Teen Titans Go! #35 - DC

As I've said in every blog on this book, if you like the cartoon, you'll love this book. They're one and the same. They even cross reference each other. This one features General Immortus and Private Hive. They attack Titan Tower and Private Hive finds out that he's just one of the Gen. pawns. He's not to happy about this and helps the Titans turn the tide on the Gen. Moral of the story, "just following orders", in never an excuse to do the wrong thing. Of course you know, the dialouge is what makes the book, but I can't type out line by line. What would you have to look forward to when you read it?

American Way #8 - Wildstorm

This book finally wraps up this racist series. Of course it was set in the 60's, so I guess it was actually a way of life back then. But in my book, ignorance is no excuse for stupidity. Ok enough of my diatribe, on with the book. Ok what has happened is Hellbent has been killed. He was killed by the New American. One of the CDC who happens to be black. Actually he's the only one who's black. This has caused a rift and the CDC has fractured in to a 2nd group, the SDC. Now the SDC has taken it upon itself to find and execute the New American for killing a white. Even if he was a raving psychopathic lunatic serial killer. Which is where we are as of this issue. It's Nov. 20th 1962, and we're in Birmingham Alabama. The SDC has captured the New American and are attempting to kill him, and the CDC has just arrived to try to put a stop to it. Of course a battle ensues and the people at CDC headquarters in Washington decide that the only way to stop them from killing a bunch of innocent bystanders, is to get them to a secluded spot and nuke 'em. But, they have a traitor in their mist. Chet is actually a disciple of Hellbent and has sent 2 of the nukes off course to NYC and Atlanta. So now they have to try to get the situation to dial down so they can get someone to go after the errant nukes. Of course they divert the dissaster and save the day. And that brings the CDC/SDC back together again. Of course no one can go through a situation like this without changing. No matter how hardened they thought they were, no one is ready to experience the end-of- the-world drama that they all just went through. But if we want to see how they've changed, we'll have to wait for another chapter in the lives of our heroes. Which will probably depend on the type of feedback they get from readers. When this series first started, I wouldn't have given 2 hoots whether or not they ever came back. Now, I'm intrigued. Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

Loveless #11 - Vertigo

I like the way the story bounces back and forth from present to past. Ruth's memories of when her and Wes were a young couple are full of a lot more hope and innocence, than their lives have in them now. I also crack up that all they have to do is cut her hair short, and everyone back then thinks she's a boy. Nice disguise. Of course Wes is having flashbacks of his own. He's thinking about the days he was in the Civil War. Mainly because the man doing all the killing was one of the men he rode with during that time. Anyways there's a Union Regiment looking for the killers, but being the cocky arrogant ass' that they are, they figure that they can out manuver the troops and take them out. And they probably would too. If it wasn't for our fellow in the trees that takes out one of the bad guys, and in doing so lets the troops know that they're walking into a trap. But even if they get them all, Blackwater still has troubles because there's an assassin heading to town, that bumps in to Ruth, or as he calls her "young feller". After sharing some food and some whiskey with her, he lets her know that he's on his way to kill the sheriff. What's she going to do now? This is a great book. Of course with Brian Azzarello writing it, I expected nothing less. I would recommend this book to everyone!!

Blue Beetle #7 - DC

We learn a little more about Jamie Reyes this issue. Or more specifically, how he survived the Infinite Crisis, and some of what happened during the One Year Later. Jamie and his family are out searching for answers, so they've gone to the spot where he crash landed when he came back to earth. The new Peacemaker is along for the ride also, but I'm not really sure why. Anyways, as they're talking through things, he is also remembering things from his trip to the deep recesses of space. He remembers that Booster Gold came and got him and took him to the Batcave where the Beetleship was. There he met the Justice League shortly before they all took off to space. He also learns that the tech that the Brother Eye satelite uses to alter it's vibrational frequency, is the same tech that was used to create the Scarab. Where did Batman get this technology? Once in space, and aboard Brother Eye, the only way to beat it was to blow up the gizmo that created the transdimensional frequencies. But as the satellite was destabilizing, the heroes decided to retreat. However, in the group was 2 Green Lanterns. For some reason the Scarab view GL's as a threat. So as they were leaving it used the same transdimensional frequencies to hide from the GL's. So now Jamie had no way home. Also when Brother Eye blew it shoved him further along between dimensions. "Time works differently there. That year . . . . . was just a couple minutes for me.", says Jamie. To which Peacemaker replys, "So now you know, kid. The Scarab was built by some alien race. Some alien race big and bad enough to have a beef with the Green Lanterns." "You just gotta' ask yourself 2 questions. Why did they make it? And what happens now that you woke it up?" Pretty ominous ending for the book. So I guess next issue he's going to start trying to dig into the Scarab's past. Good luck with that.

Batman : Journey into Knight #12 - DC

This book will wrap up this series. Basically it is the very beginning of Bruce's new carreer. He has to try to balance his desire for justice and vengeance with his responsibilities as the sole heir of the Wayne estate. Because of his reputation, and age and inexperience, two members of the Wayne board decide that this is a good time to take advantage and gain some wealth for themselves. Now in order to do this, they have to get Bruce out of the picture, just in case, and then cash in on one of Wayne's projects. To accomplish this, they capture Bruce and lock him deep in the bowels of Arkham so the rest of the world thinks he's dead. Unbeknownst to them though, Alfred is set up as the heir in the event of Bruce's demise. Who else is there? And of course Alfred isn't going to roll over and let anybody take advantage of the Wayne foundation. But all of this isn't really what this story is about. That's just the backdrop. The real story is Bruce's. It's about his learning to fit into his role. It's about Bruce adapting himself to his new situations and seeing him in a more unsure light than what we're used to seeing him now. Also this is his first meeting with the Joker. Overall it was a good series. It was a bit predictable, on the Wayne Foundation side of the story, but as I said that wasn't really what the series was about. The story on Bruce's side was very interesting. We also got to see more of the early interaction between Bruce and Jim Gordon. Who at this point wasn't the Police Chief, and also not completely trusting of someone running around Gotham in tights. It also looks like this is going to pick up in a new series in December, "Batman: Confidential". Or who knows, that could be something completely different. Anyways, good series, and maybe they'll try this again?

the Trials of Shazam! #2 - DC

I really thought this was going to be a series about Billy Batson. It seemed like that after last issue also. Now with this issue, I'm starting to think it's going to be more about Freddy Freeman. Well, Mary Marvel is here also, but she's pretty banged up. While Freddy is visiting her in the hospital, he's talking about Shazam, and is teleported to the Rock of Eternity. Or what's passing for it now. Or is it? They want you to think that this is Captain Marvel and the Rock. But is it? At the end of last issue, one of the bad guys got zapped by the power of Shazam, and that's who it looks like Freddy is meeting up with now. He claims he's Cap, and after some conversation, Freedy seems to believe him, but I just don't know. He claims that Freddy has been the next chosen to receive the gifts of power, but in order to do so he has to pass a challenge from each of the gods. So in order to get started he has to go and meet his guide Zareb Babek. Like I said, one of two things is going to happen, either this is all on the up and up and Freddy will end up with the power, after going through all his trials, or this is all an elaborate set up by someone trying to control the powers of Shazam by controlling the people most tapped in to it. Last issue Billy has the power, but it seems to be making him kind of loopy. Mary is way out of it. And Freddy seems to be the most likely candidate. But where we're going from here, we won't know until next issue. And this is only issue 2 of 12, so I expect a lot of twists and turns along the way. So buckle up and get ready for the ride.

Secret Six #4 - DC

The lastest chapter in our team of Anti-heroes. And what could make it better than the last three? How 'bout the arrival of the Doom Patrol. Fantastic! We start with Vandal Savage consulting with Dr. Psycho and Cheshire about his plans for the 6. He still wants to spare Catman to procreate with his daughter. As their talking he slurpping down his dinner, which he has fed to the other 2 as well. It turns out it's Solomon Grundy soup. Now the 6 come across the Doom Patrol. The DP trys to talk them down, but you just know that that's not going to work. A battle ensues, and both teams take a pretty good beating. It looks like the DP may win, until the S6 bring in the Mad Hatter. He really messes with their heads. Meanwhile Vandal decides that he's going to have to use his daughters friends against her in order to get her to come to him. Now you know that Scandal is in love with Knockout, and I don't know how VS manipulated it, but Lawton and Knockout end up sleeping together, and Scandal comes walking in on them. I think this might be the thing that sends her over the edge. Gail Simone had done it again. Kudos!!!

Justice League of America #2 - DC

This is another book that just has a fantastic creative team on it. Brad Meltzer writes it and Ed Benes draws it, and I think it's one of the best books on the shelves right now. Of course this is another one that's killing me on alternative covers. Oh well. You gotta' do what you gotta' do. We learn alot more about Red Tornado this issue. There's a group that's got plans for his robot body, but we haven't seen the faces behind the shadows yet. And Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are still trying to vote on who they think should make up the next team. The comments that they share back and forth while they're doing this, is priceless. Green Lantern (Hal), Black Canary and Arsenal have gone looking for Reddies robot shell. Vixen is up to her neck in bad guys in Hub city. And Black Lightning is working undercover in St.Roch, trying to figure out who's been helping the bad guys fly under the radar. He gets his answer when he opens the door to find a glutonous Parasite sitting and waiting for him. And finally, Reddy's heading out for his first mission in his new body. He's a little nervous. Great start to the next chapter of this team, and I think it's only going to get better from here.

Teen Titans #39 - DC

This issue we get introduced to Zatarra, the boy magician. He was actually part of the team during the 1 Year Later, so it's only natural that when they're out seaching for Raven, their going to stop by to see what he knows. They get some hints from him, and a little bit of Raven's history, but we also learn how much of a pompous ass he is. We also get introduced to Martian Girlhunter this issue. We also meet Bombshell, she's like a female Captain Atom. Younger too. She says she has proof that the Titans have a traitor in their midst. And, that it's Ravager. Also Martian Girlhunter is being hunted by a White Martian. Those things are bad news. I'm enjoying this series as much as any Teen Titans book in recent memory. I think this is mostly due to the creative team of Geoff Johns and Tony S.Daniel. These two do a fantastic job of keeping this book interesting, with good pace and very visually pleasing.

Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters #3 DC

First let me say that Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are doing an awesome job writing this story. Add to that the interior & exterior art of Daniel Acuna, and we have a classic in the making. We start out getting some history on the Black Condor character. We go all the way back to the Civil War. The real one. We meet John Trujillo, the new Black Condor, and the only member still missing from our ensemble. As our team is flying out to Arizona to meet him, they're worried about what SHADE's going to do. Also Phantom Girl still can't believe that her father could ever betray his country. SHADE does end up catching up to them, and in a big arial dispay, we get to see each member of the team flex their muscles a bit. They send in their own team of meta's, who seem to get the upper hand, until Black Condor shows up to help out. Father Time, whom see the writing on the wall that the aren't going to be able to take down the team like this, decides to instead discredit their name publicly. Which then begins a series of suicide bombers in Metropolis. This is an outstanding book. I hope it goes longer that it's designated 8 issues. We'll have to wait and see.

100 Bullets #76 - Vertigo

This issue we start out with all the usual players, Cole, Remi, Wylie, Dizz, Graves, Branch, Benito and Lono. Now Graves is trying to bring the families together. And he's willing to do whatever he has to to do it. Including killing Simone. But as he's trying to work this all out, Wylie figures out that he has something that Graves wants more than anything, Dizzy. Because, she killed Shepherd. So being the dumbass that he is, Wylie calls Graves to let him know that he has Dizzy, and that he'll never let him get to her. He's willing to bring any heat he has to down on him, to protect her from him. Graves hangs up on him, and makes a call straight to Lono. Now the story's going to get interesting. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso deliver another great chapter of the real gangland america. And Jason Johnson delivers another fabulous cover. If you're not buying this book, you should. Go out and buy the TB's, or the backissues, or whatever you have to, but this is the story to read. And Brian Azzarello is the person to write it. Sheer perfection!!

Moon Knight #5 - Marvel

Another book that I'm glad to see back in the rotation every month. Even if it is costing me too much, with all these variant covers. We start out this issue with the Taskmaster giving Marc a severe beating. Well, beating, maiming, torturing, all of the above. But even with his broken body, Marc is doing everything he can to fight back. Especially when Marlene shows up to try to lend a hand. But the tide doesn't turn until Samuel blind sides him with an Elephant gun. He then takes Marc and Marlene back to the estate. And back to Moon Knight central. Nedda's there too. She's going to get them some nourishment. As all these people are coming together for him, Marc finds some renewed strength and begins to don all his armor and Moon Knight costume. As she's wandering among the costumes Marlene says, "They said they'd kill us all. Everyone you've ever cared about. Crawley. Gena and the kids. Samuels and Nedda. Jean-Paul. Me. . . . . .What are you going to do about that?" To which Moon Knight replys, "Vengeance!". And though he can barely stand, she helps him get into the Moonship. He takes off and crashes it right into the side of the Committee's building. Charlie Huston and David Finch are truly creating, or recreating, a classic here. I mean it had to be an uphill battle for Marc to get back into the game again, and Charlie and David have truly delivered that to him.

Ghost Rider #3 - Marvel

It's good to see this series come back again. And it good to see it in such capable hands as Daniel Way and Mark Texiera. Beautiful art and covers. Ok to bring everyone up to speed, Johnny has finally made his way out of hell. However in doing so he was tricked by Lucifer, because he wanted out of hell also. So when Johnny made it out, he brought Lucifer with him. So far he's only heen out a short time, but he's run into Lucifer once or twice already. Having sensed this disturbance on the cosmic plane, Dr. Strange has summoned Johnny to confront him, and ask him about what's going on. In Johnny's rage though, he thinks this is just another trick of Lucifer's and is giving Stephen a run for his money. But he's willing to pull all of the tricks out of his mystic bag to try to get to the bottom of this situation. At the same time we see that Lucifer has already moved on to another family. We don't really know what he's up to yet, but from the next issue blurb, it looks like we're going to start getting some answers next issue. And on the final page, GR is letting out all of his soul fire straight into Dr. Strange. Doesn't look good for the doctor. I'm glad this books back in my pull every month.

Sensational Spider-Man #30 - Marvel

Again, I can't praise enough how much I love having Angel Medina on this series. The artwork is phenomonal. Ok, in this issue, it appears that all of Spider-man's foes are coming after him, one way or another. But they aren't really coming after Spider-man, they're coming after Peter Parker. And his family. He confronts Elektro in a museum. And he says he just got tag teamed by Scarecrow and Will-o'-the -Wisp, just down the block. Mary Jane is then confronted in the Theatre by Swarm. Meanwhile the Chameleon is out planning his strike. Peter decides to head this off at the pass by taking on a partner, or deputy as it were, to help watch his loved ones backs. Who does he go to, well the BlackCat of course. Since she already knew his identity anyway. But he has to calm her down first because she's upset that he outed himself. She thought it was more sexy and intimate when she was the only one who knew. He calms her down, and just in time, as her recieves a phone call from Liz that Molten Man and Scarecrow and Wispy are holding her and her son hostage until Peter goes to them. And, the Chameleon is posing as Peter to get into the building with Aunt May. Ay-yi-yi!! What a predictament Peter's gotten himself into this time. I can't wait for the next issue.

X-Factor #11 - Marvel

Ok, it seems that we've finally settled on an artist. 2 actually. Renato Arlem does the art, but then Roy Allen Martinez does all the flashbacks. Of the 2 I probably like Roy better, but they seem to work well together. The flow of the story is smooth, and their styles aren't so different that it upsets this. We learn a little more about the Singularity Organization this issue, and their Mr. Tryp. We see a flashback of the time when Jamie was first being recruited to Xavier's, but Mr. Tryp is there trying to recruit him for Singularity. He makes the statement that he thinks Jamie is something other than a mutant. But he doesn't explain much farther than that. He seems to have some kind of power also, because he makes everyone forget he was even there. This issue we also deal with Guido killing Buchanan from the Singularity Organization last issue. It appears that somehow Mr. Tryp programmed Guido with a trigger phrase to get him to do his bidding. That's why he called him on his cell phone. We also find out, through the ensuing battle, that Pietro can take out any mutant just by touching them, as he dispays with Guido. We also see Damion Tryp when he confronts Mrs. Buchanan as she is about to leave her home with all of her husbands papers that she can find. But this one is younger that the one who talked to Jamie's parents. And when the team launches a covert op to get into Singularity's headquarters and try to get some info, they run into another Damion Tryp, but this one seems to be about 2 or 300 years old. He says, "I wish to explain to you why you're on the wrong side. . . . .why we're trying to save the future of mankind . . . . and how your activites may well destroy everything. Have a seat. There's water in the fridge if you're thirsty." Kind of an ominous ending. I wish I was like Layla and knew everything.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #34 - Marvel

This group of aliens that has entered Manhattan is called Seed 19. Their leader, Seed, is the thing that Reed brought back to the Baxter Building. Which is why the rest of the Seed team, disguised as children, have entered the building. To retrieve their leader. At the end of last issue, they sent Johnny's powers raging out of control. Seed has taken Reed into an illusion. And Susan has brought their transportation back to life. Meanwhile another group of aliens, these one's really look like the bad guys, have entered Manhattan and are looking for Seed 19. I believe their leader is called Gallowglass. I don't think they're going to let anything stand in their way. So now, in typical FF fashion, they are going to team up with Seed 19 to fight the greater threat. And from the final page of this issue, it looks like a great threat indeed. Mike Carey and Pasqual Ferry are really doing a bangup job with this book. And to think I was worried about how they were going to follow up the last story arc. My bad!!

Wolverine #46 - Marvel

Ok, we still got Humberto Ramos on board, so that's a good thing. Wolverine has been tracking down Nitro. But he is now in the Sub Mariner's custody. Which is ok with Wolvie because he has learned that Nitro didn't act alone. He was given MGH by a Walter Declun. He is the head of Damage Control. Basically they are a company that is paid to go around and clean up the messes that the supers leave behind after a fight. And the registration act is going to make them even richer. With it's passage DC will get contracts for superhuman registration, evaluation, training, etc.. So basically they're a war profiteer. So Wolvie decides he's going to start chipping at them piece by piece. He starts with some of their warehouses, a little mayhem and destruction. He then moves on to disrupting their financial status'. He disrupts their cash flow, destroys confidence in their stock and futures, and starts chipping away at their hedge funds. Finally Delcun lays a trap for him, when he purchases the Roxxon Building for their new corporate headquarters. He know's that Wolvie won't be able to resist, and has an army of War Machine's. They have Mandroid armor, SHIELD weaponry and Stark tech. It seems that while DC was cleaning up the sites, they were also salvaging any weaponry and tech they could. This issue ends with an adamantium buzz-saw at Wolvie's adamantium throat. Wonder how he's going to get out of this one?

X-Men Civil War #3 - Marvel

Ok this book picks up where the last left off, obviously. The 198 have escaped and are hiding in a bunker in Arizona. Cyclops and his team have found them and are trying to gain their confidence so they can help them. Bishop and his team has arrived a short while later. Now they might be able to resolve their differences, except, Johnny Dee is using his little home grown babies to control some of the combatants. At the end of last issue he was controlling Cyclops, who was trying to overload Bishop's energy comsumption with a non stop optic blast. After a lot of fighting, they finally put together that someone is controlling them. And with the dissapearance of Johnny, they come to the right conclusion, that it is probably him. Valerie Cooper, who has been informed, finds him and General Lazer in a room playing with the dolls and trying to shape a war. But, we don't know everything yet, because there's something to do with some weapons. I assume that Johnny is talking about the weapons that Caliban found behind a locked door, deep in the bowels of the bunker. Finally everybody in Arizona is talked down, but now Lazer has activated the weapons that are hidden deep inside the bunker where the 198 are holed up. So it looks like they're out of the frying pan and into the fire.

X-Men First Class #1 - Marvel

Ok this book takes us back to the very beginning. When the original X-Men (Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Marvel Girl and Iceman) first come together. This is the time before they knew the full extent of their powers. Before they trusted each other explicitly as they do now. Before they saved each other's lives, or the world's, many times over. Back to when they were all sarcastic, joke cracking teenagers. This particular issue is written around a letter that Bobby is writting home to his parents. In vague, undesciptive forms, he is telling his parents about his adventures at his new school. But then we get to see what actually happened, and why he couldn't tell them everything that went on. As a first issue it's pretty good. It gives non-Xmen fans (is there such a thing?) a place to start learning about the world's favorite Mutants. And it gives lifelong fans a new look at the beginning. It's my understanding that all these stories will fall between and throughout the original continuity. And we also get a bit of a history lesson at the end. Add to that Roger Cruz' art, and you got a book that's worth your 3 bucks.

Exiles #86 - Marvel

Ok we're still battling on the "Planet of 1000 Wolverines". Sounds like a George Romero flick. Albert and Elsie have gotten their behinds handed to them. And the Zombie Wolvie has turned into a glutonous pig. Well, at least until his head gets chopped off. And Patch has been turned to the side of the demons. Meanwhile Heather Hudson has gone back to the Crystal Palace to assume command of the reality hopping insects. Together they need to figure out a way to bring Brother Mutant down. And they especially need to find an answer because what started out in Las Vegas, is about to be spread world wide. Yes Brother Mutant's getting ready to take his show on the road. But, as Elsie and Zoberino's head try to evade Patch, the Exiles finally show up to lend a hand. Or to take a hand, and a few other body parts as Sabretooth eviscerates Patch at the feet of the Power Princess. Finally Sabretooth does a fastball special with Elsie and Zoberino's head. For those who forgot, Elsie was originally programmed to destroy Wolverine. But she suppressed that command because her and Albert loved each other. Mutant Robot forbidden love. Who'd of thunk it? Any ways, she decides to ignore her programming, and with the help of the Zombie head, who take's a bite out of crime, literally, they weaken Brother Mutant enough for Logan and James to do what they do best. Long story short, the surviving Wolverines return to normal and are sent home, and our heroes return to the Crystal Palace to once again do what they do best.

Civil War #4 - Marvel

"Oh my God!!! Thor just killed Goliath!" Exsqueezeme? Oh, I forgot. This is Marvels all encompasing Thrillogy! So a cloned Thor is not out of the question. And said Thor, blasting a lightning bolt through Goliath's chest is not out of the question. And Iron Man beating the crap out of Captain America, is not beyond reason. Oh, and I can't forget Susan Storm coming to everyone's rescue, and having to become separated from her family in order to do so. Now, people in both camps, Tony's and Cap's, are starting to question whether or not they picked the right side. So how is Tony's team going to make sure they have the manpower to confront Cap's side in the future. They're crossing the line, that's how. Now they're recruiting people like Bullseye, Taskmaster, Venom, and some other nasties. This is going to get a lot uglier before it gets better. I started out a little skeptical when this series began. But, it's drawing me in more and more every month. Mark Millar is such an incredible writer. And, Steve McNiven gets better and better with every issue. I was recently reading some of the Marvel Knights "4" title, which Steve did the art in the first few issues, and he has come a long way since then, which was probably only about 3 years ago. My only criticism will be, will theses changes stick. It seems like we go through these all encompasing changes, only to have them all revert back to normal 6 months down the line. But, I'm willing to wait and see because the story truly is that good.

Hellblazer #224 - Vertigo

Denise Mina and Leonardo Manco are really doing a bang up job with this book. This is a new storyline starting this issue. But actually it's an extension of the last storyline with the empathy machine. John and Evans seem to be the only 2 in Glasgow not being affected by the Praexis demons. They are demons that gorge on the souls of the sudden dead. The problem with the empathy machine, is that most people have more supressed emotions than they realize. When they are all brought to the surface, it is more than they can handle. Thus they commit suicide, or kill each other, because they also feel what everyone else is feeling. Now, the reason they're leaving John alone is because, he's been to hell and back. So the authorities has closed off the city and are airlifting in water and food. But Johns upset because he can't seem to find any cigarettes anywhere in the city. But then Chas and Gemma come breaking into the city, "Angie managed to work up a spell to give up temporary immunity." It seems that the plague is making it's way out of the city now. The handful of survivors that are left are now mobile empathy machines. As soon as anyone tries to leave the city, the plague will spread throught the rest of Europe. "Glasgow wan't the main infection. Wasn't even the first battle. It's just a petri dish. This is the build-up to the real attack." They're knee deep in it now.

Ion - Guardian of the Universe #6 - DC

Ok, last issue Kyle figured out that Alex Nero was posing as him, and flying around space creating havoc. Actually decimation is probably a better word for his actions. Well anyways, with Hal's help he has caught his and is returning to OA. Upon entering the Guardians chamber, with Alex in tow, his first words are, "So . . . . is there anything you want to tell me?" Basically the Guardians have appointed him the "Torch Bearer". They tell him that he is unique among all the Lanterns because of the Starheart power that was given him by Jade. "What you have become has allowed us to place within you the spark of all that we guardians are. All that the green Lantern corps is. You are the safeguard. Should we or the corps ever be destroyed again, it is within you to bring about our rebirth. You are truly our Torch Bearer". His response is, "Seriously?. . . . . would've been nice to tell me about it, huh?". But Nero really has nothing to do with their plans. He was unleashed on Kyle and the Guardians by someone unknown. Yet! Part of this mysterious agressors plans was for Kyle to bring him here. So he then explodes. And Kyle save the Guardians, again. "You know, this ION power is pretty cool! What can't I do?". Kyle decides to go back to earth to try to wrap up his life, and the Guardians with him well. He also gets an honor guard type salute from the rest of the corps as he's leaving. We see the hands of the aggressor, and also see that he is keeping tabs on Kyle, but that is about it. He goes back home to his apartment, but is confronted by someone who thinks he's supposed to be dead. ?? More on that next issue I guess.

Astonishing X-Men #17 - Marvel

Boy is there alot going on in this book. Ok, Kitty is locked in a delusion. Her and Peter have had a baby. When it's about a year old, the X-Men, lead by Xavier, decide that the have to take the baby away. They argue, but they turn Peter against her, who knocks her out, and then they take the baby and lock it up in a box in the basement. Which she finds out when she phases an ax handle through Peter's head, threatening to solidify it if he doesn't give her any answers. Now up on the SWORD ship, they are equally as panicked, because Ord has broken free, with the help of Danger, and is heading back towards Xaviers. They don't know it yet, but Ord has found out that Colossus will destroy his people, in the near future. So there's no telling what he has planned for him. But, SWORD has a mole on campus, so they'll be able to follow the action. The mole is Lockhead. Anyways, Kitty goes down to the basement, and attempts to get her son out of this box. The problem is the box has been "Kitty proofed", so it's going to be a lot harder than she thought. But, seeing that it's her son, she'll figure out, and do whatever is necessary. She finally gets him out, but it's almost the exact same time that Ord and Danger come crashing through the roof. When Peter comes down to confront Kitty, the delusion doesn't affect him, and rather than see their son, as Kitty does, he sees what she's actually carrying. It's a cacoon like thing that actually holds the essence of Cassandra Nova. She had to trick Kitty in to freeing her from this prison. But then Scott shows up and shoots Emma. And for the rest of the story . . . . . we'll have to wait for next issue. I really can't praise this book enough. This is hands down the best X-men book ever. I'm sorry, I don't mean this particular issue, I mean this series.

Flash #4 - DC

Apparently Bart is going to take up the Flash role, because Wally is still MIA. Well, if you listen to the explanation that Dr. McGee tells, Bart, Barry, Wally and Max are all part of the Speed Force now. I guess it all happened when they took Superboy Prime into the Speed Force. And since the Speed Force resides solely in Bart, then I guess they are all a part of him. Anyways, Griffin has taken to his vigilante role, 100%. He's trying to make a name for himself, but, in doing so he's set himself up as judge, jury and executioner. Also his powers seem to be having some kind of weird side affect on him. His body looks like it's aging very fast. While talking to Dr. McGee, Bart finds out that Valerie has been let go by STAR. He's in love with her, and vice versa, so the only way to explain it to him is to tell him that her father is Manfred Mota, and when she disclosed that info to STAR, they sympathized but had to let her go. But, love being blind, and dumb, Bart is still in love with her. And she him. But that may all be moot, because on the final splash page her father finally decides to confront her. Great story by Bilson & DeMeo and great art by Lashley and Velluto.

Birds of Prey #98 - DC

We finally get to meet the mysterious new Bat-Girl this issue. Well, I should say, Black Canary, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, Oracle and Gypsy do. We start out with Yasemin, who is released from prison, and ready to take control of her criminal empire again. But in order to do so she has do to it over Helena Bertinelli's dead body. Which she's more than willing to do. Next we get to see how Sin is interacting with the Birds. They all are refreshed by the inquisitive young mind. The girl is a sponge. But Dinah, is especially smitten by her. She's ready to adorn the family role. And speaking of Dinah,she has someone working in the flower shop that looks an awful lot like Poison Ivy. What's that all about? And finally we have Oracle, trying to set up a little sting operation for the new Batgirl. When they finally catch up to her, she's a red headed, freckled little teen aged girl. But she looks familiar. She has a definite attitude, appears to be very strong, and can teleport. Also, when Yasemin comes after Huntress, she takes a bullet for her. Which she can apparently recover rather quickly from. Dinah and Helena go after Yasemin, but Batgirl has teleported to Oracle. Also, how does she know everyone's name? I guess we'll have to wait until next issue to find out more about this mystery.

Deadman #2 - Vertigo

The hero of our story, if you want to call him that, Brandon, was killed in an airplane crash with his brother Scott last issue. And that's just the beginning of our story. He leaves behind, the love of his life, his brother's wife, Sarah. And that's not even the weird part. Apparently, until he decides he's ready to move on, one way or the other, he's stuck in a limbo where he keeps switching from reality to reality. He feels like he's stuck in a dream, but not, at the same time. And each on varies ever so slightly from the next. The second one, the first is the real life, he's married to Sarah, and she's a Physics Professor. He and his brother still end up in the Airplane crash, but it's his fault. In the third he's still married to Sarah, but as he's trying to explain what's going on to her, at the breakfast table, dressed in his security uniform, some military looking types show up and attempt to kill both of them. The next version everything starts out the same. He trys harder to explain it all to her this time. And this time she's a Psychology Professor. All of this seems to have something to do with "string theory", because it's brought up multiple time, in the varios incarnations. There's a knock at the door again, but this time it's a single man with a pistol that shoots Sarah in the head. So how is he going to get out of this loop he's stuck in? And how come these people are coming after him? And how can sombody come after you in a dream? They apparently know where he's at, who he's with, and what he's doing. All great questions . . . . for the next issue.

Wetworks #1 - Wildstorm

The beginning of "World Storm", the big Wildstorm event where they're going to reingnite their whole universe, starts here. And with Mike Carey and Whilce Portacio at the helm, it couldn't be in more capable hands. It looks like the usual band of characters, that we all became attached to, are back in the saddle. Dane is in charge again, and he is going around and hand picking his team. The Vampires are back also. And a Werewolf too. This first book was riveting. I don't want to give too much away, because everybody needs to be on board for this big event. Suffice it to say, you will not be dissapointed. If this is the standard of quality that will be in all the reimmersions, then we're in for a "Wild" ride. Pun intended. So pick up a copy, buckle in, and get ready for the next one . . . . . WildCATS. By none other than Jim Lee.

Checkmate #6 - DC

Overall, a great job with this book. Every issue we learn a little more about the heirarchy of Checkmate. We learn what the White and Black side means. Basically the Black side is the operational side. Which is why Amanda Waller is the White Queen. I guess the U.N. didn't even want her in Checkmate but they conceeded as long as she wasn't in operations. But that doesn't mean she still doesn't have her hand in some Suicide Squad operations. If not directly, then through sheer force of will, or manipulation. One of her strong points. Also this issue they bring Rick Flag back. The Bronze Tiger, through some intel leaked to him by who else, breaks him out of, what they thought was, a forgotten and abandoned Qurac prison. Sasha is still struggling with her feelings for Michael. He's not the White King yet, but she figures he will be, so she distancing herself already. Mirror Master is trying to form a SS team to go after a meta stuck in a power plant in Myanmar. I can only guess where he's getting his intel from. But his team consist of himself, Icicle, Punch & Jewelee, Plastique, Javelin and the Tatooed man. But it looks like someone on their team is reporting to the Society because no sooner do they arrive than they are surrounded. But Amanda, as a contingency, has already sent the Bronze Tiger and Rick Flag after them. So we'll have to wait till next issue to see how this all works out.

52 Week Twenty - DC

Another installment of my favorite weekly comic. We start out with Supernova, deep in the bowels of Wayne manor, stealing Luthor's Kryptonite gauntlet. We then move on to Steel helping some firefighters evacuate a burning building. Afterwords, Kala comes to him with a discovery that Luthor has engineered into his Super-Power program, an off switch. Since he gave certain people these powers, he can take them away just as easily. We then move on to Lobo, with his new religion. The people on this planet he has landed on, are under attack by somebody and they are begging for Lobo to protect them. Buddy and Adam and Starfire are doing everything they can to repel the invaders. But they aren't having much luck. So Starfire takes it upon herself to use the Emerald Eye of Ekron, to do the work for them. Unfortunately Lobo can't advise them on this course of action, because he's been atomized. But as he resurrecting out of his own pool of blood, he is reprimanding Kory for her actions. It seem the Emerald Eye of Ekron war ripped right out of the Emerald Head of Ekron. And he's pissed and wants it back. By using it, Kory just sent out a signal flare to him. So now Lobo is scared and ready to run. Cool book, great writing, and awesome covers. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, it comes out every week. BINGO!!!