The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution — click here to read CBR’s full recap & review

Art: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10

The Good

At first blush, I thought that this issue delivered an incredibly anti-climactic ending. However, after the third reading I have to say that my opinion has changed drastically. Practically every line of dialogue and narration has a meaning that requires the reader to carefully navigate the story and stop to investigate the clues from each line.

Morrison finally reveals how all of his stories on Batman beginning with Morrison’s Batman story in 52 all tie together. All the previous plotlines and story arcs slide together in a pleasant fashion as everything finally makes sense. Morrison is actually rather straight forward in his explanations in this issue compared to some of his other work.

Morrison reveals the reason why Bruce wanted to undergo the Thorgal ritual during 52: to savor death so that he could experience every eventuality. This fits in with Morrison’s take on Batman in that he is a man driven beyond all sanity in order to be able to handle anything that might come his way. And death was about the only last experience that Bruce had not prepared for so the Thorgal ritual was a logical final step by Bruce to experience everything that a human possibly can. Also, by having Bruce experience death during the Thorgal ritual and then eliminate all of his fear and doubt Morrison prepared the way for Bruce to “die” in this RIP story and still find a way to survive.

I continue to enjoy how Morrison writes the Joker. This is one of my favorite versions of the Joker. Morrison reveals that the Joker has been literally driven insane by Batman in the Joker’s attempt to get the Batman to loosen up. Normally, writers show how the Joker’s madness has impacted Batman’s psyche. This scene offers the reader a unique look at the psychological war between Joker and Batman from the other perspective as we see how Batman has driven Joker crazy. This scene shows that Batman is as adept at psychological wars as the Joker.

Batman #681 was basically the thesis statement on Morrison’s view of Batman’s character. Morrison has always presented Batman as a force of will personified. Morrison’s Batman is always in control and plans for absolutely anything and everything.

This take on Batman’s character is clearly presented in the scene with Batman in the coffin and in the flashback scene. The way that Batman so calmly extricates himself from the shallow grave was vintage Morrison Batman. And the way that Bruce, out of a force of habit, switches the cups of tea in the flashback scene and then reveals that he carries antidotes for any toxins that he is not immune to was also typical Morrison.

While the showdown between Dr. Hurt and Batman might not have been as dramatic and intense as I was expecting, it was still well done. I do not believe that Dr. Hurt is Thomas Wayne.

Now, Dr. Hurt is either simply the doctor who “became” the hole in Bruce’s memory due to the psychic implants. Or Dr. Hurt is literally the Devil. In Bruce’s final entry into the black casebook he admits that his attempt to see into the deepest dark and into the heart of the storm of madness that he discovered some pure source of evil. That he found the Devil himself.

The Devil also appears in the plotline involving the Black Glove movie made by John Mayhew. It seems that Morrison might have been inspired by David Lynch’s Inland Empire where Lynch deals with a movie where all the actors and the director were all killed and that the movie itself was said to be cursed by the Devil. We learn that the actors and the director of Mayhew’s movie are all either dead, missing or insane. We also learn that it is said that the Devil himself cursed the movie. This points to the possibility that the Devil is indeed either Dr. Hurt or that the Black Glove works for the Devil.

In the final moment of the scene with Hurt and Bruce we see Bruce’s black glove smashing through the helicopter window just before the helicopter crashes. I have to wonder if maybe Morrison is alluding to the fact that by coming into contact with a pure source of evil that Bruce has become his own greatest enemy. That Bruce is somehow connected to the Black Glove. After all, Bruce does wonder in the flashback scene if in his attempt to do only good that he has only managed to make things worse. Bruce wonders that maybe unconsciously he has been his own worst enemy.

Now I do have a really insane idea that maybe the Devil is Darkseid. After all, Darkseid is considered to be a pure source of evil. And the monk’s eyes turn red which suggests that he is under the control of Darkseid. That would open the possibility for Dr. Hurt to be Desaad in human form.

Maybe Darkseid has targeted Batman as a serious threat in his ability to take over Earth during Final Crisis. That Bruce’s knowledge of death and pure evil from the Thogul ritual would allow him to come up with a way to defeat the Anti-life equation and Darkseid’s effort to make Earth into a new Apokolips. That would explain why Bruce said that when he saw the Devil that there was fear in his eyes. This could be a hint that Darkseid is afraid of Batman ruining his plans over in Final Crisis.

Okay, enough of my crazy speculating. Let’s talk about the most “stunning” revelation in Batman’s 70 year history. And that is that Morrison has Hurt state that Thomas and Martha Wayne were not a victim of some random street crime. That instead, that Thomas and Martha Wayne were the target of a hit. Morrison suggests that the Black Glove hired Joe Chill to kill Thomas, Martha and Bruce. And that, evidently, Joe Chill lost his nerve that night and was unable to kill Bruce.

It is likely that the Black Glove invited Thomas and Martha Wayne to join them. And it follows that when Thomas Wayne rejected their offer that the Black Glove decided to kill him, his wife and his son. Therefore, it follows that the Black Glove created the Batman. And now the Black Glove wants their creation for themselves. And that if they cannot have the Batman then they will destroy him.

Hurt makes a point of asking Bruce to swear to serve the Black Glove in return for Hurt not distributing the lies about Thomas, Martha and Alfred to the Gotham media. And once Bruce spurns Hurt’s offer, Hurt then curses Bruce’s cape and cowl and states that the last time that Bruce wears them will be his last. And of course, earlier in this scene we saw Hurt trying to activate one of his last implants in Bruce’s mind by commanding Bruce to give up being Batman. Clearly, the Black Glove feels that Batman is their weapon and that if they cannot control him then they want him destroyed.

I enjoyed how Morrison had all of Batman’s allies rushing to his aide. And the best part was that Morrison had Dick being the first ally to arrive at Bruce’s side. The first Robin deserves that honor. And I liked how Batman acknowledges how Dick never lets him down. There is no doubt that Batman has plenty of faith in Tim, but Dick will always be the son that he expects the most from.

Morrison ends Batman #681 with a nice lead in to the Battle for the Cowl story arc. We see Nightwing physically removed from the rest of Bruce’s allies and holding Bruce’s cape and cowl. This was a powerful image that seems to suggest that Dick will be the winner in the Battle for the Cowl story. The six month later scene with Le Bossu also hints to the reader that whoever wins the battle for the cowl carries on the mantle of the Batman.

I loved how Talia uses her ninja Man-Bats to take out Jezebel. You just do not mess with Talia’s man!

Finally, I liked the epilogue at the end of this issue. We see how Bruce is inspired at a young age by Zorro, a crime-fighter clad in black. Bruce’s wondering about a modern day Zorro in Gotham prompts Thomas Wayne to state that “The sad thing is that they’d probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham.” We then see a black panel with the word “Zur-En-Arrh” in red and backwards. Now, this might sound crazy, but is it possible that Zur-En-Arrh means Zorro in Arkham?

The Bad

Again, the same criticisms of earlier issues of RIP will apply to Batman #681 as well. If you do not enjoy Morrison’s style of writing then there is little chance that you will dig Batman #681. This is another issue full of Morrison’s typical metaphysical musings.

Many readers will also find the ending to Batman #681 to be incredibly anti-climactic and disappointing. I certainly had much higher expectations for this finale that what Morrison delivered. Instead of getting the most “shocking” reveal in 70 years on Batman the reader got the most over-hyped reveal in 70 years on Batman.

And some readers will likely feel cheated that the real conclusion to what happens to Batman will occur in Final Crisis and not RIP. Many readers will probably feel that the conclusion to Batman’s fate should have been carried out during RIP itself.

Another criticism of the ending is that Morrison employed a common and recycled ending by having the helicopter explode and no bodies being found. This is such a predictable and often used type of ending that the reader has seen so many times before. The ending to this issue simply felt a bit weak compared to the rest of RIP.

Another problem with RIP is that the general basis for the story of having Bruce retire from being Batman is repetitious and unoriginal. At the end of RIP I got a feeling that was too similar to what I got at the end of Knightfall. The fact is that DC is not doing anything new with Bruce’s character by making him “die” or “retire” from being Batman. We have been down this road before.

Another concern that I have with Batman RIP is if other writers will actually acknowledge what Morrison has done during his time on Batman. Or will writers that follow Morrison simply ignore all that Morrison has given us on Batman?

Overall

No, Batman RIP is not the greatest Batman story ever told. And yes, there are some weaknesses to this ending. But, all in all, this was a creative and intriguing Batman tale that captivated my mind and held my interest from start to finish.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

Art: 8/10
Story: 3/10
Overall: 5.5/10

The Good

I will say that this was probably the best issue that we have gotten since Fraction has come aboard Uncanny X-Men. Of course, that really is not saying very much.

Despite the lame super-Nazi storyline and the accompanying Nazi Rule violation, I still like the addition of Dr. Nemesis. He is a rather neat character and his haughty and abrasive personality should give Fraction a character to have a little fun with. It will be interesting to see how Dr. Nemesis meshes with the other X-Men.

I found the plotline involving the tattooed man and Colossus to be mildly interesting. I do like Colossus so any plotline designed to give Peter a bit of the spotlight is always a good thing. Hopefully, Fraction can make this into something that is actually interesting and entertaining.

The best aspect of Uncanny X-Men #504 is that Marvel is finally getting around to addressing the various dangling plotlines from the Messiah Complex. I was beginning to think that Marvel was never going to get around to addressing the fallout in the pages of Uncanny X-Men.

I liked that the Beast has had his sense of hope renewed by the birth of the first mutant child since the end of the House of M event. This plotline builds off of Brubaker’s Endangered Species storyline where the Beast embarked on a journey where he visited some of the most brilliant minds in the 616 universe for a way to return ex-mutants their mutant genes.

Beast is an incredibly optimistic character and I am glad that he is once again trying to assemble a team of brilliant scientist in hopes of saving mutantkind. And that this time it appears that Beast is having much more success in enlisting the help he needs. This is an interesting plotline that has some potential.

Fraction delivers a solid hook ending that picks up where Messiah Complex left off. We see that the Purifiers have set about trying to paint their slaughtering of the town in Alaska as the work of a terrorist group. And that the birth of a mutant was the direct source for the town being wiped out. This sets the stage for what should be a rather compelling story. I enjoyed Messiah Complex and am looking forward to seeing Fraction deal with the various plotlines that spun out of it.

Terry and Rachel Dodson did a quality job with the artwork in Uncanny X-Men #504. It was a breath of fresh air to have someone other than Land doing the art on this title. This was not the best work that I have seen from Terry Dodson, but it was still a good effort and I am thrilled that Dodson is now the regular artist for Uncanny X-Men.

The Bad

It seems that all we have gotten on this title since Fraction came on with issue #500 has been nothing but set-up. He continues this trend by laying the foundation for the Madelyn Pryor plotline, the Colossus plotline and the Purifiers plotline.

The character work also continues to be a serious weakness on this title. None of the various X-Men have a developed or unique personality. Fraction also displays a poor feel for the established personalities of the various X-Men. I found it odd that Nightcrawler would ever refer to Emma as a “filthy girl.” That just did not sound like Kurt at all.

I found it strange that Fraction would have Colossus regress back into a depressed and mopey state over Kitty’s death. I thought that the purpose of Brubaker having Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus travelling to Europe together was to help Peter move past Kitty’s death. And I also got the impression that Brubaker had Colossus grieve and finally come to terms with Kitty’s death and ready to move on and rejoin his fellow X-Men.

Fraction’s move to have Colossus regress back into his depressed and mopey state lacked internal logic and was largely unnecessary. Again, Fraction continues to display a lack of knowledge of stories that occur on a title prior to his arrival. It takes some work and effort, but professional writers always make sure they perform some research before taking over a specific title. And usually that includes reading up on at least the most recent story arcs on the title that they are taking over.

I also found Fraction’s version of Colossus to be incredibly wimpy. Fraction has Colossus turn tail and run and then throw up outside of the restaurant at the site of the tattooed thug. I am sure that seeing the tattooed man was jarring and clearly a childhood nightmare, but I found Colossus’ reaction to be out of character and unbelievable.

Colossus is a longtime X-Man who has faced numerous incredibly deadly and vicious villains with nothing but bravery in his heart. Colossus even sacrificed his own life in order to cure the Legacy virus. I just have a hard time reconciling how Colossus has been written up to this point and how much of a newbie coward he appears to be in this issue.

I found Scott’s mind being a massive hotel full of every single woman that he ever thought was attractive during his entire life to be an incredibly odd move by Fraction. Scott has largely been presented as level-headed and happy being in monogamous relationships with incredibly attractive women like Jean, Madelyn and Emma. This was just another example of how Fraction feels compelled to inject sexual themes where there really is no point and purpose for them. In the end, this issue only served to make Scott look like a creepy letch.

Fraction performs a little plot progression on Madelyn Pryor’s plotline by giving us a quick scene where Maddie enlists Sliver into her “sisterhood.” I am vaguely curious to see if Pryor can truly raise the dead or if she is simply preying up the weaknesses of these women. However, for the most part, Fraction has failed to hook my interest in Pryor’s plotline at all. Of course, I should disclose the fact that I have never found Pryor to be an interesting character and I definitely feel that Pryor should have remained dead.

Overall

The Revolution continues to be summarily unimpressed with Uncanny X-Men ever since Matt Fraction came aboard. However as I mentioned at the start, Uncanny X-Men #504 is probably the best issue that we have gotten since his arrival.

Despite all the negatives, I do feel that Fraction has several plotlines in place that have the potential to be rather interesting. I think that die-hard X-Men fans will enjoy this issue as will any reader who is a fan of Fraction’s style of writing. Outside of those two groups, I would be hesitant to recommend that you spend you hard earned cash on Uncanny X-Men at this point.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

Hexed is a new miniseries coming out of Boom! Studios, and from what I have heard, is going to be a major product in their lineup. Boom! Studios clearly has good taste. The art is lovely, and the plot line is intriguing enough that I want to see where it’s going. The main character is a teenage girl nicknamed Lucifer. She’s a professional thief who deals in occult items and uses magic of her own to get them.

The plot so far isn’t anything unique, but it’s more than enough to keep me interested, and all the magic stuff is well done and sometimes pretty spooky, which makes this a much nicer read. You can tell the writer, Michael Alan Nelson, already knows where he wants to go with this, and what kind of girl Lucifer is. Plot wise, I only rolled my eyes once, after the book used a really old, really worn out cliché, made worse by the writing surrounding it being pretty solid. Having a character say “I hope I didn’t forget anything,” followed by a close-up of a forgotten object hurts to read. But if that’s my biggest complaint on a new book like this, that’s pretty damn good. I was confused at first by a scene of her stripping down to her underwear and tank top to get to another dimension, but it’s a dimension where I think a set of clean dry clothes would be a good thing to have once you’re back on Earth. Her method of getting to the other dimension is particularly creepy, and made much creepier by the penciller, Emma Rios, who knew just how much detailed gore to add without it being over the top and silly looking.

Speaking of art, the art and colouring were really well done in this book. It’s colour on top of fairly rough pencils, but it’s a good style for the book, and the colourist, Cris Peter, has a great eye for contrast and lighting. The actual colouring is fairly simple, mostly cel shading and the occasional gradient, but the palette is well chosen and it works with the pencils. Lucifer has a fairly understated appearance, but it suits her character well, and I’m particularly glad that this tomboy thief doesn’t have the usual trappings of lipstick, nail polish, and D-cups. The big point I’m trying to get across is that Hexed is cool and you should buy it.

The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

Art : 5/10
Story : 8/10
Overall : 6.5/10

Hush has always had potential, but Dini finally took that potential and made Hush a more compelling character in this story arc.

Throughout this story arc, I have enjoyed all of the flashback scenes involving Elliot. The flashback in this issue was masterfully crafted as Elliot appeared both sympathetic and horribly reprehensible at the same moment. Dini has done an impressive job breathing life into Bruce’s high society past throughout this story arc.

My favorite scene was the one between Bruce and Selina at the hospital. This scene was incredibly emotional as Dini displayed a nice feel for the complex and volatile relationship the two have had over the years. It was a refreshing change of pace to see Bruce open up so candidly and expose an actual warm and caring heart that normally is as cold and hard as ice.

Of course, this is still the goddamn Batman that we are talking about and I appreciate that Dini made a point that Bruce and Selina’s “happy ending” only lasted for one night. This reminds the reader of the fact that Bruce is still an emotionally damaged person who is probably not capable of sustaining a serious and stable relationship with any woman.

Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs combine to deliver some decidedly average artwork. I have seen some of Nguyen’s pencils and they look nice. They certainly look much better than when they are inked by Fridolfs. Having said that, the Batcave was fantastic. Nguyen crams plenty of Easter Eggs into these panels set in the Batcave. I believe that we saw just about every single version of the Batmobile ranging from the original one to the 1960’s TV show Batmobile to the ones seen in the various Tim Burton Batman movies all the way up to the most recent Batman movie.

Overall: Detective Comics #850 was a pleasant ending to a well-crafted story arc. This finale delivered enough action and drama that it should have broad appeal to a large cross section of comic book readers. If you missed out on the Hush story arc then I would certainly recommend checking this story arc out when it is released in trade paperback format.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

Art: 9/10
Story: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

Nothing can kill a white hot story arc more than shipping problems. And that is what has happened to Millar’s Old Man Logan story arc. It seems like those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. We had these same shipping issues the last time Millar and McNiven teamed up together and gave us Civil War. Wolverine #68 came out way back on August 27, 2008. Here it is two and a half months later and we are finally getting Wolverine #69. At any rate, let’s go ahead and do this review…

The Good

This issue starts out the box quick as the first nine pages are full of adrenaline pumping action. Millar then eases off the gas and gives the reader a chance to soak in more of the setting of this future version of America. Millar then ends Wolverine #69 with an excellent scene that focuses on character building. All in all, Wolverine #69 was a nicely balanced read.

I have been impressed with Millar’s world building skills as he has been able to give this future Earth plenty of depth and intrigue. The reader gets such a strong sense of the bleakness, lawlessness and hopelessness that permeates this future Earth. This dry and dusty future America reminds me of a Sergio Leone western and I can hear the music of Ennio Morricone as I read this issue.

Millar treats the reader to plenty of neat little throwaways as our heroes travel across the country. We see Loki’s giant body under the Baxter Building. There is Venom’s costume stretched across a canyon wall in South Dakota. There is Red Skull’s visage chiseled onto Mount Rushmore. We also see wild packs of dinosaurs from the Savage Land roaming the desert.

All of these little throwaways add plenty of flavor to this story and help to give this setting more depth and a real sense of history. They also help to pique the reader’s interest and get the reader’s imagination cooking over what happened during the great war between the heroes and the villains. It is obvious that Millar is having fun with fleshing out this bizarre future.

Despite the fact that the sense of hopelessness permeates every corner of this setting and that it practically overwhelms the reader at times, Millar still gives the reader a small flicker of hope when Logan mentions Sue and Reed. The mere fact that these two heroes from Marvel’s First Family of superheroes might still be alive shows that even jaded and broken people like Logan still have a small flicker of hope within their hearts.

Old man Logan is akin to Clint Eastwood’s character in Unforgiven. This is the Man with No Name when he became an old man. These are not complex characters given to loquacious soliloquies or inner narration. Each line is carefully chosen and has the weight of a hammer as it hits home.

Hawkeye’s short monologue in the final scene concerning his daughter was excellent. I have a feeling that we have not seen the last of Ashley. I enjoyed how Millar played with the concept of Hawkeye having been a killer and how he had extinguished the flame of life in many people. This is contrasted nicely with the miracle of birth that Hawkeye witnessed when Ashley was born. At this point the killer finally understands and experiences the joy of seeing the flame of life ignited in a newborn child.

Despite the killing and the drug dealing, the heart of a hero does still beat inside of Hawkeye’s chest and this scene proves it. This scene only serves to further emphasize that Hawkeye is a fallen hero. And with each issue the reader wonders just how much further Hawkeye can fall from the once heroic stature that he had as a mighty Avenger.

Millar continues to do a fine job handling Logan’s character. Again, less is more as Millar proceeds to show the reader instead of telling the reader how much Logan has changed and the conflict that is raging inside of him. In the final scene, Millar relies on an economy of words and some action in order to convey to the reader the sense of pain, bitterness inside of Logan as well as the raging conflict inside of him as he struggles to be a pacifist.

Millar has Logan exclaim that he loves his wife, kids and his little life that he has carved out for himself which is Logan listing the reasons why he should embrace his new life of pacifism. Logan’s unsolicited insistence to Hawkeye that Logan no longer is excited by death anymore immediately makes the reader wonder who Logan is trying to convince: himself or Hawkeye…

Throughout Wolverine #69, the reader begins to see some of the old violent Wolverine slowly bubble up to the surface. This all comes to a head in the final scene. Even though Logan does not pop his claws, the violence and the fury flashes itself. It becomes apparent to the reader that Wolverine is reaching the breaking point with the struggle inside of his soul.

Wolverine #69 ends with a great hook ending as it appears that the reader will finally find out exactly what happened to Wolverine during the great war with the next issue. Millar has spent much time; some might say too much time, in building up the mystery surrounding what happened to Wolverine during the war between the heroes and the villains. I am certainly curious to learn exactly how the villains managed to break Wolverine.

McNiven and Vines combine to deliver some absolutely phenomenal artwork. Wolverine #69 is simply a fantastic looking issue. McNiven is able to create such a grand scope and feel to the setting of this story. The double page splash shot of Mount Rushmore conveyed the overwhelming presence of such a massive structure. I continue to love how McNiven draws Logan. The reader can see the time, pain and loss etched on Logan’s face. McNiven also is able to deliver action scenes just as well as the dramatic scenes.

The Bad

Wolverine #69 is a thin read. And there is a lack of plot progression in this issue. While this might be a fast action packed read, the fact remains that not much really happens at all in this issue. I got the sense that Millar was stalling a bit for time in order to push off the reveal of what happened to Wolverine during the great war between the heroes and the villains.

I think that many readers would probably not be so irritated with how thin this issue is if it had come out on time. The lack of plot progression only becomes amplified and more noticeable by the two and one half month delay. Millar likely has his eye on Old Man Logan being released in trade format and that is to be expected. Decompressed storytelling rules modern day comic books and it can be tolerated to a point if the monthly issues actually stick to their monthly shipping schedules. Once that shipping schedule is missed then decompressed stories begin to grate on the reader’s nerves even more than usual.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Pete Woods

Art : 8/10
Story : 8/10
Overall : 8/10

This is a fast read that moves with a purpose, but at no point does it feel rushed.

Johns and Robinson have clearly done their homework in preparing the New Krypton story, an ever-changing matrix that constantly shifts and readjusts as Johns and Robinson slide the various chess pieces around the board. The story is seamless as it shifts to different titles with each installment of this story. This is amazing considering that most large stories that are delivered by more than one writer tend to get a bit clunky and often have a poor flow to them.

The themes of Superman’s true heritage and what role the Kandorians will have on Earth are well handled and reflected as Johns presents the reader several different viewpoints of those two main themes. Kal-El may love his Kryptonian heritage, but the fact remains that he has no connection to or memories of Krypton. Johns does a fine job using this scene to get the reader to understand and sympathize with Gor and Mur and their disdain for Superman’s diplomatic approach over exacting payback on Brainiac for the death of Krypton.

I enjoyed how Johns points out the similarities between these two characters even thought there are also start contrasts present as well. General Lane clearly sees himself as a patriot and a hero while Lex is nothing more than an egotistical sadist. However, both men view the threat of Superman and the threat of a city full of Kryptonians the same. Surprisingly, the Zod loyalists in Gor and Mur view Superman roughly the same as how Lane and Lex view Superman.

Johns also does a fine job fleshing out the tension that exists on a personal level between General Lane, Superman and Lois. General Lane has sacrificed everything including his relationship with his daughter in his quest to protect Earth from Superman. The reader is able to get a good sense of why Lane views Superman and the Kandorians as such a threat. And General Lane’s personal loss in terms of his fractured relationship with Lois serves to make Lane a bit more vulnerable and sympathetic to the reader.

Of course, Action Comics #871 was not all about fine dialogue and interesting character work. This issue was also about some serious bone-jarring action. Johns delivers a fantastic brawl between the Kryptonians and Doomsday. I enjoyed watching the Kryptonians squash Doomsday. This scene served notice on just how powerful a fighting force even a handful of Kryptonians can be.

What was also so impressive about this fight scene is how Johns seamlessly filled the reader in on Doomsday’s back-story without employing a boring flashback scene or breaking the flow of the story. This was a smart move to help bring newer readers up to speed on Doomsday so that they could fully enjoy this issue.

Action Comics #871 ends with a fantastic hook ending as Johns unveils the new Nightwing and Flamebird. I dig how they were assigned to guard the Phantom Zone Projector in order to prevent any Zod loyalists from freeing him from the Phantom Zone. This shows that Superman may be an idealist but he is not stupid.

I am certainly curious to learn more about Nightwing and Flamebird. These two codenames have been used many times in Superman’s continuity. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Nightwing and Flamebird were secret identities assumed by Clark and Jimmy Olsen while in the bottled City of Kandor and the Nightwing codename was used later by Superman’s cousin Van-Zee. However, Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, these names were ascribed to two historic Kryptonian super heroes.

Now, at first I figured that this current version of Nightwing and Flamebird are from Kandor as well. However, Kryptonians certainly do not have flame powers. At least not that we know of. What was particularly intriguing was that Johns makes a point of having Nightwing state that he has natural tactile-telekinesis. That is a power that Conner possessed when he first became Superboy.

Overall, Action Comics #871 was another entertaining installment of the New Krypton story. Johns does a fine job keeping the ball rolling and helping to make the New Krypton story one of the more exciting events in the DCU.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

Ultimatum has finally arrived as Marvel simply could not wait for Secret Invasion to finish before cranking up this newest “big event.” I have to admit that Ultimatum doesn’t interest me that much. With the exception of Ultimate Spider-Man, I stopped caring about the rest of the Ultimate Universe years ago.

Also, I am not too sure that it was a wise idea by Marvel to tap Jeph Loeb to head up this big event. I enjoyed Loeb’s work over at DC, but Loeb has been incredibly disappointing since he came to Marvel. I mean, Wolverine was just awful and Hulk and the Ultimates 3 have been practically unreadable at times. I do not have faith in Loeb being able to craft a riveting big event with Ultimatum. I wish Marvel had given this task to Millar. Anyway, let’s hope for the best and go ahead and hit this review for Ultimatum #1.

Art: 8/10
Story: 3/10
Overall: 5.5/10

The Good

Loeb wastes absolutely no time kicking off this big event, giving the readers plenty of immediate mass destruction as natural disasters strike Manhattan and Latveria.

I have to admit that I just love the Ultimate version of Tony Stark. With the 616 universe Tony Stark practically unrecognizable after what Marvel did to him during Civil War and all of the subsequent stories, it is great to see playboy Tony in full effect. All the man wants are some ladies and a nice stiff drink and not necessarily in that order.

I also dig that we get to see Hank Pym assuming his Yellowjacket identity in this issue. I think I am probably one of the only Hank Pym fans in all of comic fandom. It would be nice if Pym would be able to use the Yellowjacket suit in order to redeem himself.

Finch does a phenomenal job bringing this big event to life. The double page splash shot of Manhattan being flooded — as just one example — effectively conveyed the massive scope of this catastrophe.

I am a bit curious to learn how Magneto managed to procure Thor’s hammer, especially as it appears to be the 616 version and not the Ultimate Universe version.

The Bad

Basically, Ultimatum #1 consists of Manhattan being flooded, some heroes getting killed, Latveria being frozen over and Professor X revealing to the surviving heroes that Magneto is behind the attack. There just is very little meat on the bones of this issue. Ultimatum #1 completely lacked substance and depth.

This is about as generic of a big event as you are going to find. The reader gets the sense that we have seen this all before in countless other comic books and movies. At no point does this issue convey anything particularly original or interesting. Instead, Loeb mechanically goes through the motions in giving the reader a big event that has a paint-by-numbers feel to it.

Of course, Loeb “treats” the reader to death, death and more death. It appears that several characters get killed off in this issue. I understand that David Finch said in an interview that Jeph Loeb was going to be brining much of the Ultimate Universe to a close. I guess that is code for killing off a bunch of characters. I can’t say that I find that particularly creative or original.

If Ultimatum is just going to be used to slaughter off a myriad of characters from the Ultimate Universe that I have absolutely no interest at all in it. I am so over the obligatory body count that both Marvel and DC feel that they must deliver with each “big event.”

I am also less than impressed with the basis for Ultimatum. Magneto hates humans and is going to use an assortment of natural disasters to kill off the human race. *Yawn* This is such an unoriginal and well worn theme. I know that comic books by nature are formulaic and that it is extremely hard to deliver a big event that does not employ some rather well worn themes. But, the fact remains that a story based on Magneto wanting to kill all the humans is just deathly dull and unoriginal.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

Super heroics as a business is a concept that’s rarely explored and, to my knowledge, never mined for comedy. Super Human Resources is out to change that, taking the humor of The Office or 30 Rock and transplanting it to a setting that’s strictly four-color.

Super Human Resources shows us this superheroic business world through the eyes of Tim, a temp who’s been hired into the accounting department. Powerless and sort of nerdy, Tim is the everyman foil to the more incredible world of the superhumans. He’s characterized well enough to avoid being a cipher for the reader, but it’s a very close thing. He’s not given much dialogue that reveals his thoughts or motivations; he generally just wanders through the comic with an incredulous look on his face as wacky circumstances happen around him.

This issue is strictly an introduction to the cast of the comic, with no real plot to speak of. This is the comic’s greatest strength and weakness. The cast is varied, and each character has enough of a personality that you really understand them in their short, three or four panel introductions. There are a lot of characters in the book, but you’ll never confuse one of them for another, and none of them are dead weight.

There are two distinct forms of humor in Super Human Resources. The first is the wacky sort of non-sequitur humor, personified best by the character of Zombor, the company’s zombie receptionist, who seemingly mentions to every caller that he is going to eat their brains, or by the random ninja assassin who poisons Tim at the beginning of the comic. The other type of humor consists of very smart send-ups of office and business culture when confronted with the reality of employing people with superpowers, as seen when a superhero confronts the human resources director, complaining about the performance of his 401k, which he checked on while sent to the future to fight a time-travelling villain. Which type of humor you like better is down to personal preference, of course, but I feel like the comic is really at its best when it’s emphasizing the situational humor.

The first issue of Super Human Resources is a very promising start, and having read the second and third issues, I feel comfortable recommending it to anyone who’s looking for a good comedy comic. Give it a shot if you see it in your shop.

Super Human Resources #1 can be ordered in the December issue of Previews.

The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

There have been rumors swirling that DC was going to start printing Adventure Comics once again as a regular monthly title. While that remains to be seen, we did get Adventure Comics Special #1 this week. This issue features the Guardian and also has a cameo appearance by a C-list Legionnaire. I have enjoyed the New Krypton story so far so I fully expected Adventure Comics Special #1 to be a quality read.

Art: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10

The Good

Robinson continues to lay a sound foundation and assemble all of the various players for this big event. This issue successfully introduces the Guardian and his back-story to newer readers unfamiliar with his history. It effectively re-establishes the Guardian within the New DCU as well as giving him a role in the New Krypton story.

Robinson enables the reader to get an excellent feel for The Guardian’s character. The fact that Harper’s first memory was seeing the original Jim Harper being killed by Jonathon Drew immediately sets the tone for the turmoil that rages inside of Harper. I am certainly looking forward to seeing the Guardian lay a beating on Assassin.

I loved the scene where the Guardian stumbles across the lab full of botched Jim Harper/Paul Kirk clones at the Cadmus facility in the Twin Cities. That was a chilling scene. And the Guardian’s reaction was perfect. I dig that the Guardian took inspiration from Paul Kirk and went ahead and destroyed the Cadmus facility thereby killing all of the clones in an effort to take his humanity back.

I totally dig how Robinson pulls from DC’s Golden Age and Silver Age for this current story involving the Guardian and Cadmus. DC has such a long and storied history and a rich continuity. It is enjoyable to see DC finally taking the leash off their writers and letting them dig deep into DC’s continuity in fleshing out New Earth’s continuity.

I liked the plot twist that Harper’s “daughter” is just another clone. This continued Robinson’s running theme of Harper trying to create his own sense of humanity by manufacturing an artificial family. Harper calls the original Jim Harper his “father” even though Harper is simply a clone of the original Jim Harper. And in the end we see that Harper has completed the family circle by giving himself a “daughter” out of the young female clone of himself. This theme was well handled and added to Harper’s desperate desire to be his own entity.

Robinson ends Adventure Comics Special #1 with a solid hook ending as we see Harper and Gwendolyn arriving at Metropolis with all the Kryptonians flying in the night sky and Harper deciding that he better keep his Guardian helmet. It is clear that the Guardian is going to play an important role in the New Krypton story.

I enjoyed Pere Perez’s artwork. He delivered a fine looking issue. He has a pleasant style that made this issue enjoyable to read.

The Bad

My only complaint is that Jim Harper did not keep that sweet moustache that he was sporting through out this issue.

Overall

Adventure Comics Special #1 was a great issue that serves to pull even more readers into the New Krypton story. This issue also did a fine job of re-establishing the Guardian into a more prominent role within the DCU and giving him a role to play in the New Krypton story. With plenty of action, drama and mystery I would certainly recommend getting this issue, especially if you are following the New Krypton story on Action Comics and Superman.

For more reviews, scans, story recaps and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Dale Eaglesham
Inks: Nathan Massengill

Art: 7/10
Story: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10

The Good

Johns understands and gets the JSA members like no other writer. His strong character work affords him the ability to create plenty of excellent chemistry between the JSA’ers. It’s so easy for the reader to lose themselves in this story as these characters seemingly spring to life. The scene where Power Girl refuses to let go of Alan and Jay once they arrived back home was perfect. It was touching and poignant without ever crossing the line and becoming overly dramatic.

The incredible long range vision and wonderfully complex and detailed plot lines on the Justice Society of America is impressive. There are very few titles that can rival the depth and range of the plotting that we get on the JSA.

Johns manages to nicely fold the Earth-2 plotline into the larger Gog plotline. On the surface, it appears that Johns places the Gog plotline on hold while he wraps up the Earth-2 plotline. But, upon closer review, Johns slyly uses the Earth-2 plotline to further the Gog plotline by pushing two of Gog’s biggest critics closer to accepting this seemingly benevolent god.

Johns gives an excellent and impressively concise and clear re-cap of the history of the Multiverse. I found it interesting that the Multiverse expands just like the universe does. This would suggest that the new Multiverse will continue to expand and will eventually keep growing past the original 52 worlds. This would seem a logical way to bring back the original Multiverse that had an infinite amount of Earths. I have a feeling that the Multiverse will certainly not be limited by the original 52 Earths that we saw at the end of 52.

Johns ends Justice Society of America #20 with a fantastic hook ending. The adventure on Earth-2 and the sight of their loved ones alive once again appears to be enough to get Alan Scott to finally buy into Gog. Alan has been the leader of the faction of the JSA who do not trust or believe in Gog. That appears to be changing. I am curious to see how Mr. Terrific reacts to Alan’s question.

The Bad

I only have one minor complaint. I thought that the Earth-2 Power Girl began channeling a bit too much of her inner Superboy-Prime with the maniacal way that she interrogated our Power Girl and the general over the top presentation of Earth-2 Power Girl’s character.

Overall

Johns continues to impress with this title as Justice Society of America remains one of DC’s best and most consistent titles on the market. If you enjoy incredibly complex plotlines along with quality character work then you should give JSA a try. This title is balanced enough in terms of action and drama that should make it appealing to a large percentage of comic book readers.

For more in-depth reviews, story recaps, scans and news visit Comic Book Revolution!