• Buddy deserves to be happy. Please don't mess it up for him.
• Passing time till Donner's return
• "Hell hath no fury..."
• Dream a little
• Dominating the Dominators
• Black Bolt's rebel yell

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

• 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

The picture to your right shows my best guess as to who makes up the team of seven Legionnaires stranded in the present in the current JLa/JSA/Legion crossover. The clues I used to come to this conclusion are mostly cryptic Starman Quotes from Justice League of America #8::

• Karate Kid: Appears in JLA #7 & #8
• Star Boy: Appears in JLA #8, JSA #1-#4
• Dream Girl: "I know that place. Arkham. That's where they have her. My dream girl." Also she appears at the end of JSA #4
• Dawnstar: "The angel is close. The white angel's screaming." "The angel screams in C-Sharp." Also she appears in JSA #1
• Lightning Lad: "She's screaming at -- (Lightning Lad for the interlac challenged)"
• Timberwolf: "Then the wolf howls-- in B-flat"
• Shrinking Violet: "itsy...bitsy..."

Runners up:

• Cosmic Boy: "C-sharp" "B-flat"
• Spider Girl: "itsy...bitsy..."
• White Witch: "The white angel's screaming."
• Tyroc: all of the musical references.

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

That aside I have to say that it feels like Gail is done with Birds here. She seems to be simply using the book, as Didio put it, to get "her Secret Six Jollies." Those are her new toys and it seems the birds are left by the woodshed with the Velveteen Rabbit for Mckeever to pick up, polish off and try desperately to make new.

I also hope we can find a way to keep both incarnations of the Legion. We have Supergirl and Powergirl being essentially the same person from alternate realities but yet being so different, couldn't both Legion's exist but be different? Kind of like having your cake and eating it too? They did it in poorly in the 90's with younger clones showing up and co-existing with the older Legionnaires and somehow that wasn't too confusing... Ok it was but this is different..

Lately it has felt like Wolfman is phoning these in. I am hoping that once the restrictions on the secrets of 52 and World War III are lifted he will really be able to get creative. It would be nice to see strong confident smiling Dick Grayson again and not the sad, awkward one of late. There is a big difference between angsty and mopey.

Of course those who know me know I would buy anything with Quicksilver even though all of his appearances have been painful of late. He seems to play a big part in this issue according to the preview. I just hope this insanity spell is over soon. I mean a couple years ago he was wearing sweaters and judging high school art contests.

• Is that a Metal Man in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
• Jimmy Olsen Rocks!
• Mattie Franklin is a bit of a "Bad Girl"
• Pass the marshmellows it's ghost story time at Xavier's
• Wait this isn't my past... sorry my bad... carry on

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

52 WEEK #49 $2.50

I was a little freaked out that Chang Tzu is actually an egg... was that a yolk? I kinda thought he just looked like an egg... Continuing to add to last week's list of Darkseid hints, it is important to note that Chang Tzu has worked for Apokolips in the past. I have to ask Alan Scott though... If Chang Tzu is a member of the Great Ten... Shouldn't they be renamed the Great Eleven? The entire walk back from the shop (yes I couldn't wait to crack 52 until we got back... yes I know I should seek professional help) I was thinking that I must never have bothered to count them and had thus missed another big clue, but wikipedia lists ten members. Of course there have been several times when the Fantastic Four had Five or more members, so maybe it's more of a concept than a rule.

I love the Omnibot! I so want to see what T.O. Morrow is gonna do with it! And what did Sivana intend on using it for? My dad had both the Omnibot MKII and the Omnibot 2000 released in the 1980s. I think that the the Omnibot 2000 is still in my parent's attic somewhere.

ALL STAR SUPERMAN #7 $2.99

Jimmy Olsen is probably my favorite character in this series so far. He has all the smooth moves, hacking a blimp he intended to use to carry off his Christmas date, but instead using it to save the entire Daily planet senior staff, using only his watch to shut down the elevators in a bizzaro attack, making a direct call to the head of P.R.O.J.E.C.T. to get the 411 on the bizarros and actually getting through! To top it all off he's the one who comes up with the big plan to save the world. The boy is smooth. Too bad he apparently has to die ;-).

Did anyone else think Steve Lombard bore a striking resemblance to Stacy Keach another "man's man" with a drug problem... albeit of a different kind.

The scene with Lois is the snow was beautifully drawn and very touching. Frank Quitely's art is very good at capturing emotions. I was a little afraid Lois was going to get pneumonia with her dress flying all about, but that little kiss on the forehead before Superman takes off was just beautiful. I got a little emotional, but then I am a girl.

LONERS #1 (OF 6) $2.99

I was a bit thrown by the fact that I work in a building on sunset that resembles the one Julie Power launches herself from and that Church may be one of the ones I pass on my way home. I am used to seeing places I visit all the time in magazines and on TV but somehow it is just spookier in comics.

The issue itself aside from my groaning at the strategically placed exhibition (even the characters were protesting) was pretty strong. It established not only the main villain of the series, but most of the major character flaws and motivations of the characters. Mattie wants revenge, Darkhawk can't control himself, Ricochet wants Julie, Julie Power wants to have fun, Phil Urich has issues with assertiveness and self esteem and Mickey wants protect people from themselves especially after what happened with her fellow New Warriors. Add to this the fact that more than half the team maybe all are secretly using there powers and trying to hide it from the rest of the group and you end up with some good old fashioned juicy drama.

NEW X-MEN #37 $2.99

NEWUNIVERSAL #5 $2.99

Emmett Proudhawk's vision quest was beautifully drawn and very informative, but it was a little dull until you find out that he is actually a special operative for the C.I.A. I was totally caught off guard on that one, and it makes him suddenly much more relevant with all of the military action being set up against the newly emerged heroes.

In the same vein I absolutely loved the moment where Starbrand from the future, after a long and cliched speech to his younger self, realizes he's in the wrong past and just gives a simple "Oops." and transits out.

I still feel there is a lot going on here I need to process. I haven't had much experience with the New Universe outside of this series and Exiles so I may be missing stuff.

• She put on the mask! Four Horsemen... Firepits... Anyone smell Darkseid?
• Nobody likes Hal.
• The 50's were weird.
• Somebody please take the crack away from Joe Kelly.
• Wow! For the first time this series Cosmic Boy is cool.
• Is that Pink Canary... er Bunny?
• Ok Mr. Whedon that was pretty darn acceptable.