Doom Patrol #2 - DC

I've been a fan of the Doom Patrol for a very long time. I appreciate the old stuff . . the foundation, but to me the most interesting series was Grant Morrison's stuff. Those issues explored a lot of new ideas and paradigms. And what better team to do that with? Anyways, my point is, with Keith Giffen at the helm . . he's got a little bit of that feel also with this book. I mean, with this story-line, they're dealing with a sentient black-hole. It came into being at the Vulcan Supercollider in Germany. And it's interesting this issue to see how it goes from person to person, gathering intelligence and raw data. He tells the Doom Patrol later, "Curiosity . . once I stumbled across the concept, the allure was irresistible. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge. If it's there to know, I am compelled to know it." To which Rita responds, "Oh my got . . it's another Chief." With this latest incarnation, we're also dealing with the whole Oolong Island thing. Now that it's a sovereign nation, I think Dr Cale is tolerating Will's residence. However, with the turbulence that usually follows this group . . I'm sure that will be precarious at best. Plus we have the usual personality quirks that follow the members of this group. We have Karen, the Bumblebee from the Teen Titans, living in a doll-house in Rita's room. They're 'roomies', of sorts. However, it looks like Karen is more of a 'sounding-block' for Rita. There's also a new supporting character in the form of Rocky. He's a priest, and kind of the team's resident therapist. I don't know why nobody thought of that before. If any team needs that support, it's this one. And in the first issue we lost Nudge. Although I don't think that's the last we've seen of her. I think Keith has a tremendous handle on this group and these characters. If anyone can succeed here, it'll be him. I also love Matthew Clark's pencils. The back-up feature is another group of my favorite characters, the Metal Men. Keith is also involved with that. Along with JM Dematteis and Kevin Maguire. You know. The same group that brought us Justice League International . . back when it was fun . . in the beginning. It's a great feature and I really hope it grows from here. Overall, I think this is a great book. Definitely worth a 'look-see' if you're not reading it.

Superman: World of New Krypton #7 - DC

With this issue . . Kal-El becomes the General of the Kryptonian Army . . in Zod's place. And, he's appointed the position by Zod himself. I still think there's something up with this whole thing with Zod though. I don't know if he's feigning his weakness, or if it's all part of some big master plan, but . . something is going on there. Anyways, Kal returns from Earth with Ral-Dar and finds Commander Gor trying to excite the council into war. That's when Zod conveniently steps in and voices his opinion. So Kal's got that whole thing to worry about. Plus, he has a team out in space recovering one of Saturn's moons. I guess they figure that Saturn has enough that losing one won't interfere with it's continued existence. Anyways, in order to complete the environmental cycle, and give New Krypton oceans, they need an orbiting body to create a gravitational pull. However, while they're out there doing that, they're attacked by Thanagarians. We don't really know why. However, Kal gets a couple of squads together to go out and help them. The tide quickly turns, but . . they also lose control of the moon. It's now on a collision coarse with New Krypton. I like this book. I like the insight that we're gaining into the Kryptonian culture and ideals. I don't think that this new world will be abided to stay in our own system forever . . eventually they'll have to move it or something. But it's interesting to see how it all unfolds. Greg Rucka and James Robinson are doing a great job with this story. I'm starting to understand why they needed 15 issues to complete the whole thing. There's a lot of stuff going on here, and a plethora of characters to explore. Great covers this issue by Gary Frank and Bryan Talbot. But the real star of this book is Pete Woods. He's doing a fantastic job on the interiors. He's really given this book, and these characters a good feel. He's definitely made it his own. I'm a big Superman fan. So I'm glad there's 3, or more books every month. But I'm starting to wonder . . where are we going after this?

Red Robin #4 - DC

I liked this book. The story is split between 2 different times in Tim's recent past. The one farther back shows us Tim's confrontation with Dick, I think, before he left on his quest to find Bruce. Dick understands his need for closure, but at the same time . . he wants to make sure that he's accepting the reality of the situation. But Tim is looking to Dick as a brother. He doesn't want help, he just wants understanding. "You called us equals, remember? If we really are equals, if we really are brothers . . then believe in me. I've earned it." Anyways, in the present, Tim is facing the reality of the situation he's facing in Baghdad. The various police forces have followed him, because of his theft at the museum. But he has compromised his identity because they see him as Alvin Draper. However, once again one of the 3 assassins that have been assigned to help him by Ra's al Ghul comes to his aid. Anyways, long story short . . Tim finds a archaeological cave dig in Baghdad. In it, etched on the wall is the bat-symbol. If you remember, on the final page of Final Crisis #7 we saw what looked like a bearded Bruce, from behind, kneeling in a cave and scratching something on a wall. Tim stares at it for an hour before he comes out of the cave. When he comes out, the group is quickly descended upon by someone calling himself the Widower. He quickly takes out all 3 of Ra's people, and then comes upon Tim. "You were not on my list, assassin. All the better . . a wild card." He says he's from the council of Spiders. As the issue ends, the assassins are dead, and Tim is lying in the desert bleeding out. But then, in the darkness, somebody calls to him . ."Did you find what you were looking for, Timothy? Timothy?" This issue is billed as the conclusion to the Grail story-line. But to me, it just leaves more questions. Is Tim dead? Who's that talking to him? Was Bruce really in that cave? Also we see this issue that Lucius Fox's daughter is looking for Tim. She shows up in Berlin trying to find out where he's heading. I thought it was an interesting issue. I think Tim is a fantastic character. The direction of this series, and his European adventure, really helps to shine the light on him as a solo character. I know. He's been solo in the past. But as Red Robin, he's really out there on his own. I mean, he's accepting help from Ra's. This issue was brought to us by Chris Yost and Ramon Bachs. I'm liking this series more and more with every issue.

Titans #17 - DC

This was yet another issue of the Titan's roller-coaster of emotion. Sometimes I think the most normal people on this team are Vic and Kory. Anyways, as usual, Beast Boy is acting like the clown. Wally and Roy rag on him. Making him the butt of their jokes. And Raven disses him when he tries to talk about their relationship . . or friendship . . or lack thereof. Donna overhears it and gives him another 'what-for'. That's when Vic steps in and decides to give it to him straight. "Why do you still play into that role . . goofing with Wally and Roy? Because it's comfortable. It's safe. You're scared of losing what you have here. You're so desperate for . . the status quo that you've replaced your old girlfriend with someone else on the team. Whose face do you see when you look back at your happiest time on the Titans? You gotta let it go, man. The whole 'living in the past' thing. You don't have to be that Gar Logan. Stop playing a role. Start getting comfortable in your own skin." Luckily his agent calls and wants him to go to San Francisco for a Sci-fi & Fantasy Con. Logan does so, and it's a bust. But as he's leaving he comes across the New Teen Titans fighting Cinderblock. And he can see that the team's not acting as a team. He can also see that Cassie's holding back because of what's happened to Eddie, Red Devil. So he goes in, gives them a little advice and leadership, and they soon beat Cinderblock. The story ends with him firing his agent. But as he's doing so, he's looking out his hotel room window at Titans tower. I don't know if he'll stay and join the Teen Titans, but . . he at least sees the damage that can be caused by hiding because of what you're afraid will happen. Or what you may lose. Life is change. He knows he has to deal with it. It's time for him to grow up. All in all, I thought it was a decent story by Pat McCallum. Angel Unzeueta does the art. It's not a great issue, but . .it's decent. I like the way we've been focusing on the individual characters the last couple of months.

Adventure Comics #2 / #505 - DC

Have I mentioned again lately how happy I am that this book has returned? No? Well let me say it here . . this is fan-frikkin-tastic!! And . . to have Geoff Johns writing the stories for it . . what more could a comic-geek like me ask for? Oh yeah . . the Legion's here too. Ok. That's enough excitement for one day. My doctor warned me about these spikes to my blood-pressure. Anyways, I want to start with the Legion story. Michael Shoemaker helps Geoff with the story. And Clayton Henry turns in a fantastic piece of artwork. Anyways, Garth has been summoned to Takron-Galtos, the prison planet, by his brother, Mekt. He assumes it's for some more ranting and raving, but he has to go because he's offered up the Legion of Super-villains safe-houses in exchange. It appears that this story picks up almost immediately following Geoff's Legion story in Action Comics. It ran from issue #858 to #863. As Garth states, "The state of the Earth . . it's swarming with anti-alien sentiment and we've got a President who's a freaking human supremacist." And the JLA, or rather the former Legion of Substitute-heroes, have been locked up. Garth comes across Storm-boy when he goes to visit Mekt. I'm sorry. That's all just a lot of history on the background of this story. This story is actually about Mekt. This time, he's asking Garth for help. He's convinced that when they were children their parents actually lied to them. Mekt is convinced that he does indeed have a twin out there, and he wants Garth to help him find him. Now the lead story . . Superboy. First of all . . I'm glad he's back. And I'm thrilled that Geoff is handling his re-immersion into the DC Universe. Nobody could do it better. And he was the one responsible for bringing him back during the Legion of 3Worlds story-line. Anyways, Connor seems to be obsessed with trying to live his life the way Clark did. He knows that he's equal parts Kal-El and Luthor . . and he wants to make sure he exhibits more qualities of the former. He has a list with him at all times. While talking to Cassie, it seems that thing that he most regrets is turning on him team-mates, and breaking Tim's arm. He just wants to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. But Cassie has a few regrets of her own. She admits to Connor that she kissed Tim. She regrets it, but . . she did it. Connor quickly forgives her. He's just happy that they're back together, and that they love each other. But who knows how long that'll last. We also see Luthor, who's currently riding around with Brainiac, and he's perusing the latest head-lines that he's missed. He's happy about all the conflict that seems to be occurring, but then he comes across the headline for Superboy's return. He doesn't look happy, but . . he also looks like he doesn't know how to feel about that. You can choose your friends, and you can choose your foes . . but you can't choose your family. Good or bad . . you're stuck. Poor Connor. And this story is only just beginning. By the way, fantastic artwork and cover by Francis Manapul. I have a feeling this is quickly going to become one of my favorite books.

Green Lantern Corps #40 - DC

It's more murder and mayhem on the grand scale that is the Blackest Night. I keep wanting to say Darkest Night for some reason. But . . whatever. Anyways, as you can see by the cover, Jade is back. But that seems to be the theme with the Black Lantern's attacks. Despite who or what came back, or who attacked who . . it seems like the Black Ring's attacks are very specific and orchestrated. In every instance it seems that it's the friends and families of the living that are attacking them. It seems to be the ones that can stir up the most emotion. So far the only person I've seen not be touched by all of this emotion is Kyle. He's confronted by Jade, and he listens to her talk. But all the while he's studying her and trying to figure out how to take her out. He's knows that it's not really Jade, and he won't stand for this obscene imitation. However, once he exposes her, and she really tries to sink her teeth into him . . does he have enough strength to overcome the attack? Anyways, that's what's basically happening all over the place to every member of the Corps. But, a couple of things I've noticed is . . when the Black Lanterns attack, it appears that they can see all of the various emotions in the counterparts. And they're showing up as the different colors of the spectrum . . much like the rings. Also, either this emotion, or this light seems to be powering them. The more they see and affect, the more powerful they become. It's my guess that somehow they have to get to the point where they're fighting them without emotion. Maybe they have to switch up targets so there's no emotional connection. However, that doesn't stem the problem of them swelling their ranks by killing everyone they can. They kill 'em, they ring 'em, and then they come back for the other side. There has to be some way to stop that whole process. Also, there's a couple of interesting developments this issue. The Lanterns go into the Planetary Citadel to find out what the Guardians are doing. That's when they find them all held by some kind of black-goo. They also notice that one of them is missing. I don't think they know it's Scab yet, but . . hopefully they'll make the connection soon. Anyways, the Alpha Lanterns immediately try to take control of the Corps, but Salaak stands up to them. He reminds them that the Guardians protocol for leadership falls on the Clarissi and then the Illustres. Salaak is the current Clarissi, and Guy and Kyle are the Illustres. That puts them in charge of the Corps. We also see that a Star Sapphire has come to Kryb's aid. He escaped the crystals of Zamaron to try to retrieve his 'children', but now he can no longer hear them. He agrees to go back to Zamaron after he saves them, so the Star Sapphire has agreed to help. But when they return to Vdra, they find nothing there. I think their alliance is going to prove to be much more important than it appears right now. We're only seeing the affects of the Black Lanterns right now. We don't know their purpose, ultimate goal, or even who's behind the whole thing. We know that the Black Hand and Scab are involved, but I think they're just generals. We haven't seen the true genius behind this madness yet. This issue is brought to us by Peter J Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. Who both do an exemplary job. Plus we get these fantastic covers by Patrick and Billy Tucci. This is a great book. If you're not reading it . . I don't know why!

Blackest Night Batman #2 - DC

Well, in the theme of the Blackest Night, all of Batman's old villains . . the dead ones, have decided to call out the Batman by rallying on the roof of the Police Station. While they're waiting for him to arrive, they're taking out whatever police officers they can. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin, with the help of Deadman, have decided to armor up and meet them with a little fire-power of their own . . specifically flame-throwers and napalm. However, if it seems that bullets, and almost any other form of dis-corporation don't appear to be working . . why do they expect that flames will? The problem is, no matter what they seem to do to these things, they just keep growing back. It's like a big out of control Zombie movie . . with super-heroes. Anyways, Red Robin comes to their aid, when it looks like they're about to run out of flames. And in the process they also save the Commissioner and Barbara Gordon. But then soon after the hovercraft is attacked by the corpse of Tim and Dick's parents. On the final page of the issue, they crash land in the cemetery. I'm not sure what these guys are supposed to do against these things. And to be honest with you, it doesn't appear that they're making much progress. The supporting characters from Batman's circle of friends don't seem to be suffering as much loss as say the Green Lantern Corps. I mean, in the sense that there's not as many living ones being killed to be converted. Well . . except for some of the villains. But, all their dead family members . . and Tim's suffered a lot of loss in the last couple of years, do seem to be coming back to cause pain and anguish. Next issue is the final one for this mini, but . . I don't really see a resolution coming in that issue. I don't know how it can. But I guess we'll have to wait and see what they do. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by the artwork of Ardian Syaf. I like his style. It's crisp and clean. I'm also enjoying Peter J Tomasi's story, and the humor that he's injecting into it. Who'd have thought he could find something funny in this type of story. Batman and Robin break into the Gotham armory, and with a smug look on his face, Damian says . . "Merry Christmas! And here I thought guns were on the 'things we don't use' list." Dick quickly explains his stand to him, to which Damian replies, "No problem. We only burn zombies. I get you." Throughout all the Batman books, in the last couple of months, I love the dialogue between Dick and Damian. Anyways, there's only 1 more issue left here. I guess next issue we'll see the showdown between sons and their parents. That should be interesting.

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.

Moon Knight Saga - Free Preview - Marvel

To be perfectly honest with you . . I only picked up this book because it was free. I'm on the fence as to whether I'm going to pick up the new series when it comes out. I haven't really decided. However . . this book gives us a detailed account of the entire Moon Knight history. Not the individual issues, and various titles that have come out from Marvel . . but rather a detailed account of what Marc Spector has been through and why. As told by Marc himself. Even if you know nothing about Moon Knight, Marc or his history . . this book will fill you in right from the very beginning. It covers everything. And like I said, you're not getting it in story form, but rather a first person narration by Marc himself. An autobiography of sorts . . if you will. Either that or a confession. It could go either way. Anyways, it's written by John Rhett Thomas, Dugan Trodglen and Jess Harrold. All of which I've never heard of. But, they do a good job tying together all the various parts of Marc's life. It really does seem like a seamless string of events, from beginning to end. And it features art by all the various artists that have contributed to this character over the years. We see panels by Laurence Campbell, Tom Coker, Tommy Lee Edwards, David Finch, Klaus Janson, Frank Miller, Kevin Nowlan, Jefte Palo, Esad Ribic, Alex Ross, Javier Saltares, Bill Sienkeiwicz, Mico Suayan and Mark Texiera. That's quite a list of talent there. If you're even in the least bit curious about this character . . where he's been, what he's done, where he's going . . this issue will fill you in on everything. It's very comprehensive. And like I said . . it's free. Well . . 25 cents if you buy it from Mile High Comics. Why not slip it into your next order? Oh yeah, and the new series Vengeance of Moon Knight is coming out next week . . 9/16. It's by Gregg Hurwitz and Jerome Opena. Look at that fantastic cover by Leinul Francis Yu. Maybe I'm not on the fence as much as I thought I was.

Ghost Riders - Heaven's on Fire #2 - Marvel

First of all, I want to say that I'm enjoying Roland Boschi's art more and more with every issue. His picture of Danny Ketch on the title page is awesome. Probably one of the best I've ever seen. That panel alone helped to sell me on this guy. Anyways, everybody is after the Anti-Christ right now because he's the only one that has the power to stand up to Zadkiel. Johnny, Sara, Hellstorm and Jaine are all trying to get the kid. But, unfortunately, so is Zadkiel. So our little group is constantly fighting his forces. But they're also fighting amongst themselves, too. Johnny and Sara know the importance of capturing the kid, but Hellstorm and Jaine just want to kill him and be done with it. They don't understand his importance. Plus Hellstorm and Jaine seem to have this relationship problem that they're trying to work out at the same time. It's actually kind of funny . . given the situation. They're fighting each other while they're fighting for their lives. That's some kind of passion. Anyways, while they're all off doing that, Danny is making a deal of his own on the side. Not for himself, but for the group and the mission that they're trying to accomplish. He promised Satan he'd keep the kid safe. "I got a plan to take Zadkiel down. The kid is the key. The devil wants to see Zadkiel fail as much as we do. He's going to help us. I made him a deal. We get the keys to Heaven, Johnny. At long last. We get our shot at revenge against the bastard who ruined our lives. And all it cost me was my soul." But then, that misfit band of terrorists that's on their tail . . it seems that Kowalski has joined up with them. And he also seems to be a Spirit of Vengeance now. Anyways, we got 4 more issues to ride this one out, so sit back and enjoy. Jason Aaron is weaving a story that should keep us in suspense all the way up to the final issue. These characters have a lot they have to overcome before any of this will be brought to a resolution. Oh yeah, we also get the 2nd half of the reprint of Ghost Rider #1. It's ok. I know it's a classic. But it just doesn't feel the same now. Not as cutting-edge as it was then. Of course that was 36 years ago. Wow . . does time fly!

Cable #18 - Marvel

Now this book should be billed as . . Cable . . In Space! Last issue, Cable and Hope took off in Earth's only hope of salvation . . their only working spaceship. Because of Bishop's actions, this Earth has come to an end. It's not completely done yet, but it may as well be. They're all just waiting for it's final breath. So Cable's plan is . . head out into the universe and make it harder for Bishop to follow them or establish where they're going. This story picks up, it appears, about 7 or 8 years later. Hope is a teenager now. The people of Earth have Cable locked up in the brig, because he passed himself off as Stryfe when this mission began. Since they found that to not be true . . they arrested him. Unfortunately, now . . they're flying around through space with no idea where they're going. Or . . where they're at. However it isn't long . . well, long being relative, they've been in space for 7 or 8 years . . however, it isn't long, as far as this story goes, before they're boarded by another vessel. Of course it's Bishop and his followers from the 'clean-city'. Which includes Emil, Hope's child-hood friend . . also now a teenager. So, Bishop's plan, unbeknownst to Emil or the rest of the people form Earth, is to ensure that Hope is indeed still aboard this ship . . he has to see her with his own eyes, and then he's going to set off the nuclear bomb that he's got implanted in his cybernetic arm. Everyone dies . . including Hope and Bishop. However, shortly after their reunion, Hope tells Emil what's really going on. He helps her evade Bishop and hide in the ship. But it's not long before they come face to face. However, before he can trigger the device Emil attacks him. That of course doesn't last long. But then, before he can again trigger the bomb . . everyone is held in stasis. The ship has just been attacked, and overrun by . . . the Brood. "Bishop wasn't the only one interested in my girl." That was an ending that I wasn't expecting. This issue's title is Brood Chapter One: Bishop takes Pawn. Next issue is titled Queen Captures Bishop. An interesting play on words. Anyways . . this looks like it's going to shape up to be an interesting chapter in this on-going saga. Actually, I'm glad they're off Earth now. I think everything had run it's course there. The story would've seemed forced if they tried to remain inside that paradigm. I'm still questioning why, this far into the future, Cable still hasn't found the resources to fix his time-travelling device. But . . he's got a whole new threat to worry about now. I thought it was a good story by Duane Swierczynski and Gabriel Guzman. Also Gabriel's art throughout this issue looked pretty good. I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Exiles #6 - Marvel

Well . . this is it. The final issue. And if we're not certain . . Morph even says so on the opening page. It doesn't get much more official than that. The only thing we don't know is . . why? I'm guessing it's the poor showing during this recent incarnation, but . . that's probably just another excuse. I can't image that it would be that hard to find a writer and artist to take it over. Anyways, I always liked this book. It was interesting looking in on other universes to see how they were different from the established Marvel Universe. Since nothing they encountered was ever set in stone . . anything was possible. Plus, since Blink is stuck here helping the Tallus . . I'm guessing that we'll never see her in the Marvel Universe again. That stinks! This issue basically gives us a history and explanation of this whole process . . who's behind it and why. Right now . . the panoptichron is controlled by Kang. A female version. But . . they also give themselves an out at the same time. "From being connected to the panoptichron, the multiverse is a potentially infinite series of loops. While we can stake out a section of the larger loop and defend it to keep people like ourselves in existence . . we still change the structure in another direction. And when you change a later point in a circle, you change the beginning point as well. At one point, the Timebroker as the collective consciousness was true. And later, so were the bugs, and the couple. But after a while we'll change enough realities that Kang won't be the guiding force. It'll be something else. The nature of it is . . it all keeps changing. Just like the rest of life . . you can only deal with what you're given at the moment." And then the current team jumps into action to save Moonboy. So . . it's my understanding that the Exiles aren't really 'done'. They'll still be operating out of the crystal palace, and recruiting and training new team members. We just won't have a way to see their adventures. Unless, I'm sure, we get enough people asking for them again. The seeds of the first incarnation came about in, around 1991. That's was around the time when Marvel bought out the Ultraverse from Malibu Comics. There was an Exile comic there that was quickly revamped to include the Juggernaut and a couple other Marvel characters. That ran for about a year, and then in 2001 it was made into the idea that we have here . . by Judd Winick and Mike McKone. Blink and Morph have been involved since issue #1. In fact, the first team included Blink, Morph, Mimic, Thunderbird, Magnus and Nocturne. That's also where the Nocturne in the Marvel Universe came from. She got hurt, they came to the Marvel Universe for her to recuperate . . she ended up staying. Anyways, my point is . . it's an established part of the Marvel Universe now. We don't have very many Age of Apocalypse characters left. Now we're losing another one. So if there's any other followers of this book that are upset about it's cancellation . . go to the Marvel message boards and make your voices heard. This was a great title, with great characters. And it still has a lot of potential. Now . . it just doesn't have an outlet for that.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #002 - Marvel

Since Brian Bendis is writing this book, as he did the last version . . it really has much of the same feel to it. They're all just dealing with some different problems right now. Everything seems to be flowing along it's natural course, but . . I do have one question. When did Peter give up on MJ and start getting so close to Gwen? Did I miss something, or has that yet to be explained? I know before the catastrophe he was helping her with the whole Carnage thing, but . . when did that segue into a serious relationship? Plus, is it me, or does Peter and MJ seem to be deliberately avoiding each other? Ok, I guess that's more than one question, but . . they're really all about the same thing. Anyways, other than that . . I like the feel of the book right now. Johnny Storm has come to Aunt May's house to recuperate . . I guess. Nobody really knows what happened to him. But on the final page, Aunt May asks him. So I guess we'll get some answers next issue. After Jonah's obituary for Spider-man . . and then finding out that he actually made it through the disaster . . he's the toast of NYC right now. Everybody loves him. Which he's actually starting to find annoying. He usually has to have his guard up. This is throwing him off-balance. Everybody else's relationship seems to be falling apart. Kitty and Kong don't seem to be together anymore. And because everyone is blaming the disaster on 'mutants', she's like the red-headed step-child of her school now. Kitty is also not getting along with MJ. Really, the only 2 that seem to be happy is Peter and Gwen. Hmmm! Spider-man meets up with some new villains this issue . . the Bombshells. It's a mother and daughter team. It doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal for him, but . . it takes a little more effort than he was expecting. And we find out that the new villain that was lurking around last issue . . the one that pushed the Kingpin off of his own building, is none other than Mysterio. We get a little bit of information about him this issue. But not much. Right now it seems like Brian is trying to start, and establish some new story-lines. Everything is a little bit disconjointed. But, some of that is to be expected after what they all just went through. It's still interesting. It just seems like everything is going in a new direction. David Lafuente is doing the art now. His style is different from both Mark's and Stuart's, but . . I think once he gets into the groove of this book, he'll definitely make it his own. You can already see some of his own influences coming through. I'm not thrilled with the book right now, but . . I'm also not disappointed. It doesn't have the same feel as the old one, but it's not supposed to. Right now it's just a matter of finding out just what kind of feel it is supposed to have. However, when all's said and done . . it's still Peter Parker and Spider-man. So I'm gonna love it. It's just in transition right now.

the Invincible Iron Man #17 - Marvel

Ok . . it seems as if everything is falling apart right now for Tony Stark and Iron Man. I think he's finally hit the bottom. Actually, I hope so. I don't know what other bad things could happen to this guy. How much more can he take? After his fight with Whitney last issue, he's taken off for 'Stark Lab double-zero'. Wherever that is. All we know is that it's 9 hours and 9 minutes away from where he is right now. He's not happy about leaving Pepper behind with Whitney, but . . she wants him to escape. She feels that his destiny is more important than her own. But with Tony's diminished capacity, and he's fatigued from the recent conflict . . on his way to the base he falls asleep in the armor and is shot out of the sky in what looks like the Middle-East. Whitney returns to Osborne. She claims that Tony escaped, but that she killed Pepper and recovered her armor. But I think there's something up here. I think Pepper is actually in the armor. And if so . . her and Whitney are up to something. We just don't know what it is yet. Anyways, Maria Hill is still having problems after her attack by the Controller. She's holed up with Natasha right now. But she's even a handful for her. They've arranged a meeting with Captain America to hand off the hard-drive that Tony sent her after. But during Tony's trip, he sends an E-Mail to Maria . . and not a secure one. During the exchange HAMMER agents capture Natasha and Maria. Cap gets away, but we don't know what happened to the hard-drive. I find it hard to believe that any of this is going according to plan. Unless of course, Tony came up with all of this before he started deleting his intelligence. But like I said . . I think this is the bottom. Hopefully from here Tony can start scratching his way back. Matt Fraction has done a terrific job deconstructing both Tony and Iron Man. Now I just hope he can put him all back together again. The World's Most Wanted story-line continues through issue #19. That's where we switch to the Tony Stark: Disassembled story-line. Apparently that leads up to something big that's supposed to happen in issue #25. Oh yeah . . and of course, Salvador Larroca continues to do a fantastic job with the art.

the Boys #34 - Dynamite Entertainment

I think Hughie may have the right idea. He's thinking about quittin' the Boys. Stormfront finally catches up to them this issue, and Butcher starts wailing on him. I can't blame him, really. If he lets up at all, Stormfront's gonna' tear him apart. Even after taking a crowbar to his mouth, Stormfront still almost takes him out. That is until Mother's milk and Frenchie get involved. But it's Vas, the Love Sausage, that really turns the tide. And then . . then they kick the crap out of him, literally . . along with a few other organs. Overall, it was pretty disgusting. Anyways, Hughie is there for all of this, even though he didn't really partake in the mayhem. So later, when he's sitting in the Female's hospital room, talking to her unconscious self . . the reason everything went to this level in the first place, he begins to tell her "All the killin', you know? It's just no' me. It's no' how I expected to live my life. To tell you the truth, I was startin' to write the Boys off as a bunch of violent nutters. I can't bloody stand supes, or the awful stuff they get up to. But I was seriously thinkin' about quittin'. But when I see you lyin' here like this. It's like seein' someone I've known since I was . . aw, god. I hope you wake up, hen." As he's tearing up, he notices a bag on her nightstand. "Ooh! Chocolate limes!" As he eats one . . she wakes up and breaks his arm." Butcher seems to know that Hughie's on the fence. He seems to know everything. But Butcher thinks Hughie's friendship with Vas will help him stick around a little longer. The broken arm isn't going to help though. As a third option, Butcher suggests "I suppose we could always tell him who we are." So, I guess, next issue starts the Origins . . beginning with Mother's Milk. Anyways, it was an interesting book. A little violent, but . . interesting. I am looking forward to the origins of these characters . . to see where they came from . . what they're hiding. Plus we have to see ultimately what Hughie's going to decide. Garth Ennis writes it, and I guess Carlos Ezquerra is doing the art now. He's done the last couple of issues.

the Authority #14 - WildStorm

Well . . Kaizen Gamorra has brought the full wrath of his nation down upon the Authority . . and the Carrier. "Dismantle the Carrier and recover everything we can use. Especially . . especially the exotic technology." Jack puts up a good fight against Cybernary. But eventually she takes him down. But I'm kind of wondering if he didn't go down a little too easy. We also find out that Rendlesham has some secrets of their own. Angie and Swift are fighting other beings from Gamorra, in different parts of the Carrier when the Golden, from Rendlesham, seem to come to their aid. However, they quickly find out . . "Oh, I'm not here to help you. I'm here to help myself." It turns out Rendlesham is the UK's answer to Area 51. They've found a 'door', but they don't know how to use it yet. They want to explore the different dimensions of the Bleed. But so far nothing, or anybody, that they've sent through has come back. So they want the Engineer's help. In order to ensure her cooperation . . they shove Swift through the door. Also Midnighter is having his own problems. He's heading to the Scottish border . . for some reason, but as he approaches . . the horizon on the other side of the river looks like paradise. He tries to circumvent the large guards at the bridge, but he ends up in the river. Then when he tries to escape on a boat . . he's quickly descended upon by a fiery dragon. "Oh, you have got to be f^&#*ng kidding me!" It appears we have several story-lines coming out of this book. They'll either be coming together in the next issue or two, or . . going in completely different directions. Either way, it looks like the Authority is going to have a lot of crap to deal with in the immediate future. An interesting story by Abnett & Lanning. Also the art this issue is shared by Drew Johnson and Simon Coleby. I'm sorry. I kind of sped through that story. But the really exciting part comes after. We get a preview of Planetary #27. It's been almost 3 years since #26 came out and from the preview it looks like Warren Ellis and John Cassaday haven't missed a beat. This story involves a time machine. It's billed as the final, over-sized issue in Warren and John's fantastic journey. It's scheduled to come out October 7th. I can't wait.

the Mighty #8 - DC

Again, this series takes another dark turn. Last issue Gabrielle Cole found his wife, Janet, dead in an automobile accident. Since then, he's decided to take some time off from his job. And he's trying to distance himself from Alpha One. He's up to something, but we don't know what yet. He visits Michael Shaw's grave, on of the previous Captains. It looks like he's either cutting the Alpha One signal out of his hand, or . . just cutting off his hand. Like I said, we don't know what he's up to . . yet. Anyways, he's out wallowing in his anguish and remorse when Alpha One offers to take him someplace to get away from the world . . his Sanctuary. I'm not sure if he's given up on hating, and being scared of Alpha One, or . . this might just all be part of his plan. Anyways, he ends up there watching movies until he passes out. In the process though . . Alpha One gives him a lot more information as to his origin. It turns out that he didn't get his powers from a nuclear explosion in the 50's. That was just a cover story. He's actually been around a lot longer than that. We don't get an exact date, but . . he eludes to witnessing historic events in the early 1900's. And, he doesn't reveal how he really did get his powers, or where he came from. Anyways, Cole wakes up and finds out, from the TV feeds, that Alpha One is off in Sendai trying to stop a Tsunami. That's when he gets the idea to start looking through his computer to see just what he has hidden in there. Peter J Tomasi and Keith Champagne are doing a great job with this story. I can't believe we're on issue #8 already. I didn't know how long I'd stick with this, but I thought I'd give it a shot. It's been very intriguing . . and mysterious. Hey . . it's kept me coming back for 8 issues now. I'm also enjoying Chris Samnee's art. I think it's improving with every issue. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Final Crisis Aftermath Run #5 - DC

This series is about Mike Miller . . the Human Flame. He's the guy whom Libra took under his wing in Final Crisis and granted him his wish . . he wanted the Martian Manhunter to pay for all the grief he had caused him over the years. So . . Libra got Jonn, and killed him. That's how this guy came out of relative obscurity. Anyways, in this series, so far . . General Immortus . . another villain from the archives . . again took the Human Flame under his wing and 'updated' him. He basically revamped and reshaped his whole body. His contingency was . . Mike's pain receptors were left intact, until he proved his loyalty to the General. We're talking about flame powers here. Heat! Lots of it! Flame powers, and metal objects protruding out of your skin don't mix well with human physiology. And even though he did become more powerful . . Mike felt like he was double-crossed. So, the first chance he got . . he and the Seductress lit out on their own. She was another of the General's test subjects. She's been following Mike around ever since. But Mike hasn't stopped to ask her a single question. Like . . what are your powers? Are you using them on me? She's obviously already proved her loyalty to the General, so . . why is she with Mike? Is she keeping tabs on him for the General, or does she have some other alterior motive? Yes she's hot, and well endowed, but . . that's no reason to just take her at her word. Many men have gone down that path and failed. Why should Mike think he's any different? Anyways, they end up at STAR Labs last issue because Mike thinks that he can get more power there. There they accidentally let loose a 26-dimensional Hypergriffin. And they run into Dr Xenophon Quincy, the Asst. Director, who's trying to stop it. After interrogating him for a while, they find out that he can do a procedure on Mike called 'cellular microfission' that will give him the power enabling him to contain this Hypergriffen. It's done with Nanotechnology, but . . it has a side-effect. First it's very painful. All of his other modifications will cease to operate. And, he finds out later, "Without a massive influx of neutrons, the nanoreactors will cease to function. You'll be right back to normal in a matter of hours." Then he finds out, "The only way to stabilize the reaction process would be to immerse yourself in the pressure chamber of a PWR nuclear reactor." Now why did he have to go and tell Mike that? Since there just happens to be a nuclear reactor nearby, in White Mountain . . that's right where Mike's heading. Consequences be damned. On his way he finds out that his powers aren't as easy to operate as he thought. And . . he picks up some 'friends'. Namely, John Stewart, Firestorm and Red Tornado. They picked up the Seductress and know what Mike's plans are, so . . they're out to stop him. Obviously. But then Mike plays them and John Stewart punches him right into the reactor. The issue ends with the whole facility going up in smoke. So what about Mike? Did he survive? Has he been amped yet once again? And when is this guys luck going to run out? I like Matthew Sturges story here. It's a little 'out-there', but . . it's fun. Kind of. Freddie Williams II is also doing a great job with the art. But . . there's only 1 issue to go. So the ultimate fate of Mike Miller will be decided then. I can't wait.

Strange Adventures #7 - DC

Well . . the craps really gonna hit the fan . . next issue. Last issue, Comet and Adam Strange went into the Weird's psyche to see if they could reason with him. Once they got there, they found his mind to be inhabited by the various incarnations that the Weird has taken over the years. This included Walter Langley, his first . . a few aliens, that happened along the way . . Captain Comet, the original . . and finally Synnar. Because they all once held the Weird's power, everything here is decided upon democratically. I'm guessing that the Weird is actually an energy type being who doesn't really exist unless he takes on the persona of another. But we don't know the specifics here. Jim Starlin has kept the Weird's powers and abilities a mystery for over 20 years now. Anyways, not being able to reason with the Weird personally, Adam and Comet have to go through these personalities. Basically the Weird is currently destroying this part of the universe. Whole planets and stars are blinking out of existence, because he's assumed Synnar's powers and apparently it's driving him mad. But we don't know that for sure yet. Maybe we just don't comprehend what his plan really is. But . . barring that, the only option they can think of is for the Weird to return the powers to Synnar. That would at least return the universe to some semblance of normalcy. However, since the 6 of them are split on what to do . . they do nothing. That is until Comet convinces Captain Comet to change his mind. When they do, Adam and Comet return to their bodies, and the remaining personalities begin the process of returning the power to Synnar. Immediately our 5 heroes . . Adam, Comet, Prince Gavyn, Eye and the Weird end up on what I think is a symbolic plane. It looks like the Star of David, but . . I think it's six points represent Synnar's Aberrant Six. They're just missing the final member. They realize that Synnar obviously has his powers back now, and the Weird's back to his old self . . when Comet states the obvious conclusion . . "We have reached a whole new, until now, unimaginable level of being screwed." I thought this was a fantastic chapter by Jim Starlin. Not only did he write an engaging story, but . . he has some pages in this book in which his art is fantastic. I mean . . all the pages are good. But there's a few that just jump right off the page at you. He really did a great job here. I can't wait to see what happens next issue. And then . . what his plans are beyond that. I mean . . you can tell by reading this . . this is only the beginning. Oh yeah, and in the back-up . . Coriolis has come a little closer to returning Bizarro to Deacon Dark. I'm just wondering if Deacon Dark knows what he's getting in to. It was drawn by Scott McDaniel.

Magog #1 - DC

I got a picture of the variant cover here. But I had to skip picking it up. Between all the variants I've been buying with Blackest Night, and the Flash and other stuff . . I just can't get everything. Plus, something I've noticed . . my guy gives me 20% off on my purchases. So that makes the $25 variants $20, and the $10 variants $8. Which makes it a little easier on the wallet. But . . I noticed a week or 2 later when you look up the books on Mile High Comics . . they're usually listed at the same price I paid, or even a little cheaper. If I bought the variants from them instead . . yes I'd run the risk of them not having them, or the value going up, as they did with the Batman titles, but . . with free shipping, it doesn't seem like that great of a risk. I'm not trying to be disloyal to my guy . . taking my business elsewhere, but . . with the value of the dollar being what it is now-a-days . . I have to watch how I spend every one of them. And this is already becoming an expensive 'hobby'. Anyways, I'm sorry about my little rant, but that's been bothering me the last couple of months. I've been wrestling with the decision whether or not to do it. Now . . on to Magog. Having read the Kingdom Come series, I'm familiar with what this character can become . . and his role in the destruction of an entire world. However, I also realize that this is a different character. Same name . . different person . . David Reid. So he could go a different path. I don't see that happening, but . . there's always the possibility. He's already butting heads with Alan over his methods, and 'the end justifies the means' mentality. But, being a soldier most of his adult life, and then being granted super-powers . . he sees the worlds problems from a different perspective than the normal super-hero. He makes a few comments in this book about how he feels. "Sudan, Afghanistan, Haiti, the list goes on. Hell on Earth. Squalid pits of institutionalized suffering. Where are all the 'Heroes'? Give them an alien world in need and they're there in a flash. Give them a country in need and they turn a blind eye, start bleating about national sovereignty and exerting undue influence . . basically the same tired litany of excuses for not doing what they know is right." And this is the part that worries me about this character. He's not trying to be like Gog, or follow his influence. But he's already creating walls between himself and the rest of the super-hero community. Anyways, right now he's following the path of a new commodity . . 'wonder-tech'. "Meta stuff. The crap left lying around once the heroes have save the day." Besides the Justice Society, he's got his own help. Axel Baines watches over his base of operations . . a gas station in the middle of nowhere . . Ordell, West Virginia. The names bogus, but he's obviously ex-military, and a kind of tech-wizard. He helps his gather information and figure out where to point the gun. David also has a human side. In Ordell he's taken to helping a woman . . a waitress in the diner he frequents . . that is a victim of domestic violence. On the sly, he's trying to teach her to defend herself. But there's other story-lines developing here. First of all, while the JSA don't have him on a leash, they are keeping track of him . . visual and technical surveillance. Secondly, there seems to be another faction out there dealing in next generation ordinance. They haven't crossed paths with Magog yet, but they will because they see him as a threat. Overall I thought it was an intriguing first issue. I thought Keith Giffen did a great job with the story . . he brought a lot of 'stuff' to the table. There's a lot of different directions he can go from here. As a reader, I think he's going to have to develop more of the human side of David's character if he wants us to get 'bought-in' to the story. However, I do think that's possible. We'll just have to see. And if you've read my blog before, you already know that I'm a huge fan of Howard Porters. I think the guys a hugely underrated talent. I don't know if I necessarily like John Dell's inks over his stuff, but . . we'll see. I liked the first issue. The trick is to see where we go from here.

Jonah Hex #47 - DC

There's a couple of things to note with this issue. First of all . . and unexplained, is that Hex hasn't killed El Papagayo yet. By the way . . El Papagayo means 'the parrot'. That doesn't seem like the name a ruthless criminal would take to strike fear in his enemies. Does it? Anyways, Mr Turnbull isn't taking any more chances and has hired 6 mercenaries, or assassins to go after Hex for him. He knows that Jonah is coming after him, and he also knows the probably path he'll take. There's a small town about 6 miles north of his location that has a Mescal saloon. Turnbull knows that they'll stop there on thier way to him. That's where he wants his hired guns to wait. But, what they don't count on is that Jonah 'knows' people everywhere. They may not all like him, but . . they do fear him. A little weasel that bothers him from time to time warns him that there's some people waiting for him in the jungle. They're waiting for him and his cohorts to get drunk, and then they plan on killing them. So Jonah plays along, and lets everybody else have a good time. Then when everybody else is passed-out, he goes to the front door to see if he can find these killers location. On the final page of the issue, he looks out the door and sees everyone else in the town lying dead in the street. This may turn out to be a little more than he can handle . . alone. I thought Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti did a great job with this story. The dialogue between Jonah, Tallulah and Bat Lash was hilarious . . and ruthless. Some of the jabs they take at each other were crippling. And I have to say . . Cristiano Cucina's art gets better and better with every issue. I wasn't to thrilled about it at first, but this issue really had some great looking pages. It'll be interesting to see how this Six-Gun War plays itself out over the next 2 issues. So far . . I like it.

Solomon Grundy #7 - DC

I have to say . . this story didn't go anywhere near as I expected. Maybe it was the anarchy and chaos of the whole thing that kept me guessing. Basically, we learn that Solomon Grundy's character comes from a cursed criminal that died in Slaughter Swamp . . Cyrus Gold. Somehow his death activated some arcane energies that were already present there. The combined result was Solomon Grundy. The curse was that he would die and be reborn again . . and again, and again, and again . . week after week after week . . . anyways, you get the idea . . . 'Born on a Monday . . Died on a Saturday'. The difference with this story . . over previous adventures, is that Alan Scott and the Phantom Stranger are convinced that if Cyrus confronts his killer . . and forgives him, that the curse will be broken. And the world will be free of Solomon Grundy. That's what they've been trying to accomplish this whole storyline. However, during this issue, when Cyrus finally figures out who it was that killed him . . Etrigan shows up to try to throw a wrench into the whole thing. Apparently he . . or whatever powers of hell . . they don't want Solomon Grundy to be extinguished. So . . Cyrus figures out that he killed himself. He wrestles with that realization, and is almost to the forgiving stage, as the sun sets . . another stipulation of the curse . . when the words of Etrigan start running through his head. Especially the phrase . . "Never Forgive!" But Alan and the Stranger have to realize that they could lead Cyrus along the path, but in the end it was his choice. However, in the end . . his soul is taken from the Earth. Etrigan has taken him down to hell where he'll be punished for his crimes. But what about Grundy? "If Solomon Grundy has regrown under that dead swamp . . it is but an empty husk. Cyrus Gold is gone . . the cycle is ended. There is nothing I can see that will animate that monster." And the world goes back to normal. That is until . . a Black Lantern ring comes looking for him. "Solomon Grundy of Earth . . RISE!!" This creates a whole new problem. Apparently Grundy is going to play a role in Blackest Night. And we're going to see him in Superman/Batman #66 & #67. Which Scott Kolins will be doing also. With the Faces of Evil books they took criminals that were sometimes underrated and turned them into major league players. I'm assuming this is what they're doing with Grundy also. There was some stuff I didn't understand in the middle, but . . on a whole, I enjoyed this series. It may be important someday as the series that changed Solomon Grundy. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Red Tornado #1 - DC

This was an interesting book. I wasn't really expecting it. I always look ahead at the upcoming comics, but . . the ones I'm not necessarily sure I'll be interested in . . I don't pay much attention to them. I saw this posting, but I didn't really look into it. So I kind of forgot it was coming out. Anyways, after the Red Tornado Origin, or Year 1, mini-series . . and then the back-up stories in the Justice League book . . it appears that the Red Tornado is finally back and acting 'normal'. Well . . as normal as an android who wants to act and appear human can be. I guess. Kevin Van Hook seems to have some interesting ideas about this character. In the beginning of the story, John goes to his daughter Traya's recital. Afterwards he and Kathy are involved in conversation with some of the other parents. John's input into the conversation is awkward, to say the least. Afterwards when Kathy questions him about it, his response is . . "I was archiving . . moving some pretty massive amounts of data around. I guess I dedicated to many resources to that. Social interactivity was set to low priority." I thought that was funny. I understand where Kevin's coming from here . . my only concern is John and Kathy's relationship as he seems less personal now. But I'm sure we'll see how that all plays out over the course of the story. Anyways, the main thing going on here is that John, Red Tornado has decided to try to find his other family. It turns out the even though TO Morrow created the Red Tornado . . Professor Ivo also created some androids based on his designs. Specifically the one who comes after Mr Morrow . . Red Volcano. He is also looking to find out if there's more out there like him. Volcano and Tornado both seem to be receiving a signal of sorts from somewhere. Morrow tells Volcano that there were 4 elements. Red Tornado represents Air. But Water came first . . Red Torpedo. "Also . . Fire . . a boy . . Red Inferno. He still exists . . powers are dormant . . in a school in a town where . . ." Unfortunately we don't hear the rest of that story. It appears that this Red Inferno is going to be the mystery of this series. Anyways, through archives and uncovered government documents, Tornado finds out more and more about this Red Torpedo. It appears that she was active in WWII, but all appearances and mentions of her became classified. Red Tornado finds her in the torpedo tube of a sunken ship in Pearl Harbor . . where Morrow left her. As the issue ends, he activates her . . the signal stops . . and he feels like he's just gained a sister. I have a feeling it's not going to be as easy of a relationship as he thinks. Anyways, I think that's going to be the primary story of this series . . with John's family of Kathy and Traya being the secondary story-line. Like I said, I think Kevin put together a fascinating story here. I'm interested to see how it all plays out. Also we got a great cover by Ed Benes. And Jose Luis' art on the interior looked pretty good.

Batman Confidential #33 - DC

I have to say . . for as much as Batman seems out of his element on this story-line . . it's growing on me every issue. First of all . . we have that awesome cover by Jock. And Andy Clarke's art on the interiors is equally as impressive. A different style. But very crisp and clean. Then we have Peter Milligan crafting this intriguing story. I know that the Batman has decided to come to Russia to try to ebb the Tsar's influence into the Gotham Underworld . . that and the rumors of the nuclear bomb, but . . he has other 'identities', and costumes. My only flaw with the whole thing is that he thought he could come here and intimidate the criminals the same way he did in Gotham. That's been his learning curve through this whole process . . how to make them more scared of him, than they are of the horrors they face everyday from their own countrymen. Specifically, the Tsar and the Bear. Watching Batman flounder and adapt is interesting. It provides an angle that makes it different from other Batman stories. But . . if he'd just assumed a different identity . . things might've gone differently. However, on the other hand . . that 'angle' may be why the story remains interesting. Anyways, Batman isn't making much headway on the crime-bosses, and absolutely no footing with the Tsar, but . . he is shaking things up a bit as he's causing a decrease in their earnings. Even if the bosses aren't scared of him, the buyers and the residents, I think, are on edge because of the shift in climate that they can sense around them. There's a crime-war that's being played out in front of them, and they don't really know who's worse . . the Batman, or the Tsar. Meanwhile, Batman seems to have befriended this guy who lives in the sewers and tunnels under Moscow. He seems to be fairly intelligent. He has a level head . . kind of. But he's afraid to come out. "You're better off down here. Moscow . . it isn't safe. Moscow is a jungle." I think he'll provide Batman with some information, as he seems to know a lot about the city. Plus, I'm guessing, but he's not afraid of the Bear . . I'm assuming that they have some type of relationship. That may prove beneficial to the Batman. And again I'm guessing, but . . I think this may be the Tsar's son . . or the Police Chief's. I'm not sure which. Also, I think the Police Chief is starting to come around to the Batman's way of thinking. He's been a pawn of the Tsar for a long time. But I think he's starting to sense that things don't necessarily have to be that way. Plus, I think, he's seeing a glimmer of the man he used to be. A man he used to be proud of. But that may all be moot as it appears that the Tsar's next course of action is to go after the Police Chief's family. Anyways, overall I thought it was a good book. Obviously, from how long this posting is, it got a lot of thoughts and ideas running around in my head. I would think that's the greatest compliment a story could get . . to inspire ideas and reflection in the reader. There's 2 issues next month, to wrap up this story-line . . and then we begin a new story-arc. But it appears that we're staying with this European theme as Batman next goes to Poland.

Supergirl Annual #1 - DC

First of all . . cool cover by Renato Guedes. I really liked this one. In the first story of this book, we see Supergirl trying to use her civilian identity, Linda Lang, to fight crime. Obviously she can't just go strutting about as Supergirl . . since Kryptonian's are banned. But she also can't just sit around when she knows she can help. Anyways, long story short, she stops a bank robbery, but in the process she 'outs' a couple of other Kryptonians that were trying to lead a normal life on Earth. Not all of the Kryptonians that stayed behind are 'sleepers'. Some of them just wanted to try to eck out a normal existence, or as in this case, didn't want to be relegated to the labor caste. They wanted to make a future of their own. The Kryptonians, a mother and her child, don't get captured or anything, but . . now they're on video. Their faces have been seen so they to go somewhere else and try to start over. Kara really feels guilty about all of this. Lana tries to help assuage her guilt, but . . these were her own people she betrayed. Persecuted people . . who just wanted to be normal. It was a great story by Sterling Gates and Fernando Dagnino. It was a different side of Kara that we haven't really seen before. Also, I think Fernando's art is getting better and better with every issue that he does. In the second story, we get the origin of Superwoman. Well . . really it's the origin of Lucy Lane, but then she becomes Superwoman at her father's bequest, so . . it's all downhill from there. It was an interesting story . . showing just how a sibling can be manipulated by their parents just because they want to make them happy. But . . the really important part is that . . . it looks like Lucy will be returning. I'm guessing that her life-force, or the energy contained by the suit, dissipated when she exploded, but . . it wasn't necessarily destroyed. The energy has stayed pretty much in the same spot where it fell apart . . Piscataquis County, Maine . . absorbing the life-energy of those that happen to get to close. We don't get all the details right now, but . . we see Lucy curled up in a fetus position, sleeping and dreaming in the rain. We do see however that Project 7734 has got a satellite visual of her. Her story is going to be continued in Supergirl this fall. This chapter was brought to us by the same creative team. Overall I thought this was a great Annual. It actual gives us 2 relevant stories . . rather than just filler. And it was handled very well creatively. What more could I ask for?

Batman #690 - DC

I don't know that anyone necessarily knows that the Batman isn't the Batman, but . . I think a lot of people around Gotham have a sneaking suspicion that something is different. They just can't put their finger on it. And because of that, it seems like everyone is trying to play with his head. This issue starts out with Dick fighting Clay-face and Lyle Blanco. Two very different creatures that escaped from Arkham recently. However, they seem to be in concert against him. It isn't until the fights almost over that Dick realizes that they're being watched. So that means that somebody set up this little confrontation for some reason. Whether it was to test him, or judge him, or just to study him . . he doesn't really know. But at least now his guards up. The way it should've been right from the beginning. We find out that it was actually the Penguin, with the help of Black Mask. Although it seems that their only benefit is in messing with the Batman's head . . creating confusion and maybe paranoia. Unless there's some alterior motive that the Black Mask has yet to reveal. Plus, we still don't know who the Black Mask really is. The original is dead. This is someone taking his place. But I have a feeling that mystery is going to be dragged out for quite a while. Anyways, in the meantime . . Two-face is interviewing teleporters. He wants one who can teleport to a place an object has been. Not necessarily the last place it's been, but where it was created. He finds one and then teleports into the Bat-cave to mess with Batman. Of course they know that someones been there, but the only thing they find different is . . the covers been taken off of the giant penny. Well that and the back been marked like Two-face's coin. The issue ends when Two-face takes him down from behind with some tranq's, and he's dressing in a black & red Batman suit. Kind of fitting the Batman motif, and Two-faces usual wardrobe. "Just two questions for you . . who are you? And where's the real Batman?" So Harvey doesn't know who's filled the Batman's shoes yet, just that it's not the original. I'm assuming it wouldn't take a very big leap in logic to tie Nightwing and Batman together. And since that role is blatantly vacant right now . . I'm surprised nobody else has put the pieces together. Anyways, this is a fantastic story-arc by Judd Winick and Mark Bagley. Mark's art feels great on this book. Yes it's different from what we've had here before, but . . it really fits the book well. And I'm a big fan of Judd's stories. I think these 2 are the perfect fit for this book right now.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #3 - DC

I finally get a chance to get to this book. The first 2 issues were amazing. Actually I kind of skimmed through it while I was riding home from the shop. I couldn't wait to see some more of Mauro Cascioli's incredible art. Plus now Supergirl is involved. As young Freddy says, "I have to admit . . she sure is pretty." Anyways, Supergirl joins up with these guys because, "I'm looking for more of the truth behind my father's murder. I thought if I helped you . . you'd help me. My father's dead. I want justice." The dialogue between these characters, as expressed by James Robinson, is fantastic. He has a way of writing all of these people in perfect character. The way they respond and interact with one another is spot-on. And sometimes hilarious. The only question I have is . . after their little get-together out on the street, in the next scene the boys have captured Prometheus and are interrogating him . . was he in that group of villains that attacked and they all took down? If so . . I don't remember seeing him. I'm sure he was. Anyways Hal, Ollie and Ray are trying to get some information out of him, but he keeps talking in riddles. That, and he keeps talking in the third person. Long story short . . this isn't Prometheus but a Clay-face dupe. Who also has a bomb inside of him. We see it explode, but we don't know how or if anybody got out. The scenes with Starman and Congorilla were awesome . . both in dialogue and in art. But we get the most information when we go to Prometheus' lair. There, he's working with Professor IQ. We find out a little bit about his origin, but more importantly we see what he's been doing since the Faces of Evil special that brought him back into the lime-light. He's been a busy beaver. In his study is a large fur rug. It's actually the Tasmanian Devil's fur. You know . . from the Global Guardians? He wants all 'super-heroes' to pay for his child-hood. We find out that the reason Congorilla's troop was attacked was to obtain Malavar and his vast scientific knowledge. And he's gotten other pieces of useful technology . . the cosmic treadmill, the time-pool, technology for zeta-beam transportation . . to name a few. We just don't know what he plans on doing with it all just yet. But he can't let Professor IQ walk away and spill any information about his victories, so . . "The wine is laced with chemical agents that have caused your brain to regress to that of an infant. Now you have to relearn everything . . including toilet training from the smell of you." Also we see that Charity . . the occult reader that we were introduced to in Trinity, is back. She's summoned Shade and Andrew Bennett, I-Vampire, to ask them to warn the Justice League. "Danger . . Death . . it's coming. It will touch your lives . . and many, many others." A very intriguing book. Each issue just leaves you begging for more. I'm glad that the Faces of Evil book explained why this isn't the same Prometheus that the DC Universe has faced for the last couple of years. It's actually the original. The one that we were introduced to by Grant Morrison on his amazing run of the JLA. And now that he's back . . all he wants is vengeance. In the afterward, James gives us a rundown on how he feels about this character. Especially in relation to Batman. He kind of sees him as the anti-Batman . . his antithesis. There's also a 2-page origin by Len Wein and Federico Dallocchio. I'm not always eager to read these things by the writers, but . . James makes a lot of good points, and pays great homage to Grant. If you're not reading this book . . you really need to. It's a classic in the making, and . . it's fan-frikkin-tastic!! James, Mauro . . thanks! Thanks for the incredible book.

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.