Weird Science DC Comics: 2018-03-18

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Weird Science DC Comics Podcast Spotlight: Nightwing #41

Listen to Jim and Eric talk about the last issue in Sam Humphries' Nightwing run.

Check out our Patreon. For as little as $1 a month, you can help support the podcast! This Week's Patreon Spotlight: Damage #3 & Deadman #5

Okay, last week I had the top 5 Villains turned heroes, but what about the Big Bads that didn't flip-flop and stayed on the side of evil? Well, here is where they get their moment to shine! I am one who says (Ed Note: see this week's Nightwing Spotlight Podcast for the latest example) that the villain is what makes the story good or bad and I will always stick by that. So, who are the villains that have been bad to the bone and made it hardest on our favorite heroes? If I've forgotten anyone you like, let me know in the comments. Here is my list...

Youngblood #10 Review

Test Run

Written by: Chad Bowers
Art by: Jim Towe
Colors: Juan Manuel Rodríguez
Letters: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image
Reviewed by: Andrew McAvoy

The latest series of Youngblood got off to a great start. The issues collected in Volume 1 of the trade form a great arc, and a really interesting story. The stories that will comprise the forthcoming second Volume has been a bit inconsistent. It's taking quite a while to put the elements in place for the story to take off properly. Let's see if this issue sees things start to fly.

Long Live Rock n' Roll

Written by: W Maxwell Prince
Art by Martin Morazzo / Chris O'Halloran
Publisher: Image
Release Date: 21 March 2018
Reviewed by: Andrew McAvoy

I'm a big fan of Neil Young. I still buy his albums. Even though they are increasingly random. I've even bought the one that him and Jack White recorded in the "vintage record your own record booth" which had such bad sound quality. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. The point is that when Neil Young stands with a guitar, even now aged 72, he assumes a superhero-like power. Last year when I saw him he just looked possessed with the spirit of rock n' roll. It's the look that has been distilled perfectly into the main character on the cover to this book. Let's dive in to see if the power of that image pervades the rest of the book...

Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill ep. 82 - Jim Nastics #1 (1984)

Commies Can't Handle That Bounce

Salutations, dusty-fingered listeners! In this episode, cheapos Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) sift through the back of the quarter bin to bring you some independent entertainment on a budget: Redstone Comics' Jim Nastics #1, by Bill Mitchell and Alan Larsen, from 1984! After as much biographical information as could be found, and a look at the conditions that allowed this comic book to exist, they go through every page of this tense, Cold War-era drama. Then, our bouncing heroes turn the show over to our listeners, as they read YOUR keen finds in the darkened undertables of comic shops around the world. It's an episode so precious, you'll want to bag and board it!

Revenge of the B-List

It was another swell week for comics, and an even sweller week for comic book covers! In quantity, that is. I struggled to come up with this list, but provided DC publishes five or more covers in a given week, I'll always be able to come up with one! Whether I actually get around to it or not is a different story.

Batwoman #13 Review and SPOILERS

Letting Go of the Lost Year

Written By: Marguerite Bennett
Art By: Fernando Blanco, John Rauch
Letters By: Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

I’m honestly coming into this issue on a high. I actually enjoyed the previous issue. It suffered from most of the problems that have been plaguing this series since it began but it was a nice conclusion to the flashbacks we’ve been getting about the Lost Year. However, now we are back in the present and Kate must face off against her former lover Safiyah. Will it raise the overall quality of this book or will we get more of the same? I know what my money is on BUT let’s not judge the book until we’ve finished the issue. Let’s jump right in and see what it has in store for us.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 Review

Writer: James Tynion IV, Ryan Ferrier
Art: Freddie Williams II, Jeremy Colwell
DC Comics/IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 21, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

Donnie's Breaking Bad Vacation

Did last issues cliffhanger leave you shell shocked? Sorry, couldn't help myself. If you recall how we last left things Donatello decided to go the route of Bane's venom formula to combat the evils confronting Batman and his brothers. Well needless to say, that decision didn't please everyone, or really anybody at all, so lets see how we're going to deal with this pissed off purple turtle with an agenda this month in the penultimate issue of Batman TMNT II.

King McCool

Written by: Liam Sharp
Art by: Liam Sharp, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Alw's Troy Peteri
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018
Review by: Matches Balone

It's Brave and the Bold time and while we can debate who in this book is the bravest and/or boldest, there is no debate on whether this book looks good. Psst...it does! However, after last issue's sometimes heavy-handed descriptions and histories, I was hoping that Liam Sharp would get down to telling us a story on par with his pencils. Well does he? Let's find out...

Damage #3 Review

Storytellers: Tony S. Daniel, Robert Venditti
Art: Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki, Tomeu Morey
DC Comics
Release Date: March 21, 2018
Cover Price: $2.99

Damaged Goods

These New Age of DC Heroes titles have been an interesting way to start the year, with ties to a story that has yet to completely wrap up. However, I personally have been enjoying them all on varying levels, but Damage tends to, for whatever reason, catch my interest the most, possibly because of my love for Tony Daniel. So without further ado lets discuss Damage #3, as the character continues his tour to introduce himself to the various cast members of the DC Universe.

A Twist In My Story

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018

**NON-SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

This book is still quite the enigma for me. There were some crazy tonal shifts in the first issue and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed Riley Rossmo's art. It was a solid start to a series that could be another Vertigo gem, but Joshua Williamson needs to establish a more concrete tone moving forward. Let's hope that he gets it ironed out soon so that we can have some fun with this series.

Frogmen and Yetis and Zombies, Oh My!

Written, Drawn and Colored By: Neal Adams
Lettered By: Clem Robins
Cover By: Neal Adams
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: March 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Oh boy, I hope you have your kooky caps screwed on tight, because it’s time for another issue of Deadman! No introduction could do this series any justice, so let’s forget the formalities and dive right into my review of issue #5!

A Twinkle in Your Eye

Writer: Jon Rivera

Cover & Interior Artist: Michael Avon Oeming

Colorist: Nick Filardi

Back-Up Artist: Paul Maybury

Letterer: Clem Robins

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: March 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Looks like Cave Carson’s traded in the dank…er, caves for the Wild Black Yonder. Though, considering he spent half of the first volume flitting through various bizarre dimensions, I suppose he isn’t totally a spelunker. Let’s see how he fares in Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye #1, by reading my review!

Fight Magic With Magic

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artist: Kelley Jones

Colors: Michelle Madsen

Letters: Steve Wands

Cover: Alex Kubert & Alex Sinclair

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: March 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Ooh, Kelley Jones is on art duties here? I sure do like his creepy style (especially as colored by Michelle Madsen!), but that implies that this is a one-off issue of some manner, a break in the action…two issues after the action’s begun. Only one way to find out! And that’s to check out my review of Aquaman #34, just below! I guess you could also read the issue yourself, that would be a second way to find out.

The Quinn is In

Writer: Frank Tieri

Artists: John Timms, Moritat

Colors: Alex Sinclair & Jeremiah Skipper

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Cover: Amanda Conner & Alex Sinclair

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Coney Island was beset by mayhem and madness at the end of the last issue! And not in a good way! Have a look-see at my review of Harley Quinn #40, which can be found forthwith!

Smells Like High Tide

Written by: Sam Humphries
Art by: Bernard Chang, Jamal Campbell, Marcelo Maiolo and Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I just can't get into this story without fully understanding the Judge and going into this issue, I don't! I know his origin since we saw it a couple issues back, but being transformed by the sea??? His powers may be hypnotism or mind control or something else??? He can see the corruption in people's souls??? And to make it worse, what the hell are those casino chips really doing??? I don't Know!!!! Do we finally find out something? Let's see...

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Carlo Barberi, Art Thibert, Dono San/Protobunker and Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018

I say it all the time, but every time Super Sons hits the shelves, it feels like it's been gone too long. I guess that says something for the book, but with the recent announcement that it's ending soo, it just makes me so sad. Now, if you've been reading my reviews and listening to the podcast, you may think I'm flip-flopping here. I'll explain...I still think this book never really got off the ground, but that's why I'm sad. I love Jon and Damian and really want this book to shine. Oh well, I guess we have to wait until after the new status quo that's arriving with Brian Michael Bendis to see where our two (one?) loveable scamps end up. Until then, we have this last story. Is it good? Let's find out...

Oh, That Bizarro Talk!

Written By: Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi

Art By: Patrick Gleason, Joe Prado, Stephen Downer, Rob Leigh

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Last issue we were introduced to Boyzarro and got reintroduced to Bizarro World, which is known as Htrae........ you know, backwards all the way around there and with that, I was frustrated as all hell because I can't stand Bizarro talk. With that though, I realized for my review that there are probably fans of the concept and the characters so I just judged the issue on what we got and hoped that by the end of the issue, where Boyzarro came to our own world that things would become normal........ I hoped so much. Sadly, even with our Bizarro version of Superboy here, the Bizarro talk continues and somehow....... I still managed to see a decent story in here. Let's jump into this issue and check it out.

Religious Rumble

Written By: Tim Seeley

Art By: V. Ken Marion, Sandu Florea, Dinei Ribeiro, Dave Sharpe

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Our Lantern heroes are after the Religious Order known as The Steed, who have come to Earth and have kidnapped a bunch of Z-list superheroes for the purpose of using their bodies as avatars to continue the spread of their religion across the Universe in the guise of being gods.......... even though we spent a lot of this story with the superheroes only being used for slave labor. Either way, Simon, Jessica and Scrapps from the Omega Men have come to shut them down. Hopefully, they'll be able to get the job done before the heroes they've come to save tear them apart while their under The Steed's control. Let's jump into this issue and check it out.

Batman #43 Review and SPOILERS

What Happened To Johnny?

Written By: Tom King

Art By: Mikel Janin, Hugo Petris, June Chung, Clayton Cowles

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

It's time to finish up our "Everyone Loves Ivy" arc and see how our Caped Crusader is going to stop a villain who has taken over the entire world and with that, learned all of the world's secrets as well, including the identities of its heroes. In our previous issue, we saw Batman winding Ivy up to the point where she had Superman punch Batman's brains in, but don't worry because with the power of science, magic and medicine, Ivy was able to bring Bruce back from the dead, where we left him in the care of a mind controlled Harley Quinn. Let's jump into this issue and see if this finale is able to tie everything up or if this just continues not making any sense. Let's check it out.

Watchtower Down

Written By: Christopher Priest

Art By: Philippe Briones, Jeremy Cox, Willie Schu

Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Let's get back into Justice League, where previously we saw our Leaguers trying to stay alive while the Watchtower was being pulled into Earth's gravity. That's about all I have for you going into this issue besides for The Fan still being out and about and probably causing havoc in our heroes' lives. Let's jump into this issue and see what the Justice League have to do now that they have a Watchtower down. Let's check it out.

Spelunking in Space

Writer: Jon Rivera

Cover & Interior Artist: Michael Avon Oeming

Colorist: Nick Filardi

Back-Up Artist: Paul Maybury

Letterer: Clem Robins

Variant Cover: Christian Ward

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: March 21, 2018

-->After a year of multiverse-hopping and fighting in the Milk Wars, returning to a normal life of digging and cave-diving just isn’t the same for explorer Cave Carson. Sure, he’s got his podcast, family and that cybernetic eye, but reminiscing about times gone by isn’t the same as living. Luckily for Cave Carson and his daughter Chloe, they’re about to get sucked into an all-new adventure—literally—when they go spelunking in a black hole! But what’s caused this black hole to appears and what’s its connection to the intergalactic music sensation Star Adam?

Cave Carson and the Crew are back in action, and this time they're going above ground--WAY above ground! Have a gander at some preview pages, right here!

Written By: Tim Seeley

Art By: V. Ken Marion, Sandu Florea, Dinei Ribeiro, Dave Sharpe

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

“INHUMAN TRAFFICKING” part four! As Simon and Jess try to ward off the encroaching members of the Order of the Steed, High Rider Grieva enacts her plan with the Earth heroes. With the power of hundreds of superheroes coursing through their leader, the Order of the Steed make their final march against the universe!

Written By: Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi

Art By: Patrick Gleason, Joe Prado, Stephen Downer, Rob Leigh

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

“BOYzarro RE-DEATH” part two! What do you get when you try to fit a boy from a square planet into a round one? Boyzarro! Superboy and Kathy try to keep the lid on their Bizarro-sized can of worms as Boyzarro tears a rage-filled path of destruction from Metropolis to Hamilton and beyond! But what happens when Superman and Bizarro find out what their kids have been up to?

Written By: Tom King

Art By: Mikel Janin, Hugo Petris, June Chung, Clayton Cowles

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

“Everyone Loves Ivy” part three! The quest to end Ivy’s domination heads toward a close, but can Batman offer Ivy redemption on the other side of this crime? It’s an epic showdown between the Caped Crusader and one of his most popular foes, brought to you by the creative team behind “The War of Jokes and Riddles.”

Written By: Christopher Priest

Art By: Philippe Briones, Jeremy Cox, Willie Schu

Cover Price: $2.99

Release Date: March 21, 2018

“JUSTICE LOST” part two! What does justice mean in a lawless world? This is the question the team must struggle with when the League finds itself trapped between warring factions, helpless refugees and mercenaries with advanced weaponry, all manipulated by Deathstroke’s frenemy the Red Lion. Meanwhile, Batman forces a showdown between himself and the League’s biggest fan.

Written by: James Tynion
Art by: Freddie Williams II, Jeremy Colwell, and Tom Napolitano
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 21, 2018

A Venom-charged Donnie wages a brutal, one-Turtle war on the Foot Clan. Batman has to stop him and remind him of who he really is; someone who uses smarts—not brawn—to take down the bad guys. Damian and Raphael pay a visit to the Lazarus Pit to try and help a wounded Splinter. Then Batman tries to turn a former foe into an ally as part of a desperate attempt to finally end the reign of Bane.

Navigation

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Friday, March 23, 2018

Test Run

Long Live Rock n' Roll

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Letting Go of the Lost Year

Damage #3 Review

Oh, That Bizarro Talk!

Religious Rumble

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

What Happened To Johnny?

Watchtower Down