Comic Book Case

Aquaman #51 (fun)

So this issue was really fun as Arthur and Mera investigate the man (Jonah Wayne) who turns into Dead Water. He doesn't have any memory of anything since he went on a job for Peter Mortimer; the Scavenger. It's really interesting seeing as the monster isn't some sort of man out for blood but a guy who got caught up in something he didn't intend to. Dead Water seems to trigger it's transformation when exposed to water even tears and goes after people who have "hurt" him. It's a really sad moment that takes up a good part of the book but what is really great is when Arthur heads down to find Scavenger. The best is definitely at the end when Arthur finds the Scavenger or rather Arthur finds the Scavenger's foot on his back.

Wonder Woman #51 (On the Highway to Hell/Tartarus)

Diana has arrived at Tartarus, seeking out the last item Hecate needs to save baby Zeke (Zeus). What ensues is Meredith Finch trying to breathe life into this character that since the New 52 started, hasn't been able to do in this book. Essentially Tartarus will show Diana all sorts of things that will make her stay, namely her fears or something she has desired. I think we all like moments like these, these glimpses into a character's desires and fears, too bad they weren't shown earlier and not the second to last issue of the book. Diana's fear of failing to save Zeke and therefore failing his mother and her bestie Zola is an obvious fear but I rather enjoyed the somewhat controversial scene with a young Diana being tormented by older Amazons, them calling her clay and fake. I admit I even enjoyed the awkward Superman scene where she admits that she had given up on the idea of family but her relationship with Clark led her to hope. Again what makes this work is that this is Tartarus feeding off her fears and desires. But the best part was the scene with Hera who berates Diana for her foolishness and how she always acts before thinking of the consequences. While that turned out to be the real Hera it was a fun scene and needed to get us out of this to stopping Gaia and only to find a presumed dead Zola.

This issue and this story is like every other story Meredith Finch has written since she took over; full of good ideas but shoddy and rushed. The problem is that everyone knew Hecate couldn't be trusted and even the things Diana finds out about the secrets of the gods (like how Hera's power comes from the actual eyes of the Cyclops that Hephastus keeps at his forge) doesn't make up for her trusting Hecate.It also fails to have any real stakes since we as readers know that Zeke is Zeus who can't die, only the infant who has proven to just be a vessel for Zeke will die. It's relying on the fact that Zeke is a baby and child of Zola to get us to care.

The best scene here was definitely in Tartarus. I've never liked the idea of the Amazons always being happy and loving so to see them willing to berate one of their own I thought was decent. In terms of Diana, I had come to a realization of what her problem is here, it's her age. When Azzarello started this he made her 23 years old and he was writing what really felt like an origin story. This idea of an origin story is helped more by the fact that in every other book Diana seems substantially smarter and more interesting. So we have to ask, is the entire book from #1 to now a big origin story? Probably not but it's clear that the Diana in "Wonder Woman" is very different from the Diana in "Justice League". Perhaps #52 will shed some better light on this though as most fans are saying "at least it's almost over."

Martian Manhunter #11 (So we've all come to terms with it right?)

Pearl takes over the human's mech/robot/city the same way J'onn did to get all the humans on Mars to Earth so they will be safe while the others try to save Mars. Meanwhile why my boy Mr. Biscuits lays dying and Alicia tries and fails to kill M'alefa'ak Darryl comes to terms fully with being a Martian.to get out of the debris. At the same time, Constantine has gathered a bunch of other magic users to prepare for impact via magic, primarily because. As interesting as this book has been, we do take a long time for our characters to come to terms which wold be fine except we also spend a lot more time dealing with J'onn figuroung what he wants to do. It almost feels that the focus should have been Darryl, Pearl, and the others and they become Martian Manhunter, showing that they are all different aspects of his consciousness, serving as his own personal origin story starting with his "death".

Doctor Fate #11 (Bit of a letdown)

This was a bit of downer and not because it was bad but because when I heard Khalid was going to fight Julius Caesar, I thought htis would be our next big arc, instead it's resolved in two issues. Instead of one of the greatest figures in history as the opponent, it's some guy who is using a dagger to control him and his legion. The dagger thing was a fun angle but it just feels like a waste of such a potentially great antagonist, the snarky college student vs. the accomplished general. What happened was fine but it just seems like a waste. The ending where we find out that Khalid is to be brought to a disciplinary hearing for his absences from class is a bit funny but it doesn't make A LOT of sense. Has Khalid not been to class at all or even bothered to email his instructor? At least Kent Nelson is coming back soon so we will have that to look forward to.

Sinestro #22 (DEX-STARR!)

The Red Lanterns are back and they seem to want to take the fight to Sinestro while taking over a research bases terraforming project. Meanwhile Soranik Natu is now leading the Sinestro Corps and looking after the Korugarians. It is nice to see her having to deal with a leadership position and seeing her second guess herself. She still doesn't trust Sinestro but Sinestro does seem genuine in his own way as he creates his own secret police to thwart threats from within  What's interesting is that according to Soranik, the Sinestro Corps has taken to effectively doing the Green Lanter's job, policing the universe. They are also looking for the Green Lantersn and Sinestro wishes to help despite Soranik's doubts about him. Whether Sinestro is just trying to earn her trust through supporting him or manipulating her is unknown but he does play the invalid card a bit too well.

What makes it interesting is that the Sinestro Corp is doing what Sinestro has always wanted, be the force for justice and peace. It's not something we see often since the GLs are usually doing it wiith the help of the Blue Lanterns but they are both gone. Whether this shows Sinestro has learned something from his failings at Korugar or just what he always wanted is unknown but now with the Red Lanterns back only time will tell how long it will last.

Justice League #49 and Dark Side Special #1 (REALLY AWESOME STUFF!)

Our special is a book that came out earlier this month but I had honestly forgotten to load it (sorry). This is a really interesting story, with the origin of Grail and the state of Jessica Cruz. Grail's story is far more interesting and when compared to Orion who is also a child of Darkseid I kind of wonder if it's the Amazon in Grail that triggers her abilities more or if Orion is more a child of Darkseid in a different way. Grail seems to be a bit envious of Diana who was not only born on the same day but like we saw, she also has a burning hatred of Darkseid, so much so that she brought Mobius and now she is putting in plans to take care of Mobius. What is interesting is that according to Myrina Black and Grail is that the first man to step on Paradise Island will bring great or terrible things and Grail thinks it's Steve but Myrina reveals that he wasn't the first man to do so.

Issue 49 picks up where we left off with very little ground being gained against Mobius. The Crime Cyndicate seems to believe that Superwonan's baby is the key to defeating him. Meanwhile, Jessica Cruz is trying to find a way out of the ring and resume control with the help of a copy of Cyborg. Before anything can be accomplished as the baby is brought into the world, a super powered and in pain Steve Trevor shows up and strikes Mobius down, creating one of the biggest surprises I'd ever seen in comics. We all knew Steve was important-ish but I don't think anyone thought he'd be that crucial. This does play a fun little role in an earlier story here where Steve was in trouble and Diana lost it then which led to her and Superman getting together. Now Steve is in trouble and Diana and Superman are not together. Will Diana be able to save Steve or will he be the sacrifice Grail needs to stop everything and break Diana down and will we see finally what the god of war is capable of?

Superman Lois and Clark #7 (so this is the future now?)

Let's just go over what works and doesn't work so we can get to the big question. The story with Clark and Lois works as always and the moments with Jon are also great. It isn't some big betrayal of trust that Jon feels and it shows how smart he is that he has been listening in on his parents. This, like always with this book works out just fine though I would have liked to see more from the three of them. Clark and Lois did not know if Jon would have super powers or not so they did the best they could with what they had. What never seems to work is this whoever is looking for a stone that is missing in s separate piece in Clark's Fortress of Solitude.

Batman #51 (The fist question is asked again)

"Gotham is". This is the first question brought up in the first issue of Scott Snyder's run on Batman and in this issue we take it again. We have a lot answers as Batman patrols the city during a massive power outage. Everything seems quiet on all fronts as Batman tries to find the source of outage. It's a quiet and artistic farewell as we see all of Batman's enemies essentially doing nothing. Penguin isn't read to move, the Asylum is still secure, the Court of Owls isn't ready and the not Joker is still not ready to I guess be Joker (and I'm ok with that). It's a harmless issue that essentially puts everything back the way Snyder found it. It's not to say it never happened but that everything is done in Snyder's run to the point that we can ask what Gotham is and ultimately it is everyone. It's the dark criminal element, it's the happy families, Gordon, Batman, everyone. It's a quiet night in Gotham City.

Doctor Strange: Last Days of Magic (nothing truly dies)

We got a lot of origin stories today in the form of the leader of the Empirikull and other magic users. It's all really good stuff seeing how a magical purge happens because a planet of magic users ban science and sacrificed children to magic star monster. The magic users were an amazing variety, not only the character Magik, but Scarlet Witch is here along with a wizard from Siberia, Atlanta, China, etc. It's an intense story as magic is all but destroyed and only through the sacrifice of one of their own can Strange and the others hope to find any remnants of magic left to help them fight back against he Imperikull. It looks like it may be a story spreading across multiple books which upsets me a bit but hopefully it won't be more than a few.