Batman #693 - DC

Tony Daniel did the art on part of Grant Morrison's run, but . . I forgot how good of a writer he can be too. If you don't believe me check out his work on the Tenth. I'm sure you can find some TPB around someplace. Anyways, there's a few things going on in Gotham right now. At the head of the list is Black Mask and his False Faces gang. Right now they're pretty much cornered in a small part of Gotham called Devil's Square. But that doesn't mean that Black Mask isn't doing business outside of that area. He just has to be sneaky, and undercover when he does it. Which brings up an interesting point. In this issue there's a gala affair that's being held for all of Gotham's elite. Black Mask goes, but . . the people there don't see him as Black Mask. So, either he's wearing another mask over top, or . . as suspected, this is a different Black Mask and he's going in his actual identity which appears to fit in rather calmly with all the rich folk. He's even friendly to the Commissioner and DA Spencer. Anyways, the other part of the crime problem in Gotham is that the Falcone family has returned. Almost immediately a war breaks out between them and Black Mask, but . . it appears that only the False Faces are having to pay the price. However, while at the gala, some of Falcone's men are murdered and then set on fire over at the pier. It looks like they were killed with a scythe. Which points directly towards . . the Reaper. And Helena and Edward Nigma are caught in a bomb blast in the building. Helena escaped unscathed, but . . it looks like the blast has knocked something loose in Edward's head . . 'Twister of truths . . dastardly definer of definition . . king of contradiction . .grandmaster of riddles . . I'm Baaacckk! Heh Heh!!' It looks like Edward is no longer going to be playing on the side of the angels. Anyways, the issue ends when Batman decides to strike the old fashioned way and go into Devil's Square and start kicking ass and taking names. He wants to find out what Black Mask is up to. Overall, I really enjoyed this issue. The only downfall of Tony's run here is that it's only going to last until issue #699. Obviously they have something special planned for #700. So this story-arc runs through the next 6 issues. It's a shame. I think they ought to give this book to Tony and let him run with it. I'm willing to bet that his run would be just as incredible as Grant's . So . . enjoy it while you can.

Titans #19 - DC

This issue focus' on Roy and Lian. They've recently moved to Star City. Roy wanted a more normal life for his daughter, but . . since he's so close to Ollie, Dinah and Mia . . I don't see that happening anytime soon. Apparently he thought that just by changing thier location, living in a house instead of an apartment in the 'big city', that things would automatically become better for Lian . . more normal. But, he's spending just as much, if not more time being Red Arrow here. So he still ends up blowing off time that he could be spending with her. I know his 'job' is important, and good for the welfare of the people of Star City, but . . what about the welfare of Lian? And, we're already seeing cracks in the Norman Rockwell type picture that he's trying to create. First there's the condescending judgement of Lian's teachers. They aren't happy when Roy brings her to school on his motor-cycle, or when he leaves her waiting on the steps after school. Also when Mia shows up in roller-blades to pick her up . . lets just say they aren't happy, and very judgemental. The problem is, Lady Vic shows up in town to take out an informant that's going to testify. Roy can't stop until he gets her, which takes all day. But honestly . . she's not the problem either. There's always going to be a Lady Vic, or somebody else. Unfortunately, I think this is going to come down to Roy choosing what's more important to him . . being a father, or being Red Arrow. As long as he tries to do both, one of them is going to be neglected. I liked this story, but I think we're just seeing the beginning of Roy's troubles. If he stays on this course, he's turning into the absentee father that Ollie always was for him. Sooner or later . . he's going to see that. I really liked this issue. I hate to see Roy struggle with this, but . . it's inevitable. And I think JT Krul and Angel Unzueta did a great job of portraying this opening salvo of the next chapter in Roy's life. Where will he go from here?

Action Comics #883 - DC

I thought this was an interesting issue. In it we find that Jax-Ur has been hiding among the humans . . another of Zod's sleeper agents. But Jax-Ur seems to be in the place where he can do the most damage, and access the most technology . . STAR Labs. He been hiding as a Dr Pillings at STAR, while working with Dr Hoshi, Doctor Light. This issue Toronto is attacked by some form, or forms, of Brimstone. Apparently there was some type of seedpod that was triggered and it deployed these Brimstone type characters. They don't know where it came from, or who sent it, but . . it's now in the hands of STAR Labs, and Drs Pillings and Hoshi. Nightwing and Flamebird were on the scene to help save the city, but . . after the attack, everything is blamed on them. And they're still on the search for some of the Kryptonian sleeper agents . . Jax-Ur, Quex-Ul and Car-Vex. There's also something that happens between them. They're talking about their beliefs in the actual Nightwing and Flamebird . . something happens to Chris. It appears that something has triggered in him. He begins to glow and vibrate the building apart. But . . we aren't going to find out what that is until next issue. Meanwhile, Perry has been put on the trail of Jimmy. A recent flame of Jimmy's, Isabel Glenn, has come to the Planet looking for him. He's been missing for quite a while now. Perry listens and ends up in Jimmy's apartment looking for clues. He finds a paper behind a picture that says . .'N/EO JSEO' . . whatever that means. But now Perry's got the scent. You know he's not going to give up until he figures out what's going on. Oh wait . . I finally figured out what the last page means. Dr Hoshi has brought this decrepit old man to Dr Pillings claiming, ' . . before this 18 year old boy dies of old age . . we really need your help.' I didn't understand what it was at first, but . . it's Chris. Apparently he's taken another age leap. This time straight to senior citizenry. I didn't understand that the first time I read it. So Chris and Thara have been delivered straight to Jax-Ur. That can't be good. I thought this was an interesting issue by Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann and Pere Perez. Not one of the best, but . . it does serve to progress the story. In the back-up, we find Captain Atom face to face with Major Force. Apparently Force has been ordered to bring him back. And by bring him back, we mean back to our Earth . . to General Lane and project 7734. Upon return, he's met with an army of men with weapons designed to contain him. But when they try . . someone interferes. It appears that Mon El is back. Also, it appears that Natasha's undercover assignment may have been compromised. Another great chapter by James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Cafu.

Batman and Robin #6 - DC

This book just gets more and more intense with every issue. And I have to admit, as much as I love Frank Quitely's work . . Philip Tan brings an energy and feeling to this book that I don't think Frank could. I still love Frank's work, but . . I think Grant and Phillip are definitely the dream team here. Which is to say that I think Grant Morrison is a genius. But we already knew that. As intricate and involved as his stories are, I also love the humor that he puts into them. The guy on the pink cover is Flamingo. He's the assassin that el Penitnete has brought to Gotham to take out the Red Hood . . the thorn in his side. Anyways, when Damian finally sees him, after all the hype, he says . . 'I was expecting scary . . not gay!' So the Flamingo really lets it all out on Jason. If Dick and Damian hadn't have gotten involved, I'm sure that Jason would be dead now. As it is, Scarlet has given up. After she sees what Flamingo is doing to everybody else, she just knows that there's no way that she stands a chance. Although, she does give it one last effort as she jumps on Flamingo's back and cuts his ear off. The girls got heart . . if nothing else. Which is when Jason attacks him with a piece of construction equipment and throws him off the top of the building. Now I have some questions, and they come in the exchange between Jason and Dick at the end. They're yelling at each other, and Jason says 'Help me? . . it's . . it's too late for me, Grayson. It was always too late for me.' Anyways, next thing we know the Commissioner and the Police are there. Did they hear any of that conversation? Then when he's being loaded into the paddy wagon, Jason is screaming . .'You think any of this would be happening if he was here? You recovered his body! Don't tell me the kid's mother can't find a Lazarus pit! The brought me back! How can you live with yourself! He's still dead because of something you can never admit! You just couldn't stand the fact that you were always gonna be in his shadow!' So . . if Jim wasn't sure that the Batman was different . . he's probably got a pretty good idea now. Anyways, in the melee Flamingo shot Damian point blank in the back. He says he can't feel anything from his waist down. But Talia's paramedics come and pick him up. Also Scarlet has escaped. As she's driving over the bridge, out of Gotham her mask finally comes off. So now . . nobody knows what she looks like. I have a feeling she'll be back to haunt Damian. Also we see that the Flamingo is not dead, as he calls Oberon Sexton to make some kind of deal with him. You know . . that mysterious guy that showed up in Gotham last issue. And . . on the final page . . we see a picture of Batman going through a tunnel and opening some kind of vault. His password? 'Zur En Arrh' Could this be Bruce? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Next issue Blackest Night comes to this title, so . . maybe that's how he got here. We'll just have to wait until next issue to find out. I think this is a fantastic book. Yes it's different, but . . that's ok. It sets itself apart from the rest. I wasn't sure what to expect when this all started, and I definitely didn't know how I felt about it after the first issue, but . . I have to say . . I think it's getting better and better every time. Grant's definitely finding his groove, again. And . . we're only just beginning.

Green Lantern Corps #42 - DC

It really looks like all is lost for the Corps this issue. Even with the help of another Indigo Tribe member, Munk, it's just not enough to stop the onslaught of these Black Lanterns. Also, it seems that when the Black Lanterns kill another, by eating their hearts, it increases their power levels. Well, with this assault on OA, it appears that they've absorbed enough to reach 100%. Once that happens they no longer seem focused on the outlets of the energy, the green light, but rather it's source . . the central power battery. They'll fight when provoked, but . . death and destruction no longer seem to be their motivating force. They all seem to gather together, creating a giant construct, that is literally ripping the battery from it's foundation. A few various attacks are attempted. Kyle grabs one of the sciencells and drops Red Lantern Vice right into the middle of the fray. He does quite a bit of damage, but . . the problem is Alpha Lantern Chaselon, rather than working with the Corps, feels that the Alpha Lanterns are the only ones capable of rectifying the situation. And even with what's going on, he can't abide a Red Lantern loose on OA. So he exterminates him. Since he's now in the middle of the fray he's overwhelmed by Black Lanterns and his shell is cracked, exposing the Alpha Lanterns power source. A source that is now compromised and on the verge of destruction. Kyle, knowing what is going to happen, scoops up the Alpha Lantern's lantern, and flies with it straight into the middle of the conflagration. He puts up a dome to contain as many as possible. And is at ground zero as the lantern goes terminal. He takes out a whole lot of Black Lanterns, but . . . 'Ring status report. Green Lantern 2814 deceased. Priority directive located. Moratorium on sentient ring replacement. Proceed to space sector 2261.' That's it? Kyle is dead? Say it isn't so! Now I know why that next cover shows Guy becoming a Red Lantern. He probably is going to allow it to happen in order to avenge his buddy. Wow! What a powerful issue. I can't believe that after all this time, his replacing Hal, his temporarily becoming ION . . I can't believe Kyle is gone. And if so, what's with the ring not immediately attempting to find a replacement, but instead heading to sector 2261? What's up with that? Anyways, another fantastic issue by Peter J Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. And did you check out that awesome variant cover by Greg Horn. I guess Greg has signed on to do a lot of covers for DC. So we'll be seeing more and more of his work. This was a great issue and a fantastic story. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Smallville - Kandor - Season 9 Episode 7 - CW

This has nothing to do with Superman, or Smallville, but . . I'm always looking for new or different music and I found a pretty cool song. It's a mash-up of Blondie and the doors. It's called Rapture Riders. I don't know where to get the recording, but . . I did find the video on YouTube. Which I thought was pretty cool. So I wanted to share. Click on the following link and it'll take you there. I hope you like it as much as I did. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnhKPw2NXIw Anyways, on to the story . . in this episode of Smallville we find out that Zod and the Kandorians are actually clones. When Tess opened the orb, apparently they were all released and came to maturity. We also see that this all happened back when Kandor was destroyed. At the time, Jor-El was trying to ensure the survival of the Kandorians, should they fall in battle . . which they did. He put a blood sample of each of them . . including his own, and Zod's, into the orb for future reference. At the time, since trips to Earth were often made on sabbaticals, Jor-El also put in some kind of Red-Sun inhibitor so that should they be taken to Earth they wouldn't have the same powers as the Kryptonians. Plus, I think he was afraid of what they would do to Earth, being soldiers and disoriented and all. Anyways, Zod figures out that Jor-El is here, while at the same time Jor-el figures out that Clark is actually his son . . well, his future self's son. Zod is convinced that Jor-El's secret son will help to bring them their powers, so he mortally wounds him knowing that he'll return to say goodbye. Which he does. And now . . Zod knows that Clark is the 'traveler'. Also this episode, Clark comes out to Tess. Not on purpose, but . . he's finds out that Jor-El is on Earth and that Zod has him. He suspects that Tess is behind Zod, so . . he goes to her for information. Now we just have to wait and see what she's going to do with that information. Like I said, it seems like everybody knows who Clark is anymore. Well . . except for Lois that is. I thought this was a good episode . . very emotional for Clark. Chloe, as always, plays a big role in bringing Jor-El up to speed. And Ollie is around for support. The above picture is Jor-El and Zod.

Ghost Rider - Heaven's on Fire #4 - Marvel

Danny made a deal with the Devil . . they have to find the Anti-Christ, keep him safe, and then deliver him to the Devil. Sounds fairly simple. Right? Well, the problem is . . Zadkiel is getting so strong that he's starting to be able to change the landscape of the Earth. The 'doorways' are no longer where they used to be. Add to that the usual dysfunction of this joke of a family and . . the boys will require quite a bit of luck to pull this one off. So while Johnny and Danny are off arguing amongst themselves, Sara, Daimon Hellstorm and Jane Cutter are trying to fulfill their end of the bargain. Anyways, the church where they thought they could find there door ends up being moved to this little town that's been over-run by the carnival from hell. The book has a lot of neat things that pop up, machinations that have been put into play to try to stop Johnny and Danny, and the rest of their gang, from being successful. But . . there's not a whole lot of progress made on getting them in touch with Zadkiel. However, Sara and the AC do stumble upon the doorway, and AC is delivered to the devil. That's how the issue ends. So . . maybe next issue the devil will live up to his end of the bargain and deliver them all to Zadkiel's doorstep. However . . as an epilogue, there's more glue thrown into the mix. Apparently in the next issue we're also going to have to deal with gun-toting nuns, and zombie-bikers. It just keeps getting weirder and weirder. We still have 2 issues to go, so I doubt that Jason Aaron will give us to many answers next issue. Hopefully the story will progress some, but . . you know what they say, 'It's always darkest before the dawn.' Also the more this series progress' the more I like Roland Boschi's art. He gives us some interesting perspectives. Overall, I like this book. I don't understand why this couldn't have just been told in the regular Ghost Rider book, but . . I'm not an editor, so I don't make those decisions. I would imagine that there would be a new title when this is all over, with a changed lead character. But . . I'm only guessing. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Captain America Reborn #4 - Marvel

Ok . . so what we find out this issue is that the tachyon particles in the gun that killed Steve are linked, somehow to the unidentified nano-particles in Sharon Carter's blood. Although, with Steve's message that the Vision recorded back in the 40's, Reed figures out that they're actually chronal-tracers and it's what's drawing Sharon and Steve together through time. Unfortunately Dr Doom, the Red Skull and Dr Zola already know all of this. Somehow it's what the original machine, that Sharon destroyed, was intended to do. But now, with Dr Doom's help, the original architect, they've reassembled the machine and have one again begun their task of retrieving Steve. Or . . are they just retrieving Steve's body? In Doom's lab it seems that the Red Skull is just as much a part of this experiment as is Sharon. They pull Steve back, but . . when he rises from the table, it's the Red Skull in Steve's body. So where's Steve? I guess we'll have to wait until next issue to find out that information. Meanwhile, Reed and Hank Pym are also putting this puzzle together . . thanks in part to the Vision. And once they start to see the picture being presented, they also realize that they have their own way of tracking things . . they also have some of Sharon's blood. I do have one question though . . what is Norman Osborn's role in all of this, and what can he possibly hope to gain? With only one issue to go, the next book should contain one hell of a story. I can't wait to see how all of these pieces come together. Ed Brubaker is doing a fantastic job here. He's feeding us just enough information to keep us intrigued without giving away to much of the story. Next issue should be a nice little wrap up . . at least to this chapter. I'm sure this isn't going to be the whole story. Also Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice's art is incredible. I miss Bryan on the Fantastic Four, but . . he's doing an equally incredible job here. This is definitely a classic in the making. If you haven't been buying it, I'm sure the TPB will be out soon. However you do it, you should try to get your hands on this story. It really is that good.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #004 - Marvel

I had high expectations for this book when it first came out. Why not? I mean, the first incarnation of this book was one of my favorites . . ever. So I picked up this title with high expectations, but . . I wanted to be realistic too. I mean . . can they strike lightning twice? Well . . yes they can. This book is quickly becoming my favorite Spider-man title once again. I think what I like the most about this book is the teen-angst. Peter is freaking out because he just found out that Johnny Storm is going to be moving in with him. On one hand he's probably excited . . he never had a brother, or any sibling for that matter. But, he's also concerned about the attention that Johnny will draw to them. Plus, it's ok to have a brother, but . . an older, better looking one isn't cool. Then we have the whole love/friend triangle between MJ, Peter and Gwen. Peter and Gwen are dating now, but . . they're also both MJ's best friends. Although she hasn't talked to them lately. She probably feels like the third wheel. However, when her manager hits on her after work,she realizes that she's been saying no to all these guys because of one thing . . they're not Peter. There's a new hero in town . . as seen on the cover. But we have no idea of gender, power-set or even name. All we know for sure is that they appear to be pretty strong, and can take a bullet. Oh yeah, and we also have Mysterio attacking Spider-man on the bridge by casting the illusion of a Hulk-attack. But the funny part is . . that, the whole Mysterio/Hulk things really is secondary to Peter's life and his all his drama. The book is written mostly about Peter's life, but then all this other 'stuff' happens that distracts him away from his real problems . . girls. I mean, who's really the bigger threat to Peter's well-being . . Mysterio? Or the 3 women in Peter's life . . MJ, Gwen and Aunt May. And that's not even taking Kitty into account. Anyways, we're only on issue #4 and already I think that Brian Bendis and David Lafuente are doing an incredible job here. Yes I miss Mark, but . . it's really the story that makes this book. And it's one hell of a book.

Astonishing X-Men #32 - Marvel

I love this book, and the creative team has been exemplary since it's inception. But . . I do have a few issues. But first . . let me fill you in on this issue. Last issue, when the X-Men were trying to save Abigail, Emma thought she saw Laurie, one of her old Hellions, on the pier. But then this giant organic Sentinel seemed to expand from her diminutive frame. And that's not the worst of it. As they're fighting it this issue, it shoots some missiles out of it's fingers that turn out to be Brood. Long story short, the X-Men give it a smack down, kill the Brood and end up taking the body back to their San-Francisco compound to examine. That's when Abigail reveals to them that she's been trying to keep a lid on things, but . . there's several factions out in the real world that are preying upon the weakened state of the mutant population. And, the part she's really been trying not to admit is that they've been using her lover, Henry's own theoretical work to accomplish their tasks. It seems that they've hacked into his computer and are using his own designs to dig up dead mutants and turn them into weapons to use against their own kind. I think that's a very original concept and a great idea to wrap this story around. Warren Ellis is brilliant, and Phil Jimenez' artwork really gives this book a fantastic look and feel. All of that is wonderful. I've said it before . . I love the X-Men. No . . my problem comes with the placement of the book. Or rather the placement of the stories. It's never really been defined as to how this book fits into the regular Marvel Universe. I mean . . at times it seems like the stories are pretty congruous with Uncanny or Legacy. But then, as in this story-arc, things just don't line up right. If this is in the regular Marvel Universe, it obviously happens before the current state of events in Nation-X. Actually, this would had to have taken place before the whole Utopia story-line. But none of that is ever explained. It's like we're following the same time-line, but . . it's just slightly skewed. But, again . . that's never been explained, or even put out there. So between X-Men Forever and GeNext that puts us up to 4 or 5 alternative X-Men universes here? Or are they all connected in some way that we just don't know yet? Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but . . these are the questions that are running through my head as I'm reading this book. So I have to put them out there. Now . . the other thing that's bothering me . . all these variant covers. Or actually I guess the best term is . . Retailer Incentive Covers. 1:10, 1:15, 1:25, 1:50, 1:100 . . . is it ever going to stop? If you are a regular comic-shop customer you've probably seen the 1:10 or 1:25 covers, but . . you're rarely going to even see the others. Unless . . you look on E-Bay. If you're familiar with E-Bay you know that everything is out there. So I'm perusing the other day and I come across the 1:100 sketch variant for Astonishing #31. It had a couple of days left and I wanted to see what it went for, so I put in a bid for $20. I forgot, and a couple of days later when I went to check I found out I had won the book. So then I did some more tooling around and I ended up getting the 1:25 cover of the same book for $4. Don't get me wrong . . I'm thrilled to death to get the book. Especially for the price. But, at the same time it makes me realize how over-inflated this whole market really is. And if that's the case then the people really getting screwed are the consumers . . you and me. Right now #32 has a 1:15 variant that has the Super-Hero Squad on the cover. You can easily find a dozen of them on E-Bay for $3 to $6. And, I'm not ragging on E-Bay. I love E-Bay. It's easily helped me double the size of my collection in the last 10 years. But . . as I said, the consumers are getting screwed by being tantalized by the over-priced books at the shops. And the shop owners are just doing their jobs . . trying to make money like the rest of us. So then, I guess, it comes back to the comic-book companies. Like I've said before, it's great that these variant covers are out there . . that there's something that's actually collectible available. But . . most of us have to give up something else in order to get them. That's not helping any of the other books, or the genre in general. I know . . it's all part of the capitalist system, and it's inevitable. But . . that doesn't mean I have to like it. And I don't.

the Amazing Spider-man #610 - Marvel

To be perfectly honest with you . . this issue really didn't progress the story very much. Which is why I'm thinking that I need to pick up the mini-series, Spider-man: Clone Saga. I've been trying to stay away from it, but . . we really get nothing here. Last issue Raptor had gone to Aunt May's house and had planned to kill Harry and the Reilly's who are now living there. He wanted to kill those closest to Ben Reilly, not knowing that this is actually Peter's family. Even though it's been told to him repeatedly. I guess that's part of the effects of the dino-DNA . . he just can't get things through his thick head. Anyways, Peter showed up, wanting to save them, but it looked like he was going to have to give up his secret-identity to do so. Then, this issue, Kaine also shows up. It seems that he still hates Peter, and he's trying to get Raptor to help him with his degenerating DNA issue. In the melee Harry gets knocked out, and Peter gets all the Reilly girls to get out of the house. So when he turns to Spider-man, and is later unmasked, Raptor is the only one there for him to reveal his identity. Convenient! Of course Peter still worries about it. But it may all be moot. At the end of the issue, Kaine is mad at Raptor because either he won't help him, or can't . . I'm a little confused about that part. But on the final panel he's throttling him and it looks like he's going to take his head off. But I don't know if it's that easy to kill someone with lizard DNA. Anyways, the house gets trashed. But at least it's not burnt down. And Kaine and Raptor escape. Peter's left there holding the bag, but as always he swings away. And really . . that's all the issue was . . one big fight scene. We really don't know anything more about Kaine, Raptor or Ben Reilly than we did going into this issue. We do get a little more insight into the argument and events leading up to Damon's house and family burning. But, as expected, either Damon killed them himself in his rage, or Kaine did it. Not much of a surprise there. And next issue I think we change story-lines altogether. So it looks like next Wednesday I'm going to have to look for the first couple issue of that mini. See how they drag you in? Anyways, this issue was by Marc Guggenheim and Marco Checchetto, Luke Ross and Rick Maygar. It was an ok issue. For what it was. I just wish we had gotten a little more background on some of the characters.

Herogasm #6 - Dynamite Entertainment

At the end of last issue I thought the VP's detail had made the Boys. Which . . I guess they had, but . . it was also a ruse that Butcher and Agent Lucero had worked out the draw out the Red River boys. They're the mercs that had worked their way into the Secret Service detail. Lucero just wanted to do a good job . . to do the right thing for his country. And he wanted his job to mean something. The Red River guys had taken all of that away, and with his little encounter with the Boys he found a way to maybe correct that. Anyways, long story short, the Red River boys make a run for it, but in the end . . they go down. Hard. And has his final act, Lucero takes out Godrey . . who had really manipulated the whole thing. However, the one question we don't have answered is . . what was it that the Homelander was about to confess to last issue at the awards ceremony. We never did see or hear it. But the Homelander was so distraught afterwards that he ended up smashing the trophy that he had just won. I'm sure we'll see the repercussions of this sometime in the Boys in the near future. Anyways, another cool book by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. I'm not sure what the whole thing accomplished . . other than bringing down Godfrey, and opening up this mystery about the Homelander. But . . it was still an interesting and entertaining story. And . . it's already out in TPB form in case you're interested. They just don't waste any time with that anymore, do they?

the Boys #36 - Dynamite Entertainment

Ok . . I don't think there's been a week where I've bought this many Dynamite titles all at once. These guys are blowing up. It's just a testament to the quality of books they're putting out. I just hope they can keep it up. This issue finishes up the story of Mother's Milk. Butcher is afraid that Hughie is getting to the point where he's getting a little fed up. He thinks he may be thinking about jetting. So he asks Mother to talk to him and tell him his story. He thinks that if he gets to know his team-mates a little more intimately, it'll change his view of things . . give him a little focus. Last issue he talked about his child-hood. This issue he talks about his wife leaving and taking his daughter with him. That's not overly traumatic. That happens a lot. But, Butcher was the one that stepped up and used his government contacts to help him find his daughter and get her back. Also in the process of this tale, since they're standing on the Brooklyn Bridge, he expresses how he felt, and what happened the day that the terrorists struck. He relates that tale to Vought-American and their lack of concern over the average citizen. Next issue it looks like the Frenchman is going to step up and give us his tale. I really like this book. I think Garth Ennis does a fantastic job of expressing and making us feel the anguish and suffering that occurs through some of these tales. The scenes about the attack on the bridge were gripping. Thankfully Darick Robertson is back from his little hiatus and is handling the art once again. It just feels natural. And . . I have 1 more Dynamite book to read this week.

Project Superpowers: Meet the Bad Guys #3 - Dynamite Entertainment

Ok . . this issue focus' mostly on Samson and Hydro, with a new villain being introduced . . Dagon. Although I have to say it was a little weird reading this issue after we just saw what happened to Samson in the last issue of Project Superpowers. So . . I'm guess that this issue actually takes place before Project Superpowers #3. That's the one where Captain Future hurts Samson in the first place. Anyways, we don't really know much of this Dagon character other than that he claims to have been around for quite a while. I guessing he's some sort or demi-god or very powerful demon. He kind of puts you in mind of an evil lizardy-type Poseidon. Anyways, he attacks the West Coast with a violent storm, and Samson and Hydro are immediately dispatched to take care of it. Hydro deals with the effects of the storm, while Samson goes right to the source. Which is a good thing because when Hydro finally does arrive . . for some reason he can't see Dagon. Apparently he exists only in the super-natural realm. But he can affect the real world. All Hydro sees is Samson screaming at the storm . . he claps his hands . . and everything is gone. Later when he's filling in Green Lama about the events, he says that he felt like he was in a religious experience. It seems like there's being an awful lot of groundwork being laid with this project and it's various mini-series. My thought is that when everything has been laid out before us . . we're going to get a plethora of solo-books. This feels like we're at the nexus of a 'big-bang' event . . and Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with Joe Casey's help on this series, have the reigns and are trying to steer us through it. Everything is being contained within a few titles right now, but . . I have a feeling things are about to bust at the seems. Carlos Paul does the art for this issue.

Project Superpowers Chapter 2 - #4 - Dynamite Entertainment

I think I'm getting a feel for this series and where it's going. But . . there's just so much going on here . . and so many characters to keep track of . . it's a little daunting. I'll take the events in order, for this one. First Samson has been taken down by Captain Future and is in the hospital trying to recuperate. But how do you heal someone such as Samson? The Green Lama is trying to give the Pentagon back to the people, but . . he's also trying to make sure that it's not under the Supremacy's control. Which is really what this whole attack was about. The Black Terror has come to tell him that he's heading off in a different direction. 'I know attacking the Pentagon was, well, my idea and all. But, I've had another one. Another idea, I mean.' He wants to save his friend the American Crusader. Since these new Crusaders are all clones of him, he's convinced that if he kills them all . . he'll save his friend. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like a normal thought process to me. Anyways, the Inheritors are in Swisslakia where the Boy King is trying to save Burning Eagle. The Devil and his group of people have just stopped Claw from attacking NYC, and now they're off to Europe . . where they think the next attack will happen. By the way, we think Truth is dead. Or at least Dare does. But you never know. Right? Lady in Red, Lady Satan and Masquerade have all come together out of like concerns. Masquerade is afraid of how her entering others has changed her. But she does so once again when Captain Future strikes at the hospital where Samson is. Also, while trying to help Samson recover, the Scarab has come to warn the Green Lama that the Supremacy has found other heroes appearing around the globe. They've been gathering them up and brain-washing them to their way of thinking. They want the fight to be supermen against supermen. Anyways, when Future attacks he's after the Flame. In the process he takes out a couple of heroes and puts a hole through Samson. After Masquerade inhabits him she finds out that he's not a hero. ' . . if there was an Urn . . there was it's maker . . the father of all myths. Who used man as a plaything. Captain Future . . he is a god. He's Zeus.' Ok. I didn't see that one coming. I mean . . overall I think Alex Ross and Jim Krueger have put together a fantastic story here. It's got everything you could want in a comic-book . . a super-hero comic-book. It's just sometimes I feel like maybe it's all just to much. I'm sure that's the purpose behind all these mini-series. They have to have some way to fill us in on some of the stuff they just don't have room for here. But it really is a lot of stuff. This is one of those franchises where you're either 'all-in' or 'all-out'. There's not much in the middle for somebody who hasn't read it all. I have . . and I'm still a bit befuddled. Anyways, I think Alex and Jim are doing a great job. Edgar Salazar's work gets better and better with every issue. When this whole thing first started I thought he was a decent artist. Now I think the guy has some huge potential. If you haven't been picking this up, my suggestion would be to get the TPB. You'll get bigger pieces of the puzzle. I'm sure these issues aren't to hard to find, but . . why not do some one stop shopping?

Haunt #2 - Image

Ok . . again . . I'm impressed. Last issue we saw the unique relationship between Daniel and Kurt Kilgore. They're brothers, but . . they couldn't be more different. Kurt works for . . actually, worked for . . he's dead . . he worked for this CIA-type agency. We don't really know any of the specifics or anything yet, but . . it was a lot of deep-cover and wet-work jobs. After he died Daniel started seeing him. He thought it was out of guilt or remorse, but actually . . he can see and talk to him, and . . they interact. Kind of. Anyways, Daniel goes to Amanda's house, at Kurt request, to watch over her. Some people break in and when the adrenaline hits . . the 2 combine to create this Haunt. Together they quickly took out the 4 guys who broke in to Amanda's place. This issue picks up shortly after that when Daniel is freaking out, and Kurt is trying to be the voice of reason. There also seems to be a struggle with who controls this Haunt. Daniel, the living member seems to have immediate control, but . . Kurt also seems to be able to exert his will and go through the motions that he's been trained for. But he can tell when Daniel is fighting him, and their movements become awkward. Daniel doesn't really want anything to do with Kurt's life, so when they split he goes back to the church. Unfortunately, the people that are looking for Kurt have also come there to visit him. There's a merc guy there, Cobra, and he's killed father Pearson. They change again, but even his brother doesn't think they have a chance of beating him. Cobra ends up escaping, and the brothers aren't to worried about finding him. Kurt then leads Daniel to a safe-house where they use a secret entrance to get into HQ. But it looks like they were expected. 'We have a lot of questions for you, Daniel Kilgore. So please . . don't make any sudden moves.' I thought it was another great issue by Robert Kirkman, Greg Capullo, Ryan Ottley and Todd McFarlane. The dynamic between these 4 creators seems to be working well. It shows in the book. Next issue, I guess they meet someone who can explain their situation a little better. I think it's a good start to this series. I hope they can keep it up.

the Authority #16 - WildStorm

It's amazing how quickly Jack Hawksmoor takes out Kaizen Gamorra when he gets his powers back. You see, Kaizen and Cybernary made one big mistake when they decided to capture Jack . . they brought him to the only real remaining city on Earth. It was only a matter of time before it healed him. And when it does . . he makes real quick work of them. Also, Angie and Swift are on their way there to rescue him. He doesn't need the rescue anymore, but he could use their help to make sure that Kaizen doesn't bother the world ever again. Long story short . . Jack is in complete control of the city. So he drops the shield long enough for Swift to drop the frozen Apollo, the Burn, straight into the center of it. He then raises the shields and locks everybody inside. He brings the city down near un-London to evacuate the residents Then he sinks the city, with the Burn inside, to the deepest parts of the Ocean. Now they just have to find the Midnighter. We know that he's in Scotland, but he doesn't know where all this stuff . . this mysticism is coming from. When he finally comes face to face with the ruler of the kingdom, he's surprised to find out that it's actually . . the Doctor, Habib. So we should find out next issue what happened to him. Anyways, this issue was brought to us by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Drew Johnson, Mike Miller and Simon Coleby. I thought it was a good issue, and hopefully we'll get it all wrapped up next time. But, the really big news is . . do you remember those 2 issues of the Authority that came out quite a while ago by Grant Morrison and Gene Ha? They came out in Nov of '06 and April of '07. Anyways, shortly after they came out WildStorm switched over to this World's End storyline. Anyways, after almost 3 years we're going to pick that story back up again. It'll be called the Authority - the Lost Year now. And issue #3 will be out this month. Grant Morrison and Keith Giffen with handle the scripts, with Darick Robertson and Trevor Scott on pencils. To keep the feel with those first 2 issues, Gene Ha will be doing the covers. We get a preview in the back of the book, and it looks fantastic. I can't wait to see this book when it comes out.

the Mighty #10 - DC

Well . . the Mighty, Alpha One, has finally done it. He's finally brought Gabriel, Captain Cole in on his plan. Right from the beginning I thought he was up to some kind of experiment. I just thought that he was doing something to prolong his life, or help him maintain his power. It turns out . . in a twisted way, it's the rest of the world he's trying to save. In a nutshell his plan is this . . if he has a group, a family of super-powered people under his control, he feels that he will be able to maintain order. And the people of Earth will no longer try to eliminate themselves as they've done many, many times. To do this he's attempted procreation, but . . the 2 different species aren't compatible. So he's turned to genetics. He's found a way to splice his genes with those of normal humans and he's created super-powered beings. Gabriel's wife being one of them. Now, before bringing them on line, he needs to insert a 'kill-switch' to ensure compliance. And he's offered Gabriel the chance to become one of his chosen. Gabriel has accepted, but I don't necessarily think it's for the reasons that Alpha One wants. During his speech to Gabriel he says how he's basically raised and guided him to this position . . to this choice. 'Ever since I orphaned you.' So that means that he killed Gabriel's parents. I thought that, but . . I don't thing Gabriel has made the connection yet. So now, I'm guessing . . next issue Gabriel will become one of Alpha One's super-powered elite. I'm just wondering what his plans are to do with those powers. Peter J Tomasi and Keith Champagne have done a terrific job with this book. I've been on the edge of my seat at the end of every single issue. It's been a heck of a ride. And Chris Samnee's pencils have served to give this series it's feel. Unfortunately there's only 2 issues left. #12 is slated as the final issue. But I have a feeling a lot is going to happen between now and then. I can't wait to see how everything is shaken up.

the Last Days of Animal Man #6 - DC

I really enjoyed this series. The Brian Bolland covers kind of put me in mind of the old book, but . . it wasn't the old book. And it didn't need to be. This series focused on the Last Days of Animal Man. As I said in one of my earlier blogs . . the last days of Animal Man, not necessarily the last days of Buddy Baker. Last issue ended with Buddy being at the mercy of Prismatik and Bloodrage. Remember, he stopped at the laboratory before the fight. Well it turns out that although Buddy is steadily losing his powers, he could still converse with certain life-forms . . primitive life-forms . . bacteria. So what he did was . . he went into the fight with the Bubonic Plague. As soon as it started to affect Prismatik, the crystals that were holding the League of Titans began to lose their strength. It wasn't long before the heroes broke out and went and rescued Buddy. However, to me the best part of the story was the interaction between Buddy and his family. To me it was almost reminiscent of a man going through a mid-life crisis. His seat of power is diminishing . . his virility and youth, but . . he still has plenty of things in life worth living for. He just has to decide which are most important to him, and which are worth working to hang on to. In the end he goes back to work for the League. Not as Animal Man, but as Buddy Baker. Which is what they want. A normal person to watch over their operations. 'In this world, in this life, I finally have the answer I've been looking for. Life is a choice. I choose to live.' I think Gerry Conway and Chris Batista did an excellent job with this book. I'm sure it'll be out in TPB form before to long . . for those of you who didn't pick it up. It really was an enjoyable story. But . . it's not set in stone. This doesn't have to be the future of the League or of Buddy Baker. As he himself says, 'I am who I am, where I am, because of the choices I made. We all are. Different choices . . different me, different us, different life, different world.'

the Warlord #8 - DC

This issue, and last, seem to have been a fever dream on the part of Travis. Last issue it appeared that he was being seduced by an evil temptress. In reality . . it was one of the gods of Atlantis. I would assume, maybe . . the god of war. Anyways, this issue we get a whole lot of background on Travis and what led him to be here in Skartaris. It was a good storyline for someone who maybe wasn't as familiar with this character. This series kind of jumped right back in to things, so there may be some people that aren't up to speed . . exactly. Anyways, it seems that, maybe, the reason for Travis being here is wrapped around the desires of a fallen deity. It seems that she wants to rule Skartaris once again and Travis is her chosen warrior. But, as is often the way of the gods, to us mere mortals . . she seems mad with desire and lust. Not necessarily lust for Travis, but rather lust for power. When Travis and some of his fellow soldiers came upon this battered hall of heroes, one of them comments . . 'Make no mistake, thier temples and statues may have crumbled, but the old gods still have power as long as a single man still believes in them.' So is that her foothold into this world? Does Travis still believe that there may be a god of war? Anyways, in the end he awakens and he and Shakira move on the next adventure. This issue was brilliantly written and drawn by Mike Grell. He seems to be jumping back into the books with both feet as he's also writing another of his creations, Jon Sable Freelance, over at IDW Publishing. It was one of the First Comics franchises. He's been writing this book since it's relaunch, and right now he's scheduled to draw at least the next 2 issues. This has been a favorite of mine for quite a while. I was thrilled to see it back, and even more surprised when Mike took over the creative helm. The last time Mike was on this book was probably close to 20 years ago. I'll be interested to see if his perception of this character has changed any since then. This is a great book. My advice? Don't miss it.

Jonah Hex #49 - DC

This book isn't usually so close to the top of my weekly stack, but . . this issue is the conclusion of Six-Gun War, so . . I thought I'd get it done with. Plus . . that leaves us ready for next issue . . #50. Whodathunkit? A cowboy comic doing this well in the year 2010? Simply amazing. Anyways, next issue is a double sized issue and will be drawn by Darwyn Cooke. It features a story about Jonah and Tallulah. Even though she's such and interesting character, I know that she won't be around in this book forever. It'll be interesting to see how their relationship, or time together, will end. As I'm sure it will. Anyways, I think Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are doing a fantastic job here. This 6 part story was a neat experiment, but I think I like the shorter individual stories. Plus I like that way that even though the stories are separate, they're still all connected. It's kind of up to the reader to fill in some of the blank spaces. And now that we've got nearly 50 issues under our belts, we can kind of see how everything is all connected. Maybe not always chronologically, but . . as far as Jonah, his life and experiences are concerned . . one thing leads to another. Basically this story has been about Turnbull, a man who lost his son during the war. For this he blames Jonah. So he's sent all manner of assassin after him. When Jonah had enough, he decided to take the fight to Turnbull. The problem is, he's got an army of his own. Shortly after arriving, Jonah realizes that Turnbull's compound is atop a gold mine. He's got more disgruntled slaves than he does hired hands. The challenge lies in giving them the opportunity and means to rise up against their oppressor. Fortunately, Jonah also has Lazarus in his entourage . . or, when he's asleep, he's better known as El Diablo. Everything pretty much goes as expected . . right up to the ending. It seems the the Mexican government has gotten wind of Turnbull's exploitation of their people. So they've come to escort him back to the states. Unless Jonah wants to face the Mexican army . . he's got to let him go. So, even though this little escapade is over . . I'm sure this isn't the last we've seen of Turnbull. And now he's got another reason to be mad at Jonah . . he's cost him his gold mine. It was a neat story, and I enjoyed the inclusion of the other characters . . Lazarus, Bat Lash, Talluluah. Cristiano Cucina did the art for this entire arc. Now? Now I can't wait to see what happens between Tallulah and Jonah next issue. And . . Darwyn's interpretation of these characters.

Magog #3 - DC

First of all . . another fantastic cover by Glenn Fabry. DC's got some great cover artists right now. Especially with Greg Horn coming back to do some. Fan-frikkin-tastic! Anyways, this issue, to me . . it's a little confusing. But right now? I think that's the point. Magog has found this Miasma guy. That's him on the cover. He seems to be picking up some of this wonder-tech and is using it to build an army of followers under the streets. Although, from reading this issue, I think it was accidental . . at first. I'm not sure, Miasma is kind of rambling a bit when he's filling in Magog, but he says 'No more breathing! Airborne nanite dispersal keyed to low-grade neural override! Their words! That was promised! Not this! Not this!' I'm thinking somehow he became part of a failed experiment. Anyways, now he's trying to build his army until he has enough people to make the 'over-people' pay. But I don't think he's the main villain here. There's also someone, or something called Flashpoint. Magog and Axel are looking in to it, but they haven't figured it out . . yet. And then there's that skinny guy with the black hair and the soul-patch. He seems to be some kind of broker, or middle-man. He may not be the main threat, but he appears to be supplying whomever is. I think he plays a bigger role in all of this than he's lead on so far. Anyways, Magog goes down into Maisma's 'kingdom' and in the process learns a few things about himself. Maisma is controlling his actions . . somehow, but during this Magog learns that he doesn't have to breath. 'I reach past my panic reflex and what do you know? I seem to be breathing optional these days. I decide to postpone how I feel about that.' He then finds out that he's not so easy to kill either. After his 'resurrection' he contacts Axel and tells him to also look into Magog. 'I know that's me. I think it's past time I looked into a few things. I keep getting blindsided by my own abilities. Anything you can dig up. Myth, theology, earlier incarnations. The whole nine yards.' Anyways, the issue ends when someone has ordered that this 'experiment' be shut down. These Ironman type looking guys are taking out Miasma and his army, so Magog doesn't get involved. But, once they notice him . . they think there's a JSA presence. They're not sure what to do. Magog's instinct it to fight, but . . instead he surrenders hoping that they'll take him to their leader. Like I said, it's all a little confusing. There's a bunch of fantastic ideas presented here, but we're not shown yet how they all fit together. However, I'd expect nothing less of Keith Giffen's stories. He's jumped in feet first on this book, and given us a lot of information . . really fast. Hopefully next issue slows down a bit and we can sort some of it out. It's definitely interesting and intriguing. I'm also enjoying Howard Porter's pencils. So far . . I like it. I'm confused. But I like it.

Lobo - Highway to Hell #1 - DC

I knew this book was coming, but . .honestly , I forgot all about it. The black & white picture here was the one that was originally posted for this book. It ended up on the back cover. But . . it was so neat, I had to include it. This time Lobo's adventures are being chronicled by Scott Ian and Sam Keith. Lobo has been one of my favorite characters for a long time. With his recent inclusion in the Reign in Hell storyline, I knew he'd be popping up somewhere. Sooner or later. Anyways, with this issue, Lobo gets a present from Satan . . some dead dolphins. And a note . .'Call me, Bitch! Love Satan! 1-666-C-U-N-HELL (yes, that's actually my number)' So basically, Lobo spends to whole issue . . first trying to get in to hell. Remember, he's been banished. And then . . then he wants to find Satan and make him pay for the fishes. 'Nobody kills Dolphins while I'm sucking air. Not on my watch. No one.' At the end, when he finally reaches Satan, he finds her to be a little girl. Dressed in a fluffy blue dress. What the hell? I love Sam's art, and his interpretation of Lobo. But, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Scott's writing. To me the best part was all the little jokes that Scott has put into this story. Right in the beginning Lobo is watching TV and he comments, 'That Ben Linus is an evil prick.' You know? From LOST! When Lobo is trying to get to Satan, his first stop is the River Styx. There he has some hilarious dialogue with Charon. And the boat is a luxury ocean liner. Why wouldn't it be? I mean, there's got to be a whole lot of people in hell. Nowadays, anyways. There's also a scene where Lobo accidentally kills Charon, and the rest of the souls on board the ship get mad and want to kill him. In the frenzy one of them says, 'Is that Gene Simmons? Gene Simmons killed Charon! Get him!' As he comes out of that fight, there's a scene where he looks like a warrior coming out of a pool of dead souls. He comments, 'I feel like a hung-over Frazetta painting.' He also keeps calling Satan 'Lucyfer'. And then there's all the hell jokes. 'I wonder what the hell this hole's called.' 'Where in the hell are we?' When he's driving in to hell there's a little blurb on the bottom of that page that reads, 'Due to rights clearance issues in hell, the lyrics to Pantera's Cowboys from Hell have been omitted here. Just hum along.' And when he finally reaches downtown hell he's attacked by swarms of dead souls and hells faithful. As he's fighting them, and looks like he's covered in a ocean of demons, he says . . 'Good thing I'm hungry, you demon scum! Because tonight . . We Dine In Hell! I've always wanted to say that.' You know . . that quote from 300. Anyways, I thought it was a great first issue. There's actually only 2 to this book, but . . we'll see what happens after that. Hopefully this is just a little unfinished business Lobo has to take care of before he heads back out into the real world. Well . . the DC world, anyways. Oh, and Lobo said 'What the Frack?' long before it became a catch-phrase on Battlestar Galactica. It's great to have you back . . 'Bastich!'

Secret Six #15 - DC

Our nefarious group takes a side-bar this issue is this entire book is dedicated to Deadshot. It seems that Floyd is having a little problem with control recently. Not control in his shooting, but rather in controlling his urges. Basically, he wants to kill everyone. So, he's asked to meet with the Padre whom he got to know at Belle Reve. You know, back when he was in Suicide Squad. Anyways, he goes by Reverend Richard Craemer now. It seems that he's left Belle Reve. Or maybe he left Amanda. Anyways, Floyd is hoping that the Padre can give him a little insight. During their conversation we get a look at where Floyd came from, and what made him into the man he is today. I mean . . it's not very detailed, but . . it does give us some of the basic events leading up to him becoming Deadshot. By the way . . Deadshot has been around for quite a while. He was first introduced way back in Batman #59, 1950. Who knew? Anyways, the Padre works out that everything seems to rotate around Floyd losing everything . . his parents, his family, his brother . . and then a few months ago, Batman. It seems that Batman was the final straw, and now Floyd's convinced himself that he's the one that should be dead, not everyone else. I thought it was a nice little tale with my favorite member of the Secret Six. And overall . . I thought it was a great book. First of all we get a beautiful cover by LuVisi. Then John Ostrander joins the title with this issue. Besides Gail, he probably is the best authority on Floyd's character. He wrote this issue expertly. And finally, J Calafiore does the art. I've always liked his style. I especially liked his framing approach this issue. A new story-arc starts next issue, so . . if you're not reading this book . . first of all, you're crazy . . but this would be a good point to jump in. Don't worry. The water's warm. It won't hurt . . much!

Red Tornado #3 - DC

When I read the first 2 issues of this book I was a little disappointed that Ed Benes does the covers, but . . he doesn't do the interiors. I love Ed's work. But . . Jose Luis does the inside art. However, after reading the first 2 issues . . I think this guy shows a lot of potential also. His style kind of has the same feel to it that Ed's does. It's very action oriented. It's not completely consistent, yet. But . . like I said, I think Jose shows some huge potential here. I have a feeling this guys just going to get better and better. Anyways, in the story, the Red Tornado family finally get together. Well . . kind of. In the first 2 issues Red Volcano went to TO Morrow for some answers. He's the one that actually created this little dysfunctional family. Morrow told Volcano about Seth Aiden, Red Inferno. Red Torpedo had been stashed away in one of the sunken ships off Pearl Harbor, and had recently activated a homing beacon. Apparently, only the members of the Red Tornado family could hear it. Anyways, Tornado rescued her, but it also irritated Volcano and somehow activated Inferno. He was just a normal kid, until he burst into flames and flew out the window. This all happened during his High School swim meet. Tornado and Torpedo have also gone to Morrow. But they've just missed Volcano. Volcano has gone after Inferno and is trying to bend him to his needs. After finding Seth's parents and destroying them, and the community . . he takes Seth there, to show him the carnage, and blames it on the military. That's how he talks Inferno into taking out a military satellite. And then . . they attack Yuma air base. We don't know why yet, but it looks like the military is going to mistake Tornado and Torpedo as the attackers, because they've arrived shortly after the other 2 have left. I think Kevin VanHook is doing a pretty decent job with this story. I like the introduction of these characters . . so far. But obviously Volcano is going to be the problem with this group. I don't think Inferno has been pushed past the edge yet, but . . we'll see. So far, I think this series is pretty interesting. What I think will tell the most though is what happens to these characters after this.

Batman Confidential #36 - DC

This issue involves a bit of a mystery with the Blackhawks. Blackhawk Industry is working on a prototype propulsion system for Wayne Industries. During a field test, the test pilot is surprised by a rather fast moving storm-front. Normally he would just head back to base, but this storm-front is really just a curtain to shadow the arrival of a squadron of planes. They force their way onto the base and end up stealing the plans for the new engines. That in and of itself is a problem, but the bigger concern seems to be that the attacker resembles a former Blackhawk, Theodore Gaynor. I mean, I'm sure every organization has team members that go rogue, or end up at odds with their employers. But Theodore? Theodore was assigned to the Blackhawks during World War II. And . . he died 60 years ago. Most of the conversation with Blackhawk Industries come from Lee Cheng. Apparently he's the director of operations, or something. But, he appears to be in on this . . or at least know who's behind it. Most of the conversations he has with Batman seem pretty guarded. Like he's feeding him specific information. Batman senses this to, so he's keeping an eye on things. When he follows the data-transmission, he finds that it leads back to Poland. Specifically a cemetery, and the final resting place of Janos Prohaska . . also a Blackhawk. When he goes to Poland to investigate, he finds and is attacked by an old Nazi robot-type machine that resembles an octopus. Obviously he beats it, but he's also surprised when he finds Zindy there. Remember? The pilot who was with the Birds of Prey for a while. Anyways, this little mystery is just getting started. As with the last arc, it appears that most of Batman's actions will be occurring on foreign soil . . again. This should be an interesting story. I've always liked Zindy's character, so I think she'll be a pleasant addition. Plus, I don't know why, but I always enjoy stories with the Blackhawks. They're an interesting group. Anyways, for me it's a little to early to comment . . this was basically the 'set-up' issue. So we really haven't seen the 'meat & potatoes' of the story yet. But I thought Royal McGraw did a good job bringing us up to speed. I really enjoyed Marcos Marz' pencils. He also did the cover, and the interiors look much the same. I'm glad this book didn't go the way of Superman Confidential. I enjoy these 'unknown' stories of Batman. Plus . . this is the only Bruce Wayne fix we can get right now.

Superman: World of New Krypton #9 - DC

At the end of last issue . . Jemm, Son of Saturn . . also it's current ruler . . showed up on New Krypton and wanted to know why the Kryptonians thought that they could do whatever they wanted with the universe. Basically, they're mad because Krypton needed a moon. Now that they've terraformed their planet, and atmosphere . . they need a moon to affect the tides and weather. So, they decided to go to Saturn. I mean, why not? They already have at least 61 moons. How's one less gonna bother them? Well . . it did! Big time. That's why Jemm, the ruler himself, has come to put the Kryptonians on notice. 'I'm aghast at the arrogance and feeling of entitlement. That your planet can appear as if out of nowhere and almost immediately begin rearranging the solar system. You're put on notice "Oh, great and mighty council." We will be watching' A Thanagarian delegate also happened to be at the Council meeting. Apparently New Krypton was trying to form an alliance with Thanagar in case they ever needed their help in war. 'We've an accord. That's as much as Thanagar has ever ceded to another planet. But as the Saturnian said . . we will be watching.' So now, not only do they have to worry about a war with Earth, but they also about whether they'll get the support of the other military powers in this small galaxy that we all share. Kal El is also keeping in contact with Zod. Kal is still suspicious of Zod's motives. But . . he is their current ruler. As they're talking an alarm is sounded in one of the Councilor's quarters. Kal, and Red Shard get there to try to figure out what's going on, but when the enter the domicile they find Adam Strange standing over the Councilor's body. I'm a little confused as to how long this series is going to be. In the beginning they said 15 issues. But now in the previews it's listed as 12. So . . I'm not sure if they changed their mind, or it's just a misprint. I only ask because, if so . . we only have 3 issues left. I enjoy this view into the Kryptonian society that James Robinson and Greg Rucka have been showing us. It's all been pretty informative . . and eye opening. I'm guessing we'll probably get a different Superman book out of this when this title runs it's course. I have no idea what that will be, though. Pete Woods and Ron Randall do the art for this issue. Overall, I've been pleased with this book, so far. It'll be interesting to see how this whole 'war' thing is going to pan out.

Batman Unseen #3 - DC

Ok . . I really dig Kelley Jones' art. But . . I'm just not really sure where this story is going. I mean . . it's basically like any other Invisible Man story. Right? Yes it's different, in that it takes place in Batman's backyard. But . . the formula's the same. The mad scientist, played here by Dr Nigel Glass, discovers the formula for translucence. However, being discorporeal, literally losing sense of yourself, eventually drives the wielder of the gift mad. Dr Glass, in this issue, is at the point where he's decided to use his gift to get back an anyone who's ever done him wrong . . a landlord who threw him out, a woman who gave him up for another, and a Wayne Foundation scientist who fired him. And now Batman's on his short list because he dare stand against him. Also, the formula is a double-edged sword. While it does give the bearer certain freedoms, it also forces them into a form of slavery. First of all the chemical concoction is doing all kinds of bad things to the internal organs. And secondly . . the body is also adapting to the foreign intrusion. Each time the serum is taken, the effects last for a shorter and shorter period of time. So, in order to keep it up he has to use more serum. And the more serum he uses the more irreparable damage he's doing to his body and his psyche. Unfortunately, the good doctor, I think, is past the point of return. I don't see that there's any good outcome to this scenario. Actually, the best thing I see from this story is that background that we're getting on the Black Mask. Although some of this I've heard before. I'm sorry. I appreciate Doug Moench's talent, but . . I just don't see all that much originality in this story. I mean . . maybe we're introducing a new criminal to the Batman myths, but . . I just don't see this guy being around that much longer. He's going to burn himself out long before he makes a name for himself. Anyways, in my opinion . . Kelley Jones saves the book. If it wasn't for the art in this series . . I would see no reason to continue. Sorry!

Batman - the Widening Gyre #3 - DC

This one had me a little confused at first. I'm seeing this romantic story with Bruce and Silver St Cloud, and for some reason my mind went back to just before Final Crisis when Bruce was romantically involved with Jezebel Jet. I don't know how I made that connection, but . . I did. Anyways. This issue focus' on Bruce and Silver trying, once again, to make their relationship work. Silver's parents own a private island Southeast of Miami. Currently Bruce is spending his nights in his nocturnal activity, while spending his days jetting back and forth to this island with Silver. I'm not sure how he doesn't think that this will eventually catch up with him. I mean I'm sure he's sleeping one way, or both, but . . the human body isn't made to be pushed this way. Even Bruce's. Also Bruce has a new friend in his night-time activities . . Baphomet. That's the guy that's been running around town in the Goat-like mask. Bruce . . er, Batman finally catches up with his this issue and they have a nice little chat. Bruce can tell he's a rookie, because he's a little eager . . and cocky. But, he does show the proper amount of respect. Plus . . I just think he's a fan. It's hard to tell through the mask, but . . he seems a little awe-struck to finally be talking to Batman. This is also around the same time that Dick is starting to feel his oats. He's pretty active with the Titans right now, and . . he's starting to get tired of Bruce bossing him around all the time. I think this is right before he cut out on his own as Nightwing. Anyways, Bruce is going back and forth . . and back and forth . . but the issue ends with him taking a swim in the ocean and he comes across Arthur. Arthur can't help but give him grief. Anyways, this issue . . it seems like Bruce and Silver are going though their honeymoon phase. But I think next issue . . soon . . somethings going to have to give . . on one side or the other. And I'm sure we'll see how it affects both of his lives. Kevin Smith and Walter Flanagan are doing a terrific job with this series. After reading this one, Kevin really gives the reader the feeling . . or hope, that maybe Bruce/Batman can have it both ways. He deserves it. Right? But you just know that ain't gonna' happen. I think Kevin does a great job of expressing this hope, and eventual anguish. It's sad . . even though everybody is happy right now, because . . we know how it's gonna' end. And it won't be well! Also fantastic covers by Bill Sienkiewicz and Gene Ha. This is another hit for Kevin Smith.

Doom Patrol #4 - DC

Blackest Night has finally come to Oolong Island. It's coming in the form of previous members, so . . we're getting a little history lesson at the same time. The first one we see is Arani Dasai, Celsius. She was also Niles Caulder's wife . . for a bit. Technically she still is . . he never bothered to get a divorce. She comes with the other members of her group . . Joshua Clay, Tempest, and Valentina Vostok, Negative Woman. And then Robot Man's original body, Clifford Steele, also shows up. It's much the same as the other Blackest Night stories. They show up and try to entice an emotional response, while targeting their hearts. But there are a few little neat tidbits that happen during this story. First of all, the Black-hole guy, you know from the Collider experiment . . he arrives on the island just before all of this happens. We see Rita's outburst when she finally deals with the intrusion of Steve Dayton's mind into her own. Basically, he's been a psychic peeping-Tom. But this is worse, because he can also control here. She's also mad at Niles because he had to have known what was going on. We find out that the Chief has rigged up some way for Cliff to download his memories and experience into a new body whenever an old one gets destroyed. I guess the Chief clones his brain and then leaves them waiting in empty receptacles. Somehow responsometers are also involved. Cliff is also keeping the used up bodies in a mass grave in his backyard. 'I keep count. Sue me.' But this still creeps Larry out. Also because Larry realizes this makes him practically immortal. Like I've said before, it's a creepy Doom Patrol tale as only Keith Giffen could tell it. I think he's doing a great job with this book. Justiniano does the art this issue. In the Metal Men back-up story, the Metal Men have some new competitors. It seems Professor Rumpus, from Helfer University in Evanston Illinois, has also created a new generation of robots. However, he's about to get thrown out on his rump because the University isn't happy with his results . . so they're cutting his funding. He just keeps complaining about how much more funding Will Magnus gets. However, he doesn't know it, because they're hiding it, his 3 robot ladies . . they look like mannequins . . are fully operational. They've just chose not to let him know. But after hearing him complain, they've decided to go out on their own. They're calling themselves Clique. However, they have to get a proper wardrobe before they can take over the world. A great story by Keith, JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. So far . . I'm thrilled with this book. My only complaint? I wish it came out twice a month . . so I could get more of it.