With
any luck, I'll actually get this written up before I receive my next
shipment (which is already en route).
Before
I jump into the comics, July was of course the month of the annual
San Diego Comic Con. I was extremely disappointed that for the first
time in several years, DC did not post podcasts of their panels at
the convention. Those have always been interesting to listen to,
hearing the creators themselves discuss their work and what's coming
up. Reading the various reports on news websites, even on DC's own
website, is just not the same. Somewhat better was Sean and Jim's
long discussion of the DC news on their Raging Bullets podcast, ep. 314. That's mainly how I “participated”
in SDCC this year.
Unless
I'm blurring in news items that came out through another avenue than
SDCC, the two main things I want to mention are 1) the news that Tim
Drake was never a Robin, and 2) that the upcoming Green Lantern
story, “The Third Army,” will be written in such a way that
someone reading only one of the four GL franchise titles will
be able to follow and enjoy it. As to 1) Tim never being a Robin –
really? It's another example of how they really didn't think
things through thoroughly enough at the beginning of the New 52,
because I'm pretty sure early issues of both Batman: The Dark
Knight and Teen Titans referred to his time as
Robin. I guess it's kind of like the initial status of the new Teen
Titans as just the latest group to take that name and what eventually
developed that this is the first incarnation of the Teen
Titans. Is it a minor point? Sort of, except that it gives the lie
to their claims last year that they knew what they were doing. No,
they are largely making it up as they go along, which is how the
earlier reboots after Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero
Hour ultimately ended up creating as many or more continuity
problems than they fixed. I really believe that the only way to
successfully pull off something like this is a complete reset, wiping
the slate clean, not taking up a universe five years in media res
with the history of those five years being pretty much up for grabs.
It doesn't mean that I don't think there's been a lot of good stories
being told now, but most of us comic fans are almost obsessively
compulsive in our desire to know how it all fits together, and for it
to be consistent. Anyway, that's just my two cents worth. It has to
do with the fundamental conception of the New 52, which I think is
ultimately flawed. As to the execution of the stories, it had been
my understanding from last year's Comic Con podcasts that the
intention was to make the individual titles more reader friendly,
without the compulsory crossovers to fully follow a story that had
become quite an annoyance, and the 2) “Third Army” announcement
is in line with that. So was the recent “Night of the Owls”
event in the Batman books. Not so the “Culling” in the
“Young Justice” family of books – but I'm getting all three
affected titles, Teen Titans, Legion Lost, and Superboy
anyway. But a couple of months ago there was a crossover between
Justice League Dark and I, Vampire that was not
written that way. I'm reading JLD in hardcopy and I,
Vampire in digital, and to have the full story in hardcopy I had
to buy the latter that way just for that month (those months? – I
forget). A minor annoyance. A bigger annoyance was the continuation
of the story from Justice League International #10 over into
Firestorm last month. I do not buy Firestorm, and
hence I have a big ol' hole in that story. Long and short, since I
am currently only buying Green Lantern, the announcement
regarding “The Third Army” is quite welcome to me. If events
share characters, tell the events from their respective perspectives
– that was very well done a few months ago in a scene shared
between Nightwing and Batman. Or you can slip in an
appearance of a character from one title to the other without making
it an explicit “This story is continued in [the name of the other
title, so sucker you've gotta go buy it too!].” And then
you can refer to whatever event as having happened. That's okay.
But if I'm collecting one title, a coherent narrative should not
depend on me buying another title that I don't want to. Like
Firestorm. Sorry, never cared for him.
At
the risk of “news” outweighing issues this month, there were a
couple of other notable developments outside San Diego. One
was the revelation that George Perez's experience on the New 52 Superman was not all that rewarding. Apparently even for this industry star, editorial
interference was such that ultimately he threw up his hands in
disgust and jumped off the book at the first opportunity. That makes
me sad. But the fact is that, when I met him at New Orleans Comic
Con in January and told him I was enjoying his work, his reaction
told me all was not well. At that time just the first few issues had
come out, and as later issues came out subsequently the story did go
off the rails. It's not that he said anything when I met him, it was
just the slight grimace on his face. I guess the frustration did
ultimately become too much for him, however, because he ultimately
did come out with his side of the story. As I said, it makes
me sad. He – and we the readers – deserve better than
that. (Here
is some other good commentary on it.) Secondly – and also
Superman-related – it was recently announced that Grant Morrison will be leaving Action Comics and Batman, Incorporated in the near future. The latter doesn't surprise
me at all. I knew his Batman, Inc. story was not open-ended.
I was hoping he'd stay with Action and its marvelous
redefinition of Superman for a while longer, however. Speculation
has already turned to who will be his successor there. My money
right now would be on Sholly Fisch, who has been knocking it out of
the ball park in the backup features there, writing stories that
expand on and complement Morrison's very well. But who knows.
And now,
on with the show....
“Age
of Wonders”
We
are introduced to the New 52 Michael Holt Mr. Terrific immediately as
he pops out of some kind of dimensional rift directly from his issue
#8, the last issue of Mr. Terrific.
I wasn't getting that, so this is my introduction to Michael – a
character I really liked in the pre-Flashpoint
context of the JSA.
There's a wealth of Easter Eggish information presented here in his
first view of the new world he's appeared in, including the fact that
“Steppenwolf [is]
still beleieved to be hiding somewhere on Earth.” Almost as
immediately, Michael is greeted by Terry Sloan (the Golden Age Mr.
Terrific) – who seems to be evil – and overcome.
Jump
to Jay Garrick, still conversing with a dying Mercury, who warns of a
greater danger than Apokalips before bequeathing to the human his
powers and dying. One interesting fact is that the dying god claims
to have been held prisoner for “these half-score years” – since
the Apokaliptian invasion when we saw him appear to Wonder Woman? –
but a half-score is ten, not five. Anyway, the “World Army”
shows up, immediately assumes Jay is a hostile – and he runs
as Mercury crumbles (implicitly, although we don't actually see his
end. Testing the extent of his new speed, Jay saves a couple from
mutant creatures called “Apokarats,” is again accosted by the
authorities, revs up and ends up running all the way to Poland before
he knows it – where Hawkwoman (? -girl?) confronts him as if she
knew he was coming – “you sure took your time getting here.”
Alan
Scott arrives in Hong Kong and sets off on a bullet train into the
countryside with his lover Sam, proposing to him just before the
train blows up.
This
is another excellent issue, showing obviously lingering effects of
the now-five-years-past invasion, both psychological and ecological
as well as political. Social? Could such an event have made the
issue of homosexual marriage as implicitly fully accepted here on
Earth 2 more so than it is in the real world?
“Rebirth
II”
Power
Girl and Huntress vs. Hakkou – whose name apparently can “even
mean 'Radiation' in Japanese” (at least Huntress seems to think
that, although a quick check through online translators has
“radiation” translate as hoshasen).
Eventually Power Girl falls, leaving Huntress to face the
radioactive monster alone....
The
best stuff in this issue is actually in the flashbacks. Five years
ago: Kara and Helena quickly realize the extent of the changes in
this new universe, which even extend to themselves on some level –
Kara's powers seem different and her Supergirl costume won't burn.
My theory: Kryptonians in the Earth 2 universe have only the powers
of the old Golden Age Superman (although I think she and Kal were
both flying in issue #1, and she says “at least I'm still
invulnerable,” my emphasis on still)
and she is now being powered by the main DCnU's sun to the level of
“our” Superman and Supergirl. The two immediately develop a bit
of friction over the issue of their going back to Earth 2. Kara is,
however, convinced that the Darkseid who attacked the DCnU Earth –
has it yet been referred to as “Earth 1” in-story? – is the
same as attacked their own world, and therefore knows the way between
the worlds. Weeks ago, we see Kara secretly using her powers to
support her company, with the knowledge of her aide. In an undated
(but implicitly recent) “flashsideways,” a Gotham Bank accountant
is picking up on Helena's five-year-ago theft from Bruce Wayne. I
can't wait for the “father” and “daughter” to meet!
This
continues to be an intriguing story supported by great art in both
present (George Perez – was it simply his stature in the industry
that seems to have protected him from reprisals for speaking out so
openly, or was it writer Paul Levitz?) and Kevin Maguire (past). I'd
be hard pressed to say whether I'm enjoying Worlds'
Finest
or Earth 2
more – both are a blast, and since writers Levitz and James
Robinson are
getting the chance to build their “Earth 2” niche from scratch
there's a sense that they're really beholden to no prior untold
stories (except insofar as WF
is actually taking place in the main DCnU).
“Bulletproof”
Nimrod
the Hunter is tracking Clark – and he finds the link between
Smallville and Metropolis. Interestingly, Clark is still wearing the
“tee shirt uniform” most of the time. Superman brings down a
child murderer, but in a wonderful bit of characterization then ends
up caring for the bastard's pet mice. But his interaction with what
seems to be a still-fairly-new Justice League – this must be
sometime subsequent to the first story arc in that title where they
all meet – it's clear he doesn't think the group is being proactive
enough. We get to see Clark palling around with Lois and Jimmy –
then seem to die in a suicide bombing at the Daily Star
building. Superman brings down Nimrod when the Hunter comes to his
apartment afterward, but the world thinks that Clark Kent is dead.
But the story ends with the Little Man recruiting Nimrod into the
Anti-Superman Army. Oh, and there's a mysterious two-page vignette
of a hitchhiker making his way toward “Metropolis/New Troy,”
having “come home to this planet of my birth to
assume control.”
So
just six more issues for Morrison. I grieve already.
“Absent
Friends”
Sholly
Fisch's backup has Clark's friends exchanging stories about him over
drinks as Superman looks on sadly from afar. It's very poignant.
How can Clark Kent be such a loner after that? Well, how can he turn
up alive
is the bigger problem...!
“The
Burners”
Fresh
off of a side trip to Paris that was apparently related in last
month's Firestorm
– that yielded no leads on their attackers – Batman, Booster,
Godiva, Batwing, Guy, OMAC, and August General are back in the US.
They surrepticiously visit their injured teammates in the hospital,
then
get a lead on the terrorists. It sounds like a powered version of
the Occupy movement. They are ultimately defeated by one of them who
can turn their various technologies and powers against them.
I'm
a bit sad to see this title go. I generally like the characters.
But frankly it just hasn't gelled for me.
“On
the Brink”
I
can't follow this story. I don't care. Something about fake Batmans
(Batmen?), Mr. Toxic, the theft of some experiment critical to
research into time travel, and so forth. Yawn. Waitaminute-- a
Large Hadron Collider in a Gotham City office building--?
Two-Face
in “The Big Fall”
Ditto.
Tony Daniel is off this title a couple of months from now. It's not
soon enough.
Review
(Batman
News.com
thought more highly of it than I did):
http://batman-news.com/2012/06/06/new-52-detective-comics-10-review/
“Fight
or Flight”
Batwing
comes upon some kind of smuggling operation into West Africa while
investigating a casualty on a booby-trapped pirate boat. Nightwing
comes in to help and they end up in China, where they are confronted
by a Chinese man who transforms into a dragon – introducing himself
as “LONG!
… Do you know what Long
means in Chinese? … It means Dragon!” Anybody remember Sixteen
Candles...?
Anyway, unknown to them, the mastermind of the operation is the
Penguin in Gotham City.
This
does continue to be an interesting peripheral exploration of a
little-seen corner of the DCnU, even if, as the reviewer assesses, it
doesn't really live up to its potential.
“Digging
up the Past”
This
issue sees a renewed emphasis on Stormwatch secretly keeping tabs on
the newly emergent super-beings. They call Batman a myth, spying on
him immediately after the events of “Night of the Owls.” They're
also tracking Superman, but don't know his alter ego as Clark Kent.
Apollo expresses unease about the secrecy surrounding Stormwatch
itself.
But
the main action of this issue is dealing with a crisis in France
where an archaeologist has unearched a misplaced “Phreno-Module”
which takes him over (phreno-
< Greek phrenos
“midriff,
heart, mind,” here used in that third sense, I think). It's a
weapon created by the Shadow Lords for an earlier incarnation of
Stormwatch in dealing with its own time of crisis; it “taps into
violent parts of the brain. But the user should have training...
...and supreme mental control....” Of course, even without
training, Midnighter manages to deal with it until Jenny Quantum can
pull some mumbo-jumbo and save the day. The incident prompts
Engineer to tell the others of the time in the 18th
century when Stormwatch tried to go public with catastrophic results,
effecting an intriguing data dump just when I was considering
dropping the title. In the end, Apollo reveals why the very idea of
secrecy eats at him so – hint, it has to do with his sexual
orientation and the secrecy with which he coped with it during his
youth.
There's
also a two-page side-shift to Emma, who is still held captive by
Harry, who's preparing for a strike against Stormwatch.
“The
Mysterious Mystery of Mystery Island”
Oddly,
I love that title.
Superboy
and Wonder Girl wake up together alone on a deserted
question-mark-shaped tropical island after the desperate escape from
the Colony. Pretty much immediately they have to fight a dinosaur,
but then they have some quality time that gives us some insight into
both characters, who have a smoldering attraction for each other.
Then they discover a hatch that leads downward … to another,
upside-down version of this same prehistoric world – ?
It's
a good character-issue with some really nice art by Sebastian Fiumara
that continues directly into Teen
Titans....
In the case of these two titles, it doesn't necessarily have to be
an event to criss-cross over, which I'm so used to by now that I
almost didn't think of it when I was addressing the issue in my
opening above.
Review:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-superboy-9.html
(even though the url says 9,
it goes to 10)
“Assault
on the Court”
It's
the aftermath of the Night of the Owls. Batman discovers that the
Court of Owls has committed mass suicide, but something's not right.
He realizes that the whole identity of his friend and mayoral
candidate Lincoln March was a ruse. In the ruins of an old hospital
for children with a tragic past, Batman confronts March – who is
now a Talon but retains his full mental faculties. We get the
traditional villain's data dump – but March claims to be Bruce
Wayne's brother, abandoned by their parents. Not surprisingly, Bruce
rejects that notion and the issue ends with them about to throw down.
… One thing we find in this issue is that Bruce kept the bullets
that killed his parents. I'd never thought about it, but you know he
would.
“The
Fall of the House of Wayne, Part 2 of 3”
The
story of Alfred's father, continued. Well, apparently there was a
second Wayne child, at least in
utero,
three years younger than Bruce. Something about Martha Wayne's plans
for the children's hospital provokes the Court of Owls, who threaten
the unborn child and by story's end there is an implicit impending
assassination attempt at the corner of … Lincoln and March.
You
know, if having a so-so, average quality of stories overall means
that excellent Bat-titles
like this must
be balanced off by dreck like Detective
and Dark
Knight,
so be it. Maybe that's the explanation. The Universe requires a
balance.
“Terminus:
Scar of the Bat”
After
a “family portrait” that goes a bit “wrong,” Damian
challenges each previous Robin – including Jason Todd who wasn't
part of the portrait sitting (“Guess my
invite got lost in the mail.”).... “Day or night, when you least
expect it, I'm going to defeat
you at something you feel unbeatable
at. … [T]hen I'm going to take something personal of yours as a
memento and hang it in my room.” Red Robin (doesn't the challenge
beg the question of whether he was ever indeed a “Robin”? – but
that's being nitpicky) follows Damian to the Cave, and they end up
fighting until Tim atmits his own desire to kill during the recent
events of the Culling in Teen
Titans
et al. In side-scenes, Bruce and Alfred discuss Bruce's decision not
to tell the others of Damian's recent killing of Nobody, and argues
over the issue of trust. There's also some strange set-up for the
upcoming story about someone/-thing called “Terminus” that really
felt intrusive.
This
issue has some good character interaction including our first real
scenes of Tim in the context of his rightful (in my opinion) place in
the Bat-family. On the other hand, some of the character growth of
Damian, especially with regard to his relationship with Dick, seems
to be out the window.
“All
Snug in Their Beds”
Batgirl
has a bit of an internal debate about the proper agency and method of
advancing the general welfare against the background of new
vigilantes in town – the Disgraced, three agents of a new, female,
Knightfall. What is the deal with the obviously psychotic Charise.
Barbara's roommate Alysia really is
a naïve liberal nitwit. There's reference to her having met a new
guy just a couple of days ago (two issues ago, if memory serves and
it's indeed her unwitting meeting James Gordon, Jr.), then she's been
in a holding cell for two days for resisting arrest during an Occupy
Gotham protest against Wayne Enterprises – and hoped Babs would use
influence with her father on her behalf.
A
decent issue: The art is good, even though it's not Ardian Syaf.
The writing is of course good – it's Gail Simone – despite the
noticeable sympathy with the Occupy Movement. Notice that there is
an appearance by Lois Lane which seems of no consequence as such. I
had to resort to Wikipedia to find out what rhabdomyolysis
is.
“The
Once and Always King”
“Look!
It's a pirate
sea serpent! … That is something I have never
shouted before!” So opens the issue with a shout by Vandal Savage.
And by the next page we learn that the sea serpent's name is Molly!
As
the Demon Knights approach Britain and then ride across Cornwall
toward Camelot, which appears to be Glastonbury Tor including St.
Michael's Tower on top (which is actually from the 14th
century, I believe),[pictures]
they
encounter various animals transformed into monsters according to
their basic natures. Ultimately they confront an undead, corpselike
King Arthur – but then they themselves start transforming....
This
issue is full of little tidbits of goodness. I think it was last
month – the month of my data-loss – that we had some explication
regarding the recurring archetype of Camelot, which I associate with
Grant Morrison's Seven
Soldiers.
Boy,
Paul Cornell really does like that word, “swiver,” doesn't he?
“No
Home for Heroes”
The
lost Legionnaires arrive back in the 31st
century one year after they had departed, to find a dead Earth in
ruins, with no Legion of Super-Heroes but their own memorial statues
in the ruins of the headquarters. When they head back in time again,
they crash back into the 21st
century where the time bubble shatters again in the crater where the
Colony had been. While Wildfire and Dawnstar set out to reconnoitre
the Antarctic – oh, good Lord, is it Arctic (Ravagers)
or Antarctic?! – Gates transports the others back to New York City.
Where ARGUS has detached an agent to work with Homeland Security in
“captur[ing]
or cancel[ling]”
these mysterious new metahumans by deploying its own anti-metahuman
team. Using Timber Wolf's local contact as bait, a sniper shoots
Timber Wolf.
So
far I am so much more enjoying the new writer, Tom DeFalco, than
Fabiano Nicieza before. For whatever reason, Nicieza – whom I
have really liked on other titles – just didn't gel for me.
A
few questions: What is Tyroc's prophecy? What is Yera's secret?
Why the secrecy?
“The
Villain's Journey, Chapter Two: The Belly of the Beast”
We
get parallel stories in past and present. Three years in the past:
A dying David Graves makes some kind of pact with some fallen Tibetan
gods. In the present: The Justice League in their satellite realize
that whomever took on their individual foes last issue now knows
information on their weaknesses. They debate the varying amounts
that each of themselves know of the others' secrets. Then the
satellite is invaded by Graves who takes them down by manifesting
their weaknesses, proclaiming that he's revealing to the world that
the League killed his family. I doubt that's the way it happened.
“Shazam!
Continued”
The Vasquezes realize that Billy Batson
is more troubled than they had known. Billy sneaks out to visit the
tiger Tawny, whom he says is the first thing he remembers since his
parents. Freddy Freeman follows him and, I believe, finally starts
to break through his shell. In Iraq, Lex Sivana finds the tomb of
Black Adam and releases him.
“Vows”
Diana
basically teaches Hell the meaning of Love. She wins her freedom
from the creepy little twit and then takes a parting shot, so to
speak....
Actually,
this seemed to be a better issue for the first few pages, to the
point that I was second-guessing my recent decision to drop this
title (this being the last issue I preordered) – then here comes
another bad play on words – monsters attacking Diana: “Your life
is over!
… You're nothing but meat
now.” – “Meat?,” she retorts, “Meet an Amazon.”
– and my resolve strengthened. I want nothing more to do with this
title while Azzarello is on it, and in fact his name has become a
disincentive
for me to pick it up.
Not
everyone has the visceral dislike for this series that I have
developed, however. My colleague still likes it, as far as I know.
It being summer, we don't talk nearly as often as when he's just two
offices down.... And there's the reviewer below:
“Rescuer”
Having
tried to overload Siobhan's father Black Banshee with her energy,
Kara ends up trapped inside him. Everything appears to her in images
from her memories and Kryptonian myth. She encounters Siobhan's
brother Tom. In medievalesque old Kryptonian armor she fights Black
Banshee in the form of a Flamedragon, defeats him, and she and Tom
are freed. Siobhan then absorbs her father into herself – and
returns to normal. There is a reunion of brother and sister just
before they all have to flee the authorities who catch up to them and
try to apprehend Kara again … a sequence that is getting a bit
tiresome. In the epilogue, it looks like the villainous Simon from
the earlier issues is back, with a new body.
My
main question – and I'm sure I'm not alone – is whether the evil
influence of her father will eventually turn Siobhan evil and we'll
have the villainess Silver Banshee back again. Personally I hope not
– she's Kara's first friend here on Earth and I hope instead she
becomes the core of a new supporting cast. Hey, if we're almost a
year in and Kara still
can't speak any Earth languages, she needs somebody!
“To
Drown the World, Part Five”
The
jumbled story continues. I'm not going to try to abstract it here,
just wait until next month's conclusion then maybe go back through
all six parts and reorder it to see if it makes more sense. It has
to.
“Eye
of the Gorgon”
The
story of Talia al'Ghul, retold Grant Morrison-style, which means
incorporating virtually everything from all versions of the
character, rewritten to fit his conception. We therefore see
recognizable panel references to the first saga of Ra's al'Ghul way
back circa 1970, including the sword fight in the desert that served
as the climax of that great story. There are of course plenty of
elements I don't recognize. The gist is that ultimately Talia is
pissed because Batman refuses to be with her. Interestingly, she is
drawn very youngish-looking which they first met and Damian was
conceived – see this
Batman Chronology Project
blog entry
that discusses the implications of this story.
Annotations:
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/07/27/eye-of-the-gorgon-batman-incorporated-2-annotations/
“Heat
Seekers”
The
Birds meet Batman, who disapprove of them and Batgirl's association
with them – even though they helped out with the Night of the Owls.
Poison Ivy was indeed frozen last issue during the takedown of the
Talon, but had previously requested of Canary that she be taken to a
spot in the Amazon Rain Forest. But their plane is shot out of the
sky. Mysteriously, they survive the fall, only to be confronted by
animate hostile plants – whereupon Black Canary demonstrates her
hitherto unknown power to use her sonic cry to create flight just
like Banshee's always been able to do over at Marvel. I'm not sure
if she'll be able to carry on a conversation like Sean Cassidy can at
the same time, however. Anyway, Ivy is restored, seeming to be a bit
surprised that her teammates actually followed through....
“And
All That is Left is for Me”
We
find out more about Dollhouse – not the TV show. This guy (gal?
See review cited below) seems to be seizing addicts and prostitutes,
detoxing them by force, and then organlegging
their innards and taxiderming the posed bodies. (I don't think
“taxiderm” is a valid verb form, but it ought to be.
“Taxidermying” doesn't sound right.) Selina tracks him down and
confronts him in a firefight from which she is saved by Spark – who
had previously abandoned her because of her obsession. We get some
insight into her character: “Why you?!,”
Spark demands, “Why do you care so much about some street trash
getting taken –” – “BECAUSE
I WAS TAKEN!!,”
she screams back at him, then more quietly, “And no one helped. …
No one... No
one...
came to get me.” Passionate kiss. Little does she know Spark is
working with the dirty Gotham cops to take her down … so it's a
good thing she makes her first voluntary contact with the good cop
Alvarez, I guess. She's gonna need an ally.
“The
Tomorrow People”
Nightwing
is being framed for a murder – remember, a couple issues ago we
found out that one of his escrima sticks was found at a murder scene.
A corrupt Detective Nie is probaby behind it. The Deputy Mayor is,
however, working with Gordon – in direct contravention to Mayor
Hady – to clear Nightwing and bring Nie down. Nightwing traces a
tattoo found on the victims and finds a new cultish gang in Gotham.
In his other life, Dick is also working to settle Haly's Circus down
as the foundation for a revival of Gotham's Amusement Mile. But the
only potential investor for the project is Sonia Branch … whose
original name was Zucco. I like that they're following up on that
plot from before Flashpoint,
including the unwilling attraction that Dick feels for the (at least
supposedly – I actually hope so) good daughter of the man who had
his parents murdered.
“Choices”
Since
the United Planets forbids Legion action to rescue Brainiac 5 and
Dream Girl, an informal task group of resignees and trainees head for
Dominion space, where Brainiac 5's genetic markers are being
harvested and manipulated to create a new Dominion caste. Dream Girl
foresees the arrival of the rescuers … but also that one of them
will betray them all. Besides Star Boy, Duplicate Damsel, Bouncing
Boy, and Comet Queen, we are introduced to new characters Mwindaji
(ability: long-range tracking, so a replacement-in-training for the
missing Dawnstar?) and Otaki (ability: mindsense, whatever that
means). Oh yeah, at the beginning of the issue Cosmic Boy bungles a
secret raid into the Dominion Embassy, which doesn't endear the UP
bureaucrats to the Legionnaires' plight.
“The
Others, Chapter Four”
Aquaman
and Black Manta fight as Shin continues telling Mera the background
of their cycle of vengeance. I don't really like the idea of Aquaman
killing Manta's father, even if it was accidental. Anyway, Black
Manta is collecting the Others' artifacts for some unknown reason,
ultimately getting Ya'wara's globe before he teleports away – to
where Mera and Shin are.
Sometimes
I find Reis' art a bit hard to follow even though it almost always
looks spectacular. The main exception is Mera's face at certain
points, which I think I've commented on before.
“Secrets
& Lies, Part II”
This
is a good albeit unremarkable issue. The consequences of Superman's
secret identity being outed – well, with the wrong guy being
fingered – is exactly what you might expect, with villainess of the
story Anguish striking at Superman through “his” loved ones.
Except that it turns out that she is a more pitiable than villainous
villainess. Again, interesting albeit unremarkable. But the real
villain, the irresponsible blogger, does get his from the guy whom
he'd wrongly accused of being Superman, in the form of a broken jaw.
And Superman manages to reestablish the basic idea that he has
cultivated that he has
no “secret identity.”
A
couple of musings: What's with Superman's neck at the top of the
antepenultimate page? (I'm not taking the time to count from the
beginning.)
Either
Lois is pretending not to know that Superman is Clark Kent or she
really doesn't know. Again, I wish they'd be consistent – and come
down one way or another. There's a forced-feeling callback to the
current Action
Comics
arc, which does have to do with the issue of his secret identity.
And the last page does return to a one-page continuation of the
mystery of the Russian sub, which appears to have a monster of some
kind aboard....
Superman
being the
granddaddy of all super-heroes, I do
wish DC could get their act together and bring his own title back to
the level of greatness it deserves. These past few issues have been
serviceable, but not really there.
“Hollow
Man”
I
am sick
and tired
of the grotesque that pervades much of the DCnU. Half of the
villains look like zombies with bad makeup. Others are the kind of
taurocoprophogeny
(a new word I owe to Jerry Pournelle) you get on the cover and first page here – Scarecrow
happily sewing his own mouth shut. But I will say (again) that Finch
draws delicious babes!
What
begins as a mystery centering around child abductions with a twist –
the children are returned, changed
– takes another twist when Gordon is seized and tortured by fear
gas since it's the Scarecrow. I can't say this is any improvement as
an issue, although to be fair there are a lot of interesting pieces.
They just don't make a whole.
But
we get to see Bruce's newest girlfriend dump him. She's a concert
pianist, and I do wish the comics medium allowed a sound track,
because Ravel's Gaspard
de la Nuit
(here) is
outstanding. Since they bring it up, the distinction of police vs.
vigilante brutality with regard to Batman is a non-starter unless
laws in the DCnU are significantly different than our own regarding
“state actors” – Law
and the Multiverse
has addressed it here.
When he appears, Damian's “voice” comes across all wrong – “I
dunno”?, “You know”?, “Or at least to not try'n kill
everyone”? Nevertheless, we do get a nice page showing the human
side of Batman as he sympathizes with and comforts, within his
ability, one of the abused children. This ain't his forte!
Review
(more positive than mine):
http://batman-news.com/2012/06/27/new-52-batman-the-dark-knight-10-review/
“The
Black Room, Part 2”
Hmmm...
Trevor's assistant is named Von Eeden … they were originally one
person who underwent mitosis.... Not really. Trevor Von Eeden is, however, a great comic book artist.
Madame
Xanadu is still having apocalyptic visions, now of Constantine
himself telling her she must get the Books of Magic from him – she
can't let him keep them! Meanwhile, the group joins Constantine in
the House of Mystery and only later discover that anyone accepting an
invitation into the House are bound to it, and to Constantine. We
get a short history of the Books of Magic, which seems to maybe be
related to what's going on in Demon
Knights.
Here, it turns out that Felix Faust let himself be captured to
infiltrate ARGUS and be brought to the Black Room. He left the
Demons Three as a booby trap to bring the Books of Magic to him once
he's inside. Uh oh.
The
House of Mystery was, of course, a long running DC suspense/horror title.
I
am really liking Jeff Lemire, the new writer, and Mikel Janin's art
is in the running for the best of the entire New 52. At the very
least, it is perfect for this book – very atmospheric.
“Saur
Feelings”
All
of the surviving Teen Titans reunite – except for Skitter who is
still missing – on the freaky weird dinosaur island. Even Danny
the Street is there, who in the end seems to sacrifice himself to
teleport them back to Earth, although we are left with a sign for
“Danny the Alley.” We actually get to see the Titans interacting
as kids, and this may be my favorite issue of the series. Red Robin
has a crisis of confidence, which inspires Bunker to talk sternly to
him, while Kid Flash and Solstice have a moment. We got a whole
issue of Superboy and Wonder Girl, and there's more here, but there's
also an awkward reunion of Wonder Girl and Red Robin.
Digital
“Waiting
for the End of the World”
As
Andrew Bennett fights Mary, a squadron of Van Helsing plans approach,
and the Professor and the Van Helsing leader debate moral issues.
The Van Helsings attack – Andrew's plan is going very wrong, but
the Van Helsings seem to fall 'way too easily … until they get back
up as zombies!
Yes,
they went there.
“Shadows
of the Past”
Well,
it turns out that one of my comments last month was based on a
misreading. Lightning's real name is not Ayla,
but rather Alya.
I plead that this is entirely too similar to another sometime
lightning-wielder in the DC Universe, albeit a thousand years in the
future.
Anyway,
we get a bit more on Harvest's plans. It seems he wanted “[his]
children” scattered across the globe, for which Caitlyn Fairchild
has served her purpose and is to be eliminated. However, Beast Boy
was not meant to be released just yet, and the guard who was to have
secured him is literally fed to Harvest's agent of this issue, Shadow
Walker.
Meanwhile,
the group Caitlyn rescued continues to fragment. The Shadow Walker
comes for them but is ultimately defeated. In the epilogue, Beast
Boy has a dream about Brother Blood (an old Teen
Titans
villain/cult leader).
For
all the negativity I've seen about this title, I'm still enjoying it
two issues in. I am, however, going to keep it digital at least for
now.
“Guardian,
concluded”
Superman
and Hank Henshaw fight until Clark manages to turn him off. His
consciousness remains trapped in the head of the robot body, however,
although it's now in the custody of STAR Labs. Meanwhile, Ollie and
Chloe discover that the astronaut who crashed in the Queen Industries
space ship was in fact Chloe … of Earth Two … which is gone.
Then she dies. But Superman then finds that Lex actually used the
whole event to “paint” him with a form of radiation that now
allows him to track Superman anywhere.
He and Lois must part so soon after making a life together....
And
to end with a bit of fun,
… in
which Bizarro appears – as well as Supergirl's pals, the Tweener
Titans! (Thanks, Anj, for the term – see review:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-superman-family-adventures-2.html
)
And
that's it for this month.
Cheers,
and Thanks for reading!
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