A whole new batch of first issues to check out

ALIEN ARMAGEDDON #2 by James Mascia and Enn Art. I have to review issue #2 because I never saw issue #1 which the publisher, Dren Productions, has available for $13.00! What? Basically, you have a pair of female spies who are working in Paris to take out the Nazis. Along the way, one of the two finds herself falling in love with the nazi she has cozied up to. But she has a job to do and, in a rather graphic scene, puts out for one the Germans. Oh yeah: there are aliens among some of the Germans. The art is cool and the story reads quickly. It’s a fun dumb read if you can find it.

CREEPSHOW IN LOVE 2025 SPECIAL by Mirka Andolfo, Patrick Horvath, Yul-Pyeong Oh, and Pure. A trio of stories with both love and horror in it. As expected, it has tons of twists in each tale with my favorite being Andolfo’s, although all of them are fun. If you’re into the regular CREEPSHOW series, you’ll love this one. Pun intended!

CRUEL KINGDOM #1 by Greg Pak, Al Ewing, Chris Condon, Ben H. Winters, Leomacs, Kano, Charlie Adlard, and Andrea Mutti. The newest title in the revised EC imprint is here with the theme being sorcery. Four tales that try to evoke what EC was known for: surprise endings that makes the reader think. Unfortunately, this is probably the weakest of the series thus far as none of the tales, even those that slip in some Science Fiction subplots, never really hit the mark. It’s as if the publishers are trying to reach for what WEIRD SCIENCE did but with more of a concentration on elves and barbarians. While the art looks great and the stories themselves should nail it, it often feels like someone read too much CONAN as a kid…not that there is anything wrong with it.

DAREDEVIL: COLD DAY IN HELL #1 by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. In the future, Wilson Fisk is dead and Matt Murdock is an old man and no longer has his abilities. At the end of the day, it is a completely different world, caused by a group known as the Deebees, as people struggle survive and heroes are no more. But the villains are still here and maybe this means Matt should come out of retirement, especially after seeing an old acquaintance die. This was so good! The story draws you in and the art is very Milleresque. Highly recommended!

DAREDEVIL UNLEASH IN HELL #1 by Erica Schultz, Valentina Pinti, and Jose Luis. Marvel’s new thing is to bring us tales that are so violent that they are considered Red Band books because of that content. Here’s is their newest, once again polybagged for your protection. It’s Elektra as Daredevil who takes on a drug ring as the first part of the story. But then it gets deeper as one of Matt’s “artistic” villains makes himself the chief villain. And the blood count is high with one particularly nasty murder. But this could easily have been done without all the gore, making it seem like it was all done just for shock value. The story is fun and all but still feels it could have been done without diving into the Red Band.

DEADPOOL/WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassara. Hot off the success of the movie, Marvel decides to cash in with the obvious team-up no one asked for. Honestly, we didn’t need this title that pairs the two heroes together for what seems like no other reason than to let them trade lines and fight. And some positively bloody fights indeed; so much so that THIS should have been a Red Band title as the gore count on a couple of pages outdoes the Red band books. The story is a fun one and brings back an old villain we haven’t seen in some time, so that was cool. But it IS Deadpool, so your mileage may vary.

DOCTOR DOOM & ROCKET RACOON #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Will Robson. Beginning in the month of February, Straczynski is writing a bunch of Marvel one-shots and this first one is a silly hoot. Doom summons Rocket to his castle as the good doctor wants to adjust his time platform to go back to the very beginning of time. What follows, even before they finally get the platform working, is a ton of funny exposition, goofy dialogue, and a retelling of Doon’s origin. As I often say, your mileage may vary but I found it a lot of fun. And the art by Robson rocks!

DUST TO DUST #1 by JG Jones and Phil Bram. Wow! That’s all I can really say about this. And that’s before I read one word of the book. Anyone who knows Jones art knows what I am talking about as every panel on every page is a masterpiece. Set during the Dust Bowl, there is truly an onion of a plot as there are so many layers, from the family leaving their dried-up farm to the sheriff to the newspaper photographer who is in town to document things. To that end, if you were expecting a big plot point drop you won’t get it. I have the feeling this isn’t going to come for a few issues, so it’s gonna be playing the long game. Hang in there as I’m sure the payoff when it comes is going to be incredible.

FREE FOR ALL #1 by Patrick Horvath. It is a time in a future world where if you do something wrong, you find yourself in the Free For All: a violent mortal combat that is one of the biggest sporting events. But that is just the beginning as the main story revolves around a crappy business deal between spouses, resulting in them going head to head (literally) in this game. It’s wild and violent with some incredibly eye-popping moments. The art is as quirky as the story is but it’s a fun read that hopefully will result in a sequel.  

GATCHAMAN: ONLY ONE EARTH #1 by Tommy Lee Edwards and Nuno Plati. Another mini-series in the GATCHAMAN Universe. Galactor has a plan and that involves killing the queen of Altrena along the way. There’s a car race, a volcanic explosion, a betrayal by Galactor and dire peril for some of the Gatchaman team. Definitely a book that will appeal to fans of the Anime series, even with art reminiscent of a Manga.

GREEN HORNET/MISS FURY #1 by Alex Segura, Henry Barajas, and Federico Sorressa. Two classic, old school comic heroes come together and…it’s a disappointment. The plot is threadbare and the art is the saving grace. Sure we get the Silver Shrike and Kato in the mix, but there is so little back story that I feel as if I missed something, like a previous connection in their stories. Not a fan and that’s a drag!

THE HERCULOIDS #1 by Tom Sniegnoski and Craig Rousseau. One of those much loved Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the Sixties gets its’ own title from Dynamite. Now, the original cartoon only ran for 18 episodes but to children of a certain generation, it will live forever. The story is basic enough to introduce the characters: Zandor, Tara and Dorno, along with Zok, Igoo, Tundro, Glopp and Gleep. While it is a fun read with great art in the Toth style from Rousseau, it is an incredibly short and fast read. But it is nice to see these character getting new life.

THE HIVE #1 by AJ Lieberman and Mike Henderson. This is the first issue of a weird crime drama meets heist story. There is a secret organization called The Hive in the middle of it and a whole bunch of characters that appear to be interchangeable. I haven’t made a decision one way or the other on this series as there is so much happening that it is sometimes tough to follow. But I will give it a second chance and hope that things clear up. The story, as I said, is a bit confusing and the art is passable and reminiscent of David Lapham’s style.  

I WAS A FASHION SCHOOL SERIAL KILLER #1 by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard. So, you’re a Goth high school girl trying to fit in at a fashion school among all the mean girls. But you’re also a bit of a vigilante who is using the various body parts of your victims as part of your designs. Sounds crazy, right? Well, it totally is! From the folks who have previously brought you VINYL, PLUSH, PLASTIC, and PLASTIC: DEATH & DOLLS, this wild book will fit perfectly into your collection if you’re a fan of smart tongue-in-cheek humor and horror movies. This is highly recommended! Go seek out the great Janet Jackson ROLLING STONE tribute cover variant.

MAGIK #1 by Ashley Allen and German Peralta. Marvel continues to roll out solo adventures of their mutants following the fall of Krakoa. This time, it’s the Darkchild getting involved and fighting demons along the way as she tries to help as young  mutant, dealing with racists at the same time. It’s an okay book primarily aimed for completists, who feel the need to own all these stories, even if it probably won’t result in anything earthshattering or canon defining.

MONEY SHOT: BIG BANG #0 by Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Patton Oswalt, Garth Graham, Rebekah Isaacs, Caroline Leigh Layne, and Gisele Lagace. I have a hard time describing this book, keeping in mind this is a #0 issue but not the first MONEY SHOT comic. It’s about a group, as they are described, of XXX-plorers who go into the reaches of space to bring alien sex acts to their subscribers. And it is as bizarre as it sounds! So, you get wild space action and alien sex! Bonus is a cameo appearance by the legendary Cherry Poptart! It’s a load of fun in 24 pages but, if you go in for the black bag edition, it will set you back TEN BUCKS!

MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE #1 by David Petersen and Gabriel Rodriguez. This amazing title is back with a new series. If you are unaware of this Eisner Award winning series, it is basically about mice trying to survive in a world of harsh predators. But these mice are more like warriors than scared little creatures. There have been a host of MOUSE GUARD tales and it has even spawned a role-playing game and an alphabet book. It is perfect for fans of D&D and CONAN and looks gorgeous! Highly recommended!

NEW CHAMPIONS #1 by Steve Foxe, Ivan Fiorelli, and IG Guara. Who remember the Champions title from back in the day? Well, marvel has resurrected something to tap into that nostalgia with a team of mostly unknown heroes, although it seems like we have seen this team before. Oh yeah: they used to be known as The Assembly and previously had a run a few years back in Spider-Woman. If you didn’t read those issues, have no fear as there is a brief recap of their story, which unfortunately comes right near the end of the book. And by that time, I kind of lost interest. It’s another teen hero book with teens I don’t care about.

NICK FURY VS. FIN FANG FOOM #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Elema Casagrande. Marvel brings us another Straczynski mash-up one-shot. Set in the days just prior to World War II, Nick Fury is sent on a mission to the Chinese border where he meets the Howling Commandos for the first time and  finds himself having to go head-to-head against the legendary Fin Fang Foom. It’s fun in a classic Marvel way and will probably appeal to fans of those classic Sixties tales, while most modern fans will not be entertained.

PINUPOCALYPSE #1 by Andrew Tarusov. So, here’s why having a dynamic cover is often a great selling point for a book, especially a new one. It was the attractive cover image by Tarusov that brought me to this title and thrilled it did. What starts as a quiet day in 1950’s Pinupolis for Foxy turns twisted fast as soon she finds herself in the middle of a zombie outbreak. The story is fun and the art is fitting. Personally, I can’t wait for issue #2.

ROGUE: THE SAVAGE LAND #1  by Tim Seeley and Zulema Scotto Lavina. While it’s great to get a Rogue mini-series, be aware it is set right after UNCANNY X-MEN #247, where Rogue sacrificed herself and went through the magical gate known as the Siege Perilous. What happened is she found herself in the Savage Land and has to get used to surviving in it. What follows is a struggle for survival and a chance meeting with Magneto. There is even a Ka-Zar appearance. It’s an interesting start and recommended for fans who remember that era of X-Men.

SAVAGE TALES #1 by David Avallone, Kurt Busiek, Hamish Cook, Eman Casallos, Mariano Benitez Chapo, and Benjamin Dewey. What seems cool for fans of some of Dynamtie’s core licensed characters ends up being a bit confusing and disappointing. Right off the bat, we get Chapter 3 of Gullivar of Mars. I’m sorry: what happened to Chapter 1? Was there two previous SAVAGE TALES one-shots? Possibly. Then a John Carter tale and a Vampirella story, ending with a reprinted Red Sonja tale, which is my favorite from both a story and art standpoint.

ULTIMATE WOLVERINE #1 by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio. The reborn Ultimate Universe expands with this new title, introducing their version of the fan-fave character. But this Logan is much more feral as he is experimented on and is sent to dispatch the enemy, in the form of this Universe’s Colossus, Nightcrawler, Raven, Marik and Omega Red. Suffice it to say, lots of these characters are butchered in issue #1. I’m curious to see where things go from here. Is he friend or foe or just a tool of The Maker?

WE’RE TAKING EVERYONE DOWN WITH US #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini. In what appears to possibly be a post-Apocalyptic world, or at least a New World Order, a young girl is living in isolation with her scientist father, his assistant and her two robot companions. But there is certainly something evil amiss and her father may be to blame. But there is also an organization called V.E.L.L. that may be the actual culprits. So, where does that lead us? Down into a very deep rabbit hole with a surprise ending and a cliffhanger to drag us into the next issue. Great stuff from the always dependable Roseberg.

DC UNIVERSE Month 86, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN #49 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee. Harley pays Althea Klang, who has related to readers how she grew up poor and traumatized, a visit. She demands that Althea stop her from trying to takeover Throatcutter Hill but she unleashes Amygdala on her, even though he died in CATWOMAN #50. As he tries to crush her in his arms, Harley tickles him, which lets her get free and pull a birthday prank by setting off a time bomb in the building’s septic system, filling the lobby with poop. Althea pulls out a knife and, before she kills her, Harley kisses her on the nose and flees. Althea notes her goal in life is to smash Harley because she thinks she is in love with her.

JSA #5 by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui. Hawkman, still trapped in the Demon Dimension, gets freed from the ghost who thinks she is the new Kid Eternity. Now freed, he is able to retrieve his wings and weapons and soon they are overwhelmed by demons until Hawkgirl assist them, with all three heading back to the Tower of Fate. Elsewhere, Dr. Mid-Nite is attacked by Scandal Savage but gets the upper hand when she manages to turn off the sole light in the room and takes Scandal down. Meanwhile, the consciousnesses of Obsidian and Jakeem escape by breaking through a wall, only to find that the outside world is a huge maze. While this is happening, the fake Obsidian tells the JSA members that sensors have picked up Beth’s communicator and they need to take action now. Jade meets with Sandman, with both agreeing there is a traitor on the team. In the Demon Dimension, Grundy and Gentleman Ghost arrive and an army of demons is set to attack and destroy the Tower of Fate.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #5 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Justice league continues to try to unravel both the mystery and the antics of Inferno, even considering that this may be connected to the Legion of Doom. In Australia, members of the team fight against twisted creatures while trying to save civilians. Flash sidelines Impulse, who notices one particular person not reacting to the dilemma. When he confronts him, he transforms and has Impulse forget what he has observed. Flash decides to transport everyone to an adjacent dimension, which turns out to be the Phantom Zone, but Supergirl is able to get them through the Phantom Zone gate and onto The Watchtower. Air Wave is then ordered to keep his part of the bargain and as the civilian Impulse thought was Inferno reveals himself as Grodd. Air Wave transports him to the Legion of Doom headquarters where he meets with the reformed group: Scarecrow, Joker, Sinestro, Bizarro, Captain Cold and…Lex Luthor.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE ATOM PROJECT #3 by Ryan Parrott, John Ridley, and Mike Perkins. In the past, the Atoms are pleased that they seemed to get Captain Atom partially under control. But the remedy cannot be administered fast enough to the others on The Watchtower who need help and they find their powers becoming out of control and Captain Atom has to save them by absorbing all of their powers. In the present, Nathaniel is prepared to get rid of his powers and possibly end his life but The Atoms have tinkered with the machine and actually saved his life. But Captain Atom does not see it that way. All he wants to do is die but they convince him to let them find a way to remove his powers and never let anyone be able to recreate them again. That is when Major Force arrives.

METAMORPHO THE ELEMENT MAN #4 by Al Ewing and Steve Leiber. With Metamorpho walking away from the Staggs, Simon Stagg decides to use everything he knows about Rex and create Metamorpho II and plans to have his daughter marry him. But he also now has his robotic headquarters on the loose thanks to something Mad Mod had done previously, accidentally unleashing a Trojan Horse that had been installed by Mister 3. Rex becomes a giant balloon to fight the building while Java and Element Girl make their way inside and, finding a way to combat the security system, shut the building down. But it is not over yet as The Thunderer arrives, threatening to not only conquer Earth but also the sun.

THE NEW GODS #4 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Jorge Fornes. In the distant past, Highfather and Himon create New Genesis and the planet-sized Mother Box that is the heart of the city. In the present, New Genesis is being invaded by Karak, so Highfather sends Shadowfall the archer to defend them, but the numbers are too great. With no other choice, Highfather puts his armor on and prepares for battle. Meanwhile, on Earth, Barda and Scott take on the mercenaries who have been chasing after the boy and his adoptive parents. Then Orion arrives to kill the boy, explaining that seven days in the Fourth World is much shorter than seven days on Earth.

NIGHTWING #124 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Nightwing decides to help the Flyboiz and offers to be the personal give his blood through a transfusion to save their lives. The problem is there are three Flyboiz who need immediate attention and that represents a lot of blood leaving Dick. While in the process, he sees visions of Zanni, who he previously had seen when he was dosed as a child by Olivia Pearse. Zanni tells Dick he is dying and he will make a great ringmaster in the Cirque Du Sin. Nightwing is able to save one of the Flyboiz, even as two pass away, Teddies show up with plans to kill the Flyboiz and Bryce convinces them to leave. Later, Dick talks to his sister and chastises her for allowing Pearse to let her robots loose on the streets. The Mayor, seeing what these robots are doing, orders Pearse to shut them down but, removing the mask that hides her face, she says she has been part of the Cirque for so long that she is no longer who she was. Dick faces off against the robots and visualizes one of them as a giant elephant. Then a shot rings out and Dick is able to finish it. That is when he sees Bryce with a smoking gun, now wearing a small Bat symbol on his chest, calling Dick ‘boss’.

POISON IVY #31 by G. Willow Wilson and Brian Level. Ivy wakes from a nightmare to find Janet in bed with her. Promising to return to the city when this is through, Ivy goes to meet with Peter Undine, who allows her to see the history of Marshview. Developers came in and that led to wildlife being killed and the marsh fought back, with most of the residents being killed or leaving to save their lives. Only one person remain in the end-a janitor named Ed Cooper, but even he disappeared. Coming out of the vision, a horrible creature comes towards them. It seems that Ed is back.

POWER GIRL #19 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. While dinosaurs are moving about inside The Star, and a battle rages both outside of The star and beneath it. Working together, they manage to stop the threat. Afterwards, mariposa goes on television to reveal that she The Star is going to be the world’s most honest social media platform. She also reveals she is the new editor-in-chief; something that Power Girl will now need to tell Lois Lane about. When Aquus, Sprig and Bruin return to their mother, she dishes out appropriate punishment to them. The following day, Paige has an uncomfortable phone call with Lois when she cuts off that call because Karen Starr is on television with news of her new A.I. app.

THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER #5 by Alex Segura and Cian Tormey. Renee is forced to fight both Blue beetles and manages to take them down. As she does, Jaime hands her a small device he tells her to take to the trash chute near the elevator. She also takes down Nightshade, freeing her from Cyborg Superman’s control too. But she now has to fight her former lover Kate Kane to fulfill her mission. Meanwhile, even though he thinks he controls everyone, Cyborg Superman  discovers that The Eradicator is not 100% with having those in his control kill the Question and threatens to leave, so Cyborg Superman beats him into submission. Renee makes her way to the trash chute and sees the dog who has been captured and sees something on his collar that Jaime sent her to retrieve. She releases the dog who warns her of Kate’s presence. The two face off but end up kissing and teaming up. The item on the dog’s collar turns out to be some sort of failsafe for the Phantom Zone containment unit and she hopes it will reverse the polarity on her gun. Charlie, the other Question, arrives, saying he came onboard to lend a hand. They observe The Eradicator and the Beetles captured and releases them but that also occurs as Cyborg Superman bursts through The Watchtower sending Renee, Kate and everyone else tumbling into space.

SECRET SIX #1 by Nicole Maines and Stephen Segovia. In the beginning, Jon Kent is fighting against a cyborg enhanced version of Bizarro as he tries to escape from Belle Reve. At the same time, Dreamer has a dream about a surgery on her going horribly wrong as many of her past associates press her for information about Amanda Waller. Jon goes to visit Jay Nakamura, who is still dealing with both the death of his mother and the destruction of Gamorra, who has yet to apologize for being involved in Jay’s mother’s death. She tells them Waller has escaped, which leads the trip to Belle Reve to investigate. Once inside, they are called over to Black Alice’s cell, telling them she has information she will give them if they get her out. Guards arrive firing tranquilizer darts, which leads to Jay freeing Black Alice, who teleports them to a safe house in Vermont. That is when they see Deadshot standing over the unconscious body of Catman.

SHAZAM #21 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid. As Mr. Mind spreads his infection, he asks Beautia about the guy who pretended to be her father and she explains he too has been infected. He only pretended to be her father to get information on his real daughter, who was the person who led Freddy to the Amber Lightning. Only half of his essence was in the Amber Lightning while the other half was in the corpse of the oldest human host. He then orders the capture of Billy and Freddy, with his robot sealing their mouths to keep them from saying the magic word. He brings them to the Society’s tower and plans to keep them there until the Justice League arrives and he can possess them. Billy is stunned to find Beau is working with Mr. Mind. Freddy manages to release himself from Mind’s control and he and Billy are able to transform as the rest of the Marvel Family arrive. Defeating the Society, Eugene and Pedro hack the app and free the users from Mind’s control. As Mind attempts to escape, Georgia vaporizes his human host, capturing Mind and Beau for her future plans. In the end, Billy visits his birth mother, who insists that she doesn’t want him to leave his new family, giving him a photo to add to his family album.

SUPERMAN #24 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. Mercy summons Superman and Superwoman for a meeting, where they find Lex and Mercy kissing. Mercy shows off a new line of Superman-branded technology and wants to sell them to the public, to which the Man of Steel objects. Mr. terrific contacts Superman and tells him of a crisis in Markovia, but Lois decides to go so Superman can see all these things that Supercorp has built. In Markovia, Hawkgirl tells Superwoman than the Khunds have invaded and she needs to find their leader, so the Creeper joins her in the search. They discover the Khunds building some kind of cannon and The Creeper attacks. Superwoman takes out the cannon and the rest of the Leaguers capture the rest of the Khunds. Mister Terrific tells Lois that the Khunds came here to test new weapons and Lois is shocked when she examines one of their guns. Back at Supercorp, Lena and Lex show off  a stasis bubble they built and Superman is concerned about this technology being used for offensive reasons and it should not be sold for profit. Chief Kekoa and the MPD arrive and arrest Lex, who goes willingly, saying he needs to pay for his crimes. Superman admits that he told the police that Lex was getting his memory back because he was concerned about him returning to his old self, but Mercy says it is not Lex that he should be worried about. Superwoman arrives telling him the gun she found in Markovia had a Superman symbol on it. Mercy admits she has been selling weapons to the Khunds, leading to Superman firing her. She opens up her chest and reveals Metallo’s Kryptonite heart, which cripples the pair. Telling them that Lex couldn’t do the job, she built a new one, revealing a clone wearing a Kryptonian suit and with eyes glowing with heat vision.

TITANS #21 by John Layman and Pete Woods. The Psycho Pirate has captured raven and has taken her over. Roy wakes up in Central Park and had Cyborg Boom Tube him back to the titans, where he sees that Cyborg has rebuilt and reprogrammed Vanadia. Cyborg wants to know why Roy left S.T.A.R. Labs and the rest of the team and he reveals he was never there. The three of them Boom Tube over to S.T.A.R. Labs where they find a corrupted Raven, who commands the Titans to attack and kill each other. But Raven breaks his control and unleashes her other half, dispatching him. Raven admits it was unfair to keep her other half locked down and they merge into a whole, complete Raven. With the situation under control, Raven says they have a bigger problem as it was Deathstroke who hired Psycho Pirate, leading Donna to insist they take the fight to him.

TWO-FACE #4 by Christian Ward and Fabio Veras. Inside of his mind, Harvey finds himself on trial against Two-Face. We learn that Harvey’s father was both a man of ambition but also abused his son for being weak. When the parents got divorced, it was his mother who took him in meaning Harvey’s other self was left behind. We also see that the trademark coin was inspired by Harvey’s own father who would use it to decide how and if Harvey was punished. When Harvey was scarred, his other self was unleashed again. As the trial ends, the coin is about to be flipped but Harvey says he is still in control and he locks up his other half once again. In the end, ‘Bad Harvey’ is visited by his mother, who shows him that she holds the key to release him once and for all.

WONDER WOMAN #19 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. Diana has made her way into the White House and now is face to face with The Sovereign, who surrenders to her. He asks for mercy but she is not having any part of it and summons a dagger and hands it to him, willing him to carve the word LIAR into his chest. With her revenge complete, she takes him to Themyscira to be jailed. In another part of the world, Emelie, who murdered men in Montana that led to Amazons being banned on United States soil, gives birth to her child with the help of Etta Candy. Naming the baby Lyssa, she claims the child is a curse and they have also been captured by the Mouse Man and his followers. In the future, The Sovereign finishes this story he has been relating to the adult Trinity. Wanting to know more, she wraps her lasso around his neck. He knows, even if he is not telling, that Lyssa, also known as The Matriarch, killed Wonder Woman along with Donna, Cassie and Yara with the dagger, leaving it buried in Diana’s chest. Lyssa ended the legend of Wonder Woman and The Sovereign knows she will also end Trinity’s story soon.

ZATANNA #2 by Jamal Campbell. In the distant past, a young magician was pulled into a portal but saved by a blonde woman who took him to the Oblivion Bar, telling him that if he ever got lost, he could come back to the bar by just thinking about oblivion. They separated but legend said they would not remain that way for long. In the present, Blue Devil, Detective Chimp and Madame Xanadu are bemoaning the lack of customers when Zatanna comes crashing in. Later, she explains how she had been stabbed by Lady White’s sword and it is affecting her spells. When she tries to remove it, she is haunted by visions of people she could not save. Meanwhile, the Lady White and Adam meet with Brother Night and he agrees to reward Adam for his deed. Zatanna goes to Adam’s apartment where she is greeted by Blue Devil, who has agreed to help her and she reluctantly agrees. They enter and find piles of flesh and bones along with Adam’s withered corpse, meaning he has been dead for weeks and that the Adam helping Brother Night is a fake. A TV screen in the room turns on and shows Lady White dancing with someone familiar. Zatanna binds Blue Devil with chains and enters the screen. When she reaches the man Lady White was dancing with, she realizes it is Bruce Wayne.

DC UNIVERSE Month 86, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #6 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. An injured Bruce takes refuge in Waylon's gym where he finds out that Bruce is Batman and is upset about just finding out about it, as are his other close childhood friends. Meanwhile, Gordon and Martha are trying to defend themselves amidst the chaos in the streets. Crates containing Party Animal masks drop from the sky and the built-in display shows target information and cash prizes, with Gordon and Martha having bounties of one million dollars each. At the same time, Julia Pennyworth’s train is attacked by the Party Animals but Alfred abducts her from it, with plans to leave the country and take her with him. Batman convinces Oswald to fly a helicopter that will take Bruce to Black Mask’s yacht, where he believes the servers are. He battles with Black Mask and uses his mask’s ears to blind the villain, beating him bloody and blowing up the yacht. With the yacht gone, the bounties end and Martha and Gordon dispatch them. In the water after the explosion, Batman is rescued by Alfred who says he is sticking around. In the end, The Joker is receiving transfusions from infants and, when informed that Black Mask has failed, he orders his assistant to get Bane.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #1 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. In a desert, 15 year old Wally West panics as lightning explodes from within him. Two days earlier,  a confused Wally makes his way back to Fort Fox, the Army base where he lives with his father. A guard threatens to notify his father about being out after curfew but scientist Barry Allen intervenes, taking him to an underground lab known as Project Olympus. Intrigued by their research into physics and biology, Barry offers him a part time job which is rebuked by Wally’s father, who orders the two not to have contact again. On the following day, Wally and his father have an argument and Wally sneaking out, seeing a man with red vertical rectangles around him as he enters the mountain lab. He sees Barry in a special containment chamber and yells for Wally to get out before there is an explosion that kills Barry. Back in the present a tank approaches Wally and he is attacked by a boomerang shaped drone, forcing him to flee into a cave. The Captain and Digger exit the tank and follow Wally. As he goes deeper into the cave, Wally discovers Barry’s corpse and blames himself for his death. In the end, set one year in the future, a shadowy figure emerges from a piece of metal in Barry’s ruined lab. He pulls up the archives of Project Olympus and watches Wally’s exploits, commenting that it is time to make the world fail.

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez. A suicide bomber named Mike Miller sets off an explosion at a coffee shop which gravely injures FBI Agent John Jones. His wife Bridget encourages Jones to take time off, as do his superiors, but he insists to continue working. His bosses even insist that he stay away from the Miller case. Still, he continues  while being tormented by multi-colored smoke that he sees everywhere, while also filling him with the thoughts of people he meets. In the end, as he feels he is losing his grip on reality, it becomes apparent a mysterious green being is telling him that he saved Jones…and the green man may actually be Jones.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #5 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. Six years ago, the Els escape from the Law Guild shock troopers that had been sent to kill them. In the Rao Mountains, their friends and neighbors are waiting to leave the planet with them and there is only a limited number they can take with them. As they load in, Kal goes back to collect some Kryptonian soil and the ground opens beneath him, forcing him to be saved by Krypto. On the crumbling planet, people riot and try to get on the Science league’s starships, which are soon destroyed. The exploding planet destroys all of the refugees pods, leaving only Kal -El’s ship. All of his family and neighbors are gone. In the present Superman breaks into the Peacemaker outpost in Pakistan, looking for Smith. He orders Sol to locate Smith but is told that Lazarus’ cyber defense are beyond Earth’s capabilities and Smith’s location is encrypted. Sol tells Superman that Brainiac is hacking into Lazarus and trying to get into Sol’s system, but he is able to find that Brainiac is in the Lazarus facility in Nevada. He also discovers that Brainiac’s lab has miniaturized cities in bottles filled with screaming people. Brainiac sends Superman a message telling him he can reveal Smith’s location to him but ignores it, landing in Kansas. He tells Sol he is afraid of what he would do if he found Smith and wants to be alone and reminded of home. He walks down the road towards the nearest town-Smallville.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #6 by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis. Diana finds herself having to explain her recent actions to Hades. When one of his followers goes to grab her lasso, he gets shocked. Diana explains how she scaled Mount Prometheus and temporarily freed Prometheus in exchange for a vial of his blood. He cuts off the tip of his finger and creates the skeletal Pegasus to assist Diana. Unsatisfied by her story, Diana then tells him how she slew the Basilisk by blinding herself and cutting off the creatures head. None of this explains the creation of the Nemesis lasso, and Hades shows how he has captured Circe.

ACTION COMICS #1084 by John Ridley and Inaki Miranda. The aliens, known as the Foreverers, tell Superman that they have been purchasing the telomeres of super villains in order to extend their lives. Superman is determined to stop them and attacks them but is overwhelmed because of their new powers. Scorch plans to help him but Manheim tells her not to and threatens to tell the truth about Major Disaster. In response, she opens a portal to Hell and he is dragged into it. Superman throws the Foreverers into it and their leader follows, saying he will return when Superman is dead. Superman insists on being told the truth and Scorch says she cannot but teleports them to Canada where they meet with Penny Booker. She explains that she went to see her father and, when angered, accidentally caused the earthquake that killed Boykin. Her father had Scorch teleport her away and he took the fall to protect her. As a form of penance, Superman makes her join the Titans. Even as he continues to allow her father to be jailed, which troubles him until Lois comforts him.

AQUAMAN #3 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. Arion and the Lady of the Lake, named Vivienne lead Aquaman to a lake surrounded by walls of ice, telling Aquaman that the lake is her home. Dagon observes this from The Blue and sends his Mercenary Maids, led by Lori Lemaris, after them. Vivienne points to an anvil and says that the fire still burns within the ice and they will have to create a new weapon to kill Dagon and fulfill the prophecy as The Dark Tide. Arion tells Aquaman that Dagon is the person who took Aquaman’s family. As Aquaman waits outside the barrier as the weapon is being created, the Mercenary Maids show up, with Lori stabbing him, transforming him into ice. When Aquaman awakes, he finds himself chained to the mast of a galley and being transported to Dagon.

BATGIRL #5 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Batgirl battles the Unburied and seems to get the upper hand until a powder is sprayed into her face, leading her to fall asleep where she has dreams involving her mother and Stephanie. When she wakes, she finds herself captured along with her mother.

BATMAN #158 by Geof Loeb, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams. Batman stops a clown-masked crook who is hauling Joker Fish in a truck. Suddenly The Joker attacks with a crowbar and knocks Batman into a reservoir filled with piranha. Luckily the electronics in his suit stuns the fish and he manages to gets free, eventually being rescued by Talia al Ghul. At the same time, someone going by the name of Silence stuns Joker with a voice amplifier that ruptures the villains eardrums. When Batman deduces the short circuit may have compromised communications with the Bat Family, he orders them all to shut down all their systems for now. He then examines The Joker’s shoe that he found and that leads him to an abandoned carnival, where he finds that the villain alive, while still alive, had been tortured. Observing a series of videos and a table filled with scalpels, he deduces that Hush has returned.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. Batman and Robin continue to fight crime, even as Batman has recurring visions during the fights. He sends Robin back home, telling him to never face Memento alone. Oracle reaches out to Batman, saying that Bashar had worked in Kahndaq and his work was funded by a group called Manos Sanadoras that later seemed to morph into Novo Comeco and had ties to the League of Assassins. Lautrec meets with Crane who tells her that Professor Blye, presumed to be dead, remembers her and she insists that Blye’s body needs to be exhumed. That night, Damian goes to work with Bashir but finds a listening device his father had planted. Bashir takes Damian to the sub-basement where Memento kills Bashir. Batman goes to help his son, who is trying to flee. When he arrives, he finds Bashir’s body and his “spirit” tells Batman that Damian has been captured by the devil wearing Crowe’s face.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #37 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Lori has kissed Superman and this angers Ronal. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing is trying to stop the influence of Woodrue, whose plan was to get the two factions in Atlantis to war with each other. Aquaman has a heart-to-heart with Ronal and they team up to help the other heroes to battle Woodrue. But he soon learns that this is a trap and Aquaman, Ronal, and Mera all launch an attack on Woodrue, defeating him. In the end, Ronal and Lori work at repairing their relationship.

BIRDS OF PREY #19 by Kelly Thompson and Juann Cabal. At the safe house, Sin and Canary are attacked and seem to be doing well until Canary is shot by a sniper. Megaera breaks loose and scares the assailants away, giving Canary medical treatment after they’re gone. Meanwhile, in the Seam, Barda and Batgirl fight demons, with Batgirl capturing the demon possessing Constantine, tossing him back into our world and saving Constantine.

BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #5 by Tom King and Ryan Sook. It’s Round Five between Canary and Shiva, beginning with Shiva telling Canary that she is a white trash loser, just like her dead mommy. While the fight continues, there is a flashback to Canary siting with her mother in hospital as she fights for her life. In the end, as part of the flashback, it appears that Canary’s mother has died, even as she says she will find a way to save her.

BLACK LIGHTNING #5 by Brandon Thomas and Fico Ossio. The Sons of Liberty beat up a powerless Black Lightning until Thunder arrives to take them down. MCPD arrives and orders her to power down and she is able to do so with Grace Choi’s help. The reunited team, with powers restored, confront Volcana and her team, with Black Lightning saying how Volcana sent Windfall to the Sons of Liberty with the nullifier and turned it on Windfall, that leads to a brawl between the pair. There is a massive brawl and Thunder uses her powers to eventually defeat Volcana. In the end, Black Lightning meets with Councilman Harriman and he tells him that he knows everything and will be watching him. Later, he meets with Josiah Power, telling him it’s time to talk about The Power Company.

CATWOMAN #74 by Torunn Gronbekk and Marianna Ignazzi. “Long John” Johnson gets assassinated and that leads Suzy to contact Selina, as Evie. Evie orders her to check out any security cameras at Alexander’s warehouse. Currently, Suzy tells her that Anton is at the warehouse leading to Evie blowing up the warehouse. Evie is nowhere near the warehouse and she is making her way into Alexander’s vault, subduing him in the process. As she proceeds forward, Anton attacks her and takes her down. In the end, a surprise visitor arrives and she passes out.

CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #4 by Christopher Cantwell and Sean Isaaske. Ace, Hal and Captain Comet head out to check out an anomaly on an asteroid. Once there, Red hears a cry for help and dives into a deep crater, with Hal following. They find the digested body of Cave Carson with a message written on the wall in Red’s blood, asking why he brought Cave here. Suddenly he is hit with a vision first of him being trapped on the plane that created the Challengers and then of Black Manta carrying Aquaman’s dead son. Hal carries Red out and he reveals he cannot feel his legs. Back on the Watchtower and confined to a wheelchair, he is quarantined with the other Challengers, except for Rocky who has not exhibited any signs of the anomaly effecting his teammates. In the end, Wonder Woman and Rocky visit the others, telling them they will not like what they have to be told.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1095 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman has been handed an envelope by Asema which appears to contain everything he has been looking for. Inside are the medical records confirming his life was saved by Thomas Wayne. It also shows that Scarlett Scott is Chill’s daughter and was taken away from Chill by Martha Wayne. He also learns that Theromise is made from the blood of the murdered teens. Batman visits and beats Chill, deducing he didn’t target the Waynes. He meets with Superman and provides the information about Theromise, which gets broadcast to the world and ruins the company. Batman then confronts Scarlett, who says she did not know the identity of her father. But she also tells him they need to be afraid of the organization that has been watching her, named Elixir. That is when an explosion happens that may have killed them both.

THE FLASH #19 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. As he is having an episode, Wally is Boom Tubed into space, allowing Green Arrow to freeze him with an arrow that has been treated with Grodd’s stasis tech. But he manages to phase through stasis and disappear. He ends up falling through the Spectraverse along with Pilgrim, who tells him the beams of colored light they see are the streaks of the sun, moon, Earth and the Atlantean machine in Skartaris, which causes Wally to leave. Back in Skartaris, the other Wally is being beaten by Y’hil. The Flash Family all arrive and, with Foxy with them, their powers come back and Wally defeats Y’hil. Linda speaks to her and tells her that Eclipso is not planning to marry her but kill her, which he admits to. She destroys the machine which causes his rage to force him to leave Warlord’s body and threaten to eat the Flash Family to find the energy he feels. Foxy attacks and is devoured by Eclipso, who feeds off the energy and they disappear through the portal. Jai teleports them to the moon and the two Wallys meet and agree to become one but the Skartaris Wally hears Foxy and is distracted, leading to Eclipso blasting the other Flash. Eclipso has now become Hellophage, threatens to take Darkseid’s throne and says Earth will submit or be destroyed.

GREEN ARROW #22 by Chris Condon and Montos. At a meeting where the evils of Freshwater are presented to citizens, it seems that there may be an uprising coming. With the Freshwater Killer who attacked Ollie in custody, Ollie goes back on the hunt and follows Benitez to Freshwater. Benitez gets confronted by a gang wearing Freshwater Killer masks and Arrow the dog tries to defend her but is savagely beaten and she is taken away by them. Ollie arrives and finds Arrow, tending to him and putting him in Benitez’s car before going on the hunt for her.

GREEN LANTERN #21 by Jeremy Adams and Jack Herbert. Kyle, Odyssey and Kon-El fight Starbreaker over possession of the Source Energy orb. Hal shows up to help but, in the process, Sorrow Lantern snatches the orb and escapes with Starbreaker. Later a plan is hatched where the Corps will rebuild all the destroyed Power Batteries before Starbreaker can build his own. Then Kyle and his team head to Reach to find Nth Metal. Hal returns to Earth and he and Carol take down a villain named Mind-Bomber. But when the Department of Extranormal Operations arrive to take the villain, he is shocked to see Hector Hammond working for the DEO. Carol gets Dove to infiltrate DEO to check on Hammond, only to find he is siphoning off Mind-Bomber’s powers to restore himself to the villain he once was.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #2 by Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton, and Fernado Pasarin. The team of John Stewart, Kilowog, and Razer, along with Shayera, arrive on what is left of Thanagar and find many Thanagarian refugees. Meanwhile, Atrocitus and his team are on a ship which is firing  a drilling laser to steal a wealth of Nth Metal beneath the planet’s surface. John and Shayera make their way onto the ship and find Zillius Zox strapped to the engine to siphon off his Rage. While Atrocitus goes after them, Kilowog and Razer watch as Atrocitus’ team uncovers a cache of Nth metal buried underground. That is when Sorrow Lantern arrive to take the Nth Metal , but the cave collapses and reveals a huge egg made of the metal.