Reviews,
commentary, and general reactions to the DC Comics that were released
during August that I received at the beginning of September.
Spoilers abound! [ Link
to previous month.
]
Well guess what I'm not
looking forward to getting this weekend or for another week... (I'm
starting to compose this post on Friday night, 28 September.) My
September
comics! *Choke!*
Actually, it's my own choice. A few weeks ago, the
online/mail-order subscription service I belong to requested that
their customers receiving their books on a monthly basis voluntarily
choose another week besides the very end of the month to receive
their shipment, to spread their labor out more equitably through the
month. After a bit of thought I decided to go with the first week,
e.g., receiving my shipment after the first Wednesday rather than
after the last Wednesday of each month. It was a reasonable request
and I was … happy … to go along with it. But, I joked with a
couple of co-workers also using that service who ultimately made the
same choice, this is going to be a loooong
week!
Second,
the future creator status for Aquaman
is a bit confusing. First, as I said last month, word came that
Geoff Johns is bringing up another Justice
League
book, of
America.
Then word came that artists Ivan Reis and Joe Prado are taking over
the main Justice
League
book from Jim Lee. I don't think anyone ever figured Lee was on it
for the long haul, and they are excellent choices to take over (what
should be, but Johns needs to step up his game) the flagship title
for DC. So Aquaman
was left without his current writer or artist team. Except then word
came that Johns is not
leaving. And, if I recall correctly, there has been dispute that
Reis and Prado are leaving, at least immediately. The first story
arc in Justice
League
is to be a crossover with Aquaman,
so conceivably they could be drawing all the parts of that story
regardless of where they appear. Who knows?
By
the way, I notice that the Grand
Comics Database is calling the new DC logo (as introduced a few
months ago and shown above) the “DC (peel).” The previous “DC
(swirl)” was kind of cool as a name. “Peel” makes me think of
a banana.
Anyway, on to the comics:
“A
Confluence of Wonders”
This
issue introduces Al Pratt – well, actually we saw him in the first
issue right before the spash page opening of this issue – who now
has the power to grow to immense size like the pre-Flashpoint
Atom Smasher – who was Golden Age Al Pratt's son, if I recall
correctly. Evidently Al and Kendra – Hawkgirl – have a history,
and it's not amicable. He's an agent of the World Army, and she's
not, and she swears she's “not going back...! / Not alive, anyway!”
But we see that only at the end of the issue. Getting to that
point, the Grundy Rot has devastated Washington DC. Pratt drops in
to the attack, where he encounters Hawkgirl, Jay Garrick Flash, and
Alan Scott, already there and engaging Grundy. Along the way we find
out such things as that Jay, to whom all this is so new, did not even
know such things as that his body produces a protective aura at speed
that protects any passenger he pulls along with himself.
Fortis
et vigilare,
the motto of the World Army (I presume), means “Strength and
vigilance,” I think. I'm not sure it's quite grammatically kosher
in that form, but I'm so rusty on my Latin I could be wrong.
I really like the sense that
we're here at the beginning, that Robinson is working with a more or
less clean slate. The effect is a better “reboot” than the New
52. I miss the old World War II veteran Justice Society, but this is
quite enjoyable on its own terms – better than most anything else
DC's putting out these days.
What
I didn't
like was that we now have a two-month
cliffhanger!
… like most everything else this month, since next month is
“zero-month.”
Worlds' Finest #4
“Rebirth,
Conclusion”
Kara
continues fighting Hakkou in Tokyo Bay as Helena commandeers a
Japanese ship to rescue sailors from ships that Hakkou is destroying.
She later formulates a plan that basically overloads Hakkho with a
nuclear warhead from a US ship – and the the US Navy then tries to
arrest her but Kara whisks her away. On the last page they reflect
on lingering mysteries: Kara – who by this point has another torn
boob window (maybe she'll just give in and make it a design
element?), “We never resolved
if Hakkou was from Apokolips...” – Helena: “Paranoid.” –
“... or why
he destroyed my Quantum Tunneler...” – “Maybe he worked for
Holt?”
– “... or why his radiation could hurt me...” – “ ...or why
the plant radiation didn't affect me
more...” – “...or who gets top
billing...”
– “Seriously,
Karen?”
In
addition, we learn that Helena speaks Japanese.
In
the past, 45 months ago in Rome, Helena and Karen are accosted by
some unlucky street thugs, which inspires Helena to start developing
her Huntress identity. We also see her cyber-stalking the
Bat-family, in which Batman and Catwoman are of course “not-my-dad
… definitely
not Mom...” … “I miss my life.”
We'll
get a glimpse at that Earth 2 life in the next issue.
Still
loving this series. It edges out Earth
2,
and maybe even Action
Comics,
as my current favorite.
“The
Hanged Man”
This issue was delayed a month ostensibly
because of the events in Colorado. I'm not certain exactly why....
As his underworld alter ego Matches
Malone (which is thus explicitly brought over into the New 52),
Batman zeroes in on Leviathan, which has continued to grow and
progressively take over Gotham City. But he is ultimately betrayed
and we last see him being suffocated by a plastic bag pulled over his
head.... Meanwhile, Robin has been grounded because he is presumed
dead – but of course Damien assumes a new kickass identity as
Redbird and hits the streets – after hitting Alfred over the head.
Hey, at least he apologises as he heads out into the night.
That
last has fueled speculation that Damien Wayne is about to take on the
new identity permanently, with Harper Row (introduced in Batman
#12, infra)
on deck to be the new Robin. I don't think so.
A
common misconception is implicitly played off of here: “As for
Bulldog,
this vicious man-monster maintains Hitler
was a 'leftist.'” I've previously
addressed what I consider to be the erroneous consideration of
fascism/Nazism/Hitler as “right-wing” movements. Since it's
actually just part of a longer post, it's easiest just to copy over
what I wrote then:
For
what it's worth (and a colleague of mine who does
specialize in modern history rather than my own ancient/medieval
period deeply disagrees with me here), accepting the common usage of
“left-” and “right-wing” as “liberal” and “conservative,”
I consider such movements [as fascism and Nazism] to be more malignant outgrowths of the
“left-wing” of the political spectrum than the “right-.”
(Perhaps I'm overly sensitive. I'm pretty conservative, and I'm not
infrequently flogged with the label of “fascist” by my liberal
colleagues. Generally, it's done good-naturedly, but it does get
annoying at times and does, I believe, betray how some terms lose
most if not all of their true meaning in common antagonistic
discourse.) A succinct summation of the connections between
“left-wing” ideology and Nazism as well as other pernicious
movements can be seen in the Amazon.com customer review of Erik von
Kuhnelt-Leddihn's Leftism
Revisited: From De Sade and Marx to Hitler and Pol Pot
entitled
“Demagogues can choose the class, the race or any other flag,”
dated 17 September 1999. I believe I was present at the exchange
between “A Customer” and Professor von Kuhnelt-Leddihn in 1998
mentioned therein – I'm pretty sure it followed a presentation by
the good professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The
timing is about right; I'm fairly certain I know the writing style of
that unnamed reviewer; and I do remember the subject being addressed
at that time, when it left a deep impression on me.
"Return
of the Forgotten Superman”
Captain
Comet, Adam Blake, the Neo
Sapiens
mutant from Kansas, is the result of Kal-El's spaceship crashing
nearby even as he was being born. His advanced abilities manifested
themselves early, and he was ultimately taken up by the “long-hairs”
– “the Oort-kind”
– who “scour the super-cosmos in search of Neo Sapiens like me.
Like Susie.”
“Oort-kind”? – as in the Oort
Cloud?
– Well, it's a cool name. Anyway, Blake explains that he is now
taking Lois' niece Susie Thompkins because other Neo
Sapiens
“bad men” will be coming after her. This all comes out during
his conflict with Superman while Lois lays dying. Superman
ultimately defeats Blake by emptying his mind of doubt and laying
into him with pure rage, then saves Lois' life by instantly learning
the sum total of human medical knowledge and operating on her at
super speed. This
is the scene that the Last of the Famous International Fanboys gushed
over.
It is quite cool. It symbolizes what can make Grant Morrison's
writing – his Superman specifically – so compelling. It's so
unabashedly mind-bending, pulling in the best of Silver Age
greatness/goofiness and making it work.
This is the real SUPERman
– and
I'm loving it. I'm going to miss him after issue #16....
Anyway,
that's not the end of the issue, which has an extra-long story rather
than a lead and a back-up. To onlookers, it appears that Superman's
new secret identity, fireman Johnny Clark, died – vaporised – in
the fight. Following up from last issue, however, Batman appears
with sufficient evidence (which Superman reads directly
off a Bat-flashdrive)
that the world needs Clark Kent too. Whereupon Mrs. Nyxly reveals
herself as Nyxlygsptlnz, a 5th-Dimensional relative or associate of
Mr. Mxyzptlk (“my dear sweet Mxyzptlk”)
and hints at some back-story that has the Little Man obviously as one
she calls “the Envious
One
[who] escaped from his chains
in the multicornered dungeons of Zrfff”
and “killed
the king-thing
Brpxz
– and now he's here
– he's always
been here – / And oh, how he hates
you.” Is the Envious One the same as “Lord Vyndktvx”
whose “jaws … have closed around [Clark]”? In any case, Nyxly
(looking like something Picasso would have painted by now) gives up
one of her “three wishes” – implicitly to turn back time so
that Clark Kent never was “killed.” So how much of what we just
saw in the past couple of issues happened? I imagine most of it.
As
an aside: “Mxyzptlk” I've always taken to be pronounced
“Mix-yez-pitel-ik”
after that given in an old letter column when I was a kid (which I
remember finding enlightening because up until that time I had
mentally pronounced it “Mix-pickle”). I would suggest the
following pronunciations for the others: “Nix-ligg-spittle-niz”
for Mrs. Nyxly's full name; “Zerf” for their
homeworld/dimension?; “Bur-pix-iz”
for the “king-thing”; and Lord “Vin-dic-tiv-ix”
who is obviously vindictive.... If anybody's interested....
The issue ends with aforesaid Little Man
appearing in a sleeping Susie Thompkins' room....
Along the way we also a treated to some
funny but telling commentary by the police on the escalating cost of
already, four to five years ago, escalating conflicts involving super
humans. Great stuff.
Justice
League International
#12
“Final
Honors”
Last issue. The team – less Mari and
Tora – are at a Russian cemetery paying their respect to fallen
comrade Rocket Red when they are attacked by the brother of the slain
terrorist Lightweaver. Exhibiting the same powers, he kicks their
butts in revenge until Batman overcomes him and they manage to reason
with him – pointing out that he's simply perpetuating the cycle of
violence that had really claimed his brother. Rocket Red was killed
by Lightweaver's terrorist act which put them on the hunt.
Booster
Gold contemplates disbanding the team, but the others balk, declaring
they must honor Rocket Red's memory because he
believed in the team. And Batman assures them they will have a
headquarters and financing – but he's leaving, and so is Batwing.
We are then directed to the Justice
League International Annual
#1, see infra.
All in all, this series goes out fairly
well. For whatever reason it never really clicked, but this was in
my estimation one of the better issues. The best ones were the
character issues.
“The
Killer Inside”
Hmpf. I actually followed this
conclusion as dumb as it was – a run-of-the-mill story of a mad
scientist with a genetic disease using unethical experimentation to
seek a cure for himself regardless of the risk to others, being
transformed into a monstrous villain. In the end, Batman seems to
cure him. He hopes he doesn't live to regret it. Bleh.
“The
Tell-Tale Face”
Not
Two-Face, thank God – the face flayed from the living skull of the
Joker way back in issue #1. It's actually not bad – a darkly funny
little story about Bullock hazing a rookie assigned to graveyard
shift guard duty over the Joker-face, which ends ominously as a
prequel to the much-heralded return of the Joker in Batman
#13. Oh, look, it's not by Tony Daniel! The writer was James Tynion
IV.
I'm
still hoping for an improvement in this title during the second year
of the New 52. It's easily been the worst of the Bat-family of
titles, and the worst New 52 title, over the first year. Part of the
problem – and this is only part of the problem – is that there is
nothing to distinguish this title from any other Batman
title. That's something DC really needs to work on – restoring the
differing characteristics of different titles in the same franchise
(if it's really necessary to have four
Batman
titles at all). The principle is fairly straightforward: Batman
focussing on the super hero. Detective
Comics
focussing on the detective. Batman
and Robin
focussing on the relationship with Robin, particularly worth
exploring now that Robin is Bruce's own son. Batman:
The Dark Knight
… um, I've got nothing, which makes me wonder what the purpose of
that book is except to garner more sales. I really liked the old
Batman:
Gotham Knights
titles of the early-mid 2000s, as a place where various story-driven
interactions of the Bat-family as a whole could take place, and see
no reason that couldn't come back, perhaps with a different title,
although “Gotham
Knights”
seems so perfect. Four titles, four weeks per month, one title per
week is plenty of Bruce-titles. The various ancillary Bat-titles –
Nightwing,
Batgirl,
etc. – are okay too but maybe not quite so many.... Currently
about a quarter of DC's monthly output is in this one area.
Bat-dude's busy!
Of
course, all we know for sure is that Tony Daniel is off this book.
No need to belabor how happy that makes me. Again, I bear him no ill
will. I even liked most of his pre-Flashpoint
stuff. But his New 52 work on Detective
was just not working for me.
“I
Am One With This Land”
Actually, the JLI takes a detour on the
way to its Annual. Batman in Gotham City coordinates a strike team
of Batwing, Nightwing, and the JLI into Tundi to intercept Lord
Battle's nuke. His plan is to use it to eliminate the nearest
competitive oil producing nation to give Tundi a regional monopoly.
The fight doesn't go well until an injured Matu manages to contact
them and convey to them Lord Battle's weakness – to be separated
from his land. But it turns out that it is a symbiotic relationship
– the land and its people need him, as well. Lord Battle literally
grovels, begs to be returned to the land for the people's sake,
agreeing to imprisonment in Tundi to maintain the land and people,
but to allow the people to rule themselves. Unfortunately, we see at
the end that his defeat has simply opened the way for a rival … and
I think I can already see how this is ultimately going to go: Lord
Battle will have to be restored to defend all Africa against this new
guy. I even see the seeds of a difficult and controversial
redemption story here … which will be difficult for Matu since Lord
Battle murdered his family. Predictable, yes, but could also play
out as a compelling story. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last month,
Judd Winick won't be telling it. I'm unaware who might.
“Nefertiti's
Bust”
The team is finding and collecting Busts
of Nefertiti that have appeared all over the world but are of alien
origin – even as Martian Manhunter is overcoming and mind-wiping
them one by one. He comes to the attention of the Shadow Lords, but
makes a deal with them whereby he leaves Stormwatch. Along the way
we find that the fourth Shadow Lord is long missing, that the
Engineer was facilitating J'Onn's actions all along before she too
was mind-wiped. In the epilogue we find that Tanner is plotting to
replace the fourth Shadow Lord and control Stormwatch. Oh, we also
find that Midnighter's ugly chin spike has a purpose (and it's not
BDSM).
I
still find myself on the fence with this book. I like it just enough
not to drop it, but I'm really believing it would read much better in
trade form. A number of series do. I am formulating some comments
along those lines for an upcoming post that had me reading – no
kidding – the first ten issues of Azzarello's Wonder
Woman
back-to-back, with results that surprised me given the distaste I had
developed for that title, and even the reason I was putting myself
through that onerous task! I'm not sure how soon I'll get to that
post, however. It's going to take a good bit of scanning to prepare.
“Night
Games”
Superboy's
hot landlady is after him, taking him out on the town, but although
he'd believed her to be “normal,” it turns out she's in some kind
of debt to some kind of demonic woman who comes demanding payment,
and who turns out to be able to turn Superboy's powers against him
until he realizes that he can defeat her by giving in. I'm not sure
why that has such a devastating effect on her, however. Along the
way, we meet others whom I get the impression may be the seeds of a
new supporting cast – something this book sorely needs – and
learn along with Superboy that he is vulnerable to alcohol. His
inner'logue: “I should be able to take these two muscle-heads
– ///
– even if they are demons!
// The alcohol
may still be slowing my reflexes. /// So I dig down deep with my
T.K. – // – and spit
it out,
before it's digested. // I've never used my powers on myself
like that. // And it's gross.
// So let's hope I never need to again.” Just say no. There's an
epilogue about that mysterious police officer of whatever from the
future that is somehow linked to both him and Kid Flash.
“Ghost
in the Machine”
This
issue is a flashback/done-in-one. Batman's aid to a couple of kids,
brother and sister, against anti-homosexual violence wins him the aid
of the sister, Harper Row, who is an electrician prodigy. He rejects
her help obviously because it puts her in danger, but it's clear she
has other ideas. Internet theories abound that she'll end up another
Robin, but I don't see it. Another Oracle? Or another Harold?
Only after I asked that question of myself did one of my
comic-reading colleagues and I discuss this and find we have the same
thought – although he was not familiar with Harold.
Batman
and Robin
#12
“Terminus:
Last Gasp”
Terminus'
mass attack is only a feint, timed for him to die as Batman realizes
the real plan is for a missile from Kane County to explode over
Gotham City releasing a deadly toxin. He miscalculated, fortunately,
and Batman has time to divert the missile under the bay, and Terminus
dies knowing he failed. Batman's flight is eerily similar to that at
the end of The
Dark Knight Rises.
The past Robins join the fight as well, all working together. At
the end, Dick gives Damien an escrima stick and tells him he's not
fighting him. Overall, it seemed an abrupt end to the story,
especially the Robin vs. Robins plot.
Batgirl
#12
“Every
Time I Fall”
After
the requisite brief fight that serves as a mutual introduction for our two
heroines, Batgirl and Batwoman, they end up working together against
Knightfall Cherise and her Disgraced … until Batgirl gets caught
with her guard down and a knife in the back. (Two months is going to
be a long time to bleed out.) Along the way we also learn that
Cherise is allied with James Jr. from their days in Arkham – he
protected her there, and now she lets him have carte
blanche
for his “proclivities.” Also, Jim Gordon is tipped off by a
guard in Arkham that James Jr. is no longer in custody... Apparently
he hasn't been since the events of Detective
Comics
#1.
Green
Lantern
#12
“The
Revenge of Black Hand, Part 2”
Hal and Sinestro vs. Black Hand –
eventually they sacrifice all their rings' energy to destroy the only
other color power battery that is available to them to overwhelm all
the Black Lanterns Black Hand has attacking them. Meanwhile, Black
Hand is horrified by the Book of the Black telling him that Hal
Jordan is not his enemy, but will rather become the greatest Black
Lantern of all. Which Black Hand rejects. We also get more
exposition by the Guardians regarding the upcoming Third Army
story....
Reading issues #1-7 in the volume 1
hardcover collection really read well. These past couple of
individual issues – not so much. I'm reconsidering my decision to
jump back on this as a monthly. I'd rather read the occasional
collection and be wowed by it than read the issues and half the time
(or more) feel like I'm only reading a few pages of a single chapter
in a book … which is what it's like. I'm coming to the conclusion
that Geoff Johns is not very good most of the time as an individual
issue writer.
“In:
The Avalon Trap”
That sums up where this issue begins –
the Demon Knights are trapped, captured by Morgaine, their bodies
meant to be drained of life to strengthen the body of Merlin, which
she means to take for herself. Is the identification of Madame
Xanadu with Nimue new? I confess I don't know that much about the
character. Anyway, Arthur sacrifices himself to defeat Morgaine, but
this destroys the Tower. Odd, because I've been there, and it was
still standing at Easter 2008.... And Morgaine's desecrations have
destroyed the way to Avalon. Whereupon the Demon reveals himself as
the real enemy of his companions. Turning against them, he drags
them all to Hell. Not nice!
Legion
Lost
#12
“A
Prophecy of Death”
Alastor
is jumping from Lost Legionnaire body to Lost Legionnaire body, able
to access their minds and their secrets as well as their powers –
Dawnstar then Tellus – as the latter he attacks the Meta Commandos
holding Tyroc and Yera. He possesses her, the injured but recovering
Timber Wolf and Gates when they arrive, then Wildfire. But the
Legionnaires were also studying Alastor from inside his mind, and
know he needs an organic mind. This was ultimately their plan. When
he tries to posses Wildfire, the energy being hijacks him to the sun.
At one point along the way, the Meta American is possessed by
Alastor and from his common mental experience with the Legionnaires
he thereby gains the insight to trust the Legionnaires. The major in
command of the unit still tries to arrest them, but they are
teleported away by Gates, who taunts the major: “You want to make
an arrest
– / – you'll have to follow us to Kyrgyzstan.”
– “Kyrgyzstan?!”
she gapes as they disappear. – “Kyrgyzstan-?” Timber Wolf
echoes as they appear somewhere
else. – Gates: “Always liked the sound of it. / Might even visit
someday.”
Of course, Alastor's actions will have
consequences for the “team” – he outs the fact that they are
all pawns, but that Yera and Tellus are both in on it to some degree
… and they all have secrets.
“Rescue
from Within”
The
first few pages manage a quasi recap, then in the Valley of Souls we
rejoin the Justice League being assaulted by false visions of loved
ones sapping their confidence. Graves is attacking to transform them
to like him and destroy the Valley of Souls and unite the dead and
the living – and him with his family. The reappearance of the
beat-up but living Steve Trevor reveals the false nature of the
visions, giving the JL the mental fortitude to throw them off. They
defeat Graves and demonic beings impersonate all including Graves'
family. Afterward, in a series of epilogues, Wonder Woman fires
Trevor as the JL liaison for his own good, the League does a good bit
of soul searching and realizes that there's some truth in Graves'
accusations regarding their cold distance from humanity, Green
Lantern throws himself under the bus as scapegoat, Superman and
Wonder Woman commiserate on their mutual loneliness and (in what
became the media furor surrounding this issue) find solace in each
other's arms, and Amanda Waller commissions the newly imprisoned
Graves to write a new book … The
Villain's Journey.
After
which there are several pages of previews/teasers for the future,
culminating in, for 2013, “The Justice League cannot be trusted …
// … So a new League must rise to stop the greatest war of our era.
// And it will take more
than the world's greatest
super heroes to save us! /// It will take the world's most
dangerous!”
And there is a big double-page spread of the new Justice League of
America coming next year.
*
* *
Okay,
here we are several days – and a bout with some kind of stomach
malady that laid me low and threw me considerably behind both in my
teaching and in my blogging – later. So much for getting this post
up while it was still September!
DC
Universe Presents: #12
“Kid
Flash: When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth (That Would Be Today)”
OK
– this
is the Fabian Nicieza whom I know and love as a DC writer – so who
was that imposter writing the first half-dozen or so issues of Legion
Lost?
This is a great little issue … Sure I would rather it not be
simply an interstitial chapter between two issues of Teen
Titans
– which it is, story-wise – but it is a non-stop romp with one of
the funniest characters in the New 52 (at least as he's presented
here). And it does
begin with a good recap “for those very few who don't follow my
adventures religiously,” telling how we got to the instant this
story begins, culminating in some metacommentary on continuity that I
noticed already in my post on the “DCnU
52: One Year Later,”
that “Continuity
doesn't really matter! Clarity is overrated! Let the fun begin!”
Basically
we are presented with Kid Flash versus three “dinoteens” from
Mystery Island, the latter in a love triangle: One “dinoboy” is
a “dinosupremacist,” the other ultimately helps Kid Flash, and
the “dinogirl” is loved by both – but she loves
“dinosupremacist” although she vows to rein him in … sort of.
The story is chock full of great inner'logue from Bart, and frankly I
enjoyed this issue – a story in itself without a beginning or an
end – more than most other single issues of the New 52 thus far.
Don't go away again, Fabian!
“Inheritance”
Man, that is one adaptable Kryptonian
super-suit the Man of Steel's got himself now. It provides a
neck-brace when needed – at least that's what page one looks like.
And if you add that to his atrophied arm on p. 3 …. I just can't
extend the ridicule.... I generally like Asrar's art, but here we
have in rapid succession a couple of FAILs. (I notice from Anj's
review cited below that Asrar had help on the art this issue, so I'll
blame them.)
Other than that, this is another good
issue from one of my consistent favorites in the New 52, from the
second real meeting between the new-found Kryptonian cousins in
Superman's new (?) Arctic Fortress of Solitude contemplating Kandor,
which contains the shrunken, preserved remnants of their native
civilization, through revelations of more mysteries regarding Kara's
arrival on Earth, to her hotheaded second break with Kal (no fists
are thrown this time) and plunge to the depths of the ocean seeking
another part of her space pod. There she fights mutated sea
creatures and makes new discoveries regarding her powers – followed
by the discovery of a talking Kryptonian fortress housing her first
Earthly foe Simon Tycho!
I
usually rank Supergirl
below Action
Comics
but some months, as this, it's really hard to say just which I enjoy
reading more!
“World's
Finest – I: Blood Tides”
All right! – Batwoman meets Supergir--
huh? – a “World's Finest” team-up where they are not reps of
the Super- and Bat-families. Does that seem right to you?
What
we have here is the first part of a new story with Wonder
Woman
– although our two heroines never come together until the very last
page. It begins with Batwoman and Abbott versus Bloody Mary in a
mirrored funhouse. The quest for the missing kids – now nine
months lost (so here at least, time in the New 52 is progressing at
something approaching real-time). All leads point toward Medusa,
whatever or whoever that is here (if it's been specified, I've
forgotten – but frankly that whole second story arc is a black hole
as far as me having any idea what happened or was revealed). The
long fruitless search is taking its toll on Maggie Sawyer, who ends
up throwing Kate out of her life until she can come clean with her
regarding her obvious secrets. Batwoman convinces Director Bones and
the DEO to let her take lead in pulling in the “expert” –
Wonder Woman – for their search for Medusa. We see that Bette is
recuperating under the care of Jacob and his wife, but is impatient
to get back into the game as he promised her she could. I vaguely
remember that being the promise by which he got through to her
comatose, dying self and pulled her back from the brink of death. In
the end, Wonder Woman is resting on a beach after a bloody battle
with a demon when Batwoman approaches her.
J. H. Williams III is back on art, and it
is great – reined in a bit, maybe, at least easier to follow than
I'm used to for this book – if only because THANK GOD the story
itself is told linearly! He seems to incorporate different styles
for the two heroines … we don't see enough of their meeting at the
end to get a sense of how he's going to blend them for the team-up.
“Heartbreak
and Vine”
The long and short of it is that the
dissonance between the Birds' pledge to Ivy and her increasingly
reckless disregard for her side of the bargain – no killing –
lead the Birds to rebel. Batgirl makes a desperate run to enlist
Batman's help in negating the biological toxin Ivy has infected them
with while the others hold off Ivy until Katana looses her sword on
her, seemingly killing her and condemning the world to death by the
biotoxin thereby released.
The art is noticeably cruder this issue.
And in addition to the pretty obvious rending of Poison Ivy from the
team, the bonds between other members, especially Black Canary and
Starling, seem to be breaking, perhaps due to the inordinate stress
they are under.
“It's
nice to have someone I can RELY on.”
As
Selina hurriedly investigates the scene of Detective Alvarez'
abduction, Gwen tries to talk to her but gets hung up on. Selina
tracks Dollhouse to her lair, learns her lineage – daughter of
Dollmaker from the first arc in Detective
Comics
post-Flashpoint
(I'm trying really hard not to hold that against this story!), who
was the son of Toyman – how does that
chronology work? – as they fight. Batman shows up and saves the
day. But Dollhouse hets away. Catwoman reflects on the life of a
hero … and Gwen kills Spark. Selina's duplicitous “ally” was
what she was trying to warn her about at the beginning of the issue.
Gwen was tipped off to Spark's treachery by the Penguin, who makes it
perfectly clear that he's established a debt that he will one day
come collecting on....
This
was a really good issue, sadly I think the last of Judd Winick's run.
I've not heard good things about next month's Zero Issue by new
writer Ann Nocenti, but I'll try to reserve judgment. I do have one
question, however. Pages 3 and 4: Spark, still playing both sides,
does Catwoman's bidding and calls in Batman. He does so by: 1)
shattering the Bat Signal atop GCPD headquarters, then 2) painting a
crude “Cat Signal” on
the same projector.
– Huh??
“Inside
Out”
Paragon
baits a trap for Nightwing by killing members of his own group the
Republic of Tomorrow. The GCPD including Detective Nie get caught in
the crossfire of the big fight between Nightwing and Predator.
Nightwing ultimately wins, of course, and learns of Paragon's
obsession with destroying what he considers the “idols” of
vigilante justice by becoming such an idol. After the battle, Nie
lets Nightwing get away. Obviously this establishes a GCPD contact
for this particular character much as McKenna has been established
for Batgirl, Alvarez for Catwoman, the two that come immediately to
mind.
Also,
Dick decides to put his money where his mouth is, going all in to his
Amusement Mile renovation project by putting up his own trust fund to
convince the bank to underwrite the project. And he has a bit of a
reconciliation with Sonia – the daughter of the man who ordered the
deaths of his parents – that ends with a peck on his cheek and the
promise of an “interesting” relationship to come....
Legion
of Super-Heroes
#12
“Cataclysm”
The
Legionnaires on the Dominator Homeworld confront the first fruit of
the Dominator gene splicing and cloning project – a
Dominator/Daxamite hybrid. Mon-El and Ultra Boy make one last appeal
to the United Planets, then basically say “Up yours!” and head
off to rescue their friends, arriving just in time. All escape with
the main lingering question being Why
did Comet Queen betray the group?
You
know, I think this is another of those books that would read so much
better in several-issue chunks, i.e., in collected form. But for the
fact that I have an unbroken run of issues from 1967 to present, I
would seriously consider it. That is off the table for me, however. If, as in
the early 1990s, it is the only title I buy, I'll still be buying LSH monthly.
“The
Others, Chapter Six”
“[Arthur's]
not acting like himself,” say Mera and Ya'wara as one, early in
this issue. That's my feeling, too. As much as I'm liking it
overall – and revelling in the fact that Aquaman
is outselling most other books on the stands these days (ranking
#19 overall, with only thirteen DC and five
Marvel titles doing better!) – I'm also feeling a growing unease
with the way he's being portrayed. Case in point: Arthur's
cold-blooded murder of one of Black Manta's men with on apparent
attempt to save Shin without in some other manner. One of the
problems I should have identified with the New 52 is a seriously
warped idea of how a “hero” acts. As reported above, it's my
current understanding that Geoff Johns is not
leaving this book. I honestly can't say that's a good thing if we're
going to continue with this enraged, murderous Aquaman.
Anyway,
Mera and the Others team up and barge into the middle of the Aquaman
versus Black Manta conflict – words are thrown along with more
lethal attacks – ultimately Black Manta's parting shot is blocked
by Vostock, killing him and giving Aquaman another reason to swear
vengeance, that he's going to kill Manta. “BLACK MANTA DIES NOW”
– er, two
months from NOW
– he thunders on the last page. (And probably not then,
either....)
This
continues to be a beautiful book, the direction of the writing
notwithstanding. There's an eerie familiarity about the cover …
see issue #2.
“Home”
Dan
Jurgens, writer number two in just twelve issues on what should be
one of DC's flagship titles, plays out his time in this final issue.
Lucy Lane shows up at Clark's apartment, a bit pissed that Clark
stood her up again – but meets Clark's houseguest, Jimmy, for what
that's worth. Could be a lot, eventually, if things play out as in
one version of the legend where Lucy Lane was Jimmy Olsen's girl
friend. Meanwhile, in Russia, Superman rallies and battles the
alien, defeating it and establishing communication. He discovers
that it is here on Earth unwillingly, having been abducted from
another dimension by the Russians to become a weapon – their answer
to the Americans' Superman. He's just trying to go home. Superman
nonetheless takes the hard line that the alien must pay for his
crimes nevertheless, until he hears the Russians nuking the complex.
The alien manages to escape through a portal to his home dimension,
while Superman manages to fly out ahead of the blast wave. But the
encounter has given him some stuff to think about regarding being
alone in this world. He makes a conscious decision to get a life,
starting with making good on his bungee-jumping date as an apology to
Lucy. You know, it may be heresy to say it, but Lucy Lane could
develop into an acceptable surrogate for the classic Lois-Clark
romance if they play it right.
And
that's the end of the Jurgens run. Frankly, I liked it better than
that by Perez, but given the constraints he was working under that's
understandable. Next up, however, comes Scott Lobdell and Keith
Giffen. I have my concerns. Lobdell's work on Superboy
and Teen
Titans
has been spotty (and seemingly getting spottier); Giffen can be
really good, or really bad, and sometimes he thinks he's being really
clever when I think he's being just aggressively disrespectful to
characters I love.
Batman:
The Dark Knight
#12
“Mirror
Mirror”
Batman
is held captive by the Scarecrow, and we are subjected to a parallel
narrative of the two characters' lives and battles with their fears.
Neither sees the other's fears, but the reader does. Ho. Hum. How
many times do we need stories whose theme is that Batman
is tormented by fears and demons but overcomes them?
Justice
League Dark
#12
“War
for the Books of Magic”
Faust
and Mist vanish through a portal as the others attack. Zatanna's
tracking spell points to either Slaughter Swamp or Peru. Have her
eyes always been two different colors or is this just a trick of the
light here? Anyway, Zatanna takes half the team to Peru, with John
Constantine taking the others to Slaughter Swamp. In Peru, they meet
the mysterious figure behind all that's happening. In London, Madame
Xanadu continues talking with Timothy Hunter, who is adamant that he
has indeed cast all magic out of his life. Constantine tells Black
Orchid some background on himself and Zatanna, including his role in
the death of Zatara. Zatanna and Deadman in Peru are confronted by
Blackbriar Thorn while Constantine and Black Orchid are confronted by
Black Boris in the Swamp. The mystery man behind it all is revealed
to be the returned Zatara, who defeats and kills Doctor Occult for
control of the House of Secrets.
It's
all rendered in the beautiful art of Mikel Janin, about which I could
continue to gush all day long.
“Armored
Up and Out”
Superboy
and Red Robin battle the armor-possessed Wonder Girl in a remote
location, the cabin of a “family friend” of Red Robins' (a thrown
mailbox has the name “Pennyworth” on it), while Bunker, Kid
Flash, and Solstice recuperate in a seedy hotel. Ultimately they
subdue her by cooperating to get Superboy's tactile telekinesis
between Cassie and her armor and literally peel it off and
out
of her body. Looks quite painful. They barely have time to catch a
breath before Cassie's ex-boy friend Diesel shows up, sporting a
silver version of her armor, and wanting hers. He blames her for
supposedly telling him she loved him before abandoning him, and seems
to gather the essense of Cassie's armor and flies, leaving her to
tell Red Robin and Superboy that she must
get the armor back – or the world dies!
You
know what? I really
wish they'd get around to telling us exactly what the relationship
between “Wonder Girl” and “Wonder Woman” is. If none, why
is she called Wonder Girl?
“When
Dinosaurs Walked the Earth, Epilogue”
… and
this would be the epilogue to the Kid
Flash
issue of DC
Universe Presents
above. I'm not sure how the chronology between this and the front
stories of TT
#11-12 go. Anyway, Kid Flash and his dino-ally Teryx are rounding up
evolved lizards and birds in the sewers of New York City, while
somewhere ahead dino-supremacist Steg continues to evolve more such
creatures into a growing army to “reclaim” the Earth for
dino-kind. Doesn't look to me like dino-girl-caught-in-the-middle
Dac is really doing that much to rein him in. There is obviously
more to come in this story....
Justice
League International
Annual #1
“Deleted”
Number
one and only for this run. This has been one drawn out series
ending. It is indeed a strange issue that seems not really to follow
from the regular series run. It's by Geoff Johns and Dan Didio, and
is as much a set-up for future Justice
League
plot(s) as anything. It also serves as a coda for the other
cancelled series OMAC
and Blue
Beetle.
I wish we could have had the latter aboard here longer – I presume
BB
has been cancelled, but frankly it's not on my radar and a quick
Internet search does not confirm that.
Booster
Gold is still trying to build his “fake Justice League,” pulling
a scam on the team and even others he's duped into believing this is
an authorized division of the JL. OMAC turns out to be a plant to
gain access to the computers for some reason, and is being
manipulated by a new programmer. Therewith ensues a big battle that
Booster Gold does finally win by using his own suit's “antivirus
program” Skeets (is that what his little floating robotic sidekick
has been reduced to? – I don't remember him being referred to
previously at all in the New 52) to “de-OMACtivate” OMAC. There
are casualties among his “team mates” along the way. Then, at
the moment of “victory,” another Booster Gold in a bit more
armorized costume (sporting an ARGUS patch) appears, apparently the
time cop version who has come back to prevent Superman and Wonder
Woman from hooking up. But a screen reveals that he miscalculated –
he's too late – the smooching is in progress – and both Booster
Golds fade
from existence.
In
an epilogue, Batman is with Dr. Stone, Cyborg's estranged dad, who
has OMAC's comatose human host under care at STAR Labs. He is
taunted by his own creation, Brother EYE....
The
future Booster Gold does reveal that while this incarnation of the
Justice League International is a failure, their role will end up
being filled by the Global Guardians which will include August
General in Iron and Lady Godiva.
Okay.
I knew the Superman-Wonder Woman kiss was controversial, but
universe-changing?....
“Protector
of the People”
This
is not a bad beginning to the new creative team – or at lease
one-half of the new writing team, Scott Lobdell, because Fabian
Nicieza is also credited, which means it's hard to know how much
Lobdell there is here and how different Lobdell plus Keith Giffen
might be.
Overall,
it's another Annual-as-set-up issue (Anj
in the review cited below theorizes how this issue came to be,
and why it's so different from what was solicited), centering on the
Daemonites, the Wildstorm-import Big Bads for the DCnU that frankly
haven't impressed me much. We get a good bit of background on
Helspont, and what I think we're supposed to take as the Daemonites'
constant presence in the DCnU as his agents attempt to recruit
various resident aliens (a term that has a totally different meaning
in the DCnU as opposed to the real world!). It's also revealed that
the metagene that has suddenly blossomed forth into the explosion of
super beings in the last five years, DCnU-time, was engineered by the
Daemonites.
Detective
Comics
Annual #1
“The
Abyss”
So
I gather the Black Mask has some kind of supernatural power. Has
that been the case before? Anyway, Roman Sionis has been on the
loose from Arkham ever since the Night of the Owls. He confronts the
Mad Hatter over the issue of which one of them is the mind-controller
of Gotham City – with Batman caught in the middle. Ultimately
Black Mask is back in Arkham, but the Black Mask is missing. And
this is the last Tony Daniel issue of Detective
Comics.
I hope. Please let it be so.
Green
Lantern
Annual #1
“Rise
of the Third Army: Prologue”
See?
– and I bet for the next six months each issue will be simply
entitled “Rise of the Third Army: Chapter One,” “... Two,”
“... Three,” etc. That's how Geoff Johns writes now. Not for a
satisfying single issue. They're often kick-ass collections, but I
feel Green
Lantern
very quickly slipping back off my pull list....
Hal
and Sinestro are dead. Sure. The First Lantern is on the loose.
But I think I'm probably going to have to wait for the collection.
Yeah, I have the next several issues pre-ordered, but I'm really
wondering if I'm going to put myself through trying to read them
month-to-month. And I'm probably about to stop pre-ordering any
more.
To
know more about this issue, you will have to read the cited review.
He loved it.
Digital
Smallville
Season 11
#16-18
“Detective,
Parts 4-6”
In
Superman and Batman's battle in Stryker Prison, Superman quickly
figures out Batman's identity, but also learns just what is Batman's
interest in the connection between Bruno Manheim and Joe Chill.
Green Arrow is also fighting against Nightwing, but Superman puts a
stop to that, lets Batman go, and takes Manheim for some high
altitude interrogation. He learns that Chill is in the Federal
witness protection system. Meanwhile, Chloe is investigating some
mysterious emails that Ollie's been getting. As Superman and Batman
go after Joe Chill together, Superman acts as a moderating influence
on Batman. They find Chill a decrepit old man, slightly regretful of
his past, but frankly not even remembering killing Batman's parents
among the many murders he's guilty of. Ollie confronts Lex, from
whom the mysterious emails had been coming … except we find out
that it's actually Tess hijacking Lex's body in the middle of the
night. The cliffhanger ending to this triad of chapters has Superman
and Batman there with Chill when the gangster is attacked by his most
recent associate … and Mr. Freeze.
Throughout,
Batman calls Nightwing “Miss Gordon,” but she sure acts a whole
lot more like Bryan Q. Miller's Stephanie Brown Batgirl. I expressed
my opinion on that “bat and switch” last month; no need to repeat
myself. I do want to repeat myself on how excellent
Jamal Igle's art is here.
“Unchained”
Brother
Blood is trying to open a door into “the Red Place.” Gar and
Terra interrupt his blood sacrifice of the others, there's a big
fight, and it turns out that Brother Blood considers Gar to be “the
key.” Despite Caitlyn Fairchild's entreaties, the Ravagers revert
for a time to their Colony mentality, but in the end Lightning
sacrifices herself to thwart Brother Blood's plan. Caitlyn is still
appalled at the turn of events as the battered group finally arrives
at the safe house that was her goal – that of Niles Caulder (of old
Doom
Patrol
fame, but here younger and ambulatory) … and Superboy turns up
immediately, wanting to “catch up.” … Who is Brother Blood's
“master”? Who is it that Gar reminds him of? Is the answer to
both of those questions Trigon?
– another
Titans villain I never had any real use for.... This title is
teetering on the edge of being dropped altogether, and probably would
have been by now were it not for the Superboy
and Teen
Titans
connections.
“Chasing
Shadows”
Phantom
Lady is an interesting character. Originating very early at Quality
Comics, in Police
Comics
#1 (Aug 1941), the same issue that saw the debut of Jack Cole's
Plastic
Man,
she had several good years, off and on, in the Golden Age. Sandra
Knight, the debutante daughter of Senator Knight, she fought crime by
means of a “black light projector” and a costume that started out
skimpy and got skimpier. The Quality characters eventually ended up
licensed by and later owned by DC Comics – except that apparently
their Golden Age appearances are now in public domain and available
on a wonderful web site I discovered a while back, the Digital
Comic Museum
where
they are available for free download. I've been on a bit of a
Phantom
Lady
kick of late, and have in mind to start a series of posts about her
Golden Age appearances. So I'll leave any more background for that,
other than referring you to the Wikipedia
article that gives a fairly good overview of her history through
the years.
Here
Phantom Lady is not Sandra but Jennifer Knight, and not the daughter
of a living senator but rather a dead Daily
Planet
crime reporter, who as a child watched her parents burned alive by
his underworld enemies and is now as a young adult seeking vengeance
on the boss of the Metropolis gangs. By the end of this first issue,
she has been taken captive and is about to be tortured to death, and
her boy friend Dane (Whitman? – if they gave his last name I missed
it) has been shrunk to a stature of about six inches tall (she thinks
she got him killed). – Another Quality character was Doll Man,
real name Dane Whitman, and the cover and inside both append “and
Doll Man”
to the title, but apparently the official name of this comic is
simply Phantom
Lady.
Which is fine with me. I ain't readin' it for “Doll Man”!
As
is apparent above, this is a very different Phantom Lady from her
preceding incarnations. I wish they were going with a more classic
take. For on thing, this one follows the Batman
“child orphaned by crime seeking vengeance” trope too closely.
But on its own terms, this is not a bad issue. Besides the writers,
Palmiotti and Gray, always dependable for a good story, and in the
past few years several times associated with the Quality characters
as published by DC as the “Freedom
Fighters,”
I wanted to see what Cat Skaggs, the artist for the Smallville
Season 11
covers, could do on interior art. Turns out she's a fine interior
artist as well.
“Disintegration”
If
this wasn't the best, then for me it was at least the most enjoyable
issue of this series so far … and oddly enough the best issue of
Stormwatch
as well! That team, of course, came into the fray at the end of last
issue, and after quite a bit of confusion, ultimately allies itself
with Andrew, who finally hits on the idea of drawing all mystical
energy to himself. That cures all the vampires and
zombie vampire vampire hunters – including Mary, who's suddenly
human, albeit still naked, which is pretty much confirmed here (so
naked vamps don't have nipples?), as well as Tig, who'd just gotten
zombified and hence set to trying to kill Andrew with renewed vigor
(so what else is new?). Well, all but Andrew himself, who is still a
vampire … and immediately chomps down on Tig! Along the way we
find out more about Stormwatch than I think we've learned in that
series itself! Joshua Hale Fialkov needs a shot at that book –
he's got the characters and banter down cold. And Andrea
Sorrentino's art continues to be stunning.
 |
| (I just like this panel ... a moment of calm in the midst of the storm.) |
Superman
Family Adventures
#4
Can
you possibly go wrong with giant monkeys? What could be better?
Why, a giant monkey (properly an ape, yes, I know...) with Red
Kryptonite vision, of course! Hijinks ensue until Titano burps the
piece of Red Kryptonite he swallowed back up and everything returns
to what passes for normal in this charming, offbeat version of the
DCnU. Great stuff as usual.
*
* *
'Til
next month, thanks for reading! Cheers!
