Soranik’s Overreaction

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #24
Written by Robert Venditti
Art by Ethan Van Sciver

Okay Soranik Natu’s reaction to finding out she has a son in the future with Kyle is intense. I mean she is completely over reacting to Kyle not telling her, and brands him violently with the symbol of the Sinestro Corps. What the hell?! That seems out of character right? Or has she gone crazy? I hope Kyle is okay – he is the greatest of Green Lanterns after all. In the end, John decides to announce to the the Corps that Tomar-Tu murdered a yellow lantern. While I like that John is always honest, that was probably not a good idea. Are we leading to another war with the Sinestro Corps?

The Lost Battle of the Superman Family

Action Comics #983
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic

It’s the Superman family (sadly still missing Connor Kent and Linda Danvers) versus the Superman Revenge Squad and wow did they get their asses handed to them by the bad guys. In the end, they are all sent to the Phantom Zone and it looks like Zod may have killed Lois and Jon, although I suspect they were not in that ship he blew up despite what Superman thinks I am sure Lois came up with a plan and saved them both. I enjoyed this issue and I look forward to seeing them all try to escape the Phantom Zone and what Zod is up to exactly.

Flash of Lies

The Flash (Volume 5) #26
Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Howard Porter

In this issue the Flash fights the reverse flash in the future and essentially the Reverse Flash accuses him of being a huge liar and prioritizing his superhero life over his loved ones. I like that they had Iris not agreeing with Thawne on this idea. In the end, The flash becomes affected by the negative speed force somehow and returns to come after Reverse Flash. I’m still wondering if we will ever get Bart Allen in this because we get to see his parents or one of his parents when we see the Tornado Twins. One can hope especially now that he is coming back to TV on the Young Justice cartoon.

Warning: No Cassandra Cain in this Issue

Detective Comics #960
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Alvaro Martinez

Alvaro Martinez is a great Gotham City artist. He knows how to draw the crazy architecture of the city perfectly. This continues in this issue. There were some great moments between Batman and Zatanna, and I am intrigued by the Azrael Storyline. But there WAS NO CASSANDRA CAIN IN THIS ISSUE! I know I am spoiled…we went so long without her in the comics, but come on Tynion why not use her in every issue! I read this book for the real Batgirl, not Kate Kane or Luke Fox!

Little Wonders

Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #26
Written by Shea Fontana
Art by Mirka Andolfo

I was prepared to dislike this comic book. I think Greg Ruck’s run was tremendous and I was sad to see him leaving so I didn’t come into reading this with any hope but I am happy to say Shea Fontana did a good job of keeping me interested. In fact, the stuff with Hippolyta and Wonder Woman as a little girl reminds me so much of the movie that it brought a smile to my face. Wonder Woman rarely interacts with little girls or children, so it was a lot of fun to read her talking to the little girl at the wedding. The girl reminded me so much of my nieces. I also like that Fontana actually uses the supporting cast that Rucka has built up. I hope James Robinson does the same when he comes on board. I especially hope we get to see Ferdinand again.

Titans Betrayal

Titans (Volume 3) #13
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by V. Ken Marion

Okay this was a bare bones issue. Basically it is a big fight with the Titans and they are fighting this Mr. Binder who works for H.I.V.E. and the Flash is worried about his heart, Omen tells Tempest that someone is going to betray the team, and Donna is worried Roy will end up jealous about her new relationship with Wally. None of it seemed natural and I don’t know if it is the fault of the artist or Abnett. Speaking of Tempest, can we get his old costume back with the red and black? It just worked so much better than this current costume. I am actually not that interested in whoever betrays the team because I don’t buy any of these characters actually doing so except for maybe Bumblebee.

No More Pa Kent Lesson Flashbacks Please

Superman (Volume 4) #26
Written by Michael Moreci
Art by Scott Godlewski

Ugh! How many fucking times do we have to see a moment between Pa Kent and young Clark and Pa teaching him how to work on the farm without his powers. IT HAS BEEN DONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TIMES. I am so sick of it. Jon Kent also comes off as a little prick in this comic. No need to read this if you haven’t already.

Better Back-Up

Harley Quinn (Volume 3) #23
Written by Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Paul Dini
Art by John Timms and Brett Blevins

Harley and Goat Boy takes Harley’s parents on a dinner cruise when the cruise is invaded by Clock King and Sportsmaster. Outside of the stuff with spoonsdale, I actually found this issue a tad boring and tedious. It seems like Conner and Palmiotti are being too wordy in each panel. Let the story breathe a bit. The backup Paul Dini was more fun with Harley overspending on her new headquarters for the Joker.

Origin of the Rings

Green Lanterns #26
Written by Sam Humphries
Art by Ronen Ciquet

Is it interesting that the Guardians only got short after they remove their emotions. I didn’t know that. Speaking of removing their emotions, the green heart is mentioned as where they put their emotions. I hope we get to see Alan Scott sooner rather than later and the rest of the JSA as you know Alan Scott drives his power from the starheart which at first I thought might be related but maybe not. This issue is esentially the origin story of the Green Lantern rings and why Rami decided to build them 10 billion years ago. It was very good and the two stars of this book appear nowhere in the issue! That is how great Sam Humphries is at storytelling. I like how he ties this all into Plant elementals too. This guy knows the DCU.

Bludhaven Saviors

Nightwing (Volume 4) #24
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Miguel Mendonca

Nightwing is being hunted by a bunch of villaisn from aroudn the DCU inside a submarine. Now that is a fun idea for a comic book. Time Seeley pulls this off well (except for maybe when he has Dick Grayson refer to himself as the Dickster!) Some of these villains have only been created recently in the comics and not by Tim Seeley, which means Tim is reading all the books or the editors are just that good. Either way, I love it when the DCU comes together nicely. Blockbuster’s motivations for hurting Nightwing is interesting. He wants to be the hero of Bludhaven and sees Nightwing as a Gothamite who doesn’t understand the city. As for the final page, I wonder how Nightwing survives the explosion?

Team Defiance

Deathstroke (Volume 4) #21
Written by Priest
Art by Diogenes Neves

This is issue marks the new era of this title where Deathstroke will be leading a new superhero team called Defiance consisting of Deathstroke, the Ravager, Jericho, Power Girl and Kid Flash sponsored by the US government. I like how they all have new uniforms too and I think Deathstroke’s black and white get up is a welcome change. As for the surprise appearance of Terra at the end of this I have no idea how she is even alive? Isn’t she suppose to be very dead? How pissed is Barry Allen going to be that Kid Flash is now on a team with Deathstroke? Anyways, I am excited about this bold new era for this series.

Is This Filler or an Important Issue?

Justice League (Volume 3) #24
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by Ian Churchill

I don’t care what anyone says, it never truly feels like the Justice League without the Martian Manhunter. It annoys that crap out of me that he isn’t on the team. I am sure sick of these filler issues too. This is suppose to be DC’s premiere Superhero team – Bryan Hitch should be taken off the book if he can’t do things in time (and if he keeps having the characters throw their real names around haphazardly too!) That being said, Ian Churchill’s art is beautiful in this comic. And damn is Mera badass in this. She nearly takes down the entire Justice League. I mean her aqua-telekinesis is stronger than I ever thought and that is why Batman asks her to join the Justice League on their next mission. So is Mera replacing Aquaman on the team? Why would a new member join on an issue that the regular writer is taking a break?

Qurac Finale

Red Hood and the Outlaws (Volume 2) #11
Written by Scott Lobdell
Art by Dexter Soy

The big bad turns out to be Akila who basically wants to commit genocide with the bow of Ra. Jason takes out his All-blades, these weapons he got from the league of assassins that work on magic. It seemed to come out of nowhere but it was pretty cool. He wasn’t able to defeat her with them though. The bow of Ra ended up choosing Artemis as its new owner and Akila loses conrtrol and goes Supernova. It was an epic finale to this arc and I am glad it is over and I look forward to seeing what the Outlaws face next. It doesn’t look like Bizarro is doing ok health-wise.

Ollie and Barry

Green Arrow (Volume 7) #26
Written by Benjamin Percy
Art by Stephen Byrne

This exciting Green Arrow travels across the country arc begins here in the Washington forests where Green Arrow runs into the Flash investigating some weird stuff going on with the Speed Force. I am not sure what Barry and Ollie’s history has been in the new 52 (or really Pre-Flashpoint because Barry was dead for most of my life – which he should still be IMO) but they sure don’t get along in this comic as soon as they run into each other Barry is talking down to Ollie like a total douche-bag. Speaking of this relationship, was Green Arrow no longer in the Justice League ever in the new 52? Ollie makes it seem like that is the case. And he sure doesn’t remember the erased time that Dr. Manhattan took away from him, which probably included his time with the Justice league. As for the art, this series continues to get superb artists and Stephen Byrne was very impressive. He is great at drawing facial expressions.

Gotham Victims

Batman (Volume 3) #26
Written by Tom King
Art by Mikel Janin

Ok what the hell Deathstroke is NOT a Batman villain. Why is he pictured with the Batman Rogues Gallery all of a sudden and showing up possibly in the next Batman movie – he is a Teen Titans villain who sometimes fights other heroes! But anyways the second part of the War of Jokes and Riddle was decent but I was surprised at how quick a read it was. It was good to see characters like Carmine Falcone and it looks like Batman has now joined the Justice League in his first year as a crime fighter which I don’t even think that was the case before Flashpoint so that is an interesting continuity change. The theme that I took away from this issue is that Tom King seems to be focusing on the innocent victims of the Batman villains and how Batman remembers their names to keep his crusade on crime going. I like that.

New Team Leader / New Art

Suicide Squad (Volume 5) #20
Written by Rob Williams
Art by Stjepan Sejic

In this beautifully drawn issue by Stjepan Sejic, Harley Quinn is named the new team leader of Task Force X by Amanda Waller. It is about time that this book has had a good consistent artist – it has been the single thing that I think has hurt this series the most. The art turned an okay comic book into a good one.

The Origin of the Wonder-Woman of China

New Super-Man #12
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Art by Billy Tan

I never thought of this before but since Superman has metropolis and it seems like Kenan’s whole life seems to mirror his, why not have Kenan protect a fictional Chinese city instead of Shanghai? Anyways, in this issue we learn about the origin of the Wonder-Woman of China who just like Wonder Woman comes from myth, but in this case from Chinese myth. The shocking Darth Vader-like reveal at the end of this issue is the Doctor Omen is actually actually Kenan’s mother! I mean it wasn’t so shocking it was hinted at but this was a good issue.