DC NEW 52 MONTH 21, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #21: Superman continues to battle the hybrid creature with the help of a holographic transmitted Dr. Veritas, who teleports a red light device to him. Suddenly Lex Luthor arrives in his warsuit to evict the Man of Steel from Earth. Superman convinces Jimmy and Lois to lead the hybrid humans to safety, even as Luthor tells Superman he is allowing the virus to spread. Lois records the confrontation between Superman and Luthor on her phone, specifically when Luthor admits he created the virus. Unfortunately, she drops her phone in the midst of their battle. After a trip to the sun to regain his energy, Superman defeats Luthor but id disappointed to hear the police consider arresting HIM. Lois and jimmy, with no physical evidence explain the real story to the police. The following day, Jimmy and Lois meet with Clark, who gives her back her phone that he claims washed up on the river shore. Lois hugs him, declaring him the best friend ever, even as she goes off on a date with her boyfriend, Jon Carroll. In the back-up, Lara breaks ups with her lover as he falls under the influence of Colonel Zod. And Zod has sent men to kill Jor-El.

The Andy Diggle/Tony Daniels era continues and it just gets really dumb! Luthor shows up in his battle suit and spends way too much time doing his monologue. Superman gets depressed because people don’t understand him(is this supposed to tie in with how he is treated in the new movie?). Lois’ phone survives an epic battle and she BELIEVES it washed up on the river shore and was found by Clark after an exhaustive search. Clark gets dumped…again. The dialogue is awful and the plot is equally bad with holes to drive a bus through. And the only thing worse than the main story is the back-up, which continues to give us the early days of Lara, Jor-El and Zod but really does nothing for me. Personally, I cannot wait until November when Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder sink their creative teeth into this title.

ALL STAR WESTERN #21: We begin with Booster and Jonah fleeing from the remains of Clem Hootkins' gang. Unfortunately, Booster ends up driving the horse drawn cart they are in over a cliff. Jonah grabs Booster who apparently floats through the air. Jonah drops off Booster and falls to the ground. When he wakes, he realizes he is in Gotham’s future, where he finds a family being attacked by a gang of mutants and fights them. Before he can reach the family, he finds himself in battle with the Gotham City Police Department and the Batwing. Hex mentions Amadeus Arkham and Batwing think he is an escaped mental patient and he knocks him out. When Jonah wakes, he is in a padded cell and has been labeled a lunatic. In the back-up, something in Dr. Thirteen’s garlic fueled blood poisons Mircalla and causes the death of her and her minions. Adam is left to his own devices as the team strips him naked and lead him in the desert. Before all is done, Jenny offers herself to Dr. Thirteen.

This was a wild issue this time around as Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti send our hero off to the future of Gotham City. And it’s not just ANY future: it looks to be the future of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Well, there are mutants here so it MAY be possible, unless that timeline doesn’t exits any longer. Oh yeah: our hero needs to know that you can’t say “colored” any more. But, at the same time, the GCPD have to know that “redneck” is equally offensive. Art for Moritat is on target as it always is. Regarding the back-up, AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE: I don’t care! First off, I don’t need to bear witness to a 19^th Century Stormwatch team, even if it does color the future characters and their descendants. Second: if I wanted vampires in the desert, I would watch FROM DUSK TILL DAWN.

ANIMAL MAN #21: As we learned last issue, Buddy baker has been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the film TIGHTS. His manager calls him at the apartment he has been living in since his family threw him out and implores him to go back to work. Buddy reads about pet abductions in the area and decides he must investigate. He ends up at a seemingly abandoned warehouse, where he feels the pain of all the animals who suffered there.  Meanwhile, Ellen and Maxine moved to Ellen’s mothers’ farm in Sacramento. Maxine pretends to go to sleep, but actually ends up talking to her cat Socks. Maxine decides she and Socks will travel to The Red to revive her brother Cliff. They encounter the Shepherd who says the Totems have mellowed a bit but she must still maintain some decorum when speaking to them. She tells them she wants to be their avatar, but only if they do it while she's asleep and that they allow her, Shepherd and Socks to look for Cliff, which they agree too. Back at the warehouse, Buddy makes his way into the basement of the warehouse and discovers all the animals have been subjected to horrible experiments. He runs into the person responsible, who has grafted the animals' body parts onto his body. The creature flees and Buddy gives chase, but runs straight into the paparazzi.

Jeff Lemire once again continues to amp up the complete creepiness of this title. We have a creature made up of animal parts that has been torturing small animals? Wow! That just turns all the animal lovers completely off! And then, we get sweet little Maxine preparing to resurrect her brother? THAT can’t be good! Great looking art from Steve Pugh and Francis Portella too!

AQUAMAN #21: Deep beneath the Bermuda Triangle, Mera has a long overdue meeting with Nereus, who kisses her passionately claiming she is his wife. Meanwhile, her REAL husband is off hunting The Scavenger and tears up one of his submarines to discover that he is not there. In Medical Cove. an Atlantean who was savaged by The Scavenger is stabilized until he is well enough to operate on, while some plan to rescue Orm from a human jail. Arthur goes to find his wife and discovers that Mera, Nereus, and the rest have been frozen by the alleged First King of Atlantis. While Vulko screams to see Aquaman prior to his trial beginning, The Scavanger’s plan is revealed. He has implanted a tracking devise inside the wooden Atlantean and now he and his followers have invaded Atlantis. 

The DEATH OF A KING storyline continues on as all of the pieces begin to fall into place. Kudos to Geoff Johns and Paul Pelletier for churning out another killer chapter in this soon to be epic. We get a glimpse at Mera’s background, the First King of Atlantis, the real story behind the Bermuda Triangle and proof that The Scavenger is truly a villain to be reckoned with and deserves a place in the pantheon of Aquaman bad guys.   

BATGIRL #21:  Nightwing returns to Gotham City and calls Barbara Gordon to talk about James death, making the comparison to how he lost his brother in Damian. Meanwhile, Barbara is trying to deal with the hostage situation involving the Ventriloquist and hacks into the police database. She learns that the Ventriloquist is Shauna Belzer. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon meets with his ex-wife and is sad to discover she is leaving again.  Later that night, Shauna entertains Xavia while she sits at the dinner table with the corpses of Shauna's parents. Shauna fears her dummy, named Ferdie, thinks Xavia more attractive than her and demands he drill out the singer’s eyes. Batgirl arrives and ends up battling the corpses, accidentally slice the father’s head with her Batarang, before defeats them and handcuffing them to a table. Soon she is battling with Ferdie, who wounds her with his drilling before she causes him to be destroyed by an exploding Batarang to his head. Shauna is soon knocked out by our hero and Xavia is recues, even though Batgirl leaves to avoid being caught by the police. Later that night, while she and Alysia eat Snickerdoodles, Barabra’s date arrives: Ricky.

Yeah…this one has it all: romance, drama…animated corpses. We even get Nightwing proving to be a jerk by calling Barbara up to console her while whining about losing his “brother”. I am so glad to have Gail Simone back on this book as she continues to write some great stuff...even if we probably will never find out HOW Babs got her legs back. Fernando Pasarin does a beautiful job on the art and Alex Garner’s cover is eerie and rocking! This is quickly becoming one of my “must read” first books in the Batman Family of titles.

BATMAN #21: We start six years ago when Gotham City seems to think that Batman is dead. He soon proves he is not. Five months earlier, Batman had been working under cover to try to bring down the Red Hood Gang. He ends up in a standoff and discovers that his new grappling cannon needs improvement and ends up in Gotham Bay for his troubles. Later, we learn that the world thinks that Bruce Wayne is dead and Bruce wants to keep it that way. As he is about to leave, he is surprised by the appearance of his uncle Philip Kane. Kane explains he’s been trying to keep track of him since he disappeared and finally figured out that he was back when Alfred moved into Crime Alley. He drives him to the new home of Wayne Enterprises, which had merged with Kane Chemicals. Kane had Bruce declared dead so that he could take control of the company. He told Bruce a story about when HIS father realized he was dying and Bruce recalled his father showing him a visual mapper that used a 360 degree camera that Lucius Fox had designed. That night, Kane told his strategist that Bruce wasn’t going to play along with him and Edward Nygma tells him the simplest answer would be to kill Bruce Wayne.

In the back-up, a 19 year old Bruce Wayne learns stunt driving from a criminal named Miguel that Bruce manages to turn on and turn into the local police.

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo begin the ZERO YEAR event here with a tale of Bruce’ past AND the debut of Edward Nygma, who all comic fans know as The Riddler. There are so many great months in this issue, especially Nygma’s appearance AND the legendary Giant Penny, which is in front of Wayne Enterprises. Yeah-those were two MAJOR FANBOY moments for me! As far as the back-up by Snyder, James Tynion IV and Rafael Albuquerque: like most of the back-ups in DC titles, I can do without it. It’s a meaningless little tale that shows off Bruce as a 19 year old future superhero.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #21: Batgirl is battling drug-runners at the Gotham City Docks and meets Batman, who lends a hand to dispatch the crooks. Later, Batgirl watches her father and feels responsible for her brother’s death. Elsewhere, Harvey Bullock is on the scene of a hostage taking and Batman intervenes, offering himself up as a hostage to free the civilians. The offer goes by the boards and Batman ends up fighting the hostage takers with enough brutality that Bullock needs to intervene. Batman kicks him in the stomach and warns him to NEVER touch him. Returning back to the cave, Batman finds Barbara waiting for him and criticizes him for his violent crusade. She then breaks into the display case where Damian's costume is kept and offers to put it on if Batman ever needs a Robin. Batman orders her to get out and takes the costume back.

Peter Tomasi continues to document that slow decent into hell for the Dark Knight. As with every issue since the death of Damian Wayne, the title changes again. Technically, it’s BATMAN AND BATGIRL #21, but that just gets WAY TOO CONFUSING, so we’ll call it BATMAN AND ROBIN. It’s an interesting story, as we realize that Batman and Batgirl are both going through their own private hells.  Cliff Richards does an adequate job on the art, but I miss Patrick Gleason. 

BATMAN INCORPORATED #12: Batman has bats from the Bat Cave attacking the transformed Man bats and changing them back to normal because these bats contain the antidote. That allows Batman and the surviving members of Batman incorporated to be free to take out their frustrations on the murdering brother of Damian Wayne. Bloody and defeated, he ends up back with Talia, who beheads him and proceeds to blow up Wayne Industries building. At the end of the issue, Talia is inside the Bat cave and ready to face off against her former lover. 

Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham gallop along to the epic conclusion of this series. Morrison’s grand plan is coming to fruition and it ends with a battle between ex-lovers. This issue was light on dialogue but heavy on action and gore. And that’s fine because this issue was all about Bruce and company trying to save Gotham City and exact a small amount of revenge on Damian’s murderer. Burnham’s art is killer and so is the action. Despite everything Morrison has done to mess with Bruce Wayne’s life and the mythos of the characters, I will be sad to see this series end.

BATMAN SUPERMAN #1: Many years ago, a young Clark Kent visited Gotham City for the first time. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne was watching a group of boys bully a Middle Eastern boy named Zack. Bruce decides to watch and see what happens but Clark intervenes. Clark introduces himself as a reporter for the Metropolis Daily Star and he says he is investigating the murder of three Wayne Enterprise employees in Metropolis. Wayne tells him to stay out of it and that Kent should go back to the small town he came from because he will never understand the city. Soon, word comes that one of the Wayne employees fell victim to Catwoman. Batman ends up in a fight with her and has to break his employees’ wrist to stop him from activating stolen titanium robots from catching Catwoman. Superman arrives and takes out the robots with ease and then assumes the Batman is the murderer. He sets off a bomb which shocks and stuns Superman and then he finds himself having household appliances dropped on his head by an obviously possessed Catwoman. Both heroes head towards each other but a blinding flash sends Superman to Smallville. There he sees Batman, in a different costume, who has activated a shield of Kryptonite radiation to protect himself. Superman battles him, accidentally burning down his father's tree with his heat-vision in the process. Their fight was interrupted by the voice of Jonathan Kent, who can’t understand why his son is acting this way.


Greg Pak, the man responsible for so many great Hulk tales over at Marvel introduces his take on the origins of the Superman/Batman team. Well, not really the team as they were friends in the old DCU and here they just exist. This issue represents the first meeting of the two legendary heroes and it’s a winner! We get to see a Gotham City filled with the dregs of humanity. We get to see a nice parallel that never really was hammered home before: in this universe, there is an amazing similarity between Clark and Bruce’s ascent into manhood.  Clark’s parents die in a car crash (technically murdered) on the night of his prom and that partially leads to him going to Metropolis. Bruce’s parents are killed and that leads to his decision. Jae Lee’s art is his typical super stuff and half the reason to buy the title. So the book is really cool and, in addition to this, Pak’s next assignment takes him to ACTION COMICS where he can continue tgo craft the legend of the Man of Steel.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #21: Picking up where the last issue left off, Batman leaves the scene of the death of Natalya Trusevich in search of seeking his revenge on the Mad Hatter. Alfred tries to convince Batman not to go after the villain in the mental state he is in. Batman replies that if Alfred tries to stop him, he will run him down. Reaching the Hatter's underground lair, Batman finds himself attacked by Gothamites who have fallen under the Hatter's control. Freeing himself, he runs into Tweedle-Dum and Batman deactivates the mind-controlling device he has. Once the Hatter and the Dark Knight meet, Hatter blows hallucinogenic dust into his enemy's face. Overtaken by horrific visions, he eventually breaks free of the drug and breaks Tweedle Dee’s jaw. Batman then proceeds to beat Hatter to the point of near death, knocking the unconscious into a pool of water. Alfred is forced to remind Bruce that if he lets Tetch die, he will be no better than the villain and he saves him. One month later, despite Alfred asking Bruce to consider giving up being the Batman for Natalya, he returns to duty.

This has been a great story. Gregg Hurwitz’ has managed to take the Mad Hatter, someone I always considered to be a second tier villain at best. Hurwitz has turned him loose and let him become a major, A list psychopath! And, at the same time, there was a hint of his troubled past which provided some great pathos to the troubled character. Coupled with, for most of this storyline, Ethan Van Sciver’s highly detailed and incredibly expressive art, this title has been given new life and continues to impress.

BATWOMAN #21: We get a tale that begins with Killer Croc who was recovered by Kyle Abbot’s Religion of Crime and began a relationship with a reptilian woman named Claire. A man named Jered, along with Claire, suggests he can be their king by avenging Abbot and killing Batwoman. They decide that Maggie Sawyer MAY be Batwoman but Croc discovers that Sawyer and Batwoman are actually lovers. he attacks and is surprised when they team up on him. With Hawkfire arriving, he realizes that Batwoman has family and if she dies, more will come after him. He runs away and heads back to the tunnels and is confronted by Jered and Claire. He runs Jered through with his sword and tells Claire that Gotham is not safe and they need to flee, especially since she carries his child.

Just what we all need: a little baby Killer Croc running about! J. H. Williams III and W. Hadem Blackman give us a nice little story that sets future events in motion while tying up events from the Medusa storyline. Of course, I can’t figure whether Croc is a hero or a villain now. We know that he was an AA mentor to Roy Harper and we also know he became the hydra that almost destroyed Gotham City. So, do you cheer for him or not? It’s kind of like watching wrestling! Art by Francesco Francavilla is nice-it’s not Williams II, but it fits the book. I still love this character, even despite the ups and downs over the last year or so.

BIRDS OF PREY #21:  In a tale that continues both from last issue and TALON #8, Batgirl and Strix find themselves attacked by Talon Calvin Rose, who announces he is Strix’ executioner. He basically is here to attack her because the Court of Owls owns him and he is trying to protect Casey and Sarah Washington by doing their bidding. Calvin realizes how badly Strix has been hurt in her life by seeing the scars beneath her face mask. He throws his weapons aside and expects Strix to behead him. But she writes the word "who?" into the floor. He tells her that his friends will be tortured and killed if he doesn't bring back proof that he killed Strix to the Court. Strix begins leading him away, appearing as if she will help him in his fight. Meanwhile, Condor attempts to recover the hard drive from one of the computers in the lab. At one point, he removes his helmet, introduces himself as Ben and explains the real reason he has joined The Birds of Prey was to be close to her. And then he kisses her! 

Great-now we have a love story! I miss the old days of ass-kicking and such with Oracle at the helm. I REALLY MISS Lady Blackhawk. That having been said…again…Christy Marx delivers a decent story that, unfortunately, leads into a title I DON’T read, since I never really cared for Calvin Rose’ character. Romano Molenaar does a great job on the art and that helps kicks the book in all the right places. Next issue: we don’t know. All we know is that this continues into TALON #9. Tune in next month and we’ll see more kissing from the Birds(i.e. Condor and Canary).

CATWOMAN #21: While the war over Badlands continues, Catwoman has taken to saving the denizens of the place, including one girl who risked her life for a jug of milk. She meets with Rat-Tail and they examine the catapults that have been built to help them in the war. Soon, Volt attacks but one of the Rat-Tail's home-made bottle-bombs knocks him into a pool of water infused with a live electric line. It only makes him stronger than before. Escaping and regrouping, Catwoman is told the girl with the milk is Joe Paffo’s daughter Tess. Penguin realizes he is losing this war and, after the Black Ice debacle, he orders Lark to find a way to get the real name for Catwoman out of their Gwen Altamont, who they have as their prisoner. He flies a helicopter to the Badlands and warns Catwoman that if she shows affection towards anyone, we will kill them. He launches a bomb that opens up a hole up underneath Rat-Tail, causing him to fall him. Catwoman tries to save him and pulls out a stray cat instead.

Ann Nocenti, despite being overly wordy and sometimes sending stories off in vague directions, is writing probably one of the better pieces of her career. This whole Gang War story against the Penguin is great, although Catwoman and Rat Tail don’t strike me as the ideal couple. I do like the introduction of Joe Pazzo’s daughter into the mix and I’m sure there will come a moment when these two cross paths with either tragic or vengeful results. And let me not forget that Rafa Sandoval’s art is improving with each issue and becoming more of a fit for these characters every month.

CONSTANTINE #4: John Constantine is upset because of recent events. He goes to the Joint Bar and is warned that Papa Midnite's men are looking for him. He had stolen a sounding skull from the Haitian crime lord and he is looking to exact revenge. Constantine is captured by him, but they reach a truce to face a common enemy in the form of the Cult of the Cold Flame. Constantine goes to visit Zatanna and informs her that Jaimini Sargent has returned as Sargon. This upsets Zatanna, as they were childhood friends. Leaving her, he runs into a con man named Third-Time Tommy and sends him back to Sargon. When John returns home, Dotty’s bird tells him that tomorrow there will be fifty-million deaths when light falls, and he may be one of them.

Yeah, I know: I swore I was done with the last issue. Unfortunately the lure of the upcoming TRINITY WAR made this title too tempting to pass up as the repercussions involving the magical folks in the NEW 52 Universe could be huge. Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes are responsible for a nice story that bridges the first three issues from what comes next. Fabiano Neves does the art and there is some grisly stuff here, especially when we get to Papa Midnite and his torture chamber involving the members of the Cult of the Cold Flame. While it doesn’t measure up to the stuff we see in WALKING DEAD, it is pretty grisly for a mainstream T+ comic.

DEMON KNIGHTS #21:  The team is at what we presume to be the final door leading to the Holy Grail. Through use of a transportal spell, Jason Blood and Vandal Savage to a great treasure room, which Savage immediately begins to loot, while Jason searches and finds Merlin’s Box, which contains the Grail. They also meet up with the giants who are the guardians of the room. Calling Etrigan forth, the Demon proceeds to be beat upon while Jason Blood goes to Hell with the Merlin Box. Jason tries to leverage Lucifer to send him back to al-Wadi and separate himselfe from Etrigan. What he DOES DO is bring Etrigan to Hell, leaving Savage alone with the two giants. Lucifer then sends Jason back to the others and he announces that “Vandal Savage finally got what was coming to him" as we see an unconscious and bloody Vandal Savage.

Robert Venditti heads towards the conclusion of this series with issue #23 by seemingly uniting Sir Ystin with the Holy Grail. At the same time, Ystin and Exoristos cement their love for each other with a serious lip locking! What happens in the next two issues that will set the future for these characters? We know that Etrigan remain buried under London for six hundred years because he didn’t have a human host. So somehow he needs to get out of Hell, Vandal Savage needs to continue to live on(after all, he became a serial killer as documented in DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS) and Madame Xanadu needs to keep herself alive to be a part of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. On the art side of the ledger, Chad Hardin drops the ball, as everyone is illustrated with these angular features that look more art school experiment than comic art.

DETECTIVE COMICS #21: We learn that Bruce Wayne had watched the girl he loved, Mio, die ten years ago after she betrayed him and killed Matsuda, their trainer. In actuality, she survived and became part of the League of Assassins. There is an event at Wayne Tower and Harper Row, who is hanging outside with her brother Cullen, notices a suspicious woman in white, who seems to have been there for a long time, making Harper suspicious. Harper follows her into Wayne Tower and watches as the woman creates a cross-bow to assassinate the Bhutanese Prime Minister. Alfred has observed Harper’s actions and Batman arrives to battle the would-be assassin. Calling herself Penumbra she battles the Dark Knight, even as Harper, having gone to the ground floor and advised police of the incident, manages to shine police flood lights on the 14th floor window. Batman realizes that Penumbra is Mio. Confused by the fact that Batman knows her, she missteps, falling towards the ground, but disappears in mid-air and never reaches the ground. Mio is returned to her master, who has her put in a dungeon as punishment for her failure.  In the back-up, Kirk Langstrom may be turning into Man-Bat at night and murdering people, but he doesn’t know for sure.

It’s time for me to start off by beating up on DC Editorial once again. Underneath a beautiful cover by Jason Fabok and Jeremy Cox, we get a story from John Layman that continues to tease the possibility of Harper Row entering into the Bat Family in some way. We meet Bruce’ old flame and get a glimpse inside the League of Assassins, specifically a shadowy figure that we can only assume is Ra’s Al Ghul. The back-up by Andy Clarke and Layman is just a great excuse to fill the book, although Clarke’s art rocks! Oh yeah-back to DC Editorial and that great cover. It has Batman in battle with Penumbra and Catwoman. CATWOMAN? She appears NOWEHERE in this book. Oh I get it: it’s symbolic as Batman is entangled with two of his ex-lovers. DUH! That is ridiculous. DC Editorial screwed up!

DIAL H #13:  The entire Dial Bunch, along with Nelson and Roxie, have been taken to a dimension of living graffiti by Open-Window Man. But they arrive too late to prevent a young boy from being orphaned by crime. Roxie is searching for something a J-Dial.  If she and Bansa can find this Dial and fix it, they might be able to make the jump to the Fixer's home base. Unfortunately, it's only graffiti on a wall. Of all the Dial Bunch members, only Open Window Man is the only one without powers. he was recruited by Bansa after his partner Boy Chimney was killed. Bansa thought she might be responsible as her dial removes powers. Open Window Man’s origin is much like that of Batman except her was inspired by an open window instead of a bat. He gets Nem to dial up a bus and Open Window Man crawls through one of the windows and ends up leaping out through a window in graffiti world. The heroes give up the J-Dial so he can avenge Captain Random. When he leaves the graffiti world, he drew a super-hero hideout underneath the boy’s house. The boy explains he can't accept it because it doesn’t belong here, even if it would help him fulfill his destiny. Open-Window Man wipes the cave he drew off of the wall, and says goodbye as they all leave this dimension.

Despite it being as weird as anything else that has run through this series, this is one of the most lucid and touching episodes. Despite that, this title has confused so many people that DC is pulling the plus in August with issue #15. Most comic fans figured this title would be strange with China Mieville at the helm and they were right. What makes this issue work is the origin of Open Window Man and how they tie together with the kid in graffiti world AND Bruce Wayne. And Alberto Ponticelli’s art is quirky as always and pretty spectacular too. Although the title will be missed by some, hopefully the character will end up in something like JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. 

EARTH 2#13:  Captain Steel arrives in Rio de Janeiro to enter one of the flaming pits. Khan is criticized by his superiors, but reminds them of the Red Files: a program where super-humans were created, including Red Tornado and Red Arrow. Khan explains why he chose Captain Steel for the mission. Hank was born with a defect that made his bones brittle and his father invented a metal substance that bonded to Hank’s DNA, making him more metal than man and the World Army’s first wonder. He gets inside of what is known as the Red Torpedo and enters the fire pit. Meanwhile, Hawkgirl continues to investigate Sam Zhao’s death. Attacked by Parademons, she is aided by the new Batman. A day and a half later, a badly injured Captain Steel emerges from the pit, declaring the pit needs to be sealed off. The Red Lantern is there and, if she gets free, the world will die.

James Robinson continues what will be his final story for both DC Comics and EARTH 2, effective with issue #16, as he has decided to forgo the mainstream and work with Boom Studios. This story is a load of fun as we get a look inside of Captain Steel’s origin, learn about the Red Files AND see more of the new batman, whoever he or she may be. And there’s a Red Lantern too? I wonder if it turns out to be an Earth 2 version of Guy Gardner. Anyway, the story is fun and Yildiray Cinar provides some really nice looking art, although I am getting tired of DC throwing in new artists on titles every second or third issue. Whatever happened to the days when an artists, like Jack Kirby, would stay on a title for years?

GREEN ARROW #21: Stuck in the Arizona desert, Magus finally gives Oliver some answers.  Oliver finds himself in a hallucination where he finds himself on the island and being attacked by versions of the super-villains he has fought. This transitions into a vision involving his father, Emerson and the Arrow Clan. When he comes out of the vision, Magus explains that the Outsiders are a collective of seven clans and that, centuries ago, he had been a member of one of those clans. Oliver’s father became aware of the Outsiders when he discovered a secret vault belonging to his great grandfather. The third man in the vision was Simon Lacroix, who is now Komodo. Lacroix killed Richard Queen to gain the legacy of the Arrow Clan, which contradicts the story Emerson had told Moira. Richard had tried to instill archery in his son when he was young and Emerson arranged to have Oliver stranded on the island with the bow so he would be ready when Komodo came for him. Magus leaves him with John Butcher: the man who attacked him on the highway and stranded him in the desert. Butcher is a member of the Axe Clan and a friend. Magus instructs Oliver to go to Vlatava, where he will confront his greatest challenge ever. Oliver returns to Seattle and enlists the aim of Henry Fyff and Naomi as part of Team Arrow. Using his JLA salary, he walks away from Queen Industries to fight the corporate system as Green Arrow.

I so love the Jeff Lemire/Andrea Sorrentino era on this title. This is such a fresh take on a classic character who has managed to turn from playboy cry-baby to a someone searching for answers from his life. We finally get the answers we have wanted from the beginning, even those of us who came to this title late: who is Komodo, who are the Outsiders and why was the bow so important to have on that island. Lemire characterization of the main and supporting players is great! Something we have seen from Lemire, whether it be this title, ANIMAL MAN, FRANKENSTEIN, or even SWEET TOOTH, he knows how to write cool dialogue and convincing characters who we care for. He has turned the once and future Ollie Queen from boring hero to someone who could eventually fill the classic Ollie Queen shoes. And Andrea Sorrentino was such a dominant force on I, VAMPIRE that I knew he would kill it here and has!

GREEN LANTERN #21: The new era of this title begins in the near future with the Green Lantern Corps, led by Hal Jordan, are on Oa and realize that the Central Battery is dead. We flashback to now as Carol Ferris breaks up with Hal. In the middle of this, he is called away to see Kyle Rayner and the Bohemian Guardians of the Universe are sorting through the evidence vault on Oa and name Hal the leader of the Green Lantern Corps. Soon he is leading the Corps against an invasion by Larfleeze and the Orange Lantern Corps. That’s when Jordan’s new recruits show up.

I realize that Geoff Johns work on this title is a tough act to follow but to say I was totally underwhelmed by this whole issue would be a major understatement. I like Robert Venditti’s work but this issue went nowhere with me. A recently resurrected Hal Jordan gets dumped by Carol Ferris with all the tenderness of a bad soap opera. Then he leaves to meets with Kyle Rayner and gets drafted to run the Corp by the new generation of the Guardians, who drop the gig on him and leave. Then he has to deal with Larfleeze and the Orange Lantern Corps, coming in to get their hands on whatever they can steal. In the middle of all this, the new recruits show up. Oh, and let’s not forget thatr somewhere in the middle of all of this, the Central Power Battery will go dark. That’s a great piece to open the book with but to spend the balance of the issue telling the now story instead of the future tale feels like we have had a carrot dangled in front of us with no payoff. On top of that, we get a mediocre art job from the very talented Billy Tan. All in all: I am really disappointed. I hope the next issue delivers more.

THE GREEN TEAM #2: In the middle of where they were left with Riot Act last issue, Mo and L.L. hide in a car while J.P. tosses another of the Commodore’s discs at Cecilia and she develops gold colored armor similar to the Commodore’s green one. The Commodore arrives driving one of the old Batmobiles, saving Mo and L.L. while Cecilia finally manages to work the weapons on her suit and electrocutes the Riot Act members who are hanging off of her. Commodore and J.P. trade text messages and J.P. and Cecilia arfe told to lay low until later. Commodore, Mo, L.L. and Abisha take refuge in one of Mo’s New York apartments. Commodore explains that he wants to use his money to get weapons off the street by forming a super team. Abisha says he knows somebody who might be able to help out. Meanwhile, J.P. and Cecilia end up in a fancy hotel and for some reason, her right arm grows some kind of pink mechanical sleeve.

Here is another very strange issue that leads to a lot of potential plot places but doesn’t really deliver. Art Blatazar and Franco drop some really cool stuff into the book, like the contents of Mo’s apartment where we see a bunch of his recent online auction acquisitions over the years, including a BROTHER POWER costume! Yeah-I totally geeked out on that ONE PANEL and that for me made the book. The biggest problem I have thus far is that Commodore is going to put together a super team and they apparently are going to be powered by the special discs. Okay-I get that. So let’s put the team together and get this book moving along. I realize this is only the second issue but get us moved along already. I think new see SOME of the characterization here, but I would like a bit more than what we’ve gotten. Art and Franco’s use of satire is evident, even if you sometimes have to dig deep for it. And I like Ig Guara’s art. Do I think this book will last past a half dozen issues? No. But it could be fun while it lasts.

DC's NEW 52 Month #20, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE #20: Element Woman, who has been out gathering food, gets back to the Justice League Satellite where Firestorm and The Atom are battling Despero. During the battle, which is not going well for the heroes, Despero causes the Watchtower to lose orbit and it begins to plummet to Earth. Martian Manhunter arrives and defeats Despero, as The Atom fears that someone will read her thoughts and reveal a secret she would die to protect. Cyborg tries to calculate where the Watchtower will land but is having a tough time because it keeps moving. Martian Manhunter leaves and promises to not tell the rest of the team he was here, so The Atom can take credit for the victory. Superman lands the Watchtower safely, but has to head to the sun, as he gets exposed to some Kryptonite in the process. Cyborg believes that Despero didn’t steal the ring but had someone else steal it for him. Batman shows Superman the briefcase he has that contains an emergency stop for any member of the League that may get out of control, including one to stop The Dark Knight. In the conclusion, we learn that The Atom is secretly working for the Justice League of America. In the back-up, we learn that Black Adam is the uncle of the boy we saw last issue, who stole the boy’s boy and destroyed him. This leads to the final battle and the final part of the origin story next issue.

Geoff Johns, Gene Ha, Andres Guinaldo and Joe Prado combine on the conclusion to the main story. Johns’ tale is fine and gives the new recruits time to flex their muscles fighting one of the all time classic villains, turned loose in the NEW 52. The idea that The Atom is a spy for Amanda Waller means either she won’t be around for long or will end up being a part of the other team pretty soon. And that is fine as Johns’ writes both. Now you know you have a bit of a hot mess working when you have FOUR ARTISTS getting busy on a story and artistically, it is. Regarding the back-up: what can I say except that I want The Big Red Cheese in his own title!

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #20: Doctor Destiny continues to lay siege to New York City while Swamp thing, Frankenstein and The Flash do battle with the alleged son of Frankenstein. In actuality, Frankenstein believes this is really an illusion as his son died several months ago. But the illusion is made of hard energy and Flash manages to make then go away by vibrating at super speed. At Frankenstein’s suggestion, Flash gets Madame Xanadu. Together, they all discover that Deadman is being attacked by the Cannibal Carnival and the Flash again makes them go away with his vibrational ability. They find Constantine being attacked by bloody creations from his bloody nose. The vibrational ability has no effect on the creatures and it takes John stabbing himself in the leg to draw them back into his wound. The Flash searches for the House of Mystery and finds it hiding within a penthouse of at 900 Fifth Avenue. Constantine, Xanadu, and Deadman head inside to rescue Swamp Thing, where they encounter Doctor Destiny where he reveals that Xanadu is his mother.

Ray Fawkes and Jeff Lemire continue to tear it up on this title, which is possibly my favorite among the entire JUSTICE LEAGUE stable. And we throw in a nice plot twist at the end by revealing that Doctor Destiny MAY be the son of Madame Xanadu. Well, she is old enough to have popped out a kid or two in her time. Art this moth is mostly by Victor Cifuentes over Mikel Janin’s layouts. Cifuentes style is nice and tight and reminds me a lot of some of the better Seventies horror artists that worked on the DC roster including Lee Elias and Nester Redondo.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4:  The issue begins with Dr. Light getting a call from Amanda Waller and demanding he come into work at A.R.G.U.S. Steve Trevor and Waller want him to examine a silver dollar inscribed with the Latin phrases "Let them hate as long as they fear," and "Forever Evil." They deduce that this is a communication devise for the Secret Society. The team flies off in the Invisible Jet and head to Minnesota, where the Society’s mansion has been transported. Once inside, they discover robotic Justice League member created by Professor Ivo and are attacked by the Shaggy Man, who defeats them quite easily. Meanwhile, Catwoman has been captured by the Secret Society and has a confrontation with a badly disfigured Professor Ivo, who everyone thought was dead. She knocks him out but is captured by Copperhead and strapped into a chair. She is interrogated by a pale man dressed in purple. Dr. Light makes contact with the communication device and the purple man put s a gun to Catwoman's head. She threatens that if she dies, Batman will stop at nothing to find them. Apparently this is what the Society wants as the pale man pulls the trigger, leaving Catwoman dead on the floor. In the back-up tale, we learn that Martian Manhunter’s fear of fire is based on guilt from not being on Mars when is was destroyed.

Okay…so how do Geoff Johns and Brett Booth paint themselves out of this corner? Someone who is in a Catwoman costume is definitely dead! No question about this as we are treated to a point blank headshot from multiple angles. Yep…someone in the costume is dead. Now…who is IN that costume is another story. Is it Selina Kyle? Is it the Selina Kyle we know? Can Amanda Waller bring her back to life? Is it one of Ivo’s robots? Stay tuned. As far as the back-up tale, it’s nice to get a revised origin on the Martian Manhunter. I’m not totally sold on it, but it fits the character. The highlight of this issue for me: THE INVISIBLE JET! Not the classic Wonder Woman flying machine, but just having it referenced is awesome!

THE MOVEMENT #1: Welcome to Coral City where the police are corrupt and we find Officers Whitt and Pena planting drugs on a couple of innocent teenagers. They change their mind, but sexually assault the girl. A masked figure appears holding up a phone that shows the letters "i.c.u." while it is recording the incident. The officers turn to attack and find the alley is filled with masked people recording the act. The group is a bunch of activists known as Channel M, and they have released their footage to the media causing major embarrassment to the police force. The police get called to the scene of murder perpetrated by the Cornea Killer. They get called to a neighborhood known as the 'Tweens, where a runaway named Burden enters the Angel's Hand Presbyterian Church with Pastor Mike. Burden has been possessed by a demon since entering the church The police find him levitating and then a rat with a note reading "WAR" approaches them, causing the ground to open up and summon the arrival of Mouse, the Prince of Rats. The police end up outside and a girl called Tremor draws their attention uses her powers to cause an earthquake that swallows up their cruisers. SWAT is called and Katharsis beats up Officer Whitt and declares a citizen's arrest. The Captain recognizes one of the people as a member of Channel M. She tells him Channel M is only a part of The Movement. She tells him that his wife is having an affair with Officer Yee. She demands his phone and gun, telling him that ‘Tweens belongs to The Movement. The Captain tells her that Burden is not possessed, but suffers from a mental illness. The girl, known as Virtue, says that The Movement will take care of Burden and the Cornea Killer. As he rushes inside, he learns that Pastor Mike and his congregation are all members of The Movement.

First off, I can almost GUARANTEE you this title will not last twelve issues. Why? It is a totally confusing and disjointed story that is just too weird for the average comic reader, even if it is rated T+. This so has the feeling of the alternative comics DC did in the Seventies like the short lived PREZ and BROTHER POWER THE GEEK (bring EITHER OF THESE BACK!!!). Gail Simone is trying really hard to make a statement and is doing so with new characters, although promises have been made to bring back “familiar” and “unexpected faces”. Don’t get me wrong: I love the way the book reads and the fact that I had to write that long a synopsis shows how much has been crammed into this one issue. Freddie Williams III’s art is really well done too and the book has his creepy feel. Is it part of THE DARK line or what? This book has the potential to be a cult classic and, since it is supposed to be read with THE GREEN TEAM, I am curious to see how these will relate to each other. I wish the creators luck with finding an audience. For now, know that you definitely have me there.

NIGHTWING #20: Nightwing goes back to his sublet apartment and gets attacked by Joey: the girl whose room Michael is subletting to Dick. Michael allows Dick to sleep in his bed for the night, given that he has just been called to cover the story of Western Station getting hit by a helicopter. The next morning, while both Joey and Michael whine about their stations in life, Dick receives a text message from Johnny Spade, who he meets with that night. They play a hand of cards on the condition that the loser gives up some vital information. Spade loses and reveals that the person who best could get that information is the Prankster. Back at the Chicago Steelworks, the police find Alderman Laine with a wolf chewing on his severed arm. The police commissioner informs Mayor Wallace of the situation and confirms that Tony Zucco is truly dead. This is good news for Zucco, who is sitting in the other room. Meanwhile, the Prankster has captured John Conaway and hooked him up to a Tesla coil. Nightwing bursts in and frees Conaway but not before Prankster hacks into Nightwing's heads-up display and shuts it down, virtually blinding him. He soon finds himself locked in a glass box and proceeds to create a back draft. The only way out is for Nightwing to unmask in front of a camera to find the right hatch to open.

So Kyle Higgins and Brett Booth send Nightwing to Chicago and things go from bad to worse for our hero. I totally love this run! After the whole DEATH OF THE FAMILY story, which was awesome, I thought sure this title would lose steam. I mean, we went from the whole Haly’s Circus piece, dealing with Tony Zucco’s daughter, the destruction of the circus at the hands of The Joker and Dick Grayson basically losing his fortune. So he packs up and moves to Chicago to search for Zucco. Sheer genius! Higgins writing has never been better and Brett Booth continues to impress! This book has slowly been moving up into my Top Ten month after month.

PHANTOM STRANGER #8: We begin with Frankenstein bringing The Stranger into the House of Mystery. Apparently the dying Stranger has been dumped on their front steps.  Zatanna calls up Nightmare Nurse to try and save him. Meanwhile, his soul is in some sort of Limbo and he meets his captor, The Sin Eater. We learn that the Stranger, using the name Joshua was a guest at the home of Phillip Stark and his family. It seems that Stark was a serial killer who buried his victims under the house. He also planned to kill his family. The Stranger ended up becoming Stark and dispersing the murder to a place known as The Land of Non. It seems the Sin Eater IS Phillip Stark. Just as he is about to attack, he is brought back to life in the House of Mystery. But, despite his anger, he now knows how to save his family.

Dan DiDio, J. M. DeMatteis and Phillip Tan continue to weave back and forth between completely trash and complete brilliance. This issue runs somewhere between the two. Knowing how The Phantom Stranger became Phillip Stark was fun but I somehow have problems believing he would get in the house as an invited guest in the first place. And then we find out the Sin Eater IS Phillip Stark-yeah…saw that coming! So, this issue was another bump in a very bumpy road for this series so far. I hope this next issue will finish the storyline and lead into the TRINITY WAR with a little more common sense.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS:#20: When last we saw out heroes, Jason Todd had been mind wiped of his negative memories and Roy and Kori were trying to get it reversed. S'aru fills their heads with Jason’s memories and Roy gets the memories of how he and Jason met. A drunken and beaten up Roy was saved by Robin, who offered his friendship. Soon after, Jason learned his mother was alive and went to find her, finding the Joker instead, who killed him. Roy never knew these details. Starfire continues to petition for his memory to be restored and S'aru makes her remember where she attempted to kill Nightwing. Jason asks that they respect his decision but Roy knocks Jason how with a tranquilizing arrow, aims his bow at S'aru, and demands the process be reversed. Instead, S'aru ejects them from the Acres of All and find themselves in the Himalayas. Meanwhile, Green Arrow learns there is a bounty of five hundred million dollars each on the heads of Roy, Kori, and Jason and decides he will go after them.

James Tynion and Julius Gopez continue the puzzling tale of the trio of teen heroes. What I find puzzling is that we have Green Arrow back in Seattle and going after the threesome. So, where does this fall in continuity, since Green Arrow is having enough problems in his own book. What I do find interesting in the NEW 52 version of Roy’s back story is that he’s a drunk, where our old friend was a junkie. I guess that’s not quite proper any more and being a drunk is more believable. As the book continues now and almost ends its’ second year, I discover that the triangle is not as interesting as it once was. I like the idea of Jason having his own book, Roy joining up with Green Arrow in HIS title and Starfire…she can go quietly back to the Teen Titans.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS ANNUAL #1: When last we saw Jason Todd, he had his memory erased and Roy and Kori were having major issues with it. Now back home from the Himalayas, Jason asks their computer to access all of the files on the Red Hood, which comes back with a confirmed kill-count of 83 people and causes Jason to freak out. Meanwhile, Roy flashes back to his time with psychiatrist Dr. Hugo Strange and he was trying to deal with the bitter breakup he had with his mentor Green Arrow. Back in the present, Green Arrow disables Roy’s security bots and warns him that there is a bounty of five hundred million dollars on each of them. Kori smells something and produces some fire to see what it is. IT is gasoline and the base explodes. She is told by a mysterious voice that she is now being poisoned by an aerosol toxin. Roy rushes in to save her and meets Cheshire, who reveals her primary target is Jason Todd. Roy chases after her but she poisons him too with an airborne toxin. Green Arrow finds Jason just as Cheshire attacks him. Apparently, they had trained together, even though Jason has no memory of her. Roy gets into the action, but he gets overdosed by toxin in her nails. Oliver saves his life by injecting Roy with an anti-toxin. Starfire intervenes and is blinded by more poison. B y the time she recovers, Cheshire is gone. Jason flips out on Roy, complaining he had been lied to, as they had told him he was a good man, not a killer. Jason decides to go off and find his destiny his own. Green Arrow leaves the island and reports back to Steve Trevor, asking that A.R.G.U.S. leave the Outlaws alone. Jason Todd has stowed away under the vehicle and is headed back to the mainland. Elsewhere on the island, Bronze Tiger and the League of Assassins realize that Cheshire has done her job well, by testing Roy and Starfire’s defenses and abilities.

 

James Tynion writes this annual, which follows directly from issue #20 of the series and does a great job of introducing classic characters and amping them up for the NEW 52. First, we get a visit from Dr. Hugo Strange. He was Roy Harper’s psychiatrist? If we all remember, the OLD Hugo Strange was the guy who caused so much trouble for the Caped Crusader. No wonder the poor kid had issues! And then we bring in Cheshire, who hasn’t had a child named Lian with Roy Harper(who eventually got killed during JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE) but has trained with Jason Todd. And, if all of that wasn’t enough, we get a sneak peak at the Bronze Tiger and the League of Assassins, who we haven’t seen since BLACKEST NIGHT. Okay-the fanboy is rabid again! In addition to all of this, we get some nice art from Al Barrrionuevo. Overall, a fun issue that promise to continue along in kick-ass fashion with the next regular issue.

RED LANTERNS #20:  In a scene from GREEN LANTERN #20, Arkillo tells Atrocitus that Sinestro left one last Guardian alive and he goes off to pursue. When he finally catches up woth the Guardian, Atrocitus purges his long festering anger by shoving his hand through the blue alien’s head, killing him. Back on Ysmault, the Inversions arrive and torture the Red Lanterns. Bleez threatens the creatures and they retreat, fearing her like they have feared no other. meanwhile, Rankorr has returned to Earth and is in the process of killing Kim’s abusive ex-boyfriend when she tells him she never wants to see him again. Rankorr responds by saying she won’t see either of them again. he leaves earth, arriving on Ysmault not too long after Atricitus returns. He claims he is no longer human and accepts his rightful place as a Red Lantern. 
 

And thus ends Peter Milligan’s RED LANTERN run. To use an overused phrase-“not with a bang, but with a whimper”. His run has been very, VERY tedious for me to read and has caused me to want to drop the title almost every issue during his run. But I kept hanging on in hopes that it would improve. If never got to the glory I had hoped it would and now he have a new creative team starting next issue in the form of Charles Soule and Alessandro Vitti. While I have no idea how good it will be, I have seen preview art and it LOOKS GREAT. And the fact that guy Gardner appears and POSSIBLY will join the team has me greatly interested. So it’s goodbye to Peter Milligan with the hopes that this series will be what it had the great potential to be all along.

STORMWATCH #20: The Stormwatch away team of Midnighter, Apollo, Hellstrike, Jenny Soul, and The Weird has been sent to investigate the Magenta Time Lords that have been rewriting Stormwatch every few years. The Time Lords are trying to recruit Lobo into their cause and they send him back in time to see how he became the Last Czarnian. He became the person he is today by creating a virus that that killed everyone on his planet except for him. Meanwhile, Stormwatch follows some psychic emanations through the streets of the planet when a sniper tries to Jenny Soul. A battle ensures and the team gets help from a group of alien lizard men who arrive to join the fight claiming “enemy to our enemy our friend”. Finally, Lobo, with the promise that everyone would forget all the bad things he ever did, agrees to join the Time Lords.

I give up! Even seeing Lobo in this title can’t save it for me. Jim Starlin is writing a tale as convoluted as the plot in DIAL H…only worse! Yvel Guichet provides the art and personally, I’d rather it be Starlin who limits himself to the cover art. I don’t understand the story; I have no idea where he’s going with it and frankly, I don’t care about any of the characters, with the exception of Apollo and Midnighter, who we have a little history with. Hellstrike and The Weird-sorry, don’t care. And Jenny Soul-I want Jenny Quantum back. In fact, I want THE AUTHORITY back!!! Sorry Jim: I’m done with this title…AGAIN!

SUICIDE SQUAD #20:  Back at Belle Reve, Amanda Waller and a mystery person analyze the team. They observe the current team, including newest member The Unknown Soldier, along with potential candidates like David Graves and Cheetah. King Shark has switched to a vegan diet and is reading Rumi. He gets interrupted by a blonde woman who calls him a freak and causes him to rip her in half, revealing her to be an android that electrifies him and  brings him to his knees.  While Harley and Voltaic play Scrabble, the latter aggravates the Soldier enough that he gets himself beaten to death with a stick. This wouldn’t be the first time Voltaic has died. Deadshot is strapped in a chair and forced to watch Waller explain how he has managed to die twice in six months. Thanks to the Samsara Serum, she can bring them all back to life if needed. Later, Harley gets a visit from a a man from the Die Laughing Gang dressed as The Joker. The Unknown Soldier arrives and shoots the man through the head. Now she will becomes attached to him. Dr. Visyak’s team tries to bring Voltaic back to life, but he explodes all over the operating room. In the end, Amanda Waller decides to hire her guest, who admits to having fallen in love with Waller. The guest is James Gordon Jr.

Well, I guess we know who didn’t die at the end of BATGIRL #19. Now we have one of the sickest serial killers working for Amanda Waller. This should be interesting. I like where this first issue with new creative team of Ales Kot and Patrick Zircher is going. The possible addition of David Graves, from JUSTICE LEAGUE, and The Cheetah is intriguing and Kot has done a nice job of turning the current players worlds upside down. It is also nice to see that The Unknown Soldier is going to be the strong silent Deadpool meet Punisher type as opposed to the character he was in his own run. And Patrick Zircher does a great job on the art, especially when Voltaic explodes.

SUPERMAN #20:  We begin with Clark living in the future with Ma and Pa Kent and is married to Lana. That doesn’t last very long as it becomes obvious that he is actually in the middle of a fight between Orion and himself. And we spend most of the remainder of the book with Superman taking his lumps from the New God. Wonder Woman arrives on the scene and we see that the fantasy Superman has been experiencing has been caused by the psychic invasion of Hector Hammond. Orion has Mother Box erase the secrets of the universe that Hammond has stumbled upon and puts safeguards in place to keep 9t from happening ever again. The book closes with a disfigured Lana roaming about the graveyard in Superman’s mind.

What a complete and total pile of poop! This was probably THE worst thing I have read in months! Wait-I’ll start with the good: Aaron Kuder’s art looks great, in a Nineties sort of way. Scott Lobdell-you have once again becomes my whipping boy as this is just awful! The dialogue reeks so bad that it is on par with Geoff johns’ first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE-you know: the one the felt like it was written for a thirteen year old. Well, this is worse! The story is basically an issue long fight sequence with a lot of senseless monologuing along the way. Then, once our hero has been beaten down by Orion(I know we have dialed down the Man of Steel’s powers, but THAT is ridiculous!), Wonder Woman shows up, slaps the lasso around him and we discover big headed Hector Hammond in his head. A little Mother Box treatment and that’s that! Dumb, dumb, dumb! And what’s with the Lana in his head? I can’t wait for this. Of wait-YEAH, I can. this is bad enough to make me look forward to the SUPERMAN UNCHAINED series and we all know how much I LOVE a Jim Lee book, especially when we know he I‘ll be there for one arc and gone!

SWAMP THING #20: The issue begins with Swamp Thing dreaming he is a human, happily married to Abby with a child together. But that quickly becomes a vine wrapped nightmare. Later, he later meets a future version of himself, who never became the Swamp Thing but instead won a Nobel Prize and had a family. The future self becomes a skeleton; spewing tales of the Parliament of Trees and their desire to have The Green overtake the world. In actuality, Swamp Thing's body has been spread across Metropolis after being overdosed by Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin. Superman gets involved, trying saving the population and containing the Swamp Thing in the process. Superman blasts Swamp thing with his heat vision which causes him to awake from his dream. Luckily, the fire burns out the toxin and Alec calls his vines back to him and out of the city. After some deep, philosophical conversation, Superman grabs Scarecrow and Alec returns to Louisiana where an unknown woman demands that the Avatar saves her.

Welcome to the second issue with the new creative team of Charles Soule and Kano. These two have a very, VERY big set of shoes to fill. So I find it a bit early yet to totally pass judgment on them. Suffice it to say that Kano’s art is very much in the style of Yanick Paquette and I’m good with that. Now Charles Soule is trying to hold onto some of the mythos that Scott Snyder has put down while trying to pave new ground. This whole bit with Alec trying to adjust to his role as the Avatar is evident with this final page. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess. I am hoping that it continues the fine tradition that has been established thus far.

TEAM 7 #8: Kaizen Gamorra wants Pandora’s Box but, thanks to Majestic,  a huge tidal wave is about to wipe out everything thanks to Majestic. Kurt Lance uses his abilities to amplify his wife’s, the future Black Canary, sonic scream which knocks the Pandora’s Box from Kaizen into John Lynch’s hands. Majestic arrives and, realizing his mother was murdered for this, he wants to open it and have ultimate power. Lynch, Dinah, Kurt and Amanda Waller link hands and Dinah’s scream becomes a monstrous light that blinds and knocks them all out. When they awake, they find the tower, along with Kurt and the Kaizen, are gone. Dinah mourns the death of her husband and Lynch feels the box calling to him. Waller has Dinah take the box up into the helicopter but he uses his telekinesis to try and bring the chopper down. Amanda Waller pulls out her gun, shooting Lynch in the head. Following this, the Team 7 project ends. Steve Trevor saves Slade, Cole, and Dinah. Lynch, Waller, Majestic, and Kurt Lance are all missing, and presumed dead. The events at Gamorra are classified and Team 7 not only ceases to exist, it has NEVER existed.


And thus ends TEAM 7 the comic, as well as the team itself. Here was title that promised to explain how the players, specifically Slade, Cash, Black Canary, Amanda Waller, and Steve Trevor got to where they are today. Unfortunately, the book was cancelled before all that happened. And Slade and Cash have had THEIR books shot out from under them too! So we get Amanda Waller stranded on what’s left of an island with a dead John Lynch. How does she get to be where she is today running Belle Reve? Inquiring minds want to know. Adios TEAM 7. All in all, a nice effort by Justin Jordan, Tony Bedard and Jesus Merino.

TEEN TITANS #20:  Last issue, Psimon was responsible for the death’s of two dozen soldiers and now he has to defend himself from the Teen Titans who are sure they will be blamed for the deaths.  Back in the Five Under Realms, Trigon relates Raven’s true origin from her birth while the rest of the team intervenes. That’s when the Sons of Trigon appear to bring Raven home.

This synopsis is short because I couldn’t really care about the issue. Scott Lobdell needs to fire himself for his work as of late and this is one of his worst. We begin mere moments after issue #19 ended, where Psimon was unconscious. And now he’s not. Great recuperative powers or bad writing coupled with an Editor in the form of Mike Cotton who must have not been up on current continuity. The cover claims RED ROBIN REBORN and that has NOTHING TO DO with ANYTHING IN THIS STORY! Again, blame to Editor Mike Cotton for letting this go by! Top it off by having fifteen pages of boring origin for Raven from Trigon in the Five Under Realms. What? We can’t say he’s in Hell? Oh yeah: Lucifer…right! Well, I guess he has to live somewhere. The writing here is hackneyed and I am totally disappointed in Scott Lobdell. On the one positive note: Eddie Barrows and Patrick Zircher do a bang up job on the art. This May be my last issue, although I am tempted to give it one more to finish the storyline. But that’s a BIG MAYBE at the moment.

WONDER WOMAN #20:  Apollo, the current ruler of Mount Olympus, still believes that Zeke fits the ancient prophecy declaring that Zeus’ child will take Olympus by killing another child. Poseidon arrives and learns that Artemis has been sent to kill Zeke. Wonder Woman intervenes, but not before she is reminded that she swore an oath to kill the child if he turned out to be the child of the prophecy. While the pair battle, Lennox takes the child to provide the best protection. The battle between the two Olympians virtually destroys the streets of London. Diana uses her lasso turn Artemis’ power against her. Before Diana can finish Artemis, War intervenes, sending Wonder Woman after Zola and the others, and he takes the fallen warrior back to Olympus. Poseidon claims that First Born will take the throne and the lives of the others. Back in London, Lennox tries to take Zeke, Zola and Hera to his flat when he runs into his younger sister Cassandra and the First Born. It seems that it was Lennox who tore out his sister’s throat. With that, Lennox and the First Born prepare to mix it up.

Brian Azzarello continues to blow this book away with wonderfully dysfunctional tales of these wonderfully dysfunctional Olympians. With art from Goran Sudzuka and Cliff Chiang(who only drew 5 pages but did provide the layouts for the whole book), this quirky little title continues to be among my favorites.

WORLDS’ FINEST #12: Karen Starr is dancing with DeSaad, not Michael Holt as she believed. Helena tries to impale a curtain rod through the villain’s head, but it bends instead. Holt industries security shows up and begins to attack and it is then that the girls realize that everyone thinks they are truly fighting Michael Holt. Choosing to flee rather thsn fight, they take flight. Karen decides to make a tactical escape, grabbing Helena up in her arms as she flies away. It doesn’t take long for Karen to figure that DeSaad is responsible for the ensuing fall of her financial and technological empire. She receives word that her lab in Cambridge has exploded and off she flies in her new, more revealing costume. This becomes the perfect time for DeSaad to launch an attack on Starr Island, destroying most of the island. He finds a critically injured Somya, and kills her, knowing how much pain it would cause Karen. The girls return to find their friends dead, decide to go underground and plan to destroy DeSaad together. 

For all of you continuity fans, the events in SUPERGIRL #19 takes place between DeSaad’s appearance at Holt Industries and the explosion in Cambridge. That having been said-IT’S ABOUT TIME WE GET BACK THE CLASSIC POWER GIRL COSTUME. I am psyched to see DC, the company screaming about embracing the diversity of their fans, stop being so politically correct or whatever was the course of the costume change in the first place. Now if we could get Adam Hughes to draw her again. In the meantime, I will totally take Kevin Maguire, Geraldo Borges and Robson Rocha. And Paul Levitz: now this title is getting to be a blast again! Thanks!

DC's NEW 52, Month 20, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #20: Superman, who was infected with a virus at the end of last issue, is saved by Dr. Veritas, who teleported him to her facility. With the infection removed, it has mutated into a monstrous hand that has combined with his DNA. As Superman examines the hand, it attacks him and becomes a humanoid form. Veritas activates a red light that weakens both the creature and Superman. Hen uses his Arctic breath to shatter the creature. But all is not well, as the virus has spread to the people of Metropolis. Superman arrives to try and quarantine the infected, but they fuse together and attack him with their tentacles. Elsewhere, Lex Luthor puts on his warsuit and prepares to save the world from the menace of Superman. In the back-up, Jor-El blows off the Kryptonian Science Council as he discovers the ancient underwater city of Xan. Meanwhile, his future wife, Lara(who is engaged to Jax-Ur) has her side-arm stolen by Colonel Zod who kills one of the council elders with it.

Andy Diggle who basically bailed on this book after issues with DC Editorial, along with Tony S. Daniel (handling story with Diggle AND art) deliver a somewhat lackluster tale. Dr. Veritas? REALLY? You guys going to teach everyone Latin? And while we’re at it, can we name some people with Latin variations of Justice and the American Way?  And Lex Luthor is going to save the day? Sure. By the way: where is this set: in the pastor in the now. Never quite sure when it comes to this title. As far as the back-up by Scott Lobdell, Tony Hannah and Phillip Tan, we get to see Jor-El as a selfish tool and at least we see get to see Colonel Zod!

ALL STAR WESTERN #20: Jonah Hex and Booster Gold find Clem Hootkins and his gang murdered. So Hex cuts off Hootkins’ head as proof of claiming the bounty. Booster offers Jonah some of the gold stolen from his town as payment for him to help. That night, they go to a village where Mexcian bandits have the gold and Hootkins’ dwarf. Laster, Booster sneaks in and tries to steal the gold. But the dwarf attempts to wake the drunks and can’t, but succeeds in waking the rest of the town. The gathering fire at him but are stunned when he appears bulletproof, takes the gold and arrests the dwarf. When lead bandit Romeo wakes the next morning, he vows to Sheriff Booster Gold for himself to see if he bleeds. Meanwhile, Hex, Booster and the dwarf head back to town to return the gold and claim the bounty. In the back-up, the Western version of Stormwatch search for the lost city of gold and battle vampires in the process.
Hustin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, along with Moritat, continue to rewrite the Old West by letting Booster Gold run wild as a sheriff. We get action, adventure, death and a dwarf. And a BIG Gatling Gun too! As far as the back-up goes, I tire of this whole Stormwatch of the West story and can’t wait for it to end. PLEASE don’t let this lead to a spin-off title!

ANIMAL MAN #20: Buddy Baker, after watching his life go to hell in the last issue, sits alone and watches the movies he starred in, TIGHTS. In a nutshell, it parallels his life. He plays Chas Grant who is also the superhero Red Thunder whose life is in turmoil. His ex-wife and her boyfriend have to pay his medical bills. But a talent agent named Tom Drummond takes on Grant who soon becomes a major celebrity. Eventually that backfires on him when he realizes the agency owns his likeness. Taking a photo of his son with him, it appears Chas decides to jumps to his death off a bridge. A funeral is held even without a body, where Paige plays the guitar at the burial. Later, Jamie sees a news report where a mystery hero has saved two children from a fire. Buddy stops the movie, looks at a photo of Cliff and breaks down. Just then, his agent calls: Buddy has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Truth is stranger than fiction, especially for Buddy Baker who realizes the weird parallel between his movie role and his real life. But then light shines on him and he gets nominated for an Oscar! Bet that’s going to make him forget his son died saving the world! This title rolls along nicely, even after the great storyline that was ROTWORLD. This book only bears SOME resemblance to the previous incarnation, which is okay, especially when you compare it to the classic runs.

AQUAMAN #20: On an Apache Reservation in Arizona, a resident confronts a Skinwalker. Next, Ya’wara teleports herself, Aquaman and Prisoner of War aboard The Living Room: the airplane and headquarters of The Operative. Aquaman sends The Others to the Arizona desert and retrieve an Atlantean Glove. Back on the reservation, we meet a girl named Sky, her brother and her grandmother the medicine woman. She meets with The Others when they are forced to make an emergency landing in the desert. She tries to take Kahina’s Seal of Clarity, as Sky is destined to take her place. Ya’wara agrees and gives her the seal as Sky reveals that, because she can communicate with the dead, she knows who has the Power Glove they seek. The team and Sky end up battling a team a group of Skinwalkers led by her Uncle Carl, who wear the glove. Defeating them, the team leaves with the Power Glove and Sky promises to be available when needed.

In a nutshell, this is a fill-in issue as Aquaman only appears long enough to give the team their mission. Comic legend John Ostrander writes a clever tale and Manuel Garcia does a beautiful job of illustrating it. But DC Editorial gets NO POINTS for having a cover that says it’s by the regular team of Geoff  Johns, Paul Pelletier and Sean Parsons. Simple little mistakes like this seem to happen more than they should have in the NEW 52 and I find it frustrating. I mean, Pelletier and Rod Reis did the cover so someone knew this issue was happening. Someone couldn’t figure out that the interior was by a different team? Maybe Johns was too busy getting patted on the back for finishing his GREEN LANTERN run to appear this month.

BATGIRL #20: The issue begins nine years ago when Shauna Belzer added weed-killer to birthday party punch and came home with a blood-stained ventriloquist's dummy. Flash forward to today as Barbara Gordon makes a surprising visit to her Psychiatrist’s office. Without revealing too much information, we learn that she tore the bat-emblem and went out on patrol. She ends up outside of the reality show "Gotham's Got a Star," where a grown up Shauna Belzer has been rejected with her ventriloquism act and has killed one of the judges and taken another hostage. She watches the judge be dragged into the same parking garage where Ricky lost his leg. Charise Carnes, owner of the Three Towers, sends her security to stop the kidnapping. Meanwhile, Ricky now has a titanium prosthetic leg paid for by the Wayne Foundation. Ricky’s brother Rolo warns him not to spend time with associates of the bat. Batgirl follows Shauna to the garage and finds herself attacked by the dummy. Carnes security arrives and Shauna throws her voice convincing the guards that Batgirl is responsible for the kidnapping and manages to escape with the hostage in the process. Back at her house, where the kidnapped Ms. Xavia sits next to Shauna’s murdered parents, Shauna and her dummy decide to kill Batgirl. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon knows that Batgirl is responsible for his son’s death and she is “going to pay”.

Gail Simone, Daniel Sampere and Carlos Rodriguez continue to turn it a killer story here. Meet the new Ventriloquist which many die hard DC fans will absolutely hate! Here’s a psychotic girl as opposed to the mild mannered, MALE predecessor. Personally, I’m okay with it. After nearly two years, we have to realize that the NEW 52 is not the DCU we grew up with. And I truly love having Gail Simone back with her killer dialogue and such. C’mon: the dummy feels remorse in having to kill Batgirl because he likes her “excellent rack”. WOW! That’s politically correct!

BATMAN #20: Clayface swallows Bruce Wayne and dumps him into a trash compactor where Lucius Fox has already been dumped. Bruce puts on this suit he finds there that greatly resembles the BATMAN BEYOND suit and busts them out of their prison. Meanwhile, Clayface is out masquerading as Bruce Wayne and causing havoc. That soon ends as Batman, in a secure batsuit, battles back.  Gordon and his men arrive just in time to see Clayface reveal Bruce Wayne under the mask. Batman drops a Chamber on Clayface and the only way to open the chamber is with Basil Karlo’s voice. but, since Karlo no longer has enough of his own DNA within him, he can’t get out. Batman reveals that his mask was covered with Bruce Wayne’s DNA and that was how he fooled the police into believing it. The issue ends with a tearful Bruce and Alfred watching video of Damien Wayne. The back-up tale concludes the GHOST LIGHTS story begun last issue.

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo present a tale with some good and some bad. The good? Capullo’s art. The bad? Batman was wearing Bruce Wayne’s DNA and the Police BUY IT? Talk about suspension of disbelief! This is one of the dumbest explanations I have ever heard in a comic (well…maybe not the dumbest) and the legendary GCPD believe it? Yeah…not happening! As far as the back-up goes: I thought it was filler last issue and I still didn’t find anything great top say about it. Oh yeah: Batman and Superman remain friends. Next issue: ZERO YEAR begins. This should be interesting!

BATMAN AND ROBIN #20: Carrie Kelley, friend of the late Damian Wayne who was giving him acting lessons, shows up unannounced at Wayne Manor. After asking why Damian was taking acting lessons, he dismisses her by saying that his son would be studying aboard for several years. She refuses his money and then strikes up a relationship with Titus, quoting a line from Shakespeare’s TITUS ANDRONICUS in the process. Alfred offers her a job walking the dog for them. Bruce contacts Jason Todd about a mission in Ethiopia involving snipers, which he joins his former partner on. Batman has upped his level of non lethal attacks as he uses electrically charged gauntlets which kill the nerves in the snipers' hands. After the snipers are put out of commission, Bruce drives Jason to Magdala Valley, which is where Jason Todd was beaten to death by the Joker. Bruce admits to bringing him here to jog a memory on how he came back to life so he can do the dame for his son. Jason and Bruce trade blows with Jason standing tall. he takes the car and leaves Bruce to wait for the Batplane. Meanwhile, Harvey Dent makes a decision that will have ramifications for everyone.

Okay, so we all know that Bruce has lost his genetically created son and all, but he is totally be a tool! And, besides taking a couple of verbal bites out of the future Robin(wait and see…), he brings zombie Jason Todd out to Magdala Valley so he can try to figure out how to bring Damian back to life. Hey Brucie: did you ever read PET SEMATARY? Maybe you saw the movie? Bringing him back to life is probably NOT the smartest idea without a Lazarus Pit to help out. Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Cliff Richards continue to make this a wonderful piece of the Batman legend. Also nice: the fact that despite the NEW 52 taking many pieces of the patchwork that was the DCU and rewriting it, some things remain the same. Jason Todd did die in Magdala Valley because the fans REALLY hated him and voted to kill him and that remains part of the lore. Now if someone can explain how Barbara Gordon learned to walk again…

BATMAN INCORPORATED #11: In Tokyo, teams of “motorcycle riding hooligans” are terrorizing the downtown area. The police arrive but can’t handle the “hooligans” so they send out the bat Alarm. The Batman of Japan, Jiro, is having dinner with his partner, Canary. They suit up and battle the motorcycle team only to take a pretty severe beating. They go back to the Batbase and regroup. A short time later, they battle the motorcyclists in the lair of their leader. Jiro and canary hurl special Bat Darts at their enemies which causes their helmets to melt and reveal their horribly scarred cybernetic faces. They were recruited by Leviathan, the experiment went wrong and were abandoned. So they join forces to battle their leader:, Lady Tiger Fist, locking her into a virtual reality prison.

Welcome to our second fill-in issue of the month in the NEW 52. I don’t get it. We have less than 52 titles here (not counting annuals) but we still can’t stay on time? Chris Burnham and Jorge Lucas turn in a rather fun and funny issue with some great lines and some nice nods to Japanese Sci-Fi culture. Oh yeah: and a GREAT DOCTOR WHO reference which may be off color but is rather funny! I would have liked to se this as a one shot, maybe in the cancelled DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS anthology. But I really want to get back to Morrison’s wind up of this title.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #20: Batman searches for Mad Hatter through the underground tunnels beneath Gotham City but comes up empty handed. Mad hatter has a new Alice in his life as he has kidnapped Natalya Trusevich, Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend. Bruce has a nightmare and decides to visit Natalya and tell her he doesn’t plan on being Batman forever. When he arrives, he finds that GCPD are investigating the break in. He has Alfred activate a tracker he placed on her and gives chase. Meanwhile, hatter decides she is NOT his Alice and decides she nuts die, but not before she reveals Batman’s identity. She takes a savage beating but refuses to give up the information. She the Hatter throws her out of the helicopter they have been travelling in. Batman arrives but is too late as she crashes into the Bat-Signal on the roof of GCPD.

Yeah…Bruce Wayne is having a really bad year. First his son and now his girlfriend? This will lead to one PISSED OFF Dark Knight! Greg Hurwitz turns out another excellent issue and Szymon Kudranski steps into Ethan Van Sciver’s shoes with some very atmospheric work. Do I think Natalya is dead? No…I think she will end up being crippled, much like Barbara Gordon was. Hey-maybe she can be the NEW Oracle! 

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT ANNUAL #1: Set on a Halloween night, the Mad Hatter finds himself invited to the Arkham Detention Facility for Youth by The Penguin. The Penguin arrives with a similar letter from the Hatter - meaning that neither had actually invited the other. The Scarecrow is also there, having received a letter from Hatter and Penguin. A flash of lightning reveals the silhouette of the Batman and the trio panics. They try to escape by going outside only to be lost in a hedge maze while the song THREE BLIND MICE plays. They find themselves gassed by Fear Toxin and a forced to relive their painful childhood memories. They each get knocked unconscious. When they wake in the morning, they go their separate ways and agree never to speak of this again. In Wayne Manor, we see that Bruce Wayne delivered the invitations and the villains had done all the mental damage to themselves.

What a great waste of FIVE BUCKS! Greg Hurwitz and Szymon Kudranski give us a full length tale of tremendous silliness. Batman never appears in the issue, except on the cover. This is a Halloween tale that hits the comic stands in May! If there is any socially redeeming factor to this book is that it fleshes out some back story on the three villains. But, if you’re a long time comic reader, we KNOW they had rough childhoods. So the promise of a tie-in, at least in my mind, to the current BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT story, never delivers. Thanks for nothing guys!


BATWOMAN #20: Batwoman is having trouble believing that her sister Beth, who she saw fall to her death from a helicopter many years ago, is still alive. But Agent Chase assures her the woman on the other side of the glass is really her sister. Chase explains how she tried to connect Kate to Batwoman and discovered a sect of the Religion of Crime that was totally obsessed with Batwoman. Tracking them to an abandoned airstrip, the DEO and the Religion of Crime engaged in a battle that left everyone dead or wounded except Chase. She discovered an Egyptian sarcophagus in a hanger and called in Director Bones. Apparently the sarcophagus brought Beth back to life and had managed to keep her in suspended animation until it was opened. Kate removes her mask and meets with her sister. Kate agrees to deliver the Batman in exchange for her family. Bones also knows Kate will die trying to accomplish this, even if she does. Kate goes home to find her girlfriend and her whole family waiting for her. They know Beth is alive because of a bug Bette had placed on her. They all tell her they need to work together to accomplish this and Maggie has an ultimatum: let them help or she is breaking up with her.

Ah, young love is so fickle! One minute it’s hearts and flowers and then it’s “let us help you get the Batman or we’re through!” Seriously-this just became an episode of THE L WORD in the last three panels! And I LOVED that show, so don’t get my sentiments wrong. But we spent the entire issue doing MAJOR revelations regarding the character we thought long dead and then…BANG! I’m packing my bags and hitting the road! WTF!  J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman handle the story, which rocks except for the over the top last panels. Trevor McCarthy provides the art and it’s just okay. Now, I can’t draw worth a darn so I’m not slamming him. I just want to see Williams beautiful style.

BIRDS OF PREY #20: Black Canary realizes she’s been had as it looks like Starling has betrayed them and has been playing them all along. In actuality, it looks like she has aligned herself with Mister Freeze because of a long standing debt. She also claims that she is merely trying to keep the Court of Owls from misusing Freeze’ work. The Court’s scientists attempt an escape and call to their Grandmaster to report that Strix has returned. Freeze catches up with them and kills one before the other reveals the Owl’s secret is alloy electrum. Meanwhile, Batgirl and Starling battle until Freeze says it’s time to leave. Black canary chases after her and lets loose a scream that unintentionally pushes Starling out of the harm’s way. Condor saves canary from the collapsing roof by dragging her to safety. Condor uses the last of the explosives to open a door for them. As Canary and Condor team up to chase after Freeze, Batgirl and Strix are confronted by another Talon.

Is this how we try to save a book that is having trouble finding an audience by having him guest star in another title? If it is, it’s a bad idea! This book continues to struggle and find its own identity as it moves from being a great team book run by Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair and featuring such cool characters as Lady Blackhawk. This title drifts between being an all girl team up title (whoops… scratch that…we have Condor!) and a feature book for B level characters with angst!  And when did Starling get aligned with Freeze? Last we knew, she was being all secret and shady and having conversations with Amanda Waller. WTF folks?! Christy Marx continues to write this and Romano Molenaar continues to draw it and I continue to read it in hopes that it will improve. Someday I’ll learn otherwise. And speaking of the “other Talon”: can we cancel his book and give Strix her own title? She can team up with Black Canary, they both can find themselves and we can leave Condor in the dust somewhere. If I want a book with Condor in the title, I’ll go back and read the OLD BLACK CONDOR series.

CATWOMAN #20: Catwoman follows The Penguin to his family’s crypt, knocks out his guard(who was someone she ran into during her time in the Black Room) and robs the crypt. Naturally, The Penguin is P.O.’ed! Back at Selina’s penthouse, she and Gwen review hidden camera footage of Detective Alvarez’ office, which leads to questions of who bailed Gwen out and why Selina’s cut on jobs, is smaller than Gwen’s. Thanks to Selina’s adventure in The Black Room, Joe Pazzo has been possessed by the demon Escalate and uses his abilities to increase the amount of lust in the bar Catwoman is hanging out in. Although she fends off her three attackers, Escalate breaks into the place and throws her out of it and the two of them brawl on the beach. He uses his powers to make the beach goers feel suicidal and they begin to march into the sea. Catwoman slits the demons throat, but he turns back into Joe Pazzo and those around her now believe she has killed an innocent man. Just then, a helicopter appears, collecting Pazzo's body to take back to the Penguin. Still P.O.’ed about his crypt being broken into AND one of his men being injured, Oswald Cobbletpot declares war on Catwoman's neighborhood.

I HATE the fact that this story gets continued in the CATWOMAN ANNUAL, which is an excuse to charge five bucks or more to give us a main story and a bunch of back-ups. THAT having been said, I really want to know where all of this is heading. In nearly two years, the title has gone from being about Selina Kyle, the anti-hero with the hots for Batman, to the mourning and vengeful anti-hero Catwoman who lost her best friend in a very violent manner to a card carrying member of the Justice League of America who has a new partner who may be screwing her over. Wait: is Gwen in cahoots with The Penguin? Gee, isn’t that like Starling in cahoots with Mr. Freeze over in BIRDS OF PREY. Is everyone at DC stealing plot ideas from everyone else at DC? Ann Nocenti writes it, Rafa Sandoval illustrates it and we all read it.

CATWOMAN ANNUAL #1: Catwoman receives a text informing her that she can stop a murder but arrives too late to save one of Rat-Tail gang. The murder case goes to Detective Alvarez and his partner Tammy Keyes', who believes that Catwoman is responsible. Harvey Bullock arrives and points out that the Penguin’s men are responsible and Penguin is trying to start a gang war. Penguin is meeting with Catwoman’s partner, Gwen Altamont, and informs her that he will kill Catwoman if she refuses to work under him. Penguin has Volt design heat seeking missile tailored to Catwoman’s signature and has Lark arrive with Hypnotic, whose presence is there only because his family was threatened. GCPD investigates the murder scene when they are caught in a drive-by and only are saved by Catwoman who tells them to look for a new drug called "black ice". Later, Catwoman has a woman named Alice to design her a camouflaged cape to confused Penguin’s rockets. That night, the rockets attack and get sent back to Penguin’s control station, blowing it up. Catwoman soon follows but finds herself in manacles after looking at Hypnotic. She manages to get free and warns the Penguin to stay out of her business. Penguin swears to kill all of the Rat-Tails and Catwoman. Catwoman decides to strike an alliance with Rat-Tail to protect the Badlands. 

Thus begins the battle for the badlands as Catwoman joins forces with rat-tail and goes to war with The Penguin. Ann Nocenti turns in a nice if not wordy script that drops all the key players into the mix. Christian Duce’ art with assists from Aaron Lopresti and John Livesay is also fitting to the story and a nice change of pace from the Guillen Marsh styles. All in all, this looks to be a fun summer story that will be sure to have major consequences by the end. Personally, I think Selina, if she really IS SELINA, will be looking for a new roommate and partner by the end of it all. 

CONSTANTINE #3: Our title character is not only in a race to find the final piece of Croydon’s Compass before Sargon the Sorceress and Mister E can, but he is cursed and the city of London is trying to kill him. He hooks up with his old friend Julia(not that kind of hook up-she’s married now) and although she attempts to give them magical protection, cars begin to attack them. Suddenly they find themselves in a nightmarish psychic maze where this creature made of deformed body parts tells Constantine death is the only escape. John rejects the noose and offers something for their being allowed to leave. Arriving back in London, John sends Julia away for her own safety and he enters a nearby optics shop, immediately being threatened by Sargon and Mister E. We learn that the shop keeper is Angus Croydon’s son and the missing lens is Philip Croydon’s eyes. The Riddling Butcher, the creature from the labyrinth, arrives, blasts Mister E, takes Philip Croydon’s eyes and attacks Sargon, while Constantine finds a way to escape back to his apartment in New York City. He realizes that the Cult of the Cold Flame AND the Spectre will be after him soon.

Okay…the story arc is through. I’m done! No really…John Constantine is a marvelous character and the long run of his Vertigo title is proof. But this John Constantine is…different. He’s not the magician who is one step ahead of dire peril. He’s not the cocksure chain smoking charlatan I knew to love. He is a watered down version. Now, that’s not totally Jeff Lemire’s fault: I blame DC Editorial. I just can’t get into this remorseful John Constantine, who was so troubled by the death of his friend in the first issue. The John Constantine I KNOW would have felt it was a consequence of knowing him and that they should have expected death to be on their tail just by association. So this storyline, by Lemire and Ray Fawkes comes to a close and, unless there is some major connection during the TRINITY WAR, I doubt I will be reading this again. Sorry, mate: nice knowing you.  

DEMON KNIGHTS #20: The Demon Knights have saved Themyscira by killing all the vampires, even though the Shining Knight may become one. As thanks, Hippolyta sends the Knights to direct the Demon Knights to their library where they find information regarding the location of the Holy Grail, Vandal Savage gets to read the “Kama something” and we learn that Amazons castrate the men who lie down with them. They are given a ship as a gift and set sail to find the Grail. While at sea, they find a navy graveyard and that is because of a landmass that is hidden from most eyes. Upon the island, they are attacked by a giant octopus named Architeuthis that grabs Xanadu. The team join together to attack, Etrigan frees Xanadu and she shoots a bolt of lightning into the creature, exploding its’ head. Behind the octopus is a blood covered door with Merlin’s glyphs, including one that represents The Holy Grail.

This tale continues to ramble and wander and this is the LONGEST search for The Holy Grail. Maybe that explains why this title is being cancelled with issue #23, out in August. Robert Vendetti gets points for putting his tongue in his cheek and firing away. Vandal Savage searching for the Karma Sutra and relishing seeing some things he has never done before is priceless. However, when he says things like “huzzah” all I can hear is John DiMaggio doing his killer version of Aquaman from BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Outrageous!). With that visual in my head, I now find Aquaman looking at the Karma Sutra and THAT’S creepy! Chad Hardin provides the art this issue and it fits the established style on the title. All in all, this is a really nice issue. But let’s get this Grail hunt over with and MOVE ON!

DETECTIVE COMICS #20: Oswald Cobblepot has found a way to get the trespassing and weapons charges against him thrown out. Batman interrogates Mister Mosaic, who reveals that Ignatius Ogilvy was responsible for the Man-Bat plague. Batman heads to Oswald Cobblepot’s mansion to confront Ogilvy and learns that he has injected himself with the Man-Bat Serum infused with Venom, making him super strong and allowing him to hang Batman from a tree. Suddenly, he is freed by The Penguin who admits that to get his life back; he needs to save the Dark Knight’s life. Batman defeats Ogilvy with The Penguin’s help. Afterwards, Cobblepot revamps the children’s centre and turns it back into the Martha Wayne Children’s Centre. Meanwhile, a female assassin stalks Bruce Wayne. In the back-up, Ignatius Ogilvy, whose parents died much like Thomas and Martha Wayne did, gets an initiation at Blackgate Penitentiary. He meets The Boss, tells his origin story and then, after killing The Boss, declares himself Emperor Blackgate.

Can I just go all fanboy for a moment and say how absolutely much LOVE Jason Fabok’s art? Because I am going to go there! This guy has to be one of the most underrated artists in the business today. His style is clean, yet dynamic! Pick a book with issues on the art, whether it be looking shabby or riddled with fill-ins artists, and let this guy go to town on it. And this John Layman guy writes a good tale too! Seriously, I’m loving where this thing is going. However, my feeling on back-ups, even this one by Layman and Andy Clarke, remains the same: lose them and give me a buck of my money back!

DIAL H #12: In Australia, Nelson and Roxie fins themselves in conflict with The Centipede and the Fixer. The Fixer grabs the H-Dial from Nelson but Roxie uses the S-Dial and fights to keep herself free from The Fixer’s influence, kicking the H-Dial from him and getting it back to Nelson. Then they run for their lives. Once they get somewhere somewhat safe, she reverse dials herself back to herself and suggest they discuss the fact they had sex. Nelson admits it was humiliating just as the Fixer and the Centipede arrive. But they find themselves saved by Open-Window-Man, causing the Fixer to transform into some balloons and fly away. Open-Window-Man, Nelson and Roxie jumps through one window and into another, where they meet Dial Bunch and begin to battle again with The Fixer. They manage to trap The Centipede and The Fixer in a doorless room in the lab in Toronto. While the two teams introduce themselves, Dial Bunch’ leader promises answers. Unfortunately, The Centipede and the Fixer are exactly where they wanted to be.

This book is just getting way, WAY too weird, which explains why DC is giving this book the axe with issue #15, out in August. We all knew that China Mieville would put a spin on the story of the Dial, but I never figured it would be like this. I find it getting be to like a car accident: I can’t stand to read it because it is SO WEIRD, but I can’t put it down and look away. Alberto Ponticelli is cool, but I still miss having David Lapham on the book. As I say each month, I guess I’ll hang around for a while. There are truly worst books to be reading.

EARTH 2#12: In order to save the world, Khalid Ben-Hassin has decided to allow Nabu to become part of him. Wearing the Helmet of Nabu, Khalid is now known as Doctor Fate. Fate and Wotan battle and, because of a mystical doorway opened by Nabu, Flash gets his mother back to Earth. In China, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern are investigating Alan’s boyfriend’s murder and the possible connection to Parademons that died during the Apokolips War. Alan gets the call from The Green and deserts Hawkgirl to go to Boston and help. Doctor Fate ends up using the powers of Set, Ptah, Menhit and Horus to defeat Wotan and send him to another dimension. Later, at the home of Alan Scott, the Green Lantern reveals his identity to The Flash and explains how he has media to put a spin on the incident. Alan prepares to go back to China, but Doctor fate warns against it as news report says that Steppenwolf has taken control of the Dherain and this will be the team’s priority for now.

James Robinson, Nicola Scott and Trevor Scott do their best to wrap up the origin of Doctor Fate and, at the same time, attempt to make this team into the next version of this Earth’s Trinity. At least, that’s what our heroes think. Month after month, I extol the praises of Robinson and his love for the Earth 2 characters. And the Scotts, no relation to my knowledge, take the art to the next place. Nicola Scott’s work has been compared to that of George Perez. Now, I wouldn’t go that far but she’s really damned good! With muscles popping and testosterone flying, this team actually has moments where they are more fun to read than the three Justice League teams. Now, if we could get Huntress and Power Girl off this rock, cancel their book and put them back on their own Earth, I would be thrilled.

EARTH 2 ANNUAL #1: On a trip to Cambodia, Captain Al Pratt flashes back to his origin when he was caught in a nuclear blast. He arrives in Phnom Penh, which is the largest black market for technology stolen during the Apokolips. Searching for a man named Henri Roy, he finds himself knocked unconscious and being interrogated. There he meets a disguised Roy, whom is told that Roy's own son, Henri, Jr, was responsible for the leak that brought Al here. Al grows to a giant's height, prompting Roy to climb into a war machine. That is when the Batman arrives; distracting almost everyone. Al captures the Frenchman as his superior, Major Sonia Soto, arrives to tell him that Steppenwolf has been located in Dherain. She also tells him that the Hero Initiative has been re-opened under her supervision, with terry Sloan in charge of the scientific aspect of it all. Al is ordered to round up Henri Roy Jr, who has agreed to be studied to atone for his father’s deeds. Meanwhile, Amar Kahn sends Captain Steel into a Brazilian fire pit created by Terry Sloan. The Batman travels to Spain, where he battles Mister Icicle, who reveals that Kanto considers Hawkgirl a threat to his plans. With that, Batman shoots Mister Icicle dead. Meanwhile, Mister Miracle and his companion Barda, fight to save the wasteland known as Gotham City. They are visited by Fury, who has arrived to bring them back to Steppenwolf. 

So, if you’re waiting to find out who the new Batman is: keep waiting. James Robinson is not about to let that secret slip any time soon. That being said, this was a fun extra sized issue that introduced Captain Steel, Mister Miracle AND Barda, who apparently is his fighting companion as opposed to his wife/lover. Art by Cafu and Julius Lopez is very cool and the whole thing is tied together by a great looking Andy Kubert cover. This issue is core to the series, as the story leads straight into EARTH 2 #21.

GREEN ARROW #20: Both Green Arrow and Komodo have finished their battles with wounds. Komodo chastises his daughter for calling her “Daddy” in public. Komodo’s superiors take offense that Oliver Queen stills lives and tell him to shut down his operation in Seattle and return to Prague. If not, they threaten to send the Bear after him and his daughter. Henry Fyff wakes a wounded Oliver and shows him a live Qcorp feed that shows Naomi alive and in trouble. He heads to the Queen Family Mausoleum, where he finds Naomi strapped to a bomb. As he tries to defuse it, he is attacked by Komodo, leaving Henry to defuse the bomb. During their battle, Oliver shoves an arrow into Komodo's eye. The masked man throws a smoke-bomb and manages to escape. Naomi offers to clear Oliver's name with the back-ups of Qcorp security tapes which shows his innocence. A week later, Oliver finds himself in Arizona to meet with Magus.

Yeah…I totally love this series now. I love it so much that it has actually got me watching ARROW, which I thought was a major drag during its early part of the season. I really like THIS Oliver Queen, as documented by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. While this is not the big mouthed, hard riding, bearded archer I grew up with, I can tolerate him. In his earlier NEW 52 incarnation, he was just way too much mouth and not a lot of substance. THIS Oliver Queen has had his life screwed up and is on a mission to find out why. Again, Jeff Lemire has breathed essential life into this title and it is now one of my Top 5 NEW 52 titles.

GREEN LANTERN #20: The issue begins with The Bookkeeper telling a new Green Lantern the story of Hal Jordan and the rest of the Corps and their greatest battles. After a brief bit of Hal’s origin, his death and resurrection, we discover that the Guardian of the Universe have been freed from their prison and head to Maltus, where they find the Heart of the Guardians has been consumed by Volthoom. It turns out The Great Heart is actually The First Lantern. He has to use the main Power Battery to access the past, but Guy Gardner, the Green Lantern Corps, along with the Blue, Violet, Yellow, Orange and Red Lanterns arrive to try and stop him by pouring all of their energy into Mogo. Volthoom is weakened but continues on, as he has seen his destiny.  In the Dead Zone, Hal Jordan contacts the Indigo Lanterns to try to help him out and the gate to the Dead Zone is opened, allowing Hal and the army of the dead to join the attack. Hal is captured and forced to deal with his father’s death, as a version of him as a child is brought forth. Sinestro calls Parallax out of a large yellow power battery and allows it to take control of him. he tears out Volthoom’s heart, but that doesn’t defeat him. Jordan calls upon Nekron, who cuts Volthoom in two. While the ring chooses Hal Jordan again as the Grfeen Lantern of this sector, Sinestro kills the Guardians. At this point, the tale returns to the Bookkeeper. He tells the future history of the Corps Members. Guy Gardner grew old and continued to get into barroom fights. John Stewart and Fatality returned to Earth, were married and John went into politics. Kyle Raynor became a Space Healer. Hal Jordan married Carol Ferris and had a baby named Martin. We also learn that Sinestro is the Bookkeeper, who didn’t kill Ganthet, saved Sayd and reunited them. 

And thus ends Geoff Johns lengthy run on GREEN LANTERN. With the art assistance of Doug Mahnke (who handles most of the art), Patrick Gleason, Cully Hamner, Ethan Van Sciver, Aaron Kuder, Jerry Ordway and Ivan Reis, this rambling tale has just about everything a Green Lantern fan would want: the heroes win, the villain loses, Sinestro returns to his roots(sort of) and the epic battle creates a pantheon for the creative reboot to come throughout all of the Lantern titles. Is it a classic? No. It has its flaws but what epic doesn’t? And the fact that we are filled with pages of creators giving their praises to johns is a little too much back slapping and butt kissing for my liking. in this digital age, maybe a section of the DC Homepage would have been appropriate for this…maybe even video greetings. Personally, I would liked to have had those pages become more story.

THE GREEN TEAM #1: The book begins with a rich kid named Mohammed heading to New York to meet with Commodore Murphy: the super rich kid leader of the Green Team. Mohammed’s goal is to prove to his father that he can make his own money and go to one of Murphy’s secret Expos where he views the latest gadgets which he buys for The Green Team. Mohammend ends up at POXPO 2013 and shortly thereafter, Commodore Murphy and his team arrive and begin checking out the various inventions. Eventually, Mohammed gets to meet the team. Unfort7unateky, he has been uploading pictures from the event tagged #GreenTeam with the GPS data on them. It doesn’t take long for a masked villain by the name of Riot Act shows up with guns drawn. While his bodyguard tries to fend off the villain, Commodore places a green disc on his chest and it becomes a green fighting suit. Unfortunately, he hasn’t figured out how to use the suit and there is more than one Riot Act here.

This book is supposedly designed to go hand in hand with THE MOVEMENT, but I don’t quite get the connection except these gets are rich and The Movement are kids FIGHTING the establishment? I like the previous work of Art Baltazar and Franco(i.e Frank Aureliani-a one time Indy comic guy who I have known since back in the day) which is why I was excited about this title. But I don’t see where it’s going to go. Rich kid superhero team? Not sure this is going to fly in the NEW 52 Universe. There is a history to THE GREEN TEAM as they first appeared in the DC anthology series 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #2 way back in 1975 in a tale by Joe Simon and Jerry Granadetti. But they have also appeared in other Pre NEW 52 titles over the years, sometimes just in a single panel. That team, was fun and dumb in a Seventies sort of way. This team seems to be an extremely shallow and have none of the cute charm of their predecessors. Ig Guara’s art is nice though.