A wealth of Number One issues

BABS: THE BLACK ROAD SOUTH #1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows. The wildest barbarian adventurer you will ever be exposed to is back in an all new mini-series. Babs, fresh from her last adventure,  finds herself in the arena with the expected grisly results. While the victor gets the spoils, the victor also gets really drunk and loses the spoils too, resulting in the start of the next great adventure. Funny, foul, shocking, sexy and just about everything you could expect from this team. Highly recommended if you’re not easily offended.

BARBARIC: THE LONG DEATH #1 by Michael Moreci and Nathan Gooden. Not a title I’ve read before…didn’t even know it existed…but I was captured by the black bag declaring “featuring Lilith”. Now, I loved that run from Vault, so I dropped ten bucks to get it. What I discover was that Lilith is the Howell nude cover of Lilith. I also discovered there have been four previous runs of Barbaric runs and this continues from the previous run. It’s an unusual cast of characters, including a cursed barbarian, an equally cursed witch and a cursed talking axe, and their journey to the village of the witch. While not as funny as BABS, it does have some neat moments and has made me a fan because of its’ humor.

BATMAN/DEADPOOL #1 by Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Mariko Tamaki, G. Willow Wilson, Dan Mora, Hayden Sherman, Bruno Redondo, Amanda Conner, and Denys Cowan. DC comes back with their own team-up between companies. Batman and Deadpool and Cassie Nova, Constantine and Doctor Strange, Nightwing and Laura Kinney, Harley and the Hulk, and Statis and Ms. Marvel. Nothing earthshaking here but some fun stuff and some silly stuff too.

BATMAN/GREEN ARROW/THE QUESTION #1 by Gabriel Hardman and Romulo Fajardo Jr. In this Black Label title, Oliver Queen is tasked by the Vic Sage version of The Question to help in an operation with personal ties for Ollie, as Queen Industries have ties to a project called Arcadia. Batman also is involved but mostly as a back story to the action until the end of the book, which leads to he and Ollie being face-to-face somewhere in Greenland. The story is a true slow-burn, especially when Batman gets involved and the art looks great. I do love a good non-canon book.

THE BEAUTY #1 by Jeremy Haun, Jason Hurley and Emanuela Lupacchino. This is the second series to tap into this wonderfully creepy story. A sexually transmitted disease gives people the perfect look and body, so everyone wants it. But there is a disadvantage as, at some time in the future, the constant fever they feel results in them burning from the inside out. The series follows the characters as detectives look into the disease and the involvement of both the government and a secret society. The story is killer…pun intended…and the original series from Image is in production as a mini-series produced by Ryan Murphy and starring Evan Peters. Highly recommended!

CAPES #1 by Robert Kirkman and Mark Englert. Welcome back to the world of INVINCIBLE in this ultra-violent tale featuring a whole bunch of supporting cast members. And there is a good reason as this is a reprint of of when the  series ran in 2004 under the name MASKS. Kirkman tells readers that it will be reprints until issue #7. So, if you don’t have the original series, pick it up. If you do, sit tight until issue #7 drops..

CLOAK OR DAGGER #1 by Justina Ireland and Lorenzo Tammetta. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. With the world we knew gone and Revelation ruling the world, Cloak and Dagger are simply trying to build a safe space for people. And when the Von Strucker twins begin kidnapping people, to turn them into mutants, Tandy gets involved and that means her partner, now a father, will be dragged into it too. This one was okay, although I would have liked more than just a plot that seemed to be a little bare.

CROWNSVILLE #1 by Rodney Barnes and Elia Bonetti. Once upon a time, there was a State Hospital near Baltimore to treat African Americans with mental illness. What was a caring facility turned into a place of abuse. 30 years later, someone revisits the place, trying to find what lurks there and how they are connected to his life. Barnes has written some amazing stuff as of late and this, along with Bonetti’s amazing illustrations, make this a winner.

THE DARKNESS #1 by Marc Silvestri and Ed Benes. I have to admit that I was a big fan of the original, classic run of this title and the character itself. This new book is both a needed reboot and a tie-in with the current WITCHBLADE series. It is also a bit more of needed origin story as Mafia Hitman Jackie Estacado eventually gives in to his curse and does so in pretty grisly fashion. And having Sara Pezzini make a bit of a cameo further tied it together. Silvestri co-created this character with David Wohl and Garth Ennis, so he knows Jackie well. And Benes art is perfect for it!

DREAD THE HALLS #1 by Jordan Hart, Chris Ryall, Luana Vecchio, Lee Ferguson, Walter Pax, Keithan Jones, and Fabio Veras. A huge anthology of Christmas themed tales. A lot of fun with a wealth of styles in the art and some humor scattered on a few stories.

EROTECH #1 by Sean Haines and Geoffrey Krawczyk. Here’s a little throwback to something that feels like a classy Underground Comic.  In short, it’s the story of a company making an A.I. sex doll. And there’s some issues with it, despite the obvious moral ones. In the back up, it’s the adventure of A.L.I. Joe. It’s a fun little comic but certainly not for everyone.

EXPATRIATE X-MEN #1 by Eve L. Ewing and Francesco Mortarino. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. Mystique’s team, made up of Rift, Ms. Marvel, Bronze, and Melee, head off on a mission to rescue Lyrebird. After a successful extraction, Mystique informs them that they need to bring Lyrebird to the Darkchilde, meaning this is a mission that they may not come back from. As far as these spin-offs go, this one started out a bit confusing because the team rescues Lyrebird, who looks an awfully lot like Nightcrawler and we don’t find out who it really is until halfway through the book. Far from the best of the spin-offs thus far.

FIRE AND ICE: NEKRON #1 by Sara Frazetta and Geoff Isherwood. If you have read any of the FIRE AND ICE issues/one-shots, you know that Nekron is one of those characters who teeters between good and evil. This is his origin story. Nice tale from Frank Frazetta’s daughter and so awesome to see Isherwood’s art again; it has been too long. Perfect for fans of the series while we wait for a new issue of the regular series.

GRAY LADY #1 by Mike Benson, Adam Glass, and Ken Lashley. It has been a long wait for this title to finally appear; many months after being solicited. The hook for me was that Ken Lashley was responsible for the interior art. It begins with a car crash and some family members die. As the book goes on, we learn who actually HAS died, as it appears early on, it was the son. It turns out, SPOILER, it’s actually the mom and she becomes hell bent to keep her son safe from a woman is responsible for harming other children. It is a major, unexpected swerve but we’ve seen it before…especially in THE SIXTH SENSE. It’s not bad but it’s not great but Lashley’s art shines!

GIANT SIZE CRIMINAL #1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker and Phillips have been crafting a wonderful world over the course of nearly two decades and populating it with his wealth of characters. These are amazing crime comics often centered around the Patterson and Lawless families. This one-shot further touches on the book’s legacy. What I love a lot is the use of newsprint for the story, further giving it a Retro feel to it. Highly recommended!

HANK HOWARD PIZZ DETECTIVE IN THE TWO HOLLYWOODS #1 by Robert Venditti and David Lapham. Not much to say here because it is exactly what it says it is. What you need to know is that it is a black and white comic, printed on newsprint. And it feels like an extension of Lapham’s legendary STRAY BULLETS in the look and the tone. Consider this a stepping stone into his massive, nearly 100 issue run. Good stuff!

THE INFERNAL HULK #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein. Johnson and Klein’s recent run on THE HULK has been up and down, becoming more of a Horror story than a superhero one. This title continues exactly where the last left off. The Hulk is now truly a monster: misshaped and ultra-violent, as seen when he destroys the Army in graphic fashion. And this is not even a Red Band title! It’s brutal to the point of truly horrifying. And, fear not, Bruce Banner is here too but has been separated from The Hulk. Where does he fit in this? It remains to be seen.

IT KILLED EVERYONE BUT ME #1 by Ryan Parrott and Letizia Cadonici.  I love a good slasher novel…heck: one of my best friends writes amazing psychological thrillers. In 1996, a girl survives a massacre involving her best friends. Now, twenty years later, new murders similar to what happened in 1996, has begun in her hometown, leading to her working with a detective to get the answers as she has to finally reveal what happened on that night long ago. The story is intriguing, especially the flashbacks to the event. And the art is straight out of the SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN in style. It’s only a five issue run and should certainly scratch the itch for folks looking for the next Horror comic.

THE LAST WOLVERINE by Saladin Ahmed and Edgar Salazar. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. Before you think you know who this is, I guarantee you don’t It’s not Logan and it’s not either of his “kids”. It’s Leonard who was introduced in one of the core books as a teenager who has a curse that turns him into Wendigo. Of course, in this new future, Logan works for Revelation and an encounter between the two leaves Leonard devastated. Now he is rooming with a human Kurt Wagner and his family. But when an Alpha Flight member shows up, things are likely to change. I expected this to be completely different than it ended up being but the addition of a human Nightcrawler and Vindicator brought it up with a touching story to boot.

LIQUIDATOR #1 by Peter Milligan and Piotr Kowalski. I’m a huge Milligan fan as he writes such amazing, thought provoking stuff, with some of his best being SHADE, EGYPT, HELLBLAZER, the completely underrated X-STATIX and so many more. In this new series, Aubrey Street arrives in the late 19^th Century looking for a copy of THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE that won’t be published for close to another 100 years. And there’s a good reason as it’s place in 1891 has effected the life of a servant girl and Aubrey, whose job is to fix anomalies in time, needs to find the book and fix time. Beautiful art coupled with a time-tripping story.

OMEGA KIDS #1 by Tony Fleecs and Andres Genolet. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book.Quentin Quire is running a hit squad for Revelation, designed to take out dissenters to the rule. But these kids are all on board and should be watching their backs and their minds. Fleecs writes a good story, but Im a fan of his work anyway. And the art works too.

ORDAINED #1 by Robert Venditti and Trevor Hairsine. So here is a strange little book. It follows a priest who regularly is called to the deathbeds of patients to offer last rites. He ends up giving those to a dying man who has participated in decades of gangland violence and confesses to the priest. But he makes a miraculous recovery and sends his gang to eliminate the person who knows all of the criminal’s secrets. But the priest is a former Navy SEAL and he is fighting back. It’s a great story with an unexpected hero. Printed on newsprint just like the old days. And Hairsine’s art is beautiful.

PLANET SHE-HULK by Stephanie Phillips and Aaron Kuder. After the recent space-faring mini-series, She-Hulk has been asked to stay on Planet Sakaar for a week to watch over things. But that week turns into 10 days and now Jennifer is being forced to be a guest at the wedding of Korven Blackjaw: something she really has no interest in being at. But when wedding crashers show up and things turn deadly, it becomes a crime drama. Kuder’s art, as always, shines and the story has fun moments that harkens back to the Byrne run. I don’t see this as a long-running series but should be a fun mini-series.

RADIOACTIVE SPIDER-MAN #1 by Joe Kelly and Kev Walker. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. In the Age of Revelation, almost everyone has been changed. So too is Peter Parker. And Peter Parker, mutated as he is, is in a relationship with Cecilia Reyes, who is trying to find a cure for him. When a group goes looking for Sinister’s labs, Peter gets involved and finds…Aunt May? Whoa! This had just enough beats to it to make it worth a continued read.

RED SONJA: NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL 2025 by Dan Panosian and Valeria Burzo. I’m typically not a fan of these Dynamite RED SONJA books because, no matter how good the story might be, the art always seems to fall by the wayside in style. But this looked interesting and went there. In typical fashion, Sonja runs into some folks and gets roped into a mission. The trick is the mission is not what it first appeared to be, leading Sonja to have to make a choice. A simple story with a bit of a predictable ending. Again, the art saves it.

SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES #1 by Ben H. Winters, George Northy, Melissa Flores, David M. Booher, Sami Kivela, Dan McDaid, Leomacs, and Lukas Ketner. Oni unleashes another EC inspired series of Horror tales. Like the stories in other titles, some are really good(the Hanukkah one, for example), and some are just okay(the serial killer and mistletoe). As always, your mileage will vary but if you’re a fan of the old EC’s, it’s worth a look.

SORCEROR SUPREME #1 by Steve Orlando and Bernard Chang. I was determined not to pick this up, based on Orlando being the writer, as I was not a fan of his earlier take on the Scarlet Witch. But I had a few dollars extra in the wallet and jumped, mostly because of Chang’s art. And still not a fan. The book has Legacy numbering that I assume goes back to the original DOCTOR STRANGE run. And there are guest appearances by Wanda’s sons, Clea, and Chthon, along with the supporting cast from her previous titles and even when Strange wasn’t in Asgard. Plus a certain ghost dog who is my favorite character in the recent Strange runs. But I cannot get behind it…just not my Wanda. And I’m not a fan of “smoking hot Agatha Harkness”!

SPEED RACER: TALES FROM THE ROAD #1 by Mark London, David Pepose, Sebastian Piriz, and Alessio Zanna. Definitely designed for fans of the original series and the current comics. The main story by London and Piriz is a mostly silent one starring Racer X and relies on images to tell the bulk of the story. The second tale stars Spittle. The first is a serous tale while the second has many humorous elements. A fun ride that will resonate with fans.

SURVIVE #1 by Robert Venditti and Doug Braithwaite. What happens when a Russian submarine on its’ way to Cuba suffers an explosion that kills all the crew but one? Even more important, what happens when that crewman finds out there is an American on board and he may have been responsible? Can they put aside their differences to survive? That’s the premise in this beautiful looking mini-series. While the main story in the first issue is a bit short, with previews of two other series, it gets to the point and ends with a cliffhanger.

TEETHER: PARENTAL GUIDANCE #1 by David Hutchinson. This is a weird one and I only jumped on it was because of the cover. This is an Eldritch Horror tale that follows the same road as the previous TEETHER tales. A boy and his father meet `a mysterious girl living in the woods and suddenly find themselves trapped in a cabin by horrific creatures; creatures that may have a connection to the girl. Rendered in an interesting, mostly pencil and ink style, the story is god if you’re a fan of Horror. It’s not on the same level as something like 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, but it’s pretty cool!

THE TERMINATOR METAL #1 by Declan Shalvey, Rory McConville, and Lorenzo Re. I was a fan of the last TERMINATOR series and was looking forward to this. And with a variant cover by Bob Layton that channeled Barry Windsor Smith, I was really excited. But the art and story left me cold as a survivor and his Terminator travel the wasteland with a very predictable ending. I find myself craving a continuing series that continues from issue to issue and not just one-off stories. Give me that and I’ll be there for it. This one? Not for me.

ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1 by Deniz Camp, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Jonas Scharf. The end begins here. The Maker, that renegade, quite insane Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe, formed a new Ultimate Universe where his group of super-villains ruled. But Howard Stark locked him away in The City while Howard’s son and others fought against the autocratic rule. But that seal was only good for two years and time is up. It’s weird and trippy and the end is bananas! My biggest complaint is that this first issue drops before the final issue of the other series has ended, meaning plotlines are kind of scattered.

UNDEAD-POOL #1 by Tim Seeley and Carlos Magno. The Merc with a Mouth is dead and fighting with his own brain that wants to eat people; even though he is still a merc for hire. His first task is to take out The Warriors: a group of teens inspired by old Avengers videos. One by one he takes them out except for the girl inspired by Daredevil. And she may be joining a new team as Cable, now more Warlock than Warlock once was, wants her on his all-new H-Force team. Great stuff if you like zombies and Deadpool. And the art is great!

VAMPIRELLA HELLDAY 2025 SPECIAL #1 by Frank Tieri and Mariano Benitez-Chapo. The other Holidays want to hire Vampi to save Christmas but when she finally finds Santa, he’s pole dancing in a kinky nightclub. What results is a wild ride against evil entities. Non canon but a lot of fun!

THE WILLOF DOOM #1 by Chip Zdarsky and CAFU. Coming directly out of ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM, Doom cut a deal with the Living Tribunal to bring his goddaughter Valeria back to life. While all seems back to normal. Doom’s robots are on the loose and that’s where a lot of the plot rests, not to mention Thunderbolt Ross planting a United State flag in Latveria, which has caused some issues. And let’s not forget that Doom has left Doom’s island to Valeria and that will  surely lead this book and story into THE DUNGEONS OF DOOM. A nice next chapter if your followed the mini-series. And when did Thunderbolt Ross start to look like an aged Race Bannon?

YOUNGBLOOD by Rob Liefeld and Juan Manuel Rodriguez. Welcome to the Eighties once more! Rob Liefeld resurrects his classic team in an all new series and it starts now. All your favorites are on hand: Die-Hard, Vogue, Badrock, Chapel, and Shaft. Rodriguez art truly brings this title back to the glory days of this title and it feels like it never missed a beat. And having a surprise batch of characters come by at the end was a supreme act of genius…if you get where I’m going with that! Face it: this was fun back in the day and still holds that same charm today. And yes: Rob still cannot draw feet!

X-MEN: BOOK OF REVELATION #1 by Jed MacKay and Netha Diaz. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. This story follows the power struggle with Revelation’s Choristers and Seraphim. The story is compelling and the art is great.

X-MEN: AGE OF RELEVATION FINALE #1 by Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman, and Netho Diaz. So he we are at the end of the three month long alternate (possible) future event. All the forces from both the X-Men, or what’s left, and Revelation’s forces, come together in a final battle. In the end, heroes live, others die, Revelation wins and stuff is put in place to have an effect on the core titles for some time to come, thanks to a serious twist ending! Worth it just for the ending!

X-VENGERS #1 by Jason Loo and Sergio Oavila. An AGE OF REVELATION spin-off book. In the new Revelation timeline, there is a new team made up of Moonstar, Hawkeye, Shang-Chi, Cannonball, Water Widow, Vision, the Variable Man, and all have been changed by the Mutant Virus. And they end up battling with the Kree, the Accuser and the Supreme Intelligence. It’s kind of fun, especially seeing all these characters mutated. But it could have been better.

DC UNIVERSE Month 95, Part 2

HARLEY & IVY: LIFE & CRIMES #2 by Erica Henderson. Harley is hiding out at Ivy’s after the events of the last issue when they learn they are being accused of an attack on Worthington Orphanage, which is actually not their doing. Looking for him, they go through a sewer tunnel before ending up at an amusement park, encountering two of Joker’s henchmen  and then the police.. Fleeing them, they end up at Dee-Luxe Novelties and then Ace Chemical, where a friendship seems to have formed.

HARLEY QUINN #57 by Elliot Kalan, Terry Dodson,  and Carlos Olivares. As the Gunbunnies head back to Gotham City, the sleeping Harley meets with the Deconspirator in her dreams, learning that everything everyone in their lives are only because of what the writers create. Back in the city, they find a villain and his henchmen attacking the city and the Gunbunnies jump into action. Harley encounters Delores who tells her she killed Marcisak because the Deconspirator convinced her to. Harley goes to meet with Klang, only to find that Ravager is attacking her. Harley saves her but then they find the citizens, including Chicken Fingers, are all rabid for revenge. Amygdala arrives riding a tractor trailer to allow Harley and Klang to escape, ending up at Mrs. Grinaldis. The elderly woman is resisting the Deconspirator’s influence and helps Harley take him down, with Harley uses linguistic logic to defeat him, killing him in the process..Harley agrees to go out with Klang, but not until she kicks her out of Throatcutter Hill.

JSA #14 by Jeff Lemire and Gavin Guidry. The Flash stops a truck filled with explosives and discovers there is a connection to the Committee for a Pure America. In Gotham City, Gotham police arrive with Jim Corrigan to find Green Lantern hunched over Gordon’s dead body. Lantern and Corrigan go beneath the city through a tunnel, only to find The Flash. Meanwhile. Hourman and Sandman are investigating Starco, finding a body floating in some solution. They also find a naked body strapped to a table, followed by the arrival of Cyclotron. Elsewhere in Gotham, The Atom observes the Committee for a Pure America meeting when he is joined by Wonder Woman/Hippolyta, who says she has no problem with him joining her on her anti-fascist mission before leaving him. In Peru, Shiera has been captured by Satanna and Sportsmaster but, by the time Carter arrives, she has defeated them. They discover poachers and decide that a trip to the Lost Temple of Feithera will have to wait. Back in the tunnels under Gotham, The Flash tells them of the Nazi sympathizers who had explosives and blueprints to this tunnel, Green Lantern thinks their plan was to collapse the entire subway system. Corrigan, with the face of The Spectre showing in his eyes, is being watched from afar by a group made of Dr. Fate, Dr. Pccult, Zatara, Blue Beetle, and Madame Xanadu.

JUSTICE LEAGUE RED #5 by Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry. Black Adam explains to the team how Red Tornado has an agenda now and what he has told them about Black Adam was a lie and that their friend has been transformed by a “sinister entity”. As they fly back to the tower, they are attacked by creations based on those things that they had previously been sent to fight against. Once inside the tower, they discover that the Red Tornado they knew has been replaced by…the Crimson Cloud.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #14 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. What was The Terrific Ten, now the Terrific Seven, continue through Hell where they meet Charon: the ferryman of the River Styx. When Terrific tries to pay him with coins, Charon reveals he wants more and requires something personal from each of them, resulting in many giving up their most valuable and useful possessions, with Superman giving up his ability to hope. Before they can fully pass, they encounter a sea monster and Aquaman allows himself to be sacrificed to save the others. Meanwhile, Red Tornado receives word that some of the heroes are having difficulty evacuating the last citizens and Kid Flash, Mary Marvel, Dr. Occult and Martian Manhunter end up near Oklahoma City in what appears to be a perfect town. Inside a church, they encounter the Atomic Skull and the Holy Army of Neron

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #6 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. In an interlude piece, an injured Barry reveals he is the Flash to his fiancé, but she admits she already knows. Wally makes the decision to join up with the team in the fight. Meanwhile, the team  learns that there are multiple parallel versions of Shaw and possibly the Justice League throughout the universe. While Luthor and Shaw argue over the path forward, Supergirl, Superman and Wonder Woman arrive, seeing a giant Cheetah fighting Kong and is quickly defeated and flees. Meanwhile, in Peru, Rodan is joined by Ghidorah and Martian Manhunter is elected to battle, transforming into a monster of his own as new Titans never before seen emerge.. Aquaman and Mr. Terrific go underwater to try to communicate with Godzilla

NIGHTWING #133 by Dan Watters and V. Ken Marion. Nightwing has been accused of murder after footage of him with the beheaded Olivia Pearse is breaking news on television. He holds numerous conversations with Maggie Sawyer, Barbara, and Mayor Grayson-Lin. The Mayor reveals she is leaving Bludhaven and Dick gives her full access to the Pennyworth Foundation Fund, meaning he think s he isn’t going to survive what comes next. Martian Manhunter arrives and tells him that The Zanni is from the Fifth Dimension. Manhunter opens a portal and sends him to Cirque Du Sin. He encounters a transformed child and the deceased, headless Olivia Pearse. Dick is told The Zanni wants to play a game with Nightwing. If he wins, the children go free. If he loses, all the children come to the Fifth Dimension forever. Meanwhile, Nightwing-Prime looks to be stirring from his coma.

POISON IVY #39 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. While Janet slumbers, Ivy makes her a meal made from parts of her own plant form, containing phytotoxin they she hopes will create and antitoxin for Janet’s malady. After eating, Janet understands what Ivy has done and now claims she doesn’t feel bad anymore. Janet, excited by it all, crosses onto the table and the two become entwined and physically intimate. Meanwhile, in Seattle, Undine is told that the authorities are coming, forcing them all to flee into the woods. Back with Janet and Ivy, Janet now has things growing out of her, which Ivy says is parasitic plant called Ghost Pipe, which is keeping her body from fighting itself. Harley arrives with Undine, telling her that they need to go back to Gotham before there is no Gotham anymore.  

SUPERGIRL #8 by Sophie Campbell. Many years ago, when Kara first was looking to get adopted by the Danvers, she used a Linda robot to fill in while she changed into Supergirl to find a sea serpent. Once done, Supergirl dispatched the robot to the hollow tree trunk. where she had her stored when not in use. In the present day, Jeremiah is making cookies and Lesla-Lar tries to cheer Kara up, but she is in no mood for it. That night, Kara is noticeably upset as she tries to sleep, as the holidays are depressing for her because all of her family and friends from Argo City are gone. While she ponders, the Linda Robot has reawakened and made its’ way into the Danvers home. The next morning, they find the kitchen a mess, the cookies gone and footprints everywhere. Supergirl and Luminary follow the footprints to the shuttered orphanage and outside to the hollow tree, where Supergirl finds the reactivated, broken robot that wants to know why Kara abandoned her. At the end of its life, the robot ceases functioning, breaking Kara’s heart while also remembering that her cousin has said you cannot save everyone. Later, Kara apologizes to her adoptive parents and asks if she can stay past New Years, which they agree to. And Lesla has made cookies decorated as Super shields. The family enjoys their time together while a final shot shows a tree behind the house with a wreath hanging above a recent grave.

SUPERMAN #33 by Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman. D.C. KO ROUND 7. Lex Luthor enters the tournament against Etrigan, with the demon easily beating him in Hell. In the second round, Lex dons a suit with the Superman symbol on it and the arena becomes Lex’s Lexcorp. He uses a Mother Box to kill Etrigan and take Round Two. Back in Hell, Lex uses runes on his skin to cast a spell separating Etrigan from Jason Blood, allowing Lex to kill the demon and advance. After his victory, Grodd reaches out to him to say they were betrayed, with Booster Gold/Darkseid challenging Time Trapper. Meanwhile, at the Fortress, Superman’s allies upload the Kryptonian archive to deliver to the Time Trapper…but only have two hours to do it. Continued in DC K.O.: RED HOOD VS. JOKER #1.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #8 by Dan Slott, Jeremy Adams, and Lucas Meyer. Lois and Clark have gone to Coast City for the launch of Stagg Enterprises deep space vessel, which Lois has volunteered to be onboard, along with a group of celebrities and millionaires. Also onboard is a mysterious group of astronauts that Stagg has made some sort of deal with. The ship, built by Toyman, uses Kryptonite as fuel meaning Superman cannot help out if there is a problem. As the ship lifts off, a group of alien criminals on their space station are planning to sabotage the ship to prevent humans from developing faster-than-light engines. At least the ship will have some protection as Jessica Cruz assign Guy Gardner to “babysit” the flight. Mid-flight, Stagg presses a button that alerts the aliens. Guy fights the alien invaders but one get past him and breaks the hull of the spacecraft. Stagg tells the crew to evacuate but they are attacked by the mysterious astronauts with them, replicating them. Lois realizes the attackers are shapeshifters and grabs Veronica’s Kyptonite-laced lipstick and applies it. The ship is poised to explode but Toyman says he lined the fuel tanks with Inertron to shield the Kryptonite from him if there were an explosion. The survivors are taken back to Earth and, when Superman sees the Kryptonite lipstick, he realizes this person is not really Lois. The real astronauts were placed in stasis pods by Guy and Stagg is exposed for conspiring with the aliens.

SUPERMAN: THE KRYPTONITE SPECTRUM #5 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. Superman battles Lex Luthor and the Kryptonite Man and is losing badly as Lex is hitting him with any number of Kryptonites and also Bizarro Bots. When all looks desperate, his friends arrive: Krypto and robots. When Superman gets hit with Pink Kryptonite, he becomes emotional and tells his friends how much he cares for them. He goes back into the fight and calls on Kal-Elf, who uses magic on Lex. But it’s not enough, Superman dies and Kal-Elf is unimagined. In the real world and knowing Clark is dying, Batman fires an experimental cannon at his friend. In the end, we see Clark-reimagined as a baby.

TITANS #30 by John Layman and Pete Woods. D.C. KO ROUND 4. Cyborg battles Swamp Thing in the fourth round of the tournament and Cyborg, using a variety of weapons, easily wins the first round. In the second round, Cyborg selects a form from an infinite number of versions but Swamp Thing has changed his tactics, using digestive acids to destroy Cyborg’s internal circuits. In the third round, Cyborg selects a form that channels the spirit of the Titans and wins round three, earning his Omega Energy. On the Watchtower, Booster defeats the World Breaker and thinks he is ready to create a new Apokolips. But Grodd seems to think he has the power to stop him. In the end, Donna and Roy go to the site of a new distress signal, only to come face to face the Grail: the daughter of Darkseid. Continued in DC K.O.: HARLEY QUINN VS. ZATANNA #1.

TRINITY DAUGHTER OF WONDER WOMAN #6 by Tom King and Belen Ortega. In the past, Steve Trevor is visited by the Super Corgi and, following the golden lasso, he gets pulled to Trinity. They spend the day bonding with each other until she almost reveals that she doesn’t know what it is like to have a dad, leading to her to run off before she reveals that Steve will die soon. When she returns, she tells him how he will meet The Sovereign today and die, which ultimately results in Diana making her out of clay. She tries to convince him not to go to the meeting but he also explains that without his death, she does not get born. During her creation, all three versions of Elizabeth Prince-Wonder Robin, Wonder Girl, and Trinity arrive, telling Diana they have a message from their father. Before he went to meet with The Sovereign, he tells Trinity that he will find a way back to life. In the end, while trying to row out of the underworld, he meets Jason Todd, also dead, and they decide to follow each other out of Hades.

WONDER WOMAN #28 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. Mouse Man’s regime is ended, the Justice League arrives and the injured villain is taken to a medical room and is observed by Diana. She tells him he can remain on the island and be judged by the people. His second choice  is to take him to Themyscira and be judged by the Amazons. His reply is “Wonder Woman knows”. The girl asks what will happen now and Diana says that no one knows the answer. Diana puts Elizabeth into the Invisible Jet when Superman and Batman said that, although she saved people, she broke the rules and cannot do that again. She tells them she doesn’t care for the rules. In the future, the Matriarch enters a gladiator arena against some of Wonder Woman’s old enemies. In short order, she kills Angle Man, Silver Swan, Psycho Man, Giganta, and Grail. She announces she could succeed when Wonder Woman could not.

DC UNIVERSE Month 95, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #15 by Scott Snyder and Jock. In the cave, Alfred reveals what he has kept hidden for three years. He has been investigating Jack Grimm: the ‘Man in White’ who never laughs and is owner of hundreds of remote islands across the world. He has built a genealogy on the Grimm family going back to 1888. Jack Grimm I was a street orphan in Gotham who became a vaudeville clown and silent film producer, becoming a philanthropist who died in 1938. Jack Jr., Jack III, and Jack IV expanded into television, online gaming, and global charities. Jack V has become a trillionaire because of online gaming and GPU investments. It seems that people who have investigated the Grimm family have all met mysterious ends. Through his research Alfred believes that Grimm may have found some form of life extension through cellular alteration. He thinks there is no Grimm family: Jack V is the same person who was Jack I. The islands are place for Grimm to drop off his enemies and he believes Jack Grimm is The Joker. In the end, a mysterious figure arrives at Gotham Manor, revealing he is Master Grimm and he descends into a cave below the mansion.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #10 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. Elenore explains that Wally is the conduit to reopen Still Point. She then orders her guards to kill the Rogues. Meanwhile, the Rogues team up against James Jesse as Heat Wave arrives, forcing The Rogues to retreat, even as Lisa tries to contain his thermal output. Trickster breaks free and Captain Cold orders Wally to go find his father, with Jesse being ordered to follow him. Unable to calm Heat Wave down, it starts to rain heavily and he is struck by lightning and knocked out, thanks to an appearance by Project Wizard. Wally and Grodd search through Fort Fox trying to find his father, with Wally finding that Project Olympus was experimenting with animal-human hybrid experiments. Trickster arrives and throws a bomb towards him and he runs. This was Thawne’s plan, as she is trying to direct him to Barry’s lab. Trickster follows and throws another bomb, with Wally throwing it back in time and knocking her out. A skeletal hand emerges from the cosmic whirlpool in the room and Wally reaches out to grab it, thinking it might be Barry. A red monster emerges and it is a mutated Eobard Thawne who throws Wally into the portal where he hears a voice welcoming him home. Her sees a ghostly Barry Allen along with the alien from the recovered ship and a fish creature.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #9 by Al Ewing and Sid Kotian. Dr. Steve Dayton builds a machine he calls the Mento Device and observes a vision of Mogo telling him to warm the world. His assistant Terry Long comes in and shoots Dayton, revealing he is an assassin named Keith Kenyon and that he killed Long, got his access code, and now will get the machine. As Dayton dies, he calls Hammond and says he has a new target: Jo Mullein. Meanwhile, at Cameron Chase’s apartment, Hal is still passed out 24 hours later and Cameron and Jo trade nasty remarks with each other, following their failed relationship. As Jo talks about Abin Sur and Tomar Re, Cameron asks her to take off her ring. Cameron puts on the ring and smashes her coffee table; demonstrating that only Jo can use the ring’s full power. Getting the ring back, Jo prepares to  leave to contact her partner, Simon Baz. At the D.E.O., Johnny Double meets with Simon and his temporary partner Kari Limbo. Simon says that a Nevada State Trooper had disappeared but was seen in video footage talking with a man prior to his disappearance. The man is identified as Hal Jordan. Double tells them to follow the lead about Hal and then he calls Hammond’s assistant Carol Ferris to tell her about the new information. At the apartment, Jo hears a knock at the door and opens the door to see John Stewart, who shoots her with a gold bullet. “John” unmasks revealing he is Kenyon and, putting on a gold mask, introduces himself as Goldface.

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #7 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez. John Jones wakes in the Starlight Motel, as he and his wife are no longer together. He returns to FBI HAQ after a three month leave related to the deaths in previous issues. After spending the next ten hours sifting through mountains of paperwork, he is confronted by his supervisor who tells him something is off about John and his co-workers notice it. Leaving work, the Green Martian tells him the White Martian is still alive, as it can only be weakened and not killed. In the end, at a government facility, aliens disguised as humans, and acting upon orders from humans, fake alien abduction reports are being created to distract from the plummeting stock market.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #14 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. Kal-El finds himself in a limbo where he is not only convinced he is dying, his parents try to convince him to come home. In actuality, he is being savagely beaten by Ra’s al Ghul, who wants Kal to acknowledge him as his father. Not totally broken, Ras tells Brainiac to help break him and he confronts Sol, who admits that Brainiac has corrupted his programming and deletes every process connected to him, bidding farewell to Kal. At the same time, Lois and Jimmy coordinate the evacuation of citizens from the tunnels while the Peacemakers move in. As Ras continues to slice at Kal with the Kryptonian sword, the farmers rise up against the Lazarus troops. Kal, ripping his Kryptonian symbol from his chest, says he will submit if Ras guarantees the safety of the townspeople. As the troops are ordered to execute the citizens, one Peacemaker refuses as Kal rises up and engages in a sword battle in the sky, eventually forcing Ras to kneel before Kal. Ras is delivered to authorities in Pakistan to stand trial.. Weeks later, Smallville is beginning to rebuild. Kal goes to visit Martha Kent at her senior living facility, only to find she has died, but left a half-finished present for him: a hand-stitched quilt based on his suit.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #15 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In gateway City, Veronica Cale talks with someone named Grimm. Diana goes to Gotham and meets with Batman as she tries to make a connection between some recent murders that have been marked by the Mark of Hecate. At a crime scene in Slaughter Swamp, Batman finds evidence that takes them to an abandoned church, they find people building an Anthroparion, but the spell is incomplete and Diana realizes they have been lured into a trap and her own hair and blood was being using to creates the construct and she gets mind-controlled in the process.. Batman uses the talisman Diana gave him to bring her back to consciousness, allowing them to destroy the construct.

ACTION COMICS #1093 by Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge. Jonathan Kent receives a letter saying the farm is being foreclosed upon. Later, Clark sees his father in the bank and he investigates; discovering that new bank manager, Will Parmenter, is scheduling lots of foreclosures for residents, even though they are up to date on their payments, and he orders them to vacate their properties. A masked man, revealed to be one of the farmers, comes in with a shotgun and Pete de-escalates the situation. Afterwards, Superboy tunnels into the ground and finds gold, but his father refuses to take it to pay their expenses. Days later, Superboy goes to Metropolis to talk to Parmenter’s boss. With no luck, he goes to talk to Parmenter and, while waiting, searches for incriminating evidence but is caught in the act. He goes to town hall and announces he has found evidence that Parmenter was working for Stagg Enterprises to get the land in exchange for a commission. Parmenter heads to his office, but his boss is there ahead of him. In the end, in Modora, soldiers find themselves under fire and looks for assistance, with their commanding officer believing he should talk to General Lane and get Superboy involved.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #4 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. Kryl-Ux tells his followers about Superman travelling to Lanternholm and sends a force after him, saying that Superman will deliver the Will of Olgrun to him or he will awake the Sun Eater. Ronan and Superman get to Lanternholm and they are confronted by a Lightborn who transforms into a monster and swallows Ronan. Rowan arrives and declares she if the Shield of Lanternholm. Superman frees Ronan and they are allowed into Lanternholm by Rowan, who insists that Kryl-Ux will not come for the Will of Olgrun as he swore not to make war as long as the Will was there. Leading them to where the Central Power Battery was stored until the Sun Eater arrives and begins devouring the Lightborn.

AQUAMAN #12 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. DC K.O. ROUND 2. 24 hours before the tournament begins, Aquaman is having issues about leaving the ocean unprotected while he is in the tournament. Andrina gives him a good luck charm as he leaves. Hawkman takes advantage because of his flying abilities but Aquaman reminds him there is water everywhere and he traps Hawkman in a wall of water and wins the first round. Hawkman realizes that Arthur has been changed after recent events and Horus arrives, offering him godlike powers to combat Aquaman. Aquaman taps into all the water in the galaxy and freezes Hawkman by pulling the water out of the winged heroes’ body. With Arthur becoming the Dark Tide and Hawkman collapsing, Aquaman is declared the winner. Meanwhile, on The Watchtower, the World Forger creates multiple Booster Golds to attack the possessed Booster Gold. Continued in DC K.O.: WONDER WOMAN VS. LOBO #1.

BATGIRL #14 by Tate Brombal and Stephen Segovia. Cass and her brother fight as Cass wants to kill Kalden for killing Lady Shiva. As Angel Breaker prepares to destroy the stockpile. Cass goes looking for Acuna, who has used her shape-changing ability to masquerade.as Kalden to obtain the seed pods. Cass tells her that Nyssa just wants the seeds for herself and not the community and reveals that Nyssa was responsible for helping Ra’s kill the monks. Angel Breaker sets the charges allowing Acuna to take the poppies in the confusion. Cass catches her and destroys the seeds and they barely escape. But Kadeen knows that he has a mole who will see his mission succeed in the end.

BATMAN #4 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. Gotham has erupted in chaos with fires, murders and gun battles. The Minotaur tells his gang that the failed truck hijacking has led to a gang war between the Clanuri, Black Fang and Thieves Guild and he calls for a parley. Elsewhere, Dr. Zeller discusses the Crown of Storms device and how it’s essential for the long-term treatment of mental illness. Bruce arrives and asks her out on a date. Meanwhile, mysterious red steam pours out of the manholes in Little Tokyo. Batman visits Anarky, who had been paid to steal the truck that started the gang war, and reveals he wants to turn state’s evidence to protect himself. In the end, The Minotaur has a meeting with the various Torus leaders, informing them that he has their family members being held hostage to ensure their compliance to him.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #28 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Stefano Raffaele. The mystery of the Quiet Man continues with him going to the Iceberg Lounge and seeing a video message from The Penguin, with an address that would send him to The Ventriloquist. While The Irregulars meet up with Robin and lead him to The Quiet Man’s hideout, where he finds letters written to his son. Batman captures Two-Face who eventually reveals he was the driver in a heist that The Penguin and Two-Face wanted to get involved in but Scarface and his crew did, costing the lives of most of Scarface’s crew and the money never being found. Robin tells Batman of the letters he found and Batman realizes The Quiet Man is heading to where Wesker and Blair are tied up. He arrives but, just as Batman and Robin also do, someone with an RPG hits the building and it quickly burns. Robin gets The Quiet Man out, Batman finds Blair-long dead-and wonders who he had been talking to. In the end, Wesker and a “woman” flee. But the woman is only a mental apparition of Wesker’s that speaks as if she is really Scarface.

BATMAN/STATIC: BEYOND #2 by Evan Narcisse and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. After the student protest over Q-Grid, Melvin is in the hospital but leaves, apparently adopting a new identity as he deals with new powers. He is still dedicated to shutting down Q-Grid, even after Static brings it live with an announcement with the mayor: former hero Icon. When the new powered Nathan causes chaos, new hero Beacon arrives, but so does Statis and his protégé Gear. Batman also arrives and an all-out fight occurs as a massive explosion puts Dakota City, Metropolis, and Neo-Gotham into darkness.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #46 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Lex and The Joker have become ‘The Merger’ thanks to the Absorbacon. Joker uses the Absorbacon to send his world vision to everyone everywhere, causing them to behave abnormally. To combat them, Green Lantern arrives and merges Superman and Batman. During their battle, ‘The Merger’ reveals that he knows the identities of the heroes, temporarily distracting them. Things get worse when ‘The Merger’ shares that information with the entire world.

BIRDS OF PREY #28 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Sin has been shot and Megeara takes over to save her, while attacking the villains. Megeara and Barda team up to defeat  the Shadow Army, freeing the people in the game. In the Birds Emergency headquarters, Inque has betrayed the Birds and now Daemon Prime prepares to kill Barbara, but Inque reveals her betrayal was a ruse and takes the villain down. In the end, Black Canary and Oracle make the hard decision to disband the Birds.

CATWOMAN #82 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. Still at the party, Selina reveals she is being followed by a woman in a mask. She confronts her and purloins her phone, seeing her picture is on it and she is definitely a target. Confronting and defeating the woman, she changes masks with her and makes her way to where the auction of the Palmero Pearl is occurring; eventually sold to Zervas for 29 million dollars. Suddenly, the room is filled with the Court of Owls, who have sentenced Zervas to death.

CHEETAH & CHESHIRE ROB THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. The heist attempt continues. Wonder Woman has Cheetah locked up, but her smile towards Lian reveals this is all part of the plan. Red Tornado learns of a stray satellite that would destroy another satellite and Star Sapphire goes and retrieves it and brings it onto The Watchtower. Stowed away inside is Jade, Featherweight, Klarion, Teekl, and Becky. Red Tornado notices hundreds of unauthorized life signs-the rats that arrived previously-causes Diana to think he should run a self-diagnostic, as the perimeter alarms outside the Phantom Zone gate are also going off.The station goes into lockdown and Lian releases Cheetah, who joins up with Featherweight as she bursts into the lock-up and grab the Power Bank. The heroes finally figure it out and confront the thieves, but they use magic to escape. But they end up right where Karion wanted them: facing Black Adam, Solomon Grundy, Papa Midnite, and Cuca.

DC K.O. KNIGHTFIGHT #2 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora.  Bruce is caught in a psychological scenario created by the Heart of Apokolips and is facing an army of Robins led by Dick Grayson. He then encounters Jason alive in a version of Arkham, accusing him of killing his brothers. Bruce eventually realizes all of these realities are created by The heart to break him down. In the end, Jason tells Bruce that he is really Clayface believing he is Batman. Jason controls Gotham which is beneath a red glass dome filled with Joker gas, leading to Red Hood and Clayface battling.

DC K.O.: RED HOOD VS. JOKER #1 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, and Dustin Nguyen. DC KO ROUND 8. Jason battles his arch nemesis in this round, using a gun with bullets containing the same chemicals that created The Joker, but the villain turns the table and kills Jason in the chemical vat. In Round Two, The Joker has the crowbar and Jason is Robin where Jason battles in the same arena that once killed him. but, when the bomb explodes this time, it’s Joker who dies. In the finals round, Jason as Red Hood fights the villain wearing the original red hood. In this graveyard, Jason beats The Joker to death, removing his helmet and seeing his true face and not caring as he bleeds out, with The Joker surviving. In the end, Booster takes out the Time Trapper and claims Earth is now New Apokolips. The final eight are Superman/Guy Gardner, Aquaman/Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman/Cyborg, and The Joker/Zatanna. Continued in DC K.O. #3.

DC K.O.: SUPERMAN VS. CAPTAIN ATOM #1 by Joshua Williamson and Sean Izaakse. D.C. KO ROUND 1. Captain Atom, reborn with godlike powers, is ready to face off against Superman and gain the power to kill Darkseid. The Heart of Apokolips transports them to Metropolis where they engage in a best-of-three boxing match, with Captain Atom winning the first round. In the second round, Captain Atom unleashes red sun energy and Kryptonite, forcing Superman to change into Superman Prime of the 853^rd Century and Atom changing into Monarch, with the second round ending as a draw. In the final round,  Atom creates an atomic bomb that destroys his past life. But Superman uses the explosion to drain Atom’s energy and he teleports away. In the end, at the Watchtower, Grodd and Alpheus note that time is moving faster and Booster Gold says it is his time to enter the tournament. He throws the Tim Trapper out the window and changes into Darkseid as Alpheus considers uses his axe upon him. Continued in AQUAMAN #12.

DC K.O.: WONDER WOMAN VS. LOBO #1 by Joelle Jones, Jason Howard, Cary Nord, and Daniel Bayliss. D.C. KO ROUND 3. Wonder Woman and Lobo enter the third round of the tournament: a two-out-of-three  battle with Diana being brutalized and losing Round One. In Round Two, the fighters pick their preferred battle forms with Diana creating warrior sisters from Themyscira and Lobo morphing into his New 52 version, which Diana wins after lopping off Lobo’s arm and blowing him up with his own motorcycle. Round Three is made up of multiple farcical contests including chess boxing, a shin-kicking championship, slap fest and more. Lobo attempts to disembowel her with his hook but an entity known as ‘The Almighty’ terminates the immortality contract he had with Lobo. Wonder Woman advances to the next round. On The Watchtower, Alpheus has summoned multiple Booster Golds from different points in time. Darkseid/Booster Gold defeats them all. Darkseid uses his Omega Beams to defeat Alpheus and makes plans. Continued in TITANS #30.

DC K.O.: HARLEY QUINN VS. ZATANNA #1 by Leah Williams and Mirka Andolfo. D.C. KO ROUND 5. Zatanna enters the arena to face Harley in Round Five of the tournament. Harley’s strategy besides her weapon is to use psychology to taunt Zatanna about her failed relationships and living in Zatara’s shadow. Zatanna refuses to use magic to gain an advantage and loses Round 1. But she eventually decides to fight back and Zatanna takes Round 2. In Round 3, the arena transforms into a space only Zatanna can see, giving her the advantage, leading to Harley becoming aware and purposely throwing the match. As she dies, Harley wants Zatanna to promise that if she wins the tournament, she will resurrect Harley. On the Watchtower, Grodd fights against Booster Gold and is prepared to use his psychic influence to make Darkseid release Booster Gold from his control.. Continued in THE FLASH #28.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1104 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman is only four hours until he needs to quarantine himself and is tracking the killer of a guard at Arkham Towers before abducting The Scarecrow. Batman reaches out to Selina but that call is interrupted by Superman, with Batman giving him a jump drive with ways to stop him if he becomes unmanageable. Batman, in a special quarantine suit, heads to a cornfield where he battles many individuals dressed like The Scarecrow. When he finds what he believes is him, it turns out to be The Lion. Luckily, the Batman Family arrives as backup before The Lion has his men light up the cornfield and slices open Batman’s breathing tube, allowing his infection  to become airborne. The Lion escapes and Nightwing fixes the breathing tube, with Crane saying what The Lion is going to do to Gotham is because of Batman.

THE FLASH #28 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell and Vasco Georgiev. D.C. KO ROUND 6. With his unconscious cousin Bart in his arms, Wally races through time back to the day that Barry became The Flash, eventually leaving him with Iris. In the present, Jay Garrick faces off against Guy Gardner. They begin their battle by playing checkers but that quickly escalates and Guy uses his ring powers to win Round One. For Round Two, Guy becomes his Red Lantern persona while Jay channels red rage energy and blows Gardner up. In the final round, Guy calls upon his Vuldarian/Warrior persona to defeat Jay, who tells him to beat the tar out of Darkseid. On The Watchtower, Grodd battles Booster Gold/Darkseid, who shows him the future. Continued in SUPERMAN #33.

GOTHAM ACADEMY: FIRST YEAR #3 by Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, and Marco Ferrari. During a performance of Romeo and Juliet, two of the Grackles are prepared to light off fireworks when Bruce Wayne, sitting in the crowd, notices and, changing into Batman, intervenes, leaving the Grackles tied up high above the lobby area. Later, Kyle invites Olive to join the family when they vacation in Norway. Kyle asks Olive to Prom and she accepts with apprehension. At the Prom, fireworks that were designed for Romeo and Juliet have been hung and Colton decides he must be the hero and disarm them. Kyle and Olive win Prince and Princess, much to Pomeline’s dismay. As Colton tries to disarm the last explosive, an explosion happens-but not at the school, The explosion is at Arkham. In the aftermath, Olive’s mother is missing and she decides to stay behind and not go to Norway. In the end, Tristan Gray, in his Man-Bat form, shares his concern to Batman that the Academy will not be completely empty for the summer.

GREEN ARROW #31 by Chris Condon and Montos. Detective Benitez meets with Green Arrow on a rooftop, telling him that no body for the Red Archer had been found. Running parallel with the story, is the story set in the past of a young girl dealing with an abusive father who has a random meeting with the Emerald Archer. In the end, Benitez tell Arrow that she was that girl and thanks him for the direction her life ultimately took.

GREEN LANTERN #30 by Jeremy Adams and Carmine Di Giandomemico. Hal, suffering with intense visions after his encounter with the Book of Oa, goes to Gotham seeking his help for an honest assessment of what is happening to him. The two go off together to handle a Level Three threat where they find a young man with metahuman powers causing chaos. After treating the boy to a virtual roller coaster ride throughout the city on a construct, the boy ends up in a hospital with all bills paid for by Bruce Wayne. In the end, Hall gets a desperate message from The Flash.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #11 by Morgan Hampton, Will Conrad, French Carlomagno, and Max Dunbar. In the Procyon System, the creature from Enquar continues to convince Fatality to join him to destroy the Green Lantern Corps, with him eventually taking possession of a technician repairing his ship. Meanwhile, Killowog continues to train the new Lanterns but an argument between Red Lantern Razer and Yellow Lantern Arkillo leads them into action to diffuse it. John sees it and goes to assist but his ring tells him of developments with Ellie. Now a Blue Lantern, Ellie attempts to use her new powers to heal Mogo but that gets derailed by Effigy, who attacks her with his fire-based powers. As John arrives, Effigy seemingly kills this construct, sending John into a rage and Effigy goes back to the burning light inside of Mogo. John is surprised to find Ellie still exists, having turned her desire to live into reality. Back on Oa, Aya unleashes her spirit to separate the Lanterns, allowing Razer to reunites with Aya. Jessica Cruz, as a hologram, shows up, telling the Lanterns that she will be posting Green Lanterns within every Corps-state to keep the peace.