The Question #37, Superman: World of New Krypton #12 & Titans #22

It's another night, which means it's time for me to post three more DC comic reviews! Since I won't be posting anything tomorrow night, this will have to satisfy my adoring public for the next two nights. Why no new content tomorrow? Well first off, I have a few papers due at school that have rapidly approaching due dates, but the other reason would be the USA/Canada hockey game tomorrow night. I wouldn't miss watching that for the world. Anywho, on to the shoddy reviews!

The Question #37: Writers: Dennis O'Neil & Greg Rucka. Pencils: Denys Cowan.

We begin this issue with the current Question, Renee Montoya and an old friend of the former Question, Professor Rodor, preparing for the possible return of the former Question. While the two wait, Lady Shiva arrives and challenges Renee to a fight to gauge her fighting prowess. While the two women are fighting, the original Question is resurrected as a Black Lantern, and he attacks both women. The two women try to battle him, and Rodor ends up shooting Shiva in the arm, since he wanted to ask BL Question some... well, questions about the afterlife. BL Question approaches Rodor and prepares to pull out his heart, however, Shiva blindsides BL Question after deducing that BL Question can only see people who are showing emotions. After hitting BL Question, Shiva remains perfectly calm, which causes BL Question to lose sight of her... What the hell? Since he could no longer see Shiva, BL Question decides to go after Rodor and Renee, and they pull the same trick, rendering themselves invisible to BL Question. Since BL Question could see no more victims, he leaves, and this issue ends with Renee deciding to go after her one time mentor.

You know what? I give up. I don't even know what more to say... Now if you show no emotions, you're invisible to Black Lanterns? Since when?!? I can recall Etrigan showing no emotions, and still having Black Lanterns attacking him. Whatever... I can see that each writer is going to make up their own rules as to what a Black Lantern can and can't do, instead of following Geoff Johns already established rules on Black Lanterns. Let's put this comic behind us and move on...

Score: 3 out of 10.Um wait, Black Lanterns are actually blind to everything but emotions? Then why aren't they just walking into walls helplessly?

Superman: World of New Krypton #12(of 12): Writers: James Robinson & Greg Rucka. Artists: Pete Woods & Ron Randall.

Picking up from last issue, Adam Strange teleports himself, Supes, Tam-Or and Tyr-Van away from the Kryptonian soldiers who were shooting at them. Unfortunately, Tam-Or was hit before getting away, and he ends up dying on Supes, leaving him with yet another dead-end as to why certain members of the Kryptonian hierarchy were being killed off. Before the remaining trio could go anywhere, the Kryptonian soldiers manage to catch up to them, and once again have their weapons trained on Supes and company. Before Supes longtime military guild rival, Commander Gor, can blow Supes head off, General Zod and Ursa arrive on the scene and Zod orders Gor to stand down immediately, stating that he ordered Tam-Or's capture without the use of lethal force. Zod lays down the law and orders everybody to return to Kandor, with the exception of Supes. Zod asks Supes to have Strange leave, since he wanted to discuss matters of New Krypton's security, and didn't want a man from Rann/Earth there to overhear any sensitive information. Supes thanks Strange for his assistance, and Strange takes his leave, while Supes and Zod return to Zod's office to discuss the matter of the Kryptonian assassinations. Supes and Zod begin to go over the murdered Kryptonians, and what connection they had to each other, and Supes realizes that Tam-Or had made a similar comment to Ral-Dar, who shot Zod on behalf of Gen. Lane of Earth. Supes then suddenly figures out who was responsible for the assassinations, and leaves Zod's office to find out why. The scene shifts to the home of science guild councilor Wri-Qin, where Supes accuses Qin of ordering the assassinations of the other Kryptonians. Qin admits his guilt, and then like a good villain, goes on to explain his entire dastardly plan to Supes instead of just killing Supes... Oh villains... Qin explains that Lane had sent Superwoman to New Krypton to recruit Kryptonians in high places who would be willing to hurt New Krypton's infrastructure, making the planet more easily defeatable for Lane and the forces of Earth. The Kryptonians who promised to help Lane were to be given positions of power on a Krypton ruled by Earth, upon New Krypton's defeat. Qin decided he didn't want to share any positions of power with his fellow traitors, and as such, he began to kill off his fellow conspirators. Once Qin tells his story, Supes orders the military to enter the home, and they arrest Qin. Later on, Zod joins Supes back in Kandor, and tells him that the labor guild had been granted a seat on New Krypton's ruling council, just as Supes had wanted all along. Even though he had earned that victory, Supes is still melancholy over the fact that Qin was willing to sell out his entire planet for the promise of power. Zod and Supes have a heart to heart, and this issue ends with Brainiac's ship hovering menacingly above New Krypton!

Well, this was a pleasant surprise! Actually, this entire maxi-series has turned out a lot better then I thought it would. Now, I'll admit that if you only read the review I just wrote for this comic without having read the rest of this series, you'll probably be a bit lost. However, looking at this series from start to end, I have to admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed Supes adventures on his native planet. It's almost too bad that Supes has to return to Earth, because his time on New Krypton has been very good. The biggest surprise for me though would have to be General Zod's portrayal in these pages. Gone is the insane, "Kneel before ZOD!!!", character most of us know from the movies and his appearance in the Last Son storyline, replaced by a man who's driving force is the protection of his people. All throughout this series I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for Zod to reveal some kind of Machiavellian master plan to kill Supes and destroy the Earth, but that moment never came, instead, Zod was oftentimes more level-headed then Supes, and was beloved by his fellow Kryptonians. Not only that, but I wound up becoming a fan of Zod's, something I never thought possible after his actions during the aforementioned Last Son storyline. While Action Comics and Superman have been hurting thanks to Superman's absence in those titles, this series flourished, and in the end left me very impressed, and quite interested to see what would become of New Krypton as Brainiac bears down upon them.

Score: 9 out of 10.So General Zod didn't turn into a psychotic, raging lunatic by the end of this series... Who knew?

Titans #22: Writer: JT Krul. Pencils: Angel Unzueta.

This issue opens with Phobia still manipulating the emotions of Starfire and Cyborg by making them live through their worst fears. For Cyborg, it's failing his fledgling Titans East team again, while Starfire is forced to be completely and totally alone. After watching his young charges get decimated again, Cyborg lets out a massive blast, which momentarily distracts Phobia, breaking her control over the two Titans. Upon regaining her senses, Starfire makes quick work of Phobia, and Cyborg arrives on the scene to help her take Phobia into custody. The following day, the Titans and the Teen Titans meet to remember their fallen comrades, which leads to Hawk yelling at Cyborg for allowing the Titans East team to have been butchered. After Hawk leaves, Beast Boy arrives to cheer up his *ahem* friend. While the two are chatting, Starfire wanders away, thinking about how her relationship to the Titans has prevented her from creating a life for herself, one where she isn't emotionally attached to the Titans. This issue ends with Donna Troy arriving to talk about poor Red Arrow, with Starfire lending her friend a shoulder to cry on, for perhaps the last time.

This was a pretty good comic actually. I was fine with the fact that Phobia was more or less an afterthought, because let's face it, that's what she is. I normally hate Starfire with a passion, but in this comic she was somewhat likable, which was nice. I liked that she was seriously considering leaving the Titans(and the Earth), because she was under the impression that the Titans had stunted her growth as a person. To some extent, that is quite true, as Kory has pretty much done NOTHING of note in the DCU since her debut several years back, except constantly serve as a member of the Titans. While several other members of her Titans team have evolved, grown and developed, Kory has remained pretty much the same person she's been from the start. It would be nice to see Kory grow ala Wally West or Dick Grayson, but I won't be holding my breath awaiting that to happen.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.And the love affair continues...

Avengers: The Initiative #31, Superman: World of New Krypton #11 & Blackest Night: Suicide Squad #67

I have three reviews on tap for tonight, two DC's and a Marvel. Two of these books were VERY good, while the third wasn't that bad, so all in all, this should be a rare happy post! Oh, and unless I get some new comics in the mail tomorrow, I can say for the first time in MONTHS that I've completely finished up my new comic pile! Sure I have a few recent issues of Astonishing X-Men, X-Men: Legacy and Moon Knight to read, but I doubt I'll want to read those books any time soon, if at all. Well, enough babble, here's the first review.

Avengers: The Initiative #31: Writer: Christos Gage. Pencils: Rafa Sandoval.

This issue opens with Norman "Marvel" Osborn calling Taskmaster and informing him that Osborn will be taking a trip to the Initiative compound the next day, and that if everything is on the up and up, Osborn may have some very good news for Taskmaster. Upon hanging up, Taskmaster runs around trying to get his band of villains into some semblance of order. After threatening and cajoling many Initiative members, Taskmaster runs into another long time Marvel c-list villain, Constrictor, and asks to speak to him privately. Constrictor and Taskmaster talk, and Taskmaster reveals to Constrictor that he believes Osborn is going to offer him a promotion, but he isn't sure if he should take it. You see, Taskmaster is more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he's happy to steal some loot and that's that. If he were to accept the promotion, he'd be throwing his lot in with the world conquering, ultra crazy villains, which is something Taskmaster wasn't sure he wanted to do. After conversing with Constrictor, Taskmaster makes up his mind and the two part. The following day, Osborn arrives at the compound, checks things out and offers Taskmaster a promotion, and a spot on the Cabal, which he graciously accepts. From there we get a recap of what happened in Siege: The Cabal where the Dr. Doom robot blasts the hell out of Taskmaster and leaves him in a pool of blood. Taskmaster awakens a few days later in a hospital bed and is greeted by Osborn. Taskmaster tells Osborn that he isn't cut out to be a member of the Cabal, and asks to leave, which infuriates Osborn. Osborn ruptures Taskmaster's oxygen tank and pulls a lighter, telling Taskmaster to rethink his request. Taskmaster tells Osborn he'll remain on board, and this issue concludes with Osborn informing Taskmaster that he was going to invade Asgard.

There were a few other secondary storylines that were advanced here as well, such as the Avengers Resistance team(basically the former New Warriors)learning of Osborn's plans to attack Asgard right before he launched his attack, Tigra continuing her one woman attack against the Hood's goons, and Justice and Ultra Girl rekindling their romance. Needless to say, this comic was packed full of stuff, and all of it was really good! The dialogue was wonderful, I especially enjoyed the conversation between Taskmaster and Constrictor, which did a great job of showing that not all super-villains were insane, out of control lunatics, but were just trying to make ends meet(albeit in an immoral way). I'll tell you, when this series goes to the big comic shop in the sky, I for one am going to be quite upset.

Score: 9 out of 10.I guess Dr. Doom didn't like the fact that Taskmaster showed up at the Cabal meeting also wearing a cape and cowl!

Superman: World of New Krypton #11: Writers: James Robinson and Greg Rucka. Pencils: Pete Woods.

We start this issue with an assassin narrowly missing Alura and killing her assistant instead. Adam Strange, Superman and his military guild investigate the crime scene and find the murder weapon laying conveniently in the open, complete with a set of fingerprints, the fingerprints of the head of the labor guild, Tam-Or. Supes meets up with the panicking Kryptonian ruling council and tells them that although Tam-Or's prints were discovered on the gun, he feels things just don't add up. The council members argue a bit, and the military council representative warns Supes to get to the bottom of the assassinations. Supes decides to check on the still healing General Zod, and proceeds to tell Zod all about the assassinations and the main suspect. Upon hearing everything, Zod tells Supes that he doesn't believe Tam-Or is guilty. Supes agrees, and decides to try to find Tam-Or to see if he can point him in the direction of the real killer. Supes and Adam head to the infirmary and find Tyr, a member of the labor guild who used to be a friend of Supes before he turned on him for Gen. Zod(it's a LONG story!). Tyr is sitting at the bedside of a dying labor guild member who had come down with a strange disease that was only affecting members of the labor guild. Supes explains that he feels Tam-Or is innocent of the murder charges that are pointing towards him, and that he needs to speak to the man. Tyr agrees to take Supes and Adam to Tam-Or's hideout, which is a secret military installment where bizarre experiments were taking place on various aliens. Supes is shocked at the existence of such a place, and Tyr is surprised that as the acting head of the military guild Supes was unaware of the installment. Supes and company find Tam-Or, and Supes convinces him to go back with him so they could clear his and the labor guild's name. Before Supes and company can go anywhere, the military council member, along with several members of the military guild show up and tell Supes they'll handle things from this point on. Supes balks at that and tells them he's the acting head of the military guild, but is shocked to learn Gen. Zod had returned to active duty mere minutes prior and that Supes was no longer the acting head of the military! This issue ends with the military members preparing to shoot and kill Supes, Adam, Tam-Or and Tyr for crimes against New Krypton.

Wow, this series sure picked up BIG TIME this issue! The interesting thing about the end of this issue is that we don't know for sure that Zod had ordered the military guild members to shoot at Supes and company. That's been my favorite thing about this series actually, the way Gen. Zod has managed to walk the line between good and evil. On Earth, you know Gen. Lane is evil. He enslaves people, kills indiscriminately and does all around villainous things. On the other hand, Zod is beloved on New Krypton and hasn't really show that he is interested in anything other then defending his homeworld. Even Superman's opinion of Zod has changed over the course of this maxi-series. Has Zod been playing puppet master since the beginning? Is he finally enacting his endgame on Superman and the labor guild, or are rogue elements in the military guild responsible for what has occurring at the conclusion of this issue? I for one can't wait to find out those answers in the next issue.

Score: 9 out of 10.Man, those Kryptonian religious guild members are just plain creepy looking...

Blackest Night: Suicide Squad #67: Writers: Gail Simone and John Ostrander. Artist: J. Calafiore.

We begin with the Fiddler coming back to life as a Black Lantern and deciding that he wanted to get revenge on Deadshot. From there the current Suicide Squad fails a mission to kill a drug lord mainly because Deadshot's replacement on the team, Yasemin, is still green. Upon learning of their failure, Waller decides that she'll get Deadshot back in her employ, whether he wants to or not. To that end, she secretly hires Deadshot's current team, the Secret Six, to break some drug lord out of Belle Reve prison. The Six arrive at the prison and break in, but instead of being met by simple prison guards, they are attacked by the Suicide Squad. Deadshot runs into Rick Flag, who informs him that Waller had set the entire situation up in order to tell Deadshot that she wanted him to rejoin the Squad. Deadshot shoots Flag in the chest as his answer(HA!)and then proceeds to shoot his replacement, Yasemin(double HA!). After shooting Yasemin, Deadshot is pistol whipped and knocked out by Flag, who was obviously wearing a bulletproof vest. This issue ends with the Black Lantern Fiddler heading to Belle Reve prison with a bunch of Black Lantern rings, which began to resurrect the fallen members of the Squad that were being kept there.

This was a pretty good comic, but it was pretty much devoid of Black Lanterns with the exception of the first two pages and the last. I was kind of hoping for a big Black Lantern Suicide Squad vs Deadshot brouhaha, but I guess that will have to wait until the next issue of the Secret Six comic. Although I was a bit let down by the lack of a Deadshot/BL Suicide Squad showdown, the rest of this comic was quite good. To be honest, I actually enjoyed the parts of this comic that featured Amanda Waller(who is woefully underutilized!)and the Suicide Squad more then the Secret Six parts. I think the reason for that is because #1, I hate Black Alice and #2, Ragdoll is becoming SO over-the-top that he's starting to irritate me. Besides those small complaints, I liked this comic and I'll be looking forward to the continuation of this story in the monthly Secret Six comic.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.Catman vs Bronze Tiger, let the fur fly!

Superman: World of New Krypton #7

Superman: World of New Krypton #7: Writers- Greg Rucka and James Robinson Art- Pete Woods

What Happened: Supes returns to New Krypton with the body of Gen. Zod's would be assassin, Ral-Dar. He arrives just as the leaders of the various Kryptonian guilds are discussing what they should do about that bothersome planet Earth. Some of the more radical Kryptonians want to annihilate Earth, but Supes tells his fellow Kryptonians that a war with Earth would lead to the mutually assured destruction of both races. While Supes is debating with the ruling council, a near dead Gen. Zod staggers into the room with the assistance of Ursa and Non. Zod explains that all he cares about is the safety of the people of New Krypton and that Supes is one of a very few who also wants nothing more then to see New Krypton thrive and flourish. For that reason, Zod promotes Supes to the position of General(!)while Zod is incapacitated. With that, Zod collapses and is helped back to his hospital room. Now in full control of the Kryptonian military, Supes sends several members of his military out to Jupiter to take one of Jupiter's moons in order to put it in orbit around New Krypton. All seems to be going fine until Supes receives a distress signal from his men, who have been jumped in space by a massive Thanagarian spacefleet. Supes and his military guild arrive at the scene of the battle enmasse and engage the Thanagarians. Unfortunately, with nobody guiding it, the moon begins to violently hurtle towards New Krypton, ending this issue.

What I Thought: This was another good issue of this series. I'm still wondering what Zod is up to, you just know he hasn't suddenly turned a new leaf... I can't wait for the other shoe tp drop when Zod finally decides to unleash whatever nefarious plan I'm sure he's cooking up. Supes as the undisputed leader of the Kryptonian military is also an interesting prospect. I wonder where this particular story element is going to lead.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.Thanagarians, nothing but trouble.

Superman: World of New Krypton #6(Codename: Patriot Part 1)

This is the first part of this year's Superman x-over event, Codename: Patriot. This comic is written by the team of Greg Rucka and James Robinson. Pete Woods handles the artwork.

-Previously in World of New Krypton, Superman managed to narrowly escape execution thanks to an unlikely assist from Gen. Zod. At a celebration celebrating some Kryptonian holiday, Gen. Zod was shot in an apparent assassination attempt. Now that you know what happened before, let's see what happens next.

-The Kryptonian who shot Zod screams that he did it for his people, before taking flight in an effort to escape. An angry mob of Kryptonians manage to get a hold of the would be assassin and they begin to beat him to death. Supes and his military unit rush to the scene of the riot and prevent the furious Kryptonians from killing the assassin. As the assassin lays on the ground, beaten to a pulp, he weakly says, "For Krypton" before passing out.

-With Zod at death's door, the leadership of the Kryptonian military guild falls to the three commanders, Supes, Ursa and Gor. Gor wants to kill the assassin immediately, but Supes explains that it's possible the assassin wasn't working alone and that he needs to be interrogated when he wakes up. Ursa appears extremely distracted and winds up leaving Supes and Gor behind, not wanting to leave Zod's side.

-Supes and Gor strap the assassin to a Kryptonian lie detecting machine and begin to ask him questions about why he tried to kill Zod. The assassin, Ral-Dar, says he wanted to kill Zod for the safety of New Krypton. He also says that with Kryptonians numbering at less than 100,000 people strong, something had to be done to assure the survival of New Krypton. According to the lie detector, Ral seems to sincerely believe that by killing Zod he was helping to save his people. However, he refuses to give a straight answer regarding whether or not he worked alone. Before Supes can press the issue further, he is summoned to meet his aunt Alura at the medical facility immediately.

-Supes makes his way to see Alura and she explains to him that thus far the science guild has proven unable to heal the damage done to Zod. She then tells Supes that prior to Zod losing consciousness, he specifically asked to see Supes.

-While in the medical facility, an aide to Alura reports that the people of New Krypton are panicking over the shooting of Zod and that they fear Brainiac is somehow involved. Alura takes to the sky and manages to assuage the Kryptonians with her words. Alura then asks Supes to find out why Zod was shot and Supes, along with Supergirl head back to the prison facility.

-Upon arriving at the prison, Supes and SG discover all of the guards unconscious and Ral broken out of his cell. Supes puts out an all point bulletin to find Ral, and a member of his military unit reports that Ral was spotted leaving New Krypton and heading for Earth. Supes realizes that Ral's arrival on Earth could start a war between the two planets, as well as the fact that a Kryptonian military unit arriving on Earth to hunt down a Kryptonian criminal could also have dire consequences, so Supes decides the only thing left to do is for him to don his Superman costume and head to Earth himself.

I really enjoyed this first part of Codename: Patriot! It was very fast paced, set up the x-over nicely, and left us with lots to ponder. Such as why would a member of the military guild try to kill Gen. Zod? Who helped Ral escape from his cell? What was it that Zod wanted to tell Supes before he lost consciousness and was placed in stasis? And of course, what's going to happen when Supes sets foot back on Earth after he seemingly abandoned the planet to join his fellow Kryptonians?

Personally, and keep in mind it's still VERY early in this x-over, I think Ral wanted to kill Zod so that Supes would become the head of the military guild. Ral seemed sure that under Zod's aggressive leadership the Kryptonians would eventually go extinct, and he also remarked that everybody on New Krypton knew who Supes was. Of course I'm probably as wrong as can be, but still, that's my early prediction. For a score, I'm going to give this comic a very strong 9 out of 10. THIS is the way to begin an x-over event. After reading this comic I can't wait to get my hands on the second part to discover what will happen next.All I can say is, it's about time we get to see Supes back in the red and blue!

Superman: World of New Krypton #5

Poor Superman. He leaves Earth to live with his crazy fellow Kryptonians and winds up getting locked up for treason. Although Supes hasn't been having a very good time on New Krypton, I've been enjoying this series a whole lot! James Robinson and Greg Rucka have really done a great job in making me care about those wacky Kryptonians. What's in store this month? Let's find out!

-This issue begins with the trial of Supes and his subordinate, Lt. Asha Del-Nar. To make a long story short, Gen. Zod ordered Asha to kill a criminal upon catching him last issue, while Supes, her direct supervisor told her not to follow Zod's orders. Asha listened to Supes and Zod had them both brought up on charges of treason. Oh, and on New Krypton, the penalty for committing treason is death. Now, back to the story. Supes lawyer tells the council supervising the trial that Zod has had a vendetta against Supes and his family for years now, and that the only reason Supes was brought up on charges was simple revenge. Much to the surprise of the jury, Zod agrees and decides he won't prosecute Supes, instead turning his attentions to Asha.

-Zod makes his case against Asha, which in and of itself is pretty funny. The main gist of it is that by almost allowing Hal Jordan to capture the criminal(which is what nearly happened last issue)she endangered all of New Krypton because Hal is crazy! Zod states the whole Parallax episode as his example of Hal's mental instability. Asha admits to disobeying a direct order from Zod, and seems prepared to take her punishment, until Supes opens his big mouth. Supes tells the council that he ordered Asha to disobey, thus exonerating Asha and damning himself. Zod smugly points out that Supes just admitted to treason, and as such should be sentenced to death. The council dismisses all parties so they could deliberate.

-Supes lawyer is incensed that he admitted his guilt like that, but Supes explains he couldn't let Asha take the fall for his actions. Supes is returned to his cell and visited by Asha, who thanks him, and his little buddy from the labor guild, Tyr. After Asha leaves, Tyr quickly sets up a device that would disable the red sun device holding Supes in his cell before quickly leaving.

-Tyr returns to Zod and Ursa, and we learn he was a double agent sent by Zod to buddy up to Supes. They watch the security cameras in Supes cell and are shocked to see that Supes isn't leaving his cell. Ursa and Tyr can't figure out why Supes refuses to leave, since remaining means certain death. Zod orders them to leave his office while he sits there deep in thought.

-The next day is a Kryptonian holy day and also the sentencing of Supes. Out of the 6 council members, 5 of them vote guilty(including Supes own aunt!), and Supes is given a last chance to speak before sentencing is carried out. He tells the council that he did the right thing by preventing the criminals death and that if presented with the same situation, he'd do the same thing again.

-The council prepares to pass sentence on Supes when, of all people, Zod speaks up on Supes behalf! Zod tells the council that with it being a Kryptonian day of forgiveness, they should absolve Supes of his crimes. Zod asks the powerful religious guild to step in on Supes behalf, and the member of the religious guild present at the hearing releases Supes.

-Supes and Zod leave the hearing side by side, and Supes inquires as to why Zod did what he did. Zod explains that he doesn't like Supes, but that Supes makes his army stronger, and in the long run, that fact is more important than his personal feelings. Zod and Supes take part in the festivities and the crowd chants Zod's name. As this issue ends, a lone gunman targets Zod and blows a hole through his chest with a laser weapon!

As usual, this was a very good issue of this series. I have to say that since this title began 5 issues ago, it has proven to be one of the strongest comics I've read month in and month out. I love the way the writers are blurring whether Zod is the world conquering, child abusing scumbag we remember from Geoff John's amazing "Last Son" storyline, or if he is just a Kryptonian patriot whose only concern is for the safety of his people.

So now, this months cliffhanger ending leaves us wondering if Zod is going to survive the assassination attempt. I think the better question is did Zod set up the assassination attempt himself? Think about it, Zod saw how Supes was prepared to martyr himself for his beliefs, and Zod probably realized that a dead Superman might be worse than a live one. Making himself a martyr would greatly increase Zod's own power among the Kryptonian community. If Zod is able to fake his death, he can act with impunity behind the scenes, directing actions through proxies as he sees fit. Then he could always return down the road as the resurrected savior of the Kryptonian people. However, with how excellently written this comic is, whatever James and Greg decide to do from here is bound to make for a great story. For a score, I'll give this comic a very strong 9 1/2 out of 10. Wow, the past couple of comics I've read have really been exceptional. Here's hoping that trend continues!

Superman: World of New Krypton #4

A couple of new comics arrived in the mail today, and after some deliberation I decided to give this comic a read first, mainly because of the cover. Now I know the scene on the cover almost definitely won't be inside, but still that cover won me over. This issue was written by the excellent team of James Robinson and Greg Rucka.

-We open the festivities here with Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Sodam Yat of the Green Lantern Corps visiting Supes on New Krypton as a part of a fact finding mission for the Guardians. General Zod arrives on the scene which pisses Hal off(although to be honest, what DOESN'T piss Hal off lately?). Zod gives Supes the OK to show the Lanterns around, stating that the Kryptonians have nothing to hide from the Lanterns, nor anything to fear.

-Supes, along with his buddy from the labor guild, proceeds to show the Lanterns around the planet until Supes is called away on military business.

-Zod informs Supes that some of the criminals that were banished to the Phantom Zone have escaped and are running amok on New Krypton. Zod orders Supes to have his unit maintain the perimeter around the operation site, but not to actively take part in the operation. Zod also tells Supes that his Lantern friends can observe the operation, so they can learn how Kryptonians deal with criminals.

-The operation site is a space craft building facility which doesn't sit well with Supes or the Lanterns. According to Supes labor guild buddy the ships are being built by Zod and Alura just in case the Kryptonians need them for defensive purposes. HA! After witnessing an explosion, Supes and his unit(along with the Lanterns)respond and discover the criminal was trying to steal one of the ships to escape. Hal's ring alerts him to the fact that the Kryptonian criminal is wanted by the Green Lantern Corps, so the Lanterns decide to take an active role in the capture.

-Supes and the Lanterns take the point, and the members of Supes unit hang back as per Supes orders. While Supes is pursuing the criminal, Zod secretly contacts the second in command in Supes unit and orders her to execute the criminal upon capture. Hal's ring intercepts the transmission and Supes tells his second to disregard Zod's order.

-Supes directs the criminal towards his unit and Supes second secures him, as per Supes orders. Supes prepares to hand the criminal over to the Lanterns for transport back to Oa, but Zod arrives and tells the Lanterns that New Krypton has no extradition treaty with the GLC, so any attempt by the Lanterns to take the criminal off of New Krypton will be looked at as an act of war. Hal gets pissed(naturally)but John calms him down, explaining that Zod is absolutely right. Zod does promise Hal that he won't harm the criminal and that the GLC can have him when the Kryptonians are done with him. Hal(still miffed)leaves to give the Guardians his findings.

-This issue concludes with Supes and his second visiting the captured criminal and discovering, to Supes surprise, that the criminal was unharmed, just as Zod had promised Hal. Zod arrives and tells Supes and his second that they are both under arrest for treason. I guess Supes shouldn't have rescinded Zod's orders, huh?

As usual, this was another excellent issue of this series. With the writing team here though, what do I expect? The GL stuff was excellently done(Hal was hotheaded, while John was the voice of reason), and the ending was a bit of a surprise(even though Supes sure did have it coming!). Now since I'm sure Supes won't be rotting in a jail cell somewhere, my guess is that Zod will take out Supes inability to follow orders on his second instead. I'm also guessing that the revelation concerning Zod's space ships will be playing a major role down the road in this series. That's pretty much all I have to say here. I really don't have a single critique to voice. For a score I'll give this comic a very strong 9 1/2 out of 10 along with a huge recommendation.

Superman: World of New Krypton #3

-We open with Supes and the New Kryptonian military guild surrounding the building where members of the labor guild(think slaves)have taken the leader of New Krypton(Alura)hostage. General Zod wants to execute a bunch of innocent labor guild members to show the labor guild members holding Alura hostage that he means business. Supes convinces Zod to allow him to speak with the leaders of the hostage taking, where he can hopefully end the standoff without any casualties.

-Supes goes inside and speaks to the leader of the uprising. The head hostage taker explains to Supes that all he wants is equal rights for his guild. After Alura hears what the hostage taker has to say she tells him she will think about what he said, which is at least a start. From there, the hostage taker surrender to Supes.

-As Supes is leading the leader of the hostage taking out, one of Zod's soldiers tries to shoot the guy, but Supergirl manages to intercept the bullet before it could do any harm.

-Zod disciplines Commander Gor, the soldier who took the shot, which causes Gor to blame Supes for his misfortune. The next day, Gor challenges Supes to a fight, but Supes blows him off. Gor attacks Supes from behind, but Supes still doesn't fight back. Zod arrives on the scene and orders the two to fight in order to settle their issues. Gor gets a few early shots in on Supes, but ultimately Supes humiliates Gor. Upon finishing with Gor, Supes looks skyward and finds Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Ion from the Green Lantern Corps looking to ask him some questions about New Krypton.

Damn do I love this series! I have to say, Greg Rucka and James Robinson are doing an excellent job on the story in this series. Besides a great story, the characters are all very well done as well. Supes is just awesome here, and all of the secondary characters, from Zod to Alura are interesting in their own ways. The arrival of the Green Lanterns should make this series even better, which is really saying something. For a score, I'll give this issue a 9 1/2 out of 10. This really was a wonderful comic with a great story and a hook at the end that leaves me eagerly anticipating more!

Superman: World of New Krypton #2

The cover to this comic says that this is now a 15 part mini-series... 15 issues? That's a strange number to settle on... I was under the assumption that this series was going to run a year(12 issues). Well, you know what they say about assuming anything... OK, enough with the babbling, here's a quick review of this issue.

-We open with the Guardians on Oa realizing that the Kryptonians have created a new planet opposite of the Earth. The Guardians don't like that fact and fear what a planet full of beings with Superman's powers might do to the balance of power in the universe. The Guardians decide to send Hal Jordan to investigate New Krypton and gauge the level of danger there.

-On New Krypton, Superman and General Zod continue to bicker with each other and Zod assigns Supes a military unit to lead.

-Supes meets with his unit and finds them "initiating" a newer recruit by forcing the newbie to fight some kind of quilled creature. Supes halts the "initiation" and yells at the unit for the way they were acting. He then punishes the unit by forcing them to practice flying all day.

-That night the Kryptonians throw some sort of gala event where Supes meets with his Aunt Alura as well as Supergirl. Supes also speaks to a member of the lowly labor guild, who warns Supes that many members of the labor guild are upset about being treated like second class citizens and that they intend to do something about it soon. Supes tells the labor guild member to tell him if he hears anything else.

-General Zod winds up tracking Supes down during the gala and tells him to mobilize his unit because some rampaging creatures are tearing up atmosphere generator plants, which I guess is a bad thing. Zod tells Supes to take care of the beasts by any means necessary. Supes takes his squad into action, but forbids them from using guns or killing the animals. Instead, Supes has the squad burn a trench into the ground and leads the rampaging creatures into it.

-Zod meets with Supes after the creatures are corralled and Supes proceeds to get snarky with Zod once again. Zod begins to get upset with Supes lack of respect, and the two begin to argue some more. Zod and Supes wind up getting interrupted by a member of the Kryptonian army who tells them several members of the labor guild have taken Supes Aunt Alura(the leader of New Krypton)hostage and have barricaded themselves in a building, demanding that their guild gets treated the same as the other guilds. Zod and Supes arrive on the scene and they learn that a member of the military has rounded up 30 members of the labor guild and plans on executing them if Alura isn't released immediately. Supes finds that action to be reprehensible while Zod thinks it's a brilliant plan.

You know what? I really enjoyed this comic book! This was a great, fast paced book that was interesting throughout. You know what else? I'm slowly beginning to enjoy General Zod's character. He isn't the ranting maniac I thought he would be, he is a very savvy customer. I was expecting the "Kneel before ZOD!!!" character from the old Superman movies, but thus far Zod has been in control of everything occurring around him. He hasn't even allowed Supes constant disrespect to shake him. This comic is really changing my opinion of Zod.

Supes was highly enjoyable as well, with his repeated attempts to draw Zod into a confrontation, as well as the way he took command of his unruly unit. I really liked the job Greg Rucka and James Robinson did in this comic, and for a score, I'll give this issue a 9 out of 10. I will definitely be looking forward to the 3rd issue of this series next month.

Superman: World of New Krypton #1

Overall- This comic book deals with Superman deciding to "renounce" his life on Earth in order to become a part of New Krypton... However, we all know that the only reason Supes is even on New Krypton is to keep an eye on General Zod, so he can foil whatever nefarious plot Zod has cooked up. Supes travels to his Aunt Alura, who is one of the rulers(?)of New Krypton. Supes tells Alura that he wants to stay on New Krypton and that he'll need a job. Kryptonian society seems very regimented and broken up into "Guilds", which include the lowly Labor Guild, the Science Guild, the Art Guild, as well as the Military Guild, which is led by Zod himself. Alura tells Supes he can choose from any of the Guilds, and he travels through New Krypton, taking in the sights and sounds while deciding on what he wants to be.

Along the way he realizes that he is being followed by some of Zod's Military Guild members, so Supes goes to see what Zod wants. Upon arriving at Zod's stronghold, Supes is attacked by a New Kryptonian. Although they share the same powers, Supes makes short work of the soldier, since Supes has mastered his powers long ago, while the New Kryptonians are still brand new to their abilities. Zod soon approaches and tells Supes that he would be honored if Supes would join the Military Guild in order to train the Kryptonians in the usage of their powers. Supes and Zod do some verbal jousting, before Supes heads back to see Alura with his decision.

Supes decides that the whole Guild system is fundamentally wrong, and that Kryptonians should be free to choose the jobs they want based on their personal preference, not on what Guild their parents were a part of. Supes says he won't choose any Guild, and as a result, Alura says she will choose one for him. This issue ends with Alura placing Supes in the Military Guild, with the high rank of Commander.

This was a good comic, but I just want to admit that I know VERY little about New Krypton, since I have yet to get my hands on the Superman comic books that lead into this series. So for now I'd ask anyone reading this to bear with me, because I'm learning about the Kryptonian culture as I go along. The fact that Supes wound up a member of the Military Guild is really no surprise, because as the old saying goes, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.". Supes can now watch Zod closely and strike when Zod reveals whatever evil plan he is sure to be cooking up. For a score, I'll give this comic a 8 1/2 out of 10. I'll be looking forward to collecting this series and learning more about the world of New Krypton.