DC UNIVERSE Month 14, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #7 by James Tynion IV and Alvarez Martínez Bueno. Man Bat breaks the Fourth Wall and tells the tales of the past being written by a mysterious typewriter. Zatanna goes to  a mysterious club where she meets with the First of the Fallen, who is felled by The Otherkind. Detective Chimp and Swamp Thing meet with vampire Andrew Bennett, who has a supernatural meeting that causes him to flee. Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos, along with Wonder Woman, investigate a nuclear submarine taken over by otherworldly creatures. In another dimension, Zatara and Sargon the Sorcerer fight against the power of The Otherkind and The Rip, which are making their way to Earth.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #4 by Joshua Williamson and Philippe Briones. The citizens of the planet in the Ghost Sector continue to worship Cyborg, which still unnerves him, but he slowly begins to accept it as one of the followers reveals he is machine-like. He tells Cyborg that the Machine Worlds need him. The team then heads off with the follower to Machine Worlds, where they are confronted by The Programmer. To prove his worth, and that he is not a false messiah, he is put into the Colosseum to do battle with Azrael, who he defeats. Later, Azrael, Jessica and Starfire escape their prison and meet with Rapture, who has built his life around Azrael. Meanwhile, Darkseid meets with Blackfire, who he tries to convince that she needs to assist him in his grand plan.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #5 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine di Giandomenico. While the rest of the team is fighting with Rapture and his robots, Cyborg learns that the Programmer is creating a Motherbox, designed to turn all the people in the Ghost Sector ebing turned into cyborgs to save them. The team, with Rapture, heads to The Programmer where Cyborg grabs the Motherbox and learns that Darkseid lied to them and is planning on building a New Apokolips here. The Coluans collected all these planets to try and hide them from Darkseid. Rapture reveals that he and his Order of Azrael were the angels responsible for killing all of Starfire's followers. This ticks off Azrael, sending Rapture off to his Order and giving them orders to kill the Odyssey team. In the end, Rapture is revealed to be the Coluan who lost his Green Lantern love in issue #1.

NAOMI #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and Jamal Campbell. In a small town, Superman fights Mongul for 17 seconds and that event, missed by Naomi, affects her life. When it is revealed that this is not the first time that something happened in this town, it leads Naomi to do some research and finds that Superman had been here before…on the day Naomi was adopted. Is there a connection?

NIGHTWING #56 by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and Davide Gianfelice. The newly assembled Nightwing team takes on Scarecrow and those who have been transformed by the Fear Gas. Grayson sees this, but is concerned with finding and rescuing Beatrice. He sees Zak get shot and his sister Colleen wounded and Grayson leaps into action to help. Together, they overcome the Fear Gas and defeat Scarecrow. In the end, it seems like there may be a new superhero team in town, as the Nightwings ask Grayson to join them.

  

RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #11 by Marv Wolfman and Pop Mhan. Raven’s family is confused, finding her clothes in their house and they don’t even remember who she is. Raven is leading Night Force into Paraguay to save Skye and then make their escape into Azarath. Zack Zatara gets sick and they all proceed to call him "Barf Boy". Skye is dying and they learn that most of humanity has some degree of Arcane in them, meaning the Shadow Riders will have to kill billions to succeed. In the process, Skye dies.

RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #12 by Marv Wolfman and Pop Mhan. Skye resurrects but is dying and, despite Raven’s healing efforts, Skye explodes. After leaving Azarath, Raven goes to the hospital to visit the last of her faceless sisters, who gets killed by a Shadow Rider after Raven leaves. The Shadow Rider goes to Wintersgate and tells Raven he killed her sister and that leads her to be possessed by her natural powers and takes out the Rider. The team agrees they should all go back to Wintersgate, but Raven goes to her family and, after taking the forgetful spell off, she tells them her name is really Raven.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #30 by Scott Lobdell and Pete Woods. Jason finds himself in Mexico as he continues his hunt for Underlife, which takes him to Hierve El Agua. He discovers a building which has been torn apart by an axe, telling him that Artemis was here. Wingman shows up and captures Red Hood, telling him he wants Red Hood back in Gotham to lead a team that doesn’t follow Batman’s rules. He breaks free and takes down Wingman, acquiring a dog in the process and also discovering a cache of drugs. He also discovers a room full of bodies in liquid stasis, including Bunker. That is when his dad shows up, revealing he is Solitary. Meanwhile, in another reality, Artemis and Bizarro continue their journey.

SHAZAM #2 by Geoff Johns and Marco Santucci. The Marvel Kida are at the Rock of Eternity and try to decide which of the six lands they see on a map that they should explore. They take the magical train and head to Funland, where they meet the seventh champion of the family, King Kid. Meanwhile, Doctor Sivana, with the Encyclopedia of Magical Monsters in tow, meets with a doctor. He explains how his eye gives him magical sight and it is revealed by the creature in his head, that he needs the doctor’s tongue for a spell. The voice in his head is Mr. Mind.

SIDEWAYS #12 by Dan DiDio, Shane Davis and Kenneth Rocafort. Following the explosion at the end of last issue, Detective Hopkins finds Sideways, who Hopkins knows is Derek. Derek reveals what led to the explosion. The Dark Star Labs team captures Derek and harnesses him to open up at portal to the Dark Multiverse. Sideways creates a rift, but the rift inside a rift causes a Black Hole and almost everyone in Dark Star is sucked into it. Just when things look bad for Derek, he gets saved by a being from the Dark Multiverse. In the end, Derek makes amends with his father and then meets his birth mother.

THE SILENCER #12 by Dan Abnett and Jack Herbert. While Hope’s family is searching for her, she is in Talia’s lair with all of her potential followers. She refuses to pledge allegiance to her and that leads to a big brawl. Talia promises to keep Hope’s family safe if she stops fighting. Hope’s family is meeting with someone at the U.S. Embassy, who turns out to be in Talia’s employ. She has no choice but to surrender, which leads to Talia plunging a knife into Hope’s chest and throwing her out the window.

THE SILENCER #13 by Dan Abnett and V Ken Marion. It’s Hope’s origin story. It begins with her at St. Hadrian’s, where she meets Talia for the first time. Over the next few years, her skills improve. Talia asks her to give her a few more years and then, in the end, she will give Hope back an ordinary life. Many years later, she completes her mission to kill Guile. After that, despite being badly injured, she leaves Talia’s employ to start an ordinary life. Flashing forward to now, Hope has just come out of the Lazarus Pit and gives her allegiance to Talia.

SUICIDE SQUAD #50 by Rob Williams and German Peralta. Rick has been captured by the infected Waller and Harley shows up to help him out. Just when things look really bad, Cosmonaut arrives and sacrifices himself to save them. It turns out that the undead Marines are seeking revenge against Flag and have no problems infecting the world with the virus. The rest of the team is fighting them while Harley and Flag proceed on. The team regroups just as the underwater prison surfaces. Flag meets up with his former teammates, who encourage him to be infected and join them. Waller arrives and infects Harley. The team opens a portal and Katana uses her sword to get the creature in there, ending the crisis. Everyone is cured, the Marines finally die again and even Croc shows up.

SUPERGIRL #26 by Marc Andreyko and Kevin Maguire. Supergirl awakes and fins herself in the clutches of Harry Hokum. He is planning on using Supergirl’s cells to create Kryptonian children. Splyce transports Supergirl to a prisoner transfer while Kara pretends to be unconscious. At the prison, Kara is thrown in with a bunch of women and children who have been denied food and water. The guards outside the cells get taken out by the Omega Men and Kara agrees to help them if they help her get these prisoners free. They move through the prison and find three of their cohorts, who were dead and have been resurrected. Meanwhile, Zn’dr and Krypto are captured by two hooded men.

SUPERMAN #7 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, Brandon Peterson and Jason Fabok. Superboy has returned and looks to now be around age 17. He has a reunion with his parents and explains what happened on his trip with Jor-El. He reveals that they all faced off against the Dominators before landing on a planet where the people thought that Lois was a part of the House of El, because of the super suit she is wearing. While there, they run into Lobo. They also find out that the Khunds have been stealing children, so they go off to help there. Lois leaves and Jon tells them that she missed the best part: that Jor-El is completely insane and needs to be stopped.

TEEN TITANS #26 by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. The Teen Titans break into Batcave where they encounter a robot Batman. Meanwhile, Damian encounters Alfred, who tells Damian he shouldn’t be taking what doesn’t belong to him. Damian says that Red Hood betrayed them and he is here to take what he needs.  The team beats the Batman robot and leave. Later, Red Hood catches Damian in the basement, where he has Black Mask chained up. Damian reveals that he believes Red Hood is either in league with The Other or is The Other. He also says that no that he has gotten this ornate box from the Batcave, Red Hood will no longer be a problem.

TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1 by Adam Glass, Ryan Benjamin and Jose Luis. Damian tracks down Red Hood in a bar in Texas, where Damian confronts him about The Other and they battle. Damian shows Jason the box he stole from Wayne Manor causing Jason to get angrier, take down Damian and take the box…all while someone watches. In the second half, the rest of the team battles Joystick. He uses his mind control powers to take over Djinn, learning her secrets and revealing some of them to the team. Before they take him down, he reveals that Djinn has deep feelings for Robin which devastates Crush. Djinn goes to the prison where Joystick ends up and magically removes his ability to speak, threatening to remove something else if he reveals her secrets in the future.

THE TERRIFICS #11 by Jeff Lemire and Viktor Bogdanovic. With the team split up, the Terrifics are off pursuing their individual lives. Plastic Man goes to visit his wife and his son, who has his father’s powers and they berate Plastic Man for his non-involvement in the family. Linnya has returned to Bgtzl, where she is forced to wear clothing she doesn’t like, because h sei s considered royalty. Rex, who is now human, goes out looking for a job, which is difficult because he has almost no experience. Mr. Terrific is tracking Java, who is making is way through the Multiverse, killing alternate versions of Mr. Terrific. He gets to Earth-23, where Mr. Terrific’s wife Paula is Mr. terrific. Terrific transports there and comes face to face with Java’s team of Terrifics that he calls the Dreadfuls.

THE TERRIFICS #12 by Jeff Lemire and Viktor Bogdanovic. Mr. Terrific battles Doctor Dread’s Dreadfuls. They are Metalmorpho of Earth-44, Phantom Boy of Earth-13 and Plasma-Man from Earth-43. And when they’re done with him, they plan on killing Mr. Terrific of Earth 23, who resembles Mr. Terrific’s wife. Over on Bgtzl, Linnya’s moher is trying to have her daughter involved in an arranged marriage, which leads to her stealing a spaceship and heading back to Earth. Rex and his dog break into Stagg’s lab so he can destroy the Orb, so he cannot accidentally turn into Metamorpho again. Plastic Man meets up with his son Luke and gets schooled in a game of basketball. To convince his son how much he loves him, Plas steals that Batmobile so they can go joyriding. Back at Mr. Terrific’s lab, Linnya receives Mr. Terrific’s distress signal and calls the team back together. That leads to Rex making a fateful decision, destroy the Orb and he and the dog turn back into Metamorphos.

TITANS #33 by Dan Abnett and Bruno Redondo. Ben is back at Titans Headquarters, reading an Unearth book so he can get a better idea on how to help the team. After defeating their enemies, they head to the castle where Lord Travesty is waiting. Ernest, who created the world, is acting as Travesty’s advisor. After Ernest leaves, Travesty meets with his new allies: Mother Blood and the Blood Cult. They have helped Travesty get the throne and they want the Titans to come and try to retrieve Raven’s soul self. They get to the castle, but are attacked by a mighty warrior, who turns out to be Raven’s soul self.

THE UNEXPECTED #8 by Steve Orlando and Ronan Cliquet. Neon and Quenh are dead, and that means Firebrand and Hawkman have to face Mandrakk on their own. In actuality, Neon and Quench have a portion of themselves still alive in the World Forge. Neon convinces Quench to put aside their differences and they fight their way out of the World Forge, joining Hawkman and Firebrand to battle Mandrakk. Together, they change Mandrakk, who must now feed off Dark Matter and he’s gets sent back into the Dark Multiverse. Quench goes on his own journey, Neon repairs Firebrand’s hospital and Firebrand is prepared o battle for Earth as needed.

WONDER WOMAN #61 by G. Willow Wilson and Xermanico. Steve is healed by Aphrodite and they go off to find Wonder Woman. After a reunion, Diana, Steve, Aphrodite, and Etta convince the Prime Minister of Durovnia to go to the scheduled peace meeting. But their path is interrupted by aircraft attacks and an appearance by Ares.

WONDER WOMAN #62 by G. Willow Wilson and Xermanico. Diana and Ares battle, until Aphrodite gets involved and reminds Ares of who she is. The Prime Minister and the rebels meet and a peace is achieved. But that is all dependent on if the gods and their attendants leave their country immediately. Later, Diana and Steve visit Etta in the hospital, before Diana leaves to begin her search for Themyscira.

WONDER WOMAN #63 by G. Willow Wilson and Emanuela Lupacchino. The mythical creatures that had kidnapped Steve are out in the world and trying to fit in with problems resulting. They end up at the Old Ebbitt Grill, where the clientele are not happy to be eating with what they consider to be farm animals. A waitress named Maggie befriends them and offers to take them to somewhere where they might be more accepted. Diana returns with Ferdinand the Minotaur, leading to all of them heading to Ferdinand’s place where he is going to cook them a pasta dinner. In the end, it is revealed that Veronica Cale has Nemesis captive in her apartment.

YOUNG JUSTICE #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Patrick Gleason.  Invaders from Gemworld show up looking for Superman and that results in a team forming, made up of Jinny Hex, Tim Drake Robin, Impulse, and Wonder Girl. The team ends up on Gemworld and meets Amethyst. And then Connor Kent, long missing from DC continuity, shows up!

DC UNIVERSE Month 14, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1006 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. The Mayor has shut down the investigation of the mysterious fires and Clark Kent is on the case to find out why. What he finds out is the Mayor thinks there is a leak in the fire department and he wants someone to take care of Fire Chief Melody Moore. No sooner does that happen then Red Cloud shows up to threaten Moore. Luckily Superman comes to her rescue. Following this, Robinson Moore meets with the woman in charge known as Leone and is told that Leone just bought the Daily Planet. And she also has the car the Superman destroyed on the cover of the legendary ACTION COMICS #1.

ACTION COMICS #1007 by Brian Michael Bendis and Steve Epting. Jimmy goes on a date with a girl named Ella and ends up at meeting of the Kobra cult. Taking pictures of the event, Jimmy is chased out and hunted, only to be saved by a huge ball of energy in the sky which destroys the building and, presumably, everyone in it. He later tries to explain his situation to Clark, but he runs off to suddenly save a falling Amanda Waller. The same ball of energy arrives and Superman saves as many people as possible, with Waller disappearing from the area in the process. Meanwhile, Lois meets with her father and reveals that her husband is Superman.

ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #6 by Peter J. Tomasi and Scott Godlewski. On a distant planet, Superboy and Robin meet a cute space monkey named Hukka. Later Rex shows up and threatens to kill Hukka unless the boys surrender to him. His plan is to use the Hypercube to team up with the Legion of Super Villains to wipe out all the heroes of Earth. Tommy Tomorrow shows up to save the day but sees the boys as bad guys so he takes them to the prison planet of Takron-Galtos.

AQUAMAN #44 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha. Wee tells Aquaman that he needs to take Caille back to her mother on another island. Aquaman meets with Caille and tries to convince her to join him. That night, the town’s elders meet on the beach and, during a ritual, it is revealed they are incarnations of ancient water gods. Aquaman and Caille show up and, after he throws a log in the fire, the gods manifest themselves and grab Aquaman by the throat, tossing him in the water to prove he can breathe underwater. Meanwhile, the search is on for a proper suitor for Mera.

BATGIRL #30 by Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier. Jason Bard and his cronies disguise themselves to start a riot during a rally for Gotham City congressional candidate Luciana Alejo. Batgirl arrives to keep the peace, even as Commissioner Gordon refers to her as a vigilante. Bard and company run off, but he gets caught by Batgirl, who pepper sprays her and escapes. The next day, Barbara shows up to volunteer for Alejo’s campaign, she finds Bard already there, warning that Alejo should be concerned about a bad guy named the Cormorant. Also, tensions rise between Barbara and her dad, which leads to her storming out.

BATGIRL #31 by Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier. While still working on the Alejo campaign, she still can’t believe that Jason Bard is the head of security, as she believes that Bard is Cormorant. There is a fundraiser that night and Barbara convinces the staff to let her attend, but she only shows up as Batgirl. Edward Wells, the man we are led to believe is Cormorant, arrives and the two battle. Later, she breaks into Branson Moore’s office to find Wells attacking Moore. Moore reveals that he didn’t hire Cormorant and that all of this has to do with possibly shutting down Blackgate and building a bigger, newer prison. In the end, there is a broadcast set with Alejo at Gotham Broadcast News. Bard is there and steps into an elevator with a cleaning man, who turns out to be Wells.

BATMAN #62 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. Batman has been captured by Professor Pyg and is subject to torture and drug induced nightmares. The question is: what is false and what is real?

BATMAN #63 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. John Constantine narrates this dream sequence where Batman has married Selina and seemingly is going to live happily ever after. But John warns him that Selina will die and she does. Is this foreshadowing of what could have happened or is this just another nightmare in the life of Bruce Wayne.

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #2 by Scott Snyder and Jock. Batman is desperately trying to save The Joker’s life, despite Alfred’s warnings. Batman is also undergoing treatment for his exposure to Joker Toxin. Meanwhile, Gotham is being filled with dead Bruce Waynes, seemingly from other worlds of the Multiverse. After disguising himself as Harvey Bullock, Batman heads over to Wayne Tower, where the Batman Who Laughs has made his way inside and sets off an explosion there. Later, Batman revives The Joker, demanding answers to The Batman Who Laughs plan. In the end, Commissioner Gordon seeks help from an unlikely source: his son.

BATMAN BEYOND #27 by Dan Jurgens and Brett Booth. After the massive explosion last issue at the Wayne Family Center of Tomorrow., The Joker has renamed The Jokerz as the Throwbacks and continues his plans of destruction. Despite all of this, Terry takes time to go out on a date with Ten. Robin calls him away and the pair go off to battle The Throwbacks. But there is a big surprise: Joker has converted one of his followers into a cyborg.

BATMAN BEYOND #28 by Dan Jurgens and Brett Booth. Batman and Robin continue to battle with the cyborg Joker, leading to Robin crashing elsewhere and being captured by The Joker. With the help of Dick Grayson, flying the Batplane, Batman defeats the cyborg but learns that Joker has captured Robin and is giving him a choice: watch Robin die or reveal who the “Bruce” Batman has been talking to really is.

CATWOMAN #7 by Joelle Jones and Fernando Blanco. Selina is in a jewelry store checking out some gems. Meanwhile, Penguin is in Villa Hermosa, where he kills his cab driver. Raina is waiting to see a doctor, as her looks have totally faded and she needs treatment ASAP. Selina heads out and witnesses an explosion on the Villa Hermosa pier before heading to a location where she meets with The Penguin.

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE #10 by Justin Jordan and Eduardo Pansica. After a flashback to Joe and Annie as children, we come to the present where Annie is with the Jack, who it is revealed has been watching her since the diner in issue #1. He once made a deal with one of The Salesman’s servants, killed him and has been masquerading as a helper ever since, creating carnage everywhere he has been. Razorjane, a woman who had been transformed by The Salesman arrives and, after a brief fight, begs to be saved. Brimstone arrives to save Annie while Jack kills Razorjane. Jack leaves to continue on his journey. Meanwhile, The Salesman and his followers are off to kill The Chamberlains.

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE ANNUAL #1 by Justin Jordan, Mike Perkins, Neil Edwards and Denys Cowans. Joe and Annie pick up a hitchhiker who turns out to be John Constantine. They, along with Swamp Ting, battle the Gods of Carnage, resulting in Swamp Thing being killed. In the second tale, there is the origin of Enoch from issue #4 and how, after a deal with The Salesman, he became the creature known as Detritus, before having to kill his brother who became possessed by the creature. In the third tale, Jack’s origin is revealed: a salesman who made a deal with a minion of The Salesman, killed him and has been doing The Salesman’s killing ever since, because he enjoys it.

DAMAGE #13 by Robert Venditti and Aaron Lopresti. Ethan finds himself in the Hall of Justice, where Batman is giving him a tour and he is going all fanboy about meeting some members. But this turns out to be a ruse as he is actually on an aircraft. This causes him to turn into Damage and battle the Dark Knight. Batman eventually opens the hatch and that leads to Damage being dropped on Dinosaur Island. This is bad news because he has less than an hour to get out of there before he turns back to Ethan.

DEATHSTROKE #39 by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan and Fernando Pasarin. Deathstroke and a team of heroes and villains are battling Devon and his team. But this is all a flashback that Devon is explaining happened when he and Slade were Zeta Beam transported out of Arkham. He also explains that the Justice League was informed of an alien invasion and they disregarded it. It happened weeks ago but only lasted for a few minutes in Earth time. Meanwhile, Slade is still in Arkham and Hugo Strange has tortured him and his therapist. Joe jumps into Grundy’s body and, in the process, Candace gets accidentally killed by Slade. Devon shows up to free Slade and son so they can stop the alien invasion. Meanwhile, Rose continues on her journey to solve the Willow issue.

DETECTIVE COMICS #995 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. Batman races a Jokerized Leslie back to the Batcave, where the anti-toxin isn’t working and she dies. “Commissioner Gordon” arrives at the Mansion, where Alfred opens the door and gets stabbed in the chest by someone dressed as Zorro. Damian arrives to repair Alfred's punctured lung while Batman heads to Arkham where he meets with many of his Rogue’s Gallery, just as the lights go out. Be afraid, villains-be afraid.

DETECTIVE COMICS #996 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. Batman has beat up the Rogue’s Gallery and heads to the Batcave to check on Alfred. Batman deduces that someone who knows his true identity and believes it is not Ra's Al Ghul, but Henri Ducard. Ducard has an axe to grind because Damian as responsible for killing his son organ, who was the villain Nobody. He finds Ducard and, after a tussle, they talk, up until the creature from a few issues back arrives. Ducard gets captured by the creature, which is morphing into various villains, and he uses a grenade to kill the creature and himself. Batman goes to the Temple of Kirigi, where Batman had some of his training, and finds that the students there have been killed. After a fight with the lone surviving student, Batman meets with his sensei and learns the creature killed everyone. Batman goes to New Mexico where he finds an imprisoned Thaddeus Brown: the first Mister Miracle. Informing him it’s a trap, the ground explodes and the pair are gone.

DETECTIVE COMICS #997 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. Batman and Thaddeus find themselves trapped underwater surrounded by sharks. They struggle to get free, with Batman taking a bite out of a shark, which attracts the piranhas that have entered the pool to chew away at Batman’s restraints. They free themselves and Batman gets attracted by a demon version of himself and members of the Batman family. He manages to defeat them all, complete with throwing the fake Batman into the water with the piranhas. He tells Brown this is a solo mission and leaves. In the end, Hugo Strange suffers an explosion that destroys his lab, just as Batman arrives.

THE FLASH #61 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. The Flash and Fuerza are battling the Sage Force Goblins, even at Cauldron threatens Fuerza’s family. Fuerza finally uses her gravity powers along with The Flash using the Speed Force to destroy the Sage Force Goblins. The bad guys split, but Fuerza catches Cauldron and destroys the Sage Force gun, but the Strength Force reacts to Fuerza’s anger and transforms her into a monster. It takes Fuerza’s mother to calm her down, Cauldron is arrested and Iris uses the gun to search for the Sage Force. Commander Cold, who is spending some quality time with Detective Burns, gets contacted by Barry and reveals that the Sage Force is in Zandia. Barry and Iris dress as villains to blend into a crowd of bad guys, but got met by a “big fan”, who reveals he has the power to read everyone’s fears and knows Barry is The Flash.

THE FLASH #62 by Joshua Williamson and Christian Duce. The “big fan” says his name is Psych, he is an agent of A.R.G.E.N.T. and he is after Roulette, who has built a casino in Zandia. Psych, whose real name is Bashir, explains that he nearly burned his home down when he got his powers and A.R.G.U.S. saved him and enlisted him. With the trio blending with the crowd, Psych reveals Barry is the Flash, leading to a big brawl. Fleeing the casino, Flash confronts Psych who blames Iris, before surrendering. But this ruse leads to him incapacitating Barry and Iris. Psych was hired by Gemini to capture the Flash, but they turn on Psych and begin draining Flash and Psych of their powers.

THE FLASH #63 by and Minkyu Jung. Iris saves Flash and Psych from the power stealing Gemini, but that isn’t enough for Pysch, who uses his power to sap Santiago’s power and his life. Psych reveals that the four forces are constantly fighting to gain control of the Forever Force and that everything he has been told is a lie. He flees leaving Flash and Iris with Belladonna and her dead lover. Later, she reveals that Flash’ monkey friend told them everything about the various forces. Flash and Iris head back to Gorilla City, where it is revealed that Hunter Zolomon is on the Force Quest too, which is why Flash was lied to. He brings Iris back home and, after running into Booster Gold, heads to Sanctuary, where he finds Wally’s body.

THE FLASH ANNUAL #2 by Joshua Williamson and Scott Kolins. Following the discovery of Wally’s body, Flash loses it and heads into the Speed Force, where he is attacked by Godspeed. Flash chases him to Iron Heights, where Wallace and Avery are meeting with Meena. Godspeed attacks everyone before revealing that Wally is dead, which devastates Wallace. Flash takes out his anger on Godspeed before being knocked for a loop because of a special gauntlet from a former speedster. Impulse appears and attacks Godspeed, before running off with Impulse in pursuit, as he wants to find what has happened to his speed family. Barry returns to Iris and tells her the bad news, which breaks her heart. In the end, August meets with a mysterious person who thanks him for betraying Barry, as this fits into his plan to destroy the Flash for what he did to his family.

GREEN ARROW #48 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Javier Fernandez. Count Vertigo breaks out of jail and wants revenge on the person who put him in jail-Roy Harper. Only problem is Roy is dead.

THE GREEN LANTERN #3 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Earth hasn’t disappeared, it has just been shrunk so it can be sold by a Dhorian slaver. He eventually hands it over to a being called The Shepherd. The Green Lanterns attack the Blackstars, eventually taking them down. Hal goes after The Shepherd, who claims he is a peaceful collector of planets, giving everyone super powers. He is revealed to be a giant insect who has evil plans for everyone. Hal knocks out The Shepherd, tapes off Earth as a crime scene and goes after the Dhorian slaver. Hal kills him with construct spikes and hen claims it was self defense.

HARLEY QUINN #57 by Sam Humphries and John Timms. Harley is hanging out in Coney Island when she meets a Tamaran named Mirand’r, who informs Harley that she has been chosen to undergo some cosmic trials. Meanwhile, Batman and Commissioner Gordon discus finding a corpse with a Joker grin and immediately deduce Harley is responsible. Harley goes to visit her mom at the hospital, where she is asked to leave as she is a criminal. Later on, Batman shows up at her apartment and the two fight, until he makes her feel bad for being a criminal and gives him a hug. He cuffs her and takes her away. Meanwhile, the Joker grinning corpse wakes in the morgue, revealing that Harley and Batman are falling into his trap.

HAWKMAN #8 by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch. Hawkman meets with Catar-Ol, his Kryptonian version of himself from an earlier time. Hawkman explains everything there is to know about the survivors of Krypton: Superman and Supergirl. As Krypton is destroyed, Catar-Ol tells Hawkman that he must be the weapon. Hopefully he can be, as the Deathbringers have arrived in Earth space.

HEROES IN CRISIS #4 by Tom King and Clay Mann. Flash and Batman continue their investigation of Sanctuary, with the pair disagreeing as to who was responsible: Harley or Booster Gold. Meanwhile, Booster is interrogated by Wonder Woman and the Lasso of Truth seems to reveal that he is innocent. He later meets with Blue Beetle, who breaks him out of the Hall of Justice, and, in the Beetle ship, they go off together. Harley meets with Batgirl, who they brawl and then become a team. Superman meets with Batman and reveals that, despite Batman denying it, says there are videos of hero confessions from Sanctuary and that Lois has published her article about them.

HEROES IN CRISIS #5 by Tom King and Clay Mann. Batman examines Skeets and comes away believing that Skeets has no idea where Booster is. Batgirl decides this isn’t good enough and she interrogates Skeets, with Harley and her mallet as backup. Superman gives a press conference, where he reveals the existence of Sanctuary and what has happened there, which is sure to continue to feed the world’s distrust of heroes. Meanwhile, Booster and Blue Beetle come up with a plan, which is to break into Flash’ lab and examine Wally’s corpse. They discover that, because Booster has the ability, this corpse is from five days in the future.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #15 by James Tynion, Scott Snyder and Jim Cheung. Starman has awoken and is releasing his nuclear energy. Meanwhile, Savage Hawkman is about to kill Kendra when it is revealed to be a Thanagar trooper and this is all an illusion placed in their minds by Martian Manhunter. John Stewart, Kendra and J’onn J’onzz head to the Thanagar Prime vaults to find the Martian Keep, but get stopped by the Green Lantern Corps. Martian Manhunter slips free and meets with the Martian Keep, who is hooked up to a machine called the Absorbascon, which has created an entire lie of the planet, built from memories. Back on Earth, Starman reveals he can see the doings on Thanagar and that the League members there are about to learn the story of Perpetua.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 by James Tynion, Scott Snyder and Jim Cheung. J’onn learns that the Guardians hid a secret here which involved Perpetua. Her army was made from followers made from a fusion of human and Martian DNA. Humans got involved in reengineering Perpetua’s followers and made use of J’onn’s DNA as a child, explaining why he has seen visions of himself as a child in a cage. It is also revealed that the symbols on the “doorknob” represent justice and doom. The Martian Keep dies and Shayera tries to keep everything as it was, but fails and it all disintegrates, including the Savage Hawkman. The Trinity, along with Starman, arrive and Starman uses his energy to pull a piece of Shiera Hall out of Shayera and give it back to Kendra. He reveals that Shayera will help her people rebuild and it is now Kendra’s destiny to repair the Source Wall.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ANNUAL #1 by James Tynion, Scott Snyder and Daniel Sampere.

Justice League heads off to the Source Wall, where they plan on taking the surviving Omega Titans, along with Hawkgirl, and putting them back on the Wall, to keep the Multiverse from collapsing. Just as things look to be finalized, complete with Hawkgirl’s sacrifice, Brainiac arrives. He tells Luthor that the League has two of the keys to Totality and they need to direct those to Perpetua. Despite the best efforts of The Justice League, the New Gods and the Green Lantern Corps, the Source Wall breaks apart. Because of this, Apokolips and New genesis disappear, the Guardians reveal that the Multiverse will die in a matter of months, and Luthor and Brainiac are prepared for Perpetua to live again.

DC UNIVERSE Month 13, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #6 by James Tynion IV and Daniel Sampere. Blue Devil explains to the team that Myrra has been overrun by skeleton soldiers and dragons. This all turns out to be Bobo’s fault. When Nightmaster died and ave Bobo his sword, he felt unworthy and asked Blue Devil to come give him a hand. When he still couldn’t handle the task, Bobo found Nightmaster’s spell book and tried to cast a spell to raise the dead and bring Jim back to life. But he messed it up and brought back all of the dead. After some convincing from the team, he goes back and finds a spell that will actually work. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing, John Constantine, and Phantom Stranger face off against Nabu, who draws Stranger and Constantine into his helmet. Before he goes, John sends a message to Zatanna saying to “find Mordru.” That’s when Swamp Thing shows up at the bar and says they need to go fight to save magic.

NIGHTWING #54 by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and Garry Brown. While the new Nightwings continue to fight crime in Bludhaven, Ric Grayson continues to ork through his issues with his new therapist, Dr. Gruidae. Of course, the good doctor is really the Scarecrow and, although he finally dismisses Ric from his care, it’s obvious he still has plans for him.

NIGHTWING #55 by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and Chris Mooneyham.  Detective Svoboda shows up to Dr. Gruidae's to question him and he paralyzes her and becomes The Scarecrow. That leads to him unleashing his fear gas on Bludhaven. While Ric does his best to save his friends at the bar, the new Nightwing team jumps into action to confront Dr. Crane’s alter ego.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #29 by Scott Lobdell and Pete Woods. Batwoman and Red Hood team up to defeat the zombie robots, who have been infused with Solomon Grundy’s DNA, they were facing last issue. Her intel leads Jason to a house where he finds the girl from in town who was selling pies. It turns out she is really a construct life the others and is connected to Underlife. She also has all of the children in town held captive, even though Batwoman has already freed them, unbeknownst to her. Red Hood defeats her and blows up the house, but not before finding out the person in charge of all of this is called Solitary. In the end, Jason goes on a road trip with Kate and Rene Montoya.

SHAZAM #1 by Geoff Johns, Mayo ‘Sen Naito, and Dale Eaglesham. After a retold origin for Shazam, we see the tea of six fight crime and deal with the everyday lives as teenagers. Later, in the Vasquez foster home where they live, the teens go a room which transports them to their secret headquarters, where they also discover it is an abandoned train station. Meanwhile, Billy’s father shows up at the Vasquez’ home. In the back-up, we see the awful life Mary led before being brought into the Vasquez home, meeting Freddy and becoming a family.

SIDEWAYS #11 by Dan DiDio and Kenneth Rocafort. Detective Hopkins is rather upset that his files keep disappearing, unaware that it’s really Derek popping in unseen to steal them. Derek is fighting Blot, who is threatening to kill Ernie. Derek gets her free and transports her back to her house while he continues the fight. She calls the Hall of Justice, but gets nowhere, so she calls Hopkins. Meanwhile, Bolt subdues Derek and takes him to Ms. Dominus, who explains her fascination with Dark Matter and how she had to kill Derek’s mom. Hopkins arrives at dark Star Sciences just in time to see an explosion from the place where Derek is being held.

SUICIDE SQUAD #49 by Rob Williams and Diogenes Neves. In the past, Rick Flag makes the decision not to move forward on a mission that would kill his fellow troops. The troops however take matters into their own hands and proceed, at the cost of their lives. In the present, Flag has the opportunity to explode a brain bomb that has been implanted in Amanda Waller. But she has managed to get loose and is on the run from Flag. His fallen troops have been resurrected and are being used to hunt the rest of the Squad, with Croc being roasted in the process and killing the reborn soldiers in the process. Harley gets help from Cosmonaut to try and save the world from nuclear Tunguska. It turns out that Waller’s brain bomb is really a brain magnet and she turns into a Mech version of herself.

SUPERGIRL #25 by Marc Andreyko, Dan Jurgens, Emanuela Lupacchino, Lan Medina, Brad Walker, and Tom Derenick. Supergirl, Krypto and Z'ndr have gone to what is left of Krypton to find the clues to who actually killed Krypton. She battles with a caretaker named Slpyce who takes our heroine to the Vega System to meet Harry Hohum. In the first back-up, we get a tale of Z'ndr Khol, as he scavenges a booby-trapped planet. In the third story, Supergirl tries to enjoy the holiday even though her foster parents have given away the Plourott stuffed animal that was given to her as an infant.

SUPERMAN #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis. Superman is finally free of the Phantom Zone but is rather upset about it as Zod is stuck there and being destroyed by Rogol Zaar. In the end, a strange visitor greets Superman: a grown-up Jon Kent. But how is that possible?

TEEN TITANS #25 by Adam Glass, Robson Rocha and Max Dunbar. Crush and Djinn steal a motorcycle from beneath their headquarters and head out on the town. After trying to get lunch at a diner, Crush reveals her origin story. She crash landed fifteen years ago at the Burning Man Festival and was saved by a pair of drugged out people named David and Lisa. They also saved her blanket and chain, which was named Obelus. She was also told that she was different because she came from space and her parents where superheroes. One day, after seeing Superman battle Lobo, she realized that she wasn’t the child of a superhero and ran away. When she came back, she found that her parents had been slain, possibly in dealings with drug dealers. From there, she went out on her own, but without Obelus. She and Djinn head out to find Obelus and that takes them to a drug dealer named Exiekiel, who killed her parents and took Obelus. She finally, after battling with it, convinces Obelus that he belongs to her and subdues the bad guy. In the back-up, Roundhouse reveals how he survived his trip into space and did so with the help of his dead sister Claire.

TITANS #31 by Dan Abnett and Minkyu Jung. Lantern Kyle Rayner comes back to Earth with the team as they all try to recuperate from their trip into space. While Donna and Rayner train, Miss Martian helps Raven see where her other self is, revealing it is on Unearth. Gar has a seizure and begins spouting blood, which leads to The Red using him as a vessel to explain what is going on with Mother Blood and the Blood Cult, ho is trying to take over The Red by way of Unearth. That means it’s back on the road again, as the team heads to Unearth, where things are already quite busy!

THE UNEXPECTED #7 by Steve Orlando and Ronan Cliquet. Mandrakk is loose and battles with Hawkman and Firebrand while Alden Quench fights with Neon. After being disrespected by Mandrakk, Quench fights back, ultimately having it cost him his life at the hands of Mandrakk. As the surviving trio fight against the vampire god, Mandrakk sinks his fangs into Omen, apparently killing him.

WONDER WOMAN #60 by G, Willow Wilson and Cary Nord. Wonder Woman battles Ares until she can finally show him the horror of what his actions have done to the civilians in the region. He leaves but then she is joined by Etta who questions Diana before Etta is shot in the chest by soldiers. Diana disarms them, scolds them and then rejoins Ares, who is uninterested in stopping what he started by his actions. Meanwhile, Steve continues on his journey with the mystical creatures: a journey that leads them to Aphrodite.

DC UNIVERSE Month 13, Part 1

ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #5 by Peter J. Tomasi and Carlo Barberi. Although he tries to escape, Joker Jr. gets captured by Rex.  Meanwhile Superboy and Robin meet the grown-up versions of themselves.  In actuality, the boys had been captured by an entity known as the Wonder Machine and all of this is actually implanted dreams in their head.  In the end, the boys team up with their imaginary selves to get themselves free before trying to figure out how to get to the next place on the planet they are on.

AQUAMAN #43 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha. Aquaman has lost his memory after the events in THE DROWNED EARTH. He finds himself hunkered down with some folks who feed him and give him a place to stay. Later, he meets with a girl named Caille, who calls him Arausio. She is the daughter of a sea god named Namma, who has apparently polluted their seas because the people Aquaman is staying with sent Namma away but kept Caille. In the end, he sees an image of Mera, who he doesn’t recognize and races to save Caille, who is in danger of being swept out to sea. When he reaches her, the sea parts, meaning the sea has plans for him.

BATMAN #60 by Tom King and Mikel Janin. While Batman continues his rampage through Gotham, beating up criminals to try to get information on Bane, Alfred entertains The Penguin, in an attempt to learn more information about what has been going on.  Commissioner Gordon, frustrated by Batman’s sudden violent inclinations, goes out and destroys the Bat Signal.  In the end, the person who The Penguin has been working for shows up to silence him.  In the process he attacks Alfred.  When Batman returns to the Bat Cave, he discovers that the person who has been pulling the strings, is actually his father: the Batman from Flashpoint.

BATMAN #61 by Tom King and Travis Moore. We find a young Bruce in Crime Alley grieving over his parents. But not to worry as Batman is on the case and goes off seeking the killer of the Waynes while Bruce is at home with Alfred. But this isn’t REALLY Bruce Wayne, but Master Bruce, who is really Matthew Warner and was supposed to be sent to Arkham for killing his parents with the help of his butler, Mr. Taylor. This whole story is taking place in Warner’s head, who continues reliving this. Now he is being sent to Arkham after killing seven people in prison. This will put him in the hands of…Bane.

BATMAN ANNUAL #3 by Tom Taylor and Otto Schmidt. This is a tale which illustrates the love of Batman’s adopted father, Alfred, for his “adopted” son.  With Batman going out and trying to stop a mad bomber, Alfred continues to worry and act as an accomplice for Batman.  After stopping the bomber, Batman gets attacked by a group of street thugs who wind up stabbing him, which leads Alfred to put on another that Batman mask and come to Batman’s rescue.  He eventually manages to get him to Leslie Thompson, who takes care of both men’s wounds.  In the very end, Batman’s decides to take the night off and spend it with Alfred.  Because, after all, it ends up being Father’s Day.

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 by Scott Snyder and Jock. The issue begins with Batman chasing a gang of criminals.  When he finally stops them, he finds a coffin, and when he opens it up, he finds the body of Bruce Wayne inside of it.  Later, in disguise at the Gotham Morgue, Batman deduces that the body he has found is actually that of Bruce Wayne.  But that is impossible because Batman is Bruce Wayne.  Whoever this Bruce Wayne is, it is not someone who ended up fighting crime based on the physical features that Batman discovers.  Batman makes his way to Arkham Asylum, where he plans on meeting with The Joker.  Unfortunately, the Batman Who Laughs has gotten here first and puts an ax in the head of The Joker.  What is later discovered is that The Joker who was killed was actually just a henchman made up to appear to be The Joker.  Back in the Bat Cave, The Joker, who has escapes from Arkham, arrives and pulls a gun on Batman which misfires and shoots The Joker.  However, this releases Joker toxin from the villain’s heart and now the toxin has infected Batman.

CATWOMAN #6 by Joelle Jones. Selina has gotten free from her captors while Raina Creel and her family try to have a memorial service for the husband she killed. She gives her son Raymond chemicals to turn him into a monster while Detective Yilmaz tries to stop Selina. He fails which leads to a balcony fight that leaves son Adam dead. Selina escapes, Yilmaz is arrested but being offered a plea deal and Selina promises her sister they can live happily ever after together.

THE CURSE OF BRIMSTONE #9 by Justin Jordan and Eduardo Pansica. Joe continues his solo travels in Florida where he runs into a passing car with a driver who seems to know who he is. This causes Joe to turn into Brimstone and the driver of the car becomes Dr. Fate.  The two of them battle with Joe’s flame power actually burning Dr. Fate’s mask and injuring him, forcing him to flee.  Elsewhere, Joe’s sister shows up at a house in Alabama and confronts Jack.

DAMAGE #12 by Robert Venditti and Aaron Lopresti. After a flashback with a young Ethan watching Superman’s adventures on television and dreams of being a hero. In the present, Superman and Damage fight it out. Batman and Deadman show up, allowing Deadman to take over Damage until the hour wears off. The Justice League take him into custody at the Hall of Justice until they can figure out what to do with him.

DEATHSTROKE #38 by Christopher Priest and Fernando Pasarin. Death Masque pays a visit to Rose’ husband and tries to explain what has been going on.  Joseph has been saved by Wintergreen, who rescued him after being shot by Two Face.  Two Face is out training Rose in Vietnam and their journey leads them to a group of well armed, sword wielding folks.  Meanwhile, Deathstroke is still in Arkham but it looks like he may have a friend in the form of one of the doctors there.  He promises to show her where the mysterious beacon is and that leads to him being accosted by most of the inmates there who take him to Hugo Strange for his final therapy session.

DETECTIVE COMICS #994 by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. Batman is trying to solve the murder of a man and woman found in an aquarium tank that look specifically like the Waynes, right down to their clothing. They apparently were murdered on the anniversary of the Waynes’ deaths. Later, Leslie Tompkins is menaced by a monster wielding the Bat Signal. Batman saves her and defeats the creature, but it appears Leslie has been turned into…The Joker?

DOOMSDAY CLOCK #8 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. While Ozymandias plots and plans, Lois Lane realizes someone has picked the lock on her desk. She also spies a mysterious envelope on her desk. A news broadcast shows Firestorm losing control in Russia, where he accidentally transforms people in the center of Moscow. Superman heads to Kahndaq, where he meets with Black Adam, with Adam saying his country is a safe place for Firestorm to seek refuge. Superman heads to Moscow and works with Firestorm to be able to use his abilities to transmute a child back to normal. He takes Firestorm back to the square in Moscow and pleads his case, but Putin’s soldiers fire at the heroes, causing unnecessary deaths to the solidified civilians. Superman, despite Batman’s pleading, picks a side and revolts against the Soviets. Firestorm reaches a boiling point, causing an Earth-shattering explosion. Meanwhile, Lois opens the envelope, which reveals a jump drive. On the drive is an article about The Justice Society of America, which she doesn’t recognize as a real superhero team.

THE FLASH #60 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval. Gemini has taken over a train in Africa and say they have found evidence to where Flash is going. Over in Corto Maltese, Flash is battling with Fuerza while Iris tries to talk reason to the head of the police, Corozon. Corozon isn’t listening and opens fire on Fuerza, but is saved by The Flash, who flees with Iris in tow. Fuerza goes back to a community she has built inside a mountain to protect her family from the corrupt police. Later, they go to watch a convoy of medical supplies to make sure it goes where it is supposed to when an injured family member shows up and there is an explosion in the mountain hideaway. Flash and Fuerza rce back to find the police holding family and Iris held hostage. Corozon fires a gun that shoots bubbled and those bubbles become monsters. The gun is powered by the Sage Force. Meanwhile, Detective Burns flirts with Commander Cold while the Tricksters watch and wait for their chance.

GREEN ARROW #47 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson and German Peralta. Citizen has Oliver Queen strapped in an electric chair and is ready to execute him on live TV. Green Arrow arrives, actually Black Canary in disguise, allowing Ollie to escape and come back at Citizen as Green Arrow. He takes down Citizen and later clears his name by having a press conference and producing Kevin’s photographic evidence. In the end, Arrow and Canary head off as a team.

THE GREEN LANTERN #2 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Evil Star and a gang of bad guys have managed to break out of the secret Green Lantern Corps prison known as the Obsidian Depths. Hal gets assigned to the case while Lantern Volk works on a mystery involving a missing planet. Hal and Lantern Tru interrogates a member of the Spider Guild who was part of the crew that broke out and gains valuable information. Evil Star ends up on the Blackstar Flagship where he loses his Star Band and has his life force sucked out of him. Hal meets with the dying Evil Star on Planet Hippocrates, where he finds that the Star Band which has been keeping Evil Star young, has been sold on the black market to some Dhorians. Hal heads to Earth and discovers that it’s gone.

HARLEY QUINN #55 by Sam Humphries and John Timms. Harley’s family has shown up for Christmas and of course manages to ruin everything. And, to top it off, Mom reveals she has Cancer. After having a heart to heart conversation with Mom, they head back home, where a food fight ensues, and all is right with the world again.

HARLEY QUINN #56 by Mark Russell and Mirka Andolfo. Harley’s allegories are killing her, leading her to go to Monsieur Katz and beg him to get rid of his collection of cats. She proceeds to walk around Coney Island and give them away. But this leads to retaliation by a group that only men should be able to distribute pets, and that leads to the men targeting her apartment like unstoppable zombies. Luckily, they get dispatched by angry cats, thanks to Catwoman.

HAWKMAN #7 by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch. In the distant past, Ktar the Deathbringer looks over the piles of the dead that Idamm has ordered be killed. Throughout history, Ktar continues on the mission and continually sees a mysterious woman. He eventually turns away from the mission and destroys the temple. His best friend and ally slays him but Ktar is given a second chance. He will be reborn and continue to be reborn until he can save the same number of people he has slain in his life. Essentially, this means he will live and die forever. In the resent, and now being aware of his past, Hawkman heads to the destination of the weapon to stop the Deathbringers: Krypton.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #13 by James Tynion IV and Guillem March. In the past, we see Luthor meet with Joker and try to convince him to join his Legion of Doom. In the present, we see Lex’ deal with The Batman Who Laugh. There is a roster recruitment going on and no one but the Joker is more upset about it., leading to him battling with Lex, who he captures. Joker reveals he had his own plan and Lex ruined it. So now, Joker is going off on his own to initiate his plan. The other Legion members, who had been gassed and were following Joker, free Lex and he has a plan of his own: fix Brainiac and add him to the team.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #14 by James Tynion IV and Jim Cheung. Batman is trying to gain information from Starman by using Jarro, but is stopped by Wonder Woman and Superman before he goes too far. Over on Thanagar Prime, Martian Manhunter, John Stewart and Kendra meet with Shayera Hol, who informs them that the Martian Elder is dead. They all decide to stay the night and attend a celebration on Thanagar, while Kendra realizes that she and Shayera should be one and the same person. It turns out that the Martian Elder is being kept alive and then our heroes are attacked by a masked winged man. He turns out to be Katar Hol-the Savage Hawkman. Back on Earth, Starman’s power suddenly triples in force and it looks like he is going to explode and take the planet with him.

A new batch of first issues and some last ones

ARCHIE #700 by Nick Spencer and Marguerite Sauvage.  To celebrate a legacy, ARCHIE has again been rebooted and gone back to its’ original numbering. Nick Spencer takes over for Mark Waid and he seems to be willing to tie it closer to the RIVERDALE TV series. There’s a mystery as to what has happened over the summer. Jughead now looks like Cole Sprouse and is working as a writer. Reggie is back and looks like he does on the TV show. Cheryl Blossom is here and even Sabrina shows up. Sauvage’s art is nice and clean and adds to the streamlined, CW look to it. This is fun.

ARCHIE 1941 #1 by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn and Peter Krause. It’s 1941 in Riverdale and the world is engaged in World War II. The gang is graduating high school and Archie can’t seem to figure out what he wants to do, resulting in his becoming distant. With the fall coming, it looks like America may end up in the conflict. This is an interesting take on the gang by Waid and Augustyn with killer art by Krause. Obviously, Pearl Harbor is coming, and I see the gang ending up in the service.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1  by Saladin Ahmed and Garry Brown.  Set in the days just after the alien symbiote attached himself to Spider Man, the alien host fights crime while Peter Parker sleeps. In the end, the suit is removed, to much anger from the host, and is locked away in the Baxter Building. This is a long, overwritten look at the early days which does a nice job of adding some back story to that time in Peter’s life. I like adding to the story, but to make it an annual, which DOES have a Legacy number, is just a money grab by Marvel.

BATMAN DAMNED #1 by Brian Azarello and Lee Bermejo. So, this was a major controversy a few months back because, this title which launches DC’s oversized Black Label “adult line” of comics featured a scene where we get to see Batman’s naked butt and…shudder…three panels with his “Batawang”, as it became known, showing. The book sold out in its; first week, commanding ridiculous prices because DC has threatened to censor it in online availability and future printings. Well, two weeks later, dealers got their reorders’ and prices dropped, DC said there would be no second printings and only the online and the collected edition would be censored. Big deal, only if you never read HEAVY METAL or an underground comic. In the story, which is really what matters, the Joker has been murdered and it looks like Batman may have finally snapped. Azarello’s story is captivating but Bermejo’s art is amazing! Can’t wait for #2.

BATMAN/THE MAXX ARKHAM DREAMS #1 by Sam Keith. The Dark Knight teams up with The Maxx to help stop the evil that is coming here from The Outback. Along the way, they end up in Arkham, cross paths with The Penguin and creatures in The Outback. As always, Keith’s writing is a little trippy but his artwork is great! I was always a huge fan of The Maxx and had the opportunity to meet and talk with him in the last year or so and it’s great to see him back in action. This should be a fun ride!

BLOODSHOT RISING SPIRIT #1 by Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, Kevin Grevioux and Ken Lashley. Angelo Mortalli is a Mafia hit man who is getting a new life as Bloodshot. But is he real or just a mental construct? That’s the basic premise of this relaunch from Valiant.  After a lengthy series of titles, Thompson, Nadler and UNDERWORLD actor Grevioux take the genre and twist it sideways. Add it the amazing art by the always amazing Lashley and you have a reboot that is worth checking out.

BOOKS OF MAGIC #1 by Kai Howard and Tom Fowler. A long time ago, Tim Hunter was a young apprentice of magic. Today, it seems his magic ability is gone, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t trying. The newest entry into the SANDMAN UNIVERSE line f titles brings Hunter back to the line and, while weaving a new journey, it does allow readers to catch up on his past run. Howard’s story is nicely done and does a good good of telling DC’s version of Harry Potter to life. And Fowler’s art is clean and does a great job of enhancing the story. A nice first issue that will undoubtedly please longtime fans and hopefully bring in new ones.

CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL #1 by Tini Howard, Chris Sprouse and Ron Lim. Set in World War II, Cap and Bucky meet up with three escaped prisoners and set about trying to get them to safety. It’s a long drawn out tale that could have been told in 8 pages, but goes on for an extended amount of reading time. The art is fine, although it is nice to see Ron Lim back in action. And a guest appearance by Dum Dum Dugan. But, other than that, there is nothing thrilling about this.

DAREDEVIL #612 by Charles Soule and Phil Noto. Soule ends his five year run on Hornhead and does so with a bang. What appears to be the ending of Kingpin’s Mayoral stint turns out to be visions of a dying Daredevil on the operating table. It’s a tale filled with red herrings and makes us wonder how much from recent issues was real versus imagined. It’s a nice closing to this series, which will lead into a mini-series and then a reboot by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto in February, even if we have seen this plot device used before, specifically in THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST.

DEAD MAN LOGAN #1 by Ed Brisson and Mike Henderson. Old Man Logan has killed Maestro, which gives him revenge for the deaths of his family. But Logan’s healing factor has gone south and he is dying from Adamantium poisoning and has a year to live. Despite that, he is on the hunt for Mysterio, who was responsible for poisoning Logan’s mind in the Wasteland, leading to the former Wolverine to kill the X-Men in his timeline. While he hunts, so does Miss Sinister, who breaks Mysterio out of his incarceration and leads him to the ranks of Neo-Hydra. All in all, this is a great start to what could be the final ride for Old Man Logan.

DICK TRACY #1 by Lee Allred, Michael Allred and Rich Tommaso. First off, let me say that I am a huge fan of Dick Tracy, going back to the last Sixties when I cut out and collected the dailies and Sunday pages. So I was excited to see this newest tale, by the likes of Allred and Tommaso. Set in modern day, Tracy gets fired because of his Dirty Harry themed acts. Sam Ketchem has quit being a cop and is now a journalist. And Big Boy, villain from the Warren Beatty movie, is the bad guy, sort of. Overall, it looks great, even though the story is kid of silly. As a long time fan, I was kind of disappointed.

ERRAND BOYS #1 by D. J. Kirkbride and Nikos Koutsis. Jace Lopez is an errand boy, running collectibles and stuff to various clients. In the middle of it all, he discovers that his father and step-mother are killed in a car accident and he suddenly now has a step-brother in his care. What to do? Well, that means that Jace now finds himself  with an apprentice. It’s a fun little tale, with a nice back-up that gives a bit of history to Jace’ career and relationship.

FANTASTIC FOUR WEDDING SPECIAL #1 by Gail Simone, Dan Slott, Fred Hembeck, Laura Braga and Mark Buckingham. Well, in case you have not heard, Ben Grimm, who we all know and love as the Thing, is getting married.  So this gives Marvel a chance to put out an overpriced one shot featuring stories connected to that wedding.  In the first story, by Gail Simone, we get the bachelorette party and, obviously, some fun things occur in it, complete with Crystal from the Inhumans getting really drunk as the team of superhero ladies end up dueling with The Mole Man or, more specifically, Mole Woman.  In the second piece we have Ben visiting his future father in law in a very touching piece with some amazing artwork by Buckingham that certainly has a callback feel to classic Marvel artwork.  The third tale is by Fred Hembeck…Nuff said.  All in all…this was tons of fun!

FREEDOM FIGHTERS #1 by Robert Venditti and Eddy Barrows. The Nazi’s won World War II, but there is an uprising brewing. On November 22, 1963, the Nazis, with the help of their secret weapon Plastic Man, capture the Freedom Fighters and execute them on live television, causing Uncle Sam to go into hiding. Flash forward to 2018 and the regime is still in power. Time for a new generation of Freedom Fighters. This was such a fun read that I wish it was a graphic novel instead of a 12-month long mini-series. The premise was fresh and fun, and Barrow’s art was great! This has the makings of a classic mini-series with lots of notes to beloved characters.

HARBINGER WARS 2 AFTERMATH #1 by Matt Kindt and Adam Pollina. Valiant’s newest event series has ended and this is the wrap up for it. All the pieces come together here and splinter off to set up Valiant’s next line of titles. Among the threads, Livewire, now the most wanted person on the planet, is looking to disappear and Bloodshot looks to be primed for a reboot. In all, it’s a disappointing epilogue.

HOUSE OF WHISPERS #1 by Nalo Hopkinson and Dominike “DOMO” Stanton. Set in the Bayou, we have a whole different take on life in The Dreaming. It’s a place filled with voodoo, spirit possession and strange new characters. While it puts a whole batch of new characters into Gaiman’s legendary world, and the art is nice, the story itself is a bit weak. Even the appearance at the very end by Cain and Abel don’t help.

INFINITY WARPS #1 by Jim Zub, Ryan North, Mariko Tamaki, Flaviano, Todd Nauck, Ozygur Yildirim, Scott hHanna, Natacha Bustos, and Francisco Herrera. Marvel unleashes another INFINITY WARS tie-in with this anthology title featuring appearances by a bunch of mashed-up heroes and villains. Observer-X, Moon Squirrel, Tippysaur, The Terrific Two, the Green Widow and so many more traipse across this one-shot with less than satisfying results. In my mind, it’s a cash grab.

INFINITY WARPS: ARACH-KNIGHT. #1 by Denis Hopeless and Ale Garza. Gamora has turned the world universe upside down and, unlike her father who once eliminated half the universe, she has just MERGED half the universe together. In this tale, we get a rebooted origin for Peter Parker, who watches his uncle and aunt murdered by a Green Goblin mash-up only to be saved by a spider from the Spider-Verse, which gives him multiple personalities, like our universe’ Moon Knight. Along for the ride is his best friend Harry, bad guy Norman and his best girl Markey Jane. Sure…it’s Moon Knight meets Spider-Man with a touch of Werewolf by Night thrown in. A must for die-hard fans of the old AMALGAM line.

INFINITY WARS: SLEEPWALKER #1 by Chad Bowers, Chris Sims and Todd Nauck. Rick Sheridan is also the superhero known as Sleepwalker. Marvel drags him up from near obscurity to make him a key player in this world turned upside-down. After meeting with more of his ow people, Sleepwalker goes out into the world, where he meets Scott Banner, AKA the Little Monster, Man Thing Thang Thoom, and the Dark Starhawk

INFINITY WARPS: GHOST PANTHER #1 by Jed MacKay and Jefte Palo. T’Challa makes a deal with the Zarathos and becomes a Ghost Rider Black Panther mash up, where he is trying to avenge his father. But in this piece, Killraven may be the hero in the end. This is another INFINITY WARS spin-off and, like many of the others, is a cute concept, but not well executed.

INFINITY WARPS: IRON HAMMER #1 by Al Ewing and Ramon Rosanas. In the new, retooled universe that Gamora has created, Sigurd Stark ends up donning armor and wielding the hammer to battle the Krimson Kurse and, probably in the next issue, Madame Hel. The mash-up is fun, as it touches on bits of the classic origins of Thor and Iron Man and twists them up to fit this reshaped world. Of course, we all know that everything will come back around again, but, for now, this is just dumb fun!

INFINITY WARPS: SOLDIER SUPREME #1 by Gerry Duggan and Adam Kubert. Gamora has reshaped reality, which means we get twisted version of Marvel’s favorite heroes. A female Dr. Erskine uses her experiments to turn Steve Rogers into Dr. Strange. With magical shield in tow, he teams up with Dum Dum Fury and Bucky Wong to form he Howling Commandos of Hoggoth to battle Dormammu Red. All in all, it’s a lot of fun that harkens back to the Amalgam line of comics from back in 1996 when the DC VS. MARVEL series was running. And Kubert delivers on the art. Looking forward to the rest of the crossovers.

INFINITY WARPS: WEAPON HEX #1 by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker and Gerado Sandoval.  A scientist creates a new life and she grows up to be Weapon Hex: a cross between Scarlet Witch and X-23. This is a mess, filled with bad spell names, like Hexual Healing, and clunky dialogue. So far, this is the worst of the INFINITY WARP tales. And there is still one more issue to go!

INFINITY WARS: FALLEN GURADIAN #1 by Gerry Duggan and Andy MacDonald. This epilogue to the INFINITY WARS mini-series follows what caused the death of the “fallen Guardian” of the Galaxy, who gave their life to save two universes. It follows the origin of the character, their heartbreaking death and their “afterlife”. All in all, it works if you didn’t read INFINITY WARS but, if you did, you’ve been here already.

IRONHEART #1 by Eve L. Ewing, Kevi Libranda, Luciano Vecchio and Geoffo. Riri Williams, the former Iron Man and now Ironheart, gets her own regular series. Riri is a genius and a superhero and is trying to combine those two lives into one as she finds herself back at M.I.T. and adjusting to a new life. Yeah, she still is a superhero but she is also dealing with PTSD from the deaths of her father and her best friend back in the day. It’s well written, the art is cool and it fits nicely into the Marvel Universe.

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY: THE BATTLE OF KRAKOA #1 by Dennis Hopeless and Djibril Morissette-Phan. Set in 1945, Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos crash land on an island and, after the team is transformed in zombies by a mysterious chemical, Krakoa is born. It adds some nice color to the legendary creature who is an island, but that’s about all. The art, while very Sixties inspired, is weak in spots and Hopeless story is…well: hopeless.

MARVEL KNIGHTS 20^TH by Donny Cates and Travel Foreman. Matt Murdock is visiting Karen Page’s grave and doesn’t know why. Policeman Frank Castle shows up and kicks Matt’s memory into gear, leading him to find the people in his life from the past. But nine remember him and he finds himself on the run. Meanwhile Kingpin, Bullseye and even Doctor Doom are on hand in this world turned upside down. A nice start to a twentieth anniversary tribute by Cates and Foreman.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #12 by ?. Well, the experiment has ended. The FF are back and there is no need for this book anymore. It’s a nice send-off and obviously the characters will continue in FANTASTIC FOUR. But Marvel: could you have at least put CREDITS for the creative team inside the book? Or a story title? Anythng? This feels like a sudden dump with no support.

MILES MORALES SPIDER MAN #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron. Well, just in time for his feature film debut, the other Spiderman, Miles Morales, is back in his own title.  For those who are not aware, Miles was the second Spiderman in the Ultimate Universe and when they puts all the universes back together, he ended up in our universe.  So, we have Miles and his family at his friends and, yeah, he gets to go off and do adventures.  The writing is fun and the artwork looks really great.  So, expect fans to be jumping on the bandwagon for this title based on what some are calling the best Spider-Man movie ever made.  For me, it was fun but not something I will pick up on a regular basics.

MOON KNIGHT #200 by Max Bemis, Paul Davidson, Jacen Burrows, Jeff Lemire and Bill Sienkiewicz. Moon Knight’s crazy journey comes to an end in the oversized last issue that ties together two years of plot. All the diverse personalities comes together as Marc Spector deals with those persons in his head. A satisfying end to a wild ride, with great art by some amazing guest artist including legend Bill Sienkiewicz.

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 THE COMIC #1 by Harold Buchholz, Joel Hodgson, Matt McGinnis, Seth Robinson, Sharyl Volpe, Mary Robinson, Todd Nauck and Mike Manley. The gang on the Satellite of Love are subject to a new experiment that takes them into the world of public domain comics. That results in TOM SERVO TEEN REPORTER. While it’s an interesting concept, I found it hard to embrace as, instead of the characters riffing, they re appearing in a comic. Not to mention that I as a huge fan of the original MST3K crew but not so much about those appearing in the Netflix reboot. While this was a cool concept, it does fall flat.

RETURN OF WOLVERINE #1 by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. The Ragin’ Cajun is back from the dead, but is being experimented on, having major memory gaps and seeing visions of his former lives. Yeah: it’s a wild, trippy ride with guest appearances by various parts of his past, while trying to deal with being told he is a hero.  This is a long story that will continue for six months while, at the same time, Old Man Logan will spend nine months dying. Soule’s story is disjointed and that is part of the allure to it, as bits and pieces of Logan’s memory pops in. I should note that McNiven is truly channeling his inner Barry Windsor-Smith here with moments that scream about Smith’s run in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #72-84.

SPIDER-GEDDON #1 by Christos Gage and Jorge Molina. This sequel of sorts to the SPIDER-GEDDON mini-series from a year or two back features all of your favorite Spider characters from the various universe as they prepare again to fight The Inheritors. That means you’re getting Octavia Otto, Spider-Ham, Spider-UK, Spider Woman, Spider Punk, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen, The Superior Octopus, Spider-Man, and more. It’s a great big team fight that is crossing over through several one shots and mini-series along with SPIDER-MAN and SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. Definitely fans for all of this but myself: not digging it, although it looks great!

THE SUPERIOR OCTOPUS #1 by Christos Gage and Mike Hawthorne. Tying into the SPIDER-GEDDON mini-series event thingy, Doc Ock is back with a whole new bag of tricks. Now in a cloned body made up of Peter Parker’s genetic material and his brai, he masquerades as a professor at Horizon University, where many of the former cast of Spider Man characters are also at. This is an essential lead-in if you plan on reading the SPIDER-GEDDON series, but not much ore than that.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY: GAS PANIC #1 by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba. Set several years after the end of the last series, we find the team in disarray. Sir Reginald Hargreeves is dead, Kraken is a big game hunter, Rumor is dealing with the end of her marriage, Spaceboy is in Tokyo and Vanya, who had previously been shot in the head, is still doing physical therapy. And what of Séance? There’s the mystery. If you were a fan of the previous series by Way, you’ll love it! If this is your first dip in the pool, you will find yourself a little confused.

UNCANNY X-MEN #1 by Ed Brisson, Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson, Mahmud Asrar, Mirko Colak, Ibraim Roberson, and Mark Bagley. Well, here we go again: another X-Men reboot. With multiple variant covers, Marvel seeks to disassemble and reassemble the mutant heroes. The MLF is attacking a research facility that is developing a vaccine to eliminate the mutant gene. Multiple Man is attacking a senator championing the vaccine. And the team finds itself conflicted by it all. Oh yeah: Apocalypse is back too. The four part back-up covers events that leads up to the main story.  Can’t get enough of all of this in this monstrous length book? Don’t worry: it ships weekly for the next 10 weeks.

WEB OF VENOM: CARNAGE BORN #1 by Donny Cates amd Danilo S. Beyruth. Cletus Cassidy is dead and gone. But not really. His corpse has been captured by a cult that is planning on bringing him back from the dead and will help to achieve their crazy goals. But a resurrected Carnage is going to do what he wants. And he wants to track down everyone who has ever been exposed to the original Symbiote and gets those pieces back. What this does is lead into what I’m sure will be future events in the regular VENOM series.

VENOM ANNUAL #1 by Donny Cates, David Michelinie, Jeff Loveness, James Stokoe, Kev Walker, Ron Lim and Tigh Walker. It’s just another night in the villain bar as the bad guys elate various tales of Venom. What it comes off feeling like is a whole bunch of inventory stories that are stitched together by a loose narrative.  In the end, it seems the big bad was hanging around there all along. Kind of a $5 bummer that is only for completists.

X-MEN BLACK: MAGNETO #1 by Chris Claremont and Dalibor Talajic. Marvel ramps up to reboot the UNCANNY X-MEN book by dropping this five-issue mini-series, each highlighting a member of the X-Men’s Rogues Gallery. In this issue, Magneto is in a small town and gets attacked by O.N.E., which is some military group that is holding mutants like terrorists. The real reason to pick up these books is the five-part story of Apocalypse, who is losing his power and becoming human. Told by Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler and Geraldo Borges, it’s just okay and, unless there is some great payoff, may not be worth your investment on this series.

X-MEN BLACK: MOJO #1 by Scott Auckerman, Nick Bradshaw and Andrew Lima Araujo. Mojo has got a thing for an Earth woman he lists after ands it takes X-Man Glob to partner with him as his wingman. Later, Sentinels attack and Mojo lends a hand. In wrestling, this would be called a face-turn. It’s a fun tale with a different take on the crazy outer space television programmer. Also, the second part of APOCALYPSE DEGENERATION where the big bad continues to regress.

X-MEN BLACK: MYSTIQUE #1 by Seanan McGuire and Marco Failla. Mystique has a job to do and that means masquerading as many people as she infiltrates Trask Industries. In the process, she meets a young mutant who has been locked up by Trask and that means her conscious kicks in and she also looks to break the girl out in the process. And, in the third part of the Apocalypse saga, he has become a caveman and must battle other cavemen before his intellect goes away.

X-MEN BLACK: JUGGERNAUT #1 by Robbie Thompson and Shawn Crystal. Chrles Xavier’s brother fights against the control of Cyttorak and his inner self. In the third part of APOCALYPSE DEGENERATION, Apocalypse has regressed to an ape before being reborn as his old, mean self.

X-MEN BLACK: EMMA FROST #1 by Leah Williams and Chris Bachalo. Emma meets with Rogue as part of a plan to take down the Hellfire Club once and for all. But that leads to a double cross as she takes out Sebastian Shaw and makes herself the Black King. In the final part of APOCALYPSE DEGENERATION Apocalypse is reborn.

X-MEN BLUE #36 by Cullen Bunn and Marcus To. As Marvel tries to correct what they have done by bringing the original X-Men from the past into the present, part of which will apparently come to fruition in EXTERMINATION, and to do that, along with rebooting the UNCANNY X-MEN book, they are ending this book, along with X-MEN GOLD. So, what we thought would be a final send off back to their own time becomes a continuing run of small episodes as they prepare to time-jump. But, in the end, they see Magento and his new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attacking the world and decide to stick around for one last battle. We leave this title with the C-Men still here and we PRESUME soon to be heading home. Minus the neat variant cover by Mile Allred, this ends up being a thud instead of being a Home Run.

X-MEN THE EXTERMINATED #1 by Zac Thompson, Chris Claremont, Neil Edwards and Ramon Rosanas.  With the recent death of Cable, Marvel has put out a one shot designed to pay tribute to the fallen hero.  They give us two stories which ties into the legacy of Nathan Summers.  The first one is a loving tribute piece featuring his daughter Hope while the second is narrated by Nathan but is more of a tribute to Scott Summers. But it also works out to be an alternate kind of history.  All in all, it’s a piece primarily for completists, but is also a nice tribute to a character who has played his role in comics and movies.