DC's NEW 52:Issue #5, Part 1

ACTION COMICS: We take a break from the action (no pun intended) with what seems like the bottled city of Metropolis to bring you the revised origin story of Superman. Krypton is falling apart and Jor-El decides the family will escape into the Phantom Zone. Well, all the criminals of Krypton are there waiting and that’s when we lose Krypto. So into the rocket goes baby Kal-El who makes his journey to Earth where Jon and Martha Kent discover him. They take the child and it is a good thing because it is not long before the government or some organization is surrounding the ship, Jonathan gives them a misshapen calf to chew over. Then we segue to a future time where the adult Kal El discovers the ship (we’ve seen this before in one of the earlier issues) and then a mysterious group of what I assume are villains appears and steals an engine made from Green Kryptonite. They disappear and what we know as the Legion of Superheroes arrive (a little harder looking than I remember, but…).

Nice turn on the origin, especially with the military arriving to take the ship right after it lands. Definitely a step away from the ship being in the ground or in the barn for all those years. Morrison’s story is good and I find myself having to take back most of the bad things I said after issue #1. Andy Kubert’s art rocks. In addition, the introduction of the “classic” Legion is priceless.

ALL STAR WESTERN:  Jonah and Dr. Arkham end up inside the Bat Cave. No really. They end up trying to get out of this underground mine and it’s a full issue adventure ending with them encountering a giant bat. The back-up story continues the origin story of the Asian heroine The Barbary Ghost

Yet again, what is this like the THIRD OR FOURTH MONTH IN A ROW, I bitch out DC for giving me a 20 page main story with a back-up tale for $3.99. I do like the back-up story and could possibly see this becoming a lead feature, especially since I hear rumors that Jonah gets a temporary retirement as both the lead and backup stories will involve the characters of Cinnamon and Nighthawk. Until then, just turn this book into an anthology title.

ANIMAL MAN: The Detective creature continues to torment Ellen and Cliff as Buddy, Maxine, and the cat race to the scene. Buddy arrives and struggles with the creature and is submitted to some nasty hallucinations. Maxine tries to help her father by sending the animals of the forest to eat the creature and unknowingly spreads the rot into them, making the situation much worse. Time to split, as they understand that only the Swamp Thing can help them now.

Here is another creepy issue of this title that continues to revel in DC’s dark side. Jeff Lemire continues to make this the book you want to take a bath after reading. And Travel Foreman’s art is creepy and gross at the same time. How gross? You would be hard pressed to turn this into a feature film, even with great CGI effects, as it would make THE THING look tame. Now you know for sure: you have to read this and SWAMP THING together for the full picture.

AQUAMAN: Aquaman gets a call regarding a glyph found in the wall of the cocoons he got from the trench last issue. While investigating, it looks like some water logged Atlanteans (no really…they are truly water filled) got involved trying to get the artifact. The helicopter blows up and Aquaman ends up in the desert where he totally hallucinates and has a conversation with his father. That soon turns into retrieving a transmission off the glyph with one of the Atlanteans killed by the creatures in the trench (we believe). When the Navy finally rescues our hero and he gets home, he finds that Mera went into town to get dog food.

Well, this goes into several wacky places. First off, it IS another issue with really bad Aquaman jokes (Aquaman got lost in the desert, “talk about a fish out of water”) and silly bits (I did not know the A on his belt buckle stood for Atlantean). Nevertheless, it is also another issue with killer Ivan Reis art! So we have Atlanteans and a the government and a cover that has NOTHING to do with the story (the cover screams BURIED ALIVE when Aquaman is actually just wandering through the desert. Let’s see where the next part of this goes.

BATGIRL:  Babs ends up in a bust of the Whittiker Mob and a new character named Gretel interrupts it and it doesn’t go well. Barbara ends up back with her mom, who is still living with her and baking like crazy. Detective McKenna gets a telephone call from Jim Gordon and he wants Batgirl’s head on a plate. And Batgirl has a close encounter with Bruce Wayne who tries to kill her. So, what is the deal with 338?

We get an interesting new villain and a bunch of fun with Babs' mom. Nice Gail Simone story and typically cool art from Ardian Syaf. Still one of my favorite books and I’m still waiting for the payoff on Barbara Gordon’s recovery.

BATMAN: Eight days have passed and Batman has been struggling to fight his way out of the Labyrinth of the Owls. He hasn’t had any success and ends up taking a serious stabbing from Talon. Meanwhile, the Bat Signal burns out.

Strange little issue as Batman goes through the ringer, the book is turned upside down (literally!) and our hero gets skewered! Last month, I was bemoaning that this was fast becoming the Bat book NOT to read. A partial reprieve this month as the whole Batman has a nervous breakdown bit is awesome. Killer art again from Greg Capullo and a very creepy story from Scott Snyder.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT: The Scarecrow taps into Batman’s deepest fears and drives him slightly mad. But Superman shows up and tries to help him. However, Batman is jacked on this toxin and wails on him, sending Superman whipping about. So Superman wails back and Batman is slightly broken when all is said and done.

Another great looking issue. I really want to see where this is going to end up. I find it hard to believe that The Scarecrow’s toxin would be able to cause both fear and intense, muscle-altering strength. David Finch and Paul Jenkins write a great story and Finch’ art totally speaks for itself.

BATMAN AND ROBIN: Damien ends up with Ducard and it looks like his training is getting ready to begin. We get Ducard’s back-story and, among other things, find out that he offed his mother. We also find that Bruce Wayne trained with the Ducards. But will Robin pull the trigger when push comes to shove?

Another great issue here. More back story on Ducard this time around as opposed to Damien and the Dark Side. Peter Tomasi's story continues to rock while Patrick Gleason blows the top off the book with his great artistic style. As always: this book is a winner.

BATWOMAN: Batwoman goes toe to toe with ghost woman Maria and we get the parallels to her life and Kate’s. Then it becomes a search for Medusa, which was a clue left my Maria. No sooner does she start researching then a certain Agent Chase and her boss the smoking skull named Director Bones. We learn that Medusa is not a person, but an organization. She cuts a deal and joins the D.E.O., which will give her some advantages and puts her at odds with Batman.

Man, this book continues to blow me away. J.H. Williams III art is so life-like. And the plot by Williams and W. Haden Blackman continues to move along at a good clip. And I love the whole interweaving with the D.E.O. into the story is great. I loved CHASE and bringing the characters back makes me happy, happy, happy! I cannot recommend this book enough.

BIRDS OF PREY: When we last left off, the girls were getting ready to battle and found themselves outside and missing a Batgirl. They fight the bad guys, make their way back into the building, and decide to meet up again in 24 hours, making note of where they are going in case they get mind wiped. In the meantime, Starling ends up at somebody named June’s house. Don’t know what this is about, but there is some definite relationship going on here (or at least was). Starling eventually ends up being shot at and doing the swan dive into the sea.

Duane Swierczynski turns in another intriguing issue while Jesus Saiz' continues to turn up the heat in the art department. However, this story is running on a bit too long. Did someone in DC editorial decide that all of the new 52 books needed to have 5 or 6 issue arcs? Because I am quite happy with some nice short little three issue pieces that spells out the whole thing and moves on. The days of epic stories are over as we have no time or interest, unless there are enough plot points to keep us jumping. That’s starting to be lacking here. I LOVE the old BIRDS OF PREY and, after five issues, I am finally finding myself missing it.

CATWOMAN: When last we saw Catwoman she was falling from the sky. Well, it is a hard landing and all, but she mixes it up with Reach and wins the day. The police realize they need to be looking for Catwoman and she discovers that there is a big payday to the tune of just under a half a million dollars. Of course, the money is from a heist and out of custody and is DEFINITELY marked! Unfortunately, Selena decides to start pampering herself and spending it like crazy. It’s not long before she’s under arrest for spending that dirty Gotham Police Department money.

Another awesome issue from Judd Winick and Guillem March. What more can I say: the book rocks. Just go buy the book!
 
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS: Deadman has it out with Rama and lays down some pretty heavy demands. Finally, those souls tied to him are now released. He gets a chance to jump back into Johnny Foster’s body and makes a hero out of him What Deadman learns from all of this is not to ask “why me” but to say “why not me”.

Nice ending to the storyline. Boston Brand finally comes to grips with his past and his present and prepares to move on to the future. Paul Jenkins and Mike Chang did a great job of retooling this classic character for the current generation. They didn’t totally screw with him and he finally got to meet up and have a serious sit down with Rama. Nice job guys and now onto the next arc, which I am DYING FOR: CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN by Dan Didio and the amazing Jerry Ordway.

DEATHSTROKE: We’re back many years ago as Deathstroke and Christoph are breaking in a couple of new recruits including Slade’s son Grant and Alex, who you may remember from previous issues. Soon we are in the present and Slade is burning Christoph’s dead body. Slade also discovers that the Ravager’s knife is bugged and that bugs him. It isn’t long before Slade is in a tussle with the newest person in “the suit”. Bad stuff here as he gets a Russian submarine thrown at him. That’s not good!

As I have said before: this is a great book that just keeps getting better and better thanks to the team of Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett and Art Thibert.  Dear Lord: please don’t let Rob Liefeld SCREW IT UP when he comes on board with issue #8 and changes things up. Until then, I plan to enjoy this heartily!

DEMON KNIGHTS: Horse-Woman attacked Exoristos, who has been exiled from Paradise Island (yeah…she is truly an Amazon) but made sure she missed the vital organs. Mordru and Morgan use their astral projections to try to sway the knights to no avail…except for Vandal Savage, who turns traitor.

I love this book! Each issue puts another piece together and adds to the legend of these classic characters. Paul Cornell’s story is totally captivating and Diogenes Neves’ artwork rocks! Highly recommended!

DETECTIVE COMICS: Followers of the Joker are demonstrating and Batman is not exactly their favorite person right now. Meanwhile, Charlotte Rivers is doing some undercover work at The Penguin’s Casino and is probably going to get in big trouble. In the back-up story, we meet the son of Doctor Hugo Strange

We come from the great first story arc that wrapped up last issue and we get this? A 12-page lead story that goes nowhere fast followed by an 8-page back up that sends up a future story line and also goes nowhere fast. 20 pages for three bucks? SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. And they weren’t even 20 GOOD PAGES! Where’s more of the continuing Joker story. After all, this is where is started and, although it continues in SUICIDE SQUAD, it would be nice to see it move along here. Not my favorite read of the month…not by a long shot!

FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.: Maxwell Lord finds himself in a world of trouble and asks S.H.A.D.E.net for some help. So Frankenstein gets sent down to do battle with O.M.A.C. and does. Meanwhile, Father Time is trying to hack into Brother Eye and apparently does…just as O.M.A.C. is transported out of the battle with Frankenstein’s arm in his grasp. Back at S.H.A.D.E.net, Frankenstein gets patched up by Nina and vents at Father, who used him to get what he wanted…and he’s not happy about it.

Kind of a nice in-between arcs issue here that not only crosses over with but is repeated from a different perspective in O.M.A.C. Great looking cover from J.G. Jones with the always surrealistic interiors from Alberto Ponticelli. Add in an adroit story from Jeff Lemire and you have a real fun issue.

GREEN LANTERN: The captors they hoped to free lock up Hal Jordan and Sinestro. The lantern is still outside their prison and wreaks a little havoc on one of the Sinestro Corps members, then frees the prison and it is off to the races in the form of some major revenge! So now Sinestro has gone from being a zero to a hero and takes leave along with Hal. And Hal is left with a ring he cannot recharge. All of this seems to be part of the Guardians grand plan to eliminate the Corps.

This book continues to blow away all the other Green Lantern titles. Geoff Johns does his best work on this title, followed by his writing on AQUAMAN and the JUSTICE LEAGUE. And I have always loved Doug Mahnke’s art all the way back to his work on MAJOR DISASTER. Poor Hal Jordan: the one thing he craves the most, even more than Carol Ferris, is the power he gets from his ring. And he can’t do anything about it. Bummer Hal!

THE HUNTRESS: Now that Helena has finished with Moretti, she turns her attention to the bigger fish running the white slavery ring: The Chairman and his son. Well, by the end of this issue it will only be down to one of the two…

PLEASE let there be an end!!! This book continues to wallow below some of the WORST of the Punisher stories over the last 40 years! This story has just become so much of a drag to read, even with Marcus To’s “how hot can I make The Huntress” art. I know I said I would not read the last two issues of this mini-series, but I really, REALLY hoped to see a change. SILLY ME!!! Now it’s down to one more issue and my only hope is that it will somehow set up Levitz’ WORLDS' FINEST (which I swear I won’t read after issue #1)

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Darkseid is in the house and starts firing those wonderful tracking beams out of his eyes. Flash manages to duck and one of Darkseid’s minions is hit but Superman isn’t so lucky and not only gets zapped but is taken away by the flying “demons”. Green Lantern decides to take command but is whipped in the process. Batman reveals his true identity to him and convinces him to let Batman do it his way. His way is to be captured. But he didn’t realize it would lead him to… Apokolips.

Again, we get some of Jim Lee’s BEST work in some time (maybe the fact that he has four inkers working with him might help?). However, we are again troubled with the curse of the 13 year-old’s dumb dialogue (no offense to any 13-year-old kids out there). Seriously: GREEN LANTERN’S GOT THIS. Granted, this becomes a sticking point when Flash asks him if this is his “big battle cry”. And we get Batman doing the big reveal, explaining to Green Lantern that the two of them are the only “normal” people here G.L.responds with the question: “wearing a batsuit is normal”. So Geoff Johns: are you writing to a 13-year-old level or are you writing this with your tongue so deep in your cheek that you are bleeding out? When someone figures this out let me know.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: The team takes on Peraxxus directly by making him think he has blown up their spacecraft (yeah…it was a Guy Gardner creation). They don’t destroy him, but do defeat him and send him on his way with a variation of the “I’ll be back” speech. First mission accomplished-here’s to the future.

And so ends the first story arc. Nothing fantastic here but a nice ending to a nice introductory story. The team continues to try and gel and it should be interesting over the next few issues to see how all that works out. Dan Jurgens writing certainly evokes a great old school JLI feel to it (yes…it’s about putting the Diva in Godiva). Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan’s art continues to hearken back to Kevin McGuire’s work on the old JLI.. I absolutely cannot wait for the next story arc to begin. TRULY, THE Justice League title to be reading.

NIGHTWING: Some witch named Zohna summons a demon and sends them after someone at the Haley Circus. In New Orleans, Dick is trying to keep things together at the Haly Circus and wondering what the deal is with the book he discovered with his name in it. Before long the demon shows up for Jimmy the Clown. It seems he and Zohna had a thing going and she wants him back. It’s Nightwing to the rescue, defeats the demon, and arrests the girl. The following day, Jimmy gets rid of the ring that connected him to Zohna and we discover that Raya and Raymond are in cohoots with each other. Seems she is not as innocent as she appears. And wait: isn’t he supposed to be dead?

This wasn’t too bad an issue as we discover that Raya and Raymond have some serious skeletons in their closets. And what DOES the book mean? It’s obvious that Raya and Raymond know about it and are pleased Dick discovered it. Where will it all end? We will hopefully find out in the next issue.

O.M.A.C.: Kevin is having one of those days when Brother Eye has him OMACTIVATE (that is SO corny that I love it to death!) because Frankenstein is on his way down to kick the you know what out of him. What follows is a full issue fight sequence (with a great two page, silent spread right in the middle of the staples!) ending up with Brother Eye pulling O.M.A.C. out and a transformed Kevin (can’t believe I spent the review of issue #4 calling him BUDDY…as in Buddy Blank from the original Kirby series) ends up with Frankenstein’s art as a souvenir. Meanwhile, Mokarri is ready with Zero Patient and this could be another battle issue with issue #6.

Ask me how pissed off I am that DC is pulling the plug on this tittle. Now I understand that Dan Didio is probably falling on his own sword because he finds it unfair to chop other titles and not take one of his down too. But this book is SUCH the guilty pleasure title for me. Each issue, Didio and Keith Giffen embraced the spirit of Jack Kirby and ran wild with his legacy of quirky characters. I certainly hope the stories and characters here make their way into what I assume will be FRANKENSTEIN.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS: Roy battles Crux, who is confused as to why human Roy isn’t working with him against the alien known as Starfire. Meanwhile, Jason Todd battles the Untitled, who killed his mentor. When all is said and done, the trio is on the run out of town as the townspeople see them not as heroes but as murders.

Interesting twists here by Scott Lobdell. Just when you think that Jason Todd will be revered as the hero he always wanted to be recognized as, he is seen as a murdering villain and chased out of town. What was cool was how he mentions that the “thrall” could be anywhere in any town. Seems a little INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS kind of cool to me.

Marvel's BATTLE SCARS

When Marvel announced the book BATTLE SCARS, the second mini-series to come out of FEAR ITSELF, the hype behind it promised that the main character would be important to the Marvel Universe in the months to come.

The book begins with a brief flashback to the events of FEAR ITSELF and then thrusts us straight into an firefight in Afghanistan where we meet Sergeant Marcus Johnson. 72 hours later, all is quiet and Johnson gets a letter which send s him home. The letter tells him his mother has died. Four days later and there’s a funeral, followed by Johnson returning to the family home. Not long after that, he have Russian hit men attacking Johnson and the police on duty investigating the scene. And then there’s the Taskmaster trying to take him out.  What does all of this have to do with a mysterious gentleman  hooked up to a respirator?

Captain America and Quake show up to mix it up. Well, Cap mixes it up and Quake gets Johnson out of harm’s way. In short: that means S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Once there, Johnson gets debriefed, told that his mother was targeted by terrorists because of something she may have seen. S.H.I.E.L.D. may think he’s secure, but Johnson escapes to continue his own investigation of his mother’s death. He eventually hooks up with a fellow Ranger named Cheese who is told they have a target named Taskmaster. And then there’s the rumble with Deadpool, who also gets involved with Taskmaster and the Serpent Society.

Meanwhile, we have this old guy who apparently is dying, getting older with every minute. And then there’s Orion, who is really…NICK FURY?

Okay…so we’re four issues in and I have NO IDEA what the deal is, except someone wants Johnson’s blood to keep his old butt alive. I guess the whole idea of being so important to the Marvel Universe is going to depend on who the old guy is. To be honest, I really don’t care at this point who this guy is. He’s really an uninteresting guy in the middle of a bigger plot.

Chris  Yost, Cullen Bunn and Matt Faction are all listed as being responsible for the story but Yost takes credit for the script. Bunn and Faction’s name on this piece lead me to believe that there is a much bigger story here, but it would be nice to see that…especially after four full issues. We have got all these superheroes and villains showing up because this guy is so important but, at this point, we have yet to see it. And you know, with two issues left, I feel I have to hang on for the payday.

Scott Eaton’s artwork fits nicely with the story. He’s a good artist…not phenomenal, but really good. But I really wish that this thing has a good payoff…not, make that an absolutely amazing payoff,  in the next two issues otherwise I find myself feeling like I’ve been raped at $3.00 an issue.  


UPDATE: the series has concluded and here's the BIG SECRET we waited six crummy issues to get(yeah MAJOR SPOILER ALERT HERE!)-Johnson's BIRTH NAME is Nicholas Fury Jr.! So he beats the bad guy, shaves his head(yeah...lost an eye during the mini-series too) and now looks like Samuel L. Jackson. So we retconned the whole idea of having Nick Fury be African American in all Marvel's movies starting with IRON MAN by doing this! And Nick, the REAL NICK, no longer has the Infinity Formula on his side soi he will eventually die and THIS will be Nick Fury. SERIOUSLY? Now I REALLY feel like I've been raped for six issues! Make Mine Marvel? Not after this pile of poop! I'll be thinking twice as to where I'll put my comic money in the future, especially with new titles.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1

It has always been a tumultuous trip for Bruce Banner and his alter ego the Incredible Hulk. In the last few years, he has been shot into space by the Illuminati, lands on the planet Sakaar and becomes emperor. The ship he landed with eventually explodes, killing millions, including the Hulk's pregnant queen, Caiera. He comes back to Earth and trashes most of  Manhattan before being defeated and taken into custody. A Red Hulk emerged, revealed to be General Thuderbolt Ross. Rick Jones became the Gamma irradiated A-Bomb. Betty Ross became the Red She Hulk. Skaar, the son of Hulk, made his appearance on Earth and Bruce Banner, unable to change into the Hulk, after Red Hulk absorbed Hulk's radiation, was exposed again to Gamma radiation by Norman Osborn and turned into Hulk once more.

Then they all tried to live as one big happy family, complete with Bruce trying to fix his now non-existent marriage to Betty. In the final issue of THE INCREDIBLE HULKS #635,  Bruce and Betty resume their romantic relationship. The last scene of the issue is of them in Hulk forms leaping off into the air.

In October 2011, a new INCREDIBLE HULK SERIES was born. Written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Marc Silvestri (issue #4 is illustrated by Whilce Portacio), it begins with a bearded loin skinned Hulk ruling an underground world filled with Moloids. In the midst of his peaceful rule, he gets visited by robots bearing sonic disrupters and a woman by the name of Amanda Von Doom(no relation…seriously: that’s her line, not mine). And she’s actually here to enlist the green guy to battle Banner.

Yeah…the two of them are separated and he’s on an island playing the role of the mad scientist to the hilt. In fact, he’s trying to recreate the Hulk by experimenting on the creatures on the island, who all refer to Banner as father. It seems he and Betty ended up on this tropical island after the separation(which we still have yet to learn about) and he basically blows her off in lieu of his concerns with betting the monster back. She splits and leaves him to his experiments. Well, all he has to show for it are a bunch of failures and a “brain tumor the size of a grapefruit”(guess that’s what’s happens when you stick your head in a gamma powered microwave oven.). So, after years of trying to rid himself of the monster, all he wants is the power back.

Von Doom gets the Hulk from his underground territory and introduces him to her team. Hulk has no interest at all, despite the fact that the ship gets attacked by some of Banner’s creation. Of course, that is before he realizes that some of Banner’s minions, collectively known as the Boar Brothers,  are in his kingdom and looking to kill everything. When the Hulk returns and finds that the brothers have taken the young Moloids, he proceeds to seek and destroy, leaving them alive enough to return to Banner and suffer their days. The Moloids move further underground,  Hulk seals them there, joins Von Doom’s crew and prepares to attack. But Banner has a trick or two up his sleeve.

This is a very strange book and I’m not quite certain how I feel about this book. Jason Aaron writes a really good story, as evident by his work on WOLVERINE, SCALPED and PUNISHERMAX. And the concept of these two being split is interesting. But to see Banner go from the milquetoast we all knew and loved to becoming this insane Dr. Moreau styled scientist doesn’t work for me. So unless there is some explanation that he lost his mind as part of the process that split them, I can’t go there. As far as Marc Silvestri’s art: okay-it’s Silvestri. People were jumping up and down like this was the Second Coming. Big deal. He’s good and always has been. I won’t say it’s his best work, but it’s not his worst.

I figure I’ll give it through the end of issue #5 anyway, as they promise to reveal the secret of the separation. Beyond that: no promises.

AVENGERS 1959

In NEW AVENGERS #10, we got this great little story that introduced us to a 1950s Avengers team. It was created by Nick Fury and was designed to hunt the last of the Third Reich. The team was made up of Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Dominic Fortune, Namora, Sabretooth, Silver Sable (not the hottie from Spider Man days, but Ernst Sablinova), Kraven the Hunter, and Ulysses Bloodstone.  Following the fan reaction to this, Marvel let legendary creator Howard Chaykin run wild on a five-issue mini-series appropriately called AVENGERS 1959. This time around they have some new friends including Eric Koenig , The Blonde Phantom, and British wizard and spy Powell McTeague.

Our story begins with the core six members toasting The Avengers and going the separate ways. Louise Mason, also known as The Blonde Phantom, is undercover and involved with Dieter Skul who is hanging out in the capital of Lateria. The other Avengers are all being attacked by various bad guys and gals (including the female ninja who gets impaled on a bus stop sign) carrying some sort of signature skull emblem. Did I also mention that Kraven and Namora are physically involved? Powell McTeague shows up to talk to Nick Fury, explaining the some former Nazis are looking to start a Fourth Reich.

Soon, Fury is on his way to Lateria where he meets up with his old Howling Commando friend Eric Koenig and the infamous Blonde Phnatom to investigate a possible Nazi cell. Rumor has it that the king of Wakanda has been kidnapped. In the process, Fury and the Phantom end up fighting zombie soldiers. Meanwhile, the rest of the team shows up on a boat in the middle of the Pacific and battle Baron Blood and Brain Drain. And then they get help from McTeague. The villains disappear, leaving the skull emblem on the deck of the ship. McTeague explains that he does not believe the Ubermadschen are behind this-that it is an unknown foe that is pulling the strings. We discover that Geoffrey Sydenham, a U.S. government official with ties to Dormammu, is masterminding the whole thing.

Fury and the Phantom continue their search for the missing Wakandan king and end up running across the quartet of Axis Annie, Madame Mauser, Praulein Fatale and Penny Panzer. With the help of the other Avengers, the foursome is taken captive and dropped off and interrogated on the island of Madripoor. Back in Washington, Gorilla Man, sent there by Agent Jimmy Woo (nice tie in to the Agents of Atlas series), saves General Hill from an assassin’s bullet. Sydenham’s partners Dieter Skul and Count von Blitzkrieg send an electromagnetic pulse through Wakanda, leading to a battle between the forces of evil and The Avengers.

I will not ruin the ending but suffice it to say it reveals secrets, there’s a big battle or two, and it leaves room for a sequel.

You either have to believe that Howard Chaykin is insane or a genius. Just look at some of the books that are part of his body of work: CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, THE SHADOW, WORLD OF KRYPTON, AMERICAN CENTURY, PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL, AMERICAN FLAGG, BLACK KISS, TIME 2. These are some of the most talked about and in some case, controversial titles of the last 20 years. Sometimes he is dead on the money-sometimes his work leaves a lot to be desired (still smarting over the 2010 THE RAWHIDE KID series). But this book is killer. His writing is sharp and crisp and the dialogue snippets are great. And his artwork has not been this good looking in quite a while.

I loved the mini-series and look forward to a sequel. Just seeing such diverse characters as Sabretooth and Kraven hanging out with Nick Fury and Dominic Fortune makes this whole effort totally worth the cost.

NEW 52 issue #4's

ACTION COMICS: Last issue, John Corben was preparing for a transformation and that is where we start: with Corben leading a band of metal men on a hunt for Superman. Describing himself as the “Anti-Superman Weapon”, a possessed Corben has Lois Lane trying to talk some sense into him and keep him grounded here while the alien consciousness tries to take him over. But it ultimately falls to Doctor John Henry irons to don a special suit and take over (the battle between him and Corben is shown in the back-up story). But somewhere in the middle of that bottle, a section of Metropolis is apparently bottled up like Kandor and welcomed into the “Collection”. Do not expect an answer for a few issues as this story is paused until issue #7.

This book continues to get better and now we have the introduction of Steel. Cool! Still don’t like Clark’s attitude nor the look of Jimmy Olson. But what happened to the whole “what's going on with Clark's landlady” subplot? Dropped like a hot potato? C’mon: give us a taste. And what’s with the two-issue gap? Really? What happens next-the retelling of the origin. Can’t wait to see what that feels like!

ALL STAR WESTERN: Jonah and Dr. Arkham end up teamed up yet again following the bounty hunter’s taking out of the trio who were menacing him at the end of the last issue. Seems many kids have disappeared in Gotham over the last few years and Jonah is hired to investigate, which is how Arkham gets involved. What they discover is a great underground mine using the child labor. Unfortunately the big ugly running the place gets his hands on Arkham and demands that Jonah throw down his weapons or the good Doctor dies. The back-up story introduces the Asian heroine The Barbary Ghost

Again, I chew at DC for giving me a 20 page main story with a back-up tale for $3.99. Hey Jim Lee: what happened to DRAWING THE LINE AT $2.99? However, I do have to admit the back-up story was interesting with very moody artwork by Phil Winslade. I actually am curious to see how that tale ends. But honestly: if you’re going to populate these books with back-up stories, just create an anthology title and throw them all in there.

ANIMAL MAN: Cliff and Ellen Baker are tooling around with the Detective who really isn’t (he’s actually stuffed in the trunk) and he reaches a point where he needs to feed. Unfortunately, Ellen witnesses her son’s transformation. Meanwhile, Buddy and Maxine fight their way out of the rot and gain a new companion: a cat named Socks (or maybe Ignatius). And they are also told to seek out a man named Alec Holland.

So the book continues to unwind and work its' way into the creepy mythology that is the DC Universe’s dark side. The Green is being taken over by the Rot and it is up to the supernatural heroes to prevent that. Jeff Lemire weaves his portion of the story beautifully as it stands on its’ own and also ties in if you have been fortunate to read SWAMP THING. Travel Foreman’s art is creepy enough to work with the book’s tone while not going totally off the charts. As I have said before: read this and SWAMP THING together for the full picture.

AQUAMAN: At the bottom of the ocean, Aquaman and Mera discover the remnants of Atlantis and realize that the sea creatures are dying. As much as it pains him to do so, Aquaman kills the Queen of the fish people and, while freeing the captive humans, manages to seal up the trench, thus effectively eliminating the race. The townspeople are saved, mostly, and the sea couple gets a new pet, tentatively named Aquadog.  Next issue: the start of the saga that explains who was responsible for the sinking of Atlantis.

Nice finish up to the storyline with our hero eliminating an entire race. Wow: that’s some heavy stuff for thew King of the Seas to have to endure! Some nice dialogue throughout, especially with the townspeople at the end (love the kid who says that Aquaman is his favorite superhero. More great art from Ivan Reis. I am really champing at the bit for the next story arc, as I am totally curious to see what Geoff Johns does to mess with the legend of Atlantis.

BATGIRL:  Babs has a bad dream and then she and Alysia talk about Christmas miracles. Batgirl goes on the prowl, stops some muggers, and finally takes down The Mirror. On Christmas night, the roomies exchange presents and Barbara’s mom shows up! REALLY?!

So, maybe Mom can tell us how Barbara got her legs back. Gail Simone is still writing a great story but I’m starting to guess that we are NEVER going to get the full Monty on Barbara Gordon’s recovery. C’mon folks: give us some kind of payoff and we can move on. I hate to say it, but I am rapidly losing interest in this one.

BATMAN: Our hero gets out of the exploding building cliffhanger and ends up back at the cave examining the bones of Alan Wayne. He and Dick Grayson have a heart to heart about things and Bruce tells a tale of his youth when he hunted the owls. As his examining of the Court continues, he ends up finding himself in the Labyrinth of the Owls.

A bunch more wordy back-story dropped in this issue, dealing with the Owl storyline. Last issue it worked, but now this is getting old. Really looking for a payoff soon as this is fast becoming the Bat book NOT to read (other than BATWING). But have no fear: BATMAN INC. is coming in the Second Wave and Grant Morrison promises to do his best. We’ll see. Maybe we can move him here and put some life into this one. Killer art from Greg Capullo cannot save this issue though.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT: Ivy is gone but her plants are keeping the place safe. Batman does some detective digging and finds a clue in a book. He goes out searching and gets into a run in with Deathstroke. This leads to him landing at a cabin inhabited by The Scarecrow. Meanwhile, The Flash continues to try to outrace the toxin within him as Jim Gordon reaches out to his friend Bruce Wayne, who seems to have deserted him in his hour of need. And just what IS the deal with the White Rabbit?

Another good issue. Not a great issue, but better than many books taking up shelf space these days. The storyline didn’t move closer to a resolution as many have, but it’s slowing pace does gives us a momentary breather. David Finch writes a good tale and Paul Jenkins continues to blow away the book with great visuals.

BATMAN AND ROBIN: Our heroes are stuck at the drive-in witnessing their failures and preparing to die at the hands of Morgan. But here comes Alfred remote control flying the Batplane and takes him out of the fight. Back at the cave, father and son verbally spar and son storms off, only to have an encounter with Morgan. At what point DOES Damien fully turn to the dark side.

Another killer issue here as we continue to see how potentially evil Damien can be. This “Dark Robin” storyline is great and shows us how next to impossible it would be for Damien to follow in his father’s shoes. Heck: Tim Drake was not this cold. Peter Tomasi's story rocks and Patrick Gleason continues to do a stellar turn on the art.

BATWOMAN:  While Flamebird is out in the streets of Gotham and getting beat pretty close to death, Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer engage in a pretty graphic romantic interlude. Agents Chace and Costa get involved with Flamebird and take her back to D.E.O. headquarters while Batwoman grills a morgue attendant regarding the ghost woman and her children. She visits the woman’s father and discovers his place in the story. Agent Chace poses as a nurse and gets some vital information out of Flamebird. Is this the end of Batwoman?

This book continues to impress me. First off, because it needs addressing, it features some extremely strong sexual content. The first three pages drip with sexuality. Between this book and CATWOMAN, pre-teens and adolescents are getting their fill of illustrated nasties! J.H. Williams III art is incredible and takes on a life of its’ own. Every time Batwoman appears, she is illustrated in Williams’ beautiful painted style while the rest of the book is closer to traditional “comic style”, although Flamebird’s beat down is somewhere between the two. But it does not end there as the love making session between Maggie and Kate is drawn in gray and white pencil tones. Not to mention the plot by Williams and Blackman. I cannot recommend this book enough. Kate Kane is a multi-faceted character with an awesome supporting cast and that propels this book far above most of the flotsam out there.

BIRDS OF PREY: Black Canary has voices in her head which means she's about ready to explode, so Starling knocks her out. All in all, it appears to be a team effort as Katana was making luncheon meat on top of the train while Poison Ivy was using her plant powers to stop the train and eventually gain some intel. Batgirl joins up with the team and pursues Choke and his minions, who live between floors of a building. Looks like there is going to be a battle but the next thing you know the team is outside and missing a member. What?

Duane Swierczynski turns in another interesting issue that leaves us with more questions then answers. Jesus Saiz' art rocks and the book is just a huge pile of great comic reading. I mean, I do LOVE the old BIRDS OF PREY series but this one has just such a diverse cast attached to it that I just cannot help but love it!

CATWOMAN:  Selena lights up Lola's apartment and flies out the window with her corpse, leaving the Gotham police behind and empty handed. At Lola's funeral, Selena runs into Gwedolyn Altamont and we discover that the pair used to run together back in the day. We also discover that Gwen is still somewhat in the game and offers to help Selena if she ever needs to fence some wares. Later, while on a job, Catwoman crosses paths with a super powered woman named Reach who blasts her high into the stratosphere. This could be a REAL HARD LANDING for our heroine.

Another awesome, sex free issue from Judd Winick and Guillem March. I have said it month after month: this book rocks. And Guillem March's artwork gets closer and closer to being Jim Balent with each issue. And I am VERY OKAY with that!   Just go buy the book!

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS: Deadman gets to ride the roller coaster with The Son of the Morning, who lets him play a game of Twenty Questions. Along the way, he learns that he needs to be sneaky to get the best of Rama. Following the ride, he pays his fee with the book he stole from The Librarian. It does not take long for Rama to show up and threaten to end Boston Brand's existence. Next month: the conclusion.

Another fun issue here as Boston Brand tries to find out his purpose and ends up with more questions than answers when all is done. But he does discover that ONE THING which will give him a leg up in this afterlife. Paul Jenkins and Mike Chang do a great job of trying to give this classic character a purpose. I have said it before: if you are a fan of Deadman, you will greatly appreciate the care that this creative team has put into this character.

DEATHSTROKE: Slade begins the book finding himself in a Maximum Security Prison in New Mexico. Well, not for long as he busts out and finishes things off my shoving a grenade in the warden’s mouth. Come to find out it was all an infiltration into the prison. Peabody, his weapons man arrives and we learn the contents to the briefcase he secured at the beginning of the series: it is Grant Wilson, A.K.A. The Ravager’s mask and knife. Made from Nth Metal (there’s that Hawkman tie-in), it could mean that Slade’s son lives. His next mission takes his to The Aerie-home of the Blackhawks. Meanwhile, someone using a Ravager styled knife takes out Christoph. Slade will NOT be happy about this!

Talk about taking out your supporting cast! As I have said before: this is a great book that just keeps getting better and better thanks to the team of Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett and Art Thibert. I'm loving this book now because, with issue #9, it becomes the Rob Liefeld show and I probably drop this title. We don't need BLOODSTRIKE again.

DEMON KNIGHTS: The Shining Knight passes out and we get the origin story. First off: he IS a guy (maybe). Secondly, he has lived since the days of Camelot and he and his winged stallion have been given long life, provided they nap every once in a while. There is even a reference to DC’s version of the “World Tree”. Seems the Knight is on a never-ending quest to find the Holy Grail. But before that can occur, a shocking betrayal as Exoristos is struck down!

Wow! This book is so amazing! I love it! Every issue weaves one more stitch into the legend of these great characters. Paul Cornell continues to do a great job of constructing the life stories of these characters. Highly recommended!

DETECTIVE COMICS: Batman finds himself in combat with a series of  made-up Jokers. But he manages to free himself despite trying to be sold to The Penguin’s thugs. Jim Gordon looks like he might meet his match at the hands The Gimp, but gets a last minute reprieve from Olivia. In hot pursuit, Dollmaker gets away in a Police helicopter. Bruce gets a much needed vacation on Colorado and Olivia ends up in Arkham, where we learn that a shrine is being built to the Joker’s lost face.

Thus ends the first arc and this was a winner! Tony Daniels has made this one of the darkest superheroes titles on the shelf today. Creepy villain, a noir feel. And just what will happen with the Joker now that he has lost face? This is a plot that runs through several DC titles and should culminate with a BIG payoff sometime in 2012.

FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.: The two teams do their best to defeat the titans of the planet and S.H.A.D.E. sends a secret weapon: The War Wheel. Not a lot of time left before Plan B (nuke the planet) the teams defeat the titans and free the planets. Now they just have to get back to the egg and back home before it is too late. They do and thus ends the inaugural mission of this team. Next stop; the O.M.A.C. crossover.

And so ends the first story arc of what is one of the most unusual titles on the shelf today. This would normally be the point where I would cast off a book that did not totally thrill me. Part of me wants to d that and part of me says to truck on. As I have mentioned before, the jump from J.G. Jones cover artwork to Alberto Pontgicelli’s interiors is pretty dramatic. Hell: I find myself yearning for the O.M.A.C. team to take over art chores…since the books will tie into each other starting next month. Jeff Lemire’s story is still quirky and a load of fun. And the fact that Ray Palmer is not the Atom but a simple scientist keeps me around to see what will happen.

GREEN LANTERN: Jordan apparently DID NOT disintegrate in the last issue, but he and Sinestro do get captured and interned. Sinestro is tortured and eventually interned with other dissidents. Thrown in with the people who hate him, Sinestro apologizes for the mistakes he has made. Jordan suggests Sinestro create Green Lantern rings for all the detainees and then they can defeat their captors. Great idea…except for one thing: the captors want to take revenge on Sinestro.

This title continues to outdo all the other Lantern titles, with the POSSIBLE EXCEPTION of RED LANTERNS. Geoff Johns drops the ultimate hook into a cliffhanger: the captors now have the power to destroy the man who put the here. Oh Snap! You know you cannot kill him-hell: we need to give him his own title! Either way, I can’t wait for the finale to this storyline.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS: John Stewart and much of the Corps are captured on the planet, one of the heroes is executed, and the rest are led on a death march across the Emerald Plains. On Oa, Guy Gardner is single handedly playing "good cop, bad cop", but more bad cop than anything else. That is until he gets a helping hand from Stormwatch' own Martian Manhunter who reveals that this enemy is actually the Keepers of the Lantern's Power Battery.

Okay...so I look at it this way: issue #5 should end the story arc and then I can make this book go away. I mean: the whole idea of  Corps members in a Death March while Guy Gardner is interrogating a prisoner and Sherrif Mardin is doing target practice in the Corps' Danger Room. I don't care! I want to see how it all turns out and then stop. Peter J. Tomasi writes a good team book but this script does nothing for me. Maybe that is why I could never latch onto previous Lantern Corps books, except for when there were crossovers. Fernando Pasarin is back doing the art chores for this issue and that is nice to see-especially the splash page which now has new meaning! Wear an apron when you get to that page.

THE HUNTRESS: Helena continues to hunt Moretti eventually ending up on his boat where she leaves the poor guy in the hands of the girls he kidnapped.

OH MY GOD!!! This book was SO GOOD in its first few issues but now it is a female version of The Punisher and not even close to being that good. Paul Levitz’ story has gone from fun to a big bummer. This book has just continued to go downhill and I do not see it getting better. And, just to make it worse, Levitz’ next assignment is WORLDS' FINEST (I won’t read it, even if George Perez and Kevin Maguire are alternating the art on story arcs…I’ll save my money for by James Robinson’s EARTH 2 series): part of the next wave of NEW 52 books. It will follow Huntress and Power Girl as heroes from Earth-2 (yes…Earth-2 is coming back, folks!) who are stranded in this world and looking for a way back home. Ooh…I can’t wait…NOT!!! In fact, I probably will not finish the last two issues of this series because I don’t really see the point.

I, VAMPIRE:  Andrew Bennett meets a fellow vampire named Steve and shows him how to use some of his powers, especially transformation. That’s a bad thing because he ends up going to a bar and shows off. Even worse, he shows off in a bar that John Constantine is in. Constantine decides to take the poor guy out when Bennett comes to his rescue. Well, not so much as Bennett decides that Steve cannot handle the truth and beheads him. Even worse, we learn that Steve was Tig’s father. That’s a problem.

Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino continue to make this book a must read. This story is compelling and the characters are great. It is obvious that Fialkov is finally getting comfortable in his writing these characters. And the next issue sends the crew to Gotham City for the obvious meeting with Batman. This has taken several issues to get to where it is but it’s finally on track. I hope that sales figures will allow it to continue.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: The issue begins with the continuation of the birth of Cyborg. He has got powers and he fends off the bad guys. But he is also pretty pissed at his father for doing this to save his life and splits. Eventually he ends up in the middle of the fray with the rest of what will become the Justice League. I mean, Aquaman already showed up and proved he wasn’t just a sketch of Conan O’Brien’s show. They fight off some of the bad guys and that is a good thing because Darkseid is here.

Every issue of this title flips back and forth in quality. This time around we get some of Jim Lee’s BEST work yet on this book, especially two double page spreads and his final page portrait of Darkseid who looks AMAZING!!! The dialogue is still a 13-year-old kid’s dream, but there are moments of some of Johns’ typical funny bits that he has throws into AQUAMAN and so impresses me with. Hal Jordan still gets played as a loud mouth jerk but I guess that is Johns’ take on him and we deal with it. Also pretty cool seeing Colonel Steve Trevor show up in a Checkmate helicopter and he doesn’t look like Lyle Waggoner. This may be the best issue of the series thus far.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK:  Deadman and June Moone run into The Enchantress (not really) and Deadman tries to inhabit her. Constantine hangs out with Dove, much to her dismay. Shade continues to try to recruit Mindwarp for Xanadu’s doings. Xanadu is busy out trying to score a fix with the special meds she needs to see her visions. The world seems to be going crazy as people are being scalped in a massive search for June Moone. Zatanna ends up in a battle with multiple Enchantresses and Junes before bailing out and ending up with Shade. Deadman and June try to traverse the mystical doorway and escape the madness but are separated in the process. Not good for June.

This sick and strange Mainstream book would be a Vertigo book in a normal comic world. Peter Milligan continues to create a weirdly alluring tale with Mikel Janin turning in some great art. Love it or hate it, you cannot ignore it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: The team finds itself in a world of hurt while Guy Gardner takes on Peraxxus, who is prepared to harvest our world (sounds a bit like Galactus to me!). Like all villains, this one needs to climb on his soapbox and monologue about how and why he is going to destroy the planet. As expected, that gives our team time to break free and retaliate. Unfortunately, he sends a signal to the giants and the fragmentation of Earth begins. Is this the end of the world as we know it or just the end of the world?

This title continues to be a fun roller coaster ride. As I have said before, it is nowhere near as overly dramatic as the regular JUSTICE LEAGUE is and not as silly as the old JLI series. There is some great dialogue from Dan Jurgens (Godiva trying to get something from Batman’s belt and being told “that’s NOT my belt”) and Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan’s art is so reminiscent of the old Kevin McGuire days. Really fun book that I absolutely look forward to reading every month.

NIGHTWING:  Raya and Dick are getting just a little friendly and Baba Gordon comes to visit. You know that means there is time for Nightwing and Batgirl to get involved in hunting down a criminal named Spinebender. Following this, Dick does some digging and comes across a book hidden in a panel in the circus ring. The book is filled with names, including Dick's name.

This was just like a bad fill-in issue. Kyle Higgins’ story did very little to propel this plotline except that Dick and Raya are getting busy between the sheets and Dick has his name in a mysterious book. Other than that, it's a book filled with Dick and Barbara catching a shape shifting bad guy. YAWN! Please put this train back on track with issue #5. Trevor McCarthy's artwork, hopefully a fill-in issue, does nothing for me. All in all, it was a waste of my three bucks this month.

O.M.A.C.:  Buddy is having a hard tie to adjusting to having Brother Eye is his life, especially because Buddy was gone for over a week and can’t come up with a good explanation to anyone. Sarge Steel makes excuses to his boss while Mokkari shows off his newest creation. Soon Buddy discovers that he can lose Brother Eye UNDERGROUND in the subway. Of course, that happens just as Mokkari’s construct dumps Bio-Gators in the sewer. Now Buddy is on the run and no way to change into O.M.A.C. It’s a harrowing adventure and Buddy finally contacts Brother Eye and must eat crow to be saved, which is gratefully does. Unable to taken down the One Man Army Corps, Max Lord calls in a favor from sister agency S.H.A.D.E.: Frankenstein is coming

Every issue makes me love this book even more. Dan Didio and Keith Giffen continue to embrace the legacy of Jack Kirby here. We have his creations running wild and you know it won’t be long before the whole Fourth World comes roaring through this title. Kudos all the way around guys! This book rocks! Unfortunately DC has had the "sense" to pull the plug on this book with issue #8 among the purge to make room for six new titles. I hope that this character, and maybe some of the creative team, will end up in FRANKENSTEIN.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS: Jason and Roy get into a little bar room brawl and end up in jail. Jason holds the lady cop at gunpoint and goes through her files but she turns out to be more than meets the eye and it takes Roy and some copper arrows to finish that problem. Well, not really as it leads to the cliff hanging ending battle between the Untitled and Jason. Meanwhile Starfire gets into a battle with the Xenophage Crux who uses alien technology to take Starfire's powers away.

Scott Lobdell blows this one away again with more twists than most of your comic books. Kenneth Rocafort's art style fits this title to a tee. While this isn't the start of a new arc, it is continuing out of Jason's search for the Untitled and then we get Crux. Love this book!

RED LANTERN: We get the origin stories of  Skallox, Ratchet, and Zilius, giving more reasons as to their rage. Atrocitus go to Earth and a wreaks a little revenge. Bleez tries to prove she can be trusted and Ray and John get closer to their destinies. In addition, who is responsible for stealing Krona’s body?

As I have said before, Peter Milligan and Ed Benes craft the best of the Lantern books. We get more back-stories and the anticipated “dark side turn” gets closer to realization. What will happen when Atrocitus’ army gets bigger and stronger? I cannot wait to see where this series goes.

RESURRECTION MAN: The Transhuman is knee deep in the middle of a battle with the Body Doubles when Mitch wakes from nap time and confesses that he has no idea who he is ort why the Doubles are after him. His past memory gone, Bonnie stops the battle and calls Director Hooker, who looks like Killgrave the Purple Man after about two years in the grave. Darryl is only 19 years old, as it looks like his Transhuman powers have robbed him of his life force. Just then Suriel shows up and tries to convince Mitch to go with her. Yeah, a battle ensues and Suriel turns our Resurrection Man into a pile of ash. That could be a problem.

How many times can I say that you should be reading this book? It is as wild a read as it sounds when I’m reviewing it, probably more so. This is one of the coolest books in comics today! Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Fernando Dagnino rock this book month after month. I have said it too many times before, this book has solid writing, solid art, and is an awesome read! You MUST read this book!!! Don’t make me say it again next month!

STORMWATCH:  Midnighter is up to his armpits in it, but Apollo shows up to lend a hand. Unfortunately, he has exhausted his solar powered powers. The Projectionist arranges a jet blast beyond comprehension to refuel him and it does. Jack Hawksmoor ends up communicating with the city of Alba Umbra and it transforms the creature into glass. With the dilemma over, the team is called back to Stormwatch One where we see that a member of the Shadow Cabinet has arrived to exterminate Adam. Shadow Cabinet? Has Milestone arrived here too?

Okay, the book has gone from weird to pseudo superhero book to I am not quite sure what. This thing has gone in four different directions in four issues and now feels more psychotic than super. Paul Cornell continues to throw down great dialogue and storylines while Miguel Sepulveda draws a great looking book. But it continues to get weirder with each issue. My thought and hope: issue #5 will throw in that back-story and finally align the team. I hope so, because this is getting very fractured on my end.

SUICIDE SQUAD: The new team (with Capt. Boomerang and Yo-Yo) infiltrates the terrorist group led by a guy named Coil (sounds like Kobra with an upgrade!) to grab Dr. Elisa Visyak, who has developed a nanite virus. Well, with a “Hail Basilisk” she and her teams off themselves. But Diablo drains the toxins from her system with a less than sensual kiss and she lives! The team fights their way out and Harley discovers that her beloved “Mr. J” may be dead. On their way out of this mess, they run into Grey Lora, big teeth and all. Come to find out Won Fon Yay, A.K.A. Asp, was one of theirs and well…it sees that Boomerang was responsible for that hit. So Digger is dumped with the Basilisk folks in exchange for their taking Dr. Visyak. Back at Belle Reve, just when they thought they were ready to relax, there’s a full-scale prison riot. And where has Harley gone?

STILL MY FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE TITLE!!! Adam Glass continues to weave a wonderfully icky tapestry through this book. Art this tie around from Federico Dallocchio. This is always at the top of my must read pile. Favorite line of the month: Harley: “Permission to pick a terminal wedgie”. Wish I had written that one! 

SUPERBOY: Superboy and ‘Red’ tussle and have a little chat, as she talks about how she has super powers like the other thirteen (wait for it…if you don’t see it coming, you will.). Before she can finish him off, a man named Centerhall and his team takes her out. It appears that ‘Red’ is actually Doctor Caitlin Fairchild and she is allegedly a bio-terrorist Centerhall tells our hero very little about his biology except that he is part Kryptonian and part human (which we already knew, thank you!). So Superboy gets his release and takes to New York City: trying to adjust and, as the same tie, making some huge mistakes along the way. He encounters the two meta-killers from last issue who have pretty much killed everyone in this fancy restaurant. He manages to defeat the killers and Centerhall and his team arrive. Superboy now wants to help take down meta-human teens. Next stop: the Teen Titans.

Okay…for those slow on the upkeep, here’s the poop. Caitlin Fairchild is/was one of the GEN 13: you remember that book, don’t you? Image title that came over to DC when Jim Lee did. It made J. Scott Campbell a household name. So here we have Caitlin Fairchild referencing the others who make up the 13. Interesting…On that note, great, totally unexpected turn here by Scott Lobdell. And the whole confrontation at the end with the killer metas makes for the turn from hero to vigilante for N.O.W.H.E.R.E. even more satisfying and logical. I cannot wait to see where this goes from here and if the rest of Gen 13 will make their way into the title.

SUPERGIRL: Simon Tychos continues to investigate Supergirl and runs tests, but one of his lackeys breaks free to save her and pays the ultimate price for it. Kara flips out and proceeds to trash the place until Tychos threatens to destroy one of the information sticks that came in the pod. She blows up the space station and Tychos ends up being merged to the "brain" from last issue. He also manages to get a sample of her blood. This should be interesting.

Michael Green and Mike Johnson wrap this part of the story nicely. I'll be curious to see where we go from here, especially with Tychos now having some blood sample to play with. Hmmm...maybe THIS is where Superboy's Kryptonian DNA came from (and possibly his human DNA too).

SUPERMAN:  Clark is having some memory issues and having a tougher time keeping his story straight. Lois has some interesting images of Superman flying over a cemetery in Smallville where Clark had recently bee. Hmmm…getting suspicious Ms. Lane? Clark ends up on a TV talk show to defend himself and some of his actions but is quickly defended by Heather Kelley, who we last saw as a strange Kryptonian. Next thing he knows and Clark is Superman and talking with the three aliens. Talking quickly leads to fighting and before it is done, Superman discovers that the madman who created them is Superman himself.

I said it last month and I will say it again: speed this up! This story is dragging on so long and trying to throw in plot bits everywhere, none of which are working for me. Heck-ACTION is fast becoming my favorite of the two Superman titles and we all remember how down I was on THAT book when it came out. George Perez’ story is doing NOTHING for me. NOTHING. Get us to a resolution and please let’s move on!
 
SWAMP THING: William Arcane causes major havoc in a diner in Texas. It appears his powers are to pull the very rot out of people and he’s doing a pretty good job of it. We get a lot more back-story regarding the history of the protectors of the green and the Parliament of Trees. William is building an army, Alec is slowly being inhabited by the green, and the rot is influencing Abigail.

Another amazing issue that touches on the mythology and continues paves new tales. Scott Snyder has done his homework on this character. Marco Rudy steps in this issue to handle the art chores and never really misses a beat. Continue to ride along as the battle between the rot, the green, and probably the red gears up!

TEEN TITANS: Wonder Girl is on the run from N.O.W.H.E.R.E.’S chief hunter Superboy but he finds her and they battle. Meanwhile, Miguel and Celine have a heart to heart at Red Robin’s place while waiting for takeout. What they get is Kid Flash and Solstice, arriving after a very long run. It isn’t long before the four arrive to help Wonder Girl and christen themselves Teen Titans.

Yet another fun issue from the team of Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth. The players are all in place now and it is just a matter of whether Superboy is going to break away from his handlers and join up. Where does N.O.W.H.E.R.E. fit into all this? And what happens when the second batch of NEW 52 titles emerges and we get THE RAVAGERS, featuring characters from this title and SUPERBOY. It will be written by Howard Mackie and drawn by Ian Churchill and it is anyone’s guess as to who will end up in it. But I can assure you it will have it’s start here, so you probably want to be on this title now and avoid having to figure out what goes on in THE RAVAGERS later.

WONDER WOMAN:  War and Apollo drink and discuss who wants to succeed Zeus on the throne. Diana and her sister Strife get to know each other better at a club. Hera visits Hippolyta and exacts her revenge. The world of Wonder Woman continues to turn upside down.

Brian Azzarello continues to divide comic fans with this title. Some folks love what he has done to stir up an old character while others are totally aghast about what he has done. I love the twists he has dropped on us. This book is on par with his groundbreaking work he did on 100 BULLETS. Another nicely illustrated issue by Cliff Chiang. Climb all over this book already!

VILLAINS FOR HIRE

In 2010, following the conclusion of the Shadowland storyline that ran through DAREDEVIL and other titles, Marvel debuted a new version of the old classic HEROES FOR HIRE series. In this instance, the group is run by Misty Knight, who was under mind-control throughout much of the series and featured heroes including Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Punisher, Black Widow, and Paladin. Once freed from the4 mind control, most of the team bailed on her but Misty restarted the group with Spider Man as its’ first member. Following the conclusion of that series, Marvel has a four issue limited series (five if you count the all important 0.1 issue) called VILLAINS FOR HIRE.
 
In the 0.1 issue, Misty is back in action sending her players out on various missions. This time around the players include Paladin, Daimon Hellstrom,  Black Panther and Silver Sable.  What we learn at the end of the adventure is that Zebediah Killgrave the Purple Man and Headhunter are running the operation. Apparently they were going to run this little venture from the start but it was Misty who ended up doing it her way. Thus Villains for Hire is born.
 
In issue #1,  Avalanche, Death Stalker, Scourge and Shocker are out on a mission of retrieval when suddenly it becomes a villain war as Tiger Shark, Nightshade, Bombshell and Crossfire arrive to take the package. What they find in the armored car is evidence boxes-one important one in particular. Back at an “undisclosed location”, we discover  the key piece of evidence is a PDA with numerous offshore back accounts on it. We also discover the person responsible for the second group of Villains-Misty Knight.
 
In issue #2, it's another battle as Killgrave's crew goes head to head and toe to toe with Misty Knight's bunch. In the end, Misty's team gets away with a small fortune's worth of Adamantium etched ISO-chips. So The Purple Man sends out Headhunter to go recruit. And recruit she does at the infamous Bar with No Name, bringing back Bombshell and Tiger Shark in the process. They send out Scourge to take down Misty Knight and what happens-she gets into a beef with paladin and takes him out. Now things gets interesting!
 
Hey…it’s another trip into weirdness by the kings of great storytelling Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. These guys always impress and this book is no exception, with killer dialogue and a cool story. Renato Arlem does great art…his Misty Knight looks so incredibly hot it’s scary!  Of course let's mention that there is a MAJOR screw up on the first page of issue #2 as the title page shows the two rivals crews and credits them to the wrongs bosses. OOPS! Some proof reader just lost their gig!
 
Jump on this title now because I have the feeling this will eventually lead to a regular series when it's all said and done.

DC's NEW 52-issue #3 reviews-Part 2

CATWOMAN:  Selena reminisces about Lola, who is now a cold corpse at her feet. Bone and his boys have worked her over and killed her, but not before they weaseled her bookkeeping secrets from her. He leaves and leaves orders to kill Catwoman. Of course you know she breaks free and gets the information out of THEM. She heads to the Moffat Building with guns blazing while old Bones is getting a nice lap dance. She takes him to the roof and proceeds to enact her revenge when Batman arrives. He convinces her to end the beating, they get into a deep embrace and she kicks Bone off the building, ensuring her escape. Back at Lola’s, she suffers survivor’s remorse when the cops arrive. That can’t be good.
 

Another awesome issue from Judd Winick and Guillem March. The story really moves along and we have a virtually sex free issue this time. Not much that I can say that I haven’t already said: the book rocks. Selina Kyle is back to her roots as a crook you love to hate but more LOVE than hate. And, while I understand that Lola had to be offed to propel the story foreword, it would have been nice to have her around and make this more of a Thelma and Louise buddy book. But…you can’t have everything, I guess. Enough of my whine: go buy the book!

FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.: The team finds itself in a pretty bad situation. That’s when the “creepy mummy guy” instructs them to cover their eyes and obliterates the enemy throng. From there, it’s the eruption of what could be construed as a giant volcano but turns out to be a giant spider-like creature. Frankenstein leaps into the fray with sword in hand and eventually dispatches the creature. The team agrees to split up to try to stop the titans of the planet. But that may not be so easy as the monster planet is sending out a distress signal that is messing with S.H.A.D.E.’s psychics.

The worst thing, or more specifically the most disappointing thing about this book, is that J.G. Jones cover artwork sets up the book and then you get inside to Alberto Pontgicelli’s art and tend to be shocked and disappointed. This was a problem I discovered with the FIRST WAVE books like DOC SAVAGE: killer covers by Jones and then lackluster interior art. Not that Ponticellui’s art is bad…just really different. And that’s okay for this book. Jeff lemire’s story is quirky and three issues in and I still don’t know what to make of the book. It’s not my first read but also not my “bottom of the pile” book. Attractive in a quirky little way.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS:  The Corps is in a bad way as they are being attacked by nearly insurmountable odds. Lantern Porter steps in to transport in the cavalry and then transports everyone back to Oa. But it all comes at a price as it costs Porter his life and leaves Vandoor, John Stewart and many of the Corps stuck in a fight back on the planet.

Get me out of this story arc, PLEASE!!! This book started out with such great potential and has just become another battle book. Peter J. Tomasi writes a good script but it is doing nothing for me. Geraldo Borges art is nice, but also does nothing for me. I see me getting to the end of this arc, hopefully in issue #4, and then calling it done. Seriously guys: I know it’s a team book but give me a good reason to read this.

JUSTICE LEAGUE:  We finally get to meet Princess Diana and Steve Trevor. Wonder Woman is walking around Wahsington when she gets attacked by winged warriors who arrive via a Boom Tube(I guess…that seems to be where this is all heading).  Meanwhile, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern are battling the same creatures and our Amazon princess shows up to lend a hand(good old Hal Jordan calls dibs…DUH!). Screaming “for Darkseid”, the beasts circle the water and Aquaman arrives. Oh yeah: Victor Stone makes one more step towards becoming Cyborg.

Another issue filled with more fun from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. Not really! The dialogue is still aimed at a 13 year old, the plot still runs into the silly area and the whole idea that these young heroes still think that Batman might be a vampire just doesn’t play. Jim Lee’s art is typical Jim Lee and we all know that the payoff is going to be the actual introduction of Darkseid, which is truly what keeps me hanging on to this book. Not DC’s brightest hour.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK:  John Contantine arrives, snaps Zatanna out of her trance and performs a little Tantric magic with her. Shade tries to communicate with Deadman but with no luck and ends up back in Madame Xanadu’s presence.  She reveals her next recruit, but Mind Warp is a loose cannon who could cause major problems for this burgeoning team. Of course, it’s hard to speak of loose cannons when Shade is being haunted by the imaginary girlfriend he devolved. Deadman and Junie Moon get close to each other and take a ride together. That’s when they run into The Enchantress.

Peter Milligan is one craqzy writer and this book continues to run along the edge of normalcy. To be called JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK is more of a joke than to be taken seriously. It REALLY needs another name, like Challengers of the Weird

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: The team is having one heck of a time down in Peru where, if you recall, they were trying to find a missing U.N. team and came upon a series of giant robots. Vixen and Fire go underground with bad results, getting knocked out and taken captive by a bunch of scaly creatures. Same thing happens to August General and Godiva, but the General blasts them away. Batman and  Booster get overcome while almost figuring out the mystery. So, since everything is falling apart, Guy Gardener gets involved and runs headlong into Peraxxus.

This title is not as overly dramatic as the regular JUSTICE LEAGUE and nowhere near as silly as the old JLI series. There is some great dialogue from Dan Jurgens and the art from Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan rocks.  And the fact that the team is “led” by their  own version of what the original Max Lord character was (in the form of Andre Biggs) just further adds to the fun as the government gets involved and screws it all up. Fun book!

NIGHTWING:  We begin at the funeral of Mr. Haly, where Dick Grayson takes a ton of verbal abuse from the circus folk. As Nightwing, he pays a visit to his old friend Zane, who has become a rather well off contract killer with some technical upgrades, the most dangerpous of which appears to be some sort of mind altering power that makes Dick dream of his parents and his past. He battles through it and takes out Zane. Meanwhile, Dick gets busy with Raya and we learn that the guy from the first issue with the Wolverine style talons is still planning on taking Nightwing down.

Kyle Higgins’ story just keeps me coming back for more, simply because I really don’t know where this story is going to go.  Is this a tale of Nightwing establishing himself again as a major player in the DC Universe or is it about Dick establishing a new life and a career and his crimefighting on the side? Not sure where it’s going and I like that mystery. And I love Eddie Barrows artwork. He’s a talent who hasn’t totaqllty exploded into the mainstream of comics’ consciousness yet, but soon will. I continue to love thnis book and hope the creative team will not disappointment in future issues.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS: The team meets S’aru the Proctor and proceed through the Chambers of All deep within the Himalayas. While they battle through the levels, The Proctor proceeds to pick through their back stories and provide the readers with the individual origins of the team members. Starfire endures the perils of being a slave on Tamaran. Red Hood has happy memories of being Batman’s partner. And Roy Harper? He has a death wish.

Scott Lobdell crafts another great team story, as he does in almost every book he writes. Kenneth Rocafort has a neat little art style that enhances the tale. All in all, this is not the team book one would expect. The one thing I am finding wrong with many of the NEW DC books is that much time is being spent setting up the back story and the histories. I understand this because, after all, this is the NEW 52 so much has changed. But I can’t wait for the back stories to end and the real action to begin. I’m hoping that the next issue will start a new arc with more action.

RED LANTERN:  We get the rebirth of Bleez along with her origin story. And, with any traumatic origin, there is almost always rebenge. This is no exception as Bleez and Atrocitus take their revenge. Meanwhile, on Eareth, the start of what may be the next Red Lantern continues to go into motion.

Peter Milligan and Ed Benes craft the best of the Lantern books. We all know what it’s like to be angry. What if we could channel that into revenge. That’s the premise of this book and finally getting one of the back stories is great. There is a million ways this series can go and with the expected “dark side turn” of one or both of the Earth boys, the corps will be stronger by more. I can’t wait to see where this series goes.

RESURRECTION MAN: The Body Doubles are in the Residential care facility waiting for Mitch to resurrect. He does but not where they expect. Mitch is in Limbo and having a conversation with a demon from down below. Soon after, he is reborn as a guy with armored skin. The Doubles take him down again and he is reborn again and tranqed again. But before the girls can take him away, they get stopped by Darryl, who is ready for battle in his Transhuman costume. Well…he did say he was once a super villain.

Strap in for the wild ride with this title! Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning were at work on RESURRECTION MAN back before they made names for themselves writing some great Science Fiction work for Marvel. And here they are back on the character they co-created and haven’t lost a step. And Fernando Dagnino artwork  flows beautifully on it. This book is solid writing and solid art and a fun trip. You MUST read this book!!!

STORMWATCH: While part of the team tries to formulate a plan of attack, Apollo decides to take matters into his own hands an attack the planet killing asteroid. On the moon, things go from bad to worse and it only goes down from there. Apparently the creature absorbs everyone’s powers and now it’s up to The Midnighter to stop the  creature.

Man, this book is still so weird and trying so hard to be what it once was. It’s not there yet, but it sure as hell keeps trying. Paul Cornell is no Warren Ellis, but he is throwing out some curious storylines. Miguel Sepulveda draws a clean bit of work and it DOES bring me back to the classic STORMWATCH series.  But let’s get the whole team together and give EVERYONE some back story. You know my complaint about back story? Well, unless you were a die hard fan like me, you have no idea what’s going on here. If you do that, you might gain more readers. Well done, gentleman: now push this to the next level. 

SUPERGIRL: Superman tells his cousin the story of what happened to krypton but she doesn’t believe him and runs away. She runs into Simon Tychos who reveals that he has the pod she came to earth in. This leads to her heading into space and battling a creature called “the brain”. Following the battle, Tychos promises her that he will help and onoly bhas her best interests at heart.

Michael Green and Mike Johnson are trying their best to create some mythos for the Maid of Steel. I’m just not certain it’s working. I liked the first few issues where we have a strange vistoir from another planet and she is trying to make her way through a strange land. But this issue, with her having the pod carrot dangled in front of her, left me cold and bored. Hopefully the next issue will work more with developing her as a character and less of this “let’s try and make her a villain by bending her to my will.” We already have the story playing in SUPERBOY.

SUPERMAN:  While Bill McCoy is hard at work on a documentary about Superman, which features some clips from some adventures we haven’t seen yet, another strange alien attack is launched on Superman and Metropolis. Superman eventually saves the day, but it looks like we now have a third Kryptonian in our midst. Is this the appearance of the trio from the Phantom Zone or is it too soon in his mythos for this?

C’mon guys: speed this up! What makes this tough is that ACTION is set in Superman’s early days and this is set in the present, so it makes it a bit confusing. But this is such a slow moving tale. In three issues, we have had three alien attacks, Lois in the sack with some guy and a whole bunch of action. But not a lot of important plot, at least not in my opinion. Introduce the villain and let’s go from there. George Perez continues to write and provides breakdowns, leaving Nicola Scott to handle the pencils, which he does in a very Perez style. AQnd I have no complaints about any of that. But please…SPEED UP THE STORY!!!

TEEN TITANS:  Kid Flash busts Solstice out of prison and ends up at the Pendact Circle. Bunker hops a train, sees a big cocoon and ends up with a long conversation with a hobo, who is actually Red Robin in disguise. They end up in a town where mind control is in effect. Celline bursts out of her cocoon and Wonder Girl poses as a nurse to interrogate Thrice. How long before the Boy of Steel comes a calling?

Welcome to another fun ride from Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth. The groundwork for what will become the Teen Titans continues to be dropped into place. And among it all, where does N.O.W.H.E.R.E. fit in all of this and the entire new DC Uinverse too. Keep me guessing, guys: this is one cool trip!

Next time-some Marvel titles. Honest. It'll be a NEW 52 free post!