Hellblazer #240 - Vertigo

So that last issue . . with the Shaman if Africa sending one of his people out to find Constantine with a root? That was all a set-up for this new story-arc, the Laughing Magician. John learns this issue . . . he learns, but doesn't accept . . that he's been a constant in the realm of magic for a very long time. "You are the Laughing Magician. You have always been the Laughing Magician. Many times I sent my spirit back and forth, from the dawn of man to the palace at the end of all things . . and always I saw you there . . shouting defiance at the gods of Man's own creation. The thumb on the balance . . you are the constant one." This is also where he learns about Mako the war mage. He's also a magiphage, a devourer of magicians. Right now he's begun to hunt Constantine, with the goal of feeding on his powers. The problem is, John is a man who believes in free-will. So he's not one to give in easily to "destiny". "You wanna know the truth? There's no big mystery to it . . I'll tell you the ultimate secret of Magic. Any cunt could do it!" But whether he believes what the Shaman is telling him or not . . . Mako has still come to ground in England, and has a taste for the powers John may or may not have. Regardless of whatever John believes, Mako, apparantly, does believe it. This is a fantastic beginning to what looks to be a really cool story-arc. I feel like we're getting John back to his roots . . or back to the beginning as it were. Andy Diggle is really doing a fantastic job with this title, for the short time that he's been on it. There's a lot of good stuff in this book. Plus, as I've said before, Leonardo Manco really seems like he's stepped up his work. Ever since Andy took over the stories, it really seems like there's a renewed effort on this book. This, again, is the book I fell in love with 20 some years ago. Simply fantastic.

Authority Prime #4 - Wildstorm

This issue, really, is just another big old slug-fest. We learn that Henry Bendix is alive and well. Sort of. He's actually a holo-gram, but . . it appears that this holo-gram is just as demented and twisted as the original. When the Authority and StormWatch finally realize that they're to evenly matched, Jackson King and the Midnighter decide to play nice. Well . . that and this Henry holo-gram has just released a slew of clones of some of their most powerful team-mates. So . . they're kind of going to have to work together . . or be eliminated. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of grey area here. Through some team-work, and trial and error, they finally bring all the contestants down. Actually they beat the living crap out of all of them. But, before the dust can settle, Henry approaches Rose . . and really without to much convincing, gets her to switch sides. She was in love with the guy after all. Sort of. It was sad, twisted and a little more than weird . . but I guess you could call it love. Henry's whispering in her ear, "Rose Tattoo is and has always been the spirit of murder. It's the natural way of things, nothing can change that. Say it, Rose. Don't hold back any longer. Tell me what you want to do." To which Rose responds, "Kill them all." What a way to end the story. With Christos Gage writing, and Darick Robertson drawing it, I can't wait to see next issue. Again, the only problem with Darick's art is that, because of this book, he's had to have some fill-ins over on the Boys. But, hopefully he'll get back to that soon. If you like the Authority, you'll love this book.

Countdown to Mystery #5 - DC

I really like the direction that both of these stories are taking. Eclipso has moved to the front of the book. But really, I don't think it really matters who has the first story . . I feel that they're both equally as important. When you think about it, these 2 characters, Eclipso and Doctor Fate, have both been around almost as long as DC itself. They're both underutilized characters, in my opinion, that are ingrained deeply in to the DC Universe and continuity, but neither has gotten the spotlight that they deserve. I like how they've taken the Eclipso character back to it's origins with Dr. Bruce Gordon. And with that reemergence, they can experiment with these new laws of magic that are supposed to have changed in the DC Universe. Here we see that Bruce is now more in control of the powers that Eclipso offers. He can actually be the dominant personality. That is . . until he loses his cool. Then the Eclipso part takes over. That's what happens this issue when Dr. Gordon decides to use his new-found powers to go to a Russian base and try to expound upon some research they had been trying to do there. But he's confronted by the post-human aftermath of their failed experiments. And that's when he loses his cool. Eclipso takes over and ends up killing them all. Crispus Allen is also along for the ride. He's the new Spectre and he's been assigned to make sure Dr. Gordon realizes his new potential. In the Doctor Fate storyline, Kent is wrestling with the guilt of having killed his new friend Inza because of his association with Negal. He let his guard down for a moment, and Negal used the opening to take Inza. Kent's not sure if she's dead, but if now, she may actually be worse off being held captive in Negal's realm. Eventually he ends up back at the store that the witch runs, who helped him a couple of issues ago. She shows him a picture dating back to WWII, showing him that his helmet has been around for a long time. Both stories are great, and I like where they're headed. Like I said, I also like that they're focusing some attention on these 2 characters that really are a part of the DC Universe foundation. It'll be interesting to see what they do with them, after this series.

Astonishing X-Men #24 - Marvel

This issue is the wrap up to the 24 issue run of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. It's finally over! I don't mean that negatively. I mean that . . finally . . we get to see how they're going to wrap this whole thing up, and set up the ending for the next creative team, so they'll be able to hop right in. Right? Wrong! They're going to drag 1 more book out of this. We're going to get a Giant Sized Astonishing X-Men #1. Of course. Why would I think anything else? It becomes fairly obvious, about half way through this book, that there's no way for them to wrap this story-line this issue. I'm actually kind of wondering how they're even going to wrap it up with 1 more issue. There's going to be a lot of stuff packed in to that one issue. But . . since it's Joss and John . . we'll deal with it . . and smile. And bend over and say . . "Thank You! May I have another?". I'm just playin'! I love this book as much as the rest of you. It's easily the best X-Men book on the shelves. Joss is incredible with his scripts. And John . . . what can I say? John is a treasure. The only bad thing about him being on this book is that he hasn't put out as many Planetary issues. But again . . since it's John . . we can wait. I still say, if they don't use these guys for another X-Men movie . . . they're crazy. They have the perfect feel for it. In case you haven't noticed . . I'm trying to stay away from any details about the story. The book is so good, that you should have to go out a pick up a copy. Or two! You want to get both covers . . right? The book . . and the entire run, for that matter . . . really is that good. I'm sure it'll be out in TPB soon enough. So then you really have no excuse.

Wonder Woman #16 - DC

I really . . really . . like this book. I actually love everything about it. It has fantastic characters . . a great script . . and wonderful art. It really is the whole package. What I especially like about the current story-line is . . it seems like we're trying to achieve, or explain, several different things. There's the whole story about Hippolyta . . her current predicament, plus . . from a skewed perspective . . how her "creation" of Diana was actually the downfall of the Amazon race. We also see the story of her personal guards, whom she hand-picked and trusted entirely, have to wrestle with the conflict of what's best for their Queen, or what's best for their civilization. This is where the skewed perspective comes from. This is all brought in to play around the invasion of their island by a race of Aryan conquerors. They plan on building a new Reich from the islands location. They see it as the perfect vantage point for conquering the world. Now, add to all of this that Diana is returning to the island . . even though she's been banished. She's going to attempt to save her mother, and their civilization by fighting and defeating the Aryans. However, Hippolyta's guard still are compelled to kill her to save their race. So where there really should only be 2 sides here . . there's actually 3. Which means someone is going to lose. And someone else . . is going to lose big! Gail Simone is doing a fantastic job with this story-line. I really like the twists that she's been adding to the Amazon history. And, of course, Terry and Rachel Dodson's art is incredible. Who'd of thought I'd be looking forward to reading Wonder Woman every month? But right now, it's a fantastic series.

Detective #841 - DC

This issue, I'm sorry to say, just didn't do a whole lot for me. Especially after the Ra' al Ghul storyline. This one just seemed a little . . . simple. There just wasn't anything in it that really stood out. Paul Dini can write some decent stories. And Dustin Nguyen is a fantastic penciller. But this whole issue was just kind of . . . ho-hum! Yawwn! Basically it was about the Mad-Hatter. He had broken out of Arkham again, and this time he seemed to be putting together a gang with a Wonderland theme. He strikes a fashion show, that Bruce just happens to be at, with the beginnings of his gang. From there he sticks with the theme, and starts bringing in new members two by two. Kind of like the Noah's Ark of crime. I guess. Anyways, it keeps going on this way, but Batman just seems to be unsettled by something. Something just kind of seems a little off about the Hatter. Well . . . come to find out, Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum are actually controlling him. They're running the gang and calling the shots, but they're also making it look like the Hatter is the one in charge. They used some of his own mind control circuitry on him. So when Batman finds this out, and takes him out from under their control, he actually helps to bring them all down. And in the end, when they're all in Arkham together, he turns the tables back on them. I mean . . it was interesting. Just not all that interesting. It did have a bit of a twist to it. I think that could've been played out a little bit more. But . . I just wasn't all that thrilled with it. Which seems to be a recurring theme with this title over the last few years. There are some bright shining moments. But . . in between . . . not much to write home about. Which is a shame, because I love this character. This book just seems a bit directionless sometimes. I really think they need to get a theme here and stick with it. It's one of the longest running books in the DC archives. Please . . make it count for something!

Legion of Super-heroes #38 - DC

I have to say, I really like the feel that Jim Shooter is giving this series. Plus I'm really diggin' Francis Manapul's pencils. The look that he gives the characters, I feel, is fresh and current. Together, I think, they really make the whole book feel . ."new". Jim seems to have jumped right in to the thick of things with his stories. I'm sure he'll give some of the characters a little more "definition", but for now he's keeping everybody pretty active. He even has time for a little membership drive this issue. Not so much a recruitment thing, as . . some new candidates being shoved down their throat by the UP. Which really seems to be the overall theme originating from Jim's first couple of issues . . . the bureaucracy, red-tape, and "big-brother" type attitude of the United Planets. In recent issues, Lightning Lad had been elected . . actually assuming the role after Supergirl's departure . . to Legion leader. At the time they were seriously hurting for funding and support from the United Planets. So, he thought it would be in their best interests to gather that funding, and "get in bed" with the government so the things they needed to fight would be off-planet rather than in their own bureaucracy. Well . . as we've come to find out . . that plan has completely back-fired on him. Now, not only are their hands even more tied than they were before, but now, because of the governments involvement, they can't even get off-planet under their own devices. And, as we're coming to find out, Lightning Lad really does not have the head for this role or responsibility. You really feel sorry for the guy . . how the government, and it's various officials, are completely taking advantage of his ineptitude. Meanwhile, on a current mission on Triton, we're introduced to a potential new member, Giselle. Saturn Girl calls her Ballerina Girl, because of her ability and grace at fighting. Overall, I think it's a fantastic beginning for this new creative team. I love these characters and I'm glad that, hopefully, they'll be getting the attention they deserve. I just hope Jim Shooter sticks around for the long run.

Blue Beetle #23 - DC

I started out really not liking this whole series. And even now, 23 issues later, I still really don't like the art. I've grown accustomed to it. It's what I expect when I pick up this series. But . . . that doesn't mean I really like it any better. However, after 23 issues of character development . . and watching the different issues that Jamie has had to deal with, coupled with his learning and adapting to these powers that are really just an extension of the alien technology that is grafted to his spine . . . I find myself rooting for the guy. He's got a great supporting cast of family and friends. Each has their own quirk, or history, to add to the story. Plus, he's recently had quite a bit of interaction with the Teen Titans. Brenda even shows a little jealousy when Jamie brings them up in conversation. Jamie replies, "This is about the point when Ravager tries to stab somebody and Robin starts that grind-y thing with his teeth. You're way cooler!" Right now I think we're at the point in his story that he's either going to become much more adept and knowledgeable, or . . it's the end of him. Recently this alien race, the Reach, have come to Earth. They've presented themselves as generous and benevolent. When actually, they're in the final stages of their century long plan to take over the Earth. However, Jamie appears to be the only one that doesn't trust them. Well . . that and the fact that his Scarab keeps screaming out for him to kill them. So this issue he's attempting to muster up his courage . . and use some of the knowledge he's learned from Ted Kord's journals . . to confront the Reach head-on and attempt to bring them out in to the open. Right now they have several "world-rippers" stationed around the planet ready to go in to action . . but they're cloaked. As is their mother-ship. So Jamie is attempting to bring them out of hiding . . plus, then, confront them head-on. A suicide mission at best. He accomplishes all of his plan, except when he gets on board the ship, to confront the "negotiator", the Scarab is ripped from his spine, severing the connection, and leaving him lying on the ground in his human form. On the final page, as he's watching the "big-screen" he sees his home, with his friends and family inside, blown to bits. And the "negotiator" screaming, " . . . you are the Blue Beetle no more!" Like I said, he'll either come back from this much stronger . . . or he won't. This book is finally getting interesting.

JLA Classified #51 - DC

Ok, we're in to the 2nd part of this story, and I gotta say . . . I still don't quite understand what's going on here. This is some demi-god, or something, that first came in to contact with the JLA way back when they were stationed in the mountain. He came to Earth, wanted to know what gods they worshipped, and then started a one-man rampage around the globe to destroy anything that resembled an icon for a deity. He had no religious bounds. He was just out to destroy anything that represented a being to be worshipped. Everybody just thought they were random acts of violence, until he appeared over Jerusalem, set on destroying it. This time he let himself be seen. He even announced himself. "Hear me mortals! The gods you worship ignored my challenges! None dared face the power of Titus! The world has no true Gods!" Of course the JLA couldn't let this challenge fall upon deaf ears, plus . . now they knew who was responsible for all the destruction around the globe. But he proved more than any of them could handle . . even Superman. Now . . a couple questions pop to mind. First of all, this guy looks like a poor man's Kalibak. So . . I wonder if he's somehow connected to Apokolips. If so, maybe this has something to do with the "god-killer". Also, last issue, the guy landed on the moon, in the present, and went straight after the League. But they seem to have no recollection of him. How can that be? Well . . we are only on the second chapter . . so they can't give away to much of the story to fast. But I'm thinking this is probably some kind of retro-continuity, to put somebody in place for this whole New Gods thing. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feeling. Anyways, it's brought to us by Roger Stern, John Byrne and Mark Farmer. It looks good. And Roger has a lot of character interaction going on in this thing. There's just a few loose ends right now that we can't really understand. But . . this is just the beginning. I guess we'll just have to wait and ride it out. I let you know what I think. Obviously!

Superman Confidential #11 - DC

This issue actually wraps up the first story-line from this series. I'm not sure why, but they ran the Apokolips issues in between. I don't know if it was a creator problem . . or if they just needed to get the stories out there with this whole Death of the New Gods thing. But either way, this is the end of that story. Finally! I understand why, or how, they wrapped it up, but . . it just seemed a little to convenient for me. I mean, this guy, or alien . . or whatever, has been hiding out in this rock the whole time. Well, except for when he pushed his consciousness over in to Gallo. But, from what I understand, he's been biding his time until he could talk to this world's new "Superman". Remember this is in the early days of Superman's "outing". But, if he knew that the rock was going to cause Superman harm, why didn't he just talk to him when he was in control of Gallo? Seems like it would've been the more prudent thing to do. Anyways, it turns out that he's a historian that was on Krypton in it's final days. He watched the end, and tried to follow it's lone survivor, but he ended up inside of a meteor. Basically, it seems like he just wanted to show Superman, the history of his planet. At this time in his life, Superman had not looked in to that part of his history yet. Now I know this doesn't all jive with the Superman myth, but . . I'm just relaying the assumptions that are presented in this particular story. I don't agree with them either. But . . it's what we were fed. Of course I love Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale. I just didn't think this was the best way to wrap up this story. But that's just my opinion. Take it or leave it.

X-Men - First Class #8 - Marvel

This was an interesting story. It was the teams first encounter with the Man-Thing. It still all had to do with the alien presence that took away their powers last issue. Apparently, when the rocket it was located in, was launched, it passed over the Man-Thing's swamp. When it did so, it caused some kind of dimensional portals or nexus or something. Charles sends the team in to investigate and somehow a few of them get shunted off to different dimensions. That's when the Man-Thing shows up. Apparently, because of his simpler brain, and physiology, somehow he can hone in on, and walk into, these various dimensions. So, without his help, some of the members would've been stuck . . elsewhere. I still liked the story. I just didn't think it was as good as previous issues. Jeff Parker is still doing the scripts. But, on this issue, Eric Nguyen does the art. It's . . ok. It's a little to . . bright . . for my tastes. I know. You're thinking, "What the hell does he mean by that?". Well, pick up the book, and you'll see exactly what I mean. Whomever did the coloring . . . it looks like afterwards they white-washed every page. I'm not sure what the effect was that this was supposed to give the story. But, it really did nothing for me. I'll still but the book. But . . it seems like it's changing a bit. It's already starting to get away from that upbeat attitude it had in the beginning. We'll see how it goes though. And now I see that there's a Wolverine - First Class series coming out. Very interesting!

Ultimate Iron Man II #2 - Marvel

I loved the first chapter of this character. It was 2 or 3 years ago. But . . I still thought it was good. And, overall, I'm enjoying this chapter so far. Orson Scott Card is doing a fine job with the story. And, of course, I love Pasqual Ferry's artwork. Really, my only complaint is this whole business with Tony's father, Howard. Then there's this Zebediah Stane, who stole Howard's company, and his son Obadiah. Apparently Zebediah took Howard's company, and his first wife. But, he didn't get the armor technology, which is what he really wanted. So he kidnapped Howard to try to coerce it out of him, but he was caught and sent to prison. Obadiah, who is also a sociopath, blamed Howard for his father's condition. Zebediah was killed and Howard was framed as the killer. Which then sent Howard to prison, Tony running the company, and Obadiah trying to take down Tony and kill Howard. Does all of that make sense to you? I mean . . it does. But . . it seems awful convoluted to be the set-up for this story. And then a development, which really has nothing to do with any of this, occurs when the government shows up and wants to use Tony's "robots" for a black-ops mission. I'm following the story. I really am. But . . like I said . . it just seems like there's an awful lot of unnecessary stuff in here. Maybe it'll all spin out later in the wash, but for now . . it just seems more complicated than it needs to be. However, I do still enjoy it. As I said, I'm a huge fan of Pasqual's, and, as you all know, I'm also a big fan on the Ultimate Universe. If nothing else, this book does live up to that standard. I just hope it's a little less . . "fuzzy". . before the end of the series.

Wildstorm - Revelations #2 - Wildstorm

This is an interesting book. I'm not sure what's going to come out of it . . . when all's said and done. But I'd like to think that maybe we'll get a new WildCATS book. Maybe? Anyway, Nemesis, Backlash and Savant are on a 3 woman mission to find out what's going to cause the Apocalypse that Void tried to warn Nemesis about. They know that it's been planned for many years, so they've decided to raid the Authority's database, since they probably have the most extensive gathering of information on the planet. Well . . not exactly on the planet, I mean . . about the planet. They're never on the planet, since they're always on the Carrier which is in the Bleed. Long story short . . . after a brutal showdown . . it ended up being a waste of time. They have a lot of information, but it doesn't go back as far as they're looking. So, they need to gather some older intel. Nemesis decides to play the "dating game" with Mr. Majestic. But really, she's just trying to distract him while the other two are in his headquarters at Mount Rushmore. He's been around for centuries after all. Almost as long as the Coda. Their only lead is a file about some hero's that disappeared at the beginning of the cold war. But as they were downloading it, the file deleted itself. So, they're just going to have to find some people old enough to remember the old-fashioned way. With books and speech. So . . they're on their way to Tranquility. Scott Beatty and Christos Gage are the writers, and Wes Craig is the artist. The story is great. The art . . is actually . . very good. But, I think, Wes is a newbie. Some of his panels are awesome, and some of them . . . show potential. But he's not consistent yet. But when he does become that good . . he's going to be a talent to be reckoned with. Overall I think it's a great series. Like I said, it'll be interesting to see where it goes from here.

Catwoman #75 - DC

I like this book, but . . I feel like I was gypped with the variant cover. I know! It was my choice to by it. But, I figured . . Catwoman #75 . . . and it's a Salvation Run tie-in . . . it should be a good book. And it was. But . . the variant cover . . the original by Adam Hughes was 150% better. The variant was done by David Lopez. Anyways, this issue gets in to the story of Selina's exile on the "hell-planet". She's finding that she's going to have to choose a side. She lands on the planet right in the middle of Luthor and the Joker's fight for leadership. She finds that her choice isn't going to be as easy as she would of thought. Both sides want the best players, and everyone knows that although she can't always decide which side of the fence she's on . . if she's on your team, she'll definitely pull her weight. Well . . . except for that whole thing with Hugo Strange. But she's trying to put that behind her. Luthor actually has the better chance of formulated the strategy and technology to get them off the planet. But . . the Joker has decided to use black-mail to garner her acceptance. She really is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She ends up going on a reconnaissance mission for Luthor. They've found an underground bunker, but they don't know what kind of traps lie in wait for them. So he sends in the best cat-burglar he has . . . Catwoman. The Cheetah is along for the ride also. They find something . . and it sends them to Earth . . . but I don't think it's the right Earth. On the final page, Selina finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun . . pointed at her her by . . Batman. I don't think we're in Kansas, Toto. I'm not sure what the Salvation Run is going to accomplish with it story-line . . so . . I'm glad Selina isn't there for long. But now she seems to be lost somewhere in the multi-verse. It's just never easy. Is it? I really do like this book. The cover is my only complaint.

American Virgin #22 - Vertigo

I'm not exactly sure what the picture on the cover has to do with the contents of the book, but . . . it's interesting. I'll give it that. Well, as we wind down this series, Adam, and his whole "clan" are in Cuba looking up his long estranged father. He also happens to be a minister. Actually a priest. It turns out Mamie is still in love with him. Upon seeing him though, last issue, she had a heart attack. Vanessa ends up being the one that immediately jumps to her aid and starts giving her CPR. But when it appears that isn't going to work, Mel jumps in and shocks her with a lamp cord. Quite the family we got going here. This issue was kind of a touchy-feely book. Cyndi tells Mel she's pregnant. Because, watching him/her in action with the electricity scared the crap out of her. It flashed through her mind . . what would she do if she lost him? Adam has some deep moments with his father. They kind of help each other sort stuff out. And in the end, they both agree that the reason Adam hasn't consummated his marriage, is because they're weren't actually married under the eyes of god. So his father, Rey, offers his services. And Mel is still looking for the guy that killed Adam's first girlfriend. If nothing else . . this book has been consistent. Steven T Seagle has steered this ship on a pretty steady course. There's been a few bumps and surprises along the way, but, I think, he's stayed true to his original vision. It hasn't been one of my favorites, but . . it's something different to read every month. Which really is why I started picking it up in the first place. But now we're nearing the end. It just isn't getting any support. My guy only orders 2 or 3 issues every month. And then he worries if they're going to sell or not. So now we just have to wait and see how he's going to wrap up this whole story.

100 Bullets #87 - Vertigo

The reason I like this book so much, is because . . . it's like a movie. A really, really long movie. But . . still . . a movie. I mean that in the sense that the way Brain Azzarello writes these scripts . . they're like different scenes in a very long movie. If you take the scene out of context, it can stand alone. But, usually, in the big picture, it's a set-up for something that's coming. He also has a way of leaving you guessing about just what that coming event is. Like a movie, you don't always see the relevance right away . . but . . later on . . when things start to come together, you look back and say, "Oh . . now I get it! That's why they did . . ." Well when I'm reading this book, I have those revelations all the time. I really could see this book made in to a movie. The only problem would be, where would you cut it up for the different chapters? It would be kind of like Star Wars. This great big long saga would have to be cut up in to 5 or 6 different chapters. But, if someone would be willing to invest the money and the time . . . I could see it. In case you haven't guessed . . I really love this book. I think it's one of the best books on the shelves right now. Plus it's consistent. Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso and Dave Johnson have been on this book since it's inception. That's almost 9 years of cinematic, and artistic quality that's been the same month after month after month. And, even 9 years later, I'll read through this book and find my self just stopping on a page and looking at the way Eduardo has crafted a certain panel, or scene. The way he uses his colors and his shadows is just incredible. The last page in this book, tells a story all unto itself. I showed my wife the page and asked her what she got out of it. Not having read the book, and having no idea whats going on in the story . . she could tell me exactly the feeling Eduardo was trying to convey. No words on the page, and she knew exactly how the character felt and what he was thinking about. To me . . that's the sign of a true artist.

Legion of Super-heroes in the 31st Century #10 - DC

Another addition to DC's kid line of comics. It really is a good book. Plus, from what I understand, we may be getting some more soon. The Tiny Titans book should be coming out soon, and I believe there's going to be a new Super-Friends title. Awesome! I've said this over and over, but this is a fantastic was for the young readers to get into the hobby. There's fabulous characters in all the books, and the stories are fun, one issue, romps. With Batman, Justice League and the Teen Titans to choose from, not to mention the Legion, there's a variety of interests for all the young impressionable minds out there. And when it comes down to it, reading is reading. The more they do, the better off they are. And if comic books keep them interested in reading . . I don't see anything wrong with that. And with these characters, that have such a rich and diverse history in the DC Universe, there's any number of directions they could take should their interests be peaked. And that's what we need for the future of the medium. I think it's in pretty good hands.

Shadowpact #21 - DC

This issue tells us the story . . the explanation really . . about what has happened in the Nighshade Dimension, that has caused Eve's powers to malfunction. It actually has to do with Arcady, the city, or world, where Jim, the Nightmaster, was the local hero. It seems after he left them, they were approached by some outsiders needing refuge. They called themselves the Unbound. Well . . . not at first, but when their brand of lunacy, or brainwashing, washed over enough of the city, they could drop their facade of peaceful coexistence. Eventually they turned enough of the population over to their side, that they became the force to be reckoned with. Now, they are building some kind of energy beacon in the center of town, and are feeding it with the bodies of their followers. The problem is, the dimension that they're trying to breach is ours. They just haven't quite been able to do it yet. But, they may be getting some unexpected help . . from the rest of the Shadowpact team. Enchantress has finally figured out that the rest of the team is trapped in the Nightshade dimension, and with Laura's help they're going to try to breach the barrier between the worlds. They're doing so on a mesa in Arizona, because that's where the barrier is the thinnest. However, from the last page of the book, it looks like this was all the help the Unbound needed to finally breach the barrier. So now, on top of almost killing themselves, and trying to rescue their teammates, they're also going to have to defend the Earth from an invasion from a different dimension. But I guess it's all in a days work for this group. Matthew Sturges is now on the scripts, and Tom Derenick does the pencils. I feel like the book, right now, is finally living up to it's potential. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here.

Checkmate #22 - DC

Well, this issue wraps up the story about the Black Queen's Knight . . Josephine Tautin . . ."Mademoiselle Marie". She's kind of like another Joan of Arc for France. Except that her legacy and beliefs are passed down generation after generation. Josephine has been "Mademoiselle Marie" for about nine years now. At that time, she took the name from Sabine. Which makes her about the eighth in the line, which goes back to the French Revolution. Her storyline intertwines with her current mission. The man whom she had to forsake for her higher calling, Thierry Desmarais, has had his daughter recently kidnapped by a terrorist group that is hiding out in the Bialyan mountains. She's taken on the mission of retrieving her because of her connection to Thierry, but also because of all of their connection to France. Which, ultimately, is whom she serves. It was a very touching story. It was moving and disturbing at the same time. But now that we've accomplished it, we can move on to some regular Checkmate stories. Maybe we'll find out what their plans are about this whole Amanda Waller, and the Suicide Squad. Maybe not. But whatever the case, with Greg Rucka at the helm, you can be assured that it's going to be a heck of a ride. This was a great story, and the whole series overall has been superb. The structure and characters of this incarnation are much improved over the last. But . . that was about 12 to 15 years ago . . . so . . . .

Countdown to Final Crisis #15 - DC

Now that we're getting closer to the end, we're starting to take some interesting turns with these characters. Mary Marvel has landed on Themyscira. But luckily, she was found by Hippolyta and not the Female Furies. She takes Mary under her wing, sensing that she's been depowered, and gives her the lowdown on what's been going on on the island. Meanwhile, back on Earth 51, our group of Challengers are doing the best they can to protect Ray Palmer. It turns out that the Ray Palmer from this Earth was not the Atom, but he was a genius, and he had a genetic anomaly that made him super-immune. Anyways, the JLA of this Earth had a case involving the ultimate bioweapon. A doomsday germ called Morticoccus. The strange part was when they found out the germ's DNA structure mirrored Ray's. They never did figure out why, and simply isolated it. Shortly afterward, their JLA was visited by another from a different dimension. This gave Ray an idea. He figured if there were multiple versions of himself, then it could only be concluded that there were multiple versions of this Morticoccus. So his plan was to go to each of these different dimensions and "seed" someone with his own genetic immunity, giving each world a fighting chance should the bioweapon appear. Unfortunately he died before he could accomplish that. So Ray has been carrying on his work. Also unfortunately his inoculations left a mark on the recipients skin . . . like his Atom symbol. Which, of course, left a trail for Bob to follow. He's relating this whole story to Kyle. Meanwhile Donna is off fighting this world's Wonder Girl, Jason is having a heart to heart with this world's Batman, and Bob is back in the multiversal nexus watching his "family", but Superman-Prime has shown up, demanding that he be taken back to his own Earth. And . . Forerunner has also shown up. And finally we see that Brother Eye is in Bludhaven assimilating the material that it needs to become a fully self-functioning entity. That includes the Atomic Knights, Firestorm, and our band of hapless travelers, Buddy Blank, Una and Karate Kid. Basically, it looks like it's creating a "Death-Star". The issue ends with them concerned that it may have assimilated some Apokolyptian technology also. Not a pretty picture. Fantastic book. Like I said, since we're nearing the end, the surprises are going to be coming fast and furious. Are you ready?

the Flash #236 - DC

Well, this issue wraps up the water alien story-line. Finally! To me, it was a bit predictable. Especially after reading the back-up story. This issue, in the back-up, we finally get to Wally and Linda's arrival to Savoth. It was either that, or Wally disappearing entirely in to the Speed Force. We also find out why, and how, Linda needed their technology for the kids, and how she talked them in to giving it up to her. But, in the first chapter of this story, when Jay first came there, he had helped them to rid themselves of an alien threat. It turns out, as I suspected, that by doing so with the Speed Force it accelerated their metabolisms and the evolved much faster than normal in to the race of aliens that is now attacking Keystone City. After reading the first installment of that story, I kind of suspected that's what was going on. Anyways, this issue, the family performs as a team. Iris and Jai help their dad out be going to the aliens world and distracting the JLA enough so that they can save them . . . from themselves. The water they were breathing was causing them to hallucinate the attack that they thought they were fighting. So he needed the kids to distract them. Meanwhile Linda, who has such a good knowledge of the alien tech, and how it's related to that of Savoth's, gives Wally the idea about how to take them down. Then, when he finds out they were actually tuning in to his key to Savoth . . and it's connection to the Speed Force . . . it's all over, because Wally simply has to give his goodbye's to Gorflack, and break the connection. Basically, what we've learned this issue, is that Wally no longer operates solo. He has a team . . or family . . that backs him up now. And he couldn't be happier. Now that we've got all that wrapped up . . and we know what's been going on for the last year or so . . we can progress in to the future. And it appears that's what he's going to be doing next issue . . with the help of Superman. Mark Waid wrote it, and Freddie E Williams II did the art.

Birds of Prey #114 - DC

Okay. Sean McKeever is on board as the new scripter now . . . Nicola Scott is still very adeptly doing the pencils . . . and Sean's got the beginnings of a couple of different storylines here. First of all, Babs is obsessed with trying to figure out what happened to Tabby when that robot thing blew up last issue. Charlie's thinking about it also, but more from the point of wondering if there was some way she could have gotten her out of there. Babs is upset thought because of the tongue-lashing that Superman gave her. So she's got 2 things on her mind right now, figuring out what happened to Tabby, and training Charlie. And she's unrelenting in both tasks. Meanwhile Zindy has her own mystery going on when someone shows up in the Killer Shark costume. It can't be the original, because he'd be to old. But then again she's been misplace in the century also, so . . who knows? And, at the end of the book, Black Alice shows up at Babs doorstep. "Hey, Oracle. I've decided . . . I'm in!" But what does that mean for Charlie? Babs can't possibly have 2 teenage sidekicks going on at the same time. Can she? Babs world just seems to get more and more complicated all the time. It seems like we still have the core birds here . . but she's been reaching out more and more to various deputies also. Including, Cameron Chase, Doctor Light, Lois Lane, the Question, Onyx and Infinity. Which still leaves her with the Huntress, ManHunter and Zindy. Besides the 2 teenagers that is. I have to say that so far, I like the feel that Sean's given this book. It's a little different than before . . . but that's ok. It's still one of my favorites.

Robin #170 - DC

Robin seems more than a little distracted. There's a new Vigilante in town that calls herself Violet. She's really a thief, but she's low on Batman's priority list because she's robbing from thieves. After some investigating, Tim realizes that she seems to be operating out of this bowling alley, Pin Heads. It's know for it's bookie making, and numbers rackets. She seems to be watching it also, and then hitting the couriers when they leave to make their drops. So, to Batman, it's kind of a victimless crime. But the reason Tim becomes so obsessed with it, is because, for some reason, this girl just reminds him of Stephanie. As the Spoiler she also wore a purple outfit, and Tim thinks it a little to convenient to be coincidental. Plus he keeps thinking that he sees Stephanie from behind. He's seeing her everywhere. School, the streets, everywhere he goes. So he stakes out the bowling alley. But Violet is pretty good to. She finds Robin lurking about and jumps him causing a huge scene. So now, there little ballet has been noticed by the Penguin . . who's actually running the book there . . and he's hired one of his couriers, that's been robbed, to take them both out as payment on his debt. Chuck Dixon wrote it, and Chris Batista and Jamal Igle did the pencils. I like this little mystery that's going on now, about Stephanie. I never really thought the whole thing was wrapped up all that neatly anyway. Hopefully between this, and Gotham Underground, we'll finally put the issue to rest. One way or another.

Justice League of America #17 - DC

Ok . . . I like the book. Ed Benes never looked better . . . art wise that is. And look at that awesome Ethan Van Sciver cover. But . . . you could probably see that coming, huh? . . . I really think . . and I hate to criticize a new creative team . . but I really think that it's lost something with the feel of the stories. I know. All writers are different. And different writers bring different things to the table. But, seriously . . . I'm not sure if this is going to make sense . . . but now, the book reads like a comic. By that I mean . . the conversation is kind of forced, and the book relies on action to keep the interest going. Before, under Brad Meltzer, the character interaction was just as interesting, if not more, than the story. It also seemed like the character interaction and development was actually the basis of the story. Yes, there was usually some action going on too, but that seemed more like a by-product of the situation, or setting they were in. But, the interaction between characters never stopped. Like in real life. It seems more like comic book conversation now. Does that make sense? I mean, I'll give Alan Burnett and Dwayne McDuffie props. They're both good writers. But, following up Brad . . . it's a hard road to hoe. Maybe they're just trying to get a feel for the characters. I mean, they've only been on the book for about 4 issues now. So . . I should give it a little more of a chance before I start criticizing. But . . I thought this book was one of the best books on the rack last year. I'd just really like to see the momentum continue forward. Rather than taking a step backward. I do like the way they're doing the backup stories though. It gives them to focus on a different character that maybe didn't make an appearance in the main story. I also like Jon Boy Meyers style. It's fresh and fun. It kind of reminds me of early J Scott Campbell. Anyways, with this story, the JLA finally starts to get some information on what's going on with all the villains . . . and Suicide Squad. Well . . . at least what Amanda Waller will reveal. I still like the book. I just hope the writers start getting their groove on.

New Exiles #1 - Marvel

The king is dead! Long live the king! My book is back! The hiatus turned out to be not really all that long. Thank god! Or, I guess I should say, thank Chris Claremont. And Tom Grummett of course. What a fantastic book. I don't know how Chris managed it, but he's got some of the best X-Men characters on this book. Some of the all-time best. Sabretooth, Psylocke, Rogue, Sage, Morph, Kitty Pryde and Mystiq. A nother world version of Mystique. A guy whom Creed saved his life, and then he asked him to join the Exiles. But really, that's all we know about him so far. But the team

is far from perfect. Everyone is a bit flawed. Which I think is what's going to make this book so interesting. I just told you about the mystery with Mystiq. Sage, upon besting Roma's father, was downloaded by Roma with all the information and memories about the omniverse that were in her head. And she was a god. So Sage is . . to say the least . . having a hard time processing everything. And, her alter-ego, Diana Fox, is showing up in there also. Now we know that Morph still has locked in side of him. We haven't seen any personality quirks lately. But you just know something's going to pop up sooner or later. Betsy is also a bit flawed. She's got some issues she left behind on her Earth . . Slaymaster . . so she's a bit skittish. Plus Creed isn't comfortable that she's invisible to technology. But he'll fix that this issue. Rogue is a bit untrusting. But she may have a reason. For some reason Creed doesn't want her to know that he's checking up on, and keeping an eye on . . everyone! And Kitty . . well, we're really not sure what's wrong with her. She seems normal . . but she also seems a bit . . anal . . or maybe obsessive compulsive. I'm not sure how to explain it. But she may be the smartest . . and most devious one of the bunch. Anyways, our story . . on the Earth in trouble . . starts out with the FF origin. Only this time it's not cosmic rays, but a meteor shower that hits their ship. They all perish except for Sue, who is saved by Namor. So now the team is going there, some 50 years later, because " . . palace projections state humanity faces something worse." But as soon as they arrive, it looks like Rogue may have been taken out. This book is going to be fantastic. Chris and Tom already seem to have a great connection. And they really seem to be having fun with what they're doing. I can't wait to see what future issues hold.

Wolverine Origins #21 - Marvel

This issue was just . . fun. Well . . as much fun as you can have with a hired killer on your ass! Recently, a "shadowy figure" has decided to hire someone to take out Wolverine. And for some reason . . . Deadpool, decides to accept the offer. So this whole issue, basically, is just the two of them volleying back and forth like two girls playing summer volleyball. But to me, it seems like Deadpool may have the upper hand, just because he's so unpredictable. This guy is seriously bent. He's always been . . out there. But he seems even more so now. To the point that he's hallucinating. He's fighting Logan, but he's seeing a completely different scene in his head. When Logan snaps him back to consciousness, by cutting his face, he says "How . . ? Oh. I, ah . . . drifted. Didn't I?" But the best scene of the book, is on the final page when a beaten and hurt Wolverine is crawling along the sidewalk and doesn't notice that he's crawling over a big red X. There's 2 guys up in the building, that Wade has hired to drop a piano on him. Literally. When Logan looks up and notices it, he says, "You gotta be kidding me . ." And Wade, looking on, says "Boo-Yah! Top that. You stupid Coyote!" Fantastic stuff. After all the multi-issue story-lines that have run through this book so far . . and all of them dealing with all these serious issues that are popping up from Logan's past . . now that he can remember them . . . it's nice to have this "Brawl at the Mall" issue with Wade and Logan just going at it all issue. I don't know if Logan even realizes that Wade's been hired to kill him. I think, he thinks, he's just whacked out more than usual. Some great stuff from Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. Keep up the good work guys.

New X-Men #46 - Marvel

Ok, lets see if I have this straight. Rogue is on Muir Island now. Mystique wants to help her. She thinks she knows what to do from reading Destiny's Diaries. She supposed to take the Messiah child and touch her to Rogue's lips. However, Remy can't stand idly by because he feels like Raven is sacrificing the baby for Rogue's welfare. He doesn't feel that is something that she would be ok with. But now Raven's confused because things didn't work out the way they were supposed to. Rouge was supposed to wake up out of her coma. Oh yeah, and during all of this . . . Raven snapped Sinister's neck. I didn't see that one coming. Meanwhile, the newly reformed X-Force is fighting for it's life against the Marauders. Predator X has finally made it to the school, and the kids are terrified. Well, except for Nori. She's taking the lead as usual. Also Cable and Charles are working together also, because they both feel that the best bet for the child is for Cable to take responsibility for her, and take her in to the future to raise. But during the New X-Men's fight with Predator X, Pixie tries to save her teammates by porting them away from the school. She makes a mistake though. She brings the Predator along with them. And she takes them all straight to Muir Island. So when Cable finally does get the baby, he ends up standing face to face with the monster. A fantastic book by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost. Of course it's all the better because of Humberto Ramos' art. Simply amazing! So we're on Chapter 12. I wonder how many more we have to go? It's a great story-line though.

Amazing Spider-man #547 - Marvel

Ok, we're only in to the 2nd issue of the new direction for our arachnid hero, and already he's turning in to a pile of angst ridden goo. Poor guy. He's got this new lease on life, and, other than losing the love of his life, and regaining his Aunt . . . nothing's really change. Well . . . on a personal level . . I mean. Mephisto could've at least given him a job. He never finished college . . or actually, I guess he has, he's just never done anything with it. He hasn't had a job in . . who knows how long. He's still living with Aunt May. And occasionally Harry. He's given up being Spider-man, because he refused to partake in the Registration Act. But, the good news is that nobody knows who he is. Well . . . except for one person. The guy who mugged him recently. When he took his wallet, he also took one of his web-shooters. So, seeing as how he's been donning the Spider-man mask when he does his larceny, when he finds out what it really does, he gets pretty excited. It isn't until after he pawns Peter's wallet that he makes the connection as to who he really is. But, now it may be to late for him to get the wallet back. But if he does, then he knows who Spider-man really is. Meanwhile, because of his guilt over what he's done to J Jonah Jameson recently . . feeling responsible for his heart-attack . . . he's decided to don his costume again to try to make up for his failings. But, as usual, he gets sidetracked from his real goals, and ends up mixing it up with the Negative Man. He's opting to be the new crime-lord of Manhattan so he's getting ready to take out the rest of his competition. Which puts Peter in the spot of trying to save every mob boss and goon Manhattan as they all set down to a big meeting. Unfortunately the Negative Man has already set up for a biological spore to be released in the air of the meeting place, and all Spider-man does, by showing up, is put himself in the same danger as the others. The issue ends with him lying on the floor gasping for his life. Is this the end of Spider-man? Obviously not. But it is an interesting story. Apparently we're going back to the more angst ridden Peter . . as opposed to the married, well adjusted, and working one. Which is . . . ok. I guess. As long as they don't drag it out for to long. And now, we're on our 3 times a month schedule. I'll give it a month or 2, and then I'll weigh in on how I think that is going. But, overall, I liked the book. I like Dan Slott's stories, and, I think, Steve McNiven has become an incredibly talented artist. We'll just have to see where it goes from here.

Spawn #174 - Image

I really only had 1 problem with this book . . . I feel like I just read the same story . . a couple of months ago in Ghost Rider. Seriously! It was the same kind of premise. A little different . . but . . a lot the same. Which is sad, because I think David Hine is really doing well with these stories. I'm just confused about why we had to go back to the Wild Wild West, when there's such an interesting story-line going on with Al and his family. Maybe it's a filler book . . but, I'd rather just read about Al. I will say though that the art team of Bing Cansino and Geirrod Van Dyke really have something special going on. The interior work is like a piece of art. Seriously! This book . . or rather this story-line, just seems a little predictable. But maybe that's just me. Overall I enjoyed the book . . it's just . . like I said . . I felt like I just got done reading a very similar story. If it wasn't for that . . it would be awesome. But to me . . it felt like a copy. Sorry!

Booster Gold #6 - DC

I'm really not complaining about this book . . . because I really do enjoy it. It's fresh and original . . and the way the stories are set up it's not as predictable as a regular book. My questions come in on how they're going to handle the explanations of things. I'll admit, I do peak ahead some times, so I know that the way they're going to hide Ted is to keep him in the time-stream with Booster. But . . . what about Max? Max was supposed to die also . . at the hands of Wonder Woman. So is he still dead . . or not? And if Wonder Woman didn't kill him, than the whole last 2 years of her story-lines are pretty much moot . . . including the Amazon war. And my only question about the 3 Blue Beetle's that help Booster out is . . why would the one from the 27th century need to hide his identity? I mean, it is about 500 years in the future . . . how would it have any relevance in today's world? It's just a question. But, overall, I'm really diggin' this book. Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz are doing a fantastic job with the stories. With Geoff's help, the dialogue and interaction between characters is fantastic. Jamie keeps telling his Scarab that it's suggestions are to lethal, and Dan is amazed at how easily he communicates with it. And Dan Jurgens artwork is some of his best I've ever seen. Which I also think is due in part to his inker, Norm Rapmund. They appear to work very well together. Like I said, the thing I really like about this book . . is that, with the timeline theme, things aren't as predictable as they are in normal stories. And, even if they do deal with something that we know how it's going to turn out, the steps to getting there may not be what we expected. I'm really looking forward to this book every month. Great job, guys!