Gotham City Sirens #13 - DC

We already have a pretty rich female cast in Gotham, but it looks like we're going to be adding another. It's Catwoman's sister, Magdalene Kyle. It appears that she has some angel (?) whispering in her ear telling her that her sister Selina is possessed by some sort of cat-demon. And that the only way to save her may be to kill her. I don't think that Magdalene, or as she comes to be called this issue . . Sister Zero . . I don't think she's necessarily evil. But for some reason she's being manipulated by this spirit. At one point, while Catwoman and Harley Quinn are fighting her, Sister Zero comes into contact with Harley and turns her against Selina also. When she comes out of it later Selina asks her if she was drugged, but . . she says it was more like a possession. It's like . . one second it was on, and the next it was off. It didn't really ease in or out of it like a drug would. Anyways, Selina ends up convincing Magdalene to at least question what she's being told when she shows her that she had returned the skull of Saint Bertram, that Maggy had seen her steal years before. She knew that her sister had seen her, and that was the first time she ever felt guilty about stealing something. Anyways, it seems that this angel is also giving Maggy some extra-human strength, and fighting abilities. In the end she takes off, because she's confused. But she lets Selina know that it's not over. So now, besides that lady over at the theatre that's the 'Spirit of Gotham', we now have this new female protagonist on the scene. I liked the way that this story left if kind of ambiguous as to whether she's good or evil. Yes she's fighting Catwoman, but . . Catwoman isn't always a good person either. I liked the way that Tony Bedard approached all of this. It leaves everything pretty open for the future. I thought Peter Nguyen and Andres Guinaldo did a great job with the art. I've really enjoyed the first year of this book. I hope it keeps going strong.

Gotham City Sirens #11 - DC

This was a kind of short and sweet story, but . . it was entertaining. While out on a jog, Selina is approached by a couple of thier neighbors. It seems that there's been a rash of dog-napping occurring in the neighborhood. Selina doesn't think much of it, but when she shows the picture to Harley, she can't wait to go out searching. Anyways, at first they think it's a local gang who run the dog-fights, but . . it ends up being Harley's hyenas. After she goes to bed they've been sneaking out of the yard, snatching up the local pets, and eating them. Obviously they can't return the pets, but . . they can make sure it doesn't happen anymore. And Selina makes Harley donates the hyenas to the zoo. Like I said . . short and sweet. But . . while this was going on, Poison Ivy started her first day on the job at STAR labs as the new director of biochemical research, Dr Paula Irving. Her first act was to fire Dr Simmons, and his entire team. They've been in charge of botanical research at STAR for the last 20 years. She didn't really have any reason to do it other than showing the rest of the staff who was in charge. The problem is, later on, one of Dr Simmons assistants, Alisa, decides to get some payback. She sneaks back into the labs and lures Dr Irving into an industrial strength dehydrator. The issue ends with her cranking it up. 'You've wiped away everything I've worked for. Allow me to return the favor!' Paul Dini's stories aren't overly complicated, but . . I do think they're entertaining. Most of his stories are either single issue, or 2-issue story-arcs. But I do like the feel of them. They're kind of 'a day in the life' kind of thing. It's just a quick entertaining read. This issue Andres Guinaldo steps in on the art. Although Guillem March still does the cover. I liked Andres' art. It had a unique kind of feel to it. And it's always nice seeing these 'bad-girls' act up.

Gotham City Sirens #10 - DC

Well . . the girls have used Eddie to help them take down this Aesop character. But unfortunately, in the process, I think that they've actually harmed Eddie more by feeding into his already fractured psychosis. I don't think there was ever really any doubt that the girls were going to be able to beat Aesop and take back their warehouse home. But I think the point of the story was to feed into Eddie's already delusional thinking. After he realizes that the girls just used him as bait, he starts to think that he was never really their friend in the first place. 'They used me, plain and simple. Yes, that comes with the territory in my line of work, and I'll take it from strangers, but never friends. Maybe that explosion in my face opened my eyes to the artifice of this 'clean' life I've been living. How long will it be until I rip away the facade of respectability completely and embrace whatever lies rolling beneath? Well. That's the riddle, isn't it?' There's more to this issue, obviously . . more about the girls. But to me, that is what really came out of this story. Well, that and the fact that Selina has nurtured an enemy who hates Catwoman with a passion now . . Aesop. I don't think this is the last we've seen of him. Paul Dini does a nice job with these characters, and seems right at home on the streets of Gotham. Through various titles, he's been there for quite a while. This issue Andres Guinaldo fills in on the art for Guillem March. Although Guillem does still do the cover. I enjoyed this issue and like the development of these characters. I wonder how they're going to react when the Birds return?

Gotham City Sirens #9 - DC

This issue came across as a mystery, 'whodunit', kind of tale. Although this is the girls' book . . the main character of this story was definitely Edward Nigma. His erratic behaviour of late seems to a personality disorder of some kind. I don't want to say schizophrenia, but it's almost like he's been doing the right thing . . operating on the right side of the law, for too long. His psyche, or conscious doesn't operate that way. And it's starting to fight back. You know how you get those crazy thoughts that pop into your head every now and then, but . . you'll never act on them, so . . you don't worry about it. Well the line between blowing them off without acting on them is becoming more and more obscure for Edward. Anyways, the girls come to him because someone seems to be trying to frame them. They've dropped a dead girl's body right into their laps . . literally. And she's got all the markings that it was these girls that killed her. The way the story is set up, the girls are basically telling Edward the story in reverse. They start out with the dead girl being dropped into their 'house' . . having to hide it because of the way she died, and then coming to Edward to help them figure it out. It's an interesting tale. It's set up just the way a woman would tell the story. They keep telling him all this stuff that he doesn't really want to know . . or doesn't convey the details of the story. So he keeps having to get them back on track. Anyways, long story short . . after Edward goes to the 'hideout' and gets a feel for the situation and the details . . it becomes apparent that they are indeed being set up. And . . it's an old friend from their line of work . . Doctor Aesop. Now, hopefully . . next issue we'll find out what he's up to, and why. I thought it was an interesting issue. Paul Dini put together a nice story. Even though it was mostly about Edward trying to figure out these events, the girls' personalities all came through in their story-telling. And I'm liking Guillem March's pencils more and more with every issue. I don't know how long this book will last. But . . hopefully for a little while. It's a good outlet for these characters whom we don't get to see that often.

Gotham City Sirens #8 - DC

This issue is almost entirely about Poison Ivy. It seems that there's someone running around Robinson Park killing people in her name . . known eco-terrorists. But . . it's even more specific than that. They're being killed with an unknown plant-based toxin, and . . it's been created around Ivy's specific DNA. The police believe that she's the culprit, but . . Gordon has his doubts. Each of the victims have a puncture mark around their carotid artery. That's how the poison is being injected. To him, this doesn't hold up with Ivy's usual MO. He shares information with her, because he thinks she'll want to find the killer as much as she does. However, when leaving the police station, she's knocked out by another police officer, Stuart Rawlings, who throws her in a hole for weeks . . to rot. While she's down there withering away, Selina is trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. Long story short . . it ends up being someone who worked at Arkham and had access to Ivy's blood/sap. From there . . it's a pretty short list to figure out who it is. Luckily, about this same time is when they come up with Officer Rawlings name and they also find Ivy. Selina let's her take care of the pretender as she knows she'll want to. I thought this was an interesting story, by Guillem March and Marc Andreyko, showing us a bit of Ivy's character and where her mind is at nowadays. I don't think she's turning to the side of angels, but . . she does seem kind of detached from the world of men. Except for her attachment to Selina and Harley that is. Guillem also does the art. I enjoy this title. I like seeing a different side of Gotham. Plus . . nothing looks hotter than a bad-girl.

CatWoman #83 - DC

I want to say that I really enjoyed this book . . both the story and the art. And while it has nothing to do with this issue . . I really, really miss Jim Balent's Catwoman. Meooww!! In it's absence, I read Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose regularly. I just don't think it's appropriate for this blog. However, with this issue, I am happy that Adam Hughes did the cover. His version is equally as succulent as Jim's. Plus, it continues with the great covers of the last series. Adam is another guy that could put together a book of nothing but cover art. Anyways, this issue is all about CatWoman's greatest regret . . as if you didn't know . . killing the Black Mask, Roman Sionis. She was trying to protect her sister, Maggie. I don't think that she necessarily regrets killing him, just that she was pushed by him to that point. I don't think she ever wanted to take a life, but . . for family, she was willing to. And now that Black Mask has returned and is trying to make her come to that decision again. At first he comes directly at her and attacks her as she's leaving a burglary. But she doesn't give him what he wants. She becomes pure 'will'. He wants the more raw emotions . . fear, anger, hatred. But she refuses to give those to him. So he decides instead to go at her like he did last time . . through her sister Maggie. Which takes them all to the psychiatric hospital where she's been held since the Black Mask killed her husband, and forced her to eat his eyeballs. Yuckk!! Since then, she's been pretty much catatonic. But it's the Black Mask's voice that brings her out of it. And then, when she sees Selina . . it all comes pouring out. The whole Black Mask thing . . doesn't really matter. Selina gets the help of her cohorts, Harley and Ivy, and they defeat him by putting him in a man-eating plant. I guess they plan on keeping him there until the Black Ring crisis has passed. Anyways, none of that's really important. Other than setting up the story. The real important thing that happens this issue is that Maggie has found a new target for her hatred and rage. It's now being directed straight at CatWoman. During all the hoopla, Maggie mugs a nun and takes off in her uniform. We see her later, I assume, in the sewers. 'It's all so clear . . should've never left the order, never renounced my vows . . then I might've realized it sooner . . my mission in life . . to kill the demon that took away my sister and destroyed both our lives. The demon that calls itself CatWoman.' There was an old series called Areala Warrior Nun. I don't know if anybody remembers that. Anyways, my point is . . it appears that Maggie may be heading down that path. Or maybe she'll just hook up with Azrael. I don't know. But I do know . . we haven't seen the last of Magdalene Kyle. Tony Bedard did a great job with this issue. I really liked the story, and the way that it was all set up to affect, and change Maggie's character. She's been stuck away in the broom closet for far to long. It's about time she got out and started making a contribution. Even if it is to the determent of her sister, Selina. The art for this issue was done by a team of great artists that include Fabrizio Fiorentino, Ibraim Roberson, Marcos Marz, and Luciana Del Negro. Obviously each of them did different pages, so I'm not sure who's are was who's. But . . there were some really amazing panels in this book. It definitely lived up to it's preceding incarnations. So far, this has been my favorite 'Final Issue' yet. Which says alot, because I was really glad to see Suicide Squad.

Gotham City Sirens #7 - DC

This title gets better and better every issue. This time we get a little bit of focus on each of the Sirens individually. First we see Selina interacting with Dick and Damian. There's almost a flirting thing going on there, but not really. And she really, really doesn't like Damian. Next we see Pamela somewhere in Central America. She's decided to take a vacation, and get back to her roots. As it were. She definitely feels more at home in the rain-forest, but as she notes . . she's a product of both worlds . . man and nature's. So when she goes to long without one or the other . . she tends to miss it. Which is how she's feeling in the jungle. But then, as a reminder . . she comes across some drug dealers whom are trying to hide under the tree cover, and some environmentalists that have accidentally walked into their camp and are taken hostage. Ivy barely lifts a finger to take them all out. The jungle literally turns on them. But she lets the environmentalists go free. It's a gesture of good-will. And finally . . Harley goes home to visit her family. Her mother doesn't really want anything to do with her, but . . she does miss her. Her 30 something brother, that still lives at home, is a no-account dead-beat. Although his kids love Harley. She sent him some money . . about $300,000 a few months ago. She wanted him to be able to get out on his own and maybe set up a college fund for the kids. But . . he's blown through it all. And her father? Her father is in prison. Repeat offender. It seems he likes to find rich women and scam them out of their money. Anyways, Harley tries to make the most of it, but . . she misses he girls. When she returns to the Gotham City Shelter, she finds that all the reconstruction has been completed. The place has been turned into a veritable mansion. Selina just wants everybody to feel comfortable. When she asks Harley how her visit home was . .'It was terrible. Horrible beyond all human comprehension. It just proved to me one thing. There's no place like home!' She's talking about the shelter. It was nice to see a little bit of the personal side of these characters . . some character development. They're all such strong women, it's almost a shame to leave any of their personal stories out of any issue. Paul Dini is doing a great job here. And this issue David Lopez steps in as the penciller. I really hope this book makes it because I enjoy seeing these characters every month.

Gotham City Sirens #6 - DC

It appeared that the Joker had taken exception to our erstwhile trio here, so he attacked them . . and tried to burn down their hideout. But, come to find out, it wasn't actually the Joker, but rather his first sidekick . . Gaggy. It wasn't actually the Joker that took exception, but rather Gaggy because he blamed Harley for the way the boss had changed. He was no longer the Clown Prince of Crime, but rather 'My Joker had become a sullen psychotic creep. Someone needed to restore his reputation and the Prince of Pranksters.' But it seems to me that with the passion that he's gone after Harley with . . it kind of looks like Gaggy is the same type of psychotic creep. Anyways, in the end, with the help of the girl they got reconstructing their club-house, Ivy, Selina and Harley take Gaggy down and give him the 'ol 'what-for'. Hey . . if Gaggy can use the word 'flummoxed', then I can certainly use the phrase 'the 'ol what-for'. Right? Anyways, it was an entertaining issue. Harley is already an interesting character, but when you throw her in with Ivy and Selina . . well, it's not the Birds of Prey, but . . it's something. I really like the interaction between these women, and . . I like what they bring out in each other. Ivy's personality is tolerable. Selina is like the den-mother. And Harley? Well, let's just say Harley is starting to see some of the error of her ways. No she's not going straight. But . . I think she's starting to realize that she doesn't have to act the buffoon all of the time to play off of the people around her. Needless to say, I think Paul Dini has a great handle on this whole little group. I've really enjoyed these first 6 issues. I also like the feel that Guillem March brings to the book. He draws some great action scenes and I love his framing. I think we definitely have another hit in the Batman-family of books here. Keep up the good work guys!

Gotham City Sirens #5 - DC

I think Paul Dini is doing a great job with these characters here. I love the way that he's portraying all 3 of our sirens . . Catwoman, Ivy and Harley Quinn. As long as the stories and the character development remain as strong as they have through these first 5 issues, I can see this book being around for quite a while. To be honest, they could've included these characters, and their stories in the Streets of Gotham book, but . . I'm glad that they realized that they had a strong enough group of women here to warrant their own title. Plus, as any comic geek will tell you . . nothing looks hotter than a 'bad-girl'. Anyways, this issue starts out with Selina and Ivy being pissed about the Joker just blowing up their new lair. Harley's kind of on the fence. 'He could of at least finished us off with a funny gag!' It takes their joint effort to get through to her, and make her realize the seriousness of the situation. 'Wake up, Harley! This is Life or Death! Joker may have originally thought of you as a willing patsy, but eventually he let you in. Whether he meant to or not, he shared things with you he'd never tell another living soul. Did you really think he'd let you out unscathed?' So anyways, long story short, they go after him only to find out that it's not really the Joker that's trying to kill them, but rather his first partner in crime, Gaggy! 'That's Gagsworth A Gagsworthy to you, SKANK!' For some reason, after all these years, he's decided that he's jealous of Harley. By the end of the issue it looks like he may be able to follow through on his threats. Catwoman is stuck in a pit of Hyenas. Ivy is sucking down a plastic mask. And Gaggy has a knife to Harley's throat. Guillem March is also doing a great job with the art. Not only do I like his style, but he's really got a great sense for story-flow. I love the way his characters move between panels. All in all, I think this book is a hit. As long as enough people pick it up to read it.

Gotham City Sirens #4 - DC

This issue was great. I think Paul Dini has a fantastic grasp of these characters. Selina seems to be the master strategist, while Ivy has all the tools and network. And Harley Quinn continues to play the blond, air-headed fool. Although . . I think she's a lot smarter, and adept than she lets on. She forces people to underestimate her. What a great weapon. Anyways, Bruce . . Hush, in disguise . . parades Harley all over town. Almost as if he's trying to draw attention to himself. Selina was convinced that he was just going to take Harley off someplace quiet and do her in. You know . . payback for them stealing the Elliot's fortunes from him. But actually he wants them to get noticed so then he can display some grand public accident, where she loses her life and everybody feels sorry for Bruce. However, what he didn't count on was . . the Joker still has feelings for Harley. And with all their news coverage of their tryst, Bruce and Harley have come straight into the Joker's sights. While out on a date the Joker comes after them. Selina and Ivy show up to save Harley, and while Hush has a shot to take them all down, instead he chooses to shoot the Joker's blimp. It allows the police to capture his henchmen, and . . Bruce ends up looking like the hero. It's funny how in all these situations, Hush doesn't always get what he wants, but . . things always seem to end 'sunny-side up' for Bruce Wayne. Anyways, unfortunately that doesn't take care of the Joker's emotions for Harley. The issue ends with him crashing his Joker car into the hide-out. Then on the final panel . . he blows it up. All we see is property and women flying. I really like Guillem March's artistic style with this book also. Especially the covers. Inside he's got a good flow and a great story-telling sense. I think this book deserves all the attention it can get. So far . . I'm in love with it. Keep it comin'!

Wednesday Comics #12 - DC

This being the final issue of this 'experiment', I assume all the stories will be wrapped up here. I guess Luna shot herself, and then jumped out the window. She tells Batman that she couldn't see herself locked up, and apologized for not finishing it the way he would've wanted. He just looks at her and says her name . . and has he touches her cheek . . she realizes . ."Bru . ." But then she's gone. Orora dies from her wounds, but before she does she gives Kamandi her compass. She points at the face and says "Humans". So as Tuftan, Caesar, the Lion and Tiger nation head off to finish off the Apes, Kamandi decides to go off alone. South. Maybe to find some more of his kind. Superman checks on Lois, but she's fine. As he's talking to her on the phone, she's looking at a heading about Batman stopping an alien attack on the Daily Planet. It's good to have friends to watch your back. Deadman makes it back to Earth, but he's still scolded by Rama Kushna. She's upset because he upset the balance between Neron and his dukes. So now she's got some extra work for Boston to do to try to balance things out. Hal watches as the rest of the alien armada leaves Earth's atmosphere, and then he goes back to his watering hole to check up on Dillon. Rex Mason and company make it out of the pyramid, and a CIA transport shows up to pick them up. End of story. The Titans beat Deathstroke easily, now that he knows who he really is. I guess he really does have some psychological barrier that stops him from defeating them. Now that Korgo has been sent to Earth, Rann's little uprising is all fading away. Now Adam just has to worry about how Alanna would feel about him if she knew that he was a withered up old man back on Earth. Supergirl has passed out from when she was shot by the sun. But the aliens feel bad for assuming that she was threatening. While she was passed out, it turns out that Krypto and Streaky explained it all to them. You know . . universal translators and all. But after they leave and the aliens remove their helmets, we find out that they're a race of intelligent dogs and cats. Who knew? Chemo explodes and apparently takes all the Metal Men with him. Well . . except for Mercury. Now Magnus is just going to have to rebuild them again. Wonder Woman beats Dr Poison and the Cheetah, but . . I'm not really sure what she gained out of the whole thing. It was all a bit confusing . . right up until the end. Sgt Rock says goodbye to the villagers, and Easy Co heads home. And in the Flash strip . . we find out that all that crazy stuff that was happening was actually a comic strip itself that Barry wrote and Iris was reading. After Morgaine is defeated, the Demon reverts to his Jason Blood form. And Selina does a little flirting. And finally, with Aquaman's help, Hawkman defeats the T Rex while the rest of the JLA stop in alien invasion. All in all . . this was probably the most boring issue. Everything wrapped up this time, but most of the action was last issue. However . . it was ok. Again . . hats off to all the amazing talent. There was a great cast of writers . . Brian Azzarello, Dave Gibbons, John Arcudi, Dave Bullock, Kurt Busiek, Jimmy Palmiotti, Neil Gaiman, Eddie Berganza, Paul Pope, Kyle Baker, Dan Didio, Ben Caldwell, Adam Kubert, Karl Kerschl, and Walt Simonson. And then for the art we had . . Eduardo Risso, Ryan Sook, Lee Bermejo, Vinton Heuck, Amanda Conner, Joe Quinones, Mike Allred, Sean Galloway, Paul Pope, Kyle Baker, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Kevin Nowlan, Ben Caldwell, Joe Kubert, Brenden Fletcher, and Brian Stelfreeze. Quite a cast of characters . . on the creative side as well as in the actual pages. I wonder if they'll ever try this again?

Wednesday Comics #11 - DC

Only 2 more weeks to go, and it looks like Batman's got this all figured out. Luna had killed her husband . . well . . she used Hardy to kill her husband, and then she was going to kill Hardy. You know . . so he couldn't talk. Anyways, since there's another issue left . . we're left with a cliff-hanger ending. There's a shot fired, and we see Luna falling, or jumping through a big glass window. But . . did she shoot Batman, or herself? Or . . was there someone else there that we haven't seen yet? Hmmm!! Now that Tuftan and Caesar have been rescued from the Apes, Kamandi is looking forward to getting to know his human stray, Orora. But before they even get a chance to speak, she's shot down by an Ape sniper. Is she dead? Will Kamandi once again be the only living example of his species? Superman finally has the upper hand on the aliens. He snapped out of their telepathic influence when they threatened his parents. But as he pummeling the alien, he realizes . . he forgot about Lois! Have the aliens gone after her? And will he be able to reach her in time? In Hell, Boston realizes that he's being played by these women that were captured by the demon. He finds out that they just wanted him to release them so that they in turn could release Neron. He ends up leaving them behind, and walks out of this crazy place. But that leaves the question . . what's next? All it says is . . 'Loose Ends!'. Hal confronts the alien race that's trying to attack the Earth, but they quickly find out that they're no match for the power of his ring. Metamorpho and Element Girl take out Algon as he tries to power up the ship with the Star of Atlantis. However their deception pays off as the foil his plans. He then tries to bring the ship down around their ears. 'If I die . . you all die!' Trident, thinking that he had defeated the Titans, drops his disguise. He was actually Slade. Gizmo had rigged him up with a psychic implant so he forgot who he was . . he actually thought he was Trident. But then on the last panel . . . . On Rann, Adam Strange has sent lord Korgo to Earth . . on his Zeta-beam. We see him trapped in a museum display. Supergirl has gone off to the sun to try to stop the aliens from dumping their crap into it. But once there . . she doesn't know how she's going to communicate with them. They fire their guns at her . . which actually hurt her. But it looks like Krypto and Streaky are coming to her rescue. The Metal Men have Chemo contained, but he's still going to explode. The shove him into the basement of a nearby construction site, and as the story ends he and all the Metal Men go up in a cloud of smoke. Wonder Woman finds out that everything she's been through has been because of the machinations of Ares. Now she has to trust the Cheetah to protect Etta and the Professor while she fights Ares offspring. They were trying to manipulate it so that he would be the recipient of the Seven Stars of the Amazons. Easy Co. finally makes it into the building where they're holding Rock. And with their help, it looks like he's finally defeated the Germans. Grodd is trying to save his world. Barry is still trying to save Iris. It looks like the only way Barry is going to be able to do it is if he and Iris work together. He doesn't have to be the lone hero. It looks like the Demon has finally defeated Morgaine . . freeing Selina. And as Hawkman battles the T-Rex, on the beach . . Carter soon finds out that he has some help from the denizens of the deep . . and their master, Aquaman. It looks like the League has finally arrived. Now that we're almost done . . I'm finally getting in to this series. Of course . . all the cliff-hanger endings don't hurt either. But whether you like the format or not, you have to admit that some of the art looks amazing. Only 1 more issue to go. I think.

Wednesday Comics #10 - DC

We're on issue #10 now, so we're getting close to the end. Batman goes after Luna for the murder. He tells her that the Police are right behind him, but before he can do anything he's attacked by some wolves? Where did they come from? With the weapons that Kamandi found, and his help from the Lions, they quickly overpower the Apes in Shintun and Kamandi himself takes out Baaku, their leader. After they release Caesar and Tuftan they're ready to press the attack, but the Apes quickly retreat. Superman overloads the alien's minds with a tidal-wave of information. They're a hive mind, so by doing so he's stunned them all at once. Now he's pressing his advantage. Deadman impales the rune stone and stabs Kalak with the sword while it's attached. Apparently that's enough to take him out. He, and the rest of the females are free now. They just have to find a way out of here. Hal goes out to meet the invading force, and try to warn them off. But they aren't easily impressed. It looks like he's going to have to fight for it. It appears that both Rex and the Element Girl expired on the maze of elements . . or periodic maze, if you will. Apparently this temple is actually a space-ship. When Algon, the last remaining elemental, touches the Star of Atlantis he will turn into the fuel that's required for it to leave Earth. Unfortunately, it will destroy the Earth in the process. It appears that Triton has defeated Tim/Robin. He then tells the story of how the Titans destroyed the future of Earth. But before he can kill him he's confronted by Gizmo. Who asks him, "Do you remember who you really are?" Adam Strange has sent Korgo through the Zeta-beam back to Earth. He's hoping that since he has no counterpart there, he'll be diminished from the blue baboon that he is on Rann. Supergirl approaches the alien space-ship that's causing the solar-flares. Unfortunately she doesn't have any way to communicate with them. And it looks like they're viewing her arrival as hostile. Will Magnus puts a plan in place to slow the reaction that's occurring in Chemo right now. Unfortunately, I don't think they're going to be able to stop it, just contain the explosion. The question is . . will they survive the experience? In the Wonder Woman story . . I'm still a little confused about what's going on. It has to do with the Seven Stars of the Amazons, and Etta and Cheetah are involved. After that . . it's all more than a bit confusing. Plus every issue they seem to be experimenting with the panel lay-out. I'm not thrilled about this one, at all. Sgt Rock is attempted to escape. However, he's not making much progress. But the rest of Easy Co appear to be knocking at the door . . literally. It appears that Barry's problems are all coming from Grodd. Some 50 years in the future he's trying to communicate with himself in the past. Somehow the whole process has cause a problem that has sucked Barry, and Iris, right into the middle of it. Barry's trying to save Iris, but . . he may have to save the future also. It appears that Etrigan and Catwoman have the upper-hand over Morgaine, until Catwoman with the sword she's given. When it strikes Morgaine she turns into a swarm of locusts and quickly take over Selina. It looks like she's in control now. And Hawkman is trying to fight a T Rex to keep the survivors from the airplane crash safe. It's hard to tell if he's winning or not. Overall, I'm enjoying this little experiment. I still think the price-tag is to high, but . . I still bought it. So who am I to complain. There's some great talent here . . and only 2 issues to go. I guess I'll stick around and see how it all wraps up.

Wednesday Comics #9 - DC

Ok, I finally made it through that big stack of books last week. It was ok though. For the most part I enjoyed almost all of them. And I have a little breathing room this week as the new books won't be out till Thursday, because of the holiday. Speaking of which . . what exactly does Labor Day celebrate? I mean . . if it's for the 'working-class' people of this country . . most of us still have to work today. I mean . . the only people I know that don't work are either Federal employees, banks or union-workers. Anymore, all 3 of those categories seem to be a diminishing lot. Oh yeah . . students get it off also. Anyways . . I was just wondering. After that little respite . . I'll get back now to Wednesday's Comics. Batman breaks up Luna and Hardy's little romantic engagement. But as he pulls Hardy through the front window, Luna shoots Hardy twice in the chest. Killing him. And then Luna takes off. Like that's ever a good plan. In Kamandi, it appears the Shintun, the Ape city, is actually Washington DC. Kamandi, Dr Canus and Orora . . as well as the new Lion allies . . reach the city just as the Apes about to execute Ceasar and Tuftan. On thier way there, they found some plans for the underground armories . . so they're loaded for bear. Superman has decided to use his brain a bit. The aliens put some kind of signal into his head that been showing them all the important parts of his life. It's also what led to the depression and soul-searching he was experiencing. And it's also created a telepathic link between them. That's when Superman figures out that if he's sending a signal, then he's probably also receiving. When he stops and listens, he soon figures out the aliens weakness. Or so he says. Boston Brand decides to try to get these girls out of this 'hell' that they've been assigned to. He tries to take on the demon himself, but . . that doesn't go exactly as planned. There's something not quite right about the rune stone, but he doesn't know what it is yet. It's just a nagging suspicion right now. Anyways, the demon brings up a horde of lesser demons to fight him. Hal uses his ring to get the rest of the alien fungus out of his friend Dill. But then learns that what had inhabited him was only a 'scout'. While it was in there, it sent out a signal to a race of aliens that are looking for inhabitable planets. Hal could have his hands full next time. Rex and the Element Girl have discovered Algon, the original Elemental Man, in these caverns and caves while they were searching for this diamond for Stagg. Last time they started chasing him across the periodic table, and this issue they finish that. Did you think they could get all those elements into one story? Anyways, there's something in here about the end of the world, and as Rex reaches the end of the Periodic Table, it looks like he may be dying. The Titans seem to be falling to Trident. Even though they knew they were walking into a trap . . they weren't prepared. And they weren't acting as a team. They find out that all these villains they're fighting aren't real. Probably just hard-light images of Tridents. And then when Tim goes to release Blue Beetle, he finds out that it's actually Trident and now he's captured him. In Strange Adventures, Alanna and Sardath are fighting Korgo when Adam finally makes a reappearance . . right over Korgo's head. Adam's been gone for a while now . . and he see's that his love is in danger. You better believe he's ready to fight. Doctor Mid-Nite is getting closer to helping Kara find out what's wrong with her pets. It appears that there's an alien vessel floating around the sun . . about 200 miles out, and it's dumping things into it which are causing unusual flare activity. So now Supergirl is going to have to fly there to figure out what's going on. While Doctor Mid-Nite tries to keep track of Krypto and Streaky. Dr Pretorius has explained to Doc Magnus, and the Metal Men, that what's happening in Chemo is a chemical reaction. His shell was cracked, exposing the chemicals inside to the air. Once they reach a boiling point, the explosion will take out most of the city. Now the Metal Men have to jump into action and fix this. Wonder Woman is getting closer to figuring out what the plans of this Dr Poison are. She now has all the Seven Stars, except for the girdle. But the Dr knows where that's at, so I'm sure that'll somehow come to light during their altercation. However, Etta and some kids are involved, so she's going to approach this one cautiously. Sgt Rock is trying to make a break from his captives and the rest of Easy Co. are trying to find him. It doesn't appear that either of them are making much progress. We don't make much progress with the Flash story. Barry's caught in some type of fever dream and he's reliving some of his past memories . . with a Sunday comic kind of twist to them. He goes under with Iris over him, and wakes up to a gorilla. Morgaine is still trying to take possession of Selina . . she wants her virility and youth. But during the process, because of Selina's resistance, Morgaine is distracted enough that the Demon can finally break free of his restraints. But the process has already begun and they're in a kind of half-merged state. And in Hawkman, he tries to convince the others to run away as they're being approached by a T-Rex. Remember, apparently they're stuck on Dinosaur Island. As I said last time, I'm enjoying this more. Now that I have a better understanding of the stories. Overall, I think it'll turn out to be a successful project. Some of the art in here really is amazing.

Gotham City Sirens #3 - DC

This book is growing on me real fast. Of course it doesn't hurt that Scott Lobdell is writing some great stories here. We're only on issue #3 and already Scott seems to have a fantastic grasp of these characters. This issue is actually spent mostly following Edward Nigma. There's been some seeming suicides lately in town, but Edward is starting to see a connection between them. Specifically that there's clues being left to their next crime . . much in the way he used to. We get to see a little interaction between him and Batman, Dick. And Edward is sensing that there's something different about him. But he's willing to play along. It turns out there's a new Riddler in town and she calls herself Conundrum. There's actually 3 people in the group, and again their being directed by somebody else. We don't know who that is . . yet. Anyways, Edward and Dick work together to bring him down, and we see that these guys' relationship is off on much the same note as it was with Bruce. Meanwhile, Selina and Ivy spend most of the issue looking for Harley. It's not like she hasn't disappeared before, but . . this time they think there's some foul play involved. On the final page, Dick and then Selina find out that she's been spotted around town with Bruce. Whom we know to be Thomas Elliott. And after what Selina and her cohorts put Hush through . . this can't be anything good for Harley. Like I said, I really enjoyed the story. I also thought Guillem March's pencils were cool. He's got a different kind of style to him which I thought fit quite well with this title. I don't know that I particularly like the way he portrays Batman, but . . he does a beautiful job with the women. And since that's what this book is about . . he's in the perfect spot. I think this is going to be a good title to follow.

Wednesday Comics #8 - DC

I'm getting into these stories more . . I love the art on most of them, but I don't get what the big draw is. I mean . . I know it's an experiment . . I know it's something different, but . . I don't think it's so fantastic that my shop should keep selling out of them. They're already doing 2nd prints of #1 & #2. The only thing I can think is that most shop owners underestimated their appeal. With lower orders, they're probably on smaller print runs. That would make them more collectible. Plus it's on this cheap newspaper print, so once they've been read, it's probably hard to find many in NM condition. My guy told me that sales started out very slow weeks 1 and 2, but then after that people started going back for what was left. He sold out of week 1 in the 3rd week, but then he's been selling out ever since. Crazy! Oh yeah, there's also about 30 people listing them on E-Bay right now. Anyways, on the Batman story Hardy Stone was arrested last issue, but he's out of jail already. And Batman follows him straight to . . Luna. Kamandi is still on his way to Shintun with Dr Canus and the girl they found. They're trying to get Tuftan and his father released from the Apes. Along the way they pick up an army of Lions. I believe Superman has started to figure out who these aliens are. He's come to the realization that he's intimately connected to these people on Earth . . as he races to try to save Ma & Pa. But as he's tackled to the ground by one of the aliens, he says . . "I got you!" Deadman, I think, is being seduced by Julianna, one of the girls captured by this demon, Kalak. He frees them from captivity be releasing a rune-stone, but they still have to go past Kalak to get out. But something just doesn't seem right. Green Lantern starts to get through to Dill a little bit. He shows him who he is and it startles him enough that he breaks his grip. Now all he has to do is crack his shell with his ring. Rex and Rainy chase after Algon, the ancient elemental, and as they do they shift from element to element and we're given a science lesson in the form of the Periodic Table. The Titans have come to face Triton in their old headquarters . . the cave. But it's a trap. As each member counters up with an enemy, Robin is left alone with Triton. He's scared, but he's trying to save Blue Beetle. We don't see Adam Strange this issue, but Alanna has gone to talk to Prince Zotar of the Northern Rock People. They decide to ally with each other to fight against Korgo who is trying to steal the Zeta-beam. Supergirl has gone to Doctor Mid-Nite to try to find out what's wrong with Krypto and Streaky. I don't think he's making much headway, until they both act out and attack his owl. The Metal Men are still fighting Chemo, but in doing so they've cracked his shell. Pretorius informs them that he's about to go Nuclear and take the entire city with him. Wonder Woman gets the Golden Lasso from some rather large wolf in her dreams, one of the Seven Stars, but she's also given a warning, "The thread does give you control, but . . perhaps not as you think." Sgt Rock tries to escape with the photographer, but he comes across some Nazi's who have gained advantage of the situation. Flash . . or rather, all the Flashes . .have worked together to tear apart this gravity field they've discovered by making a million tiny black holes. However, upon completion, I think they're all blinking out of existence as they develop nose bleeds and writhe in agony. Morgaine looks like she's about to gain Selina's body as her own, and there's nothing Jason Blood can do about it. Meanwhile, Hawkman . . now stuck on Dinosaur Island . . has called the JLA for help, but there's no one available. They're all still fighting the alien invasion. However . . Aquaman is free, so he's on his way to help. Overall I thought it was a pretty decent issue. Not enough information in each installment for me, but . . I'm getting used to it. Finally! However . . there's only 4 issues to go.

Wednesday Comics #7 - DC

I read this on Wednesday, but . . I haven't bothered to write anything down yet. Sorry! Batman is getting a little closer to finding the killer. He pushes Hardy, his last lead, who gives him another name . . Carlton Glass. But no sooner does he give him the name than he's killed. Kamandi gets some information out of the girl . . her name Orora. And they, and Dr Canus, are on their way to Shintun to help Tuftan and his father escape the Apes. However, on their way there they see that the Tiger Legion has been defeated. That means that these 3 are now the Prince's only hope. Meanwhile, Superman is just getting clobbered. He has no idea who these aliens are and how they're so strong. It appears that they're also telepaths because as they're fighting Clark worries about Ma and Pa, but they're out of town at church. However, as soon as he thinks it . . they're on their way to intercept. Deadman has finally caught up to the girl that he tried to help in the alley . . the one that got him into this whole mess. He finds out that she's not the only girl captured here. They're in a kind of limbo, and there's a demon there that has captured other women and is amusing himself by torturing them. Boston is trying to think of a plan to help them escape. Hal has finally made it to the TV station, where he finds Dill transformed into some kind of alien. Unfortunately, as he's fighting him, he finds out that he's strong enough to break through his rings constructed barrier. Metamorpho and Rainy, the elemental girl, have made it through some more of the traps, and have started questioning their involvement. That's when they come across another elemental type creature that's guarding the Star of Atlantis diamond. The Teen Titans are trying to figure out what the deal is with this new Triton. They've come across a couple of them in the past. This one claims that he's Dr Light's son, and he's from the future. Supposedly, he's preventing the Titans from becoming a threat then. So . . they're off to fight him. They know it's a trap, but . . it's what they do. Adam has a dream where Dr. Fate comes to him and helps him find his Zeta-map. Now he can find another location and go back to Rann. Supergirl and called on Aquaman to try to help her figure out what's wrong with Krypto and Streaky. But . . he doesn't talk to 'those' type of animals. He's mad about the inconvenience at first, but then he apologizes to her. He sends her off to see Doctor Mid-Nite. The Metal Men find out that this Dr Pretorius has created Chemo, and he may be more than the Metal Men can handle. Tin gets the raw end of the deal, and he probably won't be the last. Wonder Woman has another dream where she's going after the sword, but this time she may have inadvertantly sacrificed Etta and the Professor. To make matters worse, she can't seem to wake up. Sgt Rock is finally free . . sort of. He's still in a bunker someplace, but at least now he has a gun and a knife. And the rest of Easy Company have finally made it out of the cave. The Flash is getting closer to figuring out what's going on, but the more time he spends the more versions of himself that keep appearing. He's also starting to hallucinate and get nose bleeds. He's seeing monkeys. Morgaine has force the Demon back into his Jason Blood form, which also transforms Selina back. Now she's ready to pounce. And finally . . Hawkman has managed to bring the plan down, but they may have gone from the frying pan into the fire. The appear to be stranded on an island of dinosaurs. And because of the strain of trying to save the airplane, his Nth metal belt doesn't appear to be working. I sincerely applaud all the talent on this series. There are some great looking pages here. However . . I'm glad this is a mini-series because it's starting to drive me crazy. I appreciate what they're trying to do here, but . . there's only so much information they can fit on 1 page. We're really getting it in bite sized pieces. The only saving grace is that it's weekly . . so it doesn't take that long to start building up a little momentum. But . . it's very little momentum. This is issue #7 and some of the stories I don't know much more than when we first started. Well . . the artwork is pretty good too, so . . that helps with my patience. I want to be positive . . I really do. But like I said . . it's just a little frustrating. But I'll keep trying.

Wednesday Comics #6 - DC

Well, it's another edition of Wednesday Comics. Lets see how we stand on all of our various stories here. Batman goes to confront Hardy Stone . . our supposed killer. It's interesting though as he looks like a gang-member, but he's sitting in his house listening to Opera. Kamandi and the girl break free of the apes' bonds, but it may not be enough. They find Dr Canus still alive, after the crash, but Tuftan is still on his way back to ape city. Which, I assume is their next destination. Clark is enjoying a morning of sleeping in . . in Kansas, when he's interrupted by an explosion, and the yelling voices of aliens . . "Kryptonian!" Deadman appears to have run out of luck, after he was cast into whatever demon dimension he's in . . because he did something Rama Kushna told him not to. But just as it appears to be over, 3 visions of loveliness appear before him. Hal's still thinking back on his competitiveness with Dill. All it cost him was getting kicked out of the space program. Even still, he's now rushing to his opponents aid. Metamorpho and Element Girl go further into the relics, only to find giant snakes as a deterrent. There's a game on the bottom of the page for kids. Blue Beetle is still battling Trident, but . .they're both worn out. Trident is still trying to kill the Titans. He says they're a danger to the future, but doesn't give specifics. However, we find out this time that he's Arthur Light's son. Adam Strange zeta-beamed back to Earth last issue only to find out that back home . . he's an old man. He seems to be set on an expedition in Peru, circa 1957, and after weeks of being stuck her, he's beginning to think that his life back on Rann was all just a dream. Supergirl goes to Aquaman for pet advice, but being the protector of the oceans . . 70% of Earth, seems to be keeping him a little busy. I think in order to get advice, she's going to have to go with him. The Metal Men have risen to the challenge and negated Dr Pretorius' threat of blowing them all up, but . . by circumventing his remote, they've unwittingly sent out a homing signal to an even bigger threat . . Chemo. I'm still a little confused about the Wonder Woman story. She's gotten most of the seven stars, now she just needs the sword, girdle and lasso. And she meets Etta this time. However I'm not sure if this is still a dream, and . . Ben Caldwell changes the format this time. That was a little confusing. Sgt Rock is aided in his escape when one of the scientists cuts his ropes. He wants to take the advantage while the Nazi's are busy. Barry has to again vibrate into the past, as he finds himself in space, and now there's 3 versions of himself. While in the story that was about Iris, we learn a little bit about the history of Gorilla Grodd. The Demon comes face to face with Morgaine Le Fey. And Hawkman, having brought down the plane in the ocean, and then to a deserted isle, finds that while most of the passengers have survived, although injured, he now has to face the threat of leaking, and exploding, fuel. Like I said last time, I'm starting to get into the stories more . . except for Wonder Woman, that is . . but I'm still not thrilled about the format. We just don't get very much information with each issue. But I'll keep getting it and reporting to see what kind of progress we make. It is some nice looking art though.

Wednesday Comics #5 - DC

I finally got caught up on last weeks books so I can begin on this weeks. I'm excited because I got some great looking DC books starting out this stack. Were up to issue 5 now on this series, and the stories are starting to come together for me. Batman's looking into Carlton Glass' murder, but he's been looking into it as Bruce. Carlton was a socialite, much like he. But now, with the attempt on Luna's life at her father's funeral, by Hardy Stone, some hired muscle, it's time for him to don the Batman persona and go at it from that direction. In the Kamandi story, brilliantly drawn by Ryan Sook, Kamandi, Tuftan and the girl are all taken captive by the Apes and their leader Baaku. He's especially happy to have captured Prince Tuftan. Now they're headed by to thier city as slaves. Clark has gone back to Smallville to try to find some perspective. He's looking at his old ship, in the basement of the barn, realizing that he's not been 'normal' since he arrived on this planet. He's longing for Krypton, where . ."Things were normal. Until they weren't." And then his birth parents had to send him off. Boston Brand has been brought back to life only to have to suffer the tortures of hell. Now that he has flesh and bones again, all he has to do is escape 3 demons that are trying to kill him. In the end he gets impaled from behind. Hal's thinking back to when he and Dill were competing for the space launch. There were 30 some guys there as recruits, but really it always came down to he and Dill. His biggest frustration was that Dill was so level-headed . . he took everything so calmly. Hal was always ready to just jump in the rocket and take off. Simon Stagg and company are getting ready to go after the Atlantis diamond when their troupe is attacked by a cloud of Chlorine gas. Element-girl reacts quickly and she and Rex soon turn the cloud into table salt. But they now realize that someone is trying to kill them. In the Titans story, Caroline Lee the agent of SMASH who's come out to help the Titans, doesn't have any lost love for 'heroes'. She considers firemen, policemen and doctors to be the true heroes. But she learns a little bit about sacrifice when Beetle puts himself in danger with Trident to help out his teammates, Kory and Tim. She's starting to realize why the heroes can't always be around everytime we 'think' we need them. The Paul Pope chapter of Adam Strange was a little bland. We learn a little about Rannian landscape, but that's about it. Supergirl has to save the plane that Streaky ripped the tail off of. She begs Krypto for help, but . . he's a dog. What do you expect. After the debacle, they both just sit at her feet . . looking cute and begging for attention. She's really confused as to their actions. Will Magnus has found out that the bank robbery is actually an attempt by Dr. Bela Pretorius to get some revenge on the student that he believes to have betrayed him . . Will. He's got a bomb strapped to himself and he's ready to take Will, the Metal Men and everybody else with him straight to hell. Have I mentioned lately how Jose Luis Garcia Lopez is one of my all-time favorite artists? Well . . he is. It's great to see him on this story. In Diana's latest dreams, she's gone to the city of Shangri-La in the Himalayas. There she comes across Priscilla Rich who is in search of the Tiara of Sakyamunis, one of the seven stars of the Amazons. This is probably the most intricate story in this parchment, but it's also the most confusing. I almost think that Ben Caldwell is trying to put to much into this story. Basically, this one was a dream showing Diana where her Tiara came from. Sgt Rock is still being tortured by the Nazis, while the rest of Easy Co is in a cave below the city with some refugees. The Flash story is also a bit confusing to me. There's 2 flashes present, apparently one came back from the immediate future to help stop Grodd. But, he's also created a quantum singularity . . an infant universe for him by using his speed. And, in the Iris part of the story, Barry commits to not being the Flash anymore so that he can save his marriage. The story is done in 2 separate parts. I know they're related, and connected, somehow. I just don't see it yet. In the Demon/Catwoman story, it appears that it's the machinations of Morgana Le Fey that have brought these 2 together. He believes the cat to be her totem and is returning it to her so that he might strike at her in person. But . . she's really manipulated the whole thing because somehow Selina . . or rather her body, can help Morgana return to her youthful vigor. Finally, Hawkman has to save the plane of innocents that he just rescued from being taken over by aliens. However, now the plane has lost a wing and is in free-fall. He tries to steer it over the ocean. Overall, I thought this batch of stories were interesting. Some fit the format . . some didn't. But, it's an experiment and things aren't always going to be perfect. But I enjoyed it.

Wednesday Comics #4 - DC

Ok . . now that we're on issue #4 . . we've had 4 full pages of story and art from each of these characters . . I'm finally starting to get into a couple of the stories. Batman's story is about a rich Gotham socialite, Franklin Glass. It's obvious that he was killed either by his 'trophy' wife or his son. Bruce/Batman just hasn't figured out whom it is . . yet. In Kamandi, our hero has leaped into danger because of the hope of finding another of his kind . . a young girl. However, in doing so, he and Prince Tuftan have jumped from the frying pan into the fire . . the hands of their enemy, the Apes. The Superman story is a bit more confusing. He's being drawn to Smallville for some reason, but we don't really know why yet. All we know is that whatever it is . . it's making him feel like Metropolis just isn't his home. Hal saw an old friend, Joseph Dillon . . Dill, turn into a monster on live television last issue. As he flies out to help, he has memories of how they first met . . as recruits for a space program. Rex Mason is going after the Star of Atlantis, a diamond, for Simon Stagg, and Sapphire. But the US Government is after it also. They've brought in thier own female Metamorpho, Urania Blackwell, CIA. But, there's also someone else, mysterious, that we haven't met yet. He also wants the diamond and he says that Rex is going to get it for him. Hmmm . . mystery and intrigue. In the Teen Titans story, it appears that this Trident is from the future. Somehow he has it in his head that the Titans will turn on the population and cause untold damage. He's convinced that they have to die . . now! Paul Pope shows us a dark, dreary look at Rann. Last time Adam Strange escaped his blue Orangutan jailers, and this time the female does. Supergirl and Krypto watch Streaky rip the tail wing off a passing airplane, because it has a picture of a mouse on it. We find out that the bank robbery that the Metal Men inadvertently walked into was actually staged by someone who knows and hates Doc Magnus. And now he's even more pissed. Wonder Woman, to me, has the worst story of the bunch. This issue she travels to the underworld and battles a Granny Cipactl. I don't know who this is. But she has what she calls a mirror that is actually the Queens shield that was forged by the gods. Diana decides that she's going to return it . . but at what cost? I really liked this story the least. We see Sgt Rock getting interrogated, while Easy Co., in their search for him, find a community of survivors living in the caves underground. They were trying to evade the Nazis. The Flash story is a bit confusing as there are 2 Flashs and 2 Barry Allens. I guess one of them went back in time 10 minutes to stop Gorilla Grodd. We also see that Iris is having a huge problem with Barry. It seems as if she's almost ready to leave him. We watch the Demon and Cat-Woman fight each other, as Selina has been turned into some kind of large 'cat-beast'. And finally, Hawkman is trying to stop the Makkorthites from invading Earth. But he's going to have to stop a plane from crashing before he continues any farther. I've kind of got a feeling for all of them now, except for Wonder Woman. I'm struggling with that one for some reason. Anyways, overall I enjoyed the issue, it's just the 'bite-sized' pieces of information that we're getting is frustrating. But . . it is an experiment. Right? I appreciate the effort by all the creators involved, but I'm still struggling with the price and the relevancy of these stories.