Weird Science DC Comics: 2017-03-05

Saturday, March 11, 2017

American Gods: Shadows #1 Review and Spoilers

Monsters and Gods

Story and Words: Neil Gaiman
Script and Layout: P Craig Russell
Art: Scott Hampton and Lovern Kindzierski and Rick Parker
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 15, 2017
Review by: Jeremy Daw

First published in 2001, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is long overdue for a comic adaptation. Presumably spurred by the imminent appearance of a TV adaptation, Dark Horse has decided to release an adaptation across 27 issues constituting 3 distinct story arcs with veteran comics creator P Craig Russell as adapter and co-writer and with Scott Hampton (and, briefly, Lovern Kindzierski) on art. So, does the first issue of American Gods: Shadows succeed in hooking this comics reader (who hasn’t read the novel!)? Let’s find out…

Written by: Matt Kindt
Art by: Tyler Jenkins
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Cover by: Tyler Jenkins
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

There’s Something Strange In The Neighborhood

I’ve enjoyed Matt Kindt’s work over the past few years. I’ve followed most of his fantasy/ sci-fi comics over at Valiant. So when I heard he had something fresh outside his norm I was committed to make sure I give it a chance. No need to give me a pitch, just his name and the cool cover sold me alone.

Written by: Brian Wood & Alex Cox
Art by: Hayden Sherman
Colors by: Chris O’Halloran
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

So far we’ve crash landed in Barsoom and are seeing a possible divorce in the making. We weren’t given much in the first issue besides a brief set up. I’m hoping the story kicks into gear this time around. I need something to get me more excited to continue the title.

Weird Science DC Comics Podcast Spotlight: Action Comics #975

Jim and Eric Spotlight the biggest book of the week which is Action Comics #975. Who is Clark Kent and do they like it or hate it? Find out that and a whole lot more. Enjoy

Better But Still Not There

Superwoman #8

Written By: Phil Jimenez

Art By: Jack Herbert and Stephen Segovia
Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

With the end of the terrible first arc, I thought this might redeem the Superwoman title somewhat. That is not the case here with this Superman Reborn tie-in. I use the term “tie-in” loosely as this issue almost has nothing to do with Reborn but it does say it on the cover, so there you go. Phil Jimenez is still on board with writing, so let’s see what Superwoman #8 brings us and see if it’s a turning point for the title now. Spoilers: It’s not.

Slim Pickings

It was a relatively light week for DC Comics, and perhaps for that reason I struggled to find five covers worthy of the coveted Best Covers of the Week list. But find them, I did! In theory, as long as DC puts out three books and at least two of them have variants, I should be able to put together a list. In fact, I think this happened in the last week of 2016. Anyway, enough reminiscing! Let's look at the best comic book covers of today!

Deathstroke #14 Review

In the Doghouse

Written by: Christopher Priest
Art by: Joe Bennett, Norm Rapmund, Jeromy Cox and Willie Shubert
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

I have been critical of this book since Rebirth started, but when Christopher Priest gives us a straightforward issue, I've loved it every time. I'm not saying that it has to be generic, because this book is far from that, I just need to be able to follow it from page to page. Listen, I'll take some fot he blame for being a big dummy, but I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. So, what kind of issue do we get this week and is it any good? Let's find out...

Justice League/Power Rangers #3

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Stephen Byrne

DC Comics/Boom Studios

Release Date: March 8, 2017

Cover Price: $3.99

Anybody With a Spare ‘Large Hadron Collider’ Hanging Around?

Now that our formalities, in the traditional super hero form of fighting each other, are out of the way we can get down to business in our story. So with clear lines drawn in the multiverse, the Justice League and Power Rangers, team up to take on the villains, Brainiac and Lord Zedd. Finally we should have some good guy versus bad buy action coming our way like an epic crossover promises right? Donate a click to some poor comic bloggers in need and see who gets the best of whom in issue three.

His Hair was Perfect

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Matias Bergara, Michael Atiyeh and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

Now that the Cyborg Superman threat has been taken care of, I'm hoping this book will take off. While the idea of Kara's cybernetic father trying to return Argo City to the living for his daughter sounded cool, the actual story was lacking if you ask me. I'm going to chalk it up to Steve Orlando getting his feet wet with the character and now that he has six issues under his belt. I'm expecting big things. Is this Werewolves of Krypton story just that? Let's find out...

Gather 'round

Mother Panic #4
"Broken Things, Part 1"
Written by Jody Houser

Art by Shawn Crystal
Colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters by John Workman and Shawn Crystal
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

Mother Panic, already? Would'a sworn I had a couple more weeks before heading back to Violet-ville. Luckily, despite my reservations the opening arc ended on a (relative) up note... hopefully that will continue here.

As we enter our second storyline we find ourselves in the hands of a new-to-us artist... let's check it out!

International Incident

Written By: Steve Orlando

Art By: Felipe Watanabe, Scott Hanna, Hi-Fi, Clayton Cowles

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The new Justice League of America is formed and now it's up to a bunch of people who have never worked together before to take down the Earth-8 Extremists, who in the previous issue entered this world after their own was lost to nuclear fire to bring order and in their mind save Earth-0. Yeah, the JLA isn't about to let that stand, especially since the Extremists seem to be willing to go to some brutal routes to get the job done. Like I said though, this team hasn't worked together that long yet and because of this, they get their asses handed to them and we ended the previous issue with Batman surrendering his life to the Extremist leader, Lord Havok in order to save Ryan Choi's life. Let's jump into this issue and see if Batman has a bigger plan in mind than simple surrender. Let's check it out.

Metropolis is Alright If You Like Lexophones

Writer: Gene Luen Yang

Pencils: Viktor Bogdonavic

Inks: Viktor Bogdonavic and Jonathan Glapion

Colors: Mike Spicer

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Cover: Bogdonavic and Spicer

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

At what point can we drop the “new” from New Super-Man? In one year? Five? Ten? I feel like it is earned after a certain amount of time, and doubtless there will be another person attempting to take Superman’s title in the near future. Let them be the “new” Superman, and Kong Kenan can just be Super-Man. Or the Super-Man of China, if you prefer. Looking forward to those days! But right now, we’ve got my review of New Super-Man #9 to look forward to. So proceed in a forwardly direction!

One for Me, and One for Me Mate

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Jesus Merino, Andy Owens, Chris Sotomayor and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

I have really enjoyed the Flash book since the Rogues showed up, but one other thing that has peaked my interest is Kid Flash looking for his daddy. I liked this Wally the instant he showed up in the New 52 and the only thing I didn't like was him being sidelined almost immediatley. That's not the case recently and him looking into the whereabouts of Reverse Flash makes sense and has me excited. So, does this Sins of the Father arc start off with a bang? Let's find out...

Fight Night

Written By: Julie Benson, Shawna Benson

Art By: Roge Antonio, Allen Passalaqua, Deron Bennett

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

It's time to get into a whole new arc with our Birds of Prey now that they're all playing nice with one another and actually seem to consider each other friends. Yeah, it was a rough road to get here, but I'm hoping now that the team is actually a team that this is a series that I can finally get into. We've got our Birds and their new Oracle working hand in hand to stop crime in Gotham and for this issue we have ourselves a guest star in the form of Nightwing. So let's jump into this issue and see how Dick does back in Gotham since he's seeing DeFacer now and has had a thing with not only Batgirl in the past, but also Huntress. Let's check it out.

Powers Play

Written By: Dan Abnett

Art By: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse, Corey Breen

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Now that the Titans are in Manhattan, it doesn't look like they'll have time to relax after their big move because the Fearsome Five have setup up shop in New York with a new meta power company that promises to help people with powers and if needed, take them away. This is what we saw in the previous issue, where Mal and Karen Duncan have gone to Meta-Solutions in order to look into Karen's new powers. It's also here where we learn that Mal has already gone through with the process and had his powers removed because after dealing with the events of Titans Hunt, he doesn't ever want to do anything "Super" again. Too bad Mal didn't do all his homework before having this procedure done though because after he sees Mammoth walking the halls of the building, he freaks out and calls his former team in for help and now it's time to see what the Fearsome Five are up to and if Karen has become one of them or not. Let's jump into this issue and check it out.

There Was an Arkillo that Swallowed a Guy

Writer: Robert Vendetti

Penciller: Rafa Sandoval

Inker: Jordi Tarragona

Colorist: Tomeu Morey

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Cover: Sandoval, Tarragona, Morey

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Do you think that the United States is so politically divided because they don’t show the Filmation Green Lantern cartoons on television any more?

I feel like we’ve lost something. Maybe we can find it in my review of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #16, right here!

Suicidal Dreams Deferred

Writer: Rob Williams

Penciller: John Romita Jr.

Back Up Penciller: Eddy Barrows

Inker: Richard Friend

Back Up Inker: Eber Ferreira

Colorists: Dean White & Jeremiah Skipper

Back Up Colorist: Adriano Lucas

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover: Romita, Friend & White

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

So Warner Bros.’ movie Suicide Squad is now an Oscar-winning film, having just won the award for Best Makeup at the recent ceremony. I get the impression that this legitimizes the movie for many of its fans, who seem to profess its universal goodness in the face of criticism. I mean, it made roughly six-bazillion dollars, which is the only metric that the studio cares about. But as far as I’m concerned, Suicide Squad getting an Academy Award—for makeup or not—only serves to delegitimize the Academy. It’s a dog-and-pony show, folks, for people to get drunk together and clap each other on the back for how wonderful they are. Luckily, comic books are free of such ego! Find out for yourself in my review of Suicide Squad #13, right here!

Ra Ra Ra

Written by: Scott Lobdell
Art by: Kenneth Rocafort, Dan Brown and Taylor Esposito
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

I have loved this book since the start of Rebirth, but I don't think I am alone in wanting to see the Dark Trinity in full effect...now! I mean, this is issue number eight and we really haven't seen the main draw of this book...Jason, Artemis and Bizarro together. By the looks of the cover, we may have to wait a bit longer still. Is that a bad thing? Let's find out...

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

Written By: Dan Abnett

Art By: Vincente Cifuentes, Rex Lokus, Travis Lanham

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

After everything all of us Earth 2 fans have been through, it's finally over and it doesn't look like our Wonders will get another chance and get a Rebirth, like most of us want now that the series has picked up and became something that we actually like reading. That's right, this is the final issue of Earth 2: Society and in the previous issue we saw our Wonders stand against Ultra-Humanite and his Sandmen army and overcome, but in the end of that issue it looked like the Humanite might have killed Dick Grayson Batman. Let's jump into this issue and see where we leave these characters and what they'll be doing in a Universe that's so close to the one we normally read about, but yet so far because it doesn't look like we'll be seeing them again anytime soon. Let's check it out.

Who's That Guy?

Written By: Dan Jurgens, Paul Dini

Art By: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Wil Quintana, Rob Leigh, Ian Churchill, Mike Atiyeh

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Well, it's finally here. The moment we've all been waiting for............ Well, the moment that all Action Comics fans have been waiting for. We're finally going to find out who that mysterious human Clark Kent is and with that, hopefully find out what Mr. Oz' game plan is with our Man of Steel. Speculations and rumors have been all around concerning who the human Clark Kent is and probably by the time you read this review, it's already been spoiled for you, but even with that I'm going to get into this book, explain it and probably have some problems with the whole timeline of events. Let's get into this issue and check it out.

Don't You Forget About Me

Written by: Greg Rucka
Art by: Bilquis Evely, Scott Hanna, Romulo Fajardo Jr and Jodi Wynne
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

It's back to the Godwatch story in Wonder Woman so that means you get more of me, like it or not. The first issue of this arc was so good as we got to see the actual reasons driving Veronica Cale hate for Wonder Woman and her kind. Yea, it feels weird writing it like that, but Veronica has 2 very personal reasons to hat the gods and what they stand for or even what they don't. We also got what appeared to be an origin story for Dr. Cyber that left me wanting more. Do we get more Veronica Cale hate and Dr. Cyber origin this week and is it good? Let's find out...

The Calamity of Amity

Story by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan & Karl Kerschl

Script by Brenden Fletcher

Pencils by Adam Archer & Msassyk

Inks by Sandra Hope & Msassyk

Colors by Msassyk

Letters by Steve Wands

Cover by Karl Kerschl

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Here’s a track I like from Handsome Boy Modeling School, the production duo formed by Dan the Automator and Prince Paul: “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)”

And here’s a review of Gotham Academy Second Semester #7! What do ya know?

Lady Badass

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Christian Duce, Fernando Blanco, Alex Sinclair, John Rauch, Allen Passalaqua and Sal Cipriano
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

Last issue showed me two things...Batman is a stubborn asshole and Lady Shiva is one kick ass villain. While I want to keep seeing more of the later, I really hope Batman gets his head out of his ass and stops worrying what to call this threat hitting Gotham and starts worrying how to stop it. Do both happen this issue? Let's find out...

PREVIEW: Supergirl #7

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Matias Bergara, Michael Atiyeh and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 8, 2017

“Mission Mind”! Supergirl’s powers mean nothing when she’s trapped inside the consciousness of a killer. Creeping through the mind of a Kryptonian monster, Supergirl finds herself on a suicide mission to return Lar-On to sanity inside the D.E.O.

Written By: Steve Orlando

Art By: Felipe Watanabe, Scott Hanna, Hi-Fi, Clayton Cowles

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

“THE EXTREMISTS” part two! Believing heroes to be threats to the survival of any world, Lord Havok and the Extremists have already murdered the mightiest heroes from their home dimension. To save our Earth they’d kill thousands more, starting with the newly formed JLA. But eye-to-eye, are Havok’s and Batman’s goals that different? Billions of lives depend on the answer.

I really don't like the Extremists, but hopefully this issue changes my mind because who wouldn't want to love a JLA book?

Written By: Julie Benson, Shawna Benson

Art By: Roge Antonio, Allen Passalaqua, Deron Bennett

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

“Blackbird” part one! There’s something strange afoot in Gotham City—someone’s making promises to the world’s deadliest killers, offering them things well beyond the powers of a mortal human to provide! Unfortunately, Nightwing’s been caught in the crossfire and is badly hurt…good thing he’s not the exact person whose presence is most likely to make things weird between Batgirl and Huntress, right?

Now that the team is all together and acting kind of friendly to one another, I'm hoping that this is a series that I can finally get behind........... It doesn't hurt that Nightwing is guest starring this issue either.

Written By: Dan Abnett

Art By: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse, Corey Breen

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 8, 2017

“Made in Manhattan” part two! The Titans come face-to-face with the Fearsome Five and their newest member…Bumblebee?! Meanwhile, Dick and Wally make a stunning discovery about Meta Solutions!

Navigation

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Monsters and Gods

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

In the Doghouse

His Hair was Perfect

International Incident

One for Me, and One for Me Mate

Fight Night

Powers Play

Ra Ra Ra

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

Who's That Guy?

Don't You Forget About Me

Lady Badass

Tuesday, March 7, 2017