the Flash #4 - DC

I'm enjoying Geoff Johns' story here, but . . I'm not sure that I'm exactly thrilled with Francis Manapul's art. And, I'm not ragging on the guy. He definitely has talent. I just don't know that his style is suited for this title. I don't know. Maybe it just has to grow on me. But I don't want to dwell on that, so . . it appears that Digger is going to be the wild-card in all of this. The Top, from the future, finally tells Barry what it is that's going to drive him over the edge. Remember that big piece of glass, or mirror, back at the Rogue's hideout? You know, the one that says 'In case the Flash returns break glass'. Well apparently it's a door to the mirror dimension built by the first Mirror Master, Sam Scudder. Apparently when it breaks it unleashes the Mirror Lords. Apparently one of them will posses Iris and turn her into the Mirror Mistress. Once that happens, the only way to save her before her mind is lost is to close the doorway between dimensions. And the only way to do that is to kill the person that opened it. The Top says that Flash will exhaust every option until he simply runs out of time. When out of desperation he'll go after the Mirror Master, but get the Mirror Monarch instead. Which results in a death . . Iris forever changed, and Barry wanted for murder. The Top's solution? 'This can all be changed, Flash. All you have to do is attack the Rogues before they attack you.' Unfortunately, while all of this is going on, Digger has broken out of Iron Heights and has decided that he wants his name and reputation back. And the Rogues have decided to go after the Renegades because they feel that they're tarnishing their names. Which is what we come in to next issue. We can't say that the Flash hasn't hit the ground running in this series. He's got stuff coming at him from all sides right now. Also, now that I think about it . . and look back over this issue . . there are some panels in here where Francis' art kind of has a Carmine Infantino look to it. If you didn't know, he was the definitive Flash artist through most of the 70's and some of the 80's. I didn't really see the connection before, but . . now that I look back over the issue, I can see that influence in a few spots. Anyways, I like this series so far. I still miss Wally, but I am glad that Barry is back.

the Flash #3 - DC

This is another book that I think is developing a great feel to it. Obviously, in the previous years, I've become a big Wally West fan. I mean, there wasn't really anything to compare him to . . Barry's been gone for so long. But now . . now Barry's back. And already it's becoming apparent why he's the original . . and in my opinion, the best Flash of them all. And there's a bunch of them right now. I know Johnny Lightning appears to have fallen to the Reverse-Flash, but . . when it comes to this family of heroes . . don't ever count anyone out. You just don't ever know. One of the things I love so much about Geoff Johns writing is the little subtle hints that he puts in his stories. In this issue, while the Renegades are pursuing the Flash, the Top lets it slip that if they could get Iris . . I assume he means 'get her' to protect her . . he says that if they could get her they could avoid all of this trouble. So I assume, the reason the Flash goes after the Mirror Monarch, in 84 days, is because he does something to Iris. Plus, only something that dreadful could make Barry, or anyone, break their own personal code. But . . I'm just filling in the blanks. We're going to have to wait and see. Which is another thing I love about Geoff's writing, because . . you just never really know what's going to happen. Just when you think you have it all figured out . . he throws some kind of twist in there. So . . we'll see. So there's a couple of plot-threads in the works this issue. Obviously we've got the Renegades and the Flash, but Barry's also set on pursuing these cold cases that the Dept seems to have forgotten about. And, while all of that is occurring . . we can't forget . . and Geoff won't let us . . we can't forget that Digger Harkness, Captain Boomerang is back. And . . he's changed. First of all we don't know why the White Light brought him back in the first place, but . . it appears that either than energy, or his brush with the Black Lantern rings has given him the power to generate his boomerangs at will. He doesn't need to physically have them any more. They appear to be the manifestation of some kind of energy. And . . they go 'BOOM!!'. I don't know if that's the only trick he can do with them, but . . right now, he can make them blow up. At the end of this issue, after breaking out of Iron Heights, he busts the Flash loose from the Renegades hold. Apparently he wants to know what he missed while he was gone. So next issue we'll get that classic confrontation between the Flash and Captain Boomerang. I'm sure they've both got a lot of questions for each other. This was a great issue. I can't wait to read the next one. I do have to say though . . I'm not completely sold on Francis Manapul's art on this series. Don't get me wrong, the guy's definitely talented. I just don't know that his style is right for this book. It seems to be growing on me, but . . very slowly. But . . that's just me. Also that beautiful variant cover is by Greg Horn.

the Flash #2 - DC

Last issue ended with the Flash being confronted by the Rogues. But . . not the Rogues that he knows. At least not now . . in this time-period. It's actually the 25th Century Reverse Flash Task Force . . the Renegades. Or . . RFTF, for short. And one of the members . . the Mirror Monarch has been killed. And they're here to bring his killer to justice . . the Flash. How do they know this? 'According to the Trixsters time-scope you will murder Mirror Monarch in approximately eighty-four days, seven hours and thirty-three minutes. All relative to us, of course.' But, again, we run into one of those time travel stories that leaves us with more questions than answers. Such as . . don't they think it's rather convenient that if the Mirror Monarch was killed in the future, how he ended up in the here and now? And if these guys can travel through time . . going anywhere they want . . why have they come back to this time to arrest the Flash, instead of just going to the day when the Mirror Monarch was actually killed? In the future. Not the far future . . but still. You'd think there would be more clues, or forensics, wherever, or whenever this actually happened. But I guess all the answers to those questions will unfold as does the story. Unfortunately, when Barry does actually get back to the crime-lab, and forensics has had a chance to go over the Mirror Monarch's body . . they find a drop of blood. And, of course . . it's Barry's. Meanwhile, in Iron Heights, Digger Harkness has been reincarcerated after becoming reincarnated. Don't you think that dying would be considered as time served? Anyways, they want to experiment on him. To find out why and how he came back to life. But . . the Rogues come to his rescue. Kind of. They're upset about how sloppy he became shortly before dying. So before they'll accept him back into the Rogues, they've decided to test him. 'The Flash is back. We need Captain Boomerang back, too. But you need to prove that you're still a Rogue. This time you break out of Iron Heights yourself . . and then you make the Flash sweat.' I'm glad that Geoff Johns is writing this series, because . . if it was anybody else, I'd be concerned about where they're going with all of this. But since he's had experience with Booster Gold . . hopefully he has a plan, and it'll all come together. I know these time-travel stories have to be meticulously planned out, but . . sometimes it just feels like they throw all the pieces in the air and them scramble trying to put everything all back together. I trust that Geoff doesn't approach it that way, but . . sometimes I wonder if they're worth the effort. However, despite having said that . . I like this series and I'm glad that Barry is back. My only complaint . . and it's a small one, is that I'm still trying to get use to Francis Manapul's interpretation of this character. Don't get me wrong . . I appreciate Francis' talent, but . . his style with this character is so different from anything done in the past . . it just doesn't fit right for me. Yet! But I'm sure it will with time. And . . I still think that Wally needs to have his own series.

the Flash #1 - DC

Overall . . I enjoyed this book. I'm glad that Barry is back. However . . to be perfectly honest . . I much prefer the Wally Flash over the Barry Flash. Wally's character always just seemed so much more full of life . . and character. Don't get me wrong. Barry's a good guy. One of the best, actually. But to me, as a reader, Wally's character just appeals to me more. But, having said that . . it really doesn't matter because this is a book about Barry. A lot of what happens in this issue comes directly out of the Flash Secret Files book that I read last week. Most of what we learned there you could pick up on in this issue, but I think it was nicer coming into this one with a feeling for what's going on in Barry's life, Central City and with the Rogues. Although nothing in all of that really prepared me for the ending of this issue. I enjoyed the personality that Geoff Johns has given Iris' character. She's been a major influence in Barry's life for quite a while, but she's always been treated like a supporting character. I'm glad that Geoff has given her a little more prominence. And I like the dynamic that being portrayed in the crime lab. Barry's the new kid on the block, even though, really, he isn't. So he has to meet them in the middle, rather than them coming to him. It'll be interesting to see how Barry handles that. But the mystery that is presenting itself this issue is what looks like the death of Mirror Master. Although after looking at the body, Barry is sure that it's not Sam Scudder or Evan McCulloch. At the end of the issue we find out that he's actually a Rogue from the 25th century . . the Mirror Monarch. How does he know this? Because the other Rogues, lead by Commander Cold, have come back from the future to arrest Barry for his murder. 'You haven't killed him yet. But, you will.' Oh, and I guess they're no longer the Rogues. They're the Renegades. I thought it was an ok first issue. Not overly exciting. But really this one was just to get our feet on the ground. Or, Barry's . . as it were. I think we got a good feel for some of the stuff going on here. I'm sure Geoff will expand upon things more in future issues. I'm not overly thrilled with Francis Manapul's art. It's ok. I think it just needs to grow on me. It's just a lot different style that any of the previous Flash books . . the recent ones. But I'm still glad that Barry's back. And we get a preview showing that his life is going to be changing even more. There's a new series coming out next year by Geoff, Andy Kubert and Paul Neary titled Flashpoint. I have a feeling that things aren't going to slow down for this guy for quite a while.

the Flash - Secret Files and Origins 2010 - DC

I think this issue is mostly for the benefit of people that may not be familiar with the Flash character. Although . . I don't know who that is. It's written by Geoff Johns, so it brilliantly depicts a young Barry Allen's life shortly before his mother was killed. It was actually moving. We also find out that apparently Barry's mood and desires affect the Speed Force which also has an affect on everyone connected to it. When Barry has a dream about his mother, he goes back to their original house. It isn't long before Jay shows up. 'I felt something. I felt you were in trouble. I was drawn to this spot. To you.' And when he goes outside, he finds the rest of them waiting there also . . Wally, Jesse, Bart, Iris and Max. I guess they all felt the same pull. I thought it was a great way of showing Barry that he really has to families . . his family with Iris, and his Flash-family. We also get a story about the Rogues. Apparently Sam Scudder had set up a contingency plan for the Flash, back when he was the Mirror Master. Captain Cold takes them to his old factory where they find a giant mirror covered up. When they pull off the tarp it says . . 'In case the Flash returns break glass'. And of course this is all leading up to the 1st issue of the Flash coming out next week. I also thought it was great that Scott Kolins illustrated both of these stories. He had a really nice run on the Flash book previously. But Francis Manapul, the new artist on the book, illustrates most of the biography pages in the back. Geoff gives us lots of information on the various characters, plus . . I think, some clues into the upcoming story-lines. If you're at all interested in the new book, you should probably pick this up.

Flash Rebirth #6 - DC

I thought this was another great issue of this mini-series. The part of the story with the Reverse-Flash is wrapped up kind of quickly, but . . we also get a whole lot of information that'll lead us into the future of this character. As far as the Reverse-Flash goes . . Barry is chasing him down as he's headed to kill Iris before they even met. Well, I'm sorry. They had met. But they hadn't gone out on a date yet. Anyways, Barry has to catch him but he doesn't know if he'll be able to. He's been going non-stop pretty much ever since his return, so . . he doesn't know if he has it in him. But then Wally shows up in the Speed Force to lend him a little of his energy. They chase Thawne down, and then put him into a containment chamber that Barry's had the rest of the Flash-family, and his JLA friends building. Basically they have to cut him off from his negative Speed Force. Iris is saved, and the only thing she has to even suspect that something may have happened is the staff that the Reverse Flash was going to use to kill her. After Barry and Wally leave, the staff falls to the sidewalk next to her. I do have one question though. They restrain Thawne, because if he runs he'll become reconnected to his negative Speed Force, but . . what's to stop the guy from vibrating out of his restraints? I guess we'll just have to take it on faith that they've got him subdued well enough. Anyways, they put him in Iron Heights, there's a Flash parade, and everything is back to normal. But as fast as the Flash is . . things seem to happen around him even faster. For some reason, Thawne is put into a cell pretty close to Hunter Zolomon, Zoom. So Hunter begins talking. I don't think that was a good idea. Also, Dr Alchemy has escaped. The Rogues are planning a come-back. Captain Cold is planning on using a contingency plan, Break Glass, that Scudder came up with just in case the Flash returned. In Gorilla City, the apes are chanting in front of a depiction of the Reverse Flash. They're upset about something . . 'I fear it is worse than we imagined. He's done something to our jungles. Something unnatural.' We see what I assume is Abra Kadabra's hands playing with some Reverse-Flash puppets. 'You wanted to keep me out of this professor . . you should have made sure I was dead. I have much more up my sleeve than you can imagine.' Meanwhile Barry has gotten back to work, and trying to get his life back to normal. At the precinct he closes the case on his mother's death. It doesn't have to plague him anymore. But in the process he finds lots of other boxes. Apparently they're the unsolved cases that have happened since he left. He tells his Captain, 'Consider them mine.' And at home he's decided that he's going to slow down and enjoy his time with Iris. He'd been going nonstop since his return because he didn't want to miss anything. But in doing so he hadn't slowed down enough to see what was really important . . his life, and Iris in it. And . . he catches back up with his friends, the JLA. All in all I thought it was a good series. I didn't necessarily like the way that things were wrapped up with the Reverse-Flash this issue, but . . it is what it is . . it's done, and it's time to move on. I thought Geoff Johns did a great job of reintroducing Barry into the 21st century. And I always enjoy Ethan Van Sciver's work. It should be a seamless transition into the new series, as Geoff will also be writing it. At least for a little while. It's due out right around tax-day, and Francis Manapul will be doing the art. I included the picture of issue #1, just so you know what to expect. I assume we'll see all the other Flash characters here . . Wally, Bart, Max, Jay . . since there's only 1 series listed. But maybe . . maybe we'll get a spin-off in a little while. It wouldn't be hard. There's a lot of great characters in Barry's world. And now . . we can look towards the future.

Blackest Night: the Flash #3 - DC

I thought this was an interesting issue. I'm not going to say that I liked everything about it, but . . overall, I think because of Barry, I thought it helped to move the story forward and set things up nicely for Blackest Night #7. I'll tell you what though . . to me the part that I enjoyed the least was the part about Owen and his father, Digger. Apparently, Owen was so overwrought with grief over losing his father, that he actually believes that this Black Lantern version of him is the real thing. So Digger has convinced Owen that if he gets enough hearts that he may be able to come back to life. Owen has had him in this pit and keeps shoving people down there for him to 'eat'. And while I know that 'Digger' is just playing him, we've seen that Black Lanterns can fly. So, even if Owen is giving him what he needs, it seems like he'd be getting it a lot slower than if he just went up and joined the ranks of his Black Lantern brothers. Later when the Rogues find out what he's been doing they're disgusted because he's also fed him women and children. Snart ends up pushing Owen into the pit and Digger almost immediately removes his heart. First, I didn't like the way that whole thing went down. Secondly . . I really liked Owen's character. I'm not happy with that fact that he's going to be dead after this series is over. Anyways, through the rest of the issue the current Rogues are fighting the resurrected Rogues. They're throwing everything they have at him, to no avail. But then, when they're in Iron Heights and they brush up against the door of Eobard Thawne's cell, the Reverse-Flash . . they all become frozen in their tracks. It looks like the Black Ring is confused because it currently has the corpse of Eobard Thawne in it's control, and is fighting Barry. But here . . here hangs the living version of the same person. Anyways, Snart decides to take advantage of the confusion and use his ice-bombs to freeze the entirety of the facility. Which for some reason also freezes the Black Lantern Reverse-Flash that is currently fighting Barry. However, the part I like the best about the book is when Barry brings Bart back out of his Black Ring influence. Wally accidentally finds out that when he and Bart run into each other that they become connected through the Speed Force. Wally can see him there and talk to him, but there's nothing that he can do to pull him out. So he leaves that to Barry. He does the same thing, going into the Speed Force, but I think it's the combination of his innate power and that of the Blue Ring that makes him successful. This also helps Barry to find out what's going on with Nekron as Bart is still connected and can feel him calling them all away . . to Coast City. And this all leads directly into the big 'she-bang' happening in Blackest Night #7. Like I said, I wasn't happy about everything in this issue, but . . I am glad that Bart has been freed from the Black Ring. We knew that was going to happen, but . . it was still good to see. The whole thing with Owen and Digger just really disturbs me. In a big epic like this, I guess that's just the cards we're dealt. Also it's obvious that this story takes place before Flash Rebirth #6. Geoff Johns did a good job explaining the events here. Even if they didn't reach a satisfactory conclusion. And Scott Kolins really seemed back in his element with the Flash. Overall I enjoyed it. It was entertaining. But it's like a bad piece of fish. It's going to sit with me for a while.

Blackest Night - the Flash #2 - DC

In these last 3 spin-offs of the Blackest Night . . Flash, Wonder Woman and the JSA . . we seem to be getting the most insight into the characters involved. This issue operates on two fronts. First we have the Rogues breaking into Iron Heights to try to confront, and stop these Black Lantern Rogues. Then we see the effects of Barry being given a Blue ring by Saint Walker. Remember . . in issue #6 of Blackest Night, the 'New Guardians' were given the resource to temporarily deputize someone for their cause. Saint Walker . . or rather the Blue ring, ends up picking Barry. At the same time, Nekron has put a black ring on the hands of all of the heroes that have died and come back. So Barry is fighting and trying to save Bart. He's not like the other Black Lanterns. He's still alive. But he's alive . . wearing a Black ring. And Barry won't give up hope in saving him. He also saves Jason from the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm construct. Meanwhile, as the Rogues come up against their dark counterparts, there's a few things that come to light. The Black Top asks the Weather Wizard . . 'Do they know Mardon? Do they know how we planned to take out Snart and control the Rogues before I died?' I think that may be something that comes back later. Plus, as Capt Cold is about to take out Black Boomerang Owen comes rushing in. 'I can't let you hurt my father. I'm going to help you dad. I know how to bring you back.' I love the way Geoff Johns writes these characters. It's great to see the Rogues back together again. Even if it is under these circumstances. Plus, since Geoff is writing Flash Rebirth, I think it's only natural that he's handling this part of the story. It was said way up front that the Flash was going to play an important part in this overall story. But we still haven't seen what that is yet. And Scott Kolins returns to the character that put him back on the map. I loved his influence on the Flash book, and I'm glad to see that he's back doing this character again. Even if it is only for a few issues. I can't wait to see how this one wraps up next month.

Blackest Night Flash #1 - DC

First of all . . I'm glad to see Scott Kolins back on the Flash. I know it's only for this mini-series, but . . the me, this is that character that brought him to my attention. He changed his style for this book, and . . he's been going as fast as the Flash ever since. It's great to have you back, buddy. It makes a lot of sense that this is the next Blackest Night mini-series. Something we haven't learned yet has put the Flash on a collision course with these Black Lanterns. But . . besides that, I don't know anyone else out there, besides Batman, that has as many dead loved ones and enemies alike. He's like the perfect target for the Black Lanterns. During the course of this book we find out what we also found out in Blackest Night #5 . . Nekron not only has power over the dead, but also those that have returned from the dead. As we all know Barry did. Plus . . Edbard Thawne has already returned . . alive. He's Barry's arch rival, and the driving force behind the events in Flash: Rebirth. So if that's the case . . how can he also be dead here, and a member of the Black Lanterns? We all know that Barry broke his neck shortly before he himself was sucked into the Speed Force. Not only that . . the Rogues later dug up Thawne's body and cremated it. So if Edbard did come back . . he came back from his Black Lantern form. Because until then . . he didn't have one. Which means that there's a way to save these people . . the ones being reanimated, and give them life. This abomination of existence that they've been birthed into doesn't have to be their final hurrah. Now Barry just has to figure out how Edbard got from his Black Lantern existence, to his actual rebirth. In Blackest Night #5, Zoom gives him a hint . . but it's very vague. 'I have a resurrection of my own in the days ahead, Barry. Thanks to a good friend of yours.' What that means, or who it is . . he has no idea. But now that he's learned that Solovar is also dead and has been returned to this abominable existence . . he has even more reason to try to put the pieces together. At the end of the story, when the Black Ring tries to attach to Barry, he decides to change the plans and orders everyone to get to Coast City. As they've done in Blackest Night #5. Meanwhile, the Rogues are getting ready to fight a war of their own. All of Flash's Rogues have come back, but they've decided to go after the ones that have replaced them, rather than the Flash. They include the Golden Glider, the Top, Mirror Master, Rainbow Raider, the Trickster (James Jesse), Captain Boomerang and Professor Zoom (Edbard Thawne). Owen has also brought Tar Pit with him. When he meets up with his dad he wants someone there to help him that already doesn't have a heart. I thought this was a great opening chapter for this fight by Geoff Johns. He's written some huge potential into this story and I can't wait to see what he does with the next 2 issues. Plus, as we've seen from both this book and Blackest Night #5 . . I think Barry's going to be the key to this whole thing. Or . . at least one of them. Also . . cool covers by Scott and Francis Manapul. They really capture the feel of this book.

the Flash Rebirth #5 - DC

3 months between issues this time . . 2 last. And it's been almost 7 months since the first issue came out. But . . I'm not complaining. I actually couldn't wait to read this issue. Timeliness be damned. The thing I noticed about this issue is that I have a feeling that the 'Rebirth' part of this title is going to be literal. It seems like Zoom is trying to deconstruct Barry's life. We find out this issue that he's been going back in time and messing with Barry even before he knew who he was. Whether it's all true or not has yet to be determined, but . . Zoom is claiming that he broke his arm in the 6th grade, 'Someone pushed you down the stairs at school. But when you looked back . . no one was there.' And that's just the tip of the iceberg. 'Do you remember the electrical fire that burned down your first house in Fallville? or the day you moved to Central City and you left the back door open? Your dog ran out and got hit by a car. What if every bad thing that happened to you was orchestrated by one person? By an enemy you hadn't even made yet?' Then Barry starts putting the pieces together. All those years he spent trying to prove that his father didn't kill his mother. Well? He didn't. Zoom did! But . . Barry's confused. He's never been able to change the past. However, Zoom is claiming that because of his negative speed-force . . he's able to do so. But . . all those incidents . . to Zoom, they just aren't enough. He's decided he's going to erase the one thing in Barry's life that's always kept him grounded . . Iris. 'I'm going to take her away from you in every way, Barry. Before you two ever married, before you even dated. She's going to die. And you're going to forget her . . . . as long as I kill Iris . . everything will be all right.' I do have one question though. In this issue everybody . . everybody that is a Flash joins in the fight. Now . . they're all related to Barry. Right? Well . . except for Jay. But we have Wally, Bart, Max, Jesse and even Iris . . whom apparently is the new Impulse. I guess the problems that her and Jai were having with the speed-force was because they're twins and they've basically been fighting for control over it . . thier connection. But once Iris lets go, because she doesn't want to hurt her brother, Jesse comes zooming in saying that she's been guided here by her father, Johnny Quick. Remember . . his spirit is stuck in the speed-force now. I think. Anyways, she touches Iris, saying the speed-formula and . . I guess, gives her her own connection to the force. 'Your daughter is one of us now, Irey West. She's the next generation.' I'm sorry . . that was long and involved, but . . my question through all of that is . . if Zoom does deconstruct Barry . . wouldn't that pretty much eliminate everybody except for Jay? And I guess, Jesse. I like what Geoff Johns is doing with this story here, but . . I think he might be opening the flood-gates. If things proceed the way they look like they're going . . things could be falling like dominoes pretty quick. Oh no! I just realized . . there's only 1 more issue in this series. And I haven't heard anything about what's going on after this. Anyways, great story by Geoff. It really sucked me in. And, as always, Ethan Van Sciver's art was phenomenal. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Wednesday Comics #12 - DC

This being the final issue of this 'experiment', I assume all the stories will be wrapped up here. I guess Luna shot herself, and then jumped out the window. She tells Batman that she couldn't see herself locked up, and apologized for not finishing it the way he would've wanted. He just looks at her and says her name . . and has he touches her cheek . . she realizes . ."Bru . ." But then she's gone. Orora dies from her wounds, but before she does she gives Kamandi her compass. She points at the face and says "Humans". So as Tuftan, Caesar, the Lion and Tiger nation head off to finish off the Apes, Kamandi decides to go off alone. South. Maybe to find some more of his kind. Superman checks on Lois, but she's fine. As he's talking to her on the phone, she's looking at a heading about Batman stopping an alien attack on the Daily Planet. It's good to have friends to watch your back. Deadman makes it back to Earth, but he's still scolded by Rama Kushna. She's upset because he upset the balance between Neron and his dukes. So now she's got some extra work for Boston to do to try to balance things out. Hal watches as the rest of the alien armada leaves Earth's atmosphere, and then he goes back to his watering hole to check up on Dillon. Rex Mason and company make it out of the pyramid, and a CIA transport shows up to pick them up. End of story. The Titans beat Deathstroke easily, now that he knows who he really is. I guess he really does have some psychological barrier that stops him from defeating them. Now that Korgo has been sent to Earth, Rann's little uprising is all fading away. Now Adam just has to worry about how Alanna would feel about him if she knew that he was a withered up old man back on Earth. Supergirl has passed out from when she was shot by the sun. But the aliens feel bad for assuming that she was threatening. While she was passed out, it turns out that Krypto and Streaky explained it all to them. You know . . universal translators and all. But after they leave and the aliens remove their helmets, we find out that they're a race of intelligent dogs and cats. Who knew? Chemo explodes and apparently takes all the Metal Men with him. Well . . except for Mercury. Now Magnus is just going to have to rebuild them again. Wonder Woman beats Dr Poison and the Cheetah, but . . I'm not really sure what she gained out of the whole thing. It was all a bit confusing . . right up until the end. Sgt Rock says goodbye to the villagers, and Easy Co heads home. And in the Flash strip . . we find out that all that crazy stuff that was happening was actually a comic strip itself that Barry wrote and Iris was reading. After Morgaine is defeated, the Demon reverts to his Jason Blood form. And Selina does a little flirting. And finally, with Aquaman's help, Hawkman defeats the T Rex while the rest of the JLA stop in alien invasion. All in all . . this was probably the most boring issue. Everything wrapped up this time, but most of the action was last issue. However . . it was ok. Again . . hats off to all the amazing talent. There was a great cast of writers . . Brian Azzarello, Dave Gibbons, John Arcudi, Dave Bullock, Kurt Busiek, Jimmy Palmiotti, Neil Gaiman, Eddie Berganza, Paul Pope, Kyle Baker, Dan Didio, Ben Caldwell, Adam Kubert, Karl Kerschl, and Walt Simonson. And then for the art we had . . Eduardo Risso, Ryan Sook, Lee Bermejo, Vinton Heuck, Amanda Conner, Joe Quinones, Mike Allred, Sean Galloway, Paul Pope, Kyle Baker, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Kevin Nowlan, Ben Caldwell, Joe Kubert, Brenden Fletcher, and Brian Stelfreeze. Quite a cast of characters . . on the creative side as well as in the actual pages. I wonder if they'll ever try this again?

Wednesday Comics #11 - DC

Only 2 more weeks to go, and it looks like Batman's got this all figured out. Luna had killed her husband . . well . . she used Hardy to kill her husband, and then she was going to kill Hardy. You know . . so he couldn't talk. Anyways, since there's another issue left . . we're left with a cliff-hanger ending. There's a shot fired, and we see Luna falling, or jumping through a big glass window. But . . did she shoot Batman, or herself? Or . . was there someone else there that we haven't seen yet? Hmmm!! Now that Tuftan and Caesar have been rescued from the Apes, Kamandi is looking forward to getting to know his human stray, Orora. But before they even get a chance to speak, she's shot down by an Ape sniper. Is she dead? Will Kamandi once again be the only living example of his species? Superman finally has the upper hand on the aliens. He snapped out of their telepathic influence when they threatened his parents. But as he pummeling the alien, he realizes . . he forgot about Lois! Have the aliens gone after her? And will he be able to reach her in time? In Hell, Boston realizes that he's being played by these women that were captured by the demon. He finds out that they just wanted him to release them so that they in turn could release Neron. He ends up leaving them behind, and walks out of this crazy place. But that leaves the question . . what's next? All it says is . . 'Loose Ends!'. Hal confronts the alien race that's trying to attack the Earth, but they quickly find out that they're no match for the power of his ring. Metamorpho and Element Girl take out Algon as he tries to power up the ship with the Star of Atlantis. However their deception pays off as the foil his plans. He then tries to bring the ship down around their ears. 'If I die . . you all die!' Trident, thinking that he had defeated the Titans, drops his disguise. He was actually Slade. Gizmo had rigged him up with a psychic implant so he forgot who he was . . he actually thought he was Trident. But then on the last panel . . . . On Rann, Adam Strange has sent lord Korgo to Earth . . on his Zeta-beam. We see him trapped in a museum display. Supergirl has gone off to the sun to try to stop the aliens from dumping their crap into it. But once there . . she doesn't know how she's going to communicate with them. They fire their guns at her . . which actually hurt her. But it looks like Krypto and Streaky are coming to her rescue. The Metal Men have Chemo contained, but he's still going to explode. The shove him into the basement of a nearby construction site, and as the story ends he and all the Metal Men go up in a cloud of smoke. Wonder Woman finds out that everything she's been through has been because of the machinations of Ares. Now she has to trust the Cheetah to protect Etta and the Professor while she fights Ares offspring. They were trying to manipulate it so that he would be the recipient of the Seven Stars of the Amazons. Easy Co. finally makes it into the building where they're holding Rock. And with their help, it looks like he's finally defeated the Germans. Grodd is trying to save his world. Barry is still trying to save Iris. It looks like the only way Barry is going to be able to do it is if he and Iris work together. He doesn't have to be the lone hero. It looks like the Demon has finally defeated Morgaine . . freeing Selina. And as Hawkman battles the T-Rex, on the beach . . Carter soon finds out that he has some help from the denizens of the deep . . and their master, Aquaman. It looks like the League has finally arrived. Now that we're almost done . . I'm finally getting in to this series. Of course . . all the cliff-hanger endings don't hurt either. But whether you like the format or not, you have to admit that some of the art looks amazing. Only 1 more issue to go. I think.

Wednesday Comics #10 - DC

We're on issue #10 now, so we're getting close to the end. Batman goes after Luna for the murder. He tells her that the Police are right behind him, but before he can do anything he's attacked by some wolves? Where did they come from? With the weapons that Kamandi found, and his help from the Lions, they quickly overpower the Apes in Shintun and Kamandi himself takes out Baaku, their leader. After they release Caesar and Tuftan they're ready to press the attack, but the Apes quickly retreat. Superman overloads the alien's minds with a tidal-wave of information. They're a hive mind, so by doing so he's stunned them all at once. Now he's pressing his advantage. Deadman impales the rune stone and stabs Kalak with the sword while it's attached. Apparently that's enough to take him out. He, and the rest of the females are free now. They just have to find a way out of here. Hal goes out to meet the invading force, and try to warn them off. But they aren't easily impressed. It looks like he's going to have to fight for it. It appears that both Rex and the Element Girl expired on the maze of elements . . or periodic maze, if you will. Apparently this temple is actually a space-ship. When Algon, the last remaining elemental, touches the Star of Atlantis he will turn into the fuel that's required for it to leave Earth. Unfortunately, it will destroy the Earth in the process. It appears that Triton has defeated Tim/Robin. He then tells the story of how the Titans destroyed the future of Earth. But before he can kill him he's confronted by Gizmo. Who asks him, "Do you remember who you really are?" Adam Strange has sent Korgo through the Zeta-beam back to Earth. He's hoping that since he has no counterpart there, he'll be diminished from the blue baboon that he is on Rann. Supergirl approaches the alien space-ship that's causing the solar-flares. Unfortunately she doesn't have any way to communicate with them. And it looks like they're viewing her arrival as hostile. Will Magnus puts a plan in place to slow the reaction that's occurring in Chemo right now. Unfortunately, I don't think they're going to be able to stop it, just contain the explosion. The question is . . will they survive the experience? In the Wonder Woman story . . I'm still a little confused about what's going on. It has to do with the Seven Stars of the Amazons, and Etta and Cheetah are involved. After that . . it's all more than a bit confusing. Plus every issue they seem to be experimenting with the panel lay-out. I'm not thrilled about this one, at all. Sgt Rock is attempted to escape. However, he's not making much progress. But the rest of Easy Co appear to be knocking at the door . . literally. It appears that Barry's problems are all coming from Grodd. Some 50 years in the future he's trying to communicate with himself in the past. Somehow the whole process has cause a problem that has sucked Barry, and Iris, right into the middle of it. Barry's trying to save Iris, but . . he may have to save the future also. It appears that Etrigan and Catwoman have the upper-hand over Morgaine, until Catwoman with the sword she's given. When it strikes Morgaine she turns into a swarm of locusts and quickly take over Selina. It looks like she's in control now. And Hawkman is trying to fight a T Rex to keep the survivors from the airplane crash safe. It's hard to tell if he's winning or not. Overall, I'm enjoying this little experiment. I still think the price-tag is to high, but . . I still bought it. So who am I to complain. There's some great talent here . . and only 2 issues to go. I guess I'll stick around and see how it all wraps up.

Wednesday Comics #9 - DC

Ok, I finally made it through that big stack of books last week. It was ok though. For the most part I enjoyed almost all of them. And I have a little breathing room this week as the new books won't be out till Thursday, because of the holiday. Speaking of which . . what exactly does Labor Day celebrate? I mean . . if it's for the 'working-class' people of this country . . most of us still have to work today. I mean . . the only people I know that don't work are either Federal employees, banks or union-workers. Anymore, all 3 of those categories seem to be a diminishing lot. Oh yeah . . students get it off also. Anyways . . I was just wondering. After that little respite . . I'll get back now to Wednesday's Comics. Batman breaks up Luna and Hardy's little romantic engagement. But as he pulls Hardy through the front window, Luna shoots Hardy twice in the chest. Killing him. And then Luna takes off. Like that's ever a good plan. In Kamandi, it appears the Shintun, the Ape city, is actually Washington DC. Kamandi, Dr Canus and Orora . . as well as the new Lion allies . . reach the city just as the Apes about to execute Ceasar and Tuftan. On thier way there, they found some plans for the underground armories . . so they're loaded for bear. Superman has decided to use his brain a bit. The aliens put some kind of signal into his head that been showing them all the important parts of his life. It's also what led to the depression and soul-searching he was experiencing. And it's also created a telepathic link between them. That's when Superman figures out that if he's sending a signal, then he's probably also receiving. When he stops and listens, he soon figures out the aliens weakness. Or so he says. Boston Brand decides to try to get these girls out of this 'hell' that they've been assigned to. He tries to take on the demon himself, but . . that doesn't go exactly as planned. There's something not quite right about the rune stone, but he doesn't know what it is yet. It's just a nagging suspicion right now. Anyways, the demon brings up a horde of lesser demons to fight him. Hal uses his ring to get the rest of the alien fungus out of his friend Dill. But then learns that what had inhabited him was only a 'scout'. While it was in there, it sent out a signal to a race of aliens that are looking for inhabitable planets. Hal could have his hands full next time. Rex and the Element Girl have discovered Algon, the original Elemental Man, in these caverns and caves while they were searching for this diamond for Stagg. Last time they started chasing him across the periodic table, and this issue they finish that. Did you think they could get all those elements into one story? Anyways, there's something in here about the end of the world, and as Rex reaches the end of the Periodic Table, it looks like he may be dying. The Titans seem to be falling to Trident. Even though they knew they were walking into a trap . . they weren't prepared. And they weren't acting as a team. They find out that all these villains they're fighting aren't real. Probably just hard-light images of Tridents. And then when Tim goes to release Blue Beetle, he finds out that it's actually Trident and now he's captured him. In Strange Adventures, Alanna and Sardath are fighting Korgo when Adam finally makes a reappearance . . right over Korgo's head. Adam's been gone for a while now . . and he see's that his love is in danger. You better believe he's ready to fight. Doctor Mid-Nite is getting closer to helping Kara find out what's wrong with her pets. It appears that there's an alien vessel floating around the sun . . about 200 miles out, and it's dumping things into it which are causing unusual flare activity. So now Supergirl is going to have to fly there to figure out what's going on. While Doctor Mid-Nite tries to keep track of Krypto and Streaky. Dr Pretorius has explained to Doc Magnus, and the Metal Men, that what's happening in Chemo is a chemical reaction. His shell was cracked, exposing the chemicals inside to the air. Once they reach a boiling point, the explosion will take out most of the city. Now the Metal Men have to jump into action and fix this. Wonder Woman is getting closer to figuring out what the plans of this Dr Poison are. She now has all the Seven Stars, except for the girdle. But the Dr knows where that's at, so I'm sure that'll somehow come to light during their altercation. However, Etta and some kids are involved, so she's going to approach this one cautiously. Sgt Rock is trying to make a break from his captives and the rest of Easy Co. are trying to find him. It doesn't appear that either of them are making much progress. We don't make much progress with the Flash story. Barry's caught in some type of fever dream and he's reliving some of his past memories . . with a Sunday comic kind of twist to them. He goes under with Iris over him, and wakes up to a gorilla. Morgaine is still trying to take possession of Selina . . she wants her virility and youth. But during the process, because of Selina's resistance, Morgaine is distracted enough that the Demon can finally break free of his restraints. But the process has already begun and they're in a kind of half-merged state. And in Hawkman, he tries to convince the others to run away as they're being approached by a T-Rex. Remember, apparently they're stuck on Dinosaur Island. As I said last time, I'm enjoying this more. Now that I have a better understanding of the stories. Overall, I think it'll turn out to be a successful project. Some of the art in here really is amazing.

Wednesday Comics #8 - DC

I'm getting into these stories more . . I love the art on most of them, but I don't get what the big draw is. I mean . . I know it's an experiment . . I know it's something different, but . . I don't think it's so fantastic that my shop should keep selling out of them. They're already doing 2nd prints of #1 & #2. The only thing I can think is that most shop owners underestimated their appeal. With lower orders, they're probably on smaller print runs. That would make them more collectible. Plus it's on this cheap newspaper print, so once they've been read, it's probably hard to find many in NM condition. My guy told me that sales started out very slow weeks 1 and 2, but then after that people started going back for what was left. He sold out of week 1 in the 3rd week, but then he's been selling out ever since. Crazy! Oh yeah, there's also about 30 people listing them on E-Bay right now. Anyways, on the Batman story Hardy Stone was arrested last issue, but he's out of jail already. And Batman follows him straight to . . Luna. Kamandi is still on his way to Shintun with Dr Canus and the girl they found. They're trying to get Tuftan and his father released from the Apes. Along the way they pick up an army of Lions. I believe Superman has started to figure out who these aliens are. He's come to the realization that he's intimately connected to these people on Earth . . as he races to try to save Ma & Pa. But as he's tackled to the ground by one of the aliens, he says . . "I got you!" Deadman, I think, is being seduced by Julianna, one of the girls captured by this demon, Kalak. He frees them from captivity be releasing a rune-stone, but they still have to go past Kalak to get out. But something just doesn't seem right. Green Lantern starts to get through to Dill a little bit. He shows him who he is and it startles him enough that he breaks his grip. Now all he has to do is crack his shell with his ring. Rex and Rainy chase after Algon, the ancient elemental, and as they do they shift from element to element and we're given a science lesson in the form of the Periodic Table. The Titans have come to face Triton in their old headquarters . . the cave. But it's a trap. As each member counters up with an enemy, Robin is left alone with Triton. He's scared, but he's trying to save Blue Beetle. We don't see Adam Strange this issue, but Alanna has gone to talk to Prince Zotar of the Northern Rock People. They decide to ally with each other to fight against Korgo who is trying to steal the Zeta-beam. Supergirl has gone to Doctor Mid-Nite to try to find out what's wrong with Krypto and Streaky. I don't think he's making much headway, until they both act out and attack his owl. The Metal Men are still fighting Chemo, but in doing so they've cracked his shell. Pretorius informs them that he's about to go Nuclear and take the entire city with him. Wonder Woman gets the Golden Lasso from some rather large wolf in her dreams, one of the Seven Stars, but she's also given a warning, "The thread does give you control, but . . perhaps not as you think." Sgt Rock tries to escape with the photographer, but he comes across some Nazi's who have gained advantage of the situation. Flash . . or rather, all the Flashes . .have worked together to tear apart this gravity field they've discovered by making a million tiny black holes. However, upon completion, I think they're all blinking out of existence as they develop nose bleeds and writhe in agony. Morgaine looks like she's about to gain Selina's body as her own, and there's nothing Jason Blood can do about it. Meanwhile, Hawkman . . now stuck on Dinosaur Island . . has called the JLA for help, but there's no one available. They're all still fighting the alien invasion. However . . Aquaman is free, so he's on his way to help. Overall I thought it was a pretty decent issue. Not enough information in each installment for me, but . . I'm getting used to it. Finally! However . . there's only 4 issues to go.

Flash Rebirth #4 - DC

I couldn't wait to read this book. It felt like it's been forever since the last issue. 2 months, really . . but still . . the issue ended with us finding out that Thawne, the Reverse Flash was back. Overall, not a startling discovery, but . . still exciting. This time I have to say I much preferred the premium cover to the original. Both are done by Ethan Van Sciver, but the one just looks more menacing. Anyways, we learn lots of new stuff this issue . . Flash Facts. Foremost is that Barry isn't just connected to the Speed Force . . he created it. It began with his accident and then became fueled by his actions . . his speed. He is the engine behind the Speed Force. Having learned this in the future, Thawne set out to create his own Speed Force . . a reverse force, negative. While Barry's is yellow, Thawne's is red . . kind of ironic, since their uniforms are the opposite. Now Thawne is trying to use his to take over Barry's. We also see Jay, Wally and Bart this issue. Max Mercury is back . . Barry rescues him from the Speed Force. And I thought it was interesting that when Thawne goes to Linda, Jai and Iris . . he sees the kid's connection to the Speed Force . . "I can feel their tie to the Speed Force tangled in a knot. Their bodies haven't managed to mainline it yet. I'll untangle the knots. And then strangle you with the rope." If he can fix it, maybe Barry can fix it. But I'm sure that's a story for some other time. Anyways, Jay and Bart save them from Thawne, but then Bart has to save Jay when Thawne takes away his aura that protects him from the friction. In return, Max and Barry show up just as Thawne is about to eliminate Bart. Also something is happening with Jesse, but we don't know what it is yet. She distraught when she sees her father, Johnny Quick, disappear . . reduced to atoms. But then at the end of the issue, it seems as if her connection to the Speed Force is reestablished. It looks like it's given her some information . . some insight. I think she sees now how all of these heroes . . and herself, are connected. The issue ends with Barry blazing onto the scene in a huge display of Speed Force lightning. "I'm back Thawne. But this time it's on my terms." Geoff Johns is doing a fantastic job with this story. Between he and Ethan's talents . . I really don't mind waiting a little longer for such a fantastic piece of work. This is the perfect story for Jay's reemergence into the DC Universe. I really hope that Max is still around after this story. I'm only concerned because I afraid he may be cannon fodder for Thawne's actions. Somebody has to perish . . Johnny's already been taken, but I don't think it'll be anybody connected to Barry, Wally or Jay. I think their families will may it through. That's not to say they'll be unscathed, but . . I think they will be intact. Oh yeah . . we also have to find out who it was that brought Thawne back. "I have a resurrection of my own in the days ahead, Barry. Thanks to a good friend of yours." Hmmm! Anyways, it was a fantastic book. A true classic in the making. Gimme more! Gimme more!

Wednesday Comics #7 - DC

I read this on Wednesday, but . . I haven't bothered to write anything down yet. Sorry! Batman is getting a little closer to finding the killer. He pushes Hardy, his last lead, who gives him another name . . Carlton Glass. But no sooner does he give him the name than he's killed. Kamandi gets some information out of the girl . . her name Orora. And they, and Dr Canus, are on their way to Shintun to help Tuftan and his father escape the Apes. However, on their way there they see that the Tiger Legion has been defeated. That means that these 3 are now the Prince's only hope. Meanwhile, Superman is just getting clobbered. He has no idea who these aliens are and how they're so strong. It appears that they're also telepaths because as they're fighting Clark worries about Ma and Pa, but they're out of town at church. However, as soon as he thinks it . . they're on their way to intercept. Deadman has finally caught up to the girl that he tried to help in the alley . . the one that got him into this whole mess. He finds out that she's not the only girl captured here. They're in a kind of limbo, and there's a demon there that has captured other women and is amusing himself by torturing them. Boston is trying to think of a plan to help them escape. Hal has finally made it to the TV station, where he finds Dill transformed into some kind of alien. Unfortunately, as he's fighting him, he finds out that he's strong enough to break through his rings constructed barrier. Metamorpho and Rainy, the elemental girl, have made it through some more of the traps, and have started questioning their involvement. That's when they come across another elemental type creature that's guarding the Star of Atlantis diamond. The Teen Titans are trying to figure out what the deal is with this new Triton. They've come across a couple of them in the past. This one claims that he's Dr Light's son, and he's from the future. Supposedly, he's preventing the Titans from becoming a threat then. So . . they're off to fight him. They know it's a trap, but . . it's what they do. Adam has a dream where Dr. Fate comes to him and helps him find his Zeta-map. Now he can find another location and go back to Rann. Supergirl and called on Aquaman to try to help her figure out what's wrong with Krypto and Streaky. But . . he doesn't talk to 'those' type of animals. He's mad about the inconvenience at first, but then he apologizes to her. He sends her off to see Doctor Mid-Nite. The Metal Men find out that this Dr Pretorius has created Chemo, and he may be more than the Metal Men can handle. Tin gets the raw end of the deal, and he probably won't be the last. Wonder Woman has another dream where she's going after the sword, but this time she may have inadvertantly sacrificed Etta and the Professor. To make matters worse, she can't seem to wake up. Sgt Rock is finally free . . sort of. He's still in a bunker someplace, but at least now he has a gun and a knife. And the rest of Easy Company have finally made it out of the cave. The Flash is getting closer to figuring out what's going on, but the more time he spends the more versions of himself that keep appearing. He's also starting to hallucinate and get nose bleeds. He's seeing monkeys. Morgaine has force the Demon back into his Jason Blood form, which also transforms Selina back. Now she's ready to pounce. And finally . . Hawkman has managed to bring the plan down, but they may have gone from the frying pan into the fire. The appear to be stranded on an island of dinosaurs. And because of the strain of trying to save the airplane, his Nth metal belt doesn't appear to be working. I sincerely applaud all the talent on this series. There are some great looking pages here. However . . I'm glad this is a mini-series because it's starting to drive me crazy. I appreciate what they're trying to do here, but . . there's only so much information they can fit on 1 page. We're really getting it in bite sized pieces. The only saving grace is that it's weekly . . so it doesn't take that long to start building up a little momentum. But . . it's very little momentum. This is issue #7 and some of the stories I don't know much more than when we first started. Well . . the artwork is pretty good too, so . . that helps with my patience. I want to be positive . . I really do. But like I said . . it's just a little frustrating. But I'll keep trying.

Wednesday Comics #6 - DC

Well, it's another edition of Wednesday Comics. Lets see how we stand on all of our various stories here. Batman goes to confront Hardy Stone . . our supposed killer. It's interesting though as he looks like a gang-member, but he's sitting in his house listening to Opera. Kamandi and the girl break free of the apes' bonds, but it may not be enough. They find Dr Canus still alive, after the crash, but Tuftan is still on his way back to ape city. Which, I assume is their next destination. Clark is enjoying a morning of sleeping in . . in Kansas, when he's interrupted by an explosion, and the yelling voices of aliens . . "Kryptonian!" Deadman appears to have run out of luck, after he was cast into whatever demon dimension he's in . . because he did something Rama Kushna told him not to. But just as it appears to be over, 3 visions of loveliness appear before him. Hal's still thinking back on his competitiveness with Dill. All it cost him was getting kicked out of the space program. Even still, he's now rushing to his opponents aid. Metamorpho and Element Girl go further into the relics, only to find giant snakes as a deterrent. There's a game on the bottom of the page for kids. Blue Beetle is still battling Trident, but . .they're both worn out. Trident is still trying to kill the Titans. He says they're a danger to the future, but doesn't give specifics. However, we find out this time that he's Arthur Light's son. Adam Strange zeta-beamed back to Earth last issue only to find out that back home . . he's an old man. He seems to be set on an expedition in Peru, circa 1957, and after weeks of being stuck her, he's beginning to think that his life back on Rann was all just a dream. Supergirl goes to Aquaman for pet advice, but being the protector of the oceans . . 70% of Earth, seems to be keeping him a little busy. I think in order to get advice, she's going to have to go with him. The Metal Men have risen to the challenge and negated Dr Pretorius' threat of blowing them all up, but . . by circumventing his remote, they've unwittingly sent out a homing signal to an even bigger threat . . Chemo. I'm still a little confused about the Wonder Woman story. She's gotten most of the seven stars, now she just needs the sword, girdle and lasso. And she meets Etta this time. However I'm not sure if this is still a dream, and . . Ben Caldwell changes the format this time. That was a little confusing. Sgt Rock is aided in his escape when one of the scientists cuts his ropes. He wants to take the advantage while the Nazi's are busy. Barry has to again vibrate into the past, as he finds himself in space, and now there's 3 versions of himself. While in the story that was about Iris, we learn a little bit about the history of Gorilla Grodd. The Demon comes face to face with Morgaine Le Fey. And Hawkman, having brought down the plane in the ocean, and then to a deserted isle, finds that while most of the passengers have survived, although injured, he now has to face the threat of leaking, and exploding, fuel. Like I said last time, I'm starting to get into the stories more . . except for Wonder Woman, that is . . but I'm still not thrilled about the format. We just don't get very much information with each issue. But I'll keep getting it and reporting to see what kind of progress we make. It is some nice looking art though.

Wednesday Comics #5 - DC

I finally got caught up on last weeks books so I can begin on this weeks. I'm excited because I got some great looking DC books starting out this stack. Were up to issue 5 now on this series, and the stories are starting to come together for me. Batman's looking into Carlton Glass' murder, but he's been looking into it as Bruce. Carlton was a socialite, much like he. But now, with the attempt on Luna's life at her father's funeral, by Hardy Stone, some hired muscle, it's time for him to don the Batman persona and go at it from that direction. In the Kamandi story, brilliantly drawn by Ryan Sook, Kamandi, Tuftan and the girl are all taken captive by the Apes and their leader Baaku. He's especially happy to have captured Prince Tuftan. Now they're headed by to thier city as slaves. Clark has gone back to Smallville to try to find some perspective. He's looking at his old ship, in the basement of the barn, realizing that he's not been 'normal' since he arrived on this planet. He's longing for Krypton, where . ."Things were normal. Until they weren't." And then his birth parents had to send him off. Boston Brand has been brought back to life only to have to suffer the tortures of hell. Now that he has flesh and bones again, all he has to do is escape 3 demons that are trying to kill him. In the end he gets impaled from behind. Hal's thinking back to when he and Dill were competing for the space launch. There were 30 some guys there as recruits, but really it always came down to he and Dill. His biggest frustration was that Dill was so level-headed . . he took everything so calmly. Hal was always ready to just jump in the rocket and take off. Simon Stagg and company are getting ready to go after the Atlantis diamond when their troupe is attacked by a cloud of Chlorine gas. Element-girl reacts quickly and she and Rex soon turn the cloud into table salt. But they now realize that someone is trying to kill them. In the Titans story, Caroline Lee the agent of SMASH who's come out to help the Titans, doesn't have any lost love for 'heroes'. She considers firemen, policemen and doctors to be the true heroes. But she learns a little bit about sacrifice when Beetle puts himself in danger with Trident to help out his teammates, Kory and Tim. She's starting to realize why the heroes can't always be around everytime we 'think' we need them. The Paul Pope chapter of Adam Strange was a little bland. We learn a little about Rannian landscape, but that's about it. Supergirl has to save the plane that Streaky ripped the tail off of. She begs Krypto for help, but . . he's a dog. What do you expect. After the debacle, they both just sit at her feet . . looking cute and begging for attention. She's really confused as to their actions. Will Magnus has found out that the bank robbery is actually an attempt by Dr. Bela Pretorius to get some revenge on the student that he believes to have betrayed him . . Will. He's got a bomb strapped to himself and he's ready to take Will, the Metal Men and everybody else with him straight to hell. Have I mentioned lately how Jose Luis Garcia Lopez is one of my all-time favorite artists? Well . . he is. It's great to see him on this story. In Diana's latest dreams, she's gone to the city of Shangri-La in the Himalayas. There she comes across Priscilla Rich who is in search of the Tiara of Sakyamunis, one of the seven stars of the Amazons. This is probably the most intricate story in this parchment, but it's also the most confusing. I almost think that Ben Caldwell is trying to put to much into this story. Basically, this one was a dream showing Diana where her Tiara came from. Sgt Rock is still being tortured by the Nazis, while the rest of Easy Co is in a cave below the city with some refugees. The Flash story is also a bit confusing to me. There's 2 flashes present, apparently one came back from the immediate future to help stop Grodd. But, he's also created a quantum singularity . . an infant universe for him by using his speed. And, in the Iris part of the story, Barry commits to not being the Flash anymore so that he can save his marriage. The story is done in 2 separate parts. I know they're related, and connected, somehow. I just don't see it yet. In the Demon/Catwoman story, it appears that it's the machinations of Morgana Le Fey that have brought these 2 together. He believes the cat to be her totem and is returning it to her so that he might strike at her in person. But . . she's really manipulated the whole thing because somehow Selina . . or rather her body, can help Morgana return to her youthful vigor. Finally, Hawkman has to save the plane of innocents that he just rescued from being taken over by aliens. However, now the plane has lost a wing and is in free-fall. He tries to steer it over the ocean. Overall, I thought this batch of stories were interesting. Some fit the format . . some didn't. But, it's an experiment and things aren't always going to be perfect. But I enjoyed it.

Wednesday Comics #4 - DC

Ok . . now that we're on issue #4 . . we've had 4 full pages of story and art from each of these characters . . I'm finally starting to get into a couple of the stories. Batman's story is about a rich Gotham socialite, Franklin Glass. It's obvious that he was killed either by his 'trophy' wife or his son. Bruce/Batman just hasn't figured out whom it is . . yet. In Kamandi, our hero has leaped into danger because of the hope of finding another of his kind . . a young girl. However, in doing so, he and Prince Tuftan have jumped from the frying pan into the fire . . the hands of their enemy, the Apes. The Superman story is a bit more confusing. He's being drawn to Smallville for some reason, but we don't really know why yet. All we know is that whatever it is . . it's making him feel like Metropolis just isn't his home. Hal saw an old friend, Joseph Dillon . . Dill, turn into a monster on live television last issue. As he flies out to help, he has memories of how they first met . . as recruits for a space program. Rex Mason is going after the Star of Atlantis, a diamond, for Simon Stagg, and Sapphire. But the US Government is after it also. They've brought in thier own female Metamorpho, Urania Blackwell, CIA. But, there's also someone else, mysterious, that we haven't met yet. He also wants the diamond and he says that Rex is going to get it for him. Hmmm . . mystery and intrigue. In the Teen Titans story, it appears that this Trident is from the future. Somehow he has it in his head that the Titans will turn on the population and cause untold damage. He's convinced that they have to die . . now! Paul Pope shows us a dark, dreary look at Rann. Last time Adam Strange escaped his blue Orangutan jailers, and this time the female does. Supergirl and Krypto watch Streaky rip the tail wing off a passing airplane, because it has a picture of a mouse on it. We find out that the bank robbery that the Metal Men inadvertently walked into was actually staged by someone who knows and hates Doc Magnus. And now he's even more pissed. Wonder Woman, to me, has the worst story of the bunch. This issue she travels to the underworld and battles a Granny Cipactl. I don't know who this is. But she has what she calls a mirror that is actually the Queens shield that was forged by the gods. Diana decides that she's going to return it . . but at what cost? I really liked this story the least. We see Sgt Rock getting interrogated, while Easy Co., in their search for him, find a community of survivors living in the caves underground. They were trying to evade the Nazis. The Flash story is a bit confusing as there are 2 Flashs and 2 Barry Allens. I guess one of them went back in time 10 minutes to stop Gorilla Grodd. We also see that Iris is having a huge problem with Barry. It seems as if she's almost ready to leave him. We watch the Demon and Cat-Woman fight each other, as Selina has been turned into some kind of large 'cat-beast'. And finally, Hawkman is trying to stop the Makkorthites from invading Earth. But he's going to have to stop a plane from crashing before he continues any farther. I've kind of got a feeling for all of them now, except for Wonder Woman. I'm struggling with that one for some reason. Anyways, overall I enjoyed the issue, it's just the 'bite-sized' pieces of information that we're getting is frustrating. But . . it is an experiment. Right? I appreciate the effort by all the creators involved, but I'm still struggling with the price and the relevancy of these stories.