Firestorm #35 - DC

What the Hell!! This is the last issue of Firestorm?? It can't be. This truly is one of my favorite characters of all time. And now he's gone? Well . . . not gone entirely. That big event that's coming up this summer . . . you know the one . . . the one that involves Darkseid! Well . . I have a feeling that Firestorm, actually Jason and Gehenna, are going to play a pretty big role in it. And maybe that's why the book is being put on hiatus. Maybe! But with a cred in the back that says, "Thanks to everyone who helped make Firestorm amazing . .", I don't think it's coming back as a regular title. Which really pisses me off. First I think that the characters they've developed in this particular incarnation are awesome. They don't deserve just to be thrown by the wayside because of some editorial decision. Second, because through all of this, all 35 issues, and the entire run of 52 which I thought would give us some insight, we still don't know the final fate, or what actually happened to Ronnie Raymond. Which is how they left us some 12 years or so ago when then cancelled the first run of this book. I'm sure we'll find out some answers this summer with the big bang thing, but that's not enough. What about Jason's parents, the Professor, Gehenna, Lorraine, and the rest of his supporting cast? We want to know their fates. We want to hear their stories. What about the Firestorm matrix and it's potential? And what about Jason? This is a kid who came out of nowhere, and in the short span of 35 issues, we've come to care about and love. And finally, what about us? The fans. There has to be more than just me. Speak up out there! Let your voices be heard! Let DC know that your not happy about their decision! We need to do something to try to save our friend. Please!! Will somebody out there lend me a hand? Please!! By the way, Pop Mahn did a great job on the artistic chores of this issue. Thanks!

Firestorm #34 - DC

Gehenna and Firehawk have raced to Firestorm's, Jason's, rescue this issue. Well . . . the end of last issue, actually. But, they're attempting to free him from the Female Furies. They perform admirably, but honestly, what are they going to do against a team that's been trained since birth. A few lucky shots, and that's about it. Actually Firestorm does more on his own, once he wakes up, than the other 2. He opens up his powers a little bit, and handles Lashinna quite nicely. As far as Gehenna and Firehawk, well Arion and Mr. Miracle show up to lend a hand, which greatly sways the outcome of the battle. And once Firestorm shows back up, there's basically nothing left but the "mop-up". But then Firestorm gets a surprise visitor, to him and the Professor, in the Matrix . . . Metron. "My Moebius chair allows me access to any place I can imagine . . . even this hidden frontier of innerspace you call the Matrix." He informs them that everybody is after the Professor. The equation that he's been working on, that he has in his head, " . . . will have the power to defy entropy . . . the power to defy Darkseid's reign of terror." So just when they think things will calm down, and they can figure out what to do next, in comes Kalibak and his para-demons. Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire. Anyways, after a very short hiatus, Firestorm seems to be back on track, under Dwayne McDuffie's creative leadership. I just hope they land on a regular penciller soon. Pop Mhan fills in this issue. Which is ok. But I'd like to see a regular team settle in. Someone that we know will have a vested interest in taking this character to new creative boundaries. Is that to much to ask? It might be. But I would like to see some consistency in some of DC's creative line-ups. I know there's a lot going on, but lets not let some of our regular monthly titles slip in the process. Just my opinion though.

Firestorm #33 - DC

This being one of my favorite books, I was a bit upset when it went on a short hiatus. But, it's back now, and with a new creative team. We got Dwayne McDuffie on scripts, and Dan Jurgens and Ken Lashley on the pencils. The only bad part is that Ken is one of those guys who doesn't stick around with a book. So I'm guessing he'll probably only be here for about 6 to 8 issues. If we're lucky. I don't even think he made it that long on the flash. But we have another insurgence of Apocalyptic characters in this issue. See the Hawkgirl review for the other instance. Apparently Prof. Stein has published some of his work, actually his and Jason's work, since they figured out the Firestorm matrix together. But this work is very close to the work that would be needed to figure out the Anti-Life Equation. So of course Orion, and the Female Furies, show up to try to take it from the Professor. We end the issue with Gehenna and Firehawk ready to take on the Furies, to defend their friends. At least we get to see Jason in action this issue. He's becoming more adept at the use of his powers. And we actually got a mention of Ronny this issue too. We still don't know where he's at , or what's happened to him, but hey, at least he hasn't been forgotten. I'm glad to see the books back on track, and I can't wait to see where all this Darkseid stuff is going.

Firestorm #32 - DC

Ok, this is kind of a wrap up issue. The sad news is that this is the last issue of Stuart Moore and Jamal Igle's. So the try to wrap everything up with this issue, while still leaving a few things up in the air for the future. Tokomak is gone. But on his way out the door, he opened another one by telling Jason, "I know why your Firestorm. And you'll never know." The Pionic Man and the last dollie, Last Doll, are both trying to live a quieter life and are looking for an apartment to share. Mikhail is going to stay in New York. It appears his wife, in Russia, has left him. And Jason and Gehenna are trying to get things back on track. We still have some unresolved issues with Lorraine, I think she needs her own title, and the Professor is always going to be a complicated individual. But it's good to see that he's more an integral part of the Firestorm matrix now, than he was in the past. Also, it looks like Jason's mom and dad are gonna try to work things out too. And that, for the most part closes up all the previous story lines. Now we have some more bad news. The next issue of Firestorm won't hit the stands until the week of the 28th. I assume to give the new creative team time to dig in. The good news is that the new team consists of Dwayne McDuffie, Dan Jurgen and Ken Lashley. And, we start out with a story about Firestorm and the New Gods.

Firestorm #31 - DC

We learn a lot this issue. But, not everything yet. And everyone is on hand to participate, Firestorm, Firehawk, Gehenna, Pohzar, Pionic Man, Tokomak and his "dollies". We learn that Tokamak was behind the whole thing. When the original Firestorm beat him the first time, he was left in a body riddled with radiation, and a destroyed immune system. So he started working on a cloning program. His clones were called "dollies". He did so repeatedly until he came up with the perfect body, at which time he transferred his consciousness into it. But he wasn't happy there, he wanted his powers back also. So he began arranging Nuclear "accidents" to test his "dollies". One of those "accidents" is the one that created the Pionic Man. Finally through one of the "accidents", he got his powers back. Gehenna is also one of his clones. Although she never knew it because he told her she was his daughter. In Firehawk's case, he was also the man that kidnapped, tortured, and turned her into Firehawk. His master plan is to create Nuclear "accidents" all over the world, with all the power and residue going into orbit to be collected into his giant "dollie" satellite. And then, have the power fed back into him. Making him, possibly, the most powerful man on the earth. Jason foils his plan though by separating him from his "dollie". But before he dies, he tells Jason that he knows why he is Firestorm, but with his death, Jason never will. Like I've told you before, Firestorm is one of my favorite characters, and I really have been extremely happy with this book so far.

Firestorm #30 - DC

With the rather large spectrum of characters and books available out there, I can't really explain why Firestorm is one of my most favorite characters, but he is. Has been ever since his inception. I would have to say that him, Spider-man, and Superman, are my 3 all time favorites. I was a little concerned when this book first started, after all, where's Ronnie and the Prof.? But, with a little patience, I sooned learned that the book was in very capable hands with Stuart Moore and Jamal Igle. And in recent months they've brought back the Prof. Good to see Martin's head floating around again. This time also he plays a much more interactive role in the process as when he's in Jason's head, he's actually at the control panel of the Firestorm matrix. They've also brought back Firehawk, Pozhar and more recently the Pionic Man. I really think they're making a concentrated effort to have this incarnation tied in as closely as possible to the last. Ronnie or no. Jason finally catches up to Gehanna this issue to try to explain himself, but as he finds out, she's already forgiven him. Also, I have a feeling the Pionic Man is going to change his colors. He may be on the side of angels now. But, of course, there's a new bad guy, "Tokomak : the Human Reactor". We meet him at the end of this issue. I really hope that this book doesn't fall into the creative wastland like it did last time. It's good to have it back, and I hope it sticks around for a while. You know, it would really help if he became and active member of the JLA again. I mean, while they're trying to decide membership and all. Shameless plug!!

Firestorm #29 - DC

Ok we start out this issue where we ended last issue, battling the "dollies" on a rooftop in NYC. We're developing quite a cast of characters here also. Of course we have Jason and Lorraine, Firestorm and Firehawk. But now we also have Prof. Stein, Pozhar, Gehenna and Jason's father and mother. And we still don't know what happened to Ronnie. He could still be floating around out there somewhere. Anyways, with Pozhar's and Lorraine's help, Jason takes down the "dollies". Well, maybe not so much take them down, as force them to retreat. They catch one that they try to interrogate, but it gets away before they get any information. So they still don't know who sent them. But they do say something that sounds familiar to Jason, "Two men into one". So he thinks that it's the Pionic man. After a brief encounter with his dad, Jason finally makes it to STAR labs where they have a new containment suit which they release the Pionic man into. We then see, in orbit, a huge "dollie" that someone is building. And, we get a flash of a nameplate that says Hewitt Industries. I've said it before, but I really like this book. Stuart Moore and Jamal Igle are doing a fantastic job with this one. They've got a good handle on the characters and they seem to have developed a lot of storylines that are beginning to flow like a river underneath. I don't think we've seen the best from these guys yet.

Firestorm #28 - DC

Now that we've gotten the Professor fixed up and back in the picture, Jason and he are looking for Gehenna. They're starting with where she was raised, in some kind of Govt. facility in rural Montana. While looking for her, they've come across some kind of mutant that creates this big gelatinous blob type creature around himself. We also get more glimpses into how the Firestorm matrix works. We get to see how the Professor and Jason interact inside his head. We also learn a little more about Jason's family. Last issue his mother showed up, I guess she abandoned them when he was little. So he has quite a few issues in this department. We also find out that the Firestorm that showed up to Lorraine last issue was actually Mikhail from the first series. Lorraine and he show up on Jason's roof, where he and the Professor are talking about his family problems. But, no sooner do they show up than they're attacked by a bunch of dollies, the creatures that were helping the guy that was holding the Professor hostage the last couple of issues. Therefore we're left not finding out to much more about Gehenna, Jason's family life is still up in the air, we don't know why Mikhail has returned, we still don't know what happened to Ronnie, and we don't know who's sending these dollies after them. Lots of plot lines up in the air. But that's ok. That's what I like about this book. It always drags you in, leaves you thinking and wanting more.

Firestorm #27 - DC

I think I already told you Firestorm is one of my favorite characters. Been with him since his inception in the 70's. And this new book is staying true to everything that has come before, while at the same time breaking new ground. At the end of last issue Professor Stein appeared to be dead. So Jamal, Firestorm, panics and sends himself right into his brain. He doesn't know what to do, so he pulls Lorraine in with him. Which doesn't make Gehenna, his girlfriend, very happy. It also leaves her wide open for the Pupil, and his minions, to attack her. Apparently the Pupil's main objective is to gather information. So he'll take it wherever, and from whoever he can get it from. Jamal and Lorraine basically jumpstart Martin's brain and then when they come out, use the Firestorm matrix to rebuild him from the inside out, according to the computer specs that the Pupil had of Martin before he was tortured. So of course the Pupil gets away. Gehenna is mad at Jamal for letting her fend for herself while he was trying to save Martin. And when he gets home, Jamal in ambushed by his father and mother. Mother? Where has she been during the last 27 issues? I guess we'll find out in the next. And then Lorraine is visited by a binary looking Firestorm whom she doesn't recognize. I'm guessing it has something to do with Ronnie Raymond. Great story. Good supporting cast. This book really draws you in.

Firestorm #26 - DC

This character has been around since the early 70's, but they've never really done anything with him that elevated him to anything other than a supporting character. Even before, when he had his own book, he was, at the most, a reserve member of the JLA. And this is considering that he, like Captain Atom, could be one of the most powerful members of the DC Universe. Not so much in strength maybe, but in the potential for his power. Now fast forward 30 years later, and we have a new series. The original 2 characters, Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein, one is supposedly dead, though how a being of energy can die I'm not sure, and the other was killed off in this issue. You can probably tell that I question the finality of those character's demise. You don't really know for sure that Martin is dead this issue, but that's what Firestorm and Firehawk are lead to believe. It's 1 year later with this book also, and Firehawk, Lorraine Riley, is part of the Firestorm matrix, with Jason. So much so in fact, that they can't be more than a mile apart when they're separated or they will explode. Jason, who I'm guessing is probably somewhere between 20 and 24, also has an admirer in the form of an 17 to 18 year old girl named Gehenna, who can teleport. Now this issue the Thinker, I think, has Martin captive because he's trying to learn information about Firestorm and Firehawk. He has these automatons that were lent to him by someone, we're not sure who, to help him out. This is supposedly how Martin dies, through the course of interrogations and questioning. Although it seems a bit anti-climatic to have been searching for him these last few issues only to find him dead. We'll see. Anyways, at the end of the story Jason and Lorraine find Martin, but have to separate to get him. They are subsequently captured. That is how the story ends, with the Thinker asking Jason if he is going to try to merge with a dead man to become Firestorm. I think that Stuart Moore has done a great job with this series so far. I also have become increasingly respectful of Jamal Igle's artwork. It has grown a lot over the course of this series. This book has so much potential. I just hope it lives up to it.