Oct 10th Comic RoundUp

posted by JediSheltie @ 7:07 PM

Green Lantern 24

I'm not sure how the brass at DC really let the nature of this story, and it's universal ramifications, fly over their heads. I've found numerous comments about how it was a “surprise” this had been such a successful arc, and thus wasn't reflected much, or at all, in other titles. It's only a story where the literally “biggest” villains of the DCU band together to take over the universe. Who would think that would be popular?

I digress. Sinestro, his Corps, Parallax, "Superman" Prime (don't lawsuits suck, eh?), and the Anti-Monitor arrive on Earth to basically tear it down and make it their new home-sweet-hell. Johns pulls no epic punches in this, as the destruction wreaked on New York is obviously devastating. The human GLs have to stand alone for a while before backup arrives.

Johns is using this arc to toy not so much with the central character of, Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern with whom we are all familiar, than to change some of the underlying facts of Hal's universe. The Guardians of Oa are concerned they are about to be wiped out, and thus have started making some big changes to the Corps rules. First off, lethal force is now authorized. After suffering slaughter at the hands of a foe they could only hope to restrain or incapacitate, the GLC can now go blood for blood on the front lines.

Hal and company only learn of the change as the battle begins, and it's one only Guy Gardner, quite in character, reacts to rather positively. Since I'm one of the very few people who kept reading Guy's comic when he became "Warrior", I recall he dispatched at least one foe "permanently." They manage to successfully rid Kyle Rayner of the Parallax entity and are helped by a couple former Guardians who are none to happy about the direction their peers are taking.

A very strong issue in a very strong arc. Johns knack for the epic is on fully display here, with the art to match. There have been few, if any delays in getting the books out on time. It's sad this seems like another "major achievement" for the arc. I'm not even all that peeved with how Clark and company in the JLA are given a bit of a brush off. It's a Green Lantern comic, after all. Can't have Superman charging into save the day at the end.

Wonder Woman 14

In a quick "epilogue" to Amazons Attack, the "other" big event of the summer, we find Wonder Woman doing a little soul searching while helping with the DC clean up. There's not much here, actually, in what amounts to a little fill-in episode before Gail Simone takes over (finally). We see her trying to penetrate the magical shell over Paradise Island, where her mother sits alone. It does beg the question of what happened to the island between the end of Amazons Attack and the current events of Countdown, where "Athena" is now using it as her personal Amazon training ground. I suppose someone will fill us in on that. For the moment, I'm just physched to get Gail's first issue next month.

Superman 668

Gonna have to call this. Kurt Busiek is, right now, the better Superman writer. I've just praised Johns in the review up top, but that doesn't mean I love everything he does. For my money, and it is my money, come to think of it, Busiek writes a pitch perfect Clark. He also serves up some intelligent stories that have looked a lot deeper into the mythos, where others are content to take it for granted.

The Third Kryptonian arc begins here, finally following through on the most interesting tease from the post-52 "Back in Action" storyline. Enlisting the aide of his friend, Bruce Wayne, they search the globe for this new lost Kryptonian, but come up mostly empty. The search reveals other nefarious alien elements, such as some left over Dominators, but they're easily dispatched.

Clark and... sigh... "the boy", as one H. Simpson might say, have a little heart to heart about how it's not such a good idea to be flying around class, or leaving it anytime you want because you can. Can't blame Busiek for the boy, and he does a decent job of it, doing a little throwback to the "World Finest" scientific team as Superman and Batman team up to figure out how to give Chris Kent a more "human" childhood.

Finally, some kind of intergalactic bounty hunter (less stylish than Lobo) is on the way to earth in search of Kryptonians, and will no doubt be looking for all three and more. Apparently the "big reveal" on who the Third Kryptonian is will happen with the next issue, but the bounty hunter's sensors indicate it will be a "young woman". Kara Zor-el was covered by the "girl" part. I guess this means she's, what... 20's?

It's a Kryptonian for the college slacker set!

Sorry, couldn't resist. Art was great, and I'll confess excitement about seeing a new Kryptonian (that isn't a child adopted by Clark and Lois).