DC UNIVERSE Month 59, Part 2

G.C.P.D.: THE BLUE WALL #3 by John Ridley and Stefano Raffaele. While Montoya wrestles with the potential menace of Two-Face, Officer Ortega thinks about filing a report concerning the racial abuse he has been getting from fellow officer; an act he is talked out of. Later, he is out on assignment and kills a perp, which he does easily. Montoya starts her own investigation into Two-Face, including a face-to-face meeting where he explains he is a different person now. In the end, Montoya comes hoe and, finding her fish has died from being overfed, questions if she has what it take to do the job.

GOTHAM CITY: YEAR ONE #3 by Tom King and Phil Hester. Slam Bradley continues his search for Helen Wayne, who he is dedicated to finding, dead or alive. He gets a visit from Constance Wayne, who is convinced that Helen is dead. She gives him some money to go find her killer. This leads Bradley to a number of places before getting a possible lead from Madame Shirley, who gives him information on Queenie Lydell, who may have been the woman who attacked him previously. He burst in and kills James Lydell, who did not have Helen Wayne, but was trying to protect a child of his own. He looks into the back yard and, finding a shovel, digs up a fresh grave, only to find an object, possibly Helen Wayne, wrapped in a blanket containing the symbol of the Court of Owls.

HARLEY QUINN #25 by Stephanie Phillips and Matteo Lolli. The Harley Who Laughs, who has been travelling through alternate universes to kill all the Harleys, arrives to kill Old Lady Harley. She manages to escape through the Multiverse and lands with the real Earth-0 Harley, resulting in a team-up to stop The Harley Who Laughs. The three of them battle and, just when Harley is ready to take out her revenge on the villain who killed her before, there is a dimensional rift and suddenly we have a host of Multiversal Harleys.

I AM BATMAN #16 by John Ridley and Christian Duce. Tanya’s executive assistant is murdered by someone saying he will pay. Tiff confesses that she has been acting as a masked vigilante. There is another attack at a startup company funded by Foxtech, killing eight. Batman stops the assassin, but he kills himself before Jace can get any truthful information. Later, there is a family meeting where they receive a video from someone saying they want money to free Jace’s mother. When he claims that his mother is right there during the meeting, it is reveals that Tanya is not really Jace’ mother.

JOHN STEWART: THE EMERALD KNIGHT #1 by Geoffrey Thorne and Marco Santucci. Esak and his army is going through the Universe in an attempt to eradicate all species. John and his cadre of Lanterns have to team up to defeat Esak, even to the point here John uses his powers to split himself into two John Stewarts. In the end, Esak is defeated for now, meaning John can go home and visit his wife.

THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #3 by Matthew Rosenberg, Francisco Francavilla, and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Red Hood battles a Joker on Harley’s boat, but the clown escapes by diving into the frigid water. Later, two fisherman find his frozen form and The Joker makes his way into a hospital, holding it hostage until a doctor fixes him up. When he finally leaves, after ‘convincing the doctor’ to give him a brain transplant, he discovers the police outside of the hospital, arresting Red Hood. Over at The Hal of Doom, The Joker and his clowns meets with Lex Luthor and his team, that now includes Punchline. They send him on his way. In the backup, The Joker gets beat up by Big Barda and cuts sliced in half by a train. After a desperate search for a surgeon to put him back together, he ends up reassembled with the legs of a gorilla.

MONKEY PRINCE #9 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. Marcus’s family travels to Metropolis where his parents take a job working for Lex Luthor. King Fire Bull arrives to steal a special Lexcorp project and snaps Marcus’s mom’s neck in the process. .He finds that Lexcorp is breeding Bizarro clones and decides to eat them to gain powers of some sort. His father takes him and his crippled mother to meet his Grandpa Gerard, who hopefully can heal his injured daughter. Supergirl investigates what happened at Lexcorp and that leads her to Gerard’s, where she faces off with Monkey Prince. Before too much can happen, Gerard transforms himself into the Ultra-Humanite. Elsewhere, Nezha’s minions kidnap Pigsy.

NIGHTWING #99 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Based on testimony from Maroni, numerous arrests are being made in Bludhaven and all seems right in the world. Tony Zucco shows up at the office of his daughter, the Mayor, saying he got out of jail on good behavior and that tomorrow he will be worth millions, inviting her to join him so they can take advantage of the shift in power with the death of Blockbuster and the arrest of Maroni. His plan is to rob a vault deep under a shack near a lighthouse. Nightwing stops the theft and is told by the Fisherman, who was guarding the vault, that there was a safe in there with his name on it. With Zucco back in prison, Melinda tells him that she is not his daughter and that John Grayson is. And she has officially changed her name to Melinda Grayson-Lin.

POISON IVY #7 by G. Willow Wilson and Atagun Ilhan. Ivy starts a new job at a fracking company called FutureGas after she encounters another Woodrue inspired creature who may have been transformed from a human into a creature by whatever FutureGas is making. She investigates the office of Ms. Crawley, who runs the company, only to be captured by Crawley, who informs her she was also working with Woodrue. In the end, Ivy is undergoing a nasty transformation.

PUNCHLINE: THE GOTHAM GAME #3 by Tini Howard, Blake Howard and Max Raynor. Following the events in CATWOMAN #50, Punchline is working with Professor Pyg as she plans her next move. That also means dealing with a dead but very talkative Joker, who she cuts up and then proceeds to dump the body parts. While she is doing the deed, Bluebird intervenes and the pair battle with Punchline getting away. In the end, Harper’s brother gets a text message from Bluff, asking that they meet up. What he discovers is that Bluff is still tied to Punchline and this just manages to get Cullen captured by her and Bluff.

STARGIRL: THE LOST CHILDREN #2 by Geoff Johns and Todd Nauck, Courtney and Emiko head out on one of Oliver Queen’s boats to search for the missing sidekicks. While enroute, Stargirl receives a garbled message of warning from Air Wave and, shortly after, their boat explodes. They end up on an island where the beach is made of Miraclo. They get attacked by giant walking eggs that capture Emiko. Courtney fights off the other robots and is visited by Air Wave, Wing and some of the other sidekicks, telling her that this is Orphan Island and the only way off of it is by dying.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #18 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. The Justice League arrives to help rebuild the Kent house in Smallville, with Batman adding another level of security by covering the house in a special shield. Later, there is a bomb threat against The Daily Planet and it appears that Luis Rosas is responsible. While evacuating Planet staff members, Clark and Jon hear Jimmy’s signal watch and Jon heads out, knowing it’s a trap. He catches up with Rosas, but his powers fail and he is shot in the chest. Luckily he is wearing a special belt designed by Brainiac 5 and also a protective vest given to him by Nightwing. The pair go after Rosas and capture him. In prison, Rosas is visited by a virtual Lex Luthor, who tells him he is proud of him.

SWORD OF AZRAEL #5 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija. Brielle undergoes a painful transformation that wraps her into her own suit of armor, making her Sariel. She reveals that the Templars now have the Angel Maker. Also, Bane’s daughter Vengeance is somehow connected to them. Meanwhile, Jean Paul confronts Father Valley, who reveals he sent Sariel to him and that it was Jean Paul’s father who named him Father Valley. After the pair fight, with Jean Paul defeated Valley, he finally realizes his mission and asks Father Valley to join him on it.

TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #4 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo. Tim continues to solve the mystery of the murders. While having dinner with Bernard, Tim figures things out. He decodes the cypher figuring them out from clues to books that are missing from his collection, which brings him down to three potential victims: Carol Donovan, Kathy Horne, and Wallace Supes. With the help of the Batgirls, he narrows it down and they head to Wallace Supes, only to find him already dead. Then they get attacked by a giant virtual shark, eventually finding a mysterious white disk that eliminates the threat. In the end, Tim gets a call from the villain, who has kidnapped Bernard.

WILDC.A.T.s #2 by Matthew Rosenberg and Stephen Segovia. Zealot rescues Grifter and Fairchild from the cultists and the Court of Owls. Later, while recovering, he gets a visit from Maxine, leading him to a meeting with the Halo Corporation where he encounters a bunch of strangers Doctor Amelia Shelly and Delia Shelley (from Task Force Z and Project Halperin), Doctor Ivo, Doctor Morrow, Veronica Cale of Empire Enterprises, Doctor Tyme, and Mrs. Fries (AKA Mrs. Freeze). He also meets a female Deathblow, which is Michael in a new body. That night, he and Voodoo go looking for the Court of Owls. Across town, Marlowe survives an assassination attempt thanks to Zealot and Spartan. In the end, Marlowe unveils his new team: the 7 Soldiers of Victory, including Mister Majestic, Maul, Spartan, Pike, Mother One and two other unidentified individuals.

WONDER WOMAN  #794 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Emanuela Lupacchino, Wade von Grawbadger. With Cizko defeated and the Brazilian Lab shut down, Etta sends Cheetah and Siegfried on a mission to investigate the International Milk Company's primary production facility. The guards quickly find them and a battle occurs, with Phobos and Deimos coming forth from the milk vats. Wonder Woman arrives and defeats the Greek gods. They all head to the Hall of Justice but the temple of Olympus lands on Earth, leading Diana to enter it and meet Eros, who promises Diana that Olympus will be reborn and Hera will sit on the throne once more. But Yara Yar arrives and is there to stop it. In the backup, Antiope finally leaves and Diana thinks about the future while reading ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

DC UNIVERSE Month 59, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1050 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, Joahua Williamson, Mike Perkins, Clayton Henry and Nick Dragotta. Lex has captured Manchester Black and is attempting to get information on Superman from him. All Black will tell him is that Superman almost never thinks of Lex, which sets Lex off, causing him to throw a switch, killing Black which sends some sort of energy wave across the world. In Smallville, the Kent home has been rebuilt and is now covered in a dome Batman constructed tat will keep everyone safe. Perry White comes to visit but, after Lois refers to Superman as Clark, Perry has a minor stroke. Later, Lex summons Superman to him with an upgraded version of the signal watch. He reveals a special suit that he has built and wants to team up with Superman, who turns down the idea. He also reveals that he used Black’s powers of hypnotic control to cause anyone in the world who knows Clark Kent is Superman to possibly die. If Superman agrees to work with Lex, he’ll shut off the machine. During a battle, Lex admits that he was hurt that Superman revealed his identity to the world and not to the kid who grew up with him. He also reveals he killed Black and that he has Warworld technology now. During the fight with the enraged Superman, Lex transports Superman away to save himself but that doesn’t work and he apprehends Lex. Later, Batman reveals that Martian Manhunter and others have set up psychic defenses against this worldwide telepathic attack, meaning the whole world no longer recognizes Clark or Jon as the Supermen. At Stryker’s Island, someone prepares for something. Elsewhere in the Multiverse, President Superman decides he needs Jon Kent to help protect the Kal-El’s of the Multiverse, as many of them are being murdered. In the end, Lex has given Metallo a new body and a new lease on life, provided he goes after Superman.

BATGIRLS#13 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Jonathan Case. Continued from BATGIRLS ANNUAL 2022, Cass and Steph have switched bodies after Steph flipped a magic coin given to her by an old woman whose cat she saved. Steph/Cass has dinner with Lady Shiva, who quickly recognizes this is nor her daughter, leading to a fight. Eventually, a truce is reached, with Shiva saying to tell her daughter she is proud of her. Meanwile, Cass/ Steph has been kidnapped by her no-longer-dead father, Cluemaster, who is trying his best to have a family reunion, as creepy as it may seem. Elsewhere, Bruce calls in Zatanna for help in figuring out the deal with the coin. This leads them to Dame Cami Doza, who is really Madame Zodiac. She explains the rib was all in fun and the effects wear off after 24 hours. The effects do wear off and both end up in the right bodies again. Shiva tries to convince Cass to stay with her as a great and powerful force, but Cass declines, as she needs to go save her friend.

BATMAN #130 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Batman is lost in orbit following Failsafe's destruction of the Justice League's moon base. He grabs a piece of debris and rides it back to Earth, where he lands near the Fortress of Solitude where Superman is still recovering. Together, they create a plan to stop Failsafe for good. While Superman engages with Failsafe, Batman and Robin attack, with Batman putting a portable drive into Failsafe that confuses it. Still, with compassion part of its’ new programming, it fires on batman and disintegrates him. But it appears that he only transported Batman elsewhere, as it looks like he may be back where it all started: Crime Alley. In the backup, Batman confronts The joker and deals with his demons, eventually defeating The Joker and adopting the bright yellow symbol from Zur-En-Arrh’s costume and adding it to the chest of his uniform.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 by Ed Brisson and John Timms. Ghost-Maker takes the gravely injured Skyspider to Dr. Wu to be fixed up, telling his team that Clownhunter has been kidnapped. Phantom-One, Ghost-Maker’s first sidekick, tells Clownhunter how he was the child of Mr. and Mrs. Menace, who Ghost-Spider killed. He adopted him, raised him, and trained him. During one mission, Phantom-One was severely injured and Ghost-Spider left him to die. He explains that Ghost-Maker’s allies have killed thousands and asks Clownhunter to join him while the rest of Batman Incorporated are trying to protect the surviving allies.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #10 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Joker, who has captured Boy Thunder, interrogates him in an effort to discover Batman and Suerman’s secret identities, who have teamed up with the Titans to try and find him. The Key learns that David comes from a parallel world and sees him as the key to the universe. When The Joker cannot get information out of David, he beats him with a crowbar as the heroes travel through multiple doors into multiple worlds before finally arriving at the right place. But the ensuing chaos leads to David getting free and he chases The Joker through numerous worlds, before finally catching him and revealing who he actually is and will become: Magog.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #21 by Jamal Campbell, Yedoye Travis, Dennis Culver, Joey Esposito, Adriano Lucas Lucas Silveira, Hayden Sherman and Vasco Georgiev. Nightwing leads off the book with a new villain who is videotaping everything Nightwing does. Called The Director, Nightwing captures one of The Director’s associates, but he is murdered before he can reveal any information. In the second tale, Batman faces off against Anarky. In the third tale, school is back in session at Arkham Academy. Li’l Kitten torments Croc while in class, believing he is in full restraints with a shock collar. Oops…no shock collar! In the final story, Batman’s parents deal with the consequences of being pulled from out of their timeline and into the current one, even though they now understand that they are fated to die in the original timeline. He deduces that Tim Commander was responsible and the hunt begins. Batman catches Time Commander but he is killed before he can reveal who hired him. In the end, it looks like it has something to do with The Court of Owls.

BATMAN VS. ROBIN #4 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar. Batman, battered and beaten because of his battle with the Gauntlet of Robins, finally confronts Damian in the caves beneath Lazarus Island. Demon Nezha shows up and attempts to put on Dr. fate’s helmet, but Talia arrives and the helmet ends up with Batman. The spell on Damian is broken and even Black Alice and Pigsy lend a hand. Damian and his mother confront Ra’s mother, who Damian calls the Demon of Lazarus Island, which ends with Talia pushing her into a deep pit. Damian saves her, but she releases her grip and falls, presumably to her death. During the battle between Nezha and Batman, the helmet is destroyed and falls into a Lazarus Pit. Nezha tries to kill Damian, but Batman takes the blast and dies while Nezha’s son, King Red Bull, arrives to fight with his father. Alice uses her powers to resurrect Batman and, as they flee, Lazarus Island explodes. To be continued in LAZARUS PLANET #1.

BLUE BEETLE: GRADUATION DAY #2 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. Blue Beetle ends up in battle with the other person wearing a scarab, who is revealed to be Dynastes. Ted Kord arrives to lend a hand and subdues Dynastes. She reveals her name is Xiomara and she admits she was trying to kill Jaime. Ted offers Jaime a part-time internship and he readily accepts. In the end, Starfire pays him a visit and tells him to get ready for war.

CATWOMAN #50 by Tini Howard, Nico Leon Inaki Miranda, and Juan Ferreyra. Catwoman and her allies are planning their assault on Punchline when Batman arrives and informs her that Eiko has been injured. The team launches their assault onto the Ace Chemical Factory with a new ally:  Dario, who now goes by the hero name of Tomcat. During the battle, Valmont releases Amygdala. When Amygdala attacks Catwoman, Valmont kills him. Batman arrives and Valmont attacks Batman, leading to Selina killing Valmont. During all of this, Punchline escapes as the Ace Chemical Plant is destroyed. The next day, it is revealed that Selina has been arrested and jailed. A meeting with Bruce does not go well, as she confesses that she had feelings for Valmont. After she has to fight other inmates, she gets a visit from her cat Duchess, telling the cat how much she misses Valmont. Meanwhile, Dario gets Eiko out of the hospital and they prepare to work together to fill Selina’s shoes, declaring there will be no alley with a cat.

DANGER STREET #1 by Tom King and Jorge Fornés. In a bar somewhere in the Dc Universe, someone orders a drink and Dr. fate’s helmet begins to tell a fairy tale set on Danger Street. We meet “the princess”, Lady Cop, who is having a friendly encounter, of sorts, with “four strapping young lads”, the Dingbats of Danger Street: a bunch of teenagers joyriding a four-wheeler in the middle of the street. She instructs them to drive the vehicle in the valley, which is where they head to. Meanwhile, “an ogre”, The Creeper, is tracking down small time criminals and giving them savage beating before his alternate persona, Jack Ryder, goes off for an interview at a new cable network run by “monsters”: The Green Team. Elsewhere, the “three glorious princes”, Metamorpho, Warrior, and Starman, devise a scheme to use the  Helm of Fate to summon Darkseid, to demonstrate why they should become part of the Justice League. At the same time, a “great and powerful wizard” dispatches his son Mark, Manhunter, to go after the Dingbats. The “three glorious princes” take the helm out to the same desert the Dingbats are in, but they summon Atlas, who destroys Metamorpho while claiming the sky is falling. Warlord slays Atlas but Starman freaks out and accidentally kills Good Looks. After a call from Non-fat, Lady Cop heads to the desert.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7 by Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, Jack Herbert, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Cam Smith. While Dick Grayson battles Deathstroke in his mind, Black Adam uses his powers to free Deathstroke from the darkness, which has now possessed Nightwing. The Flash family combines forces with Dr. Light to stabilize the Multiverse, freeing those who were corrupted by the Darkness. Nightwing stops Deathstroke from killing Black Adam. He claims he decided it was better to burn the entire world down rather than let them feel the pain he has felt. In the end, the JSA is back, Dr. Light explored her new connection to the Multiverse, Jim Corrigan is once again connected to The Spectre, Darkseid is back on Apokolips and Oliver Queen is still among the missing. Slade is being kept alive by machines following how the Darkness ravaged his body. Superman and Jon meet with Black Adam who explains that there will be war if they ever get in his way. Bruce tells Dick that there is no Justice League anymore and it is up to Dick to lead the heroes into the future. In the end, Amanda Waller meets with the Council of Light and puts together a team, featuring Peacemaker, Peacewrecker and others, to eradicate all metahumans.

DARK CRISIS: BIG BANG #1 by Mark Waid and Dan Jurgens. Barry Allen, The Flash, is in the Hall of Heroes with Kid Flash, Wallace West, and decides to trip through the DC Multiverse to find the Anti-Monitor, who killed him during the original CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Eventually he confronts the Anti-Monitor on Earth-17 and, with the help of many Multiversal heroes, defeats him before he and Wallace head back to help the heroes during Dark Crisis. To be continued in DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7. Most importantly, we get a glimpse at Barry Allen’s comprehensive list of Earths, from Earth-0, his home Earth, to Earth-2020 (home to three generations of Supermen), along with the 71 other Earths in between.

DARK CRISIS: WAR ZONE #1 by Jeremy Adams, Frank Tieri, Stephanie Williams, Matthew Rosenberg, Delilah S, Dawson, Fernando Pasarin, Serg Acuna, Caitlyn Yarsky, George Kabadais and Tom Derenick. In the first tale, Linda West teams up with Iris Allen to save some kids and fight some of the super-villains fighting for Deathstroke. Next, Jim Corrigan helps the DC Universe magic users, eventually freeing The Spectre from Darkness and merging once again with him. In the third story, it’s all about Nubia and the other Amazonian champions fighting the Dark Army. In the fourth story, the Green Lanterns fight the Darkness as it attacks the Hall of Justice. Lastly, Red Canary meets and teams up with Black Canary.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1067 by Ram V, Simon Spurrier, Hayden Sherman and Ivan Reis. Batman, trapped in an ice explosion while fighting Gael, manages to escape because of a flood of water and he ends up with Mr. Freeze, who helps him to recover as the Orghams have managed to disrupt his peaceful life, creating ice sculptures of his dead wife Nora. The Orghams plan to take over Gotham City heats up as they kill many  Narrows residents and begin to burn it down. Meanwhile, their matriarch uses hypnosis to buy out all of the Wayne Enterprise property in the Narrows. In the backup, Harvey continues to wrestle with his Two Face personality, with the evil persona winning, forcing Harvey’s therapist to leave and never come back…or else.

THE FLASH #789 by Jeremy Adams and  Fernando Pasarin. The Flash and Pied Piper team up to escape from The Rogues, no deputized by Mayor Wolfe. After a reunion with Linda and the kids, Flash goes to visit Mayor Wolfe and Blacksmith, where the Mayor reveals he is concerned with order among all the chaos. A fight ensues between The Flash and Blacksmith, along with the Rogues. Captured by The Rogues, although freed by his family, Mayor Wolfe arrives and shows The Flash that he is an avatar of the Lords of Order. The Flash asks him to let Wolfe be free and promises to do better to stop the chaos. 

Some words about my future and future projects.

 2022 is nearing an end and 2023 is just around the corner. With a change in the calendar comes a change in our lives. I am no exception. 

Over the last few weeks, my social media footprint has dwindled drastically. I don’t find myself spending hours checking Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, so I may have missed some birthdays and holiday greetings. My apologies. I have also limited the amount of news I have been taking in. I’m not watching endless hours of news coverage while writing. In fact, I can’t think of the last time I saw a news program-certainly not since I returned from Pennsylvania about three weeks ago. I have found that liberating and certainly has reduced my stress levels.

But I have also realized that I could put that time into other more positive things in my life, specifically my family and my writing. To an point, it has been cathartic and has freed up my mind from a productive standpoint. Coupled with my new turntable, I have been binging records I have not played in nearly 25 years. Currently digging my way through my  almost complete Poco collection. That too has sparked my creativity in ways I didn’t think possible (more on that shortly).

I don’t see this changing much as we enter the New Year. With the exception of posting some pictures, both family ones and ones from events I attend, sharing Con announcements and updates regarding my forthcoming books, I don’t expect to be spending the time I once did on social media. I also don’t expect many of you will see me “around and about” in 2023 (there are some obvious exceptions), although I intend on reaching out to old friends I have not seen in a while and making more time with them. Although I do still have obligations to attend to, I am becoming much more at ease being in my element: in my home, at the computer with dogs keeping me company, burning lots of incense, doing household chores, doing a lot more cooking, especially from the new cookbooks that were under the tree, and looking at my life in a new way. 

I’m not completely walking away from the platforms, as I still need to promote my works and share the links to my monthly comic blogs. I am just treading a few giant steps back and turning my focus inwards in an effort to make me a better me. With a great annual physical under my belt, I see myself being around for a while, even as I realize my time being as active as I once was is slowly coming to an end. Time may be on our side but it does not wait for anyone and soon my body will catch up with my true age, even if my brain refuses to let it.

So…onto the writing.

With ELECTRIC FAME and WILDEST DREAMS out there, I need to move on. Neither book is selling as well as I hoped but I kind of expected that. A new author, without the support of a major company pushing him, will continue to languish in the realm of being unknown for some time. I would like to move many more copies, but also understand that I am writing in a niche market with limited distribution and promotion available. Just to have been able to do it and, hopefully, encourage others to do the same is good enough for me. At this point in my life, I never expected to get rich from my writing, no matter what I had hoped for when I was in my Twenties. I just wanted to make certain they didn’t end up in a pile of unpublished works that gets thrown out following my death. That was important to me: another item on my resume and another line entry in my eventual obituary.

My game plan had been to release YULETIDE by June of 2023 with the ELECTRIC FAME sequel following in December. That timetable may change. In the past few weeks, I have spent much of my time rewriting and modifying K.G. Palmer’s 1,479. K.G., along with 1,479 are referenced during one particular scene in ELECTRIC FAME and I figured it was time to dig deep into my archives of unpublished works and actually revise, embellish and, in some cases, actually REWRITE a proper fictional autobiography, considering that the groundwork had been laid out in the first book. So, that is what I have done. 

K.G.’s story goes like this. Fresh out of college, this 21-year-old published his detailed, often vivid, accounting of his college years: an unflinching, intense, raw, and sometimes highly provocative look at his college life, from the classes he took, the jobs he maintained, the things that occupied his free time, and the women he dated. Filled with surprisingly candid comments about everyone and almost everything he encountered, he laid out stories that most would not, naming names and pointing fingers at the people in his life. Most critics and many readers said he had gone too far, often crossing the line between good and bad taste. He put his life, the good, the bad and the just plain nasty, on the page for all to read.

To his surprise, the book became a nationwide success that influenced an entire generation that often compared it to CATCHER IN THE RYE and ON THE ROAD. Overnight, he was a media star and somewhat of a literary sensation. After a failed off-Broadway play, with money in his pocket, he faded out of the public eye. But, in 2022, a new generation sought out the long out of print book. So, “over 40 years after it was first published”, it came “back in print in a new, expanded edition”, including his novella length sequel to the original book, along with a new introduction and closing chapter that brings readers up to date to where his life is in 2022.

I have long wanted to publish K.G.’s story, going back to the days when I first began ELECTRIC FAME, as I felt it was a nice tie-in and gave me the chance to create a character-driven story far different than any I had attempted to write about before. It truly is more unique than any of my other works, currently in print or forthcoming. K.G. is a very dogmatic young man who speaks his mind, sometimes challenges authority and, quite frankly, some of his comments and his exploits are truly raw and sometimes decidedly raunchy. He has no problem embracing much of what he learned or felt in high school and letting those emotions loose during his college years. He is a teenager struggling to find his place in the world and sometimes that means going a bit over the line. Well….WAY over the line that usually defines good taste.

1,479 is truly a sometimes harsh memento of what life for K.G. and many of America’s teens was like in the late Seventies and early Eighties. K.G. and his friends, along with many of the actions and attitudes, are distilled from the personalities of so many people I have encountered over the course of a lifetime. Filled with references to pop culture of the time (who remembers roller disco?), musings on upcoming trends (who wants to PAY for television? NO ONE, our protagonist says), and the constant search for compatible companionship, no matter the cost, it is absolutely NOT a book for everyone, that I can promise. I cannot stress that enough! While it is an interesting companion piece to the novel that brought him to life, even briefly in the pages of ELECTRIC FAME, I can promise you it will make some laugh, bring back memories to others and will certainly offend others. There is a reason I have asked the publisher to list it as being 18+.It often pushes the realms of good taste. But I remind folks that legendary author Anne Rice did the same with her Sleeping Beauty novels and Roald Dahl did with SWITCH BITCH. Even Mark Twain stepped over the line with 1601.

My greatest fear, and currently the only thing holding me back from finalizing publishing, is that my friends, most of whom bought my previous books, will read 1,479 and immediately, because of the contents of the book, end our friendships and I can watch future book sales of my other works disappear immediately. I sincerely hope that is not the case. As I said, K.G. is an amalgam of people I have encountered in my life. 1,479 was my attempt at writing a book that was greatly influenced from some of the classic coming of age films I have seen, from SLUMBER PARTY 57 (Debra Winger’s first film) and COOLEY HIGH to PORKY’S and DAZED AND CONFUSED. It is a fictional autobiography by a fictional author. It has allowed me to step into experimental territory and craft a book that, although not for everyone, has allowed me to move those mental author muscles in a different and distinctive way. It’s not the ‘Great American Novel’ that will be talked about for generations, believe me.

What I am quite proud of is my cover design that I think typifies K.G.’s life in many ways. As a friend of mine told me, it has “retro vibes” and that was what I was shooting for. The fact that Amazon had a royalty free image that I felt fit the theme perfectly helped a heck of a lot. Final design just screamed ‘sleazy Seventies paperback. And that too was what I was looking for.

Once 1,479 is published, I will go back to other works. With YULETIDE completed, along with the ELECTRIC FAME sequel, both of which I will be working on to finalize for eventual publication, it’s back to ELECTRIC FAME’s final chapter, currently at about the half way point. My goal is to have that ready for publication sometime in 2024. Beyond that, there are two other works in the back of my mind. They are not quite ready to be turned into outlines, but I have some ideas and story logistics to work out. Neither is connected to ELECTRIC FAME or any of the other titles connected to it: they are free standing tales-one of which has a sort of Sci-Fi vibe to it. Also on the back burner, although much closer to the outline stage than the other two, is a novelization of K.G.’s failed stage play about the ultimate college road trip. A week ago, it wasn’t even a seed in my brain. But after having finished work with 1,479, the idea began to take shape and I think I can make it a fun, funny tale. And again, it will be a big step outside the comfort zone for me.

One thing I have gone back to, as I had when originally working on ELECTRIC FAME and YULETIDE, is to have a notebook with me at all times, especially on the road trips, either by car, train or plane, which take me out of the comfort of home and put me to work on other projects, which I still plan to be involved with. The things that come to you at night, when trying to decompress from the day or days, can often be enlightening.

My ultimate goal is to have potentially nine books in print by the time I turn 65 or 66. Towering self-imposed goals for sure and, who knows: I may find myself burned out after finishing ‘the final chapter’, as it is a sometimes meandering emotional roller coaster for myself and my characters. Remember: I often find myself sometimes emotionally attached to my fictional characters. When I finished the concluding chapter to 1,479, with an ending that felt right in many ways, I grew a little melancholy while also filled with satisfaction that my protagonist had finally found what he had been looking for for so long.

Long and short of all of this: I will be up to my neck in the creative process for a while to come. Between these novels, I still read other fictional influences, some of whom get referenced in my writings, along with a big bunch of comics, leading me to continue to  write a monthly blog: mostly on time every month for the past eleven years-nearly 150 pieces during that time. Couple that with my movie fixation-thanks to Santa for filling my tree with another obscenely hefty stack, my model work and my other areas of interest, and I will be busy; maybe busier than normal. I may miss a phone call or a text message. I may miss a video call. I may miss a FB message. I’m not blowing you off, but when I get to writing, I sometimes never even notice my phone: it just becomes another thing sitting among my work space.

As a friend, and many authors I personally know or have read about, writing is a daily job, just like any other. Be it a page, a chapter, or even just notes on what is to come, it is something that must be done EVERY SINGLE DAY. At the moment, it is my passion and my obsession, with me often lying in bed at night and thinking about future storylines and dialogue. It is just my thing right now and occupies much of my thoughts. Good or bad, it’s just another thing in my life that provides fuel for the fire within.

Thanks for listening and understanding. Hope to see some of you in person in 2023; maybe even at an open air market or a book signing. Who knows.

Lastly, some folks reached out to me about getting copies of the first two books and having them personalized. I should have those in the next two weeks and will reach out to those who reached out to me.

DC UNIVERSE Month 58, Part 2

MONKEY PRINCE #8 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. Monkey Prince and Aquaman argue with each other, as do Sifu Piggy and the Atlanteans. But the Trench shows up, leading to a new battle, where the Silver Horn demon has possessed the Trench King. This leads Monkey Prince to meditate so he can communicate with the staff. Using the staff, Monkey Prince beats them back. But King Fire Bull is waiting in the wings to lead the greatest demon army the world has ever known. In the end, Marcus reunites with his parents and they head off to Metropolis.

MULTIVERSITY: TEEN JUSTICE #6 by Danny Lore, Ivan Cohen and Marco Failla. The team battles Sinestra and the Lanterns as they mourn Raven’s sacrifice. During the battle, Sinestra betrays her team and steals all of their rings. Georgia Gardner, now known as Warrior, retains her ring and defeats Sinestra. Carol Jordan arrives with the rest of the world’s heroes, offering Georgia a role with the Star Sapphires.

THE NEW CHAMPION OF SHAZAM! #3 by Josie Campbell and Evan "Doc" Shaner. Mary heads home to Darla, as she is still trying to find out about the kidnappings. There she finds out the Internet is now making memes about her. Back at school, Dr. G. tries to encourage her to work with her, even after she has lost much of her accreditation in the scholastic community. She goes to the train station around Fawcett and meets with Dudley, who insists he be called Uncle Marv. She learns there is a tent city there and many of the people there are the ones who have been disappearing. Babel shows up and uses his powers to convince people they are not worthy, including Mary. Back home, she plugs in the Sim card she pulled from the crocodile monster and discovers a connection: all these people are connected to an alleged medical trial through Fawcett Community College. Unfortunately, Darla knows this information now too and she is off to solve the mystery on her own.

THE NEW GOLDEN AGE #1 by Geoff Johns, Diego Olortegui,  Jerry Ordway, Steve Lieber, Todd Nauck, Scott Kolins, Viktor Bogdanovic, Brandon Peterson, and Gary Frank. In 1848, Corky tries rto convince John Wilkes Booth to not kill Abraham Lincoln when he grows up. Rip Hunter and his team show up, gathering Corky and sending them off to find The Thirteen. They also have to find Dreiberg before his real parents, Cleopatra Pak and Bubastis or someone else finds him. Ten years from now, a young Helena Wayne sees a mysterious, redheaded man. Back in 1940, the Justice Society of America meets and Dr. Fate has a vision of the redheaded man and the lost children. We also learn of the Red Lantern: Russia’s super powered villain. In 1951, the JSA has to testify to a government committee that wants them to remove their masks and reveal themselves to the world, and the redheaded man is there to watch it. In 1976, Dr. Midnite examines Dr. Fate, telling Power Girl and Star Spangled Kid that it’s time for a new generation of heroes. In 2009, Dr. Fate encounters Catwoman, who he warns about the stranger who is coming to kill her daughter, which she does not have yet. In the present, the new Justice Society, Green Lantern, Atom and a female Dr. Fate meet the redheaded stranger, who kills Dr. Fate and Green Lantern. Khalid meets with Detective Chimp, planning to have Deadman exorcise Hauhet from the helmet. But Khalid transforms, saying that Hauhet says to look before it’s too late. Helena hears a visitor in her house and stabs them in the dark, only to find it is Batman, who she recognizes as her father. He shows her the cave, including the costumes of the dead Robins, including Stephanie, Damian and the Joker’s son.], much to Selina’s disgust. Eighteen years from now, Helena learns that her father is dead and she decides to become The Huntress. To be continued in JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #1.

NIGHTWING #98 by Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Nightwing meets Ric Grayson, who turns out to be Nite-Mite and Nightwing’s biggest fan. He informs Nightwing that Blockbuster once made a deal with Neron and he sold his daughter Olivia’s soul to the demon. Neron is coming to collect and it takes Dick and Nite-Mite to stop him. But it is Olivia, who has her father’s strength, to stop him. Raven arrives and takes Olivia with her.  Nite-Mite reveals is real name is Dyxl and he thinks Dick should be the new Blockbuster…because “Nightwing is awesome”.

NIGHTWING 2022 ANNUAL #1 by Tom Taylor, Jay Kristoff, C.S. Pacat, Eduardo Pansica and Inaki Miranda Many years ago, Gerald Chamberlain arrives at the Lyle household as their new butler, where he discovers their son Shelton has murderous tendencies. The man is not really Gerald Chamberlain, as he murdered the real Chamberlain as he was travelling to America and assumed his identity. He takes a liking to Shelton and took him on various trips to feed his murderous desires. He also took him to the circus on the night the Grayson’s died, which truly ignited his rage. During his school years, Sheldon became the bully that was handled by Dick Grayson. Later on, Chamberlain’s attempt to kill the Lyle family resulted in Shelton being critically injured, resulting in him receiving his dead father’s heart. Over the years, Shelton becomes Heartless and now, with Chamberlain’s help, he will receive Blockbuster’s heart. In the backup, Dick goes out for the night, leading to Haley dreaming about being a crime fighting dog who saves his master’s life. In the second backup, Dick trains Jon Kent

NUBIA & THE JUSTICE LEAGUE SPECIAL #1 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Stephanie Williams, Amancay Nahuelpan and Alitha Martinez. Nubia teams up with the Justice League members to take down a number of villains. In the backup, she battles a giant octopus and later reunites with her love.

POISON IVY #6 by G. Willow Wilson and Brian Level and Marcio Takara. Ivy battles Jason Woodrue as she decides to save the planet rather than destroy it. She kills Woodrue and eats his remains. Later, she sends a letter to Harley explaining how the Bat family cannot save the world. In the end, the remains of Woodrue escae the van carrying it and is on the loose again.

PUNCHLINE: THE GOTHAM GAME #2 byTini Howard, Blake Howard, Gleb Melnikov and Will Robson. Bluff and Ante are working with Punchline and her crew and they are all watching for Eiko Hasigawa and her crew. Punchline wants the Ace Cheical Factory and that leads to a battle between the two teams. Batman shows up and Eiko and her team make an attempt to leave while Batman beats on the Royal Flush Gang. Punchine catches up with Eiko and Batman tries to apprehend her. She stabs Eiko and tosses her off the roof, leading Batman to make a decision.. He saves Eiko and calls for medical, telling Punchline she better hope Eiko lives or she will have to deal with catwoman.

STARGIRL: THE LOST CHILDREN #1 by Geoff Johns and Todd Nauck. In 1942, TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite are fighting crime. Six months ago, Dan is looking through a scrapbook containing the story of TNT dying in action. Today, Courtney Whitmore is telling her mother how she and Red Arrow had gone out to a supernatural cemetery looking for Stripesy’s partner Wing, believed to be dead but who may be still alive. That night, Red Arrow shows up, explaining that she has a new lead on Wing. While they are investigating Dan Dunbar’s home, Emiko reveals that most of the Golden Age sidekicks, including Betsy Ross, Molly Pitcher, Miss America, John Henry Jr., Cherry Bomb and others have mysteriously disappeared over the years. They hear a radio broadcast, telling Dan, who is out on a boat, that they are “all here.” Courtney and Emiko decide they need a boat. Dan, however, has landed at an island, discovering he is young again after putting on the two rings that TNT had given him. But a laughing voice tells him that he is actually cursed.

SUPERMAN: KAL-EL RETURNS SPECIAL #1 by Mark Waid, Sina Grace, Marv Wolfman, Alex Segura, Clayton Henry, Dean Haspiel, Jack Herbert and Fico Ossio. Superman reunites with Batman, teaming up to take on Mr. Nobody. Later, he reunites with Jimmy Olsen, who shows him some photos he has taken, including some of Jon in action, which inspire him. Jon follows a tip that leads him to a Lexcorp warehouse, only to find that Luthor fooled him, leading to a media outlash. But he manages to get the better of Lex in the end. In the last story, Superman reunites with his Justice League partners before being transported away into DARK CRISIS.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #17 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. Kal-El is back on Earth, reuniting with his family. As the pair work to rebuild the Kent farm, Jon finds himself reluctant to come out to his father, although the whole world now knows of his relationship with Jay, as he fears that his father would be appalled and turn away from him. Clark turns to his own father, looking for advice. Jonathan delivers some truths to him, which allows the family to reconnect. An attack by Red Sin, with Jon powerless, leads to his father saving him. In the end, the pair have a heart-to-heart talk, that changes the family dynamics for the better. Elsewhere, Lex is messing around with genetic experiments. Continued in ACTION COMICS #1049.

SWORD OF AZRAEL #4 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija. In the past, Brother Dumas meets with Brother Garnier and Brother Lavigne who explain that God has provided them with the Angel Maker Box that will unleash seraphs. Dumas kills the men, searing to use the box to create Azrael, the angel of vengeance. In the present, Jean-Paul is forced to fight and eventually kill God Satan. In the end, a dejected Jean-Paul talks to Brother Karl, who turns out to be Father Valley. He instructs him to join him at the monastery, to explain why he sent Sauriel to him, why the monks had to die, and why it is all Jean-Paul’s fault.

TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #3 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo. Tim battles a gang of Robins, discovering they are actuaslly made of clay. After defeating them, he is rescued by Barnard, who takes Robin, who he does not know is Tim, to Tim’s houseboat. Before he leaves, Bernard gives a note to Robin to give to his boyfriend. As Robin tries to piece together the various clues, one of the clay Robins goes to the boat of Colonel Moran, wanting to meet the boss…who appears to be Clayface.

WILDC.A.T.S #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Stephen Segovia. Zealot, Grifter, and Deathblow try to acquire a scientist for Director Marlowe. But his experiments bother Grifter, who executes the scientist. Later, they are given a new assignment for another scientist, but with the addition of Fairchild to the team. This mission goes worse than the first, with Deathblow getting killed and blown up by Marlowe. If that was not bad enough, Green Arrow arrives and the surviving team has been captured.

WILDSTORM 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Brandon Choi, J. Scott Campbell, Warren Ellis, Christos Gage, Brett Booth, Dan Abnett, Matthew Rosenberg, Greg Pak, Ed Brisson, Meghan Fitzmartin, Joshua Williamson, Jim Lee, Bryan Hitch, Dustin Nguyen, Neil Googe, Stefano Landini, Minkyu Jung, Mike Henderson, Jeff Spokes, Will Conrad and Jonboy Meyers. In the first tale, Michael Cray goes on a mission of mercy, executing some prisoners of war to save them further torture. In the second tale, Grunge has a nightmare about the world of 2022 before waking to realize he is still in 1993 with the rest of Gen13.  In the third story, Jenny Sparks goes on a mission with The Authority. In the fourth story, Lord Emp discusses the past and the future. In the fifth tale, Backlash and Taboo battle S’ryn in a simulation, just to prove they still have what it takes. In the sixth tale, Mr. Majestic recalls the final meeting with his teammates before the battle that ended it all, saving the world but leaving annihilation in their wake. In the seventh tale, Grifter gets vital information from his contact, who he saves from ninjas. In the end, he finalizes his deal with Talia Al Ghul. In the eighth tale, Jack Hawksmoor meets someone with magic abilities, in a tale continued in LAZARUS PLANET: LEGENDS REBORN. In the ninth story, Director Bones puts his own tea together consisting of Shado, Flint, Eminence of Blades, Ravager, Core, and Peacekeeper-01. Eminence of Blades dies on the mission, but they get the Darkness Engine in the process. In the tenth story, we see the many lives of Deathblow who, every time he dies, has his consciousness transferred into a new body. In the eleventh story, Midnighter and Apollo, who is still suffering through some of what he went through on Warworld, kills a super-powered pair. Apollo is consoled by Midnighter and the pair go off to assist in DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7. In the last story, Zealot battles Angel Breaker, before deciding that her sister needs mentors.

WONDER WOMAN #793 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellaire, Emanuela Lupacchino and Paulina Ganucheau. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are on a deserted Watchtower when they are attacked by The Imperium. They are defeated and imprisoned. Later, they explain they ere part of a invading force that abandoned them here and now understand human values. Young Diana goes to Olympus and gets advice from some goddesses before she heads home, where she is actually recovering from her wounds while her mother and Antiope care for her.

DC UNIVERSE Month 58, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1049 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Mike Perkins and David Lapham. Superman battles Kalibak, Orion and the forces of Apokolips that are trying to kidnap Osul, who possesses the Fire of Olgrun. In the end, the forces of Apokolips retreat, with a warning to Superman. Later, the Man of Steel returns to Warworld, promising to never leave them. Elsewhere, Metallo breaks out after being forced to capitulate to Luthor, who is also looking to force Manchester Black to work with him. In the backup, Tao-La defeats Chaytil, but a surprise visit may lead to his escape and set him against Superman.

BATGIRLS #12 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, and Neil Googe. Steph and Cass battle The Riddler, with some help from Killer Moth, ho Riddler double-crossed. Cass flies Killer Moth out of the apartment while Steph battles Riddler, who reveals that her father may be alive. Meanwhile, Grace is attacked and partially blinded by Mr. Fun. Officer Brooks shows up and the combined force of Brooks, Cass, and Killer Moth take him out. In the end, it looks like the idea to reunite father and daughter may be Mad Hatter’s idea, as he confesses to his therapist before killing him.

BATGIRLS ANNUAL 2022 #1 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Robbi Rodriguez. Barbara reveals that she is moving back to the Clock Tower, leaving Cass and Steph with the Loft. Later they mysteriously swap bodies while investigating a murder involving Kyle's neighbor, leading them to discover that the League of Assassins has arrived. Cass ends up meeting with her mother while Steph gets drugged and kidnapped by Hill’s Angels, leading to a meeting with Cluemaster, who is supposed to be dead. Continued in BATGIRLS #13.

BATMAN #129 by Chip Zdarsky, Leonardo Romero and Jorge Jimenez. Batman is taking refuge in Atlantis because Failsafe is still on the hunt and has taken control of Gotham. But it doesn’t take long before Failsafe tracks him down, capturing Aquaman in the process. Failsafe finds Batman gone, as he has gone to the Watchtower for a final battle. Batman reverses the teleporter on the Watchtower, sending Failsafe to a destroyed Hall of Justice. Unfortunately, Batman’s actions have left a huge hole in the Watchtower and now he’s floating in space, to his possible death. In the backup, Batman continues to investigate The Joker’s crime spree. But it turns out that Zur-En-Arrh has taken the case and he is just a little more violent than Batman is.

BATMAN: FORTRESS #7 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson. Emiko saves Batman and the team continue through the Fortress of Solitude, doing their best to avoid Superman’s traps, eventually following Krypto into the main chamber, where they are greeted by a holographic version of Jor-El. It is revealed that the House of El was responsible for corrupting a peaceful planet, leading to its’ destruction. President Luthor wants to find Superman and prosecute him as a war criminal. He’s alone in his declaration, but that argument ends when they discover Superman inside of a glass coffin.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #2 by Ed Brisson and John Timms. Ghost-Maker tangles with Skyspider before agreeing to work together. Ghost-Maker confesses that he did kill Ouahbi, but did so in self-defense.  Clownhunter arrives and there is an explosion, seriously injuring Skyspider. Ghost-Maker goes to take Skyspider to a hospital when Clownhunter gets kidnapped…by Phantom-One, who was Ghost-Maker’s sidekick until he killed him. Meanwhile, in Canada, El Gaucho discovers that the person murdered there was working at making chemical weapons.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #9 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Batman and Boy Thunder take down Ratcatcher, but not without issues caused by the young hero. He continues his training with Superman and the Teen Titans; again, with less than perfect results. He later tells Superman that he was responsible for his parent’s deaths because he messed around with their rocket and broke it in the process. Meanwhile, The Joker teams up with the Key to create a doorway that floods Gotham with millions of gallons of water from the Gotham River, thanks to the Key delivering  Ange Man’s Angler…complete with Angle Man’s severed hand. Superman creates an updraft that sucks the water towards the sky. As cleanup begins, a careless Boy Thunder gets captured by The Joker and falls under the influence of Joker Gas.

BATMAN VS. ROBIN #3 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar. Batman and Alfred have gone to Lazarus Island where the Dark Knight is forced to do battle against an army of Robins, armed with magical weapons, that have been corrupted by Devil Nezha. While they battle, each one airs their grievances about how Batman has treated them. Elsewhere, Damian meets with his captive mother, while the powers of the various magic users are being drained and placed into Dr. Fate’s helmet. Nezha has captured Pigsy, from the MONKEY PRINCE series, and Pigsy reveals that Nezha’s son has arrived. Later, Damian meets with Pigsy, who explains that Nezha used to be a hero, but his continued consumption of Lazarus juice turned him. In the end, Batman battles Nightwing and forces Dick to slay Alfred, who is revealed to have been replicated by Nezha using his own soul. Alfred dies a second time, this time in Bruce’ arms.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #21 by Anthony Falcone, Michael Cho, Julio Anta, Dennis Culver, Joey Esposito, Miguel Mondonca, Hayden Sherman and Vasco Georgiev. Batman and Robin team up with Wallace West to try and stop a crime committing race car driver. In the second tale, Renee Montoya relates a tale of her younger days, when she needed to cross the “Thin Blue Line”. In the third tale, new inmates at Arkham Academy look to be getting training from…Killer Croc. In the final story, Batman continues to investigate the murders of several wealthy Gothamites, while dealing with his parents being alive again. They also have to deal with being alive and learning that their son has become something “different”.

BLACK ADAM #6 by Christopher Priest and Eddy Barrows. Set before JUSTICE LEAGUE #75, Batman and Black Adam fight each other n a virtual world,. In the end, Adam is victorious, later calling Bruce Wayne, who is confused about it. Seems that Martian Manhunter was responsible for it and has disqualified him for membership in the Justice League.

BLOOD SYNDICATE: SEASON ONE #6 by Geoffrey Thorne and Chriscross. The individual powered individuals team up to take down Holocaust, with Tech-9 assassinating him in the end to keep him from coming back to bother them again. Icon and Rocket arrive and warn the newly christened ‘Blood Syndicate’ that Paris Island is now their responsibility.

BLUE BEETLE: GRADUATION DAY #1 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. It’s graduation day for Jaime Reyes, but he gets pulled away during the ceremony to be warned of a future problem. Upon returning home, he gets a visit from Superman, who relates to Batman that Jaime apparently knows nothing of what they are seeking. Later, his folks boot him out of the house, as he has no job or potential future. In the end, he gets attacked by another scarab wearing person..

CATWOMAN #49 by Tini Howard and Nico Leon. Catwoman saves Dario and then battles with members of the Royal Flush Gang, here she discovers that Billy, one of her strays, is working for Punchline. He explains his situation and then gives her intel on the operation at Ace Chemical. She meets with Eiko, who is also now working as Catwoman, and explains what is going on. After spending an intimate night with Valmont, she meets with Batman and asks him to keep clear of Alleytown and let her do what she needs to do.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #6 by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere. The combined heroes face off against Deathstroke, and his team. Pariah uses his power to destroy Firestorm, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and other heroes. Jon Kent attacks Doomsday and Darkseid while Yara Yar and Jace Fox use Pariah’s machine to destroy him. Elsewhere, Green Arrow inspires the missing heroes and Flash and Hal work together to channel the energy needed to bring the Justice League back to Earth-0. On Earth, Jon Kent battles Doomsday and is saved by his father, as the Justice League has returned. Together, they take down Deathstroke’s team, but he is still fueled by the Darkness and won’t fall easily.

DARK CRISIS: THE DARK ARMY #1 by Mark Waid, Delilah S. Dawson, Dennis Culver and Jack Herbert. Damian and his squad, Power Girl, Sideways, Dr. Light and Red Canary end up on Earth-53, where they find a destroyed Hall of Justice and the heroes were apes. There they battle and defeat Shadow Demons. Then Sideways transport them to the House of Heroes, where they encounter Harbinger and a corrupted Justice League Incarnate. Dr. Light combines herself with all the other being of light from the Multiverse and defeats the Great Darkness perverting the heroes. Doctor Multiverse observes all of Damian’s team, saying that Damian has a “uniquely consistent path” ahead of him and then they all head off into the fight. To be continued in DARK CRISIS: WAR ZONE #1 and DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7.

DARK CRISIS: WORLDS WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE-BATMAN #1 by Simon Spurrier, Meghan Fitzmartin, Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook. In Pariah’s created world, Mr. Wax runs the last city on Earth when the vigilante Night kidnaps him, revealing Wax and he are the same, with each claiming to be the original. Together, they travel to the Madlands, where they encounter the Sneertouched. Entering a dilapidated mansion, they discover Alfred, who reveals that Bruce used technology from Maxie Zeus, Jervis Tetch and Victor Fries to split himself into two individuals: a light and a dark. Wax is brought back to his office and Night continues his battle against evil. In the backup, Zatanna is found by the rest of the Justice League and they prepare to bring her from her dream world back to the fight..

DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE #6 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Laura Braga. The team finds themselves back on Earth, facing off with Mickey Mxyptlk. He takes away Robin’s ability to speak, turns Red Tornado human, Cissie to steel, and defeats Impulse’ attempt to defeat him. It takes all of the team to band together to defeat him, tying him up with string theory. In the end, Robin apologizes for his relationship with Cassie, inferring that he may have had more than a desire for a friendship with Connor.

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30^th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Tom Grummett, Butch Guice and Jon Bogdanove. In the first story, Jon Kent learns at school about his father’s death at the hands of Doomsday, leading to Lois telling him the story. AT the same time, a construction worker who helped clean up after Doomsday has kept one of the creature’s spikes as a souvenir and it has turned him into Doombreaker. In the second tale, Clark’s parents watch on television as he battles Doomsday, with Ma Kent showing off her collection of news articles about his feats over the years. In the third story, the Guardian relates the story of how Superman died and the government tried to claim his body. In the final story, John Henry saves those affected by the battle between Superman and Doomsday, only to learn that the Man of Steel has died, causing John to rededicate himself.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #15 by Ed Brisson and Dexter Soy. Muzzle has captured Wintergreen and now he is forcing Wintergreen and Slade to get on a plane and go to Walsh. While enroute, Muzzle threatens to throw Wintergreen out of the plane, leading to a battle with Slade, which ends when Wintergreen shoots Muzzle and Slade tosses him out of the plane. Slade meets with Walsh and gets his payment while Walsh tries to convince him to join him, which Slade turns down. Slade goes back home and reconnects with his family before heading out to prove he is the world’s greatest assassin.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1066 by Ram V and Ivan Reis. Batman has been saved from his fight with Ubu and is recovering in Jim Gordon’s apartment. Gordon explains how the Orgham family has arrived in Gotham to thank the folks that stopped the assassination attempt on Prince Azen, with Batman explaining that the attempt as engineered by Talia’s League of Assassins. Their plan is to rebuild parts of Gotham, starting with Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, Two-Face, infected with Azmer and controlled by Gael, is busy trying to regain  control over the Gotham Underworld. Batman goes to the Sunset Central Power Station, where he comes into contact with Mr. Freeze and also the Wolf of Bezadjehanne. Freeze sets off an ice bomb and flees, freezing Batman in the process. In the backup, Harvey is forced to relive his childhood while he struggles to maintain control.

DETECTIVE COMICS 2022 ANNUAL #1 by Ram V, Christopher Mitten, Rafael Albuquerque and Hayden Sherman. Back in Gothame, in the 18^th Century, Ichabod Kraine sees the devil in a woman he believes is a witch, leading Joe Proctor and others to confront her. But Aldridge Pearce is there to stop them. At the same time, it is revealed that Darcey Hunt, a man with a heavily scarred side to his face, has declared himself the last proper thief and is heading to Gothame. At the same time, the Orgham family, including immortal Gael Orgham, has decided to put money into the town, specifically to upgrade the church. He has also managed to place a piece of the Reality Engine where Arkham Asylum will eventually be built. Later, the Proctor and his men return to the “witch’s” cabin and threaten to burn her home and kill her, but Pearce, in the guise of a “Batman”. In the present, Gael’s plan is about to come to pass.

THE FLASH #788 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. Mayor Wolfe has hired himself a new team to deliver justice-The Rogues. After finding out that he is going to be a father again, he stops what he thinks is Captain Cold robbing a bank, only to find out that Cold is STOPPING a robbery. The rest of the Rogues arrive and try to arrest Wally, forcing him to flee. Later, he goes to visit Heat Wave to find out what is going on and that leads him to being attacked by the Rogues, who take him down and attempt to arrest him. That’s when The Pied Piper arrives to lend a hand.

GCPD: THE BLUE WALL #2 by John Ridley and Stefano Raffaele. Samantha Park has to deal with the shooting, revealing that she wasn’t the hero the police department made her out to be. Danny Ortega is dealing with racism among his fellow officer. Eric Wells continues to work with Devante to keep him on the straight and narrow. But with a pregnant girlfriend, Devante gets involved with a heist. But, before it happens, he rats out the gang, leading to their arrest. That gets him murdered by one of the gang members. It turns out this was part of his plan, as he had taken out a $750,000 insurance policy on himself to care for his girlfriend and unborn child. Elsewhere, Renee’s friends get her a “Therapy Fish” and she learns that the crew that took out Foxtech is connected to Two-Face, leading her to make a decision about the future.

GOTHAM CITY: YEAR ONE #2 by Tom King and Phil Hester. Slam Bradley is being interrogated by the police over the death of his associate. They eventually let him go and he returns home, where the woman who originally delivered the letter shows up, warning him not to interfere in all of this. She delivers another letter, which he takes to the Waynes. Mr. Wayne insists that he goes on the meet with Bradley, where he is set to deliver the ransom. The woman, whose name is Sue, takes the bag and leaps off the roof like a cat. Wayne and Bradley head to the cemetery and Wayne pulls a gun on Bradley, insisting he is part of all this. Bradley knocks Wayne out and considers his next move.

HARLEY QUINN #24 by Stephanie Phillips and Matteo Lolli. Harley is determined to find out her killed her, so she captures and tortures Victor Zsasz with the help of Parry the alien. This leads her to investigate a warehouse, where she is attacked by….The Harley Quinn who Laughs?

THE HUMAN TARGET #9 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Ice thinks Chance may be dead, so she tries to get medical attention to slow the poison in his system. Then he takes her for a drive in the desert as he becomes convinced that Batman has figured out that he and Ice covered-up of Guy's death. In the end, in a house made out of Ice, he figures out that Batman has realized that Guy Gardner is still alive.

I AM BATMAN #15 by John Ridley and Karl Mostert. Chubbs accuses Batman of beating Whitaker to death and she tries to convince him to kill himself. Then he snaps out of it and realizes that never happened and he never beat Whitaker. He leaves and runs into Enrique, who also tries to convince Batman to kill himself. It turns out that Enrique is only Sinestro, who promises to show him his fears until he begs to die. After talking with Vol, who informs him of the Dark Crisis event, he again goes after Sinestro, defeating him before going off to join the surviving heroes.

THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #2 by Matthew Rosenberg, Francisco Francavilla, and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Jason Todd investigates the event in the bathroom from last issue, where it seemed The Joker killed a man. Elsewhere, a bunch of thugs menace a man, who kills them, revealing he is The Joker. Later, Mr. Cardiff returns to his apartment to find The Joker there, looking to put his old gang back together, but is told that Penguin, Black Mask and others have taken over Gotham.  While Jason interrogates a bunch of thugs to find out the story, The Joker visits Harley, with less than great results, insisting he is not her Joker. That’s when Red Hood arrives. In Taos, the other Joker is laying low, after making his big, televised announcement. In the backup, The Joker fakes his own death so he can see how the other villains actually think of him.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #1 by Geoff Johns and Mikel Janín. 31 years ago, Thomas and Martha Wayne are killed. 13 years ago, Selina Kyle is out on the prowl. One year from now, Selina is told not to tell anyone, especially not the Arkhams, about the child.18 years from now, Batman was killed by a common criminal and Helena Wayne hunted down Frederick Vaux: a sorcerer who gave the criminal the power. 26 years from now, Helena, now The Huntress, is searching for Dr. Fate, along with her Justice Society of America teammate Solomon Grundy. The current team is made up of Huntress, Grundy, Power Girl, Gentleman Ghost, the Harlequin’s Son, the new Icicle, The Mist, and the daughter of the Russian Red Lantern. The team finds Khalid’s mummified body and are then attacked by a mysterious red haired man who proceeds to kill the entire team and begins to age Huntress. Selina arrives and throws her the snow globe last seen in FLASHPOINT BEYOND. Helena slides backwards through time, ending up in 1940 where she is discovered by Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt.

Here's a whole batch of first issues for ya!

ALIEN #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Julius Ohta. Ah yes…those wonderful Xenomorphs are back for a second run as Marvel makes the most of having this license. Simply put: if you were a fan of the first series, then you’re in for this one. Johnson knows how to build the story and Ohta’s art is beautiful. ‘Nuff said!

ALL-OUT AVENGERS #1 by Derek Landry and Greg and Greg Land. And here we have ANOTHER AVENGERS title, which makes this feel like the X-books! And the lineup? Captain Marvel, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Blade, Spider-Woman, Black Panther and…Spider-Man(?). The good news is that it has the wonderful 1970’s action oriented feel to it and Land’s art is killer. The bad news? It's ANOTHER AVENGERS TITLE! But, to be honest, based on this first issue, it may be my current favorite AVENGERS title.

BATMAN & THE JOKER: THE DEADY DUO #1 by Mark Silvestri. The long awaited Batman Black Label story from Mark Silvestri. The Dark Knight teams up with his greatest enemy to solve a mystery. Great read and it looks amazing! I would not call the story canon, but it sure is worth the read!

BATMAN: KNIGHTWATCH #1 by J. Torres and Erich Owen. If you are expecting this to be another title in the current Batman line, be prepared to be disappointed. This is a weird all-ages Batman title. I say weird because it has that wonderful Batman look to it, but the story and dialogue are definitely not canon. Or is everything now canon because of the Omniverse. Anyway, it’s fun but not something I need to continue on with. But it’s great for younger readers looking to possibly make the jump one day.

BLOODSHOT UNLEASHED #1 by Deniz Camp and Jon Davis-Hunt. Oh…how any times have I jumped into the Valiant Universe? Way too many to count. I go back to the original Valiant run, into Acclaim and then into the reboots. But, I always find myself losing interest and rather quickly. But this intrigued me: a more graphic version of Bloodshot, so I gave it a shot. Yeah…definitely a more graphic approach. Camp’s story is intriguing but Davis-Hunt’s art is the highlight here: incredibly detailed and mind blowing. Personally, I like it…but not enough to jump back into the whole universe once more.

BRIAR #1 by Christopher Cantwell and German Garcia. What if the prince never woke Sleeping Beauty and she was forced to sleep for 100 years? That’s the premise behind this tale of Briar Rose far different than we are used to. She wakes in a world drastically changed from what she knew, where weird creatures and evil villains lurk. Fun story with great art by Garcia. Very curious to see how it progresses.

CHERISH #1 by Katana Collins and Gabriel Caitano. Here’s the selling point for this story about a high-tech vigilante looking to avenge her father’s death: character designs were from Mark Silvestri. Yeah…that’s all I got. The dialogue is boring and the art is stagnant. One and done for me with this one

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SALEM #1 by Cullen Bunn and Dan Schoening. Archie Comics releases another one-shot horror themed title, this time featuring Sabrina’s cat Salem. Fun story, nice artwork…but please: give us a regular Archie horror series again! I so miss AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE!

CREEPSHOW #1 by Chris Burnham, Paul Dini, Stephen Langford, and John McCrea. Nothing like a good horror anthology that ties in the best of classic EC with this horror movie and television show. Two stories here in this new mini-series. Burnham’s “Take One” shows what happens when you get too greedy while “Shingo” is a birthday party like no other. By the way, there is a four page black and white piece in the back of the book that confused people as it was short and had no real end. Don’t worry…it’s actually a preview for DARK RIDE.

CRYPT OF SHADOWS #1 by Al Ewing, Rebecca Roanhorse, Chris Condon, Danny Lore, Chris Cooper, Adam Warren, Ramon Bachs, Geoff Shaw, Fran Galan, Karen S. Darboe, and Ibrahim Moustafa. Marvel issues a one-shot special just in time for Halloween, featuring some of their horror based characters. With Stephen Strange’s creeping brother Victor as the host, we travel through tales featuring Blade’s daughter, Werewolf by Night, Morbius, Elsa Bloodstone, and Man Thing. An interesting book for fans of these characters, but the big collector interest is in Blade’s daughter, causing prices to spike rapidly on it.

DARK RIDE #1 by Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressman. Owen Seasons goes to work at the horror themed amusement park Devil Land. But what he discovers, as the park is trying desperately to stay afloat, is not what he hoped for. This is a super weird and dark horror tale that totally hits all the right buttons. Williamson writes a great story, with a whole bunch of twists and turns in it. And Bressman’s art fits the bill. Part funny, part scary, and part horrific, this ride is a hoot!

DC HORROR PRESENTS: SGT. ROCK VS. THE ARMY OF THE DEAD #1 by Bruce Campbell and Eduardo Risso. It’s World War II and the Nazi’s have figured out how to regenerate the dead and use them in battle. So, it’s up to Frank Rock and Easy Company to fight them. Sure, let’s take the heroes of my childhood and send them off against zombies! Bruce Campbell, yes…THAT Bruce Campbell turns out a killer script that toes the line between silly and gory. And Eduardo Risso, who I have been a fan of going back to 100 BULLETS, details everything perfectly. Probably one of the most fun books I have read in a bit!

DEADPOOL #1 by Alyssa Wong and Martin Coccolo. I’m sorry: I’m a sucker for Deadpool. He’s silly, breaks the Fourth Wall a lot and manages to get cut him, blown up, and dissected on a regular basis. His books are just silly fun. That having been said, Marvel trots out a new Deadpool run. He’s been captured by the Harrower and she is looking to use his body to grow a new version of Carnage. Oh yeah: he’s also in the process of doing a hit job on Doc Ock. Brainless story, which is fine, with  what is becoming the Marvel style of art and page layout. It’s one of those books you’re either into or not.

FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Ryan North and Iban Coello. Marvel reboots the FF again with a new Number One issue. And it feels like you’re watching a cross between FIGHT CLUB and MEMENTO, in that there is a story regarding something Reed did that left a huge crater in New York and it looks like we’re going to get those details told in reverse. But this issue isn’t about that. It finds Ben and Alicia on the road in a town where time repeats itself and them finding a way to fix it. Fun story that is not your regular FF story and Coello’s art shines. Highly recommended, even if you might be left in the dark from where the last issue of the previous run ended.

FRANK MLLER PRESENTS ASHCAN EDITION by Frank Miller, Dan Didio, Phillip Tan, and Danilo Beyruth. Hey…Frank Miller is doing comics again and this $1.00 sampler is his first shot across the bow.  First up is RONIN BOOK II, which picks up from where the classic title left off. The good news, as Frank’s art has decreased in quality over the years, is that Phillip Tan is drawing it, so it looks amazing. Next is ANCIENT ENEMIES by Didio. Not sure how I feel about this although it reminds me of what he was writing at DC and has an 80’s feel to it. Also included is a preview of Miller and Emma Kubert’s PANDORA, which should look wonderful.

GOLD GOBLIN #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Lan Medina. If you haven’t been paying attention, Norman Osborn has been strips of his sins and memories by the Sin Eater. That means he is trying to be good for a change. That also means he plans on being a hero, thus the Gold Goblin is born. But Norman is troubled by visions, including from a dead Gwen Stacy with a broken neck. The story is fun and to the point and Medina’s artwork is very reminiscent of Mark Bagley’s. Fun stuff seeing the consummate crazy guy as a hero.

HARLEY QUINN: THE ANIMATED SERIES: LEGION OF BATS #1 by Tee Franklin and Shae Beagle. HARLEY QUINN: THE ANIMATED SERIES has finished its’ third HBO season and this title follows directly out of it. Harley teams up with Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing and tries to become a hero…sort of. This isn’t the Harley you know and love. This is the television version and is filled with Fourth Wall breaks, off-color language and all the craziness fans of the show expect. Personally, I love the show and find myself both spontaneously laughing and cringing at it. Obviously, this book is a winner for me.

I HATE FAIRYLAND #1 by Scottie Young and Brett Bean. This was so twisted the last time this title was published that I guess we can expect more of the same. Once again, we follow Gert, who was in Fairyland and causing destruction and mayhem with her antics and foul mouth. Well, Gert has been sent back to Earth and is having a tough time coping. But she may have a job she can actually handle and that may include heading back to the place that drove her crazy. Just a whole lot of silly stuff. Despite the look, this is NOT a kid’s book!

JUNKYARD JOE #1 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. It’s 1972 and a group of soldiers in Vietnam have a tough mission ahead of them. Luckily their newest platoon member turns out to be a mechanical man who they name Joe. Post war, questions remain. Whatever happened to Junkyard Joe? This book is a prequel to the character’s appearance, or reference therein in GEIGER (also highly recommended)

LORD OF THE JUNGLE #1 by Dan Jurgens and Francesco Segala. When it comes to Edgar Rice Burroughs, I was never a huge fan of Tarzan, probably only reading one or two of his stories. I was more about the adventures of John Carter, Carson Napier, and David Innes. However, I did collect the DC run of the early Seventies and part of the Marvel run in the late Seventies. After seeing some of the preliminary artwork for this series, and realizing that Jurgens was writing it, I gave it a shot. And was pleasantly surprised! It fluctuates back and forth between the “present” and the depths of John Clayton’s origin, remaining relatively close to Burroughs work. The art is ridiculously reminiscent of greats like Russ Manning and Burne Hogarth and, for me, that’s a major selling point. I cannot recommend this enough!

MIDNIGHT SUNS #1 by Ethan Sacks and Luigi Zagaria. Just what we do need: a rebirth of the classic supernatural team. But not everyone has supernatural connections. Either way, we have them. Blade, Magik, Spirit Rider, Nico Minoru, Zoe Laveau, Agatha Harkness and…Logan Wolverine(???) join forces to stop the pending apocalypse(and not the X-Men villain). But then Doom shows up(yeah…that guy!) and things get weird. Is it good? Well, it is what it is and ties into STRANGE ACADEMY, so…

MIRACLEMAN #0 by Neil Gaiman, Ryan Stegman, Ty Templeton, Mike Carey, Peach Momoko, Jason Aaron, Mark Buckingham, Paul Davidson, and Leinil Francis Yu. After far too long, MIRACLEMAN is back. In my opinion, one of the greatest superhero stories ever told and now Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham have their hands on it, to finish up what began in Apocryoha. Seven stories that set the stage for MIRACLEMAN: THE SILVER AGE. If you have never read this classic series before, so masterfully turned out by Alan Moore and then Gaiman, here’s your chance.

NIGHT OF THE GHOULS #1 by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla. Parts of a long-lost horror movie have turned up and one collector wants the truth about it. What made the creator try and destroy it and why? This twisted and totally amazing story may have the answers. Snyder’s story is both fascinating and horrifying and Francavilla’s art totally fits the bill.  

OLD DOG #1 by Declan Shalvey. Jack Lynch was a art of a special ops team and something went wrong while recovering something. Lynch wakes from an eight year coma and finds his team is gone and he was changed by what he encountered. Now a secret government organization is getting him back into the game again, as their new secret weapon. This is an interesting story that shifts back and forth in time and sometimes becomes a bit hard to follow. But it looks great and the plot is intriguing, so I’m definitely in for the ride.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL: BROTHER #1 by Torunn Gronbekk and Rafael T. Pimental. The second of the free-standing WAR JOURNAL titles that tie into the current continuity. Frank’s now part of The Hand and his wife has been resurrected. So, the master assassin now wields a sword and this issue takes him into a face-off with his old nemesis Jigsaw. Just so you know, it is not essential to read if you’re reading the regular series, but it does add some color to it. To be followed by PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL: BASE in February.

QUICK STOPS #1 by Kevin Smith and Jeremy Simser. Dark Horse brings us a trip into the View Askewniverse with this issue; the first of four. Fans of CLERKS and other Kevin Smith films will love it, as it has a ton of callbacks to  moments and characters. I was hesitant about it, but gave it a shot based on the artwork, which nails so many characters from Smith’s films. To be honest, Ben Affleck and Jason Lee are so spot on that I could hear their dialogue when I read it. I was pleasantly surprised!

SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR #1 by Dan Parent, George Gladir, Dexter Taylor, Frank Doyle, Bob Bolling and Stan Goldberg. It’s another Archie one-shot, filled with classic stories and one new one, which introduces the new character of Amber Nightstone. Typical silly fun for folks who loved this stuff growing up, like me.

SECRET INVASION #1 by Ryan North and Francesco Mobili. Those pesky Skrulls are back and still trying to take over the world. Nick Fury Jr., because is dad is once again alive, investigates a strange death, only to find out that the family he is visiting are Skrulls. Bow he gets the Avengers involved and it looks like one of them is a Skrull.

SIREN’S GATE #1 by Shannon Maer. I have said it elsewhere in this batch of reviews, but I don’t know how to describe this book. I will say that it’s about a ten minute read but is incredibly beautiful. I’m a huge fan of Maer’s artwork and this one is spectacular. We have a recently resurrected girl and a werewolf and some weird stuff going on. But the dialogue is threadbare, so it is a very quick read. That said, it’s beautiful enough to have me come back for more.

SOLDIER STORIES #1 by Megan Ferrell Burke, Brian Anthony, Jalysa Conway, Reverand William J. Bellamy, Dennis O’Neill, Arturo Lauria, John Bivens, Annapaola Martello, and Cecilia Lo Valvo. A wonderful anthology one-shot written by veterans from Vietnam through Afghanistan. Four different stories and an except from the late Dennis O’Neill’s semi-autobiographical novel. It’s a mixed bag, story wise, ranging from modern eras and even a touch into science fiction. It’s a great read. Highlighted by two different covers by legends Bill Tucci and Mark Silvestri.

SPIDER-MAN #1 by Dan Slott and Mark Bagley. If you read any of the EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE issues, you would know that the Spider-Verse is in trouble and there is a big event coming. It is so big that Morlun is back and he’s AIDING Peter. It’s Slott and Bagley, so you know where this is going to go. People either loved or hated Slott’s run on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, so your mileage may vary. Personally, I liked their run and figure I will feel the same about this. Now understand, even though EVERYTHING is in continuity, this kind of runs alongside the regular title. Where exactly? Anyone’s guess.

SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE #1 by Suzanne Cafiero and Jeff Zornow. So, Dynamite does it again and brings this tale of the wacked out relative of the legendary Candyman and she is about to make things right in her crappy world by using her candy powers. It bangs from minute one as she goes to New York’s legendary Ice Cream Bunny looking for…the Ice Cram Bunny. What she finds pisses her off and, while a punk rock version of “Sugar Sugar” plays, she wreaks havoc on the baddies there. It’s totally insane, totally gory and just bananas…and bananas is good! And it totally ties in with the band Osaka PopStar.

THUNDERBOLTS #1 by Jim Zub and Sean Izaakse. Following the departure of Wilson Fisk and uke Cage becoming Mayor of New York, the decision is made to create a new super-team, since the last one was Fisk’s own group of super-villains. So, thanks to marketing geniuses, we get a team led by Hawkeye, consisting of America Chavez, Power Man, Gutsen Glory(yeah…that’s what I said!) and the Purple Girl. Hey…I get it: the Thunderbolts have always been a weird team. But I’m also a huge fan of the classic series so, with Clint Barton being his usual bumbling self, this series looks like fun!

TRAVELING TO MARS #1 by Mark Russell and Roberto Meli. Roy Livingston is about to make history by traveling to Mars, courtesy of the Eazy Beef Corporation, with two “super-rovers” named Leopold and Albert. What makes his trip interesting is that he is dying of cancer and this trip will give his surviving family $10 million dollars. Once he gets there and claims the planet for the Corporation, he plans to kill himself. Well…that is the plan. Fun, thought-provoking stuff from Mark Russell.

20^TH CENTURY MEN #1 by Deniz Camp and S. Morian. I don’t know where to start with this one. We have a super-powered President, a cyborg solider, trips from 1948 to the present and an Afghan woman in the middle of it all. It’s about Russia and the United States and the possibility of World War III. It is one crazy, disjointed ride. And not surprising as Camp is the same guy responsible for BLOODSHOT UNLEASHED. At is cool, even reminiscent of Richard Corben in spots. Recommended if you need something really deep to read, because this ain’t no superhero book you’re used to.

TWO GRAVES #1 by Genevieve Valentine, Ming Doyle and Annie Wu. A young woman meets a man and, with the help of a mysterious stranger, kills him. This leads to a strange road trip with someone who may be the personification of death. Not quite sure how I feel about this. Looks great, has an intriguing story, but I’m not sure where it is going. Does that mean I won’t follow the series? Probably not. This first issue was intriguing enough to make me want to go further.

VAMPIRELLA VERSUS RED SONJA #1 by Dan Abnett and Alessandro Ranaldi. Another Dynamite title spinning out of the Dark Powers series, which I was not a fan of. And this one is no better. Abnett’s story is filled with boring conversations and equally boring tropes. Worse yet is the interior artwork, which is square and clunky. However, if you want to see killer artwork, buy it for the multitude of variant covers by Lucio Parrillo, Joe Linsner, Joe Quinones, Jae Lee, Carla Cohen, Eric Hensen, and Jeremy Clark, among others. THOSE ROCK!

VANISH #1 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. Once upon a time, there was a word of magic. Then things went terribly wrong. And now, some of those from that world have landed on our world and that’s where things get interesting. Lines are crossed, villains are heroes and vice versa. Cates newest work is amazing and complex. The ideas of right and wrong are questioned and you find yourself not knowing who to side with. Stegman’s art me be some of the best of his career. This one if a winner!

X-TERMINATORS #1 by Leah Williams and Carlos Gomez. I know exactly what you are going to say, because I already said it. “Just what we DON’T NEED…another X book.” Here’s the pitch: Jubilee, Dazzler, and Boom-Boom go out for a night drinking and end up with vampires. Oh yeah…and Wolverine shows up along the way. So…it’s a girl’s night out with vampires. Wait…drunk mutants and vampires. Wait wait: really drunk mutant girls with mouths like truckers and vampires. Stop: really drunk mutant girls with mouths like truckers, vampires and a ton of blood? Okay…I’m in! See a side of these heroes we haven’t seen before. Just silly bloody fun!