ACTION COMICS #46: Superman, partially under the influence of the Black Mass, frees the captives that have been held in the secret facility and been experimented on. He tells everyone, including Lee, to wait for John Henry and Lana and then heads off to West Virginia where Wrath is amassing an army. He confronts her and finds that Lee also came through the shadows here and that Wrath has her. Together, the two of them defeat her army…until Frankenstein comes riding in on a creature. The two of them, now both under the influence of the Black Mass, battle each other as Wrath takes control of Lee.
So this tale of an infected Superman, who is losing more of his ability and free will all the time, continues. I like Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder’s writing and the way this series is tying into many other Superman appearances across the DC Universe. And generally, I like Scott Kolins artwork, although it doesn’t quite hit me on this title. It’s not because it isn’t any good-I just feel it fits the title. It’s a personal preference thing. Despite that, I like seeing Frankenstein back from the world of cancelled comic heaven.
AQUAMAN #46: Aquaman confronts Entriax regarding not being told that Mera had been replaced by Siren or that he was supposed to destroy Thule. Before he can explain, Wonder Woman arrives to argue with Aquaman about why he never told the League about the invasion of Thule. The Atlantean assassins arrive and battle our heroes, but lose in the process. She assures Aquaman that he won’t have to fight them alone, even as an attack is launched on Amnesty Bay.
If you haven’t heard, Cullen Bunn is leaving this title after issue #48, based on the
reaction from fans which Bunn said was “brutal”. I don’t condone the hate mail and such that he got, but yeah…this is NOT his best work. The real treat this issue is the art of Vincente Cifuentes. It TOTALLY makes the book worth reading.
BATMAN #46: Bloom arrives at a party at the Powers Building and proceeds to start murdering every person he can. Batman shows up with gun blazing before Bloom stabs him with one of his murderous tendrils. Just when things look bad, Julia shows up and bails him out. Still, Bloom manages to escape. Later, he heads out and tracks Bloom down, only to have his robot half, nicknamed Rookie, turn on him. Meanwhile, Bruce and Julie enjoy some quality time in the shower after he tells her that he wants her to marry him. Elsewhere, Duke is breaking into the Iceberg Lounge, where he finds something in Penguin’s office that amazes him. Penguin and his crew catch him, but he plays Death Metal music to distract them and escape.
While this was not the best issue of the series, it could have been a lot worse. I have given a lot of praise to the team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo over the years for their innovative stories and beautiful art. But, while the art was still kicking, I found the story a bit disjointed. I mean, we have Jim Gordon fighting the mysterious Bloom, Duke breaking into to the Iceberg and facing off with Penguin and Bruce and Julie bumping uglies in the shower. Well…he WAS a billionaire playboy, remember? Yeah. I could have done without that whole subplot. By the way: enjoy Capullo now because he’ll be taking a break from the title as of issue #48 and will be replaced by Yanick Paquette.
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL: #5-8: Issue #5 begins with a Batman and Robin flashback involving Dr. Crane, Orphan and eventually Cassandra Cain, who interrupts the meeting between Crane and Orphan. Switching to present day, Dick is visiting the Drake residence where he is passing himself off as a solicitor. It isn’t long after he arrives that Poppy shows up. As the Drakes hide, Mrs. Drake says CNEMIAL and the living room turns into Sanctuary. After a bit of a battle, Dick knocks her out. Tim shows up and has a tearful reunion with his parents before he goes over and punches Dick in the mouth. Meanwhile, Harper and Cassandra have made their way to the church we saw in the flashback. Unfortunately, orphan is there too. In the course of battle, Cassandra cuts off his right arm, forcing him to flee but not before Harper hits him with a tracker.
In #6, we see Dick looking in on Bruce as he works with the kids at the Rec Center, before he and Jason meet at St. Elijah’s and they discover Orphan and Cassandra’s training facility beneath the church. This leads to a Batman and Robin flashback with them chasing the Scarecrow after the events of last issue. Unfortunately, Dick makes a mistake and the villain gets away. Bruce heads off to a fundraiser where his friend Maxwell tells Bruce how he bought his wife from Mother for forty million dollars. Then he changes his story and says he met her at a pottery class in Prague. Later, he discovers that Maxwell and his wife have been murdered by the Orphan, which results in he and Robin heading to Prague. Back in the present, Dick rounds up Cassandra and Harper to head off to Prague. Mother knows they’re coming and that doesn’t seem to bother her at all.
In #7, we have a flashback to several years ago as Batman and Robin are looking for Crane in Prague. Later, Bruce Wayne requests an audience with Mother and is told to go to the ballet. Moving to today, Dick, Harper and are in a Batcave and they are heading off to the Prague Ballet to prevent Orphan from attacking star ballerina Sarangarel Jalair. At the same time, Tim and Jason arrive in Gamorra, where they end up in a bar together. At the ballet, Cassandra and Harper realize that this is a trap and that Sarangarel has connections to Mother. Speaking of which, she pops up and meets with Dick as he is tracing orphan’s signal.
In #8, we have a flashback where Bruce gets to meet with Mother and we see that Bruce has come to her looking for an heir.In the present, Dick meets with mother who offers to show him who that heir was, as long as he comes with her and leave Harper and Cassandra to fight for their lives. Of course, he turns it down and helps the girls out. Once free, Harper tugs on Cassandra’s hair, causing her to freak out and flee. Back at the Prague Batcave, they realize that Cassandra is gone and that’s a big problem. Meanwhile, Jason and Tim go to a church to meet with Jean Metier, who is one of the biggest dealers of tech in Gamorra. But he’s mentally unhinged, as he claims her has been visited by the Angel of Death while mumbling that “the circle around the circle is the fullness of God… the circle protects me from oblivion”.
Well, here we have four more killer issue from the writing team of James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Steve Orlando, Genevieve Valentine with Scot Eaton, Ronan Cliquet, Steve Pugh, Tony S. Daniel, and Alvaro Martinez handling the art. So, after all this, the question remains: who did Bruce get as an heir? He already had Dick, so that leaves Jason, Tim and possibly Damian. The obvious choice would be Jason but it IS Tynion and Snyder, so don’t expect the obvious.
BATMAN BEYOND #6: Tim Drake, dressed in Jim Gordon’s old robot Batsuit while Barbara and Micron try to hold off the heroes who have been turned into cyborgs. Tim gets into a one on one with Brother Eyebut it’s Inque who comes to save the day. In order to make sure that Tim keeps his promise top save her daughter, she uses her ability to infest and shut Brother Eye down. This causes a chain reaction that destroys the moon complex and Brother Eye. This also causes all of the superhero cyborgs to stop working.
Okay…so this could be a good stepping off point on this series by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. I mean, we have reached an end, it even says THE END in the end. Brother Eye, the Big Bad of the future, has finally been destroyed and now Tim, the younger can spend his later years with Barbara the older…or something like that. This title had great beginnings and then just got on the weird treadmill of me not caring. However, I do LOVE the variant cover by the great Craig Rousseau.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #26: Back in Siberia, Superman, Batgirl, Red Hood and Grayson are trying to help the folks who have been threatened by Vandal Savage. Savage’s Shadow Monsters show up. Batman arrives too, chastising them all before lending a land. In the end, he blasts the ice and it reveals a very large Nazi airship hooked up to the artificial sun.
That’s a short synopsis for an issue, but that about sums up everything that went on. Greg Pak gives us a great issue with some cool dialogue and some even cooler in-jokes while the art team of Ardian Syaf, and Cliff Richards makes it all look so good. I love how Pak manages to tie the events in his current Superman writings with what’s going on here. Again, nicely done. And what’s up with this Nazi airship?
BAT-MITE #6: We begin with Reagan’s boss blasting her for the way Bat-Mite has been causing mischief across the country, even as our hero is meeting with the President with an offer to help him. Then he discovers that Gridlock has thrown his hat into the political arena. Bat-Mite confronts him and gets gassed for his trouble. When he wakes, he finds himself captured by Gridlock who DOES have the GALAXY TREK pilot. Through Bat-Mite’s power, they end up inside the episode and the crew attack Gridlock, who they accuse of killing one of the Red Shirts. He pops out of the show and has to battle The Sentry Silent, who has come to take him back home. In the end, three cloaked figures pass judgment on him. They are the Justice Mites of America and they need him to help them battle Canceltron.
Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell conclude this fun series with some more fun! And if you’re are a fan of certain politicians, especially Hillary and The Donald, you may NOT want to read this as there is some pretty nice slaps at them! This was such a fun mini-series that I can only hope for a return at some point.
BIZARRO #6: Jimmy is slowly dying in the Nevada desert when he gets picked up and kidnapped by King and Queen Tut. Meanwhile, Bizarro meets Superman, who heads the other way when he learns Jimmy is in trouble. Colin the Chupacabra is in deep space and gets the message, causing him to head directly to Seattle. He’s not alone, as Bizarro, Talliwag, Big Munk, Zatanna, Chastity Hex, Deadman, the FBI agents come together to form the Bizarro League and return things to normal. Bizarro and Jimmy make up and, after Bizarro buys a car from the diamonds he has made from coal, they finish their road trip, with Colin the Chupacabra joining them. Unfortunately they get stopped at the Canadian border, but are given a gift basket filled with Tim Hortons donuts, moose jerky and Molson Beer! Back in Metropolis, Jimmy finds out that Clark has gotten Bizarro an internship at the Daily Planet.
This is the final issue of one of this truly hilarious series! Thank you Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte for one wild ride. And special thanks to guest artist turns from Dave Stewart and Tim Sale. I cannot say enough about how much fun this was. Either you got it or you didn’t. I am so glad that this turned out to be the silly, slightly wacky and totally fun book I had hoped it would be. I sure hope that, based on the ending, a sequel is in order.
CATWOMAN #46: Killer Croc informs Eiko that heads of the families have arrived, as she prepares for their slaughter. Antonia arrives to offer condolences, at which Eiko sends her away and Croc informs her that the hit squads are ready. The teams quickly take out gang members all over the city and Alvarez and Keyes discover one crime scene. Catwoman takes down one of the assassins and then Stephanie arrives and tells Selina it’s Eiko’s doing. She confesses that she killed Bill Turner, to which Selina tells her Bill had been shot, so she wasn’t fully to blame. Selina confronts Eiko, which ends up in a fight and a stalemate with Selina bidding Eiko goodbye. Selina heads to the underground, looking for Penguin, only to find Antonia as his guest. Penguin is quite happy how the eliminating of the crime families has been a bonus for him Later, Antonia and Selina discuss how Eiko’s actions benefited the Calabrese Family. In the end, Catwoman bids goodbye to Gotham City.
And with that, Selins Kyle heads out of Gotham and Genevieve Valentine and David Messina do the same, to be replaced by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda. This has been a fun, but uneven ride for the creative team as they struggled to take Catwoman from semi-superhero to crime boss. We have seen her move into a role much like Don Corleone, complete with the awful task of her one of her own family eliminated. Tieri and Miranda will have some big shoes to fill here. Tieri has recently done GRIFTER and a couple of the CONVERGENCE mini-series for DC while Miranda has worked on FAIREST and BIRDS OF PREY. It would nice to see this book NOT evolve back into just a woman in tights series again. By the way: seek out the variant cover by Darwyn Cooke featuring Catwoman and Tweety Bird!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #6: With a great big monster coming out and making it’s way through the halls of the apartment building where Constantine lives, it takes John to use a puzzle box style trap to have it stop bothering a former Arch-Duke of Hell. Then he sits around naked in his house before deciding to place an online ad soliciting himself as an exorcist. He spends most of the rest of book going around and helping people for a fee, getting rid of demons and such. He has a bit of a conversation with a gargoyle named Bartleby, before going back to the business of exorcising. In the end, he ends up making a connection with an old lover named Oliver. By the way-Papa Mnidnite is coming!
So, while this was one of the better issues of this title, it is still not the rotten, nasty Constantine we all know and love. And I have to ask the question: is sexual ambiguity and homosexuality the new routine in comics? Between Catwoman, Midnighter and Constantine, for starters, the DC Universe is going into grounds which might make some readers feels a bit…quirky? James Tynion IV and Ming Doyle write a great story, with a lot of nice bits, specifically all of John’s exorcising missions, some of which are really funny! Riley Rossmo provides the art and it’s okay, but I find it still going into the Batgirling of the line. While time may tell, I think time is running out on this title.
DEATHSTROKE #12: Deathstroke and Black Manta are battling it out underwater before Slade uses Manta’s speed to toss him out of the water. This is all because Slade wants to kill Waller for what has happened to his daughter. In the middle of all this, Harley and Deadshot get involved. The Belle Reve's shock troops show up to attack and that leads to Slade taking Harley out of the mix so she can lead him to Waller’s office. It’s a bloody and messy trek to the office but Waller is not there. She’s being held by Snakebite, who has no problem taking out anyone trying to rescue her. Things look bad for Slade and Harley until Catwoman shows up.
James Bonny and Tony S. Daniel combine with Tyler Kirkham to give us another action filled issue with not a lot of mental substance to it. What I mean is this book flows over you and doesn’t require a lot of thinking. It’s a good looking, action adventure book where people get shot and beat up and we have a fair share of bad puns (Harley bashes some of the Belle Reve guards by saying “clean up on Aisle Five). All in all, I have read worse. Picture G.I. JOE with blood and guts and you have this!
DETECTIVE COMICS #46: Batman and the Justice League are off in the Himalayas where they are investigating a giant monster skeleton, which they figure out has been murdered by a stalactite. They find anther creature inside a cave that they assume had committed suicide. When a second creature arrives and seemingly attacks them, they figure out that the second creature is a child and the mother killed herself so the baby could live. The child is slowly dying due to lack of food and earth’s own atmosphere. They project an image of the child’s mother and he lies down with her, slowly dying. Batman stays with the child and sings it a lullaby.
A beautifully sweet ending to a pretty awful issue! I have been a big fan of Peter Tomasi for some time, but this whole story just felt uneven and forced fel to it. I don’t buy this Batman as part of the Justice League and the fact that most of the team comes off sounding sluggish doesn’t help. And I really don’t like Marcio Takara’s artwork. Here’s hoping next issue gets back on some kind of normal track, like chasing bad guys and solving crime in Gotham. You want to play in the Justice League, find a way to work him INTO their book!
DOCTOR FATE #6: Khalid has become blind and can only see while he is wearing the helm of Doctor Fate. Meanwhile, Anubis continues to mess with the world, as the rain continues to fall. After a visit from the cat, Khalid decides he needs to do what he needs to do and attacks Anubis. He reaches a point where he thinks he has the Egyptian god on the ropes, but finds himself swallowed up by it. And Khlaid’s dad, now that he can see again, gets busy with Khalid’s mom!
Sorry…still can’t get into this series. I cannot believe that we’re six issues in and we’re still monkeying around with this storyline. And, after all this, I still cannot believe that we still have very little on our character and his supporting cast. It’s all just a lot of confusion. It’s brought to you courtesy of Paul Levitz and Sonny Lew.
DOOMED #6: Alpha Centurian is here and he, Superman and Doomed team up to battle Mother Herd, who drops a battleship on them. Because of his reduced powers, Superman is struggling to get free and it’s Doomed who saves them from a watery grave. In the process, Mother Herd loses her head, which means she loses her minions too. Superman dissuades Alpha Centurian from killing Doomed. Actually, he knocks Alpha Centurian out. Doomed begins to speak in words that Superman can understand and then he transforms back to Reiser and convinces Superman not to take him to S.T.A.R. labs. So he gets to go back home with Oui-Oui and continuing his heroic adventures…with the Teen Titans.
Okay…so can we all admit that this book existed to get the character introduced and get him a gig in TEEN TITANS? If that was the purpose of this series, then I am good with it. If this was someone at DC’s idea of what a successful series is meant to be, then I want the chance to pitch them MY comic idea. This is the end of this series, which DC has claimed that it was “always” a six issue limited series. Yeah…I believe that has been retconned! Anyway, Scott Lobdell wrote it and Javier Fernandez illustrated it and I’m glad to see it come to an end. I do have to admit that Reiser’s character did get interesting towards the end and perhaps he will play well over in TEEN TITANS…even if Lobdell is no longer writing it.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #6: Flash , Batman and Val face off against Jimmy Olsen, now known as Doctor Impossible, Johnny Sorrow and Miss Anarky when Hourman shows up to lend the villains a hand. Jimmy, the murderer of Terry Sloan, manages to slip away through a Boom Tube. Flashback three months ago where Jimmy, Huntress and Red Arrow are at work on a new Source Vault when it explodes in Helena's face. Red Arrow quickly lays the blame at Jimmy’s feet. A week later, Rick Tyler breaks into Waynecorp to steal back his father's Miraclo. But Jimmy teleports him away and convinces him that he needs to worship Jimmy. got him to start worshiping his Doctor Impossible persona. In the present, Power Girl and Huntress are checking out the Green Lantern quarantined zone, when Jimmy shows up and takes Huntress by the hand. Looks like she has gone to the Dark Side too!
To this point, I have truly been really disappointed by this series. But now that we have a gathering of villains, business has picked up! Daniel H. Wilson and Alison Borges bring us a powerhouse issue filled with unexpected turns. I mean, Jimmy Olsen is a bad guy, Hourman is a bad guy, and now it looks like Huntress is bad too! This is truly the best issue of the series to date. I still have issues about the art, but the story has truly gotten better with this issue. I really have a hard time seeing these heroes twisted this way, but it is making for some interesting reading!
FLASH #46: As Frye continues to blame the Flash for destroying the Precinct and "nearly" killing half of his men, Zoom shows up with Folding Man, Block and Roscoe and proceeds to make things even worse. Elsewhere, Henry Allen tends to Magali, who has had her powers stripped by the power hungry Zoom. They head off to the battle, while Selkirk begs them not to let Zoom get to him. They show up at the battle and convince the others that Zoom is only out for his own self, leading to their turning on him and teaming up with the Flash. Zoom grabs Henry and heads off, telling him that his son is the Flash. The issue concludes with them being dumped for a final battle at the Allen home.
If you're as big a fan of Brett Booth’s artwork as I am, enjoy this issue and the next one, as he is departing for greener pastures. His work has really taken this book to a new place and elevated to the level it needs to be at. Robert Venditti and Van Jensen continue to write a killer story and, with the finale of this arc next issue, I cannot wait to see where they are taking it. While this is a long way from the classic Flash/Zoom story we knew, it is a super re-imagining of it and I love it. Between this and the television show, we’ve got lots of Zoom!
GRAYSON #14: Otto Netz explains the origin of Spyral, from the beginning of the of his days as Agent Zero to his creation of a Leviathan and his becoming Doctor Dedalus. Discovering he had Alzheimers, he created Kate and Elisabeth Netz. Meanwhile, Dick, Tiger and Ladytron are battling Spyral security spiders before Dick knocks out Tiger yet again, before getting Ladytron to tap into “Mister Malevo” to gain access regarding Agent Zero. Spyder orders Helena to dispose of him and she releases the Nanobots. Luckily Ladytron was able to shut them down before Dick shuts her down. In the end, Tiger awakens and tries to kill Dick, whio insists that they have to destroy Spyral.
Tim Seeley and Tom king combine to give us another roller coaster issue with tons of plot twists and turns. And just how creepy is Otto Netz? REALLY CREEPY, complete with bug eyed glasses. And what does all of this whole thing going on with the Netz’ and Helena? I love where this book is going. The only bummer from this issue was Stephen Mooney on the art. Mooney’s art is good, but he’s certainly not Mikel Janin. We get a breather next month as the story stops long enough for Part 2 of the ROBIN WAR event. Personally, I don’t know if I can wait until January to see where this thing is going!
GREEN ARROW #46: In Juarez, Mexico, a man named Miguel tried to send his daughter Sophia away, but the bus she is on gets stopped by the bone cult. They killed everyone on the bus but her, who drove the bus for them to save her life. Tarantula and Oliver go to Juarez and head into a bar for a drink. But when blood drops into Ollie’s glass and he finds the bartender stabbed to the ceiling, he realizes it’s a trap. Unfortunately, Catalina has already been captured and Ollie surrenders. Back at Jefe’s compound, he tells Green Arrow how Tarantula was going to use Ollie to swap for her niece, Sophia. That goes bad quickly and he breaks free, killing all of the bone cult members in the room. Tarantula, Sophia and Green Arrow jump out a window and he has them leave as he is going to be the sacrifice that will save them.
Benjamin Percy and Patrick Zircher turn in another interesting issue that seems to owe more to the television show than to previous issues of the comic. My favorite moment is as Catalina and Oliver are driving into town and he shuts off the radio because it’s playing a Black Canary song. Unfortunately, that seems to be what is happening with sale of the book, so I guess art imitates art! This is definitely not the book that Lemire and Sorrentino gave us not so long ago, but it’s also not the Ann Nocenti version from the first 18 months, so I guess things could be worse.
GREEN LANTERN #46: While Trapper, Virgo and Darlene head off into space, Hal brings an unconscious Black Hand to Relic, who is investigating the crack in the Source Wall that developed when Black Hand broke free. Black Hand gets free and now begins hurling hunks of stone at Hal and Relic, but the arrival of Trapper, Virgo and Darlene, who fire a large hook that knocks him into the wall, saves them as he is absorbed by it. Hal then decides to head home with his crew and it’s a good thing as some terrorists from the former Sovereign Nation of Modora are planning to attack Coast City.
So here’s the good of this issue: most of it! Robert Venditti turns in another great script where Hal Jordan isn’t a whining pain! Billy Tan’s art is his usual awesome work, although there are times where Mark Irwin’s inks seem a little less than complimentary. All in all, the new” Green Lantern is far more interesting than the old one..although I am still a bit upset that Hal now looks like he’s wearing the Spectre’s clothes!
GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY #6: The Lost Army battles it out with Lightsmiths of every colors who are trying to gain access to the main Power Battery on Mogo. Mogo gets transformed into an emotional converter and therefore can control all the different energies. And Guy loses his red ring in exchange for a green one while Two-Six becomes a Blue Lantern. In the end, John tries to get the team back through the hole in the Source Wall when Hal Jordan seals the wall from his side, trapping John and the rest of the Lost Army. Now they need to go looking for another way out which they may or may not find in GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EDGE OF OBLIVION.
Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz brign this series to a much needed close. But wait: we ain’t done yet! GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EDGE OF OBLIVION will pick up where this series left off and leaves me to ask WHY? Didn’t DC learn that this book didn’t sell? What makes them think a sequel will be any better?
HARLEY QUINN #22: Harley comes back from her adventures in Beverly Hills to settle into life in Brooklyn, when she finds out that Zena Bendemova has been reborn and has a hit out on her. She also finds out that Zena’s kidnapped Sy Borgman not to mention that Mason Macabre is having a bear of a time in prison. His mom is told that he’s as good as dead. Harley gathers up the rest of the Harleys and has half the team go off the help find Sy while the balance goes off to free mason.
First off, you need to go back 16 issues and read HARLEY QUINN #6, which is where the whole Zena Bendemova/Sy Borgman story developed. In case you haven’t figured it out, it’s another Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti/Chad Hardin romp. One of the things I have noticed is that this book, while maintaining a bunch of its’ humorous moments, cue the Harley Queens boob joke, is that it has managed to take a more serious tone in recent months. And that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, especially with the HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL book and the forthcoming HARLEY QUINN’S LITTLE BLACK BOOK poised to continue with the humor. At the same time, I don’t think most people will get the Texas bell tower joke and the emotional abuse issue with the Joker doll was a bit hard to take.
HARLEY QUINN POWER GIRL #5: Our heroes have to battle the Harvester of Sorrow. Harley consults her spirit animal and ends up inside, and the thing turns into a giant Joker’s head. Harley bursts free and destroys it, but not before she decides to manscape Vartox’s upper lip. With the universe safe again, Vartox drops to one knee in front of Power Girl and whips out a diamond ring.
One more to go, right? Oh thank goodness! Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray wrote it with their respective tongues in each others’ cheeks. Stephane Roux drew it in the usual bombastic way. And all six issues fit in between a panel in an issue of HARLEY QUINN? Sure. Well…this will end just in time for the NEW HARLEY QUINN title…which comes in a black bag for your protection!
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – FLASH #1: With The Flash now possessed by the Black Racer and having killed Darkseid, Barry tries to outrun the Racer, but he sees a ghost of his mom and that allows the Racer to inhabit him again. He is told that if he takes just one life, then the Universe will continue to live. He goes to visit Iris, explains his problem but refuses to kill her. So he kills the Black Racer instead, but unknowingly releases death to kill universes. Of course, this all happens inside Barry’s head. So, he decides he must accept the mantle of the Black Racer.
So…does this mean the next issue of THE FLASH will be called THE BLACK RACER instead. Rob Williams and Jesús Merino do a nice job in this side story to the main THE DARKSEID WAR piece running out of JUSTICE LEAGUE. I certainly have found it more satisfying than the SUPERMAN tale, which I write about next. It was interesting that they had Barry visit Iris as opposed to his long time love Patty, even if the two of them are splitsville. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – GREEN LANTERN #1: The Parademons have landed on Oa and merged Darkseid’s Motherbox with the central power battery. A beat up John Stewart sends a distress signal to Hal Jordan. When Hal arrives, he finds that the Green Lanterns have been turned into Parademons. To save his friends, Hal accepts the role of the God of Light and then uses his powers to restore Oa and the Corps. Throughout the book, we get flashbacks of a young Hal being visited at a Catholic church by a stranger in a bomber jacket. We learn that Hal uses his new found powers to become that stranger. And then he realizes that he doesn’t want to be the God of Light, and gets Motherbox to destroy itself, turning himself back to Hal Jordan.
I sort of half expected this book to really be another lame crossover title that goes nowhere. And I was pleasantly surprised to have that NOT be the case. Tom King and Doc Shaner do a great job of giving us a story that allows Oa to be wiped out and then restored again. I liked the nice touch of having Hal visit Hal, even if I did figure it out almost immediately without figuring out how…so that worked. What I am confused about, and this must tie into the whole idea of telling great stories and not worrying about continuity, is how Oa is still around. Didn’t Oa go down thanks to Relic and that’s why Mogo is now the home of the Lanterns? But, lo and behold, here it is. Confused…
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – SHAZAM #1: Shazam ends up in a neighborhood in South Philadelphia. After the death of Darkseid, six New Gods have pushed out the six ancients gods that used to be a part of Billy Batson’s hero and he finds himself trying to force them out. He says that magic word and transforms to Billy Batson, who meets with Anapel and then the rest of the New Gods within him. They are S’ivaa, H’ronmeer, Anapel, Zonuz, Ate, and Mamaragan. Zonuz, we learn, is also known as Yuga Khan and is the father of Darkseid and he has gotten his hands on the Wizard’s staff. Shazam brings down the lightning upon Zonuz and defeats him, gaining him as one of his gods in the process. He meets with Mamaragan, who is the Wizard transformed. In the end, Billy is a new Shazam.
But he STILL is not Captain Freakin’ Marvel! Steve Orlando and Scott Kolins craft a tale that explains the origin of the NEW SHAZAM…provided this all stays the same when this whole DARKSEID WAR ends. Orlando gives us a tale better than his recent issues of MIDNIGHTER while Kolins work is as good as his usual stuff. All in all, this fits in nicely to the ongoing story and didn’t feel like it was written just to sell another book.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – SUPERMAN #1: A much angrier Superman, one all in black, comes back to earth and defeats an alien in a giant robot. Then he goes off to eat pie and then tosses Jimmy Olsen through a window, saying that what happens in Metropolis doesn’t matter because he isn’t human. A black mass not unlike that which has been running through the Superman titles attacks everyone in Metropolis, ultimately saves the day, before leaving again.
I was a fan of Francis Manapul and his work on THE FLASH, but this is disappointing. With a plot straight out of SUPERMAN III, which featured a Superman with a far nastier demeanor than we had seen before, this issue goes nowhere fast. And obviously it’s set PRIOR to the events in Superman, as he still has what seems like all of his powers and Perry White doesn’t hate him! Bong Dazo’s art though is nice.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5: Set in the past, J’onn J’onzz is on the Watchtower with the rest of the League. Then there is a shift to Nevada and then Japan where he disguises himself as a human and gets involved in a murder mystery. In the process, he meets a red Martian that calls himself The Unnamed. In the end, he destroys The Unnamed and decides to spend his time on Earth protecting, watching, and learning.
If you have been following Bryan Hitch’ series and wonder what the heck this is all about, you are not alone. We have gone from a cliffhanger ending last issue to this: a pretty obvious filler issue. What went from the League dealing with Rao goes to a Martian Manhunter that turns out to be a murder mystery and the first taste that there are other Martians out there besides J’onn. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, the book ends with “Discover the truth about J’onn and Mars in MARTIAN MANHUNTER”, which means this book acts as a mainstream hype piece for a book which is critically acclaimed but doesn’t sell well. Matt Kindt and Rob Williams, who does awesome work on the MARTIAN MANHUNTER series, wrote it while Philip Tan drew it. If this came after the end of the Rao story, I would have been fine with it. But, to drop it here means that the Rao piece loses a ton of steam.
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #6: While Supergirl wants to have Tina Sung arrested, Batman convinces her to bring her back to Camelot Nine where he can adopt her. Meanwhile, her best friend, and archenemy Harley Quinn gets killed by two silver android creatures known as Scullions. They show up and attack Batman and Kara and we discover that these creatures regenerate after being injured. It seems that there are lots of Scullions and they are currently destroying Cadmusworld. Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman show up on Takron-Galtos to lend a hand, resulting in Superman getting his head blown off. In the end, the Scullions prepare to kill them all!
Well…that could be a problem! So, the hero with the biggest ego gets toasted. Big bummer! I LOVE THIS SERIES and I LOVE THIS ISSUE!. There are a ton of good jokes, courtesy of J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen. What makes this work is that the jokes flow nicely and don’t feel forced as they often do in HARLEY QUINN. The real highlight for me is the art by guest artist, the legendary Colleen Doran. If you don’t known Colleen’s work-WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? Three words: A DISTANT SOIL! And that’s just for starters. So, besides this book being a hoot to read, it looks awesome too! As far as I’m concerned, she could do this gig regularly.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #15: Over in Arracourt France, the battle rages on. Robotman and Steel battle OMAC while Stargirl saves the Enemy Ace. Frankenstein and company watch the action and then join in and help. Vandal Savage reveals himself as a good guy and explains how he was responsible for getting them all together. The Unknown Soldier appears and tosses a grenade, with Robotman making the save. With repairs made to G.I. Robot, they all form an alliance and charge back into battle. The Unknown Soldier appears again, but Sgt. Rock opens him up with a bayonet, causing energy to explode from within him. Soon Robotman, Steel, Batgirl and Stargirl are in modern day Arracourt, Rock and Easy are back in 1944 and the Enemy Ace is back in 1918.
If you were as big a fan of DC’s war comics back in the day, you would be thrilled with these last few issues of JLU. Jeff Pelletier gets all sorts of high marks for this story, right down to the Joe Kubert tribute on the last page (DC’s war books during the Vietnam War era were famous for inserting the slogan "Make War No More" at the end of every issue). And while that is an extremely cool nod to a legend in the field, seeing all of these classic characters together in one tale is mind-blowing. And we even have a version of the Unknown Soldier too. Best of all, we have the unbelievable art of Paul Pelletier that just puts the icing on this wonderful cake. So…can we REALLY bring back the CLASSIC war books?
Monday, November 30, 2015
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Various new series reviewed
Some more short takes:
ART OPS #1: So, art is real and the people stuck in art are alive. It’s up to the Art operatives to free those people from their prisons. That is the basic premise of this great new book from Vertigo. Shaun Simon writes a great book with a killer bunch of unusual characters. And when you let Michael and Laura Allred handle the art, you either love it or hate it. I am a longtime fan of Allred’s work, so guess which way I lean? This was just plain fun and has a nice origin story that has enough holes in it to get me coming back for more. Remember: this is Vertigo, so it’s gonna be weird. But I recommend it!
A TRAIN CALLED LOVE #1: As we have learned, when you let Garth Ennis loose on a book, anything can happen and usually does! This book is no exception. With artist Mark Dos Santos in tow, Ennis gives us a caper title filled with all kinds of wild, quirky characters. The art is okay but the dialogue and characters more than makes up for those shortcomings. If you’re a fan of unusual titles and killer dialogue, this is the book for you. It’s only a four issue run, so it’s not like your investment is that long.
CLEAN ROOM #1: Did you have read a comic and ask yourself “what is this thing about”? Did you ever then say “I don’t know why, but I love it”? Welcome to the newest work from Gail Simone. The book, with art from Jon Davis-Hunt, jumps from Germany to Florida and revolves a self-help organization that may be behind a series of weird, sometimes deadly incidents. It is a creepy book in the tradition of some of the new horror titles like HARROW COUNTY and I really don’t know what it is all about, but I LOVE IT! There is just enough plot to make you come back for more and just enough gore to satisfy that craving. This was a ball to read and I want to see where it goes from here.
G.I. JOE : COBRA WORLD ORDER PRELUDE: In case you’re not aware, G.I. JOE is still going strong after all these years and still has a pretty rapid following. And longtime scribe Larry Hama is still cranking out the action. This book is the Prelude book that will lead into seven-part story that will run through issues #219-225. It’s been an earth shaking few months for the Joes, complete with the death of the original Snake Eyes and this book, with art by S.L. Gallant fills in some gaps and puts in enough plot devices to satisfy both newcomers and old time fans. Looking for a change of pace? This may be your fix for the next few months!
THE HANGMAN #1: Michael Minetta is a nice family man who is actually a hit man for the mob. He’s about to execute someone when The Hangman shows up and executes him and then elevates to the next place. What? Okay…this was a foul mouthed, gritty tale with a lot of violence and colorful words. When the “hero” finally shows up, it’s quick and painless and then that ending. This title, by Frank Tieri and Felix Ruiz, is the weakest of the Dark Circle title to be released so far. Hopefully the second issue will explain much of this and give us a ton more plot than this one did.
IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND 007 #1: Just in time for the new movie, Garth Ennis and Jason Masters bring us their take on this classic secret agent. The book looks great and Ennis does his usual thing-writes a killer story. The fact that we can get through the first 8 pages without a single word and still be able to tell a great story is a credit to the abilities of this creative team. Cool twists abound here, including turning M and Moneypenny into dark sinned folks as opposed to their usual white characters. This is a fun first issue and I look forward to see where this is going from here.
I HATE FAIRYLAND #1: Oh my god! Image has let crazy Marvel artist Skottie Young run wild! Once upon a time, a little girl named Gertrude wished she could go to Fairyland and, unfortunately for her, she did and breaks her arm in the process. Now it’s 27 years later and Gertrude is pretty pissed off about things. She blows up things, cannibalizes others and generally causes more trouble than you can imagine. This is DEFINITELY not for kids, as one could tell my the F**K FAIRYLAND variant cover! Put your tongue deep into your cheek and jump onto this wild ride!
JUGHEAD #1: First off, you have to be told that the new reboot of ARCHIE and JUGHEAD is not the Archie and Jughead you or your parents grew up with. Sure, it has the same characters we know and love and even some of them have the same traits. Take Jughead: he’s still Jonesing for hamburgers. And we get appearances from Archie, Betty, Mr. Weatherbee and a bunch of the rest. In fact, Mr. Weatherbee is put out to pasture in this issue! What we do get is a whole new level of writing and art courtesy of Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson and it’s a whole ton of fun. Not as dark as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and not as drama filled as ARCHIE, it’s just a fun read. PLUS, you get a story from the original JUGHEAD #1 from 1949!
PAPER GIRLS #1: It’s 1988 and 12 year old Erin is introduced, along with some of the other neighborhood paper girls. There’s a spaceship, aliens, mystery, and an Ipod. This is a great looking book, thank to Cliff Chiang. His lines are nice and clean and Matt Wilson’s colors enhance his great work. The whole thing is from the mind of Brian K. Vaughan and it goes into a great number of places. Setting it in the Eighties means he can throw in some nice cultural references, like the MONSTER SQUAD poster in Erin’s room and the misconceptions about AIDS. I love the story, the cool little American Newspaper Delivery Guild back-up, and the way that this is a Science Fiction story UNDER the main story. This is a great little book!
THE SHIELD #1: The Shield has lived throughout history and continues to do so today. This book kind of feels like ASSASSIN’S CREED meets ALIAS. Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendio write a fun little book which takes the character and twists it in some cool new ways, especially if you read the original Red Circle series. Drew Johnson’s art is really sharp there are a couple of two page spreads that are really beautiful. This is another chapter in the Dark Circle line and it fits in nicely with the rest of the line. If you have read any of the other series and liked them, this will fit your bill.
SURVIVOR’S CLUB #1: Six people with mysterious pasts come together in this horror story that features a demon-summoning video games. This is a weird book by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen and artist Ryan Kelly and I can’t quite recommend it yet. The characters, who have all had something happen to them in 1987, are all a bit quirky and we only get a back-story on a South African girl who had an experience with the previously mentioned video game. But we also get a an insect attack and a girl named Alice who gets to switch with a doppelganger. Again, I am intrigued by the whole thing, but rather confused as to the direction and connections. I will give it another read, but I want more than I got in issue #1. On the plus side, Kelly’s art is dynamite!
THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN #1: Gilbert Hernandez is the legendary LOVE AND ROCKETS author/artist known for writing about the town of Palomar. Darwyn Cooke is a legendary comic author/artist who has been responsible for turning out some amazingly beautiful work in his career. This title brings the two of them together with Hernandez turning out a mysterious tale set on an island, complete with romance, sex and missing children. As always, his characters are clever and cool and his dialogue is amazing. I have always put him in with his brothers Mario and Jaime and Terry Moore as far as being able to deliver some amazing believable dialogue. Cooke’s art is his usual amazing work and hearkens back to his work on THE SPIRIT, CATWOMAN and of course, THE NEW FRONTIER. When Vertigo announced a number of new series/mini-series, this was the one that made me sit up and tale notice. I’m glad to see I wasn’t disappointed. Realize that this is NOT a hero in tights book. If you want a beautiful written and equally beautifully illustrated comic this is it.
ART OPS #1: So, art is real and the people stuck in art are alive. It’s up to the Art operatives to free those people from their prisons. That is the basic premise of this great new book from Vertigo. Shaun Simon writes a great book with a killer bunch of unusual characters. And when you let Michael and Laura Allred handle the art, you either love it or hate it. I am a longtime fan of Allred’s work, so guess which way I lean? This was just plain fun and has a nice origin story that has enough holes in it to get me coming back for more. Remember: this is Vertigo, so it’s gonna be weird. But I recommend it!
A TRAIN CALLED LOVE #1: As we have learned, when you let Garth Ennis loose on a book, anything can happen and usually does! This book is no exception. With artist Mark Dos Santos in tow, Ennis gives us a caper title filled with all kinds of wild, quirky characters. The art is okay but the dialogue and characters more than makes up for those shortcomings. If you’re a fan of unusual titles and killer dialogue, this is the book for you. It’s only a four issue run, so it’s not like your investment is that long.
CLEAN ROOM #1: Did you have read a comic and ask yourself “what is this thing about”? Did you ever then say “I don’t know why, but I love it”? Welcome to the newest work from Gail Simone. The book, with art from Jon Davis-Hunt, jumps from Germany to Florida and revolves a self-help organization that may be behind a series of weird, sometimes deadly incidents. It is a creepy book in the tradition of some of the new horror titles like HARROW COUNTY and I really don’t know what it is all about, but I LOVE IT! There is just enough plot to make you come back for more and just enough gore to satisfy that craving. This was a ball to read and I want to see where it goes from here.
G.I. JOE : COBRA WORLD ORDER PRELUDE: In case you’re not aware, G.I. JOE is still going strong after all these years and still has a pretty rapid following. And longtime scribe Larry Hama is still cranking out the action. This book is the Prelude book that will lead into seven-part story that will run through issues #219-225. It’s been an earth shaking few months for the Joes, complete with the death of the original Snake Eyes and this book, with art by S.L. Gallant fills in some gaps and puts in enough plot devices to satisfy both newcomers and old time fans. Looking for a change of pace? This may be your fix for the next few months!
THE HANGMAN #1: Michael Minetta is a nice family man who is actually a hit man for the mob. He’s about to execute someone when The Hangman shows up and executes him and then elevates to the next place. What? Okay…this was a foul mouthed, gritty tale with a lot of violence and colorful words. When the “hero” finally shows up, it’s quick and painless and then that ending. This title, by Frank Tieri and Felix Ruiz, is the weakest of the Dark Circle title to be released so far. Hopefully the second issue will explain much of this and give us a ton more plot than this one did.
IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND 007 #1: Just in time for the new movie, Garth Ennis and Jason Masters bring us their take on this classic secret agent. The book looks great and Ennis does his usual thing-writes a killer story. The fact that we can get through the first 8 pages without a single word and still be able to tell a great story is a credit to the abilities of this creative team. Cool twists abound here, including turning M and Moneypenny into dark sinned folks as opposed to their usual white characters. This is a fun first issue and I look forward to see where this is going from here.
I HATE FAIRYLAND #1: Oh my god! Image has let crazy Marvel artist Skottie Young run wild! Once upon a time, a little girl named Gertrude wished she could go to Fairyland and, unfortunately for her, she did and breaks her arm in the process. Now it’s 27 years later and Gertrude is pretty pissed off about things. She blows up things, cannibalizes others and generally causes more trouble than you can imagine. This is DEFINITELY not for kids, as one could tell my the F**K FAIRYLAND variant cover! Put your tongue deep into your cheek and jump onto this wild ride!
JUGHEAD #1: First off, you have to be told that the new reboot of ARCHIE and JUGHEAD is not the Archie and Jughead you or your parents grew up with. Sure, it has the same characters we know and love and even some of them have the same traits. Take Jughead: he’s still Jonesing for hamburgers. And we get appearances from Archie, Betty, Mr. Weatherbee and a bunch of the rest. In fact, Mr. Weatherbee is put out to pasture in this issue! What we do get is a whole new level of writing and art courtesy of Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson and it’s a whole ton of fun. Not as dark as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and not as drama filled as ARCHIE, it’s just a fun read. PLUS, you get a story from the original JUGHEAD #1 from 1949!
PAPER GIRLS #1: It’s 1988 and 12 year old Erin is introduced, along with some of the other neighborhood paper girls. There’s a spaceship, aliens, mystery, and an Ipod. This is a great looking book, thank to Cliff Chiang. His lines are nice and clean and Matt Wilson’s colors enhance his great work. The whole thing is from the mind of Brian K. Vaughan and it goes into a great number of places. Setting it in the Eighties means he can throw in some nice cultural references, like the MONSTER SQUAD poster in Erin’s room and the misconceptions about AIDS. I love the story, the cool little American Newspaper Delivery Guild back-up, and the way that this is a Science Fiction story UNDER the main story. This is a great little book!
THE SHIELD #1: The Shield has lived throughout history and continues to do so today. This book kind of feels like ASSASSIN’S CREED meets ALIAS. Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendio write a fun little book which takes the character and twists it in some cool new ways, especially if you read the original Red Circle series. Drew Johnson’s art is really sharp there are a couple of two page spreads that are really beautiful. This is another chapter in the Dark Circle line and it fits in nicely with the rest of the line. If you have read any of the other series and liked them, this will fit your bill.
SURVIVOR’S CLUB #1: Six people with mysterious pasts come together in this horror story that features a demon-summoning video games. This is a weird book by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen and artist Ryan Kelly and I can’t quite recommend it yet. The characters, who have all had something happen to them in 1987, are all a bit quirky and we only get a back-story on a South African girl who had an experience with the previously mentioned video game. But we also get a an insect attack and a girl named Alice who gets to switch with a doppelganger. Again, I am intrigued by the whole thing, but rather confused as to the direction and connections. I will give it another read, but I want more than I got in issue #1. On the plus side, Kelly’s art is dynamite!
THE TWILIGHT CHILDREN #1: Gilbert Hernandez is the legendary LOVE AND ROCKETS author/artist known for writing about the town of Palomar. Darwyn Cooke is a legendary comic author/artist who has been responsible for turning out some amazingly beautiful work in his career. This title brings the two of them together with Hernandez turning out a mysterious tale set on an island, complete with romance, sex and missing children. As always, his characters are clever and cool and his dialogue is amazing. I have always put him in with his brothers Mario and Jaime and Terry Moore as far as being able to deliver some amazing believable dialogue. Cooke’s art is his usual amazing work and hearkens back to his work on THE SPIRIT, CATWOMAN and of course, THE NEW FRONTIER. When Vertigo announced a number of new series/mini-series, this was the one that made me sit up and tale notice. I’m glad to see I wasn’t disappointed. Realize that this is NOT a hero in tights book. If you want a beautiful written and equally beautifully illustrated comic this is it.
DC YOU Month 6, Part 2
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARKSEID WAR – BATMAN #1: Now possessing the power of the Mobius Chair, Batman returns to Gotham City and explains to Jim Gordon that he is engaging in pre-emptive strikes to stop crime. While this is a good idea, he behaves a bit like the Spectre as he brings a man with the potential to murder his wife to Themyscira, He visits the scene of his origin and then has the chair bring him to Joe Chill. He takes Chill out of his prison cell and takes him back to Crime Alley, where he reveals himself to Chill, before eventually returning him back to his cell and declaring that Batman now is Chill’s bogeyman. He returns to the Batcave and decides to use his absolute power on only one criminal-The Joker.
I certainly hope the rest of these side stories connected to The Darkseid War are this good! This was an amazingly well written look at the darkness Batman has slipped into thanks to the always-amazing writing skills of. Peter J. Tomasi. Add into that Fernando Pararn’s amazing art, with inking by the always dependable Matt Ryan, and this book is an amazing read! When you get to the final page, filled with classic images of the Clown Prince of Crime, you will lose your mind! It is everything from Laughing Fish vintage to Killing Joke to the current incarnation. This was one of the best things I read all month long from DC. Absolutely a real treat that I didn’t mind paying four dollars for! .
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4: Superman brings Cyborg some Kryptonian blood where he is working on a secret project for Batman. Meanwhile, Green Lantern is meeting with Rao 250,000 years in Krypton's past, where Rao is looking for Hal to accompany him on a peace mission to Argo City. He has some of his prophets give him part of their life so he can be young again. Back on Earth, Rao is gathering more prophets and they continue to spread his word. Aquaman and Mera watch all this on television and wonder how good an idea is was to leave a prophet in Atlantis. Part of Rao’s acts deposit protein markers in people’s blood that changes them and makes them calmer. That’s when Rao and some of his prophets arrive at Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
As much as this book looks beautiful, it can’t end soon enough. Bryan Hitch’ story is so far out of continuity that I want to think of it as an imaginary tale. His writing is just so long-winded that I get tired reading it. Again, the art is beautiful but the story is so bogged down that it stops making sense. For example, Aquaman is watching television and NOT helping the League? What’s up with that?
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #5: Guy Gardner is having a hard time not only adjusting to being a woman but having a roommate in the form of the Starro Consciousness and asks Firestorm for help in fixing her. Meanwhile, Fire and Ice take Jimmy Olsen to Area 13, where he will be locked up for the rest of his life. Supergirl and Batman battle the new armored Batman, which turns out to be a fifteen-year-old girl piloting the Batbot. When they take her away, a disgruntle Harley Quinn shows up and expresses her extreme displeasure about losing her playmate. Lois continues to plot and has Bane bring her old body to her, as she might want to switch back. That may be smart, especially since Superman just found out that to Ariel is working with the Injustice League.
Here’s a message to Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter: thank you. Thank you for giving us a superhero book that is fun, action packed and silly all at the same time. If you have read this blog before, you know my feelings about this title. And again, we get another issue with all of those wonderful elements presented to us. Harley Quinn is here, Lois is insane, guy Gardner is confused and Bane likes to dress up Lois’ body and have tea parties! Yeah-it’s that kind of book!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #14: Sgt. Rock and Easy Company have captured Vandal Savage but, lucky for him, Batgirl shows up with a smoke grenade and frees him. They run into a patrol of Germans, but manage to fight their way out, even as the Unknown Soldier watches them. Stargirl is still with the Enemy Ace when she realizes that her staff has fallen from the sky and impaled a poor GI. Not to worry as the GI is GI Zombie and he unleashes the Creature Commandos upon Cyborg and Robotman. Cyborg wrestles Stargirl’s staff from GI Zombie’s hands, wondering how they were able to shoot he and Robotman down. That is when the real culprit shows up to claim responsibility: the One Machine Attack Construct-OMAC.
You know: if you’re going to cancel a book, you may as well line everything up and have it go out with a bang. That’s what is going on here. I understand the lackluster sales on the book, as it was very uneven for the first dozen issues. But these last two issues have been fun and action packed! Thanks to Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier for injecting some life into this book. Tune in next month for the last stand of the Justice League United.
LOBO #11: Atrocitus is in the process of creating new Red Lanterns while Lobo observes and decides that he will be the hardest Lantern to defeat. And then he attacks, slaying Dex-Starr first, before slaying the rest. But before he can destroy their power battery, Rage Mother gives birth to them yet again. Not only is Sinestro not going to be happy, this could be a problem.
If you want an all out action filled issue with lots of blood and guts, then this is your baby! Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere, along with artist Robson Rocha, turn this issue into what the old RED LANTERNS title was: a bloodbath! With a killer cover by industry legend Leonardo Manco, this is probably the best issue of the series to date. If they had all been this rocking, then the title wouldn’t be in the unenviable place it is.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #5: Mr. Biscuits is trying to make his way through the airport, even if he is in multiple bags, while telling Agent Wessel that Mould is going to make everything okay. Wessel, Leo, Alicia and Mr. Biscuits and getting onto a flight out of Dulles International Airport. Biscuits puts himself back together and then says goodbye to Alicia, knowing that none of them will likely return from this mission. Immediately after, the Martians show up to abduct her. Meanwhile, Aquaman tries to awaken Pearl, who begins to make out with him before he beings her to Mould. They end up at a crater where it looks like Mars once landed in the past…and is ready to live again on Earth.
Rob Williams and Eddy Barrows are creating what I can only describe as once of the coolest and trippiest books on the market. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Wessel, Leo, Alicia, Pearl, Mould, and Mr. Biscuits are all parts of Martian Manhunter’s consciousness. So, Pearl is really J’onn J’onzz and she was making out with Aquaman. Like I said, TRIPPY!! You should be reading this book as I feel it is going to be looked at by future critics as one of the best titles to come out of DC in years. To be honest, it is so weird that it should be a Vertigo title.
MIDNIGHTER #5: Midnighter is in Hazan, where he and Grayson are battling the Russians while he is also chatting with his boyfriend back in the States. He handcuffs himself to Grayson and they end up on a train filled with "weaponized bears, werewolves and other creatures of folklore, leading to them eventually meeting Akakyevich. But he has some God Garden tech and makes a quick getaway. But Midnighter has a trick up his sleeve and teleports back to Akakyevich and paralyzes him. Akakyevich reveals that he was just the middle-man, so the hunt will continue. Later, Midnighter and his boyfriend are having Thanksgiving dinner while a sniper takes aim.
I am really starting to hate this series, although this issue did a nice job of tying Grayson, Midnighter and the whole God Garden tech thing together, as the God Garden stuff has been running in Grayson’s own book. The book gets silly as Steve Orlando has Midnighter talking with his boyfriend while he’s fighting the Russians. So silly! It was nice to see Stephen Mooney back on the art, but even that can’t save this from being an unintentionally silly book. When Midnighter and Apollo were together in The Authority, they had their relationship thing, but it didn’t account for most of the plot.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #13: A meeting in Rio with someone selling a new drug designed to give a random superpower goes bad and Boomerang and Deadshot have their cover blown, meaning Harley, Parasite and Amanda Waller need to come into save the day. The bad guys have taken the drug and have their own super powers now and Deadshot reveals to Waller that he is still having issues from being injured recently. Parasite begins to absorb the bad guys’ powers, which causes him to overload and explode. The riot police show up to arrest them, but Boomerang stirs up the crowd to riot, allowing the team to make a quick getaway. Waller gets away, hunts down the drug dealer, and executes him. Waller calls Bonnie and tells her the team is going off the grid. Bonnie immediately tells Sage, despite Waller telling her NOT TO, and he gets ready to explode the team’s neck bombs.
Sean Ryan gives us a brand new arc and that means, after what happened last time, Waller is part of the field team. I miss Reverse Flash. but He gave his life for the team because that is why they are called Suicide Squad. Sop, things look bad for our team except we all know they’re NOT going to die because there’s a movie coming! By the way, I am not a fan of Philippe Briones’s art. I really want Paul Pelletier on this book because his style fits nicely to these characters.
OMEGA MEN #5: Broot and Scapps are walking up the stairs of the Changralynian Temple and being hit with insults and dung, joins the rest of the Omega Men inside. This is all so there can be a peaceful exchange for the kidnapped Princess Kalista, who is actually part of the Omega Men. The Omega Men are here to gain the Key of Omega, which is their key to salvation. Since they are using Broot to try and get it, we learn that his name was Charis-Nar and he was raised by the High Pontifix. He accused the Temple of Sin of corruption and was branded a "Broot". The Pontifix has sold out the Omega Men to the Citadel. Brott gains the Key, but the rest of the team has been captured in the process.
Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda bring us another great issue in the series that was slated to die, but has been given new life…for now. This is such a strange and wonderful ride! And it is not your daddy’s OMEGA MEN book. I am totally thrilled this book is getting to finish it’s storyline, even if it won’t continue past twelve issues. I just hope the fan following increases enough to warrant going past 12.
PREZ #5: While the cat-flu epidemic continues to rage across America, President Beth Ross travels to Vietnam, Nicaragua, Japan, and Iraq to apologize for everything the United States did in the past. All accept her apology except Iraq who gives her a big F U. The World Apology Tour moves on to Pakistan, where she helps save the life of the Pakistani Ambassador by giving her a hot dog heart. Meanwhile, War Beast decides he needs to be forgiven and wants to be called Tina.
This is the next to last issue of what was originally solicited as a 12 issue series. I will be sorry to see it go, as it has been a fun biting commentary on our world while trying to pass itself off as a comic book. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell have been doing a great job and hopefully this will get resurrected in the future. Until then, go find the first five issues and get ready for the ride. After all, the best part apart the upcoming political season is that we can read all the silliness here instead of watching it on television.
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #5: It’s Batman and the remaining two-thirds of the Outlaws battling Underbelly. We learn that Underbelly was born when the psychic siphon, that Arkham created to lobotomize patients, got broken. Underbelly went on to make multiple versions of itself all over the world. Back at the battle, Roy uses a special arrow that disrupts and destroys this particular Underbelly, which will eliminate all the other ones. While Suzie Su gathers her new team, known as Hero Manifesto, Jason goes to the Rec Center he grew up at and sees Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, Joker’s Daughter sneaks up on Roy and puts a gun to his head. The last thing we see is a gunshot.
This was quite the cliffhanger from Scott Lobdell and Denis Medri. While I am not a fan of this series or of Lobdell’s writing in general, this was a really good couple of issues. I liked Medri’s art on it and the story flowed nicely…even if the whole concept of Underbelly was a bit weird.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #5: Damian continues on his quest to redeem himself from all the wrongs that he did when Talia returns. As the two of them argue, we find out that Damian has inadvertently allowed the Lu’un Darga to be reborn. This leads to al Ghul Island being destroyed and Damian’s failed clone brothers sacing their lives by paying with their own. In the end, they all escape in a submarine Ravi had prepared.
Patrick Gleason does another great job with this title. His writing is crisp and so is his art. It was great seeing Talia return in the role of hero for a change. You know you’re a good writer when you drop in two pages where Damian’s cloned brothers appear and sacrifice themselves in the name of family and totally bring your reader to tears. Nice job Patrick!
SECRET SIX #7: We begin with a meeting between Deadman, Felix Faust, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Thirteen, Zatanna, and Baron Winters, who wonder what they should do about Black Alice. It seems her super power is stealing the powers of the magical denizens of the Universe. Their solution, by the time Cheetah, Blue Devil, Klarion, and Eclipso show up, is to go to the hospital she is in and kill her. The team is split, as most of them have been off playing basketball and then miniature golf. But Etrigan has attacked them, so they can’t get to the hospital to help Dibney and Catman. Luckily Black Alice is awake and bearing the powers that she has purloined.
Gail Simone’s story is just a ton of fun, although I don’t get all these sorcerers and elementals getting together for a party…especially since some of them are villains. What’s the old saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But Dale Eaglesham’s artwork is the true highlight of this book. It just gets better with every issue and Jason Wright’s vibrant colors just blow the top off the book. We all know there were delays and problems in the beginning getting this book out. But it’s here now and it rocks!
SINESTRO #16: Sinestro and his Corps come to Khandaq where he meets with Black Adam, asking who the Pale Bishop is and seeking advice on how to defeat The Paling. The two head to the Vaults of Wisdom and discover the mummified corpse of the Pale Bishop. It comes to life and everyone is surprised to see that it’s a Guardian of the Universe.
Without question, this is the BEST issue of this series to date! We get these two powerful individuals joining together for the first time since they battled the Crime Syndicate and they are fantastic together. They are such amazing and dynamic anti-heroes that there is no other need for the rest of the Corps to be involved, except for a page or two. This issue, superbly written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Brad Walker and Ethan Van Sciver, is about these two and their journey together. Add into it the last moment cliffhanger, and this is a winner!
STARFIRE #5: Starfire and Soren Hook are having drinks when she suddenly sees his creepy secret origin where he was a doctor who had the ability to absorb cancer out of people. Unfortunately for him, he began growing a tumor of his own and killed one of his colleagues in the process. This whole thing freaks her out. Later, she goes off to an interview at an aquarium, which she doesn’t get. But then she begins talking to the dolphin, so they hire her. That night, at a party to celebrate her success, Sol is found in a pool of blood and Soren needs to talk.
Ugh! Can’t this be a six issue series and we can be done with it next issue? Kori continues to be dumb, the plot continues to ramble from Point A to Point B and I continue to shake my head that a book this awful continues to sell enough for DC to keep it going. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti have done for stupidity what they have done for insane former sidekick chicks. Meanwhile, the highlight, as it were, continues to be Emanuela Lupacchino’s art. Other than that, I cannot recommend this book. And yeah: that’s what SHE said!
SUPERMAN #45: Superman meets with Condesa to learn all he can about Hordr, which leads to him bailing on the meeting. Before he goes, she tells him about a company called Sungetix and that leads our hero literally hopping on a plane to Oakland, California. Once there, he makes his way inside and quickly discovers that it’s a secret Hordr complex. He gets attacked by by Apolaki, who is being controlled by Hordr_Root. This leads Superman to the Thousand One House, an underground Fight Club for super powered individuals and eventually results in him becoming one of the fighters. Welcome to Mythbrawl.
Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter continue to weave a strange, twisted tale of the former Big Blue Boy Scout. I like where this book is going, even if it is taking our hero into strange new places. Porter’s art is his usual fine work and this is just a fun ride. Seeing our hero having to ride an airplane as opposed to flying from place to place is truly bizarre and I wonder how long his being depowered will last. For now, it’s a wild ride.
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #1: We begin with the history of how this Superman observed the New 52 Justice League battled Darkseid. He left the battle to head back to the home he shred with his wife Lois. This is all because their universe was gone and Telos and company, following the defeat of the Anti-Monitor during the Convergence event, reset things. But that was then and now, they now live in that same house with their young son Jon and Lois is a successful author. Reading the paper, a bearded Clark sees that the Excalibur returns to Earth today. In what was their universe, this event created the Cyborg Superman, which sends our black suited hero off to make sure it doesn’t happen here. What he discovers is that Henshaw is alone in the ship and the rest of the crew is gone. In the end, someone in a distant star system is pretty pissed off that someone has pilfered the Oblivion Stone.
Because…we really need another Superman title, right? Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks do their best to make this book interesting but it’s just not there. I mean, how many Supermen do we need? And why is this one flying about in a black suit? There are a bunch of dangling plots here and I cannot believe that not a single member of the Justice League has questioned that someone is stopping natural disasters and such. C’mon: these guys are all so super snoopy that someone farts and they know about it. So you expect me to believe that THIS Superman is getting under their radar? Yeah…so much for the suspension of disbelief here!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #22: A blood-splattered Clark Kent arrives on the Justice League satellite, knocks out the Flash, steals a shuttle, and flies into the sun in an effort to recharge the solar batteries in his cells. Wonder Woman follows him, as they get transported back to the satellite, he tells her that he is uncertain if he still loves her. They team up to attack a military helicopter heading towards Belle Reve and free Parasite. That leads to Superman grabbing Parasite by the throat and saying that it’s time to make a deal.
Wow! This is one of the best LOOKING books of the month. Thank you Doug Mahnke! Couple that with a great story from Peter J. Tomasi and this book continues to elevate to truly cool new levels! It has managed to make its’ way from being about the romantic attraction between these two super-powers to being about the crumbling relationship. And there’s a boatload of action too!
TEEN TITANS #12: Superboy wants his life back and Red Robin tells him that they all need to work together to figure out what’s going on. They discover that they have lost their powers and that’s when Harvest shows up and each Titan is forced to live a life from their past. Harvest explains that he tried to raise Kon as his son, leading Superboy to join Harvest. He then reveals that the team came together to fulfill their destiny: to join his army.
Well, that turns thing to an interesting place. First off, this book has becoming much more interesting with Will Pfeifer joining Scott Lobdell. His influence on the story is evident and the book just seems new again. It will never be where it was in the golden days of Wolfman and Perez, but it is probably the best this title has been since the launch of the New 52. Ian Churchill turns in another killer issue on the art side of the ledger. All in all, if this is where this book should have been twelve issues ago, I wouldn’t have spent the last year talking about how awful it was.
TELOS #1: Telos confronts Brainiac about how he feels that he was lied to regarding where he could find his family. Brainiac says that he lost most of his memories and that’s why what he told Telos was wrong. So he sends Telos off to fight Computo and rendezvous with the resistance leader, Techne.
There are so many plot holes in Jeff King’s story that I could drive several buses through it. The most notable is that Brainiac was still a giant when he told Telos where he could find his family. So the tale that he gave that information after his memory loss is either a lie or a bad plot point. The best part of the book, out side of Carlos Pagulayan’s art, is the appearance of LEGION OF SUPERHEROES favorites Computo and Validus. This is a horrible, wordy first issue that goes nowhere. Here’s hoping #2 goes somewhere better than this.
TITANS HUNT #1: Roy Harper suffers a bit of deja vu when Gnarrk sells him a bottle of booze. Meanwhile, Grayson is trying to stop a black market organ-selling ring. He gets help from Garth, who arrives and kills all those responsible, which leads to Dick having a deja vu moment. He later gets visited by a psychic projection of Lilith who tells him that he needs to find “them” because time is running out. We learn that Lilith is an addiction counselor and has a series of files on all the people that were once Titans in the Pre Convergence timeline. She breaks the Fourth Wall and declares that she will not let this hidden person get them.
Leave it to Dan Abnett to turn out a gem like this. Now, this book will mean NOTHING to you unless you were reading the Titans BEFORE the NEW 52 came around. But, for an old time fan like me, I’m blown away! We get a drunk Roy Harper, a modern day Caveboy, a confused Dick Grayson, a vengeful Aqualad, a protective Lilith and the potential for appearances by Donna Troy, Mal, Hawk and Dove and more. Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges turn in a tremendous job on the art, which really helps to push the narrative along. This book was a treat and my favorite of the three new titles introduced this month.
WE ARE ROBIN #5: Robin Izzy is working as a waitress and got confronted by some gang members, when Riko and Duke show up and lend a hand. Turns out that the ringleader of the gang is her brother. Several years ago, he put her in a hospital because she wouldn’t join his gang. Flashing forward, we see the Robins meet for the first since Troy died, followed by the arrival of The Nest, complete with a huge Robin truck that is to be their Command Center. A disagreement between Duke and Dre leads to Dre and Dax leaving the group. The gang bangers show up and open fire on the team, hitting Duke in the process. A Talon arrives and carves up the gang members, calls himself the Robins’ new father and promises to show them how to dish out real justice.
I still have mixed emotions about this title, although this is one of the better issues. I truly wish that Lee Bermejo was drawing this, instead of Jorge Corona, but that’s not my problem with the book. My biggest complaint is that Bermejo is throwing all of these kids together and giving us so little to go on to actually make us LIKE these characters or even CARE about them. We don’t know enough about them to make us have a relationship with them. I have a problem with that. Sure, you need to have some mystery here. But these kids have so little back story, with the exception of Robina’s reveal this issue, for me to want to invest my time in.
WONDER WOMAN #45: Aegeus beats on Wonder Woman until Strife shows up, threatening to eat him, which leads to his quick exit. Back in London, Violet leads Donna Troy on a sight-seeing tour before bidding her goodbye, but saying that they’ll meet again. Violet forgets her purse and Donna tracks her down, just in time to see the poor girl’s pimp kill her. Wonder Woman shows up and Donna attacks her. Aegeus arrives and shoots a God Killer Arrow through Donna’s heart, seemingly killing her. Apparently, this was not part of the plan and Eirene, the Goddess of Peace, is not pleased.
Wha? While the art of David Finch makes this book look beautiful, the story by his wife Meredith is just a jumbled mess. It jumps from Aegeus wanting to kill Diana to saving her. We get a wonderful supporting cast character in the form of Violet get murdered by her pimp. And we bump off Donna Troy…maybe. This was just a really confusing issue, as has become common with this title since the Finch’s came on board. What was once a great title has slipped a lot.
I certainly hope the rest of these side stories connected to The Darkseid War are this good! This was an amazingly well written look at the darkness Batman has slipped into thanks to the always-amazing writing skills of. Peter J. Tomasi. Add into that Fernando Pararn’s amazing art, with inking by the always dependable Matt Ryan, and this book is an amazing read! When you get to the final page, filled with classic images of the Clown Prince of Crime, you will lose your mind! It is everything from Laughing Fish vintage to Killing Joke to the current incarnation. This was one of the best things I read all month long from DC. Absolutely a real treat that I didn’t mind paying four dollars for! .
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4: Superman brings Cyborg some Kryptonian blood where he is working on a secret project for Batman. Meanwhile, Green Lantern is meeting with Rao 250,000 years in Krypton's past, where Rao is looking for Hal to accompany him on a peace mission to Argo City. He has some of his prophets give him part of their life so he can be young again. Back on Earth, Rao is gathering more prophets and they continue to spread his word. Aquaman and Mera watch all this on television and wonder how good an idea is was to leave a prophet in Atlantis. Part of Rao’s acts deposit protein markers in people’s blood that changes them and makes them calmer. That’s when Rao and some of his prophets arrive at Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
As much as this book looks beautiful, it can’t end soon enough. Bryan Hitch’ story is so far out of continuity that I want to think of it as an imaginary tale. His writing is just so long-winded that I get tired reading it. Again, the art is beautiful but the story is so bogged down that it stops making sense. For example, Aquaman is watching television and NOT helping the League? What’s up with that?
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #5: Guy Gardner is having a hard time not only adjusting to being a woman but having a roommate in the form of the Starro Consciousness and asks Firestorm for help in fixing her. Meanwhile, Fire and Ice take Jimmy Olsen to Area 13, where he will be locked up for the rest of his life. Supergirl and Batman battle the new armored Batman, which turns out to be a fifteen-year-old girl piloting the Batbot. When they take her away, a disgruntle Harley Quinn shows up and expresses her extreme displeasure about losing her playmate. Lois continues to plot and has Bane bring her old body to her, as she might want to switch back. That may be smart, especially since Superman just found out that to Ariel is working with the Injustice League.
Here’s a message to Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter: thank you. Thank you for giving us a superhero book that is fun, action packed and silly all at the same time. If you have read this blog before, you know my feelings about this title. And again, we get another issue with all of those wonderful elements presented to us. Harley Quinn is here, Lois is insane, guy Gardner is confused and Bane likes to dress up Lois’ body and have tea parties! Yeah-it’s that kind of book!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #14: Sgt. Rock and Easy Company have captured Vandal Savage but, lucky for him, Batgirl shows up with a smoke grenade and frees him. They run into a patrol of Germans, but manage to fight their way out, even as the Unknown Soldier watches them. Stargirl is still with the Enemy Ace when she realizes that her staff has fallen from the sky and impaled a poor GI. Not to worry as the GI is GI Zombie and he unleashes the Creature Commandos upon Cyborg and Robotman. Cyborg wrestles Stargirl’s staff from GI Zombie’s hands, wondering how they were able to shoot he and Robotman down. That is when the real culprit shows up to claim responsibility: the One Machine Attack Construct-OMAC.
You know: if you’re going to cancel a book, you may as well line everything up and have it go out with a bang. That’s what is going on here. I understand the lackluster sales on the book, as it was very uneven for the first dozen issues. But these last two issues have been fun and action packed! Thanks to Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier for injecting some life into this book. Tune in next month for the last stand of the Justice League United.
LOBO #11: Atrocitus is in the process of creating new Red Lanterns while Lobo observes and decides that he will be the hardest Lantern to defeat. And then he attacks, slaying Dex-Starr first, before slaying the rest. But before he can destroy their power battery, Rage Mother gives birth to them yet again. Not only is Sinestro not going to be happy, this could be a problem.
If you want an all out action filled issue with lots of blood and guts, then this is your baby! Cullen Bunn and Frank Barbiere, along with artist Robson Rocha, turn this issue into what the old RED LANTERNS title was: a bloodbath! With a killer cover by industry legend Leonardo Manco, this is probably the best issue of the series to date. If they had all been this rocking, then the title wouldn’t be in the unenviable place it is.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #5: Mr. Biscuits is trying to make his way through the airport, even if he is in multiple bags, while telling Agent Wessel that Mould is going to make everything okay. Wessel, Leo, Alicia and Mr. Biscuits and getting onto a flight out of Dulles International Airport. Biscuits puts himself back together and then says goodbye to Alicia, knowing that none of them will likely return from this mission. Immediately after, the Martians show up to abduct her. Meanwhile, Aquaman tries to awaken Pearl, who begins to make out with him before he beings her to Mould. They end up at a crater where it looks like Mars once landed in the past…and is ready to live again on Earth.
Rob Williams and Eddy Barrows are creating what I can only describe as once of the coolest and trippiest books on the market. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Wessel, Leo, Alicia, Pearl, Mould, and Mr. Biscuits are all parts of Martian Manhunter’s consciousness. So, Pearl is really J’onn J’onzz and she was making out with Aquaman. Like I said, TRIPPY!! You should be reading this book as I feel it is going to be looked at by future critics as one of the best titles to come out of DC in years. To be honest, it is so weird that it should be a Vertigo title.
MIDNIGHTER #5: Midnighter is in Hazan, where he and Grayson are battling the Russians while he is also chatting with his boyfriend back in the States. He handcuffs himself to Grayson and they end up on a train filled with "weaponized bears, werewolves and other creatures of folklore, leading to them eventually meeting Akakyevich. But he has some God Garden tech and makes a quick getaway. But Midnighter has a trick up his sleeve and teleports back to Akakyevich and paralyzes him. Akakyevich reveals that he was just the middle-man, so the hunt will continue. Later, Midnighter and his boyfriend are having Thanksgiving dinner while a sniper takes aim.
I am really starting to hate this series, although this issue did a nice job of tying Grayson, Midnighter and the whole God Garden tech thing together, as the God Garden stuff has been running in Grayson’s own book. The book gets silly as Steve Orlando has Midnighter talking with his boyfriend while he’s fighting the Russians. So silly! It was nice to see Stephen Mooney back on the art, but even that can’t save this from being an unintentionally silly book. When Midnighter and Apollo were together in The Authority, they had their relationship thing, but it didn’t account for most of the plot.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #13: A meeting in Rio with someone selling a new drug designed to give a random superpower goes bad and Boomerang and Deadshot have their cover blown, meaning Harley, Parasite and Amanda Waller need to come into save the day. The bad guys have taken the drug and have their own super powers now and Deadshot reveals to Waller that he is still having issues from being injured recently. Parasite begins to absorb the bad guys’ powers, which causes him to overload and explode. The riot police show up to arrest them, but Boomerang stirs up the crowd to riot, allowing the team to make a quick getaway. Waller gets away, hunts down the drug dealer, and executes him. Waller calls Bonnie and tells her the team is going off the grid. Bonnie immediately tells Sage, despite Waller telling her NOT TO, and he gets ready to explode the team’s neck bombs.
Sean Ryan gives us a brand new arc and that means, after what happened last time, Waller is part of the field team. I miss Reverse Flash. but He gave his life for the team because that is why they are called Suicide Squad. Sop, things look bad for our team except we all know they’re NOT going to die because there’s a movie coming! By the way, I am not a fan of Philippe Briones’s art. I really want Paul Pelletier on this book because his style fits nicely to these characters.
OMEGA MEN #5: Broot and Scapps are walking up the stairs of the Changralynian Temple and being hit with insults and dung, joins the rest of the Omega Men inside. This is all so there can be a peaceful exchange for the kidnapped Princess Kalista, who is actually part of the Omega Men. The Omega Men are here to gain the Key of Omega, which is their key to salvation. Since they are using Broot to try and get it, we learn that his name was Charis-Nar and he was raised by the High Pontifix. He accused the Temple of Sin of corruption and was branded a "Broot". The Pontifix has sold out the Omega Men to the Citadel. Brott gains the Key, but the rest of the team has been captured in the process.
Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda bring us another great issue in the series that was slated to die, but has been given new life…for now. This is such a strange and wonderful ride! And it is not your daddy’s OMEGA MEN book. I am totally thrilled this book is getting to finish it’s storyline, even if it won’t continue past twelve issues. I just hope the fan following increases enough to warrant going past 12.
PREZ #5: While the cat-flu epidemic continues to rage across America, President Beth Ross travels to Vietnam, Nicaragua, Japan, and Iraq to apologize for everything the United States did in the past. All accept her apology except Iraq who gives her a big F U. The World Apology Tour moves on to Pakistan, where she helps save the life of the Pakistani Ambassador by giving her a hot dog heart. Meanwhile, War Beast decides he needs to be forgiven and wants to be called Tina.
This is the next to last issue of what was originally solicited as a 12 issue series. I will be sorry to see it go, as it has been a fun biting commentary on our world while trying to pass itself off as a comic book. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell have been doing a great job and hopefully this will get resurrected in the future. Until then, go find the first five issues and get ready for the ride. After all, the best part apart the upcoming political season is that we can read all the silliness here instead of watching it on television.
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #5: It’s Batman and the remaining two-thirds of the Outlaws battling Underbelly. We learn that Underbelly was born when the psychic siphon, that Arkham created to lobotomize patients, got broken. Underbelly went on to make multiple versions of itself all over the world. Back at the battle, Roy uses a special arrow that disrupts and destroys this particular Underbelly, which will eliminate all the other ones. While Suzie Su gathers her new team, known as Hero Manifesto, Jason goes to the Rec Center he grew up at and sees Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, Joker’s Daughter sneaks up on Roy and puts a gun to his head. The last thing we see is a gunshot.
This was quite the cliffhanger from Scott Lobdell and Denis Medri. While I am not a fan of this series or of Lobdell’s writing in general, this was a really good couple of issues. I liked Medri’s art on it and the story flowed nicely…even if the whole concept of Underbelly was a bit weird.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #5: Damian continues on his quest to redeem himself from all the wrongs that he did when Talia returns. As the two of them argue, we find out that Damian has inadvertently allowed the Lu’un Darga to be reborn. This leads to al Ghul Island being destroyed and Damian’s failed clone brothers sacing their lives by paying with their own. In the end, they all escape in a submarine Ravi had prepared.
Patrick Gleason does another great job with this title. His writing is crisp and so is his art. It was great seeing Talia return in the role of hero for a change. You know you’re a good writer when you drop in two pages where Damian’s cloned brothers appear and sacrifice themselves in the name of family and totally bring your reader to tears. Nice job Patrick!
SECRET SIX #7: We begin with a meeting between Deadman, Felix Faust, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Thirteen, Zatanna, and Baron Winters, who wonder what they should do about Black Alice. It seems her super power is stealing the powers of the magical denizens of the Universe. Their solution, by the time Cheetah, Blue Devil, Klarion, and Eclipso show up, is to go to the hospital she is in and kill her. The team is split, as most of them have been off playing basketball and then miniature golf. But Etrigan has attacked them, so they can’t get to the hospital to help Dibney and Catman. Luckily Black Alice is awake and bearing the powers that she has purloined.
Gail Simone’s story is just a ton of fun, although I don’t get all these sorcerers and elementals getting together for a party…especially since some of them are villains. What’s the old saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But Dale Eaglesham’s artwork is the true highlight of this book. It just gets better with every issue and Jason Wright’s vibrant colors just blow the top off the book. We all know there were delays and problems in the beginning getting this book out. But it’s here now and it rocks!
SINESTRO #16: Sinestro and his Corps come to Khandaq where he meets with Black Adam, asking who the Pale Bishop is and seeking advice on how to defeat The Paling. The two head to the Vaults of Wisdom and discover the mummified corpse of the Pale Bishop. It comes to life and everyone is surprised to see that it’s a Guardian of the Universe.
Without question, this is the BEST issue of this series to date! We get these two powerful individuals joining together for the first time since they battled the Crime Syndicate and they are fantastic together. They are such amazing and dynamic anti-heroes that there is no other need for the rest of the Corps to be involved, except for a page or two. This issue, superbly written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Brad Walker and Ethan Van Sciver, is about these two and their journey together. Add into it the last moment cliffhanger, and this is a winner!
STARFIRE #5: Starfire and Soren Hook are having drinks when she suddenly sees his creepy secret origin where he was a doctor who had the ability to absorb cancer out of people. Unfortunately for him, he began growing a tumor of his own and killed one of his colleagues in the process. This whole thing freaks her out. Later, she goes off to an interview at an aquarium, which she doesn’t get. But then she begins talking to the dolphin, so they hire her. That night, at a party to celebrate her success, Sol is found in a pool of blood and Soren needs to talk.
Ugh! Can’t this be a six issue series and we can be done with it next issue? Kori continues to be dumb, the plot continues to ramble from Point A to Point B and I continue to shake my head that a book this awful continues to sell enough for DC to keep it going. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti have done for stupidity what they have done for insane former sidekick chicks. Meanwhile, the highlight, as it were, continues to be Emanuela Lupacchino’s art. Other than that, I cannot recommend this book. And yeah: that’s what SHE said!
SUPERMAN #45: Superman meets with Condesa to learn all he can about Hordr, which leads to him bailing on the meeting. Before he goes, she tells him about a company called Sungetix and that leads our hero literally hopping on a plane to Oakland, California. Once there, he makes his way inside and quickly discovers that it’s a secret Hordr complex. He gets attacked by by Apolaki, who is being controlled by Hordr_Root. This leads Superman to the Thousand One House, an underground Fight Club for super powered individuals and eventually results in him becoming one of the fighters. Welcome to Mythbrawl.
Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter continue to weave a strange, twisted tale of the former Big Blue Boy Scout. I like where this book is going, even if it is taking our hero into strange new places. Porter’s art is his usual fine work and this is just a fun ride. Seeing our hero having to ride an airplane as opposed to flying from place to place is truly bizarre and I wonder how long his being depowered will last. For now, it’s a wild ride.
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #1: We begin with the history of how this Superman observed the New 52 Justice League battled Darkseid. He left the battle to head back to the home he shred with his wife Lois. This is all because their universe was gone and Telos and company, following the defeat of the Anti-Monitor during the Convergence event, reset things. But that was then and now, they now live in that same house with their young son Jon and Lois is a successful author. Reading the paper, a bearded Clark sees that the Excalibur returns to Earth today. In what was their universe, this event created the Cyborg Superman, which sends our black suited hero off to make sure it doesn’t happen here. What he discovers is that Henshaw is alone in the ship and the rest of the crew is gone. In the end, someone in a distant star system is pretty pissed off that someone has pilfered the Oblivion Stone.
Because…we really need another Superman title, right? Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks do their best to make this book interesting but it’s just not there. I mean, how many Supermen do we need? And why is this one flying about in a black suit? There are a bunch of dangling plots here and I cannot believe that not a single member of the Justice League has questioned that someone is stopping natural disasters and such. C’mon: these guys are all so super snoopy that someone farts and they know about it. So you expect me to believe that THIS Superman is getting under their radar? Yeah…so much for the suspension of disbelief here!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #22: A blood-splattered Clark Kent arrives on the Justice League satellite, knocks out the Flash, steals a shuttle, and flies into the sun in an effort to recharge the solar batteries in his cells. Wonder Woman follows him, as they get transported back to the satellite, he tells her that he is uncertain if he still loves her. They team up to attack a military helicopter heading towards Belle Reve and free Parasite. That leads to Superman grabbing Parasite by the throat and saying that it’s time to make a deal.
Wow! This is one of the best LOOKING books of the month. Thank you Doug Mahnke! Couple that with a great story from Peter J. Tomasi and this book continues to elevate to truly cool new levels! It has managed to make its’ way from being about the romantic attraction between these two super-powers to being about the crumbling relationship. And there’s a boatload of action too!
TEEN TITANS #12: Superboy wants his life back and Red Robin tells him that they all need to work together to figure out what’s going on. They discover that they have lost their powers and that’s when Harvest shows up and each Titan is forced to live a life from their past. Harvest explains that he tried to raise Kon as his son, leading Superboy to join Harvest. He then reveals that the team came together to fulfill their destiny: to join his army.
Well, that turns thing to an interesting place. First off, this book has becoming much more interesting with Will Pfeifer joining Scott Lobdell. His influence on the story is evident and the book just seems new again. It will never be where it was in the golden days of Wolfman and Perez, but it is probably the best this title has been since the launch of the New 52. Ian Churchill turns in another killer issue on the art side of the ledger. All in all, if this is where this book should have been twelve issues ago, I wouldn’t have spent the last year talking about how awful it was.
TELOS #1: Telos confronts Brainiac about how he feels that he was lied to regarding where he could find his family. Brainiac says that he lost most of his memories and that’s why what he told Telos was wrong. So he sends Telos off to fight Computo and rendezvous with the resistance leader, Techne.
There are so many plot holes in Jeff King’s story that I could drive several buses through it. The most notable is that Brainiac was still a giant when he told Telos where he could find his family. So the tale that he gave that information after his memory loss is either a lie or a bad plot point. The best part of the book, out side of Carlos Pagulayan’s art, is the appearance of LEGION OF SUPERHEROES favorites Computo and Validus. This is a horrible, wordy first issue that goes nowhere. Here’s hoping #2 goes somewhere better than this.
TITANS HUNT #1: Roy Harper suffers a bit of deja vu when Gnarrk sells him a bottle of booze. Meanwhile, Grayson is trying to stop a black market organ-selling ring. He gets help from Garth, who arrives and kills all those responsible, which leads to Dick having a deja vu moment. He later gets visited by a psychic projection of Lilith who tells him that he needs to find “them” because time is running out. We learn that Lilith is an addiction counselor and has a series of files on all the people that were once Titans in the Pre Convergence timeline. She breaks the Fourth Wall and declares that she will not let this hidden person get them.
Leave it to Dan Abnett to turn out a gem like this. Now, this book will mean NOTHING to you unless you were reading the Titans BEFORE the NEW 52 came around. But, for an old time fan like me, I’m blown away! We get a drunk Roy Harper, a modern day Caveboy, a confused Dick Grayson, a vengeful Aqualad, a protective Lilith and the potential for appearances by Donna Troy, Mal, Hawk and Dove and more. Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges turn in a tremendous job on the art, which really helps to push the narrative along. This book was a treat and my favorite of the three new titles introduced this month.
WE ARE ROBIN #5: Robin Izzy is working as a waitress and got confronted by some gang members, when Riko and Duke show up and lend a hand. Turns out that the ringleader of the gang is her brother. Several years ago, he put her in a hospital because she wouldn’t join his gang. Flashing forward, we see the Robins meet for the first since Troy died, followed by the arrival of The Nest, complete with a huge Robin truck that is to be their Command Center. A disagreement between Duke and Dre leads to Dre and Dax leaving the group. The gang bangers show up and open fire on the team, hitting Duke in the process. A Talon arrives and carves up the gang members, calls himself the Robins’ new father and promises to show them how to dish out real justice.
I still have mixed emotions about this title, although this is one of the better issues. I truly wish that Lee Bermejo was drawing this, instead of Jorge Corona, but that’s not my problem with the book. My biggest complaint is that Bermejo is throwing all of these kids together and giving us so little to go on to actually make us LIKE these characters or even CARE about them. We don’t know enough about them to make us have a relationship with them. I have a problem with that. Sure, you need to have some mystery here. But these kids have so little back story, with the exception of Robina’s reveal this issue, for me to want to invest my time in.
WONDER WOMAN #45: Aegeus beats on Wonder Woman until Strife shows up, threatening to eat him, which leads to his quick exit. Back in London, Violet leads Donna Troy on a sight-seeing tour before bidding her goodbye, but saying that they’ll meet again. Violet forgets her purse and Donna tracks her down, just in time to see the poor girl’s pimp kill her. Wonder Woman shows up and Donna attacks her. Aegeus arrives and shoots a God Killer Arrow through Donna’s heart, seemingly killing her. Apparently, this was not part of the plan and Eirene, the Goddess of Peace, is not pleased.
Wha? While the art of David Finch makes this book look beautiful, the story by his wife Meredith is just a jumbled mess. It jumps from Aegeus wanting to kill Diana to saving her. We get a wonderful supporting cast character in the form of Violet get murdered by her pimp. And we bump off Donna Troy…maybe. This was just a really confusing issue, as has become common with this title since the Finch’s came on board. What was once a great title has slipped a lot.
Friday, November 6, 2015
DC YOU Month 5, Part 1
ACTION COMICS #45: Clark has set up camp in Talladega, Alabama and is still trying to track down Wrath when Hiro Okamura shows up at the door of his cabin. With the location compromised, Clark sends the kid away and blows up the cabin. Back in Metropolis, the residents of Clark’s old neighborhood are trying to put their world back together. And Clark is now known as Archie Clayton and he’s a truck driver who manages to work his way into Lyfegene Corporation where Supremacists have been kidnapping people infected by Wrath. He frees most of the folks, but finds the black goo has corrupted Lee and now so is he.
Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder give us another cool arc in the new life of Clark Kent. I’m not quite sure if I like Scott Kolins art on this title, but I guess I’ll learn to get used to it. The whole concept of DC books not being in a synced up continuity does have moments where I scratch my head, this being one of them.
ALL STAR SECTION EIGHT #5: Sidney wakes up to find a foul-mouthed Phantom Stranger and three very dead back-ups singers in the bar with him. They proceed to Heaven where an all-singing, all-dancing Etrigan greets them and proceeds to have a rap battle with the Phantom Stranger. Following that brief intermission, the Stranger introduces the deceased members of Section Eight, along with Hitman. They all pretty much blame Sixpack for their being dead and inform him that the old Dogwelder is in Hell. He and the Stranger end up back on Earth where he ends up in an alley cuddling with his own self. When he wakes, he’s back in the bar, Dogwelder’s family is on TV begging for him to come home and Superman is at the door telling Sixpack that it’s time to go.
With this penultimate issue, Garth Ennis and John McCrea totally take this book off the rails of sanity. Not that it was sane to begin with! This is one wild ride and, as I have said before, it should be in everyone’s library! It has been filled with tons of superhero guest stars, some really kinky stuff and now we let Etrigan and the Phantom Stranger rap together. Seriously-one of the funniest and funkiest books of the year!
AQUAMAN #45: Aquaman is wounded and finds himself on an alien world where he is attacked by alien creatures. Dispatching them, he comes across creatures and buildings from Thule. He collapses from his injuries, only to wake up in the care of the inhabitants of this world. Despite not being able to communicate with them, he learns that Thule has been out conquering worlds until they came here and these people fought back. Deciding that he now knows how to beat the Thulians, the alien Queen takes Arthur to a statue that belonged to the Thule people. It’s a statue of Earth before Atlantis sank and Aquaman is on top of on top it, like he is the ruler of the world.
Honestly, I don’t know where Cullen Bunn is taking this book. And Trevor McCarthy’s art is not my favorite, although this is probably his best issue to date. This was one of my favorite titles…no so much anymore.
BATGIRL #45: Barbara is helping Alysia get ready for her wedding when she is entrusted with the ring. She and Luke Fox are sharing a tender moment when Dick Grayson shows up, much to everyone’s disappointment. Babs and Dick head out onto the roof and he steals the ring, leading to a lengthy chase where they almost kiss. She also chews him out for the whole dying but not really being dead thing. She makes it back in time for the wedding and shares a wonderful date with Luke. Later, while she sleeps, a mysterious figure plots…
Okay, I’m a little confused. Didn’t we already see Dick and Barbara have this conversation, or at least a version of it, in the last issue of GRAYSON? So, I guess cintinuity IS less important than a good story. Only this isn’t a good story. Everything here good have been summed up in about half an issue and all the action involved the chase. The story by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher goes back to the complaint about the “Batgirling” of DC’s heroes. And Babs Tarr’s art is just so cartoonish. I want my smart and sexy Barbara Gordon back!
BATMAN #45: We find Jim Gordon, in his Batman costume, taking a major beating from some of Mr. Bloom’s Devil Pigs disciples when his Mechanized Batsuit comes to his rescue. Elsewhere, Bruce Wayne is taking a bunch of old Joker props, like the super large card and the giant T-Rex, and turning them into a playground at the Rec. Center. Duke visits his friend Daryl to have him do so investigating into one of Bloom’s seeds. As it turns out, Geri Powers forces Gordon to resign because of what went down with the Devil Pigs, but that doesn’t get a chance to happen publicly as Mr. Bloom shows up at the press conference.
Well, it’s nice to be back to the story at hand here. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continue the story of Mr. Bloom and throw us the curveball that has Jim Gordon getting the axe. So, does he save the day and that leads to Powers reversing her decision or does he continue to fall on his sword and somehow Bruce comes back into the costume? We hear that DC wants to make changes to the DC You project and maybe that is one of them. We shall see. Until then, it is still THE BATMAN title to buy!
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL: #1-4: In issue #1, Grayson, Red Hood, and Red Robin tem up to help Dick complete a non Spyral related mission. Undercover at GSU’s Tower of Enlightenment Grand Opening, he recalls an early mission where he and Batman first tackled The Scarecrow. They were forced to battle Crane’s class of students in the process. In the present day, armed GSU students attack Dick, forcing him to escape as they tell him that Orphan is coming to kill him. But Poppy shoots at him and tells him that Mother says "Hello", before she reports to Orphan. He then gets attacked by Cassandra Cain, who hands him a USB stick while saying the word "Mother" to him repeatedly. In the Batcave, he sees the stick has a list of names that are Mother's Children, who are marked for execution. A hologram of Batman appears, explaining Mother is his greatest sin and that he had once shot a man and a woman because Mother told him too. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon has tracked down Bluebird to convince her to stop her superhero ways, but she immobilizes him and taunts him to catch her again. Back in her apartment, she is greeted by a ninja who says she must die as she is the key to everything Grayson cannot know about. He is The Orphan
In issue #2, The Orphan is beating on Harper when Cassandra comes to her rescue. Grayson talks with Matron, who says she knows nothing regarding Mother, before making his way to Harper’s apartment just as The Orphan is being blasted by a stun-gun shot. While The Orphan gets away, Grayson checks on Harper as the Spoiler arrives, and they both smell Fear Gas. In a flashback, Dick recalls an early encounter with Scarecrow and his Fear Gas. In present day, Red Robin arrives and learns he is on Mother’s hit list, as is Jason. Dick calls Jason, who currently has Cassandra at gunpoint.
In issue #3, Red Hood is beating on Cassandra until Dick, Tim, Harper and Stephanie arrive to stop him and explain it all. They take an injured Harper to the Batcave to repair her injuries while Dick hears from Spyral and learns that Mother is a human trafficker who builds “designer human beings”. This leads to a flashback where Robin reveals his fear is that he could never be the hero Batman wanted him to be. In the present, we learn that Poppy was receiving phone calls from Beacon Tower, where there is a gala for Bruce Wayne. And Bruce finds himself in the kitchen with a lot of people bearing hatchets.
In issue #4, Bruce is being attacked by a bunch of folks with axes when Dick Grayson, under the guise of Mr. Sparrow, comes to his rescue. That is also when an assist comes from the Robin Gang, who have been undercover as waiters and waitresses, and Batgirl, who has a brief conversation with Dick about their conversation in BATGIRL #45. Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Harper, Stephanie and Cassandra deal with their issues, which is mostly with the fact that Stephanie doesn’t trust Cassandra. Later, Dick goes to the family home of the Drakes while Tim calls Mother.
James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Tim Seeley, and Scott Orlando weave the beginnings of thenewest weekly Batman epic; one that brings together most of the Batman Family into an adventure with deep repercussions. Add in the art of Tony Daniel, Paul Pelletier, Scot Daniels, and Scot Eaton and you have what looks to be a cool little mystery with some nice twists and turns, even in the first four issues. I look forward to seeing how this whole thing will play out.
BATMAN BEYOND #5: As the transformed Justice League members attack Neo Gotham, the Jim Gordon Batsuit gets charged up and Tim Drake climbs inside. First up, he destroys John Stewart and goes into battle against Superman and Wonder Woman. The battle goes back and forth before Micron arrives and destroys Wonder Woman. Tim shoves Kryptonite down Superman’s throat, which allows Micron to destroy the former Man of Steel and save Neo Gotham.
I’m sorry: this book slowly starting to sink into an ocean of silliness and just leaving me with a feeling of totally not caring above this book. Dan Jurgens’ story just keeps plodding along. We have the replacement Batman climbing into Jim Gordon’s old suit and taking on the converted and perverted former members of the Justice League, only to be saved by this generation’s version of The Atom, Micron. The story holds no interest for me and I just find this to be a labor to read. And I’m also finding Bernard Chang’s art to no longer hold interest for me, as it is filled with unusual angles and strange proportions. This could be a perfect jumping off point for me.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #25: Batman is ordering his team to find Clark Kent and get him out of his city. But Superman is using one of the old Batman's gliders as he searches for the miniature sun stolen from Waynetech. He tracks down the Barbarians of the Dawn Command and engages them, only to be attacked by Vandal Savage, where he takes a serious beating. Before he can be finished, Batgirl comes to his rescue and gets him to the Batcave. Three days later, Superman and Batgirl are in Siberia where Savage is demanding the residents hurriedly mine six tons of uranium from so old and half-buried nuclear missiles. Luckily, Batgirl and Superman don’t have to do it alone, as Red Robin and Red Hood show up to help.
Despite having some rather unusual plot points in it, Greg Pak and Cliff Richards throw together a cool story with some awesome art. Batgirl looks hot and not like a teen girl as she does in her own title. I did laugh when these newly thawed barbarians are complaining about being hungry and craving burritos! Seek out the Monsters Variant cover by Michael Avon Oeming as it is a dynamite take on the ACTION #1 cover.
BAT-MITE #5: Bat-Mite teams up with the Inferior Five as they all prepare to face off against Gridlock, who has stolen the only known copy of the pilot episode of the classic television show GALAXY TREK. Bat-Mite joins the team, retools their personalities and their costumes and that results in the debut of the Superior Six. Gridlock escapes but they save the film canister, only to discover it is empty. The team begs Bat-Mite to change them back to what they once were and he obliges. In the end, three hooded figures decide
Thank you Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell for giving me a reunion with one of my favorite super teams of all time. I was six years old when I read their first appearances and followed them all the way through the 12 issues of their comic, watching them with such classic characters as the Cobweb Kid and Sub-Moron. This SO takes me back to my childhood with great memories of lying in a hammock in the summers and reading comics all day long.
BIZARRO #5: Right now, our quartet is locked up in Area 51 and charged with trying to break in. We go back three days and see that Agents Meadows Mahalo and Stuart “Chicken Stew” Paillard have offered our heroes $50,000 and an all-expenses-paid visit to Las Vegas to get them to break into Area 51. Once in Vegas, Bizarro proves a whiz at the Blackjack tables. Unfortunately, he answers a call from Jimmy’s publisher and learns of the plan to write a coffee-table book about their trip to Canada. They get inside Area 51 and start a riot so they can get their hands on the Army’s stockpile of captured alien weapons. Caught by General Lane, Jimmy connects him to his daughter Lois, who threatens to expose how he has aliens under lock and key. The aliens gets released with the weapons and head home. Colin also goes home and Chastity hooks up with Kilowog’s cousin and she leaves. In the end, Bizarro smashes Jimmy’s car and flies off.
Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte give us the penultimate adventure of this Fantastic Four and, as this whole series has been, it’s a winner! From the Sculley and Mulder rip-off in the opening, to Killowog’s cousin, Lois Lane and all the rest, it is one long parody trip! And I remember saying this was a comic version of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and I stand by that. It has been one wild and wacky road trip that is all but ready to end. Find the back issues or wait for the trade. This is a kick in the funny bone and I will miss it after next month.
BLACK CANARY #5: With another successful gig completed, Dinah and the band head discuss future plans and Maeve’s ulterior motives. Later that night, Dinah encounters the mysterious blonde ninja. The next day there is a record store signing and Byron’s mother and sister Shelley show up, as does Bo Maeve who disrupts the signing and challenges them to a Battle of the Bands. And at that battle, Bo uses her new powers.
This was an interesting issue by Brenden Fletcher and Pia Guerra that continues one plotline and sets up another one. The art still continues to be an issue with me as the whole “Batgirling” of the line stills bothers me. But I like where the story is going, even though this is far from the Black Canary who was romantically involved with Oliver Queen during the classic days of that archer’s title. And this issue was a good opportunity for the rest of the band to get fleshed out-nicely done! BTW: Byron and Shelley…GET IT!?
CATWOMAN #45: Eiko mourns her father’s death, even as Oliver Cobblepot and the Black Mask make an appearance at his funeral. Later, Selina, in costume, breaks into Eiko’s apartment to pay her respects, but that doesn’t go well. Cobblepot meets with Antonia, informing her of the latest developments with Black Mask and his men. Of course he is playing both sides, as he goes to meet with Black Mask with Catwoman in tow. She and Black Mask battle, she stabs him and leaves him to die. Cobblepot offers to save his life, but only if he gives up everything he has, which he agrees to. After a training session, Eiko is visited by Spoiler, and is informed that Eiko is throwing a party and killing all the families and their members.
Genevieve Valentine and David Messina continue to not only redefine the character of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, they also continue to redefine the landscape that is Gotham’s crime families. While I would really like to see Selina back in action full-time in the suit, the concept of the crime families, the two-faced actions of The Penguin, the dealings with Black Mask, Eiko and the rest, are truly fascinating and makes for some of the best crime fiction since the days of MS. TREE. While I’m still getting used to Selina in pantsuits, this is so recommended!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #5: Constantine battles his ex-girlfriend Veronica, who is the monster that has been hanging around since issue #1. Georgie, despite not being very happy with Constantine at the moment, agrees to help. As she is ready to dispatch the creature, she discovers that she is Veronica and has second thoughts. But, knowing what is at stake, she burns the Soul Displacement book and kills Veronica in the process. As she and Constantine go there separate ways, she tells him she will never forgive him for this.
And I may not forgive the creative team of Ming Doyle, James Tynion IV and Scott Kowalchuk for making this Constantine even more unlikable than his last incarnation during JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. The artwork is creepily simplistic, the plot took five issues to dig through it all and I’m just so tired of a plot that just did nothing for me. Next issue starts a new arc and I will give it a chance. But if it moves at the pace and with the enthusiasm as this one, I won’t finish the arc. Seriously DC: I had such hopes with Doyle and Tynion at the helm.
CYBORG #3: Cyborg has gathered whomever he can find in Detroit to help defend against the upcoming alien invasion by the Technosapiens, including poor Bobby. As the battle rages, the Metal Men arrive to lend a hand. The Justice League would be here, but they’re also busy fighting Technosapiens. At the same time, there is an invasion at STAR Labs, where the scientists find themselves losing. Just when things look their worst, the Tekbreakers arrive at STAR Labs to save the day. When Cyborg shows up there, he flips out as these are the people who killed him in the Preview story. The leader of the Tekbreakers is the Sarah Charles parallel world and she tells him that his father started the war that she is here to help stop.
Maybe I missed something but when did Batgirl become a member of the Justice League? That’s what I thought! But during the panel showing the Justice League battling Technosapiens, there she is-front and center. So I’m not sure if David F. Walker is to blame for writing is into his script or if with Ivan Reis and Eduardo Pansica are to blame for assuming she is part of the team. Either way, it’s a big boo-boo! Maybe this has something to do with the book being a month late. The story: well, that’s another story. It’s full of action on two fronts and I was thrilled to see the Metal Men showing up. Is it too much to ask for a series with them?
CYBORG #4: Picking up from last issue, we discover that the other Sarah Clarke has come from an Earth in a universe where Doctor Silas Stone was responsible for its’ destruction. Unable to let his wife die in peace, he ended up becoming Cyborg and led to the Technosapiens coming to Earth to try and take the technology with them. It seems the Tekbreakers have come here to find a way to stop the plague that is ravishing their world. The Technosapiens attack again, causing Cyborg, the Metal Men and the Tekbreakers to spring into action. That’s when the giant Technosapien attacks.
We get two issues in one month to make up for the missing issue last month. This time, David Walker is joined by Felipe Watanabe as the artist, as Ian Reis is only doing layouts. It’s another average issue that at least gives us the other Sarah Clarke’s back story, even if it wasn’t the greatest back story ever told. What I really wanted was more Metal Men but then I guess we’d have to changed the title of the book from CYBORG to METAL MEN now wouldn’t we?
DEATHSTROKE #11: Deathstroke, now with only one eye again and his traditional patch restored, finds what he first believes is his dead daughter Rose, but discovers to be someone disguised as Rose. Based on a clue he finds that points to Harley Quinn, he leads a one man assault onto Belle Reve. He finds Harley and Deadshot and, after a bit of a battle between the trio, Slade figures out that it wasn’t Harley who was responsible. He realizes to late that he has been set up and falls into a watery trap with Black Manta, proving payback is indeed a bitch!
Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny move on from the eye-plucking end to the last issue and fly headlong into something completely different. With Tyler Kirkham handling the art, this trio leads an all out assault onto Belle Reve for no other reason than to have our anti-hero find clues to getting his daughter back. My biggest gripe about this is that it all comes racing at us with no real resolution to the tale last issue. So…we just let Slade yank his eye out and that’s that? Weird. I would liked to have had some resolution to that piece and THEN slide into the first part of this story. Then NEXT issue could have been a longer assault and such. But what do I know: I just read and write about comics!
DETECTIVE COMICS #45: We begin at a cricket match in India where the crowd is attacked by a liquid that steals their eyes. Elsewhere, the Justice League interrupts a quiet night at Bruce Wayne’s apartment where they want to know if there is anything left of the old Bruce. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon’s Batman gets called into action because the rest of his flying team is being attacked. Luckily, the Justice League shows up to assist him, as he is not doing a very good job on his own. Batman tracks down the person responsible in the form of the Mad Hatter, who explains he was hired by someone The League recruits Gordon for the team and they all transport to a snow covered land with a very big skeleton.
Welcome to the first issue of the new team of Peter J. Tomasi and Marcio Takara and here are my initial thoughts. Tomasi writes a nice script, but it’s nothing amazing. I mean, it’s cool to see the Justice League show up, but are they that desperate to get the old Batman back? And then they show up while he is battling something attack the Bat Blimp that has been sent out by the Mad Hatter. The whole piece is a bit convoluted for me. Takara’s artwork doe not work at all for me. I just find it a little too stylized and too blocky. I especially hate the way the Batsuit looks! The best part of the book was the cliffhanger ending. Not a great start for a book that was showing great promise.
DOCTOR FATE #5: The deity Bastet, who was in Khalid's dead cat, has been reincarnated into the form of another identical black cat. She reiterates everything the first cat told him and then dies again, with the hope of being reborn again. With the helm back on his head again, Khalid goes about stopping petty crime and saving people among the continuing flood. He is also trying to attend school which again takes a back seat when he ends up at the hospital where is father is being menaced by Anubis. Getting him freed, Anubis tracks him down and offers to make a deal to restore his father’s eyesight. Khalid agrees to give Anubis the helm and Anubis does return the sight, but takes Khalid’s in the process.
I have yet to figure out why this series didn’t get the axe when DC decided to eliminate a whole slew of titles recently. This book by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew is a total mess. It seems like this book is treading the same ground every single month without it moving forward. I mean, how many times can Khalid be told he needs to man up and become a hero? How many times can this damned cat die already? I’m sorry: this is NOT Paul Levitz’ finest hour. The book drags on, the art just looks like something from an Indy book (not a bad thing…just not appealing for a superhero title), and I really hate the cast!
DOOMED #5: Superman explains the Doomsday virus to Jayne, leading her to tell him about what happens to Reiser. Superman tracks him down and tries to discuss his condition, much to Reiser’s delight. But that all changes and Reiser transforms and punches Superman. Then the Alpha Centurion, who is actually possessing the body of Reiser’s roommate Roman, arrives and he and Reiser mix it up. Superman breaks it up and just in time as now the three of them are looking at a very big and ugly monster.
I really was not a fan of this book when it was introduced, but I have to admit that it was grown on me. Scott Lobdell is really good at writing troubled teenagers, even if they sound like they are still in the 1980’s. Therefore, his characterization of Reiser is very much like a young Peter Parker. Okay…it’s not an original idea, but it works. The fact that we have thrown in a ton of guest stars sure doesn’t hurt either. Javier Fernandez’ art has also grown on me and gotten better with each issue. Since next issue spells the end for this series, maybe Reiser can find his way into the Teen Titans.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #5: The heroes are trying to save Neotropolis from the falling Overwatch-One.While Flash tries his hardest to use his muscles, we flashback to a year ago when Flash spent weeks running across the planet to try to make the world better for its’ newest inhabitants. This made him a celebrity with the people on the planet which allowed him to become the life of the party across the planet. It also meant he would crash and burn and it took Jimmy Olsen to help him out. A year later and Flash makes the save. However, Jimmy Olsen feels betrayed and plans on killing Flash along with the other heroes.
You know: you make Jimmy Olsen a God and look what happens. As the saying goes, Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This has been the best issue in the series so far, but that isn’t saying much. I liked the EARTH 2 series before CONVERGENCE but this one, by Daniel H. Wilson and Jorge Jimenez, is just annoying. I don’t care for the art and I find Wilson’s story boring. I want action not a soap opera and between the drunk Flash and the drama in previous issues between the new Superman and Power Girl, it’s enough to have this book get adapted for Daytime television.
FLASH #45: With the Flash and the entire Central City Police Department stuck inside the dome, tensions are running high inside and out. Captain Frye threatens to shoot the Flash until Singh steps in to save him. Wally has a plan, straps the magnesium engine block to one of the armored police vehicles, and drives it into the dome, which cuts a hole in the dome. Flash gets everyone out of the dome before the Central City Police station disintegrates, leading to Frye chewing out Flash and threatening that they will meet again. Meanwhile, Henry Allen has finished the weaponized power glove and Zoom uses it to drain Magali’s powers and make them his own. And then, he plans on eliminating the rest of his crew and stealing their powers, making him a god.
Not a bad issue, even with some of the forced plot points, such as the magnesium engine block which was such a big deal last issue…nothing like making that way too obvious a plot device. So, once again we get an action filled issue thanks to Robert Venditti and Van Jensen. The art this month is a bit all over the place as it’s by Brett Booth, Vicente Cifuentes and Ale Garza, and you can tell where one arrives and one leaves off, making for a rather disjointed reading experience.
GOTHAM ACADEMY #11: Trying to piece together the mysteries from the last few issues involving Olive’s mother, Maps and Olive go searching the file room, only to run into Red Robin. He tells the story behind Calamity burning down part of the Narrows before she was ultimately stopped and arrested. Apparently there have been generations of Silverlocks masquerading as Calamity. Batman discovered that Calamity had a daughter and made plans to make sure she wouldn’t follow in her mother’s footsteps by having her end up in Gotham Academy. They are then forced to fight the “new” Calamity, who drops a part of a key. Later, they discover this key is an old puzzle key to Arkham Asylum.
Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl absolutely do a killer job on this series. I love it! It’s Harry Potter adventures in the Batman Universe. I mean, there are no magicians but there are a lot of spooky things going on. This is just a fun series for all ages, despite the Teen Rating.
GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #10: Covered in gore after last month’s explosive conclusion, Corrigan and Drake flee the station and head off on a road trip where he reveals his death and the Spectre’s origin. This results in a car chase that ends with the Spectre coming free and the car heading off a bridge and into the water below, seemingly killing both Corrigan and Drake. Meanwhile, Doctor Tarr investigates supernatural happenings at the site of Sister Justine’s death. And…what is with the creature arriving in the final panel?
Under a beautiful Bill Sienkiewiez cover, we have the insanely wild penultimate issue of this title. Ray Fawkes writes it with all the flash and flair of the first nine issues. This has been one creepy head trip book and I’m sad to see it go, especially because the Spectre, despite limited appearances in this book, has been his old destructive self. By the way: WE NEED A SPECTRE BOOK that hearkens back to the justice dealing days of the Fleisher/Aparo run. Juan Ferreyra’s art is creepy and beautiful and has been a perfect fit for this series. Go find the first issues or wait for a trade. You need to have this in your collection as, despite its’ occasional flaws, it is one of the better horror themed titles DC has published in some time.
GRAYSON #13: Now that he is back in Spyral’s employ, Grayson is being physically checked out to make certain he didn’t bring back anything that could be detrimental to the group. Once cleared, he is sent on a mission with Agent 1, which includes infiltrating a heist by Tiger Shark. The ship being attacked belongs to the father of a student at St. Hadrian's School for Girls and it doesn’t take long for the pair to defeat the bad guys. Later, Dick contacts "Alvin Draper" ...better known as Tim Drake. Tim reveals that the mysterious Agent Zero is Luka Netz and that she has managed to appear in almost every photo ever taken of Batman in action, going all the way back to Year Zero. This leads to a lead in Berlin, while Director Bertinelli and Doctor Netz meet with some of the most clandestine groups in the world. In the end, Midnighter has arranged to have Ladytron get involved, leading to a battle between her, Dick and Agent 1.
This is fast becoming my favorite of the Batman Family titles. Tim Seeley, Tom King and Mikel Janin just keep filling this book with great writing, clever lines of dialogue (yes…Spandau IS known for a ballet, Ladytron!) and some amazing looking art. What makes this such a great book is that it totally embraces the spy concept as you never really know who is on what side. Just when you think Bertinelli is one of the good guys, she pulls a stunt like this issue and you wonder. And just what is the connection with Doctor Netz and Luka?
GREEN ARROW ANNUAL #1: A bunch of thugs are going around and beating up people who have contracted a disease known as Lukos. In the old days, people who were infected with Lukos became wolflike and were not only feared but used by warring nations. A werewolf biker gang rounds up those infected folks and plan on passing the disease to everyone at the Midnight Halloween Parade. All-out war breaks out between the bikers, the thugs, Green Arrow and Emiko. In the end, the war ends with a few casualties…one of whom is Oliver Queen who has been bitten in the attacks. This could be a problem down the road.
Okay…so we have a very long tale the can be summed up very quickly: dumb. Ben Percy and Szymon Kudranski give us a great looking book that is filled with dumb stuff. We have a bunch of bigots who want to eliminate the Lycans(let’s call it as it is) and that leads to the werewolf people deciding to turn everyone into werewolves. Somewhere in the middle of that, Oliver and Emiko get involved and help to save the day. This truly was a waste of five bucks, with the exception of the artwork. It’s a shame too, because I have found the current creative team to be weaving a rather different and usually interesting story.
GREEN ARROW #45: Oliver and Tarantula are escaping from the fight they were in with the Skeletons. We flashback to events that happened four months ago when Ollie was in Alaska, as seen in the preview tale. The Skeletons destroyed a totem containing an ancient bear skull and kill a security guard in the process. Back in the present, Ollie and Tarantula head to El Paso so they can search for George. They are attacked by a swarm of moths, leading them to take refuge in a destroyed gas station. They find the interior filled with Mayan symbols painted in the blood of a dead man they find inside. Tarantula tells Oliver the symbols mean the darkness is spreading.
Benjamin Percy manages to lay two eggs in the same month. Granted, the Annual should have been released last month, but that joins this one as two really lame Green Arrow stories. I mean, here’s Green Arrow and Tarantula and they’re running away from the bad guys. I know these Skeletons are bad news but really…Green Arrow running from a fight. The story is a bit on the confusing side and I don’t buy the compression of time that gets our heroes from Seattle to El Paso. I would expect a lot more exposition on that road trip. One the good side, Patrick Fincher’s art is great!
GREEN LANTERN #45: We begin with Hall fighting Black Hand and then move to a flashback where he has Darlene plotting a flight path. He bids goodbye to everyone and heads off and meets up with Black hand, who is totally bummed that he can’t reanimate anyone anymore but can turn them into rock. Once Hal reveals himself to Black Hand, Hand flips out and, of course, the two battle each other. Hand tries to turn Hal to stone but fails as Hal knocks him out. Hal decides it is time to stop playing games and he needs to finish Hand once and for all.
I find this book works the best when Hal Jordan, looking like The Spectre, takes Center Stage. When we let the supporting cast play a bigger role, it drags. Here is the example: the first half of the book, up until Hal meets up with Black Hand, is just boring. Too much talk and not enough action. Once Hal and Hand meet-FIREWORKS! Still, it’s a nice effort from Robert Venditti and Billy Tan. Do yourself a favor and seek out the Monsters of the Month variant by Neal Adams.
GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY #5: John Stewart and the Lanterns fight their way out of their prison, but lose Jruk in the process. Just when things look bleak, Relic and Krona arrive to save the day. As they head out, they are able to track down Mogo and discover that Mogo is being attacked and is in pain.
Please make this end! Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz give us a great story with a bunch of characters I could really care less about. I mean, I love Guy Gardner and he was one of the major highlights of the RED LANTERNS book. But I never cared for John Stewart, just like I never saw Kyle Rayner as a valid Lantern. So, we combine all of these Lanterns I don’t care about, throw in a once upon a time bad guy or two and…is it any wonder why this book never caught on and gets the axe next month? Oh wait: there is a NEW Green Lantern book coming in January that picks up where this left off? Oh help me!
HARLEY QUINN #21: Harley and Deadshot brawl for a bit before they patch up their differences and Harley goes back to searching for Sparrow. Teaming up with Nick Stanley and his Batmobile, she heads off to Sparrow’s establishment. At the same time, some thugs have the same thing in mind and it’s up to Harley to save them all. In the end, Harley gets Sparrow, Sparrow’s mom arrives and pays the money and is told how Sparrow needs treatment for her addiction. Nick tries to convince her to do a pilot or two for some television shows but she wants someone to make her a cartoon character. After drinks with Deadshot, Harley heads to Beverly Hills for some shopping.
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti conclude their mini-epic with more guns and glory than past issues. This was a little more serious, complete with the minor anti-drug preaching at the end. I did like the little touches, like the references to television shows and such. This was not as silly as most issues and, while it’s not the psychotic Harley we seen in SUICIDE SQUAD, it’s close. And John Timms’ art isn’t Chard Hardin’s, but it too is close. Overall, this was a better issue than most.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #45: Darkseid is dead and the Justice League are slowly becoming Gods. Flash has become the God of Death, as he has been infused with the spirit of the Black Racer. Superman is with Luthor on Apokolips and has become the God of Strength. Batman, sitting in the Mobius Chair, has become the God of Knowledge and plans to take his power to Gotham. Shazam is now the God of Gods and it seems like the spirit of Darkseid is controlling him. Meanwhile, Luthor convinces the former slaves of Apokolips that he is the chosen one spoken about in their writings and they make him the God of Apokolips.
Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul continue to roll along with this monster storyline. It seems that everyone is becoming a god now that Darkseid is dead. And, in something that I’m sure will be revealed in more detail in the series of one-shots connected to this story, we start to see the whole idea of absolute power corrupting absolutely. Of course, if you believe that Darkseid is truly dead, then you haven’t been reading comics very long! I do like the twist of having Luthor reveal his sneaky self and becoming the God of Apokolips. Nicely played!
Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder give us another cool arc in the new life of Clark Kent. I’m not quite sure if I like Scott Kolins art on this title, but I guess I’ll learn to get used to it. The whole concept of DC books not being in a synced up continuity does have moments where I scratch my head, this being one of them.
ALL STAR SECTION EIGHT #5: Sidney wakes up to find a foul-mouthed Phantom Stranger and three very dead back-ups singers in the bar with him. They proceed to Heaven where an all-singing, all-dancing Etrigan greets them and proceeds to have a rap battle with the Phantom Stranger. Following that brief intermission, the Stranger introduces the deceased members of Section Eight, along with Hitman. They all pretty much blame Sixpack for their being dead and inform him that the old Dogwelder is in Hell. He and the Stranger end up back on Earth where he ends up in an alley cuddling with his own self. When he wakes, he’s back in the bar, Dogwelder’s family is on TV begging for him to come home and Superman is at the door telling Sixpack that it’s time to go.
With this penultimate issue, Garth Ennis and John McCrea totally take this book off the rails of sanity. Not that it was sane to begin with! This is one wild ride and, as I have said before, it should be in everyone’s library! It has been filled with tons of superhero guest stars, some really kinky stuff and now we let Etrigan and the Phantom Stranger rap together. Seriously-one of the funniest and funkiest books of the year!
AQUAMAN #45: Aquaman is wounded and finds himself on an alien world where he is attacked by alien creatures. Dispatching them, he comes across creatures and buildings from Thule. He collapses from his injuries, only to wake up in the care of the inhabitants of this world. Despite not being able to communicate with them, he learns that Thule has been out conquering worlds until they came here and these people fought back. Deciding that he now knows how to beat the Thulians, the alien Queen takes Arthur to a statue that belonged to the Thule people. It’s a statue of Earth before Atlantis sank and Aquaman is on top of on top it, like he is the ruler of the world.
Honestly, I don’t know where Cullen Bunn is taking this book. And Trevor McCarthy’s art is not my favorite, although this is probably his best issue to date. This was one of my favorite titles…no so much anymore.
BATGIRL #45: Barbara is helping Alysia get ready for her wedding when she is entrusted with the ring. She and Luke Fox are sharing a tender moment when Dick Grayson shows up, much to everyone’s disappointment. Babs and Dick head out onto the roof and he steals the ring, leading to a lengthy chase where they almost kiss. She also chews him out for the whole dying but not really being dead thing. She makes it back in time for the wedding and shares a wonderful date with Luke. Later, while she sleeps, a mysterious figure plots…
Okay, I’m a little confused. Didn’t we already see Dick and Barbara have this conversation, or at least a version of it, in the last issue of GRAYSON? So, I guess cintinuity IS less important than a good story. Only this isn’t a good story. Everything here good have been summed up in about half an issue and all the action involved the chase. The story by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher goes back to the complaint about the “Batgirling” of DC’s heroes. And Babs Tarr’s art is just so cartoonish. I want my smart and sexy Barbara Gordon back!
BATMAN #45: We find Jim Gordon, in his Batman costume, taking a major beating from some of Mr. Bloom’s Devil Pigs disciples when his Mechanized Batsuit comes to his rescue. Elsewhere, Bruce Wayne is taking a bunch of old Joker props, like the super large card and the giant T-Rex, and turning them into a playground at the Rec. Center. Duke visits his friend Daryl to have him do so investigating into one of Bloom’s seeds. As it turns out, Geri Powers forces Gordon to resign because of what went down with the Devil Pigs, but that doesn’t get a chance to happen publicly as Mr. Bloom shows up at the press conference.
Well, it’s nice to be back to the story at hand here. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continue the story of Mr. Bloom and throw us the curveball that has Jim Gordon getting the axe. So, does he save the day and that leads to Powers reversing her decision or does he continue to fall on his sword and somehow Bruce comes back into the costume? We hear that DC wants to make changes to the DC You project and maybe that is one of them. We shall see. Until then, it is still THE BATMAN title to buy!
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL: #1-4: In issue #1, Grayson, Red Hood, and Red Robin tem up to help Dick complete a non Spyral related mission. Undercover at GSU’s Tower of Enlightenment Grand Opening, he recalls an early mission where he and Batman first tackled The Scarecrow. They were forced to battle Crane’s class of students in the process. In the present day, armed GSU students attack Dick, forcing him to escape as they tell him that Orphan is coming to kill him. But Poppy shoots at him and tells him that Mother says "Hello", before she reports to Orphan. He then gets attacked by Cassandra Cain, who hands him a USB stick while saying the word "Mother" to him repeatedly. In the Batcave, he sees the stick has a list of names that are Mother's Children, who are marked for execution. A hologram of Batman appears, explaining Mother is his greatest sin and that he had once shot a man and a woman because Mother told him too. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon has tracked down Bluebird to convince her to stop her superhero ways, but she immobilizes him and taunts him to catch her again. Back in her apartment, she is greeted by a ninja who says she must die as she is the key to everything Grayson cannot know about. He is The Orphan
In issue #2, The Orphan is beating on Harper when Cassandra comes to her rescue. Grayson talks with Matron, who says she knows nothing regarding Mother, before making his way to Harper’s apartment just as The Orphan is being blasted by a stun-gun shot. While The Orphan gets away, Grayson checks on Harper as the Spoiler arrives, and they both smell Fear Gas. In a flashback, Dick recalls an early encounter with Scarecrow and his Fear Gas. In present day, Red Robin arrives and learns he is on Mother’s hit list, as is Jason. Dick calls Jason, who currently has Cassandra at gunpoint.
In issue #3, Red Hood is beating on Cassandra until Dick, Tim, Harper and Stephanie arrive to stop him and explain it all. They take an injured Harper to the Batcave to repair her injuries while Dick hears from Spyral and learns that Mother is a human trafficker who builds “designer human beings”. This leads to a flashback where Robin reveals his fear is that he could never be the hero Batman wanted him to be. In the present, we learn that Poppy was receiving phone calls from Beacon Tower, where there is a gala for Bruce Wayne. And Bruce finds himself in the kitchen with a lot of people bearing hatchets.
In issue #4, Bruce is being attacked by a bunch of folks with axes when Dick Grayson, under the guise of Mr. Sparrow, comes to his rescue. That is also when an assist comes from the Robin Gang, who have been undercover as waiters and waitresses, and Batgirl, who has a brief conversation with Dick about their conversation in BATGIRL #45. Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Harper, Stephanie and Cassandra deal with their issues, which is mostly with the fact that Stephanie doesn’t trust Cassandra. Later, Dick goes to the family home of the Drakes while Tim calls Mother.
James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Tim Seeley, and Scott Orlando weave the beginnings of thenewest weekly Batman epic; one that brings together most of the Batman Family into an adventure with deep repercussions. Add in the art of Tony Daniel, Paul Pelletier, Scot Daniels, and Scot Eaton and you have what looks to be a cool little mystery with some nice twists and turns, even in the first four issues. I look forward to seeing how this whole thing will play out.
BATMAN BEYOND #5: As the transformed Justice League members attack Neo Gotham, the Jim Gordon Batsuit gets charged up and Tim Drake climbs inside. First up, he destroys John Stewart and goes into battle against Superman and Wonder Woman. The battle goes back and forth before Micron arrives and destroys Wonder Woman. Tim shoves Kryptonite down Superman’s throat, which allows Micron to destroy the former Man of Steel and save Neo Gotham.
I’m sorry: this book slowly starting to sink into an ocean of silliness and just leaving me with a feeling of totally not caring above this book. Dan Jurgens’ story just keeps plodding along. We have the replacement Batman climbing into Jim Gordon’s old suit and taking on the converted and perverted former members of the Justice League, only to be saved by this generation’s version of The Atom, Micron. The story holds no interest for me and I just find this to be a labor to read. And I’m also finding Bernard Chang’s art to no longer hold interest for me, as it is filled with unusual angles and strange proportions. This could be a perfect jumping off point for me.
BATMAN SUPERMAN #25: Batman is ordering his team to find Clark Kent and get him out of his city. But Superman is using one of the old Batman's gliders as he searches for the miniature sun stolen from Waynetech. He tracks down the Barbarians of the Dawn Command and engages them, only to be attacked by Vandal Savage, where he takes a serious beating. Before he can be finished, Batgirl comes to his rescue and gets him to the Batcave. Three days later, Superman and Batgirl are in Siberia where Savage is demanding the residents hurriedly mine six tons of uranium from so old and half-buried nuclear missiles. Luckily, Batgirl and Superman don’t have to do it alone, as Red Robin and Red Hood show up to help.
Despite having some rather unusual plot points in it, Greg Pak and Cliff Richards throw together a cool story with some awesome art. Batgirl looks hot and not like a teen girl as she does in her own title. I did laugh when these newly thawed barbarians are complaining about being hungry and craving burritos! Seek out the Monsters Variant cover by Michael Avon Oeming as it is a dynamite take on the ACTION #1 cover.
BAT-MITE #5: Bat-Mite teams up with the Inferior Five as they all prepare to face off against Gridlock, who has stolen the only known copy of the pilot episode of the classic television show GALAXY TREK. Bat-Mite joins the team, retools their personalities and their costumes and that results in the debut of the Superior Six. Gridlock escapes but they save the film canister, only to discover it is empty. The team begs Bat-Mite to change them back to what they once were and he obliges. In the end, three hooded figures decide
Thank you Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell for giving me a reunion with one of my favorite super teams of all time. I was six years old when I read their first appearances and followed them all the way through the 12 issues of their comic, watching them with such classic characters as the Cobweb Kid and Sub-Moron. This SO takes me back to my childhood with great memories of lying in a hammock in the summers and reading comics all day long.
BIZARRO #5: Right now, our quartet is locked up in Area 51 and charged with trying to break in. We go back three days and see that Agents Meadows Mahalo and Stuart “Chicken Stew” Paillard have offered our heroes $50,000 and an all-expenses-paid visit to Las Vegas to get them to break into Area 51. Once in Vegas, Bizarro proves a whiz at the Blackjack tables. Unfortunately, he answers a call from Jimmy’s publisher and learns of the plan to write a coffee-table book about their trip to Canada. They get inside Area 51 and start a riot so they can get their hands on the Army’s stockpile of captured alien weapons. Caught by General Lane, Jimmy connects him to his daughter Lois, who threatens to expose how he has aliens under lock and key. The aliens gets released with the weapons and head home. Colin also goes home and Chastity hooks up with Kilowog’s cousin and she leaves. In the end, Bizarro smashes Jimmy’s car and flies off.
Heath Corson and Gustavo Duarte give us the penultimate adventure of this Fantastic Four and, as this whole series has been, it’s a winner! From the Sculley and Mulder rip-off in the opening, to Killowog’s cousin, Lois Lane and all the rest, it is one long parody trip! And I remember saying this was a comic version of FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and I stand by that. It has been one wild and wacky road trip that is all but ready to end. Find the back issues or wait for the trade. This is a kick in the funny bone and I will miss it after next month.
BLACK CANARY #5: With another successful gig completed, Dinah and the band head discuss future plans and Maeve’s ulterior motives. Later that night, Dinah encounters the mysterious blonde ninja. The next day there is a record store signing and Byron’s mother and sister Shelley show up, as does Bo Maeve who disrupts the signing and challenges them to a Battle of the Bands. And at that battle, Bo uses her new powers.
This was an interesting issue by Brenden Fletcher and Pia Guerra that continues one plotline and sets up another one. The art still continues to be an issue with me as the whole “Batgirling” of the line stills bothers me. But I like where the story is going, even though this is far from the Black Canary who was romantically involved with Oliver Queen during the classic days of that archer’s title. And this issue was a good opportunity for the rest of the band to get fleshed out-nicely done! BTW: Byron and Shelley…GET IT!?
CATWOMAN #45: Eiko mourns her father’s death, even as Oliver Cobblepot and the Black Mask make an appearance at his funeral. Later, Selina, in costume, breaks into Eiko’s apartment to pay her respects, but that doesn’t go well. Cobblepot meets with Antonia, informing her of the latest developments with Black Mask and his men. Of course he is playing both sides, as he goes to meet with Black Mask with Catwoman in tow. She and Black Mask battle, she stabs him and leaves him to die. Cobblepot offers to save his life, but only if he gives up everything he has, which he agrees to. After a training session, Eiko is visited by Spoiler, and is informed that Eiko is throwing a party and killing all the families and their members.
Genevieve Valentine and David Messina continue to not only redefine the character of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, they also continue to redefine the landscape that is Gotham’s crime families. While I would really like to see Selina back in action full-time in the suit, the concept of the crime families, the two-faced actions of The Penguin, the dealings with Black Mask, Eiko and the rest, are truly fascinating and makes for some of the best crime fiction since the days of MS. TREE. While I’m still getting used to Selina in pantsuits, this is so recommended!
CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER #5: Constantine battles his ex-girlfriend Veronica, who is the monster that has been hanging around since issue #1. Georgie, despite not being very happy with Constantine at the moment, agrees to help. As she is ready to dispatch the creature, she discovers that she is Veronica and has second thoughts. But, knowing what is at stake, she burns the Soul Displacement book and kills Veronica in the process. As she and Constantine go there separate ways, she tells him she will never forgive him for this.
And I may not forgive the creative team of Ming Doyle, James Tynion IV and Scott Kowalchuk for making this Constantine even more unlikable than his last incarnation during JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. The artwork is creepily simplistic, the plot took five issues to dig through it all and I’m just so tired of a plot that just did nothing for me. Next issue starts a new arc and I will give it a chance. But if it moves at the pace and with the enthusiasm as this one, I won’t finish the arc. Seriously DC: I had such hopes with Doyle and Tynion at the helm.
CYBORG #3: Cyborg has gathered whomever he can find in Detroit to help defend against the upcoming alien invasion by the Technosapiens, including poor Bobby. As the battle rages, the Metal Men arrive to lend a hand. The Justice League would be here, but they’re also busy fighting Technosapiens. At the same time, there is an invasion at STAR Labs, where the scientists find themselves losing. Just when things look their worst, the Tekbreakers arrive at STAR Labs to save the day. When Cyborg shows up there, he flips out as these are the people who killed him in the Preview story. The leader of the Tekbreakers is the Sarah Charles parallel world and she tells him that his father started the war that she is here to help stop.
Maybe I missed something but when did Batgirl become a member of the Justice League? That’s what I thought! But during the panel showing the Justice League battling Technosapiens, there she is-front and center. So I’m not sure if David F. Walker is to blame for writing is into his script or if with Ivan Reis and Eduardo Pansica are to blame for assuming she is part of the team. Either way, it’s a big boo-boo! Maybe this has something to do with the book being a month late. The story: well, that’s another story. It’s full of action on two fronts and I was thrilled to see the Metal Men showing up. Is it too much to ask for a series with them?
CYBORG #4: Picking up from last issue, we discover that the other Sarah Clarke has come from an Earth in a universe where Doctor Silas Stone was responsible for its’ destruction. Unable to let his wife die in peace, he ended up becoming Cyborg and led to the Technosapiens coming to Earth to try and take the technology with them. It seems the Tekbreakers have come here to find a way to stop the plague that is ravishing their world. The Technosapiens attack again, causing Cyborg, the Metal Men and the Tekbreakers to spring into action. That’s when the giant Technosapien attacks.
We get two issues in one month to make up for the missing issue last month. This time, David Walker is joined by Felipe Watanabe as the artist, as Ian Reis is only doing layouts. It’s another average issue that at least gives us the other Sarah Clarke’s back story, even if it wasn’t the greatest back story ever told. What I really wanted was more Metal Men but then I guess we’d have to changed the title of the book from CYBORG to METAL MEN now wouldn’t we?
DEATHSTROKE #11: Deathstroke, now with only one eye again and his traditional patch restored, finds what he first believes is his dead daughter Rose, but discovers to be someone disguised as Rose. Based on a clue he finds that points to Harley Quinn, he leads a one man assault onto Belle Reve. He finds Harley and Deadshot and, after a bit of a battle between the trio, Slade figures out that it wasn’t Harley who was responsible. He realizes to late that he has been set up and falls into a watery trap with Black Manta, proving payback is indeed a bitch!
Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny move on from the eye-plucking end to the last issue and fly headlong into something completely different. With Tyler Kirkham handling the art, this trio leads an all out assault onto Belle Reve for no other reason than to have our anti-hero find clues to getting his daughter back. My biggest gripe about this is that it all comes racing at us with no real resolution to the tale last issue. So…we just let Slade yank his eye out and that’s that? Weird. I would liked to have had some resolution to that piece and THEN slide into the first part of this story. Then NEXT issue could have been a longer assault and such. But what do I know: I just read and write about comics!
DETECTIVE COMICS #45: We begin at a cricket match in India where the crowd is attacked by a liquid that steals their eyes. Elsewhere, the Justice League interrupts a quiet night at Bruce Wayne’s apartment where they want to know if there is anything left of the old Bruce. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon’s Batman gets called into action because the rest of his flying team is being attacked. Luckily, the Justice League shows up to assist him, as he is not doing a very good job on his own. Batman tracks down the person responsible in the form of the Mad Hatter, who explains he was hired by someone The League recruits Gordon for the team and they all transport to a snow covered land with a very big skeleton.
Welcome to the first issue of the new team of Peter J. Tomasi and Marcio Takara and here are my initial thoughts. Tomasi writes a nice script, but it’s nothing amazing. I mean, it’s cool to see the Justice League show up, but are they that desperate to get the old Batman back? And then they show up while he is battling something attack the Bat Blimp that has been sent out by the Mad Hatter. The whole piece is a bit convoluted for me. Takara’s artwork doe not work at all for me. I just find it a little too stylized and too blocky. I especially hate the way the Batsuit looks! The best part of the book was the cliffhanger ending. Not a great start for a book that was showing great promise.
DOCTOR FATE #5: The deity Bastet, who was in Khalid's dead cat, has been reincarnated into the form of another identical black cat. She reiterates everything the first cat told him and then dies again, with the hope of being reborn again. With the helm back on his head again, Khalid goes about stopping petty crime and saving people among the continuing flood. He is also trying to attend school which again takes a back seat when he ends up at the hospital where is father is being menaced by Anubis. Getting him freed, Anubis tracks him down and offers to make a deal to restore his father’s eyesight. Khalid agrees to give Anubis the helm and Anubis does return the sight, but takes Khalid’s in the process.
I have yet to figure out why this series didn’t get the axe when DC decided to eliminate a whole slew of titles recently. This book by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew is a total mess. It seems like this book is treading the same ground every single month without it moving forward. I mean, how many times can Khalid be told he needs to man up and become a hero? How many times can this damned cat die already? I’m sorry: this is NOT Paul Levitz’ finest hour. The book drags on, the art just looks like something from an Indy book (not a bad thing…just not appealing for a superhero title), and I really hate the cast!
DOOMED #5: Superman explains the Doomsday virus to Jayne, leading her to tell him about what happens to Reiser. Superman tracks him down and tries to discuss his condition, much to Reiser’s delight. But that all changes and Reiser transforms and punches Superman. Then the Alpha Centurion, who is actually possessing the body of Reiser’s roommate Roman, arrives and he and Reiser mix it up. Superman breaks it up and just in time as now the three of them are looking at a very big and ugly monster.
I really was not a fan of this book when it was introduced, but I have to admit that it was grown on me. Scott Lobdell is really good at writing troubled teenagers, even if they sound like they are still in the 1980’s. Therefore, his characterization of Reiser is very much like a young Peter Parker. Okay…it’s not an original idea, but it works. The fact that we have thrown in a ton of guest stars sure doesn’t hurt either. Javier Fernandez’ art has also grown on me and gotten better with each issue. Since next issue spells the end for this series, maybe Reiser can find his way into the Teen Titans.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #5: The heroes are trying to save Neotropolis from the falling Overwatch-One.While Flash tries his hardest to use his muscles, we flashback to a year ago when Flash spent weeks running across the planet to try to make the world better for its’ newest inhabitants. This made him a celebrity with the people on the planet which allowed him to become the life of the party across the planet. It also meant he would crash and burn and it took Jimmy Olsen to help him out. A year later and Flash makes the save. However, Jimmy Olsen feels betrayed and plans on killing Flash along with the other heroes.
You know: you make Jimmy Olsen a God and look what happens. As the saying goes, Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This has been the best issue in the series so far, but that isn’t saying much. I liked the EARTH 2 series before CONVERGENCE but this one, by Daniel H. Wilson and Jorge Jimenez, is just annoying. I don’t care for the art and I find Wilson’s story boring. I want action not a soap opera and between the drunk Flash and the drama in previous issues between the new Superman and Power Girl, it’s enough to have this book get adapted for Daytime television.
FLASH #45: With the Flash and the entire Central City Police Department stuck inside the dome, tensions are running high inside and out. Captain Frye threatens to shoot the Flash until Singh steps in to save him. Wally has a plan, straps the magnesium engine block to one of the armored police vehicles, and drives it into the dome, which cuts a hole in the dome. Flash gets everyone out of the dome before the Central City Police station disintegrates, leading to Frye chewing out Flash and threatening that they will meet again. Meanwhile, Henry Allen has finished the weaponized power glove and Zoom uses it to drain Magali’s powers and make them his own. And then, he plans on eliminating the rest of his crew and stealing their powers, making him a god.
Not a bad issue, even with some of the forced plot points, such as the magnesium engine block which was such a big deal last issue…nothing like making that way too obvious a plot device. So, once again we get an action filled issue thanks to Robert Venditti and Van Jensen. The art this month is a bit all over the place as it’s by Brett Booth, Vicente Cifuentes and Ale Garza, and you can tell where one arrives and one leaves off, making for a rather disjointed reading experience.
GOTHAM ACADEMY #11: Trying to piece together the mysteries from the last few issues involving Olive’s mother, Maps and Olive go searching the file room, only to run into Red Robin. He tells the story behind Calamity burning down part of the Narrows before she was ultimately stopped and arrested. Apparently there have been generations of Silverlocks masquerading as Calamity. Batman discovered that Calamity had a daughter and made plans to make sure she wouldn’t follow in her mother’s footsteps by having her end up in Gotham Academy. They are then forced to fight the “new” Calamity, who drops a part of a key. Later, they discover this key is an old puzzle key to Arkham Asylum.
Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl absolutely do a killer job on this series. I love it! It’s Harry Potter adventures in the Batman Universe. I mean, there are no magicians but there are a lot of spooky things going on. This is just a fun series for all ages, despite the Teen Rating.
GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #10: Covered in gore after last month’s explosive conclusion, Corrigan and Drake flee the station and head off on a road trip where he reveals his death and the Spectre’s origin. This results in a car chase that ends with the Spectre coming free and the car heading off a bridge and into the water below, seemingly killing both Corrigan and Drake. Meanwhile, Doctor Tarr investigates supernatural happenings at the site of Sister Justine’s death. And…what is with the creature arriving in the final panel?
Under a beautiful Bill Sienkiewiez cover, we have the insanely wild penultimate issue of this title. Ray Fawkes writes it with all the flash and flair of the first nine issues. This has been one creepy head trip book and I’m sad to see it go, especially because the Spectre, despite limited appearances in this book, has been his old destructive self. By the way: WE NEED A SPECTRE BOOK that hearkens back to the justice dealing days of the Fleisher/Aparo run. Juan Ferreyra’s art is creepy and beautiful and has been a perfect fit for this series. Go find the first issues or wait for a trade. You need to have this in your collection as, despite its’ occasional flaws, it is one of the better horror themed titles DC has published in some time.
GRAYSON #13: Now that he is back in Spyral’s employ, Grayson is being physically checked out to make certain he didn’t bring back anything that could be detrimental to the group. Once cleared, he is sent on a mission with Agent 1, which includes infiltrating a heist by Tiger Shark. The ship being attacked belongs to the father of a student at St. Hadrian's School for Girls and it doesn’t take long for the pair to defeat the bad guys. Later, Dick contacts "Alvin Draper" ...better known as Tim Drake. Tim reveals that the mysterious Agent Zero is Luka Netz and that she has managed to appear in almost every photo ever taken of Batman in action, going all the way back to Year Zero. This leads to a lead in Berlin, while Director Bertinelli and Doctor Netz meet with some of the most clandestine groups in the world. In the end, Midnighter has arranged to have Ladytron get involved, leading to a battle between her, Dick and Agent 1.
This is fast becoming my favorite of the Batman Family titles. Tim Seeley, Tom King and Mikel Janin just keep filling this book with great writing, clever lines of dialogue (yes…Spandau IS known for a ballet, Ladytron!) and some amazing looking art. What makes this such a great book is that it totally embraces the spy concept as you never really know who is on what side. Just when you think Bertinelli is one of the good guys, she pulls a stunt like this issue and you wonder. And just what is the connection with Doctor Netz and Luka?
GREEN ARROW ANNUAL #1: A bunch of thugs are going around and beating up people who have contracted a disease known as Lukos. In the old days, people who were infected with Lukos became wolflike and were not only feared but used by warring nations. A werewolf biker gang rounds up those infected folks and plan on passing the disease to everyone at the Midnight Halloween Parade. All-out war breaks out between the bikers, the thugs, Green Arrow and Emiko. In the end, the war ends with a few casualties…one of whom is Oliver Queen who has been bitten in the attacks. This could be a problem down the road.
Okay…so we have a very long tale the can be summed up very quickly: dumb. Ben Percy and Szymon Kudranski give us a great looking book that is filled with dumb stuff. We have a bunch of bigots who want to eliminate the Lycans(let’s call it as it is) and that leads to the werewolf people deciding to turn everyone into werewolves. Somewhere in the middle of that, Oliver and Emiko get involved and help to save the day. This truly was a waste of five bucks, with the exception of the artwork. It’s a shame too, because I have found the current creative team to be weaving a rather different and usually interesting story.
GREEN ARROW #45: Oliver and Tarantula are escaping from the fight they were in with the Skeletons. We flashback to events that happened four months ago when Ollie was in Alaska, as seen in the preview tale. The Skeletons destroyed a totem containing an ancient bear skull and kill a security guard in the process. Back in the present, Ollie and Tarantula head to El Paso so they can search for George. They are attacked by a swarm of moths, leading them to take refuge in a destroyed gas station. They find the interior filled with Mayan symbols painted in the blood of a dead man they find inside. Tarantula tells Oliver the symbols mean the darkness is spreading.
Benjamin Percy manages to lay two eggs in the same month. Granted, the Annual should have been released last month, but that joins this one as two really lame Green Arrow stories. I mean, here’s Green Arrow and Tarantula and they’re running away from the bad guys. I know these Skeletons are bad news but really…Green Arrow running from a fight. The story is a bit on the confusing side and I don’t buy the compression of time that gets our heroes from Seattle to El Paso. I would expect a lot more exposition on that road trip. One the good side, Patrick Fincher’s art is great!
GREEN LANTERN #45: We begin with Hall fighting Black Hand and then move to a flashback where he has Darlene plotting a flight path. He bids goodbye to everyone and heads off and meets up with Black hand, who is totally bummed that he can’t reanimate anyone anymore but can turn them into rock. Once Hal reveals himself to Black Hand, Hand flips out and, of course, the two battle each other. Hand tries to turn Hal to stone but fails as Hal knocks him out. Hal decides it is time to stop playing games and he needs to finish Hand once and for all.
I find this book works the best when Hal Jordan, looking like The Spectre, takes Center Stage. When we let the supporting cast play a bigger role, it drags. Here is the example: the first half of the book, up until Hal meets up with Black Hand, is just boring. Too much talk and not enough action. Once Hal and Hand meet-FIREWORKS! Still, it’s a nice effort from Robert Venditti and Billy Tan. Do yourself a favor and seek out the Monsters of the Month variant by Neal Adams.
GREEN LANTERN: LOST ARMY #5: John Stewart and the Lanterns fight their way out of their prison, but lose Jruk in the process. Just when things look bleak, Relic and Krona arrive to save the day. As they head out, they are able to track down Mogo and discover that Mogo is being attacked and is in pain.
Please make this end! Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz give us a great story with a bunch of characters I could really care less about. I mean, I love Guy Gardner and he was one of the major highlights of the RED LANTERNS book. But I never cared for John Stewart, just like I never saw Kyle Rayner as a valid Lantern. So, we combine all of these Lanterns I don’t care about, throw in a once upon a time bad guy or two and…is it any wonder why this book never caught on and gets the axe next month? Oh wait: there is a NEW Green Lantern book coming in January that picks up where this left off? Oh help me!
HARLEY QUINN #21: Harley and Deadshot brawl for a bit before they patch up their differences and Harley goes back to searching for Sparrow. Teaming up with Nick Stanley and his Batmobile, she heads off to Sparrow’s establishment. At the same time, some thugs have the same thing in mind and it’s up to Harley to save them all. In the end, Harley gets Sparrow, Sparrow’s mom arrives and pays the money and is told how Sparrow needs treatment for her addiction. Nick tries to convince her to do a pilot or two for some television shows but she wants someone to make her a cartoon character. After drinks with Deadshot, Harley heads to Beverly Hills for some shopping.
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti conclude their mini-epic with more guns and glory than past issues. This was a little more serious, complete with the minor anti-drug preaching at the end. I did like the little touches, like the references to television shows and such. This was not as silly as most issues and, while it’s not the psychotic Harley we seen in SUICIDE SQUAD, it’s close. And John Timms’ art isn’t Chard Hardin’s, but it too is close. Overall, this was a better issue than most.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #45: Darkseid is dead and the Justice League are slowly becoming Gods. Flash has become the God of Death, as he has been infused with the spirit of the Black Racer. Superman is with Luthor on Apokolips and has become the God of Strength. Batman, sitting in the Mobius Chair, has become the God of Knowledge and plans to take his power to Gotham. Shazam is now the God of Gods and it seems like the spirit of Darkseid is controlling him. Meanwhile, Luthor convinces the former slaves of Apokolips that he is the chosen one spoken about in their writings and they make him the God of Apokolips.
Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul continue to roll along with this monster storyline. It seems that everyone is becoming a god now that Darkseid is dead. And, in something that I’m sure will be revealed in more detail in the series of one-shots connected to this story, we start to see the whole idea of absolute power corrupting absolutely. Of course, if you believe that Darkseid is truly dead, then you haven’t been reading comics very long! I do like the twist of having Luthor reveal his sneaky self and becoming the God of Apokolips. Nicely played!
Monday, November 2, 2015
ALL NEW MARVEL-the first titles
ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT MARVEL POINT ONE #1: This sampler title gives some bits and pieces from many of the new "All New All Different " titles including AGENTS OF SHIELD, CARNAGE, DAREDEVIL, ALL NEW INHUMANS, and ROCKET RACOON AND GROOT, all wrapped around a framing story highlighting CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS. Creators involved include the writing talents of Al Ewing, Gerry Conway, Skottie Young, Marc Guggenheim, and Charles Soule and Paco Medina, Mike Perkins, Filipe Andrade, Germán Peralta, Stefano Caselli and Ron Garney handling the art chores.
Okay…so this is a mixed bag of stuff here. Some of it, like Daredevil and Carnage, look real interesting while others like Rocket Raccoon and Contest of Champions itself, seem like they won’t exactly be a ton of fun. Since this is basically the first exposure to these titles and they are in small snippets, it’s kind of hard to truly get a feel for them. So, I’ll give them all a one shot anyway.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1: Even as a commercial from Parker Industry plays, Spider Man and Mockingbird ride in his Spider Mobile as they chase the member of the new Zodiac. After apprehending them, they return to Parker Industries where he changes back to Peter Parker and reveals the details of The Uncle Ben Foundation to the world at a major press conference. He also reveals his Spider man underwear as his zipper was down during the press conference. Jetting to San Francisco, he attends the wedding of Max Modell and his partner Hector, revealing that he has arranged for the Parker Institute of Technology to be renamed Horizon University as a wedding gift. Other members of Zodiac crash the wedding and do battle with Spider Man, currently portrayed by former Prowler Hobie Brown. To save lives, Peter gives them the webware they have come for and allows them to leave. He chastises Sajani for having been in league with Black cat and warns her about even considering it again. She heads to London where we see Anna Maria and her reworked Living Brain-who has Otto Octavius’ brain.
In the second story, Spider Man 2099 gets involved in a bank robbery and ends up being offered a job by Spider Man. The third story involved Silk breaking up a theft by the Goblin nation. She retrieves a stolen safety deposit box and returns it to Black Cat. The fourth story finds a very pregnant having second thoughts about being a parent and talks to her friend Captain Marvel for advise. The fifth story is set in 1602 and features the Web Warriors encountering the Sinister Sextet. The final tale features Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider Man battling The Ox. He is taken to a Super Max Prison beneath Rykers Island: a prison run by Regent.
What a way to kick off this title! First, we get a thirty-two page main story by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camunicoli that explodes with beauty and energy. I do have some questions about what and how, especially since we haven’t gotten all of the story from SECRET WARS. But Peter’s empire is now seemingly like Stark Industries, Doc Ock is inside the Living Brain, Spidey has got the former Prowler acting as his double and Mac Modell gets married. I didn’t even know he was GAY! Then we throw in five more short tales, with four of them acting as jumping on points for the new Spider Series and feature the work of Peter David, Will Sliney, Robbie Thompson, Stacey Lee, Dennis Hopeless, Javier Rodriguez, Mike Costa, David Baldeon, Christos Gage and Paco Diaz. This is a HUGE sixty-eight page issue that has a little bit of something for everyone and is actually worth the SIX BUCKS they charged for it!
ANGELA QUEEN OF HEL #1: Angela, formerly Asgard’s Assassin, is now the Queen of Hel and Sera, who is dead, is her Royal Consort. Eight months ago, Angela conquered Hel and dethroned Hela and now she may be executed. But right now, Sera is pissed at Angela for actions in the past.
This is just a confusing mess for me. Marguerite Bennett weaves her magic and I don’t have a clue about what is happening here. Part of that is because I didn’t read the previous title; part of it is that we’re eight months away from the destruction of the old Marvel Universe and still don’t know how we got to where we are in THIS UNIVERSE! And part of it is the confusing relationship between Angela and her lover Sera. We have two artists this issue as Kim Jacinto handles the main story and Stephanie Hans handles what is billed as the “substory”. Okay…so you mean the flashback? Either way, I won’t be running through this Hel again.
THE ASTONISHING ANT-MAN #1: Eight months ago, Scott Lang had moved his business down to Miami and was starving for clients. Today, his team composed of Grizzly and Machinesmith, is booming. Their boss is Ms. Morgenstern, who was once known as Miss Patriot back in the Fifities. Today, she runs a retirement community for costumed folks. We also have the back-story of how Lang’s daughter had her heart taken away by Darren Cross of Cross Technologies. That’s when the Power Broker comes in with his new Hench App. and sends Whirlwind to dispatch Ant-Man. Luckily for Lang this is only a test and Power Broker cancels the hit. So…what does all of this have to do with Scott being back in jail?
So I’m the first to admit that I have no idea what is going on here, as I didn’t read the previous run of this book. I did read the issue that set things up with Lang and his boos, so I kind of have that to work with. I like Nick Spencer’s writing style and his dialogue and cast of characters is a blast. I also happen to like Ramon Rosanas’ artwork. This was a fun read and I may very well keep reading this. There is a reason why I am sampling all the #1 issues because of titles like this one that I was positive I wouldn’t be reading on a regular basis.
AVENGERS #0: At Oracle Inc., the Squadron Supreme looks in on the various Avengers teams. In "Eidetic", the Vision visits the Scarlet Witch and purges his memory of their time together. Captain Marvel and Alpha Flight have an adventure in space in the "In the Beginning" tale. "Everything is New" introduces the Roberto Da Costa led Avengers Idea Mechanics and also Reed Richards-the Supreme One who is also known as The Maker. "The Night That Hell Froze Over" has Deadpool working for Steve Rogers and shows us that Rogue is on life support after being exposed to the Terrigan Mists. "The Opposite of Kicking" features Ms. America as she joins The Ultimates, made up of Captain Marvel, Spectrum, The Blue Marvel and Black Panther.
So this is how Marvel jams their ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT Avengers titles at us. With a story by James Robinson and Leonard Kirk that intertwines with the rest of the tales, we get a glimpse at THE NEW AVENGERS, THE VISION, A-FORCE, UNCANNY AVENGERS and THE ULTIMATES. Those stories are by the creative teams of Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar, G. Willow Wilson and Victor Ibanez, Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval, Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman, Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort. Of this batch, the only one that really makes me sit up and take notice is the one with the LEAST amount of exposition: SQUADRON SUPREME. The rest of the tales just don’t work for me, especially A-FORCE. What’s the deal with Alpha Flight? REALLY? Sure, we’re getting over fifty pages here for six bucks, but nothing as butt-kicking as AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #1: We begin with an appearance by The Outlaw (the British Punisher) who gets teleported to a strange world where he helps Iron Man and Gamora kill Venom, Joe Fixit and Devil Dinosaur. After their win, they are teleported to an unknown place where they meet The Collector, The Maestro and Guillotine. Here, they are told that they are part of the Contest Of Champions, they have taken control of the heroes’ lives, and the Collector welcomes them to! Meanwhile, in South Korea, White Fox finds out that one of her super-agents has been killed and vows revenge. In the second story, we see the history of the many people known as Guillotine and see her plucked from her time and place.
So, some time back, Marvel introduced an online game called CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS. This is not so much of a spin-off from that book, but they spent time hyping after the second story. Al Ewing and Paco Medina handle the first story and Ewing and Thomas Labourot handle the second one. Neither one made me jump up and down, although I was interested when they dropped Outlaw into the book! Sorry, I won’t be visiting issue #2.
DOCTOR STRANGE #1: Starting with a brief history lesson, Doctor Strange jumps right into battle with a mystical creature. Unfortunately, he is having problems remembering the spells. He manages to pull it together long enough to save the Soul-Eaters that were possessing a young boy, even if he was kissing a Free Rover. After that, and after dispatching an inter-dimensional Psyche-Leach, he steps into The Bar With No Doors, where he shares drinks with Doctor Voodoo, Shaman and The Scarlet Witch. He also deals with insults and taunts from Monako, the Prince of Magic. In the end, a young woman with a nasty batch of creatures living in her head, pays him a visit. In the backup story, we meet the Imperator and the Empirikul as they try to eliminate all traces of magic.
This book has a bunch of pros and cons. Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo give us a real unique take on the Sorcerer Supreme, complete with him having a really strange outer body experience with some dialogue that seems more fitting for Tony Stark than Stephen Strange. Bachalo’s artwork is his usual quirky work and I’m good with that. The backup, by Aaron and Kevin Nowlan, will eventually make sense, I’m sure. But for now, it’s just a page filler.Bottom line: I’ll give this another issue or two anyway to see where it is going. And that’s saying a lot as I haven’t been a fan of the last few attempts to make this character work in his own series.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1: We begin in the Negative Zone, where Annihilus and the Queen of the Brood discuss how to divide the galaxy when they conquer it. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Milky Way, the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Thing, Groot, Venom, Rocket Racoon, Drax and Kitty Pryde Star Lord, battle the Chitauri Empire. On the Planet Spartix, Peter Quill is dealing with being a diplomat. A short time later, the Guardians land on Spartix, as does a defeated Gamora and Hala, who is looking to destroy Peter.
I’ll be totally up front and say that I wasn’t reading the last run of this title because I still have issues with this NOT being MY Guardians. Plus, the whole MEGA MOVIE thing that Marvel ran with in the form of a comic pissed me off. But this book is ALMOST enough to get me reading it. Brian Michael Bendis writes a fun, simple, and highly entertaining tale and the art of Valerio Schiti is great! Again, I may actually keep this title in my list, even if it is only to figure out how Ben Grimm ends up on this team.
HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: Dum Dum Duggan is dead, but he continues to live because of a seemingly unending supply of LMD’s to transfer his conscious into. Maria Hill creates a team of Howling Commandos made up of a zombified Jasper Sitwell, Manphibian, Vampire by Night, Teen Abomination, Orrgo, Man-Thing and Hit-Monkey. Out in the Atlantic, the S.S. Chaney is under attack by it’s own crew that has been turned into monsters by a cursed idol. Luckily Duggan and his team have arrived to battle them and defeat them. Unfortunately, a zombified Jasper Sitwell blows up Duggan, forcing him to resurrect in a new body.
And yes, this book is as weird as I thought it would be. The team of Frank J. Barbiere and Brent Schoonover have taken the monsters of the Marvel Universe and teamed them up with two classic S.H.I.E.L.D. members, albeit in a new form, and brought them together as S.T.A.K.E. The writing is interesting while the art is trying to look like something out of the Seventies. Picture Don Heck, Mike Ploog and Frank Robbins coming together as one, although Schoonover can’t pull that off. While I like seeing these characters in action, I’m still on the fence about the title. It has potential, but it needs more than just what we have been given here.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1: In his lab/workshop, Tony Stark creates a new version of his armor that merges all of his different modes into one. Meanwhile, someone who once worked for A.I.M. delivers a briefcase to Madame Masque, who kills him afterwards. Later, she leads an attack on Stark Tower in Japan, causing Tony to leave his date with Dr. Amara Perera, who once created a cure for the mutant gene. That takes him to Latveria where he finds a very handsome and undamaged Victor Von Doom waiting for him in what used to be his castle.
Thank you Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez for bringing back a Tony Stark who isn’t a total dick! Granted, I liked the weird places the SUPERIOR IRON MAN series took our hero, but his descent into a total dickhead was just hard to watch. So, we have to assume that whatever happened during SECRET WARS has changed him. For all we know, this is the OTHER TONY STARK. Either way, we have a fun filled first issue with the return of Victor Von Doom AND Whitney Frost. I will most definitely be back for more of this book!
KARNAK #1: Karnak has managed to escape from the afterlife to find that the world he once knew isn’t what it once was. He is no longer the advisor to the throne of New Attilan. Instead, he he has become the Magister of the Tower of Wisdom, where he is attempting to teach all who come to him. He goes off to try and rescue a young boy affected by the Terrigen Mists and that leads him to Berlin where he uses his great power to teach responsibility.
I have to say this was one of my most anticipated new Marvel titles and it doesn’t disappoint. You have the writing, the always-enigmatic writing, of the great Warren Ellis and that is reason alone to buy this book. But couple with that with the moody art of Gerardo Zaffino and this book is a dream. This is not your regular superhero title: this takes the concept of the lone wolf hero and spins it around. Karnak was always a loyal member of the original Inhumans. But now, he is truly on his own and blowing down doors. This is my favorite new Marvel release so far!
NEW AVENGERS #1: The team, composed of Wiccan, White Tiger, Power Man, Songbird, Hulkiling, Squirrel Girl and Tippy Toe are on their way to France where men and women have been tuned into crystal-headed creatures. Whewn they arrive, they get into a battle, unaware that they are being watched on Nanocams by The Maker: Reed Richards. Meanwhile, Roberto DaCosta, current leader of A.I.M., meets with Dum Dum Duggan who introduces DaCosta to the S.H.I.E.L.D. mandated addition to the New Avengers: Hawkeye…the Clint Barton Hawkeye.
Yeah…NO! Even the apparent addition of the Ultimate Reed Richards as the villain to this series won’t get me to but this book again. It’s a team filled with C List heroes and run by a guy who used to be a New Mutant. Al Ewing’s story did nothing to drag me in to find out more about this team and Gerardo Sandoval’s quirky painted art came off as someone’s version of a bad Rob Leifeld copy. Nope…no coming back for this one.
SAM WILSON CAPTAIN AMERICA #1: Steve Rogers replacement gets booted from S.H.I.E.L.D., sets up a special hotline and goes off on his own. With the help of his latest love interest Misty Knoight and D Man, he fights injustice and the Sons of the Serpent. That is up until Steve Rogers arrives and orders him to stand down.
I hate Sam Wilson as Captain America way more than I ever did hate Bucky Barnes as Captain America and that’s a whole lot! I could barely get through this issue as it wallowed in it’s own foolishness. Wilson is still filled with that militant attitude he had back in the Seventies and I kept waiting for him to stand up and shout “Black lives matter!” Nick Spencer delivers a true stinker here and the art of Daniel Acuna can’t even begin to save it.
SPIDER-GWEN #1: Gwen is off to work on her first day at the Dollar Dog to find out the place had been trashed the night before by The Lizard. But that’s impossible because Peter Parker was The Lizard and he’s dead. She figures out that Professor Curtis Connors has used his experiments to turn other people into lizard creatures and goes after them. Captain America saves Spider Woman just when things look bad. Meanwhile, Captain Stacey meets with Jean DeWolfe to discuss how he is going to solves the murder of Peter Parker, even is his boss Frank Castle doesn’t want it to be that way.
Yes, I realize this is the darling of the comic industry now, but I still don’t like the character or the book. It has nothing to do with Jason Latour’s writing or Robbi Rodriguez’ art. It has to do that the character I knew and loved died in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #121 and no alternate version, retconned version, cloned version will make me feel otherwise. I understand this is part of another Earth, or at least it was before the universes ended, but I can really do without it. The whole thing feels like a bad issue of WHAT IF. If you were a fan before SECRET WARS, then go out and buy this.
SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1: Miguel O’Hara, displaced hero from another time and place, is competing on the reality show NINJA USA, much to the dismay of his boss Peter Parker. Miguel, however, gets very happy when he discovers that his team has managed to shut down funding for the Alchemax Prison. He leaves his team and meets with his Lyrate life-form approximation holographic assistant named Lyla. Opening a sealed door, Miguel steps into 2099 to find out that that time is still destroyed, meaning that Alchemax isn’t responsible for it. The folks at Alchemax, inclusing former super villain The Scorprion, meet with someone from the Department of Internal Security to discuss alternatives to the now cancelled prison. Later, during a dinner date with Tempest in which she reveals she is pregnant, a car crashes into the restaurant as part of a terrorist assault. Unfortunately, it looks as though Tempest may be dead, meaning Miguel will have anew mission.
I could tell you everything I know about Miguel O’Hara in about 45 seconds. I wasn’t a huge fan of the book or the 2099 series and basically thought DOOM 2099 was the best book, mostly because of Pat Broderick’s art. And I know that Miguel is stranded here following the events in both the SpiderVerse drama and SECRET WARS and, as we learned in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, is working for Peter Parker and Parker Industries. What is cool about this book is that his creator Peter David is writing the series, so I can tell you that makes it that much better than it should be. Will Sliney’s art is okay, but why does it seem that much of the ALL-NEW, ALL DIFFERENT MARVEL wants to look like Image did, circa 1992. This title should succeed, as all of the Spider Man books are hot right now. Will I buy it? Probably not, but only because my late is pretty full and there’s just two many Spider books for me now.
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1: The Uncanny team members, Steve Rogers, Deadpool, Doctor Voodoo, Synapse, Rogue and Johnny Storm, are battling a new Super Adaptoid that, unfortunately for him, tries to take Deadpool’s powers and dies. In the aftermath, Spider Man quits, which leads to Rogers calling a news conference to give the world a warm feeling about his team. Afterwards, Johnny tries to convince Spider man to say, but fails. The team then heads to their secret lair in an old theater and Rogue takes medicine to counter-act her exposure to the Terrigen Mists. Meanwhile, Pietro and Synapse go world hopping on a date, before summoning the team to battle creatures in Boston.
It’s Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman and a totally different Avengers team Anyway, the story is just okay, as I don’t fault Duggan for not liking the book. My issues are with the characters of an OLD Steve Rogers and just any book with Deadpool in it. And who is Synapse? Stegman’s art is a bit on the outside of my tastes in a superhero title and that just adds to my dislike of this title.
UNCANNY INHUMANS #1: Reader, Black Bolt and Triton are visiting the Attilan of thirty thousand years ago when Kang the Conqueror arrives. This leads them to October of 1961 where all hell breaks loose, causing the trio to time jump back into the present day. Meanwhile, Madusa meets with Hank McCoy to discuss the current situation regarding the influx of new Inhumans. Then she meets with her latest paramour, Johnny Storm. Unfortunately, her husband is watching it happen. In the back-up story, Agent Frank McGee helps the Inhumans rescue a girl from her captors in Morocco. And Gorgon calls his cousin Crystal to inquire about his son. And why is Gorgon confined to a wheelchair?
Okay…I’m hooked! First off, it’s Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. How can you go wrong there? And right off the bat, we drop in Kang the Conqueror AND a little infidelity in the form of Madusa and Johnny Storm getting busy! Wow! And then we get a taste of a future story from Soule and Brandon Peterson which only manages to give us a tease of something coming…hopefully soon! This book is amazing, as it has old and new characters, twists and turns and just out and out rocks! Add this to your list because even though it looks like the Inhumans movie is getting pushed back, they will be in the front of the Marvel Universe for some time to come.
Okay…so this is a mixed bag of stuff here. Some of it, like Daredevil and Carnage, look real interesting while others like Rocket Raccoon and Contest of Champions itself, seem like they won’t exactly be a ton of fun. Since this is basically the first exposure to these titles and they are in small snippets, it’s kind of hard to truly get a feel for them. So, I’ll give them all a one shot anyway.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1: Even as a commercial from Parker Industry plays, Spider Man and Mockingbird ride in his Spider Mobile as they chase the member of the new Zodiac. After apprehending them, they return to Parker Industries where he changes back to Peter Parker and reveals the details of The Uncle Ben Foundation to the world at a major press conference. He also reveals his Spider man underwear as his zipper was down during the press conference. Jetting to San Francisco, he attends the wedding of Max Modell and his partner Hector, revealing that he has arranged for the Parker Institute of Technology to be renamed Horizon University as a wedding gift. Other members of Zodiac crash the wedding and do battle with Spider Man, currently portrayed by former Prowler Hobie Brown. To save lives, Peter gives them the webware they have come for and allows them to leave. He chastises Sajani for having been in league with Black cat and warns her about even considering it again. She heads to London where we see Anna Maria and her reworked Living Brain-who has Otto Octavius’ brain.
In the second story, Spider Man 2099 gets involved in a bank robbery and ends up being offered a job by Spider Man. The third story involved Silk breaking up a theft by the Goblin nation. She retrieves a stolen safety deposit box and returns it to Black Cat. The fourth story finds a very pregnant having second thoughts about being a parent and talks to her friend Captain Marvel for advise. The fifth story is set in 1602 and features the Web Warriors encountering the Sinister Sextet. The final tale features Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider Man battling The Ox. He is taken to a Super Max Prison beneath Rykers Island: a prison run by Regent.
What a way to kick off this title! First, we get a thirty-two page main story by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camunicoli that explodes with beauty and energy. I do have some questions about what and how, especially since we haven’t gotten all of the story from SECRET WARS. But Peter’s empire is now seemingly like Stark Industries, Doc Ock is inside the Living Brain, Spidey has got the former Prowler acting as his double and Mac Modell gets married. I didn’t even know he was GAY! Then we throw in five more short tales, with four of them acting as jumping on points for the new Spider Series and feature the work of Peter David, Will Sliney, Robbie Thompson, Stacey Lee, Dennis Hopeless, Javier Rodriguez, Mike Costa, David Baldeon, Christos Gage and Paco Diaz. This is a HUGE sixty-eight page issue that has a little bit of something for everyone and is actually worth the SIX BUCKS they charged for it!
ANGELA QUEEN OF HEL #1: Angela, formerly Asgard’s Assassin, is now the Queen of Hel and Sera, who is dead, is her Royal Consort. Eight months ago, Angela conquered Hel and dethroned Hela and now she may be executed. But right now, Sera is pissed at Angela for actions in the past.
This is just a confusing mess for me. Marguerite Bennett weaves her magic and I don’t have a clue about what is happening here. Part of that is because I didn’t read the previous title; part of it is that we’re eight months away from the destruction of the old Marvel Universe and still don’t know how we got to where we are in THIS UNIVERSE! And part of it is the confusing relationship between Angela and her lover Sera. We have two artists this issue as Kim Jacinto handles the main story and Stephanie Hans handles what is billed as the “substory”. Okay…so you mean the flashback? Either way, I won’t be running through this Hel again.
THE ASTONISHING ANT-MAN #1: Eight months ago, Scott Lang had moved his business down to Miami and was starving for clients. Today, his team composed of Grizzly and Machinesmith, is booming. Their boss is Ms. Morgenstern, who was once known as Miss Patriot back in the Fifities. Today, she runs a retirement community for costumed folks. We also have the back-story of how Lang’s daughter had her heart taken away by Darren Cross of Cross Technologies. That’s when the Power Broker comes in with his new Hench App. and sends Whirlwind to dispatch Ant-Man. Luckily for Lang this is only a test and Power Broker cancels the hit. So…what does all of this have to do with Scott being back in jail?
So I’m the first to admit that I have no idea what is going on here, as I didn’t read the previous run of this book. I did read the issue that set things up with Lang and his boos, so I kind of have that to work with. I like Nick Spencer’s writing style and his dialogue and cast of characters is a blast. I also happen to like Ramon Rosanas’ artwork. This was a fun read and I may very well keep reading this. There is a reason why I am sampling all the #1 issues because of titles like this one that I was positive I wouldn’t be reading on a regular basis.
AVENGERS #0: At Oracle Inc., the Squadron Supreme looks in on the various Avengers teams. In "Eidetic", the Vision visits the Scarlet Witch and purges his memory of their time together. Captain Marvel and Alpha Flight have an adventure in space in the "In the Beginning" tale. "Everything is New" introduces the Roberto Da Costa led Avengers Idea Mechanics and also Reed Richards-the Supreme One who is also known as The Maker. "The Night That Hell Froze Over" has Deadpool working for Steve Rogers and shows us that Rogue is on life support after being exposed to the Terrigan Mists. "The Opposite of Kicking" features Ms. America as she joins The Ultimates, made up of Captain Marvel, Spectrum, The Blue Marvel and Black Panther.
So this is how Marvel jams their ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT Avengers titles at us. With a story by James Robinson and Leonard Kirk that intertwines with the rest of the tales, we get a glimpse at THE NEW AVENGERS, THE VISION, A-FORCE, UNCANNY AVENGERS and THE ULTIMATES. Those stories are by the creative teams of Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar, G. Willow Wilson and Victor Ibanez, Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval, Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman, Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort. Of this batch, the only one that really makes me sit up and take notice is the one with the LEAST amount of exposition: SQUADRON SUPREME. The rest of the tales just don’t work for me, especially A-FORCE. What’s the deal with Alpha Flight? REALLY? Sure, we’re getting over fifty pages here for six bucks, but nothing as butt-kicking as AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #1: We begin with an appearance by The Outlaw (the British Punisher) who gets teleported to a strange world where he helps Iron Man and Gamora kill Venom, Joe Fixit and Devil Dinosaur. After their win, they are teleported to an unknown place where they meet The Collector, The Maestro and Guillotine. Here, they are told that they are part of the Contest Of Champions, they have taken control of the heroes’ lives, and the Collector welcomes them to! Meanwhile, in South Korea, White Fox finds out that one of her super-agents has been killed and vows revenge. In the second story, we see the history of the many people known as Guillotine and see her plucked from her time and place.
So, some time back, Marvel introduced an online game called CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS. This is not so much of a spin-off from that book, but they spent time hyping after the second story. Al Ewing and Paco Medina handle the first story and Ewing and Thomas Labourot handle the second one. Neither one made me jump up and down, although I was interested when they dropped Outlaw into the book! Sorry, I won’t be visiting issue #2.
DOCTOR STRANGE #1: Starting with a brief history lesson, Doctor Strange jumps right into battle with a mystical creature. Unfortunately, he is having problems remembering the spells. He manages to pull it together long enough to save the Soul-Eaters that were possessing a young boy, even if he was kissing a Free Rover. After that, and after dispatching an inter-dimensional Psyche-Leach, he steps into The Bar With No Doors, where he shares drinks with Doctor Voodoo, Shaman and The Scarlet Witch. He also deals with insults and taunts from Monako, the Prince of Magic. In the end, a young woman with a nasty batch of creatures living in her head, pays him a visit. In the backup story, we meet the Imperator and the Empirikul as they try to eliminate all traces of magic.
This book has a bunch of pros and cons. Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo give us a real unique take on the Sorcerer Supreme, complete with him having a really strange outer body experience with some dialogue that seems more fitting for Tony Stark than Stephen Strange. Bachalo’s artwork is his usual quirky work and I’m good with that. The backup, by Aaron and Kevin Nowlan, will eventually make sense, I’m sure. But for now, it’s just a page filler.Bottom line: I’ll give this another issue or two anyway to see where it is going. And that’s saying a lot as I haven’t been a fan of the last few attempts to make this character work in his own series.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1: We begin in the Negative Zone, where Annihilus and the Queen of the Brood discuss how to divide the galaxy when they conquer it. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Milky Way, the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Thing, Groot, Venom, Rocket Racoon, Drax and Kitty Pryde Star Lord, battle the Chitauri Empire. On the Planet Spartix, Peter Quill is dealing with being a diplomat. A short time later, the Guardians land on Spartix, as does a defeated Gamora and Hala, who is looking to destroy Peter.
I’ll be totally up front and say that I wasn’t reading the last run of this title because I still have issues with this NOT being MY Guardians. Plus, the whole MEGA MOVIE thing that Marvel ran with in the form of a comic pissed me off. But this book is ALMOST enough to get me reading it. Brian Michael Bendis writes a fun, simple, and highly entertaining tale and the art of Valerio Schiti is great! Again, I may actually keep this title in my list, even if it is only to figure out how Ben Grimm ends up on this team.
HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: Dum Dum Duggan is dead, but he continues to live because of a seemingly unending supply of LMD’s to transfer his conscious into. Maria Hill creates a team of Howling Commandos made up of a zombified Jasper Sitwell, Manphibian, Vampire by Night, Teen Abomination, Orrgo, Man-Thing and Hit-Monkey. Out in the Atlantic, the S.S. Chaney is under attack by it’s own crew that has been turned into monsters by a cursed idol. Luckily Duggan and his team have arrived to battle them and defeat them. Unfortunately, a zombified Jasper Sitwell blows up Duggan, forcing him to resurrect in a new body.
And yes, this book is as weird as I thought it would be. The team of Frank J. Barbiere and Brent Schoonover have taken the monsters of the Marvel Universe and teamed them up with two classic S.H.I.E.L.D. members, albeit in a new form, and brought them together as S.T.A.K.E. The writing is interesting while the art is trying to look like something out of the Seventies. Picture Don Heck, Mike Ploog and Frank Robbins coming together as one, although Schoonover can’t pull that off. While I like seeing these characters in action, I’m still on the fence about the title. It has potential, but it needs more than just what we have been given here.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1: In his lab/workshop, Tony Stark creates a new version of his armor that merges all of his different modes into one. Meanwhile, someone who once worked for A.I.M. delivers a briefcase to Madame Masque, who kills him afterwards. Later, she leads an attack on Stark Tower in Japan, causing Tony to leave his date with Dr. Amara Perera, who once created a cure for the mutant gene. That takes him to Latveria where he finds a very handsome and undamaged Victor Von Doom waiting for him in what used to be his castle.
Thank you Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez for bringing back a Tony Stark who isn’t a total dick! Granted, I liked the weird places the SUPERIOR IRON MAN series took our hero, but his descent into a total dickhead was just hard to watch. So, we have to assume that whatever happened during SECRET WARS has changed him. For all we know, this is the OTHER TONY STARK. Either way, we have a fun filled first issue with the return of Victor Von Doom AND Whitney Frost. I will most definitely be back for more of this book!
KARNAK #1: Karnak has managed to escape from the afterlife to find that the world he once knew isn’t what it once was. He is no longer the advisor to the throne of New Attilan. Instead, he he has become the Magister of the Tower of Wisdom, where he is attempting to teach all who come to him. He goes off to try and rescue a young boy affected by the Terrigen Mists and that leads him to Berlin where he uses his great power to teach responsibility.
I have to say this was one of my most anticipated new Marvel titles and it doesn’t disappoint. You have the writing, the always-enigmatic writing, of the great Warren Ellis and that is reason alone to buy this book. But couple with that with the moody art of Gerardo Zaffino and this book is a dream. This is not your regular superhero title: this takes the concept of the lone wolf hero and spins it around. Karnak was always a loyal member of the original Inhumans. But now, he is truly on his own and blowing down doors. This is my favorite new Marvel release so far!
NEW AVENGERS #1: The team, composed of Wiccan, White Tiger, Power Man, Songbird, Hulkiling, Squirrel Girl and Tippy Toe are on their way to France where men and women have been tuned into crystal-headed creatures. Whewn they arrive, they get into a battle, unaware that they are being watched on Nanocams by The Maker: Reed Richards. Meanwhile, Roberto DaCosta, current leader of A.I.M., meets with Dum Dum Duggan who introduces DaCosta to the S.H.I.E.L.D. mandated addition to the New Avengers: Hawkeye…the Clint Barton Hawkeye.
Yeah…NO! Even the apparent addition of the Ultimate Reed Richards as the villain to this series won’t get me to but this book again. It’s a team filled with C List heroes and run by a guy who used to be a New Mutant. Al Ewing’s story did nothing to drag me in to find out more about this team and Gerardo Sandoval’s quirky painted art came off as someone’s version of a bad Rob Leifeld copy. Nope…no coming back for this one.
SAM WILSON CAPTAIN AMERICA #1: Steve Rogers replacement gets booted from S.H.I.E.L.D., sets up a special hotline and goes off on his own. With the help of his latest love interest Misty Knoight and D Man, he fights injustice and the Sons of the Serpent. That is up until Steve Rogers arrives and orders him to stand down.
I hate Sam Wilson as Captain America way more than I ever did hate Bucky Barnes as Captain America and that’s a whole lot! I could barely get through this issue as it wallowed in it’s own foolishness. Wilson is still filled with that militant attitude he had back in the Seventies and I kept waiting for him to stand up and shout “Black lives matter!” Nick Spencer delivers a true stinker here and the art of Daniel Acuna can’t even begin to save it.
SPIDER-GWEN #1: Gwen is off to work on her first day at the Dollar Dog to find out the place had been trashed the night before by The Lizard. But that’s impossible because Peter Parker was The Lizard and he’s dead. She figures out that Professor Curtis Connors has used his experiments to turn other people into lizard creatures and goes after them. Captain America saves Spider Woman just when things look bad. Meanwhile, Captain Stacey meets with Jean DeWolfe to discuss how he is going to solves the murder of Peter Parker, even is his boss Frank Castle doesn’t want it to be that way.
Yes, I realize this is the darling of the comic industry now, but I still don’t like the character or the book. It has nothing to do with Jason Latour’s writing or Robbi Rodriguez’ art. It has to do that the character I knew and loved died in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #121 and no alternate version, retconned version, cloned version will make me feel otherwise. I understand this is part of another Earth, or at least it was before the universes ended, but I can really do without it. The whole thing feels like a bad issue of WHAT IF. If you were a fan before SECRET WARS, then go out and buy this.
SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1: Miguel O’Hara, displaced hero from another time and place, is competing on the reality show NINJA USA, much to the dismay of his boss Peter Parker. Miguel, however, gets very happy when he discovers that his team has managed to shut down funding for the Alchemax Prison. He leaves his team and meets with his Lyrate life-form approximation holographic assistant named Lyla. Opening a sealed door, Miguel steps into 2099 to find out that that time is still destroyed, meaning that Alchemax isn’t responsible for it. The folks at Alchemax, inclusing former super villain The Scorprion, meet with someone from the Department of Internal Security to discuss alternatives to the now cancelled prison. Later, during a dinner date with Tempest in which she reveals she is pregnant, a car crashes into the restaurant as part of a terrorist assault. Unfortunately, it looks as though Tempest may be dead, meaning Miguel will have anew mission.
I could tell you everything I know about Miguel O’Hara in about 45 seconds. I wasn’t a huge fan of the book or the 2099 series and basically thought DOOM 2099 was the best book, mostly because of Pat Broderick’s art. And I know that Miguel is stranded here following the events in both the SpiderVerse drama and SECRET WARS and, as we learned in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, is working for Peter Parker and Parker Industries. What is cool about this book is that his creator Peter David is writing the series, so I can tell you that makes it that much better than it should be. Will Sliney’s art is okay, but why does it seem that much of the ALL-NEW, ALL DIFFERENT MARVEL wants to look like Image did, circa 1992. This title should succeed, as all of the Spider Man books are hot right now. Will I buy it? Probably not, but only because my late is pretty full and there’s just two many Spider books for me now.
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1: The Uncanny team members, Steve Rogers, Deadpool, Doctor Voodoo, Synapse, Rogue and Johnny Storm, are battling a new Super Adaptoid that, unfortunately for him, tries to take Deadpool’s powers and dies. In the aftermath, Spider Man quits, which leads to Rogers calling a news conference to give the world a warm feeling about his team. Afterwards, Johnny tries to convince Spider man to say, but fails. The team then heads to their secret lair in an old theater and Rogue takes medicine to counter-act her exposure to the Terrigen Mists. Meanwhile, Pietro and Synapse go world hopping on a date, before summoning the team to battle creatures in Boston.
It’s Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman and a totally different Avengers team Anyway, the story is just okay, as I don’t fault Duggan for not liking the book. My issues are with the characters of an OLD Steve Rogers and just any book with Deadpool in it. And who is Synapse? Stegman’s art is a bit on the outside of my tastes in a superhero title and that just adds to my dislike of this title.
UNCANNY INHUMANS #1: Reader, Black Bolt and Triton are visiting the Attilan of thirty thousand years ago when Kang the Conqueror arrives. This leads them to October of 1961 where all hell breaks loose, causing the trio to time jump back into the present day. Meanwhile, Madusa meets with Hank McCoy to discuss the current situation regarding the influx of new Inhumans. Then she meets with her latest paramour, Johnny Storm. Unfortunately, her husband is watching it happen. In the back-up story, Agent Frank McGee helps the Inhumans rescue a girl from her captors in Morocco. And Gorgon calls his cousin Crystal to inquire about his son. And why is Gorgon confined to a wheelchair?
Okay…I’m hooked! First off, it’s Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. How can you go wrong there? And right off the bat, we drop in Kang the Conqueror AND a little infidelity in the form of Madusa and Johnny Storm getting busy! Wow! And then we get a taste of a future story from Soule and Brandon Peterson which only manages to give us a tease of something coming…hopefully soon! This book is amazing, as it has old and new characters, twists and turns and just out and out rocks! Add this to your list because even though it looks like the Inhumans movie is getting pushed back, they will be in the front of the Marvel Universe for some time to come.
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