DC UNIVERSE: Month 44, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1035 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Sean Lewis, Daniel Sampere and Sami Basri. Superman battles a confused Thao-La and convinces her to break the chains, even though it may cost the lives of her people, promising her that he will go to Warworld and release the slaves. She ends up in stasis as Superman prepares to leave. The Justice League shows up to lend a hand, but they already know he has selected a team to assist him. He says goodbye to Jon and Lois, before meeting with his new team, The Authority, before heading to Warworld. In the backup, The Guardian tracks down a kid who is getting everyone to play a game that summons a tech demon called Dismember.

AQUAMAN: THE BECOMING #1 by Brandon Thomas and Diego Olortegui. Jackson is fighting on Apokolips in a virtual training session being overseen by Aquaman. When finished, he goes to lunch with his mother where he takes an interest in his server and the server does the same. He leaves and takes down a new criminal called the Human Flying Fish. Later, he goes to The Well and gets arrested for crime against the Atlantean Empire.

BATMAN: FEAR STATE: ALPHA #1 by James Tynion IV and Riccardo Federici. Months ago, Simon Saint meets with Jonathan Crane, who develops the idea of creating a “Fear State” in Gotham and hints that they were responsible for A-Day. In the present, Scarecrow is tormenting Batman and a drugged-out Peacekeeper-01races through Gotham. At the Clock Tower, a new Oracle takes over the system, spreading lies to Gotham and claiming that Batman is dead.  Under Gotham, Harley and the Gardener convince Queen Ivy to allow the Unsanity Collective to hide here. In Alleytown, Selena cares for the other Ivy as the Magistrate stalks the area. Elsewhere, the Second Son contemplates putting on the suit.

BATMAN #112 by James Tynion IV, Brandon Thomas, Jorge Jimenez and Jason Howard. Batman finally escapes the Scarecrow and heads to the Clock Tower, where he learns that the Anti-Oracle has corrupted Oracle and is spreading misinformation to Gotham. Ghostmaker is in a jungle in the sewers of Gotham where Harley and the Gardener ae trying to convince Queen Ivy to join the fight. Meanwhile, Peacekeeper-01 is dosed with Fear Gas and on the loose, causing Simon Saint to create Peacekeeper-X.  In the backup, Clownhunter, faces off with Scarecrow and it might kill him.

BATMAN #113 by James Tynion IV, Brandon Thomas, Jorge Jimenez and Jason Howard. The Anti-Oracle is spreading false messages over the airwaves to ensue panic among Gotham. Batman visits Commissioner Renee Montoya and tells her everything about Simon Saint, the Magistrate, and Mayor Nakano. When he leaves, he encounters the Magistrate’s Cybers. He meets up with Ghostmaker, who uses an old VR headset to get into Batman's mind to find anything the Scarecrow left behind in his head. What they discover is Ghostmaker's memories reveal his connection to Jonathan Crane during his school years where Crane had already written a paper regarding Fear State. In the end, Peacekeeper-X confronts Peacekeeper-01 while Scarecrow watches. In the backup, Clownhunter finds himself in a nightmare where his parents are still alive and he is facing up against monster-sized Jokers.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #7 by Tom King and Liam Sharp. In the past, Bruce and Selina have sex and then explains his anger on how he could smell that The Joker was there before him. In the present, a naked Bruce has been locked up in a bank vault naked and has to fight the police. He covers his face with blood and fights his way out. In the future, Selina is arrested for the murder of the Joker and Huntress.

BATMAN: REPTILIAN #4 by Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp.Batman confronts Croc, explaining that the creature hunting the villains of Gotham is Croc’s child, that apparently, he gave birth to.

BATMAN SECRET FILES: MIRACLE MOLLY #1 by James Tynion IV and Dani. Molly and the Unsanity Collective break into a home that turns out to be her family. From there, we learn that Molly is actually Mary Kowalski, who is working as a tech for a company that doesn’t value her input. This leads her down the rabbit hole and discovers the work of Master Wyze. Frustrated, she breaks into a meeting at work to present her robotics designs, but that gets her fired. At the same time, she loses all of her research to the company, which plans on announcing it as their own designs. Later, she tries to get her notebooks back and she gets in a confrontation with her former boss, who she kills in a fit of rage. She tracks down Master Wyze who transforms her into Miracle Molly.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #22 by Gene Luen Yang and Paul Pelletier. Calendar Man, who died during A-Day, is resurrected by Mr, Mxyzptlk, explaining that all of reality is just organized int little boxes. When he embraces this, he goes off through the comic panels and discovers Batman’s secret identity. After dispatching some other villains who doubt him, he goes after Batman and Superman in a panel breaking battle. Calendar Man accidentally loses one of his arms because of a magic erasing pen. Superman stops the bleeding and the bad guy ends up in Blackgate, where Mxyzptlk shows up and restores his arm and removes the memory of Bruce Wayne being Batman.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN 2021 ANNUAL by Gene Luen Yang, Francesco Francavilla and Paul Pelletier. On the World of the Knight, Superman battles a variety of villains, eventually leading him to the Spider Lady. On the World of Tomorrow, Batman and Robin face off against Bizarro Two-Face, Martha Wayne and Alfred, who transforms into Doomsday. Luckily, Superman and Spider Lady come through a film burn and defeats Doomsday.

BATMAN: THE DETECTIVE #5 by Tom Taylor and Andy Kubert. Batman and Squire break up an Equilibrium created hostage taking and later meets with Ducard, who is recovering from being shot. He reveals that Equilibrium is a former student of his named Charlotte LeSerf. One day, Batman saved the life of John Gallagher who eventually kills Charlotte’s husband and son in a car accident, leading her to believe that this made Batman an Agent of Caos and that people he had saved needed to die.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #7 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Tim Seeley, Guillaume Singelin, Kenny Porter, Max Dunbar, Juan Ferreyra and Baldemar Rivas. In the future, Bruce Wayne is dead, having been killed by a super A.I., leading Terry to avenge him and fully take on the mantle of the Bat. To be continued in BATMAN BEYOND: NEO-YEAR #1. In Batman 666, Damian Wayne is a Batman in a future where he fights a new generation of villains. In the third tale, Future State Batgirl Cassandra fights against the Magistrate. In the final tale, Batman One Million, who has the ability to change into Batman’s of the past, fights against Hades-the son of Vandal Savage and descendant of the Bane Dynasty.

BLACK MANTA #1 by Chuck Brown and Valentine De Landro. Black Manta and his crew chase down an ancient relic with connections to Atlantis. The relic is causing Manta extreme pain and someone long buried in Atlantis is reborn.

BLUE & GOLD #2 by Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook. Blue Beetle rescues Booster from certain death, but all Booster cares about is that it didn’t get livestreamed. Later, the pair take out some bad guys in the Adirondacks. Ted Kord gets fired from his own company and is now broke. But that news gets to Booster too late as Booster holds a press conference to announce Blue & Gold Restoration.

CATWOMAN #35 by Ram V and Nina Vakueva. Hadley as died saving Selina’s sister and her sister has left Alleytown for good. While her team of former villains fight crime, Selina meets with Leo and learns of Anti-Oracle’s message saying that Batman is dead. This forces her to make the decision to go to Gotham and help out with the Fear State situation. In the process she encounters the Magistrate and teams up with Lian. She also learns that the Anti-Oracle is giving false information and that Batman is still alive. Elsewhere, it’s revealed that Riddler and the Penguin are working together, and the Penguin believes if they can find Ivy, they can reengineer her power and Riddler can use it to control Alleytown.

CHALENGE OF THE SUPER SONS #6 by Peter J. Tomasi and Max Raynor. Jon and Damian battle Faust and Savage and get some help from the Justice League. But they’re not really the Justice League: they are just trolls created to look like the greatest heroes due to a spell from Rora. She gives the boys a scroll to go save the League in the present. But can they do this before the bad guys can stop them?

CHECKMATE #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Guardian and Merlyn are in the old Watchtower when they are confronted by Green Arrow and Manhunter. On Earth, Bones and company examine some of Guardian’s blood, discovering that Shaw has found a way to brainwash people into being sleeper agents by splicing alien DNA into their blood. Elsewhere, Lois explains what has happened to Clark before opening the snowman statue and finding the birth certificate for Leonardo Lane: her brother she did not know she had. At Checkmate’s headquarters, Leviathan attacks. But Robin reveals they are not here to kill Checkmate…but to transport them to Shaw.

CRUSH & LOBO #4 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Crush is still stuck in prison and dealing with her cellmate, prison fights, memories of her girlfriend Katie and trying to convince prison officials that she is not her daddy. She convinces prison officials that she is not who they believe her to be and they give her an hour to track Lobo down.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #1 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. H.I.V.E. is using people as incubators for nanotech to turn them into weapons. T.R.U.S.T. dispatches Deathstroke and Black Canary, with an assist from Toyman 2.0, to capture the H.I.V.E. queen. Also, Slade reveals he has accepted this job because he is dying.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1043 by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora. With Gotham in turmoil, many of Nakano’s security force attempt to assassinate him. When that fails, the team kidnaps Nakano, leading to Batman intervening and freeing him. They escape to the sewers, where they find Vile’s creature egg cache. In the backup, Batman saves Donovan and Red Hood joins in the fight. But Jason is captured and offered a job…leading Task Force Z

THE FLASH #774 by Jeremy Adams and Christian Duce. Wally West and his daughter Irey are going off to a "Daddy/Daughter" dance. When they arrive at the party, they discover everyone is unconscious and that Dr. Nightmare is responsible. Irey grabs Nightmare’s nightmare inducing hat and uses the creatures from her dreams to defeat him. In the end, the pair travel to Paris and dance the night away.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #5 by Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver, Rafae Grampa and Giannis Milonogiannis. White Rabbit takes out Mad Hatter, much to the surprise and dismay of the Arkham Knight. In the present, Warmonger continues to force Batman and Peacekeeper Red fight each ither, while revealing to Astrid that he was responsible for blowing the bat shaped hole in the middle of Gotham. Jason figures out that they are being controlled by Mad Hatter technology and manages to diffuse it. Cybers and the Arkham Knights team shows up, leading to Astrid’s release and Warmonger flees. Astrid reveals how Warmonger was Supercop Zero and was a failed prototype for the Peacekeeper program. Later, Nightwing meets with his team and discovers that Batman has been arrested by… Peacekeeper Red. In the backup, the Joker continues his never-ending battle against crime, which is assisted by Alfred disguised as The Joker.

GREEN LANTERN #6 by Geoffrey Thorne, Marco Santucci and Tom Raney. Jo Mullein faces off against the Sinestro Corps. Eventually, she meets with Sinestro, who denies that he destroyed the Central Power Battery. Elsewhere, Kilowog is stuck in the Dark Sectors with no ring power. But without a working ring, he may not stand much of a chance of survival. John Stewart gets told the history of the Gold Centurions and prepares to head to Anacitus when he confronts Lonar of New Genesis, who was on Oa before it blew up.

GREEN LANTERN  2021 ANNUAL by Ryan Cady, Sami Basri and Tom Derenick. The Sinestro Corp ring has chosen Jessica Cruz and she delivers Low, Ugg-I, and Lyssa Drak to New Korugar. Sinestro sees her potential in Jessica teaches her to use the power of fear. She finds a refugee ship escaping from Oa and tries to help by putting the First Officer and her security team in charge. Hal Jordan arrives and criticizes her for siding with Sinestro. She quickly realizes that the First Officer and her security team are really space pirates and quickly fixes the situation.In the end, she embraces the power of the Yellow Lantern…for now.

HARLEY QUINN 2021 ANNUAL by Stephanie Phillips, David LaFuente, Marco Failla and Jon Sommariva. Kevin and Solomon Grundy take on Mr. Freeze with predictable resilt. Grundy gets frozen and Kevin tries to explain how he ended up here. Harley runs into Keepsake who insists they go to dinner. They do, but it goes bad fast and Keepsake kidnaps Harley. Grundy and Kevin end up at Penguin’s house, who sends them to find Cheshire, who sends them on a continuing trail of villains in search of Keepsake’s location. Freeze give the pair the info they need, for a price, tracking him to the Ace Chemical Factory. Harley gets free and the two end up in a chemical vat, where Grundy saves her. Later, the team performs at the birthday party of Freeze’ niece. But Keepsake is still on the loose and he will seek revenge in HARLEY QUINN #7.

HARLEY QUINN #7 by Stephanie Phillips and Riley Rossmo.Keepsake and Hugo Strange put together a team of villains Keepsake calls the Caucus of Corruption. It also leads to Strange taking on the role of Batman. He also reveals he needs Poison Ivy to complete his plan. Meanwhile, Harley and Kevin go through the woods looking for a lost dog and run into a bear. They find the dog and Bela finds them, revealing she has found Ivy.

I AM BATMAN #1 by John Ridley and Oliver Coipel. Jace dons his Batman uniform and begins his role as the Caped Crusader. While his predecessor, presumed dead, hid in the shadows, Jace wants to be seen by the people of Alleytown as their protector who doesn’t just fight super villains. In the end, GCPD finds the dead body of…Anarky?

ICON & ROCKET: SEASON ONE #3 by Reginald Hudlin and Doug Braithwaite. Icon and Rocket take out the drug trade in Afghanistan, sending many countries into a tizzy as it is doing damage to their economy, including in the United States, where even the President is concerned. It is revealed the U.S.  was visited by an alien baby in 1939 and the government had him killed. The President calls for Mr. Lord, who turns out to be an alien Icon knows and is now hunting Rocket’s mom. Luckily, a certain lawyer with a sword intervenes, but that may not be enough.

INFINITE FRONTIER #5 by Joshua Williamson, Tom Derenick, Jesus Merino and Paul Pelletier. Omega Psycho Pirate is making a deal with Mr. Bones and Machine Head, claiming that the work of the heroes of Earth-0 are destroying the Multiverse. On Earth-Omega our heroes confront Bones and find Barry Allen running in his imposed fantasy. This leads t a battle between the heroes and Injustice Incarnate. Omega Psycho Pirate tells Roy that is he sides with him, he will spare Earth-) and save Liam. Roy unleashes the Black Lantern power and ends up being controlled…by Darkseid.

INFINITE FRONTIER #6 by Joshua Williamson and Xermanico. Darkseid has arrived and has control of the Omega Lantern. Obsidian saves Roy and, in disgust, Darkseid kills Machinehead. Darkseidsends the heroes back to their headquarters, where they decide to find The Flash and the crack in the Omniverse before Darkseid does, which will be resolved in JUSTICE INCARNATE #1. In the end, Darseid gathers his team so he can control The Great Darkness. Barry continues to run, ending up in Multiverse-2, where he meets with Pariah, sending Barry to a happier time on Earth-Flash-1, where he is living his life with his friends and family, including his mother.

THE JOKER #7 by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Guillem March and Sweeney Boo. In Santa Resica, someone is trying to turn the prison int a Bane theme park. That person turns out to be Julia Pennyworth and she ends up in a shootout with the potential buyers. Meanwhile, Gordon is under being interrogated by detective Isabella Hallows, who wants his help in bringing down The Network. He agrees, but adds there may be a problem named Vengeance, who interrupts the dinner date between Gordon and Hallows. Elsewhere, Barbara gets attacked by a Talon and it takes the Batgirls to help her out. In the backup, Alexis searches Blackgate Prison for Harper Row and gets an assist while hiding from Orca. Harper makes her way through the prison and finally finds  Kelly Ness. Meanwhile, Cullen learns that his boyfriend is closely connected to the Royal Flush Gang.

More first issues

ALIENS AFTERMATH #1 by Benjamin Percy and Dave Watchter. The ALIEN franchise is red-hot once again and that leads Marvel back to one of the classics in the film series. Set 35 years after the end of ALIENS, a team is sent back to Hadley’s Hope. And it’s personal for one soldier, whose aunt was Vasquez. The story is fun, the art is nice, and it makes a cool connection to the original film. And of course…we have a cliffhanger!

AMAZING FANTASY #1 by Kaare Andrews. A teenaged Spider-Man, World War II vintage Captain America and Russian spy Black Widow team up in a weird alternate reality filled with dangers galore. While the story is quirky, Andrews’ art is great! This title is truly not for everyone, as it goes into some strange places. Plus, it’s worth checking out, if only for Andrews’ art.

AVENGERS/HULK FCBD 2021 by Jason Aaron, Donny Cates, Iban Coello and Ryan Ottley. Marvel previews the next arcs for THE AVENGERS and THE HULK with these two short stories setting up the new creative teams. The Avengers tale gives us an army of Deathloks while M.O.D.O.K. goes through a transformation in the Hulk tale. There should be plenty of these to go around from your retailer, so you might want to grab one and see what the future holds.

DARK AGES #1 by Tom Taylor and Iban Coello.What happens when the sun goes dark in the Marvel Universe. Well, first you have to realize this is an alternate Marvel Universe where Peter and Mary Jane are married and have a super powered daughter. Filled with a whole bunch of Marvel heroes, it’s a fun trip…but one which has no bearing on OUR Marvel Universe. So, if you’re expecting this to have a huge effect on current stories, you’d be wrong. Still, it’s a great deal of fun!

DARK BLOOD #1 by Latoya Morgan and Walt Barna. Meet Avery Aldridge. He’s a black man in 1955 Alabama and is not only facing racism but a robbery. That’s when his powers, called The Variance, erupts. Ten yeas earlier, he was fighting Nazis. So…where does this lead? Good question! But there is enough here, regarding his powers and their origin, to bring me back for a second issue.

DARKHAWK #1 by Kyle Higgins and Juanan Ramirez. Darkhawk gets another relaunch in this mini-series where a new hero gets the mantle. Chris Powell is out and Connor Young, a teen with MS, is in. Either way, it feels like a rehash of a classic Nineties series and did nothing for me. The story was predictable, the art was choppy and I won’t be following along with this. It just did nothing for me.

DEFENDERS #1 by Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez. Marvel’s original non-team is back with a new cast of characters…sort of. The Surfer and Doctor Strange are back with the team along with new members The Masked Rider, Harpy and Cloud. Ewing’s story is fun but Rodriguez’ artwork is the real star here. I expect this to be a fun ride as the cast list is cool and, being a long-time Defenders fan, I may be prejudiced.

EXTREME CARNAGE ALPHA by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Manuel Garcia. So, there’s a new VENOM film coming, and Carnage is the co-star, so that means Marvel needs a book which capitalizes on that. The big red bad guy is back and, by the way, so is Flash Thompson, who was dead but now isn’t. And let’s not forget the multiple one-shots featuring all the Venom family. It’s fun and a nice set up for what comes next, which is a NEW VENOM title by Al Ewing and a series of connected one-shots featuring the whole Venom family.

FIGHT GIRLS #1 by Frank Cho. Okay…so it’s basically BATTLE ROYALE with buff women. But it’s Frank Cho’s buff women! So the book looks amazing and the story is fun, especially because it’s too early to see where the endgame will take us. AWA Upshot continues to knock it out of the park with a tremendous lineup of mini-series.

KANG THE CONQUEROR #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Carlos Magno. Take two non-comic writers together and let them tell the true origin of Kang? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Surprise! It’s REALLY good! It ties together the various histories of Kang, Nathaniel Richards, Iron Lad, the Scarlet Centurian and Rama Tut, it will hopefully make sense of all those iterations of Richards. And Magno’s art looks amazing!

KA-ZAR LORD OF THE SAVAGE LAND #1 by Zac Thompson and German Garcia. I had such high hopes for the series. I really did. But the series will go on to feature Ka-Zar’s son, with Ka-Zar and Shanna being background players. While the story is kind of folksy and fun, Garcia’s art just doesn’t do it for me and I found it hard to truly appreciate the story itself.

KING SPAWN #1  by Todd McFarlane, Sean Lewis, Javi Fernandez, Stephen Segovia, Marcio Takara, Phillip Tan and Brett Booth. Spawn fans rejoice! The first new SPAWN title in years and the first of three, with GUNSLINGER SPAWN coming in October and THE SCORCHED coming in December. There are a lot of familiar characters here for regular readers and a lot of new ones for those just jumping back into the Spawn Universe, like myself. Stories feature King Spawn, Haunt, Nightmare, The Hero and Gunslinger, so you’ve got a lot to digest.

MAZEBOOK #1 by Jeff Lemire. Here’s a book you will either love or hate. Lemire’s SWEET TOOTH was a major hit, despite his quirky art style. This is a tale of a 50-year-old man going through a major mid-life crisis revolving around his 11-year-old daughter. This sends him on a search for her and for his own wellbeing. Again, it’s not for everyone but will probably be a great heartbreaking piece in the end.

MOON KNIGHT #1 by Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio. Everyone’s favorite multiple personality hero is back, with a therapist, a secretary and a fight against vampires. He also meets another follower of Khonshu who may be an ally or an adversary. MacKay’s dialogue is a bit clunky, but the story is intriguing and the art is cool and fits the narrative.

MOTHER OF MADNESS #1 by Emelia Clarke, Marguerite Bennett and Leila Leiz. It’s the Year 2049 and the world is more close-minded, sexist and chauvinistic than ever before. Maya Kuyper is single mom with special powers brought on by emotions. And to that end, she’s trying to fight the good fight for women and the disadvantaged. This three-issue series is certainly a bit preachy and will certainly cause concern for those folks troubled by Social Justice Warriors. In the end, it’s fun and has a big heart with some cool, quirky artwork.

NOT ALL ROBOTS #1 by Mark Russell and Mike Deodato Jr. It’s the future and robots do everything for us. But the robots are not happy and an uprising appears to be looming. I know it sounds familiar, but this is told mostly from the robot’s points of view. Russell’s writing is sharp and filled with some great moments and Deodato again knocks it out of the park with his art. AWA Upshot hits anther home run with this great mini-series.

PRIMORDIAL #1 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. What happened to those first test animals that were shot into space back in the day. The US and Russians say they died, but did they? Someone wants to find out and he may not like what he finds in the end. A curious little story that has a great cliffhanger ending to woo us into the next issue. Highly recommended!

SINISTER WAR #1 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley. Spencer’s Spider-Man run all comes down to this. The Savage Six are coming for a reformed Mysterio but the reformed Sinister Six is here to back him up. And let’s not forget about a certain Harry Osborn and then there’s Mephisto who may be looking to cash in on what Peter owes him. This will all lead to Spencer’s swan song issue where Ben Reilly returns as Spider-Man. Who lives, who dies? It all starts here!

SPIDER-MAN/VENOM FCBD 2021 by Zeb Wells, Ram V., Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, Patrick Gleason, Bryan Hitch and Greg Smallwood. Peter Parker is soon to be out as Spider-Man and Ben Reilly steps in. This is the first look at the new hero and his cast of characters. Plus, the new Venom series, which focuses on Eddie Brock and son in their dual missions. Plus, a bonus look at the future of Daredevil. Worth picking up to get a glimpse at the future of these corners of the Marvel Universe.

SPIDER-MAN: A LIFE STORY ANNUAL #1 by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley. In the alternate story of Spider-Man, Peter’s life turned out much different than we are used to and fans were divided on how they felt about it. In this one-shot annual, we look a JJJ as he battles the inner demons he faced because of Spider-Man’s actions. A great story and a surprise twist or two. If you liked the LIFE STORY series, you’ll love this!

STRAY DOGS #1 by Tony Fleecs and Trish Forstner.This looks like a cute funny animal book from the MY LITTLE PONY team. But it ain’t! It’s been called, not by me, ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN meets SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and that’s a pretty accurate description. It’s a touching, scary kind of book with a host of dogs and a possible killer. This book is on fire, but you may be able to pick up copies of the multiple printings at a decent price. Plus, the multiple printing variant takes on classic horror films is pretty cool! And don’t forget to ty to track down the FCBD special that features a new prequel story.

X-MEN #1 by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I as writing about a new X-Men title. Another year, another reboot with a new team made up of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Sunfire, Synch, Wolverine(X-23), Polaris and Rogue. It’s the same old stuff and just shows how far this once great title has drifted as there are just too many X books on the stands. Let’s be honest: the Eighties was a prime time for mutants and now…it’s just a continuing spewing out of mutant titles.

X-MEN: THE TRIAL OF MAGNETO #1 by Leah Williams and Lucas Wernick. SPOILER: The Scarlet Witch is dead and someone did it. And the clues seem to point to Magneto. But did he really kill his own daughter? That’s what this mini-series will try to unravel. But let’s be honest: no one REALLY stays dead in comics and especially someone so critical to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, in the end, it may make a big difference in the status quo, but I feel this may just be a set up for future stories.

DC UNIVERSE Month 43, Part 2

ICON & ROCKET: SEASON ONE #2 by Reginald Hudlin and Doug Braithwaite. Icon and Rocket are cleaning up Dakota, but that brings authorities to Raquel’s mom searching for her. N.S.A. Agent Baker meets with Augustus and demands they knock off their vigilante actions or else. Later, some of Dakota’s drug dealers look to confront Raquel’s mom, but Reverend Stone and some of his congregation intervene. Baker meets with Agent Lord, who explains he has been around for generations and reveals Augustus’ history: how he led a revot against slave owners and killed Jefferson Davis, who was replaced by a double.

I AM BATMAN #0 by John Ridley and Travel Foreman. In the past, Tim Fox is continuing his training in Japan with Katana and informs Ma that his name is now Jace. In the present, Jace tells his family he is moving out. Later, at work, he meets with an old acquaintance named Hadiyah. That night, he goes to a warehouse, searching for radicals connected to Arkadine. He finds six dead bodies and fights two guys, who set a bomb in the warehouse. After saving one of the pair, Jace is told the six were dead when he got there and he and his partner had been paid to make the explosion look like an accident. Meanwhile, a downtown demonstration is a false flag operation with some of Arkadine’s followers there to start a war with police. Jace arrives in a Batsuit and stops the shooters, but not before the Magistrate get involved. The optics on social media falsely claim Jace was attacking the protesters and that leads to him looking to find a way to upgrade the tech he will be using.

INFINITE FRONTIER #4 by Joshua Williamson, Xermanico, Jess Merino and Paul Pelletier. On Earth-23, Calvin Ellis and Thomas Wayne learn that Lex Luther has been working on multi-dimensional travel who is responsible for designing the ships that Director Bones, X-Tract, and Hector Hammond have been travelling around the Multiverse in. When then find Lex, he’s been killed. On Earth-0, Bones has captured Green Lantern and his son and reveals to Cameron Chase that he had made a deal to keep the Multiverse safe. His ship is ready to go to Hammond’s place in the bleed and Chase shoots him to ensure she is on the ship when it leaves. On Hammond’s ship, Jade figures out the Black Lantern is a resurrected Roy Harper and the team heads to Earth-Omega, where the Psycho Pirate has Barry Allen, but they encounter the Anti-Monitor’s Shadow Demons and their ship crash lands. Back at the House of Heroes, Machinehead betrays the team and brings forth a team of villains to ensure the Multiverse remains separate worlds.

THE JOKER #6 by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Guillem March and Sweeney Boo. Jim Gordon finds himself in France, tracking down a lead on The Joker. He calls Oracle, who informs him that there is chatter about a new Bane being created in Santa Prisca. After she informs him about how everything connected to the Sampson family has been buried, he calls Bullock, not a Private Detective, to assist in the investigation. In the end, Interpol arrests Jim, telling him his fingerprints are all over a murder scene. It seems The Joker has framed Jim Gordon. In the backup, Harper Row has made her way into Blackgate Prison under a false identity in in order to get closer to Punchline. But Punchline sees through the disguise, and it may cost Harper her life.

THE JOKER PRESENTS: A PUZZLEBOX #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Jesus Merino and Joshua Hixon. The Joker was having a party and that got broken up by Batman. With all the villains arrested, The Joker is interrogated by Gordon and Bullock and learns that The Riddler has been killed. The Joker explains it could have been because of The Master Engine: a box with a connection to the New Gods. He enlists a group of villains to find the five keys which will open the box and give them unspeakable power. Elsewhere, it seems that the GCPD already has the box.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #66 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V, Phil Hester and Sumit Kumar. Synmar Utopica has not come to Earth to gain revenge against Superman but to give the Earth to his planet. With the Hall of Justice destroyed, old members and current members unite to fight against Synmar Utopica. But where is Superman? He has gone into space to enlist the United Order to stop him. In the backup, Elnara Roshtu frees Randhir Singh’s mind and frees him. He claims he was imprisoned in his own mind by Merlin. Merlin continues his assault on Atlantis, where he plans to unleash The Darkworld.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: LAST RIDE #4 by Chip Zdarsky and Miguel Mendonca. In the past, Martian Manhunter sacrifices himself to stop Apokolips from launching Boom Nukes. In the present, the team has brought Lobo to Apokolips, but now has to deal with Mongol AND the Cyborg Superman.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #4 by Stephanie Phillips and Max Dunbar. In 1910, Charles Cobblepot is killed by a “ghost.” In preset day, Bruce Wayne buys an antique box containing artifacts from that murder. He discovers that the ghost was actually Cobblepot’s maid, who he had been abusing. In the end, Bruce donates money to create a women’s center.

MISTER MIRACLE: THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM #4 by Brandon Easton and Fico Ossio. Oberon shows Shilo a film Thaddeus made for Shilo. In it, he reveals how he fought for the rights of blacks in Hobbs Bay after receiving Mother Box as a child. He eventually marries Darla Morton and has a daughter named Rose. She marries a Metropolis police officer named Solomon Norman, revealing that Thaddeus is Shilo’s grandfather. He also reveals that baby Shilo accidentally triggered a Boom Tube that sent his parents off to an unknown place. When the film ends, Oberon reveals that N/Vir is headed to New Genesis ad that appears to bring Orion into the situation.

NIGHTWING #83 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Blockbuster and the police are about to bust down Melinda's door. She tells Dick that she isn’t working for Blockbuster and Dick flees, with Blockbuster in pursuit. After a battle that leaves Dick injured, he ends up with Barbara and Tim. When he wakes, he makes the decision to help his city. The following day, after meeting with the Leslie, Lucious, the Titans and Superman, and a kiss with Barbara, he meets the press and reveals he is starting the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation. In the end, the man who is Heartless makes plans against the person who made him.

ROBIN #5 by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Stephanie Brown received word from Ravager that Damian was in this tournament so they go after Damian. He agrees to go back with them to Gotham if they're able to catch him. Dick does and gives him a birthday gift: a metal bar that came from Dick’s old trapeze. He lets Damian go to find his destiny and he arrives back on the island just in time for the tournament to begin.

SHAZAM! #2 by Tim Sheridan and Clayton Henry. Billy Batson and Dane have gone to Hell where they end up in the Casino de Dante Carlo. Billy meets Amoreena while Dane cheats and the pair get to meet head demon Sulibak. Billy’s powers won’t work and he flees with Amoreena’s help. She helps him find the Rock of Eternity. She reveals she is Sulibak’s daughter, just as the demons catch up with him. Billy momentarily is able to use his powers, but those soon fail. Luckily, Dane arrives, revealing himself to be Nevermore, son of the Underlord.

SUICIDE SQUAD #6 by Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica and Dexter Soy. The team captures Night Terror because Waller claims she needs to join them on their mission to Earth-3 to save Bloodsport. They head to Earth-3 and are immediately attacked by Ultraman, who kills Branch. The team finds Bloodsport and transport away, ending up in Russia where they encounter…a leather jacket wearing Superboy? Meanwhile, Peacemaker and his team continue their search for Swamp Thing.

SUICIDE SQUAD: GET JOKER! BOOK ONE by Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev. Jason Todd was killed by the Joker. But he was reborn and took to his own way of fighting crime as Red Hood. He was arrested and now Amanda Waller convinces him to become part of Task Force X and hunt down Joker. His team consists of Firefly, Plastique, Silver Banshee, Wild Dog, Yonder Man, Meow Meow, Pebbles and Harley Quinn. They meet up with Toyman and head to bar, where they find out they have been played by the Joker, which leads them into a fight with Russian henchmen. Red Hood calls Waller, who is in an apartment in Gotham waiting for a pizza delivery. But that pizza place is closed and Waller gets beaten with a crowbar by Joker and his crew. He now has the box which triggers brain bombs and Joker kills Firefly.

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW #3 by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. Supergirl and Ruthye are searching for Krem on the planet of Maypole. But everything is not what it seems. They discover there was once blue people and purple, but the purples were considered lower class and he convinced the townspeople to convince the invading Brigands to eradicate the purples. They revealed Krem and, along with the Brigands, they committed mass genocide of the purples.

SUPERMAN AND THE AUTHORITY #2 by Grant Morrison, Evan Cagle, Mikel Janin, Fico Ossio and Travel Foreman. Superman is running tests on his diminishing powers while Manchester Black explains how he is working on putting a team together made up of Natasha Irons, Midnighter, Apollo, and Enchantress.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #2 by Tom Taylor and John Timms. Jon goes off to college in the undercover disguise of Finn Connors. But that doesn’t last long as he has to reveal himself to stop a student with a gun. After a discussion with his father, he is entrusted to care for the Fortess and given one of Cark’s original capes. Later, he saves a boat filled with refugees from Gamorra and brings them to safety in Metropolis. The person behind The Truth podcasts, Jay Nakamura, also one of the students from the college, meets with Jon and explains what is going on in Gamorra. He also explains how the President of that country will come after him. The President? Henry Bendix-formerly a member of The Authority.

THE SWAMP THING #6 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. The Suicide Squad has been tasked to capture the Swamp Thing, dead or alive. They detonate a toxin that cuts off a portion the jungle from the Green to help trap Swamp Thing. Heatwave finds an unconscious Levi in the jungle and sets him on fire, forcing him into the water. Eventually, he spawns into Swamp Thing and looks poised to attack an unsuspecting Heatwave.

WONDER WOMAN #777 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jordie Belaire, Emanuela Lupacchino and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana, Siegfried and Rotatosk have made it to Earth but discover it is Earth 11 where the Justice League is an all-female team known as the Justice Guild. They get attacked by Wonder Man, who has teamed up with Janus. Janus captures Deadman and transports away with him, leading Diana, Siegfried and Rotatosk to follow. In the backup, young Diana discovers that Herakles and his army came to Themyscira and, after one of the men threatened Antiope, the Amazons killed them all.

WONDER WOMAN #778 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jordie Belaire,Travis Moore and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana, Siegfried and Rotatosk travel to the Phantom Zone where they are attacked by Xa-Du. Aethyr arrives and sends our heroes away to track down Janus, which leads them to the Fifth Dimension, where they meet Bat-Mite, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Wonder Mite. They find Janus, who uses a portal and transports to Gemworld, then prehistoric times. After another portal jump into the blank space of Ascension, Diana fnds Deadman is dead. In the backup, Diana meets with Magala and retrieves the spear that her mother used against Herakles‘ army. She returns to her mother and convinces her to reveal the truth to the Amazons.

DC UNIVERSE Month 43, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1034 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Christian Duce and Michael Avon Oeming. The Phaelosians kill Thao-La’s companions and that sends her into a rage and kills the warriors with a blast from her eyes. Meanwhile, things escalate between Atlantis and the military leading to Superman forcibly taking the Warworld artifact and, along with Jon and Kara, head back to the Fortress. Upon arrival, he finds the carnage, leading to a confrontation between Thao-La and himself. In the backup, Midnighter and Shilo Norman continue to take out Trojan Solutions soldiers on their trip to confront Andrej.

BATMAN #111 by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez and Clayton Cowles. Peacekeeper-01 is ready to kill Miracle Molly and Squeak, but Squeak and Molly use their abilities to help them get away. As the pair flees, Breaker gets involved and takes on Peacekeeper-01, allowing the pair, including a wounded Squeak, to reunite with Master Wyze. Batman, Ghostmaker and Harley show up to lend a hand takes down Peacekeeper-01, allowing them to escape. While Ghostmaker operates on Squeak, Batman decides to take on Scarecrow, who is having problems of his own. Saint realizes the Scarecrow is out of control and orders Peacekeeper-01 to take him down. But Scarecrow has upped the Fear Gas level and Peacekeeper-01 is now under his control.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #6 by Tom King and Clay Mann. In the past, Selina decorates a Christmas tree with The Joker and talks about how she stole all the ornaments. In the present, Batman goes to rescue Selina from Phantasm,leading to Selina taking him down and telling Andrea that it’s time to go kill The Joker. In the future, Commissioner Grayson lights the Bat Signal and old lady Catwoman arrives with her daughter, going out and fighting crime together. Selina also reveals she did kill The Joker.

BATMAN: REPTILIAN #3 by Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp. The creature has taken out most of Gotham’s villains and Batman is trying to figure out what it is and why it is on a rampage. He learns of a hostage situation enacted by The Joker and goes to the site. He confront The Joker, who is attacked by the creature and mutilated by it.

BATMAN SECRET FILES: CLOWNHUTER #1 by Ed Brisson and Rosi Kampe. Two years ago, Bao Pham was a kid at Gotham Academy who got bullied and beaten up. A year later, he learned to fight back, even though he continued to get beat up. Now, he is the vigilante Clownhunter and is tracking down clowns. One of them sets off a bomb, injuring Bao, leaving him at the mercy of the clown. While Punchline teases him vis video chat from her place in prison, he fights back. But that victory is short lived as a large group of clowns attack him. He keeps fighting overwhelming odds and eventually gets saved by Red Hood, who offers to train him and take down the Joker together.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #21 by Gene Luen Yang and Ivan Reis. Superman, Batman, and Robin battle Etrigan while Alanna of Rann and El Diablo fight off demons. Superman finally convinces Etrigan the Auteur.IO is not God and Etrigan turns on him, freeing the other Superman and Batman in the process. The worlds get separated, Auteur.IO’s armor now serves him, and he becomes Observer.IO.In the end, a Paradaemon brings one of the archive film reels to Darkseid. To be continued in  BATMAN/SUPERMAN 2021 ANNUAL #1.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #6 by Chip Zdarsky, Matthew Rosenberg, Meghan Fitzmartin, Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Scot Eaton, Marcus To, Chris Sprouse, Belen Ortega and Trevor Hairsine. Jason repurposes a Batsuit and heads out to save Batman, who is under the effects of Cheerdrops. Jason gets dosed but fights off the effects long enough to give Batman the antidote and release him from the drug. Tyler’s mom recovers and Bruce and Jason patch things up, with Jason declaring he’s done using guns. In the first backup, Zealot mixes it up with Wonder Woman, as both have gone after Maxwell Lord. The fight ends in a draw, but Zealot acquires some of Diana’s blood and is bringing it back to the WildC.A.T.S. In the second backup, Tim teams up with his friend Bernard to save him, leading to a reunion in the end and a potential date for the pair. In the last story, Black Canary becomes a member of T.R.U.S.T. after saving the life of Juliette Ballantine from hat turns out to be a staged assassination attempt. After learning her parents were members, Canary is sent on a mission with Deathstroke. But who was behind the assassination attempt? Talia. Continued in DEATHSTROKE INC. #1.

CATWOMAN #34 by Ram V and Fernando Blanco. Detective Hadley fires up the Bat Signal, telling Batman about Father Valley’s plan to kill Selina. He saves her from last issue’s cliffhanger and gives her a drive with all the information he has been able to gather on Valley. She tracks down Valley and they fight. But he has a plan, as he has a sniper rifle aimed at her sister. He triggers the gun, sets off a bomb and flees. Maggie doesn’t get shot…but Hadley does.

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER SONS #5 by Peter J. Tomasi, Max Raynor and Evan Stanley. The boys save Aquaman and discover their names on next on the scroll. In the distant past, they team up with Rora, who may still be an agent of Faust and Savage.

CHECKMATE #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Weeks ago, Superman invaded the country of Markovia, now known as Leviathan, so that he could rescue Talia Al'Ghul. Today, Mark Shaw has kidnapped Lois Lane and teleports her from the country of Leviathan to the Hall of Justice. Lois meets with Checkmate and reveals that she believes Shaw’s endgame is to get into the Hall of Justice computer system. Trevor meets with Talia in jail, but we learn that she was visited by Shaw and she may actually be working with him. In the end, Mr. King meets with Toyman, who says it may be time for King to reveal who he is.

CRIME SYNDICATE #6 by Andy Schmidt, Kieran McKowen and Bryan Hitch. The Crime Syndicate attacked Alexander Luthor's Watchtower. Now, the hidden member of the Legion of Justice, Ultragirl, is battling it out with Utraman while the remainder of the team faces off against Sinestro and Emerald Knight. Superwoman severs the ring from John Stewart’s hand and the ring kills Sinestro, leading to Stewart siding with the Syndicate. Atomica makes her way inside of Ultragirl’s head and kills her. With that, the Crime Syndicate now rules Earth 3. In the backup, Atomica muses on how she met and learned from Johnny Quick. But Luthor is now a captive of the Syndicate and she will make him her plaything.

CRUSH & LOBO #3 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Lobo and his fellow prisoners are in a group therapy session while Crush waits to meet with her dad. He bares his soul to his daughter, before taking her hand and leaving the meeting. Amazingly, Lobo gets scanned as a visitor and walks out of the prison. This is because he transferred his prisoner monitor chip to his daughter when he held her hand and now she is recognized as Inmate 2981. The Main Man is free, and Crush is now incarcerated.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1041 by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora. Gotham is in disarray. Mayor Nakano sends his people out to search for Worth and Vile; the latter of which is being experimented on. With his house gone and the sewers blown up and leaving him away from his Bat Caves, Oracle sends him to the docks, where he gets one of his classic blue and grey suits. He meets with The Jury, who puts him on trial for the death of Sarah Worth. He is found guilty and, while he escapes, he gets shot with a bullet containing some of Vile’s blood. Batman is now infected. In the backup, Deb Donovan gets a note slipped into her pocket, which leads her to the morgue where she sees the bodies of Bane and Man Bat and the empty drawer which had contained the Arkham Knight. Later, she meets with Vicki Vale who agrees with Batman. Donovan goes home and finds the person who gave her the note sitting in her apartment-Red Hood. This leads into TASK FORCE Z, coming in October.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1042 by Mariko Tamaki and Viktor Bogdanovich. Batman has been shot with a bullet containing Vile's venom and now he is infected Vile, thought to be dead, arises and escapes while Batman defeat Worth. Huntress confront Vile and the infected Batman arrives. Huntress throws Batman at Vile, which forces the parasite out of it. She kills the creature which in turn kills Vile. Even with Vile dead, Huntress admits that she still gets visions of his victims. In the end, the coroners notice eggs escaping from Vile’s body. In the backup, Deb Donovan and Red Hood team up to try and find out why dead people are being abducted from the morgue.

THE FLASH #773 by Jeremy Adams and Will Conrad. Wally is late for his first day at work and is tasked with getting copper rods to power a temporal energy device. When he learns of an incident elsewhere in Central City, he heads there, which puts him in battle with Heat Wave. He learns that Mick is dying and, even though he is apprehending him, offers to help him. Waly races back to work, where he installs the copper rods. He goes home to dinner with his family while Amanda Waller meets with Mick, offering him a purpose. This ties into recent issues of SUICIDE SQUAD and THE SWAMP THING. Elsewhere, Jessica Cruz, now a Yellow Lantern encounters something in space that could prove dangerous.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #4 by Dennis Culver, Michael Golden, Nikola Cizmesija and Jason Pearson. Hunter Panic enters the fray, as Harley searches for Punchline. The three end up in an all-out battle, with Punchline being subdued. Her message: the Net Joker is coming. In the mostly silent backup, Batman battles a bunch of clowns, who learn to late that the Joker will sacrifice anyone if it leads him to Batman.

GREEN LANTERN #5 by Geoffrey Thorne, Tom Raney, Marco Santucci and Andy MacDonald. Keli Quintela has headed to New Korugar to take on Sinestro and his Yellow Lanterns. A mysterious Yellow Lantern battles her and Simon Baz, with the Lantern making the decision to let them go…a Lantern who knows who Simon is. Meanwhile, Joan Stewart evacuates the planet in an effort to save them from the Slavers. They go to Oa, where John gets a cool reception. But there is no time for that as a distress call comes in from Killowog.

HARDWARE: SEASON ONE #1 by Brandon Thomas and Denys Cowan. Curtis Metcalf is a genius who, at a young age, was supported monetarily and emotionally by Edwin Alva. The genius inventor worked for Alva Industries to improve his world. But that was before the Big Bang and now he is being blamed for it as Alva has made him the scapegoat. To save himself, Curtis creates a suit of armor and fights back.

HARLEY QUINN #6 by Stephanie Phillips and Laura Braga. Harley is searching for the manufacturing facility making Strange's drug which leads her to Alleytown. She teams up with Catwoman and they find the facility, but not before Harley gets dosed and saved by Selina. Elsewhere, Strange meets with Scarecrow, who is not happy that Keepsake stole his toxin and modified it.

DC UNIVERSE Month 42, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN #5 by Stephanie Phillips and Riley Rossmo. Harley analyzes Hugo Strange and his Batman fixation. After a bathroom trip, she breaks free and rescues Kevin and the other captured clowns, with some help from Solomon Grundy. In the end, Strange plans his next move with his mysterious accomplice Keepsake.

ICON & ROCKET (SEASON ONE) #1 by Reginald Hudlin and Doug Braithwaite. In 1843, a spaceship from a distant world crash landed on Earth and the surviving child, Arnus, was raised by a pair of slaves. In the present, Raquel Ervin and her friends break into his home. H now foes by the name of Augustus Freeman. He quickly dispatches the crooks, but a bond is formed between Augustus and Rachel, who convinces him to use his power to change the world. And she convinces him to let her be his sidekick.

INFINITE FRONTIER #2 by Joshua Williamson, Xermanico, Jess Merino and Paul Pelletier. Cameron Chase heads to the Hall of Justice where she is looking fr answers from Batman and Superman, which they refuse to answer. She checks in with Bones, who wants her to recruit Captain Atom. Elsewhere, Justice League Incarnate are collecting pieces of a wrecked ship that is scattered throughout the Multiverse. On Earth-22, President Superman is finding out from Thomas Wayne Batman how he ended up here when Magog arrives, looking for a fight. On Earth-0, Allan Scott and Obsidian are trying to figure out what happened to Jade, leading to a bit of an argument with Vandal Savage. Roy is trying to control the Black Lantern ring, which shows him his daughter may be alive. The ring seems t transform hm into a full Black Lantern, saying the words “Darkseid is”. Chase meets with Captain Atom and deduces that he is not the real Captain Atom she knew. Telling her that she doesn’t know what is happening with the Multiverse and how he knows too much, he rips open his chest, screams “Darkseid is” and sets off a nuclear explosion, apparently killing them both.

INFINITE FRONTIER #3 by Joshua Williamson, Xermanico, Tom Derenick, Jess Merino and Paul Pelletier. On Earth-22, President Superman and Thomas Wayne continue talking with Magog, who he calls an abomination. Justice Incarnate arrives and Magog allows them to examine the shuttle wreckage. On Earth-Omega, Flash thinks he is running a race with Jay Garrick, but he is in a trap and being monitored by the Psycho Pirate. Alan Scott and Obsidian are still looking for Jade, which leads them to visit Shade in search of information. This takes them to Bludhaven and an investigation in Command D. This leads them to discover a huge spaceship and Bones. And company, where they get blasted by Cameron Chase. At the same time, Black Lantern Roy finds himself floating in space and looking for a miracle. That miracle comes in the form of a similar, if not the same, spaceship, where he meets Hector Hammond, who has been changed since the reset. He gets subdued by Hammond and his team, who takes the ship into The Bleed. The ship gets attacked by Infinite Incorporated, led by Jade.

THE JOKER #5 by Mathew Rosenberg, James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Francesco Francavilla and Sweeney Boo. In a flashback issue, a young Captain Gordon tries to convince Harvey Dent and everyone else how dangerous the Joker is. His obsession leads t the death of several officers and what could be the end of Jim’s marriage. In the backup, Harper gets some information from her father about Punchine and Punchline is seeking revenge on Kelly Ness.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #64 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V, Steve Pugh and Sumit Kumar. The United Federation of Planets' Honor Guard are trying Synmar Utopica, but he escapes and is headed to Earth to continue his fight with Superman. Elsewhere, Naomi has a sparring match with Aquaman while Green Arrow and Black Canary are confronted by Daemon Rose: agent of Checkmate. In the backup, Batman meets with Elnara Roshtu, who claims to be the thirteenth knight of Arthur’s court. They team up, fighting the Brother of Ambrosius and looking to free Randhir Singh.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #65 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V, Steve Pugh and Sumit Kumar. Black Canary and Green Arrow dealing Daemon Rose, who claims to be Lois Lane’s brother and also needing help from Checkmate. The revelation that Oliver is working for Checkmate doesn’t go over well with Black Canary, but there is little time to react to that as Deathstroke arrives-but not Slade Wilson-and takes them all out. Meanwhile Synmar Utopica battles the League and seemingly destroys the Hal of Justice, possibly killing Naomi’s parents and anyone else in the building. In the Justice League Dark backup, Batman and the 13th Oathswoman Elnara Roshtu try to free the mind of Randhir Singh. Elnara enters the mind of the old man, only to find a young child inside, where he reveals that Merlin is responsible for his captivity and he must pay. Meanwhile, Merlin is looking to conquer Atlantis and it's up to the combined forces of Justice League Dark and Aquaman to stop him.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: LAST RIDE #3 by Chip Zdarsky and Miguel Mendonca. The League gets Lobo to Apokolips before finding out that trouble is on the way. Batman and Superman argue over what to do before Wonder Woman steps in and the teams prepare for a fight.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #3 by Darrick Robertson. Batman is held captive by Quiz, but she reveals she needs his help. Scarecrow is looking to double-cross The Riddler in a deal with the Russians and she and Nygma love each other. Batman agrees to help, taking out the bad guys.

MISTER MIRACLE: THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM #3 by Brandon Easton and Fico Ossio. Shilo continues his battle with N’Vir, eventually leading him to The Core, where he observes how N’Vir established the Free Galactic Imperium. But there was a rebellion and that led to the destruction of the Imperium, which she believes is Shilo’s fault. He transports back to the fight and is quickly defeated., begging Mother Box for help. Meanwhile, Slakind heads to meet with a man named Oberon, who claims he knows everything, including why N’Vir is here.

THE NEXT BATMAN: SECOND SON #4 by John Ridley and Travel Foreman. Jace observes his father meeting with Mayor Nakano and Simon Saint before receiving word about where to find Arkadine’s courier. He tracks her down but gets stabbed in the process, only to be saved by Katana. Later, he learns that the courier’s satchel contained identification cards for folks on the government watch list. He also learns there is a sub-basement in the building and it is connected to the Clade of Chiroptera. He makes his way to the basement and discovers an armory and a Batsuit, leading him to discover that the Clade if the group who work for Batman.

NIGHTWING #82 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Melinda, who has revealed herself to be Dick’s sister, takes him to meet her mother Meili Lin. Many yeas ago, she ran away from her abusive husband Tony Zucco while attending the circus, which leads to a confrontation between John Grayson and Zucco. Lin joins the circus and has a brief fling with a still singe Grayson. One night, Zucco kidnaps Lin back, where she gives birth to Melinda, who Zucco thinks is his. Eventually, they flee from Zucco, who will gain his revenge and Grayson by killing he and his wife Mary. Later, Dick and Melinda chat only to find out that Blockbuster is here.

ROBIN #4 by Joshua Williamson and Jorge Corona. Damian spends some quality time with Ra's Al Ghul, who teaches him some life lessons and tries to convince him not to return to Lazarus Island for the tournament. He leaves Ra’s and Goliath and heads to Corto Maltese, where he gets a visit from Tim, Dick, Stephanie and Jason, who are looking to take Damian home.

SHAZAM! #1 byTim Sheridan and Clayton Henry. Billy Batson is fighting alongside his Titans teachers against Chemo when his powers fail and Shazam disappears. Later, as he continues to deal with not being able to access his powers, his sister Mary meets with him, where he learns that Freddy is in the hospital with an undisclosed condition that Mary says is “bad”. She suggests he meets with Doctor Fate, revealing he is on campus explaining problems being encountered by a “celestial event”. Fate recounts how the power battery on Oa is gone, the Speed Force is in flux and the Rock of Eternity is in Hell. As he prepares to leave to find the Rock, fellow student Dane arrives and opens Doom’s Doorway to take them to Hell.

STATIC (SEASON ONE) #2 by Vita Ayala and Chriscross. Virgil battles Hotstreak, whose power has run out and so does he. Virgil uses his power to snuff out the fire in his house, much to the surprise of his family.Later, at school, Darius tries to live stream and interview with Virgl, who destroys his phone and breaks up their friendship. He contacts Curtis Metcalf, who sends him to a storage locker at the airport. En route, he meets with other Band Babies, and finds the government is after them. At the locker, Virgil encounter the police, who thinks he is Metcalf. Elsewhere, it looks like Daisy has gotten powers too.

SUICIDE SQUAD #5 by Robbie Thompson, Dexter Soy, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira and Joe Prado. Amanda Waller has sent Bloodsport to Earth 3, to kidnap Black Siren and add her to the Squad. That leads him into a direct confrontation with Ultraman, who likes getting shot with Kryptonite and, after dispatching Bloodsport, wants to know how to get to our Earth. Back at Task Force X base, Flag is still on the loose and Waller is told that they might have found Levi Kamei: the new Swamp Thing. And Waller decides to send Peacemaker after him.

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW #2 by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. Supergirl and Ruthye are on a space-bus, in search of yellow sun. Along the way, they encounter a space dragon, forcing Supergirl to take a Red Kryptonite pill to give her enough power to defeat the dragon. They are on this journey as Supergirl is seeking a way to get an antidote to cure a mortally wounded Krypto. And she has also agreed to help Ruthye find and kill Krem.

SUPERMAN AND THE AUTHORITY #1 by Grant Morrison and Mikel Janin. It’s 1963 and Superman and President Kennedy turns down Superman’s request to protect him in Dallas. What he does ask is for Superman to promise to make the world better. The scene shifts to an assault against Manchester Black, who uses his powers to stop himself from being apprehended. Superman arrives and takes down Black. Black wakes in the Fortress of Solitude, where he has been operated on by Superman to fix his broken spine. Superman explains that he is losing his powers and is gathering a team that can help. There is also an imminent breakout from the Phantom Zone and he needs Black’s help, but Black refuses and the breach occurs. Superman does his best to fight but is losing the battle until Black changes his mind and uses his powers to help. Black sees the light an agrees to join this team. Elsewhere, a mysterious villain addresses other villains, including Eclipso, and explains that Superman is his oldest enemy and now knows how to destroy him.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KA-EL #1 by Tom Taylor and John Timms. We begin with Jon’s birth inside the Fortress of Solitude. Today, Jon is helping put out a fire accidently started by someone with uncontrolled fire powers. Despite a promise by authorities, the military knocks the boy out and demands Jon hands him over to them. Later, he talks with Damian about if he did the right thing. After dispatching ninjas on Corto Maltese, Daian tells him to stop fighting the symptoms in this world and to be the cure.

THE SWAMP THING #5 by Ram V and John McCrea. Levi Kamei is summoned to London to disarm an unexploded WWII bomb, with the help of John Constantine and Sierra Kirre. The bomb could cause people to become radicalized towards fascism by the radiation of the bad ideas that exist from the Nazis who created it. Swamp Thing finds the bomb and takes it out of London, where it explodes. In the end, Amanda Waller sends Peacemaker to capture Swamp Thing.

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #5 by Tim Sheridan and Steve Lieber. In flashback, the Bat-Pack meets at an orphanage in Gotham that is selling students to Dr. Grusel. Grusel is trying to perfect Kirk Langstrom's Man-Bat formula, which leads to Diego Perez becoming Chupacabra. Nightwing shows up to save them from a transformed Grusel and bringing them to the Roy Harper Academy for Gifted Youngsters. In the present, Red X reveals his identity to them before leaving, saying he will be back to see if they want to join his team. Less than a minute later, as Red X predicted, Nightwing arrives and leads the Bat-Pack out to an end of semester celebration.

WONDER GIRL #2 by Joelle Jones and Adriana Melo. After being pulled into the water by a sea creature, we discover the creature is actually an ancient warrior named Iara. Iara gives her a magical Bolabefore, before returning her to the surface with few memories. Meanwhile, forces are conspiring to find and stop Yara before a prophecy is fulfilled. Artemis, Wonder Girl Cassie, and a group South American Amazons head to Brazil-each with different agendas. Yara and João jump on a plane to get Yara back to her hote, where they get attacked by a pair of South American Amazons. During the fight, Yara accidently kicks a hole in the plane. Eros and Zephyros, dispatched to get Yara to Hera, rescue the plane from crashing. Eros accidentally cuts himself with one of his own arrows and immediately falls in love with Yara.

WONDER WOMAN #775 by Michael Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellaire Andy MacDonald and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana, Deadman, and Ratatosk head into the Graveyard of the Gods where Diana must three riddles from the Keeper to save the Olympians. She succeeds and that brings the Olympians back to life. She promises Janus she will find his other half and retrieve the God Scraper. This leads her to enter a deep well and end up in Elfhame. In the backup, young Diana fights to save Clio from the cutches of Circe and does so with the help of Io’s purple ray.

WONDER WOMAN #776 by Michael Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jill Thompson Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana and Ratatosk wander through Elfhame, where Ratatosk gets turned into a boy, Siegfried shows up, and Diana talks to Deadman, which leads to a confrontation with Janus. Ratatosk gets captured, leading to Siegfried and Diana confronting Gwyn: king of Elfhame. She defeats Gwyn, gives his crown to Argna, the sister of the queen, and gets her lasso to force Gwyn to lead her to the portal that will bring Diana, Siggy and Ratatosk back to Earth at last. In the backup, young Diana learns that her mother was responsible for giving the order to destroy the sacred texts.