Rann-Thanagar Holy War #8 - DC

I absolutely love Jim Starlin's cosmic odysseys. To me, this is where he has always been at this peak, and the most comfortable. I'm starting to wonder though, just who exactly are these Aberrant Six that Synnar talked about when he confronted Hawkman and Adam Strange. Obviously, those 2 are part of it, but . . this group now consists of Comet, Bizarro, the Weird, Animal Man, Starfire, Starman and Tiggorr. That's about 9 characters all together. So who exactly are the Six? I know. It's not that big of a deal. I was just wondering. Anyways, Adam's big plan this issue is to, obviously, take out Synnar. However, in the process, he also wants to help, if not save, the population of Rann. Even with everything being thrown at him he ends up pulling it off, but . . there's a lot that goes down. First of all, Prince Gaven is still pretty peeved about the destruction of his planet. Sorry. His planet's still there. The populace was wiped out. So far he's blamed it on Adam Strange. But, when they end up accidentally shooting down Lady Styx's command ship, she comes out exposing herself and now Starman has a new target. He doesn't show any mercy when he attacks her. The next part of the plan is for the Weird to power-up, to the critical mass point, and then they're going to teleport him into Synnar and blow him up. However what they don't know is that all of this is part of Synnar's plan. "Continued transformation onto the higher planes is at hand. Even in defeat Synnar shall triumph! As mighty as Synnar's personage was, still it was no match for him whom I must eventually face and vanquish. That contest will require power far in excess of that which I presently possess. Infinite power is the goal. And infinite power is what I shall gain! None suspect how deceptive this moment truly is. Despite all appearances to the contrary, this is not death. It is but transformation." But while the Weird is powering up . . I think he realizes how they may be playing into Synnar's plans. He looks as if he has a moment of clarity. So I'm thinking he may have done something to mess with Synnar's plans a bit . . as much as he could . . because on the final page, when Synnar is reborn . . he appears to be in the Weirds form. He looks like he could be the Dark Weird. And he's thinking . . . "Resurrection amid desolation. But . . . this is not as it should be." But, at the same time, Adam did get all the Rannians transported to Prince Gaven's Throneworld. With the Prince's cooperation, and acceptance, he welcomes them and dubs the world . . . "New Rann!" As brilliant as Jim's scripts were for this series, I'm equally as impressed with Ron Lim's pencils. When this series first started, I was a bit disappointed that Jim wasn't going to be drawing his own series. But, now that I've seen it, I think Ron did a great job of expressing Jim's vision. We also have a new mini-series coming soon . . . another Strange Adventures mini-series. I don't know a lot of specifics about it yet . . other than Jim will be writing it. But I'm sure our Aberrant Six will be involved. We'll probably see some more about Synnar and the Weirds fate. Plus, we don't really know what happened to Lady Styx through all of this. She could be dead, but . . we've thought that before.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #7 - DC

There's a problem here that I don't think that Adam Strange is grasping yet. Our group of heroes . . Synarr refers to them as the aberrant six . . is trying to put a kink in Synarr's plans to become omnipotent. He already refers to himself as Synarr the Demiurge . . basically, the architect of God. But I guess he has to obtain more power before he can consider himself God's equal . . which apparently is his plan. So right now our group is trying to cut off his power source. There's a couple of problems though. First off is a barrier that Synarr has constructed to shield his presence during this process . . from god . . and to keep anyone out that might thwart his plans. He's a little late for that because the aberrant six are inside of the barrier. However, Sardath, or any of the Rannian fleet cannot permeate the barrier to assist in the battle. Adam does see, in the distance, that Lady Styx is approaching with her full fleet. So he has a plan to attack from the inside, with the assist of Lady Styx attacking from the outside. The Zeta beam will not crack the shell, but Captain Comet's teleportation powers can. Anyways, the part I don't think that Adam is comprehending is that by doing this . . creating this conflict and loss of life . . he's playing right into Synarr's plan. In order for him to obtain god-hood, I think he has to survive Armageddon . . . which Adam and his group is graciously supplying him. I love the way that Jim Starlin constructs these cosmic odysseys. This is definitely his forte. The only thing that I would improve upon this series, is that it would be nice if Jim also did the pencils. But, I think that Ron Lim is a more than adequate fill-in. His pencils do a good job of capturing the grandiose space-opera that is unfolding here. I hope these characters stick together and move on to another story after this one. I think they make a great . . and diverse . . team. Only 1 more issue to go . . it should be a doozy.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #6 - DC

This is basically a recap issue. Not a recap of the whole series, but . . a retelling of the origins and evolution of the Nameless One . . Synnar. It has all the grandeur and posturing of one of Jim Starlin's cosmic odysseys. It's actually quite beautiful in it's scope and scale. He's trying to rise to power without the attention of anyone . . including the Supreme Being, God . . until he feels that he's amped up enough to be considered a legitimate threat. But right now our group of heroes are trapped on the planet that Synnar is transforming into his new seat of power. And apparently he's got the whole sector of space closed off with a force-field so that no one can interfere with his plans. However, it appears that Lady Styx, and her fleet of followers are on their way to this location also. Our warriors try to put up a fight. Actually they kind of lose track of Bizarro . . their only real power-house. When he's caught the attention of Synnar . . Synnar takes him down rather abruptly. Their resolve becomes dissipated rather quickly. "Adam, our prospects for survival are rapidly swirling down the drain. Bizarro was the heaviest hitter in our arsenal. Now he's out of action before we even begin taking on the worst nightmare any of us can imagine. In other words, we are very and extremely screwed. We desperately need a savior of our own!" I wondering if they might end up turning to Lady Styx . . making a deal with the devil, as it were. I love what Jim has created here. It's a fantastic tale. I'm also enjoying Ron Lim pencils on it. I wish Jim was pencilling his own stuff, but . . Ron's a pretty decent fill in. With only 2 issues to go . . the best is yet to come.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #5 - DC

This whole issue, really, was about the resurrection of Master Synnar into the form of Lord Synnar. Actually, from what I understand, it's the resurrection of the Nameless One . . the god that Deacon Dark worships, but this time around he's taken the name . . Lord Synnar. Deacon Dark is the one that's trying to make all of these events . . prophesies . . happen according to the time-line in which they were prophesied. That's why he's actually been instigating the war between the Ranns and the Thanagarians. He wants them, and Adam Strange's team, distracted so he can go about his unholy duties unfettered. And so far he's been pretty successful. The wild-card in this whole thing is Lady Styx. She has her own agenda, and she not to enthusiastic about the return of the Nameless One . . Lord Synarr. But for some reason, on her way to either Rann or Hardcore Station . . we don't really know which, she decides to swing by Throneworld. That's the home of Starman, Prince Gavyn. Anyways, by the time Adam and his team get there, she's wiped out the whole planet and it's entire population. Prince Gavyn had Bizarro there to aid in his fight against Lady Styx, but Adam and his team needed him for their fight on Rann. He thought that he'd get him back in time, before Lady Styx and her fleet arrived. Apparently they were wrong and now he feels responsible for the entire incident. Plus he knows as much as Prince Gavyn has a hard-on for retribution against Lady Styx . . he's wondering if he might be in his cross-hairs also. But that may be an event for a future story. The form that the Nameless One has taken is the one that Hawkman and Adam Strange saw in their visions . . you know, in the special one-shots. So I'm wondering if this group may be the Aberrant Six that Synarr spoke of in those visions . . Hawkman, Adam Strange, the Weird, Captain Comet, Prince Gavyn and Bizarro. We still don't know all the details about that group other than it's part of Hawkman's and Adam Strange's future. Plus we don't know if Starfire or Tiggorr figure into that mix in some way. However, at the end of this issue, the future's looking pretty bleak for this corner of the universe. As I've said, obviously, Jim Starlin is a master at the tales of cosmic conflict. And I really hope that when all's said and done that he'll be the creative force behind this aspect of the DC Universe. It really couldn't be in better hands. Also I think Ron Lim is the perfect fit for his tales. Barring Jim pencilling his own work, Ron conveys much of the same feel in his. I like where this book seems to be going, and I hope that Jim has another tale lined up after it. Keep 'em coming buddy!

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #4 - DC

This was an interesting issue, but I don't know that it would have been nearly as good without the scripts of Jim Starlin. We don't learn a whole lot more this issue, about what's going on, but Jim does keep it interesting with all the conflicts and battles that are being waged because of the tensions here. Last issue Synnar was brought back, and, in the Hawkman Special, we also see that this debacle has gained the attention of the Nameless One. Add to that Lady Styx involvement, and we have a holy, or unholy, trinity going on here. When it come down to it, this whole thing is a religious war. Really, that's the only way to describe it. But now the actual deity's that these various factions worship, are actually involved. We do learn that part of the chronal transmissions that Adam Strange and his team have picked up are because Deacon Dark went back in time to bring Synnar to the future. We all thought that after he fought the Justice League, all those years ago, that he had died. If indeed an entity of his power can truly die. But, in actuality, Dark absconded with him immediately following that battle. So, while he's here now, he's also not at peak power because of the energy he had just expended there. Adam's team isn't aware of that though because he's still awfully powerful. Also Adam, convinced that the recent arrival to their system of Bizarro . . that he's the only one powerful enough to stand up to Synnar, and save Rann. However, Bizarro is currently on Throneworld, because of Star-man, to try to save it from the advancement of Lady Styx's forces. Adam has to make a decision. He decides to give Rann a chance. However, in the process, Lady Styx completely wipes out Throneworld and it's population. Star-man is overwhelmed with anger, and Adam is filled with remorse and self-doubt. That's how the issue ends, with our team at it's lowest. The Adam Strange special is going to fit nicely between this issue and the next. There's a spot in this story where Adam seems to 'zone-out' . . that's where the Special fits in. Like I said, Jim is the perfect writer for this story. And if he can't also be the penciller, then Ron Lim fits perfectly with Jim's style. Jim is still doing the covers, but Ron is doing the interiors. I'm hoping that this series will lead to a resurrection of the 'Space' stories that used to exist in the DC Universe. And hopefully Jim Starlin will be the architect to that aspect of the DC line. There's a lot of opportunity here. I just hope they jump on it.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #3 - DC

Again, I'm feeling a little let down by the artist this issue. I enjoy Ron Lim's pencils. I've followed his career all the way back to Ex-Mutants. But in this issue, it feels like he wasn't entirely there. A lot of the panels look like he just did some rough sketches and the inker, Rob Hunter, finished things. Ron's usual style doesn't come through . . on a lot of it. But, that being said, I still enjoyed the issue. I think it's fantastic that all of these cosmic heroes are coming together in the same place. Besides what you see on the cover, we've also got Starman, Bizarro, Hawkman and LEGION. I assume, eventually, we'll see more of the Omega Men, but right now Tigorr is thier only representative. Also, it's starting to seem that this whole confrontation is evolving around religious fervor . . from all sides. We got the Lady Styx movement on Rann. The Thanagarians are now enlisted in the Eternal Light Corporation Church. And this issue Deacon Dark brings back a religious icon . . or rather tyrant . . from the past, Synnar. Why does it seem like everything always comes down to politics or religion . . or both? Jim Starlin is constructing his usual grandiose space-opera here. Now, it seems, he has all the characters in place. Pretty soon everyone will start picking sides and fighting for what they believe to be the truth. It appears our group of star-bound heroes hear are going to be the only voices of reason. I hope they'll be able to be heard.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #2 - DC

Unfortunately, Jim Starlin is not also drawing this book. However, if he has to pick someone to pick-up that part of the creative process for him . . . Ron Lim is the perfect choice. These two really seem to gel well together. Although Jim is turning in some fantastic covers. I really like that they're allowing Jim to basically put this whole "outer-space" part of the DC Universe together. He's the one that created Hardcore Station. And he's just finished the Death of the New Gods saga. Fantastic series by the way. And now he's moving on to work on Rann & Thanagar. And where better to start than the holy war that's beginning to brew between the two. Sure he's going to be taking both civilizations through some terrible strife, but . . in the end . . this will create the foundation for the new normalcy in this part of the DC Universe. It looks like he's bringing back some old favorites also. It appears that the Omega Men will be involved in this whole thing . . in some form or another. Also the Weird, which Jim also created, is back. Although, he never really left. It appears that he's just been exploring the planet while he waited for Adam Strange's return. On a personal note . . I would also like to see L.E.G.I.O.N. involved. After all this is their neck of the woods, and I assume they're still together and functioning. Anyways, as we all know, from Jim's work both here at DC and at Marvel, these epic cosmic dramas are definitely his forte. I commend DC. They couldn't have picked anyone better for this formidable task. Sit back, and enjoy.

Countdown to Mystery #8 - DC

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For a mini-series, it seems like we went through an awful lot of creative changes, at the end. But, that's ok . . it all worked out. In the final installment of the Eclipso story, it seems as if Crispus is finally grasping the full extent of the Spectre's powers. Well . . either that or he's figured out when it's best to be the back-seat driver. He really gave Eclipso a good beating. At the end of last issue, it was looking a little iffy. It seemed as if Crispus, or the Spectre, may have finally been in a situation over their head. Crispus relinquished control over to the Spectre, but during the battle started having visions about what would happen to the Earth should either of them win. Neither side of the coin looked very promising. That's when he decided he needed to talk to Eclipso as a man. Actually both ways . . Crispus, and Bruce Gordon. He got Bruce to see that he was being selfish. "You've got to let go, Bruce! Let go of your need to prove yourself, to show everyone how right you are! Let go!" He does. And, together, they take out Eclipso. In the end it looks as if Bruce and Mona may just be able to work things out. But we've still got 3 possible story-threads here. First of all, where do Bruce and Mona go from here? Secondly, how are the Spectre and Crispus going to work out this control issue that they both seem to have? And finally, the ghost that's been following the Spectre around, William Hanson . . he's still floating around out there. And, it doesn't seem as if he's learned a lesson from all of this. So my guess? He's going to pop up some how, some where. Now . . the Doctor Fate story-line. This one was interesting . . but for a different reason. Maddy has adorned the Helmet of Fate, and finds herself in Negal's realm. Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson, and Inza Fox both seem to be out of commission. Somehow she uses her knowledge of magic . . plus, I'm sure, a little coaxing from the Helmet . . do defeat Negal. But it took the connection of all 3 of them to hold him off. Which ended up being diversion enough that some being from . . Heaven? . . stepped in and blew Negal away. That whole part was a little confusing. They decide that in order for the Helmet to empower Doctor Fate, the 3 of them should stick together. And they stroll off into the sunset to have eggs. Adam Beechen wrote this final chapter of the story. But . . that wasn't the end. As a tribute to Steve Gerber . . who started this story, and recently passed . . there were 3 other endings presented . . each by different writers. By Mark Evanier, Mark Waid and Gail Simone. It doesn't really matter what happened in each, because they were all variations of the same theme. But, the most touching part of the whole thing was little message from Gail at the end. She talks about the legacy that Steve's stories left people . . "It's okay to be odd. Embrace being different. Ignore expectations. Fight when called for, laugh in adversity. Perfection is dull and overrated, and heroism is almost never about hitting people. Sometimes, heroism is about merely staying alive when staying alive seems damn near impossible." Truly . . words to live by.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War #1 - DC

This story picks up shortly after the Countdown to Adventure series. The main theme of this book is that Rann and Thanagar are observing a peace that appears to be on a very thin tite-rope. In the Adventure book, Adam Strange, Animal Man and Starfire caused the outbreak of the Lady Styx virus, that nearly drove both their planets insane. Luckily, and with the help of some friends, they figured out how to cure it. However, now a lot of Rannians . . still believe. Adam explains it that they've believed in nothing but science for so long, they need something else to latch on to. At the same time, the Thanagarians are also experiencing a religious revival. They've recently turned away from their fanatical belief in Onimar Synn . . he did almost get them all killed. Instead they've chosen to believe in the Eternal Light Corporation, the ELC. You remember . . that was the religion that was taking over Hardcore Station in the Mystery in Space series. Well alot of this story takes place on Hardcore, and Deacon Dark is back also. It's bad enough that these 2 races are separated by politics, now they're going to be at odds over religious choice also. Obviously most of this story takes place on Rann and Thanagar . . they are the 2 worlds destined to create the next cosmic conflict. At least if you're to believe the title. But, Earth, Hardcore Station and Throneworld are also going to be involved somehow. Earth and Hardcore are a no-brainer. Their involvement is actually inevitable. But I'm not exactly sure how Throneworld fits in to the whole thing. All we really see this issue is that Prince Gavyn, Starman has come home to find that his planet is being decimated by . . . Bizarro. I'm not sure what either of these characters has to do with this conflict, but I'm sure we'll find out. We also have the Omega Men and the Teen Titans thrown into the mix. This issue ends with a suicide bomber taking out Captain Comet . . er, I mean . . Comet. There's a lot of stuff going on, for the first issue. This series is written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Ron Lim. They also did the last 3 issues of Mystery in Space together. I'm expecting a lot out of this series . . especially with these 2 heavy weights involved. I'm interested to see how all these various characters will interact with one-another.

Countdown to Mystery #7 - DC

This is another book with huge potential, but I'm wondering where it's going to go after the final issue . . #8. They've really done a fantastic job of building up these 2 characters . . actually 3, if you count the Spectre . . but I'm not sure if there's any future plans for any of them. I know they were planning this big Doctor Fate thing, after the one-shots where the helmet was flying around all over the place to attach to different recipients. But I haven't heard if they just decided to publish this before that . . or what. They've got the previews out through August, but I don't see anything on the list for Doctor Fate or Eclipso. Last issue Kent was sick of the helmet and gave it to the girl that runs the Mystic-shop. She's thrilled to death, because she never had anything with this type of power. However, when she puts it on, she finds out that it's really more than she can deal with. In fact, through the helmet, she becomes a slave of Negal's. When she finally arrives at his realm, Kent is also there in some type of chrysalis form. It happened when he fell asleep in the hotel. And while cowering at his feet, we find out what Negal's true purpose is . . "I want to be certain that no entity bearing the mantle of Doctor Fate . . walks any path in any reality ever again." This story was by Steve Gerber and Adam Beechen. And in the main story, Bruce Gordon, Eclipso, after using his new found powers to release everyone from Eclipso's spell . . Hawk & Dove, and the Creeper and Plastic Man . . is forced by one of Eclipso's minions, and his homo-magi companion, to become one with the recently recreated Heart of Darkness. That's the true source of Eclipso's powers before it was captured and diminished by Darkseid. The problem is, once Eclipso has been let loose, and merged with the Heart . . he is nigh unstoppable. The Spectre follows him to the moon to give it a shot, but he's interrupted by William Hanson, the ghost that's been following Crispus Allen around . . and he's got all the ghosts of everybody the Spectre has reigned judgment upon. Between these 2 forces this may be more than even the Spectre can handle. This stories brought to us by Matthew Sturges and Chad Hardin. Next issue marks the end of this series. Like I said, I hope they have something planned for them, because right now . . all 3 of them . . have become larger than life characters. And I don't think that they'll enjoy be relegated to the creative abyss. So, what do you have for us? Let us know!

DC Universe: Zero - DC

I've been looking forward to this book for a while now. Unfortunately, this particular issue is only a prelude. Or . . a tease, if you will. But the good news is that it gives us a little vision of almost every story-line that's going to be rocking the DC Universe this summer. And there's some really big stuff in store. First we get a little vision of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds. Obviously it's in the future, and it looks like Superboy-prime is back. He's united all the villains against Superman and the Legion. The George Perez art looks incredible. Next we look in to the Batman RIP story-line. It'll be by the regular Batman team of Grant Morrison and Tony S Daniel. It has the Joker as one of it's leading characters, and it looks equally as impressive. Next we see how the gods are going to turn their back on Wonder Woman. It'll be brought to us by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. The Green Lantern book with go through it's Blackest Night story-line. Again by the regular creative team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. There's a Final Crisis: Revelations story-line, which looks like it'll be a major turning point for the Spectre . . and Crispus Allen. Also I think it'll be Phillip Tan's first DC work. And the book that'll tie everything all together will be the Final Crisis book, by Grant Morrison and JG Jones. I'm not sure, but it looks to me like the regular Justice League book is going to play a big part in all the happenings also. I hope they've used up their vacation time, because I think Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison are going to have a seriously busy summer. But I'll tell you what, if they're going to revamp the DC Universe . . it couldn't be in better hands than these two. But the really incredible part is, besides these two brilliant writers, they have some top-rated artistic talent lined up for the whole shebang. It's only May, but already I can't wait for summer to start. Let's get it on!

Countdown to Final Crisis #1 - DC

Well . . this is the end of the Countdown. Or . . actually . . last issue's fight between Darkseid and Orion was the end. This . . this is as the title suggests . . Loose Ends. Basically, we see where all the Challengers, that we've come to know and love, over the previous months, have decided to do after their adrenaline pumped, universe spanning, adventure. Unfortunately, they all, in their own way, feel let down. Bored! Morose! Which is why, one by one, they all start showing up at Ray's house. Well except for . . the Piper. He's decided "This is my chance to settle some unfinished business . . this time on the side of the Angels." Jason Todd, who's gone back to his one man show, Gotham Chainsaw Massacre, or Jason Krueger: Nightmare on any street. Mary Marvel, who's decided to feel her oats and tries to take out Black Adam. And Buddy Blank, who on his world, has gotten a gift from Brother Eye and is now OMAC. Not the mindless drones that have been buzzing around lately, but the OMAC from the Jack Kirby mini-series back in the 70's. It's about time. Oh yeah . . also Harley and Holly haven't quite decided what they're going to do yet, but . . they'll probably be doing it together. Whatever "it" is. Meanwhile, the rest of our group . . Kyle, Donna, Ray (reluctantly), and Humbug or Ambush Bug or Forager or whatever her name is . . . have decided that they're going to be the one's to . . . Monitor the Monitors. Remember that question from the original Crisis series back in the 80's . . Who Monitors the Monitors? Well . . now we know. I just wonder if they know what they've bitten off here. And how will the punish them if they're bad? I guess we'll just have to wait for that story . . sometime in the near future . . I hope. Like I said, I thought this issue was anti-climatic . . but . . I still enjoyed it. There's still a lot of plot threads hanging on this one. And we still have Final Crisis, The War That Time Forgot, The Rann/Thanagar War, the Legion of 3 Worlds Crisis . . and anything else I'm leaving out . . coming up this summer, so . . don't think for a second that things have calmed down. You know what they say . . this is the end . . the end of the beginning.

Countdown to Final Crisis #2 - DC

This issue really comes down to two things . . . Darkseid . . . and Orion. Orion? I thought he was dead. Well . . obviously not. At the end of last issue, Ray Palmer, who had been hiding at Atom size inside of Jimmy, turned off the device that was going to allow Darkseid to claim all the New God's powers that he had been storing there. With nothing to hold him back, Jimmy went on the offensive and started giving Darkseid a good ol' fashioned throw-down. This issue Ray finds something else inside of Jimmy. We don't really know what it is, but I'm guessing it's the device that the powers were being stored in. Ray jumps out of Jimmy, causing him, I think, to shrink down and revert back to normal, and crushes the device in front of Darkseid. He's pissed. But before he can do anything . . Orion boom-tube's in from god only knows where. Then there's a serious thrown down. Long story short . . Orion ends up ripping Darkseids fiery heart right out of his body. And really, it was the way this story had to end . . father against son . . "the king is dead, long live the king". And then there was 1. 1 New God, and 1 chapter left in this story. Well . . 2 if you count the #0 issue. First this cover was graced by the excellent Adam Kubert. The interiors for this issue, and I think the previous 2, were by Scott Kolins. I'm sad that this series is coming to it's conclusion, but . . sometimes, the end is only the beginning. Or . . the beginning of . . the end. There's lots of stuff coming up this summer . . out of these story-lines, and I can't wait to see the changing face of the DC Universe when all's said and done. It is, after all, going to be . . the Final Crisis. I can't wait!

Countdown to Final Crisis #3 - DC

Well, it turns out that our team actually is back on Earth . . the right Earth . . and they've made contact with the Justice League, to ask for their help. Meanwhile, Mary has taken Jimmy to Darkseid. He's decided that he's wants all those powers back that he's been storing inside of him. "Brace yourself Red. This is the part where Darkseid tears open your ribcage and beats the living hell outta your vital organs." But, as if right on cue, Superman shows up to help his buddy out. He and Darkseid just start going at it. Shortly after, the rest of the heroes, as well as Forager, show up to try to help with Mary. Darkseid, however has a contingency plan set up. He's got some kind of Apokalyptic device inside of Jimmy that let's him control his powers. He can turn them on or off. Now he's turned them on and has his whole body acting like a Kryptonite reactor. However, remember when Ray disappeared last issue? Well, it turns out he's been hiding out in Jimmy's bloodstream. He finds the devices and then does the best he can to short circuit them. It seems like it's just in time. Mary has just gotten done giving a beat down to all the heroes, and Superman lies unconscious at Darkseid's feet. But with the control shut off, now Jimmy can control the powers and he looks like a giant when he starts to attack Darkseid. Can you believe there's only 3 issues to go. I'm counting the #0 issue also. This issue was deftly drawn by Freddie Williams II. He did a fantastic job. It's really going to be a nail-biter right to the very end. What a series!

Countdown to Final Crisis #4 - DC

Well after last issue, where they single-handedly destroy the Earth that Solomon had sent them to . . they get a bit of a respite this issue. But . . not much. As you can see from the cover, Mary is trying to come to terms with herself. Does she like her wholesome image . . or, does she enjoy the power? She sways towards the power this issue, but I don't think she's fully committed yet. I believe she can come back. Anyways, when the world was almost done last issue, Jimmy boom-tubed everyone back to what hopefully is their real Earth. For all intents and purposes it appears to be, but we don't really get anything solid to confirm that with this issue. Never-the-less, everybody splits up because they just want to go home. However, that's when Mary runs in to a bit of trouble, because at her home . . she finds Darkseid waiting for her. And he has in his hands, literally, the power that she left behind back on Apokolips. He's willing to give it to her and all he wants in return is . . . Jimmy Olsen. It appears that Karate Kid or Una didn't make the trip with them this time, so Ray Palmer seems to be a little lost. What's his purpose now if not to stop the Great Disaster. It's almost anti-climatic for him. But the rest of the team? They have a new mission because Mary does indeed come back and swoops up Jimmy. So now . . they're going to have to find him. A fantastic issue, with only 4 to go. With everything that I read that's planned . . I think it's going to be a busy summer in the DC Universe.

Countdown to Adventure #8 - DC

This ended up being a great series. Adam Beechen and Allan Goldman, ended up having some work to be very proud of here. Allan hasn't been around for long, that I know of, but I first noticed him on the Superman titles. I thought he was ok. However, as he's progressed through this book . . he has definitely improved. This guy has some serious potential. Anyways, when they recharged Kory, she used her powers to cure Rann. Now they're back on Earth, and she needs to do the same thing for these people. However, the Healers have their drones flying all over the place . . and up everybody's you-know-what! Eventually, Buddy uses his new powers to communicate with the Healers, and gets them to call off the cleansing until they can try to cure things with Kory. After all of that, it's kind of anti-climatic. Adam goes back to Rann to be it's champion . . Kory's going back to the Titans . . and Buddy decides he just going to settle in and enjoy his family for a while. Well . . that is, until the Rann / Thanagar war explodes. Also Lady Styx is not very happy about he set-back on these 2 worlds. In the backup, Forerunner, after commandeering a Thanagarian vessel, finds out that . . . it's out of gas. So they're stuck . . floating around space. That is until they come across this galaxy farm. It's a place where new planets are born, until they can be taken out to the star-system in which they'll live. Long story short, she ends up escorting the planet, but in order to protect it, she has to give it some of her blood so it can make anti-bodies. Actually more like Golems . . to fight the invading horde. Obviously they win, but the planet offers her a new place to call home. It'll be teaming with live soon, and since she gave up some of her blood, all of it, down to the smallest amoeba, will basically be a descendant of her. She can have a whole new family. One that doesn't have to fight and struggle to maintain an existence. She accepts, so, I think, the story of Forerunner . . is actually just beginning. I thought it was a very good series. It had a lot of action and suspense, not to mention a great cast of characters. I just hope we get to see more of these guys in the near future. Keep it coming!

Countdown Presents - Lord Havok and the Extremists #6 - DC

This issue confuses me a little bit. But maybe it's just a clerical error. There's been several issues that, on the top right corner of the cover, it says issue #2 (of 8), or as is the case this issue . . #6 (of 8). Now when I look back, issues #3,4 & 5 all say (of 6). And obviously, as is the case with this issue, 6 is the total number, because at the end of this book . . . it's the end. They leave their world and take off with Monarch. I liked how Frank Tieri progressed this story though. We've gone through the story, from issue to issue, but at the same time he's introduced us to each of the Extremists and given us a look in to their history. This issue we focus on the title character himself, Lord Havok. We see how he came from his childhood in Russia, as the deformed son of Czar Nikolai III. He was excited in anticipation of his son's birth, Alexi. But when he was born with several birth defects his father basically abandoned him and disowned him. But with his mother's help, he realized his potential as the brilliant scientific mind that he is. As we're seeing this story unfold, were also seeing how Americommando and his troops have invaded Havok's sovereign country. Of course he has the help of Monarch and his group of baddies also. But it seems as if Havok's regards towards Monarch, have been nothing but contempt, since they met. His only concern, really, is to lure Americommando, and the rest of his Meta-Militia, into his fortified room. It's a room that negates the powers of anyone who enters, except those of his fellow Extremists. Once they're beaten, for Havok, the war is over. That's when he decides that he and his group should join up with Monarch. I believe he has other reasons, but, right now, they're his own. Liam Sharp obviously did the cover of this issue. I believe he also had more of a hand with the interiors this time. On the interiors, it's almost like he did every-other issue during this series. Which is really to bad, because he's the main reason I started buying the book. But it ended up, overall, that I really enjoyed this series. I like the way it ties in to the Countdown storyline, and I really like these characters. Hopefully we'll see them somewhere soon in the near future.

Countdown to Final Crisis #5 - DC

This issue, as well as the last, is told from the perspective of Buddy Blank. On this world Buddy is a scientist at Cadmus and is present when our Challengers arrive with their doomsday prophesies. Cadmus and Dubbilex do everything they can to try to figure out this Morticoccus and hopefully synthesize a antidote. But, from the moment the heroes arrived on this planet . . they doomed it. Val is already dead, so the virus is looking for a new host. When they try to tap his spine, the virus actually manifests itself in the shape of a giant tape-worm of sorts. It's actually very powerful. Buddy chronicles the fall of their civilization. But he's worried about his daughter and grandson. When everybody else at Cadmus gives up and decides they want to spend their final moments with their loved ones, Buddy also decides to make sure his kin is ok. With Una's help he does make it to their apartment. While the boy is ok, his daughter has been infected. As well as every cat, dog and rodent in the building. They travel to the roof to escape, but that where they find his infected daughter. Una probably could've handled her own against just the woman, but then the rodents start swarming over her and it's all she can do to keep her head up. Before she goes down though, she tosses he Legion ring to Buddy and tells him to save his grandson. He doesn't really want to, but he knows there's no hope for her. Luckily, since he worked for the government, he knows where all the bases are, and he goes to the Command D Bunker and decides to make it their new home. From there he reactivates Brother Eye so he can use it's satellite imagery to view what's going on in the rest of the world. As he's looking at his sleeping grandson, he's thinking, "I can only hope that one day, he'll forgive me . . . for making him the last boy on Earth." Now that sounds familiar. Either this is the world from the original OMAC series, by Jack Kirby . . . or . . it's the world of Kamandi. Pretty sneaky there. By the by, when the civilization is pretty much gone, and there's nothing else they can do, the Challengers use the mother-box to create a boom-tube to take them elsewhere. The question is . . where did they go? I like that this book is keeping up it's momentum, right to the very end. They actually have Jim Starlin doing the pencils on this issue. Fantastic! Only 5 more issues to go.

Countdown to Final Crisis #6 - DC

Well this is it. The great disaster is upon us. Well . . not upon us exactly . . actually it's upon the Earth that Solomon, the Monitor, sent all these heroes too. They're at Cadmus now and they're trying to synthesize a cure for the virus that running through Karate Kid's body, Morticoccus. It's a virus from the future and the only person that actually seems immune to it is Ray Palmer. So they're trying to use his blood to synthesize a cure. But the virus is adapting to fast. We basically get a science lesson this issue. We learn just what this Morticoccus does, and how it adapts to go from body to body. This is also related to what we learn about normal viruses, and how this one is different. But, the one thing I think is being forgotten in all this . . . the silver lining if you will . . is that someone infected with this virus, is unable to be acclimated by Brother Eye. So, when Brother Eye finishes with Apokolips, and decides to focus it's attention back on Earth, and it's inhabitants, they may need to use a form of this virus to stop the spread of the OMAC's. Like I said, it's a silver lining, but, right now, it doesn't really help Val . . who's dead. So basically with this issue we see the spread of this disease over this planet and the destruction of it's inhabitants. Also this Earth's Green Lantern has gone to space to find a cure from whatever source he can. The problem is . . he's also infected, so basically he's helping it spread . . all over the galaxy. Like I said, everything's going to be coming at us fast and furious now. This issue Mike Norton does the pencils. I thought he actually did a decent job. He grown a lot since he first popped up on the Atom. I enjoyed this issue, and I can't wait to see how this whole thing wraps up.

Salvation Run #5 - DC

I really don't understand what the purpose of this book is, or where it's going, but . . I'm actually starting to like it. I think, this issue, that was helped by Joe Bennett's pencils. I really like his style. He really draws some fantastic faces . . great expressions. And his framing and flow is near perfect. He did a great job with Birds of Prey for a little while there. Matthew Sturges is the author. The story, I think, is unfolding slowly, but, I have to say, it really feels like the natural progression of events. Assuming there were actually people like this, and a world like this, and they were put into a position like this. That's a lot of assumptions. But, assuming all of that were true, this is actually how I could see it all unfolding. Right? Anyways, lots of stuff going on this issue. Joker's camp attacks Luthor's camp. It looks like Joker's actually going to beat him, even with Luthor's superior intellect, but then . . Catwoman shows back up. One thing leads to another and, basically, they all turn on her. To save her own butt, she hands over Jonn. She accidentally found out a couple issues ago that he's been posing as Blockbuster. She feels bad doing it, but she appeases herself with the fact that he's got powers and she doesn't. But despite his formidable powers they actually do take him down, working together. So really, he's united the 2 camps. We also get a view of Savage's little paradise. The women find out this issue that they were actually brought along as breeding stock. He's nothing if not ambitious. And, at the end, we find out that this world they're on is actually under the flag of Apokolips. It turns out to be a world that Desaad had set up as a training ground for para-demons. Apparently this story takes place before the current events in Countdown. Because, I believe, Desaad has already been killed. But really, that's just semantics. I actually enjoyed this issue a lot more than the previous ones. With only 2 issues to go, it'll be interesting to see how this all gets resolved. If it gets resolved!