Reading Comics 244 “Tom King, Geoff Johns, and other familiar faces…”

This year the local shop, South Tampa Comics, went out of business but the location was quickly snapped up by a chain called Coliseum of Comics, and until a few weeks ago continuity was maintained by Randall Armstrong (known on the internet as Randall Begins for reasons I will probably never know) as head clerk. But Coliseum sent him packing. I made weekly trips to the store when it opened, but then scaled back, and my visits have become sporadic, just enough to keep in touch with what interests me. Over the course of three recent trips I scooped up a bunch of interesting comics, in the process of which learning Randall’s fate. I figured I could share the results on this old blog.

Animal Pound #3 (Boom!) One of the things Randall never quite caught onto was that if he just set aside Tom King releases for me I would buy them. It’s not the business of sales clerk to set these kinds of things up (hold files set up by customers being the preferred method), but it happened frequently enough that we talked about Tom King and how one other customer was buying Tom King releases out from under me (stores with low sales have little incentive to invest in more than single copies of some things), and leaving me often with nothing. I don’t like to special order from a store. There’s this thing called the internet. I go to a store for the convenience, and it was also fun to talk with Randall. Anyway, so Animal Pound is Tom King’s update of Animal Farm, only instead of communism he’s commenting on democracy. It’s another great comic from Tom King. This post will have several more.

Batman #s 148-150 (DC) Chip Zdarsky has been one of the best writers in comics for a number of years at this point, and his Batman is up there, for me, in modern runs with Grant Morrison, Tom King. And the longer he writes it, the better he gets. But you don’t have the guy who did a fantastic run on Daredevil because you expect anything less. #148 concludes Batman’s war with Failsafe, #149 is like the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Similitude” (for me high praise in every connotation), and #150 is at last a pause for a more human-level story. I can’t wait to see where he goes next.

Batman and Robin #10 (DC) Notable not just for the return of Bane but, for me personally, Damian’s old pal Goliath, from the pages of the highly underrated Robin: Son of Batman.

Gotham by Gaslight/Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1 (DC) DC reprinted the original Elseworlds graphic novel alongside the return of the imprint with the first issue of the follow-up.

Blood Squad Seven #1 (Image) Joe Casey in an essay at the back of the issue is not legally allowed to call this Youngbloods: Thirty Years Later! But of course, that’s exactly what it is. He’s also hopeful it’ll spark a renewed interest at the company for a shared superhero landscape that isn’t just Spawn or Savage Dragon or Radiant Black. Good luck with that, pal.

Blue Beetle #10 (DC) A title soon to be cancelled (but it’s still Jaime Reyes’s third ongoing series, which is impressive, for DC, in this era). Bought mostly to support Josh Trujillo, who put together such a great tribute to Keith Giffen a few issues ago.

The Boy Wonder #2 (DC) Another great little standalone spotlight for the legacy of Robin(s).

Geiger #3 (Image) Geoff Johns finally split (mostly) from DC and set up his own landscape with Ghost Machine, and I hope he gets to play in this sandbox for a while. This lead creation is surprisingly durable, clearly inspired by the Atomic Knights post-Infinite Crisis but also its own thing. 

Green Lantern #12 (DC) Jeremy Adams made his mark with The Flash and then got to segue here. He’s settled in nicely. This issue sees Carol Ferris possibly finally, finally commit to a relationship with Hal. And a backup featuring Guy Gardner, Kevin Maguire, and Bottle City Czarnians. Adams would be absolutely perfect for a JLI revisit.

Helen of Wyndhorn #2 (Dark Horse) In yon olden days, DC would’ve had the Vertigo imprint for Love Everlasting, for Animal Pound, for Helen. Now they’re all at different publishers. Tom King never settles. He remains just as ambitious as ever. Helen is yet another contender, as it turns out, for a true career highlight. I didn’t really know what it was, before reading this issue (my first of the series), other than a reunion between King and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow artist Bilquis Evely. Turns out it’s kind of a Victorian novel crossed with Conan, kind of The Unwritten (for those interested in a Vertigo deep cut).

Justice Society of America #10 (DC)  Currently looking like Johns’ last hurrah at DC, the much-delayed JSA epic just went deeper by adding in the Legion of Super-Heroes. There’s still no one at DC who can do what Johns has done. He doesn’t just love what’s been done before him, he’s consistently tried to build on it, keep it evolving.  Like his Ghost Machine he truly sees it as a mythology.

The Penguin #11 (DC) Here’s Tom King again, penultimate issue of this story trying to help Oswald Cobblepot navigate the extremely complex legacy he’s left for himself. Can he truly leave his empire behind without dying in the process?

Redcoat #3 (Image) I’m not all in on Ghost Machine, but I love what Johns has come up with in Redcoat, a welcome modern popular entertainment take on the Revolutionary generation.  It may be batshit crazy, but it’s the good kind of batshit crazy! And that’s the whole point!

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #6 (DC) The oldest comic in this pile, it’s the final issue. Robert Venditti earned a huge amount of respect from me in the pages of Hawkman, which I thought might be reflected here. I’m happy to report I was right. The surprise was seeing Riley Rossmo somehow evolve his work into Tim Sale proportions. Someone take note at DC!

Spider-Man: Reign 2 #1 (Marvel) I adored Kaare Andrews’ original story, which for me was absolutely the webslinging take on Dark Knight Returns, and I am keenly aware I am in a tiny minority. So I’m very pleased that somehow a follow-up has somehow happened anyway.

Star Wars #47 (Marvel) Charles Soule has proven surprisingly hit or miss with me, but one of the things I absolutely loved back in the day was his Lando Calrissian miniseries. This issue is Lando getting out of a spot of trouble in the days leading up to Return of the Jedi.

Wonder Woman #10 (DC) I am keenly aware that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for Tom King in recent years. I follow a blog that said this issue was yet another abomination. Wow. It is not. It is the opposite of that. Plus more Lizzie! I’m just eager to see how long King can stick around. I want the adult Trinity we were promised, too!

Uncanny X-Men #700 (Marvel) It’s the coda to the Krakoan age. It fits the bill. I love how Apocalypse is used to illustrate it.

William of Newbury #1 (Dark Horse) For fans it’s really hard not to see this as Michael Avon Oeming on a spiritual sequel to Mice Templar.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1 (DC) For the life of me I’ll never understand why DC has never pursued her in more solo tales. But we have this! Finally! Worth the wait!

Reading Comics 243 “Comics Garage: First Box!”

 Having apparently ended my Forbidden Geek experiment only earlier this year (it feels like longer, although partly because it took so long to get that last box), I guess I was in the mood to try another service (or Amazon thought so, and I agreed). Like Geek, Comic Garage ships out assortments of random comics monthly. There are a variety of options. I opted, naturally, for DC titles, and ten comics per box. This is what I got in my first box:

Batgirl: Futures End #1

I’m pretty definitively determining that I just don’t care for Gail Simone. Most of the time I try to read her I hate the results. Somehow she even managed to screw up what so many other Futures End one-shots managed to accomplish, which was to give clever glimpses, well, into the future. The only worthwhile thing she does is gather the Batgirls together (and add a new one): Babs, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain. But the other inexplicable thing Simone can be counted on is to screw up Bane, who was part of her Secret Six. She somehow takes Bane seriously for a change, but her idea of giving Barbara Gordon character development is to make her hulk out as part of a con job against him. I honestly have never seen Simone’s logic appear remotely logical. There’s a very real phenomenon called comic book logic, which I associate mostly with Marvel comics (and movies). Simone should probably just head over there. And stay there. She would be a killer writer for Squirrel Girl. That’s, ah, a whole other inexplicable thing...

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #121

As part of the “No Man’s Land” arc (loosely adapted as part of The Dark Knight Rises), Larry Hama (the G.I. Joe guy) tells a wimpy Mr. Freeze tale that’s about as generic as possible. I have nothing against Hama, but it at least seems like he was wildly out of his element. I have no idea how long he stuck around Batman at this time. Hopefully not very long.

Freedom Fighters #10

The newest (from last year) comic in the box is one I’d wanted to check out anyway. It’s written by Robert Venditti, another writer I’ve tended to struggle with. The only problem here is that this is toward the climax of the story (it was a twelve-issue series), so it’s all action. Most stories you really ought to be able to jump in and have a good chance to understand the tone of it, but unless it’s a movie it’s going to be hard to appreciate if it’s anywhere near the climax.

Green Lantern #53

The classic Ron Marz/Darryl Banks comics (receiving a lot of nostalgia recently, a quarter century in), at this point still featuring the nascent adventures of Kyle Rayner. This was prime comics for me at the time. If any era had been in a position to replicate the Silver Age generational shift, it would’ve been this one, which at least for a decade ended up being exactly the case. Wally was a new Flash, Kyle was a new Green Lantern, there was even a new Green Arrow, and of course there was the poster boy, Jack Knight. 

Reading this particular issue again was interesting. Kyle battles Mongul, the big brute Alan Moore created with the Black Mercy gimmick who later turned into Cyborg Superman’s key collaborator but somehow ended up taking an extreme backseat. He instead became a punching bag, here for Kyle and then again later for Wally. 

Superman sort of co-stars (Banks does not nail Mulletman), giving Kyle a mainstream link for the first time. But the big development is Major Force taking on the assignment that will lead to the most infamous moment in the Marz/Banks run (Women in Fridges, which coincidentally also gave Gail Simone her career; two wrongs don’t make a right). 

The thing is, this is the first time I actually found Kyle’s ill-fated girlfriend Alex almost necessary to sacrifice. Marz set her up as a way to establish Kyle as requiring a steep learning curve, but she actually sort of inadvertently made it steeper than it really needed to be. In hindsight it would perhaps have been better to have her be the classic archetype of girl who falls for boy after seeing in action as a superhero. Instead their relationship predates the costume, and she spends all her appearances questioning his pedigree. And in hindsight it’s pretty annoying. I guess it’s the difference between experiencing it as an adult rather than a teenager. That and knowing her ultimate fate. Ultimately Kyle’s journey becomes completely his own, and meeting Superman means more than what Major Force ends up doing. The intention to have him (and readers) shocked into character development becomes superfluous, especially because it happens so quickly. If the intention was to try and replicate Uncle Ben, then it backfired. Once she dies Alex becomes almost completely invisible to Kyle’s existence.

(Though if Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale ever returned to DC and did the kind of comics they did at Marvel, it would be really easy to guess what they’d do with Kyle, if they chose him as a subject.)

Martian Manhunter #11

In contrast to Freedom Fighters, this late-issue climax was easier to read, in part because I had already read and enjoyed this Mr. Biscuits, Williams/Barrows comic (though, alas, Barrows isn’t on art this particular issue). In recent years DC has been leaning heavily into J’onn’s alien nature (though, I guess, since the Ostrander/Mandrake series, so for some twenty years), and I think this was about as extreme, and awesome, as it’s likely to get. Really wish someone could manage to do it while also integrating him back into the rest of the DC landscape, though. Sort of like Aquaman, who only seems to look relevant if he’s worrrying about underwater politics. 

Nightwing #45

The classic Chuck Dixon era! This issue is part of a Birds of Prey crossover, “The Hunt for Oracle,” which is to say, the villains finally figuring out Oracle exists and maybe they should make that stop. The weirdest thing about recent comics is that Babs is Batgirl again. Naturally it was Gail Simone who wrote the initial stories, although it wasn’t until Burnside (and apparently de-aging her) that it was at all relevant. And as stupid as it was to cripple her in the first place, it was probably even dumber to un-cripple her, after years of developing an entirely new career, and apparently not even bothering to have her pass it on. In an era where if anything Oracle would have been even more relevant...

(Incidentally, I finally figured out where MCU Spider-Man came up with the “man in the chair” trope. I was rewatching Batman Returns and...it’s Alfred, of course.)

Robin: Son of Batman #1

Patrick Gleason started out this series as writer/artist. I think he did a brilliant job. It’s a direct continuation of his and Tomasi’s Batman and Robin, and is therefore a must-read for anyone bold enough to admit that those were the best Batman comics of the New 52. Fans still seem convinced Damian is a snot-nosed brat. I can only assume far too few have read this material.

StormWatch #21

Speaking of the New 52, I cannot fathom this series reaching anywhere near this many issues. And based on this issue, I wouldn’t have bothered reading anywhere near this many...

Action Comics #764

The Loeb/Kelly/Casey era! This was the bold break from the ‘90s triangle era, bold new writing and art styles that ultimately ended up remembered best by Loeb’s subsequent Superman/Batman. The Kelly in question is Joe Kelly. This issue is brilliant, a creative approach to the controversial decision the team had made to put relationship troubles into the married life of Lois & Clark. Superman spends much of the issue talking things over with Ma & Pa Kent, doing an extremely good deed for an old lady...and getting no closer to solving his real problem, alas. Plus Lex Luthor is up to something, but as far as this issue is concerned, I have no idea what. This is always a great era to revisit. They took huge risks, but not necessarily in bold dramatic arcs (at least, not all the time; this is also the era of “Emperor Joker,” after all).

Teen Titans #35

By the time the Doom Patrol shows up, I have to wonder why Geoff Johns never went and outright pursued a comic with them. He randomly brought them up in his Justice League, too, but didn’t go very far there, either. Maybe some day! This issue otherwise reads a lot like the Titans TV show (which I love).

I’ve read other comics since I last checked in here, but at the moment I figure it’s okay to leave them unobserved here. Will be back with more comics from Walmart...!

Reading Comics 240 "Batman #85, Doomsday Clock #12, and more"

Because there were a few comics I had to read at the end of the year, I put in another order at Midtown, and this is what I got:

Batman Annual #2 (DC)

This isn’t the issue I was aiming for, but it was nice to revisit all the same, as it demonstrates Tom King’s lyrical grace, a quality that seemed to have eluded many of his readers, or at least his many critics.  But if something like this escapes them, I suppose it doesn’t matter whether or not they approve.  At the end is a coda for King’s whole conception of Batman, and Catwoman, and it is beautiful.

Batman #85 (DC)

Here’s King’s grand finale, which splits time between defeating Thomas Wayne/Flashpoint Batman, and tying everything up, how the whole thing flowed from Batman’s theory of a “good death” at the start of King’s run, how he finally reconciled the death of his parents and what that meant about the existence of Batman, and his continued existence, and how his relationship with Catwoman confirms all of it.  I think it’s brilliant, but then I think just about everything Tom King does is brilliant.  He has no contemporary equal.  He may in fact be the best superhero comics writer ever.  And he has set the bar very high indeed.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth #3 (DC)

A Batman finale of a different order, this is Scott Snyder and Greg Capulo’s farewell.  As I was reading it, it suddenly occurred to me that if there’s any logic Snyder has followed all these years, it’s probably Dan Jurgens’.  Dan is famously the guy who in the final analysis is responsible for the death of Superman.  He further contributed to DC ‘90s lore with Zero Hour, an event that’s frequently overlooked but is probably one of the greatest event comics ever written, a “Crisis in Time” that expanded on Hal Jordan’s fall from grace to truly epic proportions and offered a plausible reshaping of continuity that hit a very soft reset button.  But Jurgens more often writes his superheroes in broader strokes.  His ideas are seldom as grounded in grace as his best stories (sort of like Mark Waid), and so he’s kind of easy to dismiss as the comics great that he ultimately is, at his best.  Snyder, meanwhile, has so often leaned on the assistance of cowriters it’s probably easy to forget that he has relied so often on them, when his legacy has shrunk to the “one great thing to come out of the New 52.”  He needs someone to temper his crazier instincts.  He’s the kind of writer who looks at the examples other writers have set, and considered only that they look like the most outrageous thing that could’ve been done, and so what he needs to do is the most outrageous thing he can come up with, and the logic will explain itself.  And his ideas are sound, but the execution always beggars the imagination of the reader more than convincingly tells a story.  His big finale, as he seemed to decide after coming up with the Court of Owls in his original Batman comics, centers around Batman’s relationship with the Joker.  As far as the Joker is concerned, everything he has ever done was meant to make Batman the best he could be.  But I don’t think Batman would ever be comfortable with that assessment, even in a scenario where he’s confronted with a version of himself that’s the worst he could be (and even there, Snyder doesn’t adequately account for how Batman could end up wanting to take over the whole world; that’s a story that would contrast Batman with Lex Luthor, not himself, much less Joker) (and while we’re on the subject, Snyder really, really missed a trick with his current projects when he called his upgraded Luthor “Apex Lex,” when, since the rhyme is already there, the logic clearly dictates calling him “Apex Luthor).  As far as Snyder’s own logic goes, I suppose this is as appropriate a finale as he could’ve envisioned.  This isn’t what I thought the original cloning concept he introduced way back in Detective Comics #27 (the New 52 edition), but at least he did something with it.

Doomsday Clock #12 (DC)

The second grand finale I wanted to catch (the above Snyder was merely incidental, not something I had intended to go out of my way to catch), or at least read for myself, since I had allowed the internet to spoil it for me.  Naturally, the internet was most interested in Geoff Johns outlining the theoretical future of DC lore.  I don’t think anyone at DC seriously expects this material to be followed (considering one of the stories referenced is apparently another crossover with Marvel, a situation always fraught with complications, as the long development of JLA/Avengers proved).  The sentiment itself represents the central thesis that DC follows Superman, that wherever he goes, his new continuity is the foundation of DC’s new continuity, even going so far as to suggest that if comics are still being made in 3020, a thousand years from now, the age of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman’s origin will take place then, and continuity will resettle around him once again, even though the Legion took its inspiration from the exploits of Superboy a thousand years earlier.  I think the whole project is justified.  It gives Doctor Manhattan a far more satisfying arc than he got in Watchmen (although I think Zack Snyder corrected that in his movie, too), removing the cynicism of Alan Moore himself and allowing a man who can see everything (except his ultimate fate) to adequately comprehend it, given the opportunity to make a decision, or in this instance, rethink a decision.  Which may also have been the point.

Family Tree #2 (Image)

I wanted to have a look at this latest Jeff Lemire project.  The guy is the most prolific creator in comics!  The art is from Phil Hester, whom I always love to see pop up with new work.  A fine variation on familiar Lemire themes.

Flash Forward #4 (DC)

I had already read what happened in this one, too, but wanted a chance to experience it for myself: Wally West meets Lightspeed, Linda Park!  But, of course, a Linda Park from an alternate reality, and who doesn’t particularly care what a counterpart made of Wally.  But the comic is also toying with Wally reuniting with his kids, which is something I’ve become much more fond of in the years since Mark Waid first introduced them in his return to Wally’s adventures, which were sort of a soft launch of the Tomasi/Gleason Superman, which wasn’t as good as their Batman & Robin, but still well worth existing.  And I think most fans will agree, if Wally is back, his whole family ought to get to join him, too.  Hopefully this comic has a truly happy ending.

Incoming! (Marvel)

Basically a tour of the current Marvel landscape, another visit with the Masked Raider (I don’t know if this guy, that name, and his gunslinging costume, is destined for greatness, but he’s nice to hang these stories on), and the push for the upcoming Kree/Skrull invasion of Earth!  The movies are probably headed somewhere in that direction, too, so it’s nice for the comics to get there first, for a change (a lot of recent comics belatedly obsessed over Thanos, which seemed way too obvious at that point), picking up where a famous, but forgotten-except-by-diehards-because-Marvel-can’t-keep-its-defining-stories-in-print Avengers epic left off way back in the ‘70s (or ‘60s? but I think ‘70s).  And central to all this?  My 2005 inner Marvel nerd is excited that it’s characters from Young Avengers! 

Invisible Kingdom #8 (Dark Horse)

Lately I’ve been feeling kind of bad about not caring that G. Willow Wilson has enjoyed so much success in recent years, since Air was such a favorite of mine from when nobody else cared, so I checked out an issue of this project.  It’s okay. 

Joker: Killer Smile #2 (DC)

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino once again reunite for a tale of a psychiatrist’s descent into madness when he believes he can figure out the Clown Prince.  A bit obvious, but a sort of welcome companion to Lemire’s brilliant Moon Knight.

Klaus: The Life & Times of Joe Christmas (Boom!)

I haven’t had much luck reading the annual Christmas follow-ups to Grant Morrison and Dan Mora’s original Klaus, so I was pleased to order (because as I’ve come to understand, I just won’t be able to find it in an actual comics shop) the latest.  This one’s sort of in the model of a calendar, which counts up from December 1 and ends on the 25^th.  And there is no dialogue, only a chronicle of the life and adventures of Joe Christmas, who sort of becomes Klaus’s sidekick.  I almost choked up when I realized the cat had died.  Great comic.  Might singlehandedly justify Morrison’s whole concept of making Santa Claus a superhero.  Years from now someone could write a whole series around Joe Christmas based on this one comic, or maybe they could base a movie on it.  (Hint hint.)

The Old Guard: Force Multiplied #1 (Image)

I read the original miniseries in trade paperback at the library, and was immediately smitten, so I was extremely glad to discover this follow-up.  Perhaps moreso than the story itself is value of the Greg Rucka essay at the end detailing his thoughts about the origins and emerging legacy of Old Guard, including an upcoming Netflix movie version.  I’m glad things are working out this way.

The Amazing Spider-Man #36 (Marvel)

I was suckered into buying this issue because the solicitation listed Pat Gleason as the artist.  He was not.  But I subsequently picked up a slightly earlier issue, and he was. 

Superman Smashes the Klan #2 (DC)

Gene Luen Yang writes perhaps his most important Superman and/or DC comic, at last, detailing a group of kids’ experiences with Superman as he, well, battles the Klan, centering around a Chinese perspective, not in the way Hollywood has been catering to the massive Chinese market in recent years, but because Yang has more immediate ties, the kind that stretch across American history.  We tend to forget, except for all that Chinese food that was actually invented in America, how long the Chinese have been here, and how complicated their lives have been here.  Thankfully Yang is here to help fill in the gaps.  Included is an essay detailing Superman history that’s both familiar and also relevant to Yang’s perspective and intentions.

Reading Comics 235 "Second Forbidden Geek Mystery Box"

I got my second Forbidden Geek mystery box, including a Supergirl statue, a copy of Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey (which was a very pleasant surprise; eventually I'll have the complete Johns collection), and the following comics:

All Star Batman #3 (DC)
Snyder once again in his nutshell, blowing everything up into possibly misguided epic proportions.  This time it's how Batman and Two-Face were actually childhood friends.  But, also features the KGBeast!  Alas, without his '90s Russian accent.

Captain Atom #7 (DC)
This is what I love about Forbidden Geek's mystery boxes, getting stuff I've always wanted to read but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to yet.  Captain Atom was one of those short-lived New 52 titles at launch.  I never had a clue what the series was like.  Now I finally do!  J.T. Krul, one of the dependable writers of that era who kind of disappeared without good reason, depicts his version of the character as Captain Atom has ever since DC gave in and acknowledged that Doctor Manhattan was based on him.  I first became acquainted with the character (whose main claim to fame is being but not really being the secret origin of Monarch in Armageddon 2001) in the pages of Justice League America and Extreme Justice, where he was depicted as more a Superman type, but a more aggressive version (just not to the degree that the original version of Supreme was, before Alan Moore made him a Silver Age Superman pastiche).  The art is from Freddie Williams II, who in recent years has come to be defined by the improbable Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics.  I've got plenty of experience with his work, which I often find too cartoonish but not cartoonish enough to be accepted as such.  Here he's got better line work, though he apparently has no idea what riding a bike looks like (the legs, particularly).  I would absolutely love to read a collected edition of this material.

Constantine #5 (DC)
The New 52 attempt to mainstream John Constantine (a concept begun in Brightest Day) may have been somewhat misguided (at any rate, DC has yet to figure it out) works pretty well in this issue, with John temporarily stealing Shazam's powers (for his own good!), thereby setting a template other tales would do well to follow.  You can't really have the guy (even if he pops up in other books and/or teams) attempting to replicate his Vertigo experiences without recontextualizing him properly.  Ideally, he needs a central story, the way Zatanna is forever associated with her father's career, which increasingly is itself irrelevant but nonetheless provides a springboard to ground her.  The writer, of course, is Ray Fawkes, another great writer in that era who somehow failed to garner due respect.

Deathstroke #20 (DC)
A late New 52 series still running in the early Rebirth era (one of several, including Earth 2: Society and Doctor Fate, given a chance to wind down naturally), Slade (the youthful Slade, sans white hair!) blows up a partnership with Ra's al Ghul to reclaim his children. 

Hinterkind #10 (Vertigo)
A vampire series.  That is all.

Justice League #18 (DC)
A trademark of League comics is the membership drive (something Snyder ignored in pushing a huge lineup with multiple titles right from the start, so that everyone and their mother is instantly included).  That's what happens this issue.  Some new characters (Goldrush is sort of a revision of Bulleteer; sadly neither character has had much of a shelf life to date) and even a tease for the Crime Syndicate saga called Forever Evil makes this a fine character piece in a series with far more character work than you'd think.

Justice League #32 (DC)
Element Woman (a riff on Metamorpho), also featured in the membership drive, and the Doom Patrol(with a vicious Chief whose rival is Lex Luthor), try to tackle Jessica Cruz in the aftermath of her obtaining the power ring of, ah, Power Ring, the Crime Syndicate's Green Lantern.  Cruz later flattened into a character who sort of hid away in her room for...reasons, but it seems Johns originally had a deeper portrait in mind. 

Legion of Super-Heroes #283 (DC)
The token Older Issue in the box, this is an early '80s Legion comic featuring the secret origin of Wildfire.  I actually became more interested in the potential of at least one of the recruits he was testing.  Did anything ever end up happening with Lamprey?   Some quick research says no.  If I ever do get to write comics, I will include her in my Legion!

The New 52: Futures End #39 (DC)
This and Batman Eternal seem destined to show up in mystery selections.  At least I don't seem to get duplicate copies of this one. 

Richard Dragon #12 (DC)
The Chuck Dixon/Scott McDaniel series that reprised their Nightwing act.  Somewhat handily, the final issue.  God, I still want to know why McDaniel ended up blackballed from any significant work following Static Shock.  The dude was a staple at DC for a decade in high profile projects, and then criminally overlooked material like The Great Ten.  He's a treasure.  I doubt he was that awful to handle creatively when given a chance to write as well as draw.  He still shows up randomly here and there.  But, someone, anyone, give him a significant new project.

Superman #5 (DC)
The Tomasi/Gleason Rebirth series (seriously; McDaniel is like Gleason before Gleason was finally recognized), featuring the Eradicator targeting Jon Kent as a human/Kryptonian "abomination."  I don't think Tomasi/Gleason quite nailed Superman the way they did Batman and Robin.  I just saw Gleason popped up in Marvel Comics #1000 (which I'll be reading this week and have thoughts on next weekend).  Give these two a new project together before either considers really jumping ship.

Reading Comics 226 "Detective Comics #1000, Chip Zdarsky, Tom King, & More"

I've gotten really bad about documenting the comics I read on this blog, but I figured this latest batch was worth talking about.  Let's dive in!

Batman #67 (DC)
I've been collecting all the trades in Tom King's run (actually, pretty much every Tom King trade in general, as he's beyond any doubt my favorite comic book writer working right now).  I haven't been as diligent reading the individual issues.  Once I fell off that track, I figured it was okay, since the trades (I have officially become a trade waiter, I guess).  But I still check in with the odd issue, such as this one, which reunites King with Lee Weeks (they get in another nod to the famous Batman/Elmer Fudd special, don't worry), and it's Weeks in the spotlight (well, I guess not anymore than usual), as this is a mostly silent issue, a chase sequence.  I dig it.

Detective Comics #999 (DC)
The final issue before the big one, Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke conclude the improbable tale of Thomas and Martha Wayne's second murder.  Because it's a dream sequence, essentially, a training program Batman has run for years, this time in virtual reality.  I know there will be readers who feel cheated by that big reveal, but Tomasi has become a reliable interpreter of Batman's psychology.  I think it tracks.

Detective Comics #1,000 (DC)
(Incidentally, I learned from the 80 years hardcover collection that "DC" doesn't stand for Detective Comics, as the popular story goes, but rather Donenfeld's Comics.)

Here's the reason for the most recent visit to the comics shop!  I got the Frank Miller '80s cover.  Like Action Comics 1000 last year, DC put out covers for each decade of the title's existence, and I figured I'd give Miller the nod.  Here's some quick thoughts on the stories:

"Batman's Longest Case" (Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo)
Snyder and Capullo, the much-celebrated New 52 team, again reunite (after Dark Nights: Metal) for a tale that sees Batman ultimately join a team of famous detectives.  Seems about right, for a Detective Comics anniversary tale.  The detective aspect of the Dark Knight hasn't really been emphasized much in the modern era.  Amazing, Brad Melzter has never been asked to do an extended Batman adventure.  Seems like an oversight.

"Manufacture for Use" (Kevin Smith/Jim Lee)
Smith and Lee are high profile collaborators, about as high profile as the issue gets.  The tale is maybe a little lightweight, and never gives Lee a chance to highlight his work, but at least it gives Batman a chance to finally reconcile the gun that was used to shoot his parents.  It's also nice to see Matches Malone.

"The Legend of Knute Brody" (Paul Dini/Dustin Nguyen)
This one was a highlight for me, even if the twist at the end seems to diminish it.  The gag is that there was an all-time terrible henchman named Knute Brody who worked for most of Batman's enemies.  The reveal is that Knute was actually a disguise Batman's allies used to get insider information.  Seems like something that could fill out a longer story.

"The Batman's Design" (Warren Ellis/Becky Cloonan)
I'm not sure Ellis nails this one, a sort of spiritual sequence to "Knute Brody," in which we learn Batman doesn't just dismiss and brutalize all those henchmen, but rather thinks of them as individuals worth a kind of sympathy, even a chance to walk away.  He spends too much time away from the particular henchman at the end of the tale to really sell it.

"Return to Crime Alley" (Denny O'Neil/Steve Epting)
One thing is certain to rankle fans: for a story not to automatically side with Batman.  But that's exactly what O'Neil, the oldest Batman creator in the issue, does, as a sequel to the first appearance of Leslie Thompkins, as she again questions whether or not Batman's crusade is healthy for him.  It's a more than fair question, and more than fair to bring up again, the rare pessimistic beat in another upbeat issue.

"Heretic" (Christopher Priest/Neal Adams)
What's interesting about this one (other than art from another long-time Batman creator, Adams) is Priest remembering that the League of Assassins doesn't begin and end with Ra's al Ghul, but rather also includes, y'know, the League itself, all the fanatics who comprise it, including one who decided to leave not later known as Batman.  It's a worthy subject, especially in the age of Islamic terror. 

"I Know" (Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev)
Before I reached the credits with this one, I thought it was the Tom King entry, as it heavily features a vocal tic, which is kind of a King trademark, but no, it's Brian Bendis helping Penguin along, as an old Penguin meets with an old Bruce Wayne, confessing he knew Wayne was Batman all along.  And the twist in this one is much more satisfying, thank you.  Bendis apparently should've been writing for DC all along, as he's a complete natural.

"The Last Crime in Gotham" (Geoff Johns/Kelley Jones)
Here's perhaps the highlight of the whole thing for me, in the subtle way Johns uses the issue to establish his Joker credentials, ahead of his much-anticipated Three Jokers.  In this future, Batman and his extended family are investigating a murder scene, trying to figure out who did it.  Turns out it was the Joker's son, who wanted to end the cycle of violence the old man helped perpetuate for years, sacrificing himself in the process.  Some readers will lump the results in with the Batman-family-friendly vibes of the whole issue, but it's really someone else's triumph.  Maybe the impact is thrown off by Jones, who will always dominate whatever he works on (by the way, nice for him to represent the veterans, too), but the story, if you follow it, carries its own weight.  It's one of the best things I've read from Johns.

"The Precedent" (James Tynion IV/Alvaro Martinez-Bueno)
Tynion likely got the nod to contribute thanks to his early Rebirth era run, which helped jumpstart the significance of the series after drifting back into relative obscurity, in the New 52 era, when all anyone could really talk about was Snyder's Batman.  I like what Dick Grayson (it's his tale) says in one of the final panels: "I'm not the precedent.  You are.  And you're just the start."  It's easy to get caught up in the Batman craze, and dismiss all his allies and so many sidekicks, but if Batman achieves anything at all, it's his ability to inspire others, not in fear but hope.  That's something Christopher Nolan concluded, in a different way (but with a Robin figure, too) in The Dark Knight Rises.  It's just nice to see someone else notice.

"Batman's Greatest Case" (Tom King/Tony S. Daniel/Joelle Jones)
King, as always, seems to have bewildered his readers.  But really, he's coming to the same conclusion Tynion does above, that Batman's legacy won't ultimately be about what Batman himself can achieve, but what he's been able to inspire in others.  So this is a tale about his many current allies coming together and talking, and eventually, someone realizes that "Batman's greatest case" was about solving that original problem of having lost a family and thinking that was always going to define him.  But it really didn't, and the appearance of the original Robin, so soon after Batman himself first appeared, was kind of proof from almost the very start.  He's just needed reminding every now and then.  This time he reminds himself, by taking a picture, and leaving it on the graves of his parents.  That's what King's Batman has been concerned about all along.  I think this will make an excellent addition to King's collected Batman tales, wherever DC might slot it in eventually.

"Medieval" (Peter Tomasi/Doug Mahnke)
Current Detective Comics creators Tomasi and Mahnke (see above!) get to introduce video game character Arkham Knight to continuity in this one, and it's great to see something new(ish) in all the reflective splendor.  Hopefully another villain worth remembering years to come.

Great issue.

Books of Magic #6 (Vertigo)
Part of the Sandman Universe corner of the Vertigo corner of DC these days (...), I thought I'd have a look, as I've always been interested in the concept of young Tim Hunter learning how to be a wizard.  Yeah, Harry Potter later made the concept much, much more popular, and Vertigo in turn had The Unwritten (which didn't star Tim) (maybe should've?).  But the existence of Harry only increases Tim's shine, not diminishes.  And this issue proves it.  Glad at least for this revival.

Daredevil #3 (Marvel)
Holy crap.  So Chip Zdarsky just rocketed into the upper echelons of Marvel lore.  His take on the traditional Daredevil's-life-is-being-ruined! tale not only involves the cops (amazingly, very few comics seem to understand this maybe would be a...natural element to any superhero story) but finally addresses the element in the room.  If this were happening to a superhero, especially a very-well-established one like Daredevil...wouldn't the rest of the superhero community have something to say about it?  Turns out that someone is...Punisher.  Hell yeah!  The fans like claiming that Marvel has nothing much to boast about these days, but they're really just feeding perceptions.  Zdarsky has been working toward this moment, and I'm glad to witness it.  He's going to be in that echelon hopefully for years.  Unless DC gets to benefit.  Just sayin'!

Dial H for Hero #1 (DC)
Part of the second Bendis imprint (after Jinxworld) at DC, Wonder Comics, this is Sam Humphries kicking down the door to once again establish himself as a writer worth taking seriously, owning a familiar if somewhat obscure DC concept.  I have a blogging acquaintance who's gone over all the heroic identities to emerge from the H Dial over the years.  I'm sure he's paying attention to this, too.  And I hope he's as impressed as I am.  The superhero conjured this issue is a stereotypical '90s archetype, which is pretty fun in and of itself.  But Humphries manages to make the H Dial itself more interesting than anything else.  I don't know if he's covering new ground or not, but I love it.

Doomsday Clock #9 (DC)
I began tradewaiting this series almost immediately.  The shop I went to for the first issue was already upcharging for it (dick move, Banner), so I...lost the motivation quickly, and just started randomly checking in.  This was my latest check-in, in the apparent mistaken belief that the Legion ring on the cover belonged to Saturn Girl.  But the issue still has a major revelation worth reading, involving Firestorm and a patented Geoff Johns character revision.  He always seems to know exactly how to do that.  It's his superpower...

The Forgotten Queen #2 (Valiant)
The last time I checked in with a new Valiant title I wasn't impressed, but this time I was.  Valiant remains the best-kept secret in superhero comics, it seems.

G.I. Joe: Sierra Muerte #2 (IDW)
When I realized that was Michel Fiffe art on the cover, I snapped it up.  Fiffe, of course, is the creator of Copra, the best-kept secret in indy comics these days, kind of the official insider handshake.  But the showstopper in the issue is an essay details the history of Snake Eyes, one so intriguing it makes you wonder if Snake Eyes is the best kept secret of the best creators in comics.  Did Alan Moore have him on the brain was conceiving Rorschach?  Now I'm pretty convinced!  Was Snake Eyes responsible for Wolverine's incredible ascent?  Now I'm pretty convinced!  All hail Snake Eyes!

Heroes in Crisis #6-7 (DC)
Well, did Wally crack?  King tackles head-on whether or not Wally himself was capable of viewing himself as that mythical "symbol of hope" fans thought he was starting in DC Rebirth, while Booster and Harley continue to compete against each other as the sole survivors.  Two more issues.  I think King has once again produced magic.  Can't wait to see how it ends.

Meet the Skrulls #1 (Marvel)
Having seen and enjoyed Captain Marvel, when I saw Meet the Skrulls referred to s Marvel's successful attempt to finally recapture that Tom King Vision magic, I thought I knew what to expect.  But someone seems to have misinterpreted another family intrigue with the same kind of storytelling, because what King did, what King always does, is reinterpret family intrigue.  This story merely follows it, perhaps finding another character who'll fit the classic Marvel tragic model, but it would have to significantly upgrade itself to even begin to resemble King's Vision properly.

Spider-Man: Life Story #1 (Marvel)
Here's Zdarsky again, with Mark Bagley, revisiting the life of Peter Parker, one decade at a time.  It'll be interesting to see how things develop.  This issue almost seems standard, but it's also part of Marvel's current initiative to reintegrate its characters into historic moments, in this case the Vietnam War, with Spidey struggling to reconcile his absence from the battle field with his famous mantra about great responsibility.  Iron Man is depicted on the field, and then Captain America makes some bold choices.  Well, like I said, it depends on what happens next.  But Zdarsky is quickly proving that there are few things he's unwilling to breech, and he's been proven right in his instincts so far.  I'm willing to bet that trend continues.

Marvelous X-Men #1 (Marvel)
This is a kind of sequel to Age of Apocalypse, which is pretty great to see.  This issue, meanwhile dithers most of its space, but still brings up some interesting points. 

Young Justice #3 (DC)
Another Wonder Comics entry, this title famously brings back classic '90s teen heroes Impulse (yeah!), Superboy, and Robin, the heart of the original team and backbone of DC's '90s teen heroes in general.  This issue follows Superboy's journey to Gemworld, which was featured for a hot minute in the New 52, and I'm glad it's back.  This is a whole dream come true.  I guess that's the other reason Bendis was allowed to take the Rebirth Superboy off the table, to make room for the other one.  Hell yeah!

Back Issue Bin 123 "Copra, Green Lantern, Milk Wars, and others"

The Brave and the Bold #23 (DC)
(from July 2009)

Dan Jurgens writes a fairly standard Dan Jurgens tale featuring his signature creation Booster Gold as well as Magog, from the time Magog wasn't just a signature Kingdom Come creation but rather a part of the ongoing DC landscape thanks to Geoff Johns' Justice Society of America and even, briefly, his own ongoing comic.  I don't think Jurgens was ever going to be someone who could sell Magog properly.  He could pull off Cyborg Superman, but Magog requires more subtlety.  I'm glad Jurgens got a full-fledged career renaissance in the pages of Rebirth's Action Comics, but Jurgens circa 2009 was a long ways away from feeling relevant again.

Copra #13
(from April 2014)

A pastiche on John Ostrander's classic Suicide Squad, Michel Fiffe's Copra is something I've long wanted to have a look at, and thanks to this random issue appearing on the eclectic shelves of Comics & Stuff, I finally have.  And it was worth the wait.  This issue features Fiffe's Deadshot analog in a classic revenge saga spotlight.  It seems that after the series hit 31 issues, Fiffe moved on to other projects.  No idea if that's it or if he's just taking a break.

Countdown Arena #1 (DC)
(from February 2008)

I read the Countdown weekly comic itself back in the day, but I skipped over some of the side projects like Arena, which now seems like it foreshadowed not only Marvel's similarly-named Avengers Arena but DC's own Convergence event.  Anyway, I picked this up because of the typically sweet Scott McDaniel art.  I never get tired of it, never understand why he's since faded into comics oblivion.  Hopefully he gets to emerge at some point

Green Lantern #11-16 (DC)
(from June 2006-February 2007)

I wasn't instantly a fan of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern.  When Rebirth began I was just getting back into comics after a near half-decade lapse, and I still thought of Johns in relation to some of the Marvel work he'd done that desperately sought attention.  I ended up liking Rebirth itself well enough, but I didn't feel motivated to dive into the subsequent ongoing series.  I caught up with it about a year into its run, and liked what I saw.  This is a reunion with that material, in which Hal Jordan reunites with some of the Green Lanterns he steamrolled in "Emerald Twilight," and they still hold a grudge despite magically surviving the rampage.  Now they're all trying to survive the Manhunters and their new master, the Cyborg Superman!  At some point I'll own the complete Johns Green Lantern run in collected edition form.

Hawkman #18 (DC)
(from October 2003)

Like his later Aquaman, Johns had a brief run on Hawkman, spinning out from the pages of one of his long runs, Justice Society, and it's something I like to catch glimpses of every now and then, when I come across it.  This issue is Johns doing the Hawkman version of Gaiman's Sandman.  Shocking that this isn't done more often. 

Justice League Canada #5 (DC)
(from December 2014)

I picked this up because I thought it featured Lemire's take on the Legion of Super-Heroes, as he's recently launched another Black Hammer spinoff features a Legion analog (The Quantum Age), but it's not.  Funny that there've been so many secondary League title launches in recent years, increasingly hard to keep them all straight, and that among them was this short-lived Canadian team.

Kingsman: The Red Diamond #6 (Image)
(from February 2018)

As a frequent contributor to the MillarWorld forums, I'm not actually a frequent reader of Mark Millar.  I've read a fraction of his output over the years, but I've liked some of it ("Old Man Logan," Starlight, Empress) quite a bit.  Kingsman is his version of James Bond, and Red Diamond the first time he's let a professional writer (Rob Williams) play in his sandbox, just the kickoff to a bold new era, perhaps thanks to his Netflix deal.  Williams holds pretty close to the Millar formula, as it turns out.  If you didn't know it wasn't Millar himself writing the comic, you probably wouldn't even guess.

Manhunter #27 (DC)
(from March 2007)

I'm pretty surprised that DC hasn't tried to revive Kate Spencer's Manhunter since her original comics, perhaps because Marc Andreyko has de facto creator rights to her?  I don't know.  Either way, in this issue Spencer's role as lawyer reaches its zenith as she defends Wonder Woman circa the second most famous DC neck-snapping, the Infinite Crisis death of Maxwell Lord.  The cover evokes Lord's murder of Ted Kord.

Mother Panic/Batman #1
Doom Patrol/Justice League of America #1 (Young Animal)
(from April 2018)

Part of the "Milk Wars" Young Animal event that featured familiar DC characters (notably Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman), not to mention Frank Quitely doing a cover version of his own art.  I guess I don't really get why Young Animal hasn't caught on.  I don't know if there's a cult-level appreciation I just haven't heard about or if the disappointment over Doom Patrol's erratic publishing schedule, or that Gerard Way heavily expected readers to be familiar with and fans of Grant Morrison's '90s run, or...Just another of the peculiarities of modern times, subverting expectations every step of the way...Anyway, Mother Panic finally meets Batman!  And Robotman figures out whether he's merely a comic book character who thinks he's Robotman!  Probably!

Mister Terrific #2 (DC)
(from December 2011)

One of the things I'll always credit the New 52 with, right from the start, was giving Michael Holt his first ongoing series.  To my mind, Holt was a signature creation of the early millennium, and I always want to see the dude find the breakout success he deserves.  In a lot of ways, he's the new Martian Manhunter.  Anyway, to my shame this is the first time I've read past the first issue of the New 52 series.  Granted, at the time I didn't have a lot of money to spend so I had to make a lot of brutal choices (thankfully I had enough to discover Tomasi and Gleason's brilliant Batman & Robin).  I didn't know what to make of the first issue, so I quickly gave up on the series.  If I'd read the second issue, I would've gotten a much better idea, it seems, and a much better impression of the series...

Teen Titans #100 (DC)
(from October 2011)

Just before the New 52 era, it seems, was this milestone issue of the popular Johns relaunch of the team.  I had to remind myself that Superboy was officially back a few years earlier, and star of his brief second ongoing series (third if you count Superboy and the Ravers, which I definitely do!), ahead of a New 52 reimagining. 

X-Nation 2099 #2 (Marvel)
(from April 1996)

One of my key memories of the '90s scene was this abortive 2099 version of Generation X, coming at the end of the initial push for Marvel's look at a century in the future, since collapsed mostly into the line's Spider-Man, Miguel O'Hara.  I remember the quick creator collapse in X-Nation itself, how Humberto Ramos provided the art for the first two issues and then left, back to DC (he'd eventually wind up back at Marvel), and subsequent issues wobbled wildly out of control.  It was mostly the Ramos art, it seems in hindsight, that I loved so much about the early issues.  I tried reading this again more than twenty years later (apparently I forgot who the writer was, Tom Peyer, convincing myself it was Mark Waid, mostly because Ramos and Waid made such beautiful magic together in the pages of Impulse), and the art was all I could still bring myself to follow.  Anyway, I was amused in later years to reacquaint myself with the exact details of what happened creatively.  Ben Raab and Terry Kavanagh took over writing chores, while none other than Ed McGuinness helped round out the art in the final issue (#6).  I remember being hugely disappointed with the series after Ramos and Peyer (apparently) departed, and only enjoying the series again with #6.  The art finally looked like Marvel cared about the series again, and I can see why.  It'd probably be interesting to revisit that issue...

Quarter Bin 118 "Fan Fuel"

Batman: Master of the Future (DC)
from 1991

Master of the Future is a sequel to Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, a Victorian Age tale that has stood the test of time from the Elseworlds era, the unofficial multiverse that existed between Crisis On Infinite Earths and its sequel, Infinite Crisis.  Gaslight was part of the 1989 barrage (along with Batman, the movie, and Arkham Asylum, the Grant Morrison tale).  Like Master it's written by Brian Augustyn, who otherwise is best known as editor of Mark Waid's Flash, and the first guy who tried succeeding Waid in that series.  Gaslight was one of Mike Mignola's DC projects (other notable examples: Cosmic Odyssey and the covers from "A Death in the Family").  The artist for Master is Eduardo Barreto (other notable works: Martian Manhunter: American Secrets and Superman: Under A Yellow Sun, like Master both prestige format projects).  There's a DC animated film based on Gaslight in production at the moment.  Master, as I've never actually read Gaslight, doesn't particularly read as terribly noteworthy.  I don't know if it reads better as a sequel.  But it's still interesting, having finally read something Gaslight related.

The Flash: Our Worlds At War (DC)
from 2001

Our Worlds At War was at the time intended to be a next-level Crisis event, redefining the concept in a modern, literate manner.  Lead writer was Jeph Loeb, in-between Batman: The Long Halloween and the one-two punch of "Hush" and Superman/Batman, the three major works that still define his legacy (Marvel fans seem to remember him only for his later Ultimatum, which is a huge shame).  But the concept was overshadowed by the coincidental real-life catastrophe that was 9/11, which occurred in Our Worlds' aftermath.  The comic ended up looking like just another of the unfortunate reminders of that day.  But it's always fascinated me, as I wasn't reading comics at the time.  A couple years ago I read an omnibus of the event, so finally got caught up.  I forget if it was in that or a Geoff Johns Flash omnibus where I've read this particular extract previously.  I don't think it's a great way to sample Johns except to see Cyborg pop up in another of his stories; later, Johns had him join the New 52 Justice League as a founding member, which is how he shows up in the upcoming movie, too.  The dramatic heft of the story, actually, belongs to the New God known as the Black Racer, who is best known as the guy who inexplicably skis everywhere.  But he's got a great, emotional story, being tied to a human trapped in a hospital bed.  I'm not sure if Johns used him again in his "Darkseid War," but not as I remember or have read (haven't read that whole story yet, either).

Justice League of America #58 (DC)
from August 2011

This is from the Brad Meltzer relaunch era, but once James Robinson, post-Cry for Justice, had taken over, in its final days before the New 52.  Robinson had cobbled together his own League, including Congo Bill, whom he doesn't seem to have made relevant again (six years later and no additional Congo Bill, right?), but basically another B-League, which has always been curious to see even considered again post-JLA.  But Robinson certainly seems to have also used the opportunity to subtly promote his best-known work, the 90s Starman, although not with lead character Jack Knight (alas).  The Starman here is the blue alien, whom a letter writer (this is the brief era in which DC brought them back!) celebrates for helping make gays visible.  And also the Shade, who is somewhat absurdly praised as being basically the most powerful dude around.  But Robinson would later produce The Shade, a fascinating maxi-series during the New 52 that curiously never really got much love (fickle fans!).  I'd always wanted to sample this work, as Saint Walker, the Blue Lantern, is also a member of the team.  And on the cover?  Seven Soldiers of Victory's Bulleteer!  But...not so much in the issue.  But Zauriel is!  Also funny to see all the Green Lantern movie hype in the issue.  And...!  Josh Williamson writing a Subway comic ad insert!  After an...unfortunate formative interlude with Dark Horse where I may have questioned his ability to produce distinctive comics, he's now become one of my favorite writers of The Flash...

Justice League of America #3 (DC)
from June 2013

...This incarnation of the title started off with a bang (it's the Justice League's opposite number!), and was even written, in the beginning, by Geoff Johns, who of course was also writing the New 52's Justice League at the time.  (Yet another iteration of the title launched in the Rebirth era, where it looks like the curse may have finally broken; fingers crossed!)  Anyway, so aside from reading another Johns issue (I had only read the first, previously, the one with covers for every state in the United States), I was eager to read it mostly for Vibe, who was hyped with his own ongoing series simultaneously launched with it.  Vibe was previously known as a joke from the Justice League Detroit era.  Thanks to this revival, he gained a third chance at relevance, where as far as I'm concerned he's earned it, in the second TV Flash series, where I think he may actually be the best character, aside from maybe the many incarnations of Harrison Wells.  Anyway, the art is by David Finch, who was brought in by DC with little clue, at first with what to do with him, so he was given his own New 52 series, at first, Batman: The Dark Knight.  Eventually, he did Forever Evil with Johns, Wonder Woman with his wife, and finally Tom King's Rebirth Batman.  Where, I think, the signing finally really paid off.

Superman Special #2 (DC)
from 1984

From classic creators Cary Bates (a legend at DC in the '70s) and Gil Kane (a classic Green Lantern artist), this one features Brainiac tricking an alien civilization into thinking Superman is the bad guy.  It's the kind of storytelling that feels quaint today, but served as the backbone of comics for decades.  Which is kind of way a lot of fans still have a problem with how comics read today.  They lament the British explosion in the same breath they celebrate it, without really realizing it.  Alan Moore was credited with making superheroes perhaps too mature, but he and his cohorts were really guilty of one thing and one thing only: making this stuff permanently more sophisticated.  Fans still want to argue this alienated the inherent juvenile audience of the medium.  But, again, comics were never actually intended for kids.  Funny joke in hindsight, Wertham.  You convinced the fans...

It's worth noting that these comics are the first ones I bought as, once again, a resident of Florida, this time on an ongoing basis.  I was last here two years ago.  I haven't actually visited a comics shop yet.  These came from a kind of vendor shop at a mall. 

Quarter Bin 117 "More DC 3-Pack Comics"

I love these DC 3-packs.  I love that I can find any comics in retail stores, even if they're grab bags, but the consistency of these 3-packs has been a continuous joy for the past few years.  So here's what I got in the last two:

Batman and Robin: Futures End (DC)
from November 2014

I love reading these Futures End issues.  I love that so many writers ignored, and possibly at editorial suggestion, the Futures End event itself and just had a look at whatever was most probably five years down the line in whatever was happening in the titles at the time.  Ray Fawkes was riffing, here, on Damian's death, and Batman's penchant for going gunshy on his new partners because of things like that.  This time he's pulling it on Duke Thomas, who in this Futures End timeline actually did become Robin, as so many fans long anticipated (Snyder has instead opted to give him his own identity: the Signal).  The art is by Dustin Nguyen, with inks by frequent collaborator Derek Fridolfs.  It's funny to see Nguyen presented as a traditional artist again, after getting so used to his Descender water colors look.

What's funny is that it makes his work look like Jorge Corona's.

 



Yeah, Corono drew Duke, too, as a kind of Robin, in the pages of We Are Robin.  Seems appropriate, anyway.

Here's what Nguyen looks like in Descender, by the way:

The story, by the way, involves Batman's showdown with a revived Heretic, most likely a clone, the villain who killed Damian in the pages of Morrison's Batman Incorporated.  I'm sure I've read it before, but it's another of the excellent Futures End specials. 

Green Arrow #1 (DC)
Wal-Mart reprint from July 2017

This is a reprint of the Rebirth debut issue from the ongoing series, and does an excellent job of spotlighting Benjamin Percy's vision for the series, integrating a lot of different elements of Green Arrow's publishing history, including his social views, relationship with Black Canary, and penchant for having a sidekick, except this one...It becomes a wonderful development for the character, having Ollie take on a half-sister, whose mother turns out to be his enemy Shado.  Makes me think I really should've made this series a priority read at some point.  Will have to check back in...

Justice League #36 (DC)
from January 2015

This is the first chapter in the "Amazo Virus," where Geoff Johns started amping the series back up to its "monthly event book" (my designation) status as it geared toward "Darkseid War."  The art of Jason Fabok was an immediate sensation, and certainly helped drive eyeballs back to the title. 

Justice League United #2, 5 (DC)
from August, December 2014

I never did get around to sampling this series at the time, but I'm glad I finally have.  Jeff Lemire (writer of Descender, by the way!) launched it, and these issues make it clear that United helped launch the New 52 version of Adam Strange, which was fun to read, especially for someone who's just finished rereading 52.

Batman and the Justice League: Outbreak #1 (DC)
Wal-Mart reprint from July 2017

This is what's really fascinating about these 3-packs, that the comic in front is always the newest, and often features a custom Wal-Mart cover and even, with some of them, custom titles.  Batman and the Justice League is actually the Rebirth Justice League from Bryan Hitch, and this is actually #10 from the series.  It's kind of funny, too, or maybe calculated, that the issue is related to the above Justice League, as it also features Amazo.

Reading Comics 213 "Understanding 52 - Part 5"

52, the 2006-2007 series written by Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, and Mark Waid, with art breakdowns by Keith Giffen and covers by J.G. Jones, was instantly a favorite of mine as I read its weekly installments, and I recently completed a reread of the whole thing.  The following is the conclusion to a commentary, covering the fourth collected volume, including #40-52:

• #40 - Steel suits up in his armor to confront Lex Luthor once and for all, plus rescue his captive niece, Natasha Irons.  He brings with him a new contingent of Teen Titans, to confront the remnants of Infinity Inc.  He loses his armor before he even reaches Luthor, but that doesn't stop him.  Luthor believes his powers make Steel easy pickings, but Steel's hammer is encoded with a kind of off switch for Luthor's powers.  Steel emerges triumphant in their war.  The chaos in Kahndaq leaves Osiris to conclude in a conversation with Sobek that he's the one responsible for the country's ills.  He resolves to do something about it.  The artist is Chris Batista.  Giffen and editor Michael Siglain offer commentaries.  Giffen is surprised that Steel's arc climaxes so early; Siglain explains that the title of the issue is from the famous John Henry folk ballad that gave Steel, John Henry Irons, his name, and that Morrison pulled off one of his obscure references in the script concerning a "Planet Lexor."  For me, it's a defining moment of 52, as Steel had always been a favorite character of mine, but one that had never really gotten his moment to shine.  His fifty-two issues of a solo series in the previous decade had seen him marginalized after "Reign of the Supermen" (where he was equally neutralized), and even in Morrison's JLA, once he'd joined, he served little purpose as the team's Vulcan.  It wasn't until Natasha armored up when they'd returned as supporting players in the pages of early 2000s Superman comics that he was allowed to develop into a conventional superhero rather than a token black character who stuck around for a while.  Cyborg in Johns' Justice League later had the spotlight Steel hadn't had in JLA.  Morrison brought him back in his New 52 Action Comics run, which is the last time Steel has been seen.  Pitting him against Lex Luthor in the pages of 52 is tacit acknowledgment of Steel's true potential.  It's also Luthor's last major run in his classic role as a straight-up villain putting on a positive public image, something he'd already struggled against in the pages of The Final Night a decade earlier, and would reclaim later in a pre-New 52 Action Comics starring role and finally as a surprise member of Johns' Justice League. 
• #41 - Adam Strange  and Starfire struggle against a remnant of Lady Styx's horde.  Renee Montoya struggles in the aftermath of Charlie's death.  Richard Dragon forces her to confront what she's become.  Ralph Dibney reaches the end of his journey with the Helmet of Fate.  Montoya has a conversation with Wonder Woman in Nanda Parbat.  She asks Montoya, "Which will have greater rule over you...your fear...or your curiosity?"  Strange and Starfire rally each other's spirits.  They land on Mogo.  Giuseppe Camuncoli provides art.  Rucka and Siglain provide commentaries.  Rucka admits that the writers were beginning to face the prospect of figuring out how to give enough space to each arc before the end of the series.  He credits Waid with helping figure out Wonder Woman's appearance, this following his "embassy" era and before his Rebirth era return to the character, so Rucka certainly knows enough about her.  Siglain is clearly a guy who can dig as well as Morrison into the DC canon, as he demonstrates in his thoughts.
• #42 - Renee Montoya: "You're going to have to look.  And you want to.  You know you do.  Shine the light into the dark corners.  Gaze into your self-made abyss.  See what stares back.  Don't be scared.  That's right, that's it...Just open your eyes...What do you see?  Good question."  Ralph Dibney's arc concludes as he reveals, like Booster and Skeets before him, his actions this whole time were an elaborate conceit.  Turns out Fate was really Felix Faust all along, attempting to trick Dibney into giving up a pure soul Faust needed for a bargain with the demon Neron.  The gun?  A wishing gun.  The stuff in the flash?  Gingold, what Dibney used to use to stretch as Elongated Man.  He gladly sacrifices himself to trap Faust with his Faustian deal, trapped with Neron for eternity...Fire, whom we've seen in glimpses throughout the series, is there to give Dibney a proper hero's farewell at his grave.  Darick Robertson provides the art.  Dan DiDio provides commentary, explaining how he asked Giffen to rework Dibney's death after the writers had finished their effort, a risky editorial move that sheds further light into the delicate creative process.
• #43 - Osiris and Sobek visit the Rock of Eternity and the Marvel Family, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Junior and Mary Marvel.  Black Adam and Isis arrive.  They argue over Osiris's contention that his powers are a curse.  Osiris becomes increasingly belligerent, but eventually claims he's reconsidered his conclusions.  The aliens who originally gave Animal Man his powers complete his revival.  He comes with increased awareness of his abilities.  Lady Styx is reborn.  Sobek is revealed as a double agent.  Osiris gives up his powers, and his talking crocodile friend...eats him.  Dan Jurgens provides art.  Johns provides commentary, explaining how Black Adam's arc in 52 developed in its conception, and how Giffen, who never liked Osiris, helped make his death more impactful.  Of course he would.  It's ironic that Jurgens, who had become an archetypical superhero artist a decade earlier, and who gets to feature his Superman style with Captain Marvel and related characters this issue, also does the honors for what seems like the most unlikely Dan Jurgens sequence ever, the grim death of Osiris.
• #44 - Sobek is revealed to be Famine of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips, and he leads his brethren against Black Adam and Isis.  Isis is killed in the resulting battle.  Renee Montoya realizes she's dead, and it's just the impetus she needs to finally leave Nanda Parbat again.  (Richard Dragon: "You're going to find, like Sage [Charlie, the Question] did, that some questions can only be answered by wearing a mask.  Just as there are some that can only be asked when you remove one.")  Eddy Barrows provides art.  Rucka provides commentary.  He remarks that Johns has Isis actually confirm that Black Adam reverting to form is the proper response to what's just happened to him.
• #45 - Black Adam and the Marvel Family attend the funeral.  Renee Montoya is there.  They don't see eye-to-eye.  Bruno Mannheim betrays Bialya, home of the remnants of the Four Horsemen.  Black Adam begins his rampage there.  Green Lantern Alan Scott begins marshalling a response; Amanda Waller attempts to convince Atom Smasher to do the same.  The rampage continues.  The Great Ten realize they will have to confront Black Adam, who defeats Death.  On Oolong Island, Sivana celebrates Black Adam's imminent arrival.  Chris Batista provides the art, with an assist from Jamal Igle.  Giffen provides commentary.  He remarks, "Life is made so much easier for those of us pushing pencils when writers think visually."
• #46 - T.O. Morrow, Will Magnus, Egg-Fu and the others at Oolong Island brace for Black Adam's arrival.  Veronica Cale (I've kind of glossed over her appearances) has her most significant appearance of the series in an impotent reflection of her role in all this.  Morrow incapacitates Black Adam.  Sivana salivates on the prospect of finally getting his hands on a Marvel.  Morrow wins a bidding war for the head of Red Tornado.  Clark Kent helps Steel and Natasha Irons prevent Lex Luthor get away with murder one more time, exposing Everyman as a stand-in and bringing Luthor himself into custody.  Green Lantern Alan Scott and the Justice Society remnant investigate Black Adam's carnage in Bialya.  Atom Smasher offers to help them find him.  Pat Oliffe provides the art.  Giffen provides commentary.  He says Rucka had to make an unpopular argument to save Cale's life, as she'd been slated to die.  Another reference to Jones's genius on covers.
• #47 - Wonder Woman converses with Tim Drake, Robin, in Nanda Parbat.  Bruno Mannheim and the others in Intergang's Crime Bible cult realize they can trap Batwoman in her guise as Kate Kane.  Will Magnus wrestles with his conscience on Oolong Island.  Animal Man and his benefactors discuss how easy it'll be to get home, where he believes his wife Ellen Baker is seeing someone.  Steel and his niece Natasha Irons unveil a hopeful new project.  Nightwing greets the returning Renee Montoya, who's just found out Kate's indeed been caught.  Wonder Woman has an epiphany: "Diana of Amazonia, beloved of the gods.  Of purest purpose.  You who sought to teach.  When did you ever know guilt before this [murder of Maxwell Lord]?  Or doubt or regret?  Or what it is to fail?  When did you, in all your perfection, ever share the pains mortals feel each day of their lives?  Until now.  Welcome to the world, Wonder Woman.  Here is wisdom."  Bruce Wayne emerges from his ordeal reconciled to his role as Batman.  Giuseppe Camuncoli provides the art.  Rucka provides commentary.  He attempts to argue that the conclusions he thinks Morrison wrote concerning Wonder Woman.  He thinks she didn't get enough time to explain her arc, that her problem amounts to not being "human enough."  I totally disagree.  It's a true breakthrough for the character.  Morrison later wrote Wonder Woman: Earth One, a seminal reexamining of her origins.  Clearly creative differences.
• #48 - Renee Montoya and Nightwing launch their assault on Bruno Mannheim, Intergang, and the Crime Bible cult.  (Nightwing: "Would you really die for this?"  Montoya: "Good question.  Wouldn't you?")  It's her official debut as the new Question.  They save Batwoman, who kills Mannheim with his own ceremonial dagger, which he'd previously stabbed her with.  Sivana and Egg-Fu ransom the life of Black Adam, with Green Lantern Alan Scott preparing a response.  Darick Robertson provides the art.  Rucka and Siglain provide commentary.  Both gush over Jones's cover.  Rucka admits he tends to think in human scale for his stories, which he thinks he mitigates this issue with "turning Gotham into a mini-Apokolips." 
• #49 - Green Lantern Alan Scott leads the response against Egg-Fu's mad scientists.  The Great Ten claim sovereignty to stymy him.  Will Magnus employs the Metal Men against Egg-Fu.  Scott realizes the Great Ten are covering for the fact that Egg-Fu is an associate of theirs.  T.O. Morrow confronts Magnus, then vacates Oolong Island.  Sivana continues torturing Black Adam.  The Great Ten strike a deal with Scott.  Magnus obliterates Egg-Fu.  Atom Smasher sets Black Adam free, believing Bialya to be a giant mistake.  That's the giant mistake...Eddy Barrows provides the art.  Giffen and Siglain provide the art.  Giffen explains Barrows' mix-up with the Great Wall of China appearing in both the Oolong Island sequences and Alan Scott's confrontation with the Great Ten.  Siglain doubles down on that.  For what it's worth, I think both make a mistake themselves in believing that.  The only problem is assuming Scott and the Great Ten are on Oolong Island.  Presumably, it's in the South China Sea.  Problem solved.
• #50 - Black Adam barrels through Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family.  Green Lantern Alan Scott and the reconstituted Justice Society  debate Black Adam's actions.  The Great Ten prepares a defense against him.  The Society is refused entry into China to aide in the battle.  General August-in-Iron concedes that the Great Ten can't defeat Black Adam on its own.  Scott, Captain Marvel, Atom Smasher, Steel, and Natasha Irons are among the heroes who answer the call.  Booster Gold steals Steel's weapon.  Infinity Inc. runs away from the fight.  Captain Marvel devices a way to steal Black Adam's powers by changing his magic word.  A depowered Black Adam wanders trying to figure out the new word.  T.O. Morrow tinkers with the head of Red Tornado, but Booster and Rip Hunter arrive to claim it.  The head continues to babble "52."  Justiniano provides the art.  Waid provides commentary, giving full credit to Johns for the issue, with a few of his own ideas thrown into the mix.  I give a lot of credit, personally, to Justiniano, who has since served time in prison for possession of child pornography.  A shame, as he's a truly sensational artist.
• #51 - Animal Man finally returns home.  Donna Troy and Wonder Girl are observed by Wonder Woman in her new role as a secret agent in her civilian life.  Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent talk.  The Teen Titans form a new lineup.  Adam Strange gets a new pair of eyes (yeah, never mentioned that, sorry).  Lobo realizes he can free himself from his religious obligation once the head dolphin finally reveals the whole thing was a trick to neutralize the one weapon that can kill him: the Emerald Eye of Ekron.  Starfire arrives just in time to save Animal Man's family from a remnant of the Lady Styx horde.  The head of Red Tornado ("52"), T.O. Morrow, Booster Gold, and Rip Hunter prepare to confront Skeets, who's really been Mister Mind this whole time...Joe Bennett provides his last solo artwork of the series.  Waid provides commentary, plugging Starfire and Animal Man's continued adventures in Countdown to Adventure.  He also confesses the writers spent a lot of time trying to decide whether or not the mature Mister Mind wears the same goggles as his caterpillar incarnation...
• #52 - The multiverse in its present 52 worlds incarnation debuts.  The head of Red Tornado, Rip Hunter, and Booster Gold pursue Mister Mind across all the worlds created at the end of Infinite Crisis.  Supernova returns, revealed to be Daniel Carter in this incarnation, rescued by Rip from oblivion.  Booster reunites briefly with his old pal, the late Blue Beetle Ted Kord.  Sivana, the initial cause for Mister Mind's rampage, also becomes the solution.  Booster becomes the greatest hero history never knew.  There's a montage with Green Lantern Alan Scott, Steel, Natasha Irons, Wonder Woman, and Black Adam.  Ralph Dibney is reunited with his wife Sue as ghost detectives.  Renee Montoya settles into her career as the Question.  Batwoman, Kate Kane, has recovered from her ordeal.  "Are you ready?"  Art is supplied by Justiniano, Barrows, Batista, Oliffe, Robertson, and Mike McKone.  Waid and Siglain provide some concluding thoughts.

The end!

Reading Comics 212 "Understanding 52 - Part 4"

52, the 2006-2007 series written by Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, and Mark Waid, with art breakdowns by Keith Giffen and covers by J.G. Jones, was instantly one of my all-time favorite when I read its original weekly installments, and I recently did a complete reread.  Here are my continuing thoughts, based on #27-39 from the third collection.

• #27 - Ralph Dibney and the Helmet of Fate make their most harrowing stop on their journey together, visiting Jean Loring, the ex-wife of Ray Palmer and murderer of Dibney's wife Sue in the pages of Identity Crisis, with the assistance of the Spectre.  Skeets confronts Waverider and attacks him, claiming his metallic shell is derived from Waverider's later corpse.  And after all, why wait?  Renee Montoya continues her training with Richard Dragon in Nanda Parbat.  Charlie, the Question, begins to cough.  Montoya realizes he has cancer.  She also realizes that Kate Kane, Batwoman, is in mortal danger thanks to the Crime Bible and its adherents within Intergang.  Identity Crisis is listed as eighty-four weeks in the past, thanks to Dibney dragging Jean Loring back to the moment she murders Sue.  He's prevented from exacting wicked revenge by his own conscience, and thereby learning for himself the toll magic takes on its users.  He decides he has to go to Nanda Parbat.  The artist is Shawn Moll.  Waid provides the commentary.  He says Johns wrote the Waverider scene.  This opening issue in the volume is bookended with the one that closes it, beginning and ending Charlie's final arc (he later returns in the New 52 as part of the Trinity of Sin, but as with the rest of New 52, those events are entirely unrelated to 52).  As such, it's one of the most essential moments of the whole series, and if you somehow only read one of these four original collections (a later series pared it down to three, and so the culling becomes harder), this would be the one to read.
• #28 - Renee Montoya and Charlie, the Question, are back in Gotham, where they reunite with Batwoman.  (Montoya: "I hate it when he coughs.")  They warn her about the prophecy in the Crime Bible.  In Australia, Red Tornado has been repackaged as someone's personal bodyguard.  He continues spouting "52."  He's dismantled and his head is tossed away for scrap.  Animal Man, Adam Strange, Starfire, and Lobo flee from Ekron, from whom the Emerald Eye of Ekron comes from.  Batwoman strikes at the Intergang thugs, including Bruno Mannheim, who following the Crime Bible.  The space heroes discover Ekron is actually a Green Lantern.  They realize the bigger problem is whatever Ekron was guarding against before his eye was taken from him.  Art is from Drew Johnson.  Rucka provides commentary.  He says he labored on this script throughout what was supposed to be a vacation, then praises Jones's cover, and admits he hates the naming scheme of "Crime Bible" and "Religion of Crime."  I never had a problem with "Crime Bible."  Batwoman's first solo adventure was in a spin-off mini-series called Crime Bible: The Five Lessons of Blood, which I did have a problem with, if only because the title was needlessly long and not particularly compelling and...why didn't it feature "Question" or "Batwoman"?
• #29 - Green Lantern Alan Scott and the remaining old guard decide to officially end the Justice Society.  Infinity Inc. is having a far happier Thanksgiving, as it introduces a new Jade, unrelated to Scott's deceased daughter.  Scott's volatile son Obsidian predictably reacts poorly to this development, confronting the disrespectful Everyman project team that includes Natasha Irons.  Scott cools the situation down.  At Oolong Island, Sivana and the mad scientists are carving up a mutant turkey (I seem to remember saying this last volume; I'll have to go back and check on that).  Will Magnus begins an acquaintance that ushers a downward spiral.  Egg-Fu is paranoid about being left out of the dinner because people are, er, calling him that behind his back, and not his preferred moniker, Chang Zhu.  He says T.O. Morrow vouched for Magnus, who doesn't seem to have contributed to any of the experimenting going on. The suggestion is made to take away his medication.  Magnus is dragged away kicking and screaming.  Steel's Everyman steel skin comes off.  Art is from Chris Batista.  Commentary is from Michael Siglain, who successfully took over editing duties from Stephen Wacker at around this point.  Both deserve a significant amount of credit for 52 working out.  He mentions how Giffen slipped in Spider-Man during the parade.  It's also worth wondering how much of Will Magnus's arc is Morrison writing about his ability to slip into the "madness" that so often typifies his best work, or is he merely remarking on where his weirdest stuff comes from?  Does he sometimes feel comfortably muzzled? 
• #30 - Nightwing reflects on Batman's state of mind.  He's talking to Tim Drake, Robin, as all three of them participate in Bruce Wayne's year of soul searching.  Renee Montoya reflects on the cost to Charlie, the Question, of returning to Gotham, leaving the sanctuary of Nanda Parbat, where he was last feeling well, before the cancer started eating him alive.  Kate Kane, Batwoman, offers to let Charlie stay at her house indefinitely.  His main concern is whether or not Kate is still pursuing their Intergang enemies.  "You should always...ask the question."  Nightwing decides he's leaving the world tour.  Bruce confronts the Ten-Eyed Man, who symbolically cuts the darkness out of him.  "It's over.  Batman is gone."  Nightwing meets Batwoman.  The art is from Joe Bennett, first time this volume but certainly not his first go-around in the pages of 52.  Rucka provides commentary.  He says Batman's experience here is long overdue.  He also says Charlie and Montoya share one of their most important moments of the series this issue.  Waid chimes in for a little background on the Ten-Eyed Man.  Material from this issue ought to be considered part of Morrison's complete Batman sequence.  He was really only getting started on a long Dark Knight run at this point, too.
• #31 - Captain Comet, plus a few Green Lanterns, try to hold the line against Lady Styx.  Comet is captured by her minions and desiccated.  Natasha Irons starts to have an idea that there's a rotten apple within Infinity Inc.  We learn well before she does just how rotten the Everyman of the Everyman project really is.  Ralph Dibney, who appears to have begun drinking booze out of a flask, and the Helmet of Fate visit Wonder Girl.  They all agree that the guy running the Cult of Connor was a con artist.  Dibney also admits that his wife was brought back from the dead for a moment during the aborted ceremony that ended the con artist's run.  Wonder Girl admits she believes Supernova is Superboy.  Dibney confronts Supernova.  He knows who he really is, and it isn't Superboy.  We see Captain Comet's corpse, and Lady Styx properly for the first time.  The artist is Chris Batista.  Commentary is from Giffen, who admits he's officially lost count of which writer is responsible for what by this point.
• #32 - Ralph Dibney and the Helmet of Fate come across the Great Ten on their way to Nanda Parbat.  Osiris and Sobek audition for the Teen Titans.  Captain Marvel Junior tells him he has to prove he's worthy, after the way Black Adam was behaving at the start of 52.  Animal Man, Adam Strange, Starfire, and Lobo decide they're going to tackle Lady Styx.  Dibney finds himself deposited in Nanda Parbat.  Accomplished Perfect Physician of the Great Ten explains his background.  (Honestly, I think the Great Ten mini-series worked so well for me because each issue did this, and it's also the reason so few readers queued up for it.  Together they tame the Yeti, an associate member of the Great Ten.  In hindsight, the ending of this issue is a cryptic way to explain Dibney's whole arc in the series.  Pat Oliffe provides the art.  Waid provides commentary.  He admits Morrison wrote the Dibney sequences this issue.
• #33 - Ralph Dibney and the Helmet of Fate visit the Flash Museum to pick up a special souvenir, a gun that will be explained later.  (Perhaps a continuity problem, here, unless it was deposited at some point during the 52 year.)  Batwoman and Nightwing meet.  He gives her an official batarang, thereby welcoming her into the family.  Lex Luthor (first time we see him this volume) gives Infinity Inc. presents.  He sacrifices another Everyman project participant in the hope of finding a way to benefit personally from the project.  Renee Montoya finds Charlie, the Question, increasingly delirious from the effects of cancer.  Kate Kane, Batwoman, consoles her.  We see Ellen Baker (Animal Man's wife), Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and the head of Red Tornado in a montage of holiday celebrants.  We actually see Hawkwoman having gotten better.  I stand corrected from previous comments.  We glimpse the space heroes closing in on their destination.  Black Adam, Isis, Osiris, and Sobek give the world a glimpse of them at their most vulnerable, transformed back into their mortal selves for a moment.  Amanda Waller and Atom Smasher's Suicide Squad stands poised to attack.  Joe Prado and Tom Derenick provide the art.  Rucka provides commentary.  He admits to lifting much of Charlie's delirious comments from Denny O'Neil's old Question series.  Waid chimes in to explain a Moonlighting reference. 
• #34 - The Suicide Squad prepares to strike at Black Adam, Isis, Osiris, and Sobek.  Atom Smasher attempts to get Black Adam to turn himself in .  In the heat of the moment, Osiris murders the Executioner.  (Somewhat poetic, that.)  Steel attempts to explain to his niece, Natasha Irons, the error of her ways once more.  This time he appeals to her with facts and asks her to figure it out for herself.  Clark Kent is interrogated by Lex Luthor about the identity of Supernova.  He's able to honestly say it's not Superman.  Renee Montoya witnesses Charlie, the Question as it deteriorates further.  Luthor has his own New Year's countdown, the results of which we'll see next issue.  Charlie sings "Danny Boy."  "...the pipes, the pipes are calling...from glen to glen and down the mountainside...summer's gone and all the leaves are turnin'...now you must go away and I must - must - and I bide."  Joe Bennett provides art. Rucka provides commentary.  He says Johns wrote the Suicide Squad sequence (I imagine he wrote much of the Black Adam material), and admits "Danny Boy" was another thing he lifted from O'Neil's Question.  Needless to say, but of the whole Montoya/Charlie sequence from the volume, this one is the most heartbreaking.  Rucka says some readers thought Charlie dies at the end of the issue, what with the body on Jones's cover and all.  No, not until the end of the volume...Waid chimes in to praise Wacker and Giffen for juxtaposing his and Rucka's competing material at the end of the issue.  I personally think the Rucka material should've closed the issue, made it more impactful.  As it is, it gives too much weight to Waid's material, and not enough to Rucka's.  But I'm okay with not crying about this particular cancer tragedy, really...
• #35 - Lex Luthor shut off a wide swath of Everyman project beneficiaries on New Year's, sending them plunging to their deaths.  It's his challenge to Supernova.  The mysterious hero saves who he can.  Natasha Irons and the rest of Infinity Inc. experience the carnage. She realizes her uncle Steel was right about Luthor's duplicity.  Various heroes converge to help out.  Animal Man, Adam Strange, and Starfire discover that Lobo has been leading them straight to Lady Styx all along.  Phil Jimenez and Dan Jurgens provide the art.  Waid and Siglain provide commentary. Waid expresses regret for The Kingdom.  I don't think he needs to.  Jurgens in an issue where we're still trying to decide whether or not Supernova is Superman is pretty genius.
• #36 - Animal Man, Adam Strange, Starfire, and Lobo take on and defeat Lady Styx, at the apparent cost of Animal Man's life. Renee Montoya continues to observe Charlie, the Question's decline.  She realizes all over again that taking him from Nanda Parbat was a deadly mistake.  She resolves to take him back.  Kate Kane, Batwoman, thinks it's an equally terrible mistake.  Sobek comforts Osiris, distraught over what he did two issues ago.  Supernova and Rip Hunter attempt to hide from Skeets.  Good luck with that.  Jamal Igle provides the art.  Giffen provides commentary.  He admits to simplifying Morrison's stage direction during the Lady Styx sequence.  Funny that a big bad dies so easily.  He compares Siglain to J.D. (Zach Braff) from Scrubs.  I love that Igle got to work on 52.  At the time, he was knocking Firestorm out of the part, and is just one of the reasons I wish that series had gotten better buzz. 
• #37 - Booster Gold explains to Skeets the Supernova charade he pulled off with the help of Rip Hunter.  Booster and Rip begin the process of defeating the wayward drone.  Green Arrow and Black Canary discuss Ralph Dibney (it's kind of a callback to the beginning of Identity Crisis).  Adam Strange and Starfire hold a memorial service for Animal Man.  Lobo says his goodbyes.  Adam and Starfire leave Animal Man's body behind.  Animal Man wakes up!  Pat Oliffe provides the art.  Waid provides commentary.  He likens Booster's Supernova arc to Frank Grimes from The Simpsons, providing some alternate dialogue from #15 to prove it.  Hilarious.  Obviously, this is the biggest development of 52 to this point, the first time it reaches a climax. 
• #38 - Renee Montoya and Charlie, the Question, struggle to find their way back to Nanda Parbat.  Will Magnus and T.O. Morrow converse again, Magnus now fully giving in to his impulses.  Egg-Fu announces the dawn of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips.  Montoya is totally lost.  Natasha Irons lets her uncle Steel know that she's finally seen the light.  Montoya has a final lucid conversation with Charlie.  He dies just outside of Nanda Parbat.  Joe Bennett provides the art.  Rucka provides heartbreaking commentary.  I guess this is why they didn't let Rucka have the conclusion to that other issue to himself.  Once it really sinks in that this is the moment Charlie dies..."The 'uuuuuuuuu' sound that Charlie is making for several pages comes from personal experience.  It is a distinct sound, and those who have heard it will never forget it.  It's the sound of a body preparing to stop, a vocalization made by the dying, and it is a truly awful, endless noise, so horrible and painful that when it does, finally and literally terminate, one is almost grateful for the silence."
• #39 - One of Lex Luthor's Everyman project scientists has been faking test results that show Luthor as incompatible with the process.  He attempts to complete this by killing himself and destroying his notes.  Ralph Dibney and the Helmet of Fate visit Aquaman, who is temporarily lost to himself.  (The Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis series with his son is worth reading.)  At Oolong Island, Sivana continues his experiments with suspendium, so-called artificial time.  T.O. Morrow suspects Will Magnus has been working on his Metal Men again.  Magnus insists he couldn't because he's been watched the whole time.  But of course he has been.  Black Adam, Isis, and Sobek realize the earth in Kahndaq is dying.  Natasha Irons discovers the truth about the shapeshifting Everyman at last.  Luthor gains powers and unleashes them on Natasha...The art is from Andy Smith.  Siglain provides commentary.  He suggests Osiris was supposed to die this issue rather than several issues later.  He also says the de facto S-shield Luthor sports on the final page (echoing one Steel has when he first gains his Everyman steel shell earlier in the series) is something Giffen and Smith had included but then the idea was second-guessed and it was taken out and put back again later when it was third-guessed...The fun of peeking behind the curtain...

One volume to go!