Ok so now I am exhausted and a little intimidated by the sheer number of comics to review this week but here goes.

• So much power in the hands of little Billy Batson.
• Hey I thought this book was about Oracle?
• 
• Yes it did rot my brain... but it would be perfect for my neice and nephew.
• I was hoping for the Invisible Jet too.
• Wow! I think I read this one on fanfiction.net
• Whoah! That's not Dick Grayson...
• Well now I understand less about Supergirl than I did before.
• Titans... bringing back members only to kill them off again...
• Way too many key people missing from WW III...
• Layla Miller gets creepier every issue
• Batman has a lot more patience with this Blue Beetle than he did with Ted Kord

Click the read more link or the image for the rest of my random thoughts.

52 WEEK #50 $2.50
Well Darkseid did not show up this week, but I wouldn't count him out yet. What is up with Billy Batson? I thought he was sporting the long hair and white outfit and was stuck on the Rock of Eternity holding it together while the seven deadly sins slowly drive him mad. Here he was a powerful guardian of magic but otherwise back in his captain marvel guise and away from the Rock of Eternity. Maybe we will learn more with Mary Marvel's story in Countdown. I dropped Trials of Shazam halfway through. That might have had some answers as well. I was actually very surprised at the heroes who did not show up to this or any of the World War III issues. Shouldn't oracle have been organizing things on some level? Where was Mr. Miracle and Barda? Maybe we'll find out later. It had some amazing fight scenes and a bit of character development for Atom Smasher, but basically the whole issue was pretty much a fast paced fight scene designed to serve as a framework for World War III. I will miss the old Black Adam as a shades of gray bad guy and I am sure at some point someone will give him the magic word, but it will never be quite the same.

The real interesting points were were the frames here and in World War III where Booster kept popping up as he traveled through time. On the last 2 pages I was giddy to see Booster and Rip Hunter show up and recruit T.O. Morrow into their plans to save the universe through time travel. Yes, this weekend I rummaged through the quarter bins to retrieve Bob Wayne's old Time Masters series. I have to admit that the female lead should have thought more with her brain than her libido, but other than that it was a pretty decent read and with only 8 issues you can get it for $2 if you are lucky.

BIRDS OF PREY #105 $2.99
I am so not used to talking poorly about one of Gail Simone's books, but um wasn't this book supposed to be about the Birds of Prey? Oracle only has 6 frames the entire issue, the team is being run by Spy Smasher (a new female incarnation of a World War II hero from Fawcett Comics) and if you count Hawkgirl as a member of the team there are still 8 pages out of 22 that don't have a single Bird on them (13 if you don't count Hawkgirl). Now I love the Secret Six and would gladly fork over $2.99 for a separate issue, but I want my Birds of Prey please! It feels like with Dinah off the team, and the Wonder Woman gig coming up, Simone has lost all interest in Oracle and her team. Now as for reviewing Secret Six guest starring the Birds of Prey and friends... I loved the ferocity in the fight between Scandal and Hawkgirl. Kendra is really shaping up to be a major player lately and a fight like that is a major reason why. She's been building into an interesting character for a few years now and I cant wait to see what Meltzer does with her over in JLA. The newest member of the Secret Six sent me for a loop... didn't they learn about working with Gotham nutcases after their stint with the Mad Hatter? I think she could be an interesting wildcard. I just hope we can keep the camp down a bit. The group has a decent chemistry and I would hate to see that overshadowed. Next issue should be the big fight between Knockout and Barda and man am I looking forward to that. I just hope that this wasn't the only reason for having Barda on the team and that she sticks around for a few more issues. Barda's character has needed something like this for a long time. She reminds me of where Dinah's Character was at the start of the series.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #8 $2.99
Tee Hee! This one was a fan girl joy ride. The "capture the flag" was a brilliant character study illustrating both the strengths and weaknesses of each player. I think the next investment they may want to make however is a team shrink as each of the players has a lot of wonderful baggage that should lead to great stories in the months to come.

The chess game was clever. Mr. Terrific wasn't even playing the game but instead letting his 2 opponents fight each other. So Dinah was actually checkmating Hal... something that is hardly an achievement. I wonder if we will see this theme pop up later in this arc.

Batman's fight with Karate Kid seemed a little non-heroic to me. Does Batman really have that much pride? It also looked like he had an assist from Black Lightning in the end. Hence Val's Statement that he cheated.

Dinah and Kara (although she is still referred to in this issue as Karen still, which confused me a little) were both great as leaders. Powergirl can have a very commanding presence when she wants to. I mean lets face it, if a skimpy outfit and ample bosom were enough to keep you a main character even though your continuity has been ripped up, we would have seen a lot more of Phantom Lady in the last 20 years. No Powergirl’s iconography are in her pride and take no guff attitude. She was a poster woman for the equal rights movement. Dinah was also a very pro women's lib character in the 80's and I hope they don't hide her under Ollie's shadow again after her miniseries is over.

The main event of course is the revelation of the scattered team of Legionnaires. I already wrote on this here. I have since noticed that the chapter title at the end of this issue, in addition to being the key phrase blurted out by Starman, is also (Lightning Lad in Interlac).

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #1 $2.25
This issue was a wonderful book for the 4-9 set. The frames are broadly drawn with vibrant colors and the words are large and easy to read J. Torres and Chynna Clugston-Flores set up the great device of allowing each character to describe his or her first impressions of Superman. This is a great way to showcase unique voices of each of the characters featured. The Johnny DC line is really strong right now with a solid stable of starter books to introduce younger readers to the core stable of DC characters without all of the heavy themes of the main books. We had a wonderful experience about a year ago when we bought some JLU and Teen Titan's issues for our nephew and found him later scribbling amazing sketches in his notebook, not of Superman or Spiderman, but of Martian Manhunter and Orion.

MANHUNTER #30 $2.99
This issue wasn't spectacular, but with the roller coaster of being on again off again on again I can't really be too harsh on it. There were mild resolutions with a lot of issues still left unresolved. Enough for me to pick it up again when it comes back later this summer. The resolution of the case wasn't a big surprise but I don't think that was the point. I think the more interesting part of the case was allowing Kate to interact with more of the major players in the DCU and see how she responds. The part with Kate's little boy was adorable. I thought he could have tied in more to the resolution of the Cameron Chase plotline, but I have been only reading for about four issues now so this may have been dealt with already.

NIGHTWING ANNUAL #2 $3.99
Um ok didn't I read this one over on FanFiction.net? It seems awfully familiar. The one thing I wanted from this issue it didn't give me. We still don't know where anyone stands. I'm sure there will be another similar issue with Dick and Kory when 52 resolves. Both Starfire and Oracle deserve better than this. Is Barbara going to pine away for Nightwing with his ring around her neck while he's bed hopping all over the world? I did like that Barbara was pushing him back into the world. So much was taken from him during the Devin Grayson years that he needs to be toughened up. I was expecting more from Marv Wolfman but lately he's been giving us pretty bland storylines. I know he can do better and maybe he just needed to wait till 52 resolved.

There were several interesting moments. Robin's confession to Batgirl was taken from an old issue Batman Family. I have been trying to find it with no luck. If anyone reading this knows please tell me so I can have better luck finding it. I found the uncomfortable moment in the safe to be a bit... well uncomfortable and a little crass... to tell the truth. It was the part that reminded me most of bad slash fiction. The scene at Dick's dorm was very cute. I wonder if they realize how alike they are? Statuesque, red headed warrior women. The scene with Jason Bard was a nice touch. I am hoping he plays a big part in the upcoming All-Star Batgirl. The time line for the wedding announcement scene doesn't line up at all with what the wedding issue. Yes the nerd that I am went and dug it out of a 50 cent bin last weekend and the whole time from engagement to ceremony Dick never goes to Gotham. Batman is sick and he doesn't even pop over for a visit. But then Superboy may just have punched the universe. A lot of continuity has change since crisis so I am going to just go with it.

The letters at the end were very reminiscent of the letters Gail Simone and Devin Grayson featured in Bird's of Prey and Nightwing right after the War Games crossover. I just hope that one way or another we can get some definition for these two.

WORLD WAR III PART ONE A CALL TO ARMS $2.50
Now 52 was originally designed to do what all crossovers are designed to do and that is to get you to read books you would normally not bother with. Because of the amazing writing team 52 evolved into something more than a crossover and became it's own book. That left DC with the problem of how to promote the lesser read books and how to tie up all of the loose plot points the series was supposed to tie up. That left them with the need to create World War III. A $10 publicity trick to try and perk your interest in comics that are selling poorly while giving you little or none of the promised answers to questions left hanging after crisis. The whole series is framed by Martian Manhunter's inner struggles after mind melding with Black Adam.

The first issue introduces you to the villains of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters in a very gross but bad ass fight scene involving Black Adam throwing an aircraft carrier and Father Time loosing face... literally. Next we are introduced to Nightwing who turns out to be Jason Todd. This sets up the premise of Jones's one year later arc . Next is a long part about Firestorm which I was hoping would convince me to buy Firestorm but really only lost me in explanations of a convoluted plot that I assume explains things that happened at the start of his one year later arc.

WORLD WAR III PART TWO THE VALIANT $2.50
This was the issue I had the highest hopes for as it was supposed to explain, according to Didio at Wizard World LA, what happened to Supergirl. Like so much this week it only left me more confused than before. We see 2 of her fall out of the sky and Martian Manhunter perceives "A darkness choking her heart. Shadowing her soul." Ok... but who was that other Supergirl? Where was her Legion ring? Shouldn't it be on her right hand? What are those weird ghostly shapes following her? And what is up with the red nail polish? Is that some retro 31st century fad? So confused.

We are given barely a tease of Cassandra Cain being propositioned by Deathstroke, but why on earth would the head of the League of Assassins want to gang up Slade? I’m still very much confused on this one as well. Donna Troy's Transformation to Wonder Woman was nice but not nearly as moving as Roy's transformation to Red Arrow in Justice League of America #8. I haven't been reading Wonder Woman but I assume Donna will be giving the title back, though if one Wonder Woman is good wouldn't two be better? I am sure the Aquaman story answered some of the questions from that series, but I haven't been picking it up and this didn't convince me I should.

WORLD WAR III PART THREE HELL IS FOR HEROES $2.50
Yeah I kind of called this one. Terra has been dead before, her death had been mentioned in one year later and we already saw the next Terra in Supergirl and poor young Frankenstein may as well have been wearing a red shirt. Amanda Waller was bad ass as always and I am definitely adding suicide Squad to my list when it comes out. The Manhunter piece was good but trying to fit it into the timeline made me dizzy. I really liked Jonn's journey to his old haunts. Is there a Martian Manhunter showcase?

WORLD WAR III PART FOUR UNITED WE STAND $2.50
Ok on the first page can we not do close up sots of just Powergirl's boobs? I mean she's the head of the JSA. The double page spread of heroes was great. It's not easy to make Plastic Man look tough. The bonding scene between him and Offspring was very touching. In fact I enjoyed all the little pre-battle bonding moments. Then after some fighting we get a scene of Checkmate and a scene of Crispus Allen contemplating his fate as the Spectre. I may want to look at some of that storyline as he was a great character in Gotham Central. We see the end of the battle from 52 #50 from another angle. Martian Manhunter declares himself a changed man and sports a look closer to his natural Martian form. Then we get one great teaser page of a room full of monitors that only serves to drive us to more questions.

So it wasn't a total waste of money, but it was not everything that I would have hoped for.

X-FACTOR #18 $2.99
A calm Quicksilver is much creepier than and angry one. In this issue Quicksilver was almost Zen... in a psycho creepy way of course.

I have to say I miss Quicksilver the conflicted hero though. The writing is excellent and I can appreciate it, but I mourn the limitless possibilities of the former antihero version. Layla gets more disturbing every day as well. I am now thinking she is some how a chaos demon...she sees the order of things and plays on it. I definitely don't believe she is what she says she is. The powerless villains were a nice touch, it's good to see that they aren't simply going to be forgotten as characters.

 

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #3 $2.99
Mark Waid is highly entertaining. I'm a little sad that Batman has so much patience with this Blue beetle when he had so little with Ted Kord. Maybe he is giving this kid more slack because of his age. I love the schizophrenic scenes between Jaime and his armor. La Dama's fearlessness in the face of danger reminds me very much of Lex Luthor. It would be fun to see the two of them together sometime either as partners or competitors. Of course Supergirl stole the show in this one. Perez Draws her so well and Waid writes her like she should be written...sweet but tough. I can't wait to see little Kara putting Lobo in his place next issue.