Geoff Johns said he was going to return the heart to DC, and he has not disappointed. This story was heartwarming, funny and action-packed, and managed to balance all three without collapsing. I loved seeing batman and Superman describe what they REALLY think of each other, and their meeting as the two plot threads intersect was priceless (I chuckled at Batman's opening question to Superman: "You took the elevator?"). It's a nice breather episode after some heavy plotlines in both Superman's and Batman's titles, and again, goes long way to rehumanizing the Dark Knight.

This issue was a joy to read. I'm really liking the interplay between Superman and Super-Lex and hop they keep Lex as an anti-hero for at least a little bit longer before the inevitable imposition of the status quo. Apokalyps in all its Kirby-tastic glory was rendered expertly by the artists, and the main plot twist at the end was a wham moment of epic proportions, followed by one of the most gloriously, inspiredly crazy panels I have ever seen. Really. Jon leading an army of hellhounds whom he's befriended to take down Kalibak and Granny Goodness? Sign me up! Two weeks is going to be an eternity waiting to see the conclusion of this storyline!

Um... yeah. Let's just pick apart the so-called Church of Humanity's plan. 1. They want to get Nightcrawler elected Pope. Here's the problem. While Kurt, as a baptized, practicing Catholic, is theoretically eligible, he has zero chance. As a practical matter, the Popes have been for centuries elected from the College of Cardinals. Also, the "Church of Humanity" looks to be plainly schismatic, and with an agenda and leadership that would draw a rebuke, an Apostolic Visitation (basically a consent decree, for lack of a better term) or even a suppression upon them in real life. So no red hat for poor Kurt :( I'm not even sure he was validly ordained. by the by, when did he have time to go through four-to-eight years of Seminary in the midst of X-Man-ing? And since this was written in 2003, well before Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign in 5 centuries or more, the assumed way a vacancy on the Holy See would open up was with the death of the incumbent, which opens up other doos of horror. 2. They want to use Communion Hosts adulterated with nanites to simulate The Rapture, while also unmasking Kurt's true form to make people think that a demon was elected pope. Hoo boy. First off, there's no central communion host-making factory, they're made by convents and local bakers (and a few mid-sized outfits) around the world making it unlikely they'd be able to doctor enough of the hosts to cause the effect they're looking for. Second, adulterating the bread that becomes the Eucharist is a sacrilege and if they were really Catholics, they'd hopefully think twice about it (we take the Eucharist as Serious Business), and the people making them would hopefully stop them. Third, there's a very minor, technical point almost not worth mentioning -- CATHOLICS DON'T BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE!!!!! At least not the Jenkins-Lahaye "Left Behind" variety, where all the good will be bodily assumed to Heaven, leaving the wicked on a crapsack world. Let's just say that Mr. Auste

Not bad, but if I had it all over to do again, I'd give it a pass. the only reason that you may want to pick it up is that it has the first actual appearance of the Della Duck character, who seems a engaging addition to the team. I was a little miffed that we didn't get to see the "daring adventurer" Donald that Webby described in the pilot ep of the series (though in fairness, she may have been embellishing or misremembering), though the misfortunes Donald experiences are definitely par for his character. The two plots are a bit thinner and hinge on deus-ex-machina solutions, and both have pretty much the same twist stinger at the end -- funny, but redundant all told.

OK, now Rogue One just got a LOT more chilling, knowing the full extent of what Tarkin did to Jedha. Gillen's writing shines in this issue, with all the "celebrity" characters hitting the right beats and the newly-created characters being mostly well-rounded. The new Commander and his regal assistant came swinging out of the box to prove they're as much a threat as a Vader or Thrawn, though the "you have failed me" trope is kinda getting a bit worn from overuse. Larroca's art is hit-or miss. His backgrounds are lush, and that shattered Jedha is properly terrifying and awe-inspiring. His faces, however, veer too much into the "uncanny valley" -- many of the faces look TOO photorealistic, almost rotoscoped (for lack of a better term), especially the faces of harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. This effect also hits the Commander in the otherwise nice splash panel introducing him. The problem is the faces just don't gel with the rest of the artwork and it almost seems like Larroca drew the bodies then digitally manipulated photos and drew over them lightly to get the faces. It's not bad, per se, but it is jarring enough to draw me out of the story.

Part 5 of The Oz Effect seemed way too rushed. Getting Superman from disbelief that Jor-El is Oz to whole-hearted acceptance was too cheap a journey after what Oz set in motion, and the conceit that it was his staff all along that was corrupting his mind is too trite and deus-ex-machina to wipe it all away. It's cheap, lazy and insulting and out-of-nowhere non-foreshadowed writing that could have been much more expertly handled. Jurgens, you're better than this! Really! The emotional side of the house is handled much better than the plot, with some gut wrenching writing once Jor-El is back to normal and is being whisked away by He Who Shall Not Be (yet) Named. That scene rings true emotionally -- Clark never got to meet his father in the flesh, and now having him cruelly be taken away from him, it gives the same sort of tears as Darth Vader dying just after reconciling with his son in Return of the Jedi. And that is not in any way an accusation of anything -- it's honestly good writing. But that can't take away from the rushed, cramped plotting of this issue and the lousy plot gimmick used to resolve it. Reading it makes me think how much better it could have been, had not Geoff Johns been standing around saying "tick tock, the Doomsday Clock is running... seriously guys, wrap it up, would you?" However, that last couple of pages at the end makes it all worthwhile. Superman, still reeling from the emotional gut punches he's just endured, is surrounded by all the misery and tragedy and evil of the human condition. When confronted one last time about whether he should lose hope in humanity and give up, he just gets up, stands tall and says "It's time to get to work". He's not given up on hope, on truth, justice or any of that. He came through the fire and is unbowed. This is Superman at his best. I just wish the story that got us here was better.

Good night, bitter Nazi!Cap, and may legions of demons sing thee to thy well-deserved damnation! *ptui! ptui!* Thankfully, the reign of error of Spencer is over and Mark Waid is starting to reright Marvel's flagship character. This is the Captain America we've been waiting for for a year. From the gloriously cheesy wings at the top of his head to the wonderfully retro buccaneer boots (I can't believe I'm squeeing over Cap's boots -- DC, take note and bring back the trunks on Supes, m'kay?) -- but even more the heart, ideals, humility and desire to protect those weaker than him -- it's like we finally had something restored to the Marvel Universe that was missing for a long, long time. Just as the return of pre-Crisis Superman heralded the heart coming back to DC, this was a return to form long overdue. The art was top-notch, the writing sparkled and the plot was brisk. The only two minor gnats in the ointment were the over-the-top Captain America festival (which seemed to be almost self-congratulatory on a meta level) and the Rampart villains. Fair play to them, they're convincing and menacing, but they're a pallete-swapped HYDRA minus the tech and ramping up the Nazi vibes, and after that-which-shall-never-be-spoken-of-again, there's gotta be a little bit of HYDRA fatigue going on. Couldn't Cap have sunk his shield into some drug dealers, terrorists, militias, Klansmen, gangbangers or other relevant to real-life threats and left "I Can't Believe It's Not HYDRA" to be visited a few issues down the line?

This issue turned up the heat on the Mr. Oz storyline, but the gas seems to be running out a bit. The art is still top-notch, and the scenes with Jor-El(?) and Jon sparkle. I'm sold on Jon's wide-eyed enthusiasm for Bliss and Jor-El's(?) earnestness to get the Superman family out of the universe before Dr. Manhattan makes his curtain call. Sadly, Jor-El's(?) plot makes less and less sense as the arc goes on. if Earth is doomed, why bother showing Supes that humanity is not worth saving? Why did (presumably) Dr. Manhattan (allegedly) give Jor-El(?) the Malcolm McDowell treatment to prove man's inhumanity, if he's (allegedly) going to wipe the universe out anyway? Why the mass-murder plot? Why the Oz cult? It's making increasingly less sense. My biggest concern comes with the resolution of the war in Logamba. It struck me as lazy writing that asked more unwanted questions than the intended questions it answers. It trod on the classic Superman third rail (infamously trod on in Superman IV) -- if Supes is powerful enough to totally stop THIS war, why not others? And by confiscating all Logamban military hardware, didn't he just set out an invitation to a rapacious neighbor to come in and invade?