Bonus Book #3 - Doom Patrol (1988)

Bonus Book #3 - Doom Patrol (June, 1988)
"A Life in the Day"
Writer - Steve Miller (probably not that Steve Miller)
Pencils - Randy DuBurke
Inks - Joe Alidetta
Letters - Tim Harkins
Colors - Elizabeth Kessler
Edits - Paul Kupperberg
Consulting Edits - Mike Gold

Wow, that's a cover, innit?  Pretty horrifying stuff... are we sure this is pre-Morrison Doom Patrol?  How ya like Arani's pose there?  Part tortured, part seductive... eesh, it's just really off-putting.  If you followed during our ten-month Action Comics Daily endeavor last year, that art ought to be pretty familiar to y'all!  Let's see how good it looks on the inside!

This bugger was jammed betwixt the staples of Doom Patrol (vol.2) #9 (June, 1988).

--

We open with Celsius stood before a War Memorial.  She is approached by an elderly woman in a wheelchair who seems to sense that she needs somebody to talk to.  I'm not sure if the wheelchair is supposed to evoke Niles Caulder... but, I suppose that doesn't really matter.  Anyhoo, the old woman asks what's up... and Arani hesitates before spilling her guts to this perfect stranger.  She tells her all about the Doom Patrol and her missing husband.  The old woman than shares that she recently lost a husband herself... and, she has decided that this day will be her "last day".  As in, she's planning to die today.  She introduces herself as Ellen and invites Arani to share in her company on this very important day.  Since our Doomy has nothing better to do... and maybe figures she can talk this old bitty out of dying, she agrees.

Their first stop is Bryant's Barbeque Restaurant, which is actually a real place in Kansas City!  Ellen orders a pork sandwich... and Arani kinda does the spoilsport thing and says she ain't hungry.  Ellen takes it upon herself to order a sammie for her young tagalong.

Arani, unsurprisingly, loves the sandwich... and Ellen shares a story about the old owner of the joint, Arthur Bryant.  She says he was so legendary in the area that when he passed away, a cartoonist drew him arriving at the pearly-gates of Heaven, with Saint Peter asking if he brought any sauce.

And, whattaya know...

Their next stop is to see the Kansas City Royals play.  Ellen says she's been a fan forever, and always watches them on television... but has never visited the park.  Today, they're playing the New York Yankees... so, why not?  George Brett winds up hitting the game-winning Home Run... the ball soars right into Ellen and Arani's section.

The fan who caught the ball graciously offers it to Ellen.  She gleefully takes it, and suggests she and Arani head down and try to get George Brett to autograph it for them.  Arani is quite confused about the direction this day has taken.

They get the autograph... turns out Mr. Brett is "such a nice young man".  Celsius is clearly beginning to lose her patience... and attempts to "call it a day", because she's got stuff to do... like, ya know, stare at walls, hoping that Niles' location will just magically pop into her mind.  Ellen tells her they've got just one last stop.  Arani begrudgingly agrees to accompany her.

On their way to their final destination, our pair happen across a burning building.  Firefighters appear to be having great difficulty dealing with this inferno... but Celsius doesn't look to be all that interested in helping out.  Ellen doesn't give her the choice... if Arani can do something to help save some lives, then she damn sure better!

Arani gives in and uses her powers to create a tremendous ice-slide gimmick.  That's not good enough for our gal Ellen though.  She insists that Arani inform the police and firefighters that she, in fact, assisted.  Arani gives a flat-out "No".

Well, if we know anything about Ellen... and, we don't know much... but, we do know that she ain't about to take "no" for an answer.  Arani tells the Police about her helping-hand... and is absolutely bombarded with questions.  Oh!  So, that's what all those Twizzler's Mouths on the cover were all about!

Finally, Arani and Ellen arrive at the "final destination".  It's a fountain at a park.  Ellen asks Arani to look around and tell her what she sees.  She responds with "people wasting time".  Ellen corrects her, explaining that they're not wasting time... they're "enjoying their lives".  She suggests Arani do the same... make friends, share her life with them.  Life's short and all'at.  She hands over her George Brett ball as a memento of their time together...

... then, she dies.  Arani kisses her on the forehead.

We wrap up back at Doom Patrol headquarters... where Arani has a little chat with Cliff.  She even tosses him the George Brett baseball.  It looks as though she learned something from her day with Ellen... and perhaps, tomorrow can be a new beginning for her.  Ya know, so long as there isn't some crazy alien Invasion! heading their way.

--

Ya know... I'm not sure what I was expecting from this Bonus Book endeavor... well, actually, I take that back... I know pretty much exactly what I expected.  I expected, to be completely blunt... garbage.  I expected throwaways... I expected halfhearted efforts.  I guess, I expected "current year" DC Comics anthology fare.  What we've gotten instead (at least to this point) is... very earnest, well thought-out little stories.  These first three Bonus Books appear to have that one intangible we overly precious-types go on and on about... they've got heart.

It's easy to look at this one, and... after the first handful of pages, sigh to ourselves and say "Oh, it's going to be one of those stories"... a "final day" story, where someone is going to learn a valuable lesson about life.  And, don't get me wrong, that's exactly what it is.  It's a trope we've seen time and again in fiction.  The thing of it is, however, that it's done just so damn well here!  This really was excellent!

Now, it's been... a very long time... since I've read any pre-Morrison Doom Patrol.  This Kupperberg run, while not bad or anything, was always sort of a "Premack" situation to me.  It was what I'd force myself to push through in order to get to the Morrison run.  Could've just skipped it... and a lot of times I did.  But, the times I did read it, it was out of some sort of weird obligation rather than any actual interest.

That said, I know the broader strokes of Arani's search for the Chief... I mean, I guess it's all broad strokes... she's searching for the Chief.  Done.  Thing is, you don't necessarily even need to be familiar with that aspect of that story to fully appreciate this.  Miller does a fine job depicting Arani as troubled and focused on her mission... and shares what that mission is.  I suppose what I'm trying to say here, but taking a rather "scenic route" is, you can go into this story cold, and you won't be lost.  You can (and likely will) still enjoy it.

I appreciated the nods to actual Kansas City locales and history.  I'm sure had I not had a Google-Machine within arm's reach at all times, I'd likely assume places like Bryant's were just made up by the writer... and, I mean, while it doesn't so much matter that it's real... I definitely appreciate the effort.  From the Bonus Book Bio page (included below), it looks as though our writer, (not that) Steve Miller might just be a KC native.

Let's take a look at Mssr. Miller.  If the DC Wiki is to be believed, he was (sadly) a one-and-done.  This was his only story.  That's definitely too bad, because, I tell ya what... this was a damn good story.  Trying to Google this fella, as you might imagine, is somewhat difficult.  If I'm not pulling up that Steve Miller... I'm getting Frank!  His career started prior to his DC try-out with a series called Rust from NOW Comics.  From my (admittedly litte) research, it seems like he came up with the Rust concept... but might not have actually written the comics?  He didn't do a heckuva lot in the field after this though.  That's really too bad.

Across the table, we've got our artist Randy DuBurke.  Chris is on Infinite Earths regulars might recognize him as the artist on Action Comics Weekly's pair of Black Canary features!  Now, I gave him a bit of grief during those runs... both for being "boring" and for being wayyy too experimental.  It was a very bi-polar effort.  Here, however, it would appear that DuBurke has found that "happy medium" between clean-clear-comics and Sienkiewicz-lite.  It certainly helps that this more "talkie" story might best suit his style.  From the DC Wiki, it looks as though Randy went on to do Action Comics Weekly, a few other things... then, poof... that's that!  He does have a website you can check out if you wanna see some of his more recent work... which, it rather nice!  There are some amazing-looking painted pages posted there.

Overall... as if it's not obvious... I really dug this one.  Well worth checking out... or digging up, if you've already got Doom Patrol #9 in a longbox somewhere!

--

(Not the) Letters Page:

ACW #634 - Black Canary

Action Comics Weekly #634 (Black Canary)
"knock 'em Dead, Part 11"
Writer - Sharon Wright
Pencils - Randy DuBurke
Inks - Pablo Marcos
Letters - Steve Haynie
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Robert Greenberger

Hey now, today marks the first (of three) final farewells hitting us this week!  Today Black Canary takes her final ACW bow.  While she'll technically appear during next week's The Crash of '88!... it won't be as the star of her own feature.

I thought I'd be a lot happier about this... hrmm... I must be going soft in these late numbers.

--

We open at "act" the Contemporary Theatre where much of the second-half of this story has taken place.  There, Cat has Ken strung up high above the stage in some rigging.  He ain't dead or anything, though... well, not yet.  Nearby, Black Canary, who figured everything out after her trip into the sewer last week, looks on.  Somehow Cat doesn't notice that there's like a mile of blonde hair just a few yards away.  Before Cat can cut the cables and send her ex-husband plummeting down to the stage, Dinah swoops in... asking the all-important question, "How did your daughter die?".  I mean, this broad's pretty unstable... might wanna wait til you're on solid ground to begin the interrogation.

This leads to, of all things, a flashback scene.  Ya see, Cat's totally cool with Ken spilling the beans right now... and so, he does.  The thing of it is, Ken while married to Cat, but screwing around with The Deb, found himself in some pretty risky situations.  This is when he somehow contracted AIDS.  I say "somehow" because we don't know if this was a sexually-transmitted or needle-sharing sort of situation.  Whatever the case, he got it.

Fast-forward about a decade... Ken, along with Dannie (his daughter with Cat) were out biking, when there was an accident.  Dannie broke her arm, and lost a lot of blood.  Ken just happened to be a match (AB Negative)... bingo-bango, the kid's now got AIDS too!  She dies not too long after.

With the story told, Cat decides it's time for Ken to take his final bow.  However, before she can send him to his final splatting place, Dinah produces a sack... from which it looks as though she's dumping Dannie's ashes all over the stage.  Wow, that got dark--er.

Over the course of the next couple of pages, Dinah battles an enraged Cat.  This is kind of what we've been waiting for for the past near-dozen weeks... however, the way it's rendered... it's nigh on impossible to actually follow.  The art is veers into the, uhh, "hyper-experimental" at this point?  It looks like the fight ends with a spotlight either blinding Cat... or literally exploding.  It's quite "out there".

We wrap up this chapter, this arc, this feature... with Cat, dead... splattered all over the stage.  Dinah produces the actual urn full of Dannie's ashes, so we know she didn't actually callously dump a child's remains all over the place.  Ken's alive... and is going to be okay, ya know, AIDS notwithstanding.  After a "witty" Law and Order style closing-line from Dinah... that's that!

--

So, all's well that ends well.

Such a strange story... I'd say "strange little story", but this sucker ran for eleven weeks.  Let's talk nuts and bolts for a bit, since that was my main takeaway (and problem) with Wright and DuBurke's first run-up at telling a Dinah story.  This one meandered far less... and, most importantly, introduced us to our cast early on.  If you were following along during Dinah's first arc... we were still meeting major characters in like the penult--er, second-to-last chapter!

This story was, like the one before it, sorta-kinda "torn from the headlines"... at least thematically.  The AIDS epidemic was hyooge news back in the late-80's.  It was like one of the three certainties in life.  It was like everybody was out to get you 1) hooked on drugs, 2) initiated into a gang, and 3) infected with AIDS.  It's up there with quicksand as one of the things I was sure would eventually take me out.

Here's where this arc differs from the last... in the first arc, we met the Librados... illegal immigrants, who did some rather unsavory stuff just to make ends meet.  We got this sorta-kinda "Robin Hood" vibe from them... doing bad things, but for all the right reasons.  Ya know?  Real Philosophy 101 "ethical dilemma" sorta stuff.  Here, Ken Glazier... for all intents and purposes, a "good guy"... he cops to his unsavory prior actions.  He regrets them... laments them, takes responsibility for them... and has been "broken" ever since.

There isn't like this neon-arrow pointing at him telling us he's who we should be rooting for, like there was with the Librados last time out.  I guess what I'm trying to say is, Ms. Wright was far less heavy-handed and agenda-driven this time out... and the story was much better for it.

On the other hand.  Mr. DuBurke?  Mistuh Mistuh Mistuh Mistuh... DuBurke.  I wanted to love this art.  In fact, it was just about the only thing I was looking forward to while this arc loomed on our Action Comics Daily horizon.  Like I've said a few times already... this art is fine to look at, but no good at telling a story.  I mean, look at our big climax here... I haven't the foggiest idea which way the characters' heads are screwed on, much less what's actually going on!  We've waited nearly a quarter-year for this scene, and I can hardly make heads or tails of it.  That's not good.

What I'd really like to see is like a "Director's Cut" of this story... because, I feel as though there is a very tight and solid story hidden somewhere here... underneath the weird ACW schedule, without any repetitive nothin' happenin' scenes, without waiting until the last minute to spill all of the beans.  There's something good here.  This isn't to say the story, as delivered, was bad... because I don't think it was.  I just feel like it could've been better.

I get that's a pretty broad thing to say... I mean, every story (and every thing) "could've" been better.  What I'm trying to say is, this arc showed promise and potential, where the first outing did not.  There's a feeling that if nudged ever so slightly, this could have been a very special Dinah-centric story... in a time where Dinah-centric stories really weren't a thing.

Would I recommend knock 'em Dead?  Hmm... if given the choice between Librado's Way and knock 'em Dead... definitely choose the latter, but... ya know, I dunno.  It's not bad... maybe check it out?  Howzat for riding the fence?

Tomorrow: A Series of Very Convenient Events!

ACW #633 - Black Canary

Action Comics Weekly #633 (Black Canary)
"knock 'em Dead, Part 10"
Writer - Sharon Wright
Pencils - Randy DuBurke
Inks - Pablo Marcos
Letters - Steve Haynie
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Robert Greenberger

Wow, this one's still going on, innit?  Well, not for long, because if I'm not mistaken, today's piece covers the penultimate chapter of this Black Canary tale.  Eleven parts for a story is pretty weird, but... I wanna say there was a lot of weirdness going on behind the scenes at Action Comics Weekly around this point in time.

--

We open with Ken Glazier... having something bad happen to him... I think.  Looks like he's either just had his brains blown out, or he was slapped in the face.  It's somewhere on that spectrum.  Meanwhile, Dinah is having her wounds tended to by an EMT.  She claims that Cat's stab (with a prop-dagger, no less) didn't sever any tendons, just gave her a big ol' bone bruise.  The check-up is interrupted, however, by an officer who reports they just found a body bobbin' in the sound... a body whose description matches that of The Deb.

We hop over to the pier where our worst fears are confirmed... well, they're bound to be somebody's worst fears... The Deb is Ded.  The question about how or why anyone would dump her body into such a heavy-trafficked waterway lingers.

This gives Dinah a sneaking suspicion, and so she disappears around a bend.  There, she finds an opening to the sewer system, and decides to have a look around.

She is almost immediately greeted by the word "Whore" being scrawled on a wall... not sure if this was written in paint, lipstick, blood, or ketchup... but, it's red.

Dinah continues... and comes across a closed door.  Upon entering, she finds quite the scene.  It's a shrine of sorts... to a little girl.  There are empty boxes of Kentucky Fried Somethin'r'nother strewn around the joint, which makes me figure that "Whore" we just saw must've been writ in ketchup... maybe barbecue sauce.  Amid the ramshackle altar, Canary finds an urn... which she peeks into.  Suddenly all the pieces fall into place.

In a nearby chair, where it appears as though some torture had been taking place, Dinah can see some fresh blood.  At the foot of the chair, she spots a wallet... belonging to Ken Glazier!  Now that's awfully convenient.  Looks like we're finally headed into the end-game!

--

I've said it before, but as many of you know, I often take any opportunity to repeat myself here... this really feels like they're doing their damnedest to add pages to this arc.  While at the same time, it feels like we're not getting enough information!  The past several chapters could have easily been condensed into like half the pages... and included some clear, concise storytelling in regards to the final fate of The Deb.  Not that we necessarily need to see her get whacked, but none of this really needed to be so nebulous.

I think many of us figured out where this story was going about 4-5 weeks ago... so, a lot of these "revelations" are falling pretty flat.  I, personally, don't think every reveal needs to be an "A-ha!" moment, but this arc seems to think that's the way a story is told.  There would be nothing wrong with playing this straight.

Despite the clear-as-mud art, this is a mostly linear story... the twists and turns are manufactured to be twisty and turny... the story never gets the opportunity to grow and evolve "organically"... which only makes the reveals feel all the more forced, hackneyed, and cliche.

Not sure how much of this we can lay at the feet of the storytelling team... or if the editorial team did the ol' Uri Geller spoon trick on this story to make it fit better into the publication schedule... but, it's getting weaker by the week.  Still, it's leagues better than Wright and DuBurke's first try with the character!

Tomorrow: Back in the U.S.A.

ACW #632 - Black Canary

Action Comics Weekly #632 (Black Canary)
"knock 'em Dead, Part 9"
Writer - Sharon Wright
Pencils - Randy DuBurke
Inks - Pablo Marcos
Letters - Steve Haynie
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Robert Greenberger

It's Canary Day... and there's not a whole lot to say.  I can't believe this has been going on for nine weeks... and still has a few to go!

--

We open... in that sewer, where we found out The Deb was being held a couple weeks back.  She is being held captive by Cat... and, now has bleach blonde hair?  She pleads with her captor that she didn't kill anybody... to which Cat is all, "Yeah, I know... I did."  Meanwhile, Dinah and Company are at the Contempo-Theatre devising a plan if Cat were to show her face.  Remember, she's supposed to be playing the lead role of Peter Pan in... uh, Peter Pan.  Shock of shocks, she shows up!

Her fight scene with Captain Hook... who, actually kinda looks like V from V For Vendetta, goes a bit off-script.  The action gets a bit too close to the crowd, which prompts Dinah to spring into action... and the art... oh boy, it gets weird... er.  A woman in the audience might've been stabbed in the neck by an errant blade?  It isn't clear... I mean, it really isn't clear.  It's like Sienkiewicz on mushrooms.  Whatever the case, Cat manages to swipe at Canary before giving her the slip.  Oh boy, am I just now noticing the "Cat and Canary" aspect of this story?

Dinah realizes that Cat likely escaped through the men's room... because, well, the door is still swinging.  While she confers with the officers... rather than, ya know, giving chase... we wrap up with the revelation that Cat is actually hiding in the back seat of Ken Glazier's car!  She holds him up, and instructs him to drive...

--

Now, this is more like it... and by "more like it", I mean... more like that first Black Canary arc.  This ain't great, folks.

It's a shame... up to this point, I've genuinely enjoyed this!  Here though?  Everything kinda falls apart.  The art has been my primary complaint for this arc, and again, it's not as though it's bad... it's just not very good at telling a story.  Up until this point, the written story has been what has holding this one together... this week, however, the seams are beginning to show.  Add to the fatigue that we're now nine weeks into this story... and, it's just a recipe for disinterest.

Here's hoping this one's able to pull it all together in its final weeks!

Tomorrow: The power of Superman compels you...

ACW #631 - Black Canary

Action Comics Weekly #631 (Black Canary)
"knock 'em Dead, Part 8"
Writer - Sharon Wright
Pencils - Randy DuBurke
Inks - Pablo Marcos
Letters - Steve Haynie
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Robert Greenberger

Hard to believe this is the eighth chapter for this one... and we're not done yet!

--

We open with Black Canary walking past the Paper Lantern... pub?  Restaurant?  Whatever it is... and it appears as though she is being followed.  We shift scenes to a date between a Ron Thompkins and a "Peter Barrie", who is really a very unconvincing Cat (the character, not the animal) in men's clothes.  They confirm my suspicions from last week... this is going to be an AIDS story.  Looks like both Ron and "Peter" have it, so it ain't as big a thang if they hook up.  Back outside, a car barrels toward Dinah, only stopping at the last moment when the driver (Ken Glazier) realizes it's not The Deb in his headlights.

Inside, "Peter" mixes Ron a drink... and those of us following along know exactly what that means.

Back outside, Dinah demands answers from Ken.  We learn that The Deb was a woman he was having a fling with... and also, who he'd gotten AIDS from.  This got as ugly as you might imagine, and wound up costing him his marriage.  Dinah asks who might be next on The Deb's hit-list, and, as luck would have it... he mentions Ron Thompkins!

Back inside, Ron feels the effects of the Chloral cocktail... but before he ultimately succumbs, he learns the true identity of his killer.  Duh, it's Cat.  With his dying breaths, he lunges for her.  We do learn something particularly interesting here, though... according to Ken, he didn't transmit the virus to her.  There's a "but" to punctuate this sentence... but he doesn't get the opportunity to elaborate.  Just then, the body of Ron hits the pavement right in front of them.

Inside, Cat changes out of her fella clothes and makes an escape.  At this point, Dinah chats up a security guard and kinda puts two and two together.  This wasn't The Deb... but a woman who has experience playing a man... maybe one currently starring in a production of Peter Pan.

--

I hope this doesn't sound like a cop-out or anything, but... if you're following my coverage of this Black Canary feature, you can almost just reread any of the (repetitive) wrap-up thoughts from this arc, and it could apply to this chapter as well.  The story is solid, storytelling is a bit all over the place, and the experimental/stylized art does the narrative no favors.

We do manage to learn a thing or three this time out, however... so, let's pull out the bullet points and itemize our discoveries.

• Ken Glazier was trying to kill The Deb, after really mucking about in her life.
• Ken Glazier might've also been the guy sending out the ransom notes?
• The Deb transmitted AIDS to Ken... who did not then transmit it to his ex-wife, Cat.
• But... 
• ... might've transmitted it to their child?  Maybe?
• Cat is seeking revenge on everybody tied up in Ken's affair... and is a very unconvincing fella.

I think that's where we're at.  I feel like if I am reading this right (which, honestly, I may not be), it's going to be pretty academic from this point on.  I guess we'll all find out together!

Tomorrow: The Phantom Stranger Combats His Greatest Foes!

ACW #630 - Black Canary

Action Comics Weekly #630 (Black Canary)
"knock 'em Dead, Part 7"
Writer - Sharon Wright
Pencils - Randy DuBurke
Inks - Pablo Marcos
Letters - Steve Haynie
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Robert Greenberger

No time for a preramble today... let's get into Dinah-day!

--

Picking up where we left off last time, Black Canary is looking into that convenient warehouse skylight, where she sees The Deb being held up down below.  I'm still not entirely clear if these dudes are police officers conducting a potentially-fatal sting, or just a bunch of guys who dress alike.  Whatever the case, they threaten to kill her... and Dinah makes her move.  She beats up the maybe-cops, while The Deb beats a hasty retreat.

We shift scenes to a payphone outside a diner, where a short-haired woman, who I initially assumed was Dinah herself, is speaking to somebody about Deborah Tilden's vanishing act.  Inside the diner, this same short-haired woman (Anna?) runs into Cat... ya know, "Peter Pan".  Looks like they're old friends... both in Seattle "visiting".  Anyhoo, Anna alludes to the fact that a "terrible disease" took someone named Dannie.  Gonna go out on a limb and assume the Dannie was Cat's daughter?  Ya know, the one in those pictures?

Cat cuts the convo short when see notices a bus stopping nearby.  On it... The Deb!

We shift scenes again to Ken Glazier showing off the latest ransom note he received to a his buddy on the b-ball court.  Not totally sure what to make of this... there are allusions made to Ken's ex-wife... there's some connection to Rich (from It's Instrumental) and Walt Sarno... should we go out on that limb one more time, and assume that his ex-wife might be Cat?

Later, over at "a contemporary theatre" called "act"... ya know, the place where the Pan play's happenin', Dinah runs into Lieutenant (I actually spelt that right on my first try!) Cameron.  They exchange pleasantries, and the daughter of the latter excitedly rushes up to show off her Peter Pan and Hook autographs.

They consider where The Deb might've gotten off to... just as the camera pans down to reveal that she is currently bound and gagged among the pipes.

We close out with Glazier putting on a glove... Cat spiking the ever-loving hell out of her hair (when is it spiked enough?), and Dinah striking a pose like she's modeling for the Sears catalogue... as they all prepare to enter the end-game.

--

Stop me if you've heard this one...

This was okay, but the art really makes it difficult to follow.  Well, the art, and the random introductions of side characters who may-or-may-not be of any consequence.  Not sure who Glazier was shooting hoops with... however, they made a point of letting us know he's gay.  Why bother with any details if he ain't gonna come back?  Also, Anna.  A lapsed pal of Cat... who knows of some tragedy that (we assume) befell her.  It's cool to include chance meetings in a story, but for Pete's sake, can we make this character not look exactly like Dinah?!  Feels like a red herring... but, like the laziest kind of red herring!  I mean, are we supposed to be confused while reading that scene?

Oh well.  Let's look all the way over to the very edge of those limbs we've spent the last eight pages creeping down, and make "asses out of u and me".  It's time to make some predictions!

• Dannie was Cat's daughter, who tragically passed away from a "terrible disease"
• Cat is Glazier's ex-wife
• Glazier mentioned he couldn't give blood last issue... so, perhaps he's HIV positive?
• Maybe Ken, Deb, and Cat used to be into the drug scene, and did some needle-sharing
• Bada-bing, bada-boom: AIDS... and Cat's going to exact revenge on anyone she can?

Thing of it is, we've still got four more chapters of this to go... so, there's still plenty of time for me to be proven 100% wrong.  The fact that this ended so "penultimately" made me think we were actually approaching the end-game.  Heck, I said as much in the synopsis!

Overall... this is still a ton better than the first Black Canary arc, though seven chapters in, it's beginning to show its age.  The art, while nice to look at, is horrible to "read".

Tomorrow: Sayonara Secret Six!