ExMachina Special #2 - Wildstorm

In this 2 issue special, Mayor Hundred has to deal with his polar opposite. He speaks to machines, so his nemesis, Pherson, speaks to animals. Come to find out the Mayor is how he got his powers, indirectly. Pherson was working in a recording studio and came across some DAT tape of the Mayor using his gift. The more he listened to it, the more it changed him. He started following him around and getting more and more tape to use. Eventually, he got his powers. So, my understanding is, his newfound power drove him a little loopy. He decided that Mayor Hundred was his arch enemy and that he would use the animals however he had to to get to him. All the while proclaiming that he was doing it to protect the animals. Hypocrite. What I like about this series is you always get a lot of political dilogue. The Mayor and Bradbury have a discussion on whether or not you would kill Osama if he caught him. And in doing a radio show he debates with the anchor about the ethics and ramifications of coporal punishment. Not the kind of stuff you read about in your normal super hero books. This truly is a thinking man's book. It's no wonder it's won or been nominated for so many awards. Brian K Vaughn has just done a superb job with these characters.

Eternals #1 - Marvel

Ok, about 30 to 33 years ago, Jack Kirby was a creative genius. He created the Celestials, the Deviants, and the Eternals. It was his way of explaining creation. Well now we come to find out that the Deviants and the Eternals are still living among us. Some of them just can't remember who they are. Apparently some of the Deviants can remember though because they're still coming after the Eternals whether they know who the are or not. So that's what this issue was about, introducing us to some of the players. We meet Ikaris, Sprite, Sersei, Thena and our main character Makkari. We also meet some of the deviants, but not by name. They're mostly staying to the shadows and have their own agenda. So Ikaris is trying to explain to Makkari, or Mark Curry as he is now known, what has happened before and what his true nature is. Of course being a man of medicine and science, he doesn't believe him. He just thinks he's delusional of scizophrenic. And thus our story is set to unfold. If anyone can handle this epic event it's Neil Gaiman. And John Romita Jr.'s pencils are incredible. This is a 6 issue mini series and it should be fantastic.

Spawn #157 - Image

First I want to say that this Phillip Tan art is incredible. I don't know that I've ever seen this book with such incredible art. It is just fantastic. Now on to the story. Spawn has been saved by the god Kali. In doing so Spawn has come to realize that he is inhabited by some 6000+ souls. 2 of these came out in the conflict in India, which is how Spawn met them, how he came to realize that there were more, and how Kali came to save him as Amal and Shanti pulled upon their beliefs. So while he's figuring this out, Zera the greatest Seraphim , has just slaughtered the last of the forgotten. A race of angels that went to the sidelines during the last big war in heaven because although they were loyal to God, they refused to fight against their fellow angels. Then we have the twins taking over the Fitzgerald household, literally, at gunpoint. Cyan calls for Spawn who comes to save them, but in order to do so he must kill the twins. Reluctantly he does so, but, are they really dead?? And since Zera is looking for God and has come to Jake's side, who is Jake really?? Looks like were in store for a huge storyline coming up. In the words of Fred Sanford, "Looks like this could be the big one". It appears that next issue is the beginning of the Rapture.

100 Bullets #73 - Vertigo

I have loved this book since it's inception. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are genius'. The way their styles mesh together is just incredible. We have a couple of things going on now. First the 13 and the Minutemen are trying to get their acts back together. Then we have the mystery of what is CROATOA. This one's actually been going on for a while now. Then we got Ronnie and Remi, two brothers who go at organized crime from different perspectives. Ronnie's trying to be a businessman, and Remi is happy to be one of the crew. But they both answer to Mimo. We also have our usual cast of characters, Lono, Loop and a few others. This is an awesome book. This book does for comics, what the Sopranos did for Sunday night drama. The fact that Brian and Eduardo have been around for all 73 issues is amazing. And that they've kept the same momentum going for all 73 issues is truly astounding. I love this book.

52 week 10 - DC

Ok, I'm doing week 10 right now to try to get caught back up. I moved it to the top of my reading pile. We start out with Black Adam in Kahndaq, trying to put together a power base. A coalition, if you will, of superpowered people from different countries. In his own twisted way he is trying to bring the world together. One, to protect his country. But two, I think, to present a power strong enough to stand up to the U.S. and all it's heroes. Strangely enough he is brought to mat by a chamber maid. They have a conversation where she lays it all on the line for him and makes him realize what he's really doing. We also see Clark Kent, who is being fired by Perry White, take a play from Lois' book and throw himself out a window in order to come face to face with "Supernova". He gets his story, some pictures, and starts to redeem himself. I also think that this is the turning point in which he'll quit moping around feeling sorry for himself. We also get another little peak into Booster's dilema and it looks like he may start looking into what is making history alter itself from what was recorded in the 25th century. And finally another conversation between T.O.Morrow and Will Magnus this time about Dr. Sivana and what he's up to. Again I can't state enough how much I really like this series. I like that things are being shaken up.

52 Week 9 - DC

First let me start again by saying that I really like this weekly serial idea. Hopefully when all is said and done they get another series going like this. Anyways we start out with Lex toasting his accomplishments in front of a room full of people, and also, after being attacked by a fully tranformed Steel, introducing his new Super hero team. We don't learn fully about them yet, all we get is that John's neice is one of them and one of them is named Herakles. But we do see that there's 6 of them. Then we get a brawl between John and his neice. Neither are willing to concede. And both have legitimate points. Personally I think the best bet for John is to back off and let Natasha find out who Lex Luthor truly is. She doesn't know yet, but if she's in his company for any period of time, she'll find out. We then go to the tropical planet where Animal Man, Starfire and Adam Strange have been caught by "Devilance the Pursuer". That's the big Galactus looking guy. Apparantly someone thinks that the humans involved in Infinite Crisis "Stood at the Center of the Universe. You saw beyond the veil, beyond the two score and twelve walls of heaven. That knowledge belongs to gods alone." So now they and anyone else that was there are gonna be pursued by bounty hunters. Finally we see the reporter that the Question hired to look into all the gang activity in Gotham. He comes face to face with her in a Lesbian bar and confides his secret to her. This of course puts her back on the trail of Intergang, according to the Question. He says that Gotham is being targeted by Intergang for an invasion. Oh, and in the last panel, there's a new Batgirl/Woman on the rooftops. What's that all about? Anyways, good book. Good stories. Good characters.

Superman Returns Prequel #4 - DC

This issue focus' on Lois Lane. Even if you're a die hard Superman fan, this is a nice book. It's main purpose, obviously, is to familiarize us with the Lois in the movie, who is slightly different that the Lois is the books. But is is a very smooth transition. It also gives us a lot of scenes that really fit in with the first Superman Movie. I like the way they're tying this together. I also like the way this Lois has moved on rather than standing around waiting for Superman. Fantastic character development in this book. This really makes me think back to the Lois Lanes series where the stories were actually about her, and not how she is in relation to Superman. If anything, it's more about how Superman is in relation to her. This is definitely a character that could have her own book. So if you're already a Superman fan, you gotta buy it. If you're at all interested in the Movie, you gotta buy it. So the way I look at it, you gotta buy it. It's a good story, and well worth the price of admission.

Jonah Hex #9 - DC

Honestly, I'm not a big western fan. When this book came out a few months ago I bought it for 2 reasons. 1 being that Loveless was so awesome. If Vertigo could do that well with a new western, I figured DC could do just as well with an established character. Plus it seemed as if they were making a committment to get back into the genre. 2nd I bought it out of nostalgia. I didn't buy a lot of westerns back in the 70's. But, I did like Weird Westerns. And Jonah was in a lot of those issues. Tony DeZuniga did the artwork on this issue. While I wasn't blown away, it was very nostalgic because he did the artwork on so many of the issues way back when. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti seem to have a real handle on the storylines. I also like how they are single issue stories. I bought this thinking that I'd stick with it for a little while to see how I liked it, but now, I hope it sticks around for a while. Kind of a neat Black & White sketch cover on this issue also. Even if you're not a fan of westerns, I think you'll like this book.

Batman Secrets #5 - DC

This is it. The last issue of the mini series. That's sad too. The story is good. Basically it shows that everyone has secrets. And that secrets are like festering wounds. The longer you ignore them, the larger they appear to get. And that sometimes the smallest secret can affect you for the rest of your life. This is what happens with Batman, the Joker and a childhood friend of Bruce's, Mooley Williams. Sounds kind of simplistic, but the way this story wraps around all these characters,and of course the Joker's hyper extreme take on everything, is really enjoyable. This is one of those stories that I got sucked into right from the beginning, and stayed with it right to the end because it was so captivating. But, as good as the story was, the art was FANTASTIC!! This is arguably the best stuff I have ever seen Sam Keith do. Yeah he still has some of his cartoonish frames, but they fit into the story. Some of his other frames were suitable for framing. There's a 2 page spread in the middle of Batman and Joker standing on a rooftop talking, after Batman has beat him up and tied him to a dolly with a straight jacket, that is truly a work of art. But there are so many more panels like that in this book. Like I said I'm sorry this book is done, because I really looked forward to seeing this visually stunning book every month. Thanks Sam!!

Wolverine Origins #4 - Marvel

This new Wolverine series is really cool. We get to see Wolverine and Captain America go at it all issue this time. Wolverine is after Nuke, whom he feels responsible for. Cap finds out Nuke is back so he comes after him, because he feels responsible for him. How did Nuke get back?? That's the question. It appears that Cap and Wolvie were both set up. But by who?? Probably by the same people that brought Nuke back. My guess, SHIELD. So the next question would be, why would SHIELD want to take out 2 of it's most powerful operatives?? Obviously to get them out of the way, but out of the way of what?? Logan trys to get this logic through to Steve but of course things happen. Nuke, who has been dragging himself through the grass following them, attacks Steve. Logan trys to take the advantage, Steve slices him open with the sword and Logan goes into his beserker rage. Thus enters the X-men. Or at least Cyclops, Emma and Hellion. How did the X-men show up? In the beginning of the story Emma is dreaming and is flying through the landscape of Logan's unconsciousness. She comes across a river of blood and sees Logan standing in the landscape. She trys to talk to him only to find out it's not really him. Who is it? We won't know this issue. Great job by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. This book has really lived up to and exceeded the Wolvie mythos. And the 2 covers every month is a nice bonus too.

Civil War - Front Line #2 - Marvel

This is an appendum to the Civil War book. Where the Civil War book shows what the heroes are going through, this book shows what the supporting cast is going through. The difference in the 2 books is that the heroes choose their role. They either register and play along or don't and become criminals. That's how the sides are chosen. The supporting cast doesn't get to choose. They're stuck with whatever the heroes decide. Or they're just stuck on the sidelines trying to avoid the fallout. Either way they don't get to make much of a decision in the process. That's what this book is about. The first story is about the Daily Bugle, or more specifically Ben Urich. He decides he wants to write an expose on Peter, and show the world that he really is a good guy. But, then he comes across, literally, one of the first acts of the Civil War, where Iron Man has to bring down Prodigy. It's exactly midnight on the eve of the law and Prodigy decides to make a stand. Being caught in the perifery of that confrontation is when Ben decides that the it's the normal people that are going to suffer. I think that may change the slant on the piece he wants to write. The second story is about Robert Baldwin, Speedball. He is incarcerated and given his only option of getting on board with the registration, and SHIELD, or becoming a criminal. He is convinced that he has done nothing wrong, refuses to "play along", and is thrown into a penetentiary somewhere in the south. The criminals see him as a "baby-killer", because of the 60 kids that died in Stamford, and he becomes "fresh meat". We also see Norman Osborne's reaction to Peter's press conference. He is apparently being recruited by SHIELD. Interesting! I wonder where that storyline's going?? And finally we get a history lesson about Gaius Julius Caesar, and how his standing up to Rome, is parallel with the Civil War beginning to break out in the Marvel Universe. As I said many times before, these will be great storylines as long as they enact lasting change. If we get a year down the road and everything goes back to normal, we will have been severly cheated. Some of the changes so far I really can't see them recanting. But, with comics, you never know. So, I hope that the changes stick, and I hope that this series is ushering a new era for the Mighty Marvel Machine, and a new way of looking at our heroes. However, history shows us that something this ambitious will not be lasting. I'm going to be optimistic though. It'll be sad to see some of the things change, but it'll be good to see things from a new perspective.

Uncanny X-Men #475 - Marvel

Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan take over this title this month. And they go into it with a BANG!!! First is this awesome wrap around cover by Billy. It's incredible. Then right from page one, we're thrown into the action. Basically, Xavier's marriage has been annulled. So, all their Shiar technology has stopped working. Hank runs diagnostics and decides that the problem is at the other end. The Shiar end. So Xavier decides he wants to put together a strike team to head out there, for that reason, and to head off Vulcan, Scott's brother, who is also on his way out there to kill everyone. So he puts together Hank, Nightcrawler, Warpath, Havok, Rachel and a reluctant Polaris. In his recruitment of Polaris, we get to see her on her trek since she left in X-Men #187. She's in Cairo, but she has an anti Apocalypse cult after her. Who also seem to have some pretty high tech stuff at their disposal. There's the usual thrashing by the X-men, and then they're off on their mission. Oh yeah, they have to steal a spaceship first. There fist stop is going to be to intersect Vulcan's path and try to "bring him back to humanity." So he's either going to be a opponent, or if he comes to his senses, a proponent and join their team. We'll see which way the ball bounces. Anyways, good book. This is the beginning of what should be a great storyline. And I see some changes, or maybe a spinoff coming for these specific characters in the near future. But that's just me guessing.

X-Men #187 - Marvel

Salvador Larroca just keeps getting better and better. I first saw him when he was do Ghost Rider a few years ago. At the time I honestly thought, "this guy is to good for this book". Now, he's incredible. Anyways, Peter Milligan writes a mean story too. This issue is about the X-Men that were transformed by Apocalypse. Sunfire is trying to bring them together, for some reason. He says it's to kill his attachments to external things, but I think there's a deeper purpose. So he's go Remy on his side, sort of. He doesn't at first, but then after their altercation with the X-Men, he's fully on his side. They want to gather up Polaris too, but she doesn't want anything to do with them. She decides she's going out on her own to find Apocalypse and find out what he did to her. There's a little more character developement along the way. But, essentially that's the bulk of the story. Oh yeah, when they return to their temple, Mr Sinister is there waiting for them. This was a wrap-up issue because next month we get a new creative team. Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo. Should be good, I can't wait to see where they take our team next. At the end of the book there's a "Masked Marvel" back-up story. It's kind of lame. If you missed it, no big deal.

The American Way #5 - Wildstorm

The basic premise of this book is cool. A super powered team created by the government to instill Patriotism in the American Way. In theory it's good, but, you're working with people. People who have a hard time getting along under normal situations. Now they're thrown into a hyper exaggerated situation. And all their feeling and nerves are hyper exaggerated. Now set this story into the 50's. It's a decent book, but it's a little to preachy on the racism stuff for my liking. But I guess that's how things were back then. This kind of has an Astro City vibe to it. Except, the heroes, and the villians, are all created by the government. A govt. who is supposed to be in control, but in actuallity has no control. Like I said, it's ok, but it's nothing fantastic.

Detective Comics #821 - DC

Very simplistic story. Batman is looking for someone who is attacking well to do people in Gotham. It's someone who seems to know where they'll be, and can fit in with them without suspicion. It ends up being a guy who runs a society club in Gotham. He would've gotten away with it, except one of his operatives decided to go out on his own and make his own money, so of course he was sloppy. As I said, this was a 1 issue story and very simplistic. This was less of a "Whodunnit" and more of "whenwilltheycatchthefreak" story. I mean 3 pages into it and you really kind of have an idea of who, how and why they did it. Very simplistic. The only thing that really saves the book is J.H.WilliamsIII artwork. As always he is incredible. He even had some of the psychedelic type panels that we got used to seeing in Promethea. Cool stuff. Also the cover was awesome. All of these Simone Bianchi covers are works of art. But then, and I really hate to say it, this is the kind of mediocre stuff we've come to expect from this book for the last couple of years. Get a regular team on this book, so they can sink their teeth in. And please try to decide what type of genre your shooting for. It keeps changing every 6 to 8 months. I don't think I'm speaking only for myself when I state that I'm buying this book out of loyalty for the character. And that's really the only reason.

Secret Six #2 - DC

This book is just too cool. Great team of players. And they work outside of the normal realm of operations, so the way they handle things is awesome. Of course with Gail Simone at the helm, I would expect no less. We have a scene where Scandal, who is in love with Knockout, is terrorizing Pistolera who sent the bomb in that may have killed her. She's trying to find out who ordered the hits on all of the Six, but she's having difficulty making the killing stroke. So, in an act of kindness, Deadshot finishes Pistolera for her. Scandal's reply is, "I don't know whether to kill you or kiss you.", to which Deadshot replys, "Relax, sis. I knew you'd feel bad if you pulled the stopper and let the water drain out, so I did it for you. No big deal." Classic!!! I think by the end of this series, Catman may be the Wolverine of the DC Universe. He's come a long way in just the short time since Infinite Crisis began. He's going to be the character you love to hate. I think!! There's a little touching moment in a Monestary where Catman is questioning Jade to find out where the money trail goes. But there investigation is led astray when Jade brings out her baby, Thomas' baby. During the course of their quipping back and forth Lawton says, "Kid, a word to the wise. Soon as you can, get some new parents." This is a cool team. Its' a shame it's only 6 issues. But anyways, I like the story, I like the characters and I like the art.

Outsiders #38 - DC

Fantastic book. Judd Winick has this team going at a breakneck speed. But, to them, it's just an everyday 'thang. I thought I would be dissapointed with Pop Mahn taking the pencil reins this month, but his style fit in perfectly with the story. The Outsiders are going after Silver & Grey, Mallah and the Brain, and they have set up Phobia to get the information from her on their current whereabouts. Of course her information is planted and she is in turn setting up the Ousiders who show up at a Nuclear power plant in Telistocc Russia, only to be ambushed by Silver & Grey, who were expecting them. Classis twist & double twist. I really like the direction that they're taking this team. I also like all the character interaction between the teammates. There is also some truly neat ideas, like Rex moving his brain around in his head when Phobia trys to fry him. One of the subplots is, who's in there with Rex. Phobia sees someone, shows Rex, but we don't really find out who it is. I'm just guessing, but my money is on Deadman, Boston Brand. But, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Demon #17 - DC

I like the Demon. I like John Byrne. I am glad this is the last issue of this series. Not because of the Demon. I hope that he comes back in a new storyline. But rather because of John Byrne. With this book he has cheated the readers. He has this huge storyline built up with cross-time traveling Demons, 3 to be exact, all fighting for existence. Also all of the Demons supporting cast has been thrown into turmoil and change. Everything is up in the air, and it doesn't look like John's going to be able to write his way out of it. At least not without coming up with some truly original ideas and shaking up the main character a bit. So what does John do? He brings in these "Wishbringers" who work their way through the supporting cast, making tons of changes. Then, they get to the Demon, who's ultimat wish is for everything to go back to the way it was before all of this happened. What??? The last 17 issues have no relevance what so ever?? I wasted $72 on 17 books that turned out to be nothing but a "dream" episode?? Man do I feel cheated!!! This is insane! So now in any future handling of these characters, this last year and a half, will mean nothing. John Byrne, you really bit my ass with this one. Thanks for nothing.

the All New Atom #1 - DC

Again, another underrated character given his own book. Again. But with Gail Simone, John Byrne on board, with Ariel Olivetti on covers, and the books being based on ideas and concepts of Grant Morrisons, this book has definite potential. We start out with a Japanese scientist, Ryan Choi, who has come to Ivy University to fill in for Ray Palmer. Where is Ray? This story doesn't give you a clue. All we know is that Ryan has been coresponding with him since he was a kid. Part of his coming to Ivy University is that he get his old position, his old office, and his old house. He's even sitting in on Ray's old poker game with his scientific budies, whom all Ryan admires. It's with his house that he finds Rays shrinking belt, with hints that were given to him by Ray over the years. Of course he trys it out and goes through a quick microscopic adventure. Once he escapes that little dilema, Ryan takes the belt back to his Poker buddies to wrap their heads around, rather that trying to go it alone. I think that this could be the best twist of the new series and the new Atom. Oh, and we have a microscopic race that is living on, and apparantly controlling, all the dogs in town and their credo is "Death or Submission". I've read some of the old Atom stories, and I think that this series is already a 100% improvement. I got nothing but props for all the creative teams that handled this book before, but this is the first time I've read anything about Ray, or the Atom, that even has the remotest chance of living up to it's potential. I don't know how much Grant has to do with that, but regardless, these new creative teams, not just on this book, really need to start thinking outside of the box. Alot of books, hero books, are beginning to fit into a certain mold. With certain storylines and certain expectations. Well all that preconceived stuff needs to be thrown away. With this being such a small part of a huge visual medium, TV and Movies, all previous ways of thinking about storyline and structure should be thrown out the window. This is literally the time to reinvent the wheel. I see glimpses of that in this book. I really hope that what I've seen so far is just the tip of the iceburg.

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes #18 / #19 - DC

I like the direction Mark Waid is trying to go with this book. He introduces a lot of new concepts along the way. Something that's been gradually building is the Tech Revolution. I guess in the future there is a period where A.I. is on the verge of becoming so advanced that all human life was threatened. So to avoid this the Science Police, hence the name, scrubbed all previous technology and began to closely scrutinize all scientific development, for fear that the forbidden data might somehow be retrieved. "Today. Most S.P. barely remember the dark age from history class. But machines never forget." I have the feeling that this is the beginning of a huge storyline for our future heroes. We also have Brainiac, who is still studying Lemnos, but with the help of an Imskian work force. We see what looks like the floor of a factory, but then when the picture pulls out, all the people are Imskians working on the face of Lemnos apparantly mining for information. Literally. Cool concept. He also still has Dream Girls body, convinced that he captured her soul because he sealed her up before it had a chance to escape. Scientific conjecture, or blind love? Add to this that they are trying to figure out why and how Supergirl has arrived in their time period. That's what I like about Mark, he keeps several storylines and subplots going at all times. Of course with probably over 40 characters to deal with, you have to keep a lot going to keep them all in the storyline. Which he does a great job of. Issue #19 is a little simpler in that it deals with a 30th Century murder mystery. It's a decent story and features Chameleon. Adam DeKraker did the pencils for #18 and Barry Kitson was back on pencils for #19. I really like the creative team of Waid and Kitson, it just seems like for some reason they don't stay with a project for very long. This is one of the longest ones I've seen them on in recent memory. 19 issues now. But, even that has had a few pencil fillins already. But not to be overly negative I hope that they stick with this project for a time to come. The reason being, both creators are good in their own right. But, when they team up on a project, the results are usually spectacular. I really think this book, and this team, deserves all the talent and creativity they can throw at it. This is a team that has been around as long, or longer, than the X-men, but have nowhere near the recognition. And I think the Legion actually has better characters too. But, that's my opinion. Like I said, I really like the direction they're taking this book in, and I think that the Supergirl angle is going to make for some excellent plot twists. Go Legion!!!

Supergirl #7 - DC

This is another great book. Supergirl, Joe Kelly, Greg Rucka and Ian Churchill, FANTASTIC!!!!! Supergirl and Power Girl are in Kandor posing as Nightwing and Flamebird. There's also, I assume, the Superman from the world with the Crime Syndicate. I may be wrong but I don't think I am. So, he is posing as Superman, but more specifically, Kal-El. Since the Church of El is the big religion down here, they think he's a god, so he can pretty much do whatever he wants. And he does. There's also some "Holy Mother" guiding him, but we don't really know who that is yet. Anyways Supergirl is haunted by these dreams that her father keeps telling her her destiny is to kill Kal-El, and that she is nothing if she does not fulfill her destiny. Which from what I understand is why she ran away from our world and came here in the first place, so she wouldn't hurt Clark. So it comes down to a big battle, and it looks like she is going to kill him, although Power Girl keeps trying to talk her out of it, but when he asks her what she truly wants, she says she wants him to save her. She's on top of him, passionately kissing him, as he's cupping her ass and Power Girl is literally under the boot heel of one of his followers. Meanwhile, "Holy Mother" is looking down on them from above saying, "Finally .. . .. all I ever wanted was a good match for my son." Interesting! Incestual! But interesting! This storyline has had some great momentum ever since she showed up in Superman/Batman. I hope they don't have any plans of slowing down any time soon.

52 Week 8 - DC

Ok this week we start out with John Henry and Natasha. She's trying to build a new suit of armor. He's found out that Luthor put some kind of virus into him, and his whole body is turning in to stainless steel. We then see Ollie, who is talking to Ralph, on the rooftops of Star City. Ralph is still digging in to the Cult of Conner. It's proving very elusive however. They find a hideout, but it's been abandoned. But there is some cloning equipment there. John goes to STAR labs to figure out what is going on, and it's there that he's been infected with some sort of virus, and upon examination figures that it probably came from when he saw Luthor. But when they try to examine samples of his blood, they blow up in his face. Next we have all these eye witness reports of some new hero that keeps showing up and saving people. Nobody's got a real good look at him, but he pops in in the nick of time and teleports the people out of harms way. Then pops out. We also have Booster dealing with the backlash from the allegations against him. Natasha is upset because she doesn't know of the trouble her uncle is going through. She just thinks that he's trying to get some powers somehow. So she gets pissed off, goes to Luther Corp. to stand in line for the hero process, but Lex immediately recognizes her and pulls her in for immediate processing. We also get another glimpse of Starfire, Animal Man and Adam Strange on the planet they're stuck on. They are about to finally meet up with the Galactus looking character thats been watching them the last couple of weeks. And that's what happens in week 8. Good series. Great writing.

JLA Classified #23 - DC

We're dealing with the Detroit League here. They've gone out on a camping trip with Jonn Jonzz and thier guide and mentor. He's trying to build a team and show them how to work and grow together. Of course, thier trip is shanghai'd by the Royal Flush Gang, version 3 or 4 or 5, who know's?. But then the Royal Flush gang is shanghai'd by the New Royal Flush Gang, the only difference visually is that the old one wore clubs for luck, the new ones wear spades for death. The story ends that they are caught in the middle of a forest fire, caused by thier ruckus, and Jonn obviously can't help because this is his weakness. But, Aquaman is supposedly on his way to check of them. Like I've said before, I like the concept of this series. I'm thrilled with it's potential. This particular story, is kinda' boring. I'm not sure if they're trying to reintroduce some of these JLA characters, or if they're trying to put some new focus on the Royal Flush Gang, but in the end, who cares either way. Hopefully this wraps up next issue and we can get on to the next storyline.

Ion - Guardian of the Universe #3 - DC

Ok Kyle Rayner is given omnipotent powers. Again. This time by Jenny Lynn in the form of the Starheart. I reconciling his new stature, he is having some difficulties. He has a conversation with Mogo, the living planet, and he is given some insight. As it is explained to him, he is like a butterfly that has gone through death and rebirth to become something new and bigger. Except Kyle didn't have to go through the death thing. But admittably it would have been easier, had he. He also comes to realize that his whole life has been defined by his connections in the past . Both good and bad. All his loves with his various women, to his outright rage and hatred for Major Force. So, he comes to realize that in order to move on, he has to let go of all this luggage. He just simply has to dismiss it, and not be afraid anymore. In doing so he truly becomes transformed and is the pure essence of the starheart. But, he's still going to have to deal with all the stuff he's done during his transformation period. And some of it is some pretty bad stuff. Where's he going from here? I don't know. I'm just happy that there's some solo Kyle Rayner stories again. It's good to have him back. Good or Bad.

Spectre #2 - DC

In this issue Crispus gets a lesson from the Spectre on what it means to pass out judgement. He has a crisis of conscious because in joining with the Spectre, he delayed his decision. He delayed it for a year. So, for that year, the Spectre couldn't operate without his host. But apparently the Spectre has a long memory, because everyone they missed that year, they've been working O.T. to catch up on. So after all these "Sudden Appearances and Ironic Deaths", Crispus is beginning to ask himself what's the point of all this. He's especially upset because, since he was a cop, he knows that there is so much more going on out there than they are dealing with. And he doesn't understand the why's of who gets judged and who doesn't. In trying to show him the pattern to everything, the Spectre shows him a time when he was a beat cop and he was called in on a disturbance. The disturbance was actually a smell coming from an apartment. They found an apartment full of corpses that were made to look like they had been killed by the Joker. They also come to see a guy who is dealing in Black Magic, and can see their spectral forms. He also sees a bank robbery where they have a chance to save a woman the robber is going to shoot,but they aren't allowed to because if the robber doesn't shoot her then he will have done nothing wrong to garner thier justice. We also get a glimpse of Crispus' son going out to buy a weapon,which I can only guess is to get revenge on the man that killed his father. This is an interesting series. It's nice to see the Spectre brought down a notch so we can get a better glimpse of the character. This is a 3 issue series so there's only 1 to go. But it'll be interesting to see where they go from here.

Action Comics #840 - DC

This is the wrap up for the "UP, UP, & AWAY" storyline. At the end of last issue Superman and Lex were plummeting into the bay. They was up on shore, and they are just both beat. But, they both hate each other enough, that they use their last remaining ounces of energy for a round of fist-icuffs. Kind of an old fashioned fight for them. Eventually Superman gives him the knockout blow, but the exhaustion finally does him in. As he flies back through the city, the adulation that he receives from the public is astounding. "Even if my power weren't coming back. I think the force of the city cheering would hold me aloft." Then the rest of the issue he deals with the every day stuff. Putting up with the ridicule at the office for being so flaky, helping with the construction efforts to rebuild the city, making sure Jimmy's got a new signal watch, dealing with Dr. Virus and his Kryptococcus the Omni Germ, signing autographs for the public, finding out on TV that robots have broken Lex out of his holding cell already and finally heading to the north pole to use the last shard of the Kryptonite crystal to build his fortress of solitude. Just a typical day for the man of steel. It's good to have him back. Next issue Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza come on board to scribe his tales. Should be good.

X-Factor #8 - Marvel

Ok, another incarnation of an X team. This one with a twist too. This issue deals with Quicksilver and Layla. Quicksilver is looking to get together with X-Factor for some reason. And Layla in her all knowing self, it trying to stop that from happening. But in a very subtle way. We learn that one of Jamie's multiples has been working for the Government for years. He come's calling to sign up all the members for the registration. Most go along with it because, as Monet says, "I've got nothing to hide."
Jamie and Quido go to find out about the DNA sample they took off Tryp and his son, but they find out not only is the DNA unique and different but both samples are identical. The guy analyzing them thought they were from the same person. We also get to see Spiderman this issue as he comes across Siryn and has a rooftop conversation with her. Meanwhile Layla has come to the conclusion that there's something about Quicksilver that disrupts her manipulations. Everything she's tried to do this issue has come back in a different way than she expected. So in the end they both agree to stay out of each other's way. There's some very interesting characters in this book. Even Rictor, who is now depowered, but still in the team. This book has a lot of potential. I just wish they could nail down a regular penciller. But that's just trivial.

Wolverine #43 - Marvel

Ok, I already like this book, but now we got Humberto Ramos on pencils, and it 's not even my birthday. We get alot of the background story of Civil War this book. Wolverine has decided to go after Nitro on his own. Of course there's alot of the Wolverine mayhem as he heads across country to find him. And of course he runs in to Iron Man who gives him a tip that Nitro is in Big Sur. He also forbids him from going after him, which give Wolverine a bigger hard on to do the job. Eventually he's allowed to go after him, but only if he goes in with a Shield stike team. They confront Nitro and Wolverine is melted down to his Adamantium skeleton. That's when we find out that this whole scheme has been orchestated from someone on the sidelines. My guess . . . . Tony Stark. If it's not him, it's someone he knows. But anyways, they payed him to make the rukus in Stamford killing all the people, they gave him a cabin to get away in, and they sent in the strike team probably to erase the evidence and their connection to him. But he's getting pretty cocky because in his book he's taken down Captain Marvel, the New Warriors and Wolverine. So his contact decides they're cutting him loose because he's, "A dangerous man to be associated with." Of course Wolverine is never down for long, and I think he heard most of Nitros conversation. So I think next issue they're going to start talking about each others involvement in things. Good book. Great art. Turning out to be a pretty good storyline. I wasn't so sure about this Civil War thing at first, but it's been taking some interesting turns along the way. Guess I might have to ride it out.

Ultimate Spider-man #96 - Marvel

Spiderman, Morbius, Brian Michael Bendis, what more could you ask for. Morbius appears to be after some new group of vampires or werewolves or both. Peter of course doesn't know this, and comes up in the middle not knowing which side is which. All he knows is that his friend, Ben Urich, has been bitten and he needs to do something to try to help him. Of course Peter impedes both side of this little fray, trys to help Ben, but in the end there's nothing he can do. Only Morbius can save him. Which he does eventually, but not before another frakus with the other vampire gang. Before disspearing he leaves Peter with a little advice, "If we ever bump into each other again . . . . . Let's both pray that you've grown the $%#@ up." This really gets to the core of how Peter's been feeling lately. The next day in biology class with MJ, he tells her, "Listen to me. It's happening again. OK? I'm seeing things I shouldn't be seeing. I'm too young to be doing and seeing these things. Daredevil warned me. They all warned me." He breaks down and they end up embracing each other on the last page. I just realized this is the first issue, in probably the last 8 to 10, that we haven't seen Kitty. Huh? But anyways I really like the way this book takes Peter all the way back to his teenage roots. His teenage angst. This is really what has made Spider-man who he his. And have I mentioned that I love the Ultimate books?

New Excalibur #9 - Marvel

As you can see, I'm an X nut. I get everything X related. Although, I'm not doing the X-Myths or all of the solo mini series. But, I do all the team books. And this one looks like it's going to be a good one. I really like Scott Kolins being on this book now too. I like the feel that he brings to the stories. Hopefully he'll stay here for a while. He was the only reason I bought Marvel Team-Up. But eventually I couldn't even buy it for him. I just couldn't feel it anymore. He didn't stick around much longer either, so I'm glad I dropped it. Anyways, we're dealing with Chamber this issue. After M-Day, when he lost his powers, he went to Weapon X. With an implant embedded in his chest, he was made more normal. Eventually this blew up in his face though, literally. Well, come to find out, he's actually a descendent of Apocalypse. Or at least that's what he's told by Ozymandias who is posing as Apocalypse. Excalibur comes in thinking that they are going to save him, but Jono isn't looking to be saved. The "Brotherhood of Apocalypse" or the BofA, I wonder if they have a lodge?, actually the Clan of Akkaba, have given him a semblance of normalcy, although he does bear a resemblance to Apocalypse, and he has a marking permanentaly emblazened across his chest. By the time Excalibur gets into the house where they were holding Jono, it's been cleaned out and the only thing Pete Wisdom has to go on is the markings on Jono's chest. This is another book that has huge potential. I really like the group of characters they've assembled for this incarnation. I can't wait to see what happens next.