Rebirth Rewind: Green Lanterns #14 (2017) Review

THE PHANTOM LANTERN: PART FIVE (CONCLUSION)

Released: January 4th, 2017

Writers: Sam Humphries

Pencils: Eduardo Pansica, Ronan Cliquet

Inks: Julio Ferreira, Ronan Cliquet
Colors: Blond

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Cover Price: $2.99

After taking a few weeks off from this for the holidays, I'm finally wrapping up my Rebirth Rewind reviews of the Green Lanterns "Phantom Lantern" arc. It could be my last weekend "retro review" for awhile now because I'm going to be putting a lot of focus on getting stuff done around the house on weekend nights. We moved into this house just about a month after this issue was released and two months before our youngest kid was born. That's three years. Three years and we still haven't gotten around to a lot of the "settling in" stuff, and I intend to do just that after the rascals are finally sleeping.

So, sorry Jim and the GFC, but I might be suspending the retro reviews until the Hill House books are over. But who knows? I could find myself with the time to sneak them in anyways. Now with that out of the way... let's proceed!

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #2 Review

Writer: Kami Garcia
Artist: Mico Suayan, Mike Mayhew
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020


Returning to the Black Label world of Criminal Sanity, the stakes are rising.  Harleen Quinzel is tasked with finding out who is devastating Gotham with these horrific murders before the killer strikes again.  Is Harleen getting too involved in this case?  Will she find the killer in time?  Is the killer the Joker?  Come on.  The last question was rhetorical.  (Refer to the book title.)

Detective Comics #1018 Review

Old Saint Wayne

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi

Artist: Scott Godlewski
Colors: David Baron
Letters: Rob Leigh

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 1st, 2020

With one Norse ax hacking away in Basketful of Heads we've got another doing the same here in Detective Comics #1018, which starts off the story arc called "Dead of Winter".

Batgirl #42 Review

Fighting Against Yourself

Writer: Cecil Castellucci
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Jordie Bellaire, and Andworld Design
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020

Well, it looks like I will be taking over the Batgirl review duties for a bit now which is fine with me since Babs is one of my favorite characters.  That being said, I am not a fan of the Oracle/Year of the Villain story at all and just want it to end.  It looks like I will be getting my wish, but only in this book since the Oracle robot will be shifting over to the big Hell Arisen story instead of just being shut down and put in the old robot junkyard where it belongs.  It's bad enough these robots tell what I want to watch and eat, now they are taking over the comic books as well?  To hell with that,  we need to step up and stop it before it's too late!  Here comes the review...

Red Hood: Outlaw #41 Review

About A Boy

Written By: Scott Lobdell

Art By: David Messina, Rex Lokus, Troy Peteri

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 1, 2020

Class is in session with Red Hood: Outlaw now that our hero has seen Bizarro and Artemis back from an alternate dimension, but it appeared as if they didn't come back happy because in the previous issue their first act was to knock Jason Todd out.  Beyond that though, The Block seems to be on lock down as Shay Veritas can't be found, while a gaggle of her clones builds some ominous machine and Devour found some creepy boy walking around the complex.  Yeah, there's a lot going on in this book and hopefully this issue makes it all more interesting than it's been.  Let's jump into this issue and check it out.

Lois Lane #7 Review

Sex, Lies And Hotel Escapes

Written By: Greg Rucka

Art By: Mike Perkins, Gabe Eltaeb, Simon Bowland

Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020

Now that General Sam Lane's funeral is over, it's time to get back to this series' story...... or get back to one of the many that's going on because it really feels like this series has ADD and can't just focus on one thing before throwing us face first into something new and usually... less interesting.  Yeah, that's a lot of smack talk right there, but I haven't been a fan of this series and I'm just desperately trying to find something to grasp onto and find something that I find enjoyable here and hopefully this issue is the one to do it...... Hopefully.  Let's jump into this issue and check it out.

Batman Beyond #39 Review

Blight Fight

Written By: Dan Jurgens

Art By: Inaki Miranda, Chris Sotomayor, Travis Lanham

Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020

The mystery of the Batwoman continues this issue as Terry McGinnis is still missing in the city, stricken with amnesia and running from the police, who believe that he's a murderer.  Yeah, things are crazy in Neo Gotham right now, but the big problem is that crazy doesn't always mean interesting because the main premise of this series recently is Terry on the streets not knowing who he is and Bruce Wayne and Matt McGinnis betting that they know who the Batwoman is, which means they'll just keep saying Barbara Gordon or Melanie Walker over and over again.  Let's jump into this issue and see if things change, especially since Blight has made his return to Neo Gotham.  Let's check it out.

The Flash #85 Review and *SPOILERS*

Hurry It Along

Written By: Joshua Williamson
Art By: Christian Duce, Luis Guerrero
Letters By: Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The Flash has really hit its groove in the most recent storyline. Sure, it’s a little over the top but it’s something new that we haven’t really seen from the Flash before. Add into that the fact that Williamson is taking these new interactions in a way that I wasn’t expecting and this story is really blowing us away. I’m really excited to see where it takes us. Some of the Rogues have teamed up with our heroic speedsters and they plan on gathering the pieces of the mirror in order to bring an end to Cold’s reign. However, he’s desperately clinging to power, willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to his control. So, what will happen when these two come head to head? Let’s jump into this issue and see where it takes us.

Action Comics #1018 Review

Mish Mash

Written By: Brian Michael Bendis

Art By: John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Brad Anderson, Dave Sharpe

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 1, 2020

It's time to head on back to Metropolis to see what Brian Michael Bendis has in store for us as The Truth is about to rear its ugly head into Action Comics, not to mention all the background nonsense that we've already gotten that never seems to be resolved, only pushed aside so that we can move onto something new.  That something new right now is the Legion of Doom attacking the Justice League and a bunch of other heroes for some reason, even though it seems like they've got their hands full with what's going on in Justice League.  Time is weird in comics though so maybe this will work out as it does seem to take place before a lot of the current Justice/Doom War, but even that idea raises some problems.  Either way, let's jump into this comic and see what's what.  

Justice League Dark #18 Review

Dungeons & Dragons

Written By: James Tynion IV

Art By: Alvaro Martinez Bueno, Raul Fernandez, Brad Anderson, Rob Leigh

Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020

The war for magic rages on between our Justice League Dark and the Legion of Doom Dark........ not to mention the Upside Down Man, who's just hanging out in the Collective Unconscious, creeping the hell out of Wonder Woman and Witchfire.  Previously, we saw our JLD team realize that Circe was in Diana's body and made sure that the impostor wasn't able to unleash Eclipso, while also locking themselves in the Hall of Justice magical vault.  Time's running out though as the baddies are breaking down the door.  Let's jump into this issue and see if our heroes will be able to win the day.  Let's check it out.