A Quick Look at Wonder Woman #37

Writer: Gail Simone. Art: Bernard Chang.

What Happened: We open this comic with the dead God of war, Ares, taunting Wonder Woman in a dream, stating that one of his best agents(presumably Alkyone)is betraying WW and the Amazons as they speak. After some more taunting, Ares departs. Meanwhile, on Themyscira, several missing Amazons return to the island. While that is occurring, Alkyone is plotting with Achilles. Wonder Woman decides to head to Themyscira to take her mother off of the island before things get any worse there. Upon her arrival, WW is attacked by Donna Troy, who blames WW for the deaths of her husband and children. It seems that Donna's battles with Genocide have left her slightly off kilter, which is why she sees WW as her arch enemy. WW tries to wrap Donna up with her lasso so she'll see the truth, but at the lasso's touch, Donna begins to scream in agony. WW realizes that some of Genocide's evil residue remains on the lasso, so she tosses it in the sea with the hope that removing the lasso from Donna's proximity will right her mind. WW's ploy pays off, and she makes up with Donna, after which the two women head back to Themyscira to confront Achilles. Upon arriving, they discover WW's mother, the former queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, wrapped in chains. Hippolyta explains to WW that Achilles(who was chosen by the gods to be the king of the Amazons)has decided to take Alkyone as his queen, and that they have decided to execute her for the good of Themyscira. This issue ends with Alkyone demanding WW turn over her weapons from the gods since she is no longer the princess of the Amazons.

What I Thought: I liked this issue. It wasn't mind blowing or anything, but it was a good, solid comic book. Nothing stands out as really good or really bad, so I honestly don't have much to say here... I'm guessing the real fireworks between WW, Alkyone and Achilles will begin next issue, so I might as well wait until then before I really delve into the events of this comic.

Score: 7 out of 10.Hmm, I've got to say, Ares has DEFINITELY looked better...

A Quick Look at Justice League of America #38

Writer: James Robinson. Pencils: Mark Bagley.

Quick note here, I haven't read JLA #37 due to my post office problems, but I doubt what happened in that comic has any real bearing on what happens here.

What Happened: This issue starts off with some guy named Blue Jay getting iced by some unseen foe before he could get a warning to the JLA. From there we head to Happy Harbor, Rhode Island where what's left of the Justice League has decided to meet(fun fact, Young Justice also used to call Happy Harbor home)to decide what to do with themselves. Only Vixen(who put out the call), Dr. Light, Red Tornado and Plastic Man show up, which really disappointed Vixen, who was expecting a better turnout. Vixen seems ready to disband the League for good, but before she can actually say it, Despero attacks. Despero throws Gypsy at the JLA and proceeds to attack them. With Vixen, Plastic Man and Dr. Light injured, Despero has little trouble walking through the League. Before Despero can kill anybody, Zatanna arrives on the scene, and prepares to send Despero to the center of the Earth. However, before she can complete the spell, Despero violently disappears. Although the heroes are perplexed by Despero's bizarre appearance and subsequent disappearance, they learn from Zatanna that the dead are rising throughout the DCU, and that they need to return to the Hall of Justice to see what they can do to help. This issue ends with Zatanna teleporting the remnants of the League away, while Black Lantern Dr. Light awaits them at the Hall of Justice.

What I Thought: Well, there was an obvious problem here, and that would be the fact that the Justice League: Cry For Justice mini-series is still ongoing, which means James really can't do much with this series. Until the events of Cry For Justice are settled, this series is going to be stuck in a holding pattern. Although I was hoping this issue would herald the beginning of the new JLA, I'm OK with the next few issues following these JLAers as they deal with the events of Blackest Night, especially since the evil Dr. Light seems to be the focus of the next issue. That should be good to say the least.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.To say that I'm looking forward to the next issue is definitely an understatement!

Green Lantern #47

Writer: The comic book GOD himself, Geoff Johns. Pencils: Doug Mahnke.

What Happened: We open with the Lost Lanterns and the Red Lanterns battling on the Red Lantern homeworld of Ysmault. During the battle, several long dead members of Atrocitus'(the leader of the Red Lanterns)race emerge from the rivers of blood on Ysmault and rip the heart from Atrocitus' chest. However, Atrocitus doesn't turn into a Black Lantern, since his heart is empty and dead and his red ring serves as his heart. With the Black Lanterns temporarily surprised, Atrocitus and his forces tear into the BL's. Meanwhile, on Korugar, Hal battles Black Lantern Abin Sur and Sinestro battles Black Lantern Arin Sur(Sinestro's dead wife). The combined might of Hal, Sinestro, Star Sapphire(Carol Ferris)and Indigo-1 proves to be too much for the Surs and they, and their black rings, are utterly destroyed. Hal and Sinestro argue about what to do next and who should lead their jolly little group, and Sinestro finally gives in and decides to allow Hal to take the lead. Hal's first order is to head to the homeworld of the Blue Lanterns to enlist their assistance. Meanwhile, John Stewart is wandering around the Black Lantern planet, Xanshi. On Odym, the Blue Lantern homeworld, the Blue Lanterns are trying to prevent the forces of Agent Orange from stealing their power battery. Hal and company arrive on Odym, and just as they arrive, all of Orange's constructs fade away. We discover the reason for the Orange Lanterns disappearance is because Agent Orange is under assault on his homeworld by an army of Black Lanterns. Before the Black Lanterns can catch Orange, he is saved by Atrocitus, who demands the orange power battery from Orange, ending this issue.

What I thought: Come on, what do you think I thought? Of course I loved this issue. After I finished it up though, I realized that the thing I enjoyed the most about this comic was the spotlight being shone on all of the different colored Lanterns, not just Hal and the Green Lanterns. When it looked as if Atrocitus was killed by the Black Lanterns, I have to admit that I was disappointed. Believe it or not, I like Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns. The battle between the Orange Lanterns and the Blue Lanterns also captivated me because once again, I've grown to care about these secondary Corps. I can't wait for the next issue and the confrontation between Atrocitus and Agent Orange. The fact that I find myself caring about these other Corps tells me that Geoff Johns has done a splendid job on this series for the past 4 years now. Not only do I have an emotional investment in Hal and Sinestro and their respective Corps, but more and more I find myself truly caring about the rest of the Corps running around in the DCU. As usual, this was a great comic that I'd highly recommend.

Score: 9 out of 10.This scene illustrates reason #5,678 as to why you don't want to mess with the Red Lanterns.

A Quick Look at Batgirl #3

Writer: Bryan Q Miller. Art: Lee Garbett, Trevor Scott and Sandra Hope.

What Happened: Batgirl(Stephanie Brown)has tracked the Scarecrow's henchmen back to Scarecrow's lair, and against the wishes of Oracle(who is communicating with Steph via an earpiece)charges in. Eventually Steph finds Scarecrow, who is offended that all the Bat-family deemed him worth of was Batgirl... HA! Scarecrow gasses Steph with his new fear gas variant, Thrill, which causes Steph to hallucinate that Scarecrow is both Red Robin and herself(as the Spoiler). Before Scarecrow can deliver the killing stroke to Steph, she manages to snap out of her drug induced haze and breaks Scarecrow's ankle before knocking him out, just in time for the police who arrive soon thereafter. This issue ends with Oracle giving Steph her the OK to continue to wear the Batgirl costume.

What I Thought: I enjoyed this issue and this first storyarc a lot. It did everything the first storyarc of this series needed to do. It established Steph as Batgirl, it gave us Oracle as a supporting character, and it delivered a classic Batman villain, the grossly under appreciated Scarecrow. I really don't have any complaints to voice at all. Scarecrow wasn't completely incompetent, which was a nice change, and Steph and Babs both acted as I would expect them to. Everything here was perfectly acceptable.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.I have to say, I got a kick out of Scarecrow's disappointment at having to face Batgirl as opposed to Batman or Robin.

A Quick Look at Justice Society of America #32

Writers: Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham. Artist: Jesus Merino.

What Happened: Mr. America, Power Girl and Flash(Jay Garrick)are still interrogating All-American Kid about his fatal attack on Mr. Terrific. Kid swears that he didn't do it and upon further review of the videotape, the trio begins to suspect that Kid was under some sort of mind control. Kid's roommate, King Chimera, has the ability to create realistic looking illusions, which causes the trio to begin to suspect that Chimera may have some sort of mind control abilities that he hasn't yet revealed. After some discussion, the trio decides that Kid is innocent and that Chimera is now the prime suspect in the murder of Mr. Terrific. Speaking of Mr. Terrific, although he is dead, Green Lantern(Alan Scott)and Dr. Fate have kept his body in stasis since he died so Fate could figure out a spell to return Terrific to life. Unfortunately, Fate is having a tough time finding the correct spell. Liberty Belle and Power Girl take Chimera into an interrogation room, show him the video footage of Kid, and all but accuse him of Terrific's murder. Chimera becomes offended at his treatment and decides to leave, using his illusion powers to trick Power Girl and Belle repeatedly, but never once displaying any sort of mind control abilities. PG eventually catches Chimera, but before she can proceed to beat any answers out of him, a horde of super-villains, led by Dr. Polaris, attack the JSA brownstone, ending this issue.

What I Thought: Well, as far as I'm concerned, this entire storyline has been as good, if not better then anything written by the former writer of this series, Geoff Johns. Yes, seriously! Trust me, no one's more surprised then me. I don't even know where to begin with my praise. This whole storyline has been stellar. We still don't know who the mastermind behind the coordinated attacks on the JSA is, nor why this mystery villain wants the entire team, with the exception of Star Girl, dead. Besides that, we have the excellent who-done-it mystery involving Mr. Terrific. After reading this issue, I can't shake the feeling that All-American Kid faked his mind control and was in complete control of his actions. Chimera is the perfect scapegoat with his abrasive attitude and his mental(ish)powers. My guess is that Chimera isn't the traitor and that Kid has been working with the mystery villain to bring the JSA down. However, I could be very wrong. The thing I'm really enjoying about this storyline is the fact that this was the 4th part, and after every issue I've changed my mind on who was responsible for stabbing Terrific and who the mystery villain is. Great storytelling, along with great art makes for a great comic, it's that simple.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.I wonder just how much money the JSA spends on new tables every year...

The best of the rest.

Well, another week has come and gone, which means it's time for my weekly back issue post. To be honest, I really haven't read all that many back issues this week, but I'll post some quick looks at the ones I have read.

Let's see, on the personal front, I'm still waiting for my poor doomed comic book order, there are only 5 weeks left in the fall semester at school for me and earlier today I met with my advisor and picked out my classes for the upcoming spring semester. After next semester, I should be only three courses short of graduation! Woo-hoo! OK, enough about me, onto the comics!

Infinity War #1-6: This was the follow up to the extremely well done Infinity Gauntlet from a few years earlier. Basically when Adam Warlock acquired the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos at the end of the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series, he expelled all good and evil from his body so he wouldn't use the massive powers of the Gauntlet in a corrupt way. Unfortunately, the evil he expelled from himself grew to become the evil Magus, who along with an army of twisted doppelgangers of familiar Marvel heroes, decided to try to steal the Infinity Gauntlet from Warlock for his own nefarious usages. When I first read this story I couldn't have been much older then 10 years old, and back then I HATED this mini-series. I remember disliking the entire concept so much that after reading the first 2 issues I didn't even bother to buy the final 4 issues. Now, some 15 years later, I have to say, 10 year old me was an idiot! This story was WAY better then I remember it being! I can honestly say I'm glad I gave this mini-series a second chance. Score: 9 out of 10.

Batman and the Outsiders #4 &5(2008): Batman calls on Green Arrow to help him and his Outsiders discover what the evil Brother Eye is up to. Ollie rubs the entire team of Outsiders the wrong way and winds up throwing down with Batgirl. Plus OMACs show up. It's always hard to just read two comics in the middle of a storyline, but I have to say I liked the stuff that I did read here. Anytime Ollie is running around acting like an ass I'm happy! Oh, and I was pretty happy with the fact that Batgirl couldn't defeat Ollie in a fight. THAT was awesome. Score: 7 out of 10.

Astro City: Life in the Big City TPB(1996): This trade contained the first 5 issues of Kurt Busiek's Astro City. Astro City is basically a look at a world populated by superheroes, and digs into how the heroes deal with the citizens, how the citizens deal with the heroes and how they all live together in Astro City. The first five issues of this series were good, but they mainly served to set-up certain people, places and things. Since this trade was more or less a set-up issue, I can't say it blew me away or anything, it thought it was simply good. With that said, I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on the next couple of trades, because I want to see what Kurt can do once he's got all the set-up stuff out of the way. For a score, I'll go with a 8 1/2 out of 10.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 & 2: This was one of those series that spun out of the Battle for the Cowl mini-series from this past summer. The title of this comic should give you a pretty good idea of what this series is all about. We've got Batman, Robin, Commissioner Gordon, Hush masquerading as Bruce Wayne, and a couple of Batman's rogues thrown in for good measure. So far so good is what I have to say about the first two issues. Now, before I give the score, let me mention the Manhunter Second Feature, which closed out each of the first two issues of this series. I have to admit that I really haven't been very high on DC's Second Feature idea. Off the top of my head, I can't think of one single Second Feature that was worth the extra $1 they tacked onto the comics they appeared in. That all changed with this series. I absolutely LOVED the Manhunter feature! I think I liked it more then the main story! I'd always heard very good things about the Manhunter series, and now I can see why. I've got to see if I can score that Manhunter series off of eBay... Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

That's it, another week in the books. If you want to comment on anything comic related, be my guest. Until next time, Long Live The Legion!

A Quick Look at Batman #692

Boy, my reviews lately have been pretty wordy... I am going to try my hardest to fly through this review since it's already getting late and I've got some early classes tomorrow.
Writer and Penciller: Tony Daniels.

What Happened: Black Mask is still running wild in Gotham, sending out brainwashed minions called False Faces to commit the various crimes he wanted committed. Batman(Dick Grayson)enlists the aid of Catwoman to find Black Mask since both she and her ally, Poison Ivy, have had dealings with Mask in the past. After some digging, Catwoman isn't able to discover much about Mask, but she does tell Dick about a large estate in a secluded part of Gotham where there has been a lot of mob movements as of late. Dick and Catwoman head out to the estate, and Dick confronts the mobsters who are led by the formerly insane Mario Falcone. Dick attacks the mobsters and warns them out of Gotham before leaving while Catwoman pillages some loot from Falcone's house while Falcone's niece watches unnoticed. This issue ends with Black Mask's ministry of science, Hugo Strange, Dr. Death and Fright, managing to bring Reaper out of some kind of cyrogenic sleep.

What I Thought: Eh, I have to admit that a lot of this comic sailed way over my head. I only fleetingly know about Strange and Dr. Death, while I know absolutely nothing about Fright and Reaper. I'm not overly concerned though, this was only the first issue of Daniel's Batman run, so I'm not going to throw him under the bus or anything(yet!). Hopefully things will begin to make a little bit more sense with the next issue.

Score: 7 out of 10.If these losers are the best Black Mask can come up with, I don't think Batman has all that much to fear from him...

Blackest Night Batman #3(of 3)

Writer: Peter Tomasi. Pencils: Ardian Syaf.

What Happened: While Damian takes Commissioner Gordon and Oracle to safety, Batman(Dick Grayson)and Red Robin(Tim Drake-Wayne)try to come up with a plan on how to defeat their Black Lantern parents, who are hanging out in a cemetery. Tim figures this is some kind of second chance and as his BL father replays his death scene from Identity Crisis, Tim jumps to his aid and attacks Black Lantern Captain Boomerang before he can kill his old man again. Dick on the other hand feels these Black Lanterns are simply trying to fool him and Tim, however he gets caught up in swinging from a trapeze with his BL folks like he used to do as a child. Meanwhile, Deadman heads to Jason Blood's home, possesses him and releases the Demon Etrigan. Back at the cemetery, the trapeze with Dick's parents break(like they did when he was a kid)and BL Tony Zucco(the man responsible for the accident that killed Dick's parents)shows up and begins to taunt Dick. With that, Dick flips out and tries to beat BL Zucco to death, while Tim does the same to BL Boomerang. With Tim and Dick both burning with rage, the Black Lanterns decide the time is ripe to kill them and they strike back, beginning to tear the hearts out of Tim and Dick's chests. Deaman(in the body of Etrigan)arrives and begins to burn every BL around. Dick realizes that the BL's just keep reforming and that even Etrigan's immense powers can't kill the BL's. Finally, Dick calls Damian and tells him to send one of Mr. Freeze's guns to his location on one of his old gliders. The gun arrives just as Etrigan expels Deadman from his body. The Black Lanterns try to attack Etrigan, but since he has no heart, they can't do anything to him. Etrigan, not wanting to be involved with this madness takes off. Dick turns Freeze's gun on Tim and freezes him solid before doing the same to himself. The Black Lanterns look at Tim and Dick's lifeless bodies frozen in the ice and not sensing any emotions emanating from either one of them leave. Once the BL's leave, Deadman possesses Tim and breaks him out of the ice before doing the same for Dick. This issue ends with Dick deciding that he will take the knowledge he gained from his battle with the BL's and spread it around the super-hero community, with the hope that the other heroes can figure out a way to stop the BL's permanently.

What I Thought: I liked this issue a lot, although the ending left a bit to be desired. So Dick decides to take what he's learned(which isn't much!)and pass it on? Oooook... I did enjoy the scenes with Tim and Dick and their respective parents, especially poor Tim. How he isn't in a padded cell in Arkham yet is totally beyond me. If I were him I'd be crazier then a bedbug! And anytime Etrigan appears is a major plus in my book as well. One thing that REALLY, REALLY bothered me though was Damian bringing Commissioner Gordon and Oracle back to Wayne Tower where they were patched up by Alfred... What the hell is that all about?!? After reading this mini-series, I honestly believe that Dick could care less if Gordon knows his secret identity or not anymore. Why doesn't Dick just wear a big sign around his neck while he's in his Batman costume that reads, "Hey everybody, I'm Dick Grayson!". Although not all that much happened over the course of this mini(well nothing really vital to the main Blackest Night story at least)I still enjoyed it and would give it a recommendation.

Score: 8 out of 10.You know what? I have to agree with Etrigan, Gotham City does put hell to shame!