DC's NEW 52 MONTH 17, PART 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #17: In the world of Epoch, all of the justice League Dark members have changed. Worst of all is Madame Xanadu, who is withering and will soon die of old age. And, because of the portal between the worlds being opened, all of the magic from Epoch is coming into this world, but the pressure is too great on both sides. The only way to stop it is to send a message to Tim Hunter and Zatanna on the other side.  Tim’s father Jack volunteers. Back in Epoch’s Wild Area, a wood nymph spy arrives with news that Constantine and his companions have been captured and placed into a machine that analyses them. They have been separated from Frankenstein and John hopes he can get free and get them free, which he eventually does. While they are waiting, Madame Xanadu realizes her time is short and tells Constantine of the prophecy that says she will die here. And no matter what, he needs to get through the portal, even if all others don’t. He is also told he will leave one of his friends behind and give the order that will lead to Zatanna's death. Network's forces arrive and Zatanna creates an illusion of an even greater army at their side. While trying to escape,  Network’s faculty falls apart and John and the others must run for their lives. Meanwhile, Tim rallies his troops against Vikar.

Jeff Lemire, the writer who just seems to master creepy horror fiction in the NEW 52 Universe continues to do just that. The task ahead for the team is pretty grim and the question becomes who WILL survive it all? Someone gets left behind and Zatanna dies?  My bet is either Tim and/or his father remain in Epoch. We shall see. And Ray Fawkes continues to do an outstanding job on art. My BIGGEST COMPLAINT? editorial SCREWS UP AGAIN! Frankenstein NEVER ends up in the machine but ends up front and center on the cover IN THE MACHINE! Truth in advertising folks! Figure this out!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1: Five years ago, the Secret Society of Super Villains recruits Professor Ivo into their fold as a response to the formation of the Justice League. Steve Trevor, Justice League liaison, is being replaced by Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S: an organization he started. Waller, however, wants to start a nother Justice League called the Justice League of America. The idea is to serve the interests of the country rather than global ones. Steve refuses until Waller shows him the image of Wonder Woman and Superman kissing. First on the list of new recruits is Hawkman who may or may not be a police officer from Thanagar and therefore is not subject to the laws of our planet. It seems he has been doling out his own version of justice to those he believes are escaped Thangarian criminals. Next on the list is Katana, who Steve views as a killer like Hawkman. Waller believes that they can convince her to join by offering up information on her husband's murderers. Next up is Vibe who gained his powers in an event horizon during Darkseid’s invasion five years ago. Star Girl is the rock star of the group with a huge fan base and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She will join the team because Waller knows who her real father is. Rounding out the team are Martian Manhunter, formerly with Justice League AND Stormwatch, Green Lantern Simon Baz and Green Arrow. Steve tries to solicit Catwoman but she is not interested until Steve tells her he can help her find the woman who stole her identity. Martian Manhunter does agree to join the team, warning that he knows the real reason Steve is doing this and if Waller’s people try to move against him, he will mind wipe everyone in the building. Steve is called to the sick bay where one of the agents whop had been pursued in the Kiedler Forest has been found. The dying man removes his mask and reveals himself to be Green Arrow. He manages to explain there is a group called the Secret Society but, before he can tell Trevor who is leading them, he flat lines and apparently dies. 

So Geoff Johns and David Finch remake the JLA in their own image. This book has potential. First off: the inaugural issue isn’t bogged down with the horrible dialogue that plagued the first issue of the OTHER JUSTICE LEAGUE BOOK. Second, we have Finch’ great looking art. Who needs Jim Lee anyway? Third, we have a truly diverse cast of characters including one who has had his book shot out from under him. And just how many of Amanda Waller’s fingers are in how many pies in the NEW 52? What ISN’T SHE involved with? As far as this book succeeding, I see it lasting longer than the two books that coincide with it. I just can’t see Katana OR Vibe holding their own on their own. And if Green Arrow dies, does that mean his newly reinvigorated title gets cancelled?

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA’S KATANA #1: Katana heads to Japantown in San Francisco where she is looking for a girl named Shun who has some tattoos on her body that Tatsu needs to interpret. She rents an apartment in San Francisco and begins training in her secret basement. That night, she dreams of having relations with a Japanese swordsman named Coil who was her dead husband’s enemy. In the morning, she meets Shun and reads one of the tattoos that shows the history of her sword, The Soultaker. She leaves the tattooed lady and is attacked by ninjas and Coil. She defeats him and we learn that Coil wants Katana to join the Sword Clan so that she can train to use the Soultaker properly.

Ann Nocenti has been in the comics business since 1982 and has a lengthy resume behind her including lengthy runs on DAREDEVIL and KID ETERNITY. And then she got the job of GREEN ARROW beginning with issue #7 and most of fandom cried. And not in a good way either (not to mention a turn on CATWOMAN). Her writing has been criticized for bad dialogue and rambling plots that just didn’t make a lot of sense. And this book is no better. In fact, it may be worse. The dialogue here is so badly stereotyped that I want to watch a badly dubbed Shaw Brothers movie from the Seventies. And most of the main characters are also stereotyped. We have the drunk sword master, the bad guy who abuses women, the landlady with the gambling problem and the tattooed woman shamed by society. Oh for the love of…! As far as Alex Sanchez’ art: it’s the highlight of the book and that’s not saying much. It was quirky and awkward and sometimes things just didn’t make sense. While I never saw anyone with six digits on their hands, I also didn’t get a true comfort level of the quality of his art. As far as I am concerned, this is my first and only issue of the title. I thought Katana was an okay character in BIRDS OF PREY and, when she left that book, had high hopes her new series would be set in Japan, where she ended her run. Instead, she is in San Francisco. If I need my Katana fix, I’ll read of her exploits in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (so long as Geoff Johns keeps the language level above age thirteen).

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA’S VIBE #1: The story begins five years ago when a kid named Cisco wasn’t a hero named Vibe. A Boom Tube opens up in their Detroit neighborhood and Cisco’s big brother Armando is killed by a Parademon. Five years into the future, which puts us one year behind current events, and it is the anniversary of the start of the war against Darkseid. Cisco is now eighteen and working at an electronics store, when his brother Dante drops in looking to convince Cisco to go to the casino. As Cisco leaves work, he is approached by A.R.G.U.S. Agent Dale Gunn, who instructs him to get into his car with a promise of allowing Cisco to deliver justice for his brother Armando. It seems A.R.G.U.S. has been observing Cisco for some time and knows that he has vibratory powers. Gunn takes him to a house where they have a Parademon holed up and he is told that this is the same Parademon who killed Armando. With that, Cisco unleashes his energy and kills the Parademon. Gunn takes Cisco back to A.R.G.U.S. headquarters where they convince him to take on the role of Vibe and train to be a founding member of Amanda Waller’s Justice League of America. Waller tells Gunn that is Cisco refuses to join the team, he can end up like other test subjects. And she knows that this tram needs to be ready because Darkseid will return one day…for his daughter.

I have really mixed emotions about this title. This is one of the most disliked characters in DC Comics history. And here we have the powers that be bringing him back with a new origin and all. His character hasn’t been fleshed out enough for me. We know his brother died saving him and he has been carrying a wounded heart ever since. We know he is more than happy to gain his revenge when it is offered to him. We know his other brother Dante is a villain waiting to happen, especially with that name. But, other than that, we have nothing to go on. I realize that this is only the first issue, but more back story before Armando’s death and after would be nice. Geoff Johns does his best to write a good story. The best part of the story for me is Amanda Waller’s captives. We get Pariah,  Krakkle and Gypsy. Let’s see: in the old DCU, Vibe was killed by on of Professor Ivo’s androids, becoming the first Justice League member to be killed in action, before being resurrecting by Black Hand. And Gypsy: she once did and was resurrected with the help of Martian Manhunter. Coincidence? Oh yeah: Andrew Kreisberg’s art is nice. So, unlike KATANA, I will probably give this title another issue or two, just to see what the deal is with Darkseid’s daughter. Omega Effect, anyone?

NIGHTWING #17: Dick finds himself in a full blown depression following the destruction of Haly’s Circus and the Amusement Mile. Dressed as Nightwing, he goes to Kline Industries warehouse, where Raya’s body still is. He encounters Commissioner Gordon and asks him to rush on getting the forensics done before her funeral later in the week. The following day, Dick visits the Haly’s folks still in hospital. One of the performers, Marc, explains that they are all leaving after Jimmy and Raya’s funeral. On the next day, Dick and Lucius watch the Amusement Mile fully burn down, taking the rest of Dick’s fortune with it. He is so broke that Sonia Branch has to cover the funeral costs for Jimmy and Raya. At the funeral, two days later, Sonia offers her support before she leaves. Two days later, Nightwing catches three men trying to steal from the remains of Amusement Mile and beats them pretty badly until Robin talks him down. At the end, the mercenaries deliver a Flying Grayson costume with Joker graffiti on it to their master; a man called The Dealer.

This issue presents a changed Dick Grayson who is probably closer in tone and emotion to the “filled with rage” Dark Knight than he has ever been. Face it: this is one TOTALLY PISSED OFF FORMER BOY WONDER! He has been tortured by the Joker, watched two of his friends die at his hands, watched his dream and finances go down the drain. Yeah-I’d be pissed too! This is a great follow-up/epilogue to the DEATH OF THE FAMILY storyline and probably one of the best issues in the series thus far. Kyle Higgins and Juan Jose Ryp do a great job of conveying the emotion inside Dick Grayson. Based on events in BATMAN INCORPORATED #11, how will THAT affect our hero?

PHANTOM STRANGER #5:  The Phantom Stranger arrives at the Gotham City Police Department looking for Jim Corrigan. Corrigan transforms into The Spectre to defend himself from the accusations that he was responsible for kidnapping the Stranger’s family. The Spectre swallows the Stranger which allows him to see things from The Spectre’s perspective. Escaping his body, the Stranger turns his opponent into wood. They get interrupted by the Voice, in the form of a Scottish terrier, who admonishes the Stranger for accusing and NOT ASKING is The Spectre was involved in the Stark family disappearance. The terrier explains that both of these comic entities have a role to play and they need to balance each other. Meanwhile, Dr. Thirteen gets visited by The Question who offers Thirteen something to betray the Stranger. Thirteen calls the Stranger and claims to know something about the family Starks' kidnapping.

After a couple of surprisingly good issues, this one slips a bit as we get a really dumb fight between the two cosmic heavyweights. Dan Didio, whose dialogue for the first few issues was horrible, continues to plot the book with J. M. DeMatteis actually writing it. Brent Anderson is still providing the pencil art with both Phillip Tan and Rob Hunter inking his work. Despite this ridiculous “fight issue”, the title does continue to hold my interest and, overall, improves with each issue. Now, if we can only get the classic Spectre with his classic brand of vengeance…hint, hint, hint!

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS:#17: Arsenal and Starfire, waiting in their ship, finally get a message from Jason Todd and are relieved that he is alive. Jason is at Wayne Manor and preparing to say his goodbyes. He tries to convince Damian to let go of the hate within him and hopes it won’t take his death and resurrection to let him purge it, like it did for Jason. When Roy and Starfire arrive, Damian and Roy immediately get into a fight. Meanwhile, Starfire takes Jason in her arms, avoiding Nightwing in the process. Nightwing makes Jason promise that he'll watch over her. He tries to get out without having to see Bruce, but that doesn’t happen. Batman admits to having vouched for Red Hood to Superman, even though he totally disagrees with his methods. Jason asks if it was true that the Joker had created him. Batman responds Jason created Jason. Alfred asks Jason if he plans on staying for a while and makes sure he knows he will always have a home at Wayne Manor. Jason dons his helmet and is surprised by a holographic vision of the Joker, who complains that by Jason returning to life, he ruined the Joker’s masterpiece. His helmet fills with Joker Gas and Jason’s Joker infused laugh fills the house. Batman gets there first but it may be too late!

While this is a really well written story by Scott Lobdell which ties up loose ends from DEATH OF THE FAMILY and sets things in motions for the next story arc, you may know that I tend to define a book as being a mess when there are more people involved on an issue than there should normally be. You should have ONE writer (two at best if you have a writer and a plotter), one penciller, an inker, a colorist and a letter, not to mention an editor and maybe even an assistant editor. This particular issue has THREE pencillers (Ken Lashley, Robson Rocha and Adrian Syaf) and SEVEN INKERS (Lashley, Rocha, Syaf, Wayne Faucher, Julio Ferreira, Jaime Mendoza and Le Beau L. Underwood). REALLY?! What…did everyone take a page? Don’t laugh-that’s how I got to work with Richard Howell and Carol Kalish on PORTIA PRINZ: ENEMY OF TECHNOCRACY. Seriously-it took seven artists to put this thing out? WOW! You would think it would look like a Michelangelo fresco with that much talent involved. But the take on the Pieta for a cover IS a cool touch!

RED LANTERNS #17:  Atrocitus has reprogrammed the Manhunters to assault Oa and the Third Army. This gives him a chance to distract the Guardians and have a heart to heart(you’ll understand that in a minute) with the spirit of Krona, who tries to convince Atrocitus that he is a friend. Atrocitus waves him away and continues to search the underworld of Malgtus for the Great Heart. If he destroys the Great Heart, it will return emotion to the Guardians. He destroys the automated defenses and is ready to destroy the Great heart when he is interrupted by Volthoom, who has just recently destroyed the spirit of Krona. Meanwhile, Rankorr transforms into human form, fends off a fellow harassing a girl by breaking his arm and ends up getting picked up  by the girl. This could be interesting…especially with Bleez watching.

This is a better than usual issue for the team of Peter Miligan and Miguel Sepulveda. I belie part of that is because it is mostly about ONE Lantern instead of the whole Corps. Maybe it is me, but Milligan is at his best when he concentrates on a single story rather than multiple ones. As far as Sepulveda’s art: it is what it is. It sets the tone of the book and that’s what we are all used to.

SUICIDE SQUAD #17: The mission: retrieve a “package” from Metroplis' Chinatown where the leader of a Triad gang, Red Orchid, is responsible. By the way, Red Orchid’s happens to be Yo-Yo’s sister. He is asked about his sister and we get an origin story. She was once a lead researcher at Metropolis University. He was a crook who showed up one night to beg money from her. Superman was battling nearby and accidently was responsible for a breach in the geothermal reactor she had been working with. Back in the present, the team crams into an elevator inside Red Orchid’s hideout. Unfortunately, the elevator cables snap and Yo-Yo’s stretching ability saves them. The squad then faces the Sî Wáng: three killers in schoolgirl outfits. In short order, Killer Shark, Deadshot, and Voltaic take out their opponents. Red Orchrid sends the package, a man, out to them and Harley gets stabbed by several poisonous barbs. Deadshot is taken down by poisonous gas. Yo-Yo demands to know why this man is so important, but it is Regulus who answers, standing behind Red Orchid. Aren’t both they both supposed to be dead?

Adam Glass does his usual tremendous job on this title with fill-in art from Henrik Jonsson. Of course, I am far from thrilled that the powers that be at DC are replacing Glass, who has been the guiding force on this book since the beginning, with Ales Kot (WILD CHILDREN and CHANGE). AND THEN, if that wasn’t enough, they will have Timothy Green II replacing Sandu Florea on the art chores. There’s an old saying: if it ain’t broke, DON’T FIX IT!

SUPERMAN #17: In the concluding chapter of H’EL ON EARTH, we begin with Superman getting punched into outer space by H'El and finds himself meeting The Oracle. He asks the Oracle why is it here and has his mind instantly filled with images from the destruction of Krypton. The Oracle disappears and Superman returns to Earth to continue the fight. He conferences with the Justice League and discovers that there are natural disasters happening all over the planet and it seems H’El is responsible. In the Artctic, Superboy, Supergirl and Wonder Woman manage to destroy H'El's star chamber, but he has already obtained enough electromagnetic energy to power his ship up, allowing him to travel into the past. Supergirl finds the shard of Kryptonite that Superman and the Justice League were looking for during their attack on the Fortress of Solitude. H'El enters the ship, as Supergirl asks him to take her with him. She stabs him with the shard, poisoning them both. As Superman takes Supergirl to the Fortress to be treated, the time portal collapses and takes H'El with it. The Oracle watches all and realizes these events will have repercussions for every universe in the future. In the epilogue: a young Jor-El explores an old cave, when he discovers a wounded H'El, with the shard stuck in his chest. 

Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort bring this spiraling crossover to an end. I wasn’t impressed with this at all; not this issue or the mini-series. Of course, I was only reading one third of it, as I gave up on SUPERBOY and SUPERGIRL many issues ago. But the whole “here comes another survivor of Krypton” just didn’t sit with me. HOWEVER, the ending leads to a paradox. Has the present changed history or did H’El and Jor-El become friends because of this event all along? When you take THAT into consideration, this could result in a very meaningful time paradox tale down the road. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that was the plan all along and maybe I just gave the DC Editors an idea they can steal!
  SWAMP THING #17: Swamp Thing and Animal Man are horrified to find that Abby and Maxine have been turned into terrible creatures. Actually, Abby has been used to create clones while Maxine joined The Rot willingly in an attempt to save her family. Buddy snaps and tears her head from her rotling body. Swamp Thing attempts to get the Bat-Bot with the Bio-Restorative Formula in the air with Steel’s help, but Steel is cut in half by Arcane who begins to sabotage the robot. Beast Boy helps Buddy sprout wings which give Alec a chance to take the robot high in the air. The formula falls like rain and melts away the rotlings. Arcane escapes while Buddy and Alec give chase. Arcane tells them he can go back in time to one year ago and start over and over until he succeeds. The Parliament of Decay appears, explaining that death and life are one and they send Buddy and Alec after Arcane. They have only one chance to go back in time and set things right.

Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire and guest artist Andrew Belanger bring ROTWORLD to its’ conclusion. But it’s not REALLY over as Swamp Thing and Animal Man must go into the void of death to try and stop Arcane once and for all. This crossover has been a ton of fun and NOW I know how this won’t affect continuity. The heroes go back in time and stop it all from happening. That make it kind of a cheat but these two heavy hitter writers have done a tremendous job so I can’t shoot them for it. Oh wait: didn’t everyone scream COP OUT at Snyder for BATMAN #17? Just kidding! 

TEAM 7 #5: The issue starts five years ago where Caitlin Fairchild is working as a research assistant at the Advanced Prosthetic Research Centre. She’s there with her friend Maxine who was having her new prosthetic arm recalibrated. Her doctor, Dr. Henshaw, leaves to go check on Project Spartan. Unseen by the doctors, the soldier's eyes come to life. Meanwhile, Caitlin’s father Alex has a heart to heart talk with Slade Wilson who tells him he should relax after the last mission. At Team 7 Headquarters, Dinah Drake demands answers from John Lynch. He tells her of a Pyongyang orphanage that was assaulted by a three-year-old girl who changed the geometry of space-time. If she had lived, her country would have used her as a weapon. We flash forward to present day where Deathstroke infiltrates Lynch's floating headquarters. Lynch admits that Caitlin is dead and, when Deathstroke attempts to shoot him, Lynch stops the bullets in mid-air using his telekinesis. Slade realizes that the former members of Team 7 all have powers of some kind. Lynch tells Slade that they once killed a man who was able to destroy entire countries and he is coming back. 

Here comes my initial complaint. On the cover Gary Frank/Cam Smith/Brent Anderson cover we have Alex Fairchild defending his daughter Caitlin from a reborn Spartan. Uh…THIS NEVER HAPPENS. The closest we get is the cybernetics in the lab coming alive by themselves, including Maxine’s replacement arm. So…TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, GUYS!!! Second: I am actually starting to like this series a lot, so DC putting the axe to it with the May issue has me kind of bummed. Let’s see how the team of Justin Jordan Pascal Alixe and Jesus Merino get out of that in the next three issues. That having been said, this was an average issue that delivers tales of the days past. I would hope that we can find out how Team 7 came apart and resulted in everyone getting powers. Well…everyone except for Dinah’s husband who is apparently dead.

TEEN TITANS #17: We meet Kwon Yi: a young boy with a Metagene that he wants to go away. Unfortunately for him, the price is pays is not what he hoped for. Meanwhile, the Titans head back to their new home and try to become closer than they were before. Their new home, on a good sized yacht, means they will live together and hopefully hide from Tim Drake’s enemies. Kid Flash and Bunker share a room as do Kiran and Cass. Tim resides in the command center, which has eyes to everywhere you can think of. While Bunker and Bart bond, Tim and Kiran share a kiss. Then later, Cass and Tim share a kiss and maybe something more. Before the issue ends, Tim seems to be possessed and Raven makes her appearance and prepares to join her father as they get ready to attack our world.

Oh my God: can this book get any worse? One month, it rocks and the next it is back in the comic toilet! Tom DeFalco and Scott Lobdell have more words floating out of these teen mouths than most teens! They talk and talk and talk throughout the whole book, Except for when they are hooking up. Tim scores two team members in the same book? Who’s next-Bunker? The book continues to grow dark too. We all know that the original NEW TEEN TITANS had some pretty questionable stuff in it. Let’s be honest: the JUDAS CONTRACT was for the mature, Tara Markov was fifteen and slept with Deathstroke and somewhere in all of this, Donna Troy lost her ex-husband and son in a car accident. So, previous series weren’t exactly happy, cheery affairs. but this one is getting dark and grim. As far as the new art team of Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira go: PLEASE don’t have your characters smile. They all look sinister and creepy! And what is the deal with Raven now being a busty villain with a chest that could rival Power Girl? I understand that this Raven is not the same daughter of Trigon that the previous one was. but this one looks like a reject from SILENT HILL…with boobs! And that’s how I’m feeling reading this title-like a boob! Maybe there is a reason that most of the Young Justice line is gone-because they were AWFUL!

WONDER WOMAN #17: Wonder Woman and company find that Zola and Hera have left their hotel room. Orion tracks them to a nearby bar. Zola attacks War and instructs Diana to run. But the god turns the knife against her and threatens to slit her throat. So Diana agrees to sit and drink with him. War remarks that Diana needs a guide to go to Demeter’s and he offers to be that guide. As the rooftop garden on the restaurant opens into Demeter’s world, War asks her what she plans to do with the baby, reminding her it will need constant protection that Diana cannot provide. They are immediately attacked by Hermes who wounds War and threatens to do the same to Diana. Meanwhile, in the parallel tale, the First Born quizzes Cassandra about her cybernetic neck and she ignores the question. He then asks why she has decided to help him. She explains she is serving him because he is a god. They have come for the weapons inside the volcano on Anak Krakatau, which was once submerged. The helicopters they travel in are attacked by huge sharks and Cassandra is dragged down under the water.

What we have here is more godly goodness here from the acclaimed team of Brian Azzarello, Tony Akins, Amilcar Pinna and Dan Green. The legends of the gods continue to twist away and nothing we have ever seen in a Wonder Woman title has ever been like this. Even Diana Prince, secret agent in a pantsuit wasn’t this crazy! Talk about a dysfunctional family and this is it! Brother against brother, sister against sister and Hera getting drunk in a bar. Wow! And let’s not forget Stryfe checking out Orion’s goods! Yeah-this is REQUIRED READING!


WORLDS’ FINEST #9:  Four years ago, Helena had asked Kara to come with her while she visited a designer's studio to inspect the design for her costume and crossbow. One month later, Helena used the both of those designs in Prague to stop a gang trying to sell women into prostitution. Kara arrived to tell her friend she had located an island in Micronesia where she hoped to set up base. But she needed millions of dollars first. That was then…this is now. Starr Island is under siege and Huntress, despite having a broken arm, is forced to fight off the invaders. But the first defender is Karen Starr’s personal assistant Somya. During the firefight, Power Girl arrives and is surprised to find the assailants have weapons that fire that can hurt her. Huntress takes one of them down and the rest flee. Power Girl interrogates the prisoner who reveals they were there to get back what Starr had stolen from Michael Holt.

We have yet another confusing issue where we have Paul Levitz doing a great job of writing it, but then we get the “artist merry-go-round”. We have art by George Perez (pencils and inks on pages 1-7 and page 15), Cafu (pencils and inks on pages 8-14) and Yildiray Cinar(pencils 16-20, inks on 19 and 20 with Phil Jimenez inking pages 16-18). The story itself is fun, especially with Kara’s assistant Somya shooting up the place! If Levitz had this kind of momentum going on the full HUNTRESS mini-series, I wouldn’t have been totally disgusted by the end. The whole artist thing does get to me as it creates a totally uneven look to the book.

DC'S NEW 52 Month 17, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #17: We begin with the tragic events on the night of Clark’s Senior prom, where his parents die as the result of a horrific car accident. Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, Lord Vyndktvx’s attacks on Superman continue as he is beaten down by Superdoom. At the same time, The Legion of Super-Heroes try to change the fate of the Kents, but arrive too late. It seems that an hour before the accident, Vyndktvx got a handkerchief from Pa Kent and was able to cause their deaths because of isomorphic magic. He also helped Lex Luthor rise to power by using Glen Glenmorgan's tie against him. He even planned to take down Superman by stealing his cape, but was tripped up by a small boy who took it early in Superman’s career. So he decided to form the Anti-Superman Army. Years later, Nimrod the Hunter shot a teleportation bullet in Superman’s brain, which is where the Anti-Superman Army made their headquarters. Meanwhile, Superman appeals to the Anti-Superman Army, some of whom begin to have second thoughts. Some citizens come over, even putting themselves in jeopardy, and remove the Kryptonite chains that bind him. The pair continues to battle but they are interrupted by the one man who feels it’s his right to kill Superman-Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, the Legion’s time bubble arrives at the hospital room of Mister Triple X. In the back-up, It’s the night of Clark’s senior prom and he and Pa Kent are talking on the porch. Suddenly, Clark is replaced as his future self, Superman. From there, things get interesting.

Well, what was supposed to be Grant Morrison’s swan song has become his almost swan song as he closes out his run with issue #18. I, for one, will be glad to see this storyline end as it is so confusing. Time jumps, the Legion of Superheroes, the Anti Superman Army, Lex Luthor, takes on the classic imps from the 5^th Dimension and…the deaths of Ma and Pa Kent. He is just throwing everything into this story and seeing what is going to stick. For me, not a whole lot. The entire bit with Pa and Ma Kent dying on the night of the Prom just goes so much against Superman lore and legend. We have had them die from a tropical disease not long after Clark graduates high school. Then, following the 1986 reboot, they were still alive to help assist a modern Superman and even help care for Lois and Clark’s adopted son Chris. Killing them on the night of the Prom is just wrong. Regarding the back-up story-it’s typical Sholly Fisch: no more and no less.

ANIMAL MAN #17:  This is the penultimate chapter in the ROTWORLD SAGA. Animal Man and his army battle what used to be the Justice League at the castle of Arcane. He ends up calling on the ants and cockroaches to help him in his battle with The Flash and kills him in the process. On the other side of the castle, Swamp Thing and his army are battling Arcane’s Un-Men. Barbara Gordon, now a true Batgirl, tries to use the last remaining piece of Kryptonite on a transformed Superman, but that fails. So Mr. Freeze tries to bring out the sun, but his long dead wife kills him, leaving the job to Barbara. She fires the gun and the sun causes Superman to explode. Swamp Thing attempts to use Bat-Bot which is filled with Bio-Restorative Formula to destroy all the Rotlings. But a mutated Katana interrupts and ruins those plans. Medphyll, the last Green Lantern, is killed and the ring chooses Frankenstein, who proceeds to slice Wonder Woman in two. Animal Man teams up with Swamp Thing and they attempt to lift the Bat-Bot filled with Formula. But that is when Maxine, now one of the Hunters Three, and a mutated Abigail Arcane arrive. To be concluded in SWAMP THING #17. 

Jeff Lemire, Scott Snyder and Steve Pugh combine to set up the finale of this epic. This book has had tons of twists and turns during it’s first year and a half (including the Annual and issue #0). Now we have Animal Man and Swamp Thing trying to reverse Arcane’s attempt to end the world as we know it. Speaking of ending the world:  where does this whole crossover fit in continuity-wise? The world is taken over by The Rot. Is this before or after or instead of current events in the New 52 Universe? Or is this happening in an alternate reality? Remember: 52 Universes?

ALL STAR WESTERN #17: Some time ago, a man arrived in Gotham City and was looking to murder the city. He made friends with the most influential in town including Mayor Cobblepot and the Court of the Owls. He also took a liking to gambling at Wayne Casino. He also took to winning and maybe even cheating to do so, as Jonah hex accused him of doing. His name was Vandal Savage and he has brought the plague to Gotham City. Pretty soon, an entire section of Gotham City is cordoned off and the sick and they dying are kept there. It becomes known as Death’s Doorstep. Alan Wayne’s wife Catherine, while trying to bring food and medicine to the sick, ends up being taken into Death’s Doorstep and held for ransom. Alan Wayne agrees to give Jonah Hex 30% of his casino if he goes in with Arkham and some experienced trackers to rescue her. The trackers don’t survive very long as the residents are crazed like zombies and have also begun to engage in cannibalism. Hex and Arkham survive and make their way to the bank, where a dying man tells them that Catherine has been kidnapped…by vandal Savage. In the back-up, we meet Jenny Freedom in a tale where she ends up being solicited by Adam who is trying to bring her back to the Stormwatch of the 19^th century. 

This was an unexpected issue from the team of Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat. One minute, we’re dealing with the early influence of the Black Diamond and now we have a full on plague caused by everyone’s favorite immortal being Vandal Savage. The narration throughout is a little weird, as it tends to break the fourth wall on many occasions, actually addressing the reader. The back-up, by Gray, Palmiotti and Staz Johnson, does a nice job of infusing cyberpunk elements into the 19^th Century. We have seen, if you’re a reader of STORMWATCH, Jenny Freedom before, but only in brief. This is a fun little adventure that will set the stage to fully introduce the 19^th Century Stormwatch to the NEW 52 Universe.

AQUAMAN #17: Somewhere out in the ocean, whalers are doing their deadly task when they are interrupted by…THE SEA DEVILS! The whalers unleashed a strange weapon but Aquaman and a group of Atlanteans arrive to stop the whalers and destroy the weapon. One of the Atlanteans is Murk: leader of Men-Of-War who is sworn to protect his King at all costs. Aquaman and Dane Dorrance, leader of this band of alleged eco-terrorists get into a heated discussion about what side Arthur is really on. Retreating back to his creatures, he gets a call from Cyborg saying that Amanda Waller, who is now the liaison to the Justice League, wants to meet with him. They discuss how the whalers had what were Atlantean weapons, Orm’s upcoming trial and why Mera isn’t with him. Once he leaves, she radios a strike team and orders them to move in on Mera, who is captured by police in the Amnesty Bay grocery store. Back in the sea, Aquaman promises never to leave his sea companion creatures again. Meanwhile, somewhere in Antarctica, an unknown enemy prepares to challenge Aquaman for the right to be called King of the Seven Seas.

Another great issue from Geoff Johns and Paul Pelletier, filled with new subplots that can probably be good for the next twelve months or so. Johns dialogue is again filled with anger and some smart bits, Pelletier’s art is crisp, as always. But the biggest news is the first NEW 52 appearance of THE SEA DEVILS. I am giddy like a school girl over this!. I come from an era when it was cool to read CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, DOOM PATROL, RIP HUNTER, CAVE CARSON and…THE SEA DEVILS. Their book had some of the most amazing painted covers by Howard Purcell, not to mention, great writing from the legendary Bob Kanigher and art from the equally legendary Russ Heath. They last appeared in JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE and also during FINAL CRISIS. And it’s only Dane Dorrance, along with Nick and Judy Walton (the original team also had Biff Bailey working with them), but it’s a start. Can we PLEASE have their own title? And DON’T SCREW IT UP like you have with such chestnuts as The Unknown Soldier and Sgt. Rock.

BATGIRL #17:  Barbara Gordon has survived the whole DEATH OF THE FAMILY affair and is currently hacking into the Gotham City Police Database, looking for mug shots of the Joker’s accomplices. Meanwhile Mrs. Gordon receives a hospital visit from her son. At Police Headquarters, the Commissioner announces the department’s highest priority should be to capture his son. Barbara gets a call from her brother who suggests he should finish the Joker’s job of dismembering her. She hears a report on the police radio and decides to help the raid. Batgirl crashes through the window of a building the police are raiding and knocks out the thugs inside who were ready to ambush the police. Suddenly a rocket blast takes out the police van and all the occupants, including the prisoners. Later, Batgirl meets Firebug who detonates explosives and turns his flame guns on her. As this occurs, James Jr. watches, noting that Barbara hasn't pieced together his plan. 

With this issue, Ray Fawkes and Daniel Sampere take over from Gail Simone and Ed Benes. As you may recall, Simone was fired from the book by e-mail and Fawkes hired in her place. The, she got rehired and will take over the book again with issue #19. So Fawkes will do a two issue fill-in. His work is good and I’m sure he will find more work at DC, as he has already showed his work on JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. Until Gail returns, let’s ride this wave. Oh yeah: and we get the introduction of Firebug in the NEW 52 Universe.

BATMAN #17: The conclusion to DEATH OF THE FAMILY. Joker presents Batman at the dinner table where Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Batgirl are all bound. Each has a dinner platter in front of them. Each has a bag over their head. Joker says that each of them have been doused with gasoline. If batman gets up, the flints under his seat will ignite and set his family on fire. A Jokerized Alfred comes out and he pulls a rope that lifts the bags off their heads. Each has their faces bandaged and bloodied. He has Alfred lift the lid off of the large bloody dinner platter. Underneath is the severed faces of each hero, preserved with ice. Joker begins badgering Batman with questions: What is the Joker's name? Why hasn't Batman killed him yet? he claims it is because Batman loves him more than he loves the family. Bored with the whole affair, Joker pulls out a match. Batman gets up from his seat and that lights the table on fire. As the others scream, Batman takes an explosive from his utility belt and tosses it up into the ceiling, exploding and exposing a waterfall that puts out the flames. Batman unties Robin and undoes the bandages to find he is uninjured. The faces were just a joke. As Batman pursues Joker, Nightwing unties Batgirl. The two headed lion cub blows up and releases Joker gas that causes the family to fight each other. Batman catches up to the Joker and the two engage in a violent fight. As Joker tries to flee, Joker ends up at a waterfall and almost falls off the edge. Batman admits that he knows who the Joker is and threatens him by saying he'll whisper the name into his ear. The villain takes out a joy buzzer and hits Batman in the mouth with it and then dives into the water. As his face flutters downwards, Batman watches and does not pursue him. Inside Joker’s little black book? Empty pages. 

Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred awakens. Bruce tells him the others are also fine but the Bat computer is analyzing an additive that was in the Joker Gas. He also explains why he knows the Joker didn't know who he was. While Bruce awaits the arrival of the rest of the family, each one manages to come up with an excuse to not appear. Down in the Batcave, the Bat Computer isolates the mystery element in the Joker Gas. It’s element 105-Dubnium. The computer also tells him the original name was Hahnium and the original element symbol was Ha.
Wow! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are truly responsible for a modern Batman epic. While some online critics have complained about this ending being a cop-out, you have to realize that this was all a joke. The Joker is comic’s version of Alice Cooper and a master of the Grand Guignol. So too is Snyder who has pulled the wool over our eyes and has traumatized the entire Bat Family. Repercussions will be felt throughout all the titles for months to come. Bravo gentlemen: this was a wild ride that kept me entertained and intrigued and wanting the next chapter to arrive as soon as possible.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #17: An entire issue devoted to dreams. Damian dreams of the submarine he once lived on with his mother. He watches all his various enemies being drowned in the ocean. He is interrupted by his other self who explains they are Waynes first and al Ghuls second. He sees that Alfred is also being drowned and this causes him to wake up in horror. He notices that a live robin is perched at his bed. he follows the bird  to his father’s study where he finds a large vampire bat draining blood from Bruce’s neck. Again, Damian wakes in horror. Meanwhile, dreams the night the Wayne’s took Bruce to see THE MARK OF ZORRO. He hears a sound coming from the refrigerator. When he opens it, it leads him to the Batcave. When he reaches the cave, he finds that the Joker has beaten all of the batman family to death with a hammer. Alfred aims a shotgun at the fiend and blows his head off. Alfred wakes from his dream, takes comfort in doing what his master never could, and goes back to sleep.  Bruce dreams of standing beneath the sewer grate where his mother’s pearls had fallen. He takes the program book from the THE MASK OF ZORRO and forms a paper boat. The ghosts of his parents appear but they are soon washed away along with their son by a huge wave. As Bruce rides the boat to safety, he is attacked by the villains of Gotham, one of whom is Joker who is actually a white whale. Damien saves him, causing Bruce to waken. Damian dreams again of battling alongside of his father. They rest for a moment and batman reminds his son this is only a dream.

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason try something a little different after having to do the DEATH OF THE FAMILY thing. This is such a wonderful take on imaginary tales of old. But, by wrapping them all within a dream, it takes on a whole new feeling. The imaginary tales were fun back in the Sixties. But they would never work now. But this fresh take is a terrific tribute while acting as a bridge to the next story arc. A terrific example of storytelling at its’ best.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #17:  We begin with The Mad Hatter running a hat concession at the Gotham Goliath’s stadium. Obviously he is selling mind controlling hats as the one he sells to one little fan causes the child to beat himself up! Batman does some research and finds that Hatter has many corporations that all seem to be fronts for his operations. Meanwhile, Hatter seems to be preparing a stage play and if you give the director a hard time, it costs you your life. A party if held at the Children’s Pediatric Hospital of Gotham and two of Hatter’s thugs kidnap a young boy and its Batman to the rescue. Of course, failure is not an option and the thugs join others at the tea party of the dead. We also get some back story from Jervis Tetch’s younger days, complete with a date with a very special girl. The issue ends with Tetch drinking a special tea and preparing for an encounter with the Bat.

What a weird and wonderful issue. First off, Ethan Van Sciver’s art is stunning! This is truly the best work of what is a long and distinguished career and the fact that he is penciling and inking just shows he is totally throwing himself into this book. Gregg Hurwitz continues to outdo his predecessor with some amazing bits of whimsy and creepiness. In the whimsy category: Alfred questioning how silly the term Bat-Mining is for a particular piece of search software Batman is using. Even better: Batman and Jim Gordon talking and Jim, finishing his lengthy monologue says: “Here’s where I turn around and you’re gone”. To which the Caped Crusader replies: “Nope. Still here”. Two more panels go by with both characters standing around looking awkward. The third panel has Batman leaving, saying: “Right”.  That so describes the batman/Gordon relationship to a tee! And it’s great comedy too. Oh yeah-creepy. How about the Hatter turning some poor costume designer’s head around 180 degrees and then having him sit for tea at the weird tea party. Not to mention Hatter’s “date”. How real this versus how much of that is is drug induced fantasies from his special teas? We shall see in the next issue…maybe!

BATMAN INCORPORATED #8: Robin has put on what can only be described as his Boy Wonder flying suit and heads into Gotham City to save the day. He drops a gas on the crowd of Leviathan influenced kids, saving Nightwing in the process. Then he crashes through the lobby of Wayne Tower and saves Red Robin. Dick and Damian work out a plan, despite being outnumbered. Damian even admits that Dick was his favorite partner thus far. As the pair fight off the attackers, Damian’s cloned twin brother arrives and they battle. Among the bloodshed and an attempt to break Jason as Bane did to his father, Ellie, Wayne Tower’s scared receptionist, grabs the World Meta Bomb away from where it was left. Batman escapes from his underwater prison in time to take his fallen son into his arms. Robin, the Boy Wonder, is dead.

Grant Morrison has done it and, in doing so, this story made front page news on CNN. This was the moment that was heard around the world, just as it was when Superman died(and he came back) and Captain America died(and he came back). But this is not just Robin, because we have had two Robins die in the line of duty before (and he and she came back). This is Bruce Wayne’s son, who was created in a test tube. And he is killed by his own brother, who was also created in a test tube. And it’s not like he probably won’t end up in a Lazarus Pit or be cloned AGAIN. Morrison and Chris Burnham, despite all the hoopla, have crafted a great story that puts Damian Wayne into the ranks of classic Robins. He has gone from punk monster to the consummate ten year old trying to please his father. And fight crime at the same time, of course. And if you don’t think this death will have repercussions throughout the Bat corner of the NEW 52, think again, as BATMAN AND ROBIN will have a title change for the next few months to come, among others ripples throughout the various titles.

BATWOMAN #17: It’s the final battle between Batwoman, Wonder Woman, Ceto, Medusa and Maro. Meanwhile, Bette Kane battles The Hook and takes him down with a new weapon in her suit: a flamethrower, which blasts off his evil hook. She declares her new personality to be Hawkfire. Maro’s corpse has transformed into his sister Sune. Kyle Abbott gets turned to stone by Medusa. Batwoman teams up with Wonder Woman and Hawkfire to shatter Bloody Mary like a mirror. Batwoman uses one of the shards to have Medusa turn herself to stone and then smashes her to pieces. Ceto now finds herself free of her mother’s will and Wonder Woman offers to take her somewhere safe. Batwoman destroys the camera the DEO had given her to record Wonder Woman, much to Agent Chase’s chagrin. All of the kidnapped children are now free and they are brought to the park where Maggie Sawyer is. Batwoman calls her Mags, takes her in her arms, kisses her, and asks her to marry her. If that wasn’t enough, Director Bones finds a sarcophagus with Beth Kane inside. She is alive and convinced she is Alice Lidell. 

J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman bring this story to an explosive and shocking conclusion. The full page shot of Maggie Sawyer and Batwoman locked in a kiss has pumped out almost as much press as the Superman/Wonder Woman kiss did a few months back. What makes this so important is not the lesbian kiss, because we’ve seen that before, but the fact that Kate proposes and reveals her identity in the same breath! Awesome! And it looks incredible too, thanks to Williams. Plus, for all you long time fans, Beth Kane is still alive and the DEO has her. Yeah: total Fanboy mode right now!

BIRDS OF PREY #17: Gotham City has a major blackout thanks to the uncontrolled cry of Black Canary, which destroyed a power station in the process. Strix attacks her even as Black Canary says that the former Talon is the last person to judge her. Batgirl asks for an explanation and Strix scratches the following into the ground: “She will kill all.” The Basilisk agent digs himself out of the rubble and releases Heartstoppers, even as his partner remains buried and begs for help. The Heartstoppers lock onto the electrical pattern of the nearest human heart and destroys it with powerful shocks. Batgirl is the first affected until Strix rips it away. Strix doesn’t have a human heart, so the devise passes her by. Starling, places a call to Amanda Waller. Starling asks her for a favor, even though she is deeply indebted to Waller. Strix manages to destroy the Heartstoppers herself and, in the process, gets shot up by the strike team responding to the power blackout. Only her healing powers save her. Dinah, threatened again by a Heartstopper, explains to Strix how her husband Kurt’s presence controlled the intensity of their powers and lately she sees his face when she uses her Canary Cry. Batgirl finds the Basilisk agent and tells them they need to explain the destruction to the authorities. Starling admits she called in a favor from a "business associate" and suggests they all go out for drinks.

What started out really promising ended up as a big bucket of poop. Strix needs her own series and lose the other TALON book. For that matter, as this issue illustrates, we could probably lose this book. Okay, we know Starling has some connection and debt to Waller, but what is it. And the whole idea of Strix and canary having issues and then Starling suggests they all go out for drinks. An absolutely horrible ending to a lame story! Another Duane Swierczynski masterpiece.

CATWOMAN #17: Out on patrol, Catwoman observes a drug deal going down with a group of kids called the Rat-Tails and a mysterious man in a black suit. Things get ugly and the boys call for help and it’s Catwoman to the rescue. She demands to know who the man in the suit’s employer is and he says it used to be a big fat guy in a tux, and now it is a skinny man in a suit. With the arrival of the day, Selena and Gwen scope out the Gotham Museum for a job stealing paintings. Meanwhile, Detective Carlos Alvarez is not getting along with his new partner’s attitude towards crime and justice. That night, Selina begins robbing the museum but can't get Gwen to answer her phone. She runs into a pretty confused crook also trying to steal from the museum and tries to get him to help her escape. But he’s riding a motor scooter and she is left stranded on the roof with the stolen paintings. It seems Gwen has been taken in for questioning by Carlos and Tammy. But she has connections and all it takes is one phone call and she gets sprung. Meanwhile, the other thief turns over a pair of bird-shaped cane-tops. 

YAWN! Ann Nocenti strikes again with a lackluster story that goes nowhere. Oh, Selina does visit the little boy who was traumatized by The Joker. Of course, the nuns think he is crazy because he claims to have been given a stuffed teddy bear by a cat woman. You would think she could find a way to not reveal her secret identity but come to his defense and all. Anyway, the story is uninteresting. The cops want to catch the crooks, the crooks are trying to score on big thefts and the Emperor Penguin lurks in the background. The dialogue is choppy and Selina and Gwen talk like teenagers. Bet they listen to One Direction in their spare time too! Above it all, Rafa Sandoval’s art is nice looking!

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #17: Roy Harper, also known as Arsenal, has been captured and beaten by a Japanese Triad gang seeking revenge for the murder of Suzie Su. Roy asks his captor, Zhang Xing, for a quarter but is turned down. Roy gets a kick to the chest from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Killer Croc. There is a collar around Croc’s neck and it seems like that is what is controlling him. We get a flashback to a time when Roy was so far down he tried to commit suicide by getting Croc to kill him. Croc, knowing of Roy’s problems with alcohol, refused. Roy is actually here in Hong Kong to rescue Croc. Again, he asks for a quarter and when Zhang tries to punch him, Roy picks a quarter from his pocket. Zhang leaves, threatening to bring more men. Roy uses the quarter to slowly chip away at the shackles until his wrists are free. He refuses to die today as Jason Todd owes him twelve dollars. Hours later, Roy has gotten free and found a way to turn every day items into deadly weapons, killing most of his captors except for Zhang and Croc. He realizes on close inspection that this isn’t Croc at all, just a creature resembling him. Despite getting beaten badly, Roy promises to help the creature escape and cuts the explosive inhibitor of of this creature with a shard of broken glass. The creature, calling himself Fangfeng, convinces Roy to let him deal with Zhang. That night, Roy returns home and steals twelve dollars from Jason’s wallet while he sleeps.


Joe Keatinge and Ricken(sounds like a pop group!) turn in a decent little story here that, as far as I am concerned, only exists to introduce Fangfeng to the NEW 52 Universe. I like Roy’s character in this much more than in RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS, where he comes off as totally obnoxious. Here he has some soul and a lot of that is due to the continued back story that DC Editorial is introducing regarding his history between himself and Killer Croc. Who knew that a homicidal killer could be an AA sponsor? 

DEMON KNIGHTS #17: We begin with Etrigan being taunted by Lucifer. Jason Blood is still being tortured by Vandal Savage.  Meanwhile, over in Al-Wadi, Exoristos, Sir Ystin, and the Horsewoman head off to rescue Jason. On arrival, Exoristos meets with Vandal Savage while Sir Ystin frees Jason. As they escape the castle, Horsewoman gives a thought to all our Savage’s men’s horses causing them to refuse to follow. Days later, somewhere in Italy, the team runs into Madame Xanadu. Meanwhile Cain and his vampire army continues on their march to Themyscira.

New writer Robert Venditti continues to take his time with this tale as the pacing is much slower than previous issues. He is obviously used to poacing at a slower rate than most comic writer sand it’s evident here. I still like the concept of having Cain heading towards the original Paradise Island and this could add some interesting pieces to the mythos of Wonder Woman. Once again, Bernard Chang’s art moves the book along. 

DETECTIVE COMICS #17: We learn that Arkham’s Dr. Byron Merideth, was burned to death by a group calling themselves The League of Smiles. All the members were apparently patients of Merideth. But Batman is still trying to deduce who Merrymaker, their leader, is. After getting into the late doctor’s office and retrieving the hard drive from Merideth's computer, he begins digging through the files back at the Batcave. He hears of some new murders and “photogrammetrically” appears in the morgue to examine the bodies. He determines they aren’t victims of either the Joker of the League of Smiles., but meant to look that way. He also examines Byron Merideth’s corpse and realizes he has made a mistake. Meanwhile, the League of Smiles prepares to murder the residents of the Gotham Children's Hospital. Batman arrives and delays them as he goes after Merrymaker, who he finds holding a woman hostage. Batman punches him in the face, shattering his mask and revealing his true identity: Dr. Byron Merideth. The rest of the League of Smiles breaks into the room, as Batman explains how the doctor used Phillip Miles to fake dental records and to fake his own death. The woman is his ex-wife and he has already killed her lawyer whose office is only a block away from here. It doesn’t take long before the League, realizing they have been played, turns on Merideth and beating on him until Batman intervenes. The next morning, Emperor Penguin continues his plan to rise to power in Gotham. In the back-up, Dr. Merideth is involved in his own psychiatric evaluation as a criminal only to find that the results aren’t to his liking and he ends up in Arkham and not Blackgate. And what secret obsession does the psychiatrist harbor?

Well, John Layman may not be Scott Snyder and Jason Fabok may not be Greg Capullo but they sure know how to craft a pretty amazing story. Layman has managed to make DETECTIVE COMICS what it was: a detective book starring Batman-The Dark Knight Detective. It’s also nice to see that the greatest detective besides Sherlock Holmes can make a mistake every now and then, as he does here. As far as the back-up goes: Layman does a great job of giving us some back story on the good Dr. Merideth and even throws in a twist ending. And Andy Clarke’s art rocks!


DIAL H #17: The Centipede has Nelson Jent’s dial and begins dialing numbers like crazy, with no effect. Jent punches Centipede in the face , which allows Roxie to touch the dial and turn into Minotaura. Her power traps the Centipede in a maze and gives them a chance to escape him. Centipede manages to get free and meets up with General Choler at a Canadian government facility. He is asked to stand in on the interrogation of their dial user. He also gets a “focus-group approved” Centipede head mask which has special filters installed. Meanwhile, Roxie and Nelson have moved into a motel room near the secret government headquarters. Nelson becomes The Glimpse and infiltrates the facility. The Centipede can feel Jent and convinces the government's dial user into using the dial, even though he has orders not to. Soon, thanks to the Centipede’s interference,  the Glimpse is face to face with the Bristol Bloodhound. 

This book just gets weirder with every issue. China Mieville and Alberto Ponticelli (with inks by the legendary Dan Green) deliver a book that I am pretty sure will end up being a future causality in the NEW 52. I see myself as a hardcore comic reader with five decades under my belt and I think it’s weird. Imagine what the rest of the comic reading community, those that the NEW 52 was GEARED towards, think of it. If they couldn’t get FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. or I, VAMPIRE and generate enough interest in sales to save them, what chance does this title have. And honestly: I don’t know if this book deserves to be lumped in with the NEW 52. Truly, it should be a Vertigo title. 

EARTH 2 #9:  We begin in New Orleans, where Hawkgirl tries to convince Khalid Ben-Hassin to use the Helmet of Nabu to help her fight an upcoming threat. She sends him to Michigan to keep an eye on The Flash. In Michigan, Jay Garrick meets with his mother to let her know he is okay. He soon realizes that the house is being watched by Wesley Dodds and his Sandmen. Suddenly The Atom appears along with Sonia Sato and the World Army. Dodds holds Jay’s mother hostage and Khalid clubs him over the head with a stick, which allows Jay to grab his mother and Khalid teleports them away. They end up in the realm of Nabu. A stranger named Wotan saying he is the mage in a group trying to gain control of magic by obtaining Nabu's power, which has been confined to a tower that only Khalid can enter. 

If you are going to have two people act as architects on Earth 2, it’s nice to have James Robinson and Nicola Scott. Robinson, as you should know by now, was the mastermind behind the last JSA series along with STARMAN and others. He is known for his attraction to the characters of the Golden Age and his love for those Earth 2 characters was always evident and still is. As far as Scott’s art: FANTASTIC. this book, despite the critics, is still a winner!

GREEN ARROW #17: Oliver Queen, the hero known as Green Arrow, woke up three weeks ago to discover the Queen Industries was sold to Stellmoor International by his father’s old friend Emerson. Oliver confronted him and, during that confrontation, one of Oliver’s arrows crashes through the window and Emerson, dragging him to the street below. Building security arrives and Oliver defends himself before running for his life. He calls Jax to help get him suited up. Jax warns that someone was making he and Naomi do something at which point the Q-Core building, where Jax and Naomi had been, exploded. Emerson has been murdered, his only friends have been killed and his company has been destroyed. Oliver gets to one of his safe houses in Seattle and gathers his costume and his bows. He steps out and comes face to face with Komodo who promises to kill Oliver. Apparently, Komodo found a stash of arrows at Queen Industries and has used them against Oliver. Komodo fires an arrow at Oliver’s feet, which cements the hero to the ground. He beats on Queen and references wasted destiny before he lines up a final kill shot. Suddenly Oliver is saved by someone Komodo calls Magus. As they escape together, Magus tells Oliver that he was not supposed to be in Seattle. In fact, he was never supposed to leave the island.

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have taken over for Ann Nocenti and Freddie E. Williams II and most of fandom breathed a satisfied sigh. I only read the first issue and the #0 issue and I was not impressed with either. Nocenti’s writing has been totally blasted by critics and fans alike. What Lemire brings to the table is a much revered series of writing successes. SWEET TOOTH, ANIMAL MAN, FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E., and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK have all  met with critical praise for the style and creativity he has brought ton them. Andrea Sorretino, artist on the soon to be ending I, VAMPIRE, does what he does best: deliver totally moody art! Thbis is one of my new favorite titles. Good thing some of my other favorites are ending to allow me the extra coin for this one.

GREEN LANTERN #17: We start out ten billion years ago where Krona is watching the creation of the universe. Ganthet makes him aware that there is a giant hand wearing a green ring. Moments later, the video screen explodes and an astronaut emerges carrying a lantern. He is Voltmeter-the first Lantern. Meanwhile, the current Green lantern ends up trapped in a battle with the Black Hand. In the next cell are the Guardians who are trapped by Volthoom, who likes to dig deep into Ganthet’s psyche to find out what changed him from the compassionate Guardian he once was. For a moments during it all, Black hand becomes William Hand and Simon Baz becomes Abin Sur. Uncertain how to save himself, Baz creates a giant hammer and breaks the cell containing the Guardians, releasing them and Volthoom and transporting him into the realm of the dead where Sinestro and Hal Jordan are.

This issue is the worst I have seen in this series yet. And most of the mess is in the form of the art. Now let me clarify: the art looks great. But it took the combined talents of Dan Jurgens, Phil Jimenez (who were responsible for the prologue), Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin, and Christian Alamy to pull it off. Really? FIVE INKERS! And it shows! It is almost as if each inker handled a different character, which just makes this whole book look totally disjointed. And to be honest: the plot is kind of lame. So, the FIRST LANTERN is an ancient astronaut and Krona, as most of us know, is the guy responsible for a lot of the drama in RED LANTERNS. I have no idea how this whole crossover is going to be tied together but this is a rough start. And to top it off, the Lantern books will play the creator merry-go-round game after this crossover is finished as Johns and Mahnke leave to be replaced by Robert Venditti and Billy Tan.

I VAMPIRE #17: Andrew Bennett and his minions, have taken over the House of Mystery and it is up to John Constantine and his team to get it back. Realizing they are overwhelmed and probably are facing a battle that won’t win, they make their assault. John Troughton sees his grandmother and has his heart ripped out by Bennett. Deborah Dancer has to dispatch a zombified Mishkin before discovering the dead Professor. Tig attacks Constantine and he holds her in time to remind her that Bennett killed her father. Mary Seward meets up with Bennett who tries to woo her back to him. He doesn’t fully get the chance as Tig beheads her and prepares to kill Bennett. Meanwhile, Cain’s bride, Lilith has risen from the grave and is heading for the house.

I am SO going to miss this title. Joshua Hale Fialkov has done an epic job on this book since issue #1 and will ride the ship down as it heads towards cancellation. I am so impressed with his work that I will probably have to follow him over to GREEN LANTERN CORPS when he takes that book over (with art from Bernard Chang). This book has just done so much to walk away from standard vampire clichés (ands hasn’t fallen into the trap that I understand Marvel’s MORBIUS has). Art this issue is by Fernando Blanco and is very reminiscent of Andrea Sorrentino’s work. It may be too late to jump on board this title, but it’s never too late to find the trade paperbacks or the back issues.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #17: The THRONE OF ATLANTIS crossover comes to a conclusion. It’s an all out war between the Justice League and the heroes they drafted to bolster their numbers (including a female Atom?) and Ocean Master and his followers, including the fish creatures from the deep. Aquaman and Ocean Master in a classic brother against brother battle with Arthur coming out on top and Orm surrendering. Vulko also surrenders as Arthur declares himself King of Atlantis. Together, the League and the Atlanteans repel the fish creatures and send them back to the trench. Vulko is sent back to Atlangtis to stand trial and Orm is kept on the surface and sent to jail so he can stand trial for his crimes. Arthur backs his bags, leaves Mera behind and heads beneath the waves to take his rightful place as King of Atglantis. Based on what has transpired, Batman believes it is time to open up their ranks and begin recruiting talent for the League, beginning with…Scarecrow?

And so ends Arthur Curry’s tenure, at least for now, with both the surface world and the Justice League. Geoff Johns has written a great crossover here that had some nice twists and turns. His dialogue has been aimed at the right audience and the twist of having Vulko, long time adviser to Aquaman, be the villain of the piece and Orm ending up in a surface world jail is priceless. Ivan Reis, the new artist on the book, turned in another stellar issue and even Paul Pelletier shows up to illustrates two pages where Aquaman leaves Mera and heads of to his own title, where there is an epilogue in issue #17. but really: a female Atom? And the Scarecrow joining the team. Has Batman got bats in his belfry?

DC'S NEW 52 MONTH: MONTH 16, PART ONE

ACTION COMICS #16: We find ourselves in the 30th century and the Legion of Superheroes, or what is left of them, try to hijack the last known Time Bubble. Chameleon dies in the process and Sensor holds back the attacking soldiers allowing Saturn Woman, Cosmic Man and Lightning Man to head back into the past to make things in the time stream right. This takes us to yesterday, as Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen meet at the statue memorializing the day Superman died at the hands of Doomsday. Soon after, Superman and Xa-Du crash land and Superman tells Lois and Jimmy to find Mr. Triple X at Metropolis General Hospital. Lois spies her niece Susie floating nearby. Susie tells her that she was being controlled by a small man. Lord Vyndktvx appears and promises everyone eternal life in his kingdom as long as they don’t help Superman. Although captured by the Anti-Superman Army, Krypto and the Metaleks free him until the dog is trapped in Kryptonite chains. Two days before al of this, lex Luthor was working on a Transmatter Symphonic Array(?). It activates on its own and Superdoom arrives inside the Array to kill Superman. Meanwhile, Lois and Jimmy find Mr. Triple X but can’t wake him. That’s when the Legionnaires arrive to lend a hand. In the back-up story, the Legion of Super Heroes helps protect President-Elect of Earth Hiroshi Takaneda from assassination. We learn that he is really Universo and he will cause the United Planets to crumble within 9 years.


Here we have Grant Morrison and Rags Morales taking the imaginary story to a new place. The past has changed, the future has changed and all we need is Jimmy Olsen as Turtle Boy. This is a riotous tribute that also paves new ground in the legend of Superman. The back-up story is simple fluff by Sholly Fisch and Chris Sprouse that I assume will find a way to tie into the main tale, or provide back ground for the LEGION OF SUPERHEROES title. All in all, Morrison is racing towards his final issues nicely.

ALL STAR WESTERN #16: Jonah finds himself a bit cranky since being laid up last month with a broken leg. He finds himself staying at Doc Arkham’s place where the constant presence of nurse Constance and the lack of alcohol is driving him to suicidal tendencies. Not to mention Arkham’s ailing mother who is also driving Hex crazy. One night, he decides to kill her but reconsiders and spends the night reading her JANE EYRE. The next day, Mr. Hyde arrives, making rude comments to Constance regarding her time and threatening to kill her. Hex leaps into action and eventually, with the help of Constance, shoots him. Not killing him and only wounding him, the now reverted Dr. Jekyll gets locked up and Hex makes it a point to put the Black Diamond in a bottle and pitch it out to sea. In the back up, Tomahawk and his fellows Native Americans gain their violent and bloody revenge on both the Americans and the British in the conclusion of this tale.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Moritat hit a major Home Run with this concluding chapter of the Black Diamond Probability. What I love it getting to see the side of Hex we very rarely see: the human side. We see him at the depths of his alcohol addiction and depression and actually put his gun to his temple. We see him take compassion of Arkham’s aged mother, who is convinced Hex is a character from JANE EYRE. In addition, we see the ass-kicking, albeit on one leg, Jonah Hex who saves the damsel AND himself. As far as the back up story: it is a bloody tale that continues to paint the foreigners on this soil in a very bad light. And that is okay. Tomahawk was always painted much like Tonto-the good “injun”. This is no “injun”-this is a man seeking revenge for his family and his people. Great stuff!

ANIMAL MAN #16: Animal Man and company free Medphyll, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. He chosen as Earth's Green Lantern when the Guardians saw Earth fall to The Rot because he is a plant based organism that they thought would have a direct connection to The Green. But he was captured by Blackbriar Thorn, who has discovered his prisoner is now free and attacks. Constantine tries to reason with the wood creature while Black Orchid uses her powers to wither the vines. Buddy uses termite powers to dig deep into the wood and remove the wizard controlling the creature. Meanwhile, Frankenstein and his army are battling Arcane’s forces. Medphyll makes his way to the Daily Planet globe, where he hid his power battery, and recharges his ring, allowing him to enter the fight. The united team heads to the heart of the Deadlands and is attacked by a blur, which turns out to be a Rot controlled Flash. the first victim is Constantine as The Flash thrusts his fist through John’s chest. Arcane’s stronghold is protected by the Justice League. As part of the parallel story, we discover that Maxine was betrayed by William Arcane and gave herself over to The Rot to save her family. But, in doing so, she sealed the fate of the Earth as the special protector was now part of The Rot.

Jeff Lemire and Steve Pugh continue to bring this book to a whole new level. I read issue after issue of this crossover (including SWAMP THING) and wonder how our team of heroes manages to pull the fat out of the fire and set reality right. If you can have me guessing throughout, I GUESS you are turning out one hell of a comic book story to confuse this veteran. NICE JOB GUYS!!!


AQUAMAN #16: While Cyborg goes under, his program keeps on running, and it will tell us who actually caused the missile to launch. Aquaman does his best to rescue the League, who have been encased in solid water.  But the piranha-people from the Trench come forth and not only attacks the now freed League but also Orm who is trying to battle the substitute League members too. But if Orm is working with the piranha-people, why are they attacking him. It turns out, once Cyborg’s files have downloaded, that Orm is NOT responsible for all of this mess. It turns out that Vulko, the exiled Atlantean, is in possession of the Atlantean scepter and he has started the war.

Geoff Johns takes the red herring, runs with it, and leaves us totally baffled until those final pages. In the old DCU, Vulko was Aquaman”s close friend and advisor. Apparently this one has been exiled after Aquaman left and now he wants revenge. A very nice, unexpected twist indeed. And Paul Pelletier’s art is just beautiful. This is truly some of his best work of a very long and illustrious career.

BATGIRL #16:  So, with Commissioner Gordon in the hospital, Mrs. Gordon missing a finger and tied to a five-pound nail bomb, it looks like Barbara Gordon is going to have to marry The Joker to set things right. he explains that she and the rest of the Bat Family are dragging The Caped Crusader down and he is going to set him free by freeing them from him. But to keep her from running away, he says he is going to cut off her arms and legs with a chainsaw. Just then, her brother James shows up with two live grenades. He says that he saved their mother so she attacks the Joker, convinced that she will kill him with the chainsaw if she can. But James Jr. drugs her, as he had made a deal with the Joker to let his mother go free or else he would kill Batgirl himself. To make sure he gets away, he pulls the pin on a real grenade and drops it at the Joker's feet. During the explosion, James gets away. When batgirl awakens, the Joker announces he is calling an end to their engagement. In his hands he holds a platter and teases her to guess what’s underneath.

If you have followed any of this month’s DEATH OF THE FAMILY titles, you will see this platter making its rounds. What IS under the lid and is it the same for every player? For all we know, it’s a different item with each reveal. Whatever the case, Gail Simone and Ed Benes are following the master plan to the letter and it all comes down to BATMAN #17 for the final chapter. Next issue: the fallout of those events.


BATMAN #16: Inside Arkham, Batman sees that the Joker has dressed guards like Batman and the Joker and is having them dance for days in a pool of water. Batman thinks he plans to shock the guards he activates an electromagnetic pulse to deactivate the electrical system. But the Joker has figured that would happen and has a back-up power supply ready. Batman tosses something into each cell to absorb all the water, thus saving the guard’s lives. Our hero heads to Dr. Arkham’s personal quarters, where he figures our crazed villain will be. But Joker has figured this too and sets an armored group after Batman. He takes them all down, unhorsing a swordsman in the process and taking the horse for himself. He doesn’t get far as he sees a tapestry the Dollmaker has made from still living bodies, illustrating past moments with the Joker. Continuing on his way, Batman encounters Mister Freeze, who the Joker introduces as the king's groundskeeper. Losing the horse in the process, batman puts a heating device on Fries' chest. Further on, he encounters the Commissioner and breaks his arm. He’s revealed to be the king's player, Clayface. Freezing him with Mr. Freeze’s freeze gun, he next encounters the court physician, Scarecrow. 

As he gets to the main room, he sees a stone, with an electrified chainsaw embedded in it. On one side of the room is Penguin (the bishop), Riddler (the strategist) and Two-Face(the judge). On the other side is the Joker, with a group of victims dressed as the Justice League. He makes the man dressed as Superman try to pull out the chainsaw and fries him beyond recognition. Before he can make the woman dressed as Wonder Woman do the same, Batman cuts the jumper cables with a Batarang. He then shows Batman a set of screens on the wall, showing all the members of the Bat Family defeated. He tells Batman to accept his true role on the throne as Bat King.  He warns that if Batman doesn’t take the throne, he will never find out what happened to the bat-family. Defeated by the villain, Batman sits on the throne, puts on the electrified crown and takes a huge electric jolt to his brain. In the back-yup story which follow immediately after the main tale, the Joker’s trio of collaborators are anxious to leave but also want to see if the Batman is truly dead. But the Joker has plans and locks the trio up so as they won’t interfere. Riddler passes out from tranquilizers in his costume. Two-Face points a gun at the Joker who verbally puts Harvey and fills him with doubt, forcing him to lower his weapon. Joker does show the two conscious villains the entree platter which visibly disturbs them.

There is not a whole lot I can say about this except that I have no idea who or what is under the platter and have no idea who Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are going to tie this one up. This has been one great ride and coming on the heels of the NIGHT OF THE OWLS, puts this team up there with the greats in Batman history. this is truly a classic story in the tradition of  THE KILLING JOKE, KNIGHTFALL, BATMAN IN BETHLEHEM, SON OF THE DEMON, HUSH, THE JOKERS FIVE WAY REVENGE, THE LONG HALLOWEEN, and THE LAUGHING FISH(which appears on that living tapestry). This is the most amazing work of his career and we can only hope he and Capullo are in this for the long haul. Tune in next month to see how this all turns out. 


BATMAN AND ROBIN #16: Robin discovers that his father has been affected by Joker Venom and the two must fight to survive. Damien finds he’s been weakened by Joker Toxin as well. Just as Batman is ready to kill his son, Robin decides to simply give up. He would rather die by his father's hand than kill his father. So Joker kills Batman. In tears, Robin grabs one of the screwdrivers from Joker's tool belt and stabs him through the foot. Joker draws a mustache on Robin's face using the blood off the screwdriver. He unmasks the Batman, revealing it was really a dojo master named Toshiro Matsu. As Robin begins to pass out, the Joker tells him of a surprise under the lid of the entree platter. See you in BATMAN #17 for the shocking answer to that question of what’s in under the lid.

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason continue their portion of the DEATH OF THE FAMILY tale with a delightful little battle between the killer Boy Wonder and a fake Batman. It’s does what it needs to and propel the story forward. Other than that, wait until next month to see how the aftermath affects the team.


BATMAN AND ROBIN ANNUAL #1: Damian sends the World’s Greatest Detective across Europe, forcing him to retracing places of significance to the Wayne family. Along the way, he finds a painting by Martha Wayne in England, a photograph of his parents in Spain and a long hidden wedding proposal in Greece. While all this is going on, Damien dons his own version of a Batman costume and solves the mystery of a gasoline theft. And Alfred finds a long lost love and realizes some loves need to remain lost.


A very heartfelt and touching issue from Peter J. Tomasi and Adrian Syaf. It has nothing to do with the dark and gloom of DEATH OF THE FAMILY and stays away from the carnage of BATMAN INCORPORATED. This is an issue that shows the love of a son for his father as he illustrates the importance of family. And it is all undeneath a sweet looking cover by Andy Kubert.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #7: Things are going really badly in Gotham City. Leviathan has captured Batman, most of the Outsiders have been hospitalized following a hellacious explosion and the Knight is dead.  Meanwhile, the Kollektiv, a Batman Incorporated group, are in Yemen and find the carcass of a whale at a Leviathan training facility. Watching on satellite, Damian realizes this was the birthplace of his cloned twin brother. Wingman arrives at Batcave East and gets ambushed by the Hood who is aligned to Spyral. At Wayne Enterprises Headquarters, a new security guard starts shooting people and Ellie, the receptionist is forced to hide, getting away as Talia al Ghul arrives. Batman finds himself trapped inside a safe and needs to pull a Houdini. Damian realizes he needs to save the day. Alfred hands him the Robin costume, disables the security locks, steals the Robin jet-armor and flies off to the rescue.

Grant Morrison’s epic storyline races towards an equally epic conclusion. Really, Grant: you killed off The Knight? So I guess the chances of a sequel to the mini-series from a few years back is highly unlikely. This is a great, winding story with awesome art from Chris Burnham. Who knew that chaos could be so much fun!

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #16: Gotham has been rife with random kidnappings that have left the citizens panicked. Batman breaks up a kidnapping at a sweatshop in Chinatown, although it costs him the Batplane in the process. The kidnappers shoot their own men trying to slow Batman’s progress. As they attempt to escape, Batman fires up the engines to the destroyed Batplane and goes after the kidnappers. He manages to save one victim but can’t help the rest as the Batplane explodes and destroys the van and its’ inhabitants. Once d he returns home, he gets into an argument with his girlfriend Natalya who is convinced she knows who he is. Later that night, Batman visits the Penguin and accuses him of being responsible for the kidnappings. Penguin reminds Batman that he isn’t the only villain who likes hats. This leads us to the Mad Hatter who has been using his mind control on his kidnapped victims. Not thrilled with failure, he orders a step-ladder be brought out for him. He climbs the ladder so he is the same size as one of his accomplices and then shoves his thumbs into the other man's eye sockets and kills him. THAT’S tough love!

If you recall, it was Gregg Hurwitz who brought us a creepy new vision of The Scarecrow. Now he is responsible for bringing us a truly terrifying Mad Hatter! And you thought he was crazy in the first BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT story arc. He is downright maniac here. This issue also features the debut of Ethan Van Sciver on both pencils and inks and he provides what may be the best work of his career. This book continues to impress and now that Hurwitz and Van Sciver are running the show, I expect it to continue to elevate the dark characters to new heights.


BATWOMAN #16: Batwoman is happy to see her girlfriend but she is also pretty upset to find that the Hydra is trashing Kate’s penthouse, her lab and all of her memories regarding her sister and mother. Wonder Woman halts Batwoman’s attack as she explains that only three people could battle the Hydra and survive and Batwoman is not one of those. She tells Batwoman to be concerned with the children and let the Amazon handle Hydra. Agent Chase is in the middle of the fray and her boss, Director Bones battle Medusa wearing special goggles that keep him from turning to stone. Just when things look the darkest, Flamebird, arrives to battle The Hook. Maro calls Ceto up as Medusa explains to the kidnapped children how the mother of all monsters came to be. Batwoman continues to fight Medusa's cultists and received aid from the Religion of Crime. Wonder Woman battles the Hydra and eventually finds a way to strike the monster down. Batwoman seeks out The Weeping Woman and begs her to make this end and she turns on Maro and drowns him. Unfortunately, Ceto, the Mother of All Monsters has arrived.

The penultimate chapter is here and it looks great! J.H. Williams III is back as artist for the entire issue and it has been a lot time in coming. Combined with co-writer W. Haden Blackman and this title continues to be amazing and mystifying. And to all the haters out there who have an issue with this title because of the love relationship between Kate and Maggie: go find another book to hate. This title is a rocking character study that just defies common misconceptions.

BIRDS OF PREY #16: Talon Strix has been brought into the mix to bolster this team which was now short Poison Ivy and Katana. While Batgirl fully trusts and endorses her choice,  Black Canary and Starling are not sold on it. That was when Condor shows up to save the day and attack Strix. But Starling has her own axe to grind with Condor and the two of them square off while Batgirl and Canary try to stop Strix, who is pretty pissed about being blindsided. It turns out, once cooler heads prevail, that Condor has come to Gotham to let the Birds know that someone is dealing Basilisk Tech. We jump ahead three weeks with the team on a new mission. Condor confesses he is looking for a new team  to replace one he used to be on. Can someone tell him this is an ALL GIRL TEAM? Suddenly Black Canary gets another headache and unleashes a powerful canary scream that takes down an building down.

Duane Swierczynski and Romano Molenaar continue their tale of the transformation of the Birds, but that will be short lived. Jim Zubkavich, who is responsible for the Image book SKULLKICKERS, takes the writing tasks away from Swierczynski with issue #18. And I am pretty good with that as I have not been a big fan of his writing, specifically his dialogue. I do like the idea of putting Strix on the team because we needed another crazy chick with sharp objects under her command!

CATWOMAN #16: Trapped in the Black Room with a scientist named Darwin, Catwoman has been affected by the Black Diamond. At the same time, the Diamond’s presence has caused other evil and magical items within the room. She slides the diamond and the map into her cleavage and that can only spell major problems. While the A.R.G.U.S. guards try to figure how to get into the room without letting the evil artifacts out, Catwoman attacks a demon, beating it up with the arm of a boxer. The guards can’t figure how to get them out, so Darwin, Catwoman and two downed guards jump inside the Haunted Tank and use it to ram a hole through the doors. Selina, now in the disguise of the Professor she was pretending to be, eventually ends up with Trip Winter's. Trip takes the diamond to the man who hired him. He claims to be Bruce Gordon but is actually Alex Montez and he is VERY happy to have his diamond back.

Let’s start with the fact that the tag line on the cover says ASSUALT ON A.R.G.U.S.. Sorry guys: ASSUALT is not the same as ASSAULT!!! Editorial-you f’ed up! So we went from Judd Winick to Ann Nocenti and I like her writing almost as little as fans did on her work on GREEN ARROW. Her dialogue is wooden as everyone sounds like they are 16 years old. However, she and Rafael Sandoval conclude this piece of the BLACK DIAMOND story. Oh well: with Jeff Lemire now writing on GREEN ARROW maybe I will read that book, dump this title, and follow Selina Kyle at JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA.


DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #16: So Black Lightning is lying on the ground in Madame Rousseau’s Wax Museum where he has taken a series of bullets to save his father’s life. And Blue Devil is naked because Nebiros took his suit/skin away. The evil demon brings some of the wax figures to life and they attack Daniel. He manages to defeat them, some in a grisly manner,. and then slips the Devil skin back onto his body and generates enough magic to heal Black Lightning. But that’s not enough so the Devil makes a deal with the Devil: Nebiros will fully heal Black Lightning if Blue Devil lets Nebiros live. Blue Devil accepts. Black Lightning comes back to life with a little more evil in him than he had before. But that’s okay because Blue Devil has a little evil in him too as he puts Nebiros in the body of Tobias Whale. How’s that for payback?

This was probably my favorite DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS arc since the CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN and may actually be my favorite arc. The dialogue and characterization by Marc Andreyko was tremendous and Robson Rocha’s artwork was equal parts dynamic and creepy. I would love to see this duo in their own title, as long as this creative team is behind it. Nice job, guys!

DEMON KNIGHTS #16: We begin in 1043: 30 years after the Battle of Avalon last issue. We’re in Saxony and Cain, the original vampire is tearing up a town. Meanwhile,  the Horsewoman is being hunted by men riding armored buffalo. The catch her and Maelstrom, her horse, dies and becomes food for the hunters. captured, they bring her to Al-Wadi where she becomes their prisoner. Aleeady their as aprisoners are Sir Ystin and Exoristos. Although he has aged, we learn that Al-Jabr is the caliph and he put out the bounty on the Demon Knights to bring them back together to take on Cain. It is believed he is travelling with an Amazon he has turned and they are headed to Paradise Iland. We also discover that Vandal Savage and Jason Blood have issues as Savage has been torturing Blood for many years and can’t fight back. maybe that’s because he has no mouth with which to cry out.

New writer Robert Venditti does his best not to jump the shark by launching the team forward thirty years. Obviously, it’s too early in his run to tell. His style is fluid and his plot ideas seem to be taking the book in the right direction. I like the idea of bringing Cain into the mix as it will soon be the only place to find him, as I, VAMPIRE has gotten the axe! We also have Bernard Chang’s typically nice art work propelling things along. Let’s see where Venditti takes us before I pass any further judgment.

DETECTIVE COMICS #16: With the Joker back in Gotham, all kinds of fanatical followers have popped up and Batman is trying to deal with this including a new group calling themselves the League of Smiles. He finally makes a connection with the body of a psychiatrist that many members shared. The doctor had been burned to death at the hands of Rodney the Torch, who is planning on attacking the Homestead Youth Center. Batman arrives and finds Rodney alone. He has let his hostages go as he had a change of heart. He has also cut off the smile tattooed on his face. He tells Batman that the group’s leader, the Merrymaker, is going to continue the killing rampage. In the back-up, we see just how far Ogilvy will go to earn the name of Emperor Penguin.

Here is further proof that the Joker doesn’t even have to appear in a DEATH OF THE FAMILY crossover to make the book creepy. John Layman and Jason Fabok take the concept of rapid fanaticism to a whole new place here, especially Fabok who provides some of the most amazing artwork of his career. And the back-up by Layman and Andy Clarke is also pretty intense. We get to see the rise of Emperor Penguin, complete with the blowtorch killing of a rival. What is it with everyone and the disfiguring of their smiles?

DIAL H #16: The Centipede is looking for answers and he’ll do pretty much anything to get them. It appears that he got his powers The Centipede gained his powers testing a time machine for the Canadian government. He breaks into Roxie’s house and tries to crack her computer. but the computer goes into an emergency wipe, leaving him pretty much out of luck until his superiors step in and shut the wipe down. He also discovers Roxie is Manteau and discovers her passport, showing she is in Toronto. Meanwhile, Roxie and Nelson are on their way to Toronto to search for the second dial. Soon after, Manteau encounters the police and becomes the hero Flame War. In actuality, it was Nelson in a Manteau. He begins hallucinating former heroes he had transformed into and it is clear he is becoming an addict. He sees another hero in front of him named Lad Autumn.  But before Nelson can work with him, soldiers arrive and take Lad Autumn away. The Centipede runs into Nelson and takes his dial. He begins to brag how all the research they have done didn’t let them figure that the mysterious "O" they have heard about stands for Operator. The last thing he does is threaten to use the dial himself.

China Mieville and Alberto Ponticelli continue to weave the most screwed up title in the NEW 52 Universe. And I still don’t know what to thnk of it or how long this will last, as I am certain even the most die hard comic readers are having a hard time with this one. It’s disjointed; totally out of bounds in the realm of normal superhero titles. Let’s face it: it’s pretty f’ed up!

EARTH 2: We begin in Dherain where Steppenwolf  is meeting with King Marov. We are reminded that the World Army is actively searching for the man who nearly destroyed Earth 2 and killed the legendary Seven Wonders. But King Markov has secretly ordered his men to be ready to attack Steppenwolf to gain whatever technologically advanced weapons he can. But Steppenwolf is aware of the plan thanks to his one ally: Fury, who is Wonder Woman’s daughter. The pair cripples the Dherain forces and kill Markov. Then Steppenwolf takes the throne of Dherain and makes plans to conquer the whole planet. 


James Robinson and Yildiray Cinar continues to pave new ground with the EARTH 2 series. Fury is a villain and aligned with Steppenwolf of Apokolips? Really? Do you think mom would approve? This next chapter is going to prove to be extremely interesting. Not only are we promised the debut of more heroes, we have this story in line. 


FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #16: Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos have been assigned by Father Time to stop The Plague from setting off a dirty monster-bomb. Nina sets off the B.I.G.F.O.O.T. to keep any nearby surveillance equipment from recording them. But it doesn’t work as well as it should. The Plague launches a Monster Bomb from within the Devil’s Water tower onto an unsuspecting Central City. Frankensten, Velcoror and Griffith arrive to stop the terrorists. Unfortunately, someone from Homeland Security has spent the last five years of his life watching this group and everything he has spent the last five years doing has been ruined. He sees the bomb falling and runs outside to try and save lives. Velcoro drops Frankenstein on top of the bomb, as he believes his blood will negate the virus. He blows up the bomb and himself but somehow survives and dispatches the Plague.

Thus ends this great series which just never caught on with most fans. Matt Kindt added a much-needed gust of steam following the departure of Jeff Lemire, but it was not enough to keep it going. And Alberto Ponticelli? He will continue with DIAL H until that book is cancelled. Look forward to seeing Frankenstein as he continues as a member of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. As for the rest of the Creature Commandos? Who knows. Good luck guys. Welcome to the Monster Unemployment line.

GREEN LANTERN #16: Someone finally believes that Simon is innocent and terrorism and lets Waller know that he is not a threat. He learns more about how to use his ring, with some help from B’dg, a Green Lantern resembling a large squirrel. Within the ring are hidden messages from Hal and Sinestro. They want Simon to find Carol Ferris and Arkillo. After being told that the ring can do anything, Simon heads to the hospital to cure his comatose brother-in-law. That is when B’dg explains that the ring can’t do that. Surprise-IT CAN because he has faith and strength like no other Green lantern before him! And we learn that Hal and Sinestro’s mysterious guide in the “afterlife” is Tomar Re.

Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke continue on with the next chapter in the RISE OF THE THIRD ARMY. And luckily they tell us to read this before we read of the rescue of Guy Gardner because this issue DOES happen first. It is an average issue but the revelation that Tomar Re is the mysterious guide in the afterlife is not so much of a surprise as this has been referenced and discussed for many months now. Once this storyline ends in GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #1, we move on to the next epic storyline-THE WRATH OF THE FIRST LANTERN. There are changes on the rise and they all begin now.


GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #1: This is the conclusion of the RISE OF THE THIRD ARMY crossover. The Lanterns, with the exception of Hal and Sinestro, who are still trapped in “the afterlife”, band together for a final battle. Kyle is now a White Lantern, Guy Gardner is dressed in black, and Mogo arrives to help decimate the Third Army. But the Guardians are still trying their best to destroy the Lanterns and even Killowog’s anger isn’t helping to win the day. That is when the Manhunters arrive and start to attack the Guardians. Ganthet taps into the power of the First Lantern and this sets Volthoom free, with a promise to destroy everything, including the Guardians.

I don’t normally read this title but, since it is the final chapter of this epic, I felt obligated. And I felt that this is just one more piece of a much larger puzzle. As with his work on BATMAN AND ROBIN, Peter J. Tomasi writes a very complicated and busy story. With Chriscross doing the artwork, this book explodes from the printed page. And having Scott Hanna and Marlo Alquiza inking you cannot hurt either! We are left with almost as many questions as we have answers and we can only hope that the next crossover for the Lantern line,  THE WRATH OF THE FIRST LANTERN, will answer that. Either way: I’m sure it will not be pretty.

HUMAN BOMB #2: Michael Taylor continues to deal with his discovery that he is a human bomb and is being hunted by other men from his outfit. Samuel from the N.S.A. tells him about the nefarious plot of C.R.O.W.N. and sends Taylor out on a mission to stop them.

There’s not much to say about this book. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, known for their work on ALL STAR WESTERN, lay a big egg here as this book just seems to go nowhere. It takes a full issue to get Taylor from Ground Zero on to a mission. Along the way, there is a lot of dumb dialogue and not much action. However, the art by Jerry Ordway is his usual killer work. If you have a few extra bucks, buy the book just for that!

I VAMPIRE #16: Cain tells the tale of how he took his first victim and created his bride, Lilith. Mary is tired of hearing about the trials and tribulations of the first vampire, who is no longer a vampire, so she goes out for some night air. John Constantine happens to be there and they discuss how Bennett and his new army have killed almost all of the Van Helsings and how he could continue to destroy the world. He also explains how important it is to get the old Bennett back. Meanwhile, back in castle Van Helsing, Bennett and his crew have now turned the librarian and have angered some residents there. It does not take long for the foursome to dispatch their enemy. Tig wants to leave the group to hunt the killer of her father when Bennett tells her than Constantine was responsible. The Brit gathers Mary and Company to the House of Mystery. Unfortunately, Bennett and his team have gotten there first.

In the column of unfortunate, this title gets the axe in April, along with DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS and THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN. I sort of figured this title would drop eventually because, despite all the positive press this title got (and selling enough copies of the trade paperback to end up on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list) and sadly, it is sooner than later. That also means a planned FLASH crossover goes by the wayside. Joshua Hale Fialkov’ writing has been stellar throughout this run and this issue is no exception. Scott Clark, Fernando Blanco and Szymon Kudranski handle the art and it shows. In some spots it looks great and it others it looks like it was drawn by an art school student…an art school student who is flunking out! Three artists on one issue of a comic usually means there is a problem.