Nightwing 148

The Great Leap part 2
Writer: Peter Tomasi
Pencils: Rags Morales


Nightwing is still trying to save Carol. He gets her to one of Batman's safe houses and leaves her there promising he will be back soon. He takes his glider back to the batcave to get some medical attention from none other than Alfred. Alfred starts operating immediately. He removes a bullet from Nightwing's shoulder. While on the operating table Dick asks Alfred if batman is really gone. Alfred says he believes he is this time. Dick finally goes to sleep with Alfred sitting by his bed. Later Alfred wakes up with a note in his hand and Dick taking off on a motorcycle. Nightwing moves Carol to yet another safe house. This one is in New York City though. It has everything she needs to survive. Bulletproof windows, doors, ect. Stocked fridges and freezers, HBO, and last but not least an insanely powerful taser gun. As he is about to leave her phone rings and she answers it. Nightwing quickly grabs it and hangs up telling her that she could be traced with GPS if she uses her phone. Luckily Nightwing has a chip that will prevent it from being tracked and puts it in her phone which rings again. She is given the go ahead to answer it and is shocked to find Two Face on the other end. He was just checking to make sure that she was still safe. Nighwing leaves after Carol and Two Face are done talking. He hasn't been gone for very long when an alarm is set off at the safe house that Carol is at. At the same time Alfred calls in and informs Nightwing that the bullets he was shot with are laced with fear toxin. Nighwing decides to head back and save Carol instead of worry about the fear toxin. He breaks through the window to find a room full of villians waiting for him.


Thats all that was in this issue. I've enjoyed this seeing how Nighwing and Twoface CAN get along. But better yet next issue is going to be sweet with all those villians teaming up against Nighwing.


--Black Lantern

Detective Comics 848

Heart of Hush
Writer: Paul Dini
Pencils: Dustin Nguyen


WOW. Thats all I really have to say after reading this issue. The hush story line just continues to develope amazingly. When I first read rumors about Hush returning I thought this was going to be another Return of Hush mess like the last one. Luckily I was wrong. Hush keeps his promise in this issue that he would strike Batman at a distance. Oh and its good. He doesn't go after someone like Robing or Nightwing. He strikes at the heart. Litterally. He goes after Selina Kyle. After a little scuffel with Hush Selina manages to scratch his bandages away to get a clean shot at the face. When she rips them off all she can say is "No you can't be...." While this all is going on Scarecrow has kidnapped an orphan and has him hidden in a cave somewhere. So Batman goes there unaware to what is going on with Selina. To save the kid. Scarecrow says that his associate says that Batman was in a prediciment like the child. So now Scarecrow knows that Batman too was once an orphan. Oh by the way Scarecrow hooked the kid up with venom and scare gas. The kid is also very afraid of bats. So he goes after Batman, but of course Batman finds a way out of it. After finishing up with Scarecrow Batman recieves a call from Oracle. An ambulance just dropped Selina off at the hospitle. Batman rushes there to find commish. Gordon standing outside the Intensive care unit. He says that she is still alive, but Hush took her heart (literally).


Thats how it ends. An amazing issue, an amazing storyline. I have been very pleased with the way it is being written. I highly recomend this to everybody


--Black lanten

Green Lantern 34

Secret Origin part 6

Writer: Geoff Johns

Pencils: Ivan Reis

I have found the Secret Origin run to be very good unlike some people. This issue shows what Hal was really like when he started out. The cocky arrogant angry man he was. And of all people Sinestro was there to help him along the way. In this issue you see a side of Sinestro that we've never seen before. The kind caring man he really is...or was. During Sinestro and Hal's battle well the end of the battle Hal creates a green plane and it runs straight through a yellow barrier and defeats the bad buy. Of course Sinestro doesn't believe him. Carol's father isn't really golfing at Pebble beach. He's sick and I'm assuming from the picture on his deathbed at his house. Carol said that after Hal's father died it tore him up inside. He couldn't get over the fact that he was actually gone. So Hal decides to stay with Carol for a while. Later he meets up with Sinestro and has a long discussion about his "anger issues." After a nice heart felt discussion about anger Sinestro and Hal decide to part ways. They shake hands and a message instantly comes from both rings that they have disobeyed teritorial edict and they should report to OA for disipline immediately. This is how the issue ends.


All in all i was pleased with this issue. The ending, in my oppinion, was the best part. I'm pretty excited for next months. I'm willing to bet thats when Sinestro goes crazy, but then again what do I know.


--Black Lantern

Justice Society #18

Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Alex Ross


Justice Society keeps getting better and better. And I continue to hate Gog more and more as the story progresses. Most of the Justice Society is still following Gog around Africa as he "cleans" up the towns and disposes of the troops who are raising havoc. Before reading this issue you really should, if you haven't already, read the issues before it. This issue has a few surprises and I don't want to ruin those for anybody. Well theres really not much content to this story execpt the walking through africa, complaining about gog fixing them, and Power girl is still missing. Even with as little as "story" as this one had I still enjoyed it and I hope you will to if you haven't already read it.

Ambush Bug: Year None

Ambush Bug has a special place in my heart. It was the first comic book series I collected. I was 12 and my Dad took me to a comic book convention and suggested I looked into the series. It wasn't a newer series it had been out for a while so I found them pretty cheap. I fell in love with the series instantly. So naturally I love the new series as well.

Story + Pencils- Keith Giffen
Dialog- Flemming


Summary:

Jonni DC had been murdered. She can't for a word balloon so she decides to leave a clue because she knows that the DCU is full of detectives who can figure out who her murder was. Ambush Bug is looking to buy some new major appliances. Unfortunately the store he went to doesn't sell anything without a dead body in it. And of course cheeks the toy wonder is in the issue. Ambush Bug decides to track down Jonni's murder. This whole issue is just a spoof of Identity Crisis. Ambush Bug goes on a wild goose chase across the DCU to try and track down her murder and doesn't find anything. I really don't know what all to say about this issue. It has tons of funny pages but not really much to explain in a review. I suggest picking it up sometime

Batman RIP #679

Creative Team:
Writer: Grant Morrison
Pencils: Tony Daniel
Inked: Sandu Florea





MIRACLE ON CRIME ALLEY:
Bruce is still running around as Batman Zur-en-arrh. This issue starts out with Batman beating some people up nothing unusual execpt the Zur-en-arrh costume. Then he has a nice conversation with Batmite and a Gargoyle on top of a building. Then beats some more people up. Doctor Hurt came up with the idea to use "Zur-en-arrh" to give him the power to switch off Batman anytime he wanted. Atleast thats what Batmite's telling Bruce. Batman prepared himself for a psychological attack with a backup identity which turns out to be The Batman of Zur-en-arrh. In the mean time Robin is trying to sort everything out and keep himself safe from the Club of Villains at the same time. He leaves a message on the Knights mom's voice mail telling him whats been going on with Nightwing disappearing and Batman going crazy. Alfred puts a call into commish. Gordon asking him to come to the mansion its urgent. When Gordon and a cop with him walk into the mansion. The gates were open as was the front door. The cop was the first one to walk in a bends down and picks up a card with a skull and cross bones wearing a sombrero. Then he is quickly killed by three arrows. It turns out that Wayne Mannor has been booby trapped by El Sombrero. If you don't want to know all the surprises of this issue I suggest to stop reading now. Doctor Hurt is in the Batcave with El Sombrero and Alfred, who is tied up. Doctor Hurt pours some wine on Alfred's head and tells him to wake up betrayer. "The usurper was NEVER my son was he? "It was you...you and Martha my adulterous witch of a wife am I right?" Alfred tells Doctor Hurt/Thomas Wayne that he isn't Thomas Wayne because he knows he isn't Thomas Wayne. Doctor Hurt/Thomas Wayne disagrees and says he is Thomas no more now he is Doctor Hurt.


It was a great issue once again. I think most of us had figured or suspected that Thomas Wayne would show up sooner or later in this series. Atleast I have expected him to show up. This story line continues to get more insane by the minute. I strongly suggest picking this issue up if you haven't already.


I'm starting to wonder if the Joker won't get his chance to finish off Batman like he has always wanted. I think the introduction of Bruce's father poses a problem for the Joker to finish Batman off, but with Grant Morrison writing anything is possible.


--BlackLantern

Robin 176

Creative Team:
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Joe Bennett




Wow this was one crazy issue. When Fabian took over the series I wasn't sure if it was going to be any good. I really enjoyed Chuck Dixon's run on it and wasn't sure if I could adjust to another writer. This issue continues to show how Robin is growing up. He isn't as funny as he used to be and both the Spoiler and Nightwing commented how he was being a tougher Robin. A picture has been sent by cell phones showing that Batman has lost his mind. After Robin gets word of this from the Penguin due to their little deal [issue 175]. This issue is mostly Robin roaming around thinking about this whole situation. Officer Harper checked the pages Robin scanned out of Bruce's diary with Comm. Gordon's records and found nothing alike. This makes Tim start to think that most crimes have been made up in Bruce's mind. At the end you do find out that Batman talked with the Spoiler 49 hours before this issue takes place and tells her that Tim is going to have to carry on without him and she'll have to help too. This issue was good IF your into the whole RIP story line.

FINAL CRISIS #3

CREATIVE TEAM:
WRITER: GRANT MORRISON
PENCIL: J.G. JONES


Quick Version:
Frankenstein
Dead alien
crop circle matches up with a marking found by Calvin Carson's team
Barry Allen
Libra's mind control suit introduced
Lex Luthor threatened by Libra
No superman for 3 days
FLYING MONKEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (nah I'm just kidding)
Hal off to trial
All Star Squadron return?
and thats just the first half.


Long Version:
Wow I was lost for words after reading Final Crisis #3. So much is going on you need to read it a few times just to take everything in. I liked the the how Morrison used the Frankenstein monster in an opening battle with The Question. Jay returns with the news of seeing Barry alive. The three generations of the Flash were running after the bullet that killed Orion hoping to stop it in time. But it didn't work out as planned. They were running backwards through time in his slipstream, racing against death, thousand times faster than the speed of sound. Little fact here did you know that Death can't travel faster than the speed of light? Well you will after reading this book, or this review. Jay got out on the steam of the return curve. Mike Muller and Libra are having a nice conversation about the new suit that Libra has supplied for Mike. Libra has the anti-life equation being put through the helmets after Mike refused to put the helmet on Libra gives him a little help. Lex shows up and Libra makes him an offer. He can join mike with a helmet on his empty head OR renounce science and swear an oath on the crime bible. Superman hasn't been seen for three days due to the fact that Clark hasn't left Lois's side in the hospital after the accident at the Daily Planet. A mysterious lady shows up in Lois's hospital room and says she knows everything about Clark and she offers him one chance to saver her but they must leave the world before it's too late. Hal is being taken by the Alpha Lanterns to the guardians for trial. Allen makes a suggestion to start training an army. Something like the All Star Squadron!!! Orical is the now the "hub"of communications. Artical X aka superhero draft is put in place. Freddie Marvel is back. Supergirl recieves a letter telling her she's been drafted as does the Green Arrow. Wonder Woman has gone to Bludhaven to check things out. The atomic knights have been patrolling the walls on giant dalmations making sure nobody goes in. The do let Wonder Woman in and guess who she runs into? Mary Marvel...who admits to killing the people Wonderwoman finds hung. Mary and Wonder Woman get into a little fight and in the end Mary ends up infecting Wonder Woman with a virus and tells her she will be working for dark seid soon. Wally and Barry finally stop running and end up in an alley. Wally questions Barry if its really him and it is, but Barry can't figure out why he came back and Orion couldn't. And the last page has a scary lady saying superheros kill. I highly recomend this book if you haven't picked it up yet

--Black Lantern

Two-Face: Year One #1 of 2

TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE
#1 of 2


Writer: Mark Sable
Pencils: Jesus Saiz
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti


Two Face Year One

The story is based on Harvey Dent and how he became Two-Face...obviously. To really understand this story you need to read "The Long Halloween" by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Sable makes some references to The Long Halloween. Such as he makes a few comments about the holiday killer and even at one point Harvey makes the comment to Maroni that after flipping the coin luck is on his side but unfortunately Alberto says its a holiday. What I really liked about this story is that it goes into details about how Maroni got the acid into the court and Harvey Dents past. During this time Dent is running against Mort Weinstein for distric attourney. Sable shows the rivalry that Dent and Weinstein have had since college and how it still continues. There is a panel where Harvey and his psycharist are talking in the past and they are talking about Harvey's other side. You get the chance to see Harvey fail during this issue when he first tried to bring Maroni and how he eventually got Marioni. The story shows how corrupt Gotham's public services really are. With the betrayal of a person Harvey believe to be a friend. This was a great read and I'm pumped for the next issue to some out. Mark Sable wrote a terrific story and Jesus Saiz added some great artwork.



HIGHLY RECOMENDED


-Black Lantern

In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight

Let those who worship evil's might,

Beware my power...Green Lantern's light!

hello

hello comic fans. sorry we haven't been able to get any reviews up in over a week but don't worry there will be new ones soon. Neither Jim or I have been able to get to the comic book store. Jim had taken a weeks vacation and was slammed with work when he went back on monday and I've been working also. Sorry about the delay but I promise I'll go pick the comics up wednesday when this weeks comes out. However I will review two more recent comic books tonight or tomorrow. Two Face Year One and Batgirl 1

-Blacklantern (the black is for my last name not as the new lanterns, unless they turn out to be really sweet...haha)

In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight

Let those who worship evil's might,

Beware my power...Green Lantern's light!

Rogues' Revenge #1

A very fast pace issue with the return of the...well the title gives it away...The Rogues. Some of Flash's most fierce villains err well villains. Captain Cold still doesn't think highly of Libra and his society while mirror master feels different. When the rogues arrive back to their old hide out they find some young hooligans there. After a quick and by quick i mean like a three page battle its over. They quickly find out that they were the Trickster's gang. Unlike everybody else the Trickster is in good spirits since they killed the Flash. Captain Cold umm politely informs him that the game wasn't supposed to be won. Their number one rule is NEVER kill a speedster. After that the rogues have decided to turn their suits in and call it quits, but due to some events and the return of a major flash villain and reverse flash they decide to break their rule one last time. There is even a part with Libra in it. Just long enough for the Rogues to do the right thing and refuse to join his gang.


Once again Geoff Johns amazes me with his magnificent writing. Scott Kolins artwork also is a master piece. This is a must read for everybody. The way Johns portrays the Rogues as not really bad guys but dare I say good guys in this story. They even admit to being to greedy when accepting Inertia's offer at a shot at the Flash. Captain Cold makes the comment that they were going to hang up being super villains once the Bart became the Flash. He figured they had tangled with two flashes already and once the third one showed up they had had enough. I can't wait till issue 2 comes out next month. I have yet to be let down by any of the final crisis titles.




Recomended

Batman 678 (August 2008)

Wow. Morrison hits another home run with this issue.

RECAP

From the beginning with Robin reading Batman's Black Casebook, to Bruce Wayne's odyssey, to the final page featuring the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, this was another classic by Grant Morrison. Just the amount of territory covered in this issue is amazing.

The Bat-Radia is turned on.

Robin Dies at Dawn.

The original Batwoman.

The Club of Villains.

Robin reading the Casebook.

Zur-en-arrh.

Bruce's odyssey.

Crime Alley.

The Black Glove's trap for Nightwing(I don't know how he will get out of this without help).

Thomas Wayne's Batman costume.

The return of Honor Jackson.

R.I.P. has certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. I can not wait for the next installment featuring the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, Robin vs. Damian, and the Joker.

REVIEW

Some fans love Grant Morrison and others hate him. I fall in with the group that thinks he is one of the most innovative writers in comics today(possibly ever). To date, Batman R.I.P. is his masterpiece. Grant is pulling together threads from his first Batman stories, 52, and tries to show that all of the Batman stories happened to the current Batman. If you are a fan who wants to see Batman swing into action, this issue will be a disappointment. The focus on this issue is Bruce Wayne's odyssey. I thought it was great as part of the overall storyline. Grant has me counting the days until the next chapter is published.

Tony Daniel(inked by Sandu Florea) has taken his art to the next level. I do not know if his art has naturally progressed to this point or if working with Grant has inspired him. All I know is that Tony is doing a great job on this book. His art has become the perfect compliment to Grant's scripts.

Highest recommendation possible.

Booster Gold 1000000 (September 2008)

Journey's End.

RECAP

A great wrap-up to the Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz era of Booster Gold. Like the other issues in this series, this continues a classic storyline. This book is one of the top series in comics.

Some comments on this issue:

I liked seeing Booster get a break. A surprising return of an old character.

It was interesting to see the effect Booster has on the year 1,000,000. Peter Platinum???

How is that for for a mystery at Kord Industries? Any ideas who the intruder is?

The big surprise is the true identity of Rip Hunter! They caught me off guard with this one.

Batman. That says it all.

This one has it all.

REVIEW

This issue is the end of an era for Booster Gold. Writers Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz are leaving the book. The next two issues will be written by Chuck Dixon(and the previews look good). The new regular writer has not been named yet. I hope the new writer can continue the excellence of Geoff and Jeff.

Fortunately, as far as I know the art team of Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund are staying. The interesting part of this is that Dan was the artist(and writer) of the original Booster Gold series. It would not be the same if he left.

Highly recommended.

Hulk 4 (August 2008)

The good and the bad.

RECAP

The rampage of the red Hulk continues as the red and green Hulks clash. In the tradition of of epic Hulk battles, many things get smashed. The red Hulk reveals his plan but does not say who he was before he became the Hulk. New evidence points the finger at a long time Hulk cast member. Only time will tell if it is really him.

REVIEW

I have mixed reviews of this series. On one hand, I really like most of the stories Jeph Loeb has written. He has done some classic Batman stories. I thought his Daredevil: Yellow was great. This series just does not have much of a story to it. It takes as long to read an issue of Grant Morrison's Batman as it does the first four issues of the Hulk.

Ed McGuinness's art is perfect for the Hulk. He does a great job with big battle scenes.

I do not know who is resposible but this series continues to run late. I would recommend waiting for the trade paperback to pick up this series. The storyline is ok with some surprises but it is disappointing overall.

Recommended(with some reservations).

Teen Titans 60 (August 2008)

Sean McKeever and Eddy Barrows have produced another great issue in their Teen Titans run.

RECAP
"Time to Kill" is the concluding chapter to the first saga of the Terror Titans. From the initial fight between Kid Devil and Hardrock to the inevitable exit of a Teen Titan on the last page, this is classic Titans. McKeever/Barrows were fantastic choices to carry on the legacy of the other Titans creators.

Continuing the tradition established during Marv Wolfman's tenure, McKeever wraps up the main storyline but does not answer all of the reader's questions. It is the same style of storytelling used on the Wolfman/Perez Titans and the Claremont/Cockrum,Byrne, etc. X-Men.

Who is the Clock King?

Where did he get his powers?

Is there a connection between him and Ravager?

Is he connected to one of the New Gods(in light of Final Crisis series, it is a possibility)?

I have always enjoyed comics that tell a complete story but leave some mysteries unsolved.

Next issue looks interesting with the team-up of Blue Beetle and Kid Devil. I am curious where this book is heading now that this storyline is finished(for now). The upcoming Terror Titans mini-series should be interesting.

Based on the DC Nation page in the back, it looks like Kid Eternity is joining the group. So far, I have not heard who the two mystery Titans will be. It does look like Robin is not in the picture of the future line-up.

Highly recommended.

Green Lantern 32 (August 2008)

Secret Origins Part 4 is another great chapter in Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis' tenure on this title.

RECAP
The storyline is now to the point where Hal Jordan has returned to Earth after his Green Lantern bootcamp last issue. Geoff does a good job of showing that life has continued while Hal was away. This is very much like real life. Everyone else's life does not go on hold when we are not around. I liked his portrayal of Carol Ferris. For a short time, we see Carol turn back into the woman Hal loves. I always thought that Carol was the one who held the key to Hal's heart.

The interaction with Sinestro was perfect. His attitude and confidence was great. This is the Sinestro I wanted to see. It will be interesting to see his friendship with Hal develop as the series progresses.

This time we are shown the origin of Hector Hammond. Geoff provides him with a reason to hate Green Lanterns in general and Hal in particular. The cliffhanger at the end of this issue will have you waiting on the edge of your seat for the next installment. It also looks like next issue might present the origin of Black Hand.

Ivan Reis proves, once again, that he is the perfect artist for Geoff's stories. At times, I could swear he is being assisted by Neal Adams. Keep up the great work.

Highly recommended.