More first issues...

A little late with these, as much of the publishing world halted during Covid-19.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Christos Gage and Diego Olortegui. The Cancerverse has invaded the Negative Zone and Annihilus and Bastaar have had to team up to stop it. Enter the FF, who are dragged into the fight and forced to fight Cancerverse versions of themselves. All in all, it’s another tie-in to this “event”. The art is great, the story runs from silly to predictable and it takes Johnny Storm to rally the denizens of the Negative Zone.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE NOVA #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Ibraim Roberson. Nova teams up with Annihilus to lead the good fight against the Cancerverse, where he had previously been trapped. It leads to a battle against The Sentry and one he probably won’t win. Rosenberg does a great job of characterizing Ryder as a troubled soul, who has trepidation about reliving his own past again. I just wish the art lived up to the story.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE SILVER SURFER #1 by Dan Abnett and Paul Davidson. Silver Surfer, now Black Surfer(see SILVER SURFER BLACK if you don’t believe me), gets involved in the fight against the Cancerverse. He meets up with The Sentry’s other half and merges with him. Hey-it’s Dan Abnett and if anyone knows how to write a space adventure, it’s him. Paul Davidson’s art style certainly feels like SILVER SURFER BLACK. All in all, one of the best entries in this mini-series of offshoots.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE BETA RAY BILL #1 by Michael Moreci and Alberto Alburquerque. Beta Ray Bill teams up with Lockjaw and fights The Sentry. In the end, Bill is reborn and that takes us to ANNIHILATION SCOURGE OMEGA #1. Nothing fantastic to see here, although it’s nice to see Lockjaw getting some use.

ANNIHILATION SCOURGE  OMEGA #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Manuel Garcia. The combined forces fight against the Cancerverse with severe consequences. Nova realizes that he must absorb the Cancerverse to save the universe and so, once again, he makes the supreme sacrifice. But wait: leave it to Annihilus to throw a curve-ball towards the ending. He brings Nova back to life, although he still has the Cancerverse within him. So wait: four one-shots and to bookend titles and this is what we get? Rich Ryder lives again and now Nova possesses the power of the Cancerverse inside him. Couldn’t we have gotten all this out of the way in a really big one-shot?

ARCHIE MEETS THE B-52’S #1 by Alex Seeura, Matthew Rosenberg and Dan Parent. Well kids: get down to the Love Shack, bring Planet Claire and do the Rock Lobster. Don’t expect major plot points-just rock and roll in this wonderful slice of nostalgia.

AVENGERS OF THE WASTELAND #1 by Ed Brisson and Jonas Scharf. Coming out of the events that ended in the death of Old Man Logan, a new team is forged in the future, born out of Battleworld, timeline. Luke Cage’ daughter, Bruce Banner’s son, and a new Ant Man join together to fight Doctor Doom. This whole alternate Earth timeline has been fun and this is the next logical move. Brisson’s dialogue is neat and Scharf’ artwork fits. But wait: is that the REAL Captain America? Read it while you can as Marvel has now made this a digital only release from here on out.

BASKETFUL OF HEADS #1 by Joe Hill and Leomacs. DC dives headlong into the horror vein with the new line of Hill House Comics. Hill, son of Stephen King, is a noted horror writer in his own right. Set in 1983 Maine, it’s a twisted tale of murder and, yeah: a head in a basket(although not in this issue)! It’s bloody good fun. Also included is the first part of a serialized tale, running through all the Hill House titles, called Sea Dogs, by Hill and Dan McDaid.

BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT: VON FREEZE #1 by San Murphy and Klaus Janson. In this spin-off from the popular series, we get the origin story for the famous villain. Nazis, experiments, Thomas Wayne and more. It ties in beautifully to the White Night universe and Janson’s art is some of his best. Highly recommended, even if you haven’t read any of the other titles.

CABLE #1 by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto. Marvel unleashes yet another X title with this new series starring the unaged Cable. He’s brash, sometimes silly and not the wise sage I am used to. What we do get is a fight with Wolverine, some Spaceknights, a big-ass sword and…the REAL Cable? So far, I feel this is the weakest book in the line, both from story to art.

DAPHNE BYRNE #1 by Laura Marks and Kelley Jones. Another of the titles in the Hill House Comics line. It’s a fun Gothic horror story with ghosts, demons and creepy people. The highlight is Jones’ truly twisted artwork.

DCEASED: UNKILLABLES #1 by Tom Taylor and Kark Monstert. DC continues to mine the post-apocalyptic world of the DCU, focusing this time on Deathstroke and his team of survivors along with Red Hood and his group. If you’re a fan of the zombie superhero genre, you’ll love this.

DOCTOR STRANGE ANNUAL #1 by Tini Howard, Pornsak Pichetshote, Andy MacDonald and Lalit Kumar Sharma. It’s Halloween at Strange’ and that means a gathering of some of the magic folks from the Marvel Universe. The backup also is a Halloween tale, starring Wong as the protagonist. It’s all a fun lead-in into the new Doctor Strange series.

DOCTOR STRANGE SURGEON SUPREME #1 by Mark Waid and Kev Walker. Doc is back in action but, thanks to a deadly deal he made, he has use of his hands again. So, he finds himself working as both a surgeon and a sorcerer. Bet he didn’t expect to have to face off against The Wrecker, who now has a magically enhanced crowbar. It’s a fun, different take on the character and the addition of a classic Thor villain just amps up the whole thing.

GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1: JEAN GREY AND EMMA FROST by Jonathan Hickman and Russell Dauterman. The first in a planned series of one-shots, this focuses on two of the dynamic females in the X Universe. Short of dialogue but long on visuals, it’s a quick and beautiful read.

GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1: NIGHTCRAWLER by Jonathan Hickman and Alan Davis. The second in a planned series of one-shots y Hickman. This time, it features not only Nightcrawler, but many of who we would refer to as the old New Mutants. A mysterious mission, appearances by old friends and a metamorphosis or tow. Fun read, iller art and worth five bucks.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 by Al Ewing and Juann Cabal. Well, the space based team is back and, after their last series, things have changed. So has the lineup. And Rocket, still recovering from his near death in the last series, wears a suit now. And Hercules is here too! I like the Guardians series because they’re just so much silly fun. Action, adventure and great dialogue.

HARLEY QUINN AND THE BIRDS OF PREY by Ananda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti. Just I time for the movie…well…later than the movie, this was supposed to be a DCU mini-series, then a one shot and now an oversized Black Lavel title. That means we have familiar characters BASED on a movie most didn’t see. The dialogue, while profanity filled, is snappy and Connor’s art is her typical work. It’s fun and bloody but not sure if I’d continue to shell out six bucks for it.

HAWKEYE FREEFALL #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt. Hawkeye is back in action and so is Ronin. But are they one and the same That’s what The Winter Soldier and the Winter Soldier want to know. I probably wouldn’t have picked this up, but Rosenberg’s writing is so much fun and he totally gets the smarmy archer right. The issue ends with a mystery that probably won’t be solved for a few issues, so I guess I’m in for a few months anyway. Read it while you can as Marvel has now made this a digital only release from here on out.

HELLIONS #1 by Zeb Wells and Stephen Segovia. The new era of Marvel Mutants continues on with ANOTHER X-book…I believe this is now the ELEVENTH monthly title. The team is Havok, Orphan-Maker, Nanny, Wild Child, Empath, Scalphunter, Mr. Sinister and Psylocke. Okay: another team, a long of arguing, some fights and the return of an old villain. I have yet to figure out the agenda of all this, but the team makeup is fun.

INCOMING #1 by a whole host of folks. What was originally supposed to be MARVEL COMICS # 1002 comes out, designed to set up plots that will play out throughout the Marvel Universe in 2020. There’s a murder and a search for the murderer. That leads to Skrulls, secret plans, tie ins to the teen superhero titles and MEET THE SKRULLS. In the end, groundwork is placed that will lead to space conflict, a host of new mini-series, EMPYRE and OUTLAWED-where teen heroes are outlawed. All in all, it’s a very expensive way to set up a year’s worth of stories.

IRON MAN 2020 #1 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Pete Woods. Tony Stark has revealed that he is an A.I. and the A.I.’s of the world are starting a revolution. So who’s in the suit? Tony’s brother Arno Stark, who has seized control of Stark Unlimited. What follows is a confusing, boring tale with a host of spin-off series. Yeah-not interested.

JOHN CONSTANTINE HELLBLAZER #1 by Simon Spurrier and Aaron Campbell. Another entry into the Sandman Universe of titles is here and it brings back the classic, manipulating, heavy drinking, smoking and swearing Constantine we love. Spurrier nails his character to perfection and it’s great to see classic Constantine back in action. While I’m not reading the rest of the titles, of which plot threads tie into, I am all over this!

JOKER: KILLER SMILE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. This is a severely twisted tale about a therapist treating The Joker and the repercussions. And when I say twisted, believe it. Death, blood and a truly confusing story. This is a mystery like an onion, filled with layers. Lemire’s story is a wild one and Sorrentino’s art is truly beautiful. This is not your standard Joker tale but is highly recommended.

KILLING RED SONJA #1 by Mark Russell, Bryce Ingman and Craig Rousseau. A young warrior boy goes off on a mission of revenge to kill the legendary warrior. Sonja doesn’t truly appear throughout the story because it is not HER story to tell: it’s Orion’s. Russell’s tale is about growth and change, with a touch of adventure. Rousseau’s style is a loose one, which gives the book more of a storybook feel than a true comic story. This was fun and I look forward to here this is going.

THE LOW LOW WOODS #1 by Carmen Maria Machado and Dani. Another entry into the Joe Hill line of comics. A strange tale about to teenage girls and a mysterious secret in their lives. This totally feels like an independent book with art very reminiscent of 100 BULLETS. The pacing has a nice build-up to the eventual conclusion and the mystery around things is intriguing. Plus, another chapter of SEA DOGS.

MARVEL #1 by Alex Ross, Steve Darnall, Frank Espinosa, Kurt Busiek, Sajan Saini and Steve Rude. Thirty years ago, Alex Ross created this great mini-series that was a loving tribute to the classic days of Marvel. This one shot hearkens back to that epic mini-series with three tales from the earliest days of Marvel modern history. The highlight for me is the Avengers tale illustrated by the always amazing Steve Rude. This was fun and ends with “to be continued”, which it will in a series of eight forthcoming one-shots. Great stuff.

MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer and Benjamin Dewey. Another SNAPSHOTS one-shots and this one is set in the groovy Sixties. Johnny Storm goes to his high school reunion and meets with folks from his past, many for the first time since he became a superhero. It’s beautifully illustrated in a Sixties style and has that old-school feel to it. Dorkin and Dyer, the creators behind such diverse works as MILK AND CHEESE and SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST deliver a fun story with heart that is out of their normal wheelhouse. Another must read book for the Marvel fan.

MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: SUB-MARINER #1 by Alan Bennett and Jerry Ordway. The first of eight spin-offs is a beautiful tribute to the Golden Age of Marvel. Subby, along with classic versions of Captain America, Bucky and the rest of the All Winners Squad are here and it’s just so refreshing. Beautiful art from the ever dependable Jerry Ordway. This series has brought together some of the greats in comics and I can’t wait to see what else is in the pipe.

OUTLAWED #1 by Eve Ewing and Kim Jacinto. The lead-in one-shot to what could best be described as a teenage version of The Super Human Registration Act finds an incident outlawing teenage superheroes. Everyone you would expect to be here is: The Champions, Power Pack, The New Warriors, Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel. While the art doesn’t live up, in my opinion, the story does what it is meant to do: set up for a  whole batch of one-shots, all promising major changes in the status  quo going forward.

PLUNGE #1 by Joe Hill and Stuart Immonen. Another Joe Hill title with a horror bent. This time, a group of explorers go looking for a ship missing for 40 years and quickly find that there are strange, eerie things connected together at the site. Creepy story with decent art. Not up to par with the other Hill titles, but the premise is fun.

THE QUESTION: THE DEATHS OF VIC SAGE #1 by Jeff Lemire, Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz. Another Black Label title that digs into a case featuring one of the MANY Questions throughout DC history. Vic Sage is alive and well and has a case. Lemire hits all the right notes as he channels Frank Miller’s noir style from SIN CITY, giving us a well-crafted, gritty tale. Cowan and Sienkiewicz combine for some great looking art. Not the most popular character in the DCU, but a great tale nonetheless.

REVENGE OF THE COSMIC GHOST RIDER #1 by Dennis Hallum and Scott Hepburn. Marvel continues to mine the success it found by the introduction of Frank Castle-Cosmic Ghost Rider. I liked the previous entry, but this is just a cash grab where our space faring anti-hero goes off into space to …well, get revenge. Hallum’s story is truly “hopeless” and Hepburn’s art style leaves me cold. Recommended for die hard fans only.

ROAD TO EMPYRE #1 by Robbie Thompson, Javier Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez and Mattia Delulis. The run-up to the next Marvel “event” is here. With a new Kree-Skrull war looming, the Warners, straight out of a mini-series that almost no one read, including me, are Skrull spies posing as humans. Their world has been turned upside down by the murder of Mr. Warner and now they are poised to take revenge on those responsible. Along the ay, there is a retelling of the entire history of the Krees and the Skrulls. As a primer to what has been and will come, it’s good. Of course, this ill lead into numerous one-shots and crossovers over the next few months.

SPIDER -WOMAN #1 by Karla Pacheco, ere Perez and Paulo Siqueira. Jessica Drew has always been a character that I have enjoyed. In her career she has had her origin messed with, been an Avenger and a mom. So, to see her in her on series again, and wearing her classic costume, was a no-brainer for me. But she’s not in her old costume, except for briefly in the beautifully illustrated back-up, and her mouth is more like Deadpool, with expletives carefully edited out throughout. Both tales were fun, with a nice cliff hanger ending in the main story. This is a keeper for me.

STAR WARS #1 by Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz. Having gotten the rights to the Lucas legend back in their grasp, Marvel continues to mine the success of their previous series with this one. Set immediately after the events at the end of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Soule and Saiz chart a path to connect Episode Five to Episode Six. The story hits all the right notes to make fans happy and Saiz’ phot realistic art gets all the characters right. This title is sure to please fans of the property.

STRANGE ACADEMY #1 by Scottie Young and Humberto Ramos. Marvel introduces its own version of Hogwarts and brigs us a whole new cast of potential magic users I this surprisingly delightful tale. You just have to love a series where the teaching staff is Strange, Hellstrom, Nico Minoru, the Scarlet Witch, Magik and Shaman, among others. Young’s dialogue is fun, Ramos’ art shines and this could be one of my favorite new titles. Silly but fun.

STRANGE ADVENTURES #1 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The team that turned Mister Miracle upside down is back to do the same to Adam Strange. He’s a fighter and an author and a father and a hero. But he is fighting a demon which we think we know about but it’s still a mystery. If you loved MISTER MIRACLE, you will love this.

2099, including CONAN, DOOM, THE PUNISHER, GHOST RIDER, VENOM, SPIDER-MAN and 2099 OMEGA. The future is changing, and it may affect our past. This was a series of one shots and, for me was a waste of my time and money. The stories were wonky and the art didn’t do anything for me. And the entire overarching story just left me bored, as I really couldn’t get to care for the characters. I loved the old 2099 series, but this was just a waste.

THOR #1 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein. The Thunder God has got his mojo back, got his hammer back and is now the ruler of Asgard. He still has daddy issues and problems with his family, but the classic Thor is back. Sort of. By the end of the tale, he has had a costume change and become the Herald of Thunder. Cates has made quite the name of himself with his recent turns and great stories with so many Marvel characters that had loss their way. Hopefully, he will do the same here.

WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert and Viktor Bogdanovic. The ragin’ Cajun is back and joins the ever-growing lineup of X titles. And he does what he does: he drinks, he battles, he gets shredded, he regenerates and repeat. It’s standard Wolverine fare. Kubert’s art is the saving grace, although the inking and coloring softens it a bit. Bogdanovic channels Marc Silvestri’s style in the back-up, but that too is standard Wolverine fare. It’s an okay book, but not what this highly recognized and fan-appreciated character should be.

WONDER WOMAN DEAD EARTH #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson. The creator behind EXTREMITY and the critically acclaimed MURDER FALCON gives us his take on the Amazon Princess. Set on a long dead Earth, it’s an epic story of retribution and takes Diana to a place she has never been. Picture MAD MAX in the DC Universe. His story is great even as his art style takes a bit to get used to. Another Black Label title that allows creators to step outside of the standard comic box. Is it worth seven bucks? I’ll figure that out once I get into issue #2.

  

DC UIVERSE Month 27, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #18 by Dan Abnett and Cliff Richards. Jessica, Orion Gamma Knife battle Cyborg and Xotor. Eskaton arrives and tears Xotor in two before to feed on him. As Eskaton reverts to his block space, Cyborg again attacks before heading back to Darkseid with new information. Darseid wants Jessica and Orion dead, so he sends Starfire, Azrael, Shadowheart, and Psykot after them. Jess and Orion meet with Gamma Knife’ boss, Epoch, the Lord of Time, and Jessica Cruz from the future.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. Triplicate Girl explains that we are about to read the real reason Superboy was brought to the 31st Century. R.J. Brand, the alien President of the United Planets, formed the Legion because

Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy are brought together. In the process, Lightning Lad’s sister refuses the invite. Stepping away from this orientation, Brainiac 5 shows up and the team is arrested.

LEVIATHAN DAWN #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Kingsley Jacobs makes arrangements to get Steve Trevor out of jail. He proceeds to put together a new version of Checkmate made up of Manhunter, Trevor, Green Arrow, Lois Lane, Talia, The Question and Mr. Bones. It is also revealed that Sam Lane told Lois that “it’s all in the snowman’s ticket”. Elsewhere, Leviathan plans their second act and Mark Shaw kills Dr. Netz for her failure.

LOIS LANE #8 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. After the explosive end to last issue,

Renee Montoya fights off the assassin known as Kiss of Death. The pair are interrogated by the police and then go on a search for Lois' former maid, who has gone missing. Elsewhere, former Checkmate agent, Jessica Night is on her way to Chicago.

METAL MEN #5 by Dan Didio and Shane Davis. Tin, Lead with OMAC team up to fight Mother Machine and her followers at Robocon. But to defeat them, OMAC makes the ultimate sacrifice, which separates him from his human host Kevin Kho …possibly forever. Elsewhere, the Nth Metal Man has rebuilt Mercury and Iron and may be looking to do the same with Tina.

NIGHTWING #69 by Dan Jurgens and Ronan Cliquet. While the Nightwing Squad is loose in Gotham, Ric goes off to Switzerland to confront Haas and try to get his old life back. He demands she repair him, but she simply reactivates control. As he fights the mind control, the castle blows up and it looks like Ric may be the only survivor. Back in Gotham, someone with a crowbar is watching the news about the Nightwing Squad. That would be The Joker.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #43 by Scott Lobdell and Christopher Williams. Someone has tried to kill Suzie Su, but she’s hard to kill. Off in Germany, the team find themselves battling a pair of women who turn out to be The Untitled. With them defeated, the team meets General Glory who tells them the Untitled were here to steal an obelisk and take it to Qurac. Elsewhere, Ma Gunn is interviewing for a teacher and, among thosewho show up, are Monsieur Mallah and the Brain. In the end, Isabel Ardila gets an unexpected visit from Essence.

SHAZAM #11 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. Wizard Shazam has attacked Billy Baton's father and stolen his power. The family fights wizard before Billy transports him away, leading them into a fight with Black Adam. Meanwhile, Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind are in the Monsterlands, where Mr. Mind is planning on freeing the Monster Society of Evil.  Mind convinces Sivana to trust a dagger into his scarred eye, in order to open the doorway to the imprisoned monsters. CC blasts Adam and causes him to be defeated. CC reveals that Mr. Mind has been communicating with Sivana, but CC is actually Mr. Mind’s host. The Monster Society of Evil is free and ready to take over the Earthlands. At last, the final captive is free: Superboy Prime.

SUICIDE SQUAD #3 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Deadshot's team failed, thanks to Osita. But that just means Locke is pissed and everyone experiences a shocking blast from him. Despite the failure, they press on to find and kill the newly elected leader of Badhnisia. In the process, Fin kills Shark. The tea arrives and Deadshot radios that they have killed the leader, although they haven’t. It turns out the leader is Aerie’s mother. The team comes together to take down Task Force x, which they believed was still being run by Waller, from the inside. In the end, Locke’s mysterious leader demands he shock himself.

SUPERGIRL #39 by Jody Houser and Rachael Stott. The government decides to use the technology they have acquired from Lex Luthor’s stash against this rogue Supergirl. Back in Smallville, Supergirl is still struggling against Wonder Woman’s lasso but manages to break free. The pair fight, but their battle is broken up by the arrival of the government’s robots. Kara gets angry at her being protected by Wonder Woman and her rage destroys one of the robots, which ends up crashing into barn and endangering townspeople. Against her better judgement, she saves them. Wonder Woman fights and defeats the robots, but learns that the Kryptonite blast have made Kara’s madness worse and she turns her attention again on Wonder Woman.

SUPERMAN #20 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Oclair Albert. While the world gets used to Clark Kent being Superman, some folks are angry that he has chosen himself to speak for Earth on Unity Day.  That leads Bethany Starr to meet Lois and ask who decided to make her husband King of the Earth. Elsewhere, Superman battles Mongol with the help of the United Planets.

SUPERMAN HEROES #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Greg Rucka, Kevin Maguire, Mike Perkins, Steve Lieber, Mike Norton, Scott Godlewski, Paul Mounts, Gabe Eltaeb, Andy Troy, Nathan Fairbairn, Troy Peteri, Clayton Cowles and Simon Bowland. Superman travels throughout his collection of friends to get their reaction to his reveal.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #8 by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber. Jimmy’s alleged death has caused a number of Jimmy “clones” to arrive in the guise of a cyborg, a steel statue, a kid 90s wear, and a supermodel in glasses: all of which upsets Julian Olsen, who orders the Jimmy Olsen fan club to be shut down. Meanwhile, Jimmy, in his new identity as Latino Jaime Olsen, is still on a road trip with his sister that takes them to a town that loves the idea of having a celerity there. But Jimmy’s past comes back to haunt him as his alien wife and her evil fiancée arrive seeking revenge.

TEEN TITANS #39 by Adam Glass, Robbie Thompson and Eduardo Pansica, The team is off to Qurac where they are prepared to confront Elias. They have Book of the Damned in their possession and the plan is to cast a spell and force him into freeing Djinn. But that goes bad and, when all seems lost, Jakeen Thunder shows up and unleashes his Thunderbolt, which is apparently related to Djinn and Elias, who has now become the devil. He uses his power to destroy Thunderbolt, turning him into a crystal, and leaves with it and Djinn. Back at Marcy Hall, Robin announces they are going to have to die to save everyone.

THE TERRIFICS #25 by Gene Luen Yang and Dan Mora. Michael Holt has discovered a hidden enemy, and only through a series of life-or-death simulations, as part of the reader’s ‘choose your own action’ adventure, can he save them. Choose right and they live. Choose wrong…

WONDER TWINS #12 by Mark Russell and Stephen Byrne. Polly and Filo, who are currently living with Zan and Jayna since their home was destroyed, are still trying to put their lives back together. Later, the Twins go to work at the Hall of Justice, but are chastised by the League for their unauthorized activities. But Jayna’s makes a speech and everything is back to normal. Lex puts a team together made up of Sylvia, The Ringmaster and the head of his prison call enter to take back a phone the Wonder Twins stole from Sylvia. They secure the device, which of course sends people into the Phantom Zone, but a fight erupts between the villains and the ladies get transported into the Phantom Zoe. It is also reveals the Ringmaster was really an escaped Scrambler who used his powers to switch minds and bodies.

WONDER WOMAN #751 by Steve Orlando and Jan Duursema. Diana is about to be arrested by Boston detective Nora Nunes, who has moved next door to Diana to keep an eye on her. Diana convinces Nunes to give her a few days to prove herself. An unusual unseasonal storm that threatens Boston's South End, which leads to a team-up between and gives Orlando a chance to put Nunes, Diana, Etta Candy and her recently formed recently-formed Sight, Support, Sustenance team. Averting disaster, Diana confronts the Sons of Liberty and, later, the Dark Fates. While Diana considers seeking out Donna Troy, Valda the Iron Maiden hits town. In the end, Paula Von Gunther arrives to find Devastation beating Firebrand and tries to get her to join her Four Horsewomen.

WONDER WOMAN #752 by Steve Orlando and Max Raynor. Valda gets in a barroom fight and Diana arrives to handle it. It seems a man at the bar was brandishing a knife and Valda killed him. The pair fight and Diana defeats her by destroying her sword, although she does give Valda hers as a sign of peace. As a giant beast who has been chasing Valda arrives, the pair team up. Elsewhere, Von Gunther tells Devastation her story and enlists her into joining the Four Horsewomen.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN HELL ARISEN #3 by James Tynion IV and Steve Epting. As Lex is about to be beaten by the Infected heroes, the Joker and Punchline arrive to save Apex Lex. After literally picking Lex’ brain, Joker reveals that the Joker toxin is combined with Dark Metal to remove the moral centers of the brains of the Infected. Meanwhile, the Batman Who Laughs also has his hands-on Nix Uotan, just as he also has Phantom Stranger. Lex arrives at the Hall of Justice in his battle suit to face off against the Batman Who Laughs and his team. But Lex also has an army made up of Lobo, Grundy, Klarion, Manta, and more.

YOUNG JUSTICE #13 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker, Michael Avon Oeming, Mike Grell, and John Timms. The team is prepared to take down Dr. Glory at STAR Labs, but instead head off following a Kryptotracheon Energy Surge that matches the same energy that  sent Superboy to Gemworld. Elsewhere, Superboy is feeling sorry for himself in Skartaris, where Warlord reveals his origi and they fight the Green Manaleeshi. In the end, Impulse meets Spoiler, Jackson Hyde, Arrowette and Sideways. They want to join the team declaring themselves the “real” Young Justice. 

DC UNIVERSE month 27, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1020 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita, Jr. Young Justice has assembled at the Hall of Justice and immediately jump into a battles between Superman and the Legion of Doom. After getting blasted halfway around the world, he flies back and assigns Young Justice to help the people of Metropolis. While most of the team goes off, Connor introduces himself and sticks with his half-father to bring the fight to the bad guys. While Superman fights the Legion. Connor knocks their headquarters into the sea.  The Justice League arrives and joins the fight. All the while, Leviathan watches and Mark Shaw reveals that Luthor was part of his plan all along.

AQUAMAN #57 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha. After the battle of Amnesty Bay, Mera has fallen ill. Aquaman takes her to hospital, where there is not only an epidemic but also survivors of the battle. Aquaman learns that Mera is put into a coma and that Vulko is her fiancé. Orm shows up, leading to angry words. In the end, the medical staff presents Arthur with his newborn daughter.

BATGIRL #44 by Cecil Castellucci and Cian Tormey. On Unearth, Batgirl and Jason continue to fight the dragon. Part of the problem is the creature feeds on fear and love and Jason has a fear of telling Barbara his feelings, causing the dragon to grow bigger. Batgirl talks with Jason about his fear and Travesty sacrifices himself. It is finally decided that a sword forged by the Maker and Margaret is the only thing that can kill the dragon, but Jason is mortally injured in the process. Margaret tells Maker to give Batgirl the dragon scale, the only thing that can save Margaret. Jason lives and they both come home. Barbara goes to see Jason but…he might actually be a monster. Either that or something from Unearth has come to our world.

BATMAN #88 by James Tynion IV and Guillem March. Selina is digging up a grave while making a phone call to The Riddler. While he tells her of a potential deal made with Joker and The Riddler, she opens the grave and finds Joker’s body. A green gas comes out of Joker’s body and she gets attacked by a gang of thugs. Just as they are about to bury her alive, Harley arrives, freeing Selina and saying this goes deeper than she thinks. Elsewhere, Batman defeats Cheshire and apprehends her, before heading to a meathouse where Penguin has tied up the assassins, including Deathstroke, who gets free. Penguin offers the assassins double their rate to leave Gotham. Deathstroke turns is down and attacks, slitting Penguin’s throat. Batman gets Penguin and he reveals the assassins’ target is Bruce Wayne.

BATMAN #89 by James Tynion IV, Carlo Pagulayan and Guillem March. Pnguin stumbles into Gotham Mercy Hospital and, before he is taken into surgery, orders the doctors to call a certain number he gives to them. Batman is off battling Gunsmith while Catwoman and Harley Quinn are in the graveyard battling a bunch of thugs. It is revealed that the body in Joker’s grave is a double and he has been making plans, which explains why she came back to Gotham. Batman takes down Gunsmith and then heads to a warehouse, where he encounters Mr. Teeth. Batman takes him out before realizing he is in the Riddler’s hideout. He accesses Riddler’s computer, solves the riddle and views video footage with a masked figure with a D on his mask. Catwoman and Harley Quinn arrive and Catwoman says the masked man is called The Designer. She reveals she and all the villains made a deal with him many years ago and she’s sorry. In the end, Punchline, Joker’s new partner, tells Joker that they found the clue, they are wrapped up

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #10 by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. The team, or most of it, is trying to reset themselves. Bruce Wayne has gotten information on Martina Dementieva and Kaliber. It turns out Jefferson is in Cambodia, meeting with Shiva, who wants to take down Ra's. They take down Martina and that’s when Kaliber shows up. Luckily, so does the Outsiders.

BATMAN BEYOND #41 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. Blight is preparing to transfer himself into Terry’s body when Batwoman shows up and throws a monkey wrench into his plans, just as he remembers who he is. Batwoman breaks him out and it looks like Blight could be ready to die and take Bruce Wayne with him.

BATMAN: PENNYWOTH R.I.P. #1 by James Tynion IV, Peter J. Tomasi, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Chris Burnham, Marcio Takara, Diogenes Neves, David LaFuente and Sumit Kumar. The Bat Family gather to pay tribute to Alfred with stories of how he affected them. But there is a lot of hard feelings about how Batman could let this happen.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #7 by Joshua Williamson and Nick Derington. After revealing the history behind Kandor and how Brsainiac stole it, Superman and Batman head to Stryker's Island to investigate the grave of the Kryptonite Man. They get attacked by Ra's Al Ghul, who reveals that Zod plans on using a Lazarus Pit to resurrect the inhabitants of Kandor. This leads the trio to The Lost Temple of Quetzacoatl, where they find Ra’s guards slain and Zod ready to throw Kandor in the pit. He reveals he has already emptied Kandor and that can’t be good.

CATWOMAN #20 by Joelle Jones and Fernando Blanco. Raina's locks her son Adam with the other zombies, but he breaks them out and they surround Creel Mansion.  Selina is with Maggie, but suits up and leaves her cats to care for her sister, heading to Creel Mansion, we get a convoluted and ambiguous explanation of what Raina might be doing and how she has for a final showdown with Raina. 

DETECTIVE COMICS #1020 by Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker. Two-Face has made his way to Gotham City and kills the brothers of a black market coin operation, stealing coins from 1922. But he gets shot before killing them and is forced to go to a doctor to get the bullets removed. Not happy with the pain level of the surgery, he kills the doctor and pulls the second bullet out by himself. Batman hears about the shooting at the clinic and investigates, getting attacked by thugs with scraped coin emblems on their shoulders. They set fire to the place and Batman gets them out, by they set off a brain bomb that kills them. In the end, Two Face gives coin communion to his followers.

DIAL H FOR HERO #12 by Sam Humphries and Joe Quinones. Captain Thunderbolt is ready to dial up a change to the Multiverse but Summer and Miguel use the hope in their hearts to call up a battery of heroes and transform Thunderbolt back to Robby Reed. Summer dials C-M-Y-K and that sends Robby back to his grandfather…but actually as an aged character in a classic DIAL H FOR HERO story in HOUSE OF MYSTERY. Summer and Miguel dial H-O-P-E and travel through moments in the Multiverse before ending up with The Operator. He sends them back home, Miguel gets Chidozie’s number and all is good with the world.

THE FLASH #88 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Paradox was studying the Time Tream at the point where Barry Allen was struck by lightning. His machines pick up the readings and he sees the multiverse. Continuing his research, Flash fights King Turtle during Year One. He and his family go to watch the battle and he disappears, finding himself in a wasteland with a group of survivors. He finds a crashed ship and begins stripping it to rebuild his research laboratory. He creates a tower, but it sucks the life force from the other survivors. Totally connected to the time stream, he sees The Flash’ entire life and comes back to his family, who doesn’t recognize him. He heads to the future to start a new life, but meets Eobard Thawne and is arrested. He reveals to Godspeed that he was able to escape when Force Barrier was destroyed. He vows to take down The Flash and reveal him as a monster.

GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO #1 by Grsant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Hal Jordan is back with The Green Lanterns and gets teamed up with Rykaktoro of Karalyx to go to Maltus and see the birth of the newest Guardians of the Universe. After a battle that was just a test for Rykaktoro, the new Guadians are born and send Hal to his newest assignment: Earth.

HARLEY QUINN #70 by Sam Humphries and Sam Basri. Harley is a wrestling queen and she is forced to battle her best friend Alicia the Crusher. She has mixed emotions but Booster Gold, who she finds singing Karaoke, convinces her to do the job. She battles her best friend and wins. But when she goes to the locker room, she finds Alicia has been killed.

HARLEY QUINN & POISON IVY #6  by Jody Houser and Adriana Melo. Harley and Ivy confront the other Ivy, only to learn that her road buddy is only a garment of the whole and not the real Ivy. She reveals that the fire Harley started to save Ivy from the copies may have done more damage than she thought. The real Ivy is pretty pissed about everything and unleashes her minions to fight Harley. The fake Ivy gets Harley out and then heads back into Ivy’s realm, where she gets absorbed. Harley hits the road and feels sad.

HAWKMAN #21 by Robert Venditti and Fernando Pasarin. Hawkman, possessed by the Sky Tyrant, goes up against the Titan paladins, who are protecting the key. Sky Tyrant wins but Hawkwoman, Adam Strange and the Atom race to get to the key before Sky Tyrant does. Atom gets inside Sky Tyrant and short circuits his brain, taking him don. Adam gets to the key and they all leave. Now they have to figure how to destroy the key and save Carter from the Sky Tyrant.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #40 by Robert Venditti and Doug Mahnke. The League encounters an injured Daxamite named Yat, who reveals the world is I danger because of The Eradicator. They head off to face The Eradicator, who has used the Daxamites to recreate his version of Krypton on Earth. Meanwhile, Batman meets with Madame Xanadu.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #41 by Robert Venditti and Aaron Lopresti. Our heroes battle the Daxamites while  Batman tries to recruit Madame Xanadu. The team is taking a beating until Xanadu joins the battle. The team defeats the Daxamites and flee. But they learn they left Wonder Woman behind and The Eradicator has her. He broadcasts to the world that, within the hour, Krypton will take over Earth.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #20 by Ram V, James Tynion IV and Kyle Hotz. Mysterious

spores are infecting people and then controlling them to go off to infect others by having the carriers heads explode. Animal Man visits the team to make them aware of this. Since Jason Woodrue is locked up, that leads them to believe it was something to do with Abigail Arcane-the Avatar of The Rot. But Woodrue may still have his hands in all of this.

DC UNIVERSE Month 26 Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #19 by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. Injustice League Dark has broken into the Black Vault. But the Upside-Down Man has given Wonder Woman the power to fight against Circe. During their battle, Eclipso breaks free and infects Wonder Woman. This leads to Khalid, as the new Doctor Fate, to join the battle and uses his power to contain Eclipso long enough for Diana to take Circe out of the fight. Diana gives Circe the power she wants, but traps her in a mirror for all time. With the Injustice League Dark defeated, it’s time to find Swap Thing.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #17 by Dan Abnett and Will Conrad. Darkseid's group of New Gods, led by Xotor and Cyborg, have caught up and captured Orion and Jessica Cruz, although Gamma Knife escapes. She contacts her boss, who wants her to save the team and get the Eskaton block. At the same time, Blackfire, Dex-Starr, and Hax are attacked by robots while attempting to scavenge parts to fix the ship. An unconscious Jessica replays Cyborg’s message, but he has updated it, telling her he is sorry and should kill him when she gets the chance. Orion gets freed by Gamma Knife and he attacks the New Gods. Blackfire and company use a device to block the signal controlling them and make their way to their leader: Epoch-the Lord of Time.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. On Rimbor, Ultra boy’s father, Craz, ants to know where his son is and where Aquaman’s trident is. Elsewhere on Rimbor, Mon-el unintentionally becomes the ruler. Meanwhile, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, and Chameleon boy convince December Sevenbergen, to let them interrogate Mordru. Jon brings Damian Wayne to the 31st Century, which causes major issues with the Legion, based on what Damian’s future holds, with them referring to him as “Baby Hitler”. After a diplomatic incident with the team and Craz, Saturn Girl erases Damian’s recent memory and sends him back to the 21^st Century. In the end, Craz says that Brainiac 5 was responsible for stealing the trident and needs to explain why.

LOIS LANE #8 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. After the explosive end to last issue,

Renee Montoya fights off the assassin known as Kiss of Death. The pair are interrogated by the police and then go on a search for Lois' former maid, who has gone missing. Elsewhere, former Checkmate agent, Jessica Night is on her way to Chicago.

METAL MEN #4 by Dan Didio and Shane Davis. Gold is alive and proud of us nakedness. He is a new Gold as his responsemeter has been destroyed by Nth Metal Man, giving him something closer to free will. Will Magnus and Janet Klyburn go off on a date, leaving Nth Metal Man alone with Platin, where they are guests and have a chance encounter with their biggest fan, Kevin Kho.  Chaos occurs when a Con worker is taken over by a cybernetic, leading to Kho becoming…O.M.A.C.

NIGHTWING #68 by Dan Jurgens and Travis Moore. Ric come to his senses, as his mind is flooded by memories of being Robin, Nightwing and the Teen Titans. But he is also confused as he believes some of his implanted Court of Owls memories may be valid. He battles Cobb and gets saved by Hutch, allowing Cobb to escape. In the end, he confesses to Bea that he is confused but they share a kiss in the end.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #42 by Scott Lobdell and Paolo Pantalena. Artemis, Bizarro and

Generation Outlaw settle in art Ma Gunn’s, where she tells Jason she didn’t tell him about his father as she was afraid how he would react. He leaves with Artemis and tells her of everything that has occurred while she was gone, including the entire HEROES IN CRISIS event. They talk about the kiss and kiss again, realizing it feels weird and they should just remain friends.

SHAZAM #10 by Geoff Johns, Dale Eaglesham and Scott Kolins. King Kid has brought the Earthlands to Philadelphia and now has to deal with the Shazam Family. King Kid realizes he has been bad, blaming it on being bullied, and Shazam takes away his wishing stick, leaving him to cower and cry. Elsewhere, Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind breach the Monsterlands, where Sivana meets a prisoner who promises to take down Billy Batson. In the end, the Wizard shows up in Billy’s bedroom and takes him down, saying he is going to ruin his plans.

SUICIDE SQUAD #2 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. We begin with a mission going very wrong, which turns out to be in the future. Going back a day, we get the lead in to what led to this. The team is sent out to take out the President of Badhnisia. During the course of the mission, the President is captured, by Deadshot decides to capture but not execute him. Osita gets injured during the siege, but he decides to follow orders and shoots the President in the head.

SUPERGIRL #38 by Jody Houser and Rachael Stott. Krypto tracks down the Infected Supergirl, who is on a mission to change the world, so it won’t end up like Krypton by infecting everyone. But the townspeople of Smallville are not buying what she is selling and revolt against her. Before she can hurt anyone, Wonder Woman shows up and they battle. Wonder Woman gets her lasso around Supergirl and, for a brief moment, she begins to change to her old self.

SUPERMAN #19 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis. Following Superman’s revealing his identity, Perry White fires Clark Kent…and hires Superman. Later, he tangles with Mongol and loses.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #7 by Matt Faction and Steve Leiber. Jimmy and his sister continue to investigate who tried to have him killed and why. To continue their search, and keep Jimmy alive, they head to Opal City. But when he sees everyone dressed like him, they leave.

TEEN TITANS #38 by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. The Other traps Damian in Djinn’s ring, where she shows him the future The Other is offering him. While it is everything he ever wanted, he turns it down, knowing Djinn will be trapped in the ring forever. Freed from the ring, Damian fights with The Other and gets help from all of the team, complete with Crush beating The Other badly. In the end, the reborn team goes off to confront and take down Elias.

THE TERRIFICS #24 by Gene Luen Yang and Sergio Davila. The team, paired up with The Terribiles, race through the end of time and end up at the Noosphere. They learn this is all part of a simulation, but band together, and with the help of Paula, now an avenging angel, they face off against the Terribles. Noosphere gives them their escape as a gift and Paula takes a page out of our book fr future use. In the end, she goes off on a mission from God. Later, at the Treehouse of Solitude, Bizarro Jr sees his father fighting forever within the comic page.

WONDER TWINS #11 by Mark Russell and Stephen Byrne. The Hall of Justice computers, and all computers, have been infected by the Colonel 86 virus. In the end, the Wonder Twins, along with Polly and her father, end up at the source computer, where Polly’s dad makes a hard choice and shuts down his creation.

WONDER WOMAN #750 by Vita Ayala, Marguerite Bennett, Kami Garcia, Dean Hale, Jeff Loveness, Steve Orlando, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, Mariko Tamaki, Nicola Scott, Elena Casagrande, Colleen Doran, Jesus Merino, Phil Hester, Riley Rosso, Laura Braga, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Bryan Hitch. In the main story, Diana, Hera and Silencer face off against Cheetah. Diana, Hera and Cheetah have a lengthy discussion before Diana gets the Golden Perfect back. In the real world, Silencer gets injured by the God Slayer and Cheetah gets temporarily gets captured by the lasso. She gets away and Diana severs ties with Hera. Back on Themyscira, she and Hippolyta reforge Diana’s wrist bands. Back in Boston, Diana gets arrested. The backups feature a bunch of moments throughout her career including a continuation of the Star-Blossom story, a meeting with Ares, an attempt to reform Cheetah and a Bombshells tale. In the end, we see Diana in the 1940’s, which looks to be a new beginning and a new DC timeline.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #2 by James Tynion IV and Steve Epting. Lex squares off against and defeats the Infected. He later meets with Mercy Graves, claiming blood samples he took from Shazam and Supergirl will help him defeat The Batman Who Laughs. But The Batman Who Laughs has been busy and infected any more heroes including Hawk and Dove, Booster Gold and more. Elsewhere, The Batman Who Laughs has captured the Phantom Stranger and it seems The Joker is poised to get involved with it all.

YOUNG JUSTICE #12 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Timms. Wonder Girl and Teen Lantern make their way to the Hall of Justice, where they meet the Wonder Twins. They are trying to get help from the Justice League against Dr. Glory, but they are unavailable. They “borrow” Wonder Woman’s invisible jet and head to the site of Connor’s disappearance and, just when they think he is coming back, Miguel and Summer from DIAL H FOR HERO arrive. They all team up and go off to take down S.T.A.R. Labs.

DC UNIVERSE Month 26 Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1019 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr. Last week, after Leviathan had been revealed, Mark Shaw met with the Legion of Doom to reveal his future plans, including taking them to Leviathan Island. Two days ago, Luthor and Leviathan met with Red Cloud, revealing they are taking the fight to the Justice League in Metropolis. Right now, the Justice League battles the Legion of Doom.

AQUAMAN #56 by Kyle Higgins and Aaron Lopresti. Set before REBIRTH, the people of Amnesty Bay have gathered to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Arthur and Mera. After the party ends, the Trench attacks. In the end, Arthur manages a truce. In the present, Arthur and Mera awaits the birth of their baby.

BATGIRL #43 by Cecil Castellucci and Cian Tormey. A monster attacks a woman in the ark and Batgirl saves the day. What she discovers is that the monster comes from Unearth and the woman is Margeret Lew, who was the editor of the Unearth books. It seems Ernest Hinton is lonely and is trying to create a companion based on Lew. She gets teleported into Unearth, where he woos her. She reveals she has a terminal illness and agrees to stay. But that means a dragon must be slain to gather the ingredients to save her, which leads to Jason Bard and Batgirl facing the dragon.

BATMAN #86 by James Tynion IV and Tony S. Daniel. Cheshire kills a man by melting his face with the poison of a jellyfish before she enters a building to meet with Merlyn, Gunsmith and Mr. Teeth. A shadowed figure gives them an assassination job. Meanwhile, Selina is acting as Bruce’ representative at the unveiling of a new Wayne Campus. She changes into Catwoman and tracks down a man who dies in the same grisly manner as the doorman earlier. Lucius Fox has developed a new machine he calls Nightclimber which is eventually sent to Batman, who has been brawling with Deathstroke: the shadowed figure giving out the assignment to Cheshire and company. In the end, it seems the Joker is still around and has plans.

BATMAN #87 by James Tynion IV and Guillem March. A highly deformed Riddler is speaking to Oswald Cobblepot, who claims he is in the process of solving Gotham. The Penguin, surrounded by a bunch of bodies, says he is preparing for war. They make a deal, saying that The Designer is coming to collect. After meeting with Commissioner Bullock, Batman heads to the place where the assassins have been taken: the Black Block. Batman visits Deathstroke here in an effort to get information, but gets nothing. He also observes that Cheshire is gone and has been replaced with a clay double. With Lucius’ help, he tracks her down and eventually apprehends her. Back at the GCPD, Slade and his assassins are able to free themselves and take down Bullock but leaves him alive. In the end, we learn the Penguin knows about the plan, as he was one of the first creators of it.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #9 by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. Jefferson's friend Tina was killed last issue and he wants revenge, even though Batman tells him rage is not the answer. Meanwhile, Duke and Cass are taking down some thugs in Metropolis and later, Bruce shows up and criticize them. Superman arrives and tries to talk sense into Bruce, with little effect. In the end, Jefferson gets a visit from Lady Shiva, who promises to help him kill Ra’s.

BATMAN BEYOND #40 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. Terry and Dr. Constance Gustinov, who was masquerading as a homeless person, meet with Blight, who offers him a job. Blight finds it humorous thar Terry doesn’t know who he is or that Blight ruined his father’s life. Meanwhile, Batwoman continues to battle crime and, at one point, she gets rescued by a mysterious person on a motorcycle. Batwoman flees and Bruce, Matt, Melaine and Barbara arrive. The mystery person reveals himself as Dick Grayson and tells everyone that he is worried about his daughter Elainna, who it is revealed is Batwoman.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #6 by Joshua Williamson and David Marquez. Batman and Superman interrogate Infected Jim Gordon in an effort to try and get the cure for the infection, with no avail. They seek out Wonder Woman who is upset by lies and secrets, as she is upset about what happened to Donna Troy. Saying she can’t trust Batman and Superman anymore, she flies off. Batman comes up with a plan to go against the Batman Who Laughs by developing a database of their enemies to share with the heroes of the world. In the end, Zod meets with Ra’s and declares the Lazarus Pits belong to Kandor.

CATWOMAN #19 by Joelle Jones, Geraldo Borges, Aneke, and Inaki Miranda. While zombies attack where Carlos and Maggie are holed up, Selina races to the scene. Together, she and Carlos fend off the attack. Carlos’ aunt saves the day but pays for it by being run through by a stray zombie. The zombie is dispatched and 9-1-1 is called. After a terse exchange, Selina heads off. Meanwhile, Raina has a new plan and maybe zombie Adam will play into it.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1019 by Peter J. Tomasi and Scott Godlewski. Bruce battles the Viking from last issue and defeats him when the Viking hits a lighting cable with his ax. Back at the Batcave he finds the Viking is a man named Sorel Rinsdale. Batman heads to the Botanical Gardens where he's attacked by the guy in charge of this cult. Sorel was supposed to be one of the sacrifices, but got free and became delusional, thinking that he was a Viking. The cult summons a demon and Batman battles it. In the end, the demon kills and eats the leader and Sorel is restored.

DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #3 by Peter J. Tomasi and Sumit Kumar. In a flashback, we see Alfred in his spy days, escaping Ukraine and getting help from Agent H. In the present, Batman gets a visit from Marigold Sinclair: Agent H. She enlists Batman to bring a former agent, now gone rogue, to justice. In the Ukraine, Batman encounter a NKVDemon, where he is knocked out and captured by the traitor. Marigold shows up and together they take out the traitor. In the end, Marigold brings Bruce a book with pictures from Alfred’s life.

DIAL H FOR HERO #11 by Sam Humphries and Joe Quinones. The Operator tells Summer she must battle the Super Miguels, so she dials up Lo Lo Kick You. She battles the Reign of Super Miguels. She loses, which allows Mister Thunderbolt to acquire the last of the cardinal H-Dials. The foursome try to unite as one, but that results in Super Miguel and Thunder Montez. Montez joins with Mister Thunderbolt, who dials up Fifty Two, which sends him to the Overvoid, where he can remake the Multiverse.

THE FLASH #86 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. King Cold muses about all the times that he was beaten by The Flash. But now he is beating The Flash, thanks to his augmented power and the unstable Speed Force. Cold lowers the temperature of the battlefield, but the allows Flash to normalize his powers and he flees, freeing his allies. He returns to fight Cold, with backup from the Rogues. Mirror Master is hesitant to fix things, but the Rogues convince him to help. He finally agrees, which brings Central City back to normal. Glider tries to reach her brother, but Cold sees the Flash as turning his family against him. Flash becomes unhinged and beats on Cold. The police arrive, the Rogues escape and Flash and Cold are arrested.

THE FLASH #87 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. Captain Cold and Flash are being taken to Arkham. Glider is being taken to Blackgate. Cold’s henchmen are still on the run.  Iris is now helping Kid Flash and Avery get normalized, where Meena is running tests. Iris makes a call, bringing The Pied Piper to Arkham to help. Piper reveals he has fund a solution to the Speed Force problem, although it’s a painful process. He uses the process to save the speedsters. Just the, they are made aware of a breakout and Cold has been freed by Glider, who has broken out of Blackgate. In the end, the future version of Barry arrives, saying that stopping the loop from Year One, they created a paradox, at which point . Future Barry begins to decay, telling them to get Commander Cold. When Barry reveals Cold is dead, Future Barry tells him it is too late and Paradox is coming for him. He then melts away.

GREEN LANTERN: BLACKSTARS #3 by Grant Morrison and Xermanico. Superboy has sided with the Blackstars, leading to a battle between Earth’s heroes and the Blackstars, resulting in Jon accidentally killing his father. Earth now embraces the Blackstar way. But Hal starts an uprising after learning of Belzebeth’s traitorous ways, leading to a battle with her. He reveals that he has used his ring to create all of this in Universe-15 and he has trapped her there. Although she has eliminated Controller Mu, all the computers are still following Mu’s ways and eliminate her.

HARLEY QUINN & POISON IVY #5 by Jody Houser and Adriana Melo. Harley and Ivy head to Manhattan for a showdown with the Flouronic Man. They see how plants have taken over Manhattan and, with help from Batwoman, who was there to capture Ivy, they attack the plants. Together they free some captured people. But. In the end, Ivy finds a giant flower and a version of Ivy comes out of it.

HAWKMAN #20 by Robert Venditti and Fernando Pasarin. Sky Tyrant continues to read the Black Journal to learn the secret of a weapon created from a past life and kill his enemies. He travels to a land where he counters a Giant Hawkman who is determined to protect the key needed for the weapon. Meanwhile, Hawkwoman works with The Atom and Adam Strange to find a way to cure the infection.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #39 by Scott Snyder, Jorge Jimenez, Daniel Sampere and Juan Albarran. Martian Manhunter is alive again and is trying to connect with the people of Earth to break Perpetua’s spell. While the Justice League continues to battle the Legion, the people of Earth choose Doom, despite Manhunter’s effort. She sends the time displaced heroes home and the League finds themselves meeting with the Quintessence, who saved our heroes from ultimate death. They open a door which connects past, present and future and the team heads off to face Perpetua.

DC UNIVERSE Month 25, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE #37 by Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez. The League battles the Legion of Doom. Inside the Hall of Justice, Superman, Wonder Woman, and others tap into the Totality to reverse the effects of the Doom Symbol. They almost succeed, but they lose the power and the sigil goes back to full strength. They ask Hawkgirl for help, but she and Jon Stewart is having enough problems with the Anti-Monitor. Perpetua destroys Earth-44 and the force of that energy endangers the heroes, with Forager pushing against it to save them. The Hall of Justice gets destroyed but Luthor discovers that the heroes within are all safe and seemingly supercharged.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #38 by Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez. The Trinity, along with Hawkgirl and Jon Stewart, tell Luthor they aren’t here to in but to lose in style. Luthor uses his enhanced powers to decimate most of the League, leading to a one on one face-off with Superman. Superman defeats him and Perpetua shows up, to handle matters by herself. Shayne enters Luthor’s mind and eventually his body, freeing Martian Manhunter with his sacrifice.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #18 by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno. Wonder Woman confronts the Upside Down Man in the Collective Unconscious. She makes a deal with him that would allow her to return to her body on Earth. He agrees but slays Witchfire in the process. On Earth, Circe calls upon Darkul Karfang to break into the Hall and gain access to Eclipso. That leads to a big decision: Khalid gets Dr. Fate’s helm and prepares to don it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #16 by Dan Abnett and Cliff Richards. Blackfire, Dex-Starr, and Hax go out to the junked ships while Jessica speaks with Orion, who tells her the New Gods began to "unform" after the fall of the Source Wall. Being the only one to survive, he used Okkulting armor to remain hidden from the Eskaton. While he blames the League for what has happened, she tries to explain that Darkseid is doing this because of what is happening with Perpetua. Meanwhile, Blackfire, Dex-Starr, and Hax meet Gamma Knife, the daughter of Space Ranger, who is scavenging material for her boss. Jess and Orion arrive, but are taken down by Xothar, who is following orders from Cyborg.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. The Horraz attempt to steal Aquaman’s trident but are defeated by the Legion. Rose Forrest, official Legion liaison to the United Planets, meets with Madamehonorable Brande, President of the United Planets. Jo reveals he was searching for the trident to bring to his mistreating father, so the team heads to Rimbor to meet with him. Supernoy travels back to the past to meet with Damian and bring him to Planet Gotham.

LOIS LANE #6 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. Lois relives moments in her life as she deals with the death of her father.

LOIS LANE #7 by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. Lois, disguised as a nun, meets with Jessica Midnight, who is in a mental hospital, fearing Leviathan. Later, she is seen kissing Superman, which result in a confrontation between her and Renee Montoya. Once they sort things out, they both go to Lois’ apartment, only to find a new housekeeper cleaning the room. It turns out the housekeeper is an operative who has planted a bomb and blows up the room.

METAL MEN #3 by Dan Didio and Shane Davis. The team battles the winged creature while the Nth Man begs to be released to help them. Magnus eventually relents and the Nth Man defeats the creature. Nth Man brings an injured Tina back and Gold reveals himself to be alive.

NIGHTWING #67 by Dan Jurgens and Ronan Cliquet. The Nightwings battle Talon Ric Grayson, and they get an assist from Condor Red. Thing go badly for Red and it looks like Ric will kill him. He removes his mask and smiles.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #41 by Scott Lobdell and David Messina. Red Hood gets into a battle with Artemis and Bizarro while the rest of the team tries to find their teacher. It turns out that Vessel, who was kicked out of Red Hood’s school, by Hood and Shay Veritas, is seeking revenge and is controlling Artemis. It takes a kiss by Jason to Artemis to break the spell. The students free Veritas, Vessel’s plan is thwarted, and they all end up at Ma Gunn’s for dinner.

SHAZAM #9 by Geoff Johns, Marco Santucci, Scott Kolins and Dale Eaglesham. With his father transformed, Billy, Mary and dad team up to fight Black Adam and his team. The heroes get transported to the Wozenderlands, where they meet with the Wizard and the others. Billy is told he cannot share his powers with his father, but he says the magic word and they all transform into the Marvel Family. In the end, Sivana hatches his plan to bring King Kid from the Funlands to Philadelphia.

SUICIDE SQUAD #1 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. A new Task Force X has been formed, now that Waller has retired, made up of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, Magpie, Cavalier and Zebra Man. They take on a group known as the Revolutionaries, ecologically-minded metahumans who have kidnapped a general. Magpie dies and one of the Revolutionaries has his head exploded by a brain bomb. In the end, the new team leader looks to put the two teams together to form the Suicide Squad.

SUPERGIRL #37 by Jody Houser and Rachael Scott. Kara relishes in her new powers and goes about seeking justice with extreme violence. Superman comes to her and tells her he can find a cure for her infection. She slaps him and then flees, but runs into Batman in the Batwing. She pulls him out and tosses him away, knowing Superman will save him. She changes into street clothes and is met by Ben. But she hears a screeching voice in her head and that leads her to The Batman Who Laughs.

SUPERMAN #18 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis. Clark wrestles with the decision he wants to make. After revealing himself to Perry and Jimmy, who learned of this earlier from Lois, Superman reveals to the world that he is Clark Kent: a reveal that angers Luthor, who believes he should have known.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #6 by Matt Fraction and Steve Leiber. Jimmy starts the issue in jail, but is quickly out on bail. Meanwhile, Princess Jix is poised to get married, but it is revealed she is already married to Jimmy, sending her on a hunt to kill him. Nathan Guy has “killed” Jimmy and that leads to Lex eliminating him to clean up loose ends. Jimmy and his sister are accosted by thugs, but Dex-Starr saves the day. When Batman sows up, he says whoever is responsible for all this is off his radar and he can’t help him.

TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: THE JUDAS CONTRACT #1 by Kyle Higgins and Tom Raney. In this version of the tale, Dick Grayson decides to stay the Teen Titans and that leads Tara Markov to take control of her life. She meets with her lover and protege Slade Wilson and kills him, before turning her attention on Wintergreen. She sets her sights, having changed her named to Gaia, on the Titans, eventually killing all of them and then the rest of the heroes n this Earth. In the end, she is seen riding a great dragon and wreaking havoc.

TEEN TITANS #37 by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. With Kid Flash, Crush and Red Arrow captured, Damian faces The Other, who reveals himself as…Damian’s clone, long thought to be dead. The Other explains how he was reborn in the Lazarus Pit and tells Damian to join him. Elsewhere, Roundhouse has a heart to heart talk with his mother and makes his way to where his teammates are held captive, with the thought being to free them and become a Teen Titan again.

THE TERRIFICS #23 by Gene Luen Yang and Sergio Davila. The Terrifics have been turned into kids and are now being forced to relive the same day over and over again-a day that ends with Ms. Terrific being sucked into the Initial Singularity. Mr. Terrific finally figures out that they are repeating the day and gives her a mental way to break out of the Time Loop. He convinces the rest of the team that they need to go into the Time Vortex, which they do along with The Terribles. This is going to take them to the very beginning of time.

WONDER TWINS #10 by Mark Russell sand Stephen Byrne. Lex Luthor is stuck in space and his employees are just concerned about having a party on his dime. Eventually, he makes contact with Gorilla Grodd, who gives him landing coordinates. But he finds himself tapped as Grodd is really Jayna in disguise. The Twins, along with Gleek and Polly commandeer the spaceship and head to the Phantom Zone, where Zan uses his ice power to free Polly’s dad and others. Elsewhere, Colonel 86 is free and now controls the Internet.

WONDER WOMAN #83 by Steve Orlando, Jheremy Raapack and Miguel Mendonca. Diana faces off against Barbara Ann in a battle that takes them all the way to Boston. The Silencer arrives, looking to get revenge for Cheetah’s attack that put her husband and son in danger. This leads to a three-way battle for supremacy that get interrupted by…Hera.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: OCEAN MASTER #1 by Dan Watters and Miguel Mendonca. Orm has returned to Louisiana, but Erin doesn't want him back. Despite that, he tells her about the Rig and the experiments being conducted by the recently upgraded Marine Marauder. He does his best to save the poor unfortunates before taking revenge on Marine Marauder, establishing the city of Dagon in the process. The citizens declare him to now be King Orm. Lex visits him and he rejects the offer, saying to keep him out of the war. In the end, he leaves Erin and her son and goes back to rule Dagon.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #1 by James Tynion IV and Steve Epting. A year ago, Lex meets with The Batman Who Laughs, who asks who is going to win when Lex finally has to have his help. In the present on Earth-3, Lex arrives at the headquarters of the Crime Syndicate and takes them to meet Perpetua. She tells them they are free to rule Earth-3, but all the people have been changed to Apex Predators. She kills Johnny and then sends them back to Earth-3, while she sends Luthor back to Earth-0. The Infected pay Lex a visit, as it seems The Batman Who Laughs is free and has captured Rip Hunter, Time Master.

YOUNG JUSTICE #11 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Timms. The Young Justice crew finally makes it back to their Earth, where they end up at S.T.A.R. Labs in Oregon…where they meet up with Naomi, who had already made her way here. The team crashes at Naomi’s house. Connor learns they were at S.T.A.R. Labs and so was Dr. Glory, who was responsible for sending him to Gemworld. He flies off to confront her, but she tricks him and sends him to Skartaris…where he meets The Warlord. In the end, the team meet Glory, who asks if these are the friends he was speaking about.

DC UNIVERSE Month 25, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1018 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr. Six months ago, Robinson Goode was investigating the disappearance of some folks at S.T.A.R. Labs when she is knocked out and, in the process, gets merged with a mysterious cloud that turns her into Red Cloud. In the recent past, Clark Kent reveals his secret identity to Melody Moore. She promises to keep his secret safe in exchange for his endorsement for her as Mayor. Then he gets involved with the attack by the Legion of Doom, who has joined forces with…Leviathan.

AQUAMAN #55 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha. Mera saves Jackson and then unleashes her water powers to attack Manta, saving her husband. Arthur saves Maurer while Mera and Aqualad combine their powers to form a super Mera, which attacks the Mecha Manta. Manta tells the Mecha to initiate the self-destruct, but it refuses and Mera’s touch destroys the ship. Everyone is saved but Mera has fallen unconscious.

BATGIRL #42 by Cecil Castellucci and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Batgirl and Oracle continue their battle, while Babs decides it’s time to flee, setting up a citywide search by Oracle, Jason Bard, Shark and Fox. It leads to a confrontation with Batgirl and Oracle, who has captured Frankie. Bard reveals his true intentions, leading to Oracle giving Batgirl the choice to save Frankie or Bard. Batgirl drops Bard into a dumpster before using a lightning strike to destroy Oracle. In the end, Frankie is saved and Bard and Babs share a kiss.

BATMAN #84 by Tom King and Jorge Fornes. Batman faces off against Thomas Wayne. Then the tale is told in reverse order. It is revealed that it was Thomas that pulled himself out of the pit and headed to Gotham. We see the deal Thomas made with Bane. We see the Joker near death in the church, where Thomas asks him who told him that Batman was getting married. Thomas is shown watching Bruce and Selina’s relationship, at the carnival with Clark and Lois, and when Bruce proposed. We see Thomas brought to our universe by Eobard Thawne so he could keep his son from being Batman. We see moments from The Button storyline, the end of FLASHPOINT, how Martha, who had become The Joker, killed herself, how she had killed Selina and how Batman and Selina had met. His idea of justice was killing the villains of the city. It is revealed that Martha, as The Joker, had killed Alfred. He had tracked down Joe Chill and beat him to death with a rock. He tried to keep Bruce alive even as Martha went insane. In the present, he begs Bruce to give up The Batman and get married.

BATMAN #85 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. With Bruce at Thomas’ feet and defeated, Catwoman springs into action and attacks Thomas. She reveals she was able to control the Ventriloquist because she still has a piece of Scarface. Thomas admits defeat and he is put in prison, where Bane breaks is back. Later, Batman meets with Gotham Girl, who is now cured because she has been given Platinum Kryptonite, and asks about he and Selina getting married. Bruce and Selina tell each other how much they love each other go off to fight crime together. In the end, the news reports reveal Superman has revealed his secret identity and the Joker thinks that mat be a great idea to do to Batman.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #8 by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. Black Lightning, Katana, Sofia, and Kaliber are in a burning jet heading straight for Gotham. Black Lightning, using a newly gained ability, saves Katana, leaving Batman to Sofia from the harbor. Later, Jefferson tries to console Batman over the loss of Alfred, while Katana takes Sophia to the Batcave. Elsewhere, Jefferson’s friend Tina s murdered, thanks to Ra’s, who brags he has evolved Duke, hurt Jefferson and reminded Cassandra of her destiny.

BATMAN BEYOND #39 by Dan Jurgens and Inaki Miranda. Batwoman fights Blight, who is still alive because radiation can’t be killed. He also reveals that he knows Terry was Batman, as he was responsible for killing Terry’s dad. Batwoman uses a mini-bomb to injure Blight, who now has to find a new body to possess. So he makes a call to…Constance, who he calls Gustanov. Constance has a body for him…it’s Terry.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #5 by Joshua Williamson and David Marquez. The Dark Multiverse Watchtower has come through a rift to infect the world. Batman and Superman battle the Infected and eventually, Superman destroys the Dark Multiverse Watchtower. They see the Hall of Justice has been destroyed and that the Batman Who Laughs is free. They note who Wonder Woman will be furious. This leads into YEAR OF THE VILLAIN HELL ARISEN #1.

CATWOMAN #18 by Joelle Jones and Fernando Blanco. Selina meets with Zatanna and they team up to battle a bunch of bad guys.  After defeating everyone, they drink Creme de Menthe and Zatanna gives her a magic rabbit’s foot for her future fights. Meanwhile, Raina has initiated martial law and Carlos and Maggie find themselves surrounded.

DEATHSTROKE #50 by Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan. It is revealed that the other Slade Wilson came here from the Dark Multiverse, where he had killed Batman and most of the Teen Titans. Before their final fight, they go off and have coffee together. But Isherwood arrives and interrupts the meeting. Dark Multiverse Slade is captured, but Raven, who played a part in it, refuses to do any more. So he is released and the two Slades battle, with Dark Multiverse Slade apparently being killed. Later, it is revealed that Isherwood has died trying to remove Luthor’s gift from Joseph. In the end, they all have a family dinner. But this is only a momentary end to Deathstroke’s story.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1017 by Tom Taylor and Fernando Blanco. A teenager named Miguel escapes from the Martha Wayne Orphanage.  Lucius Fox, now assuming Alfred’s role,  finds Bruce in the Batcave and informs him of the runaway, leading to him using his detective skills to find the boy. While he meets with the man running the orphanage, he sends Damien to find the boy. It takes him several days, but he finds Miguel, suffering from hypothermia and starving. They rush him to the hospital, where Miguel says he ran to raise awareness to the kids who had gone missing. The boy dies but Bruce discovers that the man running the orphanage was responsible.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1018 by Peter J. Tomasi and Scott Godlewski. While Batman deals with handling things at Wayne Manor following Alfred’s death, a series of grisly murders grips Gotham. It turns out it could be a Viking…

DIAL H FOR HERO #10 by Sam Humphries and Joe Quinones. Summer and Miguel get transported into the Multiverse where they end up on Earth-32. There, they meet Young Justice International, who is fighting the HarleyQuinntor. They have been tasked by the Operator to protect their dial, but Mister Thunderbolt arrives and reveals himself to be Robby Reed-just like The Operator. He convinces Miguel that he can save the Multiverse if Miguel uses the dial, which he does, creating the Reign of the SuperMiguels.

DOOMSDAY CLOCK #12 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. As the heroes and villains of Earth battle, Dr. Manhattan realizes that Superman represents hope after he saves Manhattan from attack. Batman and Alfred convince Reggie to become Rorschach again while Lex tells Lois she must write about how the timeline has been changed. Manhattan wipes out the universe and then recreates it, restoring the previous timeline. He allows Alan Scott to reach his lantern and the Justice Society of America forms. He allows Superboy to save his adoptive parents. His actions mean the classic Legion of Super-Heroes lives again. Johnny Thunder remembers and can again say the magic word and channel his thunderbolt. They all team up and arrive to help Superman. Manhattan’s actions result in not only the creation of the Multiverse but the Metaverse. Earth-2 is born, Earth-1 becomes Eath-1985 after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The future is shown, with crisis after crisis occurring throughout. Luthor uses a vibrational emitter to send The Comedian back to the Watchman Universe at the moment of his death. Manhattan returns to the Watchmen universe with Rorschach and an injured Ozymandias, who is imprisoned for his crimes. Mime and Marionette are left behind with Manhattan saying they will have a daughter soon and someday reunite with their son. Manhattan saves the Watchmen Universe by making all nuclear weapons disappear. Carver Colman ends up with a better life, becomes an advocate for LGBTQ rights and, after his death, is honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Stein is arrested and Superman's name is cleared. Later, he and Lois meet up with the Kents. Manhattan raises Mime and Marionette's son and names Clark. Eventually he disappears, transferring his powers to Clark and his life force to the planet. Young Clark is sent to Laurie and Daniel's home and is adopted by them.

THE FLASH #84 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. Flash and his team travel to Weather Wizard’s new home, where he reveals that all he wants is to be left alone. Golden Glider convinces him that this Flash is the real Flash. Demanding proof, he removes the power dampeners. The team attacks Weather Wizard until Glider uses her bandages to subdue everyone and she gens training Flash how to control his out of control powers. She tells Wizard about Cold’s plan and how he has been upgraded thanks to Luthor. Heat Wave arrives and joins the team.

THE FLASH #85 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. Glider continues to train Flash before the newly united team goes looking for Mirror Master. Just before Flash is ready to grab the mirror pieces the team needs, Mirror Master attacks and shoves the team into the mirrors, which transports them into Cold’s fortress, where they are attacked by his allies. Glider tells him that she wants things to go back to the way they were, and he responds by freezing everyone but The Flash. Thanks to Lex, he has gotten a significant upgrade that may allow him to defeat The Flash.

GREEN LANTERN: BLACKSTARS #2 by Grant Morrison and Xermanico. Parallax meets with Superman and tries to tell him he and the Blackstars have a solution for the impending apocalypse. Jon agrees with the Blackstars way but his father tries to convince him otherwise, forcing Hal and the Blackstars to leave. Back in space, the Countess tells of her awful forced marriage to Lord Vorlokk. In the end, Superman declares war on the Blackstars, who have a new ally-Superboy.

HARLEY QUINN #68 by Sam Humphries and Sami Basri. Harley visits Christmas Hamlet where she tries to gain some joy. But she gets captured by the Nutcracker Squad and ends up in the clutches of the Christmas Ghost, who turns out to be Kira the Unjoliest. Together they get into mischief and burn the Tremendous Tannenbaum. Two months later, Harley has a new gig: she’s a wrestler named Harley the Queen.

HARLEY QUINN #69 by Mark Russell and Sami Basri. Notorious criminal Hambezzler is finally freed from jail and goes to work for Harley as her accountant. He reveals he was falsely imprisoned for embezzling the retirement fund of McGobbles. The McGobble Land Gang arrives, and all tell sorrowful tales, especially Crown McCrown who was disfigured in a vat of Country Dew. They meet with Councilman Cheeseburger, who tells them that Mitch and Murray, the owners of McGobble, embezzled the money. The gang goes after them and gain their revenge.

HARLEY QUINN’S VILLAIN OF THE YEAR #1 by Mark Russell and Mike Norton.

Harley hosts the first Villain of the Year awards, as chosen by the readers. Flashpoint Batman is the Best Justification of Evil. The Ventriloquist is Best Supporting Villain. Most Obessed Villain is Bane. Red Hood wins Comeback Villain of the Year. The Batman Who Laughs wins Best Villain Upgrade and Villain of the Year. But tell that to The Flamingo, who is tricked into thinking he won and ends up with him being captured and spends his future in a glass case in the Legion of Doom’s headquarters.

HARLEY QUINN & POISON IVY #4 by Jody Houser and Adriana Melo. Harley and Ivy travel to Dinosaur World, where they cross paths with Dracorex, who has been kidnapping people with her tourist trap. The girls start to free people when  The Floronic Man shows up, having hidden himself in Ivy’s arm. They use a microwave to blow up the main building and flee. Later, Ivy makes the decision to have her arm cut off to keep the Floronic Man away from them.

HAWKMAN #19 by Robert Venditti and Pat Olliffe. The Shade has contacted the Justice League about Hawkman not being himself and they send Shayera to confront him. They battle and, after he is defeated, he transports away. Later, he argues with Carter’s spirit and decides to pick his brain and makes his way to Carter’s hidden lair…where he retrieves the Black Journal.

THE INFECTED: DEATHBRINGER #1 by Zoe Quinn and Brent Peeples. Donna Troy has been infected and takes on The Titans, before finally declaring them ghosts of her past and leaving them to wonder what to do next.

THE INFECTED: THE COMMISSIONER #1 by Paul Jenkins and Jack Herbert. An infected Gordon meets with Detective Conley and tries to convince him to use the Unicorn Key to release everyone in Arkham. Batgirl heads to Gotham, where the National Guard is evacuating the city. She gets attacked by Anarky and his crew, fighting back until Gordon and Conley arrive and tell her to leave, Gordon removes his glasses and we see that he is truly infected.

INFERIOR 5 #4 by Jeff Lemire and Keith Giffen. The mystery deepens as a mysterious man in black meets with a moon man, who says a second invasion is coming. In the backup, Peacemaker battles Rocket Red. After defeating him, he heads to Dangerfield.