Pandemic Comics #1 “A Fortuitous Midtown Order”

By sheer coincidence, just as the lockdowns were beginning, I had placed another order with Midtown Comics. A decade back I dug myself into a steep financial hole recklessly ordering comics every week through their website. Longtime readers of my blog (through its many names and locations) know I spent years putting together an annual listing of the fifty best comics I’d read. The Midtown addiction allowed me to expand it to a hundred one year. So it was a long time before I ordered from them again. The first time back it was to help complete my Stuart Immonen Superman collection (which was finally completed last year when I rectified one last oversight). Then last year I began an irregular comeback. This most recent order was deliberately patterned after the old days, when I’d comb the weekly release lists and see what looked interesting. In recent years my comics reading has been drastically limited. The only sequential reads I’ve done have been limited series. I gave up trying to catch Tom King’s Batman in every individual issue (though I’ve collected all the trades), even.

Well, anyway, these are, at the moment, not only some of the last new comics I personally have read, but that got to be released at all...

The Argus #1 (Action Lab)

I found the art to be kind of shoddy, but the familiar concept of time travel being filtered through a single person pulled from various points of his life is still a good one. Could absolutely be salvaged. Kirkman’s Walking Dead, after all, had a different tone and even different art at the beginning.

Billionaire Island #1 (Ahoy Comics)

The latest from Mark Russell is another biting satire skewering privilege. The end of the issue teases the badass who will help find some justice for victims who’ve been locked up. To be clear, involuntarily. Not because, y’know, of a pandemic.

Birthright #42 (Image)

Randomly checked in with the Josh Williamson epic fantasy. Would probably get more out of it with having read more than, oh, the first issue in an Image dollar reprint.

Daredevil #19 (Marvel) 

Checking back in with the excellent Chip Zdarsky run.

Doctor Tomorrow #1 (Valiant)

Valiant may have finally gotten a big screen adaptation (horribly timed though it turned out to be), but in the comics its boon period has officially ended. Would really love for another creative resurgence.

Far Sector #4 (DC’s Young Animal)

Another fine issue in this Green Lantern maxi-series. 

The Flash #123 (DC)

A facsimile edition of the famous “Flash of Two Worlds” issue, one of the truly legendary moments in superhero comics. It’s interesting to have finally read it. Just the recaps of Jay Garrick and Barry Allen’s origin stories, as they were told then, was interesting. 

Flash Forward #6 (DC)

The final issue of the mini-series saw Wally West take on a new destiny. Just had to read it.

The Flash #750 (DC)

One of several big anniversary comics DC was able to get in before all this happened (I was a little too soon for the Robin 80th anniversary celebration). Geoff Johns probably had the highlight. Real shame that Mark Waid seems to have totally rejected his DC past(s) at this point. Should have been a part of this.

Folklords #1 (Boom!)

This was a fourth printing or so (otherwise the series was up to its fourth issue, I think), another fine argument that Boom! may actually be the most consistently excellent alternative publisher of the past decade, still working with Matt Kindt, launching another excellent concept. It may have a lower profile than Image, Dark Horse, or IDW, but it’s consistently reinvented itself over the years and, hey, still boasts Grant Morrison’s Klaus on its release calendar, and is probably the only publisher that would do so.

King of Nowhere #1 (Boom!)

Here they are again. This one looks like it could’ve been published by Image, Dark Horse, or Vertigo, and that’s not something you can say for just any publisher. Was worth a look.

The Last God #5 (DC Black Label)

The shuttering of the Vertigo imprint didn’t mean its aesthetic was dead. This is clearly DC’s biggest bid for old school Vertigo in years. But ended up not being my cup of tea. High fantasy, as it turns out.

Omni #5 (H1)

Pretty annoyed that Devin K. Grayson, who launched the series, was still listed as a creator when, as of this issue, she’s not really an active member of the creative team anymore. Kind of felt like a bait-and-switch.

Plunge #1 (DC/Hill House)

The end of the Vertigo imprint came at the same time as an incredible flowering of new DC imprints, from the Sandman family to the Bendis line, and now Hill House, from Joe Hill (Stephen Kong’s kid). But what brought me here was the Stuart Immonen art. Immonen has once again elevated his game. After he went over to Marvel I thought he was allowing himself to lose what made him distinctive, but it led to, well, this. I love his Superman, always will, as it was, but of course, now I’d love to see him return, with this more detailed approach.

Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #3 (Dark Horse)

The best thing Dark Horse has done post-Mind MGMT has been Jeff Lemire’s Black Hammer universe. At some point I want to read all of it. This latest installment is basically its Dark Knight Returns.

Stealth #1 (Image)

By far the best surprise in scanning through the releases was discovering Mike Costa had a new series. Costa is an all-time favorite thanks to his G.I. Joe/Cobra comics. In recent years he’s had a small resurgence at Marvel, so it’s nice to see him getting another crack, even if once again it’s someone else’s concept, in this instance Robert Kirkman’s. But, as Costa explains in a postscript, he’s more than capable of internalizing the idea. And he executes it perfectly.

Strange Adventures #1 (DC Black Label)

The latest from Tom King, starring Adam Strange, in Mister Miracle mode with Mitch Gerads and “Doc” Shaner. Love love love that Mister Terrific pops up at the end of the issue. Might be the breakthrough Michael Holt’s been waiting twenty years for...

Wolverine Through the Years (Marvel)

This was a freebie promo for the new ongoing series (which I decided to skip). There’s a code in it that I unscrambled: “Who is the Pale Girl?” Hopefully someone interesting!

Wonder Woman #750 (DC)

Could’ve read this for free at the library, but the pandemic shut those things down before I could get around to it. Ironically still open when I ordered this. Historically speaking, the first time Wonder Woman topped the sales chart. Also the soft launch for DC’s G5.

Reading Comics 224 "King is King, and Morrison's Green Lantern, and Orlando's Wonder Woman"

Batman Secret Files #1 (DC)
Back in the day the Secret Files comics were more or less updates of the old Who's Who files, and they were more or less excuses to hype upcoming events in a particular series or family of books.  They also contained short stories and other throwaway materials like diagrams and timelines, all of it fun little celebratory stuff.  But in the final analysis, you could probably skip them.  Some readers complained when they saw this updated take, which includes...nothing but storytelling.  Why even call it Secret Files?  But if I may...repurposing a title is perfectly fine, especially in an era that really doesn't have any other space for the kind of stories that appear in it.  It's like a one-shot Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, or Batman: Confidential. 

The lead is written by Tom King.  It can be interpreted as a cheap way to get Batman thinking about the past, or as another way King ruminates on the cumulative toll being of Batman.  Then a bunch of new creators have a shot at exploring Gotham, and that's pretty awesome.  Ram V and Jorge Fornes set the tone nicely with a Brubakeresque tale of a cop who was caught in the crossfire of Scarecrow's latest caper, and can't shake the effects of his fear gas.  Cheryl Lynn Eaton and Elena Casagrande offer fairly similar material, although they have a lot more space for Batman, and leave a lot more ambiguity to the aftereffects of a girl on the street being forced to defend herself with a gun.  Jordie Bellaire and Jill Thompson help Batman spend time with himself, waiting to find out what Man-Bat's up to, and for someone like Batman that's almost as bad as confronting Man-Bat right away...Finally, Tom Taylor and Brad Walker revisit Dark Night: Metal's take on Detective Chimp as Batman acknowledges his skills and they try to help a former Riddler goon.  It's a great collection of stories and showcase for these creators.  Anyone who's begun to wonder whether King's the only creator outside of Detective Comics DC's willing to entertain in Batman comics should definitely check it out. 

Batman #59 (DC)
After we learned that the Batwedding didn't happen thanks to Bane's manipulations, it was only a matter of time before Batman once again clashed with one of his most famous foes.  This issue, solicited as part of Batman's unlikely team-up with the Penguin, is really all about Bane driving a wedge between Batman and Commissioner Gordon by pretending to be a vegetative inmate of Arkham, and even allowing the ruse to reach the point where Batman himself questions his conclusions.  In the long run this will prove a highly crucial issue.  Mikel Janin's art has apparently reached an evolution, meanwhile.  He's begun taking on a more stylized approach as opposed to his cleaner look previously.

Green Lanterns #57 (DC)
The final issue of the series, Dan Jurgens completes a short run with another look at Cyborg Superman and whether or not his threat will ever be concluded, this time in the context of what he famously did during "Reign of the Supermen" to Coast City, and what effect that had on Hal Jordan.  But the series ends with Jessica Cruz deciding to once and for all leave her comfort zone, and Earth! 

The Green Lantern #1 (DC)
It's here!  Grant Morrison is now writing the adventures of Hal Jordan!  And of course, once again, he's managed to approach his subject as no one else has before!  After more than a decade of storytelling dominated by the big ideas of Geoff Johns, Morrison grounds Hal back in a more personal context.  In interviews he's described it as putting the focus on the effect Hal's life as Green Lantern has on him, which is something previous decades used to do all the time, how he went through a whole series of civilian jobs because he couldn't hold anything of them and have a power ring's responsibilities at the same time.  And also the mundane oddities of being a space cop!  Liam Sharp (I hate the composition of the cover image, which was available in poster form at the new location of Comics & Stuff, which I declined to accept on that basis, even though it would've otherwise been a great thing to celebrate on a wall) is great in the interiors, bringing a bright new vividness to Green Lantern.  All I can say is, wow!  Never expected this to happen, but am very, very pleased that it has, and that Morrison is clearly bringing all his celebrated wild imagination to it!

Heroes in Crisis #2 (DC)
A lot of fans have obsessed over the fact that Wally West died in the first issue.  I just don't know how to make sense of that.  Wally just returned.  He's been gone for years!  But...he just returned!  You really think he can't, I don't know, do that again?  Really?  But we live in outrage culture these days.  You really would think we'd never seen anything at all before.

Anyway, the idea of Booster Gold and Harley Quinn on the run, suspected of the massacre at Sanctuary, it's great, and it's a totally new story, and Booster and Harley are great choices as leads.  Booster hasn't truly been relevant since 52 (anyone with even a fleeting grasp of my favorite comics knows how much I love 52, of which you can find an annotated commentary right here at Thought Bubble Comics).  It's also crazy to think, and also funny that DC's event comics have slowed down so much, that since she became a significant corner of the DCU during the New 52 era, Harley has never been in this position before.  This is acknowledging the changing landscape.  This is helping legitimize Harley.  I get that there's a certain style of Harley storytelling that's been the standard over the years, but allowing her to be seen in different ways, in more dramatic ways, in an important step in solidifying Harley's legacy.

Mister Miracle #12 (DC)
The end of King's epic mini-series (I also picked up a Director's Cut of the first issue, a rereading of which helped me understand this final issue) makes clear that the story was always about Scott Free coming to grips with life, basically, as a war veteran.  It joins Omega Men and Sheriff of Babylon as a trilogy of King's experiences from the Iraq War, and as such an essential artifact of the modern era, in and outside of comics.  Some readers, for any number of reasons, are just not going to be able to appreciate that.  Fine.  Good for them.  Some of them are going to continue to look toward The Vision as King's definitive work, and Mister Miracle as a poor attempt to duplicate it for DC.  A lot of them only discovered King through Vision.  Having first encountered him as a solo creative voice in Omega Men, Vision for me was actually jarring, a slowed down version of what I already knew, impactful but at a scale that seemed small in comparison.  Over the years I've come to appreciate Vision more, and have of course read a lot more King, and if anything, Mister Miracle helps put it in greater context.  This is what he's been doing in the pages of Batman for three years.  Just imagine if he'd done only twelve issues! 

Nightwing #53 (DC)
What I liked about this latest installment of the amnesia saga was the cop who attempts to fill the Nightwing void.  It's become a full-blown tradition for impostor Nightwings to pop up! 

Adventures of the Super Sons #1-3 (DC)
With the dawn of Bendis Superman, Pete Tomasi was forced to vacate his space, and take his Superboy along with him, and also Robin, who he'd been bringing along since the last time he was asked to move on.  This time he leaves with a huge parting gift!  One grand adventure with Jon and Damian, and I think that's exactly the spirit of how he decided to approach this next generation World's Finest from the start.  And just like that, his Superman has officially acquired its final context, just in case anyone was still wondering.

Wonder Woman #51-52 (DC)
I've spent a lot of time at the library over the past year reading comics.  Most of them have been collected editions, but this particular branch also has a somewhat extensive collection of solo issues for Superman and Wonder Woman, which apparently began at the very end of the New 52, so that's how I ended up reading the majority of Tomasi's Superman, and how I eventually first read these two comics.  The first was the one I definitely wanted to own.  Steve Orlando's run is going to be more of a sprint, sandwiched between James Robinson and G. Willow Wilson, but as far as I'm concerned?  It's going to loom large.

#51 is great issue.  It's a one-shot in which Diana makes a series of trips across many years to visit a villain she randomly came across in someone else's story.  It's a redemption arc, as the villain struggles to find peace with what happened, and Diana's insistence on the visits.  It's a perfect encapsulation of what makes Diana different.  You can't really picture Batman doing this, and for all the Superman stories that have been created over the years, I'm fairly certain he's never done it, either.  Anyway, it was instantly one of my favorite comics of the year, and the reread confirmed that.

#52 is the start of an arc, and it features a new female Aztek, a character who debuted in the '90s, written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, who eventually joined Morrison's JLA.  Kind of instantly became obscure, especially for having been a Justice Leaguer in an era where it was once again composed almost exclusively of all-stars.  But Aztek was always a great concept, and Orlando instantly grasps it.  He also brings in Artemis, who was recently part of Red Hood and the Outlaws, but who also comes from the '90s, the lesser known Wonder Woman replacement from a time when all the big characters were being replaced.  It feels like a big Wonder Woman story in ways that rarely happen, and it's also kind of a comic book version of the allies she assembles in the blockbuster movie.  Orlando's Wonder Woman will definitely be a collection I will add to my collection.

The Wrong Earth #3 (Ahoy)
Ahoy Comics launched to some amount of buzz in part thanks to landing a Grant Morrison prose backup feature.  The company's whole thing seems to be another of those "we're bringing comics back to how you remember them!" deals.  But these aren't comics as I want to read this.  The Wrong Earth reads like a shallow parody.  Nuff said.

Uncanny X-Men #1 (Marvel)
I haven't particularly cared about the X-Men since the Hope saga ended.  Of course I've never been a dedicated reader.  Still haven't even read Morrison's complete New X-Men!  So to say I've been part of the legion (heh) of observers who've been wondering if the X-Men were ever going to be relevant again, it doesn't carry the same weight as fans who've spent more time with them. But I wanted to see what this latest effort was going to be like.  I like Bishop being right there on the cover.  Ever since I came across him in the '90s I've always thought this was a character with at least equal potential as Cable.  Both of them were time-traveling mutants from dystopic futures, but Cable always hogged the spotlight.  A number of creators working in converging narratives come together to explain the latest mutant crisis, another drug threatening to take their abilities away.  But this time as a vaccine, that will prevent new mutants from ever knowing they were ever even mutants.

Now, this has a ton of storytelling potential.  A lot of fans accused Marvel in recent years of trying to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans, whose major recent story was the roving Terrigan mists that randomly created new Inhumans.  But this is something very different.  This isn't people being scared that they're going to be victimized.  This is a new twist on the familiar narrative of denying mutants a future.  There's apparently going to be another Age of Apocalypse style event following the "X-Men Disassembled" arc, and Marvel fans, who complain about everything Marvel does these days (we're a long, lone way off from the old Marvel zombies days, which conveniently now exist in cinematic form), are complaining that Marvel is just piling event after event.  But I suspect there's method to this madness, and I'd like to keep tabs on it.

Reading Comics 196 "DC Rebirth Week Eight, Divinity II, Moon Knight"

Covered this edition: Detective Comics #937, Divinity II #4, The Flash #3, Moon Knight #4, Nightwing #1, Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1, Action Comics #960, Titans #1, and Wonder Woman #3.

Detective Comics #937 (DC)
Batman escapes from the custody of the bad guys this issue, which features the return of Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong (I remember him fondly from the pages of '90s Robin), who is a little criminal genius in the making.  As this is the bulk of the issue, it's a slam dunk of a sequence.

Divinity II #4 (Valiant)
The final issue of this particular story in the saga (an ad promises Divinity III this December, as does some quick foreshadowing) is a remarkable conclusion to Abram Adams' war with Myshka in which he's able to connect with his fellow cosmonaut-turned-god on a strangely human level.  Matt Kindst's work with Divinity remains some of the best stuff being published today.

The Flash #3 (DC)
I can't even begin to describe how happy I continue to be about this relaunch.  I haven't been (with all due apologies to Geoff Johns) been this interested in a Flash comic since Mark Waid's prime.  The cleverness just doesn't stop.  One would think Central City being flooded with new speedsters would diminish the role of Barry Allen as a significant figure, other than as budding mentor (can you say Max Mercury?), but then his new sidekick August Heart says something brilliant like, "Do you know how fast you were going?" 

Moon Knight #4 (Marvel)
Jeff Lemire continues to knock this one out of the park.  (If chosen carefully, the things you enjoy shouldn't be so difficult to enjoy.)  I decided to catch up with this weeks-old issue, and damn if this isn't one of my favorite comics in recent years.  It's really that good.

Nightwing #1 (DC)
This is a strong follow-up to the Rebirth one-shot, in which Nightwing repositions himself as a mole in the Parliament of Owls and then meets Raptor, the latest dude who thinks Dick Grayson can't hack it on his own.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1 (DC)
This is Scott Lobdell's restating of the Jason Todd biography, although this time he makes the point that Jason is uniquely suited to appear like he's the compromised Batman, which is interesting.  I know Frank Miller probably has conniptions every time a comic book suggests Boy Wonders aren't destined to become lunatics, but I don't have a problem with it.

Action Comics #960 (DC)
Wonder Woman enters the fight, but other than getting some readers up to date about Doomsday's origins, nothing much significant happens this issue.

Titans #1 (DC)
This fairly Wally West-centric issue also features Linda Park.  Hey, I can't argue with that.  Dan Abnett lets other Titans in on the act, notably Lilith, who's one of the more obscure members of this family, before shockingly revealing that Abra Kadabra is claiming responsibility for Wally's disappearance.

Wonder Woman #3 (DC)
Greg Rucka does a pretty powerful study of Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman's most famous foes, who probably comes off better in this one issue than she has in all her other collective appearances combined.

Reading Comics 191 "DC Rebirth Week Four, Divinity II, Totally Awesome Hulk, Justice League, Robin"

Covered this edition: Divinity II #3, The Flash #1, The Totally Awesome Hulk #7, Justice League #52, Robin: Son of Batman #13, Action Comics #958, and Wonder Woman #1.

Divinity II #3 (Valiant)
Matt Kindt continues the second volume of his visionary superhero saga, in which Russian cosmonauts Abram Adams and Myshka engage in the ultimate duel, across time and reality, as they attempt to determine whose will triumphs in this high-stakes game of god-like beings.  For the second straight issue, it seems the villainous Myshka has once again come out on top, but there's a telling moment when Abram visits the young Myshka, years before the mission that was to change their lives and the whole world, and whispers something into her ear.  Abram has taken great pains in explaining to the adult Myshka that you can't change the past. The suggestion is that whatever he said to the girl is more crucial than the adult currently realizes.  I assume something of that sort will be involved in the conclusion next issue...

The Flash #1 (DC)
My name is Tony Laplume, and I am the happiest Flash fan alive.  Well, maybe one of them, because this debut issue of the series proper lives up to the promise of the Rebirth preview, as Josh Williamson sets up a bold new arc in which the gift of the Speed Force starts spreading around.  Williamson's best bit of storytelling is actually the whole issue, which starts out explaining Barry Allen's origin again, while inserting a key new player, who by the end of the issue is the first (there will be others) to experience the expansion of speedsters.  This series is in excellent hands.

The Totally Awesome Hulk #7 (Marvel)
Easiest some of the best Marvel comics I ever read were Incredible Hercules and its several continuations, which featured Amadeus Cho as the Hulk's (and yes, Herc's) biggest fan.  This shouldn't have worked, right?  In the modern era, the "kid sidekick" idea is passe, but Cho's enthusiasm, not to mention his smarts, puts him in a league all his own.  And in this era where every Marvel superhero is being replaced by their biggest cheerleader (of various extractions), this is the best variation possible.  But the issue actually puts the focus on Bruce Banner, who is totally free of the Hulk for the first time ever, and he's struggling to deal with it.  You'd think it would be a good thing, but when you're Bruce Banner, it's much more complicated than that.  If you like your Hulk to be good for something other than smashing (although that's good, too), then this is a good time to be a fan.  Spearheading this new era is Greg Pak, who knows a thing or two about the big green guy.

Justice League #52 (DC)
The final issue of the series strangely harkens back to the very beginning, as a new hero is introduced to the world.  This time it's Lex Luthor, presenting his version of Superman.  The writer is Dan Jurgens, providing a bridge between where Geoff Johns left off with Luthor and where Jurgens picks up again in the pages of Action Comics.  Lex Luthor was one of the characters who benefited greatly from the New 52, and Justice League.  It's only appropriate to give him the nod like this.  What I love perhaps even more is that the artist is Tom Grummett, making this a mini '90s Superman reunion. 

Robin: Son of Batman #13 (DC)
The final issue of the series, which I decided to read so I could say I was fair to the creators not named Patrick Gleason who worked on it.  (Okay, so technically it would have been more fair to read more than one issue, but still...)  As it turns out, Ray Fawkes is once again better than I seem to have given him credit for, as his version of Damian and friends fits in wonderfully with Gleason's, and even serves as a truly fitting finale.  Nice one, Fawkes.  I'll try to remember next time.

Action Comics #958 (DC)
Jurgens, Lex Luthor, and Superman, and Doomsday, and Clark Kent, oh my!  Clearly there are things going on that aren't quite what they seem, but I love, love, love that Jurgens is getting the chance to further expand on his Superman legacy, which admittedly he's had many chances to do over the years.  I think he's really nailed it this time.

Wonder Woman #1 (DC)
I thought Greg Rucka would be fixating somewhat exclusively on Wonder Woman's origins, despite the alternating storylines ahead, but this issue presents a wrinkle in that idea, as the end of the issue reveals that she's been locked out of Themyscira, and she's had to turn to Cheetah, of all people, for help.  I also like Rucka's characterization of Wonder Woman's reluctance to fight, and Steve Trevor's reclassification back into a military guy.  All around good stuff here.

Reading Comics 189 "DC Rebirth Week Two, Empress, Superman: American Alien"

Aquaman: Rebirth #1 (DC)
The big push Dan Abnett takes in this Rebirth reintroduction issue is poking fun at all the people who make fun of Aquaman, the superhero who "talks to fish."  As Abnett points out in the captions, "This is untrue.  He has a telepathic gift that allows him to compel marine life, but fish do not possess enough intelligence to conduct meaningful dialogue."  But such subtleties are hardly likely to convince people who like their reactions pithy and pointless...

Empress #3 (Icon)
The adventures of the escaping queen continue in this Mark Millar/Stuart Immonen comic rife with breakneck adventure.  Look, I read Saga for years, but after a while, it kind of seems like a soap opera, like The Walking Dead, where the thrust of the story is lost in just kind of keeping it going.  Empress is punchy, even while at its heart it kind of is a soap opera.  Millar is far too impatient for full-on soap opera, though, so there's not a chance of Empress becoming another Saga.

The Flash: Rebirth #1 (DC)
I was kind of shocked that DC allowed this property to all but go to complete waste in the New 52 era, after reviving Barry Allen with Geoff Johns at the helm just before it.  The New 52 Flash was one long attempt at struggling to catch up with better material that had come before it.  Josh Williamson, previously best known for Image comics like Nailbiter, seems to have been chosen precisely because he's both capable and willing to reverse this trend.  And thank god, because as the issue fans will be reading post-DC Universe Rebirth to see what happens next, we don't need another post-Flashpoint disappointment.  A story that makes Flash look like one of DC's most important characters needs a decent follow-up.  This time that's exactly what happens.

Superman: American Alien #7 (DC)
The finale of this mini-series sees Max Landis brilliantly reimagine, essentially, the scenario J. Michael Straczynski featured in his first volume of Superman: Earth One, wherein an alien comes to Earth, causes a lot of trouble, and helps Superman find out where he came from.  Where Straczynski settled for a surprisingly dull new creation, Landis chooses Lobo, as fans recognize him from pre-New 52 continuity (the good ol' bounty hunter bastiche with the bike and everything).  It's brilliant, as everything has been about American Alien.  Lobo is here to send a message to Hawkman (alluded to, which is even better), and ends up provoking Superman into his first big brawl.  I know I tend to sound fairly dismissive of Straczynski's creative output, but in this instance, a clear parallel can be found, and I think Landis does it better.  However, I'd still recommend Straczynski's Superman: Earth One work for those interested in less complicated Superman continuity.

Action Comics #957 (DC)
Interestingly, Lex Luthor is the star of this title, but the Convergence (and new Rebirth) Superman is a co-star, too, so Dan Jurgens gets to continue his recent storytelling along with Tomasi & Gleason's Superman, which I hadn't really anticipated.  The rivalry between Luthor and Superman has kind of been turned on its head, which is brilliant.  There's also Clark Kent running around (how? this continuity's Superman is dead, right?), and the threat of Doomsday once again.  After "Doomed," is it too early?  Who cares!  This is Jurgens' (ugly, ugly) baby.  It's about time he gets to revisit him again...

Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1 (DC)
It's interesting that so many Wonder Woman stories, from about Jodi Picoult onward, have dealt with a fairly insular world, and that once again, her origin (kind of like Donna Troy, actually) is causing all sorts of continued drama.  That's what Greg Rucka, returning after too many years to follow-up on his brilliant Infinite Crisis-era work, will be dealing with, all over again.  I trust he'll have some interesting stuff to say about all of this.

Quarter Bin 71 "It's not all doom and apocalypse, it just seems so..."

Okay, you got me.  But the point is, I got these comics cheap, and they're older comics, so the chances are fewer people are talking about them right now...

Batman/Superman 3.1: Doomsday (DC)
From November 2013.
This is the newest comic I picked up in my most recent back issue binge.  I've been collecting various Villains Month issues since they were released.  It was a heck of an idea, letting the bad guys have their tales told, and for some of these guys, it was a chance to see what exactly their New 52 context was.  Obviously Doomsday was pretty famous in older continuity as the monster that killed Superman, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice saw his movie debut (considerably more auspicious than, say, Bane's).  This version ties up Supergirl and General Zod into the mythos (the movie features Zod mixed in, too, oddly or not) and doesn't particularly focus on his origins so much as his significance to the Kryptonians people care about, including deeper cuts into the House of El, including a Knight of El and Lara.

The Possessed #3, 4, 5 (Cliffhanger)
From November, December 2003, January 2004.
I last caught an issue of this co-written non-superhero Geoff Johns (#4, actually) in 2013, so I guess I was only two-thirds more lucky this time around (still missing the ending, alas).  It's not hard to see echoes of Johns' superhero work in it (particularly the current Darkseid War), and it's got some pretty heady thoughts in mind.  The only odd part is Liam Sharp's ridiculously sexy women in what's essentially a religious comic.  But I guess someone figured there ought to be something for readers who didn't particularly want to focus on existential matters, too...

The Spectre #11 (DC)
From January 2002.
It's such an interesting thing to remember that Hal Jordan, post-"Emerald Twilight," spent a lot of time away from the superhero gig, but nonetheless managed to remain, if anything, more relevant than ever.  Following Day of Judgment, he played host to DC's Spirit of Vengeance, and even got another ongoing series out of it.  This is always a fun series to visit with.  This issue features the Phantom Stranger, a comic book character infinitely more arcane than Marvel's Doctor Strange and less likely to get a movie out of it, helping Hal figure out his gig, which is considerably more compassionate than Spectre is usually depicted.  That's no doubt thanks to the literary stylings of J.M. DeMatteis, one of the more versatile writers in comics (especially when Keith Giffen infects him).

Action Comics #463 (DC)
From September 1976.
Yeah, this is an oldie, and was not kept in particularly good condition, but it was certainly worth a look, as it directly reflects the bicentennial.  Classic creators Cary Bates and Curt Swan are at the helm as an alien who has a peculiar reaction to Superman's powers sends him back to 1776 to get him out of the way.  A wacky gimmick, sure, but it was fun to read.

Superman #187 (DC)
From December 2002.
This is one of Geoff Johns' early forays with the Man of Steel, smack dab in the middle of a showdown with Manchester Black, who was a key early millennial threat.  As someone dabbling in the waters amidst other writers, it's odd to think now that Johns could be so undersold, as it now seems.

Superman Confidential #10 (DC)
From February 2008.
I loved the Confidential/Classified books from this era, allowing creators to leap into whatever period they wanted to write about without having to make a mini-series out of it.  This one features Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning bringing on the Apokolips, which I figured I'd have a look at, considering, you know, Johns' Darkseid War.  Speaking of which...

Wonder Woman #103 (DC)
From November 1995.
Here's John Byrne bringing the Apokolips to Wonder Woman.  Honestly, once DC figured it out, the New Gods were the best thing to come to its superheroes, always guaranteeing big moments, because these were heroes and villains who were literally visiting, or getting visited, with a story all their own, breaking the usual storytelling cycle.  It seems every effort to feature the New Gods in their own stories is always doomed to fail, but they remain ridiculously reliable, because they're instantly operatic, like a whole alternative to everything fans normally follow, but always existing whether fans care about them or not, ready and waiting for another big moment...

Reading Comics 151 "Wonder Woman"

via DC Comics

It continues to be a very good time to be a fan of Wonder Woman.

In the pages of Superman/Wonder Woman, Peter Tomasi is acknowledging that the Amazon was indeed a crucial element of Kingdom Come, which can sometimes be overlooked.  You may have heard that Magog, who was once called Mark Waid and Alex Ross's answer to Marvel's Cable, has made his New 52 debut.

Tomasi has introduced a revelation concerning the character.  Even if he started as Cable, he always had the potential, equally, to be that character who bridges the gap between Superman and Wonder Woman.  That was always in the design, too.  Perhaps now, that's all you'll see?

via DC Comics

The commentators I've read have been less than impressed with Tomasi and Doug Mahnke's run so far, and they were even less impressed with seeing Magog enter the picture.  For me, both continue to excel.  Tomasi borrows elements of the classic Magog origin as Waid outlined it in The Kingdom but updates it for the all-important starting point of the New 52, the opening arc of Justice League.  Skeptics wonder why the young David Reid would fixate on Superman and Wonder Woman when clearly there were many other future Leaguers involved, but Superman is always the most prominent hero, and Wonder Woman in this continuity was making her spectacular debut in Man's World.

So much for that.

In Wonder Woman, the Finches have been receiving an equally dubious response, for the most part, but the critics are warming a little.

It probably doesn't hurt that they're starting to make it their own, and joining the company-wide re-introduction of long-absent characters.  In this instance, Donna Troy.  The former Wonder Girl has been brought in to replace Diana as ruler of the Amazons.  Diana, meanwhile, is struggling with the idea of being the God of War, the biggest ripple of the Azzarello years.  It was noted early on that Meredith Finch didn't seem completely familiar with how the outgoing writer ended things, but as brilliant as Brian Azzarello was, he also stuck Wonder Woman into a pocket.  Finch and husband David Finch are expanding it.  Batman and Superman appear in the issue just as if this were right alongside Justice League and Superman/Wonder Woman, which of course it is.  David Finch as always does excellent work, the opposite in style of outgoing Cliff Chiang.  Meredith, new to the game, proves surprisingly adept.

All this and Gal Gadot as the first film version of Wonder Woman, coming up next year...

Reading Comics #138 "Character rundown from The Multiversity: The Just, plus other October 2014 comics"

Boom! Studios Halloween Fright Fest 2014 (Boom!)

via Previews World

The only Halloween freebie I picked up this year.  Frazer Irving illustrated the Adventure Time lead story, which was interesting insofar as Irving always does good work and Adventure Time is, well, interesting.  There were a few vintage Peanuts strips reprinted, plus background information on Charlie Brown's infamous luck with kites explained by the late Charles Schultz.  Finally, the lead-out was Fraggle Rock.  Hey, it was free.

Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration (Marvel)

via Hero Complex

I'm not really a Marvel guy, but I like it when Marvel celebrates itself (which does seem to happen often).  Anyway, this was a special that featured a couple of stories and retrospective essays.  The first story is from James Robinson and is close to the Marvel version of Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier comics over at DC.  It's also, I guess, like Marvels.  Reflects on "where were you" when the Fantastic Four were born.  Bruce Timm next adapts Stan Lee's first-ever Marvel story, featuring Captain America.  Works better in a modern, Timm style.  Also included is the original text version.  Then there's Brian Michael Bendis revisiting Alias (his comic, not the unrelated TV show).  I never read Alias, but if it was as good as this was, hopefully Bendis really does consider bringing it back, as is suggested in the story.  A text piece explores forgotten Golden Age creations, and curiously includes Rockman, a character revived in the pages of the excellent The Twelve.  Tom DeFalco does a pretty typical young Peter Parker Spider-Man tale.  A text piece on Marvel's black superheroes.  Len Wein returns to his most famous creation, Wolverine.  A text piece on the real world intruding in Marvel's pages.  Goofy covers that mock things that would never happen (What If? for the Instagram generation).  All told, I thought it was a pretty good reflection.

The Multiversity - The Just (DC)

via Comic Vine

The third issue of The Multiversity from Grant Morrison explores a world populated by all the DC characters created from the '90s onward, a next generation experience that takes a different tack from Kingdom Come, more akin to Morrison's ideas previously represented by Zenith and Super Young Team, superheroes straight from our media-obsessed age, who have less fighting and more angst to fill up their days.

Here's a rundown of the characters who appear"

• Sister Miracle (Sasha Norman), new creation, based off Shilo Norman, the Mister Miracle alternate Morrison used in his Seven Soldiers of Victory project.
• Megamorpho (Saffi Mason), new creation, based off Metamorpho, also known as Rex Mason.
• The Atom (Ray Palmer), long-established character who in the '90s was de-aged and became a member of Dan Jurgens' Teen Titans.
• Alexis Luthor, Lex Luthor's daughter, based on a concept from late '90s Superman comics.
• Batman (Damian Wayne) one of Morrison's most famous characters.
• Superman (Chris Kent), based on the "Last Son" character created by Geoff Johns.
• Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley), his costume on display; the post-"Knightfall" replacement Batman.
• Offspring (Ernie O'Brian), featured in Mark Waid's follow-up to Kingdom Come, The Kingdom.
• Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), the '90s addition to the franchise.
• Green Arrow (Connor Hawke), Oliver Queen's son and one-time successor.
• Loose Cannon, Chronos, Gunfire, Max Mercury, Anima, Risk; group shot.  Loose Cannon, Anima and Gunfire were part of the "Bloodlines" generation from 1993.  Chronos was the anti-hero star of a brilliant, short-lived series.  Max Mercury was another Waid creation, within the pages of The Flash and Impulse.  Risk was part of Jurgens' Titans.  There are a few others I can't positively identify.
• Superboy (Kon-El), whom Morrison cleverly has suffering from Bizarro syndrome.  I have no idea why this is the first time the idea has ever come up.  Brilliant.
• Red Amazo, combining Red Tornado with classic Justice League villain Amazo.
• The Flash (Wally West), the defining Flash for a generation thanks to Waid and Johns.
• Alpha Centurion (Marcus Aelius), a character I've badly wanted to see make a comeback for years.  This may be it.  For now.
• Steel (Natasha Irons), daughter of John Irons, the original Steel, with a long history herself.
• Argus (Nick Kovak), another "Bloodlines" creation.
• Wonder Woman (Artemis), the Azrael of the Wonder Woman '90s.
• Aquaman (Garth), also known as Aqualad and Tempest.
• Menta (Holly Dayton), daughter of Mento, Steve Dayton, associated with Doom Patrol.
• Doctor Midnite (Pieter Cross), part of the revived Justice Society at the turn of the century.
• Bloodwynd, part of Dan Jurgens' Justice League, famously described by Morrison in the pages of Supergods as being one of the worst examples of '90s comics.  Should be noted that his distinctive speech bubble (a crackly red outline) is omitted.  He, Alpha Centurion and Max Mercury are characters I'd want to explore given any possible comics career.
• Arrowette (Cissie King-Hawke), taking the name of a character who was part of Young Justice.
• Gypsy (Cynthia Reynolds), a member of the '90s Justice League scene.
• Jakeem Thunder, a character Morrison created to join the revived Justice Society, succeeding one of the original members.
• Impulse (Bart Allen), later known as Kid Flash.

Anyway, loved this issue.  Although of course I've loved all of them.  But this one in particular.

Saga #24 (Image)

via Previews World

The Brand enters (re-enters? I don't know) the picture, looking to figure out whatever happened to The Will, one of my favorite supporting characters who hasn't been around in a while.  Just a truly excellent issue, classic example of what made me love the series in the first place.  Pity, since the series now goes on hiatus until sometime early next year.

Superman #35 (DC)

via Ain't It Cool

Geoff Johns returns after the Futures End interlude to continue the Ulysses saga as he and Superman step up their efforts to end the threat of the Machinist.  Ulysses ends up making a bold move that may prove to be the definitive transition of the arc.

Wonder Woman #35 (DC)

via Rhymes with Geek

The conclusion of the Brian Azzarello/Cliff Chiang era has been getting mediocre reviews from the circles I visit, but I was going to have to read this one for myself even though I've had a spotty record reading the series so far.  This is basically the end of the First Born arc, too, with the most feeling of conclusion coming from Azzarello revealing the true nature of one of his supporting characters, a twist that underwhelmed other observers, but to my mind tracks well with what the series had done previously, exploring the nature of conflicting allegiances that has always been one of the worst-explored aspects of Wonder Woman (previously relegated to "you represent us!  you don't represent us!").  All along I've been convinced that this was a classic interpretation of the character, completely unusual and therefore with that much greater opportunity to say something new, which has been badly needed for decades.  It's distinctive, not just because of the art, but because it's allowed Wonder Woman to completely own her own mythology, not just "Greek gods, Greek gods, Greek gods" but what that means to her specifically.  Again, something that's needed to be done for a long time.  The instinct in the future will be to distance Diana as much from this material as possible without outright erasing it from the record, but that would be a mistake.  DC's already had other writers doing a more traditional interpretation simultaneously, including within the pages of Geoff Johns' Justice League and a burgeoning, unprecedented-in-the-modern-era line of sister titles, Superman/Wonder Woman and Sensation Comics.  I don't think any of that would have been possible without Azzarello's confident take

Reading Comics #134 "Bull Moose Bargains II"

The second (possibly of two) batch of comics I got for fifty cents each at my friendly neighborhood Bull Moose:

Justice League #26 (DC)
I used to have an excellent track record with this series.  I'd like to think I used to be one of its biggest fans (a statement not to be misunderstood as meaning I decided at some point I don't love it anymore).  But I lost track last year and have had a hard time getting back into it.  The whole Forever Evil event was something I failed to follow monthly, and so I skipped the majority of it.  Unfortunately that meant skipping out on a lot of Justice League, too, because throughout the event this series was directly tied into it.  So I've slowly started making my way back in.  This issue features an origin story for Power Ring, which allowed Geoff Johns to write an alternate version of the classic Green Lantern origin.  Obviously he had great fun with it.  Obviously it made me wish all over again that he was still writing Green Lantern.  The other most interesting element of the issue, for me, was the page dedicated to Deathstorm, who of course is the evil version of Firestorm.  This made me nostalgic for the great Stuart Moore Firestorm comics.  Anyway, a lot of fans had a hard time with Forever Evil.  I still don't get that.

The Mysterious Strangers #4 (Oni)
A while back I wondered whatever would become of Chris Roberson, who was part of a flood of writers who fled DC over creative rights issues.  Well, here he is again.  I have to admit, he impressed me here, turned the Beatles into accidental harbingers of a near-apocalypse, based on their Maharishi period (John Lennon receives the brunt of the blame).  The Strangers who help prevent it are a little less distinctive than that, but it was certainly interesting to read another comic based on classic 60s rock (after the Hawkeye issue that spun off from the Smile! project that was such an issue between Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys).

Nova #5 (Marvel)
You may recall how much I loved the first issue of this series, and how disappointed I was that subsequent issues didn't seem to catch the same vibe (and how I love Starlight so much in part because it does).  The cover to this issue

via IGN

strongly suggests that Jeph Loeb, before he abruptly left the series, actually did what I'd hope he would, and return to the emotional crux of Sam Alexander's quest to reconnect with his father.  But it's basically a case of bait-and-switch, alas.  There's a stronger link to Nova's appearance in the Original Sin prelude.  I suppose there's nothing wrong with the series if it doesn't have what I want to see from it.  You can enjoy it for other reasons.  But for me, if it doesn't feature what for me is clearly it best material, then I personally have no reason to read it.  And besides, Loeb left.  I don't see a point in sampling it again.  Feel free to give me a heads-up if any of that changes in the future, if you haven't given up on it like I have.

Steam Wars #2 (Antarctic)

I caught the first issue back on Free Comic Book Day and was surprised to find that I loved it a great deal.  So when the opportunity came around to read another one, I figured I might as well, right?  As the title may or may not imply to you, Steam Wars is Star Wars as steampunk.  It's from Fred Perry, who otherwise is better known for his long-running Gold Digger.  Alas, once again I am quasi-disappointed.  It's not particularly that the second issue is worse than the first, but I guess, for me, much more so than with Nova, the magic simply wore off.  But we'll always have FCBD!

The Unwritten #51 (Vertigo)

This was a series that perhaps was impossibly high-concept when it debuted.  Mike Carey envisioned Harry Potter as if Harry Potter himself were a real boy whose life inspired his author to create a fictional version of him.  The author disappears and Tom Taylor (our Harry; it strikes me as funny that DC later acquired the services of a writer named Tom Taylor, current writer of Earth 2) has to put up both with his celebrity status and the apparently very real magical life his father left behind.  As I said, almost impossibly high-concept.  When it launched I was hugely intrigued, but I wasn't sure Carey pulled it off, or I simply didn't stick around near long enough to find out if he had.  It's a series I definitely want to revisit in the trades at some point.  And it's also a series that came to an end last year without my realizing it, right around the time of a tie-in arc with the more popular Fables.  Kind of an inglorious end, being told in no uncertain terms you're not as success as that, so we'll bring that in to make the point clear, and then we'll cancel you.  It does seem as if Tom became Harry pretty literally by the end.  I guess I want to see how that happened.  As convoluted as my relationship with Unwritten was, I'm sad to have seen it go so relatively early.  Vertigo already had a Harry Potter kind of comic years ago, before Harry even existed, in Neil Gaiman and subsequent writers' Books of Magic.  Because I'm obliged to reference either Geoff Johns or Grant Morrison as often as possible, I'd love to see Morrison do an out-and-out magic series.  The dude did make himself known as a practitioner of chaos magic at one point...

Wonder Woman #22 (DC)

Clearly these bargain comics were/have been a great way for me to catch up with some series and/or creators I've been meaning to revisit.  Some of them have been ones that in other circumstances I would probably have been reading religiously.  This is one of those series.  I've been impressed with the level of quality Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang have brought to Wonder Woman, not the least for the apparent fact that this is much harder than it seems.  When Orion and/or the rest of the New Gods was brought into the mix, I was beyond intrigued, so it's nice to finally read some of that material.  This is one of those developments that seems like it should have happened a long time ago.  Maybe it's because Jack Kirby created his Fourth World with Superman in mind that someone didn't think of it sooner (although for some reason Darkseid long ago made the jump to Legion of Super-Heroes lore with the "Great Darkness Saga," while this much more logical conclusion remained ignored).  Anyway, half the reason Orion joined the narrative was as a way to link the series with the rest of DC proper, which was always the one stumbling block.  As great as Azzarello's run has been, it's also been isolated.  Orion serves as a romantic possibility, and therefore default rival for Superman, which became a thing last year and then became a whole series (Orion/Big Barda Superman/Wonder Woman).  Wonder Woman as a result also boasted the distinction of getting a jump on the New 52 version of the New Gods, which is fast expanding this year (Batman and Robin, Green Lantern, Infinity Man and the Forever People).  I skipped out initially because I didn't particularly want to see just Orion hanging around.  I wanted to see the whole line-up.  Rest assured, they're here this issue.  

X-O Manowar #13 (Valiant)

This is the series that won Robert Venditti the right to write Green Lantern.  I've meant to sample it ever since I learned he'd be succeeding Geoff Johns (a very tall order, one he's sometimes seemed up to) in that regard.  X-O is one of those heroes who keeps getting revived in the hopes he'll be a legitimate alternative to the DC/Marvel big leagues.  This does not appear to have been the best issue to sample.

Reading Comics #133 "Bull Moose Bargains"

As you may recall, I was enjoying bargain grab bags from local entertainment franchise Bull Moose, until I learned they weren't doing them anymore.  But they didn't stop carrying comics outright (but I haven't gotten a chance to check in a few weeks, so I don't know what the prospects look like now).  Instead they started sticking their discounted comics in one of those old-fashioned spinning racks, so I now had the opportunity to select exactly what I wanted (from the available titles, of course).  Some of them were the same 2013 leftovers I'd find in some of the grab bags, and some of them were new releases (did they know???), all of them marked at fifty cents.  For the first of two trips in this new configuration to date, I scooped up nine titles.  And those were:

Astro City #10 (Vertigo)
When this series was relaunched last year, I was part of the I-don't-know-how-large contingent of fans who was happy to see it return.  The last time the title was in print it was the extended Dark Age arc, which apparently bothered long-term readers, but was at least a version of something creator Kurt Busiek had been intending to do ever since Marvels (twenty years ago).  I've never read Marvels, a giant love letter to (as you may have guess) Marvel history which quickly became known as painter Alex Ross's breakout project (some argue best work, but I hold that for Kingdom Come, which is the one he clearly drew on for the later Earth X comics).  Ross has done every Astro City cover since it launched in 1995 (so! Busiek wasted little time!), and Brent Anderson has been the interior artist.  This is a hardcore nostalgia comic in the Alan Moore tradition, with Busiek versions of pretty much every major superhero.  Did it really take this long for him to get around to a Winged Victory spotlight?  Winged Victory, you understand, is his Wonder Woman.  The story takes off of the Infinite Crisis era of controversy surrounding DC's Amazon taking the life of Maxwell Lord.  In fairness to Busiek, he does craft his pastiches into fairly distinctive variations, so that you don't necessarily have to be thinking WonderWomanWonderWomanWonderWoman while reading this issue (if you so choose).  It's a Winged Victory story, even if you know how Busiek reached this point.  All that being said, I cooled on the whole thing pretty quickly.  I keep wanting him to grab the brass ring, go for the gusto, but Busiek is determined to take a relaxed pace.  These are comics for Silver Age fans (early Silver Age, the lens of what would follow refracted through the 1950s).  Originally Astro City was one of the most acclaimed comics around, but even other readers don't seem as excited about it these days.  Good to have it around again, though.

Kick-Ass 3 #8 (Icon)
The big surprise was this conclusion to the Kick-Ass saga, begun in 2008.  I read the early issues, but lost track of it along the way, after it became a movie phenomenon I inexplicably still haven't seen (despite active interests in the careers of both Jim Carrey, featured in the second one, and Chloe Grace Moretz, whose whole career happened thanks to Hit-Girl).  It might have to do with the fact that the writer is Mark Millar, and for a time I kind of soured on him, not so much because of anything he'd done, but because of things Grant Morrison said.  Morrison and Millar used to be bosom buddies, but they had a creative falling-out, and Morrison subsequently expressed the kind of opinions about his former friend that, well, Alan Moore routinely spouts about Morrison himself.  (Guys!  Guys!  Can't we all just get along?)  Comics Reader readers know I've recently turned the corner on Millar thanks to Starlight, so I was more than ready to read how he ended Kick-Ass.  It seems to be exactly the way it should have, and that's fine.  The art of John Romita, Jr. remains integral to the whole experience.  Romita moved on to Superman with Geoff Johns immediately after concluding this saga, and of course I'm definitely there for that experience.  In this sudden Millar- and Romita-heavy season for my comics experience, it was fitting to catch their mutual landmark as it happened.

The New 52: Futures End #10 (DC)
Contrary to my own expectations, Futures End still hasn't become a new version of my beloved 52 experience.  I'm still keeping tabs on it (the Masked Superman was recently revealed to be Shazam, if you wanted to know), and of course September this year is a whole month dedicated to the event otherwise chronicled in the weekly series, with DC's line decked out in special issues looking at the futures of their stars.  Masked Superman Before He Was Unmasked has encounter with Lois Lane this issue, which is otherwise highlighted by (Big) Barda being asked to suit up again.  Undeniably awesome moment.  Barda is the Wonder Woman of the New Gods.  Come to think of it, I have no idea why there haven't been more Barda/Wonder Woman stories.  Somebody fix that, please?

Saga #21 (Image)
On the opposite side of my recent Astro City experience is Saga.  I lost track of both series over the course of the last year, but returning to Saga was to remember how much I love it.  In the current comics, Brian K. Vaughan is finally putting the spotlight on the Robot Kingdom.  Prince Robot IV (such a deceptively simple, awesome name; I'm a man of uncomplicated pleasures sometimes) has had a baby, and that baby has been kidnapped by a disgruntled Robot Kingdom janitor.  Alana and Marko are still in the thick of their soap opera (call it what it is) otherwise.  I'm once again addicted.

Superman/Wonder Woman #6 (DC)
I don't know if you remember, but I was wild about this series when it launched.  I thought it was a brilliant idea, long-in-coming for Wonder Woman to get a second ongoing series of any form (and now she has a third, thanks to the digital-first Sensation Comics), and it also happened to have part of the early comic crush I've developed over Charles Soule (who unfortunately has recently signed an exclusive contract with...Marvel).  This issue is one of the periodic General Zod stories DC loves to do, these inspired by the Man of Steel version Michael Shannon embodied more than Terrence Stamp in Superman II (but there have been lots of versions over the years).  Zod is presented as a formidable foe.  In fact, Superman/Wonder Woman in general seems to love thrusting its love birds in epic battles they can only hope to survive (although of course they will), valuing their link as warriors, a bond only they can truly experience together (which is the whole point of the relationship).  The art is from Tony Daniel, whom I've greatly admired since his "Batman R.I.P." days, and whose work continues to evolve.  He may epitomize what some fans have called the "New 52 house style," which basically folds around Jim Lee's work.  For a brief moment it seemed as if Daniel had in fact begun to pattern himself pretty directly on Lee, but as I said, this issue is proof that he's still in flux.  This is a good thing.  I still have great hope for his career.  Given the right project, his budding interests as a writer-artist could cement a real legacy.  Next project in that regard is the forthcoming Deathstroke relaunch (which I will be rooting for, obviously).

Trinity of Sin: Pandora #2 (DC)
Ever since it became clear that the New 52 was launching with the secret lynchpin of a new character (who looks like part of the WildStorm legacy that officially became a part of DC canon at that time), I began rooting for Pandora to become an important, lasting creation.  This is a work in progress.  When she got her own book last year, I was rooting for that, too, but kept looking for a way in after I missed the launch.  Well, now I've finally read an issue, just in time for a forthcoming relaunch where the character and her Trinity of Sin cohorts (Phantom Stranger, Question) fold in together under the single, unspecified banner (it could certainly be worse!).  I think this is a good thing.  A character like Pandora kind of needs context.  She was built for context.  Unless someone literally spends a year or more exploring her own story, sending Pandora on random adventures will do her no favors at all.  This issue is a tie-in with "Trinity War," a Justice League crossover event that was supposed to be a big deal but kind of wasn't, a culmination of everything the New 52 was meant to accomplish to that point.  (Failure?  There are fans who've wanted the New 52 to be a failure from the start.  Is this how fans were after Crisis On Infinite Earths?  I hope not!)  The strongest element of the issue is its use of Vandal Savage.  Someone other than Ray Fawkes might have really played that up.  Fawkes is one of the writers who've benefited from the revised creative landscape DC has sought to establishment, and he's one I really haven't formed an impression of, so I hope this isn't completely indicative of his work.  I'd like to see better.

Wolverine #4 (Marvel)
Ah, Paul Cornell.  He's one of those writers who became an instant favor a few years back, and I became a loyal reader for a good long while.  But I wonder if he hasn't lost the thread of what interested him in writing comics along the way.  He's also known for his work with Doctor Who, and as an author.  And also for not really sticking around any one comic book project for long.  Maybe that's why I stopped trying to keep track, or found I didn't care when he started on Wolverine.  I kept almost checking out the run, but never quite doing it.  He's the writer who set up the Death of Wolverine event that...Charles Soule is finishing.  So I finally checked it out.  And...I really don't think I've missed anything.  Sorry, Paul.  Doesn't seem to be among your best.  When Cornell is at his best he's among the best.  So that's why I've been disappointed.

Wonder Woman #23 (DC)
If I hadn't gotten so horribly behind, I'd've been a loyal fan of the whole Brian Azzarello/Cliff Chiang run on this series, which is about to end.  It's brilliant, easily one of the best things that's ever happened to Wonder Woman, and for one of the biggest characters in comics.  This issue is part of the First Born arc.  First Born is a new villain to the mythos, part of the September 2013 Villains Month one-shot line-up and everything.  The one thing that can be held against the Azzarello Wonder Woman is that it feels completely disconnected from the rest of the DC landscape (which, I'm convinced, is half the reason Superman/Wonder Woman happened), and why First Born didn't at all become a household name.  I mean, H'El over in the Scott Lobdell Superman comics from around the same time had a better shot.  Wonder Woman from this era will become known for its particular context.  To read one issue is to read any issue, in some respects.  It's all one continuous story.  (Although I will be contradicting this gross simplification next time I talk about it, which is another tie-in to how Superman/Wonder Woman happened.)  This is a good thing.  I'm already hoping for a Azzarello/Chiang reprise somewhere down the line, an epic mini-series or even crossover event.  Hey, I can dream!

All-New X-Men #24 (Marvel)
This is another series I was once completely hot on but cooled over as time wore on.  This is the Brian Michael Bendis/Stuart Immonen series that spun out of AvX and famously sports the gimmick of having the original, youthful X-Men time-displaced to the present.  I'm about as all over the place with Bendis as I am with a handful of other creators.  He's kind of the Marvel equivalent, for me, of Scott Snyder in some respects.  When I love his work, I think he's brilliant.  But he's not always engaged in ways I think benefit what he's doing.  This issue is all about how he's reached that point again.  I thought the time-displaced heroes would be gone by now.  I really have no idea why they're still around.  In the early issues, All-New X-Men seemed primed to introduce a whole new generation of mutant heroes.  I don't know if I've simply missed that whole development, or if it's been abandoned, delayed, whatever.  That's what I think the series ought to be doing.  And as always, I want Immonen to be doing work that's far less busy.  He's the pen-and-ink version of Alex Ross at his best.  At Marvel he's simply never been given a chance to express that side of his work.  Maybe he's fine with that.  But for me, the same with Bendis, I'm...disappointed.  Bendis and Immonen could indeed be a dynamite combination.  But not this way.  Anyway, "The Trial of Jean Grey Part 5 of 6."  Blah blah blah, "Dark Phoenix Saga," I-can't-believe-we-didn't-remain-innocent-forever, forcing an unnecessary Guardians of the Galaxy connection.  (I never really got why the X-Men ever had to have anything to do with space.  Basically the complete opposite of what makes them relevant.)

Next time, fewer comics.  That's all I can promise...

Quick Hits: Wonder Woman #15 (DC)

Like anyone else I'm always hoping that Wonder Woman will somehow become one of the most popular series DC publishes, thereby finally expanding our favorite Amazon into the role she holds by default in the company as the most prominent/important female character in comics.  I thought it had another shot when it was announced Brian Azzarello would be writing the New 52 relaunch...and gradually I lost the hope.  While he's definitely been doing distinctive work, I've begun to view as less and less essentially and therefore essential work with Wonder Woman herself.  He's basically turned her into Percy Jackson.  Yet I vowed to have another look when Orion popped up.  Orion is one of Jack Kirby's New Gods, one of the few who really stands out, and has been sorely missed since Final Crisis.  Yet I'm not sure he works here any better than Wonder Woman, though conceptually they appear to be headed in a much more interesting direction in the months to come, soon to be entangled in the Superman affair currently being featured in Justice League and therefore key to the upcoming Trinity War.  All of which is to say this is a series that still bears monitors, works for what it is (basically an indy book starring one of the most famous superheroes of any company), and could still be more.

Wonder Woman #3

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang

The biggest problem creators seem to have with Wonder Woman is the struggle to combine a strong presentation of her, her origins, and her ongoing heroic career. For instance: Gail Simone started out her run by revisiting Diana's origins, presenting a previously-unknown faction of Amazons who'd declared vengeance on the prepackaged savior, but quickly degenerated into generic tales that did nothing to explain why Wonder Woman should be relevant to readers. Joe Straczynski's much-hyped "Odyssey" cleverly revisited her training period, but eventually muddled it by forgetting when to advance the story. Greg Rucka got to make her controversial, and several creators after him ran with that idea, but none of them stuck around long enough for it to matter.

Azzarello has gone back to the idea of character by making Diana stick out from the rest of the Amazons, making her stand up for herself, and actually having her reject Paradise Island by her own choice. By making her a self-professed exile, he may have finally figured out what it takes to make Wonder Woman stand for something, by representing herself first and foremost. Chiang's art reflects a Greek influence more than the traditional comic book style, taking the edge off the traditional quasi-sexual look Wonder Woman normally sports.

In short, another winner of the "New 52."