*NEW!* Justice League of America #1 - "These are the men and women who are going to take down the Justice League."
A brand new Justice League, one that is under the control of the United States government, starts here! If that sounds a little frightening to you, it should! This issue is basically Colonel Steve Trevor and A.R.G.U.S. big-wig Amanda Waller discussing the formation of their new JLA, who will be on it and why. That's the big question...why? Why a new team?
The answer is simple...the current Justice League has shown it's fallibility...first with the very public battle with and later disappearance of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, then with the clear divide between the League and Aquaman in the just-concluding "Throne of Atlantis" story-line. Worst of all, however (at least to Waller and Trevor's minds) is the "kiss heard around the world." What are the consequences of a romance between Superman and Wonder Woman? What if the two have children? What if they decide to take over? What if they decide to BREAK UP?? These things NEVER end well...thus, the powers that be want to be prepared...and preparation, to the USA, means the ability to beat up the opposition...thus, the Justice League of America...an organization specifically designed to be able to (hopefully) defeat the Justice League. Uh...good luck!
So how is the book? For an issue that's mainly an introduction to various characters, I thought it was great! Interesting premise, good dialogue, great art and an ending with a twist! What more can you ask for??
Of course lots of other comics came out for the week...see the rest after the JUMP!
Action Comics #17 - "Never give up the fight to make this world a better place, son..."
Superman is in gravest peril, under attack by the Fiend from Dimension 5, evil little jerk Vyndxtvx! Being from the 5th dimension, the nasty little man can attack Superman throughout his lifetime all at once, and with the help of his "anti-Superman army", gathered from the far reaches of the multiverse, he is on the verge of killing the Man of Steel! Superman's only hope seems to lie with the time-travelling Legion of Super Heroes and (perhaps) the comatose Mister Mxyzptlk...if he can be woken up and if he even has any power left, being all old and stuck as a human and everything...
The back-up story takes advantage of all the time shifting that's happening due to the main plot, and has a really great moment between Clark and his (now deceased) human father, Jonathan Kent...it's pretty touching.
Don't forget this is the second last Grant Morrison penned issue of Action Comics! The grand finale is scheduled to be released March 6th! What will happen to Superman? Oh and what does LEX LUTHOR have to do with any of it???
Justice League #17 - "This is why the Justice League exists."
Its the final confrontation between the armies of Atlantis and the Justice League (complete with "reserves") as the "Throne of Atlantis" cross-over comes to it's inevitable conclusion!! The League discovers the true cause of the attack on Atlantis that's caused Aquaman's brethren to attempt to sink the city of Boston into the sea! Sadly, the information comes too late, as the time for simple resolutions to this battle has passed! Instead it's a no-holds-barred full on war as the League desperately tries to hold back the Atlantean hordes!
Oh, and then the man-eating denizens of the mysterious Trench (see Aquaman #1) get involved as well! Something is controlling these near-mindless eating machines. Ocean Master suspects Aquaman, and Aquaman of course assumes it must be Ocean Master...can they find the TRUE culprit before everyone becomes fish food?
Red Hood and the Outlaws #17 - "You realize -- even after everything that has happened...This place will always be your home."
In the aftermath of the Joker's attack on the Bat-Family in "Death of the Family", Jason "Red Hood" Todd invites his friends Starfire and Arsenal to Wayne Manor to pick him up and get him the hell out of Gotham City!
Well, it's not all THAT bad...he does want to leave, but there's a lot of chances for some great character moments first...moments I've been waiting for since the series began! Jason and Damian...Jason and Dick...Jason and Alfred...and yes, Jason and BRUCE...it's a bit too much for one day, really. Isn't that the way it always is when the family gets together??
The issue is worth it just to watch Damian and Arsenal "play football". Of course, then that nasty business happens in the second half...oh, Joker, you do like to have the last laugh....
Speaking of Arsenal, he's also featured in DC Universe Presents #17 this week! He battles the Chinese Mafia to save an old friend...or so he thinks! It's great and Roy's a great character that's been growing on me since the New 52 began! Check it out!
Wonder Woman #17 - "See, 'the gods work in mysterious ways' is a phrase we coined...to ignore our obviousness."
Wonder Woman is of course still trying to find and rescue Zola's baby, her little half-brother, and it's becoming more and more of a family affair as the whole Pantheon has to throw their two cents in, apparently. It's a lot of annoyance for Diana, who, as she herself says "Just follows her heart". Since following her heart is part of what caused all this trouble in the first place, perhaps heeding a LITTLE advice isn't such a bad thing? Of course, figuring out whose advice to follow may be the hardest part, when all the little deities have their own agendas and biases.
Meanwhile, the "First Born" of Zeus is also moving about the world. Having already climbed out of Hell and defeated Hades, he now wants his weapons. These were given to his other Uncle, Poseidon...
Green Lantern #17 - "I'm told I should feel honour, responsibility and power wearing this ring. Instead I feel like my strings are being pulled again..."
Simon Baz had no idea what he was getting into when Hal Jordan's old Green Lantern ring found it's way onto his finger. Now he finds himself trapped in an extraterrestrial prison created by the Guardians with the Black Hand breathing down his neck and he doesn't know why or how he got there! All he knows is that Green Lantern B'Dg (the squirrelly guy) told him to find Hal Jordan. Black Hand says Hal Jordan is DEAD. Now what??
Oh, did I forget to mention that, while the Third Army seems to have simply disintegrated, the First Lantern has risen to take their place as a Universe-threatening power! I don't think Simon is too worried about it though...seems like those OTHER Green Lanterns will deal with it in their books. Here in the main title, we'll just worry about surviving long enough to get back home to Earth. Judging by the way this book ends...even that might be impossible!
Catwoman #17 - "This gang of punks have all got skinny ponytails. They're bugging me. I'm not fond of rodents."
Catwoman and her fence/last living companion Gwen are planning to steal some artwork from the Gotham museum...an easy heist and mainly just for something to do. It pays the bills, and after the last few issues, Catwoman's off stealing gems for a while...
Well, the job is simple enough for Selina to complain of boredom...except once again, luck is against poor Selina, as at the same time she's robbing the museum, some other dork is as well! Not only that, he's terrible at it...and if gets nabbed, so does she. Oh, and of course the idiot thief in question is the smallest fish in a much larger pond...one that could be causing some much larger problems very soon...
Supergirl #17 - "Don't fight us Kara. Help us. Help us save this world!"
Supergirl has fallen for H'El's promises to restore her home planet of Krypton without hurting the Earth, just as she's fallen for HIM as "H'El on Earth" continues here! Of course H'El's been lying all along, and now, as the Earth's sun is reacting to having it's power drained away into the Star Chamber (which is supposed to take H'El and Kara back in time so that they can stop Krypton's destruction...somehow) she MUST finally open her eyes and see her new boyfriend's lies!
Unfortunately, Supergirl's a stubborn, block-headed teenage girl, so the truth may just need to be BEATEN into her...and who better to do that than Wonder Woman?? She's got a LASSO of TRUTH and FISTS of FURY!! If anyone can make Kara see that she's on the wrong team, it'll be her! Right?
Oh Kara also finally notices and mentions that disappearing/reappearing backwards "S" logo that's carved into H'El's chest. She even asks about it, but with no response...what's that all about?
Nightwing #17 - "You realize the man literally cut of his own face, yes? Are you really that concerned with his opinion?"
Dick Grayson is having a hard time coming to terms with everything that's gone wrong and all that he's lost in the last few months, in particular in the last issue at the hands of the Joker. His first girlfriend Raya tried to kill him, and then the Joker broke her out of prison only to kill her! Then the Clown Prince of course killed Jimmy the Clown just for favouring a similar colour scheme. Finally, he utterly defeated and embarassed Nightwing and BLEW UP Haly's Circus, nearly killing the entire troupe! Although the other performers did manage to live, it seems that they now want NOTHING to do with Dick Grayson or Nightwing. Oh, and while the insurance money on the circus will pay off the bank, Dick Grayson's personal money was also invested in the circus and is now also up in smoke!
So you can see why Nightwing is in a bad mood. So bad, in fact, that Damian "Robin" Wayne has to restrain him from going over the edge! Ironic role-reversal there...it wasn't all that long ago that Dick was "Batman" and making Damian learn restraint! I miss their partnership...perhaps the current Boy Wonder can help the original regain his perspective!
Birds of Prey #17 - "Dead or Alive, it's always been about my husband. Doesn't matter if it's real or I'm just going crazy..."
The final issue of Birds of Prey with the current creative team this month sees Black Canary and the rest trying to deal with the effects of a massive power outage in the streets of Gotham...a power outage caused by Black Canary when she accidentally blew up a power station with her malfunctioning "Canary Cry" last issue! No time to figure out exactly what's wrong with the girl, as there's some high-tech looting going on! Some crazy black-ops team with these little flying robots appears...little robots that can sense a human heart beat and rush right in to zap it into oblivion! Oh and since Black Canary is afraid to use her power, there's no easy way to deal with THIS problem. At least the Birds' newest member, the former Talon known as Strix, has a chance. She hasn't got much of a heartbeat to speak of! Problem is, she isn't too keen on anyone but Batgirl right at the moment...
*NEW!* Vibe #1 - "If you want Justice -- Get in the car."
Right along with Justice League of America #1 comes this solo book about one of the founding members, Vibe! This book tells us a bit about the character, his origins and motivations, for those like me who've never even HEARD of Vibe before. His real name is Cisco Ramon and he gained vibration powers by being stuck in the event horizon of a boom tube 5 years ago when Darkseid invaded the Earth and the ORIGINAL Justice League was formed. Oh, at the same time, his older brother died. Bad trade...especially since Vibe's main power is the ability to be blurry in photographs. Of course, the fine folks at A.R.G.U.S. think he has potential...potential they can use in the new JLA!
And that's it for this week! Oh, BTW here's the cover for the Arsenal issue of DC Presents I mentioned above:
Do I read a lot of comics, or what?
New Comic Book Day tomorrow! One that I'm VERY excited about, despite being pretty upset that DC Comics and the NY Post decided to SPOIL issue #8 of Batman Incorporated. Click HERE if you want to know what's going on, but I'd wait if I were you...
Here why not read a little Stryder's Dementia instead, and then check out the spoilers AFTER you've read the comic...
All right that's it for real...hope everyone has a great week! Get thee behind me, February! Peace!
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