Various
circumstances have made this probably the longest delayed monthly DC
Comics sum-up I've ever done – essentially two weeks from start to
finish. I've had a lot going on – travelling two different
directions to the tune of almost 1500 miles, finishing up teaching an
intensive three-week on-line summer course in between the two trips,
and all the other little things that always seem to come up in life.
The
main DC Comics news in the past month could well be that the New-52 comics
coming out this September will not be numbered 13 but rather 0, and
serve as combination origins and jumping-on points for new readers.
I'm not quite sure what to make of that. Especially when, as
solicitations for the August-release issues came out mid-month, it
became clear that a whole bunch of story-lines are coming to an end
that month with #12. Not all, but it seems
like it's even a majority of series. That was followed close on by
word that Justice League International
#12 would be the final issue of that series. Could that be the first
of a second group of titles that will be cancelled to make room for a
“third wave”? If so, the choice is a little odd because JLI
is not among the lowest-selling half-dozen or so titles after the
first ax fell to make room for the “second wave” – which is
only debuting during May and will be reviewed (at least the ones I
get) next month. I feel almost as much on pins and needles as I did
about this time last year when the mass cancellation and “relaunch”
was first announced.
But
seeming to overshadow all that during the last few days has been Dan DiDio's announcement in London over the weekend just past
[writing this on Thursday 24 May] that an established DC character
would soon “come out” in the New 52 as being homosexual.
Subsequent statements [here
and elsewhere] from other DC spokesmen clarified that it will be
someone iconic, male, and previously unseen in the New 52. That at
least would seem to head off the firestorm that would erupt should it
be one of the “trinity” – Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman
(although actually, she has always really been portrayed a bit more
ambiguously). For the record, I would not want to see one of those
long-standing cultural icons reinterpreted so fundamentally just to
make what is a socio-political statement. In this I disagree with
blogger Paul C., one of my (currently) two “members” of this
blog, who pretty quickly promoted the idea that it should
be Superman in his own blog.
I think that would make as much sense as, say, reorienting Kate Kane
Batwoman as heterosexual. My own morality aside, the way that latter
character was conceived from the beginning and has been consistently
portrayed is as a homosexual. It is essential to who she is, a
character for whom I have a great affection that has nothing to do
with her sexual orientation. She is quite simply written as a
fully-developed, three-dimensional character. The fact that the Kate
Kane Batwoman character is itself a reinterpretation of an existing
character is not relevant because Kathy
Kane Batwoman had not been published in decades – unlike Superman
who has
been published continuously and consistently as heterosexual. There
are reboots, and there are total recreations. And that's my
position, which I'm not interested in debating further. Oh, by the
way, everything I said here goes for Aquaman, too. ;-) … UPDATE, 1
June: Confirmation has been making its rounds on the Internet that
the character in question is Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern,
now of the upcoming Earth
2
title. I have little problem with that. It even makes a bit of
sense to shift the sexuality of the retconned-out-of-existence son of
this character, Obsidian, to the father who is now “youthened”
along with the other characters.
On to the books released during April,
received by me early in May:
Action
Comics #8
“Superman
Meets … The Collector of Worlds”
The full issue is given over to
concluding what passes very well for an origin story of the DCnU
Superman. Here are my thoughts.
Give
it to old Luthor, he's trying his darnedest to spin what he's done to
sound like it was turning out to be a good thing! I think it's
interesting that, just like she named Superman, Lois is the one who
gives the Collector of Worlds the name we all knew him (it?) as –
“Brainiac” – and
that that name coincides with the Kryptonian equivalent of the
Internet. Or should that naming be credited to Luthor? – Their
exchange: Luthor, “The alien intelligence – BRAINinteractive
Systems
– is a collection of planetary
ephemera.”
– Lois, “Are you kidding?
… 'Brainiac.'
… Write that down, Olsen!” Meanwhile, we get to see Glenmorgan
breaking down further and babbling about a Little Man that no one
else can see – the same Little Man who has appeared as far back as
issue #1 seeming to egg him on. Glenmorgan's assessment? – “The
Little Man is the Devil.”
Interestingly,
Superman's new adaptive “Kryptonian bio-armor” changes when he
crashes through another alien city during his fight with a
Collector-possessed Metal-0. The result is something vaguely
Silver-Age Jor-El-esque.
Some on the Internet are taking this scene to be the one linking
this opening story arc of Action
with the opening arc of Superman,
that is, that the creatures that invested the suit came from the
broken city. That may well be the case. But the blue-and-red quickly reasserts itself.
Metal-0's emotions – those of John
Corben – are infecting the Collector of Worlds. But that's
obviously not the source of the Collector's mania, which sounds like
a comic-book fanboy gone mad. It needs Superman to complete its
mint-condiction collection of ephemera from the destroyed planet
Krypton! Morrison's definitely got some metatextual commentary going
here. In any case, Superman threatens the Collector's collection to
force it to negotiate with him – and he grabs his own miniaturized
rocket from Metropolis to use its indestructible computer to deliver
a virus to override the Collector's programming! He is then able to
reduce the Collector to subserviance, order the restoration of
Metropolis, and all is well. Superman now has his Fortress, as seen
a couple issues back.
There
are several pages of epilogues laying groundwork for the future.
Clark's editor at the Daily
Star,
George Taylor, praises his work in exposing Glenmorgan and encourages
him to take the job offer at the Daily
Planet. We
find out that Clark's secret source “Icarus” is really Lex
Luthor!
– obviously part of Luthor's machinations to displace Glenmorgan.
Clark does not find this out, however – but cleverly he does
divert any suspicion “Icarus” might have regarding his own
identity by asking Icarus, “Are you Superman?”
General Lane still believes John Corben to be a hero. Does he
really
think Metal-0 “saved
the world”?
We get confirmation that Mrs. Nyxly knows Clark's secret – but
that she's trustworthy. It's interesting that in Morrison's New-52
take on Superman, Jonathan and Martha are dead by this time but that
he nonetheless inserts a mother-figure for him. This crisis has
overnight made the previously feared Superman the Hero of Metropolis,
and he is honored as such by the mayor. During the ceremony he
publicly admits that he too is an alien. It's not clear exactly what
the crowd's reaction is to that – but poignantly his “non-answer”
to Lois' question, “Do you have a place you go to be alone?”
prefaces a scene showing Clark at the gravesite of the Kents before
flying off to his new Fortress.
There is a mixture of feelings
conveyed here – he feels he has
found a place, among the others “like him” who are emerging about
now, but the issue ends with him alone on the Fortress, speaking
Kryptonian. The transition between those last scenes is one of Clark
launching into space with a grin from ear to ear. Can't say I really like that art, though – notoriously slow
artist Rags Morales was joined by three
other
artists to get this issue out on time. I guess that's the price we
pay for DC's promise that they will
meet deadlines – a variety of artists as well as shifting creative
teams. And finally in what's explicitly listed as a prologue we see
the Little Man recruiting a hunter to take down a “bullet-proof
man.” “There's no such thing as a bullet-proof man.”
Overall,
I'm still quite pleased with how this has gone. Action
is easily my single favorite comic coming out right now. If I had to
drop back to just one comic – this would be it. Even over Legion.
(Not really – I have going on fifty years of Legion
comics. I'm too deeply invested in that collection. But it's
close....)
Justice
League International #8
“Collision
Course”
Taking up immediately from the
cliffhanger ending of the previous issue, the addition of this
unexpected new player – Batwing – causes Booster Gold's attacker
to withdraw. It turns out this is all part of a greater anti-United
Nations conspiracy. Meanwhile, the August General in Iron, Guy
Gardner Green Lantern, and Godiva are ordered out of the hospital
where they've been keeping vigil over the injured Ice because the JLI
are attracting attacks – only to be attacked by OMAC. In other
news, David Zavimbi Batwing knows Vixen from years before.
Detective
Comics #8
“Scare
Tactics”
The
villain of this piece is Tony Dani– er, Scarecrow.
(Yes, that's how it's going to be.) He sends Batman on an errand
aimed at shutting down a competitor. To be fair, a few pages in I
was thinking, “This isn't so bad.” Then I hit the splash page
that is done – quite gratuitously – upside-down. It makes
absolutely no sense whatsoever. The background is upside-down.
Batman is upside-down. The words are right-side-up. So it's not a
printing error. … Did that porterhouse steak come out of the belt
– Man!
He carries everything
in there! … The story turns out to be a done-in-one, but what was
the point? Is this the pay-off for that backup a couple issues back
that introduced Eli Strange? I'm whelmed. (Young
Justice
joke there.)
And oh, look, my least favorite bat-book
is now more expensive. Yay. So there's another backup here in
addition to the interminably full-length main story. I remain
whelmed....
Two-Face
in “Welcome to the Dark Side”
It's
apparently the beginning of a Two-Face
backup series … also by Daniel. Again, I'm not sure what the point
of this story is, except that instead of killing some poor schmuck
Two-Face just tortures him … because the coin came up unscarred.
And torture is so much better. Anyway, Two-Face seems to think that
if he can get charges against him dropped, he can go back to being
District Attorney. I hope that's meant to convey how nutters
Two-Face really is!
The
reviewer liked this issue a bit more than I did – while pointing
out quite hilariously how far off the solicitation copy was:
http://batman-news.com/2012/04/04/new-52-detective-comics-8-review/
[I
had a bit of a gap in my writing, being away from home over the
Memorial Day weekend, visiting family in Houston and attending
Comicpalooza
on Saturday.]
Batwing
#8
“What
I Am … Was Born From Death”
We're dropped right into the final
confrontation between Batwing, alongside the Gotham Bats, with
Massacre and the Steelback armor. Yes, the mastermind is the old
Kingdom's scientist, but we're presented with a swerve in that
Massacre turns out not to be the old warlord who had pressed David
and his brother Isaac into service as child soldiers, but rather
Isaac himself, whom David had long believed dead. Kone is captured,
but Isaac escapes, obviously deranged. Batman talks David out of a
crisis of confidence brought on by these events.
Yeah,
Winick threw me off regarding who the villain was, but I am left a
little unsatisfied. Although I didn't predict it, I feel like I
should have – that the old “dead” brother who had so dominated
much of David's reminiscences would be the villain. It's such a
cliché! Ah well, it works well enough. As I've indicated before,
Batwing
has been the biggest surprise of the New 52 for me. I didn't expect
to like it, didn't pick it up at first, but have really been enjoying
it overall. Unfortunately it's not selling well overall so I'm not
too sure how long it will be around.
Stormwatch
#8
“Supercritical,
Part 2”
The extra-dimensional Gravity Miners are
defeated – well, I'm sure they'll be back eventually – Midnighter
and Jenny Quantum talk about boys in the midst of battle. Midnighter
tries to betray her for the sake of everything. Everything works out
all right even so – and Jenny psychs him in return.
I'm enjoying these when I read them, but
it seems I never have that much to say about them.
Superboy
#8
“Training
Day”
Huh–?
Wha–? Did I miss something? In this Prelude to “The Culling”
crossover that will encompass this title, Teen
Titans,
Legion Lost,
and launch The
Ravagers,
Superboy has a knockdown dragout with Grunge, who seems to have more
information on the Culling and “the Ravagers.” Caitlin steals a
shuttle pod from STAR Labs while that mysterious policewoman from the
future looks on, evidently having facilitated the theft because the
fates of many lives and worlds depend on it. Rose and Solstice have
a confrontation, which may end with Rose returning Solstice to
Harvest … But Superboy is consigned to “the Colony” where a
no-longer-green Beast Boy and Terra view him as an enemy. Maybe it
will all make sense later. It doesn't now.
Batman
and Robin #8
“Born
to Kill: Black Dawn”
This excellent issue brings the first
story arc of Bruce Wayne and Damian as Batman and Robin to an end,
dealing with the aftermath of Damian's actions last issue. Even
though he witnessed his son commit murder, I think Bruce agrees –
with difficulty – that he's not totally culpable given his
background and what he'd just been through. They are both seriously
injured. Alfred patches their bodies, but what about their souls?
There
are some extensive passages that bear quotation here – the payoff
of the past eight issues.... As Damain lies in bed recuperating,
Bruce places a flash drive on the bedside table, containing a
recording he made while he was searching for him, which leads to
maybe their first real heart-to-heart: “I listened to all of it,”
Damian tells him. – “And?” – “And you wanted
to kill Morgan after he shot you back in London.” – “And
…
for what he did
to you the other day. … I recorded those thoughts because I wanted
you to hear that you're not
alone,
Damian – that you're unfortunately
just as much my son as you are your mother's.” – “Meaning?”
– “Meaning the apple didn't only fall far from the Ducard tree,
but from the Wayne tree as well [sic]
… I fight back that uncontrollable
urge
more than you know. … You can't face lunatics
like we do on a daily basis and not have it boil up when they put
innocent
lives in jeopardy. … I'd be lying if I told you it never crossed my
mind. … But I made a promise
to myself – and on the souls of my parents – to live by certain
principles.”
– “But if killing them is the only way to stop them,” protests
Damian, “then how – ” – “Principles don't allow for
exceptions,
Damian. … There's an old proverb that says, 'If
you walk down a road of vengeance, then you should dig two graves,
one for your enemy and one for yourself.'
… You can't build a better world by killing criminals – It
bankrupts your soul and
society's by reinforcing the same cycle of violence.” – “I want
to believe that … but I'm not sure I can.”
– “You have
to believe it. … You have to live
it from here on out … Not for my sake, but yours.”
– Damian looks miserable: “I don't want to end up like Ducard …
without a moral compass … I don't want to turn into a Nobody
… I want to be like you. … I've always
wanted to be like you... But sometimes I don't know what
I am... Or even who
I am.” – Bruce looks Damian directly in his eyes: “You're my
son. … All I want you to be is the best Damian Wayne you can
be.” – Damian looks at him for a long moment, then replies, “And
here I thought we didn't like
each other.” – “We don't understand
each other. … There's a difference.” – “Don't give up on me,
Father.” – “I have no intention to.” – “How do I make
amends?” Damian has certainly changed during the course of this
series. I hope it has lasting character consequences! – “You
can't,” Bruce tells him. “You will
remember
what happened on that boat every
day.” That's his punishment. And I think he's changed enough that it means something.
Having been “grounded” by Alfred,
father and son then spend a day together doing “mundane” things –
fishing, playing fetch with the dog whom Damian has named Titus. But
ultimately Alfred's plea for just one night “off” seems to go
unanswered as they glimpse the Bat Signal shining in the sky over
Gotham and jump into action ….
Batwoman
#8
“To
Drown the World, Part 3”
We get more annoying non-sequential
narrative. In the present, Batwoman fights Killer Croc and other
villains, but frankly I have no idea what's happening except that
she's implementing all kinds of suit-tech activated by her own
version of a “phonetic alphabet” (Aro, Belfry, ??, Dark, Echo,
etc.) to take them out until the master bad guy threatens a kid. One
month ago: Maro is fitted with a malevolently sentient hook. One
week ago: Chase continues to use Kate's relationship with Maggie to
manipulate her. Six nights ago: Batwoman swipes Sune from police
custody during Maggie's prisoner transport. That new suit appears to
be a magnet for bullets – or maybe Batwoman is just not dodging
them now? Anyway, Kate accidentally tranqs Maggie. Two weeks ago,
we get another scene of Jacob's vigil over Bette. One week ago –
it says, but clearly post-six nights ago – Chase gets a
well-deserved punch in the mouth from Batwoman, but they make a deal
with Sune. Now: Batwoman's ace card is Sune, who enters the fray.
Big bad sees it as a batrayal.
If
you somehow reorder this once all the pieces are here, maybe
it would make a coherent story – but reading
comics should be fun, not work!
One comment about the cover … nice, but
has nothing to do with the story inside. It really seems to indicate
that we'll see Kate herself dealing with Bette's condition within the
pages of the story. We don't.
Batgirl
#8
“No
Darker Shadow”
I've
seen this commented on multiple places, Batgirl's consideration for
the thug whose lights she just punched out! This is an issue that mainly has Barbara dealing with a ghost from
her past – one of the Joker's henchmen from That Night. Initially,
her way of “dealing” is to let
him go?!
– after calling him by name?! But it sets her thinking about her
past, which apparently has That Night not playing out the way we saw
it in Alan Moore's The
Killing Joke.
There, Jim Gordon was witness to Barbara's shooting and being left
for dead. And it may well have been a spur-of-the-moment thing when
Joker was coming to get Gordon. I got the impression it was in
Gordon's house … but maybe “my house” as remembered by Babs is
referring to that, maybe she was still living at home. Anyway, the
way she remembers it now, “I was supposed to die there that night.
That was his plan. … For my father to find me like that.” I.e.,
Gordon was not there. That's confirmed much later in the issue.
Somehow this all brings to mind Babs' estranged relationship with her
mother as she spies “The Christmas gift Mom brought me, that I've
been a little too mean to open, even all these months later.” Has
it really been that long? Needing to talk to someone, she calls her
mother and soon meets with her, finding out why her mother left the
family, which has to do with Babs psychopathic little brother James
Jr. (Incidentally, I'm guessing Babs is no longer an adopted niece.)
He threatened to kill Babs if mom didn't
leave. She's now back because she got her own help, and James Jr.
has now been put away (doubtless referring to the events of Scott
Snyder's pre-Flashpoint
run in Detective
Comics).
Babs runs away to process all this, but still thinks there's more to
it. … Now,
she decides to go for Danny, the thug she let go earlier in the issue
– and thereby falls right into Grotesque's trap (oh yeah, remember
him?). Grotesque is a mutant who channels electricity. But Danny
turns on Grotesque, ending up fatally wounded. Batgirl unleashes on
Grotesque; her inner'logue: “Oh, Grotesque. … You do not
want to get me mad tonight.
… I always wondered how Bruce stays so cool.
… So detached.
… I get it now. … It's so he doesn't become what I am right this
moment.” She beats him down, then goes to Danny, essentially
hearing his confession. Halfway through, Babs lapses into speaking
of Gordon's daughter in the first person, seemingly without realizing
it. He doesn't really react except to start referring to her as
“you.” Although he'd been as coldblooded a henchman in the act
itself, her courage had inspired him to call and report the shooting
in time to save her life: “I don't know [why]. … You didn't
cry. You didn't … you didn't beg. … I couldn't leave it alone.”
And he dies. We're obviously meant to see that as a redemptive act,
or was the redemptive act his saving Batgirl from Grotesque? … Ten
blocks away, Alysia gets off work and is picked up by … James Jr.
Uh-oh.
I liked this issue; the reviewer did not: http://batman-news.com/2012/04/11/new-52-batgirl-8-review/
Demon
Knights #8
“In:
The Ballad of Nimue and the Demon”
Madame
Xanadu (born Nimue) relates her and Jason Blood's story. They have a
rather troubled (and disturbing) three-way relationship with Etrigan.
Of course, it turns out Etrigan's version is somewhat – amusingly
– different.... Perhaps most notably this issue, we find out that there have been many Camelots through time, reconciling Grant
Morrison's Camelot of his Seven
Soldiers
series with the Camelot we all know and love in Dark Age Britain. I
think that was actually an element in Morrison's original story, come
to think of it. Anyway, the cliffhanger to this issue hints that
Alba Sarum may be the last of all Camelots.
It's
amazing how British writers – and those versed in British profanity
– can get away with so much because American audiences – and
ratings boards – don't get what's being said. For instance, the
notorious line in The
Avengers
when Loki calls Black Widow a “mewling quim”; that of course
coming from the pen of Joss Whedon, who had Spike spouting all kinds
of stuff on Buffy
the Vampire Slayer.
Here, Paul Cornell drops the term, “swivers.” Let's just say
the Battlestar
Galactica
equivalent would be “frackers”....
Legion
Lost #8
“Ravaged!”
Another prelude for “The Culling.”
This is not shaping up very promisingly. Just some random notes: On
page 1, why is Agent Centerhall so surprised “Psykill” knew what
he wanted? – with a name like “Psykill”!? … “Mother
Henaculus”? … So Yera has a “real [secret] mission” too? …
Umm ... what is that that Yera hits the fake Gim with?! … The basic
“plot” is that Harvest/NOWHERE sends a team to bring in the seven
“lost” Legionnaires – Rose Wilson plus some new characters.
Within the Legionnaires, there is division over what Timber Wolf did
last issue, stealing from drug dealers to get them some cash. Even
with my overall assessment of how “The Culling” is shaping up, I
did make a note that “frankly the story is more engaging.” I was
very disappointed with how Nicieza, a writer I generally like, was
handling these characters. This at least seemed a little more
straightforward under Tom DeFalco. And I found the art by Aaron
Kuder more suitable to the characters as well. Frankly, I think the
Legion – “Lost” or “real” – works much better with
cleaner art than Woods was delivering.
But I'm still not terribly taken with
this book.
Justice
League #8
“Team-Up:
Green Arrow”
After an okay introductory arc, the
wheels seem to be spinning off this cart. It's just going from bad
to worse. Let's slog through it.
“Team-Up”?
Only in Green Arrow's dreams! Actually, he wants to be a member …
which leads to us finding out that in the five years since its
formation, the Justice League has never
had any members besides the original seven.
Come again?
Yeah, right....
Anyway, also in that five years Cyborg has Boom Tubed the team about
three thousand
times – that's over once per day. I guess it's conceivable. In
those 3000 times, he's twice messed up and landed them on Apokalips
instead of their destination – actually, it's about once every
thousand
times, so they're now overdue for another visit to Darkseid. Uh-oh.
… Green Arrow wants into the team to overcome some less-than-heroic
past actions of his own, and stalks the League in scenes that carom
off Batman
and Justice League
Dark
plots – events we've not yet seen, in fact. He's basically trying
to prove himself. Besides Green Lantern Hal Jordan being the typical
jerk he how is (at least in this book), there's some bad blood
between GA and Aquaman, somehow having to do with GA's origin story
on the desert island. Whatever, the JL is adamant that it doesn't
allow new members. So Steve Trevor offers him another team to
“giv[e] a social conscience to.”
This all causes the League to ruminate on
why it doesn't allow new members. It “tried once, with the Martian
Manhunter,” but it turned out badly – as in we get a double-page
spread of the League all fighting J'Onn J'Onzz. Then, on the last
page, J'Onn is on Mars (I presume) “listening” to them,
observing, “They're not prepared.”
This
sure didn't feel like twenty pages to me.... The story itself seems
geared toward new readers who have no history with these characters.
Not so much a problem in itself, except that I would also say,
“without expecting them to be reading
other titles” … were there not the blatant attempts at
cross-promotion! So
much doesn't gee-haw.
“SHAZAM!:
Welcome Home, Billy!”
At
least I'm taking that as the title. We find out that Billy Batson is
fifteen years old. Okay, I guess. I like him to be younger than
that, but they're obviously not asking me! If they were … oh, just
see my comments on last issue. Why can't DC understand Captain
Marvel as well as, say, Evan Shaner and Nate Cosby here?:
 |
| Source: http://www.evanshaner.com/2011/08/cosby-on-cap.html |
Anyway,
the social worker takes Billy to his new foster parents' home, the
Vasquezes. There are already five kids there – the ones from
Flashpoint
(here
s.v.
“Captain Thunder,” which, incidentally, I would like a lot better
than naming the hero “Shazam” … but they're obviously not
asking me). Notice Mary does not tell him her last name. Does she
think she's a Bromfield?, which would explain why the Vasquezes (and
the social worker) don't bat an eye bringing Billy Batson into their
home. Billy manages to make a great first impression on them –
not!
– but does in private seem to feel a little contrition. Maybe he's
not quite such the dick. Then he sees the wizard's face in a cloud
outside his window.
Notice that Billy's photograph of his
parents a) shows his father to look just like traditional Captain
Marvel, and b) a tiger – Tawky Tawny.
Annotations/Review:
http://atthehallofjustice.blogspot.com/2012/05/justice-league-8.html
Wonder
Woman #8
“Casting
Shadows”
Armed
with Eros' pistols, Wonder Woman and Hermes head into the Underworld
as we are presented with a bunch of supposedly profound mumbo-jumbo
about death and life. They find Zola, whose relative time has been
months – i.e., she is very
pregnant. Hades, who just wants a wife, strikes a deal with Wonder
Woman to let Zola go in return for Eros' guns – then shoots Wonder
Woman in the heart. The bullet goes right through her gauntlet and
forearm first! Hades: “Messenger … inform our family. There
will be a wedding.
… … Can't you see she's in love?”
There
is absolutely nothing here making me regret my decision to drop this
title. To be fair to it, however, I'm going with a different reviewer this month,
one who actually likes this series (while granting it's not the
Wonder Woman
he would have preferred...).
Supergirl
#8
“Girl
in the World”
We
do get a glimpse of the “pissed-off teenager” here – but she
has cause. After she has just saved New York City from the
Worldkillers, her thanks is to be attacked by the NYPD SWAT team.
But a girl happens to be there, Siobhan Smythe, who happens to have a
gift for languages, i.e. she instantly understands Kara's Kryptonian,
and can instantly
speak
it as well – albeit with an Irish accent?! The police try to take
them in despite Siobhan's pleas, whereupon Kara swoops them into the
sky, to Siobhan's initial terror then delight. Siobhan gives her a
crash course on Earth culture – which apparently doesn't include
being able to impart English to her, unfortunately. A musician,
Siobhan takes her new friend along to a music gig – where she is
attacked by her deceased
father the Black Banshee. Whereupon she turns into the Silver
Banshee – maybe not a villain here?
As
much as I admire George Perez, there are certain characters I am less
enthusiastic about his drawing. Batman is one. Supergirl is
another. His style just doesn't fit, in my opinion. Kind of like
the great Joe Kubert rendering Superman.... Although one thing I do
like is that he removes the little “notches” from beside the red
triangular “panty-shields” … er, I don't think that's the right
term!
On the other hand, a cosplayer's photo has been making its
rounds on the Internet of late showing that, as Jon Wilson of The
New 52 Adventures of Superman
podcast asks, “Who says that the suit doesn't work?” –
including that feature. (I picked a different image from the
cosplayer's own gallery than the one he posts to Facebook [27 May 2012], also the source of the quotation) to better
illustrate the entirety of the suit....) [Source: http://alisakiss.deviantart.com/gallery/
]
Batman
#8
“Attack
on Wayne Manor”
“Night
of the Owls Begins!” We get a time stamp at the beginning of the
action in this issue, which takes place starting at 7:01 pm. I hope
they keep doing this – it will make it easier to line up the action
of this first sprawling cross-over of the New 52. (Or you can just
check out Andrew Asbury's reading order at his Batman-News.com
site [the source of most of my Bat-family reviews].)
With
this title also expanding to the longer $3.99 format, there are
basically two stories in this issue although they read almost
seamlessly as one, the only real difference being the artists. In
the first, we see the Talons invade Wayne Manor, culminating with
Batman in armor bursting out of the Cave's armory to take them on.
In the second, which takes place immediately after but shifts the
focus – and starts at 7:32 pm – as Alfred reads a list he's
hacked into on a microdrive retrieved from a fallen Talon's gauntlet,
a list of Gotham City public figures whom we simultaneously see under
attack by Talons. Alfred puts out “The
Call”
to the Allies of the Bat: Red Robin, Red Hood, Robin, Nightwing,
Batgirl, and the Birds of Prey.
A
couple of notes: 1) Take it from a contact lens wearer, if Bruce has
an eye inflammation he would
not be wearing a contact lens!
2) Apparently this is when the Talons discover Bruce Wayne is Batman
– at least the one in the Cave is surprised: “Well, well. …
Seems you have a secret,
Bruce. Don't you?” Of course, the villain doesn't get to pass on
this discovery ... “Heh” indeed.
Birds
of Prey #8
“A
Far Cry”
Did
I miss something again? Suddenly the story's all about Black
Canary's past coming for them all for her murder of her husband Kurt
Lance – which Canary ends up admitting to by the issue's climax.
However, even as that happens, Starling separately realizes that she
is talking to … Kurt
Lance
(I think). And next issue is the “Night of the Owls” crossover.
So what about the cliffhanger from last issue?
Nightwing
#8
“Bloodlines”
This
issue brings up the “four families” of Gotham City circa
1910, but enumerates them as Wayne, Cobblepot, Elliot, … and Crown?
Does that gee-haw with Snyder and Higgins' miniseries
(pre-Flashpoint,
but explicitly said to be a lead-in to story themes that would be
picked up in the New 52)? Well, what I took to be the fourth family
back then, the Kanes, are also mentioned here in reference to those
very events. Not sure how it all fits together.
The
framing story is of Dick's ancestor – William Cobb – who first
joined Haly's Circus but is now one of the undead Talons, and out to
kill his descendant for his “betrayal.” Although the cover
banner states that this is a “Night of the Owls Prelude,”
Nightwing answers Alfred's call from Batman
#8 (7:40 pm) and saves the mayor, but is ambushed by his ancestor and
left in a bad way, with throwing knives sticking out of his chest
(probably his chest armor).
Catwoman
#8
“I'm
good at getting people to do what I need them to do.”
Selina
and Spark are working together now, stealing a set of ancient knives
– which they find to be missing one. Oh mannnn....!
The Penguin has the missing knife – so they determine to steal it
from him. While casing and preparing that heist, they stumble into a
mystery regarding hookers being stalked and abducted. The epilogue
shows that their impending interaction with the Penguin is how they
are going to be brought into the “Night of the Owls” story –
notice that Catwoman was not
an “Ally of the Bat” called by Alfred – because the Owls are
targetting him....
Legion
of Super-Heroes #8
“1
of 5”
Well,
there aren't any beauteous Borg in here, but we all know “5” has
a special meaning to the Legion, right? Yeah, the Fatal
Five. In the first story, drawn by 1980s classic Levitz-era artist
Steve Lightle, somebody steals a computer chip containing the
technology that created the cyborg Tharok in the first place. Uh-oh.
A couple of notes: 1) That's an interesting costume on “elf-girl.”
Or is
it a costume rather than her being nude with an interesting skin
color pattern? There are no black lines around the edges delineating
the colors inside the issue, although there are on the cover. 2) So
Invisible Kid's sister is still under medical care?
“Founders'
Night”
The
most recent regular artist before Portela, Yilderay Cinar, returns to
draw the second story, which is a character piece with the founders.
It begins with Cosmic Boy spending his monitor duty time looking for
the seven lost members of the Legion. I get the feeling he's the
only one who hasn't given them up for dead. Then Lightning Lad and
Saturn Girl “kidnap” him for some fun – which inevitably leads
to them having to go into action. We also find out that electrical
storms make Garth frisky? That sounds familiar; did we see something like that recently in the older founders' appearance in Action
Comics? Oh, and Cos and
Night Girl seem to be on better terms than I thought they were.
Aquaman
#8
“The
Others, Chapter Two”
We get more glimpses into Arthur's past
with the pre-Justice League group, the Others, focussing on an
incident in Siberia where they lost Black Manta because the other
Others (?) wouldn't abandon a village to an avalanche. I would say
that disagreement is symbolized by the cover, but Arthur wasn't
wearing his modern suit back then, nor is the Seer here. This led to
Arthur splitting with the group. He now feels an unexpressed debt to
them. He and Ya'wara investigate the Seer's body, coming under
attack by Manta's men. Manta has tracked down another Other (?!).
Meanwhile, Mera demands the story of her husband's past from Shin....
Progresses the story, but I don't have
much more than that to say – other than Johns generally doesn't
even put forth the pretence that his individual issues of comics are
anything other than just part of a story, does he?
Superman
#8
“The
Outsider Option”
Eight
issues in, and finally
we get an issue that really feels
like Superman. Helspont the Daemonite shows Superman a “future”
as an alien fugitive in a manner that almost seems calculated to be
inviting a tart retort from Alan Moore. He tries to seduce the hero
to his banner, but Superman rejects this latest temptation to
dominate rather than serve humanity. So they fight until Helspont
abruptly disappears.
Random
thoughts: I can't tell if there's a bit of sisterly friction between
Lois and Lucy or what, but Lucy immediatetly strikes me as a bit of a
“mean girls” type. … “Dr. Superman” diagnoses Helspont at
one point being overcome by “Cheyne-Stokes” respiratory distress
– off to Wikipedia I went, finding this.
It's a ruse, of course.
[Here was the second big gap in my writing, taking my mother to my brother's home two states away for my nephew's Eagle Scout ceremony.]
Batman:
The Dark Knight #8
“The
Madness”
I
don't think I've ever seen the cover artist given lead placement in
the listing of creators for an issue as is done on this cover. Of
course, Batman:
The Dark Knight
was conceived as a David Finch vehicle in the first place, and I
guess DC figures the draw of his name merits top billing although
other creators produced the content. I think it's a bit deceptive.
Anyway,
something in Gotham City's subways are causing people to go berserk,
slaughtering one another. Batman finds Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,
two of the dumber
members of his rogues gallery, in an abandoned section of the tunnels
– also affected. The madness spreads to the surface, and the
public panics. It all seems to be the doing of the Mad Hatter.
Sadly, the White Rabbit is not present inside the issue, only on the
cover as eye candy.
Batman
has some interesting ruminations regarding Gotham City in his
inner'logue, silently wondering if Hatter's gloating has some merit.
The Hatter: “... I've alreado shown this city how weak and simple
and easily given to its worst demons it truly is... …once you push
the right buttons.” Batman: “Is he right about Gotham? … Is
it the city
that brings out the beast in people, or is it always
there... …waiting for the right origin
story
to set it free? … Gotham City takes a lot from its citizens. …
It will rip the better angels right off your shoulder if you aren't
careful. … But it's our city... ...and we don't
let it beat us.”
In
the continuing wrangling between Gordon and Internal Affairs, the
Commissioner is sent to a department psychologist. Nothing is really
revealed here, but he refers to his ex-wife and her recent return
“after I forget how long,” how his daughter was “in and then
out of a wheelchair before I can even find the time to worry about
it,” and “[t]hen there's my son....”
Later, he is in a police helicopter overlooking as Batman takes down
the Hatter and the Tweed cousins, shouting down, “You okay,
Batman?” Batman's wordless observation: “I could ask the same
of him. He's been through enough to make a lesser man buckle. But
his face says it all... …
We're
okay. Most of us, anyway. … Or as close as any
of us get in Gotham.”
The
art by Ed Benes is close enough in style to Finch that I first didn't
notice the difference. The story, a done-in-one by Joe Harris –
this is obviously a filler issue – was actually the issue of this
series that I've enjoyed the most as
a story.
I wonder who will handle the almost compulsory crossover into the
“Night of the Owls” event next issue?
Justice
League Dark #8
“The
Leaving: Part 3 of Rise of the Vampires”
Although
Deadman and John Constantine's trip to Purgatory to bring Andrew
Bennett back fails – he refuses to return – Madame Xanadu's
appeal to the Quintessence succeeds. But not immediately. Things
continue to go downhill for the dark heroes. Shade even loses
control and leaves. Cain seems on the verge of triumph – then
Andrew shows up. Changed his mind, I guess. Or just wanted to make
a memorable entrance.
I,
Vampire #8
“Finale
of the Rise of the Vampires: Cruel to be Kind”
Empowered
by the Quintessence with the magicks that Cain had been drawing to
himself, Andrew Bennett destroys the attacking vampires – then
reforms them as his own minions. He destroys (?) Cain and takes his
place beside Mary as the prince of the vampires, leading them …
where? He also wipes away the public revelation of the vampires with
a wave of his hand. He sends John and Tig to get the vampire-hunter
Van Helsings … why? He tells a sceptical John Constantine of a
Darkness that is coming, that he will be there to help. But til then
– stay out of his way!
The
issue ends with Tig and John leaving on the mission they've been
given, Tig still arguing that this all proves Bennett is evil. He
tells her that the Van Helsings are an “[a]ncient order of vampire
hunters. … Stoker named the character after them. … They...
...are worse than the vampires.” – “Terrific. … This is the
worst road trip ever.” – “Well it's about to get much, much
worse.” – “At least Cain's dead, right, Prof? … Right,
Prof...?” Considering the figure with the red-veiny patterns
seeming to congeal out of the dust behind them, I wouldn't bet on
it....
Teen
Titans #8
“A
Dark Omen”
Carries
the banner, “The Culling: Prelude.” I'm liking this crossover
less and less and it hasn't even gotten here. Looks like an excuse
for mindless violence. Early reviews for the new series being born
in it, The Ravagers,
haven't been promising either, e.g. here.
The
Teen Titans vs. Omen. Solstice has encountered her before. She
exposes and uses her opponents' secrets and weaknesses by warping
reality. Notably, Red Robin keeps his focus although I'm not sure it
does a whole lot of good. We are treated to a few hints regarding
the origin of this new Wonder Girl. Omen wonders (heh!) why her
capture is “one of Harvest's top priorities. … ...I would never
have suspected. … You are not
a metahuman – it is not your body that possesses strength or the
power of flight. … [It] is the invisible
armor
you wear that makes you unique! … Every time you use it – you
are afraid it will one day control you. And not the other way
around. … The lariat – it drains your life as well. … Quite
the bargain you made to save the life of a person so close to you.”
Also a bit on the nature of Skitter – it is a separate being that
inhabits Celine as a host body. Being separated terrifies Celine:
“You idiot – do you have any idea what you've done?! … You are
interfering here in things you could not possibly understand,
Omen...Or
should I call you Lilith?!
… Render us together again – … – or life on Earth itself is
doomed!” Lilith? – any connection to the old classic Teen
Titans
character? Referring to Wikipedia,
I see that at some point when I wasn't reading Teen
Titans,
that Lilith indeed went by the moniker “Omen.” Hm. In a single
“Meanwhile” digression, we see a skinny Amanda Waller as well as
an “Agent Lance” (see Birds
of Prey
above). I've heard of the new “Wall,” but never seen her before
now. I think she loses something more than just girth
in the revamp – a loss of presence.
… Ultimately, Omen has played on all their insecurities to soften
them up for Harvest, who calls them his newest Ravagers
….
*
* *
Digital...
DC
Universe Presents
#8
Challengers
of the Unknown in “Hiatus”
It
turns out that the Forgotten Lord wants the talismans, but once he
has the three they've found thus far, the power overwhelms him. We
are left at the end of the issue with four survivors of the crash in
issue #6, four surviving Challengers of the Unknown: June, Prof,
Red, and Maverick, and a mission to find the other three talismans.
The tag proclaims, “Not the End” … but I have to agree with
Martin Gray that it probably is. His review pretty much sums up this
little attempted revival of one of DC's oldest Silver Age strips
about which I know far too little but have a bit of a recent
fascination born in its obvious similarities to pulp sci-fi adventure
stories like Doc Savage.
Smallville:
Season 11
“Guardian,
Chapters 4-6”
It
occurs to me that I'm cheating a little in including these with the
April releases since they actually came out in May (and cheating a
little more since #6 actually dropped on 1 June), but I was
reading them concurrently with reading the April releases....
The
rhythm appears to be to digitally publish three chapters on three
consecutive Fridays, which are almost immediately collected and
released in print – apparently with some kind of extras – with a
week or two off before the next three chapters start appearing. DC
has posted a schedule of the first twelve chapters making up the
“season premiere” episode, entitled “Guardian”:
http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2012/05/04/smallville-season-11%E2%80%99s-first-print-issue-available-now
.
In
these three chapters, Lex continues seeing Tess although doctors tell
him there's nothing wrong with him, but that doesn't keep him from
unveiling the project he's been working on to offer the US and indeed
the world a new space-based defense system called … Guardian.
Clark interviews the commander of the inaugural flight, Hank
Henshaw, while Ollie confronts Lex about some of the other
implications of a space-based “defense” system. When the flight
launches, disaster happens almost immediately and Superman goes into
action. As Superman gets his crew to safety, Henshaw attempts to
ride the ship safely back to Earth but is severely injured by
escalating radiation. He does manage to tell Superman the explosion
was no accident … which Lex already knows, of course.
Reviews:
4) http://acomicbookblog.com/2012/05/smallville-season-11-4-review/
; 5) http://acomicbookblog.com/2012/05/smallville-season-11-5-review/
; and 6)
http://acomicbookblog.com/2012/06/smallville-season-11-6-review/
*
* *
And
that's it. I've already received my May releases and am itching
to start reading them!
Cheers!,
and Thanks for Reading!
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