Justice League: Generation Lost #3 (2010)

Justice League: Generation Lost #3 (Early August, 2010)
"Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue."
Script - Judd Winick
Breakdowns - Keith Giffen
Pencils - Fernando Dagnino
Inks - Bit & Raul Fernandez
Colors - Hi-Fi
Letters - Sal Cipriano
Assistant Editor - Rex Ogle
Editor - Michael Siglain
Cover Price: $2.99

It's been a little while since the last time we discussed an issue of Generation Lost... so, let's have ourselves a little bit of a catch-up.

Maxwell Lord was one of the twelve folks brought back by the White Lantern... and his first order of business was to use his powers of suggestion to make the world forget that he ever existed... and it almost works!  The world (minus the Gen-Lost Justice League) couldn't tell a Max Lord from a Mack Truck.

 Or, I guess you could just click on one of these covers for a more complete recap...

This led to the League being looked at as... ya know, delusional.  More delusional than the bwah-ha-ha League is usually looked at.  When we last left them, Booster Gold received a trouble-call from... Ted Kord?!

Worth mentioning, today is Free Comic Book Day... so, if you're a newcomer to the fandom, welcome aboard!  Just remember that comic shops are open and ready for you EVERY day... not just the ones that begin with the word "Free".

Haw haw, who am I kidding?  We'll see ya in 364 days!

In the meantime, #BrightestMay rolls on!

--

We open at the castle outpost of Checkmate where Fire is informed that she is not only unwelcome... but she's been relieved of her duties as well!  Ya see, she failed her psych test... twice!  Probably something about believing that there's the fella named Maxwell Lord roaming around.  Meanwhile, in El Paso Jaime Reyes and his family are being attacked by OMACs!

Booster Gold, Ice, and Captain Atom arrive on the scene.  Booster informs Beetle that these OMACs aren't completely artificial... there are innocent humans inside, so, ya know... don't kill 'em.  Tora is bewildered as this breed of OMAC came around while she was un-alive.  Skeets fills her (and us) in on how they came to be.

Inside, Jaime's pop decides "enough is enough" and starts swinging his cane at a lumbering OMAC... which would be adorable, if it weren't so sad.  Ice suggests they beat a hasty retreat, but Booster figures that'll only cause the OMAC to follow... endangering anyone in their path.  Suddenly, a portal opens... and hundreds more OMACs emerge!

Back at Checkmate, Bea is being read the riot act.  The Black King calls out her family's mental history... and really makes a mess of things.  Then, from the corner of her eye, Bea sees... a rather chuckleheaded John F. Kennedy Maxwell Lord!  She "flames on" and gives chase.

Max runs for a bit just to get out of sight before waiting for her to arrive.  He mocks her a bit... and tries to get her to question her own sanity, before causing himself to combust in her green flame.

Bea panics, and bursts through the castle walls.  The Black King calls off his men, suggesting that she's now the Justice League's problem.

Back in El Paso, the heroes (and Reyeseseses) are surrounded by OMACs.  It's a pretty neat scene in that Beetle's suit keeps telling him ways to kill all of the OMACs... and doesn't immediately get the point that they're looking for a non-lethal solution.  I give Winick a lot of grief for his poor dialogue, but this scene (hell, this series) is a great showcase for his abilities.

Finally, Beetle and the suit realize that powers of magnetism might be the best approach... which means, Blue Beetle has magnetism powers?  I guess?  Oh well, he uses 'em... and causes the OMACs to fall into a stasis.

Then suddenly, a portal opens... and begins to suck 'em all in.  Beetle fights the pull, until Booster suggests they just follow 'em in.  Tora ain't on board... but Booster doesn't really give her a choice in the matter.

They wind up in... Russia (three guesses as to where this is leading).  They've completely lost the OMACs, and so, have a moment to gather their thoughts and breathe.  Beetle asks a simple question... "Who's Max Lord?"  Ya see, his suit/scarab, like Skeets, are forms of artificial intelligence, and therefore weren't affected by Max's "Forget me now" stunt.

We also learn that Jaime never sent the distress call to the League... the OMACs did that by attempting to "hack" into his Beetle armor.  Almost like whoever sent 'em knew that the Gen Lost League would check it out.  Hmm...

Then we wrap up... and since we're in bwah-ha-ha Russia, you know we're about to get a little Rocket Red.

--

Moving right along... I'm still really enjoying this revisit.

Though mostly an action issue, they still managed to nudge the story forward enough to where it felt like a full-fledged "chapter".  So often these days it's like we give up one for the other... like, here's the "big fight"... next issue, the heroes will stand around and talk for a bit.  Here, we get both... and it's pretty satisfying.

Let's get Bea out of the way... her sanity (or psychological health) is called into question by Checkmate.  As she fights to make her point... she sees friggin' Max Lord!  The cause of all of her problems... he's just skulkin' around in plain sight!  What a bad ass.

As soon as we see her "flame on", we get that pit in our stomachs... it's like "that's exactly what Max wants you to do!", which is what makes it so great.  There's that idea that the more people tell you that what you think is wrong, the more steadfast in that belief you become... and so, with people telling Fire (and the Gen Lost League) that Max Lord was never a thing that existed... they only dig their nails deeper into the belief.

I'm not exactly sure what happened with Max bursting into flame though.  Was that really him?  Was he projecting his visage just to mess with Bea's mind?  We didn't see a trickle of blood coming from his nose or anything, right?  Dunno... still liked the scene though!

Then there's the El Paso scene.  More good stuff!  Really dug the dynamic of Beetle with the Gen Lost League... he's a natural fit, and not just because of his heroic namesake... though, it does help.  I really dug the "conversations" he had with his suit... pleading with it to deduce a non-lethal solution to their OMAC problem.  Makes me wish Winick had this kind of grasp on dialogue a decade earlier.  It's funny, without going for that Kevin Smith/Bendis "snark".  Winick is good when he's not trying to be someone else.  Also, no soapboxes here... which is also a gigundous plus.

The art here is pretty good... though uneven.  We get some panels that are just flat-out awesome... and Dagnino mostly does a great job with "cute" female faces.  I don't say that in a disparaging way either... this is really good stuff.  On the other hand, some of the pages do look kind of rushed... and some of the dude's faces are a bit "chuckleheady".

Overall... still having a blast with this one.  This series is probably my personal highlight for the entire Brightest Day "crossovent" (ya like that?).  Of course, nothing came of it... but, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.  This series is still worth a look!

--

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Justice League of America (vol.2) #44 (2010)

Justice League of America (vol.2) #44 (June, 2010)
"Devil in the Details"
Writer - James Robinson
Penciller - Mark Bagley
Inkers - Rob Hunter & Norm Rapmund
Colorist - Ulises Arreola
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Rex Ogle
Associate Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99

Ooh, who doesn't love a Justice League/Justice Society team-up?

Well, don't get your hopes up just yet... the cover miiiiight be a tad on the misleading end.  But that's okay, cuz it's still...

... and we'll eventually get to the actual JLA/JSA team-up.

For now, though... let's meet our new League and lay down a bit more of that foundation.

--

We open up with the familiar scene of Batman fighting the Joker... because, of course we do!  It's not like there are other, more interesting or original ways we can open the book.  Especially considering the whole thing is a simulation in the Justice League's answer to the Danger Room, "The Kitchen".  Dick Grayson, who is Batman at the moment, decided to randomize their training targets (and still somehow wound up fighting the Joker).  Here we meet the rest of the League... Donna Troy, Starman, and Congorilla.  Suddenly JLDetroit doesn't seem so weird.  Gotta remember, this new order was kinda spit out of the "epic" Cry For Justice miniseries.

They fight off the sims for awhile while sharing information about their powers and origins (for Starman's and Congorilla's origins, click the covers below)...

... until the Satellite is rocked by a giant green meteor.  Mikaal Tomas manages to save Donna before she is sucked into the vacuum of space (and before the Satellite's "Monitor Whom Auto-Defenses" kicked in).  Since Tomas didn't know if that was even something he could do, this depicts him as pretty altruistic... putting his life on the line just for the opportunity to save his teammate.

The League collects themselves quickly, then rushes to the monitors.  They can see that the green meteor has just touched down in Germany... where the Rocket Elite (Die Rakete-Auslese) are already on the scene.  Think Rocket Reds... but in Germany!

They don't get to poke their noses in for all that long before... Etrigan the freaking Demon shows up.  Yawn.  He rhymes at them for a bit before League of Substitute Heroes shows up.

They fight for a few pages until Donna manages to snag him with her blue lasso... that's the Lasso of Persuasion, apparently.  This forces Etrigan to release his control over Jason Blood.

Meanwhile, at Happy Harbor... the Justice Society stands vigil over a comatose Alan Scott.  Dr. Mid-Nite is running an exhaustive batterty of tests on the Green Lantern... but it's to no avail.  What's more, the weaker Alan grows... the more green light he seems to emit!

Mr. Terrific pops his head in to tell the team about the green meteor that landed in Germany... and suggests there may be a connection.  He's then interrupted by the arrival of Sebastian Faust... the son of jerk-ass Felix Faust. He reveals that this is an omen of the "end of the world".  If you only knew what was going to be announced on Memorial Day, 2011 buddy!

Back in Germany, Blood tells his story.  He had been working on some occultiness in Budapest for Baron Winters... ya know, the Night Force guy... when his more demonic side noticed the green meteor entering Earth's orbit.  He then suggests that not only was he possessed by Etrigan... but that Etrigan might've been possessed by something as well!  He then thanks the League... and compliments their teamwork.  My wife teaches second grade... when her class gets a compliment, they get to pull a stick from their giant KerPlunk game (when enough sticks are pulled and the balls drop, they get a party).  I wonder if Dick has something like that back at the Satellite?  If not, he might wanna think about it.

Alone with the meteor, the League tries to figure out what to do with it.  Congorilla notices that there's a thin fissure in it... and so, he and Donna get in there and attempt to pull it apart (more teamwork!).

We wrap up with the reveal... inside the meteor is, Jade!

--

Not a bad little issue... even with the Etrigan bits!

I keep forgetting that the first half of Brightest Day came at a time before DC "drew the line at $2.99"... so, it was weird seeing that this was a four-dollar book.  It sure didn't feel like one... then again, they rarely do.  Seems like all the books that feel like four-dollar books, are now $4.99 anyway.

That aside, this was an okay read.  It allowed us to meet our "new look" League, and watch them get to train alongside one another for the first time.  The line-up here is a bit mind-boggling... it feels like one of those threads at CBR or something where a group of folks list off their "wouldn't it be cool, if..." lists for superhero teams... and they all list a member or two whose only purpose is to "out-obscure" or *shudder* "out-geek" the poster above them.  It's like, "Oh yeah... you think Lady Cop is obscure... well, I think Jerry Lewis's nephew Renfrew would be great as a member of the Outsiders!"  "Oh yeah... I take your Renfrew, and raise you a Doc Scary from the original Outsiders!" Always hated those threads, man...

That said, I kinda dig the relationship Robinson is building between Congorilla and Starman.  Seems like one of those "just crazy enough to work" sorta things.  They even get their own one-shot a few months down the line, which I remember being decent enough fun.

I like seeing Dick as Batman... I feel like this didn't last nearly as long as it should have.  Really like seeing him as Batman in non-Batman stories too.  I mean, here he is... leading the Justice League!  How cool is that?  Nice to see Donna step into Wonder Woman's spot on the team as well.  Over the next few issues, we're going to see more like that... Supergirl will join, taking Superman's spot... and Jade will step in as a Green Lantern.  I feel like once that goes down, the odd Congorilla insertion (that sounds gross) will be less of an eyebrow raiser... though, just barely.

The cover here is a bit of a tease... we barely get to see the Justice Society... and when we do, they're not crossing over with the League.  Of course, we're writing for the trade there, so it's hard to be all that mad at it.  It's not as though we aren't used to this kinda thing by now.

Mark Bagley's art here is really good... my only sticking point with his work is... the same sticking point I always have with his work, the noses!  I've never liked the way he draws noses... especially on women... they almost look part-bird.

Overall... a pretty good issue, though one that definitely shouldn't have been four-dollars.  Worth snagging if you come across it on the cheap.  This issue is available digitally.

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Flash (vol.3) #2 (2010)

Flash (vol.3) #2 (July, 2010)
"Case One: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Art - Francis Manapul w/Joel Gomez
Color - Brian Buccellato
Letters - Sal Cipriano
Associate Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

Welcome to Day 3 of #BrightestMay!

Here's a book I've wanted to revisit ever since we discussed its first issue.  By then though, I was kinda already bobbling the idea of "Brightest May" in my head... and figured it would be best if I waited.

And I did!  So, let's get right down to it. --

We pick up right where we left off last issue.  The Flash has been confronted by the Rogues Renegades about his apparent "future murder" of the Mirror Monarch.  Commander Cold then throws an adorable little snowflake in his direction... which explodes into a mass of ice to ensnare and capture him.

From there, a chase is on!  The Renegades attempt to incarcerate our man, however, he proves to be too fast.  Flash finagles it so the pursuant future-tech handcuffs clamp down on the Weather Warlock instead of him... which causes him to accidentally blast their "time platforms" with his wand.  They wind up being sent back to the 25th Century.

In their wake, a temporal shock buzzes down the street... directly into an old apartment building.  As it begins to fall apart, Barry rushes in to save all of its inhabitants.

He manages to get everybody out before the building can topple.

But... ya know, the building does topple.  So now Barry's stood before a whole bunch of newly homeless people.  Or is he?  He zips across town to the library where he fills his short term memory on all-things construction...

... and then rebuilds the fallen apartment building.  Really neat use of his powers right here!

Later on at a crime scene, Barry and Iris chat up the events of the day... including his near-arrest.  She asks how much stock he puts into the allegation... and he's unsure.  He does admit that, if push came to shove and if it would save an innocent life... he likely would kill a bad guy.  Hopefully that was "off the record".  Anyhoo, he plans to head back to the crime lab and check out Mirror Monarch's body.

We pop over to Iron Heights, where the newly revived Captain Boomerang is being beaten by some guards... who wind up frozen solid in mid-swing.  A look into the mirror reveals Mirror Master and Captain Cold have come a'calling.  Digger tries to hop into the mirror for an escape... but they ain't allowing it.  In order for him to rejoin the Rogues, he's going to have to break out himself.

Back at the Precinct, an old woman is trying to tell the officers that her Son has been wrongly incarcerated.  Everybody turns a deaf ear to the ol' bitty, so good-guy Barry decides to listen.  This leads to his re-opening the case... and getting into it with Singh.  This isn't my favorite part of the book.

We then wrap up with the reveal of Mirror Master's killer... and, wouldja lookit that... it's Barry Allen!

--

A quick read... but a great one!

Our story gets nudged forward a bit with the confirmation that Barry Allen is indeed responsible, or at least will be responsible for Mirror Master's death (as far as we know).  We touched on it briefly last time, the idea of "preventative arrests" is a bit wonky... especially when we're dealing with a universe that has any number of methods to engage in time-travel... but, what happens when the corpse is deposited in the "present day"?

I guess in that case, the law is the law... and if the evidence points to you (or Barry), he may as well have just gone through with it... right?  It's definitely a "thinker"... and it's very well implemented here.

The one part I didn't really care for was Barry re-opening the Hicks case.  Not so much that he did reopen it, but for the conflict that it led to.  I mean, Singh may as well have been depicted with horns and a forked tail here.  His overreaction led to one from Barry... and a very "what can one man do?" type speech, which felt a bit forced.

I thought rebuilding the fallen apartment building was an amazing way to utilize Flash's speed.  Just like last issue when he speedily disassembled that out-of-control car... such neat things Flash can do, that we don't often think about.  Definitely also appreciate that it's made clear that all of this knowledge goes into his short-term memory... and once he's done with it, it's forgotten.  It's a way of limiting his power, in a way that makes sense.  Doesn't hurt that these scenes came off flawlessly.

On that note, let's gush talk about the art.  Ho-lee cow.  Mr. DC, if you're listening... do anything you can to keep Manapul in your bullpen.  I hate resorting to tired turns of phrase like "feast for the eyes" (-Ain't it Chris News), but man-o-man, what a treat!  This book is gorgeous... there's really no other way to describe it.

Overall... this gets one of my higher recommendations.  Definitely check this book out!

--

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Brightest Day #1 (2010)

Brightest Day #1 (Early July, 2010)
"Second Chances"
Writers - Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Pencillers - Ivan Reis, Pat Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark & Joe Prado
Inkers - Vicente Cifuentes, Mark Irwin, Oclair Albert & David Beaty
Color - Aspen MLT's Scott Williams & Steigerwald
Letterer - Rob Clark, Jr.
Assistant Editor - Rex Ogle
Associate Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

Welcome back to #BrightestMay!

Yesterday we laid a bit of a foundation for this post Blackest Night DC Universe.  We met our cast... and got them ready to be divvied up among the other books bearing the Brightest Day branding.

I feel like this issue will be more what we can expect going forward.  Still chock full of vignettes, but not nearly to the (nearly overwhelming) extent of issue #0.  Today's subjects will include the Lanterns, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Firestorms, and the Hawks.

Just noticed that Ardian Syaf is a part of this... so not only do we need to comb this thing for the exact moment DC decided to no longer care... we can also see if he left us any secret messages as well!  Oh what fun.
--

We pick up where we left off last issue... we're in Silver City, New Mexico where the White Lantern Power Battery has appeared in that crater.  The locals edge up close and try to lift the thing... but to no avail.  If you recall, Sinestro showed up last issue... well, he's here too, but he isn't alone.  He is flanked by Hal Jordan and Star Sapphire... actually, Hal's front and center... but that probably goes without saying. (I guess the camera angle "left them out" last time around).

After "making nice" with the New Mexicans, Hal and the Gang set to make an attempt at lifting the White Lantern.  They compare such a feat to the Sword in the Stone, but it's probably more like lifting Mjölnir... suppose I can't blame them for not making that nod.  Anyhoo, it looks as thought Hal is... unworthy.

We shift scenes to rejoin Deadman... this time, he's aboard a hijacked boat, where bad dudes are trafficking children.  Brand goes to act, however the white ring holds him back.  A moment later, Aquaman and Mera emerge from the drink.

They make quick work of the baddies aboard that ship, unfortunately, they seem to have a fleet!  Amid incoming fire, Aquaman summons... a Kraken?!  Not just any kraken either... a decomposing undead one!

The beastie wraps itself around the other ship... and starts killing everybody on board.  Arthur and Mera are pretty mortified.  In that moment of distraction, one of the bad dudes aboard their ship aims a harpoon in their direction.  Before he can fire, however, a zombified shark pops out of the water, says "hey", and eats the poor bastard.  There's definitely something a bit askew about Aquaman's powers... don't you think?

We zip over to a dockside fish market in Westport, Massachusetts where news of Aquaman's return is being played over the news.  One of the patrons takes this news as a sign to... well, slaughter everybody in the building.

We next check in with Firestorm the Nuclear Men, as they visit with Professor Stein and Ray Palmer.  Ronnie and Jason are, of course, interested in finding a way to split out again.  Well boys, the big brains might have some bad news for ya.

Meanwhile on Mars, J'onn has flown a giant chunk of ice over in order to trigger some vegetation growth on the red planet.

As a seedling spouts from the ground, his head becomes flooded with imagery regarding his initial arrival on Earth.  He sees himself with his hands wrapped around the throat of Professor Saul Erdel... the man who accidentally transported him to Earth.  This (choking bit) never happened... which is troubling to J'onn.  Even more troubling is the fact that this vision also showed a woman lying on the floor.  Believing she might be a key to... something... J'onn takes off in search of her.

Next, we follow up with the Hawks.  They were following the Star Sapphire-infused Claw of Horus... somewhere.  Turns out (shocker), it was leading them to that odd expedition where those dudes in coats uncovered Hawkman and Hawkgirl's original skeletons.  There's a scuffle with the diggers... which the Hawks win handily.  They then see their bones.  They don't get too long to soak in the sight, however, as one of the men sets off an explosive charge.

While Hawkman attends to Hawkgirl (who took the brunt of the explosion) the explorers wind up getting away.  The heroes wonder just who could want their bones... and it's revealed (to us) that they're headed to Hath-Set.

We wrap up back in Massachusetts, where that lunatic has burned down that fish market.  He then walks into the water... bubbles around a bit... then resurfaces as, dun-dun-dunnnn Black Manta!  Are you shocked?  I'm shocked.

--

As we enter the series proper, many interesting questions are raised.  Let's look at them case by case

First... the White Lantern cannot be lifted.  We can make allusions to King Arthur or Thor of course... the Lantern will only allow itself to be lifted by the one it sees as "worthy".  Worth noting (and without spoiling anything), right now, Deadman is the only person (that we know of) who is still wearing the White Lantern Ring.  That's what we know so far.

I think many of us reading at the time figured that Hal would get some time as the White Lantern... so, it was pretty neat seeing him unable to lift the thing.  This is a neat enough (sub)plot to run alongside the revived characters trying to find their way.

The Aquaman bits were probably the highlight this time around.  There's definitely something up with his powers... although he is back "among the living", he's still very much connected to "the dead".  I don't remember how this works itself out... if it even does.  I'm glad I waited so long to revisit this, as so much time has passed that it almost feels brand new to me!

The Black Manta reveal was... expected.  I guess maybe there was somebody out there whose jaw dropped for that last page... but I wasn't that somebody.  Black Manta has always been something of a bore to me... never really took him all that seriously.  Even here, he's depicted as highly dangerous... but dangerous only because he's a psychopath, not because of any powers.

The Firestorms get the briefest of bits... all we know is that they're still not getting along, and that their "association" might be longer lived than either of them are prepared for.

Martian Manhunter is another short-vignette.  I really appreciate that they're digging so far back in his history.  I certainly wasn't expecting to hear anything about Professor Erdel.  This story might just have the potential of being the "sleeper hit" of the series.

The Hawkman and Hawkgirl scene was... okay.  I mean, we're not wasting any time... and I always appreciate that.  I was afraid for a minute that they wouldn't find the bones until like six issues in or something.  So, at least it's moving at a brisker than expected pace (for now).  Unfortunately, it's just not all that interesting (to me).  Never really glommed onto the Hawks.  Outside of that Geoff Johns written solo-ongoing, I've never found the character all that intriguing.

Overall, a neat issue... that raises a ton of interesting questions.  A great way to open the series proper.  The art is also really good throughout.  I feel like DC chose some really complimentary artists here, as the transitions between scenes aren't nearly as jarring as they might've been.  Hell, I hardly even noticed!

Definitely worth a look!

--

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"10/10. This was the greatest thing I've ever read!" -Ain't it Chris News

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