The Multiversity #2

It’s the final battle for the survival of the multiverse! The magical heroes of Earth-13 tear through Vampire Sivana and his minions — and convert the vampire superheroes into coffee addicts. The Western heroes of Earth-18 plug Psycho Sivana. And the rest of the multiverse’s heroes — in their own universes and in the House of Heroes — struggle against the forces of the Gentry. Can anyone survive the incredible power of the corrupted Nix Uotan, the Superjudge? Which hero will survive his decapitation? Can an army of superheroes prevail against the end of all that is?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s not perfect, but it’s Grant Morrison writing about cosmic crises and the concept of superheroism overcoming evil, so it’s still pretty dang good. Ivan Reis does a great job with the artwork. And it’s fantastic to get to see these characters again — the horror heroes of Earth-13 need at least a full miniseries of their own, and I’d deeply missed this version of Captain Carrot (It looks like the Zoo Crew is getting predictably mishandled in the Convergence series), and as always, I look forward to a future version of DC Comics that will bring that series back and finally do it justice.

Daredevil #15

Plainclothes Matt Murdock and the Owl’s daughter are working to free the Owl from the Shroud’s clutches — but the Shroud has figured out how to use the Owl’s ability to tap into all electronic communications against them. He starts by tracking them through San Francisco through people’s cell phones, then reveals that Foggy Nelson is alive, then starts revealing all of his legal clients’ secrets. Before long, the police are after him, and he’s faced with the question of having to go into hiding permanently — or turn to his most hated foe for help.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Great art, great story. Always raising the bar on the pressure going on here, and the cliffhanger is pretty dang sweet.

Silver Surfer #11

This is one of the best designed comics of the year, and it’s a near certain bet that it’ll be nominated for oh-so-many awards. Most of the story is actually set up like a Moebius strip — we follow the Surfer’s story to its end, then it literally flips around, upside down, and starts over from a new perspective and new point-of-view character, then it flips around twice more. It’s an astonishing feat of storytelling and graphic design.

Our plot: The Silver Surfer is escorting a makeshift fleet of billions of aliens, all of whom have lost their homeworlds, thanks to Norrin Radd guiding Galactus to their homes. But another set of aliens opposes them, fearing that they’re an invasion force. And when they can’t defeat the Surfer, they unleash a doomsday weapon that sticks everyone involved into a time loop. Can the Silver Surfer break free and save those he’s promised to protect?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Again, an absolutely astounding comic book. It’s an amazing and fun read, and y’all better get your hands on it before everyone starts giving it trophies.

Bitch Planet #4

Kamau Kogo has to put together a team of her fellow prisoners — all women hated and feared by the patriarchal government of Earth — to compete in the futuristic — and all-male — sport of Megaton. While she’s putting together her list of potential players, she’s invited to take a shower with a couple other inmates — the guards can’t follow them into the showers, so they’re free to warn her that the authorities are setting her team up to be murdered. Can she field a team that can win? And can she use the shower’s secret peephole to snare a mole on the inside?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Great story, great art. Love the background on the Megaton game. If you’re queasy about nudity and sexual situations in comics, well, this one has a heck of a lot of nudity and sexual situations. Consider this one Rated M for Mature — and then you mature readers should go read it.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Hey, looks like the Black Widow is finally getting her own movie! And SNL has the trailer…
• Hayley Atwell dressed up as Agent Carter in her driver’s license photo — and who can blame her?
• With the cancellation of “Silent Hills,” it’s time to start taking a look at what made the Silent Hill games great.
• There’s a lot of crazy paranoia about the Jade Helm war games.
• Seriously, at this point, certain Republicans are in a race to see who can be the most cruel to poor people.

Convergence: Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters #1

The Convergence crossover bounces over to Earth-X, home of the Golden Age Freedom Fighters — Uncle Sam, the Ray, the Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, Black Condor, and Doll-Man — and in this continuity, their leader Plastic Man. The Nazis have taken over the world, while the Freedom Fighters try to liberate America. They successfully lure the Nazi’s pet supervillain, the Silver Ghost, to New York City — just in time for the Dome to appear and cut off everyone’s powers. The team is eventually betrayed by, of all people, Woozy Winks, but before their execution, the Dome finally comes down and everyone gets their powers back.

Verdict: I think I’ll give this one a thumbs up. Plastic Man isn’t a constant comedian — but when he was introduced in the Golden Age, he was generally the straight man for other people’s comedy. We don’t get a lot of character work with the Freedom Fighters, but what we see seems okay.

Convergence: Shazam! #1

Oooo, classic Captain Marvel? Written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Doc Shaner? Yes, I will sign up for that.

For whatever reason, the Dome over Fawcett City hasn’t been dropped yet, and the Marvels still don’t have their powers. Bulletman and Bulletgirl are still around to help, luckily, but after Billy Batson, Mary Batson, and Freddy Freeman follow Uncle Dudley and WHIZ station owner Sterling Morris after they’re acting shady, they discover that the Monster Society of Evil is still in operation, with Mr. Atom and King Kull working on deadly machines while Dr. Sivana and Ibac have been disguised as Dudley and Mr. Morris. Tawney shows up to help, but the villains still seem to have the upper hand — until the Dome finally comes down, and the heroes get their powers back! But now someone else is attacking the city…

Verdict: Thumbs up. Once again, while the Rebooted DCU can’t figure out how to make a Captain Marvel who isn’t a raging douchebag, the Elseworlds stories — like this one and the tale a few months ago from Multiversity — show that Captain Marvel is still relevant and cool and fun. Jeff Parker’s story is pretty near perfect, and Doc Shaner’s art is a beautiful blend of Golden Age style and modern technique.

Convergence: Booster Gold #1

Booster Gold is being held captive but is rescued by Skeets and Rip Hunter, who reveal that Booster is Rip’s father — no, wait, a Booster from another universe is Rip’s father, actually. Booster was being held prisoner in Skartaris — and in fact, just about every time traveler around was also being held captive there, too. They rescue the older Booster, the one who’s Rip’s father, along with Booster’s sister Michelle, the superheroine Goldstar. The older Booster is dying because he’s been exposed to too much chronal energy, and he now randomly teleports from one domed city to the next. The next time he teleports, the others track him to the city holding the 31st century’s Legion of Super-Heroes. Can they rescue Booster, or is it already too late?

Verdict: Thumbs down. The story is chaotic and confusing, and it isn’t helped by two Booster Golds who look almost identical.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Wow, here’s hoping for a fast recovery for awesome artist and awesome person Ty Templeton.
• A phone game that lets you see your own home as a haunted house? Please no. I already have too much trouble falling asleep.
• It turns out some of the “looting” photos you’re seeing are faked and likely posted by racist whites trying to make black people in Baltimore look bad.