DC UNIVERSE Month 56, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUER-HEROES #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski. Vandal Savage is ruling the Old West and monologuing to a captured Batman. His gang has captured Jonah Hex and he demands he be dropped in the pig trough. When he thinks he has done the impossible, ending the Age of Heroes before it starts, Brainiac 5 reveals that he is here with the combined forces of the Legion and the League. He is held inside the Gold Lantern ring and then is judged by the Eders of Oa. He reveals he is a sourced of the Great Darkness, leading to a battle between himself and Gold Lantern. Lantern wins the fight, the Elders destroy Savage’s ring and banish him. The League is returned to the present day while Gold Lantern is tasked to lead the Gold Lanterns and find them all. And Savage? He is found in the Old West, where Jonah Hex rescues him with the promise of a new life.

MULTIVERSITY: TEEN JUSTICE #4 by Danny Lore, Ivan Cohen and Marco Failla. The team battles against the Green Lanterns and lose, with most of them being taken off the playing field. That means the rest of the team will have to continue the fight without them.

THE NEW CHAMPION OF SHAZAM! #2 by Josie Campbell and Evan "Doc" Shaner. Mary’s foster parents have disappeared, forcing her to quit Vassar  so she can care for Pedro, Eugene, Freddy, and Darla. She ends up enrolling herself into Fawcett Community while also keeping an eye out for her parents and anything Disaster Master may have been involved with. She battles a giant flying lizard and some strange energy creatures, during which the magic bunny gets zapped and loses its’ powers. But she also learns that a lot of people have gone missing and not just her parents.

NIGHTWING #96 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Nightwing battles Blockbuster while Barbara, Batwoman and the citizens save Haven. After Barbara shows Electrocutioner and Brutale that Blockbuster owns Bludhaven Private Prison, they desert him. In the end, a defeated Blockbuster meets with Heartless, ho removes his heart.

NUBIA: QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS #4 by Stephanie Williams and Alitha Martinez. Nubia returns to Madagascar and battles Zillah for control of Sekhmet's power. In the end, Zillah is slain by Nubia, once her best friend and Sekhmet's power is gone.

POISON IVY #4 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Ivy gets the job working loading boxes on an assembly line. But those boxes, because of Ivy’s condition, are now contaminated as they are being shipped all across the country. She also realizes that George Halloran is a bad boss and kills him. That night, she has a one night stand with one of her female co-workers. During the night, she is attacked by a creature that says the Green Man sent him. She tells the woman that it is best if she forgets about her and she leaves, to hunt the Green Man.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #15 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. Sperman and the Revolutionaries lead a final assault against Henry Bendix and his control of Gamorra. Bendix transform Jay's mother into a monster and sets her against her son. Damian Wayne shows up to hep ruin Bendix plans, especially after Luthor cuts off their deal. He transports to Skywatch and fires his ultimate weapon, which Superman stops. Luthor arrives on Skywatch and opens an airlock, sending Bendix drifting into space. In the end, everyone survives, including Jay’s mother, and Jon and Jay share a very public kiss.

SWORD OF AZRAEL #2 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija. Azrael battles vengeance but, when Brother Karl is injured, Vengeance leaves, admitting the mission is compromised. Hen he goes back to the chapel, he discovers that Brielle Arnier, who may be the Angel of Death, has killed everyone. Deciding that he will not let the Templars use her as a weapon, he takes her to Greece. While there, vengeance scouts, Jean Paul meditates and confronts his inner demon, and one of the Templars arrives to see that Brielle completes their mission.

TASK FORCE Z #12 by Matthew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows. Despite the explosion last issue, everyone seems to have survived and it’s the final battle between Mr. Bloom and Jason/Harvey Dent. Jason battles with Gotham, apologizing for killing him.  Gotham realizes he had been manipulated by Bloom and attacks him, with Bloom threatening to explode him, even as Gotham Girl pleads for him no to do it. Jason attacks Bloom and Harvey saves the day, allowing Gotham to capture and dispose of Bloom. In the end, Jason meets Stephanie as he heads to West Texas to look for The Joker. In the Gotham Morgue, Harvey Dent arrives and takes many of the zombies with him, saying he has big plans.

TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #1 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo. Tim, after what has happened in the yet to be concluded DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE, is living on a boat at the Gotham Marina and loving his life with his boyfriend Bernard. He gets a visit from Darcy Thomas, who is surprised to see that he is living on a boat. When he discovers two of his neighbors murdered, Tim and Sparrow investigate, encountering animal constructs as previously seen in the DC PRIDE story. They work together to defeat the creature, but it seems this is just the beginning and does not solve the murders.

WONDER WOMAN #791 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellaire, Marguerite Sauvage and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana visits the Vale of Hippolyta where she sees a vision of her dead mother. The oracle arrives to tell Diana of her visions, which include strange flowers, large vats of chemicals, and Diana’s death. Diana goes undercover and starts working in the Cale Industries plant in Brazil that is harvesting the flowers. While investigating, she finds a room filled with test animals, including her friend Barbara, A.K.A. Cheetah. In the backup, Antiope and Hippolyta continue to argue until Diana arrives on a strange creature that apparently grants power to those that deserve it. Now Diana has the power.

 

DC UNIVERSE Month 56, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1047 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Riccardo Federici and David Lapham. Kryl-Ux has betrayed Superman and now leads Warworld. But Superman has brought Warworld to Earth as he tries to figure out how to get the inhabitants back to their real homes. He makes an impassioned speech to the world, asking for leniency for these aliens, even the dangerous ones. Elsewhere, Lex has a new plan to enact and he looks to be wanting to resurrect Metallo. In the backup, Superman returns with Warworld and gets to reunite with Thao-La and others. But things may not go smoothly now, as the Warzoon arrive, looking for Superman.

BATGIRLS #10 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Neil Googe. After battling Killer Moth, Cass and Steph attempt to crack the code they found in the fake eye, where they figure that the code is a book cypher that has to do with the word ‘eye’. While the pair go through library books, Steph runs into Kyle Mizoguchi, who gives her his phone number. Later, they deduce that the code references a Poe book and that eye meant flashlight, which leads them to the bat enclosure at Gotham Zoo. While they think it might be clues left by the Riddler, it actually is the doings of Mr. Fun.

BATMAN #127 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Zur-En-Arrh Batman fights agaiant Failsafe, who he created. The battle is all encompassing and appears to end in his death. Luckily Superman arrives. In the backup, Catwoman visits a small bookstore where she meets with Paul Meredith, who is actually Oswald Cobblepot with a nose job. He explains that he faked his death and is getting a new start. Actually, he has an ulterior motive that will destroy Batman.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO-YEAR #6 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Max Dunbar. The Gotham AI is set to activate its nano-virus to enslave the free will of everyone in Gotham. Gestalt's research has learned that Donovan Lumos's party ship is the activation antenna, so Terry calls in his team to stop him, with Boonma leading the extraction team to get all the civilians off the party ship. Terry defeats Loomis in his newly designed Batsuit. In the end, a new Bat-Team is ready for the future.

BATMAN: FORTRESS #5 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson. On Barbados, Jackson Hyde meets a new boy that he immediately crushes on until a gang of thugs show up to torment them, forcing Jackson to use his powers, which scares of his new love interest. Batman and D’Ayl arrive, looking to add Jackson to the team. Later, Batman heads to Star City where he looks to recruit Emiko to the team. While Batman meets with Luthor, Jackson messages him and informs him of what he has found in the deep…and he says it looks like “solitude”.

BATMAN: THE KNIGHT #9 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Bruce and Anton cross the desert to reach the site f their final training mission: Lazarus, where they meet Ra’s al Ghul for the first time. While there, Bruce is wounded fighting Ra’s, but is healed and develops a romantic encounter with Talia. In the end, Ra’s orders the two friends to fight to the death.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #7 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. A pair of desperate scientists send their young son through Hypertime, where he arrives on Earth and meets Batman, Robin and Superman. Once there, he is taken to the bottled city of Kandor, where they examine his new powers and make him into Superman’s newest sidekick-the Boy Thunder. He goes to visit this world’s version of his parents, which only serves as trauma to them as their son died when he was three years old. Devastated, they take him to be with kids his own age: the Teen Titans.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #19 by Brandon Thomas, Zac Thompson, Joey Esposito, Chris Burnham, Brandon Easton, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, Hayden Sherman, Mikel Janin and Will Robson. The Outsiders battle transformed creatures in an effort to find Duke’s mother. In the end, she is transformed back to her old self and reunites with her son. In the second tale, Batman battles a little child, but it turns out to be Wesker and his puppet. Or is it? In the third tale, Batman and Robin fight Two-Face. In the fourth story, Alfred continues his investigation and it leads him to the Head of Dagon. Next up, Batman and Killer Croc team up to fight some people who are killing rare reptiles.

BATMAN VS. ROBIN #1 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar. Springing out of the ROBIN series, Bruce Wayne comes back to Wayne Manor to find that Alfred is alive! When they go to the Batcave, he finds Damian Wayne, who is teamed with Jakeem Thunder and Tim Hunter to kill Batman. He defeats the magic users and his son, barely escaping along with Alfred in the Batboat. Damian heads to the Tower of Fate, where he considers using other magical methods, including Eclipso. Batman and Alfred visit Zatanna, who is being hung by Schrodinger’s Noose. She reveals that other magic users have been attacked. In the end, Robin meets with his benefactors: Mother Soul and Devil Nezha.

BLACK ADAM #4 by Christopher Priest and  Rafa Sandoval. Malik discovers that Teth Adam has been discharged, so he attempts to go back to a normal life. But Etrigan shows up, forcing him to use his new powers. Meanwhile, War visits Sargon the Sorcerer.

BLOOD SYNDICATE: SEASON ONE #5 by Geoffrey Thorne and Juan Castro.  Rocket and Icon arrive to stop Holocaust's takeover of Paris Island.  But Holocaust is well prepared and takes the heroes down. Now being declared as Kind Holocaust, it seems no one can stop him. That’s when the super-powered street gang arrives, poised for a final battle.

CATWOMAN  #47 by Tini Howard and Caitlin Yarsky. Valmost and Selina head to Swtizerland to track down Finbar Sullivan’s brother Declan. They find out that the family’s financier Eskander Tadesse is in their chalet, leading them to stake him out, where he reveals that he believes that Abigail and Declan are plotting to kill him, leading to Selina and Valmont saving him. Then they head to Vienna to go through a private vault where the records concerning kidnapped women are located. They find what they need, the bad guys get arrested by Interpol and all seems well with the world…until Selina gets a call from Dario, who has been kidnapped by Noah. That means Valmont and Selina are off to Italy to save his life.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #4 by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere. On New Earth, in Sector John Stewart, Hal Jordan confronts Kyle Rayner when Barry shows up and, after telling him what is going on, transports the pair of them away to the twisted world created for Batman. Inside the Hall of Justice, the gathered team tries to figure out what is happening with the Great Darkness and Pariah while Alan Scott tries to motivate Dick Grayson. Grayson and others accompany Alan to meet with Detective Chimp and Swamp Thing who says he is uncertain if this is the Great Darkness or if something has corrupted it. At the Legion of Doom’s headquarters, Black Adam tries to convince the Legion how they should work together and that is when Deathstroke and his team arrive and battle. But they get corrupted by the Great Darkness as Pariah gives birth to a new Multiverse.

DARK CRISIS: WORLDS WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE-WONDER WOMAN #1 by Tini Howard,  Dan Watters, Leila Del Duca and Brandon Peterson. In this new world created by Pariah, Diana observes Etta being sworn in a President and then takes her to Themyscira, where she is made an honorary Amazon.  Diana does visit her mother and they argue, with Diana ending up in the Well of Souls, where she finds Dr. Psycho. He reveals how she stopped that he was launching missiles at the Amazons and she stopped it. The Amazons took him prisoner so Gaia could feed off him. The Amazons use one of the missiles to leave this Earth, where Diana decides to stay on Earth to fight for an unappreciative world. In the backup, Martian Manhunter battles Martian Manhunter on a world where everyone is a Martian.

DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE #4 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Laura Braga. The team continues to deal with their new world and where they fit in it. In the end, Kid Mxyptlk, their biggest fan, is revealed to be the villain behind their current predicament.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #13 by Ed Brisson and Dexter Soy. Slade wakes on an autopsy table, revealing he is still alive, having been healed after last issue. This leads him on a hunt for his clothes and gear. Securing them from the police, he seeks out Wintergreen and plans to go after his original target along with Isherwood. He calls Addie, who reveals she is pregnant, which upsets him more than pleases him. When he discovers someone else is going after the target, Deathstroke steps up his game, looking to keep that contract for himself.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1064 by Ram V, Simon Spurrier, Dani and Rafael Albuquerque. In the past, Talia tells a young Damian the tale of Farhad and his battle with Azmer.In the present, Batman seeks out the members of Maroni’s crew he saw on the docks and finds Talia  and the League instead. The docks blow up and Batman is seemingly lost, even as Prince Arzen arrives. But Batman rises from the ashes, prepared for what is next. In the backup, Jim Gordon is saved from a zombified Detective by the young boy, who is poised to become his assistant in helping the lad in discovering his own identity.

DUO #5 by Greg Pak and Khoi Pham. Kelly has taken control of David’s body and now, with an army backing them, has decided to play Messiah, going about healing people with Nanobot technology. Tinker teams with the Immutables to stop him, including an attack that seemingly kills Maya. Tinker then betrays the Immutables and things go from bad to worse.

THE FLASH #786 by Jeremy Adams and Amancay Nahuelpan. The surviving heroes have banded together and are joined by Wally and the returning speedsters. The teams go out to take out the various members, along with Animal Girl, of Deathstroke’s crew. In the end, Nightwing calls everyone back to the Hall of Justice.

FLASHPOINT BEYOND #5 by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermanico and Mikel Janin. Two days after the end of DARK CRISIS, Mr. Terrific appears on a talk show where he explains the workings of the Great Darkness, Hypertime, and the Omniverse and how they coexist. Meanwhile, Bruce visits Ra’s visits, where he observes his father’s ashes and a dossier on the Time Masters, provided to him by Justice League Incarnate. In the Flashpoint world, Thomas confronts his wife, saving the Dents. She explains that ‘the man in the golden mask” told her everything before she killed him. She also says the Joker in our world as a man named Jack Oswald White. She beats him down and then reveals her plan, which includes a time bubble that she built that contains Hypertime. In the end, Rip Hunter arrives on Earth-) with plans to stop Bruce.

FUTURE STATE : GOTHAM #17 by Dennis Culver, Geoffo, Giannis Milonogiannis and Adam Hughes. All of the various Batmen converge to battle Hush and Damian. Batman Dick Grayson exclaims he is Batman now and leaves, with the rest of the Bat Family going off to confront Hush and Damian. But Hush now controls the Court of Owls. During the battle, it is revealed that Damian is possessed…by Joe Chill. In the backup, Batman watches over a badly injured Selina, only to later find out that she faked her injuries so she could pull off a robbery.

HARLEY QUINN #22 by Stephanie Phillips, Matteo Lolli and David Baldeón. With Harley dead, Kevin heads North looking for the League of Assassins and a Lazarus Pit to resurrect her. She is eventually put in the bit and reborn, only a little more twisted and a little angrier than before.

HARLEY QUINN 30^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rafael Scavone, Stjepan Sejic, Stephanie Phillips, Kami Garcia, Paul Dini, Sam Humphries, Rob Williams, Cecil Castellucci, Mindy Lee, Chad Hardin, Rafael Albuquerque, Stjepan Sejic, Riley Rossmo, Mico Suayan, Jason Badower, Guillem March, Erica Henderson, John Timms, Dan Hipp, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson. In the first tale, Harley intercepts a group of burglars and that sends her to Wayne Manor to team up with Alfred. In the second tale, Harley teams up with Fifteen Minutes Man for a Suicide Squad mission that ends with Waller blowing up Harley’s partner. In the third tale, Catwoman has a heart-to-heart with Harley, to get to her unresolved feelings for Joker, leading to her going out and attempting to prove her wrong. In the fourth story, Harley and Kevin break into a nature preserve to retrieve her captured hyenas, leading to a tussle with a group of poachers. In the next tale, which acts as a prequel to the CRIMINAL SANITY series, Harleen Quinzel works with the GCPD to track down the Joker, who killed her roommate Edie. In the sixth tale, Harley throws a housewarming party for Ivy, Selina and herself, resulting in too many guests, and some that probably shouldn’t be there. In ‘A Legend is Born’, Harley is a barmaid dressed as a jester who goes out in the world to obtain her first sword. Next up, is the last Harley Quinn story, where Waller has activated her brain bomb and she reminisces about her career before dying. In ‘Troop Harley Quinn’, Harley starts a Girl Scout troop. Lastly, ‘Harley’s World ’brings us a series of vignettes showcasing her career.

THE HUMAN TARGET #7 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Chance spends time with Fire, as she tests him. He ends up with Fire and Ice, where Fire confesses that she got the money from J’Onzz, using it to buy the water from Booster Gold, but insists she did not poison anyone. Bt she reveals that Guy did ask for the water.

I AM BATMAN #13 by John Ridley, Christian Duce, Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira. Batman and The Question continue their investigation into whether Detective Keenan is the man responsible for killing Anarky. Later, Keenan has a eeting with Batman, where he has snipers prepared to take him out, but The Question has dispatched them. He confesses he didn’t kill Chan, who was a police informant. Elsewhere, Tiff Fox continues to try and find a way to help a new friend Kayln who may be falling back into trouble with her old gang. Thinking vigilantism is the only way, she dons a mask and prepares to fight injustice.

DC UNIVERSE Month 55, Part 2

MULTIVERSITY: TEEN JUSTICE #3 by Ivan Cohen, Danny Lore and Luciano Vecchio. The team continues to get to the bottom of the mystery and find the missing Troy. But Troy has been captured by the Green Lantern Core, who are going to use him as bait.

NAOMI: SEASON TWO #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker. Naomi continues to battle against the villains from her home planet. Even though she is losing, she hears the voice of Akira, who implores her to use her vast powers to fight back. She defeats the villains just as the Justice League arrives. In the end, she makes the decision to leave her family and friends and join Akira on her home planet and try to make that world better.

THE NEW CHAMPION OF SHAZAM! #1 by Josie Campbell and Evan "Doc" Shaner. Mary Bromfield moves into Vassar College, adopting the name Marina. She discovers that her roommate’s per rabbit, Hoppy, has been enchanted by Billy Batson and tells her she has been chosen to be the new champion of Shazam!. Later, she is forced to use her powers to fight Disaster Master  When she returns to campus, the police inform her that her foster parents have gone missing.

NIGHTWING #95 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Nightwing saves his sister but not before he gets into a confrontation with Blackbuster. Elsewhere, former Commissioner is being interrogated by the police when he is executed by them. Later, Nightwing arrives with Batwoman, which does not sit well with her former lover Maggie Sawyer. The remainder of the Bat Family and some of the Teen Titans arrive to help stop the four crimes that Blockbuster and Maroni have planned. They accomplish those goals but Nightwing ends up at Haven, which has been blown up by Blockbuster. Blockbuster defeats Nightwing, who loses his mask and the villain realizes that Nightwing is really just Dick Grayson.

NUBIA: QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS #3 by Stephanie Williams and Alitha Martinez. Nubs finds that the person she is fighting against is Zillah, who she knew in her previous life. The pair battle as Zillah explains how Azariah killed Nubia’s parents. Later, Nubia meets with the other Amazons as she reveals that she needs to get where Zillah is heading and Hawkgirl offers her assistance.

OLYMPUS: REBRTH #1 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Caitlin Yarsky. Hippolyta has made her way to Olympus, where she is expected to be welcome to her place as one of the gods. But she finds that may not be the case, as each f them have their own ideas about her being here. She decides something is wrong in Olympus and also sees a vision of her daughter being killed. This leads her to make her way to the Graveyard of the Gods, where she meets with the Keeper of the Grounds, who presents her with a choice: free Chaos, Antiope or Atalanta. She convinces him to either go to Olympus with her or free all three. He agrees t free all, but Antiope and Atalanta decide to stay and stand guard at Doom’s Door. Later, she kills Hera, only to find out it was an illusion from Hecate. But that is enough to make her question her motives as a God.

POISON IVY #3 by G. Wilow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Ivy continues her journey, spending most of her time building a beautiful garden at the motel she is staying at. After she fights a creature of the Green, which turns out to be just yard waste, she leaves, attempting to take a job in a new town where she is told the interviewer is “a monster”.

ROBIN  #17 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz Damian and company land back on Lazarus Island to find that Lord Death Man has escaped. He is with Mother Soul and presents her with The Demon’s Heart.  She repays him by giving him some of her magic powers, leading to him battling Damian and his team. Damian defeats him by ripping out his heart, stopping him until the next time he resurrects. After a day at the beach, Flatline leaves him…for now. So does Connor, who is going to go find his father. In the end, Robin is ready to deal with Devil Nezha. Continued in BATMAN VS. ROBIN #1.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #14 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. Lois is broadcasting for The Truth, where she reveals Bendix’ entire plot of kidnapping people for his own ends. Elsewhere, The Revolutionaries have joined up with Jon and Jay to take down Bendix. Jon outfits Jay in a suit from the future and gives him a Legion Flight ring, as Jay is going to make his way inside the shielded nation of Gamorra. Jay makes his way inside and convinces the workers there to lower the shield, giving the heroes a chance to get inside. Jay calls for help, as he discovers that Prisoner One is his mother, ho has been transformed into a horrific creature.

SUPERMAN: WARWORLD APOCALYPSE #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Brandon Peterson, Will Conrad, Max Raynor and Miguel Mendonca. Superman, now possessing the power of the Fire of Olgrum, faces off against the Mongul Who Is. But Kryl-Ux has seemingly betrayed the cause and teamed up with Mongul, who has captured Otho and Osul. Mongul stabs Osul, apparently mortally wounding him, which angers Superman into battle. Superman uses the Fire of Olgrum to save Osul, meaning he has lost the power advantage. At the Star-Forge of Engine City One, Orphan and Mother are reunited and Leonath makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the planet. Meanwhile, the rest of the team fights against their former allies in an attempt to save Apollo. The Justice League arrives, thanks to an illusion from Manchester Black, and that snaps Apollo back to reality. It also frees Mack, who admits he was only siding with Mongul to save Lia. Thanks to Leonath’s sacrifice, Superman has his powers back again and, with the help of Kryl-Ux, slays Mongul. Lia heads to Nat’s reactor, but Mack goes after her and they enter the reactor together, sacrificing himself as the Back Racer looks on. In the end, things go back to a semblance of normal. But, weeks later, Kryl-Ux makes his presence felt, promising to one day make the United Planets beg for mercy. Clark returns home and reunites with Lois.

THE SWAMP THING #16 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. The final face-off between The Pale Wanderer, Swamp Thing and Trinity leads to Swamp Thing battling The Pale Wanderer and defeating him, turning him back into the Green. Trinity converts the mechanical green into a beautiful city and Levi goes back to a somewhat normal life. In the end, he meets with Woodrue, who tells him that he will one day realize that he is truly a monster.

SWORD OF AZRAEL #1 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija On Ioudas Island, Jean Paul Valley is trying to live his life away from Azrael when he sees a woman being abused by a sailor. He takes matters into his own hands and gets eaten in the process. The woman takes refuge on the island, while Valley deals with his efforts to divide himself from Azrael. The woman claims people are trying to kill her because she has been hearing the voice of God and she is looking for Valley. Later, Vengeance arrives, looking for the woman, claiming that she is not looking to kill her, but bring her to civilization so she can rebuild the Knights of the Templar. The woman reveals herself as the Angel Sariel and she is here to kill all sinners.

SWORD OF AZRAEL: DARK KNIGHT OF THE SOUL #1 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija. Azrael seeks out a doctor who is synthesizing the Lazarus Pits and experimenting with resurrecting the recent dead. That brings him into direct conflict with a woman who is also looking to kill those responsible.

TALES FROM THE HUMAN TARGET #1 by Tom King, Tafael Albuqerque, Kevin Maguire, Mikel Janin and Greg Smallwood. Fire, Guy Gardner and Booster Gold all relate their tales of trying to solve a series of murders. In the end, it seems that all of the victims/potential victims are all being played by Christopher Chance and their involvement has hampered his investigation.

TASK FORCE Z #11 by Matthew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows. A few months ago, Harvey Dent was trying to convince Jason that he needed to be the leader  Yesterday, Jason is fighting with Dent over being misled to thinking he was working with Bane when it was actually a resurrected Gotham. Now, Gotham Girl breaks into Powers International to find her brother while Jason does the same, encountering his former partners in the process. Meanwhile, Geraldine finds out that Bloom has been doing illegal experiments and leaves. Harvey and his hastily assembled team enter the tunnels and encounter a  Bloom in a powered-up suit. Most of the team is killed or incapacitated and both Dent and Jason are captured. In the end, Mr. Marsh, dressed as Red Hood, pushes a button he should not have and everything explodes.

WONDER GIRL 2022 ANNUAL #1 by Joëlle Jones, Douglas Marques, Emi Lenox, Adriana Melo, Sweeney Boo and Ben Dewey. Yara Flor attends a festival and  bumps into her old flame, João, who is there with his new flame. That is when she realizes she has stumbled upon a plot to destroy Akahim and the new flame is a monster named Cuca. She battles the creature in the real world while her sisters do the same in Akahim. Yara wins the fight and reunites from Joao.

WONDER WOMAN #790 by Michael W, Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordaire Bellaire, Emanuela Lupacchino, Jose Luis, Eduardo Pansica and Paulina Gancheau. Etta has been captured by Professor Calculus, but breaks free and destroys his machine just as Diana arrives, demanding to know where Cizko is. Etta heads to Dr. Poison’s and frees Steve and Siggy, while Diana confronts Cizko. During the battle, Sweetheart sacrifices herself and is killed, but Cizko is captured. In the end, mysterious forces are still at work at the milk plant while Diana prepares for her next mission…as Diana Prince. In the backup, Antiope continues to influence Diana, forcing Hippolyta to make the decision to leave.

DC UNIVERSE Month 55 Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1046 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Fico Ossio and David Lapham. Superman goes after the Fire of Olgrum but has to answer a series of riddles from a virtual guardian first. He answers the riddles and gains entry into the chamber but has to battle a descendant of Olgrin. When the young guardian arrives, Superman saves him, forcing the guardian, who controls the creature, to realize Superman’s worth and he gets the Fire of Olgrum. With the magical sword in his hands, Superman returns to find that Kryl-Ux has betrayed the cause and teamed up with Mongul, who has captured Otho and Osul. In the backup, the Superman Family battles Conduit, who is taken down after the Genesis fragment merges with the Kyrptonite in his costume. Steel destroys the fragment as Conduit explains that “he’s coming.”

AQUAMAN & THE FLASH: VOIDSONG #3 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Vasco Georgiev. Arthur and Barry take on the alien armada that is trying to consume all of the Speed Force, which Aquaman and Mera had been using as a possible power source for their Atlantean exploration ships.  They out aside their apparent differences and make their way inside the Voidsong and, with the eventual help of all the Earth’s heroes, defeat the creature.

BATGIRLS #9 by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad and Neil Googe. The Batgirls have a day off before they end up fighting the KGBeast. After defeating them, they discover a trash barrel with Mr. Greene’s mail and a cache of wooden legs. They also find the slain body of Mr. Greene and that he has a missing eye replaced with a fake one. The fake eye is eventually opened and it contains a cipher. While they try to break the cipher, Killer Moth looks on.

BATMAN #126 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez and Belen Ortega. Batman and the Bat-Family battles Failsafe with less than great results. Failsafe visits Lelsie Thompkins while Tim takes Bruce to the old Batcave. Bruce goes into another part of the cave and reemerges as Batman Zur-En-Arrh. In the backup, Catwoman is still trying to find the children of Cobblepot. But all of them are now dead. Except Addison and Aiden Cobblepot show up and they are apparently the lost children of Penguin and they now own the Iceberg Lounge and all Cobblepot’s property.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO-YEAR #5 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Max Dunbar.  Terry has defeated the Sword of Gotham  and takes Officer Booma to the old Batcave. Once there, he sees Gestalt there and Gestalt uses its’ tech to assist Terry in uncovering how Booma was possessed. After some time, Booma awakens from her possession and a renewed Terry is preparing to put on the classic Batman Beyond costume and finish this.

BATMAN: FORTRESS #4 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson. Batman and Lex team up to make their way into the Fortress of Solitude. That leads them into direct contact with the aliens seeking Superman and Luthor’s tactics force them to abandon the  mission. Later, Green Lantern D’ayl meets with Bruce and offers his help, despite the wishes of the other Green Lanterns. They head to Nepal where they meet with a retired Detective Chimp, who is just happy to run his bar. With his reluctant help, he finds that the key to the Fortress is hidden in the Marianas Trench.

BATMAN: KILLING TIME #6 by Tom King and David Marquez. On March 1, Riddler and Catwoman meet with Clock King. On March 6, Riddler calls Clock King to tell him about the meet at Moldoff Park and Clock King calls the Penguin. On March 7, Clock King takes out a government sniper that is attempting to kill Batman. He takes the eye during the chaos and leaves, while Riddler shoots Espinoza. Batman drops gas pellets onto the battlefield while Catwoman battles The Help. Riddler, Catwoman and The Help get away, leaving Batman with the dead. On March 8, Cock King is on a plane, playing with the eye and claiming it is just something to help him “pass the time”. On the same day, someone shoots The Penguin. On April 8, Catwoman and Riddler meet, but Batman arrives, as Riddler has left clues about their meeting, which results in them being back in prison. On April 11, Espinoza continues her rehabilitation with her aim being Batman.  On April 17, Batman duels with Ra’s al Ghul, who tells him he does not know where The Help is. On April 21, Batman meets Clock King at the Parthenon. On November 7, a pawn shop owner sells the eye to Vera Angleton.

BATMAN: THE KNIGHT #8 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Bruce continues his training, even as it appears that Anton is killing off his various mentors. Bruce is now with Dr. Captio, who manipulates Bruce into thinking that Anton has killed Alfred and Dana. In actuality, it’s all a ruse to get Bruce to focus. Later, they find a wounded Anton, who has been injured by The Still. Bruce battles The Still to a draw, allowing Bruce to go back to Captio and confront him about the ruse. In the end, he and Anton head off in search of their next mentor: Ra’s al Ghul.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #18 by Brandon Thomas, Henry Barajas, Chris Burnham, Tini Howard, Blake M. Howard, Greg Hahn, Alberto Jimenez Alurquerque, Serg Acuna, Max Raynor and Mike Norton. Duke Thomas joins The Outsiders, but his real focus is on finding and saving his mother. Batman steps in and tasks the team to make finding her their prime focus. In the second tale, Batman teams up with Etrigan to battle Lord Scapegoat. In the third story, Alfred gets involved in trying to solve the mystery of the theft of a jade earring. In the fourth tale, Batman and Robin team up to battle Doctor Destiny, whose nightmare fueled illusions affect both Bruce and Tim. In the final story, Belle and Beau pull off a series of heists designed to make their lives better, only to run into Batman.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #6 by Mark Waid and Travis Moore. In the past, Robin cuts a message into a rock. It’s 1892 in Corto Maltese and Robin finds himself working in a circus. In the present, Batman, Superman, Supergirl, and the Doom Patrol find the stone at the tomb of the Devil Hezha. The rock says ‘Hey guys come find me’. This leads to Batman and Superman joining the circus, where Superman becomes the resident strongman. Robin is intent on investigating the death of two circus workers that the circus community believe was caused by Simba the lion. Later, a fire breaks out and Superman and Batman team up to rescue the people, including Boyce. Robin heads to Cesar’s wagon where he explains that he knows Cesar was responsible for the murder of the two men in an effort to get the money they stole. Boyce was his partner but now Cesar wanted it all for himself, thus setting the fire and locking Boyce in Simba’s cage. In the end, the murders are solved and Robin suggests this may be the place he wants to stay.

BLACK ADAM #3 by Christopher Priest and  Rafa Sandoval. In the distant past, Black Adam faces off against Dessad, who turns out to be Ishtar. In the present, Black Adam is seemingly dead, meaning he is facing his own battles in the afterlife. But Malik White uses the ring and his newfound powers to bring him back from the brink of death. He deduces that Adam is in this state because he drinks his tea from a enturie’s old cup that contained some sort of virus. In the end, Malik learns to embrace the new power even as Black Adam awakens, having dreamed he was fighting a much older Malik Adam.

BLOOD SYNDICATE: SEASON ONE #4 by Geoffrey Thorne and ChrisCross. Holocaust goes on a rampage and it takes two groups of super-powered street gang members to come together to try to stop him and save their city. Holocaust ends up on the bridge to Paris Island and decides to blow it up, trapping people on both sides.

CATWOMAN #46 by Tini Howard and Sami Basri. Selina battles Amygdala and gets some help from Valmont. Later, Black Mask continues his thirst for revenge while Selina cuts a deal with Eiko. Selina makes the decision to get out of town and knowingly accepts an offer to meet with Eiko on her yacht, even though she knows it’s a trap. Once there, Black Mask and his team blow up the yacht, believing that Catwoman is dead. But she is moving on, as it seems Eiko will be the new Catwoman.

DARK CRISIS  #3 by Joshua Williamson Daniel Sampere. Nightwing sits by gar’s side as he fights for his life. Meanwhile, Black Adam’s team is fighting against Deathstroke’s army. Later, he shows up at the Hall of Justice where he wants to hang Count Vertigo’s body in front of the Hall as a warning to all villains. Frustrated, he leaves just as the Justice Society arrives. At Deathstroke’s headquarters, Ravager arrives and challenges his father, who uses the Great Darkness within him to influence his team. In space, Hal and the Lanterns encounter Pariah. Hal tries to interact with Pariah’s created worlds and finds himself powerless in a new world, which is considered Sector John Stewart. In the

DARK CRISIS: WORLDS WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE-GREEN LANTERN #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Jeremy Adams, Fernando Blanco and Jack Herbert. After a glimpse of a battle in space where Kyle calls out for help from John Stewart, we find John working on a farm while his mother and his baby sister talk. The call comes in and it resonates through his sister. He reveals that he took the power battery to keep it safe and hid it within his once dead baby sister. John heads into space and teams ith what is left of the Lanterns to fight the Bright Revenant. John destroys the creature and returns back home, promising to never leave again. In the backup, Hawkgirl goes to the Temple of Life to find the Vase of Mortality. She drinks from the vase and finds that all of her memories of past lives are gone. She is attacked by skeleton creatures, whom she defeats. As she leaves, Pariah laughs.

DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE #3 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Laura Braga. The team fights Boomerang, Deathstroke and Luthor and then fight with each other while Cassie watches. They defat the villains and then go off on their own ways, with Cassie meeting with each of them and trying to convince them that they should find their place in this world. Eventually, she tells them that this is what “he” wants and that leads to the Justice League arriving to force them to accept this world.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #12 by Ed Brisson and Dexter Soy. Slade continues his first mission to kill Campbell but has to get through Green Arrow first. Wintergreen ends up completing the mission for Slade, as he is being captured by Green Arrow. When he attempts to flee, Arrow shoots him, causing him to fall of the rooftop and apparently die. Meanwhile, Addie learns that she is pregnant.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1063 by Ram V., Simon Spurrier, Rafael Albuquerque and Dani. Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne meet in a nightclub, where Harvey explains that he is no longer controlled by Two-Face and wears a partial gold mask to conceal his damaged face. Meanwhile, Shavhod, Arzen, and Neang discuss the land title deed for Gotham and there seems to be a connection to Arkham.  Batman breaks into Blackgate Prison where he meets with the Maestro to ask him about the mysterious music box. Maestro explains that the music is Black Noise that has been used to change people. In the end, Dent is attacked by Shavhod, Arzen, and Neang who gas him with Azmer and that seems to resurrect Two-Face once more. In the backup, Gordon continues his strange journey and his meeting with Annie Redding’s missing child.

DUO #4 by Greg Pak and Khoi Pham. Maya discovers another location where there was a mysterious explosion and calls David, but he doesn’t have time to talk as he finds himself battling enemies sent to him by Emris Tinker. Tinker explains that he doesn’t want to fight him, but want to work together. He decides to side with the Immutables, but then Morien stabs him, before sounding a retreat. When he awakens, he finds himself in Tinker’s lab, where he explains how he wants to put Kelly’s consciousness into a new body. Kelly takes control of the body and fights back, aligning herself with Tinker’s creations and stating that he/she wants to save the world by his/herself.

THE FLASH #785 by Jeremy Adams and Amancay Nahuelpan. Despite Mr. Terrific’s objections, Linda jumps into the Multiversal wormhole to find her husband.  Her children have met a young boy who tries to tell them they need to hide from the villain Night Flash, but it turns out that Night Flash is the hero and the boy, actually crime boss Knives Mahoney, is the real villain. Luckily Jay Garrick arrives to save them. Elsewhere, Barry fights Wally, believing he is Reverse-Flash. Linda arrives just in time to set him straight. In the dystopian world, Max and Jesse team up to help this version of Barry destroy the ‘pearl’ and save his universe. All the heroes come together to free Wallace from his dream world. All except Barry head home, as Barry goes on a search for the League, who are all trapped in Pariah’s dream words.

THE FLASH 2022 ANNUAL #1 by Jeremy Adams and Serg Acuna. Wally is back home and sits down to read the novel Linda has written, which turns out to be a highly fictionalized version of their life together. In the end, he tells her how much he loved the book and Linda hints at being pregnant again.

FLASHPOINT BEYOND #4 by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermánico and Mikel Janín. Gilda Dent is in Arkham where she is talking with the person in the next cell. Meanwhile, Thomas Wayne performs an autopsy on Eobard Thawne, where he discovers a piece of a clock inside him, leading him to try to solve the mystery of the Clockwork Killer. He discovers that the piece is from the clock in Wayne Manor. Dexter Dent, now dressed as Robin, breaks into Arkham and meets with his mother just as the woman in the cell next door breaks free: Martha Wayne-The Joker. In our world, things are happening as Corky Smith reveals that there are things about Martha Wayne that Bruce does not know.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #16 by Dennis Culver, Cyrus Voris, Chris Bachalo and Geoffro. Damian, under the influence of Hush/Batman, tries to burn Jace Fox/Batman but Mother Panic and Red Hood show up to join the fight. Bruce Wayne/Batman arrives with Talia and reveals himself to his son, making him question who to believe. Elsewhere, Dick Grayson/Batman fights with the rest of the Bat Family and uses his new Brane powers to take down all but Barbara, who he professes his love for. He leaves Barbara and shows up at the fight between all the Batmans, claiming he is the ONLY Batman. In the backup, an Arlham inmate is told that Batman is really Bruce Wayne by a demon. But she is in Arkham and who is going to believe her?

HARLEY QUINN #18 by Stephanie Phillips and Georges Duarte. Harley joins up with a new version of Task Force X  and is sent to the moon to stop a mutating sample of Element-X from Apokalips from taking over the world. The team, put together by Luke Fox, consists of Harley, Solomon Grundy, Killer Frost, Bronze Tiger, Dreadbolt, Lashina and Verdict, who Harley just got done defeating. As they get closer to the moon, they find themselves targeted by a missile.

HARLEY QUINN #19 by Stephanie Phillips and Georges Duarte. Dreadbolt leaves the safety of the ship and blows up the missile, at the cost of his own life. The team lands on the moon, but it is not long before Element-X corrupts Lashina.

HARLEY QUINN  #20 by Stephanie Phillips, Georges Duarte and Simone Buonfantino. Luke reveals that he is responsible for letting Element X loose, after he sent it to the moon. The team argues with each other until they find ashine, who has been possessed by the now sentient Element X, Grundy goes to her and he is also absorbed by the creature. Frost is able to temporarily stop the creature and she reveals that she has the ability to drain the life force from anything she comes in contact with. The fleeing creature manages to transport itself to Earth where it finds Luke and proceeds to take over members of the military before addressing his “father”.

HARLEY QUINN  #21 by Stephanie Phillips and Simone Buonfantino. Luke flees from the creature as the team tries to figure out how to transport to Earth to stop it. They successfully transport and are forced to fight the mind-controlled military, with an assist from Luke Fox in a new costume. Back at his lab, he outfits the team with his best weapons and they prepare to take on the creature. Continued in HARLEY QUINN  2022 ANNUAL #1

HARLEY QUINN  2022 ANNUAL #1 by Stephanie Phillips, Simone Buonfantino and  Georges Duarte. The team deduces that the creature is going to Blackgate Prison, where it can control all of the prisoners and creature a super army. The team breaks into Blackgate and fights their way through numerous villains until Frost uses her powers to stop the creature. In the end, the team celebrates their win ith ice cream. In the epilogue, Harley reunites with Kevin and fight an FBI Agent ho wants something that Harley has. That something? The Element X creature.

I AM BATMAN #12 by John Ridley and Christian Duce. The Question is in town and meets with Batman and Detective Chubbs as part of her investigation into the murder of Lonnie Machin.  That leads to Batman and The Question seeking on Morris Caulfield, who shot Anarky but was acquitted and moved back to New Jersey. They later meet with a group of militants who say Anarky helped protect them and they are upset that one activist was arrest and found dead. This leads the pair to investigate Detective Keenan.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski. As the Legion of Doom headquarters, seen previously in a swamp, crashes into the future, the combined heroes, now all back in the future, discuss what they have encountered. This leads to the deduction that the person responsible for The Great Darkness is…Vandal Savage, who shows up in the end to confirm it.

Another batch of first issues

ABSOLUTION #1 by Peter Miligan and Mike Deodato Jr. Another AWA series involving a modified assassin and her quest for revenge. It’s got everything you would want: a great story, killer art, a super cyborg-like assassin and a serious amount of action and gore. I have to hand it to AWA as they keep turning out (mostly) great mini-series and this has the looks of being another one!

ANT-MAN #1 by Al Ewing and Tom Reilly. This mini-series will take readers through the various people who have been Ant-Man, ending up with the Ant-Man of the future. In the first issue, it’s Hank and Janet, AKA Ant-Man and The Wasp, as they battle villains from his past. I love the quirky art style of Reilly and Ewing’s tale is a cool little nod to the past, complete with documenting where these long forgotten villains first appeared. It’s truly a love letter to the past.

AVENGERS 1,000,000 B.C. #1 by Jason Aaron and Kev Walker. Journey back in time to the beginnings of the Marvel Universe where the first Avengers lived. Yeah…Prehistoric Avengers in the form of Odin, Starbrand, Agamotto, Black Panther, Ghost Rider, Iron Fist and The Phoenix. Learn the true story of Thor’s birth, as previously hinted at in THE AVENGERS. Cool story that totally changes what we thought we knew. Spoiler: Odin is an A**HOLE!!!

A.X.E.: EVE OF JUDGMENT #1 by Kieron Gillen and Pasqual Ferry and . A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY #1 by Gillen and Valerio Schiti. Marvel’s next big event series is here. The Celestials are coming to Krakoa to handle those they consider Deviants. In this case, al mutants. This is the start of a many month reaching story that runs its’ way through a host of Marvel titles, one-shots and mini-series. If you are a true Marvel Zombie, you know you are going to grab them all. Will it change the status quo? Possibly. But let’s be honest. Who really stays dead in comics?

BATMAN: ONE BAD DAY-THE RIDDLER #1 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The first in a series of one shots highlighting some of Batman’s greatest villains. Does this book really fit into continuity? I’m unsure, but if it is, it basically gives us the origin story for The Riddler. From his earliest days in school where his father is the headmaster to his current turns as a villain, it is typical King, with lots of dialogue and some great story twists.

BATMAN-WHITE KNIGHT PRESENTS: RED HOOD #1 by Sean Murphy, Clay McCormack and Simone Di Meo. Murphy’s White Knight saga has been a huge success for DC and this mini-series is just going to continue to fuel the fire for readers. All Jason wants to do is forget his past and drink some beer. But he runs into Gan, who has decided to pick up the mantle of Robin. So what’s a former Robin to do? Train your replacement. The story is fun, the art is cool, even if Murphy isn’t doing that lifting, and it will certainly appeal to fans of the core title.

BETTY AND VERONICA FRIENDS FOREVER: SUMMER SURF PARTY #1 by Jamie L. Rotante, Francis Bonnet, Frank Doyle, Mike Gallagher, Dan Parent, Dan DeCarlo, Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy and Doug Crane. A fun collection of Archie stories for the fans out there. The biggest reason to grab it is the introduction of Stacy Banks to the Archieverse. While it is brief, e all know what new characters can do to a comic’s value!

CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Carmen Carnero. Cap is back in action in another new #1. He has moved into new digs, is taking up art classes and reunites with some of his old Army buddies to try to investigate what is later referred to as The Century Game. Bring in the Winter Soldier, a mysterious crystal and a shadowy villain and tis book looks like a winner designed to add new details to Cap’s origin.

DAMAGE CONTROL #1 by Adam F. Goldberg, Charlotte(Fullerton) McDuffie, Will Robson and Jay Fosgitt. Was I the only one by the way that Damage Control was portrayed in the MS. MARVEL television show? I always loved the DAMAGE CONTROL titles and this is no exception for me. It’s decidedly fun and silly as new intern Gus has to save the world by finding a piece of mail he shredded. Like I said, fun, and decidedly silly and filled with plenty of guest appearances. Remember kids: comics don’t have to be serious all the time!

DAREDEVIL #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto and Rafael LaTorre. Again, Marvel decides that it’s a good thing to finish a certain story arc and then reboot the title with a new Number One. Case in point: This run of DAREDEVIL comes on the heels of the last one and picks up the same dangling plot threads. Matt Murdock is “presumed dead”, although it’s really his “brother” Mike. Fisk is in exile and we have TWO DAREDEVILS now as Elektra has decided to keep the mask on that she wore while Matt was in prison. So…yeah. You’re all caught up!

DCEASED: WAR OF THE UNDEAD GODS #1 by Tom Taylor and Trevor Hairsine. Welcome to the final chapter in DC’s epic undead collection of series. The survivors of the old Earth, wiped out by this outbreak caused by the Anti-Life Equation that took out most of the population and most of their heroes, have settled on Earth-2 and preparing to get their lives in order. But, of course, there is a problem that will need solving. And it appears to be the dead Gods coming to finish the job. I have been a huge fan of the other series and greatly look forward to the final chapter. Fun story, great art and a completely different take on Earth’s heroes.

DEFENDERS: BEYOND #1 by Al Ewing and Javier Rodriguez. Marvel’s favorite “non-team” is back again with a new team consisting of a female version of Loki, Tigra, Taaia, America Chavez, and the Blue Marvel. The universe needs saving and this is the team to do it. But wait? The Beyonder is the baddie? Cool! If you enjoyed the last series, you’re sure to enjoy this one.

FLORIDA MAN #1 by Mike Baron, Todd Mulrooney, Elias Martin and Marcelo Salaza. Legendary creator Baron adapts his FLORIDA MAN novels into comic form and it’s a wild ride. That’s about all I can say. It’s a weirdly disjointed read with a bunch of crazy Redneck characters engaging in all sorts of stupid things. The art is cool though.

GHOST RIDER: VENGEANCE FOREVER #1 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Jose Ryp. Johnny Blaze seeks out Necro the tattooist to get some special ink. What he does not know is that Necro has the ability to tell the tales of all those who have been Ghost Rider, beginning in Texas in the late 1800’s and continuing through to the present. The bottom line: all the various Spirits of Vengeance are all connected to each other and vengeance is forever. This was a fun story that can act as a jumping on point for new fans and a nice, heartwarming nod to older ones.

GIANT-SIZE GWEN STACY #1 by Christos Gage and Todd Nauck. In the days before the pandemic, Marvel launched a five issue Gwen Stacy mini-series, telling a tale from before she met Peter Parker. But, after two issues, the pandemic shut it down and fans thought they would never reach the end. Finally, Marvel collected those two issues and the final three and it was worth the wait. Meet Gwen: part student and part detective. What I loved, in addition to the story and Nauck’s killer art, was dropping in so many classic characters, ranging from The Enforcers to Jean DeWolff. This was so much fun, I could almost take this as a regular series. It was a blast to read and great to look at!

GUN HONEY: BLOOD FOR BLOOD #1 by Charles Ardai and Ang Hor Kheng. My favorite gun for hire is back in an all new, totally cool mini-series from Titan. I’m a huge Hard Case Crime to begin with and own so many of the Noir novels that the first series was a no-brainer for me. This one picks up from where the last series ended with our girl on the run. Ardai knows his character well and Kheng’s good girl art fits the bill perfectly. If you love gritty Noir stuff, this is for you! Now go find all those cool variant covers!

HARLEY QUINN: THE ANIMATED SERIES-THE REAL SIDEKICKS OF NEW GOTHAM SPECIAL #1 by Tee Frankin, Alexis Quasarano, Conner Shin, Jimmy Mosqueda, Jamiesen Borak, Max Sarin, ONeill Jones, Erica Henderson, Logan Faerber, PJ Holden and Jon Mikel. Holy smokes! A monstrous book filled with all your favorite characters from the HARLEY QUINN animated series. A whole bunch of stories sewn together by the Tawny Talks television show. If you are unfamiliar with the animated series, this will be a definite kick in the crotch! If you have binged those seasons, and thanks for Season Three, you will totally dig this book!

THE LAST SHADOWHAWK by Philip Tan. Marc Silvestri’s legendary hero meets his end in this one shot that ends with the death of(spoiler) Shadowhawk. Well, it’s a pretty looking way to end your association with a character, but not much else. While it serves a purpose, I found it kind of disappointing.

LOVE EVERLASTING #1 by Tom King and Elsa Charretier. Okay…it’s a romance anthology where it seems every story is connected. What? Yeah: this is a weird one! King totally nails the genre and Charretier’s art fits it perfectly. The fact that our main character seems to be experiencing different lives is a great hook and enough to hook me in for the net issue.

MAN GOAT AND THE BUNNYMAN: GREEN EGGS & BLAM #1 by Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini, David Wohl and Jordi Tarragona. Four writers on a book usually makes me nervous but I have to say I was hooked in by the cool Blink-182 inspired cover art and the concept. Bunnyman and his partner Man Goat are on the hunt for the scientists responsible for messing with him and his family. The art is decent and the story is fun. Don’t expect Earth shaking stuff here. Like I have said: sometimes comics are just read for the fun of them.

NEW FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Peter David and Alan Robinson. Come with us now to a previous version of the Fantastic Four starring Gray Hulk, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and Wolverine as they find themselves fighting demons masquerading as humans. It’s a great throwback to a fun run from back in the day with a cool story from David and art very reminiscent of Art Adams, who did the original run. While it will upset newer fans, the older ones will love it.

PARKER GIRLS #1 by Terry Moore. Okay, we all know how much of a huge Terry Moore fan I have been for the last 30 years and anytime he turns something out, I’m all over it. But give me a story featuring some of my favorite STRANGERS IN PARADISE characters and I will love it that much more. The art rocks and the story is just beginning to get going. What is the endgame here for Tambi and the rest of the girls? You’ll have to tune into the next issue to see where this goes. As always, my highest recommendation!

PREDATOR #1 by Ed Brisson and Kev Walker. Marvel gets its’ hooks into another big name property and cranks out another book. And it’s really freakin’ good! Set in a different time from the past movies, but making note of those instances, it is a revenge tale that pits a girl, whose parents were killed by the creature many years ago, against the creature or creatures. The story is tight and the art looks great. I was a big fan of their take on ALIEN and now I have this to look forward to. A surprise gem here!

PUBLIC DOMAIN #1 by Chip Zdarsky. What happens when two brothers fight to gain control of the superhero that their father created? You end up with PUBLIC DOMAIN. If you’re expecting a big battle book, you will b disappointed. As is typical with much of Zdarsky’s work, it’s a story about people that just happens to revolve around superheroes. I enjoyed it.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL: BLITZ #1 by Torunn Gronbekk and Lan Medina. The first in a series of semi-regular one-shots featuring a Frank Castle who is now a member of The Hand. Here, he hunts down members connected to the Hate Monger. It’s a cool tale with a bunch of back and forth between then and now.

SACRAMENT #1 by Peter Milligan and Marcelo Frusin. It’s 2999 and Earth has been deserted. Religion is outlawed and a lone priest, who may have a sketchy past and questionable morals, finds himself on the run. But he gets called into service after a series of what appear to be ritualistic murders occur. This is a typical Milligan jaunt that drops bread crumbs and gives us some of his personal thoughts on religion and society. And Frusin’s art is beautiful! It's from AWA and that means it’s only a five issue mini-series, so you don’t have a super long investment in it.

SAVAGE TALES #1 by Scott Bryan Wilson, David Avallone, Mariano Benitez Chapo, Will Rios, Al Barrionuevo and Hamish Munro-Cook. A quartet of fur tales fill this one-shot from Dynamite. Vampirella, Allan Quatermain, Red Sonja and Captain Gullivar Jones all get their turn at showing their stuff. Nothing earth-shattering here and I feel it’s strictly for collectors.

SEVEN SONS #1 by Robert Windom, Kelvin Mao and Jae Lee. It’s 1998 and the world is awaiting their religious savior. The problem is, there may have been seven of them but they are slowly being taken off the table. Will any of them be left in the end to provide salvation for us all? This is a very weird concept with some amazing art by Lee. I truly cannot wait to see where the series takes us, as it’s filled with some interesting takes on man and organized religion.

SHE BITES #1 by Hedwig Hale and Alberto Hernandez R. This gem comes from the folks at Scout Comics. You’re eighteen years old and you are looking for a job as a babysitter. Except no one told you that you would have to babysit a 134 year old vampire child and also look at a penis(yeah…that happens!). I don’t know where this book is going in coming issues, but this first one was a hoot to read. It’s filled with laughs, quirky lines of dialogue and a little bit of blood. I love the crazy concept and can’t wait for the next issues.

SINS OF THE BLACK FLAMINGO #1  by Andrew Wheeler and Travis Moore. It’s a mix with a “gentleman thief”, some reborn folks from the past, a golem brought back to life, some dead folks and an angel. Weird stuff! Looks promising for the next issues!

STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN #1 by Rodney Barnes and Georges Jeanty. Marvel continues to mine the STAR WARS license and finally gets into the hottest of the television shows. It’s filled with action and a great story and, before you ask, the “child” does make an appearance. Barnes story is free-flowing and seems to fit in well with continuity. But the highlight is Jeanty’s art that shines on every page. This is essential for STAR WARS fans but should also be picked up by casual fans too.

SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE BOOK 1 by Mark Russell and Mike Allred. This is a book which will have some people loving it and other’s made about it. The origin of Superman is retold in a truly loving way. In 1985, Superman and his family endure what appears to be the end of the world. In the past,  a young Clark Kent questions when the time is right to use his gifts. He gets an idea the assassination of President Kennedy. From there, it’s a whirlwind trip through the recent past with appearances by Presidents and statesmen, Pariah, Hal Jordan, Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor and even the late John Lewis. In the end, we see the beginning of the Justice League. I know some people have been absolutely disappointed by this book but I love the way it weaves history into the narrative and I’m a big Allred fan. I personally CANNOT WAIT for the next installment.

VAMPVERSE PRESENTS THE VAMP #1 by Tom Sniegoski, Jeannine Acheson and Daniel Maine. A Thirties version of Vampirella, flying around in a dirigible and fighting demons and other creatures. I was aware this one shot was coming after a conversation with Sniegoski and Acheson earlier this year. It was a fun little romp that doesn’t tie into continuity but was cool either way.

THE VARIANTS #1 by Gail Simone and Phil Noto. Jessica Jones is back and, apparently, so are a bunch of versions of her, including a Captain America Jess. An interesting first issue that pants seeds for the rest of this mini-series. Nice to see Simone back on a Marvel book and Noto’s art is as cool as ever.

WILD CARDS: DRAWING OF CARDS #1 by Paul Cornell and Mike Hawthorne. Back in the Eighties, George R. R. Martin was the gamemaster for a role playing game called Superworlds. That led to some of the players taking those elements and, with Martin’s help, created an anthology series that currently has over 30 novels in print. It follows an alternate version of post-World War II Earth where an alien virus is unleashed on New York City and affecting thousands of people, who develop superhuman abilities. This comic tells that story. It’s a great introduction to the novels, if that’s your thing.

X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA #1 by Gerry Duggan, Kris Anka, Russell Dauterman, Matteo Lolli and CF Villa. It’s that time again for the annual Hellfire Gala, where a new team of X-Men is formed. The new team, when all is said and done, is Cyclops, Jean, Synch, Forge, Firestar, Magik, Iceman and Havok. But let’s not forget that Moira is still out there causing trouble and really…who can you trust. This will set up the status quo for the next twelve months in the mutant end of the universe…provided they still exist after JUDGEMENT DAY.

DC UNIVERSE Month 54, Part 2

THE JOKER #15 by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Sweeney Boo. Gordon is back in Gotham and tells Batman that he doesn’t know where the Joker is. He reveals the highlights of what has happened for the last 14 issues. We see what happened on the plane where Cass was fighting Talon, who turned out to be a reanimated James Gordon  Jr. Barbara breaks the planes window and the cold deactivates Talon. With Vengeance in hot pursuit, the group lock themselves in a chamber that contains the remaining members of the Sawyer family, who are quickly detained by Jim and Cressida. That leads to a face-off between Jim and Joker and Joker insisting someone has to die, kills Cressida. In the backup, Bluebird battles Punchline and she has one of the Roya Flush Gang film it and release it to the web, meaning she has found a way to reenergize her followers.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski. The teams are still split into different time periods. In the future, but the League’s past,  Brainiac, Mon-El and Naomi are with Kamandi where they investigate an old Leviathan compound. In the Thirties, Gold Lantern meets Green Lantern Alan Scott. At Oaxam, Batman, Black Canary and the other Legion members meet with President Brande. In 1962, Colossal Boy, Dawnstar and Wonder Woman receive a message from Computo, as do the other groups, that they should all hold hands and they will be tethered back to the future. It works, but brings them back to the 21st Century, where the sky has gone completely dark..

MONKEY PRINCE #6 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. Shifu Pigsy, realizing that Marcus has a dread fear of water, tries to teach him how to overcome his fear. Marcus's parents help Black Manta infuse a hermit crab with a silver-horned demon, turning it into a bio-weapon that attacks the city. Marcus becomes the Monkey Prince and defeats the creature. He also learns he can breathe underwater and thus loses his fear. Elsewhere, the monsters of the Trench are preparing to attack Atlantis, even as we see that there is a section of Atlantis populated with Chinese dragons. In the end, we learn that the Monkey King is trapped in the Phantom Zone 

MULTIVERSITY: TEEN JUSTICE #2 by Danny Lore, Ivan Cohen and Marco Failla. Gigi continues her journey with the church while Raven and Troy go undercover. The rest of the team continues to train on Amnesty Island before heading to Zandia, where they find that so many of the residents have had their life energy drained. Later, team members discover that the heads of the Church are dead with their life drained and Raven reveals that his soul self, Troy and everyone else are gone.

NAOMI: SEASON TWO #5 by Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and Jamal Campbell. Naomi, now imbued with new powers including “second sight”, fights the invaders from her home planet. In the end, Brustus and Zumbado are down for the count, as it Naomi and the invaders awaited the Justice League.

NIGHTWING #94 by Tom Taylor and Geraldo Borges. Mayor Zucco calls Commissioner McLean and tells him that the feds are coming for him, making him head out with the Blockbuster files. Then she calls Oracle and tells her that McLean took the bait. Nightwing jumps into action and takes down McLean and secures the files. Later, Maggie Sawyer is announced as the new Commissioner and she has brought Dan Turpin with her.to help clean up Bludhaven. Blockbuster calls the Mayor and informs her that he is at her mother’s house. He takes her to his hideout, where he reveals that Lester was the rat in his house. The Mayor calls her brother Nightwing and she learns that Lester is just a plant, revealing her as the rat. Lester blasts her and Blockbuster tells Nightwing that his sister can’t come to the phone right now.

NUBIA: QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS #2 by Stephanie Williams and Alitha Martinez. While recovering in the hospital, Nubia recalls her past life in ancient Madagascar. She discovers her issues are from the distant past and involve the goddess Sekhmet. And the amulet Nubia wears The hospital she is in is attacked by mercenaries, it's up to the Amazons and Hawkgirl to stop them. In the end, Zillah arrives and demands the amulet..

POISON IVY #2 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Pam is still on the move to fins herself and initiate her plans for taking over the planet. She goes to a diner and meets an artist named Jenny, who has drawn an image of the Ancestor Tree that she wants to get a tattoo of. Pam recalls seeing it in the realm of the Green Man. The police sow up to arrest Jenny and Pam does her thing and kills the police. On the way out of town, she sees someone has painted the symbol of the Ancestor Tree on a wall and wonders if she is being followed to her next destination.

ROBIN #16 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz.Connor and Damian interrogate a captured Lord Death Man, who explains that Flatline tried to kill him, as she has changed following the Death Tournament. After observing how things have changed on the island, Damian tells Mara that he and Connor are going off on a mission that takes them to Tokyo. A meeting with Hiro leads to investigating one of Lord Death Man’s hideouts, but that leads Damian into a confrontation with Flatline. When she asks where Lord Death Man is, Damian tells her that he is still on the island. On the island, Lord Death Man slips his bonds and meets with Mother Soul, who he shares a long kiss with.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #13 by Nicole Maines, Tom Taylor and Clayton Henry. The “Truth” is out about Jay, so Jon takes him to the Fortress of Solitude, where he discovers Nia Nal, also known as Dreamer, inside the Fortress. Days later, the Bat Family discovers that the Joker has been killed and Batman is searching for the killer. Bendix drops a giant Joker Gas creature on Gotham and that leads to a call out for the heroes to help evacuate the area. They do their best but The Rising arrives and battles them. Wonder Woman calls out for Superman and Jon comes to help. But it’s already too late as he is affected by Kryptonite particles in the gas and he is forced to watch Bendis assassinate Batman. It turns out this is the future from a week from now, thanks to the vision presented by Dreamer. Armed with this knowledge, Jon is ready to make the League aware. In the end, Bendix has captured Jay’s mother and is preparing to use her as a bargaining tool.

THE SWAMP THING #15 by Ram V and Mike Perkins. Swamp Thing, now powered by Green Lantern, meets with his brother Jacob, who is the current Avatar of the Green. Levi calls for a truce between the two and Jacob restores Levi’s connection to The Green. The Pale Wanderer arrives and tries to convince Levi that his efforts are useless. Trinity arrives and the pair start to work together to destroy the machine.

TASK FORCE Z #10 by Matthew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows. Langston tries his best to resurrect Bane but finds this may be more difficult than thought; much to the dismay of Bloom. Bloom pays Jason a visit at the new headquarters of Task Force Z to gain hat is referred to as the “missing piece.” He uses a form of memory replacement to gain control of most of the team before leaving with a kidnapped Delia. In flashback to several months ago, Waller introduces The Thinker to Dent and company with the plan being to have him put Bane’s memories inside of a corpse there. In the end, they succeed in bringing “Bane” back to life. But this is not Bane, it is a resurrected Hank Clover Jr.-Gotham-with Bane’s memories.

WONDER WOMAN #789 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordie Belaire, Emanuela Lapacchino, Eduardo Pansico and Paulina Canucheau. A giant version of Dr. Cizko, actually an illusion, is loose and his milk followers are with him, causing Diana to believe that the Duke of Deception is the newest member of Villainy Inc. She ends up battling Dolos. Sweetheart arrives with the crystal lens but it gets too hot and she drops it, meaning Dolos goes back to fighting Diana and loosing. Siggy and Steve get involved and Siggy has to subdue them as safely as possible. Doctor Poison arrives and subdues the heroes. At Checkmate Headquarters, Etta gets a visit from Professor Calculus, who subdues her and feveals that Dr. Poison has a cure for Steve and Siggy. Meanwhile, Cizko reaches out to “management”. In the backup, Diana has listened to Antiope’s messages and has decided to follow her on path. But what is Hippolyta going to say about it when she hears?

WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION #8 by Stephanie Philips and Mike Hawthorne. Wonder Woman battles Silver Swan and discovers that she had been infused with Diana’s DNA in an effort to create a new human race. To save her friend, Diana agrees, Diana agrees to a blood transfusion which moves the nanites into Diana’s system. In the end, Diana looks to the future with the nanites still in her system.