A new batch of first issues in review

ANT #1 by Erik Larson. Back in 2004, Mario Gully’s ANT #1 was published by Arcana Studios. It ran for 11 uneven issues before going the way of many independent comics. Now Larson has resurrected it, retooled it and will probably tie it into the Savage Dragon Universe. It’s a typical Larsen tale: filled with action, minimal unneeded dialogue and dynamic art in Larsen’s style. I walked away from most Image superhero titles long ago but have recently jumped back on the train, beginning with SAVAGE DRAGON. I like Larsen’s quirky style, and this fits the bill for me.

ARROWSMITH #1 by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. Remember the previous series from DC? Yeah, most folks don’t, although it is a cult favorite. Basically, it’s World War I, but with flying dragons instead of planes and a troll or two. It’s part high drama, part adventure tale and part fantasy. It’s clear Busiek knows the characters and the story and Pacheco hits all the right artistic buttons. The good thing is you can jump in without knowing the previous story.

AVENGER FOREVER #1 by Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, Cam Smith, Jason Keith and Triona Farrell. There’s a new Avengers tea, led by a Deathlok and Ghost Rider. They go off to a variety of Earths in an effort to build a team. It’s weird, looks great and I’m not quite sure if I like it or not. To be, it’s just another Avengers book.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1 by Jock. A villain named Powerline is being transferred and that goes south real fast. So Batman needs to make his way from Point A to Point B while trying to keep this guy alive. So it’s a caper tale in reverse. First issue of the Black Label book is well pace and Jock’s art is Jock’s art, meaning you’ll either love it or hate it.

BATMAN THE IMPOSTER #1 by Mattson Tomlin and Andrea Sorrentino. It’s another Black Label Batman title and, as with many of the Black Label books, is more psychological than action filled. It twists the legend about, with Leslie Thompkins acting as not only friend but therapist. And she’s African American now. While the story is intriguing, you come to this, at least I did, for Sorrentino’s incredible art. Is it good? Well, it’s a deep dive, so be prepared.

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN SPECIAL by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN is a legendary mini-series that has even spawned an acclaimed animated adaptation. Loeb and Sale revisit the story, this time with Julian Day as the chief villain. It fits nicely in that story and acts as a nice epilogue to the original classic. The story is fun and Sale’s artwork is on point. Highly recommended.

BLACK PANTHER #1 by John Ridley and Juann Cabal. Long delayed, Ridley’s take on T’challa is finally here. The Black Panther is back on planet Earth and finds everything has changed.in Wakanda, leaving him confused. He resigns as head of the Avengers and discovers that the sleeper agents he has put in place are being hunted. So, this becomes a mission to find the enemy. Ridley is good at crafting a story and this is no exception. It’s a great start.

BOLERO #1 by Wyatt Kennedy and Luana Vecchio. This is a tough one to describe, so here goes. Devyn is unhappy with how her life is going. She ends up in another world where she meets Capgras, a talking catlike creature that offers her a key to 53 possible realities. But there are rules. You can’t ask to speak to mother. You can only hop around in the Multiverse 53 times. And never take someone else’s key or you could run into yourself. Yeah…a very unusual first issue which takes a bit to get going, as there is a ton of back story to Devyn’s life. But it’s worth it.

CHILLING ADVENTURES IN SORCERY #1 by Eliot Rahal, Evan Stanley, Amy Chu, Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy, Vincenzo Federici, and Derek Charm. Archie Comics reboots their horror line with this anthology set in the Archie Universe. Fans of AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE should rejoice. Unfortunately, this is just a glimpse when we all want a full buffet. The stories are cool, the art is fitting and have a neat tongue-in-cheek attitude. Now give us more!

THE CRIMSON CAGE #1 by John Lees and Alex Cormack. What do you get when you mix MACBETH with Professional Wrestling? You get THE CRIMSON CAGE #1. Plain and simple. A wrestling star, an up-and-coming wrestler, his scheming wife and some mystical stuff. Obviously aimed at a specific audience, but this is another great book from AWA.

DARKHOLD ALPHA by Steve Orlando and Cian Tormey. The Book of Cthon has been found and that means trouble for the Marvel Universe. Welcome to a world where everyone and everything changes. Yeah, it’s a starting point for a series of one-shots and an eventual Omega issue. In the end, I’m pretty sure this is another “everything changes for the Marvel Universe; where, in the end, nothing does.

DC HORROR PRESENTS: REFRIGERATOR FULL OF HEADS #1 by Rio Youers and Tom Fowler. This is a direct sequel to BASKET FULL OF HEADS where our heroine appears but is not the star here. A young couple end up crossing paths with some bikers and also a reanimated shark head. And that’s just part of the tale, where a haunted sword and an axe will come into play. If you liked the first series, you’ll love this. If you didn’t read the first series, go find the trade paperback.

DC HORROR PRESENTS: THE SOUL PLUMBER #1 by Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, Ben Kissel, John McCrea and PJ Holden. A young man decides to follow a man who is trying to build an army against demons. The boy doesn’t make the cut because he can’t afford to pay but steals the plans on how to do it and takes it upon himself to follow God’s plan for him. It’s a fun little romp that has its’ tongue firmly planted in its’ cheek.

THE DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE #1 by Jed MacKay and Lee Garbett. First off: Doctor Strange has been murdered and apparently by someone who the good doctor knew. That means the Marvel Universe has no Sorcerer Supreme, which means magic will be out of control in the Marvel Universe. Suspects arrive and so does Doctor Strange: a much younger Doctor Strange who has stepped out of the time-stream to help. Does this mean that the old doc will get replaced by the new doc, who is actually the old doc? Follow the story through multiple issues and a lot of one-shots to find out.

DEVIL’S REIGN #1 by Chi Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto. Here’s the next Marvel event book/crossover/intertwined one-shots. DAREDEVIL has ended and this book spins out of that title. Kingpin is putting his own super-villain army together, declares that super-heroes are against the law (haven’t we been down this road before several times?) and decides to run for President. Is this going to truly shake-up the Marvel Universe or is it an excuse to come out of it with a bunch of first issues? Personally, I think it could be a little of both.  

ECHOLANDS #1 by J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman. Welcome to an epic fantasy tale told in a horizontal format. It’s a neat take on an old theme but it looks absolutely beautiful. I’ll be honest: the selling point for me was always going to be Williams art. Throw in a huge list of what music he listened to during the creative process, and if it was original or reissued vinyl, and that just adds to figuring out where Williams’ mind was at during this process. Highly recommended.

ET-ER #1 by Jeff McComsey, Dan Panosian, Javier Pulido and Shawn Crystal. Two stories set in a medical center that takes care of extraterrestrials. Cute concept, fun stories-picture GRAY’S ANATOMY with aliens.

EVIL ERNIE #1 by Scott Lobdell and Ariel Medel. A new origin for an old character. Ernie is a kid who has a secret and one that is powered by a button named Smiley. The classic Pulido character is the thing of legend and Dynamite is trying to find a way to embrace him. I’m curious to see where they go with this as Smiley has already made appearances in other Dynamite titles. This first issue is a bit bare on plot, but I have hope for what follows.

FANTASTIC FOUR ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by a whole host of creators. As has been done in the past, Marvel celebrates the FF with an oversized retelling of FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and the wedding of Reed and Sue from FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3, with each page being drawn by a different creative team. Despite the $7 price tag, it’s cool to see the various takes on these classic stories.

THE FOURTH MAN #1 by Jeff McComsey and Mike Deodato. Another AWA title featuring Deodato’s amazing art. Two detectives look into the murders of four men, beginning with the first one. A P.I. gets himself in trouble in a number of ways and is killed. So what will the connection be between them all? Fun noir story with great art. I love how Deodato finds references for his characters, with Paul Giamatti playing the P.I. and James Caan as the guy who has hired him.

GUN HONEY #1 by Charles Ardai and Ang Hor Kheng. I have to admit that I am a huge fan of the Hard Case Crime novels, but not so much with the comics, which don’t seem to have the same vibe as the novels. This is the exception. While is doesn’t fit into the novel’s noir feel, this title is filled with enough intrigue and sex to fit the bill. The story is captivating, the art is nice and there is a cool little cliffhanger to keep us coming back for more.

GUNSLINGER SPAWN #1 by Todd McFarlane and Brett Booth. Coming out of events in SPAWN and the SPAWN UNIVERSE one-shot, Image let’s loose a plethora of SPAWN titles, beginning with this one. With his origin first revealed in SPAWN #174 AND #175, this fan favorite has commanded great interest (and great expense as issue #174 will run you at least $400) over the years. Now he is out on his own, in the present day, where he is trying to fit in this world while also dealing with finding a way back into his own time. If you’re a SPAWN fan, you will understand where this is going, along with McFarlane’s style. The true highlight here, especially for first tie readers, is the art of Brett Booth. In the end, it’s a fun read.

HAWKEYE: KATE BISHOP #1 by Marieke Nijkamp and Enid Balam. Just in time for the new Disney+ series, Kate Bishop is back in action. She’s left the West Coast and has headed East to start her life over. And no sooner is she here than she is in the midst of a new mystery that involves her sister. The dialogue is snappy, the story leaves a lot to fill in over the next few issues and the art is totally reminiscent of the recent WEST COAST AVENGERS run. This was a lot of fun.

THE HEROES UNION #1 by Roger Stern, Darin Henry and Ron Frenz. Welcome to an all-new universe with a whole host of new heroes. Legendary creators Stern and Frenz team up for this oversized book (64 pages for $5!) that looks and feels like the Eighties all over again, from the writing to the art and even the page layout. This is the first in a whole series of forthcoming titles including STARTUP, SUPER SUCKERS and THE BLUE BARON. While is doesn’t have the same feel of current books, the fact that this feels like a throwback is sure to entertain and attract older readers. Plus, the price is right for a book this big.

HE WHO FIGHTS WITH MONSTERS #1 by Francesco Artibani and Werther Dell’Edera. It’s World War 2 Germany and the Germans are rounding up Jews. What do the people do? One man is tasked with finding a solution to the Final Solution in the form of…a Golem. Taking a fabled tale and setting it loose in Nazi Germany may not be the most creative concept ever developed but it is something different. The chief selling point by Ablaze is Werther Dell’Edera, who they proudly proclaim is the artist on the hit series SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN. Is the book any good? It’s not bad and a fun concept to float about. The real payoff will obviously be when the Golem comes to life.

HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #1 by James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal and Chris Shehan. This book is a spin-off from SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN. For those unfamiliar, the main series follows monster hunter Erica Slaughter. This series, filling in the hiatus of the main series, explores the secret history of the Order that turned Erica into a monster hunter. If you have not read SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN, you won’t care about this title. For fans, it’s a must read.

HULK #1 by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley. Al Ewing and Joe Bennett set a new standard for the Green Goliath and now Cates and Ottley have the difficult task f running with their character. So what do they do? The put him in a suit of armor let Banner control him and shoot him into space. What?! Yeah…that’s where we begin. Cates is known for some pretty strange character turns and this appears to be another one. A nice start and leaves me curious to see what’s next.

INFERNO #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti. Hickman’s final statement on the X-books is here. This will ultimately result in a shakeup of the status quo…again…and lead t a host of reboots and first issues. Basically, Mystique is looking to finally resurrect Destiny at all costs. Hickman has a long game with everything he does, and this is no different. Multiple storylines flow through this issue, from Moira to Cannonball to the role of the ruling committee. In the end, Mystique looks to be positioning herself to take on a more dynamic role in the X-Universe.

KNIGHTED #1 by Gregg Hurwitz and Mark Texeira. What happens when someone is forced to take up the role of a superhero? You end up with this book. Your average guy accidentally kills The Knight and now he has to take up the hero role, whether he likes it or not. This was a ball to read as it throws elements of the Batman legend (compete with butler) into a blender and out this comes. A tongue in cheek read with killer art from Mark Texeira.

LADY MECHANIKA: THE MONSTER OF THE MINISTRY OF HELL #1 by Joe Benitez. Here’s a book which has a monumental following which will only grow larger now that it’s at Image. Part horror, part science-fiction, and part cyberpunk. This is a wondrous title with the always amazing art and writing of Benitez. You definitely want to add this to your pull list.

LAURA AND OTHER STORIES #1 by Guillem March. Here’s a neat little anthology book that isn’t really an anthology book. It’s a series of connected tale involving our heroine and it’s wonderfully different. We all knew March was a brilliant artist but who knew he could tell such touching stories. If you’re looking for superheroes in tights, this ain’t your book. But if you’re looking for something with a lot of heart and soul, this is your cup of tea.

MAGIC ORDER 2 #1 by Mark Millar and Stuart Immonen. The band is back together. It’s magicians versus magicians in an underworld feel.Things have changed in the world since the first series, meaning their have been power grabs which need to be rectified. If you loved Millar’s first book, you’ll love this. Unfortunately, I’m having issues with the characters, that no feel more cliched than they did before. But…maybe that’s just me.

NYX #1 by Christos Gage and Marc Borstel. Spinning out of SACRED SIX, Nyx starts a relationship with a pickup while trying to find her place in the world. The story is a bit sparse, but the art is great. Definitely for VAMPIRELLA fans, may be a little too weird for non-fans.

OUT #1 by Rob Williams and Will Conrad. Here’s a monstrous tale(literally) set in a concentration camp in World War II Germany. There’s a group of captured G.I’s, some strange experiments and a possible traitor in the midst. Horror, intrigue and a great mystery. And Conrad’s art really shines. This is a little less predictable that the Golem influenced HE WHO FIGHTS WITH MONSTERS #1 and it works with its’ straight ahead narrative.

THE SCORCHED #1 by Sean Lewis, Todd McFarlane, Stephen Segovia and Paulo Siqueira. It’s another SPAWN spinoff in the form of the expected team book, bringing all of the Spawn characters together as…well…a team. A lot of action, a bit of mythology and the usual superhero dialogue. So, if this is your cup of tea and you follow the SPAWN stuff, this is right up your alley.

SHE-HULK #1 by Rainbow Rowell and Roge Antonio. Jennifer Walters is back in another series. Her life is in shambles, and it gets worse when she has to fight Titania in her underwear. She is working for a law office that has given her a closet for her personal office, she has to crash in an apartment Janet Van Dyne is letting her use, and the formerly dead Jack of Hearts shows up and may be dead…again. And that’s just the first issue. The dialogue if fun, the art works and there is just enough tongue in cheek to make it work. In other words, it’s not as dark as the previous series was.

SILVER SURFER: REBIRTH #1 by Ron Marz and Ron Lim. The classic team is back with this one. And it feels so old school it will certainly capture your nostalgia vibe. Throw into that mix Genis-Vell, a resurrected Captain Marvell(yes, the classic guy) and Thanos. Boy…this was a ton of fun and can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

STRAY DOGS: DOG DAYS #1 by Tony Fleece and Trish Forstner. Fleece and Forstner are back with a great anthology in the STRAY DOGS universe. As with STRAY DOGS, these are tales of beauty and heartbreak. If you aren’t moved by a single one of them, something is wrong…especially if you’re an animal lover. Not gory, but totally grim.

TANGLED RIVER #1 by Michael Cohen. I will admit I’m so happy to see Michael Cohen publishing again. I was a huge STRANGE ATTRACTORS fan and was thrilled to see that back. And now this: a wonderful, light fantasy tale by Cohen. And this one is in color! It is not for everyone and that’s fine. It sets up what appears to be a long-running tale and this is what world building is all about.

TIMELESS #1 by Jed MacKaym Kev Walker, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Mark Bagley and Andrew Hennessy. Here’s everything you need to know: it’s a Kang adventure through time that ends with a possible future appearance by Miracleman. Yep…that’s about it. It looks great and the story wanders about. But the payoff is Miracleman…we hope.

VAMPIRELLA/DRACULA: UNHOLY #1 by Christopher Priest and Donny Hadiwidjaja. Spinning out of Priest’s amazing, redefining 2019 run, we get a direct continuation of the story. Vampirella has married someone who MAY become the king of the vampires. But is he really? If you take away the concept that our heroine first met and fell in love with this guy when he was a child, it is a straight-ahead story that, knowing Priest, will have one heck of a payoff in the end.

VENOM #1 by Al Ewing, Ram V and Bryan Hitch. Venom has changed and now lives in the lives of Eddie Brock and his son. That means part of this story is in space with Eddie and part on Earth with Dylan. And you can feel who is handling what storyline. To that end, it feels a little disjointed. Looks great as it’s Hitch, but just feels a little disconnected.

X-FORCE KILLSHOT #1 by Rob Liefeld. Rob Liefeld returns, again, to several of his most famous creations and some of his least famous. And it is a mess. Liefeld’s art is what it is and always have been. But the story is a time-travelling mess which makes no sense but leaves the door open for a sequel that we probably don’t need.

X LIVES OF WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy and Joshua Cassara. Here’s an unusual concept for a mini-series that may or may not work. Wolverine is sent on a mission which takes him through all the places in his life from his origin to, eventually the present. At the same time, the forthcoming X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE will follow a similar timeline, focuses on his deaths. Marvel promises that this will clarify his history and set the stage for the future. Well…that remains to be seen as we have all been told THAT story before.

DC UNIVERSE, Month 47 Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE #70 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V, Phil Hester and Sumit Kumar. The Royal Flush Gang has stolen the Fortress of Solitude. Back at the beginning of Event Leviathan, Mark Shaw met with them and put the thought into their minds. But this heist is all a distraction, as the key to the original Fortress of Solitude is left as a breadcrumb to find. Superman takes the bait and battles Ace, who has gone rogue from the plan. In the Fortress, Jack makes the mistake of removing one of the crystals, triggering a warning. Batman reveals he has found the Fortress, but it’s too late. In the backup, Zatanna struggles to contain the Upside-Down Man and, when all looks lost, she breaks free…and finds that Wonder Woman has rejoined the team, that is still trying to deal with Merlin.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE #2 by Dennis Culver, Joshua Williamson, Kyle Hotz and Andrei Bressan. Kalibak, Grail, and parademons are attacking the House of Heroes. Orion is here and reveals he has the power to help the team win by piloting the House of Heroes through the bleed. Meanwhile, President Superman and his team have followed Darkseid into his boom tube and ended up on Earth-13 in the Tavern of Mystery. What they discover is Darkseid in a battle with Asmodel, who gets an assist fro the Batwoman Who Laughs from Earth-11. Maya uses her powers and somehow that leads to the Batwoman Who Laughs ending up in the House of Heroes. Dino-Cop has Harbinger activate the House of Heroes self-destruct sequence and the team ends u scattered throughout the Multiverse.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #8 by Che Grayson, Yeddye Travis, Belen Ortega and Nina Vakueva. Batman meets with a child thief named Ghost, who is stealing to feed folks in a tent city. He lets her go, but only takes back most of the jewels, allowing her to take some to be able to use the money to feed the residents. In the backup, Batman battles the effects of Scarcrow toxin and his past as he tries to come to grips with both.

NIGHTWING #87 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. A price has been put on Dick Grayson's head. To make things worse, the bad guys have taken Dick's dog hostage to collect the bounty. Nightwing and Batgirl make their way through Bludhaven to save the pup. 

NUBIA & THE AMAZONS #3 by Stephani Williams, Vita Ayala, Alitha Martinez and Domo Stanton. While some of the Amazons go fishing, Andromeda sees Medusa’s reflection in a pool and is apparently corrupted by her. Elsewhere, Bia has a vision that foretells future troubles, and it becomes important enough to get Nubia out of Io’s bed. Later, Andromeda demands to see Nubia, when Medusa’s essence takes over, demanding her head. Andromeda briefly gains control, explaining she is here because of their past relationship and how Nubia couldn’t save her. In the end, Nubia tells the Amazons that evil is loose.

ONE-STAR SQUADRON #1 by Mark Russell and Steve Lieber. The HEROZ4U Corporation has been formed to give many powerful heroes, including Red Tornado, Power Girl, Black Condor, G.I. Robot, The Heckler, Minuteman and others, a job to help the community in low-class jobs, including telemarketing and birthday parties. An aged, memory-addled Gangbuster dropped off at the agency and Red Tornado decides to make it his mission to find Gangbuster's family. They go to his last known address but the woman there, who is probably his wife, claims not to know him, so Red takes him back to his house. In the end, the board of the HEROZ4U Corporation looks to take Red out of the game and Power Girl is all too willing to assist.

ROBIN & BATMAN #2 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. Young Dick Grayson defends himself from bullying at school, leading to him getting in trouble. Alfred handles this, not revealing the trouble to Batman. Batman has Robin suit up and takes him to the Justice League Watchtower, where he meets with the Teen Titans for the first time. Despite being grounded on the Watchtower, the Titans sneak out and solves a whole bunch of problems throughout the world while the League is off on a mission. Once back in the Batcave, Batman insists on having Robin debrief, treating him as just another soldier in his fight. In the end, Croc meets with the Calculator, revealing he knows where Dick Grayson goes to school.

ROBIN #9 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz. The Lazarus Demon is here and Damian is quickly defeated. In the process, a vision of Alfred inspires him to rise up and rally his former rivals to team up to defeat the Lazarus Demon. Together, they manage to overpower and behead the Demon. In response, Mother Soul lashes out at Damian and he is transported to a desert where he meets a young Ra’s Al Ghul, his wife and his mother.

ROBINS #2 by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas. The team continues to try to figure the connection to their first cases. This ends up with a battle between wanna-be villains patterning themselves after their idols

SUICIDE SQUAD #10 by Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira and Dexter Soy. The team of Major Force, Match, Nocturna, Black Siren, Ambush Bug, Culebra, and Talon battle Thangarians while on their journey to Oa, with Major Force using Black Siren as a human shield. In the process, they encounter Green Lantern Jo, who takes them to space jail. While there, Match and Nocturna share a romantic moment, Major Force has the pills to keep Culebra alive and Culebra seemingly dies again. Her spirit makes its’ way through the prison and finds a new member to add-Black Hand. Ambush Bug arrives in a spaceship and breaks the team out. Waller learns the team has secured her goals and feels nothing can stop her. But she hasn’t counted on Rick Flag and his team, who are almost at Task Force X Island.

SUICIDE SQUAD: KING SHARK #4 by Tim Seeley and Scott Kolins. In the past, Nanaue’s father turns his young son over to Amanda Waller, before killing the child’s dog. In the present, Nanaue and Defacer are trying to survive on the cockroach world, taming up to defeat the cockroach leader. Waller’s team consisting of Etrigan, Gentleman Ghost and Godkiller show up, with Godkiller bent on killing Nanaue. Defacer fights back and Grace Balin, better known as Orca, has had a change of heart thanks to Nanaue’s father, and joins the fight. Chondrakha is mortally wounded by Godkiller but manages to kill her. In the end, Nanaue cradles his father’s body.

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW #6 by Tom King  and Bilquis Evely. Supergirl finally encounters Kreem, who sends her on a journey to outrun a Mordru globe. While on this race, she recalls the last days of Krypton, the death of her mother and the fruitless struggle to save the resident of Argo City from dying of radiation poisoning. Despite her best efforts, everyone dies except her, who was eventually rocketed away by her father. She manages to outrun the Mordru globe and is ready for a final confrontation with Kreem.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL 2021 ANNUAL#1 by Tom Taylor, Steve Pugh and Clayton Henry. In the past. Superman defeats Luthor and later engages in a game of chess with the villain. In the present, Batman sends Jon to the Fortress of Solitude to listen to a message from his father. Meanwhile, Luthor extorts moneys from heavy hitters of Metropolis business so he can build his Lexcorp tower. Almost completed, Jon is offended that the building’s logo is an eyesore. Soon, there is an explosion and he and Luthor need to team up to save Lex from killer robots. Jon wants the sign removed and Luthor suggests a game of chess. Jon wins and Lex agrees to remove the sign. In the end, he reaches out to…Henry Bendix.

THE SWAMP THING #10 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. At Prescott Industries, Levi and Jacob battle for the right to be the avatar of the Green. But that does not last long as Prescott sets off a bomb that puts them both on ice. In the frozen state, Levi is visited by the past avatars, which encourages to fight back and become the Swamp Thing to save his life. Meanwhile, Prescott meets with Jason Woodrue and their scientific work continues.

TASK FORCE Z #3 by Matthew Rosenberg, and Eddy Barrows. Thanks to Lazarus Resin, Jason Todd gets brought back to life. A confused Deadshot meets with him and discovers he’s only being sustained because of the Lazarus Resin. Later, Jason and Hanna break curfew and go out for pizza. When they return, Jason is forced to speak with Crispin and Jason agrees to another mission, provided Crispin gives them additional Resin. It is also revealed that Hanna, at the insistence of Project Halperin, was responsible for getting Jason to agree to do more missions. The team goes off to fight the Kobra cult, but things go badly as the resurrected begin to die, thanks to a poison initiated by Cheshire. Bane arrives to save Jason and Jason, in return, tosses Bane off the building they are on in revenge for Bane killing Alfred. In the end, word comes to Crispin that Jason has fled. But he hasn’t…he walks in on the mysterious Crispin who, it turns out, is Two-Face.

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #9 by Tim Sheridan and Mike Norton. Roy Harper has returned to Titans Tower, confusing most and leading to a long-awaited reunion with his Titans friends. This leads to a Homecoming event with a surprise visit by Tempest. Meanwhile, a group of recruits, including Matt, Tress, Bolt and Dane find themselves under the control of Psimon, who wants to reform the Fearsome Five. Red X arrives and tries to tells the frecruits that they are being brainwashed, leading to him decapitating Psimon. The Titans arrive to see this, just as Red X takes the recruits away, possibly to form his version of the Fearsome Five.

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #10 by Tim Sheridan and Mike Norton. Beginning with a flashback to Dane’s birth, the action shifts to he and Red X transporting to the place of Dane’s birth: Arizona 1890. They team up to fight demon dogs before the true villain arrives in the form of Neron. Meanwhile, Shazam informs the Titans that Dane is going to be responsible for bringing about the Apocalupse. The team then debates the possibility of having to kill Dane, despite the objections of Stitch, Beast Boy and Starfire. In the end, the demon dogs arrive at the Academy, along with Dane and Red X.

TITANS UNITED #4 by Cavan Scott and Jose Luis. The Titans try to figure out what is going on at Cadmus while Blackfire continues to torture and try to break Conner. Starfire battle Lady Vic while the rest of the team deal with citizens who are dealing with suddenly having powers. That is when the Tamaraneans show up to begin the attack, meaning the newly powered civilians jump in to help the Titans. Unfortunately, Conner is leading the attackers, now that he is under Blackfire’s control.

WONDER GIRL #6 by Joëlle Jones and Leila Del Duca. Yara Flor has been sent to Tartarus as punishment for rejecting Hera's offer. While there, she confronts three witches and a giant before being captured and meeting with Eros, who tries to convince her to be his partner. She eventually breaks free and reunites with Jerry, who takes her to the Gates of Olympus. Eros reports to Hera that Yara has escaped, much to her dismay. Cassie and Donna Troy join the Esquecida tribe and meet up with Yara, who figures out how to open the Gates of Olympus. Unfortunately, the warriors of Olympus are waiting for her.

WONDER WOMAN #782 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Vita Ayala, Skylar Patridge and Marcio Takara. Wonder Woman and Deadman are on a plane being attacked by a Wonder Women army. She defeats the constructs and saves the plane, with Deadman able to mask what has happened to the passengers and public. But one of the passengers has released a cellphone video of what happened on the plane. The pair go to Sweden to visit Siggy’s final resting place, leading to Diana returning his sword to his grave. Meanwhile, more Wonder Women shoe up and it is revealed that they are from the Mirror World and has been unleashed by The Image-Maker. In the backup, the Amazons battle a beast from Tartarus, which it is revealed came from Doom’s Doorway.

WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION #2 by Stephanie Phillips and Mike Hawthorne. Diana follows a young girl into a deserted Themyscira. While there, a lone sniper tries to kill her. The sniper is Steve Trevor. As he battles her with super strength, she finds the statue of Athena she had defaced so long ago. But the carving she had made is not there, leading her to realize that this isn’t real. She defeats the fake Trevor and breaks free, only to encounter four strange beings who tell her she is on trial for all of humanity.

WORLD OF KRYPTON #1 by Robert Venditti and Michael Avon Oeming. In the days before the end of Krypton, the House of El gathers in celebration of the birth of Kara Zor-El, leading to a family reunion with Zor and Jor’s cousin Kru. During the gathering, Nira-Ur reports what she discovered during her recent journey: that something has caused a mass death occurrence involving the Jewel Mountain herd of creatures. Terrorists arrive intent on killing the El family but are taken out by Jor-El and Zod, but not without casualties. Zod reveals that if Zor and Jor were killed, then Kru-El would become the ruler.

DC UNIVERSE, Month 47 Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1038 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Shawn Aldridge, Miguel Mendonca and Adriana Melo. Superman has been defeated by Mongul and his Authority team has been decimated, resulting in Lia’s death. Surviving members have been made into slaves and potential gladiators, except for Midnighter who finds a captive Superman and calls him a fool for deciding he needs to free the other slaves. In the backup, the investigation into Katharsis Aureus while Martian Manhunter has to deal with the Human Flame. In the end, he meets Zook, who claims that it was kids that broke into the museum and possibly stole the idol.

AQUAMAN: THE BECOMING #4 by Brandon Thomas and Scott Koblish. Jackson, his mother and sister head to Xebel, where he learns the truth: the massacre at Hallas Hall was not a terrorist attack. In fact, it was an armed insurrection led by his mother where she actively executed people.

AQUAMAN/GREEN ARROW-DEEP TARGET #3  by Brandon Thomas and Ronan Cliquet. Ollie and Arthur have been captured by the transformed General Anderton, where they are being interrogated. It turns out they both ended up in a facility where time experiments were going on and, with a malfunction in the time platform, the heroes swapped bodies. They break free and try to escape…but it looks like they are not even on Earth anymore.

ARKHAM CITY: THE ORDER OF THE WORLD #3 by Dan Watters and Dani. Dr. Joy speaks with the injured detective, who wants to know how she knew where to find Double X. He also tells her someone with a red hood was there at the scene. Upon leaving, she encounters the Ten Eyed Man who convinces her to go back to a portion of the destroyed Arkham Asylum. There they find Solomon Grundy. The Ten Eyed Man translates his sing-song ramblings, which reveals the origins of Gotham in the guise of a Dutch holy man who was eventually killed by the townspeople. Arkham was built on the grounds of where the holy man died. The Ten Eyed Man convinces Dr. Joy to dig up the skull of the holy man, to be used in a ritual to purge the ghost of Amadeus Arkham. Azrael arrives and so does the “ghost of Amadeus Arkham”, who may actually be Dr. Phosphorous.

BATGIRLS #1 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Jorge Corona. Seer is still on the loose and Barbara, Steph, and Cassie move into a loft apartment to set up an unhackable network for Barbara to create a new base. While loading into their new home, Steph and Cassie get mugged, allowing the crooks to take their stuff to not raise suspicion. Later, Cassie goes back and gets her robe back. The pair go out on patrol, which leads them to the rest of the muggers and also construction workers who have seemingly been mind-controlled. In the end, they meet up with The Saints: a group still believing in the ideals of The Magistrate.

BATMAN #118 by Joshua Williamson, Jorge Molina and Mikel Janin. Gotham has survived Fear State and is looking to celebrate in style. At the same time, there is a Villains of Gotham costume party at the Billionaires Club, which Batman sees as a source for a possible heist. Batman shows up and, with the help of Killer Croc, takes don the bad guys, even though the appearance of a little girl dressed as Punchline freaks him out a bit. Later he gets word that Batman Inc. has been arrested and that takes him to Badhnisia where he meets with Detective Cayha. He investigates the crime scene and deduces that Batman Inc. as indeed responsible for killing the villain known as Abyss. The former Club of Heroes was rebranded as Batman Inc. by the most recent benefactor: Lex Luthor.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #9 by Tom King and Liam Sharp. In the past, The Joker sings Christmas songs and talks about a dream he had where he killed Batman.  Meanwhile, Bruce tells Alfred he thinks he is falling in love with Selina. In the present, The Joker is trying to kill Phantasm while he reveals that her dead son was just a child that she kidnapped fourteen years ago. In the process, he sets off a bomb which may be killing everyone. In the future, Catwoman has escaped police custody for the murder of the Joker and meets with Penguin, finally convincing him to get her safe passage out of Gotham. Unfortunately, her daughter arrives, and that plan may be going south very quickly.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #10 by Meghan Fitzmartin, Sam Johns, Dan Watters, Tini Howard, Alberto Alburquerque Jimenez, Karl Mostert, Nikola Cizmesija and Christian Duce. In the first story, Tim teams up with Nightwing against Tusk and airs his concerns abut Bruce’ mental well-being. Later, he teams with Batman, explains how he has deep feelings for Bernard and seeks acceptance. In the second tale, Tweedledum tries to get medical care for Tweedledee at a hospital by using a bag of stolen money. Unfortunately, that goes badly and March Hare steals the bag. Batman arrives and takes the pair to the Batcave where he reveals they are both suffering from cerebral degradation due to Mad Hatter’s mind-altering technology. He gives Tweedledum two options, and the pair end up in Belle Reve. In the third story, Azrael and the Poor Fellow talk about the Knights Templar and their crusade against the Lazarus Pits, ending with Azrael returning to visit Stefanos. In the final story, Nightwing fights followers of the Scarecrow, which results in him being taken over by Fear Gas. This leads to him seeing visions by Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future before he gets saved by Cassandra.

BLACK MANTA #4 by Chuck Brown and Matthew Dow Smith. Manta and Gallous meet with the mysterious woman who Gallous calls Torrid. Manta reveals how the Orichalcum is killing them, so they should team up. Meanwhile, Aquaman deals with the aftermath of Devil Ray’s attack. Devil Ray is trying his best to make a weapon that will rival the trident of Atlan, but the Orichalcum kills his assistants. Manta, Gallous and Torrid head to Ethiopia where they confront Doctor Mist, who looks to eventually reveal all…but on his terms.

CATWOMAN #38 by Ram V and Caspar Wijngaard. Selina has turned herself into the police and ends up being interrogated by two officers. During the interrogation, her lawyer steps out of the room. She reveals that it was Ghostmaker fighting Wight Witch, who he recognizes and calls her Rhea. Soon, an officer arrives and gets Officer Kollak out of the room. She reveals that she has turned over her fortress to the Strays, with Shoes possibly being influenced by Chershire. Kollak reenters, knocks out his partner and kidnaps Selina. But this is all a ruse, as the lawyer, the officer who gets ollak out of the room and the Kollak who kidnaps Selina were all Clayface, meaning she is free to go about her exploits in Gotham.

CRUSH & LOBO #7 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Lobo is living it up in Space Vegas before Crush finally catches up with him. They briefly team-up before they end up battling each other again. Crush finally captures her father and takes him back to prison in the nick of time. But it all goes bad when Crush learns she has become a test subject.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #4 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Dinah gets attacked by Slade, even as she explains that Juliette is Libra, which he knows because Cheetah told him. Dinah explains she is not part of T.R.U.S.T. but was sent here by Oracle to infiltrate the organization. They agree to work together and meet with Juliette when the Legion of Doom arrive. But that is just an illusion created by Dr. Destiny who, along with Prometheus, have joined T.R.U.S.T. Dr. Destiny sends our heroes to the Crooked House in the Ghost Zone where we discover Slade is dead.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1046 by Mariko Tamaki, Stephanie Phillips, David Lapham and Dan Mora. Ana Vulsion, a once convicted murderer, is taking out mobsters and blows up a condo in the process. She crosses paths with Batman and Spoiler and is gravely injured in the process, meaning she is getting shipped to the new Arkham Tower. Meanwhile, Nakano meets with Dr, Meridan, who explains he is putting her in charge…apparently because of Batman’s insistence. Elsewhere, Deb Donovan meets with Batwoman and gives out two names of doctors to watch out for. Batman meets with Meridan and tells her he needs her eyes and ears on the inside. In the backup, Batman and Harley team up to prevent the escaped Arkham prisoner from destroying the new Arkham Tower.

THE FLASH #777 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. The Flash teams up with the Justice League Dark and Amethyst in an attempt to take down Eclipso. They end up finding Dark Opal and team up with him. But things may have taken a turn early as it looks like everyone but Wally have been corrupted by Eclipso. Meanwhile, Irey has become friends with Maxine Baker, Animal Man's daughter and this friendship may get them both in a world of trouble.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #8 by Dennis Culver and Nikola Cizmesija. Grifter and The Operator, whose identity has been revealed to the world, are on the run. Meanwhile, Hush holds a virtual meeting with the Terrible Trio: Tobias Whale, The Owl and Wild Dog where Hush decides everyone needs to die, including his followers if needed. Grifter and The Operator go into hiding when Talon shows up with a group of Hush; goons. But the new, monstrous Joker shows up, slaughtering Talon and the goons and giving chase to Grifter and The Operator.

GREEN LANTERN #9 by Geoffrey Thorne, Tom Raney, Marco Santucci and Maria Lavra Sanapo. John come face to face with Esak: the New God behind the Lightbringer God. John and Lonar team up but John’s use of his power creates a Godstorm which could destroy the universe. Meanwhile, Jo discovers that Yridian, Koyos and possibly Nemosyni all schemed together to destroy the Central Power Battery, She also learns Koyos is alive and he has come back, telling the surviving Lanterns that their time is done.

HARLEY QUINN #10 by Stephanie Phillips and Laura Braga. Harley and Ivy try to rekindle their relationship following the events of FEAR STATE by going on a double date with Kevin and Sam. They end up at a museum exhibit, where Ivy tries to convince Harley into stealing a rare diamond. Ivy attacks the guards, Harley gets injured by one of Ivy's vines and this leads to the girls splitting up.

HUMAN TARGET #3 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Christopher Chance and Ice team up to start interviewing potential suspects who tried to kill Luthor. But a jealous Guy Gardner gets involved, hampering things. In the end, Guy confronts Chance, but an arrival by Hal Jordan calms Guy down. Chance knocks Guy out and it’s revealed Hal is really Luigi is disguise.

I AM BATMAN #4 by John Ridley and Stephen Segovia. Jace meets with a virtual Seer, who explains that The Magistrate was just the beginning. A Revenge Squad of Peacekeepers arrive forcing this Batman to take them down. He heads off to confront the corrections officer who killed Tyler Arkadine, but the CO kills himself before Jace can get much out of him. At GCPD, Detective Chubb is given the option of a disciplinary hearing or a transferal to New York and she takes the transfer. Simon Saint gets out of jail after his bail gets paid and he meets with his benefactor, Victor Noonan. Noonan wants him to bring him the new Batman, which occurs. Jace finds Saint has been killed but gets attacked by a new type of Peacekeeper called Talos, much to the satisfaction of Noonan and Lucius Fox. In the end, Tam wakes up from her coma.

THE JOKER #10 by Matthew Rosenberg, James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Francesco Francavilla and Belen Ortega. In a story set shortly after the Joker shot Barbara Gordon and tried to make Commissioner Gordon go insane in THE KILLING JOKE, the family struggles with those events. Gordon is still on a mandated leave and things only get worse when his ex-wife shows up and dumps a troubled James Gordon Jr. on him. Young James goes digging through case files and his father insists he needs to stop. Later, James is apparently abducted and Jim’s gun disappears, leading to Gordon joining up with a young Montoya to try and save him. He confronts the kidnapper, but Batman steps in to save the day from the Joker wannabe. James is wearing face paint like The Joker and Batman explains the makeup is probably Barbara’s, furthering the idea that James is very troubled. In the backup, Kelly explains to the District Attorney why she is afraid of Punchline. And Cullen learns that his boyfriend, who has connections with the Royal Flush Gang may not be as bad as he once thought as it appears the Royal Flush Gang may actually be helping people.

THE JOKER PRESENTS: A PUZZLEBOX #5 by Matthew Rosenberg, Jesus Merino, Chris Mooneyham and Freddie E. Williams II. The mystery continues with three different perspectives on what happened on the night The Riddler died. The villains all met up and assembled the Master Engine. But, depending on who you believe, either the Master Engine disappeared, ended up with The Penguin or ended up with Batman. Meanwhile, Catwoman makes her way to the morgue where she clicks something in the nose of the dead Riddler. In the end, officer Bachman injects something into a box of donuts, most of which are eaten by Killer Croc.

DC UNIVERSE Month 46, Part 2

THE JOKER #9 by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Stephano Raffaele and Rosi Kampe. While Oracle and Julia search for a connection between Joker’s past and the present, Jim and Vengeance head to The Joker’s hideout. After arriving and finding a massacre, they find The Joker and Dr. Frederich Baum: a scientist and a part of The Network. Among the work he shows off is his body duplication project and how he has been using his work to creature a body farm where his work ends up on the tables of many five-star restaurants. One of his genetic creations turns out to be Vengeance. That is when the Sawyer family arrives, kills Baum, wounds Gordon and absconds with The Joker. In the backup, Kelly reveals that she and Punchline were high school friends. But things changed and many students turned up dead. Meanwhile, Punchline plots her revenge against Orca for turning against the villainess.

THE JOKER 2021 ANNUAL #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, James Tynion IV and Francesco Francavilla. In a throwback tale from early in Jim Gordon’s career as Commissioner, Gordon tries to weed out corrupt cops in the GCPD, leaving the force undermanned. During al of this, The Joker stages a heist at a candy factory. Gordon arrests Falcone’s capo and tries to get him to talk. In the end, the crooked cops get what is coming to them and GCPD find a warehouse filed with giant pinatas containing dead bodies…including the capo. It’s all a gift from The Joker to Gordon.

THE JOKER PRESENTS: A PUZZLEBOX #4 by Matthew Rosenberg, Jesus Merino, Vanesa Del Rey and Ricardo Lopez Ortiz. The multiple stories in the search for answers in the death of The Riddler continues. In the jungle of Tropidor, Bane, Penguin and Ivy struggle for possession of the box, with Ivy pulling a switch. Later, the tale of Pyg and Scarecrow at the Gotham Museum sees the unity of the villains cracking. In present day, Mad Hatter finds he cannot control people like he thought. And Pyg tries to stage an escape, but Batman intervenes.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #69 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V, Phil Hester and Sumit Kumar. The team battles the teams of Deathstrokes. They discover that this is all a part of a plan for world domination by the Royal Flush Gang. But before they can fully plan a wake to take them down, there is a problem. The Fortress of Solitude has been stolen. In the backup, Constantine and Ragman confront Zatanna, who has started to unleash the Upside-Down Man within her. Meanwhile, the rest of the team has to deal with Merlin who has managed to resurrect Arion and made him his servant.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK 2021 ANNUAL #1 by Ram V, Dan Waters and Christopher Mitten. Justice League Dark has defended Atlantis, in events in JUSTICE LEAGUE #70 and #71(not shipping until late December) and Wonder Woman tells of a vision from the Goddess of Time and Space, Hauhet. Hauhet explains there is a dangerous gd unleashed because of Merlin. Randhir Singh, who Elnara and Batman had saved from Merlin, arrives and further explains there is a great darkness coming and Merlin will try to destroy the Tower of Fate. Mr. E show up and reveals that Merlin has been possessed by Yuga Khan- the father of Darkseid. In the end, Mr. E cuts a deal with Zatanna which could give him the power to kill magicians.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE #1 by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver, Brandon Peterson, Andrei Berssan and Tom Derenick. On Earth-8, Tartarus invades, and the Retaliators fight back. Meanwhile, Flashpoint Batman and Earth-23 Superman draft Avery Ho to join the Justice League Incarnate to their team, so they can save Barry Allen and stop Darkseid. They head to Earth-8 and find Tartarus has decimated the team. Darkseid arrives and battles Tartarus, killing him. This gives Doctor Multiverse the distraction she needs, teaming with  Avery to send the Multiversal tear to another Earth. At the Hall of Heroes, Orion of New Genesis arrives and warms them that Darkseid’s army is here.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: LAST RIDE #7 by Chip Zdarsky and Miguel Mendonca. A reborn Martian Manhunter teams up with Jon Stewart to take on Darkseid. Meanwhile, Batman battles Cyborg Superman and gets stabbed with a Kryptonite knife. Hal Jordan shows up and the combined efforts of the Lanterns saves Batman. Diana beheads Lobo and Darkseid is defeated and flees, leading Hal to kill him. In the end, Lobo stands trial and the team declares the they shall now be the Justice League Universal.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #7 by Brandon Easton and Karl Mostert. Batman travels to Italy in search of Ras al Ghul, who is searching for the vessel of St. Januarius, which he can use to enhance his Lazarus pits. But that leads him into a confrontation with Azrael, who is not about to let Batman take the artifact. Ras shows up and the two heroes need to team up to stop him. In the end, Azrael blows up the location, seemingly killing he and Ras. In actuality, Azrael lives on, returning the artifact to its’ rightful place.

MISTER MIRACLE: THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM #6 by Mister Miracle continues his fight with N’vir, who has created Worldkiller to eliminate Shilo and conquer her world. Oberon tracks down Shilo’s long missing parents and their energy help Shilo to defeat N’vir. They reveal time is fluid and they had stepped into the time stream to fight against N’vir. Oberon fires up a Boom Tube, sending Shilo back to the 21st Century. In the end, Shio reveals his identity to the world.

NIGHTWING #86 by Tom Taylor and Robbi Rodriguez. The Clock Tower has blown up and there is a desperate search for the Batgirls. The Batgirls get found and it’s revealed that the Magistrate wasn’t responsible, but Seer was. That leads them to lead an assault on Skybase-01. They progress through the ship and find Simon Saint. But Seer is one step ahead and brings down the ship, leading to a mass evacuation. Although Skybase-01 is destroyed, Seer escapes and is ready to hide in sight.

NIGHTWING 2021 ANNUAL #1 by Tom Taylor, Daniel HDR and Cian Tormey.  Oracle shows Dick Grayson footage of Jason killing FBI agents and an informer. This leads to a flashback of Dick mentoring a young Jason. Back in the present, Dick confronts Jason, who declares his innocence. After some detective work, they discover the fake Red Hood is actually Clayface, who reveals he was hired by a drug kingpin who actually was responsible for drugs Jason’s mom had taken. When he tries to flee, Jason uses the Batmobile to crash the kingpin’s jet.

NUBIA & THE AMAZONS #2 by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala and Alitha Martinez.to invade the bodies of multiple Amazons. Is this related to the dreams Penelope keeps having about the destruction of Themyscira?

ROBIN & BATMAN #1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. In the earliest days of Robin in training, he constantly breaks Batman’s rules of crime fighting. During the day, Dick dreams of being Robin and that night, he creates a costume and goes out after Killer Croc. Things go badly and Batman has to save him. In the end, Batman presents Dick with a costume he designed, angering Dick, as he knows Bruce has read his journal. Meanwhile, Croc is still on the loose.

ROBIN #8 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov and Max Dunbar. Damian fights Connor Hawke in the finals of the tournament and dies for a second time in the process. Resurrected, Damian is ready to continue the fight, but the pit on the island has been opened and the demon within kills Connor.

ROBIN 2021 ANNUAL #1 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz. Taking place before issue number 6 of ROBIN, Damian hacks into the Bat Computer to gleam information about the tournament competitors. At her grandfather’s deathbed, Flatline’s powers activate, which allows her to see her grandfather was a serial killer. This leads to her becoming a protégé of Lord Deathman and eventually entering the tournament. He continues to dig into the history of other competitors before heading off to the tournament. In the end, a meditative Ras al Ghul is attacked…leading to a meeting with his daughter.

ROBINS #1 by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas. The team, made up of former Robins, takes down the Disciples of Anarky, with Jason accidentally blowing up the one person they need to shut off the bomb the disciples planted, leading to the team using their detective skills to crack the password. Later, they are visited by a man named Declaine who informs them that crooks from the individual team member’s first cases are being targeted. During the revelations, he gets assassinated by a mysterious woman who claims to be the first Robin.

STATIC: SEASON ONE #4 by Vita Ayala and Chriscross. The A.T.F. and Francis show up at the Hawkins home looking for Virgil. Later, Virgil opens the package from Metcalf’s storage unit, revealing kinetic metal sand which, when coupled with his powers, enhances his ability. He throws on his costume and goes out to meet up with his team. The team gets attacked and Francis arrives, but Static’s powers fail on him as Francis lights him up. 

SUICIDE SQUAD #9 by Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira and Dexter Soy. Rick Flag has broken into many black-site prisons and freed Mirror Master, Cheetah, Lor-Zod and Ghkeyy’t, with this new team looking to recruit the Fisherman. Waller meets with Rodriguez and plots her escape while sending the team off on another mission. While enroute, Culebra chats with Talon, who reveals he is not crazy and is working with Rodriguez to take down Waller. The team lands on Oa, where they cross paths with Jo Mullein. They find a mysterious alien, which is who Waller sent them for, the Thangarians attack and their ship explodes.

SUICIDE SQUAD: KING SHARK #3 by Tim Seeley and Scott Kolins. The tournament continues even as Defacer plots with Vik to make Nanue lose. As the next round begins, Etrigan Gentleman Ghost, Bison and Pigeon Person, calling themselves the Limbo Legion, show up to disrupt the event. Vik transports Defacer to where Queen Tiger is, with Defacer promising to reveal the secret to defeat Nanue.That backfires and Nanue wins. He and Defacer get transported to their next place: a world filled with cockroaches.

SUPERGIRL; WOMAN OF TOMORROW #5 by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. Ruthye and Kara end up on a planet where there is a Kryptonite sun and monsters. This forces Ruthie to act as Kara’s defender until the sun eventually sets. Once it does, Supergirl gets her strength back and they continue on their search for Krem.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #5 by Tom Taylor and John Timms. Jon has had his powers super-charged by Henry Bendix's solar beam and he struggles to save people all over the world while fighting the sensory overload. Aerie takes him to Jay so he can get some rest. After a nine-hour sleep, Jon is off again…but not before he can kiss Jay goodbye.

THE SWAMP THING #9 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. Jennifer Reece is brought to the Prescot Corporation, where she learns the history of The Green. It was first discovered in the 18th Century and is revealed that the Green contains all the memories of the world. Allegedly, all medical technology is the result of research gleamed from their experiments with The Green. It is also revealed that the Corporation has the corpse of the previous Swamp Thing, but they want a living conduit. Jacob arrives and launches an attack the Prescott, with the idea to destroy it all. Levi arrives and orders everyone to run, while he and Jacob battle. The goal of the fleeing Corporation members: send the facility, along with Levi and Jacob, into a deep freeze.

TASK FORCE Z #2 by Mathew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows. Bane and Man-Bat are dead again, Bloom has left and Jason has been frozen and is about to be eaten by the Arkham Knight. Bloom takes down Freeze, returning with a supply of Lazarus Resin, which distracts Arkham Knight. Later, Jason learns that Bane and Man-Bat have been brought back to life with a limited amount of the resin. The team is sent out again, to meet with a potential new member, with Hobart in tow. The meeting place has been taken over by the reformed Cult of Kobra, forcing them into a fight, With the lights out, Hobart transform into a demon and dispatches the cult. In the end, they find the potential new member, who shoots Jason. The new member? Deadshot.

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #7 by Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval. Gorilla Gregg has turned against his friends and joined up with Gorilla Grodd, taking the townspeople and the Titans kids under their control. But Gregg isn’t totally with Grodd as he uses his powers to block Summer Zahid from being controlled. Grodd finds out about the betrayal leading to a fight between the Titans and Gregg. But it’s a staged fight, as Gregg has used his powers to block the mind control. Grodd is defeated, but he may not be imprisoned for long.

TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #8 by Tim Sheridan and Mike Norton. It’s potential student day at the Academy when Wally West shows up, freaking out parents and students alike who know him as a murderer. The students notice a change in Dane since returning and Raven has a vision of him being evil. Red X shows up to prove that Wally is the bad guy here and will result in the end of the Titans. Meanwhile, a group of students steal the H Dial in an effort to communicate with the dead Roy Harper. Miguel stops them, but a living Roy shows up, wondering why there is a statue of him out front of the building.

TITANS UNITED #3 by Cavan Scott and Jose Luis. Connor has been taken captive by Blackfire where she tortures him and tests his powers. Elsewhere, the other Titans face off against Lady Vic and her bodyguards, who have Beast Boy’s powers. Lady Vic flees in her jet and Jason hitches a ride by lassoing himself to the plane, forcing Donna and Raven to lend an assist. Vic teleports away but not before it appears that an alien invasion is impending.

WONDER GIRL #5 by Joëlle Jones and Adriana Melo. Yara Flor finds herself on Mount Olympus where she is being goaded into drinking the Elixir of Life to become Hera's champion forever. She refuses to be in service forever, leading to her fighting the armies of Hephaestus before calling for Jerry and flying off. In the process, Jerry is killed. Hephaestus destroys Yara’s sword and Hera arrives, leading to Yara possibly having to submit to Hera. Meanwhile, Cassie learns from Hermes what is transpiring with Yara. She goes off to talk to Potira. She apologizes for Artemis running off and Potira takes her to Aahim: the home of the Esquecida. Once there, Potira reveals that once Yara is captured, she will be used to lead the Esquecida in an attack on Themyscira. But they already have a secret weapon…Donna Troy.

WONDER WOMAN #781 by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Vita Ayala, Marcio Takara and Skylar Patridge. Diana has lunch with Etta and debates seeing Steve Trevor, now that she is back. She sees Doctor Cizko on tele vision hyping his new book, so she goes to see him and figure out his motives. After keeping a man from committing suicide, she meets with Deadman, who tells her where they need to go to sing Siggy’s body. Cizko meets with a strange man who gives him a guitar case. Steve gets a visit from Diana, but it is not her. Later, Diana and Deadman are flying off to find Siggy when she notices an army of Wonder Woman outside of the plane. In the backup, the new arrivals try to adjust to their new life, even as the kingdom is being attacked.

WONDER WOMAN 2021 ANNUAL #1 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan and Andy MacDonald. A strange man named Altuum chats up Etta while Diana stops a hostage situation. Later, Diana tours a museum exhibit on Themyscira and meets Altuum, who claims he has been to Themyscira. He explains he is a part of a race that was thrown out of Themyscira and they are waiting for the coming war where the Amazons will eradicate themselves. The two battle to a standstill before Altuum sets off a bomb in the building and flees. To be continued in THE TRIAL OF THE AMAZONS #1.

WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Mike Hawthorne. Silver Swan takes hostages at the Museum of Natural History, leading to a fight between her and Diana. Silver Swan takes a child hostage forcing Diana to save the child and allows Vanessa to flee. Later, Diana meets with Superman, where they race. He has to leave to stop a tsunami and Diana finds herself transported away to a tournament of some sort.

DC UNIVERSE Month 46, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1036 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Sean Lewis, Daniel Sampere and Sami Basri. Superman and the Authority head to Warworld to confront Mongul. When they arrive, they discover a path leading them to the seat of power that is littered with the bodies of the Phaelosians. Once the arrive, they encounter Chaytil and are forced to battle their way to the Mongul-Who-Is, who promises to kill Superman. In the backup, Guardian summons a digital demon and ends up fighting it in a Dark Web world to save the missing children.

ACTION COMICS #1037 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Shawn Aldridge, Miguel Mendonca and Adriana Melo. As Superman and The Authority prepare to take on Mongul on Warworld, the ruling council of the United Federation of Planets decides to not send the United Order to help. The team battles Mongul and his minions with disastrous results as June and Apollo quickly fall. Manchester Black discovers the minion who is controlling the other creatures and beats him to death with a stick. Lia takes on another of the creatures and dies in Superman’s arms. Distracted, Superman is stabbed through the chest by a Kryptonite spear wielded by Mongul. In the end, the United Federation of Planets decides to do nothing. In the backup, Martian Manhunter investigates a recent theft of an artifact in the Metropolis Museum. And that’s when the Human Flame shows up.

AQUAMAN/GREEN ARROW: DEEP TARGET #2 by Brandon Thomas and Ronan Cliquet. Arthur and Oliver, still with broken memories and in each others’ roles as Aquaman and Green Arrow, are attacked in their jet by a team of mercenaries. They bail out with the co-pilot, who reveals that its’ possible the pilot set them up. Landing on a deserted island, a mysterious enemy kills the co-pilot and attacks the pair.

AQUAMAN: THE BECOMING #3 by Brandon Thomas and Scott Koblish.Mera is interrogated by Atlantean intelligence while Jackson is on the run from Atlantean security. After healing at Happy Island, he makes several short transporter jumps before ending up near Titans Tower West. Once there, he is attacked once again, but his mother arrives and helps out. In the end, he discovers his attacker is Delilah-Jackson’s sister.

ARKHAM CITY: THE ORDER OF THE WORLD #2 by Dan Watters and Dani. A street thug searching for a high gets one from escaped Arkham resident Double X. Meanwhile, Dr. Joy meets with the Ten Eyed Man, who is troubled by the ghost of Amadeus Arkham, and he produces a map of Gotham which supposedly shows where the escaped Arkham prisoners are. Azrael goes on a hunt for the escapees, which leads him to where Double X is held. There is a battle between the pair as the ghost also appears. In the end, Double X is captured, the ghost is still on the loose and Azrael’s next target is Dr. Joy.

BATMAN #116 by James Tynion IV, Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jorge Jimenez and Jorge Corona. Peacekeepers have invaded Eden to capture or kill Queen Ivy, but Ghostmaker is there to battle them. Ivy’s wrath is unleashed and, because her vines are wrapped in Gotham’s bedrock, it triggers a small earthquake. Miracle Molly and Batman track down Scarecrow, who tries to unleash his control on Molly. Peacekeeper-01 shoots Scarecrow, which stops his attack on Molly. Peacekeeper-01 claims he is better than Batman and the pair brawl, while Molly tries to stop Crane’s machine. In the end, Queen Ivy is becoming unhinged. But maybe the surprise appearance of Harley, the Gardener and the other Ivy will stop her. In the backup, the Batgirls come under attack by the Peacekeepers, but survive the demolition of Oracle’s headquarters.

BATMAN #117 by James Tynion IV, Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jorge Jimenez and Jorge Corona. Simon Saint is desperately trying to keep things together when the Bat Family, wearing Peacekeeper armor, arrive to shut the Magistrate down. Elsewhere, Batman and Peacekeeper-01 battle each other while Molly tries to shut down Scarecrow’s device. But she is having second thoughts and doesn’t immediately disarm it. Batman takes down Peacekeeper-01 and then desperately convinces Molly that Fear State is ending and she needs to shut the device down. At the same time, Harley reunites the two Ivy’s, who uses her powers to generate pheromones to mellow out the fear that Gothamites are feeling. The pair reunite with a long-awaited kiss as Fear State comes to an end. To be concluded in BATMAN: FEAR STATE OMEGA #1. In the backup, the Batgirls continue to hide from Seer who, even though Fear State has ended, continues to be a menace.

BATMAN FEAR STATE: OMEGA #1 by James Tynion IV, Ryan Benjamin, Christian Duce, Riccardo Federici, Guillem March and Trevor Hairsine. A month after the end of FEAR STATE and Scarecrow is finally being transferred to the newly constructed Arkham Tower. He tries to break out and is apprehended by Batman, who personally delivers him. Miracle Molly testifies about how Simon Saint used the Unsanity Collective to support his need for the Magistrate. She is sent to Blackgate, where she will serve time for her crimes, while the other Unsanity Collective leaders are allowed to remain free. While Nightwing and the Batgirls succeeded in taking down Skybase-01, the ship is still in Gotham Harbor and still needs to be cleaned up. Simon Saint is under arrest but may be released under house arrest and looks like he may end up working for Amanda Waller. Poison Ivy has had her two halves restored, but she lets The Gardener know she is not happy that she was responsible for messing with her mind and will use her powers to save the world. Peacekeeper-01 has broken free and is on the loose. Batman meets with Clownhunter, who refuses to join Batman’s team, as he blames Batman for everything that has happened in the last year. But Ghostmaker arrives and tells Clownhunter he will train him.

BATMAN 2021 ANNUAL #1 by James Tynion IV and Ricardo Lopez Ortiz. As Batman and Ghostmaker they take down Firefly, Ghostmaker tells Batman about his most outstanding feat, where he battled his way through an army of enemies to take down Madame Midas. It turns out that, when Ghostmaker was a child, Madame Midas brutally forced Ghostmaker’s father to sell his company to Midas’.

BATMAN: THE DETECTIVE #6 by Tom Taylor and Andy Kubert. Batman and his allies race to stop Equilibrium from levelling London by using a cluster of remote-controlled military drones she bought from the United States government. But Nightwing and Barbara have managed to hack the drones, leaving her defeated. Ducard tries to shoot her, but Batman stops him. Defeated, she tries to kill herself, but Batman stops her, promising Ducard he will get her help. In the end, Batman sees the prison release of the woman who torched the building but who also also saved the life of the man who eventually killed Equilibrium’s husband and son.

BATMAN: REPTILIAN #5 by Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp. Batman tells Croc that the creature wants him to impregnate it. The pair escape and Batman uses the Batmobile to try to get Volkov there to take the heat off of them. But things go awry and the creature heads back towards Croc.

BATMAN: REPTILLIAN #6 by Garth Ennis and Liam Sharp. While Volkov gets ejected from the Batmobile, Batman triggers a bomb, apparently killing himself and the creature.  Batman survives, takes down Volkov and tases Croc, taking him into custody. In the end, Batman leaves Croc with the concept that he may actually be a hermaphrodite, and this may happen again.

BATMAN SECRET FILES: THE GARDENER #1 by James Tynion IV and Christian Ward. Batman meets with Dr. Bella Garten, who reveals her origin story. After her parents died in a car crash, she was raised by groundskeepers named Garten. They fostered her interest in botony and eventually ended up working in a scientific program with Jason Woodrue, Alec Holland, Linda Holland and Pamela Isley, who she ended up in a relationship with. When she realized what the program leaders were doing, making monsters out of seeds, she decided to leave and unsuccessfully tried to get Pam to do the same. Pam stayed behind and, through experiments on her, got turned into the villainous Poison Ivy. Eventually Ivy meets Harley and the two become a couple. Recently, Ivy, who has embraced the green, met with Garten, who decided to grow a new Ivy containing her best aspects.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: AUTHORITY SPECIAL #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Trevor Hairsine, Jonathan Clapion, Scott Hanna, Rain Beredo and Ben Templesmith. Batman teams up with Superman and the Authority as they head to the Shadow Earth in the Dark Multiverse to face the Empire of Shadows, controlled by the al Ghuls. Their plan is to invade Earth-Zero and are using the body of the Fuginaut as their conduit. The team transports to Shadow Earth and quickly end up in a fight, with the al Ghuls capturing June, to use her to transport to Earth-Zero. The team defeats the al Ghuls and promises to stop them if they ever try to come to Earth-Zero again. In the end, Shadow Earth’s Bruce Wayne promises to encounter the heroes in the future,

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #9 by Alyssa Wong, Dan Watters, Sam Johns, Brandon Thomas, Vasco Georgiev, Nikola Cizmesija, Karl Mostert and Cian Tormey. Batwoman and Red Alice team up to battle Seer. Despite the pressure put on her, Beth struggles to shut down her Red Alice persona, forcing Seer to flee. Un the end, it appears the Red Alice persona may still be bubbling under Beth’s surface. In the second tale, Tweedle Dee has become seriously ill and Tweddle Dum will do anything to save him, but the health care system stops him at every turn. Story three involves Azrael finding that Bullet-Tooth has been resurrected by a doctor using a version of Lazarus Resin. But the results don’t last long and Bullet-Tooth dies again. The doctor responsible doesn’t get more than explaining the Resin when he is beheaded by…an avenging angel? In the last tale, the Outsiders fight in the past to change their future. They do, somewhat, but the fight in the future will continue.

BLACK MANTA #3 by Chuck Brown and Matthew Dow Smith. Gentleman Ghost send Manta to Ancient Atlantis where he learns that the leaders are planning to go back to the land of the first weapons of the Atlantean masters. In Themyscira, the strange visitor secures transportation to the civilized world, where she attacks Manta. He disables her transport but goes to save her as she wears the Orichalcum. In the end, Devil Ray invades Atlantis.

BLUE & GOLD #4 by Dan Jurgens, Kevin Maguire, Ryan Sook and Norm Rapmund. Booster and Ted are doing their first interview for their new business when Booster starts talking about their Justice League International days. Booster saved Ted’s life, while Ted tells it the other way around. In the end, Guy Gardner shows up to set the record straight: he saved them both. Either way, the interview has helped create a line of folks looking for their service. But that also includes Princess Omnizon, which is probably bad news.

CATWOMAN #37 by Ram V and Nina Vakueva. The final battle of Alleytown comes to an end as Billy attempts to get Ivy out of town. He ends up being stopped by Penguin and his crew, who capture her, all thanks to Riddler’s double cross. But Selina’s plan included expecting the double cross and it turns out that Ivy is actually Clayface, forcing Riddler to hide from the Magistrate. Resigned to give herself up, she gets an assist from Ghostmaker and lives to fight another day, with her Alleytown friends by her side.

CHECKMATE #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. With a blackout at the Hall of Justice, Talia is revealed as the traitor. Checkmate defeats her and she transports away, meaning the mission to gain the Heroes Network is a failure for Leviathan. Meanwhile, Mark Shaw continues to go after the "Snowman's Ticket"-Leo Lane. But Lane shoots Shaw and wounds him, forcing him to flee back to Markovia. Once there, Nakamura tells him he isn’t the one and kills him. Superman meets with The Guardian and retrieves Shaw’s body while Waller meets with Checkmate. Mr. King, the team’s benefactor, is revealed to be Kamandi, who has travelled from the future to hope to prevent what happened to cause The Great Disaster in his time. In the end, Talia returns to Leviathan and takes her followers to the Lazarus Pits.

CRUSH & LOBO #6 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Crush is in Space Vegas where she masquerades as someone else and gets a date with Q&&7. They end up in a comedy club and, after a comedian heckles Q&&7, Crush trashes the comedian. Q&&7 leaves, realizing this is not her true date. Disappointed again, Crush heads for a final confrontation with Lobo.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #3 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Deathstroke and Black Canary capture the Queen of Fables and she takes her back to T.R.U.S.T. while Slade continues his journey through this fantasy land to take on Cheetah. After battling through her cat guards, he confronts Cheetah before destroying the fable that allows her to maintain this illusion. Before she is captured, she promises to reveal everything about T.R.U.S.T. if he lets her go. Back at T.R.U.S.T., Canary discovers that the painting of her parents is a fake and Juliette is actually Libra. She reaches out to Oracle, but their communication is spotty. As Oracle tells her to take down Slade, he shows up poised to kill Canary.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1045 by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora. Nakano is unconscious and Batman is trying to revive him. Once awake, he is told about the parasites and how Vile is responsible, leading to Nakamo firing back at Batman for not telling him about this before it got out of control. As they flee the sewers, the eggs begin to spread, with the creatures tentacles going after civilians. As the creatures attack, Nakano tries to help by shooting it with a taser. That is when Nightwing flies in with a Magistrate aircraft and destroys the monster, which gives the Magistrate gets credit for saving the city. In the end, Batman and Nakano cut a deal to work together, even though Nakano ants to enhance his target list.

DETECTIVE COMICS 2021 ANNUAL #1 by Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg and David Lapham. In the past, Bruce Wayne sees his father save the life of Peter Faust, who had shot two people. In the present, it is revealed that Faust eventually killed himself several weeks before A-Day. Batman and Nightwing investigate the case of The Meager Man, who has been killing people while dressed in a winged suit made of chicken bones. They capture him and discover this is Peter Faust’s son. He breaks free from police and injures two policemen in the process, leading to the duo to capture him again. In the end, Faust is transferred to Arkham Tower where Dick thinks that this will be the start of a new day in Gotham. But The Forgotten, who Faust met while on the run, looms large.

THE FLASH #776 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. Flash and Dr. Fate need to head to a strange two-dimensional causeway to stop Eclipso. But they can’t do it alone and it takes the help of you-the comic reader-to make their way to that causeway. With our help, they do get to Gemworld, only to find out they are too late and Eclipso has won.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #7 by Joshua Williamson, Dennis Culver, Giannis Milonogiannis and Riley Rossmo. Jason battles WarMonger while his mind control forces the Bat Fsamily to battle each other. Jason manages to get the Arkham Knight armor off of WarMonger and breaks his control on the Bat Family. As the team vows to keep fighting for Gotham, Jason goes to meet with his mysterious contact but come up empty. It turns out the mysterious stranger he thinks is Bruce Wayne is really…Hush. In the backup, Batman battles a group that has been kidnapping bats.

GOTHAM CITY VILLAINS ANNIVERSARY GIANT #1 by Danny DeVito Wes Craig, G. Willow Wilson, Phillip Kennedy johnson, Nadia Shammas, Joghua Williamson, Stephanie Phillips, Dan Watters, Mairghread Scott, Dan Mora, Emma Rios, Riccardo Federici, Max Raynor, Max Fiumara, Skylar Patridge and Ariela Kristantina. In this collection, we get eight tales of Batman villains. In the first, Penguin and Catwoman fall in love and steal a vaccine that ends a worldwide pandemic. In the second, the Scarecrow introduces an app which furthers of fear plans. In the third, Ivy infiltrates a chemical pant and unleashes a poison which kills everyone except for the one person she decides to save. In the fourth, the villainous Red Hood lets his ego get in the way of business and it costs him his life with his partners. In the fifth, the Mad Hatter schemes in a plot which continues in ARKHAM CITY: THE ORDER OF THE WORLD. In the sixth, Killer Moth tries to change his ways after meeting Harley Quinn. In the seventh, Batman plays a game of chess, figuratively and literally with Ras al Ghul. In the final tale, Talia recounts her origin in preparation for the upcoming Shadow War.

GREEN LANTERN #8 by Geoffrey Thorne, ChrisCross and Marco Santucci. John Stewart continues his journey as he becomes a “new god”. This takes him to Anticitus, where he saves Kilowog and Hannu before entering a portal which takes him to meet those who worship the Lightbringer. Meanwhile, Jo Mullein continues to investigate the death of Guardian Koyos and the explosion of the Central Power Battery. In the end, Peya Fel believes she finds the answer but, before she can reveal it she is struck down by…Guardian Koyos?

HARDWARE: SEASON ONE #3 by Brandon Thomas and Denys Cowan. Hardware is on the run from Alva, but this leads him to Alva’s former partner Asher Sims. Sims gives him free reign of his laboratory but Alva contacts Sims and offers him a deal that may result in Sims betraying Hadware.

HARLEY QUINN #9 by Stephanie Phillips and Riley Rossmo. Harley escorts Ivy to the garden to meet with Queen Ivy. Of course, that means having to get through Keepsake first. Meanwhile, Kevin races into the burning S.A.F.E. Headquarters to save people, including Lockwood. Things go south and Lockwood deserts Kevin, who gets saved by Sam.

HUMAN TARGET #1 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Christopher Chance masquerades as Lex Luthor and a would-be assassin tries to kill him, but Chance succeeds in disabling and killing him. Later he meets with Luthor, only to discover he has been poisoned by someone who thought they were poisoning Luthor. Dr. Mid-Nite reveals he only has 12 days to live and discover who in the Justice League is responsible for his upcoming death.

HUMAN TARGET #2 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Chance gets a visit from Ice, who had been called in by Doc, leading to them going off and discussing their past and not so much the case. She reveals she was not ever a Norwegian princess, but a Norwegian girl who, after her powers manifested, killed her father and grandfather. During her superhero career, she died fighting the Overmaster before coming back during the reset. She also learned Lex was responsible for the Overmaster coming to Earth and that Fire wanted to kill Lex. In the end, he reveals that he masqueraded as Doc, because he wanted to meet the person he thought might have poisoned him.

I AM BATMAN #3 by John Ridley and Stephen Segovia. The Seer sends out multiple groups of the Moral Authority to the juvenile detention center to break out Morris Caulfield. But that assault leads to Jace Fox showing up as his mother is inside the center. One of the assault team gets inside, forcing Mrs. Fox to kill him. She confrots Batman, but he convinces her to put the gun down. In the end, Simon Saint promises that the Tyler Arkadine won’t say anything to the police and his prediction is correct as Arkadine turns up dead.

ICON & ROCKET: SEASON ONE #4 by Reginuld Hudlin, Leon Chills and Doug Braithwaite. Xiomara and Mrs. Erwin get free from the creature just as Icon and Rocket arrive. He battles the creature, that eventually flees. Later, Icon and Rocket reveal all and Rocket’s mother gives her blessing to allow Icon to continue to train her. In the end, it seems more enemies are coming…