Comic Book Case

Doctor Strange #9 (On the hunt for some magic!)

So Strange and the rest of our group of former magic users are trying to find any remnants of magic left int he world do help them defeat the Emprikul. It's slow going for the most part, it's not that these items don't exist but that the items in question eithe rhave limited magical capabilities  or don't do anything useful. this is all done as the try to avoid the Magical Inquisition with their laser shooting robot tigers. Meanwhile Zelma Stanton is doing her best to hide being discovered and does a pretty good job, and is able to save one of the books in the Sanctum's library from being destroyed. Luckily Wong comes in and gets he rout of there and Zelma tells him about the thing she found in the Cellar. This is juxtaposed with Strange talking about how all magic has a costs and that he himself ahs been delaying paying his or rather, he and Wong found a way in the form of what was in the cellar. Ultimately this was a good issue and it does feel like it's been a while since I read this series.

Captain America #1 (And the internet is on fire!)

So our boy Steve Rogers is back with a new shield and punching all the HYDRA people he can find. But it goes further than that. We get a series of stories about people who join HYDRA with Red Skull recruiting people to help, speaking about how illegal immigrants and political correctness are ruining America. We also see a flashback of Steve as a child in Brooklyn when he and his mother met a woman who in addition to saving his mother from being beaten by his father also takes them to dinner. Later on she invites his mother to a special meeting, an early HYDRA meeting. While tracking down Baron Zemo with his new partners Jack Flag and Free Spirit we find out at the end that Captain America is an agent of HYDRA. This has of course upset a lot of people, though not as much as fans wanting him to have a girlfriend. Essentially the book has gone back into Steve's history and added this little bit to justify the story. We don't know if Steven has always been a member or if he is under some sort of control, who knows. I'm willing to wait to read the second issue to explain this and exactly what happened in 1926 at whatever HYDRA meeting child Steve went to.

Superman Lois and Clark #8 (I still don't care about that rock)

While Jon and Lois talk about Clark as well as Jon's powers and hopes of flying, Clark engages Hyathis, who is trying to force Henshaw to reveal where the Oblivion Stone is. Hyathis proves to be a strong opponent, able to keep up with and hurt Clark. The fights goes on a good while before Hyathis decides to retreat and Clark learns from the agent with Henshaw that he has been looking for him but Clark ignores him and flies off. Again, I really can't find it in me to really care about the story and since this book is ending I guess it won't ever be resolved, except in the new Superman book. But what happens next is what works about this book. Clark and Lois talk to Jon about the changes coming to their lives and Clark hands him his Superman cape while telling a story about when Johnathan Kent showed him the cape too. Knowing that regardless of what happens (Jon's powers, Lois' book exposing Intergang, and Hyathis and people looking into Clark) that they will always be there for him and everything will be ok. Jon accepts the cape and tries to fly and with some advice form his father, he is airborne.

Mighty Thor #8 (Loki always just wants to be loved)

Our story continues with more about Bodolf the Black that Loki created and how he beat Thor and was often prayed to along with Loki because of his strength and Boldof having a sort of identity crisis before being calmed down by Thor after an intense battle. The issue ends with Loki and Dario Agger in a cave guarded by a dragon. Loki then tells Dario to let his men drink the dragon's blood after they kill it. Presumably this will turn the men into whatever Boldolf was and in exchange Loki wants a church because he misses being worshiped. This issue is just kind of boring, the story involving Boldorf doesn't feel like it is worth the two issues it was. Hopefully we can get back to the story and now with Dario  having his own army of Bodolf's the pieces begin moving again.

Justice League #50 (Nothing ever truly ends)

This was a brilliant story. The plan of killing Darkseid, killing Mobius, and then using the child of Superwoman to create a new Darkseid she can control is intense if a little risky. This essentially ends all the story points and starts some new ones later on. But as far as this issue goes it's really good because it somehow gives all of our key players time to shine. We see Barry and the Black Racer engage in one final race as Jessica Cruz is the real decider of that. We see the true power of Alexand Luthor (Superwoman's child) as he absorbs the energy of Shazaam and Lex. We see Batman and Hal, two people who never really got along get as close as they can to reconciling and we see Diana not only play a role in redeeming her fellow Amazons but she herself has discovered a big change in her own life coming. What is interesting is that some things haven't changed like Lex still ruling Apokalypse and we see big monumental things like Superman's body dying from the fire pit exposure or three Jokers actually existing. But some questions are still lurking the immediate ether. Who was the voice speaking to Barry before Jessica saved him and who killed Owlman while he was sitting on the Mobius Chair?

DC Rebrith #1 (So did not think it would be him)

DC Rebirth is one of the few books were I have anxiously tried my hardest to avoid spoilers for and this time I was super successful. The question is, was this worth it the effort? It was certainly worth the low price but did I really care about who they brought back? I honestly didn't know who I was hoping for to come back, but I honestly never thought it would be Wally West. I don't hate Wally I just never cared about him, the Flash universe doesn't interest me enough to put my own money  out there. But even if I did hate Wally there was no way I could hate how the book is written with Wally trying desperately to come back from the Speed Force to at least warn his friends before he fully becomes one with it. The book follows a chapter theme with each chapter showing what I think they want to bring back to the DCU, legacy, love, etc. Its all kind of feels like Kingdom Hearts 2 with Roxas trying to exist with people forgetting about him.

Here all Wally needs to do is get one person he knows to remember him and touch him. He tries Batman, whose letter he got from Barry Allen during Flashpoint (which caused this kind of) will reveal who is behind this. He also goes to one of the JSA, the Atom, Ted Kord, and he notes that ten years have been stolen from this universe, ten years of connections like Green Arrow and Black Canary who don't know they have a history but feel drawn to each other. Wally finally encounters Barry and after a really heart wrenching scene, Barry is able to pull Wally out of the Speed Force  and the two embrace, Wally is back in the universe and everyone (or just Barry ) remembers him now which makes it more like Sora's return in Kingdom Hearts 2 than Roxas.  But Wally coming back takes a back seat to the biggest reveal as we find the person whose been after Wally, who took away those ten years and who killed Owlman in JL was DOCTOR MANHATTAN!