REYNARD's Profile

"Funny. What happened to my dad paved the way for a Batman like me. Too bad for you." "Blood?" "I'm surprised the son of Satan doesn't remember what they did to the son of God."

"I must be around five years old when I first sense the presence of a gaping, toppling void in the center of existence. For the first time in my life, I suddenly grasp something. Mom and Dad are going to die. We're all going to die."

"You're only having a flashback. Don't worry...pain'll wake you up."

"It would be far easier to consider this a dream. But how can I? For in my hand...I hold the Bat-Radia. And I...I am the Batman."

Prime example of what a monthly comic should be.

Time well spent. Money well spent. This book is too good to be true.

Brilliant. A spectacular end to a criminally underrated book. I pray that GLY gets another book instead of jumping ship to stay at Marvel. DC has no idea about the golden goose they have...

BEST OF THE YEAR!

k i n o Geoff Johns Final Thesis: Fuck Comics, go outside.

I am without words. This story will be remembered for many years to come, and I can only be happy that I am present to see it through. My only complaint would be its lack of mentioning Jor-El/Mr Oz at all. They probably won't due to Bendis using him for his Superman run, but I can only hope.

This is easily one of the best Flash stories I have read in a while. I started reading comics during the cusp of the Rebirth era, so I was caught in a tale of two Wallys and have great appreciation for both of them. Jeremy Adams does character interactions better than anyone in the industry right now. He does Bendis better than Bendis. This was an entire issue of two cousins having a heart to heart and it never failed to keep me interested. Pasarin's art suits Adam's style better than any other artist, the expressions along with his beautiful rendition of Wally's Flash suit is always great to see. This was a brilliant issue and I continue to look forward every month to picking up this book.

"Multiversity: Pax Americana" did it better, but this was a great read.

I fucking loved this. Morrison at his finest, with Sharp's pencils only amplifying the sense of amazement. The Final Crisis tie-in and the multiversal elements are just the perfect finishing touches to this book. I hope that they come out with a volume containing all 12 issues instead of the two trades.

Absolutely phenomenal. Morrison's mike drop is one for the ages as the Emerald Knight takes on unimaginable odds; nothing new of course. I love how, just like the Gentry and Empty Hand from Multiversity, the final enemy could be considered analogues for corporatism and manufactured story control while the new guardians are placeholders for his own disillusionment with DC's new regime over these past few years. One more to go, and I'm sure I won't be disappointed! "In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night..."

I can't believe it's over. Till we meet again King Moz!

This is top tier capeshit. This shouldn't have been cancelled (but still ended beautifully). This is what DC needs to put out more. This is worth my money. This is worth my time. This needs an omnibus.

Hulk's Bible Stories: the Finale! Mercy = Strength. What a great ride.

This is it. [Not]Multiversity Too unveiled as a stealth series manned by Morrischolar Josh Williamson; sure he's nowhere near King Moz but who cares! The Oblivion Machine is lit aflame once more. Hypercrisis...

This book is coated in pre-flashpoint wonderfulness that I just can't get enough of. Please DC, give us more stories that aren't afraid to take place in their universe and embrace all of the history instead of sticking to whatever the movies or TV shows are doing.

TILL WE MEET AGAIN KING MOZ! Loved the Brainiac reveal coming full circle from his Action Comics run. You have the threads, stick the landing PKJ!

Bissette & Totleben are the dream team for this run so far; everything about this comic makess me re-evaluate how I view the comics that are put out today and the lack of quality between current monthlies and this masterpiece of a run. "Bogeymen" is easily one of the best stories in this entire collection, and when looking at how good everything in this run has been, this story rising above should hopefully say something. If there's one thing I can say, just read this issue. Please.

Ram V's final thesis! I loved this, and Ram is definitely vying for the title of master of prose in the current landscape of comics. Mike Perkins delivered career-defining art across this entire series, and I am a lifelong fan of his forever. The subject matter was fascinating, and Ram was successfully able to construct a take on the green golem that is unlike anything seen before, and really does have something new to say about the character and the comics industry as a whole.

Holy Mike Perkins! Ram V's writing is absorbing to say the least, sucking you into the green of the book itself as he takes you alongside Levi's journey. Great callbacks and cameo appearances; but the panel layouts and pencils are nothing short of immaculate. This and GLY Batman/Superman are prime examples of what monthly comics should be.

So why the fuck is Batman so bad?

Wow. I got a lot of early Morrison vibes from this issue, and I absolutely loved it. Also reminded me of King's Darkseid War: GL on shot. This is what DC needs to focus on when they put out single issues like these: do something interesting! I wish that more one shots could tell stories that dive deep into the DC lore while working in tandem with threads utilized by other writers. Please read this book.

"Patience, Moira, Patience. Eternals are Eternal. If nothing else, we will win by erosion." One of the best openings to an event comic I've seen in a long time. I'm a DC fanatic, but as of now Gillen is wiping the floor with Dark Crisis. The pacing was fantastic and the stakes feel grounded because of all the build-up since Eternals and even Inferno/Immortal X-men.

The narrative PKJ has constructed is absolutely fascinating. Layered and complex, the idea of pitting Superman against indoctrination & oppression is brilliant - Superman vs 1984. This issue has a great moment where we realize that whatever he does, Mongul has already lost against Superman: Killing Him would make him a martyr, while leaving him alive merely allows the rebellion fires to continue growing. Superman is also in a stalemate, where he can defeat Mongul at the cost of annihilating Warworld and all of the warzoons on it vs his current plan of inspiring the warzoons to break Mongul's hold over them. Now that we know the Necropolis is inside Warworld, does the Orchard of the Dead that allows resurrection have some connection to Element X of the New Gods? And we still don't know who the unknown scavenger from Action #1030 is. Overall, this continues to be a wonderfully put together book and probably the best thing coming out of DC as of this moment.

Wow. I don't know why I should even be surprised that PKJ has put out another fantastic issue of Action Comics, but this one might have been perfect. Something about Byla recounting the Death of Superman to the Phaelosian children really got me while reading this: PKJ understands the innate ideas engrained in the concept of Superman and seems to be making his Action run a final thesis proving why Superman is still relevant today. The Midnighter POV was awesome and not having Supes show up until the final page was beautiful. I'm assuming the Revenant Queen could possibly be a mention of Circe (who I still think is the unknown scavenger) and we might get some hints/follow-up for the Breach creatures, Genesis Fragment, and the birth of Pyrrhos. I believe the tale of the Revenant Queen by Byla happens in the future; we already know Byla has knowledge of the future based on his narration in the Annual about the future house of el. This could possibly be when Clark is banished to an unknown dimension by Circe. Regardless, this was a perfect issue by the wonderful team working on Action Comics. Easily the best book coming out of DC by a longshot.

Everyone needs to be reading this book right now! The Clark section was beautiful. It was reminiscent of Jeph Loeb's tribute to his late son in "Sam's Story" back from Superman/Batman #26, but the continued reinforcement of the Kent's lessons of humility and moral virtue in Clark are awesome. I hope that this gets more popular so we can phase out all of the Hack Snyder DCEU supes personality from the zeitgeist. The Mongul section was enjoyable as well, the reverse moral code of war-world to ours is extremely fascinating. It makes a lot of sense that the Mongul dynasty would be "Mongol-like"; Genghis Khan fathered so many children, the Mongul's spread their seed and wait for the successor to come and pay for the throne with blood.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

Why have I never heard of Leonardo Romero before?

Well god damn, that was fantastic. I love Rafa Sandoval, but Eddy Barrows killed this issue! Priest is the last bastion of kino capeshit at DC right now, and I am loving every second of his run so far. Was it J'onn who orchestrated that entire simulation, or was Bats playing dumb in Bruce guise?

Loved this! Now to read all the 13 issues of "1st Issue Special" to get backgrounds on all these characters!

ENTER ORION

Wow. I hope this issue brings Chris Burnham to the spotlight because he is one of the top 5 artists in the industry right now. The backup brought this book down for me. I could feel a lot more pages left while reading my physical copy, and when I flipped to the last page and saw the transition to the aquaman story, I was pissed as hell. Not the biggest fan of King shitting on Orion again, but I get the parallel between him and Jon (could have used Kalibak or Grayven!). That last page hits hard, and the ["Fourteen"] sequence was one of the standouts. Tom King's writing has really grown on me. I get that I have very different takes on characters than he does, but that doesn't mean his writing isn't good. It's like reading Identity Crisis; some of the Dibny + Jean Loring stuff may have gone too far but the book is still good IMO.

Al Ewing knows exactly what's going on. I dock half a point because I know I will never appreciate this fully until I've read more Marvel. A dream come true would be if Ewing and Rodriguez could do something like this at DC.

Peak Morrison. Peak Janin. It doesn't get better than this. "All these people jumping on the bandwagon, the ones who hate you now they've got you down as a dodgy reactionary who can't be trusted? I hated you first! I can spot a trend a mile off!" I can definitely see the meta-commentary of Manchester Black as the cynical comic reader while a hardened/older Superman becomes another one of Morrison's fiction suits, taking us along for the ride. This issue is meant to convince us to embrace the story and concept, just as Supes gets Black to join his crusade.

"Ghost Dance" is horrifically fun. Watch out Mystery Gang; when four yuppies and a beast enter the house of the restless dead, not everyone is going to come out alive! Something fascinating about the standalone triptych of these past few stories is the lack of focus on our titular protagonist in favor of Moore taking us readers on our own American Gothic Road-Trip, only now Swamp Thing is the guest star as we watch flawed and helpless POV cannon fodder ravaged by new age urban horrors. Once again, Alan Moore's endings leave one shocked and hungry for more, his mark sealed by letters and ink within our minds forcing us to do his bidding; turn the page!

Holy goated. Not a page is wasted in this issue, every word chosen by V becomes a piece of this great debate's foundation. Mike Perkins' pencils are only a glimpse into the true vision of Ram V's elemental epic, but even that is more than enough. The symbiosis between Perkins and Spicer is incredible, and their ability to adapt V's world of cosmic beauty and horror to the page is a godsend. Everyone needs to be reading this right now.

Prose is unmatched! Very fun to see King turn Penguin into this mythological boogeyman of the underworld. I didn't read Batman: Killing Time, but this might convince me to. In for the ride!

Dense, thought provoking, and controversial. Even though my own personal politics would most likely be against Tom King's, it's very difficult to weigh real-world issues within a fictional reality with Superman and the Justice League running around the US while Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor try to turn the planet into an ashtray. The whole discussion is futile, in my opinion. However, none of that changes the fact that this is a beautifully drawn book, and King (recently, in my eyes) hasn't missed a step with his prose. This issue is very well paced and structured, while the concept/pitch brings some much-needed intrigue and excitement to the Amazing Amazon. I haven't been this hooked since Greg Rucka's run back at the start of Rebirth, but then again, we haven't had this talented of a writer on the book either. Hope we get to see more Sarge Steel! He seems like such a fun monster to write.

This my friends, is how you make an anniversary lineup! After the absolute dogshit that was Detective 1000 (and the mediocre ones: WW 750, Flash 750, Robin 80th, and Cat 80th, the Joker 80th was pretty good), we have finally received a perfect special. Tomasi and Vendetti's stories stood out to me as the best, while Johns + O'Neil (RIP) + Bunn + Marz were fantastic nonetheless. I love Jess and Simon, but I think that their stories could have resonated more (then again, they were created relatively recently). The John Stewart and Hawkgirl was just weird (I was VixenXJohn back in JLU), and I don't like how McDuffie wrote them. The Alan Scott origin was a perspective change carbon copy of his first appearance, but they added the gay revamp from Earth 2. While I think it worked for that story, I can't say the same for this since Alan's son Obsidian was also gay pre-N52. Having doubts on if this will play out tastefully; no more Harlequin marriage while Jennie and Todd are going to have to come from somewhere.

My emotions are in flux: I love this so much, but I'm so pissed that DC is incapable of driving their events remotely in the right direction (this direction). I know I shouldn't be comparing, but Dark Crisis is hot shit compared to this. This is only on #2 with two tie-ins has ten times the amount of plot that Dark Crisis has. This book balances the quiet moments with the bombastic action so unbelievably well. Marvel is currently writing the master-class on line-wide events this summer. Kieron Gillen is the truth! Pick Up This Book!

He really pulled it off!

Super hyped for where PKJ is taking this book; shaking up the status quo in a really fun way. I hope they have some sort of connection between this and Morrison's SATA that can transition well into the Warworld Saga. I haven't been this excited for the Super-Line since Rebirth!

Fucking brutal. PKJ pulls no punches; this is a slave planet, a holocaust world ruled by a wonderful revamp of Mongul. Forget the Neanderthal brute who gets whipped by Cyborg Superman, this Mongul is up to par with Alan Moore's version from FTMWHE.

It's hard to rate individual issues for this series since they all function as sections to a grand tapestry PKJ is weaving in his Superman Epic. It can be a detriment due to the lack of uniqueness of each chapter with month to month making it harder for them to stand out; the story is written in a manner that blends everything into a single narrative that will be much more fulfilling to read in trade than it already is. Otherwise, this is clearly one of the best books being put out by DC, and the best Superman book since the Jurgens/Tomasi rebirth era.

"I promise, if there are any more of your kind out there among the stars, that I'll find them... and that I'll protect them as I failed to protect you." Best book of the week. Absolutely adored the Superman POV + a breather issue going deep into the lore and mysticism deep beneath the Warworld. Riccardo Federici did a spectacular job, bringing a new energy to the book that leaves me so hyped for the rest of this run.

Can't decide if I like PKJ's writing or Federici's art better. This book continues to be spectacular, easily the best thing DC is putting out right now. Although the plot was confined to that specific brawl, this issue was integral in displaying the turning point in the war. The revolution is underway and Mongul finally understands that he might be powerless to stop it. The Lois bookends are great as well, and I'm excited to see how the mystery of the Genesis Fragment unfolds.

PKJ is the man! Lots to unpack from a fantastically dense issue: The worms generating an inhabitable atmosphere reminds me of the Shai-Hulud from Dune, and its interesting that the genesis has become the lifeblood of the planet while sustaining the worms themselves. I assumed that the genesis metal came from the fallen star + necropolis, but more on that later. The origin of Mother got me thinking about Circe and the revenant queen from Byla's stories. After Mongul smacking around the mysterious scavenger, my theory that they are Circe might go out the window in favor of the link with this Mother character. The Olgrun myth is pretty fascinating: elder gods from the first world, hidden stones of great power, and a test of worthiness to claim the ultimate fire of creation. I don't know how genesis metal and the necropolis factors in to the rest of the stones: they could either be source wall debris or remnants from this first world of Olgrun. Also interesting that the aspects of Olgrun have a failsafe where the universe will essentially end if they fall in the wrong hands. That's a pretty big gambit for the power of the aspects, so Olgrun must be a bad mf. We don't know what the seven worlds are yet, but I'll be sure to look out for more hinting. Interesting that Mongul was able to get the thanagarian ships so quickly from the United Planets. Once again, bureaucracy will always fail in the face of a true threat; heroes and virtue are the viable solution! The Myth of Mongul was great! It does get messy if you remember the pre-crisis mongul origin involving Arkymadryte and the warworld's crystal key, but you could easily chalk that off to one of the previous Mongul's having gone off and fought superman while using a fake Warworld or whatnot. The crystal from the dead god that the first Mongul/Guldejo wears might be connected to the Olgrun origin. The ship of the dead god looks exactly like the thanagarian ships seen above the resistance before the backup story starts, unless I'm just misreading and those aren't the thanagarian ships and the Monguls had crafted their armada after the design of the dead god. Ricardo Federici continues to knock it out of the park! Will Conrad's art was better than before, as long as he stays away from the gross computer/3d vomit of the likes of Mike Deodato Jr and Brandon Petersen, he has my approval at least. I really liked his work during Justice League Odyssey, and his art in this issue especially reminded me of that.

This was very good. Fascinating to see PKJ tackle an earth-bound supes after he did such a great job with the first arc, and Federici's art is spectacular. Lex's characterization was on point, and the set up for Metallo has me hyped for the new direction they're taking this book.

Any comic with Eddy Barrows' art already has a claim on my wallet, but Dan Watter's locomotive of an idea was such a joy to read. To see a Doomsday special led by Supergirl and Martian Manhunter in this day and age of Bat-Crap polluting the entire publishing line gives me so much hope; keep putting out more stuff like this DC!

Absolutely solid. Brandon Thomas knocks it out of the park with this relaunch; on point characterization, sublime art, and a soulful energy that is needed in more DC books. The Titans interaction was the stand out of the book. Only gripe is can we just call him Kaldur'ahm already?

"If there's one thing I hate, it's art with no content."

"Sick sweet smell of human flesh past its sell-by date. The crawling sixth sense that tells me I'm on to something rotten. I'm opening a can so full of worms you could bury your head in there and they'd be bones by morning."

"Look at you, all beat up to hell. Why did you have to choose an enemy that's as old as time and bigger than all of us, Batman?" "Same reason you did, Jim. I figured I could take him. This isn't over."

"Tell him it's time. 7:35 last night. The Bat-Signal came on in my brain. The sleeper awoke."

"What we are about to do will be a work of art. Nothing less than the complete and utter ruination of a noble human spirit."

Just read it!

This is the reason why Tom King shouldn't write Batman: because we miss out on amazing stories like these. Thank you Taylor and Schmidt, y'all did a great job.

I really do love Tynion on Batman. He nails the character interactions (Bats and Slade especially). And I am really digging Guillem March's art style!

This is too much fun. It's only been his first appearance and I already love Auteur.io.

Dick is such a fun Robin; I should have been born in the 30's!

Absolutely phenomenal run by GLY, though I'm very heartbroken that its been cut short. Super excited for the annual as well as the teases included in the epilogue.

I am blessed to be reading comics during PKJ's time on Superman! To watch an epic for the man of steel being crafted before my eyes is not something many people can say they've seen; we haven't had a run this good since Moz's N52 Action Comics! Keep going strong PKJ!

I had to check the date while reading this comic, I thought I was in the 60's with how Silver Age this was. I am a huge fan of Morrison's DP, but the classic Arnold Drake team fits so well! Supergirl breaking the time barrier might seem jarring at first, but once you embrace the super-dickery of the 60's antics it's extremely hard not to have fun. Bravo Waid and Mora!

It's reading books like these that make me want to buy all the Batman 60's archives and just read Silver Age Bruce & Dick stuff. It really doesn't get better than World's Finest.

Fantastic issue. When I read the first issue of this series, I assumed that the child in crime alley killed Bruce Wayne for good, and that Dick Grayson had taken up the mantle of the Bat. Dick Grayson would make the case for letting the civilians in the Hall, and Dick Grayson would be torn apart. But I guess not. According to this issue, the original Bruce Wayne survived the gunshot and doomed the League, also confronting Joe Chill before his death. The boy is revealed to be Joe Chill's son, but his identity remains unsolved, surrounded by some underlying mystery. Of all the candidates for Omega's identity; Jim Gordon, Damian, Jason, or even another clone Batman created by the villains, I believe that Snyder will pull an "Arkham Knight twist" where it'll actually be a female beneath the mask. Harper Row? Barbara maybe? Damian seems too obvious and Alfred referred to him very formally, as if he didn't know him personally. Now that I think about it, it's probably Duke Thomas! He wasn't in the Underworld alongside the other dead heroes! Joker continues to be annoying, but I enjoyed the resolution to his "knock-knock" gimmick that had been going on since the last issue. The Luthor and Superman segment had a wonderful twist, and the fact that Superman convinced him with his speech adds another level t his character. This, Doomsday Clock, The Green Lantern, and Justice League are the few series that I genuinely look forward to reading each week, and I hope Three Jokers turns out to be just as good.

Riddler's Killing Joke! I loved how terrifying King and Gerads were able to make the emerald enigma in this book. The flashbacks were great, and addressing the cyclical nature of Batman and his rogues was done extremely well. I'm a big fan of Batman when a writer is willing to evolve the character or take him in new directions that stay true to his portrayal across his entire history. This evolution of the Riddler was very fascinating, although this story does the most possible to elevate his threat level compared to all the other rogues. Killing Joke was about two broken men taking trauma in polar directions; a study on the limits of sanity and the breaking points of good men. Dreadful Reins is all about the game; the rules of engagement when two geniuses decide to use the world as their chess-board. The last page was brilliant, and the ambiguous nature of if Batman broke and killed the Riddler vs if he just put him away once more to continue the game is thematically perfect for the overall Killing Joke parallel. I also loved Batman's final riddle, which reminded me a lot of one of Morrison's best Batman stories: "Time & The Batman". The mystery always comes knocking! It's for you to decide to get up and answer the door!

Have Black Adam and Theo split into two individuals? So Ishtar fucks with Black Adam, causing a rift between him, Malik, and Jasmin. Nergal manipulates the Sanheoli to send an airstrike against Black Adam. Adam battles the air-force and Nergal, who turns to dust that is inhaled by Adam, but then expelled via the Living Lightning. In DC, Malik and Shep are attacked by Sargon, pawn of the Akkad. He tries to turn Malik into the new Sargon by putting the mask on him, but is defeated by Black Adam. Sargon the Sorceror is freed of the Akkadian Mask's thrall, and zaps Adam with a spell that turns him back to Theo while he is enveloped in a red aura. We then see that someone has put on the mask of Sargon. In the framing sequence, we have Theo visit a catholic Priest to recount the events of the issue, but the priest mentions that while Theo is there confessing, Black Adam is simultaneously brokering for peace with the Sanheoli. Two Adams two different places. Did Sargon's spell split Theo and Adam, and Adam is the one who put on the Mask? If not, then who put on the mask? Is Nergal truly defeated after his brief skirmish with Adam? Subtitles: "Long Division" , "Severance" , "Kismet" , "Road Rage" , "The Two Adams" , "Dusted"

Still really into this. Rafa is killing it on art, and Priest is wielding a machine gun filled with twists and turns that are driving me crazy. Definitely subverting my expectations from issue to issue, and I love the spoon fed revelations that keep the plot as a whole engaging. We get some great developments in this chapter, and I'm very excited to get to the bottom of this wild kahndaqi rollercoaster of a story that is Black Adam!

Still great!

This is the book you need to buy every month. By some crazy comic calculus, I can prove that out of every single book that comes out in the month of October, this one will give you the most bang for your buck.

The best book DC is putting out! Memories of Mighty Adam unfold, the mystery of mystery unravels as we gain a glimpse into the hubris and hypocrisy of Mamaragan's Dark Champion! Akkad arrives to enact their agenda! Nergal's nefarious schemes brew while he enjoys endless thin mints! What has risen amongst the people of Kahndaq? Seeds sown bear names of their own: Rebellion! Revolution!

Atlas, bearer of the heavens, is dead! The sky is falling! Loving this so much! King's prose is elite and Fornes pencils are stunning. So good that I want to go and catch up on King's other books coming out right now (Human Target + Gotham City: Y1).

At the end of the day, I express great pride in saying that I spent $10 on this book solely for the Grant Morrison story. And you know what, it was totally worth it. And it said to be continued at the end! Please Moz! Multiversity Too! Also, that Rachel Pollack tribute was beautiful. I wish DC would do that for more creators when they pass instead of just one page ad. Having writers recount stories and their own experiences with the deceased I feel allows the readership to unlock a new dimension of that writer, and truly cement them in the tapestry forever. The people who make these books are just as important as the characters that appear in them, and I would love to see more of their stories told.

Fantastic special. Much better than its predecessors (DC Holiday special). Ranked Stories: *Rip Hunter story - 8/10 *Batman 666 - 8/10 *Superman One Mil - 10/10 *Flash story - 6/10 *Supergirl story - 8/10 *Aquaman story - 7/10 *Firestorm story - 7/10 *Kamandi story - 6/10 *Catwoman story - 5/10 *Green Arrow story - 9/10

Williamson and Porter dream team is back to turn the DCU upside down! Ballantine makes me think of a possible like to the FC villain Libra (his name was Justin Ballantine); we see Prometheus' Crooked House in the Still Zone during the previews; and a possible confrontation/crossover with the Robin series Williamson is also writing. This is what monthly comics should be!

Incredible last page reveal! Before the next issue comes out, I will be forcing myself to read all of Ewing's Mighty Awvengers as well as both Ultimates runs.

If lore was a kind of food, this book would be a five-star restaurant.

<i>And what then -- when your new timeline doesn't "make the grade"?! "Reboot after reboot", you said!! And each sooner than the last -- always hunting for the "perfect fix" until not even we know if we're the "true story" or your latest "maybe-verse"!<i> If you want to know what's wrong with DC right now, read this comic.

Finally, a Batman run that has me hooked after all these years! I love Ram V but my god did Rafa Albuquerque knock this one out of the park. The colors by Dave Stewart were also brilliant, and the ambience of Gotham feels so much more fun than it has in recent times. Some interesting set-ups: -Orghams are proto-arkhams? I might have read that in a solicit somewhere, but they are obviously connected to the lovecraftian were-reptilian that the fake maroni morphed into. -Hopeful that Talia has some more stuff to do. Eager to get the Williamson mark off of her. -References to Barbatos? Maybe less Snyder-Metal and more "Dark Night, Dark City" + Return of Bruce Wayne? -Loved the little Danse Macabre inside the music box. -Older Batman stories are dope, but will they keep it consistent?

We are seeing pieces of the puzzle set out for us to observe, and it only makes me more excited to see the full design. Ram V is re-inventing the city of Gotham, and the coming of the Orghams will put our beloved crusader against eldritch horrors and a demonic mystery threatening to consume him from within. The music aspect is so cool, and Harvey easily stole the whole issue. Rafa's art is fantastic as well, and I can't wait to see what is in store for the future of this title.

Finally, the long awaited return to a competent Batman written by a competent writer! Wonderful dialogue. Wonderful art. Tomasi and Mahnke at their best. Definitely will be buying next issue. Love the fact that Batman does actual detective work in the book. SPOILERS Death of Leslie Thompkins is pretty sad, but it doesn't seem cheap. Wonder what the giant red-demon thing is and what it has to do with the fake Thomas and Martha Wayne. Commissioner showing up and not getting punched is also great.

"There is not one among us in whom a devil does not dwell; at some time, on some point, that devil masters each of us...It is not having been in the dark house, but having left it, that counts." A satisfying end to a greatly needed return to form for the Detective Comics line. Although the "it was all a simulation" trope is heavily overused, Tomasi is able to make it satisfying and rewarding for Batman fans all around. Greatly looking forward to issue 1000.

Well, fuck. (Spoilers) Even at its crescendo, Doomsday Clock leaves us yet again with more questions than answers. This chapter brings together all loose threads and plot lines in the series, while simultaneously acting as a mirror to Watchmen's own penultimate issue. Adrian reveals his master plan to Saturn Girl like he previously id to Rorschach and Night-Owl, but instead of a 35 minute twist we get a time-paradox/thanos-snap moment. I could have done without the Trump-bashing early on (but I guess that's a given in media these days) though I understand its purpose in providing a stark contrast to Black Adam's fascist-liberator archetype. The Lex + Lois scenes were probably my favorite parts, with the return of Superman coming in a close second. Even though the page with Alfred cooking the pancakes was beautiful and provides a "calm before the storm" moment, I do think it's kind of a waste due to the fact that there is literally one issue left to wrap up the entire series. Reggie's dream sequences were also cool, and I hope him seeing his reflection in the puddle brings him back to form. The Marionette child reveal was also very surprising; with some confusion coming out of the fact that the child was biological boy but identified as a girl? Maybe? Or the child is Dan Dreiberg and the little girl is their daughter. One of those two for sure. Next issue won't come out anytime soon, but I know that it will truly be a sight to see. Issue one came out at the beginning of my freshman year in High School, and it has followed me through to my Junior year two years later. It has been a wonderful journey reading these past eleven issues, and I hope the twelfth cements this story in DC Comics history in a timeless way. It is time ~ Doctor Manhattan

Another amazing installment in an amazing series. Doomsday Clock has been a wonderful ride, and now that we are entering what I call "Act III" of the book, the loose ends begin coming together. John's Superman is unparalleled, with a balance of compassion and strength that can only be attributed to the Man of Steel. In the end, the only thing preventing this book from being a 10 is the release schedule. Great work Geoff and Gary!

"We've beaten armies of evil ring slingers lookin' to enslave us, burned up batmen from alternate realities tryin' to torture us and spanked super-brats out to destroy us." "It feels good to still learn." "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for crisis." And thus, Act Three of Doomsday Clock has gone off with a bang. Wonderful writing and wonderful art as usual. Besides the delays, I do have some problems with this issue that bugged me: 1. Three pages wasted to showcase characters: Don't get me wrong, Frank's art is stellar. But with the delays and the fact that we have three issues left means that every page should be used to its full potential. Maybe some text-boxes of Manhattan narration could have sufficed. 2. Manhattan's dialogue: Some lines sounded good, but others did not resonate with the established character personality. For example, Manhattan comparing magic to computer code seemed off, as he was born in the analog science era before digital. A clock or watch analogy would have fit better. I loved the "still learn" line though. 3. Legion of Superheroes: At the beginning of the issue Manhattan describes the death of a Legionnaire, Ferro Lad, who sacrificed himself to stop a sun-eater in Adventure Comics #353. However, Manhattan mentions that when he prevented Alan Scott from becoming the first Green Lantern, the Legion of Superheroes ceased to exist. This bothers me due to the fact that I am fond of Superman being the inspiration for the Legion, while this issue attributes that to the JSA. Besides these gripes, the issue was immensely compelling. The fact that the DC heroes so strongly believe that they can defeat a literal God is utterly fascinating, and examines the stark contrast between the idea of being a hero in the Watchmen and DC Universe. Let's hope this next issue can come sooner than the last.

The only thing wrong with this book are the few pages of Brandon Peterson's art.

Silver Age!!! Adams is doing something very special; glad we're popularizing this kind of storytelling after GLY did some great stuff in the recent Batman/Superman book.

Jai West is a treasure. The Action Log section of this issue kept me entertained all the way through. Pasarin's art is consistently great, working very well with Adam's script in conveying emotions and humor. The script is tight and engaging. Everything I could want from a Flash book.

What's not to love about this book! It's wholesome, action packed, the script is tight and the dialogue is superb. Everything that happens in this comic is great! Fernando Pasarin's pencils have elevated this run to new heights after the cringe inducing digital vomit that is Brandon Petersen's art. The Flash is a book you simply can't put down, and everyone needs to buy this every month. Jeremy Adams has been a godsend, and I give a lot of credit to him due to the fact that he's had to weave through an absurd amount of event fallout into his books. He redeemed Wally after Heroes In Crisis, sidestepped the Earth-3 crossover, and now has to derail the plot once more for Dark Crisis shenanigans. Godspeed to you Adams and Pasarin!

Hourman is back! I wonder how this connects to his appearances in Johns' Stargirl: Lost Children mini? I loved the explanation for his return and the reference to him taking the place of Rick Tyler and fighting Extant during Zero Hour back in JSA #66. Fernando Pasarin is one of the best in the business right now,and Will Robson did a great job too! The team Jeremy Adams has assembled is so freaking great: both Wallys, the Terrifics, Hourman Android and Gold Beetle! And then on top of it we get the return of OMEGA-BAM-MAN! Screw Batman #900, buy this instead!

The only thing wrong with this comic is Brando Petersen's atrocious art. Everything else is absolutely fantastic, including Fernando Pasarin's pencils. The redemption of Wally West begins here!

Fuck yes! Give Ram V a separate JLD book so I don't have to buy shitty Bendis-League DC!

BEHOLD BABYLON! Loved this! Very happy I picked up physical instead of digital this time.

This was an experience. I've never felt this way reading a comic besides going through Pre-Flashpoint stories and runs. Generations Shattered succeeds because it's a comic that is aware of the universe it exists in; it doesn't pander or stoop to hold your hand, it just tries to have fun with DC's vast continuity. You could put this in a collection of the 2006 Booster Gold series and no one would bat an eye. A return to form for DC.

The highlight of my month. Worlds will die, hearts will break, and the union of will and love shall shock the multiverse like never before. Multi-Crisis on Intimate Earths!

Best book DC is putting out right now. Much needed refresh opposed to the constant universe ending eventgasm spewed from the Depressoverse. I love the experimental art styles Sharp has been alternating between this season. Him and Morrison are really the last bastion of true artistic ingenuity and character driven storytelling at DC. Great Silver Age cuts, awesome fights, and tight dialogue that maintains the gripping flow of this series. PREPARE FOR THE ULTRAWAR! THE MULTI-CRISIS IS NEAR!

Can't deny that with Morrison, love him or hate him, you will always find something to enjoy in one of his books. We see the Weaponeer's true force in this issue and it's both terrifying and awesome. We get a scene where a squad of Lanterns are cut down by one sharpshooter (John Stewart analogue possibly?) and its just fucking brutal. Lantern Ryk is by far the best addition to this season, but two characters standout in this book: Nurse Leylo and the enigmatic animal trader Crassus Qwipe-6. Crassus has a standout moment where he hulks out (not unlike Squanchy from R&M) and takes down a Weaponeer. With the Weaponeer's seemingly unbeatable strength, it seems that we are due for an even fight what with Hal getting a new Battery/Ring upgrade back in issue 1 that allows him to perform unseen universally powerful feats (planet 8-ball anyone?). No mention of the Ultrawar/Multi-Crisis this issue but we do get Hal's supposed death and rebirth into Spectre-Hal?! DC's best of course, no contest.

Wow. Morrison's departure following the conclusion of this series will leave an immense void, a hole in things if you will, that will never be repleted in this generation.

Absolutely brilliant. The true war with the anti-world is not between the Lanterns and the Weaponeers, but between 666 and the Qwa-Masters. "HATE DEATH PAIN KILL!"

MULTI-CRISIS ON INTIMATE EARTHS Never did I think I would see a Green Lantern book that looked like a flagship Vertigo title. Sharp & Morrison are revolutionaries as far a I see it. Incel Lantern made my week. As the Wedding of Hyperboy and Princess Illistra enthralls the denizens of Kranaltine, the true Union of the Trillenium shocks the Multiverse as Will and Love remain in constant synchrony across endless worlds.

It perplexes me how Vendetti shines on books like this and the digital Superman title, yet makes JL so mundane?

The "villain is defeated by absorbing too much" trope is overused as hell but WHO CARES because we get a happy ending and the JSA too! It's so refreshing to read a book that doesn't have grand multiversal/world ending stakes, or in this case one that does but doesn't overblow it and keeps it character focused. Excited to see Carter and Shiera back in the 1940's alongside our dear Society.

Holy shit this is absolutely fantastic. What a shame to end this run, but at least it'll go out with a bang. Omnibus please!

I still think the Fantastic Four/Hulk dichotomy is absolutely genius. Issue #50 can't get here fast enough!

Mister Sinister is my new favorite Marvel character.

Kieron Gillen everybody!

Xermanico is a dynamo. Will definitely be a superstar in no time. Williamson is going Morrison-lite, and its pretty great so far.

One of the best superhero comics I've read in the past years. Sampere's art works perfectly with Tynion and Snyder's writing, creating a satisfying product. I am very excited for how Snyder's run is going to play out with the aftermath of this issue. Not a fan of Perpetua's design though.

From Bat-Mite to the "Source-Raptor", my god I loved this issue. This might sound strange as a comic reader, but I have absolutely no problem with info/exposition dumps; so Snyder and Tynion can unload as much as they want for all I care. Though I prefer the Morrison origin of the Multiverse with the Overmonitor and Mandrakk, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed what Snyder presents in his own lore. As stated by Darkseid24, I do wish that the New Gods could have been incorporated more (with their connection to the Source and all), but I don't think that the story suffered at all from their absence. I do wonder how The Source factors in power against Perpetua and this new race of "Super-Celestials". Overall, this was a nice comic IMO.

A wonderful segway into Snyder's "JL DoomWar" storyline. Jimenez knocks it out of the park with the page featuring Clark alongside both Jonathans. I hope that Luthor isn't a human/martian hybrid because it defeats the purpose of his character. I had the same problem with Omega-Luthor back in Darkseid War, but I trust Snyder will handle the concept better.

"You swore and oath to your father. Now swear one to me." This is a true hidden gem, and one that I am very happy to have picked up today. Loveness really gets the characters in a fantastic and beautiful way. Both the Bruce/Martha and Bruce/Clark scenes were fucking gold. Hope Loveness gets more work soon.

This issue was fantastic. Snyder's run has hit every mark for me and I can't praise it enough. Snyder has poured his passion for the DC mythos into this series, and it only makes it better. Jim Cheung and Jorge Jimenez have done wonderful work on this series, working very well with Snyder's script.

This series is so fucking good. I'm guessing that the deus ex of this story arc is going to be the use of the Other-Kind to combat the power of Circe, because there is literally no other way they can beat her. The Injustice League Dark is such a cool concept and I really hope it sticks around even after the ending of this arc.

Crisis of Confidence amongst the JLA! Doubt and mistrust strike at the heart of the league as the wicked Construct orchestrates doom for the heroes. To be a League united, there can be no cynics, and as this issue shows, true belief in the power of good and your own allies will combat any enemy that dares stand against you!

This book has turned into something really special.

Yes! The main reason I loved this so much is because I had previously read the old Paul Levitz Adventure Comics E2 JSA stories with Huntress in them, specifically the one Johns uses as reference where Soul Thief empowers a criminal to kill Batman. This is the kind of continuity mining that I want in my comics! The fact that this issue is titled "Legends Die Together, Too", a clear response to the Adventure Comics #462 title "Only Legends Live Forever!" is awesome. I loved the roster of the future JSA, and the generations spanning conflict creates such a fun and epic scope for the twin JSA/Stargirl books that is 100% my bread and butter. Sure the Watchmen stuff is extremely self indulgent, but I'll give it a pass for my continuity-porn cape popcorn roller coaster comics.

Damian will always be MY Robin. The MK style tournament is a great setting as well.

I love this book, but if i'm going to be honest, I really want to see Deadshot put a bullet in every single one of these Revolutionaries,, especially Osita. JUSTICE FOR CAVALIER!!!!

"I'm a war criminal... kidding! I'm a con man, I'm a RET-con man." Ambush Bug is pure cape-kino. Also love the fact that Thompson brought back all the dead squad members from the past incarnations (Cavalier!!!).

AMBUSH BUG #9 feat. the Suicide Squad! This book is an absolute joy to read every month. So nice to have a popcorn blockbuster of a comic book that takes you along for the ride through the corners of the DCU. This book proves that you don't need Deadshot, Boomerang, or she who must not be named to sell a suicide squad book!

It isn't everyday you buy a comic that's worth every penny. Give me Morrison's endless explosion of ideas that make an issue worth reading over all the crap DC is publishing nowadays while stamping it with a "Batman" logo. I live for the utilization of the actual DC universe outside of Gotham for god's sake. Sadly the only popular books on this site are the soulless stream of bat-fam content hyper-saturating the shelves. The Empty Hand has won my friends. Enjoy oblivion, you brought it upon yourselves.

The highlight of my week! Hoping we get some confirmation on the members of Ultra-Humanite's Authority; I'm pretty sure I've spotted Eclipso, Fleur De Lis, Coldcast, but still iffy on the electric girl and if that's Ibac or Iron Cross. Dreading the next issue due to the fact that it'll be the last DC Morrison work we'll get for a while.

The opening chapter of Alan Moore's Fourth Volume of Swamp Thing begins a transition from the classic creatures of the night featured during the first half of the "American Gothic" storyline, to the new age horrors plaguing 1980's Urban America. "Windfall" tackles the US Drug Epidemic, featuring two tales of death, delirium, and revelation. The ending is brilliant; though forbidden fruit entices hallucinogenic providence, it all hinges on the polarity of one's soul. When you chase the answers, don't be surprised if it's something you don't want to see.

Great start to a new take on the Guardian of the Green. Perkins' art is fantastic as always, just as is Ram V's writing. I'm also happy they launched this as a miniseries, allowing for Ram V to express his unadulterated take on the character.

You know its a good comic when the first few pages get you hooked. So excited for next "season", keep up the good work Ram V and Perkins! "The Swamp Thing extends his roots. In strife and turmoil, will they thrive? Or will they be caught in the ever-turning gears of the great machine?"

Still great. Ram V scrambling to make a better/equal quality thesis than Alan Moore did during "Return of Good Gumbo". Peak Swamp Thing once again!

Very well written coming from a fairly "green" writer in the industry. I can put money on Ram V becoming an all star in the next couple years. Perkins art is just... *Chef's Kiss* ...perfect.

"What if human ideas have begun to pollute the consciousness of this world?" Loved the story, and Mcrea's art transitioned well from Perkins, extremely fitting for this issue. Dreading the Suicide Squad crossover but I'm sure Ram will do it justice.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ram V... BUT MIKE PERKINS IS TOO GOOD! (BTW: DC needs to give me a trade that collects all 10 issues + Future State Specials)

Thank you for putting a book out like this DC. Interesting how the Fuginaut acts as the opening narrator of the issue. I wonder if he'll act as a sort of "crypt-keeper" for these stories. Very excited for the Infinite Crisis and Blackest Night issues.

10x better than whatever the hell is happening in the main titles. Guillem March's art is a feat to behold.

Phenomenal.

BAITED! This one was fun, maybe not as explosive as the previous chapters, but I can tell we need this calm before the storm as we reach the halfway point. The deviants coming through the gates was hilarious, and that final page should bring the hype. Still loving this!

Not a fan of bad Orion. Other than that, everything was awesome!

Silver Age fun; no brainer camp story with some great art. Waid easing back into the DCU is seamless, his voices for the characters are spot on, and the plot seems like a lot of fun. Looking at the mention of the timeframe [years before the attack] as well as the shadow of Magog, I wonder if this is a stealth prequel to the Kingdom Come Universe? Probably not, but that would be interesting to see him revisit the property.

PRIEST IS BACK! The goat himself is once again setting the record straight for DC's villains; enough with the anti-hero bullshit, they are the bad guys! Sandoval's art is awesome, but I'm sure you already knew that before picking this up. I think that the most divisive part of this issue is the new OC Malik Adam, who of course comes off as a snarky loudmouth (but remember ladies and gents, that's what character arcs are for!). His dialogue is pretty hilarious though (granted this is coming from a 19 year old). The supporting cast was fun, and i'm still trying to figure out if Shep is an OC or from some ancient set of back issue Captain Marvel stories. Interesting set of characters at the end (a chef?), and the twist is pretty obvious but the murder mystery and death sentence plots will sustain me until next issue. The pacing is wonderful, and I feel like I got my money's worth from this book. Working on annotations as you read this...

Absolutely fascinating. Even with a couple story strands left to the winds, the main pathos Black Adam has been tackling across these twelve issues is brought to an impasse: the Red Sea is pulled apart by mortality's revelation as Theo Adam embarks on a new dawn. He is no longer a slave to a legacy of ebony lightning that has chained him to the Sinai. He's emerged from a staring match with the abyss, scathed, and yet liberated. Black Adam will return, but Theo Adam's long march is just beginning.

I really enjoyed the panel recreations from Johns Shazam backups during the N52. Interesting that Black Adam encountered the Darkseid clone one month ago, and yet only beat him the day before the Shakur/Malik stuff according to the timeline proposed last issue. I'm sure this will be explained and more fleshed out in the coming chapters.

Eddy Barrows' art is top tier! And that prose page with Priest's thesis on Black Adam was PEAK. Here are some annotations I compiled: -We finally meet the "wife" of Shakur Nassar and get the rest of Teth-Adam's revamped backstory. -Nassar's wife is Oni Grace, a character I'm not sure has been pre-established before this issue. She seems to be a temptress and a manipulator with ambitions and unknown motives. -We learn that Mighty Adam had built a secret getaway so he could retire and become mortal in his off-hours. One day he is attacked by a resurrected Ibac and his master, Mereuka, leader of the Circle of Crows (minions of the Nth World). Adam escapes, but Ibac releases Mamaragan from his slumber, resulting in Adam being banished to space. -The getaway temple Adam had constructed ended up becoming Kahndaq. Jasmin returns the signet/ring to Black Adam. Will combining the two rings cure Malik of the plague? -Did Oni Grace kill Shakur? -Is Oni Grace a version of Amazing Grace from Darkseid's Elite? -Now we know why #5 was called 2325; because that was the year Black Adam was banished. -It's been mentioned multiple times now the fact that Black Adam talks about these Egyptian Pharaohs even though he was banished to space long before they were born. Adam explains (in #6 IIRC) that lightspeed travel warps time, allowing him to be on Earth during times he shouldn't be. -What is the mystery within mystery of Black Adam? -What is Ishtar's intent with Malik? -Subtitles: "For All & None" , "Romulans" , "The Widow" , "The Overcoat"

The pacing of this book is a whole other animal. King uses the inherent mundanity found in "calm before the storm" type sequences to lower your defenses and prevent narrative predictability, just to hit you with a page turning reveal moving at 100 miles an hour! Though the prose is dominated by seemingly useless anecdotal clutter, the actual STORY and PLOT are wonderfully executed thanks to King's direction and Fornes' brilliant art.

The Commodore sells his boys out! Interesting that Codename: Assassin can generate force-fields around an individual even if he's not present. I now realize that the Manhunter Grandmaster didn't commit suicide, but it was CA's telekinetic powers manifesting as kind of a purple mist. Interesting TLDR on the Manhunters, and the connection to the whole "Sky is Falling" stuff might yield more answers. If they're hunting the Green Team, then how did the Green Team cause the Fall of Atlas? Was it because they gave Metamorpho the Helm of Fate? Could they have tampered with the incantation as part of some plan, leading the trio of heroes to bring Atlas instead of Darkseid? Didn't care for the Batman/Creeper interaction, nor did I care for Orion jobbing to Starman. King really does seem to have a hate-boner for that character. The crash was pretty crazy, and I'm interested to see how that ends up panning out. I'm assuming the Helm is still in the car, so will Warlord still use it to bring back Good-Looks or will Lady Cop get to it first (or put it on!)?

This one issue has been better than the entire event lmao.

Highly recommend coming into books with low expectations, because it's so much fun when they turn out to be good. DC Mech succeeds where Jurassic League fails, and while I love Juan Gedeon's art on that book, it's mainly because I was a power rangers kid for longer than I was a dinosaur kid. The lore is great, the art is better, and this issue gives you a lot without making it a chore to read. That first page had me hooked. My only criticism would be using Darkseid as a villain once again. They are really killing us with Batman and Darkseid over-saturation.

Finally caught up! This book is so much fun; ribic's art is phenomenal and Gillen is so good at crafting a narrative cerebral enough to digest without extraneous prereq of continuity porn (the two one shots Thanos Rises & Celestia did the exposition weaving extremely well for someone who hasn't read a lot of marvel.) Excited for Judgement Day!

Too. Much. Fun. This and Aquaman were the week's stand outs.

YES!

I am loving this! Great art and great concepts. The fuck you to Dark Crisis right out the gate was hilarious, and reminds me of Blackstars #2 by Morrison. The page with Thomas descending as the shards of glass reflecting a moment with a fallen Robin was spectacular. Just a beautiful book period. Very excited to see how this ends.

No way they mentioned my boy Telos... Loving everything about this book. Williamson is catering every element of the story to stuff I love about DC. Beyond happy that Justice Incarnate is getting spotlight these past 4 issues, and Injustice Incarnate entering the scene is going to be fun as hell. Theories on identity of X-Tract = maybe an Armageddon 2001 displaced Dove? X-Tract vs Extant?

Engleheart takes on a herculean endeavor of establishing linear continuity in the DCU, tying the history of the JLA with the sprawl of the Silver Age. Though Crisis was around the corner, this issue is seminal to the team's history.

BACK IN BLACK! -Very cool that Culebras origin is tied to Spyral -Match x Nocturna -Talon x Culebra -Major Force nominated for DC's biggest shithead -Dry Bones from Mario joins the team Issues go by too fast but still superior to most of what DC currently puts out.

Robbie Thompson is a godsend. Everything about this book is so much fun. I love seeing how the creative team grows and gets better with every issue; Pansica and Soy's art seems to take a step up each month. Without a doubt the best book that came out this week.

Season one of Infinite Frontier's Suicide Squad comes to an end with a bang! The Squad faces off against off-brand Thunderbolts (which are an off-brand Suicide Squad anyways) while Flag leads his own team against Waller. Refrigerator Salesman Major Force gets atomized by Black Siren while Ambush Bug & knock-off Deadpool recreate the Spider-Man pointing meme. Waller wins in the end and nabs a dark trinity for her conquest of the forever evil world of Earth-3. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't! Super excited for next month's crossover "War For Earth 3".

This book is so much fun, and I'm really happy that Dexter Soy and Eduardo Pansica's art styles meld surprisingly well; the switch wasn't jarring at all, and it fit narratively with the jump between Earths. I am still a little confused as to why the Squad suffers from "brain liquidation" while jumping between alternate earths; could this be because of the vibrational differences between universes? We've never seen this be a problem in any other book that involves the Multiverse, but it provides some interesting stakes for the squad nonetheless. The reveal was fantastic, and I'm super excited for the annual.

So Batman believes the senator to be clean, though they did go fishing with the opposition. What is the lasso of truth motif that's repeated in multiple scenes? Furtum Contrectatio = Prevention of theft in Latin He meets some scavenger aliens, and then ventures to a post-apocalyptic possible-future alter-earth with a non-interventionist Superman called The Victor. The Victor has created his own Eden style paradise at the top of the world where the fortress should be, far away from the tapestry-wasteland of the mud people. In[action] Comics in excelsis! Seems like a fun Silver Age homage with some haunting socio-political commentary, all written in classic Priest fashion, and I'm all for it! Subtitles: "Air Supply" , "Furtum Contrectatio" , "It Always Rains In Newark" , "Homeland"

The art is so good! Slow burn, but super excited to see what Ram V does with these next 6 issues!

This has really grown on me. When he's not paired with Williamson, Culver ends up doing some really nice things. But the real superstar is Burnham! Love the DP, but the minute CB isn't on art, I'm dropping it.

It's really too early to determine if PKJ's Superman/Action Comics saga will be the saving grace for the Man of Tomorrow, but this is a step up from the horrendous Phil Hester two parter. I'm liking this story better than the Shadowbreed stuff from the last Superman issue, but we'll see how it progresses. The Mongul stuff is great and PKJ nails both the Super Sons scene + Lois/Clark scene. And I really don't care for the Midnighter stuff.

PKJ's elevation of Mongul in only two issues is stunning.

I hate seeing the Bendis League, but otherwise a great issue. Batman seems kind of naïve to underestimate Mongul's agenda; Bruce has always been the kind to prep contingencies for any kind of invasion, and I feel he would definitely be skeptical of a bunch of "refugees" taken in by Supes as well as Mongul's so called "losing" an ultra powered macguffin like the Genesis Fragment.

Everything was great, but the pacing was a bit off. Interested to see how long our heroes stay down for the count. Mongul's plan was too perfect, and Supes + Authority got got. Officially on the Future State path; lets see how we move on from here.

Still a great book, but I would be lying to you if I said I was enjoying the War-world stuff more than the back-up story. Something about David Lapham's art is just so dynamic and fun, and I love the super-family in action. Nostalgia for the pre-flashpoint continuity is real!

PKJ has won me over 100%.

Good story carrying bad art. A couple of fun moments sprinkled across to hide the anti-climax. The Kryx-Ul status quo was great, the Lois sequence was great, and the sacrifice of Leonath was pretty fantastic. The best moment for me was the return of Lightray and the Black Racer watching her and Omac; Jack Kirby's birthday was a few days ago and this just hit me in the right spot. Mongul's death was lame, I did not care for the Olgrun stuff, and the final battle sequences weren't all that dynamic besides the Manchester Black JLA illusion which was cool. If this had a good artist, this book would be a lot more popular. Ever since Sampere and Federici left, the fill-ins have been pretty ass. Miguel Mendoca could have come in like he did between Sampere and Federici, but we were left with Brandon Petersen's attempts at art.

"I hope you don't mind my saying so, sir but...that growl in your voice-the one you used to have to practice before you went out as Batman?" "mm." "You're doing it all the time, sir."

"Enough! You dishonor your sensei with this loss of composure! Your rage is born of fear and is unbefitting in a student of the martial arts!"

"What was your father like? Was he tough?" "He was a good man. A doctor. He died when I wasn't much older than you are now."

"Life...and death. The joke...and the punchline"

"There's something that's always fascinated me. What do eccentric men who have everything do when they get bored?"

"The Black Glove has chosen you to represent good in a contest between good and evil. You are losing. Shall we raise the stakes gentlemen? We have your children. Advantage evil." "Hh, I don't think so."

"The Black Glove is closing around you, Batman, while I...I can't be touched!"

"We are operators at the highest level." "Believe me, everything you've heard about the Black glove is true. Call me Doctor Hurt. Come, take your place for the Danse Macabre."

The arts pretty good and the plot is more interesting than anything Tamaki or Tynion have done in all of 2021.

Batman falling from space and somehow surviving the heat and pressure of the Earth's atmosphere is crazy: crazier than a guy dressing up in a bat costume and hanging around a farmboy alien who gets nigh-invincibility from the Sun? You tell me... I honestly think the back-up carried the hell out of this. Leonardo Romero's art is fantastic and Chip's prose was absolutely on point, especially in those final panels with the yellow around the symbol, genius!

Great stuff by Tynion and Jimenez. If they wanted to do a blue bat-suit just go back to the 70's silver age suit. The Monarch purchase plot point was already used by Morrison back in Leviathan when Talia blew it up with the Incorporated team inside. Hope Tynion does something cool with this Zorro aspect. Also just RIP Alfred.

This series is off to a great start but the issues feel so short! I love that the BWL is getting ready to take down Apex Lex, in what I hope is a dope fucking showdown. I'm still holding out for the Superboy-Prime vs Batman Who Laughs fight, because literally who wouldn't want that.

Still a lot of fun and Mora's art is great. This book is definitely a palette cleanser for more taxing and cerebral books, and it's able to do that and still maintain competent quality. The Supes/Bats dynamic flows naturally and I can see that Supergirl is one of his favorites to write. The best moment was when the Doom Patrol started panicking: "Coming in hot Doom Patrol! Scramble! SCRAMBLE!"

Too short; RIP Ducard and Kubert's artwork is carrying this book.

God I love Kubert's art. Taylor's writing is surprisingly tolerable in this series; void of most of his 'isms'.

This book has me torn: Tom Taylor has a track record of cringe comics with Injustice, DCEASED, Nightwing, and his atrocious Suicide Squad, while this book feels completely different. I'm hoping that his Jon Kent book will be in the same vein as this. Leave the reddit bait behind Taylor!

Overhyped as hell, but its only the first issue so that complaint isn't really valid. This book is great overall but I have to nitpick: 1. Nonexistent panel economy Johns seems to be using a cinematic style of page by panel storytelling with the 9 panel grid and don't get me wrong, it looks great, but for a book this long awaited it seems like its just burning money. 2. ALIAS the Clown Comedian and Criminal are all pretty good, but Clown? I think Killer or Cut-Throat would have been better than mere clown (pretty synonymous with comedian anyways). Regardless of that, Jason turning his brains into chef boyardee makes the name irrelevant anyways. 3. "I'm an IDEA..." The concept of Three Jokers originated form Batman asking the Mobius Chair for the Joker's true identity for which it responded with "There are Three". This concept was highly fascinating due to the ramifications to Batman's mythos and the possible multiversal factors (a deck of "52" cards has "3 Jokers"). However, Johns and Fabok (after 4 damn years of teasing) did eventually reveal that their story would not include any multiversal aspects. I was disappointed, but am looking forward to seeing the rest of the story. For there to have been three jokers in the DCU this entire time (and another on the way), means that they have to have met/worked together at some point with the implied creation sequence (first joker created the second created the third). At this point it seems like Johns is just rehashing Grant Morrison's wonderful "Clown At Midnight" interpretation where every so often Joker reinvents himself to cause chaos (like the three jokers now). Big themes seem to be birth, death, scars/wounds, trauma. But that comes with the territory of groundbreaking Batman/Joker events. As as for the panel with the "what do we do next" from an unidentified speaker behind the three jokers, I'm almost certain its a lettering error because the story doesn't give any indication of there being anyone else in that room. And no, its not the fourth joker because they haven't created him yet, as evident by the dialogue. The scene with Jason and the Batmobile seat implies that Batman is so fucked up from his loved ones hurting (Jason and Babs) that he doesn't want anyone to carry the Robin burden anymore. I mean come on, even Damian died and got resurrected! Also strange that Jason mentions Joker hasn't used Gaggy in years even though a few pages earlier he didn't even know who he was. Joker and Jason's final conversation is brilliant, and I think its a shame (though it fits perfectly) that our dear clown met his curtain call at the end of the issue.

-Random thought from last issue: if the circle of crows are servants of the nth world, and the nth world is Thanagar, does that mean that they are Thanagarians or evil hath-set bad guys? Could this lead to a unified Egyptian DC lore that folds in Doctor Fate/Nabu, Khufu/Hawkman, and Teth Adam!?!? -Final confirmation? Teth-Adam created the Akkad by breathing in the space dust! -So the mystery is revealed? Adam can access the memories of his progeny/descendants! The original Theo Adam from Pre-Flashpoint continuity was a descendant of Black Adam, and his soul was possessed once he said SHAZAM. Black Adam would eventually expel the Theo persona during Johns' JSA. -So the nth metal signet rings and the power of Shazam are the floodgates holding back this mysterious plague that is consuming both Malik and Teth-Adam. -The Fawcett lore! Ibac was originally a dude named Stanley Printwhistle, imbued by powers given to him by Satan himself IIRC. -So apparently the Circle of Crows pick an orphan every generation to host Ibac, and this incarnation seems tired of the neverending cycle of revenge: he sees himself and Adam as relics that have overstayed their welcome and are just pawns of Oni Grace's machinations. -No idea who the Sanheoli are, but why is Nergal trying to use them specifically as a tool in his agenda (that we don't know yet)? -When he refers to the man that raised him, is he talking about his dad Anu or is he talking about Adam (since he technically created all the Akkad)? -So Ishtar possesses Jasmin and is using her to fulfill her fantasies? Or is she trying to start a fight between him and Malik on purpose? -Subtitles: "Love & War" , "Strike Force" , "Probable Cause" , "Unexpected" , "Stanley" , "Flattered"

"In the Absence of Adam..." Hard to do better than the brilliance of last issue, but still fun as always! Loved Luis and Trindade as fill-ins, and this one-off with Mirror Master ended up being a whole lot of fun!

Fuck TBWL and fuck Death Metal. All I want is a series about the Chronicler fucking around trying to understand DC continuity.

Eddy Barrows holy shit! This was Williamson's week. Two great Flash books filled to the brim with fan service and wholesomeness.

Very enjoyable but I would've preferred if the ALE infection was only spread through technology and not traditional "zombie-bites".

This makes me want to read Priest's Deathstroke run. He nailed all of the characters and how they interact with each other. I especially enjoyed Doctor Light, Sinestro, and Brainiac's dialogue throughout the issue.

Compressed as fuck. The story beats are enjoyable but the dialogue is extremely weak. Once again, Williamson farming Morrison keeps me satisfied. Howard Porter's art seemed a lot better this issue than it did in the past couple.

I am proud to say that Tomasi has been on a streak since 2016 and I'm loving it! I really hope that it's not Jason Todd under the mask.

Fun issue with a great dynamic between the Spirit of Vengeance and the Dark Knight. The colliding morals of the two characters reminds me a lot of that great Batman TBATB episode "The Chill of the Night", which featured Phantom Stranger and the Spectre himself.

I really like how Tomasi writes the Joker. I hate the Court of Owls so the Talon crap is always a drag, but Batman and Dent never fail to deliver great interactions that liven the book. Now for Joker War!

Great issue. Glad to see Batwoman back in the fold. I love the dynamic of respect between her and Bruce, as both are competent military strategists, with the book showing them working in a beautiful harmonic synchrony of vigilante brutality. Bullock as Commissioner is fantastic as well, and I do hope to see more of the gravity of the main storyline's impact in this companion title.

"Blowback" by Tomasi and Walker = 6/10 -Rogues gallery clip show. Walker's art is great though. "The Master Class" by Bendis and Marquez = 8/10 -Nothing better than the family in action. Bendis juggles the cast really well and Marquez fits the script extremely well. "Many Happy Returns" by Fraction and Zdarsky = 9/10 -The fact that "Where's my birthday present!" is already a meme is hilarious. "Rookie" by Rucka and Risso = 10/10 -Bring back Gotham Central please! "Ghost Story" by Tynion and Rossmo = 8/10 -Say what you will about Tynion, man can write the hell out of Robin. "Fore" by DeConnick and Romita Jr = 6/10 -"Holy Birdie Batman!" "Odyssey" by Wolfman and Luppachino = 7/10 -Compressed as fuck but great homage to the golden age pulp detectives. "Detective #26" by Morrison and Burnham = 10/10 -King Moz hits it out of the park with a great commentary on superheroes killing the pulp genre of comics. The last page can be seen as a curtain call for Morrison, as the end of an era for the final bastion of veteran writers of this generation. "Legacy" by King and Simonson = 7/10 -Very meh but Simonson art is good to see again. "As Always" by Snyder and Reis = 8/10 -Gordon x Batman <3; Endless Winter hinting + Batman always wins = Basic Snyder story. "Generations Fractured" by Jurgens and Nowlan = 7/10 -Just another prelude, but excited to see what happens with the repurposed Generations. "The Gift" by Tamaki and Mora = 6/10 -Joker War tie-in (yawn). Mora on Batman is perfection.

Once again, the Tomasi/Mahnke dream-team hits it out of the park! After only two issues, it's safe to say that Bats is finally in good hands again. The art and writing continue being solid. Leslie succumbs to the Joker venom, and Alfred is stabbed by a man in a Zorro outfit. Fun callback to Year One with the chair and the bell. Also enjoyed the reference to Damian's medical skills, as he apparently performed surgery on Bruce during the "Court of Owls" storyline. The mastermind behind this plot seems to be going after Bruce's former mentors, and his next target (according to the solicits) is none other than Henri Ducard. If you remember back in Tomasi's Batman & Robin run from the New 52, Henri's son, Morgan, fought the dyanmic duo; ultimately being executed by Damian. We also know that Tomasi will be writing a story in Detective #1000 about the "Arkham Knight" from the video game series; possibly some connections there. The book ends with Batman going to Arkham in search of answers (though it's unlikely he will get any). Main problem with this book is its shorter length, which makes it feel like there's less plot progression.

Always well written, though I can't help but say that I was expecting something a little more bombastic for the finale of the series. Solicits and the FCBD special without a doubt had a lot of it spelled out for us, which I feel definitely worked to the detriment of this issue especially. In the end, I'm curious how everything will fit together upon re-read but I am still very excited for Judgement Day.

Eternal History Lesson #3! Banter between two evils was very well written; Gillen has separated himself from the pack and I definitely feel a lot more engaged in his writing style. Perfect balance of substance and eloquence without being pretentious. This entire run is what a New Gods relaunch should be.

Up to this point in my comic-reading career, I've never really had a Flash: Barry was in the N52 comics and the CW show (before it went to crap) while Wally was in the DCAU + Young Justice and the Pre-Flashpoint stuff which I always enjoyed. To have a Wally run after so long should feel like a radical transition... but I can't help but absolutely love the direction Jeremy Adams has been taking him. Wally is so much fun, and the utilization of Mr. Terrific works extremely well. It's crazy to think it's been 5 year since Johns had Wally and Linda reunite in the DCU Rebirth special, and look where we are now!

Not sure how this appearance of Eclipso will fit in with Superman & The Authority as well as his involvement in Infinite Frontier but Doctor Fate next issue! Also, loving that they brought back the post-rebirth wally suit from 2009.

The Jai/Irey section is still a lot of fun, but the Gemworld section is tedious af. I could give less of a shit about Gemworld so I'm pretty biased anyways. I wish Pasarin could have done the full issue, but Brent Peeples did a fine job filling in. Calculator's presence is slightly paradoxical after reading this week's issue of Deathstroke Inc, but who knows what's happening in that book anyways.

One of the most consistent books coming out of DC right now. A great palette cleanser for the world ending crisis rehashes that are to come.

Did not expect anything about this crossover to mention or tie-into Josh Williamson's upcoming plans. This definitely divided its time between being an epilogue for the previous storyline as well as a brief tangential stopgap for the event itself. Not too knowledgeable on this incarnation of Johnny Quick for Andy Schmidt's Crime Syndicate run, but he and Mirror Master are fun. Jeremy Adam's as always nails the character of Wally West and the shoulder tap KO of Johnny Quick was the best part of the issue.

I love benday dots and I love pre-digital coloring. If the comic uses those two things in its art, I'm on board. Flash continues to be great, and this event is a blessing and a curse for this book: we derail the plot once more for an event, but hopefully this will reward the series in the long run with some character development and increased reader-ship. Meddling kids gonna meddle, but I like the twins and I'm excited to see each of the alternate goose chases. The Earth-Flash sequence was without a doubt the best thing about this issue (mainly because of the art). I love Pasarin, but Nahuelpan knocks it out of the park. Based on the first page flash-forward, I wonder if that will truly be thawne/zolomon, or if it's wally in the zoom suit.

Jeremy Adams man, this gets Wally West. Easily one of the best serialized stories I have had the pleasure of accompanying in a long time.

Would have loved if all of it was drawn by Fernando Pasarin!

I love a good multiverse story, and Lobdell sure seems to be delivering. Very happy that the Mobius Chair leftover from the Darkseid War is being used again, and I'd love for them to mention that it was Manhattan that killed Metron. President Superman is always a good sight to see. I hope Linda Park and Wally are developed more since we've barely seen her since the first Titans arc back in 2016.

I love me some Multiverse stories!

Some Thoughts: -Seems like Thomas got zapped by Darkseid back to the Flashpoint Earth preserved in Hypertime. -The concept of the Divine Continuum presents some interesting ideas and I think you could find a way to fold it into Morrison's Cosmology as well. -Set up for World of Flashpoint plots: Per Degaton in SA, project Superman, Wesley Dodd, and even a possible Prime Earth Psycho Pirate? He's being used in the Detective Crossover right now if I'm not wrong, but then that would mean that this is the Flashpoint version with memories/visions of prime earth. -Most intrigued by the Doomsday Clock mentions; Slater's watch, Mime & Marionette, and the Dreiberg kids mentioned on the chalkboard. -More Zoom fuckery is on the way! And the Flashpoint Barry Allen stuff was a lot of fun. -The Clockwork Killer mystery is pretty cool, someone is killing time traveler counterparts and stuffing them with gears and shit. The Scavenger stuff was a little out of place, but I wonder if he was really just working for Aquaman and ended up killing Barry and the Dents just because. -I'm praying that Johns follows up on the Stargirl Spring Break plot threads.

Hahaha what the fuck is going on

Great story by PKD that's given me hope for his upcoming run. Midnighter was really fun as well but Gleb Melnikov's art was def the standout. The Black Racer and Shilo Norman stories just didn't feel Fourth World enough.

Breakout writer of 2020 takes on Swamp Thing! Very intriguing and well written story; Mike Perkins' art really complements it. Will definitely be picking up next issue as well as the ongoing.

Fantastic. I've always had a soft spot for Orlando due to his affinity for Morrisonian concepts, and this does not disappoint. I was one of the 5 people that read "The Unexpected" all the way through, and I'm happy that DC has given him a mini instead of an ongoing for his recent projects. Seven Soldiers is one of my favorite works by Morrison, and I'm glad to see its better utilization than in that horrid Sideways arc written by DiDio. I was on the fence about this one, but I am proud to say that it is worth every cent, and probably one of the better books that came out this week along with JL Odyssey #13.

Great art and story. I love the world building that Orlando does in this issue, and I feel it really amplifies the experience. Melmoth name-dropping the Metaverse blew my mind, and I also loved Frankenstein putting together the team (Even tho Gotham City Monsters is kinda stupid).

Great read! Would be crazy if Thomas Wayne was the secret love-child of Constance and Slam (since she might have gotten preggers from their tryst back in #4). This book made me love Phil Hester's art! I'm not sure if it was the colorist or just how suited he is for this kind of narrative, but his work here looks night and day compared to other stuff I've seen him do.

"I don't approve of weed." Great issue with a lot of expansion of the Multiversal lore that Grant has been creating since Final Crisis (or even earlier!). The police procedural stuff dealing with the anti-matter mining colony is pretty enjoyable too. I also annotated this issue here: https://sonofbatmann.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-green-lantern-10-annotations.html

I can tell this is gonna be a slow burn. Really enjoying the detective/procedural themes Morrison has inserted in the story. Sharp's art is absolutely phenomenal. The best moments include the return of Evil Star, new Lanterns, and a classic Justice League villain's (Kanjar Ro) race coming in to cause trouble for Hal. Nice book, but nothing mind-blowing.

AFTER ENDLESS COMMUNION WITH THE HYPERGODS BEYOND THE OVERVOID, MAGUS MORRISON HAS FINALLY UNLOCKED THE LOST VARIABLE OF THE SILVER-AGE EQUATION: CAMP DIALOGUE! CAMP DIALOGUE + ONE-OFF VILLAIN / LOVE INTEREST * SELF-CENTERED CONTINUITY = UNIQUE PIECE OF COMIC LITERATURE THAT WILL CONFUSED BASED FANS!!! WITH THIS ULTIMATE WEAPON LEFT OVER FROM THE ENTROPY WARS, WILL OUR HEROES BE ABLE TO DEFEAT THE NEVERENDING DEPRESSOVERSE INFECTION THAT PLAGUES THE COMIC INDUSTRY? FIND OUT THIS WEEK IN "THE GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO #4: GOLDEN GIANTS OF NEO-PANGEA!"

Great start to essentially the stopgap between Season 1 and 2 of Morrison's GL Run. This issue takes place in the new timeline altered by Hal Jordan's use of the Miracle Machine, remaking the reality in Controller Mu's image. In this new reality the GL Corps never existed, with the Guardians having been exterminated millennia ago. Hal and Belzebeth have pretty much been just taking out every planet level threat and converting them into the Blackstar doctrine, leaving no opposition. I appreciate Morrison's references to the old Moore GL story "Tygers", with mentions of Guardian skin being fashioned into toilet seats and drums as well as the intro to the descendants of the Five Inversions, the Demons of Ysmault that Atrocitus once belonged to. I always love a competent Mongul (FTMWHE, Sinestro Corps), but sadly he gets taken down fairly quickly by the legions of Mu's will. We also got to see a Blackstar Jess Cruz and Simon Baz which I thought were nice touches. I don't know how I feel about the Hal x Bee romance we get here, but you could argue that there was quite a bit of tension during issue 5 of Season 1 while Hal was being initiated on the Vampire Planet. Even though the book was just exposition, I enjoy the fact that Morrison has put the time into developing the Blackstars into a different kind of threat that the Corps has to eventually take down. No more colored lantern corps, no more entities, just vampire queens and omnipotent oans.

Too short!

Tom King is the only writer I will continue to give more chances for redemption. My opinion on his stuff is 10x more bipolar than Bendis or Taylor combined.

Betty/Red Harpy and Joe Fixit are such a fun dynamic that will be greatly missed. Though Gamma Flight seems to have a good amount of correlation with Immortal Hulk, I wonder if Ewing's Defenders will be the same way. And also, 80 pages for issue #50? Count me in!

Wish Xermanico did all the art, but Pelletier and Merino are great nonetheless. Josh Williamson is building something dynamic and unique, extremely reminiscent of '52': extremely excited to see where this goes. Infinite Frontier and the PKJ Superman stuff have restored my interest and faith in this new era of DC.

Xermanico needs to draw the whole issue... INFINITE Questions: -Where is Psycho Pirate trying to send Barry to? -Who is the Flash analogue that Barry sees in his vision? -Why is Bones building transport ships and gathering prisoners? What is his plan? -Where is his Roy's Black Ring from? -Where was Hammond going to take Roy? -What has Infinity Inc been doing in the Bleed?

I'm a sucker for cosmic stories and exposition dumps, so this issue was definitely for me.

Wholesome.

Great start to the Justice/Doom War story line that has been teased since the series' first issue. The parallel storytelling between both sides was fun to read, with Starman and Luthor being the standouts of the issue. Ever since Luthor got his powers, the remaining members of the Legion seem kind of useless; with their primary function being Luthor's "errand boys" (yes, Cheetah is a girl). I would like to point out that the mysterious figure (who disrupts Starman's time portals) bears resemblance to the being J'onn saw at the "End of the Omniverse" during his flash-forward back in issue 1. I think issue 31 comes out next week, so I'll definitely be whelmed (Doomsday Clock and The Green Lantern come out as well!)

One of the best things about this series is that I feel like I get so much out of each issue. Though I wish Doomsday Clock had been the ones to fully introduce the Justice Society, Snyder accomplishes this nonetheless. Will be picking up next issue.

"...and that's when thing got knocked into twelfth gear!"

Never did I think that I would find a Jorge Luis Borges reference in a JLD comic. Morrison had some great use of Borges back in his Batman Inc with the Argentina plot. This alone made up for Bendis garbage that populated the first half of this issue.

Great issue. I really enjoyed Batman and Wonder Woman's debate over whether a team is needed to police magic. I also really liked Chaos Zatanna messing with the comic panels in a great callback to her fight with Zor in "Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #4". The final icing on the cake would be Jason Blood now hosting the Demons Three. That's fucking awesome.

Mostly setup, but Tynion and Martinez never fail to knock it out of the park. I really enjoyed them addressing the repercussions from last arc as well as the new lineup for the Injustice League Dark. This seems like the final act of Tynion's run, but I could be wrong since they still have to defeat the Upside-Down Man and the Otherkind. One of the most consistent series coming out right now, and I love it to death.

Alvaro Martinez is officially one of the best artists in the industry.

Spotlight on some of the underused leaguers: Aquaman, Elongated Man, & The Atom. Ray's internal struggles of inferiority and feelings of uselessness among the other leaguers brings a lot of depth to his character, while the new arrivals of Willow and Construct are a blast to read. Construct is essentially a pre-Cameron Terminator, hellbent on annihilation and oppression. Willow is a confident and powerful elemental on the run, helping Ray get his mojo back while kicking some ass.

Brandon Petersen's art is soooooo bad. Williamson's no Morrison, but he does a pretty decent job nonetheless. No high concepts like in Multiversity, but some great callbacks and entertaining moments. The discount Thanos getting merked by Darkseid while having a giant "snap" effect is hilarious. The return of the Grandmother Box (now grandfather) and Sturmer got me so hyped. Excited for next issue with hopefully better art.

Finally, the God of Evil has returned! This series has shown a lot of improvement since Abnett took the reins. Wasn't expecting the Jessica Cruz moment and I'm satisfied that Darkseid is treated like a true threat instead of the abomination that was his appearance in Robinson's Wonder Woman. Fun issue overall.

Great issue. Abnett has really proven his worth on this series, turning it from a no justice follow up editorial mess to one of the best team books put out by DC right now. The new team introduced works very well, depicting the gravity of Darkseid's actions across the universe. Jessica's resurrection is a little annoying, but I appreciate that Abnett didn't draw it out to have her come back 10 issues later. The omega energy + lantern ring embedded in her hand power will probably be explained soon, even though it takes away from the impact of last issue's ending. I didn't enjoy Conrad's art while he was on Action Comics, but he has shined in this book. This and Gotham City Monsters are the definite pulls of this week.

I really enjoy the perspective shift to this new team in the last two issues, and the set up for them being the new JL Odyssey is great as well. Omega Jessica is hella thicc. The Orion twist was cool, and I hope it'll be explained soon, since he and the rest of the New Gods disappeared following the destruction of the Source Wall.

Scattered Thoughts: -So Degaton made a deal with Mordru? -Degaton's ritual is an attempt to replace the JSA with his own team. -There is an older Degaton stuck in 1947? And they made a deal with Salem the Witch Girl against Doctor Fate? -Beth and Yolanda have Eclipso's influence inside of them, and they're taking Lazarus Pills? -Helena goes to Gotham and reveals herself to Batman, telling him she is his daughter and she's come to save him from dying. -What is the disturbance in the speed force that jay senses? Related to his daughter Judy?

Never picked up an Xmen comic in my entire life, and this did not disappoint. Cat Beast is the only thing to get used to.

Great tight dialogue and Quietly's pencils always knock it out of the park.

Even though I love all the sons of Batman, Damian is my Robin forever. Williamson definitely gets the character very well, and Gleb Melnikov's pencils are gorgeous.

Jorge Corona does a great job filling in for Melnikov. Excited to see the tournament start as well as the convergence of the League of Shadows, Lazarus, and Assassins.

Very solid start to this crossover. I have no doubt been a Williamson critic for these last couple months, but this was so much fun. Bogdanovic's art is spectacular, and Williamson really gives you a lot out of this issue. The pacing was fantastic, and the continuity was on point with the rest of the DCU. Props to the team for a status quo shakeup done the right way.

Nothing more that I could want from a Shazam series than was presented in this issue. I cannot express how happy I am that Geoff is back, and I hope that he stays for good on this series (and doesn't leave after 5 issues). Enjoyed the back-up, but I really hope they keep Billy and Mary as twins. Best scenes were the return of >>>[SPOILER]<<< CC Batson and the teasing of Hoppy. Definitely reading issue two. Great work Geoff!

PRIME TIME IS COMING!!!

Todd Nauck is a beast! Love reading more Stargirl, and the Golden Age pulls were so fantastic that I had to go up and do some deep diving on the DC Database Wiki! The most important part of this is the fact that it truly feels like a pre-flashpoint comic, something that is made for the long time fans, before all this pandering to new readers that makes the universe feel so small.

Courtney has been the goat for over 20 years, but damn is Emiko an awesome POV. Loved the mentions of Starfish Island and Diablo Island (where the Heart of Darkness was found by Bruce Gordon IIRC) and now Orphan Island! Cool new version of Airwave, I think the last time we saw his character was in the Morrison GL Annual from 2019. Super excited to dig into more obscure Silver Age lore and new characters promoting a more traditional unified DC Continuity, from the JSA to the Legion.

Todd Nauck is unstoppable!

Taylor's Aussie-Squad OC's make a fool out of the Dark Knight while Deadshot makes a difficult decision. While I like Taylor's writing, I feel like his overkill wholesome moments (the dog in this issue) kind of bloat the story and leave something to be desired. Series is still great tho.

I had a lot of fun with this issue and I'm glad we're returning to a more traditional Suicide Squad as opposed to the Taylor OC cringefest that was the last series.

Dumb fun but too short. The art is brutally wonderful as well. Annoying that Superboy is getting slapped around, but Peacemaker's shade is immaculate.

The funniest part of this book is the fact that Robbie Thompson has shit out so many bot OC cannon-fodder just to kill them within 3 panels. The one exception to this is Culebra, who is essentially a mouthpiece for the DC subreddit. Peacemaker is nuts and I love it, though this Teen Titans cross-over seems completely unnecessary this early on (RIP trade readers).

The breakneck pace is such a novelty for a monthly comic; too many books these days meander and take ages to move forward, while this does the exact opposite.

Absolutely loving this book. Eduardo Pansica is becoming one of my favorite artists at DC right now. I need a Ambush Bug ongoing written by Robbie Thompson asap!!!

Love it. This series is shaping up to be one of the stars of the Infinite Frontier relaunch. Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, and Dexter Soy knock this one out of the park Super excited for Rick Flagg's secret war against Waller (could she possibly be an analogue from Earth-3?).

Despite not enjoying Bendis' Man of Steel miniseries, this and Action Comics are a pleasant surprise. I'm slowly warming up to Brian's dialogue and characterization of Clark, but I enjoyed this nonetheless. The reintroduction of classic Supes villain Jax-Ur and the incorporation of sidelined characters like Blue Beetle, Will Magnus, the Atoms, and Adam Strange are just icing on an already delicious cake.

A very dynamic issue, a lot happens and we are finally able to see how this half-season of Swamp Thing is going to ramp up as well as the direction it's going in. I'm always a fan of the writers utilizing the vast scope of the DC universe like in the pre-flashpoint days, and Ram V does this very well with the various characters he's pulled in to represent the war of ideas that is to come. My favorite segment was the journey of Trinity; her internal dialogue just sucked me in immediately and I'm very excited to see where this storyline goes in the next issue.

So good but the ending really hurt it for me. I've never been a huge fan of the original Hush storyline, but this was a great tale of hostile bat factions battling for hold over Gotham (some cool lore as well).

Very well written, with March's pencils elevating the book immensely. The whole Cressida plot to kill the Joker is obviously manufactured; probably another sick ploy to torture Gordon once more. Interesting enough, it appears that joker had nothing to do with the A-Day attack, possibly put into motion by either the Magistrate (Simon Saint) or Scarecrow or a third party. I don't care much for the whole Magistrate plot with Tynion's OC's, but we'll see what happens. I'll probably pick up next issue.

Supervillain resorts, cannibal Texans, and a female Bane: "The Joker #2" on stands now! Writing is fun and well paced, Jim is a fantastic ride along while Tynion weaves some plot threads to expose later in the series. Guillem March continues to knock it out of the park effortlessly; all around beautiful book.

It's great!

The art is unbelievably great, and I appreciate that Tynion doesn't hold your hand at all. Stoked to be along for the ride.

I actually really liked this. Art was wonderful and the writing is very accessible for someone who doesn't read much Marvel. The atmosphere is really comfortable which is something you don't see a lot these days in modern comics; this could be an FF issue straight from the 60's and I wouldn't have batted an eye. Great refreshing take on the character.

Big soft spot for Morrison so this will be pretty biased. Finally the resolution to the Nth metal isotope, the death of Onimar Synn, and the return of the Bad Samaritan. This issue had quite a bit of plot progression, tying numerous threads into the final act of the series: the showdown of the Monitor world of Nil. Nil was last seen in Morrison's Final Crisis tie-in - Superman Beyond. In that story, a cosmic robot, powered by the fusion of Superman and Ultraman, fights the dark monitor Mandrakk in order to prevent eternal midnight. Superman wins, engraving the words "To Be Continued" on a tombstone (also seen in the issue). In the end, this series has been my favorite of the New Age of Heroes (along with Challengers and Immortal Men), and I hope it can stick the landing.

Here for the art!

I liked the Luthor v Joker convo.

Tom King/Gerads story was amazing, the Cantwell/Rodriguez story was amazing, the Mora one was good, but I could care less for Ed Brisson's work. Jeff Spokes art was very good, but wasted on a mundane script.

The plot is stale, but enough. The art by Kyle Hotz and Paul Pelletier is great (sorry Bressan). The constant swarm of Morrison OC's thrown at me does a good job at keeping me anesthetized.

Williamson's script is extremely lacking and the plot's pretty mundane. The arrival of the Empty Hand should be hype af but I can't help but expect he won't be used to his full potential. The meta-commentary is tired and base-level but I appreciate his attempts to include it in as a plot point. I gave this issue a point higher since they included Crafty the Coyote from the greatest single issue of all time "Animal Man #5".

I laughed out loud when I read the Alfred sequence; Williamson clearly loved the final issue of "Return of Bruce Wayne". Also biggest wtf last page for the whole week.

Something about Dexter Soy's art... maybe it just isn't for me. This premise of this title is strange as hell and I've never seen anything like it before. Two part story arcs that crossover with a concurrent event in the DCU: A-Day, Titans Academy, Crime Syndicate, and now Swamp Thing? What tf is Waller doing? If this ends up building up to a larger agenda I will be both impressed & enthralled to say the least.

"Damian is a wonderchild. And Batman, his father, belongs to me. Not to her."

Magnificent art by Howard Porter, but this is definitely a breather issue after the explosive status quo shake-up from last issue. I'm convinced that the fake Deathstroke is Geo-Force now due to his vendetta against Slade bc of Terra, the tunnel carved through underground, and the Markovian setting. He would also have beef with Talia & the Al Ghuls after the Leviathan incidents. I could care less about who Batman is playing tongue hockey with this week.

Predictable and underwhelming. Cool that Harley got muted but the preview art for that page came out months ago. I was really hoping for a twist with the Designer reveal, but stupid corpse twist and catwoman bank account switcharoo instead. Confirmed that Bruce Wayne does not pay taxes lol.

Penguin said it best in this issue, "It's going to be a long, bloody summer." Pretty much your by the book calm before the storm issue. Stage is set, pieces are in play, now just to sit back and watch the show!

Ice-Pop and Sno-Cone, jesus fucking christ... This issue Tynion succumbs to his greatest weakness, THE EXPOSITION DUMP! Short issue; only 19 pages, blame it on double shipping. Jimenez is great as always. Don't care for the blue suit, don't care for Clownhunter, but I'm kind of surprised that Harley successfully pulled a reverse uno on Punchline's muting a few issues back. Psycho drugged bats was done in Morrison's run and I was hoping that Tynion would bring back our lovely Zur-En-Arrh Bats what with his Alfred earpiece hallucination. The Mark of Zorro stuff is probably the most interesting part and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with this "real ending" stuff.

Fun start Williamson's revival of the Batman/Superman series! The opening flashback was great, but half of this book was spoiled in the previews so I can't say that I was shocked or wowed by anything else. Excited for the next issue nonetheless.

"The jet was just the delivery method punk... I'M ALWAYS THE WEAPON!" - Batman Fun issue, but my one problem is that this series doesn't really stand on it's own without the context of its predecessors (Metal, Justice League, TBWL). It just feels like a glorified prelude to "YOTV: Hell Arisen", which is gonna be the real deal. I would love to see that Batman Who Laughs vs Superboy Prime fight though.

Damn.

Not a Tom Taylor fan, but this seemed pretty void of his 'isms'. The internal dialogue was very reminiscent of Frank Miller's Batman voice; then again we're also getting an older, more hardened version of the Caped Crusader. Return of Beryl was great, and the new Squire doesn't seem too forced. Gentleman Ghost was also fun. Kubert's art was fantastic as always. Pretty good; will be picking up the next issue.

I thought Doomsday Clock was the most ambitious book I've ever read; I was wrong. The book opens en media res, where Prime Earth has been ravaged to the point that its a literal Bat-Supercontinent. The last that we saw of Snyderverse shenanigans was Hell Arisen: Lex getting cucked by Monitor Sugar-Mommy and Plot Armor who Laughs, who revealed the extent of the JL's escape through the Quintessence's "door". All we know is that the League (no Kendra or J'onn but Hal instead?) recreate the DCU Rebirth one shot cover and then get vaporized by what looks like Perpetua's granny hand doom magic. We have Sergeant Rock talking about poop, Bat-tourettes-rex, and a myriad of Bat-analogues that hurt my brain. I mean come on Snyder, Baphomet is a goat devil, not a cthulu squid dragon! BWL holds a summit after Perpetua sends Earth 22 to "kingdom come" (get it?), and our lovely Batman pulls up and resurrects and army of revolutionary bat soldiers. This pissed me off because Snyder clearly doesn't know how Black Lantern Rings work, but I guess it doesn't matter since Lobo in the next page to distract you from realizing that (and no dreads either). And then fucking Wally West, literal Ultimate Speedster Manhattan Mobius Chair West, gets captured by discount Mouth of Sauron Who Laughs! They better explain this somehow. The Wall-man reveals that Perpetua is the big multiversal baddie who is the reason behind very single crisis level villain in DCU history, using her influence to cause crises as a means to escape from her Source Wall lockup. This sucks on a myriad of levels, because apparently now our beloved boys True Darkseid, Dark Monitor Mandrakk, and Prime-Time are officially a bunch of simps for Perpetua. What's next, is the freaking Empty Hand subscribed to her OnlyFans too? Snyder's OC's can literally suck it. I hate Perpetua and I HATE the Batman Who Laughs. However, besides the griping, I cannot deny that this book was entertaining as hell and I will definitely be buying the rest of the series and the tie-ins too. The epitome of so ridiculous that its good. Snyder clearly loves DC and what he's put together appeals to me 100%. The Trinity Crisis one-shot will be my saving grace. Here's to July!

Better than the last one, but though it has some great writers and great stories, it also has some shit ones too. Together = 8/10 I liked everything besides the fact that they shafted Damian and continue to shit all over him. Fuck you Adam Glass, and fuck you DC editorial. Last Knights = 8/10 Hal and Sinestro story is always fun and Lemire knows the characters. The Question = 5/10 Yawn. Dust of a Distant Storm = 10/10 Perfect. Gail Simone really struck out with this one, and the art is fantastic too. Whale Fall = 3/10 Yawn. We Fight For Love = 4/10 Cecil Castellucci is an awful writer. I've also never liked Dick and Babs together; I think that him and Starfire were always a much healthier couple. Man of Tomorrow = 9/10 Mark Waid. That's all.

Batman vs Brother Eye = 6 Platinum & Wonder Woman = 5 Red Tornado Family = 8 Blue & Gold = 9 Multiverse Flash Race = 7 Superboy Robot = 9 Midnighter & Apollo = 6 Harley Quinn = 4 Robotman & Mike = 10 Superman & Cyborg vs Henshaw = 10

LIAN IS BACK. Ram V, Greg Pak, and GLY had the only worthwhile stories.

Sholly Fisch League of Shadows story was wonderful, and I also really liked the Batman Beyond Gray Ghost story as well. As for the Booster Gold story; many people forget that before The Omac Project, Maxwell Lord was shady businessman turned ally to the JLI for a good decade and a half. Great story overall. Everything else is either boring or garbage; Tom King still can't write without using brainyquote.com and The Bible, and jeez the Bizarro stories... YAWN.

Good, but I wish the plot wasn't so static. Hero dies -> Hero becomes another hero -> Villain helps out -> More heroes die -> Wholesome/emotional moment -> More heroes die. What separates this from any other apocalypse/Blackest Night/zombie story? What's the point of all the deaths? What about DeSaad? What about the other New Gods? Has the rest of the universe not reacted to this? I really hope that the magical plan that was teased in the one shot turns out to be interesting, but everything seems stale besides that.

Wholesome ending to a wholesome story. The Freeze stuff really takes away from it though.

Lincoln March jobbing hard as usual. Matches Malone needs to be used more.

A Post-Kamandi future earth where they have gladiator space matches with aliens? Count me in! Though he isn't that popular, I actually enjoy Steve Orlando's work quite a bit (The Unexpected, JLA). I like his love for obscure DC lore and Morrisonian concepts present in his books, and I hope we continue to get more in the issues to come. This book was pretty dense, and I felt I got alot out of it. The art was alright, as I'm not the biggest fan of the 3d models used. Let's hope it pulls through!

I actually had a lot of fun with this issue. Not a lot happened, but I really enjoyed the concept of Waller going to Earth 3 with an ad-hoc Suicide Squad made of Justice League analogues taking out the Crime Syndicate and "saving the world". As for the Black Adam story; I think its incredibly stupid to have Superman One Million job/act as a metric to prop up the villain. They did that in Orlando's "Electric Warriors" and I personally think its pretty shallow from a narrative stand point. Black Adam has always been a compelling anti-hero and I'm excited to see how he deals with "The Unkindness" (stupid name btw) as well as Gold Beetle.

Super compressed but more enjoyable than most of the shit pumped out of Future State. I would have loved to read a 3 issue mini with these characters and the glimmers of rich history PKJ has infused into this single issue. I hope to get more of this in his run.

Korra + Wonder Woman = Yara Flor. Art was great, writing was slightly of off-putting, but very creative and original.

Ra's Al Ghul story, Talia story, and Scarecrow were the highlights.

Standouts were: -"Punching Evil" = 8/10 -"The Arrow & The Song" = 9/10 -"Green-Man & Autumn-Son" = 10/10 -"Star City Star" = 8/10 -"Tap, Tap, Tap" = 10/10 Ben Percy's story had a pretty brain-dead message, but its in character for Ollie to have such staunch left wing views so I don't really give a shit. Mariko Tamaki's story attempted to imitate Silver Age one-offs but ended up being all style no substance. Mike Grell's was boring, but great to see his art nonetheless. Everything else was mediocre.

Enjoyed last issue a lot more. The Golden Lantern twist was very anticlimactic, but I'm very excited for the final confrontation between Hal and the Qwa-Man that was cut short last issue. Liam Sharp's art is still fantastic as always.

They should call this series The Legion of Doom, because these last 13 issues seem more focused on the villains than the heroes. Not the biggest fan of Guillem March's art, but it sufficed. Joker's fear and hatred of the BWL adds a new aspect to his character, but his plan to fuck with Luthor seemed kinda pointless. Return of Brainiac from No Justice and Prof Ivo was pretty cool too. A very "ok" issue.

The "good" kind of filler.

This issue felt a little shorter than the last two. I love Howard Porter's art, but it wasn't on par with New World Order and it reminds me of Drowned Earth (which was not amazing). The twist at the end was predictable, and seeing as the solicitations reveal one of the brothers siding with Perpetua, the false hope doesn't have much of an effect due to the guaranteed success of Doom.

I miss the old Lex. The solicits kind of spoiled the arc for me so I've kind of just been checking the boxes while reading these past few issues. I'm really happy the Anti-Monitor is back in his OG Crisis armor (Second Version). I also like how they mentioned that he had the ALE removed from him back in Darkseid War, proving that though Mobius was created by Perpetua (issue 22), he always reincarnates after death in the 6th Dimension, linking all of his separate versions (COIE, Sinestro Corps War, New 52). Death of Starman was very anti-climactic and it's pretty much Kendra's fault. Let's hope that the series picks up again.

Dear Scott Snyder, Why did you have to include Earth 3 in the page with the reactions to Doom's victory? I thought that everyone was clear after Bendis fucked up with his little "Superboy-wormhole-Crime-Syndicate-in-the-past" bullshit, but you just had to mess it up again didn't you! So I guess Forever Evil didn't happen now? One of the best line-wide events in the decade has just been erased from continuity just for this little mention? I don't care if you destroyed the Gotham by Gaslight universe, orif you showed my boy Catman, or if you did a little Watchmen reference at the beginning of the book, I just want my MAZAHS! -SONOFBATMANN Besides that, the art was good but the plot was just set up.

The art is so good but the writing is so cringe you'd think they asked the DC Subreddit to compose the dialogue.

Good, but it doesn't feel like a Geoff Johns book. The story moves at a snail's pace (for me at least), and guess I miss the high-stakes no-stopping action and world building that I was used to in his recent Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Justice League runs. Yes, I understand that he is obviously occupied with Doomsday Clock and Three Jokers, but I can't help feel like he wrote an outline for 3-4 issues, and stretched it out to fit 7. This will definitely read a lot better in trade.

Alanna is obviously the murderer. King is still teasing us as to what crimes Adam may have committed as well as what Terrific's judgement was (we only saw the aftermath). King however does it very sloppily; the dialogue is a drag, but better than his Mister Miracle husband/wife banter. I thought Batman's dialogue was serviceable but the story itself is moving at a snails pace. Gerads art is magnificent tho.

Dennis Hopeless has brought this book down. Still love you Robbie Thompson. You too Eduardo & Dexter; ya'll need to get put on bigger books because you definitely have the talent.

This story-arc could have easily been condensed into three or four issues. Bendis continues to write Superman like Spiderman, where he explains how he lives and interacts with his powers. Rogol Zaar continues to be a boring villain. No interesting dialogue or plot progression in the book. Ivan's art is unparalleled, and is the only thing holding this book up. Superboy's reveal at the end was meh. Let's hope Bendis doesn't ruin one of the best Rebirth characters.

Pacing is super off, while the art continues to reach new heights. We get some revelations regarding Levi's connection to Prescott and prelude to what went down before he left India. I was hyped for the suicide Squad, the idea of Peacemaker hunting Swamp Thing in the jungles of Kaziranga just sounds cool to me, but the execution was so meh. Hopefully next issue is a step up to the quality of the previous issues.

More of a "Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Last Days of the Justice Society" than COIE but I'll take it. Very depressing tho, with the JSA jobbing harder than ever before, especially to a one off villain from an 80's single issue special.

This is something I can call "dumb fun". Looking back over the second wave of "Tales from the Dark Multiverse" One Shots, the only word that can describe my sentiment is "meh". Hush was definitely the standout, while COIE and Flashpoint were without a doubt lacking. The only way to end this saga is with the nightmare alternate of the OG: Dark Nights Metal. This was exactly what I expected it to be but we did get a couple interesting takes: Duke's return, Bobo/Tornado merge, Parall-Axe, and another Batkek execution that leaves me hungry for more.

Making a Dark Multiverse nightmare analogue out of an already nightmare alternate reality like Flashpoint doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I guess "Barda is" so who cares.

The pacing of this book is jarring and the dialogue is completely stilted. Some of the lines the characters speak leave me confused; I don't think anybody talks like that. Williamson is trying to do a Morrison impression, but it comes off as braindead. These are mostly the same problems I had last week with Deathstroke Inc, which leaves me conflicted since his previous work was cohesive and well put together. I do believe the strain of tackling 5+ books at the same time is getting to Williamson, which is really unfortunate. The art is still great, but Josh needs to get his ideas (which are interesting and have a lot of potential) and develop/present them with more finesse. I'm all for compressed storytelling and getting a lot out of a single issue, but the pacing and idea distribution is hurting the plot.

The art is good. That's pretty much it.

Howard Porter's art is unbelievable in this issue. The action in this book is pretty much what kept me engaged throughout all 22 pages. However, Williamson's dialogue continues to be weak. They didn't have to do my boy Hood like that, and I felt nothing with Respawn's death. Grade-A bait: Prometheus is on the cover and does nothing of importance. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that the masked Deathstroke is Geo-Force by now, and kudos to Williamson for bringing up that Bendis-League arc that no one read with the imposter Deathstrokes.

Sampere's art is killer, let me get this out of the way. This is not a crisis. Call it literally anything else. Nothing has happened, or at least everything that has happened up until this point should have been dealt with by the halfway point of issue 2. We are almost halfway through this event, and we apparently haven't even reached the real crisis yet. Let's all be honest here; it's not bad, it's just boring as hell. I came up with some better names for this event than Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths: -Justice League : Dark Invasion -Justice League : Final Darkness -Justice League : Darkness War -Justice League : Darkness Rises -Justice League : The Darkness Returns -Justice League : The Darkness Strikes Again -Justice League 5G : American Gothic II : Electric Boogaloo -Dark Crisis or: How Josh Learned To Stop Worrying & Rip-Off Morrison/Moore/Johns -Crisis : The Cure For Insomnia -Crisis : Watching Paint Dry -Good Guy v Bad Guy : Dawn of Justice, Legacy, Hope, Truth, Family, (and whatever other theme Williamson is trying to prop up to make this look important) -Karma Crisis on Infinite Subreddits (because this is clearly written for them)

This cover is kind of a scam because we don't get any stories with Bat-Mage or Doctor Arkham but who cares because they are just as contrived and ridiculous as the other analogues in this book anyways. -"I Am Here" (Darkest Knight) = 7 The art is great but the story is just a recap with an unnecessary origin that doesn't even make sense for Bathattan. Snyder then makes his Final Thesis on Batman about how he is a "Reactionary Idea" in an attempt to justify his batshit (see what I did there) crazy stupid stories these past three years. We also get some light hinting on what Darkest Knight's plan is what with the Multiverse Who Laughs and killing Perpetua and her kind. -"King of Pain" (Robin King) = 8 Rossmo and Tomasi are always top notch, but no real reveal as to why he's called the Robin King. -"Batmanasaurus Rex" (B-Rex) = 2 Replace piece of shit writer with piece of shit story. Ellis' take would have been leagues ahead of this, but he got clowned for being a groomer and career ruined. Art and dialogue fucking sucks. -"This Man, This City" (Castle Bat) = 8 Concept is great but the art is what carries this story. Francesco is always a delight to see, and the plot is like something out of Starlin's "The Cult". -"Road Warrior" (Batmobeast) = 6 Mad Max Batman is great, DWJ is great, but 2 pages is not enough! -"I Shall Become..." (Bat-Baby) = 7 Ennis once again trolls capeshitters by reducing Batman into a bawling infant. Just brilliant.

I do think that Tom Taylor is a great writer, but his work starts to get repetitive after a while. I guess zombie stories just aren't that intriguing to me. The Anti-Life element could have been utilized better, but I guess it functions as a traditional zombie bite which is kinda lame IMO. I'm really tired of Harley Quinn in general.

DCEASED #6: "Deus Ex Lantern Corps" Remember the magic plot with John Constantine, Zatanna, and Dr Fate introduced back in the GDTD special? Guess what, it doesn't matter because this series sold like gangbusters and it's sequel time baby! This whole series after Issue 1 felt like it was just checking the boxes for a "insert post-apocalyptic DC Universe zombie story". Everything seemed so predictable to me, and the big twists didn't even have that much of an impact. Green Lantern Black Canary? DeSaad escaping Apokolips? Literally anything else? Nah, let's just have another hero die and they have to beat him. Haha Green Arrow sucks because Batman didn't have a contingency plan for him LMAO. The GDTD special was fantastic in my opinion because they had a set goal, with the readers knowing that it was going to fail miserably. But really Taylor? Sequel bait? I expected better.

Good issue. These last two issues feel like mostly setup, but have provided some sort of entertainment value with the characters. The Freeze stuff however does seem very out of place, and I could really care less. The plot of this issue reminded me a lot of the "Escape from Dinosaur Island" and "Declaration" arcs from Tomasi's Superman run (being the WWII and wholesome US History elements). And you have to admit, the title of this issue is pretty spectacular.

The Black Flash was cool, and I like the use of Avery Ho and Wally, but the issue still functions as setup for the "clash between the forces" that we'll see in the coming books. I did really enjoy the Weather Wizard scene, and would've never expected his new gimmick to be related to climate change and ecological damage to the Earth.

A very "meh" issue. All that happened was the revelation behind the Guardian's murder and the fact that Simon got played like a fool. Nothing wrong with the art. A little grainy at some points, but I really didn't have a problem with it. Also, Kelex gets destroyed again for the millionth time.

I vomited after seeing the last page. I'm excited for John's Stargirl, Ram V Swamp Thing, Suicide Squad, and Williamson Robin. I might check out PKJ Superman and the new Wally Flash series (but Brandon Petersen's art is absolutely horrendous). Regardless, I new the Quintessence was going to get offed because of the leaks that came out a while ago and it really blows that high level cosmic deities are taken out with no build up. I'm assuming that they are ramping up for an Earth Omega Darkseid event at the end of the Infinite Frontier storyline/publishing initiative/Rebirth 2.0, but I can only hope that they don't get Romita on art because he's lost it hard. And by the way, literally no one in Brasil says fucking "Queijo" when taking a picture. Stop using Google Translate Joelle Jones.

Bendis cringe as usual = 4/10 Ram V and Xermanico start strong but the backup compression sucks = 8/10

Mid in excelsis! I thought the Dick/Jon story was good, I think the themes carried it more than the dialogue. The art by Jurgens is great however. The Flash story by Adams is more of what I'm loving about the main title, the Wally + Ace interactions are awesome. I feel like we are in a Flash renaissance due to the work Adams has done for the title and these two characters. I wanted to like the Pariah story since it was written by the goat PJK, but it was just meandering. They want to give some impetus behind Pariah, but they spent the whole time beating around the bush. The major revelations are most definitely being saved for the event, and this was a waste of time. Something I have found pretty compelling is the idea that the heroes are used to the lessened impact of death in the DCU, but they are still worried and have doubts of as to if the League will come back (even though they definitely will). This theme is one that I'm looking forward to being explored in the event.

Holy cringe. I swear to god redditors worship Tom Taylor. Art was great and the Alfred letter was wholesome.

The twist I saw coming since Batman #122. Motivations make sense for hating Talia and Slade with Judas Contract & Event Leviathan, though I would tell you to only read JC because the other one is indecipherable garbage. Nobody gives a shit about Angelbreaker, and I'm sure everyone is tired of death-bait when we've already seen him in the Dark Crisis promo material and covers. I miss Chris Priest. This makes me want to buy the omnibus.

Oh my god guys! The issue titles are quotes by creators from the industry! They may or may not have anything to do with Adam Strange whatsoever, but it's so pretentio...I mean creative! Tom King is a visionary! GIVE HIM ALL OF THE EISNERS!!!

Boo-hoo, Tom King is sad about the Iraq War. Cry me a river and go do some creator owned shit instead of ruining another beloved silver age character and his mythos.

I liked the last one better. This one was just a recap of Reign of the Supermen, but with Lois instead. No world-building, no interesting character interactions, just pages of Lois being very angry and killing people. Brad Walker's art is always a plus for me, but the story left something to be desired.

Schizophrenic event, and not in the fun Final Crisis type way. Cast is starting to get unmanageable, the pacing is terrible, and the art is mediocre. This version of the Syndicate is very uninteresting. Fucking mid book.

A bearable Tom King Batman comic. It's not good, not terrible, but readable. I like the art. The one thing that prevents it from being shit is the fact that it is just a compilation of Batman doing wacky silver age stuff like fighting dragons and aliens, riding horses, and competing in boxing matches for charity. Very stale, but it accomplishes its function.

Yeah, I can't say I enjoyed this issue very much. My main problem stems from King's characterization of Nightwing, whose dialogue comes off as juvenile. As for the art, meh. Putting aside the fact that Matt Wagner has worked on great books (Trinity, Batman and the Monster-Men), as well as the controversy surrounding his son as colorist on the issue, I didn't enjoy the art. I can't tell if it was rushed or if it's a preference of style, but Wagner's art didn't really mesh well with king's writing (which was also not the greatest).

Underwhelming ending for an overhyped series. -SPOILERS- Art was great, but the whole story was absolutely useless and added nothing to the mythos besides the Joe Chill redemption and wife & child twist which invalidates the whole point of the Killing Joke. If Joker was always an asshole before his transformation, then the "one bad day" perspective threaded through the book means jack shit. If you want a good Joker metamorphosis inclusive-continuity story, go read Morrison's Batman #663 ("The Clown at Midnight") and his role in both RIP + Batman & Robin.

THE CURE TO INSOMNIA HAS BEEN FOUND!

This was boring to say the least. Nothing besides a bunch of expo dump and empty conversation. Batman changes his mind between panels, and Wildcat looks like an emaciated furry. Batman Who Lmao's somehow finds a way to become even more contrived and OP, rebirthed as "El Caballero mas Oscuro". Robin King also sucks. I also don't understand how Wally got beat by Lmao's while having both the Mobius Chair and Manhattan powers. Fucking stupid. Alan Moore is probably summoning Glycon to unleash his eternal fury on Snyder and this book.

Look, i get that the point of this event is to be crazy camp for the sake of it, but a lot of the writing and concepts are just so fucking bad. The whole New Apokolips scene triggered me immensely because Scott Snyder clearly didn't understand Final Crisis and blatantly messed up one of the climaxes of the book (Batman vs Darkseid). The Anti-Life Great Death Drive was stupid as hell, Darkfather is beaten with ease (you would expect a Darkseid/Batman analogue to be unbeatable) and they find their allies on the next page just in time to set up the tie-in series. Robin King is edgelord crap (but the Speed-Force repellent is ridiculous enough to get a chuckle). Lobo's parts were interesting and we finally get some hinting as to why this series is called "Death Metal", as with the first Metal we had the whole dark numbered metals theme, now we have Lex Luthor gathering the 5 death metals to get his revenge of Batkek and Perpetua. Most of this issue was just tie-in setup, and DC even released the checklist with their new titles this week. This event is 24 parts long, and the next few are going to be the deciding factors as to if I still give a shit about any of this overexposed hodgepodge of mundane event-bait.

Cute/wholesome bait moments and retarded characters. Typical Tom Taylor comic.

Genocidal wholesome bait continues! The plastic man twist is reminiscent of the Flashpoint: Legion of Doom mini where Heatwave and Plastic Man broke out of prison and fought Cyborg. Plastic Man snuck into the prison by hiding inside Cluemaster's body and then emerging through his orifices...yikes. Damian and Cass is cringe while Royfans are once again met with a pointless scene of him being shit on. Taylor tries to tease a mysterious and sinister new group out in aussieland who have staved off the hordes. IIRC all the main villains are dead so the twist will probably be either his own revolutionaries from his current SS run or some other c-listers turned creator pets.

No way they are really linking this to Mark Waid's World's Finest, but doesn't that book take place in the past? How the fuck does Nehza factor into this bullshit? Weak dialogue, mundane story beats, and a couple continuity discrepancies (Girder is currently merc'd in the Flash Book). I can put money that the twist is Geo-force like I've been saying since this event started.

I need to stop buying this book. DC needs to end the double shipping because it's seriously affecting the quality of the stories being put out. The strategy worked perfectly during Rebirth because they were coordinated really well what with the event void, and the creators were able to follow their blueprint/run plans with little opposing editorial interference. And why the fuck is it called the Legion of Zoom if half of them aren't speedsters, just time displaced rogues? I want to see Savitar + Inertia + Rival so they can face off against Chain Lightning flash family from Pre-N52! And btw, the Tornado Twins are definitely Thawne's kids and not Barry's.

Brandon Petersen's art is the death of this book.

Very meh and predictable, with the issue cutting off just as it started to get interesting.

Fun little story with some great art and some hopeful yet unrealistic themes. I think its offensive that THE Lex Luthor, one of the smartest people in the universe, who has the potential to bring Earth into endless prosperity but is held back by his obsessive hatred of Superman, would resort to creating drones to strip other planets of resources to elevate his own in a not so subtle parallel of the United States. However, its easy to shit on humanity and Earth while promoting utopian idealism in a world of infallible sun gods and super powered guardians always there to catch humanity when they fall. One must remember that these themes are great dreams, certainly possible in a world with Superman, but we don't live in that world.

Let's be honest with ourselves, I'm certain we all know that the Justice League is not dead and they will come back in some form or fashion. However, this bait concept could have been a great outlet for some meaningful and emotionally impacting moments as the Justice League fights for their lives on a world beyond the void. Everything in this book is dull, the writing is static and the play by play is just boring. I did not feel anything seeing my heroes getting trashed. The dialogue is just horrid. I'm sure the idea of Pariah using the Anti-Matter chamber to bring back Multiverse-2 could lead to a lot o interesting things, but the execution sucks. Rafa Sandoval's art has always been great, but the writing only seems to drag it down. They make an excuse for the Army of Darkness being evenly matched with the JLA by claiming they are shadows and the Darkness can't use their full power since Pariah is the conduit controlling them: which doesn't make sense since the Darkness one shotted the Quintessence, the Empty Hand was at full power during JLI, and Pariah wasn't even controlling him during the events of those miniseries. The Empty Hand brawling against a character like Hawkgirl is so lame. All of this plot is the equivalent of a wet fart.

The ideas are there, the dialogue isn't. Segovia's art, especially during the Geo-Force sequences, was actually a lot of fun. The first epilogue was super lacking, it looked like fan art. The Deathstroke epilogue had some of the best Howard Porter art I've ever seen. His depiction of Deathstroke's corpse was incredible.

TED KORD NOOOOO! LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY! Liveshot, are you fucking kidding me? I really don't give a shit about Deadshot's daughter. Taylor and his wholesome bait is so overplayed at this point, I feel like I'm watching a goddamn Disney movie. I want to read Suicide Squad for the villains, not these bushworld outback rejects.

I didn't mind this issue, but 4 and 5 only needed to be one issue. All that happens is more fighting between Rogol and Supes, while Zod shows up to help his brethren out. Last issue was also just alot of fighting, and little plot progression.

This feels like fanfiction. Ironic to read Taylor's in-continuity stuff knowing how depressing DCEASED & INJUSTICE are.

Extremely well-written and well drawn, but Ridley writes everyone so out of character just for the sake of the plot that it hurts the work immensely.

Disappointing and mundane. Spend your money wisely and buy the Lex Luthor Year of the Villain special instead.

I mean the political aspects are kind of cool, but I really could give less of a shit at this point. Damian is still written like a one dimensional brat, ignoring all of the work Tomasi and Morrison have done for the character since his creation. I guess Kite-man is dead? Just a bland story arc containing some good ideas paired with terrible buildup and dialogue.

I can't believe I actually read this. The art is gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but this book though... This is the most unimaginative and elementary comic I have ever read in my entire life. At least when I read All-Star Batman and Robin (TBW) I get some enjoyment out of attempting to decipher Miller's ridiculous storytelling, but this is just makes me lose brain-cells. "Oh wow, he mentioned the possible future seen back in Annual #2 (which I actually liked)", "King's work is so connected; he truly is the definitive writer of our generation." I don't care how good the art is, how many "interesting" or "creative" ideas he introduces, Tom King can't write romance for shit, and the only "modern classic" he will ever be responsible for making is the "Darkseid War: Green Lantern" issue.

Josh Williamson might have just written some of the worst dialogue I have ever read in a cape comic before. Literally nothing has happened throughout all 5 of these issues. What a disappointment.

The art was bad, and Williamson has spread himself out way too thin around too many books and it really shows in this issue. He tries to create an action packed issue for your money's worth, reminiscent of Scott Snyder's double shipped Justice League run, but lacks in the writing whereas Snyder managed with Tynion's dialogue power. This book is falling apart and the pacing is absolutely atrocious. Sorry Josh, but no amount of fan-service can keep me from seeing through the veneer. I will always love you for a cameo of the god damn Body Doubles from Resurrection Man, but this book kind of sucks right now.

This was a slog to get through.

I facepalmed through this entire issue. They recycled the stupid perpetua whisper from Death metal and now apparently The Great Darkness is the Machiavellian Man Behind The Curtain puppeteering every single cosmic villain in the DCU since Crisis. At this point I'm surprised they didn't include Convergence Brainiac or Telos in the lineup! The utter ignorance on all of the subtext from Multiversity breaks my heart. The Oblivion Machine, the Empty Hand, and even Final Crisis are all stripped of narrative power to prop up Alan Moore's giant fuck you to apocalypse stories. And they made Doctor Manhattan a pawn of The Great Darkness. I'm fucking done. Chris Burnham's art is magnificent and I will buy anything with his name on it. I think I'm due for a Nameless reread.

I could really care less about this bland assembly of uninspired characters. I hope Taylor enjoyed jerking himself off for 11 issues while making established DC characters get bitched around by his shitty OCs. So boring. Not surprising though, just look at DCeased.

What a garbage event. The only thing worse than the writing is the pacing of this book; a band of uninteresting storylines Frankenstein-ed together into this monstrosity. I'm only pissed because Thompson's 12 issues of Suicide Squad were fucking solid, and I hope I'll look back at that run with rose tinted glasses and ignore whatever the hell this is.

This is what happens when you force a series to tie in to an event that they have no knowledge of and were not included in the creative process.

More filler, with Flashpoint Bats explaining Bane's plan for all the meatheads who read this garbage run (including me).

"This issue has no plot progression, and the story keeps dragging on." "This issue is genius and portrays Thomas Wayne's tragic character beautifully." "This issue doesn't answer any questions; How did Flashpoint Bats survive the Button?" "Let King finish his story; you should only judge it when its over." "King's Batman is hot garbage." "King's Batman is art." "Golly gee, I wonder when the next issue of Doomsday Clock comes out?"

Just more of the same shit. Everyone sounds like a robot. Batman and Catwoman's dialogue is absolutely laughable to the point that I question whether Tom King knows what he's doing. But then I remember that if you go back to all his other books; the dialogue is exactly the same! Tom King is a legit hack who tries to be profound but just comes across as the storytelling equivalent of something I could have written in elementary school. Damian sucks. Thomas Wayne sucks. The Alfred scene is just a gotcha moment that will be explained in the coming issues. There's no way that DC is going to let King kill Alfred after the one-two punch that was HIC + The Wedding. The art is the only redeeming quality about this book (though I do prefer Daniels over Janin).

Tom King has officially turned bane into the biggest fool in Batman's rogues gallery, while simultaneously leeched all of the tension out of this worthless event. What the fuck was the point of these past 8 issues if Batman and CatGod are just going kick the shit out of Bane with ease? Even better is the witty banter between Cat and Bat while they fight the so called "ultimate villain" of King's entire run, the one who apparently planned every single thing that has plagued Batman for 85 issues. But wait... Bane isn't actually the ultimate villain because Thomas Wayne just goes BANG BANG BANG and now lets do a "Button Part 2" so King can explain how he came back. Janin's art is pretty good in this issue, but it's completely wasted on a shit script. But I guess King won an Eisner or two so he's technically one of the best writers in the industry. Three more issues baby!

This is not good. I personally have no problems with disjointed, nonlinear, or triptych storytelling. What I do have a problem with is when an incompetent writer makes a mockery out of the technique. Clay Mann's art is wasted on this series. Just a clip-show of ass shots and Bat/Cat tongue hockey. I like Mask of the Phantasm and BTAS but they've never been the "greatest Batman adaptation" in my eyes (I save that for The Brave & The Bold). I could really care less for Andrea Beaumont, but I do think that King will end up butchering her and other lifts from BTAS. Regardless, King's Batman is not for me and in general far from what the Caped Crusader should be. I'm still sticking with Strange Adventures for now but I've already dropped Rorschach; might have to lose the dead weight from my pull list. In the end... This is not good at all.

This is hot shit. Tusk Darkseid makes me want to stop reading comics.

I would have loved this back in 7th grade. This is just too much. It feels like all of these past issues has been constant set up and exposition with little happening. The only cool stuff has been in the tie-ins (especially Speed Metal and Multiverse's End). Snyder tries to fill the book with cool and deep metaphors to add some kind gravity and eloquence to the constant stream of so called edgy in-your-face "dumb fun" (look at Robin King if you think I'm lying). The worst thing about it; its boring.

Lmao what a fucking joke. This is embarrassing, DC.

Thank god it's over. They lost me the minute Wonder Woman hits Batkek with the literal Hand of Creation. This is truly an "Anti-Crisis" because everything a Crisis gets right, Death Metal gets wrong. Sure the symbolism and themes are there; the over indulgent writing and the high stakes, but you can't just gift wrap a pile of shit and sprinkle it with glitter expecting that it will turn into a pot of gold. Death Metal doesn't merely jump the shark, its the shark attempting to jump over itself and accidentally pulling a muscle. Also, just because it's self aware ("A Slap in the Face", jesus christ) doesn't make it good! If there's one thing I've learned from reading Scott Snyder, it's that every story he's told has been done better by Morrison. If you want the last stand of the DC Universe, just go read Final Crisis! At least Batkek is gone. Hopefully...

I liked the Constantine story. That's pretty much it though...

This book is a lie. I was expecting to read about the trinity vs the three crisis baddies, but they only show up in the last half of the book as the ending tease for the next issue of the main series. Should have skipped this expo dump filler and just bought Death Metal #4 by itself. What a waste of my money.

Imagine DC putting out a Rorschach book that's a sequel to the HBO Watchmen to hype off the emmygasm and they make the new Rorschach an analogue of Steve Ditko. And its written by Tom King. I don't want to imagine.

Bruh this book is a complete lie: I read through the issue extremely dissatisfied with the dialogue and plot while sensing some kind of dissonance with everything put out before the crossover. When I go to write this review, I see someone else pose the brilliant question of where Robbie Thompson is on this book. I proceed to go back to the credits, finding Thompson's name nowhere on the book besides the cover; it was written by Hopeless. No wonder this was ass.

Not worth the effort, just look at my previous review. Clay Mann is great as always, Tom King is not. "Dear lord, why do I even try?" - Tom King (Batman #77)

Not good at all. The only difference between this and the past few issues is that there isn't any good art to help its score. Side note: The quotes that King pulls are fucking useless and add no value to the dialogue whatsoever. "Oh wow, King is so deep! He quotes Aristotle and Plato!" What a hack.

It perplexes me as to how even with endless possibilities and potential for stories brought upon with the medium of the Dark Multiverse, DC can't seem to hire anyone with a single shred of imagination! These are the stories in this book: -"Scary Stories to tell in the Dark Multiverse" = More Snyder Robin King projection. -"Feeding the Beast" = DC gave Patton Oswald a Zsasz story; but who gives a shit because I fell asleep reading it. -"The Super-Threats!" = Just another zombie story, but this time it has the Super Pets. -"Hard Traveled" = Waste of pages #1; Hal and Oliver have a disagreement. Nothing story. -"The Fear Index" = Waste of pages #2; John Henry Irons and a kid talk about fear. Nothing story. This whole book is packed with the most uninspired shit I've ever seen. Grant Morrison could take a dump and it would be more interesting than this anthology. Burning money here DC, Jesus Christ.

What's the fucking point?

I normally give 2's to comics that generally offended me, and this issue really did. And no, I could care less about the apparent "hypersexualization" of Lois Lane and Barbara in this issue. It's Tom King's writing of every character in this book makes me want to stop reading comics. The Trinity is literally incompetent in this series: Batman is a dope, and Superman is written as a naive and idiotic buffoon who apparently puts his job as a reporter first before the secrets and struggles of the entire superhuman community. King continues to try to make Harley DC's Deadpool, with her literally being immune to any judgment or harm. And apparently Batgirl is seen by Bruce as a "pitiful and broken" and "just another product of his failure to capture the Joker"? Have you never read a comic before King! What a disgrace! The one thing Tom King got right about this book is the title of the issue: "$%@# This", and $%@# you Tom King.

This is a legitimate waste of paper, ink, money, and most importantly, my time. Fuck Morse code, now you can just punch people to convey a message. - Tom King the Scholar

King fans after this issue: The book was kind of rushed and sloppy in execution; not a great penultimate issue either. It also has some plot-holes and raises more questions than before. Also King fans after this issue: 10/10 rating I don't care anymore. This book is an embarrassment to the comic industry. I feel bad for anyone who enjoys this book. You can say what you will about taste being subjective, but Tom King is nothing more than a stain on the legacy of Batman that urgently needs to be removed.

The character assassination of Orion continues! Not only does h job on the cover, but twice in the book! They even reference Tom King's "stand" bullshit from his series. Great job Taylor! Congrats on your induction into the Hack Pack!

The problem with this book is that you can't apply social and gender issues that plague humanity to literal gods of evil. The fact that Darkseid is reduced to a "rapist" and "misogynistic boss" makes him less interesting and ruins his character. Even if he rapes people (which he probably does), the others in his Elite would probably applaud him for it. They probably rape people too. If any of the Female Furies were groped on Apokolips, they would kill the groomer in a second. The Furies are a group of psychopaths and sadists who murder people for fun. This book is a complete joke.

This book might be the worst thing that DC has ever put out. Dan DiDio and Tom King have successfully RUINED DC Comics. The only thing that makes this book readable is Clay Mann's art. I am astounded that people are enjoying this book. Every day I pray that DiDio leaves DC and that they give King some writing lessons. What an abomination.

"A whole universe. Even me. Like we were reborn. But how can you be reborn without...How does it matter without..." The character assassination of Wally West continues! In this issue, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy enjoy a romantic encounter, while Gnarrk the caveman recites Yeats and Plato! Just more filler garbage. I also find it very amusing that King needs to justify himself on Twitter every time this book comes out. Wally West is turned into a pouting wimp, who instead of pursuing a relationship with the Linda Park that exists in this universe, decides to self deprecate. This issue destroys the heart of Rebirth, ruining the fresh start that got King his acclaim in the first place. Congrats Tom King, you have failed as a writer, and as a fan of DC Comics.

The only reason I bought this crap is so I can say I have the issue that ended Tom King's career. I don't care if he wrote "Mister Miracle". I don't care if he wrote "Omega Men" or "Vision". I have never been this mad about a comic since "Cry for Justice" came out. It hurts me to say that I'm still going to buy the next issue. Thanks for killing Rebirth King and DiDio!

Mark Waid has forgotten that comics should be poetry. He is now debasing his craft to write brain-dead smash-em ups that cannibalize the Silver Age in the most uninteresting ways. This is truly the darkest era in DC Comics history.

This comic epitomizes what is wrong with DC. You have two mercenaries in Snyder and Williamson leading the pack of mundane and uninspired writers. These are cannibals, picking at the feet of their betters, scraping the tombstone library of story-past for any epitaph to sustain an event or story arc or whatever you want to call the derivative droll they put out. Long gone are the days of wonder, the imaginary beyonds of Fox and Broome and Haney and Kanigher. Julie Schwartz would be turning in his grave. Jack Kirby too. There is a reason for the alienation of true auteurs in this industry: Morrison, Moore, Gaiman. Because even as they try to bring comic books back to their roots of poetry and mythology, the Empty Hand manifests itself to reap. They came, they conquered, and they departed after realizing there were better things to do than play back & forth with the carrion crows who run DC. DC has been hanging under the fangs of the Empire of Mammon since the Golden Age, when Liebowitz and Donnenfeld stripped the company from its original owner, Major Wheeler-Nicholson. What's happening now is more insidious. An ultra-pollution of the narrative, a sacrifice submitted to strobe-torture before being disemboweled. These people are going to ruin everything just to feed their wallets. If you don't believe me, read this book: "WHAT IF EVERYONE JOINED THE JUSTICE LEAGUE?" "WHAT IF DARKSEID AND THE SPECTRE MERGED?" "WHAT IF DARKSEID FOUGHT EVERYBODY AND BEAT THEM WITH HIS LAZER BEAMS?" "WHAT IF HE MADE A BAD UNIVERSE WHERE EVERYTHING IS BADDER AND MORE BAD?" "wait, don't we already have Earth-3 and the Antimatter Univ-" "WHAT IF EVERYBODY WAS A DARKSEID AND THEY HAD HIS LOGO?" "WHAT IF EARTH ONE WORKED OUT BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN BY US AND WE MADE EVERYBODY TOTALLY EDGY AND ULTIMATE AND MARK MILLAR AND METAL AND FRANK MILLER AND BRIAN AZZARELLO AND SO COOL?" "DO YA GET IT? 52 DAYS EARLIER? 52 DAYS LATER? REMEMBER THAT WEEKLY BOOK WRITTEN BY TALENTED WRITERS? REMEMBER THAT PUBLISHING INITIATIVE THAT FUCKED EVERYTHING UP?" "WHAT IF DARKSEID WAS MAD ABOUT BEING DARKSEID, BUT WHAT HE REALLY WANTED WAS TO BE DARKSEID IN DARKSEID LAND, WHERE BEING DARKSEID WAS COOL?" "WHAT IF ALL OF OUR CHARACTERS EXPLAINED EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING AND SAID EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE THINKING AND FEELING AND THEIR MOTIVATIONS WERE SIMPLE AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND? MAN, WRITING COMICS SURE IS EASY!" "HEY, IT'S THE MIRACLE MACHINE! REMEMBER THAT? I READ A GRANT MORRISON COMIC GUYS! I LOVE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE PRETTY PICTURES IN THAT GRANT MORRISON COMIC!" "DARKSEID DARKSEID DARKSEID OMEGA BEAMS DARKSEID APOKOLIPS I DIDN'T REALLY GET FINAL CRISIS BUT I READ THE DC WIKI PAGE DARKSEID DARKSEID DARKSEID!" If there is one redeemable quality, it is the art. Sampere and Craig are very talented. It's a shame they have to waste their time drawing absolute nonsense. At least they get a check.

Not big into current comics recently, but I felt I had to pick this up. Was not disappointed whatsoever. I pray for the day that mainstream heroes are allowed to evolve into new configurations like this, innovative status quos that stay true to the heart and history of the character. Very hyped to see where this one goes.