Weird Science DC Comics: 2016-12-04

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Weird Science DC Comics Podcast Spotlight: Nightwing #10

Jim and Eric get together to talk a little Nightwing #10. Dick Grayson is back in Bludhaven and all is well in the world, right? Well...maybe. They don't agree with each other, but what else is new? If you like what you hear, why don't you give the weekly podcast a try. It comes out each and every Sunday night and may be very long (10-12 hours long!), but I've heard it is satisfying.

Mind Boggling Adventure of Roller Coasting Emotions

Written by: Chris Sebela

Art by: Jheremy Raapack

Cover Price: $0.99

Release Date: December 6, 2016

First, I’ve had problems with this Injustice: Ground Zero because of the abundant use of fight scenes in the past few issues. Now, I have a lot of problems with the story. This week, it’s “Muscle Car(?)” Part 2 and Harley doesn’t even ride the damn thing until the end of the chapter. Anyway, let’s get into the story and my thoughts.

The Old One-Two!

Written by: Jeff Parker and Marc Andreyko
Art by: David Hahn, Karl Kesel, MadPencil and Wes Abbott
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

Of all the crossover books that Batman and especially Batman '66 has been involved with, this one is the one I was most excited for when it was announced. Not only were they two of my favorite television shows growing up, but I've loved the comics by Jeff Parker and Marc Andreyko as well. The things I enjoyed the most out of these individual comics have been when the authors have been able to stray from the usual and give us something unique in a type of "what if" way. Whether it's characters that were never in the shows, set pieces that would have been way too expensive for television budgets or something like this crossover...having two shows that were a decade apart meld together like some sort of young boys or girls wildest fan fiction. Of course, it wouldn't work if Parker and Andreyko didn't make sure that it all made sense and after the first issue, it already does. The first chapter established the timeline, gave us a cool situation and an awesome villain(s). It also ended in a great cliffhanger that was less shock and more anticipation for one of the first things I loved about Wonder Woman. So, do the good times continue in this chapter? Let's find out...

We Heard You Like Variant Covers, So We Put a Variant in Your Variant

Last week was a struggle to put together five covers worth commending, but this week there were a lot more books released by DC! Still, it was sort of difficult. Not too many covers worth noting, though I don't recall any real stinkers. Maybe that Justice League variant by Panquette, that one seemed off the mark. But the ones below are, without any doubt, the best of week. I had someone from NASA help me with the calculations, so I know they're correct. See below and find out if you are factually right or wrong about your opinion.

For Get Fresh Crew, By Get Fresh Crew

Esteemed comic book enthusiast and bon vivant Toby Hagen from 42 Shades of Geek put together this incredible mixtape titled Straight Outta Nonsense, consisting of music from and inspired by the Weird Science DC Comics Dot Com Podcast. He did this for last Sunday's 100th episode, but I think you'll find this collection timeless, and will be bumping it well into the next century when podcasts are irrelevant because humanity is extinct.

Click here for a free download! And Read More if you want to check out the album artwork and liner notes.

Straight Outta Nonsense download

Reggie's Rap Attack! Live on Mixlr

Yo Yo Yo!!! The first episode of Reggie's Rap Attack will be on Mixlr Live at 7 PM EST Thursday, December 8th. He will be dropping beats and knowledge and knowledge and beats. Don't miss it! I you aren't already subscribing to the Weird Science DC on Mixlr, go do it now so you don't miss the Rap Attack or any of the other shows coming your way!

Go to:

http://mixlr.com/weirdsciencedc/

Shade the Changing Girl #3 Review and SPOILERS

The body is willing, but the flesh ain't mine!

Shade the Changing Girl #3
"Earth Girl Made Easy, Chapter 3: As Bad as Mad"
Written By: Cecil Castellucci
Illustrated By: Marley Zarcone
Colors By: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters By: Saida Temofonte
Cover By: Becky Cloonan
Variant Cover By: Paul Rentler
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

There's that old saying that goes something like... When you fall off the horse, you have to get back on... I think that's a great motto to have, though I'm not sure I would apply it to jumping back into the pool shortly after having nearly drowned to death. Then again, I'm not the protagonist of a Young Animal title... let's see how our Megan does as she tries to both stay on the High School swim team and keep her status as captain!

It's Altogether Ooky

Writer: Sarah Vaughn

Illustrator: Lan Medina with Phil Hester

Color Artist: José Villarubia

Letterer: Janice Chiang

Cover Artist: Stephanie Hans

Cover Price: $5.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

So what if Boston Brand and Floyd Lawton teamed up and fought crime together?

PREMIERING WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AT 9 PM

THE DEADMAN AND THE DEADSHOT

THEY STOP CRIME…DEAD IN ITS TRACKS

So here’s my review of Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love book two!

A Day in the Life, Part Deux

Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti

Artist: Brandon Peterson

Dream Artist: Michael Kaluta

Colors: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Cover: Amanda Conner & Paul Mounts

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Boy, do I see a lot of Harley Quinn these days. Last week’s Suicide Squad and in the New Talent Showcase, and this book is bi-weekly…if that issue of Harley’s Black Book had come out in November as intended, I think I might have burst. Nah, you can never have enough Harley Quinn. Check out my review of the latest issue!

And I Feel Fine

Writer: Mark Russell

Artist: Steve Pugh

Colorist: Chris Chuckry

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Cover Artist: Bill Sinekewicz

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Flintstones!

Meet the Flintstones!

They’re the modern Stone Age family!

They’re dark!

And depressing!

A reflection of our society!

You’ll guffaw

At the stupid ‘toonish biz

Then sob softly

At how damn true it is

Come on

Down to Bedrock

We’ll have a gloom time

A coupla brews time

We’ll have anxiety time!

Bounty of Frankenstein

Written By: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason
Art By: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Christian Alamy, Wil Quintana, Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Now that Annual week is over, it's time to get back to our regular Superman book and see where this new arc takes us and judging from the cover, it's taking us right to Frankenstein and whenever we get that big dead dude in a book........ Well, it makes me smile. There's just something about Frankenstein and him being a hero in DC Comics that just tickles my fancy and I hope that I'm not let down by him here. There's really not a lot of recap going into this issue since we're starting a new arc and all you really need to know going into this is that the Smith's (Kent's) live in Hamilton County and recently Lois took over her double's job at the Daily Planet. Let's jump into this issue and get an eye full of Frankenstein and hopefully get a "Melmoth's Beard!" out of him. Let's check it out.

Emotionally Abusive

Written By: Sam Humphries
Art By: Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Blond, Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Frank Laminski is a sad sack, but does he really deserve to be taken advantage of by Volthoom and then beaten all over the face by our Green Lantern heroes? It's really up for debate because I've talked to a lot of people that really dig Frank Laminski and find him to be a sympathetic character and who look forward to seeing him somehow coming out of all of this a hero. Yeah, I don't know about all that personally, but Frank needs to be brought down because with him flying all about, it's going to take longer for Simon and Jessica to find Rami and save him from the First Lantern. Let's jump into this issue and see how our heroes deal with Frank now that he's accessed Avarice and wants all the rings for himself. Let's check it out.

Aquaman’s Manic Monday

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artist: Philippe Briones

Colorist: Gabe Elateb

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy & Gabe Eltaeb

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

War! Hunh! What is it good for? Hopefully comic book sales! This is the event we’ve all been waiting for, folks! The big fake war between Atlantis and the Dry Landians, fomented by Black Manta and N.E.M.O.! And I’ve been looking forward to it. I’ve enjoyed the last four issues more than the previous seven, though a couple of them were sort of “slow” (and the last one was pretty talky) because there was some variety—and even though we’re descending in what is sure to be an action-packed explosion-fest in the grand comic book tradition, I hope it isn’t just several straight issues of the same thing. But I’m not reviewing the issues of Aquaman yet to be released, I’m reviewing the current issue! So let’s get to it!

Highway to Hell

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Fernando Blanco, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Josh Reed
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

While I seemed to be one of the few people who weren't totally won over by the DC You's Midnighter book, I have been enjoying this six issue mini. I like Midnighter as a character and actually love Apollo. Now that Apollo is stuck in Hell, I am right there with Midnighter as he tries to get his man back to the land of the living. Steve Orlando is doing a good job in creating tension while also introducing some pretty cool characters along the way. Plus, he's kept the over-the-top action dialogue to a minimum and that's a really good thing. So, do the good times continue as Midnighter gets one step closer to Hell and thus Apollo? Let's find out...

Marked For Death

Written By: Marc Andreyko
Art By: Aaron Lopresti, John Livesay, Rodney Buchemi, Blond, Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

It's time to get back to the new Rann/Thanagar war and see how our heroes Adam Strange and Hawkman will hopefully stop it. It's been slow going so far, what with Adam Strange spending the first issue trying to figure out how to get to Rann and then spending the last issue getting caught up with what's going on. Yeah, it looks like all of this Thanagarian suicide bomber business might have been a ruse of some kind setup by Despero, but even if that's the full case........... We're talking about Despero and I don't have any idea how Adam Strange and Hawkman will take him on all by themselves. Let's jump into this issue and see if Alanna Strange has calmed down with her blood lust for winged people and if Adam Strange will have to burn his eyes out after getting a up close and personal look at what Hawkman is packing. Let's check it out.

Get Your Blud Up

Written By: Tim Seeley
Art By: Marcus To, Chris Sotomayor, Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

After Superman's advice.......... or more like him just saying that the Nightwing from his world lived in Bludhaven in the previous issue, it looks like our hero is packing his bags and heading for the Blud. We've kind of seen this before though in the New 52 Nightwing series, where Dick made his home in Chicago and while I dug the premise........mostly because Chicago sounds way less menacing than Bludhaven does, it was short lived due to Nightwing's outing as Dick Grayson when Forever Evil started. Hopefully, this time around, our hero can stay away from any series damaging events and we can see how he fairs off on his own in a big bad new city, where he can finally make his mark as not only a solo hero, but as Dick Grayson as well. Let's jump into this issue and see how Dick's move is going.

Deja Vu

Written by: Ben Percy
Art by: Otto Schmidt and Nate Piekos
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

Green Arrow is back where he belongs...Seattle! Sure, I wasn't a big fan of the Empire Express storyline, but I am ready to fall in love with Green Arrow all over again. Of course, it's not just Ollie that I want, but the whole gang...Diggle, Dinah and Emiko to be exact. So, do I get what I want or am I left feeling all empty inside? Let's find out...

There's No Sex Like Cyborg Sex

Written By: John Semper Jr.

Art By: Will Conrad, Ivan Nunes, Rob Leigh

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: December 7, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Maybe what this book needs at this point is for Cyborg to have a friend that can understand everything that he's gone through because for the most part we've just been dealing with the constant problems that comes from when one is a cyborg. You know, am I man or machine and all that and with the new information that Dr. Silas Stone actually edited Vic's mind so that he had memories taken away from him, I'm guessing Cyborg could use a little sit down time with someone so that he can work through his issues with a little talking. It's a good thing then that a CIA agent named Scarlett Taylor was seriously injured in the last issue and the big bad of this series is all about obliging the government in turning their agent into a new Cyborg so that they can retrieve the information that she gathered in Iraq. With Silas' doppelganger being involved though and the fact that Scarlett's being transformed using a damaged mother-box. Well, you know some shit's about to go bad for our hero. Let's jump into this issue and find out.

Shall We Play a Game?

Written by: Bryan Hitch
Art by: Neil Edwards, Daniel Henriques, Adriano Lucas and Richard Starkings
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

I am not going to use this introduction to tell you how much I am not enjoying the Justice League since Rebirth started. If you've been reading my reviews, you already know how I feel about one of DC's flagship titles seemingly being left out to dry or worse. No, I'm going to try to stay positive here and tell you what I've enjoyed from Bryan Hitch's run so far. Hmmm...Okay, let's just get on with the review.

Batman #12 Review

Dear Diary

Written by: Tom King

Art by: Mikel Janin, Hugo Petrus, June Chung and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

I have really enjoyed Tom King's run on Batman and while I still think that the I am Gotham story is still his best, I am Suicide has me intrigued. Unfortunately, there is a point when I want, if not demand answers and that time is now. I want to know if what we are seeing is actually what we think it is and I want to know Batman's plan. I have faith that Tom King will reveal all eventually, but I want it now! Okay, now that I'm finished doing my best Veruca Salt impersonation, I'll start my review. Do I get what I want? Let's find out...

WeirdScienceDCComics.com presents:

Official Unofficial World Infamous Weird Science DC Comics Tweets of the Week

By: Branden Murray

I was looking through the timeline after Thanksgiving break and decided since another monumental occasion would soon be upon us, the 100^th episode to those newbies around here, I’d wait it out and gather those tweets instead of an abundance of nothing but Thanksgiving wishes. So here we go, finally some nonsense about the celebration of nonsense to spice up your day enjoy! Also Jim now allows me to publish on my own so expect long thesis style essays about Buffalo Bills football, that is all.

@WeirdScienceDC

@EricLShea

@reggiereggie

@AceComics

@bmur3660

Written by: Tom King
Art by: Mikel Janin, Hugo Petrus, June Chung and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 7, 2016

“I AM SUICIDE” part four! As Bane decimates Batman’s team, the Dark Knight must decide how far he’s willing to go—and who he’s willing to sacrifice—for those he left in Gotham City.

Oh snap! It's a Batman version of Sophie's Choice with 100% less Meryl Streep, but 100% more Bane. At least there is no Nathan...that guy was nuts!!!

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Fernando Blanco, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Josh Reed
Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 7, 2016

With Henry Bendix’s trap sprung, it’ll be a long road for Midnighter to be reunited with Apollo—and the path will take him straight through the gates of Hell itself!

I guess I could use a generic "go to Hell" joke here, but I will spare you from such unpleasantries. Instead, I will let you know that my favorite depiction of Hell was from Event Horizon. It's not pretty, but hey, it shouldn't be, right? RIGHT!

The Ghostman Always Rings Twice

Writer: Sarah Vaughn

Illustrator: Lan Medina with Phil Hester

Color Artist: José Villarubia

Letterer: Janice Chiang

Cover Artist: Stephanie Hans

Cover Price: $5.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

The bimonthly miniseries continues! After Deadman and Adelia’s sudden disappearance, Berenice begins to unlock the mysteries of Glencourt Manor. With evil lurking around every corner, Berenice longs to confide in her boyfriend Nathan about what she has discovered, but she fears what he may think of her…instead, Berenice finds a sympathetic ear in Sam, who shows Berenice what it means to be a true friend.

Our time in the House of Hauntedness continues! Don't forget to bring your best...ghoul! Okay, I know that sucked. Just look at the preview pages and let's forget this ever happened.

Deluge, Boss, Deluge

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artist: Philippe Briones

Colorist: Gabe Elateb

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy & Gabe Eltaeb

Variant Cover: Joshua Middleton

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

“THE DELUGE” part one! It’s war! With the undersea army of N.E.M.O. at his command, Black Manta draws the U.S. and Atlantis into the war Aquaman has been fighting to prevent. Now the sea king races to uncover proof of N.E.M.O.’s deception before the two nations destroy each other.

It's been an enjoyable enough slow burn to this point, but it all comes to a head now! Let's hope it doesn't pop like a zit! Or would popping like a zit be good in this analogy? Whatever, I'm excited to read the issue! Check below for preview pages.

Harley Quinn and the Shrink

Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti

Artist: Brandon Peterson

Dream Artist: Michael Kaluta

Colors: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Cover: Amanda Conner & Paul Mounts

Variant Cover: Frank Cho & Laura Martin

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

In issue #9, can anyone truly understand the mind of the world’s craziest psychiatrist? Harley’s about to get a shrink of her very own…what are the odds he won’t go insane himself?

Well, well, well, the garish red-and-black boot is on the other foot, eh? It's actually quite common for psychologists to attend their own therapy sessions, but methinks that this doctor may regret taking on this particular patient. Especially since she's broke all the time. Sessions cost money, honey! Check below for preview pages.

Gazoo You

Writer: Mark Russell

Artist: Steve Pugh

Colorist: Chris Chuckry

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Cover Artist: Bill Sinekewicz

Variant Cover Artists: Howard Porter and Hi-Fi

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

The Great Gazoo is working on his report card for the human race, and so far humanity has earned a big fat “F.” When the Church of Gerard starts selling Indulgences, Bedrock descends into violence and debauchery. Meanwhile, a miner gets trapped at Slate’s Quarry. Might there be an honest citizen in this burgeoning civilization willing to come to his rescue?

This book has been a real surprise for me. I'd tagged it as a fun but unnecessary continuation of the cartoon initially, but a couple of issues ago it started to get strangely...real. Consequently, this comic has gone from one I groaned about to one I look forward to reading. What the hell is going on here? Flintstones aren't supposed to give me the feels! Look at some preview pages below.

Navigation

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Mind Boggling Adventure of Roller Coasting Emotions

The Old One-Two!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Bounty of Frankenstein

Emotionally Abusive

Highway to Hell

Marked For Death

Get Your Blud Up

Deja Vu

Deja Vu

There's No Sex Like Cyborg Sex

Shall We Play a Game?

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Dear Diary