Simon DelMonte's Profile

Is that really what the three circles are for? Is that new? Good comic book with some fun stuff, and a Farscape vibe. But I tried to read the Wiki for what I missed in Imperial, and now my head hurts. (Are there zero democracies in Marvel space?)

Solidly entertaining with good art, but when are we getting to the fireworks factory?

After several years of generally entertaining Gargoyles comics and crossovers, alas we hit a bad bump. One that makes little sense and is not very entertaining. Can we get back to the actual Gargoyles comics?

Given how little I like pro wrestling or DC KO, this is pretty good.

Solid, focused, and fun, with the best balance of the oversized cast yet.

Once you buy that Sam Lane would send an untrained teenager into a war zone, this is a total tour de force combining modern sensibilities with Silver Age and Bronze Age continuity. How Waid handles what Lana should be like is worth a rave review by itself. But then we recreate a classic Silver Age moment, and it just gets better. Never mind tying together Cyborg's sonic cannon and Sonic's weapon. How does Mark think of these things?

Fun but falls apart at the end, and I thought if we learned anything from Identity Crisis, it's that mind wipes are BAD.

Halfway through and I am still not sure where this is going, but at least the art is good and the characters are well portrayed. But the joke is on Blue Beetle thinking he's a magic user.

A bit of an anticlimax as all the work was over and all that was left was the big reveal, only it's not that big unless someone at DC follows up on it. And wow, the entire DC superhero community now looks like a pack of idiots for letting this happen. But still fun overall.

Entertaining as MacKay manages to split the difference between who Rick was and who he is now, but is this approach sustainable?

Sadly, this was instantly forgettable. Literally. I can't remember anything of the plot. I know I liked it till I finished it, but it's gone now.

A solid ending to a solid miniseries that gives long time fans a better sense of what makes Demona tick.

Delightfully wacky fun.

Lightweight but fun and sweet, with great art, and it's nice to read something set at the holiday season that is not about the meaning of Christmas. Plus Bronx has kittens on him.

More juvenile objectification. Ick.

An excellent retelling of Mr. Terrific's origin. My only issue is that John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake aren't given any credit for creating Michael or writing his origin.

Solid but I feel like it's still all setup.

A very well plotted caper, though I am starting to wonder if how the JLU does things makes much sense. (And why are all those heroes always there? Don't they have lives?)

Sheer fun, even if there is no chance you can figure out where this comes in current continuity.

Just a fun and sweet comic that really makes hay of the idea of a 21st century Superboy.

Solidly entertaining and getting its feet. But when did Cammi grow up so much?

Entertaining but I really can't care less about DCKO.

Whoever this guy is, he's not Captain Atom. Or at least the one I liked in the 80s.

Pretty good first issue but it's so many years later and there's still no Nova Corps?

Seriously, Christians, enough with Santa!

Now at the point where we get padding to stretch out things to six issues.

Another solid fun issue. I think Waid really does so much better when he doesn't have to cope with present day DC chaos.

More of the same. Good art, solid characterization, but the story has too much happening to squeeze in as many ideas as possible. Did we need this twice?

Solid but a bit muddled.

I like this John Stewart a lot more. Can we be done with the talking ring and the fake sister? I also like a hero trying to move beyond just locking them up and throwing away the key.

Takeaways: - Screwed up continuity is not a bug, it's a feature - DC really is too reliant on events and changing the tieeline now - There have been SO MANY new characters since 2011 that went nowhere. (Really, the only additions to the DCU that has any staying power are Monkey Prince and the Super-Man of China. (Gee, the same writer did both!) - Waid is great and all, but even he cannot make the screwed up history interesting. - DC is about as unfriendly to new readers as ever.

Adams really has a great grasp on Hal now, even if I am not quite sure he knows what to do with him.

A great ending to a great series, with a fun rejoined by Waid and Samnee to O'Neil old insistence that Batman never makes public appearances. I want more of this.

So what's going on with John?

I owe Waid an apology. Last month I was annoyed that Gen. Lane was trying to arrest Superboy, since the Army cannot do that legally. Surely Waid knows better. And it turns out, he does. Generally solid story that does right by Clark and by Captain Comet. Though why does Waid mention a superhero team of the past that isn't mentioned in his history of DC?

Fun and well written but overstuffed and simplistic. But also clearly meant for younger readers, which is almost unheard of for a Marvel comic in 2025.

A lot of fun - and it's interesting that someone finally asked "how DID the JLU build its satellite?" - but what's up with Lian? Hero or villain or just a teen?

Strong ending to a story that could have stood to be shorter.

An interesting comic but a bit clunky in spots, and making the Japanese commandant a cannibal skirts crossing the line from trying to depict war crimes to falling back on racist tropes.

Five really good issues setting up a very disappointing and predictable sixth.

A very mixed bag. A Batman so incapable of living without Alfred he's either got a hologram or a hallucination - neither is healthy. Vandal Savage. Those stupid Fraction labels. And in the real world, when you run into people with a car, they get hurt badly. But also a humanistic Batman who tries to actually help and look out for people in need. And that amazing art. I think, maybe, Fraction gets Batman, which is at least a good start. Whether he figures out what to do with him when no one outside Waid has in a while is another story.

Generic characterization for Simon and PG. Could be any GL and any powerful heroine.

There is a welcome calmness here in an age when comics tend to be frenetic but racing to nothing since everything is decompressed. Rucka once more shows he understands how to tell a story. And Scott draws the best comic book cat I have ever seen. But how is Lian that old? Makes no sense within the way comics timelines work.

Very well put together but i feel like we should have been at this place three months ago.

Something is a bit off here. Maybe I just don't really get the whole avatar thing.

I'm not sure how much I buy the premise of replacing everyone with, well, hired goons, but the big switch from the rather bland Grimaldi to actual big name villains has really kicked this comic into overdrive.

An interesting counterpoint to Star Trek's view of emotionless beings - as well as Far Sector's approach - but I am not entirely sure it would work that way. Still, "rational Guy" is a hoot. But dear lord, what is wrong with John Stewart and his sister as a ring construct and his mother in his ring? He needs therapy desperately.

I appreciate Waid trying to interrogate the contradictory ideas of Bizarro World but it's never entirely successful. And is Waid writing too many books now?

The striking cover matches the clever reworking of the Kid Eternity premise. But where's Ted Knight?

A bit on the gory side - this should have been a Black Label comic maybe - but the art and the interaction between our leads is wonderful. And who doesn't love a heist story?

Reminds me of DnA's cosmic Marvel but with more soul.

As ever, the illogice of Bizarro stuff undermines the storytelling, if not fatally.

The interviews are interminable and not worth the money. The Aaron story is fun though hits far too many of the tropes we know Aaron loves to us, and I suspect fans of the ducks who aren't into Marvel are a bit befuddled. And nothing can top Night on Bear Mountain.

Things finally come into focus. Though as ever the art holds it all together.

- Allred is all wrong for this. - There has got to be a better way to tell a history than this. - Wait, Kara and Barry died? How does that mesh even a little with what is actually going on in the current comics? - So we're at like 50 percent pre-Crisis history, 30 percent post-Crisis, and 20 percent post-Flashpoint. What a mess.

If only thinks unfolded slower and we didn't race from character to character.

Good solid comic but we are taking forever to get to the point.

Great art. But the Krypton story could have been told in three pages and really nothing about Krypto makes any sense. Though I have to admit, dogs bore me.

More sure footed than the first part, though I still don't love the Kents being so young.

That is a lot to pay for Dan Jurgens, but he seems to have found new life as a writer so many years after his first go-round on Supes, and he's a lot better than Williamson. But the story here is the art. Redondo might simply be DC's best.

Kind of fluffy, and why not just make the bad guy a talk show host instead of going for something overly contemporary. (A video podcast isn't a podcast, it's just more video!) And if you want to see Jim Gordon and Perry White, much better to read another World's Finest, the one by Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude.

Sokid issue if a bit padded. The scene with Batman asking parenting advice is incredibly unlikely but heartfelt.

Fun and sweet but aims mainly to put all the toys back in the toybox since there is canon yet to come. But what works works so well. Even if I am not quite sure how Uhura is still alive and well.

The art is great - I love the first page and the easter eggs - but it's hard to say this was exciting. Waid did a better job with Marvel's history than with DC's. And really, the stuff at the end is more essential.

Really scattered and characterization that doesn't go with anything I've seen for any of these heroes. Especially Captain Atom, who no one at DC, even his creators, have known how to make interesting since Flashpoint.

Waid is really making it worth our while to read yet another early Robin story. He's so much better than Loeb in The Last Halloween, and matches the beats of the long ago year one story from Dixon.

Volume 1? Really?

Unreadably ugly.

More like Plastic Man: No Point.

First off, people who got the FCBD special had to pay for it after all. That stinks. There is the seed of a good idea but only after yet another retelling of Superman's origin. And the art is surprisingly sketchy. And why isn't Lois Superwoman? And what is the industrial use of kryptonite anyway?

Got this from my shop by accident since it was labeled Lore War. And I really don't know from Shaxs or from Ryan North. But hey, I paid for it, might as well read it. And this was a lot of fun, if at times too determined to be meta. I mean, who can't get behind killing fascists?

In essence the final issue - though in reality not - and a good place to end, with a nifty "machina ex deus" that restores things with panache. Also, i love the all too brief interactions between the four engineers.

Starting off with "Times Past" suggests a deep and unexpected voyage to the past a la the issues in Starman with that label. Alas this was kind of light on calories and story, more filler than anything else. Nice art, though.

Solid but not spectacular first issue with a certain timeless quality that is probably the only way Waid could approach Superboy. But if the Kents are in their 30s or 40s then, just how old is Clark Kent now?

Fun FF story but every FF story of late reads like every other. It's all Waid light. The X-Men story was clunky.

Nothing here begs me to keep reading, though nothing here is bad, either. Except JRjr's art.

I am not sure what is happening but the art is stellar.

Don't care much about We Are Yesterday. Very much care about this comic. Waid does so much better with just Batman, Robin, and Superman than with dozens of heroes.

This story is way too long, and the substitute artist is pretty bad. Plus it's pretty anticlimactic once Firestorm (who Waid has no sense of how to write) can suddenly make kryptonite.

Are we running out of steam? This wasn't bad - how can it be with Xermanico's art? - but it was sort of spinning its wheels. Why is the Spectre without a host again? Why would anyone bring back G'Nort? Something is a bit off.

Where's my typewriter? I have to send a letter to DC demanded this series continue!

I honestly don't like the premise of "time traveling villains from the past" since you know they all fail (and also are really bad teammates). But the execution of the story here is really good, though the art is not. Again, Waid does much better when he isn't juggling sixty heroes and six plots. What is a John Stewart story doing here instead of in his own comic? I have no idea. But I love that someone is finally questioning John being a Marine. Morgan Hampton, however, will raise questions as a Black man that Phillip Kennedy Johnson, white active duty soldier, never will.

A really good story that happens to connect to another comic by the same author that isn't nearly as good. The strength of this and the weakness of that is cast size. A handful of heroes is more than enough to be entertaining. JLU is just too crowded.

A solid finale though a bit crowded. I really wonder what sort of market there is that can't support a comic with both Peter and Miles.

Happy Xermanico is back. But wow, Adams is throwing a lot of stuff at us. Dan Garrett AND Gnort?

Apparently Al Ewing knows DC lore and Batman as well as he knows Marvel lore and the Hulk. His first go round with the Bat is a stunning success. And those name drops of Conway and Milligan suggest his influences are the grounded Batman stories of the former and the weirdness of the latter. The backup story probably sat in a drawer for years, but it's fun and smart, and between the two stories we have a welcome return to the humanistic, even likeable Batman DC so rarely features.

Disappointed that instead of a full length story by Waid and Davis, we are in "the only way to celebrate big events is with inconsequential short comics" mode. Waid still knows how to write the FF, but a story with four splash pages is a waste of his skill. Davis's story is likewise pretty good but minor. Ironically, the story by Andrew Wheeler, who is unknown to me, was the best of the bunch.

Dark doesn't begin to cover it.

Really solid if strange and even disturbing storytelling, with great art and character moments.

Not as the same level as previous issues. I think we really did have too many Metamorphos.

The art is great, but the rest is scattered. The use of a G20 summit felt perfunctory - "those clowns in Congress, what a bunch of clowns" - and while I know Waid developed the Bart pictogram, Bart hasn't been like that in years. (Also, didn't Bart go with Max into the future?) And the new bad guys are...just the old bad guys but at eleven?

The very fan friendly Greg Weisman has said that the direction of the current arc was editorially mandated. It definitely shows, and I assume he also knew that this series would be the latest Marvel comic with a short run. So he does his best with the material at hand, but probably counted down the moments till he could return to Gargoyles.

To a large degree, there is nothing here we have not seen before in terms of rewritten realities and alternate versions of characters. We've even seen it in Trek a few times. but the execution is smart, clever, entertaining, fun, and thought provoking. And Lore an "omega level" threat works so well

Isn't it sad that this run of the mill comic is a breath of fresk air after years of mediocre Batman stories on the flagship title.

Is this the best comic DC is doing now? It's a pity it's only six issues, though it's probably not sustainable. And dear lord, the meta of the Who's Who page with the deeper meta of "marital status" retconned" is hysterical.

The focus on the fate of the Red Lanterns is both welcome and strong, and finally having someone talk to John is good. But please, DC, remember than Shayera is with Carter now. Let's not prioritize the continuity of (very good) animated shows over the continuity of the comics. (Sometimes I think I am the only one who read Vendetti's Hawkman series.)

OK, I guess I should have trusted Waid to make sure Superman's moral compass is working. But the story is both slight and overstuffed.

Is it possible that the character Waid was always born to write is Dick Grayson? If so, can we get him on Nightwing?

The Waid section was quite good, unsurprisingly, thought the notion of a Superboy who was active in 2005 makes me feel odd, and should the 60ish Waid be the one to write that? The Slott part was a muddle, well intended but clumsy with its climate change message and lacking the assurance of his Marvel work. And the Williamson section wobbles a bit. Plus the art was kind of messy, with a Lana Lang who looks 16 as an adult for no reason. This makes me want to read Waid on Action, but not the rest.

Kahless II is not nearly as interesting as the regular cast of this comic. But what is interesting is that Kahless the Unforgettable was not nearly the hero the Klingons say he is, and in fact was just as bad as we were told he was on TOS. Didn't expect that.

DC: We have a new Swamp Thing Mark Waid: I don't like him, so I will shove him aside and use Tefe Holland. DC: Sure, why not? A real slap in the face to people who liked Ram V's series. Also, "magically restoring the Amazon rain forest" feels tone deaf in the face of the actual slow motion doom to it in the real world.

Solid meant and potatoes comics storytelling, though I want more of the classic JSAers.

Man, this is dark. But part two is something of an improvement over part one. My main issue is how much of a loser Plas sees himself as.

The premise is good, the art is great, but the story goes nowhere interesting.

After a solid part one, this one slows to a crawl and then takes a bit misstep with Supes and Lori. For all that Waid says he knows Supes, he somehow thinks it's possible for the most upright and uptight hero of all to do anything with a married woman. It just doesn't fit.

Decompressed storytelling and an editorial mandate to spend time with a likeable but extraneous character leave this one a bit flat. Winding down to the end, and it feels like the series will end up being a waste of Weisman's skill.

Excellent first issue, so much better than the Tamaki miniseries. Confident Zatanna is best Zatanna. Even if the fishnets and heels are hopeless outdated and sexist.

So this Shayera is a different Shayera than the one involved with Carter Hall, right?

Very strong first issue, great art.

Beautiful start to finish.

Waid was born to write Alfred.

Hal's part of the comic is stellar. Kyle's part is just okay.

So much fun. But how is Vandal Savage the commissioner? Zdarsky!!

Early contender for comic of the year.

Note to Mark Waid: THIS is how you write a crowded team book.

Huge leap from issue one.

Great art does not make up for how overcrowded and scattershot this feels. Too many characters, too many plots, and not enough focus. Plus Waid seems to have not actually read Ram V's Swamp Thing series since he is getting Levi Kamel wrong and I don't think he's doing better with Renee, either.

Given how utterly absurd the premise is, this is really well written. Great art.

A bit overcrowded - more guest stars than A Mad Mad Mad World - but a lot of fun. The Elementary saga is really quite well done, even if it takes screen time from our heroes.

This series is just more of a labor of love for Waid than anything set in the present DCU.

Great art, solid characterization, fun story, and just a hint of the meta-commentary that makes Ewing a keeper. Plus you can really hear Malcolm McDowell playing the Mad Mod all over again, ducky.

An interesting comic, but why are we getting Connor Kent here instead of a better division of GLs between the two books?

Strong second part, especially the Scott/Barda/Olivia scenes.

A work of deep beauty that would live with The Inner Light and The Visitor if it were live action.

The ending is kind of muddled, but I like the resolution for Billy and Freddy.

So far, there is little here to distinguish this from Waid's other work with Mora, and way too many cast members. Maybe the stuff with J'Onn is a good starting point for something more.

Solid storytelling though I have no idea where we are going with Elementary.

Painfully twee story that feels like Greg was in the mood to revisit the Faerie Court from Gargoyles but decided not to actually do it in his Gargoyles comics. The art is good, the stuff with the Electros is good, the fairies are annoying.

A good ending for a series that should have lasted a lot longer. I hope someone can do justice to Jaime going forward as I think he might get swallowed in the larger and noisier JLU books.

Not worth six bucks. But still very sweet and charming with some amazing art.

Great art and great character moments for all, but the story is scattered and the ending both rushed and muddled.

Beautiful, heartfelt issue that truly gets to the core of Trek and its characters. If only the art team didn't keep changing.

Very well written and gorgeous first issue. Might this actually be the first New Gods comic since Evanier that makes it?

Just straight silver age fun. With just a few hints of Ewing's more thoughtful and contemporary approach.

A lot of fun, but takes its cues far more from what Waid and Peyer and Kitson did in Flash/GL: The Brave and the Bold than the actual Hard Travelling Heroes stories. Still, this is probably as close as we are getting to classic firebrand Ollie any time soon.

About what I expected, with the parts by Ewing head and shoulders above the rest. The high point was probably the Leopards Eating Faces Party.

Tamaki doesn't seem to like her protagonists to be happy. This was just really as much fun as a Zatanna comic should be. Zee doesn't need angst. And just because this is Black Label doesn't mean we need near nudity. Good art, though.

A set of ideas that only make sense in the confines of a comic book universe. So much of this is rank nonsense, if well executed rank nonsense.

A solid start, but a Justice League book with a cast of 200 is not what I want. The best runs on the League have smaller casts and a chance for the characters to do more than save the day. Plus what will distinguish this from World's Finest, which already acts as a DCU team up book?

The art is great but this is so much more violent than the original Augustyn stories, and for all the Victorian trappings, the big fight is indistinguishable from any standard Batman comic. Would also be nice if Batman were in this comic.

Rushed, but there wasn't enough here to justify a fourth part. Waid has fun writing the JSA, but it feels like a lot of this has been covered before him before Flashpoint. (Heck, he references at least two of his Flash comics here.)

The art is stellar. The story is kind of a muddle, though if the Gls don't know what is going on, why should we?

Some interesting ideas but the execution is flat and quickly forgotten.

Instantly forgettable

Anyone else find this cloying and nonsensical? What is with America's Santa obsession?

The flashbacks are great. The present day stuff is just okay. A bit further away from the usual Diana than Absolute Batman seems to be from regular Batman, but the wheel doesn't really feel reinvented. Still, this is much better than most Wonder Woman comics since Rucka.

I love the Billy-Captain dynamic. A perfect threading of the needle between the idea that Billy and the Captain are different people entirely and that Billy is the Captain. The rest is good but a bit schlepped out.

Not bad, but the decision to focus on Infinity Inc instead of the classic JSAers or the ones who starred in earlier 21st century JSA comics is odd. And as ever, no one remembers the excellent Vendetti Hawkman comic or that he ended up with Shayera Thal and not Kendra Saunders.

Readable, and Watters has a grasp on Nightwing, but instantly forgettable.

The art is excellent, and the story shows promise, but I never quite feel like anyone writing Selina since Brubaker manages to do anything interesting for more than six months. So who knows where this might go? But Gronbekk showed promise with Jane Foster, so this could be worth the time.

I have so many qualms and questions about this - is this just another Elseworlds? Is this just another IP grab? Is this sustainable? - but the art is great and the writing is great. Sometimes I forget that Snyder is really good at this game, even if he's also had a tendency to bite off more than he can chew. For now, this plays to his strengths and is just compelling enough to justify sticking around for a while.

Looks great, reads well, but will it do something new or do something better than Robin: Year One?

A solid and gorgeous story but a bit unfocused.

The art is a bit off, and I don't love the retcon to Janeway making peace with Species 8472. But a really good focus on Paris, and one hell of an ending. The first crossover between the regular and Kelvin timelines since the first movie?

A mess and a miss, since Adams's style and Johnson's don't mesh even a little. Never mind that it's silly to assume everyone read the John Stewart series.

Entertaining but surprisingly slight. And Waid is literally repeating himself, cribbing off a Flash story from the late 90s.

Real waste of time

Another great issue, as we continue to see a side of Jurgens we never saw before. Maybe it's the cussing?

A reminder that the current series is a rarity since most Trek comics are about as boring as the stories here not written by Lanzing and Kelly. At least the Tribble story is readable (and Kirk draws Kirk). The rest are instantly forgettable and the one with Kirk's brother is incomprehensible.

Another fun tie in to an event I am not reading. That is rare talent indeed. Not sure about the John Stewart story, but glad someone remembered he is an architect, and like the new costume.

Loeb, so many years removed from being relevant, and the late great Sale returned to the well one more time, and there is just enough here in Sale's art and some of the characterization to make it worth reading. But lord knows what the series to follow without Sale to stabilize the now-mediocre Loeb will be like.

Sweet and silly tribute to the legend Keith Giffen that probably confused younger readers - in theory this comic's main audience - not familiar with the obscure characters playing along the edges. Though where else are we likely to ever see Laurel Gand again?

Great job capturing the essence of Lore, among other highlights.

The charms of the first two parts, limited though they might be, are gone. This is an ugly and badly written slog that shows limited understanding of Superman and none of Aaron's talent.

That cover does not reflect anything in the comic. Fun but basically a piece of a bigger story, so hard to really judge. Campbell writes a good Freddy, and what she's done to make Uncle Dudley work is pretty clever. But how long will Billy and his alter ego be on the outs?

Fun but lightweight, the sort of thing Waid used to do in between arcs in The Flash, but without the strong narrator voice, it comes up a bit short.

Gabe Hernandez gets it right.

Nothing very compelling here. The planet of supervillain kids in the last Super-Sons series was a lot more interesting.

A decent fight, but not much else.

Two things are true: - This is about as dark a Superman story as we've seen in a long time, and in general it dos not suit Superman. - Aaron has Superman's voice down. So borderline recommended. And the last page does show promise for the finale.

Way way too quick a read. It's about 12 pages of story, not the first time Vendetti has done this. And the fight kind of just stopped. But the Gene Hackman Luthor is always welcome, and "nobody wins wars" is the most Superman thing Superman has ever said.

Fun but very straightforward in terms of the Spider vs Spider fight. The juice comes from the bad guys and from whatever is going on with the Warren brothers.

Fun but really just too much fluff. And the joke at the end is that Bat-Mite looks like Superman? That isn't much of a gag.

A great follow up to previous events, and some of K&L's best writing in this series. They do an incredible Data, and a strong Geordi. But the highlight is the art, especially that one page of expressive Brent Spiner faces. It's like he was in the room when it was drawn, like he was with us. Plus Spot the Cat, action hero! (How old is Spot by now anyway?)

Another solid issue that taps deep into Trek lore without wallowing in nostalgia. But where are the Q?

DC is not doing any sort of promotion if there are zero reviews. This deserves so much better.

Very fun but disposable and probably could have been shorter.

Maybe the only set-in-the-present DC comic I look forward to, sadly.

Generally good but sinks into familiar tropes about Batman, and could stand to be an issue shorter.

If Godzilla isn't on a skateboard, I want my money back!

Totally confused by the first two stories. But then, the writers of the first two stories are not ones I like much anyway. What is Image of all companies doing publishing licensed comics? Seems like a betrayal of the company's principles.

The Star Wars story by Soule was ok. The Darth Vader story was utterly confusing. This is not how to get me to keep reading.

A lot of fun, but the people complaining that this is not really the Peter and Miles from their solo books might be right. Doesn't bother me since this is the only Spidey book I am buying, but if this is in continuity, it should mesh up better. Also, the KERCHUNK should be a dead giveaway to Spidey. It's a sound he recognized way back in the Claremont/Byrne days of X-Men.

Another great issue, but why does the artist keep changing, and do we really need Section 31 back again?

A lot of fun but sort of fluffy. How much is there left to do with Mxy or Bat-Mite? As usual, Robin - paying tribute to the forgotten adult Robin of Earth 2 - steals the show.

A good ending to a good miniseries, but will this actually go anywhere next? DC's JSA miniseries should not be a bunch of one offs.

A bit of a dropoff from the last issue of the previous series. Greg's heart is in the right place in his tribute to the fans (myself included) who kept the show alive with the annual "Gatherings of the Gargoyles," but those scenes fall flat and stall out the comic.

Flavorless convoluted mush that throws lots of stuff against the wall and hopes everything sticks. The art is great but this is a far cry from the sort of stuff Johns does as a work for hire writer. Plus the back matter's attempt to explain the premise behind Ghost Machine is only confusing.

Boy, it would have been nice if our heroes talked to the bad guy for just a few minutes instead of just fighting. That "twist" undermines anything good about these overly nostalgic tales of 1993.

I am fine with Adams leaning into the notion that Hal is an impulsive moron some of the time, but maybe we would have been better served by a story that left Hal on the sidelines for a longer time and let Jo and his people actually accomplish something without Hal being Hal. Kind of the big problem with Hal these days. He's the most famous GL but hardly the best any more.

I don't actually understand what the crew of the Theseus did. But this is the best version we could hope for of Sisko, a character sometimes under-served on the TV.

Greg sticks the landing and sets up the next miniseries, though I would prefer not starting the numbering over.

A lot of interesting ideas swimming around here, but there might be too many, and the massive delays don't help. Nor does knowing that any ideas Johns sets up will have to finished by someone else when this is finally done. Still, Janin's art is amazing as usual.

Very entertaining, if a bit disappointing that Mora only does the second story. Waid writes a great Joker, and he and Pugh have a lot of fun with the Rock of Eternity.

Best thing Jurgens has written in ages. Incredible art. Not entirely sure where Batman and the rabbi came from, but in a time of antisemitism, it's very welcome. And this feels adult, not in terms of the language but in its sensibilities.

Strong if somewhat predictable ending. Love me that Rossmo art and have for years, but DC still hasn't really found that one book he can stay on long term. And Vendetti is just an underappreciated talent. But what next? These miniseries are all fun but that seems to be the end for them.

The art is stunning and the attempts to question the very premise of the superhero are interesting, but where is this headed?

This series has two issues: things are not happening fast enough; it's not worth five bucks.

Maybe having to wrap the plots in 12 issues so we can clear the decks is not the best idea.

Well done, and I love how Waid handles Darkseid - who seems to be from outside the Multiverse, as has often been suggested - but what was the point of this? There just isn't much of a reason to revisit Kingdom Come anymore.

Wait, Marvel released both Spectacular Spider-Man with art by Humberto Ramos AND Spectacular Spider-Man with art by Humberto Ramos the same day?

Gross

Generally well done, but sort of low energy. Two qualms: we've really moved away from the biblical origins of Gog and Magog's names, and I don't see how this story leads to the actual Kingdom Come story. Good as this might be, I feel no reason that have revisited Kingdom Come yet again.

Feels like a badly assembled episode of the 2000s Teen Titans cartoon.

Only read the Batwoman and Damian stories. The former is kinda sorta a Hanukkah story but like every other attempt to do anything with Hanukkah, it doesn't amount to much. And if you going to have someone coming crimes connected to Hanukkah, why not have some guts and do a story about antisemitism instead of just "oh it's the Riddler, ha ha." The Damien story was cute but I am disappointed that Sholly Fisch, the only Orthodox Jew writing comics, didn't do a Hanukkah story since I think he might have gotten it right. Or maybe he just gets that there isn't much reason to do another Hanukkah story.

A strong well written comic made stronger by a twist ending!

Stronger than the first two. And there are thought bubbles! And Ewing makes them work in 2023!

So very bland. What happened to Steve Orlando? And why does Wanda look 19?

A dream that actually feels like a dream. So few writers really know how to do that. (Inception, I love you but nothing there is even a tiny bit dream logic.) The only issue I have with this is reverting to calling Mary's alter ego Mary Marvel. DC's been trying to get rid of that for ages.

Clumsy and overstuffed.

Still fun but padded.

Anyone remember Lady in the Lake? A Philip Marlowe story shot from the PoV of Marlowe? What's that? You've never heard of it? Maybe that's because it's a silly gimmick. It certainly was here, great art in service of a rather bland gimmick and yet another dull and pedantic Tom Taylor story. This comic's gone from DC's best to its least exciting in the space of about a year.

A confusing bore. For those of us who haven't been reading what's been up with Kara...Karen...Peggy?...it would have been nice to have something explain her latest status quo. But this isn't the Power Girl I remember from Johns's JSA series. She's anything but assertive, anything but powerful. And this was just dull enough that I stopped in the middle and realized I never finished it. I have no desire to keep going.

Solid first issue by someone who gets the rhythms of comic book writing pretty fast. Though we all know that John Henry will be wearing the armor a lot more than he plans.

Love it just for Garak, Tom Paris at the wheel, and Data talking to Spot. Silly at times, but just keeps hitting all the really cool Star Trek notes. (Note to Lanzing and Kelly: you need to find a way to use characters from Prodigy before everyone forgets they exist.)

Great art. But otherwise flavorless mush, with only three characters with any personality (Nightwing, Wally, and Cyborg, and hey, all of them have their own books), far too many instances of the Titans telling us they will do things differently, and oh good Evil Waller is in the wings. Taylor has no feel for making the Titans interesting, though I am starting to think I only liked them on the old cartoon.

With the time hopping put aside, the story is a lot more coherent, but I don't really know how these characters align with the last JSA comics from before Flashpoint. What happened to the third Dr. Midnight? Just who is Power Girl now? I am a bit lost even if I like the story (and love the art).

Wacky heartfelt fun in the right key of Trek. Plus Data is your new DM.

I read this two hours ago and it's fading from memory already. This version of Conner never pops, and the story is interesting only in fits and starts. The "preview" for an Alan Scott comic that will never be looks great and reads like we got lucky it was aborted.

Waid throws a lot of good ideas against the wall, but we seems to have lost the thread along the way. Wasn't this about Bruce Wayne being accused of murder? Very silver agey, for good and for ill.

Solid conclusion to a solid comic, though whether we actually see more of most of Young Justice Society is up in the air.

As suspenseful as a menu, with flat characterizations for most of the Titans, and of course the nonsensical notion of an eight year old girl being trained to be a warrior. Can we get back to Bludhaven? And if we do, can we get back to giving something challenging for Nightwing to do?

A solid first issue drawing on the best Cyborg stories from the comics and from TV but working to stand on its own. The art leaves a bit to be desired, but this feels like the sort of story Cy should have been part of a long time ago.

All six issues dropped on the DC app. Readable enough, but inconsistent character portrayals, the jarring addition of Victoria Kord, and a generally simplistic story make it nothing special. And it's just really, really hard to imagine a city in the state of Texas happily allowing a ship of aliens to stay around when things are inhospitable to other human being from other nations. Overall, it reads like a smiley happy YA comic.

I want more of this. More Joe, more old school Spidey, and more PAD. Get well soon, dude!

Fun if a bit lightweight, and it feels like Waid would have preferred to write the character as he was in 1995. Plus Waid gets it wrong: Solomon was both wise and smart. But overall, the vibe is strong and it's clear the Waid/Mora team knows what they are doing once again.

Solid first issue that goes a long way to acknowledging how outdated Hal is, while also making him the best at what he does. It's a pity that DC still insists on making Hal the one GL with a series, but that doesn't mean it can't be good. Jury is still out on the John Stewart backup.

At last, a hero I can relate to! He is also still masking! (First overt reference in any DC book to the pandemic?) A promising start by an accomplished talent, and nice that a new book can launch without having a guest appearance by a big name hero.

Very good first issue that leaves me wanting more, and it's really interesting how little this actually needs to be in the DCU. Though given Ram V's knowledge of the DCU, I expect him to have fun with it.

The stuff with the mob families is a bit obtuse, but the main thread is fascinating and thoughtful and Greg is clearly applying the skills he acquired writing Young Justice to this, since you just couldn't be this complex in a cartoon in 1995.

Never seen Lower Decks, but kind of love that a character from that is here and being played seriously.

Adams does a great job of hearkening back to some unfulfilled plotlines from the Johns era while still making this his own book. It remains a pity that DC is cutting this run short.

Reasonably entertaining but I bet I forget it in an hour.

Nostalgia not just for the event but for how comics were once written. And it doesn't add up to much. The first story - the only one that isn't just a flashback - has far too much of Jurgens's often clumsy dialogue and pacing (though it also has his grasp of Superman and his art). The Ordway and Stern stories are okay but add little to the original story. Only the Simonson/Bogdanove story really resonates, with some of the best art Bogdanove has done in ages and a reminder why Steel is such an important character.

Tepid stuff cover to cover. A rather poorly defined Connor, and a rather bland cast of new characters. The action is okay, but otherwise this is forgettable. Not bad, just forgettable. Ironically, the preview of the never-to-be-published Kid Flash comic does more in eight pages to get my interest than Superboy's done in two full issues.

i feel like I missed something between the issues, and it does get murky. But this is the Data I remember from the 80s, and I love that chat between Data and Scotty and "wait, MY B'Elanna?"

What is with these generic covers lately? Then again, the Titans continue to feel pretty generic. But this issue just doesn't hold together. Everything seems too pat. Show of hands here: who thinks Dick is actually tempted by Neron? And is it really wise to: a) teach a little girl combat; or b) think she will learn anything useful that quickly. The back-up's pretty good but is it worth the extra dollar?

With the "getting everyone up to speed" over, things flow much better, and introducing a mob war is the sort of thing that Weisman did so well on the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon. And the art is sharper, still true to the show but less cartoony.

The DP seems pretty generic. Weird but bland is a not a great way to start.

Staying true to the "nothing ever goes right" nature of noir stories, this ends pretty much like you would expect. Meaning it's all a bit predictable and depressing, and basically the lesson is "if someone says invade Gorilla City, don't."

Another strong issue, though this continues to be more of a Spidey story than a Hulk story. Which is not a bad thing. We all know PAD is one of the three or four best Hulk writers, but do we underestimate him on Spidey? Sadly, we might not be seeing many more PAD comics due to his health. But if this is where we stop for now, it's not a bad coda.

A step up from the last issue, but Taylor continues to write the Titans with a lot less energy than he writes Dick or Babs. Does not bode well for the new Titans book. But soon Dick will have the book back to himself and all should be good. Generally solid art, but way too many panels without any background art, and that cover is really uninspiring. The backup is pretty good, but it's kind of a bait and switch that Taylor isn't the writer. Also not right that CS Pacat is not credited on the cover.

Why is DC ending this and replacing it with cosmic horror?

Read this an hour ago and already forgot it. Somewhat entertaining but also bland.

After the intensity of the past two years, I am fine with a break, but this is just fluff and not very interesting fluff at that. Did we need Blockbuster to have a daughter and did we need to bring back Neron?

Charming palette cleanser between arcs, and I am really starting to think Waid gets Dick Grayson better than Tom Taylor.

So that happened. The art was good, the backup tale was good, Damian was good, the rest was instantly forgettable. Not Waid's best work by a long distance.

Waid sticks the landing when everything up to this point is wobbly. But he gets Damian, he gets Batman, and he has fun. The problem is really that this became seven parts with the Lazarus Planet story and really could have done everything it needed to in four parts and with the Lazarus stuff (which seems likely to be forgotten quickly).

Can't say Josie Campbell is a new talent, merely new to me. But she is really doing a good job splitting the difference between the dark whimsy of Geoff Johns and the better old school Shazam projects. And you cannot go wrong with Doc Shaner. If Waid and Mora need a break, I hope these two get the call (assuming Josie isn't too busy on her TV work).

Not bad for a new writer, but this series is just sputtering to its cancellation, destined to be as forgotten as the Jason Aaron and Mark Waid runs.

Hard to rate this since a good chunk is devoted introducing or re-introducing kid sidekicks. Oh, most of them are promising, but it got crowded. I really if Johns has any plans for this horde of time lost kids and teens, and if DC will let him follow through. Also, makes me fell really old that the post-Crisis Newsboy Legion has been gone so long that they qualify as forgotten kid sidekicks.

Stuff happens. Not enough to justify the price tag. But at least it looks really good, and the backup is entertaining.

The ending was a letdown and kind of added nothing to the story, which is a pity since it was so good till now. Also, Superman lies. He lies every time he tells people he's Clark Kent and not Superman. While what Bendis did with that was a mess, Bendis was right.

Is Nightwing having it too easy? Yes, it's good to see the hero winning. But he has become too good for the stories to stay interesting. He talks down criminals, he has a ton of allies, everyone but Heartless bows before him with ease. It's almost like he's won and the series can just end because there are no challenges. This has been an excellent comic over all, the best Nightwing we've had since Dixon. But there just isn't any tension, any suspense. And it didn't help that Heartless just vanished from the story or that he's not as engaging as Blockbuster. Still, it's always fun to spend time with Dick and Babs and Haley. But will Taylor find things for Dick to do in both this comic and Titans?

A little heavy handed and dour, not what we usually see from Russell or Allred, but a gripping and strange story that using history far more effectively than Russell's FF Life Story and makes the DC heroes fit into the 60s far better than New Frontier. Not sure we needed Coast City to be nuked, though. Loved the use of John Lewis, RIP.

Is Taylor doing too good a job? Or rather, is Nightwing succeeding too easily? It's great to see the hero winning, but at some point, the hero is going to run out of things to do, and that seems to be happening here.

A great first issue, but I think PAD didn't understand the assignment since this is like 60 percent Spidey and only 20 percent Joe. Great art.

As good as this is, I don't entirely love Waid ignoring previous canon for Magog.

Clumsy mess that can't make up its mind if it's in continuity or an Elseworlds, that just isn't very interesting. Also, is the Poison Ivy analog supposed to be Native American? With blonde hair (or is it red)? And the Revolutionary War was hardly over in 1776. Like I said, all of this is clumsy.

Second issue is stronger than the first, with some great interaction between Sisko and Worf, and a great data moment. The only character Kelly and Lanzing don't have down yet is Paris.

Solid first issue, but almost entirely setting the table. If nothing else, Mr. Weisman hasn't lost a step in writing his creations. Interestingly, not one mention of Xanatos. Also interestingly, we still seem to be in the 90s.

Ram V is a great writer much of the time, but this series is just not fun. Too dark, too gothic, too far from what I want from Batman. Never mind that his Batman is all angst and woe and worry, not very interesting. The art is good, though, and at least Jim Gordon is interesting.

Well assembled, but who are these characters?

Utterly charming, but if you didn't buy this, you aren't missing anything you have to read. I am pretty sure Taylor did this to make sure that issue 99 leads into issue 100 properly.

PAD clearly wants to turn the clock back and also to write something for Marvel set in the present. Only time will tell if Marvel is interested in this (and if his health allows for it.)

The biggest flaw here is that Ewing makes it clear there are no other Defenders comics coming from him. A pity.

Still good but a bit stretched out at this point in terms of The Big Secret of Boy Thunder. But the last few pages are great, and only Waid could get away with "changing the course of a mighty river." That cover is in poor taste, but more importantly it's anachronistic since the Joker hasn't killed his first sidekick yet. (Just kidding. It's a grotesque cover but also very funny.)

Solid issue as usual. But police commissioners DO NOT DO THAT! (The whole "Montoya is commissioner" thing annoys me so much. I want back the Question.)

Waid really gets these characters, more than anyone else currently writing a Batman comic, and as much as Tom Taylor on Nightwing. Those last few pages are amazing.

Stellar art and heartfelt, humanistic storytelling make this some of DC's best work in ages.

Solid first issue, but Lanzing and Kelly don't quite manage to mesh characters from four different shows together with instant ease. Sisko is spot on, but the interactions between characters who have never met feel off. And what's with those new uniforms?

Warning: I am not the target demographic. But surely 12 year olds will find the plot as obvious as I did. YA readers deserve better. But the art is great and the characters are fun and Tai and his ba are a wonderful addition to the GL mythos.

I ma not the audience for this. And maybe a 12 year old will get joy from this that I don't. But for all the charms of a teen GL whose grandmother was a bigger legend than Hal Jordan teaming with the current Kid Flash, the story was painfully predictable. And I suspect that most 12 year olds will not be fooled any more than I was. As DC YA books go, this is middle of the pack. Not as stellar as Superman Smashes the Klan - what is? - but also not as tepid as Whisper.

I feel like I am missing something, having not read much with the Phoenix Force of late. Plus this cast is just not as engaging as the last one. Thankfully, the art is great.

Redondo's art carries the day, enlivening a somewhat predictable story with a cop-out ending. And the weird gag with the foul language was distracting instead of funny, and tries to have it both ways in terms of us of such language. (Personally, I can do without it, but either use it, or don't.)

Read it for free on Hoopla, and I would say that it might be work getting from the library to see the art full sized, but that it's not worth $25. The art is amazing. The story is...well, is there anything here we haven't seen before? To be fair, since Waid's run ended, that is kind of where the FF has been. Oh, lots of character development with the kids being older and Ben and Alicia, but the stories hit the same beats over and over. And Ross just hits those beats too. At least he's improved as a writer and gets three of the Four's voices right. (His Sue leaves a lot to be desired). But overall, it's just a nice little story, fun and entertaining but not special.

Not a must read, but charmingly goofy and yet another reminder of why everyone is so glad that the West family is back.

Very scattered, even if I still love how Gronbekk writes Jane.

The story is solid (though Tigra doesn't seem to have much to do). It's the art that moves it from good to great.

Entertaining in a superficial way.

Pure Silver Age fun. Waid writes a great Dick Grayson. But Batman and Robin doing the acrobatics was surprisingly queer. No objection, but that sort of came from nowhere.

As usual, it looks great and seems to be taking forever to get somewhere. And haven't we already done the "Nightwing gets his friends to help" thing?

Fun but I don't know if we need to have God included in the mix.

Got halfway through it and gave up. Too violent, vulgar and cynical to be worth my time. I miss the real Suicide Squad of the Ostrander era.

Really wish I could give this an incomplete. I like what we have so far, but I have no idea where this is going.

Great art and some interesting character bits are hampered by the muddle morality of our hero, who chooses to keep working for the bad guys she wants to stop. And I was really disappointing how little Willow being Jewish actually mattered.

The end of the arc sees Waid returning to form more than he has for years.

A bit jagged in terms of the story, but the art is stellar and to Ewing's credit he makes sure I have some idea who these characters are. (I think I have read one comic with Blue Marvel and one with America Chavez.)

What does this do that the last twenty retellings of Batman's origin didn't? It's not bad. But it's nothing we need at this point.

I am not entirely sure where this goes as part of the whole series. Especially the addition of Trinity. But Perkins's art has never been better, and the narrative here is really gripping. And that final page is just so cool. (Ram V handles old man Hal really well.)

Gorgeous as the art is, the story brings nothing new to the table. Dixon's Robin: Year One was much better. Read that instead.

A reminder that the Bwa-Ha-Ha style of JLI hasn't aged as well as we might have wished. At least the art is great.

Solidly entertaining, with great art (and unlike the Batman '89 comic everyone looks like the actors from the film). But what really makes it sing is how well Vendetti captured Gene Hackman's weird, vaguely cartoony, and surprisingly menacing Lex Luthor.

Really kind of bland, and hits the sort of notes we used to see all the time in Elseworlds, and maybe has 15 pages of story. I really don't get all the raves.

I feel like this should get an incomplete grade. What it does, it does well. But we are kind of in the middle of both the story Kurt was telling in his DC run and the story he introduces here. One of the joys of Astro City used to be that it wasn't driven by continuity the way DC and Marvel are, and I kind of miss that. But like I said, what we do get works very well.

The art is great. Mosley has Ben's voice. But I have no idea what is going on. And yet I keep reading.

Entertaining enough, but the sequence with Dick and young Jon only serves as a reminder than Jon was a lot more interesting as a kid than he's been as a teen.

Lemire's best Marvel work and among his best work of any sort. And remember, Marc Spector is Jewish and this matters to his story!

So very clumsy, way below what I expect from Yang. And why is Batman here already? And just because the custodian is a pig doesn't mean he has to act like one!

I should be annoyed at how little Cates is using from Ewing's seminal run. But Cates is doing too good a job that make me angry.

Give me more!

This is cute. And Crush, at least in Teen Titans, wasn't cute. The character here is okay, but not Crush.

After all that, a letdown. I can't say I actually understood what was going on, or why we needed the secret history of the Banners and Stearnses. At least the art was great (too bad Bennett is a turd) and the character work was good. But in the end, Ewing didn't come close to sticking the landing. Not that it matters since we are reverting to the usual version of the Hulk.

Instantly forgettable

Delightful Kirbyesque romp, though I am not sure why Betty is here. Love how Ewing writes the Surfer.

Solid if not quite what I expected. Not sure why Bruce Wayne looks very unlike Keaton when Dent is totally Billy Dee. The most interesting thing is Hamm's attempts to write Dent with one eye towards questions of race and equity, the sort of thing he did long ago in the pilot for MANTIS. It's a noble endeavor but is a bit, err, ham-fisted.

When can we get an Ewing FF series?

Bringing back Cowan is a great idea, since the energy of the original - my favorite Milestone book - is there. Even if the storytelling feels a bit rote after just the one issue.

Sex and the married hulk. Somehow this works incredibly well.

If we have to have an angsty Jen Walters, let's at least have Ewing write her instead of Aaron.

The sense of humor that was a cornerstone of the Robert Washington comic and the cartoon is missing from our hero, and that makes this something of a by the numbers read. Virgil is just not that interesting, though his sister and parents are. And the rather serious turn of events to close the issue makes me think that will lack the sense of fun we've seen in the past.

A surprising dud from the usually reliable Mark Russell. He doesn't really get the FF. He makes the huge mistake of not having Ben be Reed's best friend, and the large mistake of explaining just who that guy was in "This Man, This Monster." And it's a lot of tell instead of show. Never mind that Russell's sense of humor is missing. It feels like Russell was given an outline of what to do instead of being allowed to tell his own story.

If only I liked the sort of horror in view here because Seanan does it well. But it isn't my kind of thing.

A rare weak issue of this series. Weak and confusing.

Thoroughly charming and surprisingly happy. Given that the classic "Hulk Smash!" Hulk was more or less missing when this series started, it's really wonderful how much he's taken over the book and how well Ewing gets that balance between his sheer rage and his childlike innocence. Of course, you still need a way to convey that, and this unique silent comic that is a tie-in to something I am not reading works incredibly well.

The biggest flaw here is that Tomasi clearly had plans for what comes next that we will never get to see.

Well intended but utterly inert, since it tells without really showing. With very few exceptions, comic books that try to be essentially novels with illustrations don't work well. Nothing really engages here. Plus Jeff Pierce comes across as a bit of a jerk. And trying to force together real world events with the comics of the time is clumsy. I don't mind calling out DC's racism of the period (and presumably of the moment). But trying to explain why the JLA didn't rescue the hostages in Iran rings false. (Also, Ridley gets his facts wrong. Iran didn't let the hostages go because it was scared of Reagan.) Not a bad story, but never a great one, and not worth the high price per issue. And where are the creator credits, especially for Tony Isabella?

Where can I buy that cover?

I get the sense Spurrier wants to get rid of the monarchy.

If only Tomasi got to tell his own story by itself and not have to deal with Joker War.

The new creative team takes up very well from where the old left off.

Well, to my surprise, Rucka brought everything together. But how much better this series would have been if it didn't have to address things from the other Superman comics at the same time. We wasted three issues on that. And I still don't understand how Charlie is alive. But my biggest problem is that as fantastical as "we are remembering our alternate lives" is, the real fantasy here is that good journalism can save us all and that one great journalist can do that by herself. It doesn't work that way, sadly. It never has. I much prefer "press-paganga" to "copanganda" but it's still too much "hooray for our side" for my tastes.

What if Tomasi were doing just another Joker story instead of being subordinated to Joker War? I lke this, but wish it weren't part of an event comic I have no time for.

Note to everyone who hated this for being like all the other issues of this series: why are you still reading? Save your money and buy something you will like. Anyway, I appreciate that Bendis took the time to slow down and made Supes slow down as well. Even if he doesn't really have Dr. Fate's voice anything near right. And Maguire is welcome any time.

A good "what has happened so far" for a character with a convoluted history, but not a great issue.

Entertaining but mildly disappointing, with most of the stories covering familiar ground. The final Denny O'Neil story works best as a coda on his remarkable career. The best stories were the first and last.

I have no idea who David Barnett is, but he does good work. A pity that this latest effort to reboot the original teen wizard is about to be cancelled.

So remember when this was a down to earth comic about freedom of the press and immigrants? I don't, and I feel like even the usually reliable Greg Rucka doesn't either. And while I like the multiversal stuff and how it is a back door explanation of how Renee and Vic and Sister Clarice are in the current DCU, it doesn't belong here, even if it turns out that Lois is completely the Lois from the pre-Flashpoint DCU. Also, while I appreciate what Mike Perkins tries to do in illustrating the multiverse - love the cameo by the 1978 movie version of Kal-El's ship - he is not the best artist for such things. He is more suited to the noir and that is not noir. And the ending is really muddled. What is going on?

Another great issue, though clearly Vendetti had no way of knowing how it would resonate now. But if Shayera is the current reincarnation of Carter's soulmate, who is Sheira Saunders?

A very strong ending, but it's hard to imagine that these 20 issues are going to have a place in the larger Sandman universe in years to come. I will miss Dora.

An incredible tour de force that alters everything while restoring the classic savage Hulk to his place as first among equals.

The terrible art and a sense that Bendis lost his way make this one a rare total misfire on the part of artist ans writer.

The first really good issue. And not by chance, the first one where Brainiac 5 gets to shine. Brainy is the best LSHer, and Bendis knows it.

A great celebration of the characters and the talents that loses points mainly because it reminds up over and over how much DC has wasted both.

Rucka and Perkins are having trouble seeing the forest through the trees. The trees are great, but the forest is getting lost.

Much more scattered then the Heroes special. The chain of events with Leone and the Invisible Mafia was good but should have been played out in Action Comics. The reveal that the Kents are indeed alive should have been in a book not about villains. And the scene with Lex, while funny (Fraction?) forgot that Lex isn't a businessman anymore.

Another well written Superman story nearly ruined by the awful art.

Points docked for the confusing stuff set in the present that bookends the origin story. And for maybe overplaying the "teens want to change the world" stuff in Garth's part of the story. But the art is stellar - Janin is the best, period - and that moment when the founders go into action for the first time brought a tear of fanboy joy to my eyes.

Worth it just for Maguire's art, Booster Gold's moment, and Rucka writing Batman and Wonder Woman. The rest was pretty good but those bits were amazing.

The stuff with Mongul is sort of a mess. Everything else is great. And of course Supes is going to catch flak for speaking for Earth. Really fun and thoughtful stuff here.

So weird I can't really wrap my head around it. Which is a good thing.

A bit scattered if still entertaining. And the only reason I know who Xemnu is is because of an article I read about what he did to Jen Walters.

It's too clear the Tynion's decision to leave JLDark for two issues a month of Batman led to a premature end to the arc here. Though 19 issues of basically the same story is a bit much. Lots of good moments but the whole leaves me wanting.

I like how BMB handles the conversations between Lex, Leviathan, Red Cloud, and Brainiac. Though it feels like the other Legionaries of Doom aren't really adding much. What undermines the story is what a mess the art is. JRjr is terrible these days.

8 for the stories. 5 for killing Alfred in the first place.

GWW has it exactly right.

A really good comic is looking to get out to the world here, but the scattered plot and underdeveloped cast are in the way. It's no accident that the moments with Jon and Damian work so much better since we know them so well.

It's about time Marvel let Seanan just have fun with a parallel earth instead of either sticking with the beats from the LaTour series or shoehorning Gwen into the regular Marvel universe.

Solid but very much setup, and something about Bruce and about Jackie seemed a bit off.

A really fun comic with some good art and great guest stars, but it's starting to suffer from the decompression that Vendetti fell into on GLC. Loved how utterly dismissive Sky Tyrant is of The Batman Who Bores and his Dark Multiverse.

Another excellent issue with a great surprise at the end.

Decompression is taking its toll. I am not sure I remember what's been going on, in fact.

Despite some great art and good character work, things sputter a bit. And is that supposed to be Mister Bones at the end? Or someone else?

Some interesting things here, like the Red Cloud's origin and the chat between Supes and Chief Moore. But too many different things being tossed against the wall at once, some incredibly bad art by JRjr, and a potentially difficult subplot involving Superman playing politics tossed out like it's just another thing. Given how strong Action has been, this pretty good issue turns out to be a real downer.

A pretty good story, though it hits the usual beats that a Tomasi Batstory hits. I like the cops being friendly with Bats (a side effect of six months of Bane running Gotham?) But as someone who doesn't read either Batman or Batman/Superman, I feel like I am walking in in the middle of things. I know Alfred is dead, and I know Jim Gordon has taken leave of his senses. But their absence still seems abrupt. And really, the best Gotham can do is Bullock? Where's Maggie Sawyer?

There are a million million good ideas on the loose here, and the only thing stopping me from loving this series more is that most of the ideas have no room to breathe.

There is a ton of potential here, if only BMB could get out of his own way. He's too eager to do everything at once, and we aren't really getting to know anyone as a result. I sort of wish he had started with the origin of the Legion, even if I get that he didn't want to cover that ground again. And we don't need Damian so soon, even if the Super-Sons are just that cool.

A story about how all those people wearing Guy Fawkes masks at protests are really wearing V for Vendetta masked licensed by Warner Bros.

Better the second time around. And gives me a modicum of hope on a rather hopeless day.

Another brilliant issue, with some really subtle bits. (At no point does the tech genius say that 9/11 led him to do his great project, but the timestamp makes it clear that Spurrier wants to mention it without being a bludgeon.) Only way it could have been better is for Evely to have done the art.

If only this were part of an ongoing series and not the use of 1/12th of the series to address something that happened in another comic. And Perkins cannot draw babies.

Why isn't everyone talking about this?

Welcome back, Lorne.

The end of the fight within J'Onn's mind was a bit of a letdown, but I love the art and love the team of Jones and Meade. Can we keep her, and keep this longer than a year?

A lot to like here, but I am not sure we need Mrs. Freeze. Though I sort of love that Luthor cheated poor Victor. I assume a lot of his gifts are going to work out that way.

Almost missed this because of the stupid logo-free cover. I am really not digging the Year of the Villain stuff at all, and I think BMB would have preferred to skip it as well. The stuff with the Invisible Mafia and Leviathan is a lot more interesting, anyway. But what kills the issue is the usual subpar work from JRJr, who hasn't drawn a comic I like since the 80s. Why did DC poach him from Marvel again? And BOOO for his inability to draw Leoni at her proper weight.

Slightly underwhemling, in part because the fight is a bit of a bore, and in part because the minotaur who runs Roxxon talks we too much and seems a bit cartoony.

Excellent art and a general effort to turn back the clock to the original Denny O'Neil make this a delight to old school fans of Vic Sage, even if at times this threatens to teeter into nostalgia. Lemire's script stays focused, and he gives one of his better efforts for DC in the past few years.

Too fast a read and the art is a bit scratchy, but engaging and entertaining as usual.

A good but not stellar start, buoyed by some heady if familiar SF ideas and some amazing art. For a first effort, Jemisin does a good job, but I think she needs to step back from the narration a bit more.

Is anyone reading this? Are YOU reading this? Why aren't you reading this? This is an incredible comic, and this issue is the best so far. Spurrier and Evely hit a grand slam.

Stunning and chilling and gripping. War on humanity? Or really just war on capitalism? Is Amdeus right? Is Bruce's crusade doomed? We will see. But what a trip we are on.

Too many characters for a new comic, and not enough to distinguish them yet. But the art is great, there is some seriously weird world-building going on, and I came away happy. Definitely worth trying. Assuming you still like Bendis. Seems I still like Bendis.

The only things wrong with this comic are that we didn't learn how Vic Sage is alive, and that all the political intrigue involving a whistleblower has to compete with reality. Though I really do wish Lois Lane were on the impeachment trail. Otherwise, amazing art and great character stuff. A home run.

As much as I like some of Constantine's appearances in the DCU, and loved the short lived series by Tynion and Doyle and Rossmo, we need to have back full on classic Constantine, don't we?

The best installment yet in what might possibly be the best J'Onn story yet.

Wacky, smart fun, with a zany Mephisto.

That was so weird. I honestly don't know how it ties to the rest of the series, and the last couple of pages felt even more out of left field. But the art was great and I give Ewing credit for trying to stretch his talents into pure SF.

Strongest issue yet, even if some of that strength was just from the conversations between the various The big moment, with Supes and Leviathan talking, should have come a lot sooner. But no matter what else, I am looking forward to seeing how this all ends.

Strong art and a lot of intriguing moments, but the ending was abrupt and Ellis's take on Alfred seems a bit off. But Warren definitely gets Batman.

So we get the mission statement: humanity has endured, but just barely. It falls, and comes back over and over. And now this new team of teen heroes has one last chance to make it worth before New Earth goes the way of Old. Not really sold on the teens yet, but there is something about this idea that really feels different.

Stuff with Naomi? Really good, a reminder how well BMB writes teens despite being 50. The stuff with Red Cloud? Surprisingly clumsy.

A strong reintroduction of Gunn, from a writer who can do things with the character that his creators couldn't. Too bad we have to take a side trip to a crossover so soon.

It's another, slightly smaller team of detectives! This is a reasonably good, very well drawn series that could have been so much better if it weren't so decompressed.

A really good story, but I am at a loss to understand how it connects with the regular arc.

My wife and I both read issue 6, and started reading this and felt like we missed an issue. Either the end of issue 6 was badly written or instantly forgettable. I vote the latter.

Great storytelling, start to finish. The dynamic between Meade and J'Onn is amazing, so much so that I would rather have an ongoing about them than see J'Onn get wrung out in Justice League.

All very well done, but did we need John's origin again? It might be retold as much as Batman's now.

Such a great first issue. I didn't read a word of the War of the Realms, and I wasn't lost. That alone is noteworthy. But there is just so much going on here, all built around one of Marvel's most intriguing characters, written by its two best writers. I can't wait to see where it all goes.

Progress in drips and drabs. Is there really enough Event Leviathan for both Action and the miniseries? But certainly we do get some interesting tidbits. As well as Leone's moment of awesoe telling off Luthor. (Once more, I wonder how many of DC's writers aren't really buying into DOOM.) Also, I wonder what would happen if Leviathan and Luthor showed up at the same place to make an offer at the same time.

Nothing we haven't seen before. But after so many subpar Joker stories, one that gets back to basics is so welcome. And I think the Joker speaks for all of us who are finding DOOM to be oppressive and dull.

Reg Fortean is an idiot. Al Ewing is not.

Solid conclusion to the arc and to a lot of things that have been going on for longer. Not loving this year of the villain thing, but I suspect Lobdell doesn't either. Great art, especially for Susie, who is that rarest of rarities, an obese woman not drawn to look like a freak.

A lot of interesting stuff here, but it feels like Rucka stenciling over what Bendis has been doing. And while I am in line with Rucka's politics - this seems to be the first DC or Marvel comic to call out the current administration on anything - is Rucka making an accusation that Trump's policy at the border is about making his rich friends richer? That is certainly a big leap for a comic book writer who is not, so far as I know, a reporter.

A rare instance of not fully loving this comic. The stuff in Gamma Hell was muddled and borderd on incoherent, and the events on Earth were unusually hard to make much sense of. I also don't feel like Red Harpy Betty is being written with much consistency. I wonder what went wrong here after so many great issues.

Amazing art, of course. Great setup. But didn't we cover most of this before? And what is up with Batman's dialogue? Still into this but not a sure thing.

After four months of a Buffy comic that can't figure out how much it wants to ape the TV show and how much it doesn't, while lacking in any urgency till the last two pages of the last issue, it's a relief to read this. Bryan Edward Hill, who has never failed to impress me, brings a sense of edgy darkness and urgency to a character who needs such things to thrive, as well as a more adult sensibility that has always set Angel's stories apart from Buffy's. That this is an Angel who hasn't even met Buffy yet also helps. Melkinov's art is not amazing, but it works well enough and shows signs of becoming exactly what we need.

Points off for the cockamamie timeline.

The change of pace is a little quiet at times, but it makes for a good breather in what is usually a very propulsive comic. The way that Roy's death has been handled is remarkably poignant. But what is the deal with Wingman?

A good ending to a strong if somewhat decompressed story that restores Hawkman to his rightful place in the DCU and promises a great and hopefully successful future. Thanks for everything, Bryan Hitch!

Very solid, surprisingly edgy debut by one of DC's rising stars (moonlighting between seasons of Titans) and the ever-reliable Dexter Soy.

Worth reading alone for the return of the Bruce-Damian partnership. Never mind the art, or the incredibly rapid pace of events. Tomasi is not one for dragging things out, and that is so welcome in the age of decompression.

Still chugging along a bit too slowly, but taking a trip to Faerie, and presumably to all the things we remember that Tim doesn't, is most welcome.

Great art and generally entertaining - love that single page from an old issue of Checkmate - but BMB decompression is setting in.

After Mahnke, Walker is a letdown. But who wouldn't be? A pretty good story, made stronger by the return to 'Tec of Damian. (Isn't it weird how much Tynion and King avoid using him?) Tomasi continues to write the best Damian Wayne stuff.

Till now, this series, by having one and two part stories, avoided Vendetti's tendency to pad things out the way he did in Hal and the GLC. That tendency rears its head this month, not ruining the story but making me wish it could be an issue shorter.

Entertaining, but starting to feel a bit lighter and more disposable that it has. The Su sisters are not nearly are interesting as Artemis and Bizarro.

Brad Walker isn't Doug Mahnke. I shouldn't hold that against him, but after Mahnke, everyone at DC outside of Hitch and Gleason seems a bit bland. Otherwise, a good start to the new arc, if perhaps a bit too rushed and crowded.

I know this is flawed, and it could have taken two issues instead of four to get us to this place. But I am still liking this book, and what Bendis is doing with the entire Kent family. Despite Jon being seven years older, he still has an air of innocence about him that works well. And the art remains the art, since I don't think Reis can do a bad page.

I ma not ready to say that this supersedes the PAD era as "Greatest Hulk Series." But certainly Ewing is swinging for the fences and connecting every time, and it seems he's got a huge master plan. Aside from telling a great story and making the Devil Hulk a fascinating character, Ewing is expertly taking elements from all over. This issue alone revisits the Hulk's origin, brings back a charactger we probably haven't seen since the PAD run (in the most unusual way), goes back to the Herb Trimpe era for a twist we probably didn't expect (though maybe fans of more recent Hulk runs aren't surprised)and even tosses in some hulk-dogs. And all of it works!

McGuire settles in more and more with each issue, and I loved the set piece at the end. Did we actually see a hero saving people's lives? That doesn't happen nearly enough.

Best stories: Snyder, Bendis, Johns, Smith Weakest stories (none of which were bad): King, Dini, Arkham Knight Biggest takeaways: Dick Grayson needs to be Dick Grayson again. King might actually get Batman and most of the cast but might not get how to write a comic. The best Batman writers are also incredilby humanistic. Ralph and Sue are still part of the DCU. DC has the best artists it's ever had, but NEal Adams isn't one of them anymore.

Maybe 15 pages of story, but really good story nonetheless.

A bit more diffuse than previous issues, though the stuff on Earth is really start to sizzle.

Looks great, but kind of forgettable. Bring back China Mieville!

Mildly confusing, especially that ending. But I love the idea of Superman being forced into dealing with things that he can't solve with super-powers. And of him and Lois being a team.

Wow. Though if gamma people don't die, what about the vast number of Marvel characters with one-off hulouts over the decades? Why are there only two critics reviews?

At long last, things are moving as the crossover fades from view. Lots of fun.

How did we get here anyway? And who's Wingman. I liked it but I want some answers.

Good story. Stellar art.

A tad decompressed but still one of DC's best comics.

I didn't see THAT coming.

So gripping and chilling and smart. Love the acknowledgement of Ross's three funerals. And love how it's clear that the bad guy here is Banner, not unlike how he was used in Jason Aaron's nearly forgotten run on the book.

Slightly less amazing than the first two issues, since we trade the outright weirdness of Mars woth the familiar ground of J'Onn arriving on Earth. But still amazing.

Another solid issue with strong art and good character play, but it does spin its wheels a bit.

Points off for what has become something of a hackneyed plot, and therefore a weak twist. Points restored for not killing Leslie after all, for the art, and for the firm restatement of Batman's mission.

Very intriguing first part.

Somewhat abrupt and disjointed ending to the arc. And who IS Wingman?

A bit decompressed, but otherwise great, with stellar art.

DC's best series? If not, it's close.

Aging up Jon is still not a great idea, but the execution of the idea has been really good.

Taken as a series of vignettes, Mythology has been amazing. Taken as a story, the verdict is still out. But man that is great art.

A point off for Batman exploding one ear of his cowl and still having two ears. Is there an ear dispenser in there? A great thrill ride otherwise.

Did the critics read the same comic I did? The story was bland and undermined the art and script.

I love every individual issue, but does it add up to anything but a 24 issue setup for spinoffs DC might not greenlight?