Doomsday Clock Part 1

Bought at Boocup, Kerry Parkside Mall, Pudong, Shanghai, China

Title: Doomsday Clock
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2019
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor:Brian Cunningham, Robin Wildman

Hardcover collection of the first six issues of Doomsday Clock, a DC-Universe/Watchmen crossover.

So first of all, The Watchmen did not need a sequel. It stands very well on its own, and the self-contained story and universe of the Watchmen is in some ways part of the point of why it is so good.

That being said, a lot of this was entertaining, even if in places it felt a bit like reading Watchmen fanfic.

We get a new Rorschach, and he's a pretty interesting character. We get a new pair of costumed criminals from the Watchmen universe with a solid backstory and pretty interesting chemistry between them.

We also get the return of a number of key Watchmen players, including (of course) some brought back from the dead).

And we get Superman, the Batman, the Joker, and a bunch of DC heroes and villains. The Watchmen world (I'm sure it's been given an Earth-Number, because of course it has, but I don't know which it is and whether it's a number between 1 and 52) is descending into nuclear war after Adrian Veidt's attempt to force world peace has, to the surprise of no one as Lex Luthor snarkily points out, collapsed under the weight of human nature.

And things aren't much better on Earth, um, is it 1 or 2 these days? Anyway, in whatever slightly-off version of the standard DC Universe this is, there is a conspiracy theory that claims that almost all superheroes and villains are actually government agents simply playing their roles while the US government, well, controls them.

This conspiracy has taken hold of the public consciousness and the result is anti-superhero (dare we say, anti-mask?) sentiment in the streets and rising international tensions. In short, similar circumstances that the Watchmen world faced in the original story.

And somewhere, Doctor Manhattan is manipulating things from behind the scenes.

This collection covers six issues and spends a lot of the time introducing the new characters, which is fine because they're pretty interesting. The rest of it alternates between a fairly intriguing plot with many moving pieces, an assortment of bits that are just violence for the sake of showing that various characters are violent, and bits from a series of Nathaniel Dusk noir films that play a similar role in this series to Tales of the Black Freighter.

Overall, this was an interesting enough story to keep me entertained. It's certainly no Watchmen, but that may be an unfair standard of comparison. A lot of attention to detail went into this, it's visually effective and introduces new characters that hold their own in the company of some iconic creations.

Rating: 6/10

Action Comics #957

This is the last of the small stack of DC Rebirth tie-ins that I picked up over the summer. Like most of these, this one came from one of the Newbury Comics locations that I visited.

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #957
Date: August, 2016
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Patrick Zircher
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Mike Cotton, Paul Kaminski
Cover: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Sonia Oback

As I mentioned in my review of Detective Comics #934, I love the fact that DC has restored the original numbering to these two long-running series. Looking forward to checking out Action Comics #1000 somewhere down the road!

In the meantime, though, this issue is something of a soft reboot for Superman. The original Superman is missing, possible dead (well, "Dead in the DC Universe", anyway). With Metropolis missing its greatest hero, Lex Luthor has stepped in, with what basically looks like his version of John Henry Irons' Steel suit, complete with Superman chest-shield symbol and cape.

This does not sit well with one Clark Kent, currently moving into a home in upstate New York (Maryland? Anyway, it was upstate somewhere) with his wife and newly-super-powered son. This, apparently, is a Superman from one of the (52? Is that still a thing?) alternate Earths in the multiverse.

He confronts Luthor with predictable results, but if Superman is battling Luthor, then who is the Clark Kent who just showed up to cover the story for the Planet?

In spite of all the multi-universe nonsense going on, this was a really well-paced story that was told in a nicely straightforward and logical way. Even with it being something of a weird situation in terms of continuity, this issue succeeds both as a jumping-on point for new readers, and as a fun entertaining read.

As a side note, nice to see Maggie Sawyer back in action.

Also, excellent cliffhanger ending with a least a reasonable attempt at a logical buildup.

Rating: 7/10

Superman #206

 Here's another comic that I got at Free Comic Book Day 2014 at New England Comics in Quincy MA. Once again, this was an extra giveaway, and not one of the official FCBD books.

Title: Superman
Issue: 206
Date: August, 2004
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Penciler: Jim Lee
Inker: Scott Williams
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Will Dennis, Eddie Berganza
Cover: Jim Lee

This continues a storyline (I review issue #205 here) involving Superman attempting to intervene to stop a war in the Middle East, as told through the frame of Superman talking with Father Leone, the Metropolis priest who has served as an informal spiritual advisor to the Man of Steel.

In this issue, Superman recounts the end of the civil war, and his actions once he realized that victory for rebel General Nox is inevitable.

I'm still enjoying the approach of no easy answers for Superman in this storyline. The situation in the fictional country where it is set is complex and constantly changing, and Superman is just trying to do good, even if it means he must give his support to Nox, who has his own insurance policy in the form of super-soldier Equus.

There is some nice buildup to a full battle with Equus. Superman's frustration comes through loud and clear as circumstances keep preventing him from having that confrontation.

This continues to be a good, complex story.

Rating: 7/10

Justice League Dark #5

One of the remaining comics from when I was buying a lot of DC's early New 52 titles.

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 5
Date: March 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Chris Conroy, Matt Idelson
Cover: Ryan Sook

This is the conclusion to the opening storyline of the series, and it manages to wrap things up without actually ending with, well, a team. A lot of the wrap-up feels overly convenient too.

The opening sequence name-drops some character in other DC Universe books (all characters under the general umbrella category of "Dark"), but they are really not instrumental to the story at all. It comes off more as a clumsy way of trying to get readers into checking out more titles.

There is also, once again, little in the way of feelings of long-term consequences for all the mayhem that has been unlesashed on the world. When it's all said and done, it's the team going their separate ways, and the reader knowing full well, they'll be dragged back together next issue.

The character of John Constantine does shine through very nicely here. He absolutely steals the show both in his serious moments, and with his more silly spots. The results of Deadman attempting to posses his mind are hilarious. This issue is essentially all Constantine, and that is a good thing. Unfortunately it is the only good thing

Rating: 5.5/10

Forever Evil #1

Massive crossover in the New 52. I guess some things never change.

Title: Forever Evil
Issue: 1
Date: November 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: David Finch
Inker: Richard Friend
Colorist: Sonia Oback
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Kate Stewart, Brian Cunningham
Cover: David Finch, Richard Friend, Sonia Oback

It's major crossover time at DC. Actually, considering that this is a direct follow-up to Trinity War, it seems like it's pretty much always major crossover time at DC.

But this one is particularly major. The Crime Syndicate arrives on Earth, having apparently killed off the Justice League. I didn't actually read Trinity War, so I'm not really sure what the deal is, and I'm not really sure I'd have any idea what the deal is if I had read Trinity War, so let's just humor them for the moment.

The Crime Syndicate are essentially alternate-Earth evil twins of the Justice League with variants on their powers and weaknesses.

Anyway, they arrive on Earth, bust a bunch of villains out of prison and recruit a bunch more, and beat up Nightwing because he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is all setting up a massive conflict between these off-world villains, and Earth's regular villains, although for the moment everyone is all pals because, hey, we're all evil. Forever evil.

The art is pretty, and it's gimmicky with a gigantic center fold-out crowd scene. Apparently there is a 3d cover variant for those collectors who want to party like it's 1994.

But the main problem with this issue is that not a whole lot happens. The best action takes place either before (what really happened to the Justice League), or is yet to come (okay, now that the Crime Syndicate is here and has assembled this big group of villains, what are they actually going to do?). The introduction of the new villains takes longer than it needs to, and the Nightwing subplot didn't actually seem particularly intense or interesting.

This story does have some potential, and DC has a huge slate of crossovers planned (at least one issue of all 52 titles, plus this series itself), but that is also a ton of investment in time/$ for a story that so far feels phoned in.

Rating: 5/10

Justice League Dark #4

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle
Cover: Ryan Sook

Four issues and and the team is still being assembled.

At least the heroes were acting a bit more heroic this time around, although Zatanna continues to be pretty much useless in every situation. Deadman, surprisingly, is actually pretty effective. Constantine is a jerk, as usual, but at least he's staying in character.

This issue also gave some attention to Madame Xanadu's personal problems, interspersed with occasional glimpses of mayhem that the Enchantress is causing, which seem strangely out of place. I felt like we needed to see some news reports or at least some more extended reactions to all of this random horror that is being inflicted on the world. Instead, it feels like Milligan is just brainstorming shocking ideas and presenting a few panels of each without follow-up (Look! Children turning evil and stabbing their caretakers! Look! People being driven insane by banal music that they hear in their heads! Look! Mass murder at the mall!). The reader is meant to be shocked by the images, but not to actually spend time contemplating the long-term repercussions of these events, because we need to get back to assembling the team to defeat the Enchantress.

Can we just assemble to team, already?

Better issue than the last couple, but STILL operating way below potential.

Rating: 5/10

Justice League Dark #3

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle
Cover: Ryan Sook

Boy did the pacing on this ever slow to a crawl. Enchantress babbles on the side of a road while Constantine wakes up Zatanna from the coma we left her in last issue. Apparently, that entire scene actually accomplished nothing.

Meanwhile, Deadman describes his actions in the previous issue as "I was a jerk" and then hints that it might not even have been his fault. I'll be sticking with my previous assessment that what he should be saying is "I was an attempted rapist."

But that would probably slow down the plot, wouldn't it?

Not that we're exactly going at a breakneck pace here. Shade tries to contact Deadman and Deadman does the mystical equivalent of sending his call directly to voicemail while June Moone screams, panics, falls off a roof, and requires saving. Because she's a girl, I suppose. I might be a bit harsh with that last point, but seriously, can anyone imagine them actually doing that same reaction with a male character? I can't.

The rest of the book involves Shade tracking down some guy called Mindwarp because he's an out-of-control psycho and therefore would make a great addition to the team. That scene gets as far as "We need to talk."

Then it's back to the Enchantress and just as it looks like she might actually get to do something to June and Deadman, we're done.

I really want to like this title. Really. And I was willing to give another chance even after the nonsense with Deadman last issue. But this issue consisted of that whole thing being brushed off just like I expected it would and, well, pretty much nothing else of consequence. I did enjoy the interaction between Zatanna and Constantine, but otherwise, this issue did not go far in terms of winning me back. Actually, it simply didn't go far at all.

Rating: 3.5/10

Justice League Dark #2

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle
Cover: Ryan Sook

This issue was impressive visually, but I had a lot of problems with it story-wise.

First there's Zatanna. Remember how last issue she hexed (dexhe?) the Batman because she thought she'd be better off handling Enchantress on her own? Well, in this issue she gets to match sorcery with Enchantress and Zatanna accomplishes essentially nothing. Or, as she would say, she gets ylhguoroht decnuort.

(Aren't you glad the New 52 didn't include a Zatanna solo comic? I would SO be writing the entire review sdrawkcab).

On to a much more serious problem.

Then there's Boston Brand and Dove, who are apparently dating. Actually by the end of this they're pretty much reset their relationship status to "it's complicated". Why? Because Deadman keeps wanting to engage in some fooling around while in possession of someone's body. Okay, I get what Milligan is going for here. Brand is cursed with his ghostly, invisible status and the only way he can think of to actually get some physical affection is to have a convenient possessed body on hand.

Except that there is a word for forcing someone to unwillingly engage in sex. It's called rape. And you know what? If you do it by spiritual possession using superpowers, it's still rape.

I haven't followed Deadman's adventures all that much. I get the impression that Boston Brand isn't exactly Lawful Good on the old alignment chart. But nothing I've ever read about him before suggested rapist.

And no, I don't care that he doesn't actually go through with it. He tries it TWICE, and the only thing that stops it from happening is that Dove actually has a bit of morality.

I'd feel better about the scenes if I thought that the full implications were really going to get addressed, but the impression I got was that this was all a ploy to make the Deadman character somehow "edgy", and that it will all get glossed over or never mentioned again. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but that looks like the direction the story is heading in.

Constantine gets the one really good scene in this issue, and it ends with one of those "shocking" twists that seems to come out of left field, because, well, it pretty much DOES come out of left field.

The overall plot is developing fairly well, but the business with Deadman (and to a lesser extent the uselessness of Zatanna) really ruined this one for me.

Rating: 4/10

Blue Beetle #1

As of right now, tomorrow's review of Superboy #1 will be the last of my reviews of New 52 first issues. I have two more titles that were of mild interest (Blackhawks and Teen Titans), but the #2's are starting to pile up and #3's on their way soon, and I've got a backlog of books picked up at cons this year as well. So I'm going to try to post some kind of wrap-up of the #1's in the next day or two before I start reading any of the #2's.

Title: Blue Beetle
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Tony Bedard
Penciler: Ig Guara
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Pete Pantazis
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Alex Ogle, Eddie Berganza

Opening sequence takes place long ago and in a galaxy far, far away, and the retcon is being applied with a shovel. It's also one of those annoying sequences where we're supposed to be impressed because we see one dude taking on an entire planet's armed forces and winning singlehandedly. Hint to DC: This does not make the bad guy look impressive. It makes the victims look like idiots. Fortunately, much like the "war" that is being depicted, this scene is over quickly.

The real point is to establish that the Beetle scarab is part of a techno-insectoid collective called the Reach (and they are really reaching when it comes to thinking up original names). The Reach are BAD guys. They "assimilate" locals, turn them into unstoppable monsters, and then "coccoon" entire planets, presumably to eat later. They are a universe-level threat and the only force standing in their way is Starfleet Jedi Knights Sailor Scouts the Green Lantern Corps.

Only, that was then, and this is now. One of their scarabs has been sitting around on Earth waiting for an archaeologist or two to go "Hey, look! A cursed artifact of unknown origin! This belongs in a museum! But I think I'll sell it to the highest-bidding unscrupulous relic dealer instead!"

Actually, it appears to be a feud between a couple of black market types and they've each brought in their own team of third-rate super villains. A huge brawl follows and when it's all said and done, the one still standing with the scarab is... Ted Kord Jaime Reyes.

See, there's another plot going on here and it involves El Paso teenager Jaime Reyes, who just wants to play soccer and go to the quinceanera of the cute girl he has the crush on. You know, the girl with the rich aunt who's in the black market artifact-selling business. Reyes was the previous Blue Beetle reboot, and is now being re-rebooted. I'm sure that the Ted Kord fans would have preferred it if he'd just been plain booted. But no such luck. There's an explosion and the backpack containing the scarab literally falls out of the air into the car that Reyes is riding in. One thrown knife later and scarab-mania is about to run wild, but unfortunately we're out of time, so tune in for issue 2.

Okay, this actually wasn't terrible. Well, the opening scene really WAS terrible, but it got better. Reyes has generic teen issues, but the book introduced a pretty multifaceted cast of supporting characters. And while I'm iffy about any villain that shares a name with a toothbrush, the Reach have the potential to be a fairly interesting cosmic-level threat at some future point. Their technology certainly provides some nice visuals, and its ability to shift and reassemble provides a nice counter for the constructs of the Green Lantern rings.

And I also liked the portrayal of Reyes in his first action scene, where loyalty to his friend gave him the courage to act. Comics could use more heroes who act heroic.

Rating: 6/10

All Star Western #1

Back to reviewing the new lineup from DC. This is their new "western" title. Except that it takes place in the East.

Title: All Star Western
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Artist: Moritat
Colorist: Gabriel Bautista
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Kate Stewart, Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Moritat

Since when is Gotham City WESTERN? It's in New Jersey! I actually think that DC missed a good opportunity to title this comic Gotham By Gaslight, a name that they own and which might bring in the steampunk crowd.

Regardless, we are indeed in Gotham City, and Jonah Hex is in town, teaming up with early forensic psychologist Amadeus Arkham to track down Jack the Ripper the Gotham Butcher.

There's a young prostitute who knows Hex and manages to pass along some useful information once he's done laying a beatdown on the locals in a barroom brawl. She's actually a likeable character (Hex and Arkham really aren't). So of course she gets killed off in the next scene. This is the old west east! People weren't likable back then! Or if they were, it meant they were DOOMED! Oh, and women who do things like work as prostitutes or stand up to the hero need to be put in their place, of course.

Other than the rather blatant refrigerator moment, the rest of this book is simply dull. The serial killer (or killers; conspiracy theories and secret societies are hinted) acts like every TV serial killer. Arkham spouts Freudian analysis, but manages to come up with no insights about either the killer or Hex (who receives the bulk of the psychobabble) that are actually interesting or surprising.

Populating the city with the ancestors of characters from the current Batman continuity is a clever touch, although the handling of Mayor Cobblepot is ham-fisted. The character basically IS the Penguin.

This was the first book I've read in the "New 52" that really felt LONG. And not in a good way. Between Arkham's incessant psychoanalysis in caption form and a succession of scenes of Hex beating people up for no reason that actually made any sense, the book just seemed to drag on an on.

Rating: 3/10

Justice League Dark #1

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle, Eddie Berganza
Cover: Ryan Sook

Interesting. This was the title that I had the highest hopes for among the "New 52". I loved Milligan's writing on Shade: The Changing Man for Vertigo, and this title pairs him back up with Shade and also lets him play with John Constantine. Upon reading the comic I found that it managed to hit several pet peeves of mine, but the writing was good enough in parts to leave me feeling good about the book overall.

We open with Madame Xanadu, who has a surprisingly bored expression for a person who's just had a vision of future doom. Tarot cards are scattered through the scene with pictures of characters on them: Zatanna (wit pants!) as the Magician, Enchantress as the Hanged Man (actually, just "The Hanged"; which, of course would be different from "The Hung"). Deadman is Death. You'd think Death would be Death, but I guess they decided not to bother getting the courtesy okay from Gaiman. June Moone is the Fool. Some dude I didn't recognize is the Sickness. Apparently we're not playing with the standard Ryder-Waite deck here. Shade is the Madness. And John Constantine is... cut off at the bottom of the page. Tease!

June Moon is walking around reciting rhymes while dozens of clones of her commit mass suicide via highway.

Scene with Shade and Kathy follows, and it's a total continuity-rewriting sucker-punch, but it's handled so well and is such a shock that I was okay with it. Some Shade fans are not going to be (although Milligan wrote in some wiggle room).

Scene shifts to Enchantress, who's in a farmhouse in the midwest and she's spreading madness out to the surrounding countryside. This is the kind of thing that Milligan is awesome at, and his madness effects are sick, twisted, and clever.

But then we hit one of my big pet peeves in comics. The idea here is that the regular Justice League can't handle this kind of threat, so the Justice League Dark has to get formed. Unfortunately this idea is conveyed in a throwaway scene where Enchantress' magical defenses thoroughly trounce Superman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman. I don't like scenes that arbitrarily have the bad guy easily overpower the most powerful forces on the planet just to convince the readers that they are a major threat. This does nobody any good. Superman, Wonder Woman Cyborg, and the Batman (who's watching the scene from the JLA monitor room) all look like chumps, but the reader knows that this is just a plot device, so it really doesn't actually do Enchantress any favors either. And when it comes down to it, the book didn't need this scene. It could simply have been Zatanna on duty and she decides to call in magical talent to handle a magical threat.

It also didn't help that Zatanna decided to do a bit of backwards-talking (backtalk?) to keep the Batman from trying to help her. Because, when given the choice between going into a dangerous situation with or without the Batman on your side, the clear answer is to do it without. I'm somewhat hoping he punches her in the face when this mission is over, but that seems unlikely (even though he'd totally do that to Guy Gardner if he pulled the exact same stunt.

Another interesting detail. Apparently they can show Superman and Cyborg getting cut to a bloody mess (in a storm of magical teeth!), but Wonder Woman doesn't get a scratch, just a concerned expression before the scene fades and a caption informs us the battle's over and the good guys lost.

The story then very quickly introduces Constantine (used for comic relief here) and Deadman (barely used at all) before we end on Xanadu with Shade and predictions of doom.

Okay, that was a lot of griping. And the story barely got started.

But Milligan is so good on the small details and the creepy touches, that I was still feeling good about this in the end. I think what I love about the potential of this book is summed up in the following exchange:

Xanadu: I saw a gathering of men... And women. Each with their own specialty. You must find these men and women. You must...

Shade: You've finally lost it, Xanadu. The only people I know these days are half-insane or... or damaged goods. Most of them are a danger to themselves.

Xanadu: Exactly.

There is a lot of really awesome stuff here, and I think that once the book is allowed to grow on its own without relying on useless guest appearances by the regular Justice League (or maybe just the occasional reminder that we're still in the DC Universe), that this could get really great.

Rating: 7.5/10

Men of War #1

DC comics returns to the old tradition of war comics with this series from the "New 52".

Title: Men of War
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Ivan Brandon, Jonathan Vankin
Penciler: Tom Derenick, Phil Winslade
Inker: Tom Derenick
Colorist: Matt Wilson, Thomas Chu
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Kate Stewart, Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Viktor Kalvachev

DC's new war comic features (Corporal at the start of the story, sergeant by the time we're done) Joseph Rock, grandson of the classic Sergeant Rock character. He spends about three pages trading military cliches with his commanding officers as they dance around the issue of how Rock is a good soldier, but keeps disobeying orders, but in a way that always seems to work out in the end. The brass sees leadership potential in Rock, but Rock is content as a grunt. After the discussion fails to reach any kind of meaningful conclusion, we head into the thick of the action.

And not just any action. This is warfare in the superheroic age. The actual superheroes function as artillery. They're destructive, come out of nowhere, are not all that accurately targeted, and cause a ton of collateral damage.

Rock gets himself a battlefield promotion (the hard way), but not a whole lot of plot actually happens.

But wait, there's more. When I bought this comic, I didn't notice the $3.99 price tag until I brought it up to the register. I was a bit surprised that a title that doesn't feature a "hot" character got the higher price point. Apparently we are paying the extra buck for a backup story.

So, the backup story is "Navy Seals: Human Shields". The main thing that struck me was how wordy the dialogue was. I just have a very hard time believing that real soldiers in combat talk this much. And to add to the wordiness we get little translations of military terminology like "rocket propelled grenade" (and here I was thinking they meant Dungeons & Dragons) and "rules of engagement".

The main characters are a Navy Seal odd couple. One of them is a pretty straightforward gung-ho marine type. The other guy is a former Peace Corps volunteer who realized that "If you want to do good, it helps to have an assault rifle." You know, like Gandhi and Jesus used to carry. It doesn't help that the writers don't actually include any real details of the character's Peace Corps service, which might have at least made for some interesting background.

The story itself is clearly trying to highlight the moral ambiguities of war with a scared-looking insurgent girl nervously clutching a Kalashnikov. Of course the real threat is a Bin-Laden looking dude who jumps out to ambush the seals just as they decline to shoot the girl. Stereotyping much?

When this book was originally advertised, there was a mention that the new Sergeant Rock would be a Blackwater-style mercenary, so I'm glad that (so far, at least) there was no sign of that particular plot element. I liked the idea of showing warfare in the age of the superhero, and the point-of-view of the grunt on the ground while a Superman-level character wreaks havoc was impressive.

Unfortunately, the backup story was absolutely horrible. I admire the real-life Navy Seals, but these guys just needed to shut up.

There are a lot of important stories to be told about our armed forces serving in the current wars. They need a comic that does a better job of representing them.

Rating: 5/10

Green Arrow #1

More from DC's "New 52".

Title: Green Arrow
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: J. T. Krul
Penciler: Dan Jurgens
Inker: George Perez
Colorist: David Baron
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Sean Mackiewicz, Pat McCallum
Cover: Dave Wilkins

Oliver Queen gets one of the biggest makeovers in the "New 52". He's the owner of a tech corporation now, a fairly blatant ripoff of Apple (there's even a Q-Pad *sigh*). So I guess they're not so much making Ollie into Steve Jobs. They're making him into Tony Stark.

Ollie skips board meetings to travel the world hunting down (third-rate, so far) super-villains. In this case he takes on Dynamix, Doppelganger, and Supercharge in what is essentially an extended jobber squash. Ollie barely breaks a sweat as he dismantles this crew of idiots with an array of trick arrows, plus a few of the old-fashioned pointy kind. Sadly, no boxing-glove arrow, though. No Phantom Zone arrow either. That was a classic one they need to bring back sometime. But really, just one use of the boxing-glove arrow for old-times sake is all I ask!

Ollie has a support team that consist of a woman named Naomi, who is basically a poor imitation of Oracle just by the fact that she is not Barbara Gordon. She seems to wish she was on the support team of someone with fewer scruples about just blowing the bad guys up. Maybe Frank Castle is hiring?

There is also a guy named Jax who reluctantly designs weapons, and he's the best character in the book so far. Which means he'll probably get killed off around issue 3.

Ollie gets in some good lines as he lectures the villains while administering a beatdown. The experienced team of Jurgens and Perez does a great job with the art, and the action is fast-paced without losing attention to detail.

This is one of the more radical departures for a classic character that we've seen in the "New 52", and I had a bit of a hard time reconciling this corporate version of Ollie with the fight-the-power aging hippie version from earlier series. I did think this version was a huge improvement over the (awful) "corporate" version of Ollie presented in one of the Flashpoint crossovers. This character is at least competent and heroic.

Dinah is also conspicuous in her absence, and I'm hoping they have plans to get her involved somehow.

But this is an enjoyable, entertaining superhero book, and the series definitely hit the ground running.

Rating: 6.5/10

Action Comics #900

What can I say? I'm a sucker for these "big number" milestone issues, and Action Comics has the highest number in comics, now at #900. Picked this one up at Newbury Comics today, day of release.

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #900
Date: June 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Cornell, Damon Lindelof, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Richard Donner, Derek Hoffman
Art: Pete Woods, Jesus Merino, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Rags Morales, Adrian Syaf, Jamal Igle, Jon Sibal, Gary Frank, Ryan Sook, RB Silva, Rob Lean, Miguel Sepulveda, Brian Stelfreeze, Matt Camp
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Blond, Java Tartaglia, Paul Mounts
Letterer: Rob Leigh, John J. Hill
Cover: David Finch
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson

Issue #900! Wow! That is a lot of comics.

As is typical for these milestone issues, this one is extra-long and loaded with backup features.

The main story serves two purposes. First it wraps up the ongoing Lex Luthor plotline about Lex seeking out the ultimate power needed to destroy Superman. Meanwhile, it's also setting up a new plot that's a fun little variant on the famous Reign of the Supermen storyline that followed up the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday.

Unfortunately, the problem with giving a villain godlike omnipotence is that the universe still needs to be intact when it's all said and done. We know going in that no matter what Luthor does with his newly acquired cosmic powers (acquired through a rather convoluted pathway that involved black power rings, the Phantom Zone, and something called the Zone Child), we're going to be hitting the reset button by the end of it. It's just a matter of how interesting the ride is going to be. In this case, it's inconsistent. Luthor tortures Superman in an effort to "break" him, by having him re-experience his greatest losses. This seems a rather futile strategy, since Superman has already proven his resilience in the face of those very events. It does set up one really clever scene in which Luthor searches for the worst moment of Superman's life, expecting to find some sort of planetary-scale tragedy, and instead finds some true insight into what Superman is really all about.

Of course moments later it's time to cue up the convenient amnesia. We do get a nice little cameo by Death, but little else of consequence happens either in the main plot or in the Doomsday subplot, which simply engages in a stalling action to set the scene for the next issue.

Next come the backup stories. The first of these "Life Support" by Damon Lidelof and Ryan Sook, is far and away the best thing in this issue. It focuses in on a very small, but very important moment in Superman's history and does so with a strong plot, a good sense of mystery, and some powerful emotional content. The art is understated, but still among the best in this issue, which is saying a lot because this issue is loaded with strong visuals.

"Autobiography" is a conversation between Superman and an ancient alien being about the choices made when interacting with other species. It's a good bit of science fiction, especially for those fond of pondering "prime directive" type dilemmas.

Next up is the (seemingly) obligatory comedy piece, "Friday Night in the 21st Century", which serves as an excuse to 1) mock Lois Lane a bit (apparently she has a messy desk and is a bad cook) and 2) have a gratuitous appearance by the Legion of Super Heroes. Harmless fluff.

"The Incident" is an attempt at a political story, and it almost works really well. The President's national security advisor has a clandestine meeting with Superman to discuss an incident that too place in Iran. Apparently, Superman decided to sit in on a protest in Tehran. This doesn't sit well with the US government who feel like diplomacy should be handled the old-fashioned way (you know, by sending in Hillary Clinton). The actual Iran stuff was great. Absolutely brilliant discussion about the true limitations of Superman's effectiveness in solving the world's problems. But then the story takes things a step too far with Superman deciding that he is going to renounce his US citizenship. Look, I'm no ultra-patriotic conservative, but I respect tradition. "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" may be something that was made up for the TV version of Superman, but it's become ingrained as part of the Superman tradition and mythology, and I have a hard time with Superman going against those ideals, even if it might make logical sense for him to consider himself more of a "world citizen". It's too bad, because this detail seems hastily thrown in and unnecessary to the story being told here.

Last story is an odd screenplay/storyboard sequence featuring a rival of Clark Kent's who is using a STAR Labs suit to gain superpowers and challenges Superman to a "friendly" competition. This had a bit of a Silver Age flavor to it, and featured some good interaction between Superman and Lois.

Finally, a Brian Stelfreeze two-page pinup showing different character designs for Superman ends the issue. Interestingly the "current" Superman is shown holding an American flag. Mixed messages?

This issue is artistically excellent from David Finch's cover to the cosmic Lex Luthor sequences to the Doomsday fight to some great illustration in different styles for the backup stories. It's the kind of visual feast you expect from a milestone issue. The stories themselves were generally good for what they were. I had a few gripes, but for the most part this was an enjoyable read.

Rating: 7/10

Action Comics #894

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #894
Date: December 2010
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Cornell, Nick Spencer
Art: Pete Woods, RB Silva, Dym
Colorist: Dave McCaig, Brad Anderson
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson

Yup, that's Death on the cover, straight out of the pages of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. And she's here to have a little conversation with Lex Luthor. Lex: "And I suppose you're claiming to be Death. You don't even look like him." Death: "Are you looking for the scythe? Or the skis?" Ha! First of all, kudos to Pete Woods who does a gorgeous rendition of Gaiman's classic character. Luthor, as might be expected, tries everything he can think of to get out of the plight he's in, right down to playing for sympathy. Death, as might be expected, greets all of this with mild amusement and a touch of curiosity. Paul Cornell does the best he can in a story where he's basically handcuffed. He can't actually kill Luthor, he can't really have Luthor defeat Death like she's some rival super-villain, and he can't even really answer even the most obvious of questions because DC comics isn't in the business of giving definitive answers about the existence of God, the nature of the universe, and what happens to souls (if there even are such things) after death (or, in this case, after Death). Along the way we do get Lex admitting that he's an atheist, which makes reasonable sense. He's forced to admit that Death is what she is, but he's not ready to acknowledge any supreme being (aside from himself, of course). While the plot doesn't really go anywhere, the dialogue is quite good throughout, and it's refreshing to see these familiar characters having a chance to talk philosophy for a bit. The discussion of what Luthor would want in an afterlife was quite interesting.

Backup story has Jimmy Olsen playing escort to a group of aliens who are scouting Metropolis for a location to hold a massive party. Why come to Earth to party? Well, as it turns out, oxygen gets this species drunk. Jimmy really should have taken the keys to the spaceship from the cute alien girl before she started driving. Some aspects of the story are a bit over-the-top. It would have worked just fine without it turning into a planet-threatening (but still played for laughs) scenario. But that being said, it was pretty funny, and I enjoyed this depiction of "Superman's Pal". Nice mix of hip, nerdy, cocky, and clever. Good silly fun to balance out all the deep philosophy in the main story.

Rating: 7.5/10