New 52

Green Lantern #12

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green-lantern-new-52-12-coverAs Hal Jordan and Sinestro fight off Black Hand and his army of raised zombies the Guardians of the Universe continue their plans to raise the “Third Army” which will destroy the various Lantern Corps including the Green Lanterns.

If you’ve been missing zombies since Blackest Night ended this issue is for you. Howver, if you were thankful that Blackest Night ended and hoped never to see the Black Lanterns again (like me) then there’s little worth noting except for the what is teased to happen in the coming months including (God help us) Hal Jordan becoming a Black Lantern.

The main story between Jordan and Sinestro and the zombies isn’t all that interesting, and the reveal of the Book of Black’s prophecy is troubling if that’s Geoff Johns’ plan for the character. Sligthly more interesting is the Guardians plans for the other Green Lanterns of Earth who have been singled out as their biggest obstacle to removing the Corps. The choice of Renato Guedes to replace Doug Mahnke‘s art on the title also means the comic has a less crisp look and feel than the previous issues of the title. Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $2.99]

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Captain Atom #12

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captain-atom-new-52-12-coverCaptain Atom‘s brief rediscovery of his humanity ends all too soon when he discovers that giving into his dreams by recreating his human form of Nate Allen has unexpected side-effects for everyone else tied to the Captain Atom project.

While Nate indulges in his night with Ranita the body of Captain Atom subconsciously tries to give the scientists in the facility their own dreams and desires made real – with disastrous effects.

I’m a little sad that the Nate storyline ends so quickly as there was plenty of story to mine for several issues about how human this version of Nate actually is and how far his relationship with Ranita could have actually gone. That said, the immeadiate effects of giving into his desires to once again live his life as a normal man teach Captain Atom an important lesson as he knows now he can never go back to being who he was. The issue ends with another none-too-subtle Watchmen reference with our hero removing himself from the Earth while gazing back on it from the surface of the moon. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #12

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red-hood-and-the-outlaws-new-52-12-coverI haven’t been the biggest fan of writer Scott Lobdell taking the Outlaws into space in Red Hood and the Outlaws‘ current arc. In fact last month’s issue was the lowest point of the series so far. Thankfully, things pick up here as the Essence back-up story has been dropped and Arsenal takes center stage in a somewhat ill-conceived rescue attempt.

Even though the current arc centers around exploring Starfire‘s past this issue is presented, almost exclusively, from Roy’s point of view. We also see that Arsenal and Starfire’s relationship has gotten more serious than either of them expected.

The logic of Arsenal getting himself captured, tortured, and telling his captors all about his days in space not withstanding, the story utilizes the comic’s offbeat sense of humor well. I’m pretty sure I’m going to hate whatever the hell the “Thirteen” is which is ominously mentioned at one point, but, at least the comic has gotten back on its feet after a horrible mis-step last month. I’m also happy to see Timothy Green II has taken over as artist for the title (even if some of the art here looks a little rushed). Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Batman #12

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batman-new-52-12-coverBefore the DC reboot writer Scott Snyder was focused on telling an extremely good multi-issue arc in Detective Comics about Commisioner Gordon and his son James Jr. that only peripherally involved the Batman. With Night of the Owls officially done Snyder returns to this style of story giving us a Batman comic with very little of the Caped Crusader.

The protagonist for Batman #12 is a young woman named Harper Row and her brother Cullen who is constantly picked on and beaten up by local thugs for being gay. Harper works as a city electric engineer, through her job and winning a chance to attend a lavish Wayne Foundation event, finds her paths crossing with Bruce Wayne and Batman.

It may not be as good as Snyder’s pre-New 52 work, and it certainly drags in places with the sheer amount of Harper’s narration, but it’s refreshing to read something new after the prolonged Court of Owls arc. Whether meaning to or not Harper certainly reminds me of Carrie Kelly and from the final panels, despite Batman’s orders for her to stop trying to help him, I have a feeling we may see her again. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Worlds’ Finest #4

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worlds-finest-new-52-4-coverThe latest issue of Worlds’ Finest picks up where last month’s left off as Power Girl and the Huntress continue to fight the nuclear energy monster, the Irradiated Man, off the coast of Tokyo. The pair manage to get the monster out of the city and into the harbor where all the have to worry about a jumbo oil-liner and hundreds of sailors.

Worlds’ Finest #4 isn’t a great end to the arc, but it moves pretty well and Kara and Helena do come up with an interesting way to finally stop the monster. Once again we get more flashbacks from the pair’s early days on the new Earth, but once again they seem to be mostly random, relatively unimportant daily events, without any real effort made to tie them into the main story.

In one of the running jokes of the character having her costume constantly torn (that somehow managed to survive the transition into the New 52) Power Girl, after getting lathered in oil, gets a ripped boob window, momentarily helping out that hideous costume. For fans.

[DC, $2.99]

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