The Portal To Hell Is An Iowa Outlet Mall

Secret Six (Volume 3) #31
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

 

After many crossover issues we finally see a return to form for the Secret Six in this issue which follows up on the Get out of Hell Free Card as Ragdoll and Scandal fight over whether to use it to save Parademon or Knockout from hell. Just awesome! And the portal to Hell is in an Outlet Mall in Iowa! Brilliant!

The Superboy-Kid Flash Race

Superboy (Volume 4) #5
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Pier Gallo

 

Anybody notices Superboy calls Beast Boy Garth instead of Gar? Come on DC Editors! Anyways, the Kid Flash/Superboy race was a lot of fun and it was great to see them being heroes on the way across the globe. The winner was Krypto which was kind of a cop-out (we all know Kid Flash would win) but oh well. Fun issue that managed to further the main plot as well.

Secret Six Versus Doom Patrol

Secret Six (Volume 3) #30
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

This is the first part of a crossover with Doom Patrol that has some great moments including Bane on a date and King Shark biting off a piece of Elasti-Woman. Gail Simone creates a great new villain in the form of a dead beat young man who spends his days playing video games until one day he finds out  that he has inherited a criminal empire from his grandfather. Once again Simone hits it out of the park with this issue but I mean how many crossovers can this book have?

The Revenge

Secret Six (Volume 3) #28
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

 

Diemos is defeated and everyone returns from Skartaris (well except for Lady Vic) and the Six may be working at least part-time for Amanda Waller now. It looked like King Shark was sticking around too but I am not sure. I loved the final scene with Giganta’s revenge on that rat bastard Dwarfstar…priceless!

Catman the Warlord

Secret Six (Volume 3) #27
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

 

Catman as the Warlord! War in Skartaris! Amanda Waller gets her revenge! The return of Diemos! King Shark loses an eyeball! This is awesome stuff…what an issue Simone has written here! Go read it! The only thing is some scenes the art seemed a little off…maybe rushed otherwise this was pretty near awesome.

Secret Six In Skartaris

Secret Six (Volume 3) #26
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

 

I had no idea the place that they were going last issue was going to be Skartaris! I thought that they sealed off Skartaris at the end of the last Warlord book but they failed apparently as the USA wants to annex Skartaris! Awesome storyline Gail…this book is returing to the greatness it once had as Ragdoll has hilarious lines and it is great to see the Six learn about Skartaris. The ending was shocking as hell too. Great read.

Secret Six 24 and 25

Secret Six (Volume 3) #24
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

 

This was weird. It was basically an imaginary story issue with the Secret Six in the wild west. It was okay but it would have been nice for them to explain this or for there to be an editorial blurb that says “Not in Continuity”

Secret Six (Volume 3) #25
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

Bane’s team and the regular team are forced to fight one another – or at least it is being set up that way. Can’t wait to see it in action! The new team is fascinating and I want them to stick around. Dwarfstar was a great Ryan Choi villain it is so sad to hear Giganta talk about Ryan – I wonder if this is before or after his murder? Good stuff so far.

Secret Six 20 and 21

Secret Six (Volume 3) #20
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

Well I certainly did not expect Catman to say no and let his child die – I am kind of sick of kids dying in the DCU though. I am still pissed about Lian’s death. But at least it shows that Chesire and Catman really aren’t the best of parents haha I love the way Simone writes Cheshire in particular.

Secret Six (Volume 3) #21
Written by Gail Simone
Art by J. Caliafore

Holy crap this was crazy awesome! It was great to see an exploration of Catman’s child and we see how fucked up his parents were and how much of an evil bastard his Dad was. The fact that his Dad was a big game hunter is brilliant! And Black Alice turning into the Demon “Estrogen”! Now that is just gold! It was cool to see Dwarfstar again – I really miss Ryan Choi.

All The Powers Of Superman

Adventure Comics #510
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Travis Moore

Ummmm Bedard could have taken over this series for all I care because this was a great issue! Bedard shows he knows the character of Connor Kent inside and out by recapping his history while moving the story forward. This was by far the best Blackest Night tie-in yet. We get to see lots of action and great characterization at the same time. The strong love between Wonder Girl and Superboy and their training to make sure Connor is never mind controlled again (Nice use of continuity by the way, I would never have thought of that) allows for Superboy to escape from the Black Lantern ring. The art was fabulous as well. Oh and Superboy gets freeze-breath finally! Now he has all the powers of Superman. I kinda liked it when he was all about the tactile telekinesis but this is okay too.

World’s Finest Best Buds

Adventure Comics #506
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Francis Manapul
Co-Feature by John and Michael Shoemaker
Art by Clayton Henry

Now this is a really great comic. For anyone who knows the history and relationship between Connor Kent and Tim Drake, this would be a lot of fun to read. I have followed them since their Young Justice days and it is great to see them working together again…it reminds me of when I hang out with my old friends and instantly there is that bonding even though we are both in completely different places (emotionally, mentally, and physically) then we were the last time we saw each other. It was very relatable for me. Johns uses continuity awesomely as usual. I wonder why he is building up the supporting cast like Lori and Simon Valentine if he is just going to be leaving this book after issue 6. Is Paul Levitz going to still be exploring these characters? Didio made it seem like that wasn’t so in interviews. Anyways, we get in the heads of both characters and they both open up to each other and were completely genuine about what they are going through and I liked that. As for the Legion co-feature, it was definitely the best part yet as we have a great team-up between Polar Boy and Sun Boy and learn that the Legion of Super-Villains have some of their members hidden in the 21st century.

What’s Not To Love About This?

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #35
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Aaron Lopresti

Does Simone know how to write some great dialogue or what? James Robinson could learn a thing or two from her. I love the balance between action and dialogue in this series, it is damn perfect! Seriously anyone who has been hating on the character of Wonder Woman or Simone’s run in general are idiotic. What is not to love here! Romance, action, drama…it’s all here. I like how Gail portrays a friendship between Dinah and Diana. It is something that Diana really needs. I am looking forward to seeing how Black Canary “fixes” Wonder Woman’s life. Because she does need a new personal life since the Department of Metahuman Affairds is no more. The commentary on the action figures was hilarious. And I am glad that Nemesis is breaking up with Wonder Woman, I have never been a big fan of their relationship and she doesn’t love him anyway.

High Expectations

Secret Six (Volume 3) #7
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

The art is still fantastic this time around, but the conclusion of the first story arc didn’t seem as fantastic as it could have been. I suppose I had high expectations because the previous issues of this book have been just that good. I don’t believe Junior and the Tarantula are actually dead, Junior is too good of a villain to kill off that easily. As for what was going on with Bane and Scandal, I don’t know. What was going on in that memory Scandal was having? I have no clue. Mad Hatter was great in this. Now that the Secret Six are in Gotham I wonder if they will become involved in the Battle for the Cowl?

Secret Six 5 and 6

Secret Six (Volume 3) #5
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

And DC’s craziest series gets even crazier in this issue as the villain Junior is revealed to be Ragdoll’s sister. I can’t believe I never thought of such a thing before as the villain did fit in a box! She is even scarier looking then Ragdoll.

Secret Six (Volume 3) #6
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott, Favi Pina, and Pete Woods

In the main story, learn more about Ragdoll’s sister and it turns out the one asking for the card is Mad Hatter who I am excited to see. He really doesn’t get enough appearances for a Batman villain. We also learn more of the perfectly disturbing backstory of Jeanette. Oh and Deadshot betrays the team. He was my least favorite member, so I really hope he is out for good. I like that despite they are working together, they really are still villains. In Origins and Omens backup story, we get some panels that could show the future of the team as well as an explanation of their origins by Mad Hatter who looks to have bad things in mind for their future. Awesome issue.

Craziness Continues

Secret Six (Volume 3) #4
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

The craziness continues this issue as the Secret Six finally meet up with their sixth member in vegas. Jeanette is an interesting character in a series full of interesting characters. There are so many great moments in this issue I don’t even know where to start. If you are not picking up this series, run to the store and pick it up now! The art is great and the story is both shocking and hilarious. Simone is one of the best writers DC has right now. And yes they do actually ride in an ice cream turck this issue! The art is dark, and I love that about it. It fits the tone of the series perfectly with its dark humor. I love the line “What if?” that tarantula says because she is sooo right. Even if one doesn’t believe in hell or believe that the Get out of Hell Card works, there is always going to be the “What If” that is the back of these villains minds that makes them wanna grab it. We get more of the creepy villain, Junior, who murders a priest in a rather disturbing scene. This book is not for the squemish, that is for sure.

Secret Six 1 and 2

Secret Six (Volume 3) #1
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

Simone kicks off this series with one of the most disturbing images; a man choosing his family’s death over his own. Then brings us to the Secret Six who are just as awesome and hilarious as ever. I love the talk about Catman going good and Deadshot making fun of it. I loved the inappropriate but meant well gesture of having the hooker dress as Knock-out. I can’t wait for the next issue! Check this out people. This is Gail at her best!

Secret Six (Volume 3) #2

Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott

The highlight of this issue has to be the dialogue between Batman and Catman. Simone’s strengths as a writer who can write a serious story with great comic relief is shown here especially with Catman’s obsession with the smell of Mexican food. She utilizes some pretty obscure villains in that last page spread and Nicola Scott is an amazing artist who needs to be doing more books for DC.

Superman Batman 40 – 48

Superman/Batman #40
Written by Alan Burnett
Art by Dustin Nguyen

Uh oh Batman is getting horny! This arc seems to be playing up the whole New Gods as actual Gods thing that Morrison has introduced. I like it a lot and Bekka definitely has an effect on Batman’s desire here. Nguyen was the artist on JLA when I first got into comics so I get a feeling of comfort from it. It’s not amazing art, but I like it. Check out the rack on Bekka though hehe, I don’t blame Batman for desiring her. If I was straight, I might do the same.

Superman/Batman #41
Written by Alan Burnett
Art by Dustin Nguyen

Superman’s little dream sequence in this issue was hilarious. I loved all the cameos and the appearance of the guy from the cover of Action Comics #1. I think, if I am not mistaken, that we ever see the inside of the Source Wall.

Superman/Batman #42
Written by Alan Burnett
Art by Dustin Nguyen

The conclusion to this was a little anti-climactic but still good. Overall, I liked this arc a lot. And I so rarely enjoy arcs with the New Gods.

Superman/Batman #40
Written by Andy Lanning & Andy Lanning
Art by Mike McKone

Um ya this was kinda boring and pointless. I don’t know, Dr. Light using a light projection of the old Teen Titans to fight Superman and Batman is kind of well lame and not interesting. I can not really tell you why that is, it is just how I feel I guess. The mystery man at the end of the issue could be either Luthor or Libra, not sure which one it is.

Superman/Batman #44
Written by Michael Green
Art by Shane Davis

Michael Green begins his Superman/Batman run with this issue….hopefully he sticks around longer then every other writer since Loeb left the title. Shane Davis’s art is awesome and I think it fits perfectly with this book. And Green’s writing makes for great superhero storytelling. He actually utilizes Superman’s super-speed power that I don’t think a lot of current writers really utilize to its potential. I like the “freak of the week” reference to Smallville. I think this is the first time in comic continuity they have acknowledged that kryptonite can effect humans in strange ways. The beginning with the shooting of the movie about Superman and Batman was hilarious, especially with how wrong they got Batman’s origin. Also, the idea of hunting down all the kryptonite in the world is very intriguing.

Superman/Batman #45
Written by Michael Green
Art by Shane Davis

Another superb issue by this new creative team. The only thing I had a problem with was the reasoning for Aquaman attacking Superman was a little faulty. Why doesn’t he want him taking Kryptonite from the ocean? Oh and has everyone forgotten he goes by Joseph now, not Arthur?

Superman/Batman #46
Written by Michael Green
Art by Shane Davis

This was a pretty fun issue in which Silver Kryptonite apparently causes Superman to act like a child. It was pretty good. And it wasn’t stupid or done for laughs either. Very well-written.

Superman/Batman #47 Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Shane Davis

Whoa this was a pretty kick ass issue. It makes perfect sense for the government to have a kryptonite storage place and kryptonite weapons in case Superman goes rogue, I am surprised no one though of it before.

Superman/Batman #48
Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
Art by Shane Davis

Well, Smallville is nearly destroyed this issue. Luckily it will be rebuilt and Amanda Waller is a real bitch here. I’d argue that Green is turning out to be the best writer this title has ever had.

Say Good Bye To Your Face, Black Manta

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #53
Written by Tad Williams
Art by Shawn McManus

Tad Williams’s EXCELLENT run on Aquaman continues this issue. Yes, people this is EXCELLENT. Why aren’t you reading it? It is that good. Well-written, funny, clever, action-packed…it has everything. Williams is writing the best Aquaman stories I have ever read while still continuing the mystery and intrigue started with Busiek’s run. There was so many good things this issue that I don’t know what to focus. Aquaman turning into water, Black Manta’s villainous dialogue, King Shark’s violent attack on Black Manta, the new Aquaman’s clever escape plan…oh and Topo is still around so that is great too. The art is fantastic and fits the tone of the series perfectly. Please people, give this series a chance. I am begging you.