DC UNIVERSE: Month 97, Part 2

THE FLASH #30 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell, and Vasco Georgiev. Wally, Bart, and Barry travel through time to where Barry had to make the sacrifice during CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Bart tries to create a scenario where Barry does not disappear into the Speed Force, even as Darkseid reminds Bart that his tampering with this moment risks destroying the Speed Force that he has become. At the same time, Wally, along with Max Mercury, Rocky Davis, last seen in CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #5, and Ultivac, battle against Darkseid and his Legion. Wally goes after Bart, stopping him from changing history. Continued in DC K.O. #5.

GREEN LANTERN #32 by Jeremy Adams and Montos. Star Sapphire and Dove respond to a cry for help in Paris, only to find that it is only Hal here looking for a date with Carol. Their date, with Hal explaining what he learned from the Book of Oa, is interrupted as Carol notes a mystical cry and they go after a thief named Cupid, who blast them with explosives. They battle her and, in the process, Carol sees that Hal was going to propose, which causes her to unleash upon Cupid. Carol sees that the stolen item is a cross with a pink gem inside and it sets itself into Carol’s ring. The gem reveals there were eight aspects of love and Carol must reunite them, with her wielding Agape. Hal attempts to propose but she tells him to wait until her mission is complete. He heads off to meet Kyle before finding himself transported to Phantom Girl’s lab. Meanwhile, Krona steals a ship in Dark Sector Seven.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #13 by Morgan Hampton, Jason Paz, Will Conrad, Oclair Albert and Fernando Pasarin. Fatality attacks John Stewart with Enquar encouraging her to kill him. But she resists and rallies Lanterns, defeating him and imprisoning him in her necklace.

HARLEY QUINN #59 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley and Althea go on their date that gets interrupted by Colonel Blimp. Harley, determined to no longer have to deal with things, tells him to go ahead and rob the place. Chicken Fingers arrives to fight Blimp and Harley tells Althea that she may not be a complete good guy but Althea is the bad guy, leading to them realizing the both have good and bad in them. When Harley saves Chicken Fingers, she declares the date over and orders Althea to leave with Chicken Fingers, who she takes to the hospital. Harley, still fighting Blimp, ends up in Chicken Finger’s hospital room, eventually admitting that maybe they aren’t such bad guys after all.

JSA #16 by Jeff Lemire and Gavin Guidry. Dr. Fate tries to convince Corrigan that there is still good in the world as he tries to get him to embrace the Spectre. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and The Atom end up at Gotham Airstrip but Hawkman and Hawkgirl are also there to take on Satanna, Sportsmaster, and Cyclotron. The Flash, along with Johnny Thunder and Yz the Thunderbolt transport to the airstrip and introduce themselves, with Hawkman and Hawkgirl taking offense at the comments of the other heroes. Alan Scott meets with Starco CEO Walter Baze, who drugs Scott, realizing he is getting too close to what is happening and revealing himself to be the Ultra-Humanite. Beneath Starco, Sandman and Hourman talk with the other captive, who reveals himself to be Amazing Man.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #16 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. As the battle in Oklahoma City continues, Air Wave calls in backup with Blue Beetle explaining the rest of the Justice League is busy with the evacuation of Earth. In Hell, Owlwoman has betrayed the assembled team and joined Neron. She agreed to monitor the League’s action to save herself from death. Neron sends her to Oklahoma City to protect the souls of the villains he has already collected. Seeing the heroes and villains fight even as it looks like certain death, she decides to destroy the sphere with the souls and gets Doctor Occult to open a portal so she can save Mr. Terrific. Furious at Owlwoman’s actions as she sends Terrific back through the portal as the portal closes. Back with Martian Manhunter and Mary Marvel, Terrific says that his team has died and they all died heroes.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #7 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. Batman and Harley transport to a Monarch base to find a Titan that could help them against Lex and Shaw, finding Mothra as a possible ally. In Peru, Kong takes on Cheetah with the help of Hal and Wally while Martian Manhunter takes on Ghidorah and Rodan. In the Pacific, Aquaman and Mister Terrific tend to an injured Godzilla. But, when a distress call from Wonder Woman takes Aquaman away, Terrific detonates a nuclear device, revitalizing Godzilla, just in time to team up with Mothra. The heroes team up with Godzilla, Kong, Mothra and some of the Great Apes to take down Ghidorah and Skar King. With the battle ended, the League sends Task Force X home, with some Leaguers remaining to monitor the situation. In the end, Harley and King Shark relax on a beach until Mr. Terrific and Batman arrive and convince them to return home.

NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT #1 by Joseph P. Illidge, Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Valentine De Landro, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Fico Ossio, and Edwin Galmon. In the future, Rocket’s son and Static’s protégé Amistad, under the hero name of Beacon, journeys into the past to save the future and observes moments from Dakota’s history he was unaware of. In the days when Lex Luthor was President, the heroes of Dakota first emerged and he demanded Amanda Waller assemble a squad to bring Dakota under his authority. Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, and Deadshot, along with troops, descend on Dakota and they get into combat with the Dakota heroes. Captain Atom arrives and he battles Icon. Superman and Wonder Woman arrive and team with the Dakota heroes, forcing Task Force X to flee. With Static and Rocket as representatives, they join Jefferson Pierce in meeting with Icon, who has inked a deal with Luthor that would allow a D.E.O. office to activate in Dakota. In the present again, Beacon meets with Static, who eventually remembers the past as time resets. In the end, he looks for his suit and Static lives again.

NIGHTWING #135 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. From out of the rubble of Titans Tower, Nightwing Prime arises with Night-Hare. At the Cirque, Nightwing works on getting the children out when he is attacked by The Zanni. Nightwing-Prime arrives and takes over the battle, allowing Dick and the children to escape. Prime stays behind in a never-ending battle with The Zanni. In the end, Nightwing gives Night-Hare to one of the rescued children while Mayor Bisogni plots.

POISON IVY #41 by G. Willow Wilson and Davide Gianfelice. Having killed Henley, Ivy is on the run but ultimately gets apprehended and jailed, with the Falcone family and Great White Shark., where she finds she is famous because someone recorded the murder. Janet from HR goes to the Mayor’s office, trying to gain Ivy’s release, meeting with someone from the Mayor’s office is knows more about Ghost Pipe than she should. Despite that, Janet fails. The woman, whose name is Juhi, proceeds to manifest a creature that calls her Summoner and asks the creature to follow Janet. Ivy gets fan mail and a visit from Harley, with Ivy saying she is going to run for Mayor.

SUPERGIRL #10 by Sophie Campbell and Joe Qujinones. Kara meets with her crush while Lena and Luna spy on her. He tells Kara that he knows she is Supergirl, leading Luna to use one of her gadgets to determine that he is wearing an earring that is having an effect on Kara. Lena rips the earring off the man’s ear and the spirit of Nela-Nar comes forth from it, determined to live vicariously and help the Kryptonian fall in love. Luna unleashes an Anti-Kryptonite suit to protect Supergirl for as long as the suit maintains power. With Lena’s help, she traps Nela’s essence in one of Lena’s gadgets. In the end, Conner arrives telling Kara that Kandor is in big trouble.

SUPERMAN #35 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Julio Ferreira. Before the tournament begins, Doomsday tells Superman to trust Robot Superman as the final hope against Darkseid. In the present, Superboy Prime battles Darkseid’s Legion while Saturn Girl taunts Lois about her husband’s death at the hands of the Horsemen of the Absolute. In the process, Saturn Girl’s own feelings for Lightning Lad come forth, quieting Darkseid’s voice in her head. Lois tries to convince Saturn Girl to renounce Darkseid and she does, begging Prime to not kill Lightning Lad and orders the Legion to retreat. As Time Trapper looks to flee into the past, he is shown a video of Lara Lor-Van, who explains that Doomsday is the alpha to Darkseid’s omega. Robot Superman, critically damaged fighting with Cosmic Boy, realizing his mission is complete and dies. Tim Trapper decides to face Darkseid personally with what little power he still has. Superwoman reunites with the Kents and introduces them to Prime, who asks to be called Clark.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #10 by Dan Slott, Jeremy Adas, and Lucas Meyer. Clark compares Prankster II to The Puzzler or The Trickster, causing him to want to kill Clark. With Perry still alive, the original Prankster says they can give Minnie Manheim a refund, but his nephew refuses. Oswald meets with Minnie who still wants Perry killed and now wants him to pay her back with double of what she paid him. When he refuses to refund her money, she has her henchman cut off his right hand, which turns out to be a prop. She demands he finish the job or she will cut off both hands. The fake hand turns out to be a microphone that has recorded the whole thing, revealing she plans to rob the Hob’s Bay reserve, leading him to pass the info to the Daily Planet as an anonymous tip. Clark gives chase and gets attacked by robots but changes into Superman and defeats them. Back at the Daily Planet, Oswald meets with Clark, promising to reveal his son’s lair provided he can be protected from Minnie. In the lair, Oswald is revealed to be Prankster II in disguise and Clark is attacked by a Kryptonite snake. When Prankster II leaves, Clark powers up his golden power, trapping his enemies and retrieving the fake hand with the evidence. Elsewhere, Mr. Mxyzptlk warns again about Txyz, whose voice informs Jon that their first meeting will be their last.

TITANS #32 by John Layman and Pete Woods. In the past, the Titans debate what to do with the plan to evacuate Terra to Gemworld. In the present day, Terra overpowers Nightwing and Raven, with Nightwing suggesting she free Amethyst and help them battle Jinx and aid the refugees. On Earth, Grail offers saving Donna so she can serve Darkseid, with Donna refusing. Breaking free, she attacks with help from Connor and the young heroes. Donna summons a Boom Tube and that sends Grail and her army into space. Raven psychically links all of the Titans, thanks to Amethyst’s magic and terra’s increased power. They share a moment together, with Donna reminding them that they will endure together, always. To be concluded in DC K.O. #5 as this title becomes NEW TITANS.

WONDER WOMAN #30 by Tom King and Jeff Spokes. Eris observes with pride as she has deceived Nubia, Cassie, Yara, Donna, Phillipus, and Clio into believing in their own insecurities even as they all have their own ideas of what is best for Elizabeth, leading to them attacking each other. Eris manifests the Apple of Discord and, after taking a bite, dark duplicates of the women manifest in front of them. Diana arrives and dispatches the dark duplicates. Eris promises that, someday, Lizzie will be affected by fear and then she departs, saying the Wonder War will begin soon. Back in her garden, Eris plants a seed while mysterious figures stand behind her. She claims that the united Amazons might be united by what’s in front of them but the war will bloom beneath them.

DC UNIVERSE: Month 97, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #17 by Scott Snyder and Eric Canete. In a flashback to Pamela Isley’s tenth birthday, her mother, recently diagnosed with brain cancer, takes her to Gotham City. At the age of twenty-three, she is in the Heart Building, trying to create a cure for her mother by injecting plant DNA into human stem cells. At twenty-five, she succeeds in creating human cells combined with DNA from all classifications of living creatures. As she attempts to leave with her research, her lab door shuts and locks and bursts into flames, consuming her. A week ago, Bruce discovered Waylon’s shed reptile skin, suggesting he is still mutating. He goes to visit Ozzie and gets removed by security. Eddie has cleared out his workshop, leaving only a note with a riddle. Harvey, despite having a cracked skull, has left the hospital. He goes to visit Joe Chill, who declares he wishes to never see Bruce again. In the present, Isley has created a gigantic tree sprouting from the basement of the Heart Building. Mayor Hill declares the area as a biohazard zone but Batman cuts his way inside, finding many GCPD officers who have been transformed into monsters. He fights off most of them  and Alfred informs him he is picking up a human signal in the area and also that Pamela Isley allegedly died at the age of twenty-five. Barbara Gordon blows up the final creature and Batman uses his cape as a parachute to get her off the tree and away from the battle. He reaches the top and confronts Isley, who is no longer who she was, sending monstrous duplicates to attack him. The real Isley appears and transforms into a horrendous creature. In the end, Martha makes a phone call to the Court of Owls.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #11 by Al Ewing and Jonboy Lindsay. Hal finally wakes after being unconscious for three weeks, learning he is in a closed auto repair shop along with Simon, Jo, Cameron and Kari Limbo. They have been planning on finding a way to kill Jon Double, who they are positive was responsible for selling them out to Hammond. Elsewhere, a group of soldiers encounter. Obsidian and are butchered. The creature is being monitored and possibly being controlled by Hammond using the Mento device that Steve Dayton had created.. Back at the garage, Kari is pressed into service to try and use clairvoyance and psychometry to see a bit into the future. What she sees is flashes of the five emotional spectrums. She also sees the Controller of MU: Sin. Es. To. Obsidian arrives and kills Kari, who has the ring and both it and Kari are buried under the rubble. In the end, Ain Aur (John Stewart) and Ain Rao (Guy Gardner) note that something is coming to Oa. It turns out to be Tomar Re, who claims he plans on taking over.

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #9 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez. Agenta are vivisecting the Martian, pleading for John before a burst of energy overwhelms them with visions of “green eggs and man.” Meanwhile, John investigates and interrogates dreamers with Despair in tow. Later, he attends a therapy session where his wife and doctor label him as a schizophrenic because of his alleged alien communications. As his mind continues to shatter thanks to Despair, the military makes it’s way to his home.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #16 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. Back in 1940, archeologist Carter Hall and his partner Bradford descend into the tomb of Teth-Adam in Kahndaq, Bradford betrays Carter for Berlin and cuts his robe, forcing Carter to reach out and grab a Nth metal mace, allowing him to escape as he grows wings and fights off the Poeacemaker guards. He declares himself Hawkman and that he is one of the good guys. In the present, a much older Hawkman introduces himself to Superman, telling him Superman is too flashy and he should work with Lazarus rather than fight against them. As Superman goes to leave to help with an emergency, Hawkman grabs him and punches him into the Daily Planet, leading to the pair brawling as the Parasite rampages through Metropolis. Meanwhile, Lois meets former Planet editor Perry White while Jimmy texts her about his new job. In the end, family man Lex Luthor, along with his wife, Lena and Alex rejects Brainiac’s offer involving the Superman Project. Brainiac reveals he has Multiverse knowledge about other Luthors and he plans to motivate Luthor one way or another as Brainiac transforms into a killer machine..

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #17 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. Zatanna is bound, wanting to attack Diana while directing Giganta to do her bidding. Zatanna casts a spell to purge the parasite, breaks the bonds and teleports away. Diana’s magic returns and she battles Dr. Poison, Cheetah, Queen Ara’s reptile followers, and Giganta. Sovereign and Alberts observe this and she dismisses sending Cuca, ordering deployment of another to the battle. Diana grows to giant size to battle Giganta, while ordering the evacuation of Barbara and Ella, eventually choking the villain out. She hunts Ara but finds Cheetah, reverted back to Priscilla Rich, slain by a dagger containing blood magic. The flaming skeletal figure of Zatara casts a spell turning Diana’s metal arm into molten metal.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #1 by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis. Diana finds herself traveling the world to help those who need her while constantly begging Athena to ease the suffering of Medusa. Eventually, Athena eventually answers and Diana offers to trade her abilities to free Medusa from her pain. Diana climbs a cliff to reach where Medusa and her sisters live, leading to a battle with the sisters and eventually an audience with Medusa. Diana uses her temporary ability to see Medusa and her sisters as she was; giving them the option to be free of their curse.

ACTION COMICS #1095 by Mark Waid and Patricio Delpeche. Pete has discovered the Clark and Superman are one and the same and has been avoiding Clark ever since because he believes that Clark doesn’t trust him. During the school day, Pete catches members of the football team bullying a fellow student and homosexual named Curtis, leading to him telling teachers and the chief bully being benched for the rest of the season. Later, Pete has a long chat with Lana which is interrupted by some thugs and, since Superboy was responsible for the brother of one of them to be arrested, has decided to take his anger out on Lana. She attempts to get free but falls off the cliff they are at the top of but is rescued by Superboy. After defeating the thugs, Lana makes Superboy insist that they are NOT in a relationship. The next day, Pete begins talking to Clark again as he understands that Clark is often busy with his job as Superboy.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #6 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. On the day that Kryl-Ux invaded Earth, Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra tried to protect Lois from a Warzoon, but Osul-Ra gets captured. Otho-Ra hears a voice telling her to save her father she must find “the racer” and then finds herself in space with a streak of light coming towards her. Three weeks later, the Sun Eater, now possessing the Will of Olgrun, has teleported himself and an injured Superman to Izaya’s Belt, but Clark gets saved by attacking Phaelosian warriors. At the Warworld Engines, Alura-El recognizes Clark as the legendary Superman. She tells him that Otho-Ra is being held by the Valkyries against her will. She gets taken to sickbay and reunites with Superman. A hooded man tells her Superman is being consumed by the Sun Eater’s black fire and that the belt is being haunted by the Black racer and is coming for Superman and she will have to outrace him and become a god herself. Elsewhere, Kryl-Ux retrieves the Madness of Olgrun from Mongol’s corpse, mutating him.

AQUAMAN #14 by Jeremy Adams and Daniel Bayliss. In the Hall of Kingdoms, Andrina reveals that she is actually the Crimson Queen Lolanna Merana Challa-Mera’s mother and fights against Arion and his team. At Lolanna’s grave in Xebel, an old woman emerges from the kelp forest and tells Mera and Nereus the story of Mera’s mother. Lolanna was the daughter of the Grand Vizier of Atlantis and she led a revolution against a previous King. While her father begged the King to spare her life, he instead sentenced her and her followers to permanent exile to Xebel. She swore revenge and promised she would find a way to escape. Wile there, she married Ryus and gave birth to Mera. One day, she discovered a ‘tide jewel’ that was a conduit to Dagon, who promised to allow her a chance to escape if she served him. She agreed and was turned to stone. When the prophecy Dagon was aware of was being fulfilled, he awakened her so she could kill Aquaman and become the Avatar of the Blue. The barrier around Xebel was transferred to Atlantis and she created a fake Atlantis inside of the Blue. Those plans failed with Aquaman killing Dagon. Lolanna instructed the old woman to kill anyone who came asking questions and attacks Mera, with Nereus jumping in front and saving Mera, dying in the process. The old woman flees, saying nothing can stop Lolanna. On the island, Lolanna calls Aquaman back from the tournament, telling him Atlantis is under attack by Justice League Blue. She has drained his power and Omega Energy and his body transforms into water as she tells him she is not his daughter. Mera arrives and attacks her. Elsewhere, a child version of Arthur Curry washes up on the shore. To be continued in EMPEROR AQUAMAN #15.

BATGIRL #16 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Cass fights against the Unburied and defeats them, leading her to wonder where Nyssa al Ghul is. Cass and Jaya meet with Nyssa and Angle Breaker with Jaya saying they need to sound the alarms against the rest of the Unburied but Cass says she knows that Nyssa wants the bloodshed to come so she can recreate her father’s massacre and grow her own blue poppies. Cass and Jaya head off to find her brother even as the order comes in for Nyssa’s followers to turn their turrets onto the ruins where Tenji is. Haya shuts down the turrets but ends up fighting with Aruna, revealing she is with the Unburied and throws Aruna off a cliff. Cass frees her brother and briefly battles with Nyssa, defeating her. Angel Breaker tells Nyssa that Samsara has fallen and they flee. Cass explains that the Unburied now have their land back.

BATMAN #6 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. After the events of last issue, Bruce is trying to juggle things, especially with Annika Zeller and her dangerous research. Meanwhile, Hugo Strange’s Monster men launches an attack on key infrastructure in Gotham, forcing Batman to respond. In the end, Zeller is still experimenting, speaking to an unknown entity and with a strange looking body in a stasis tube.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #30 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Fico Ossio. Batman and Robin arrive at the fundraiser just as Wesker and his men do. But the Quiet Man is also here and is intent on taking out Wesker for the death of his son Alvin. Robin convinces him not to kill Wesker but, in doing so, is shot by Scarface. As Batman watches, Robin uses his learned skills to save the Quiet Man. Later, Robin goes off and finds Mercer’s submerged truck, which still has the long dead bodies of Brazzi and Alvin Mercer, meaning the boy can finally be properly buried.

BATMAN/STATIC: BEYOND #3 by Evan Narcisse and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. Raquel and Beacon arrive to find Batman standing over Static’s unconscious form before he goes airborne, hoping the storm above will jolt Static back to life. Awake again, Static verbally spars with Batman, saying they should have come up with a plan to stop Shutdown. But they find a way to work together and, eventually, Static and his “Students of Tomorrow” go after Shutdown.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #48 by Mark Waid and Marcus To. Many years ago, on Earth 3, Thomas Wayne’s parents are murdered but, on this Earth, Thomas Wayne Jr. is responsible, having paid their assassin with half of his inheritance. Twenty years later, Ultraman is tormenting the city  with his best friend Owlman. Later, Owlman finds his partner Talon slain and decides to pull another young tra8nee to fill the shoes. Owlman and Ultraman meet with the Doom Syndicate to work out a deal with a cache of “hero” artifacts Owlman procured from the League of Rogues that leads to a fight between all with the Syndicate being slain. They then go to Magnus Robotics, battling with the Metal men. Ultraman reaches out to Superwoman and she rescues them, with Owlman decapitating Magnus in the process. Bursting into a chamber at Magnus Robotics, they find Superman and Batman as captives.

CATWOMAN #84 by Torunn Gronbekk and Patricio Delpeche. Selina goes looking for Holly while recalling an earlier theft attempt that went badly when Holly fell apart after taking drugs to calm her down and give her “courage”. Selina finds a letter saying she was sorry for taking Selina’s money and feels she was responsible for Selina leaving. In the end, Selina visits her mother’s grave and buries the pearl. Carmine arrives saying that there are parties that want that pearl and, in his mind, Catwoman works for him now..

DC X AEW #1 by Steve Orlando and Travis Mercer. In Gotham Square Garden, there is an event between the Wrestling Across the Multiverse and All Elite Wrestling. Deceilia Starshame loses to Mercedes Mone and destroys the Big Galactic Belt, scattering shards of the dangerous Element X across realities. The Justice League teams up with the AEW wrestlers to recover the shards before various villains can. Nightwing teams with Will Ospreay to fight the League of Assassins while Jon Moxley and Guy Gardner battle mutant gangs in the City of Vanity, with both teams recovering shards. Hangman Page and Hawkgirl battle the undead in Limbo Town. Swerve Strickland and John Stewart free Dinosaur Island from the clutches of Deimos while Orange Cassidy and Harley Quinn fight the Royal Flush Gang. Zatanna and Toni Storm battle Johnny Sorrow as Willow Nightingale and Wonder Woman fight Echidna in the Underworld. Darby Allen and Batman find the Joker in Gotham’s tomb as  Kenny Omega goes one-on-one with bane and Aquaman and Mercedes grab the final shard from The Trench. That is when Mercedes betrays Aquaman and sides with Lex Luthor.

DC K.O. #4 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico. The surviving heroes have reached Round Four with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman facing off against the Absolute Universe equivalents. As the heroes, along with Luthor and The Joker, battle the Absolute characters, The Joker declares that he wants to change sides and the Heart of Apokolips turns him into something resembling a Parademon. Superman uses his heat vision to transform Absolute Superman’s cape into a diamond hard cage that traps him. Absolute Wonder Woman uses her lasso to cut into Diana while Batman uses a hidden explosive device to light up his counterpart. Superman attacks the disembodied voice of Darkseid, freeing the Absolute heroes from his influence. But Lex realizes that Darkseid has released them because he no longer needs them. Darkseid appears and the heroes attack but Diana, Bruce and the Absolute heroes are dispatched by red energy. Superman suggests he and Lex team up but, when Superman’s back is turned, Luthor cuts him down, making Lex King Omega.. In a backup set in the future, Saturn Girl visits King Omega Darkseid with him telling her how he killed enough beings to create Absolute Earth and he orders the creation of his Horsemen

DC K.O. BOSS BATTLE #1 by Jeremy Adams, Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, and Pablo M. Collar. On the transformed Earth, World Forger and Grodd watch Absolute Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman preparing to face off with the last eight competitors. But the World Forger feels the final eight need help and freezes the Absolute champions and resurrects Black Lightning, Plastic Man, Batwoman, and Star Sapphire. He opens a series of fissures that take the heroes to universes that hold enough Omega energy for the champions to use to defeat the Absolute Universe opponents. Plastic Man and Black Lightning are sent to a world where Mortal Kombat exists and they are forced to fight Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Wonder Woman ends up in a colosseum where she must fight Red Sonya. The Joker finds himself at an abandoned house with the Annabelle doll. Batwoman finds herself in a gothic castle with Vampirella. Star Sapphire ends up in Greendale where she meets Sabrina and Salem. Lex finds himself in a forest where bear Samantha Strong is dismembering a rabbit. Superman is above a city and sees Homelander with the arm of a citizen he has just killed. World Forager uses his hammer to gather the Omega energy but it is too much for him to handle but Grodd uses his power to stabilize the fissure and Alpheus sends the energy back to the final champions, even as the boundaries between universes collapse. Alpheus sends the other fighters back to their home universes while the resurrected heroes dissolve into dust. The final eight are now prepared to fight the Absolute heroes. Continued in DC K.O. #4.

DC K.O. GREEN LANTERN GALACTIC SLAM #1 by Jeremy Adams, Cian Tormey, and Pat Boutin. Kyle Rayner finds himself landing in the middle of a wrestling match between Omega-Bam-Man and Noxious Ned. Following the match, Omega-Bam-Man transports he and Kyle to the wrestler’s training facility where they meet with. Mr. Scuzz. Later, Omega-Bam-Man tells his origin story where he came under the tutelage of Bromega. When Bromega was killed in a fight with Mr. Scuzz, he was gifted the dying warrior’s glasses, eventually fighting Mr. Scuzz and winning the W.A.M. championship. Later, Kyle begins Captain Green Jeans and they learn that Bromega did not die and is one of the Children of Apololips. The pair battles in a televised universe-wide bout with Omega-Bam-Man winning. But, because he got assistance from Kyle, Omega-Bam-Man is disqualified and has to relinquish his championship, but agrees to help Kyle in the battle for Earth. Continued in DC K.O. #5.

DC K.O. KNIGHTFIGHT #4 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora.  Bruce wakes in the perfect Gotham that Damian has built, eliminating the need for Batman. While Bruce gets to bond with his grandson Alfred, the Heart warns him that happiness is punishment and he must fight to return to the tournament. Damian gathers the Bat Family and encourage Bruce to win the tournament so he can use the powers of King Omega to make their world real. He also trains Alfred on a gift he has created: a ‘Bat Box’. The heart demands that Bruce fight Damian to prove he is worthy and they engage in an hours long battle. The Heart insists Bruce kill Damian but he refuses and allows Damian to defeat him, which actually passes the Heart’s test. He realizes he must be Batman and prepares to re-enter the tournament. Continued in DC K.O. #4.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1106 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman confronts Leo the Lion as everyone in Gotham City is effected by his virus. Savage orders the crowd in the street to be intercepted and lethal force is authorized, which causes Jim Gordon to bunch his boss in frustration. Batman injects himself with Fear Toxin to counteract Leo’s poison. Batman calls for the Batmobile and it hits Leo, taking him out. Mr. Terrific tells Batman he has a temporary antidote that he is ready to deploy with crop dusters. As the police begin to fire on the crowd, the dusters drop their payload and Batman orders them to run. In the aftermath, the Lion sent Bruce the antidote and Mr. Terrific believes he can duplicate it easily. In the end, Bruce meets with Leo, who promises to never stop letting Batman win.

DC UNIVERSE Month 86, Part 2

HARLEY & IVY: LIFE & CRIMES #3 by Erica Henderson. Inside of Ace Chemical, Harley and Ivy find a lot of dead bodies with Joker’s grins, not to mention a giant heart shaped from dead bodies. Harley seems to like what she sees as a romantic gesture. The Joker arrives and seems to want to go back to him. But it’s all a ruse and Ivy uses her powers to defeat him. Then the two women have a long romantic session of their own. And that is when the police arrive and Ivy tells Harley to run.

HARLEY QUINN #58 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Sheldon Marcisak is dead at Dolores’ hands. Either way, the residents of Throatcutter Hill are slowly rebuilding and that means Harley is ready to finally settle things with Althea Klang, who she wants to leave Throatcutter Hill, after which they can go out on a date. Before things can be settled, a zeppelin arrives and Colonel Blimp puts Klang in danger. He knows of a change in criminal leadership in Gotham, he has come here to seek refuge. But Guy Mandrake has also arrived, looking to kill Blimp, who begs for his life. Harley tasks Amygdala to stop Mandrake, but he can’t fly and falls to the ground. Mandrake fires a rocket by an armored Richie redirects it, blowing up Mandrake’s helicopter. With Mandrake dispatched and Blimp promising to behave, Harley and Althea prepare for their date.  

JSA #15 by Jeff Lemire and Gavin Guidry. At the Tower of Fate, those gathered debate if Jim Corrigan is ready or even worthy tpo be The Spectre. Meanwhile, Corrigan and Green Lantern leave The Flash to continue their investigation into Degroot’s murder when Johnny Thunder shows up, revealing he knows The Flash is Jay Garrick and also producing his genie. Elsewhere, Wonder Woman and The Atom team up to take down Cheetah. At Starco Headquarters, Hourman and Sandman confront Cyclotron, who quickly takes them down and captures them, where they find a metal skinned man chained to a wall. In the end, Dr. Fate visits Jim Corrigan and tells him that he needs to become The Spectre or it will mean the death of everyone.

JUSTICE LEAGUE RED #6 by Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry. The Crimson Cloud has repurposed Red Tornado, who is being used as Crimson Cloud’s CPU. The team is then forced to experience their worst, most traumatic moments but Red Canary finds the strength and attacks. While Simon and Kara continue to fight the Crimson Cloud, Cyborg, Red Canary and Deadman while they work up a plan. Ultimately, they want Canary to fire a pinpoint energy blast at Red Tornado to wake him, even though it may cost Canary her life. She unleashes her power, eliminates the Crimson Cloud and frees Red Tornado. Later, as Canary recuperates, Tornado tells the others he has plans to deactivate himself but is talked out of it. In the end, Canary muses that Justice League Red is over but Power Girl arrives and says that they are just getting started.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #15 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. There is a blackout affecting the Watchtower as the League continues evacuations. Blue beetle goes to check the possible cause of the blackout and finds a portal opening with Air Wave emerging. He explains how he was fighting Shadow Lass to liberate the Vanishing Point. Then a team is put together to help Kid Flash and his friends in Oklahoma who are battling the villains empowered by Neron.. Neron hits Kid Flash with a vision that if the souls of the people Neron has captured are taken from the jar he has them in, they will be stranded on this decimated Earth. Meanwhile, Terrific’s team continues through Hell, with this portion being nothing but ice and snow and a demonic creature that Superman Blue sacrifices himself to destroy it. God Hawk hears a person in danger in a black sea and becomes possessed by it. Doctor fate casts a spell that vanquishes Hawk but Future’s End Batman dies in the process. Terrific alone is allowed into Neron’s throne room with Owlwoman and Doctor Fate waiting outside. They are  attacked by demons with fate dying. Terrific offers Neron a new deal: end the deal with the supervillains and Terrific will be his agent. Although tempted, that position has already been filled…by Owlwoman.

NIGHTWING #134 by Dan Watters and V. Ken Marion. Stuck in the Fifth Dimension, Nightwing is forced to face off against The Zanni in a game where a tin can version of Bludhaven has been built. The Zanni tells Nightwing that each with throw a baseball and knock down the cans with the caveat being that if Nightwing can knock down more cans, he can save the children. But the cans in the Fifth Dimension are connected to buildings in the real Bludhaven, meaning the damage would translate into the real world. The Zanni throws first and building collapse, shocking Barbara and Martian Manhunter , who spring into action. The Zanni tasks the children to attack Nightwing but he eventually throws what turns out to be Nite-Mite, allowing Dick to defeat The Zanni. But the headless Colombina construct throws her head at the model city, destroying both the model Titans Tower and the real one; the same one where Nightwing Prime is.

POISON IVY #40 by G. Willow Wilson and Davide Gianfelice. Harley has returned to Gotham and leads her the Order to take down a company that has been covering up their impact on climate change from the American people, but allows herself to be captured in the process. She is brought to a meeting with Savage, asking him to let her stay in Gotham without fear of arrest and she will have her people not commit attacks within Gotham’s city limits. He introduces her to Marie Henley: his “crime prevention tech czar”. He needs Ivy’s help to figure how to solve the issue of their A.I. processors using so many natural resources, so not she is teamed up with Henley. After making threats to Ivy regarding Janet and Harley, Ivy snaps and kills Henley. Unfortunately, that moment is captured on a cell phone..

SUPERGIRL #9 by Sophie Campbell and Joe Qujinones. It’s New Years Eve and Linda, Lesla, and Luna go to a party at Clarissa Giltedge’s home. Luna mentions that she would like to try alcohol, leading to Luna spiking her drink with a distilled form of Periwinkle Kryptonite that causes Kryptonians to lose their inhibitions, so she can experience it. Unbeknownst to Linda when Luna begins acting weird, Linda takes a sip of the drink and is also under the effects of the drink. At midnight, Luna kisses Clarissa and Linda kisses the stranger she met a few issues prior. Luna gets out of control, even as she shrinks in size as a result of the drink, and Linda leaves and returns as Supergirl, forcibly detaining her friend. Even as she continues to shrink back to Kandorian size, the Science Council orders her to return to Kandor. Heartbroken, Kara returns her and Lesla-Lar has an uncomfortable encounter with Zora Vi-Lar, now calling herself Black Flame.

SUPERMAN #34 by Joshua Williamson and Eddy Barrows. In the past, Superman decides to deactivate his Superman robots because they lack his sense of self-sacrifice. In the present, Prime and Lois Lane use one of the robots to transport the hard drive with Darkseid’s information to the Watchtower. Prime and the robot go off to help civilians who turn out to be the Royal Flush Gang. Back in the Fortress, the Legion of Darkseid members destroy Kelex. At the Watchtower, Lois and Robot Superman discover a near death Time Trapper, explaining that Booster Gold was actually Darkseid in disguise and the heroes are quickly captured and tortured by Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy. The robot refuses to give any information and when the villains turn their attention to Lois, Prime prepares to unleash his full power on them.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #9 by Dan Slott and Mike Norton. At the Bronze Swan bar, Vicki Vale, Jack Ryder, Steve Lombard talking about recent freak accidents in Metropolis resulting in death. Perry later sends Clark to cover the mayor’s press conference, where Perry announces the work of the police in getting their hands on Intergang’s weapons, reducing the threat of the group now led by Minnie Manheim. Meanwhile, Manheim is meeting with Oswald Loomis and his protege, the new Prankster and they plot to kill Mayor White. At a baseball game where White is throwing out the first pitch, the ball he is using splits into hundreds and they are thrown at White, leading to Clark disappearing and saving him as Superman. Elsewhere, at Steelworks, Jon gets a visit from Mxyzptlk, saying the Fourth Dimensional demon Master Txyz is coming for Jon. At a ceremony in Centennial Park where Superman is getting another key to the city. The key is Kryptonite coated in gold paint and this forces Superman to go into his golden form to handle a renewed attack on Perry. As his powers fade, one of White’s security team saves him; injured but alive and Superman insists he get the key to the city. Later, Clark reports on the attack, saying it was the result of antics from the Trickster, which enrages the Prankster who vows to kill Clark.

TITANS #31 by John Layman and Pete Woods. The Titans are spread out in different places to help evacuate the planet. Starfire has evacuated refugees to Tamaran, Beast Boy, Beast Girl and the Doom Patrol are with another group on a distant planet, while Nightwing and Raven have brought evacuees to Gemworld. Donna and Roy have stayed on Earth and are battling Grail and her Parademon horde, who offers Donna a chance to become her new ward. She refuses and Roy takes a direct hit from Grail and Donna confesses her feelings for him, as Grail says Donna needs to join her or Roy will die. On Gemworld, Raven confronts Jinx, who Raven attempts to recruit to help Dick, but she refuses, leading to Raven attempting to convince Terra to help. Terra helps but immediately betrays the heroes to seize control of Gemworld..

WONDER WOMAN #29 by Tom King and Jeff Spokes. Diana, fresh from her recent battle with Mouse Man, goes to Themyscira and deals with insecurities about truly being able to protect her sisters or her daughter. At the insistence of her sisters, she leaves baby Elizabeth with the Wonder Girls: Donna, Cassie, and Yara. Yara gets the idea to show the baby, who is refusing all nourishment, combat between her sisters. During their interactions, things get heated, going from “play fighting” to real violence. Nubia believes that something is compelling the Wonder Girls to behave this way and believe that Elizabeth is the source of whatever is affecting them. Nubia steps between them and stops the battle, believing the person responsible must be Eris, the Goddess of Strife. Hiding in the shadows, Eris watches, believing Elizabeth is  the catalyst to start conflict between the Amazons.

DC UNIVERSE Month 96, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #16 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Back in Gotham, Lucius Fox tells Bruce to take the weekend off and Bruce goes to Gotham Presbyterian Hospital to visit Oswald and Harvey, who accuse him of failing his friends. At the same time, he wants to help Croc and Bruce summons Diana through the talisman she Gave him. She transports themselves to the place between the surface world and the underworld located beneath Aeaga; a sixteen day journey through a number of deadly hazards. On the night before his battle against Akrolis-a centaur lord of transformation-Bruce dreams of walking with his father. Fighting the centaur, it results in Bruce being kicked off a bridge and being saved by Pegasus. Together, despite taking an arrow into his body, Diana and Bruce defeat Akrolis. Returning home, Bruce meets with Killer Croic and places a necklace around his friend’s neck, telling him he is never alone.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN: ARK-M #1 by Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri. In 1945, Dr. Amadeus Arkham tells his origin  to a potential buyer for Arkham Asylum. After his mother’s mental breakdown upon learning of her husband’s death at the end of the Civil War, with her murdering her other children and then killing herself, leaving Amadeus an orphan. He ends up in an orphanage but, later in life, builds a mental health facility. With help from the Elliot family. While the care is excellent, Arkham is troubled by the violent inmate simply known as Jack Doe. But Arkham’s adopted son believes that healing is possible for Jack Doe, despite his tendencies. In 1886, an orderly accidentally allows inmates, including Jack Doe, to escape through the furnace room. Among the missing and presumed dead is Arkham’s son. Soon there is a wave of horrific crimes that are reminiscent of Jack the Ripper’s crimes, even after all the inmates except Jack Doe are recaptured.. Back in 1945, the potential buyer whispers a phrase to Arkham while they tour the furnace room that reveals the buyer could be his long lost son. That night, Arkham goes to the furnace room and unearths Jack Doe’s body with a note pinned to it with the phrase. It becomes apparent his son was responsible for the breakout and has come back as Jack Grimm to claim the Asylum. He writes down his story and sends it to GCPD before burning down the Asylum and killing himself. The story said to stop Jack Grimm but Grimm intercepted it before it got delivered. In the present, The Joker and his operative Deathstroke watch footage of Batman in action; watching along with Hugo Strange, Pamela Isley, Jonathan Crane, Jervis Tetch, and Basil Karlo.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #11 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. Wally is in Still Point where Barry Allen exists as consciousness trapped in red energy, explaining that multiple versions of Flashes accessed Still Point but Wally is the only one who made it through intact. Barry and other travelers are here because there physical bodies were destroyed but Wally is still alive. At Fort Fox, Elenore realizes her plan has backfired and this creature who was her father is now loose, Trickster reaches Barry’s lab and begins to reopen the Still Point gateway, while the creature devastates Lisa Snart. In the end, Wally steps through the portal declaring he is done running.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #10 by Al Ewing and Sid Kotian. In Hammond’s lab, scientists seal Todd Rice into a tank filled with the black fluid from the Green Lantern. In a Hammond Consulting lab, scientists seal Todd Rice inside a tank and immerse him in the black fluid ejected from the Green Lantern, creating a huge crystalline monster. . At Cameron Chase’s apartment, Goldface tells Jo he will let her live if she tells him where the Green Lantern is. She feigns passing out before punching him in the crotch. Crawling into her kitchen, Jo finds a pair of pliers and pulls the gold bullets out of her body, allowing her to heal. As Goldface bursts in, she uses her power to shoot the pliers into his eye, killing him. Simon and Kari show up and, upon seeing an unconscious Hal, wonder what is happening and Joe assumes they are working with Goldface. When Kari calls him Simon, Jo realizes he is Cameron’s partner. When Cameron arrives, Jo shows them all Goldface’s dead body, explaining how he impersonated John Stewart. Kari uses her psychic ability and finds that Goldface worked for Hammond

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #8 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez. Something is happening that is leading to people reporting their friends, neighbors and family members to the FBI with an amount so John Jones is brought back into fieldwork. His boss makes enigmatic comments and a grey figure with a red eye stands behind him, warning about Anti-Life overexposure. John ends up in a bar, looking to get drunk but the Martian metabolism prevents that. The Martian insists that John needs human contact but all he wants is a night alone with his family, with john going to visit Bridget. John explains what is happening but Bridget thinks he is crazy. Meanwhile, Federal agents confront the Martian in an alley and he gets shot by a sniper, allowing himself to be captured. In the end, John is visited by  his ‘replacement partner’: an entity calling itself Despair.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #15 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. Weeks after the ending of the siege of Smallville, Clark is trying to rebuild the Kent farm .Later, Superman visits toy maker Winslow Schott, demanding Schott needs to handle what has been a rise in worker deaths at his business. Superman then heads to Nevada to search for Brainiac, only finding his abandoned lab along with the bottles containing miniaturized alien cities. After that, he visits a rapidly aging Ra’s in prison in Pakistan. Ra’s is belligerent but Superman shows him a book filled with prayers and poems written by children orphaned by Lazarus. Back in Metropolis, he meets with Lois and refuses an interview, despite her insisting he could be an inspiration to billions. In Smallville, Lana delivers dinner and he says he will deliver it to the starving people in the Sudan. After repeated visits with Ra’s, the dying villain finally gives in and repeats some of the passages from the book. Overwhelmed by emotion, Superman flies away and screams for all he is worth, causing Hawkman to arrive and ask what it is he is doing. In the end, Brainiac walks through a town in Missouri when he gets a call from Taliua, asking him to join her. He refuses and calls it his resignation. He hangs up on her as he reaches a house with a mailbox bearing the name Luthor.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #16 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. Aphrodite appears to Diana in her dream and warns that something catastrophic approaching. Meanwhile, Steve is appearing before a Senate committee where his loyalty is being questioned and he resigns as he declares the government is wrong to oppose Diana and her help. At the same time, in Area 41, a mysterious figure is preparing a weapon called the parasite and the plan is to kill Diana and ruin her public image at the same time. Diana arrives at an event celebrating a new exhibit Barbara Minerva has curated. During the event, Diana collapses and realizes her magic has been taken from her. There is an explosion and a woman named Zatanna, backed by the Suicide Squad(Cheetah, Doctor Poison, Kappa Queen, Zuel). Arrives and announces Diana’s magic is now bound to Zatanna.

ACTION COMICS #1094 by Mark Waid and Patricio Delpeche. In the distant past, Superboy is helping sort books in Smallville’s Library. Then, as Clark, he goes to study at Lana’s house, where her father always seems to be taking notes when Clark is around. Back at home, he gets a call from General Lane who sends Superboy to rescue Dr. Silas Stone from Modoran agents. Arriving, he and the Army soldiers there are attacked by a weapon that causes vertigo and nausea. He proceeds to rescue the soldiers, carrying a dead one across the battlefield. He discovers where Stone is but is against incapacitated but uses an ultrasonic scream to destroy the weapon. Later, he goes camping with Pete Ross and debates revealing his secret to him. he goes off to rescue a pair of campers from bears and then slips back into the tent, unaware that Pete has seen him in action.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #5 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. As Ronan and Superman try to get the Lightborn to the escape rafts, Rowan battles Thularamm the Inevitable, creating a construct of herself that gets shattered by the Sun-Eater. Kryl-Ux demands she turn over the Darkstar Ring that holds the Will of Olgrun. She orders Ronan to leave her so they can both save all the Lightborns. She attacks the Sun-Eater and her punch lodges the Darkstar Ring into his armor. Defeated, the Sun-Eater leaves, still carrying the Darkstar Ring and the Central Power Battery tells Rowan she will be the first of a new Corps and bequeaths her with a Green Lantern ring. Elsewhere, a band of space pirates meet with the Valkyries of the Warworld Engines and hand over Otho-Ra.

AQUAMAN #13 by Jeremy Adams and Daniel Bayliss. Mera returns to Xebel, only to find it devastated with the Xebelian king Nereus saying this was the result of a redheaded woman who looked just like her. She arrived promising freedom to the Xebels but distributed pearls that turned the residents into Atlanteans; something similar to what happened in Atlantis. On the surface, Arthur senses something is amiss in the ocean. Meanwhile, Andrina leads forces against Parademons and approaches the Hall of Kingdoms for help.Inside the Hall, a woman who looks like Andrina demands fealty an, when the Brine King refuses, she unleashes an attack. Mera and Nereus go to a place where the strange woman came from and Mera discovers the statue of her mother is gone..

BATGIRL #15 by Tate Brombal and Stephen Segovia. Batgirl and her brother fight over what to do next; each with different views and hers being influenced by the vision of Lady Shiva. They go their separate ways, with Cass meeting with Nyssa, who tries to convince her how they need justice. Jade Tiger sneaks back into the Unburied’s facility and learns that they are not completely trapped and the tunnel will lead them straight to Samsara. He arrives and tries to warn Nyssa but she is well aware of things and has aligned herself with the Kalden the Unseen, Angelbreaker, Aruna, and Jaya.

BATMAN #5 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. Bruce takes Dr. Zeller to dinner in Little Tokyo but they get intercepted enroute by assassins. He avoids them but then they are attacked by people on motorcycles and a woman made of birds. With the help of a titanographene cube Bruce gave Zeller as a gift, he is able to shatter the woman’s sword and finally hide out. Bruce explains that there is a bounty on Zeller because of her work with identity transformation. The woman appears again, followed by Damian who neutralizes the assassin and forcing her to flee. Then Damian refers to Bruce as “father”, meaning he may have just blown Bruce’s secret identity.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #29 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Fico Ossio. Wesker and ‘Blair’ break into the GCPD Storage and Archives building, kill the guards  and take items from the box containing Wesker’s personal effects. At Blackgate, the Quiet Man, AKA Cyrus Mercer, receives a visit from Batman and Robin. Mercer says that he wants revenge for his son’s death because his son was with him during the botched heist with the Ventriloquist and his men opened fire on the truck, ultimately killing his son. When they leave, Batman and son argue over Mercer’s motives, with Robin wondering how Mercer and Batman are any different from each other. Together they deduce the Ventriloquist is going to take out The Penguin at the Sacred heart Valentine’s fundraiser. The Penguin instructs his men to arrange for the Quiet Man to kill himself but they are quickly executed by Wesker and The Ventriloquist. Mercer breaks out of his prison and plans to also be at the fundraiser, meaning all the various players are converging for a showdown..

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #47 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Batman and Superman have been merged, as have The Joker and Lex Luthor, and the villains have released the heroes’ secrets to the world. Meanwhile, Poison Ivy has invaded Wayne Manor and attacks Alfred, who is saved at the last minute by Batman/Superman. With their secrets revealed, Batman/Superman meets with Lois, who is angry that Clark never told her his secret. The effects of the villains continue to resonate, affecting the Green Lantern/Flash team, along with the Green Arrow/Speedy team. But The Joker is determined to take control of their joint body; threatening to drive Lex mad. As Batman/Superman battle the villains, The Atom arrives and rips off the Absorbascon as The Flash triggers an explosion that separates both heroes and villains. But a curious thing remains: a Batman/Superman individual. With everything settled and all the leaked information back where it belongs, the heroes agree to never merge again unless they have to…as they stare at the Batman/Superman individual in a stasis field.

CATWOMAN #83 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. In the past, Carmine Falcone is goaded by his father to execute a man. Today, in Venice, Carmine is involved with the Court of Owls and has Zervas executed in his desire to secure the pearl. At the same time, Talons are unleashing their fury in Gotham. Selina slips away during all of this, crossing paths with David as she makes her way to the roof, securing her gas mask and an oxygen tank in the process .Carmine has Belson brought in, with Aldo break his fingers until he reveals where the pearl is. He and Also scan the list of presidents and princes and see Selina’s name upon it. Once on the roof, Selina encounters a Talon and fights viciously but he is unstoppable, leading to her diving into the waters of Venice to escape.

CHEETAH & CHESHIRE ROB THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. The Justice League is confused as Cheetah and Jade’s crew have been transported into the arms of Black Adam and his team; apparently betrayed by Klarion. Pressured to do so, Featherweight gives Grundy the Power Bank-just as the Justice League arrives. It is revealed that Klarion did what he did because Jade and Cheetah told him to. As the battle rages, the thieves transport back to their home. Stealing the Power Bank was a ruse with the actual theft being of powerful items from the League’s trophy room. Nost of the team take their items and depart, leaving Jade, Barbara, Lian and Klarion. Cheetah summons Urzkartaga and, with Klarion’s help, he is dispatched, finally freeing Cheetah from the hunger that has haunted her. 

DC K.O. #3 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico. Clark is trapped in a vision where the universe is at peace when he wins the tournament. He is soon torn from that vision, as are the other finalists. The Heart of Apokolips announces that the third round will allow each of the competitors to choose a partner from the dead. In Arena One, Guy and Hal Jordan face off against Superman and Shazam. Superman admits he chose Shazam so he could stack his power of the gods and uses that to defeat the other heroes. In Arena Two, Lex and Supergirl are matched against Aquaman and Hawkman. Lex ends up using a custom Kryptonite cocktail to send Supergirl into a ragem quickly defeating their opponents. In Arena Three, Wonder Woman chooses Barda to go against Cyborg and Connor Hawke. During the battle, Barda punches Wonder Woman’s gauntlets and the sonic boom defeats their opponents, Following the battle, Diana asks Barda to tell her everything there is to know about the Heart of Apokolips In Arena Four, Zatanna and Constantine face off against the Joker  and a mystery partner, who is first revealed to be the Batman Who Laughs but turns out to be Mxyzptlk, who attacks with something akin to a neurotoxin. With the heroes defeated, Mxyzptlik orders The Joker to send him home. Clark finds himself back in another fantasy where he meets his parents, but manages to fight his way out as the Third Round ends. The final battle, with the survivors being Diana, Clark, The Joker and Lex, are transported to their now devastated Earth where the Absolute Universe Trinity-Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, along with Booster Gold/Darkseid, are poised to be the rulers and the champions.

DC K.O.: GREEN LANTERN GALACTIC SLAM #1 by Jeremy Adams, Cona Tormey, and Pat Boutin. Kyle Rayner gets hit by a Parademon and has materialized on the alien wrestling planet called The Hub, where he meets the Galaxian wrestler known as Omega Bam-Man. He explains that The Hub operates outside of time and space and cannot leave until the algorithmic drive that controls the matches sets up another match. Omega Bam-Man tells how he was an outcast from his home planet and was saved by legendary wrestler Bromega, getting trained to be the greatest fighter, winning the W.A.M. championship after Bromega’s death. What is later revealed is that the computerized A.I. that controls The Hub is being manipulated by Bromega, who actually faked his death and became one of Darkseid’s agents. Kyle and Omega Bam-Man confront the ‘dead’ ex-champion in an effort to disable their jamming of transmissions, regain control of the ship and reach Earth. As The Hub transmits an emergency W.A.M. match across the universe, the two heroes defeat Bromega and his allies, even though Omega Bam-Man is stripped of his championship because a Green Lantern was involved. He decides to remain on Earth to fight Darkseid’s forces.

DC K.O. KNIGHTFIGHT #3 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora.  Bruce refuses to fight his proteges and The Heart forces him to watch his allies lose in the tournament and offers to let him back into the tournament if he competes in a psychological tournament, transporting him to a Gotham murder mystery. He solves the mystery but reveals this to be a construct and Bruce is actually trapper in the Batcomputer. Tim Drake discovers the Batcomputer has been hacked but Bruce insists that it’s him in the computer, finally convincing Tim to help him solve his own murder. They solve it with The Heart destroying the digital connection, leaving Tim overcome. Bruce is then transported to a future Gotham where an elderly Damian reveals he saved the city and no longer needs a Batman. But Damian questions if he is real and asks Bruce for help escaping as he introduces Bruce’s grandson named Alfred.

DC K.O. THE KIDS ARE ALL FIGHT SPECIAL #1 by Jeremy Adams and Travis Mercer. Jon Kent is assigned to babysit The Boom, Cheshire Cat, Fairplay and Quiz Kid. The kids detect an energy signature tied to Granny Goodness and escape to Earth, encountering Granny’s forces and mind controlled population, including Stargirl, Wonder Girl and Thunderheart. Losing badly in the battle, Fairplay escapes and reunites with Jon and Batgirl and Jon attacks Granny. Static arrives and destroys Granny’s device, freeing those she had mind controlled. Granny escapes and the heroes declare they will face her yet again.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1105 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. It is revealed that The Lion is Leo Kinsford: the son of a triggerman who was arrested by Batman when Leo was young. Bruce Wayne took him under his wing when Leo won a Waynetech Science Fair. That was then. Now, an infected Batman suits up in an armored suit and visits Black Canary who recalls how Leo had trained with Wildcat. One time when he lost a bout, he visualized a Wildcat as a Bat Creature and never came back to the ring. From there, he visits the Gotham Infectious Diseases Center and meets with Mr. Terrific and his team that are working on a cure. They have come up with an antidote and Batman says he will ultimately test it on himself. He goes off to face off against Leo whop forces him to see his allies, Robin and Barbara, falling amongst the chaos.

THE FLASH #29 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell and Vasco Georgiev. Wally steals a Legion of Darkseid flight ring and heads to Barry’s lab, as the Legion is attempting to stop Barry’s origin from happening and destroying the Speed Force in the process. Dream Girl leaves the Legion and tries to help but fails as Saturn Girl prevents Barry’s lightning strike, which hits Wally instead and almost kills the Speed Force. Bart Allen realizes what is happening to the Speed Force and steals Iris’ car to reach the lab. In the process, Bart learns that he is actually the Speed Force. Jay Garrick, currently a statue after his DC KO fight, instructs Bart how to reignite the Speed Force, transforming him and saving Wally and Barry. In the end, Darkseid’s voice speaks to Bart, telling him that Barry is destined to die during the ‘Great Crisis and if Bart tries to change that, everything will collapse. Despite that, Bart goes chasing after a time bubble to save Barry. Dream Girl vanishes and promises to meet them all again.

GREEN LANTERN #31 by Jeremy Adams and Montos. Barry Allen is in witness protection for him to testify against mob boss Anthony Bordello and is being taken  there by two police officers. But it turns out the cops are crooked and Barry, no longer with his powers, flees. Luckily Hal Jordan shows up and rescues him. Hal is going through some personal issues lately, leading to he and Barry having a heart-to-heart talk when one of the crime family’s muscle men, Bruto, shows up. It eventually takes Hal creating a Flash construct for Barry, allowing him to flee and make it to court. Bruto is beating Hal badly when he learns Barry made it to court and learns that the defendant plead out, meaning Bruto and Hal no longer have to fight.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #12 by Morgan Hampton, Jason Paz, Will Conrad, Oclair Albert and Fernando Pasarin. In the Prodyon System, Enquar is manipulating Fatality’s existing doubts with his influence while preparing to spread that influence to other worlds. Meanwhile, on Oa, Jessica sends out a message announcing she wants to have all six Corps states come together so all ring holders would be able to cycle through their power sets at will. Larfleeze arrives, reveals a hidden power battery while declaring himself the owner of Oa. He triggers an explosion that the planet’s defense and Thanagarians, now possessed by Larfleeze’s energy, attack. At the same time, Enquar heads towards Oa and looks to be poised for a collision.

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.