoyed this book back in the day, it is good to have Ana come home. The story fills in some gaps and leaves a lot of breadcrumbs for the future.

STORM #1 by Murewa Ayddele and Lucas Werneck. The aftermath of the end of the Krakoan Age continues on with this new series featuring Storm. And it starts with a bang as a nuclear explosion sets things in motion, as it appears to be caused by a mutant whose powers have just activated. Or is it due to the engineers who were doing shady things? This presents a more human side to Storm than usual as she must decide which story is the one she should present to a public face, plus dealing with the death and destruction. Werneck’s art is top notch here and Ayddele has definitely put their heart into it. One of the better off-shoot series, by the feel of it.

SWEET PAPRIKA: OPEN FOR BUSINESS #1 by Steve Orlando and Emilio Pilliu. Coming on the heels of Mirka Andolfo’s highly acclaimed SWEET PAPRIKA comes this sequel, which it should be noted does not involve Andolfo at all, except for a variant cover. It would take me too long to try and explain the whole back story but this series concentrates on Aubrey and Persica and how they have to move through their professional lives along with being involved in a queer open relationship. That having been said, this series is not for everyone, especially if you are offended by moments of male on male sex. But the characters are well developed and the dialogue is perfect for these characters.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MUTANT NATION #1 by Tom Waltz, Erik Burnham, Vincenzo Federici, and Mateus Santolouco. Coming out of the run that ended the last series, we get another series featuring various TMNT cast members. Two stories here, focusing on two brothers and also Casey Jones. I have to say that the recent reboot books have caught my attention and got me back into the Turtles yet again. It’s just a ton of fun for some of us who grew up with the classic series.

THE TERMINATOR #1 by Declan Shalvey and Luke Sparrow. I had some high hopes for this series but they have fallen short. What we get is a Terminator chases a couple who have been on the run for some time. The back story for them is a little fuzzy , but basically they get tracked down and killed. End. To top it off, there is a two-page backup by Sal Crivelli and Colin Craker that is the start of a series of stories and, even though the art is suitable, it also did nothing for me. Mileage may vary but this one didn’t hit home with me at all.

THE TIN CAN SOCIETY #1 by  Peter Warren and Francesco Mobili. While a tight group of children have all grown up and gone their separate ways, one of them has been brutally murdered, leading to a reunion and the realization that one of them may actually be the killer. What’s more: the murdered man was a superhero. An interesting look at friendship and how that friendship may have created these events. This is another book that I think will fly under the radar but is definitely worth checking out.

VIOLENT FLOWERS #1 by Maria Llovet. I have become a huge fan of Llovet since seeing her work on such titles as LUNA, THESSALY, NIGHTMARE COUNTRY and, most recently CRAVE. Her style is unusual and so are those stories she crafts. This is no exception, as the theme is vampiric but also contains elements of lesbianism and horror of a magical bent. Picture the work of such masters as Milo Manara and Guido Crapax and you have her style. Her work is certainly not for everyone and, if you read CRAVE, which truly pushed the boundaries of taste, but it is captivating, nonetheless. Highly recommended for folks with an open mind.

WOODSTAKE #1 by Darin S. Cape and Felipe Kroll. So here is one heck of a cool concept that, thanks to my LCS, I got turned onto. It’s 1969 and folks are heading to the Woodstock festival. Unfortunately, there is evil afoot there in the form of vampires. Yep: vampires at Woodstock! This first issue sets things up and, therefore, there are a lot of missing details in the plot. And that’s okay as you get a taste of what is to come. Not to mention, the artwork is amazing! Apparently, there was a #0 issue that came out August that I now have to find to get the prologue to this whole thing. A fun, sometimes comedic romp!

DC UNIVERSE Month 81, Part 2

CATWOMAN #69 by Torunn Gronbekk and Fabriana Mascolo. Things have changed for Selina, especially when she finds that Evie Hall has been murdered in Berlin. The night before, she is at a gathering and a chairman of a corporation gets murdered. She finds herself on the run and in a new, prototype costume. In disguise, she ends up going to Berlin to find out who killed Eve, who was actually one of her aliases, and her friends. Unfortunately, someone has been watching her and she has been found in Berlin.

DC ALL IN SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Daniel Sampere, Dan Mora, and Wes Craig. The book is divided into two parts. In ALPHA, 52 days after Waller’s defeat, a new Watchtower has been constructed and the decision has been made to include all heroes to join the Justice League, to be known as Justice League Unlimited. Superman invites Booster Gold to join and he recalls seeing a blank membership card from his time in the future. At the first meeting, Mister Terrific reveals there will always be a blank card for any new members: the same card Booster had once seen. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning possess Hal and Zatanna and Darkseid’s voice comes from them saying the Spectre will reveal the truth. Lightning from the heroes opens a Boom Tube and Darkseid appears, with an axe replacing one of his hands. Hal declares that Darkseid has bonded with The Spectre and is now death itself. Skeet detects a rift in reality and that Darkseid is out of sync with reality and the future has been altered. Darkseid begins building a gateway. The magic users craft a spell and Superman carries it to Darkseid demanding that he free The Spectre. Darkseid thanks him, saying “Darkseid ends” before disappearing in an explosion. Later, the League meets with Orion who says a Darkseid must always exist, so a new one is probably being created. Batman and Mister Terrific examine the membership card which now contains Anti-Life energy and they believes it is a gateway to The Elseworlds, once known as the undeveloped Alpha World, and it is still developing. A time traveler is the only one who can get there and Booster Gold accepts the mission. Arriving there, he finds that Elseworld is a second Apokolips. He gets attacked by Darkseid and a corrupted version of the Legion of Superheroes.

In OMEGA, set 52 days before ALPHA, Darkseid has an idea to create a device that will give him ultimate power but there must be a blood sacrifice so he cuts off his left hand to provide the blood. He tells his most loyal followers that this will be a journey he takes alone and, when Kalibak objects, Darkseid kills him and tosses him into the machine. Darkseid goes to a number of places in search of The Spectre, apparently killing Eclipso in the process. Ultimately, he finds The Spectre and bonds himself to him, leading to him attacking the heroes as seen in ALPHA. Darkseid’s death on Earth-0 results in the further development of The Elseworld, where heroes do exist but in radically different forms. Wonder Woman was raised in Hell, while Batman and Superman are also completely different. When Booster Gold arrives, he reveals his army. To be continued in ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1, ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1, and ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1.

DC HORROR PRESENTS #1 by David Dastmalchian, Leah Kilpatrick, the Boulet Brothers, Cat Staggs, and Butch Mara. A woman discovers that her boyfriend has fallen out of their apartment window and is dead on the pavement below. She commandeers the ambulance and goes to visit her father, Dollmaker, and asks him to resurrect her boyfriend. He does and then she kills him again because he was breaking up with her. In the second story, there are Amazons being killed on Themyscira. They open Hippolyta’s tomb, which has been tampered with, When they open it, Hippolyta corpse has been corrupted and begins attacking and killing the Amazons. Diana fights her and, along with the surviving Amazons, is able to seal the animated corpse up. In the end, it turns out to be a creepy gift from Circe.

DC HORROR PRESENTS CREATURE COMMANDOS #1 by David Dastmalchian and Jesus Hervas. Two weeks from now, the Creature Commandos are attacked, causing the death of a young girl. Now, in a secret laboratory, a Dr. West is talking to a corpse when she is visited by a mind reader named Mina and General Eiling, who seems to run the facility. Lieutenant Shrieve arrives, saying he is now in command of the Creature Unit. This leads to a recruiting session, with West, Eiling, and Shrieve going out to get creatures for the team. First they acquire vampire Vincent Velcro and then a werewolf named Wanda. With their version of a Frankenstein Monster named Lucky  repaired, the team is formed. They are told by Eiling that a dangerous weapon is being developed on Namibia and that is their next mission. On Namibia, General Buzzword has her followers beat on a elderly woman but she kills them all, to the pleasure of both Buzzword and Eiling. In the end, it seems Brainiac is behind it all and has plans to cause terror and death anywhere in the world.

DC’S I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST CRISIS #1 by Cavan Scott, Nathan Cayanan, Ashley Allen, Matthew Levine, Dan Didio, Rachel Pinnelas, Dave Wielgosz, Rex Ogle, Ario Anindito, V Ken Marion, Jose Luis, Jordi Tarragona, M.L. Sanapo, Will Robson, Sid Kotian, and Adam Graphite. During CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #4, Batgirl tries to save a young girl from Killer Croc, who reveals he is not threatening her but just looking for someplace warm and safe. In the second tale, set during MILLENIUM, Dr. Light is forced to battle Cormac Manhunter. In the third tale, set during FINAL NIGHT, Black Canary is forced to fight her demons courtesy of Scarecrow and Silver Banshee. In the fourth story, set during ZERO HOUR, the JSA is forced to face off against the villainous Extant. In the fifth story, set during INFINITE CRISIS, Nightwing faces a changed Connor Kent, who locks him in a endless loop where he dies forever, believing he is saving his world by doing this. In the sixth tale, set during BLACKEST NIGHT, sees the Scarecrow tormenting a young man, before Jonathan Crane is offered a yellow Lantern ring. In the seventh tale, set during FINAL CRISIS,  Lex Luthor has to deal with his personal demons before deciding to join with the heroes to fight against Libra. In the final tale, set during FLASHPOINT, Midnighter is forced to go out and deal with Pyg.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1090 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Many years ago, Thomas Wayne saves the life of an abuser, while also treating his victim and her baby. Later, one of Thomas’ patient with severe burns needs to be sedated. As it turns out, that patient is Joe Chill. In the present, Batman responds to a robbery gone bad and a young man finds himself on the run. When Batman finds him, the teen has been murdered; the latest in a series of murders. Later, he goes to an event as Bruce Wayne and meets with Scarlett Martha Scott, who takes him to a lab where a serum called Sangraal that promises to extend life. Three weeks from now, Batman confronts a villain who is threatening to execute someone, saying this person is not worth Batman’s mercy and he should not make the same mistake his father did.

THE FLASH #14 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. Two weeks ago, Weather Wizard goes to the Arctic Circle and meets with a man riding a dinosaur. Two days ago, the Flash Family goes to a cookout to celebrate Barry Allen’s retirement. Now, the family find themselves on a vacation in Skartaris. But this is a bit of a ruse as Wally had a message from Travis Morgan saying he needed Wally to come there to help them against Weather Wizard. Wally tells Linda of the mission and she thinks it’s awesome. Irey races off to the Watchtower and finds…her dad. Wait: isn’t he supposed to be in Skartaris?

GREEN ARROW #17 by Joshua Williamson, Chris Condon, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Montos. Peacemaker and Peacekeeper are on the run and get apprehended by Green Arrow. When he drops them off, he visits with Waller, telling her if she ever tries something like this again he will have no problem pulling the trigger. He then goes to the Watchtower, to explain what happened and is welcomed back to the Justice League. Later, he goes to his company with the idea of taking it back. In the backup, batman visits Ollie and tells him he still has issues with how things went down. At the same time, the former head of a chemical company is murdered, apparently with water his company polluted.

GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL #1 by Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson. John Stewart and his sister get attacked by Killowog, who has been resurrected and now wears a Yellow Lantern uniform. He steals John’s Darkstar ring and heads off. Twelve hours later, John is being cared for by Sheperd, Hal, Carol and Guy. The team make the decision to go off and retrieve the ring, along with help from former Amazo Jadestone., who has been guarding the new Central Power Battery. On Oa, Alan Scott arrives at the Chamber of Unseeing. Meanwhile, John and Sheperd go to Oa, where Alan has created a construct to fight the members of the Chamber. John and Sheperd release Larfleeze who now acts as a distraction to the guards, as he is looking for his orange light. Hal, Carol and Jonh go to Thanagar to tell them of the  upcoming takeover, only to find out that Thaaros has taken over and fights back, releasing the Radiant Dead. With things going badly, the Durlans release the Star Shroud, who murders Thaaros..As Thaaros dies, he uses his last bits of energy to corrupt Mogo. To be continued in GREEN LANTERN #16

GREEN LANTERN #16 by Jeremy Adams and Xermanico. Continued from GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL #1.  Mogo, now a Red Lantern, has unleashed its’ fury on Thanagar, killing billions. Hal, John and Carol are on a Rannian battle cruiser with the thousands they could save, but the aft thruster of the ship is damaged, causing Hal to tell Carol to handle things on the ship. Elsewhere, on the Durlan flagship, we learn that they plan to continue with their designs, even that their scientists have made in-roads in freeing the Spectrum from Keli Quintela: Teen Lantern. Keli is visited by the Ellie Stewart construct, promising to free her. John and Hal attack the Durlan ship, but are subsequently attacked by the Star Shroud. On the Rannian ship, Carol uses her power to restart the ship, which tears through Star Shroud. Star Shroud arrives on the Durlan ship and orders them to go to Oa. In deep space, Thaaros is reborn and heads to Oa also. Guy and Sheperd free the prisoners on Oa, including Jo Mullen. But things are not perfect as a giant creature, either from Thaaros or the Star Shroud, is poised to attack the Rannian ship.

HARLEY QUINN #44 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee. Harley is back in Gotham and separated from Ivy. She also reveals how, when she was young, she had an interaction with someone named Chicken Fingers that changed her life. She goes out and finds that the city has changed and is now clean, thanks to the work of folks in Nowegosoe Tower. Harley visits it, finding security guards beating up Chicken Fingers. Has she faces off with them, she meets Althea Klang, who managers the tower. Based on their interaction, she starts the Harley Quinn Destructive Agency. But Klang has other plans and talks with someone about stopping Harley.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12 by Geoff Johns and Todd Nuack. As Courtney prepares to graduate high school and move on with her superhero life, she recalls the events that led to this, from childhood to becoming a superhero. 

NIGHTWING #118 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Tony Zucco has been arrested for murdering the Graysons, but is quickly freed by a police officer whose family is being held hostage by Heartless. Speaking of Heartless, Gerald tells Shelton that the heart he got from Blockbuster is wearing out and he will need a new one, which he plans to replace with Nightwing’s. Heartless, claiming to be Dick Grayson, goes broadcasts that he and his men will demolish Haven within the hour. Dick shaves and dons civilian clothing while the Bat-Family searches for the kidnapped children. The Heartless army is in the midst of a confrontation with citizens when Dick arrives, revealing he knows Heartless is Shelton. He gets a call telling him the children have been found and freed, which Dick tells to the Heartless army and they turn on heartless, who flees to the docks, telling Gerald and Zucco to meet him there. Dick becomes Nightwing and chases him, as does Hayley. Dick catches up with him, having conquered the effects of the Fear Toxin, and attacks. Gerald is ready to shoot Nightwing and Hayley bites him, leading to Gerald shooting the dog. Gerald falls into the water and presumably drowns. Shelton attacks Zucco and rips his brain out. Shelton and Dick brawl and then Shelton falls, as his heart has given out and he dies. In the end, Dick takes Melinda and her wife to their parents’ grave. In the end, he looks over the city with Barbara and Hayley.

NIGHTWING #119 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Someone who is part of the Cirque Du Sin introduces the tale. Members of Gotham’s gang community, represented by Mama Bear, Boss Bludgeon, Dr. Proboscis, and the Blockbuster Gang, meet to discuss their plans moving forward after months of territorial fighting. Nightwing interrupts the meeting and discoivers a bomb, which goes off, killing all the gang members. Later, Dick Grayson goes to visit his sister, who is having a meeting with Olivia Pearce: the C.E.O. of Spheric Solutions. To help with the warfare, she is offering the city upgraded weapons to the police force. That night, Nightwing injects himself into the gang war, telling them he is giving them a pass until after he solves the murders of their leaders. Unknown to Nightwing, the head of Cirque Du Sin has met with Pearce and it appears there is another bomb ready to take Nightwing out.

POISON IVY #26 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Janet goes out shopping and is caught in a explosion at the grocery store caused by a follower of the ecoterrorist known as The Green Knight. Ivy goes to investigate this small town that is abandoned but also just popped up in the last week. With Ivy investigating, Janet gets freaked out by memorials to the Green that appear in the hallway of her building and calls Croc, who offers to come and hang with her. Then she calls Ivy, still investigating the new town, when a news report comes on. It looks like Ivy has now been identified as The Green Knight..

POWER GIRL #14 by Leah Williams and Adriana Melo. Ejecta is a hero and a media sensation who also beat the stuffing out of Omen last issue, causing Omen to hide away in her apartment. Power Girl, in her civilian guise, goes to the Daily Planet and pitches the idea of an expose piece on Ejecta to Mariposa, only to find that Mariposa has been investigating who built Ejecta’s cybernetic enhancements. They visit Omen and Paige reveals herself as Power Girl to Mariposa. Omen, Natasha and Power Girl go to the old Daily Star building, breaking in to get Ejecta’s attention. She uses her powers to cause Omen to be scared enough to pass out, then leaves, going to Dolira and meeting with her father. He tells her to eat up as he believes she needs her strength to kill Power Girl next.

SHAZAM #16 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid. It’s Christmas time and the Vasquez family is in a financial bind as they have spent so much money on legal fees to keep their children while Billy’s mother continues to try to gain custody. Billy sees a television interview with Freddy, who is now calling himself The Commander, With his siblings busy, Billy decides to ask his neighbor Beau on a date and receives help from Mary, Darka and Shazam. But Freddy has beaten him to the punch and talks to Beau, who informs him of a new app called Society which gives information about superheroes. Together, they all go to investigate a robot attacking the city. En route, they get attacked by the robot, leading to the siblings to transform. Mary and Freddy take down the robot while Shazam tries to stop a thief but is disoriented by a special weapon the thief has. A high-ranking official from Society offers The Commander ahis business card and they later find out Freddy is now the new spokesperson for Society. In the end, the official meets with Georgia Sivana along with the pilot who operated the robot. A green worm comes out of the man’s face and it’s obvious Mister Mind is again targeting the Shazam Family.

SUPERMAN #19 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. In a moment from the end of time, Superman confronts the Time Trapper. Today, Lois, now working as Superwoman after the Abolute Power event, joins her husband on a mission against the Atomic Skull and his atomic powered pets. Finishing that, they are faced with a giant version of Doomsday, who has been released from Hell. During their battle, time stops and suddenly only Superman is moving. That is when the Time Trapper shows up and reveals himself…as an older version of Doomsday, telling Superman that, despite being enemies for millennia, he needs the Man of Steel’s help now.

TITANS #16 by John Layman and Pete Woods. The Titans tour the Watchtower and Gar accidentally sets off a transformation on a space creature. Back at the Tower, Nightwing asks Donna to take over as team leader. All the team starts having vicious memories of past trauma. Raven attacks and they are all knocked out. When Roy wakes, he finds Clock King is responsible for their memories, thanks to new powers he got during the Absolute Power event. But Donna is not about to let him do this without a fight.

WONDER WOMAN #14 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. On Day 1 after her release from the Sovereign, Diana and Steve Trevor sit on the beach as she tells him she was able to keep her sanity in captivity because she knew he was always with her. On Day 3, Dr. Psycho meets with the Sovereign. On Day 5, Steve Trevor tells Diana that he is going to meet with the Sovereign. On Day 12, Steve meets with the Sovereign, who shoots and kills Trevor. On Day 15, Trevor’s body is found floating in the Tidal Basin in Washington, under the shadow of the Washington Monument. On Day 16, word gets out about Trevor’s death, even reaching as far as the Justice League Watchtower. On Day 17, Clark and Bruce meet with Diana. She is unaware of his death at this point. On Day 19, Steve Trevor is laid to rest with full military honors. On Day 22, the Sovereign gathers allies to protect him from Diana, including Grail, Angle Man and others. On Day 27, a distant relative who of Steve Trevor, who has claimed his personal effects, realizes that the flag he was buried in is missing, with a note saying that the person who wrote it is sorry for the woman’s loss. On Day 29, Wonder Woman is seen nestled in a cave, holding Steve’s flag and crying. On Day 32, Superman and Batman meet with Donna Troy, Yara, and Cassie, as they try to locate Diana. On Day 37, Diana decides she must stop mourning and get up, but discovers she cannot. On Day 50, three women search through endless drawers searching for a certain spool of thread. Wonder Woman removes her costume and wades into the ocean. She meets with Trevor in the afterlife as he takes the boat to the next place. Diana surfaces, and, using her hair, along with two pieces of thread, apparently representing herself and Steve, creates a gold thread. She then creates an infant from the clay on the beach, rubbing the thread on the child’s head. She then names the baby Elizabeth Marston Prince On Day 51, the women find the spool of thread they were seeking and notice that some of the thread is missing and they will need a new one of gold, apparently representing Diana’s new daughter..

DC UNIVERSE Month 81, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER #4 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Ollie orders all the Bureau forces on Gamorra to reform in preparation of a full assault. Waller has Failsafe activate her Multiversal Gate. In the Dark Roads, the heroes discuss their plan. Hal goes to deal with the Gate while Batman uses a Boom Tube to take on Bureau. Sarge Steel instructs the Bureau’s troops to fire on the heroes but their weapons backfire and shock them; exhibiting Ollie’s work to destroy the Bureau from the inside, much to Waller’s anger. The heroes make their way into the facility, running into Task Force VII. Jon and Nightwing break into Waller’s command center but she uses a piece of Kryptonite to keep Jon down. Failsafe restrains Nightwing, leading Waller to declare she will kill all the superheroes. Batman, Blue Beetle and Time Commander complete the device that Ollie was building, which will reverse the timelines to just before Task Force VII stole their powers and then restore them. But they are attacked and Ollie arrives and uses the device to restore the powers to the heroes, even though some powers have now been switched.  He reveals that Martian Manhunter had implanted a belief in him that Waller was right-all to keep the Bureau’s psychics from detecting his deep cover.

Waller prepares to kill Nightwing but Dreamer arrives and subdues Waller, explaining that Jon’s dreams of her resurrected her. Waller rants about how she fooled the whole world but Air Wave has managed to broadcast her rant to the whole world. Elsewhere, Barry fights the three evil speedsters but Johnny Quick activates the gate, but Hal creates a barrier to hold them back while Barry tries to deactivate the Gate. The barrier begins to crack and the Flash Family arrives to reinforce it. Barry shuts down the Gate, cutting Earth-0 from the Multiverse forever. Two days later, Jay and Wally confirm their access to the Multiverse is gone and Barry no longer has his powers. Waller wakes in prison and is confronted by Dreamer, who reveals she has locked Waller’s memories of the heroes’ secrets, while also hinting she has had a Brain Bomb implanted in Waller’s head. While the Fortress is being rebuilt, Ollie calls Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman together, saying that they need to reform the Justice League. In turn, they show him plans for a new Watchtower.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Secret agent Alfred Pennyworth has been pulled off a five-year search for a target and sent to Gotham, where he attempts to call his daughter Julia. On a video call with his handlers, her learns to a terrorist group known as the Party Animals who have increased the murder rate by 700%. While being told to observe only, he is also made aware of a vigilante, which Alfred has permission to engage with if needed. As he leaves his safehouse, he notes his motorcycle has been stolen. The following day, civil engineer Bruce Wayne is working out in Croc’s Gym, owned by childhood friend Waylon Jones. Waylon tries to convince him to come to a poker game with his other childhood friends: Oz, Eddie, Harvey and Selina. Elsewhere. The heads of Gotham’s crime families meet with Roman Sionis: the leader of the Party Animals. He is told to leave Gotham by dawn or they will have him and the Party Animals killed but Sionis has them all killed instead. That night, at a town meeting, the townspeople blame Mayor Gordon for the recent problems. Alfred observes the Party Animals making their way to the meeting and asks his superiors for permission to engage but is told to only observe. Martha Wayne tells tries to calm the townspeople down as a smoke grenade fills the room and the Party Animals gun Gordon down. Barbara Gordon tells the police to secure a perimeter and when she opens a door, she sees Batman who orders her to shut it and stay inside. Alfred observes Batman as he battles the Party Animals and, at one point, one of them pulls out a cleaver and attacks. Batman, who pulls out an axe and cuts off the hand of the attacker. Alfred engages Batman but his easily disarmed, with Batman escaping with Alfred’s gun. At this point, Alfred realizes that Batman is Bruce Wayne. Bruce’s story is that he won a student engineering competition and the prize was a trip to the zoo, where the zoo was attacked by a mass shooter that resulted in his father’s death. After time as a juvenile delinquent, he gets an athletic scholarship but fakes an injury in order to devote his time to the subjects he would need as a crimefighter. The next day, Afred follows Bruce to his mother’s house, planning to kill him, but is distracted by a text from Julia telling him to never contact him again. That night, he tracks Bruce to his hideout and Bruce shoots Alfred with the gun he took, which has transformed into a non-lethal weapon. He then jumps on the motorcycle and drives it out of the skyscraper; flying away with the help of the wings on his costume. In the epilogue, a private helicopter in manila picks up Alfred’s original target: a mysterious billionaire who has been training the with the most dangerous people in the world before killing them. No one knows his real name but, because he has never laughed, is known as The Joker.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In Gateway City, a strange flying object arrives and horrible monsters fly out of it, attacking the citizens. In the midst of it, a masked woman riding a skeletal flying horse arrives to fight the creatures. She removes the mask and, speaking an unknown language, clangs her bracelets together and there is a huge explosion. In flashback, on the prison of Circe located on the Isle of Hell, Circe arrives and delivers Diana: a baby who is the last of the Amazons. Circe also declares that the child can never be reunited with her sisters again and the word Amazon can never be said by the woman ever again. Over time, the child grows up and discovers she has natural skill that allows her to calm even the most savage creatures. Eventually, as Diana grows up, she finally manages to say the word Amazon and embraces it. Back in the present, Diana tries to reason with the main creature but has no effect, leading to her to declare herself the last of the Amazons and the Princess of Hell and she has no plans to let these creatures take this world.

ACTION COMICS #1070 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. Fifty-two days between Waller’s defeat and Darkseid attacking the Watchtower, the Phantom Zone Projector in the rebuilt Fortress of Solitude cracks and opens a portal that allows three prisoners who had been fused together to escape. They head to Metropolis and attack Superman, overpowering him until he is rescued by Supergirl. Superman heads to Ethiopia where he digs up a lead canister containing Gold Kryptonite, which would rob the prisoners of their powers but would do the same to Superman and Supergirl. While fighting the escapees, the canister is knocked away and Jimmy Olsen uses his signal watch to distract them and use the Gold K on them. Kara tells them that they are screaming in Kryptonese to kill them. Superman miniaturizes them and sends them to a hospital in Kandor. He tells the family that he is going into the Phantom Zone to investigate but finds himself confronted by a band of armed men when he arrives. In the backup, Supergirl has Steel build her a spaceship to head to Thanagar and then uses circuitry in her eye to erase his memories. Power Girl attempts to stop her and she again uses her power to erase her memory. Arriving at Thanagar, she meets with an official at a United Planets outpost before also erasing his memories.

ACTION COMICS #1071 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. In the Phantom Zone, Superman is attacked by armed denizens of the place. He takes them out, but does so at a cost as the special battery bracelets he wears are running out of power. He also gets attacked by giant spider creatures and that forces him to use more energy. That is when the Phantom King arrives and Superman is taken into custody. The Phantom King reveals himself to be Superman’s old friend Mon-El. Also, Jon and the Superman of China are forced to end their baseball game and head to the Fortress, where they are in for a surprise. In the backup, Supergirl heads to the High Court of Thanagar to retrieve a prisoner. But a strange spider creature attacks and takes out and kidnaps the judge, leaving Kara wondering how to find both the judge and the prisoner.

ACTION COMICS #1072 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. Superman meets with Mon-El who shows him he has captured the real Captain Xa-Du. Mon-El explains that a being named Aethyr who arrived in the Phantom Zone and promised to make the world more like how things were in the material world. But he quickly became a dictator, turning the place into his own personal prison, with Xa-Du as his handpicked warden. Many Kryptonians rebelled, capturing Xa-Du and killing the survivors, much to Superman’s dismay. They soon discover that Xa-Du has escaped and he has made his way back to Aethyr, who claims he is in the process of destroying Earth. Meanwhile, Jon and the Superman of China discover that all the artifacts in the Fortress has been stolen. A portal opens up and both are transported somewhere; somewhere that has all the artifacts set up like in a museum. In the backup, Supergirl finds the captured judge and gets attacked by the alien creatures. The judge gives Kara the coordinates to deliver the prisoner and, telling Kara to finish the mission, promises to finish hers.

ACTION COMICS #1073 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. As Superman and Mon-El travel through the Phantom Zone, they get attacked by Xa-Du’s ship where Superman, whose bracelets are almost out of power, is forced to attacked Xa-Du. Mon-El ends up saving him from a face to face with Xa-Du, leaving Superman to face Aethyr. Angry with Xa-Du, Aethyr tosses him into the Eye of the Zone and does the same to Superman. But the Man of Steel undesratnds this is a fall through time and manages to break through one of the walls and ends up…on Krypton as it once was. Meanwhile, Jon and the Superman of China meet the curator of the Royal Museum of Space. In the backup, Supergirl continues on her journey to deliver the prisoner to their final destination.

BATMAN #153 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Batman meets with Jim Gordon as the city rebuilds and comes back to normal. At the same time, Edward Nygma, with the help of Wayne Enterprises, has started a tech giant called Nygmatech. Even though he has been exonerated for his crimes, Mayor Nakano is suspicious. Leonid from the Court of Owls meets with him and threatens to reveal his alleged indiscretions. Batman meets with Nygma and, while impressed by his technology, explains he will be watching him. Nakano’s wife makes the decision to leave him, taking their son with her. At Wayne Enterprises, Bruce is advised to look at merging with Nygma’s company; something being arranged by Bruce’s own personal assistant. Later, Batman apprehends some criminals and runs into a new, gun-toting vigilante named Commander Star. Commissioner Savage arrives and declares they don’t need two vigilantes and orders his men to arrest Batman, who flees. In the end, an alleged brother files a claim against Bruce for half of his shares and someone shoots Nakano in the chest, seemingly killing him.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #14 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. In 1892, Nicodemus dies but there may be a promise of him to come back to life sometime in the future. In the present, Batman and Robin are fighting a gang of criminals that are connected to the Order of the Green Knight. Later on, Bruce and Damian go to an event celebrating the rebirth of the Scared Heart Medical Center. Before entering, Bruce is hassled by someone that he will be ground up by “the wheel” criminals who are followers of Nicodemus move in and assault the place. While Bruce becomes Batman to fight against them, there is an explosion and Damian is caught in it.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #32 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Eclipso has destroyed the Watchtower and captured most of the heroes, except for Batman and Superman, who have been corrupted. Robin gets involved and heads to the Justice Society headquarters, getting them to split up to try and help out. The Spectre gets called in and appears to break Robin’s neck, which snaps the Dark Knight out of his possession. The rest of the Justice Society manages to toss Superman into the sun, which burns out his possession. The now freed heroes, along with Batman and Superman, attack Eclipso. But he attacks back and now there heroes have been altered and stopped in their tracks.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #18 by Christian Ward, Zipporah Smith, Jeremy Adams, Mauguerite Sauvage, Brendan Hay, Patric Reynolds, Mike Norton, Laura Braga, and Marco Santucci. Batman has to deal with a villain named Doubt whose voice allows him to corrupt people’s mind with his negative words. Batman is forced to fight through those suggestions and finally recalls a conversation with Alfred when he was young to help him defeat the villain by using his own voice. In the second feature, Constantine and Streaky continue to team-up to defeat someone who was using the Talisman of Osiris to reanimate the dead; specifically his deceased friend. He eventually realizes this is a cruel fate for his friend’s beloved pet and destroys the talisman, reversing everything. In the third tale, M’Gann and Jackson team up to defeat a villain trying to bring new life to Mars by draining the water from Earth. In the next tale, Harley faces of against the Ghosting Master, who has been stealing identities from millions of people. In the final story, the Robins team up to find out who has been kidnapping Robin cosplayers, only to get captured themselves by Killer Moth.

BIRDS OF PREY #14 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Cassandra Cain, using the name of Shen, attends a meeting where she is forced to fight off bodyguards. As it turns out, the meeting gets rescheduled. Apparently, Cass has gone undercover to rescue five Amazons who have been captured by this organization known as the Ninth Day. When she finally gets that meeting, she is taken to an underground laboratory and finds the Amazons. At the same time, Onyx and Grace engage in a violent training session with Barda.