Review: DC Vs. Vampires #12

DC Vs. Vampires #12 came out this week, ending this series ... in a way. Yes, this volume is over. But the book ends wide open for a sequel. And given the side books that have sprung from this, I expect we will see more. Will I see more? I am on the fence.

The story here, as written by James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg, is troubling because plot wrinkles and surprises have been thrown into the mix in these last couple of issues. But when you know those things exist in this world, you wonder why they haven't been utilized before. Why would Barbara have sunlight weapon technology only be used in Gotham instead of everywhere? Why would Ollie resurrect Swamp Thing in the prison and not before in the hero headquarters? In this issue, you will see that there are even more things introduced at the last minute that weaken the story. Mary Marvel? Sunlight bombs? Where were these elements before?

The other issue I have with the story is the 180 of Babs Gordon. How do we get from main protagonist to main antagonist in one issue? As much as Supergirl being a nonfactor in this book irked me, this irked me more. Babs doing a heel turn after some rather purple prose with Nightwing? That's wrong. 

One thing that hasn't disappointed is the art. Otto Schmidt's style is wild and well suited for the book. It has just enough of a surreal feel to it to jump off the page. 

But in the end, I have to think this book sort of failed. The story and the plots don't make a ton of sense, especially when read in one sitting. The fact that it feels truly like a first chapter also feels like the marketing was a feint.

On to the book.

2022 In Review: Best Of Supergirl Comic Moments #10-#6

Welcome to day two of my look back at the year 2022 and Supergirl. 

Yesterday, I took a look at the non-comic Supergirl news for the past year as well as the Honorable Mentions for the best comic moments of the year.

Today we begin the look at the top ten Supergirl moments in comics for 2022. I'll cover numbers ten through 6 today and the top 5 tomorrow! As I mentioned yesterday, Supergirl fans have to be pleased that our favorite hero has been shining in World's Finest and Action Comics. So you should expect a healthy dose of both of those titles in this list. Both of those titles have really been stellar this year.

And I'll reiterate that Zala, the Supergirl analogue in Dark Knights of Steel, is not included in this list. I very much like that book. It is worth reading with the best Harley Quinn I have read in a while. 

On to the list!

2022 In Review: Best Of Supergirl Honorable Mentions And Non-Comic Stuff

Welcome to day 1 of 3 of my end of year review about Supergirl and the site. 

What a difference a year makes! 

Look back at last year's review (here and here),  you'll be reminded that 2021 was a tough year for Supergirl. The television show was canceled. The main book was Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow, a comic that was beautifully rendered but was a terrible take on the character. 

This year, I got to read two comic books that featured a Supergirl that I truly wanted to read. Mark Waid's Batman/Superman World's Finest showcases a wonderful Supergirl, a strong, pro-active. competent, bright, and caring. We also get to read a Supergirl in Phillip Kennedy Johnson's Action Comics, where Kara is a leader within the El family, a voice in the room, and again a competent hero. Two books!!

Add to that, Supergirl plays an important role in DC Vs. Vampires book. She was a wonderful addition in the World Of Krypton mini-series as well. 

That's a lot of solid Supergirl in 2022. I cannot complain.

I'll say that I hoped she would play a bigger role in Dark Crisis, although her last minute stepping in for Mary Marvel made it unlikely. Also given the muddle nature of that book, it is probably a blessing.

And I'll say up front that I did not include Zala, the Kara analogue in Dark Knights of Steel in this review because technically it isn't our Supergirl. 

Okay, now some business. This will be a three day review because I want to make sure I give all the top ten moments some space to breathe. Today I'll review some non-comic stuff as well as the honorable mentions. Then over the next two days I'll count down the best of the best.

On to the year review!

Review: DC Vs. Vampires #11

DC Vs. Vampires #11 came out last week, the penultimate issue of a series which has stretched my suspension of disbelief the longer it has gone on. 

Writers James Tynion and Matthew Rosenberg have created a world where vampires have utterly taken over the world. But some of the logic doesn't make great sense. Blotting out the sun will work so the vamps can work 24/7. It also would make plant life impossible to grow. How can humans, the vamires livestock, live without food? How can Swamp Thing remain incredibly powerful? Why isn't the world a frozen wasteland? 

Take away that main issue which bothers me like a popcorn kernel stuck in a tooth, you have the overall narrative. There are three separate plotlines. One, Green Arrow is trying to free a human farm in Kansas. Why Hawkman, the vampire lord there, hasn't simply killed Ollie is a mystery. Two, Babs is heading into Gotham to face down Dick Grayson, king of vampires. It is a '6 against a city' battle which seems like a suicide mission ... except Babs has been hiding Vamp-killing ordinance. Why not give it to the main army fighting the vampires? Why hide it? Lastly, Supergirl is on her way to Australia to get into a rocket to head above the clouds. Here we learn that aliens are helping the vamps so they can get off-world. They aren't suitable cattle ... that is, except Martians.

As the last few issues, this one rolls along quickly. You can't think too hard about this world without it unraveling for its lack of internal logic. At least this time Supergirl gets to do something instead of just cowering in the background.

The art by Otto Schmidt is quite nice. I feel Schmidt has amped up the rough or sketchy aspect of his work here. Guillem March's cover is very scratchy for him but it apes Schmidt's work well enough.

On to the book.

Review: DC Vs. Vampires #10

DC Vs. Vampires #10 came out last week, inching us closer to the end of this series.

As has been the case with this book, we are basically following three different subplots as it winds through this horrific world. Batgirl is leading an attack squad into Gotham to kill Dick. Ollie is trying to free people from a blood farm in Smallville. And Steel is doing his best to get Supergirl to Australia hoping to get her above the clouds and into the sun.

Writers James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg keep the book plugging along, switching back and forth from  one plot to the other and keeping them all moving forward. There are some questionable plot points here, things which don't make much sense even in the context of a comic book world. But for the most part, it is enjoyable. I keep hoping we'll get something heroic out of Supergirl before the book ends. And I have enjoyed the insanity of Harley Quinn here.

The art by Otto Schmidt is at his most stylized and wild. It crackles along very well. For me, the Gotham pages work the best for his look. I have said before that I'd buy a Batgirl or Birds of Prey book by him. 

I do like the Kara The Vampire Slayer variant cover by Nathan Szerdy. 

On to the book.

Review: DC Vs. Vampires #9

DC Vs. Vampires #9 came out last week marking the halfway point of the second arc of this book. As this second arc has Supergirl as a main character and ... gasp ... a hero I felt the need to grab it and review.

I have admitted in the past that books like this or zombie titles don't usually get my attention. I am probably not the target audience here. But I will also admit that I am a sucker for Elseworlds and that I have been enjoying this book so far.

Writers James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg are doing what they should do in books like this, introducing us to the broader DCU in the context of this vampiric wasteland. Now I didn't read the first 6 issues so I don't know how or why so many heroes got turned to the dark side. But I like the ragtag group of uninfected heroes who are still trying to save the world. Steel, Jayna, Green Arrow, Batgirl, and a depowered Supergirl sort lead different factions on different quests. There is a very nice surprise in the middle of the issue which I didn't foresee which also made me happy. 

Perhaps the one thing that I worry about is that there are three very different plot lines happening in this book meaning each issue is sort of sliced into thirds. I am far more interested in the Batgirl and Supergirl plots than I am the Green Arrow one and so I wonder if so many plot lines are too many for a book this length. 

I love the art as well. Guillem March's covers are horrific and dynamic. I loves seeing Supergirl front and center fighting fanged Atlantean warriors. Otto Schmidt is on interior art and brings his somehow both loose and polished look to the inside. I really like his work.

All three plots are nudged along in this issue so let's get to the details.

Review: DC Vs. Vampires #8

DC Vs. Vampires #8 came out last week but I am just getting to the review right now. 

This is a 12 issue series seemingly told in two halves so we are in the second issue of this leg. While the first issue put the players on the board, this issue moves them into position. We end with a clear idea of three plot lines that will be moving forward. I think that sort of set-up needs 2 issues to get to where we are and so I'm glad we didn't rush. I think it is crazy for a human army as small as remains on Earth to split itself into thirds. But the characters leading these plots all spell out their reasons well enough.

Writers James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg clearly have a good grasp on these characters as everyone feels right. Ollie and Dinah are clearly in love but in disagreement. Barbara can't get Nightwing out of her mind. And Supergirl has just the right mix of inexperience and confidence, that fine line she needs to walk, that it all works.

The art by Otto Schmidt is wonderful. There is a sort of grindhouse rawness to it that works. The fight scenes are appropriately monstrous. And yet, there also romance scenes and more poignant scenes that soften and shine off the page. I love his work.

On to the book.

Review: DC Vs. Vampires #7

Anj reading 'DC vs Vampires'.

A sentence I never thought would be true.

To be honest, the whole zombie craze came and went without me ever getting interested. So books like this never really grab my attention. And when I saw that most of the super-heroes I care about  were turned into vampires, I actively looked away. 

And that is crazy because the creative team of writers James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg as well as artist Otto Schmidt are all creators I trust. These are people I usually follow to projects.

So what changed?

Well, the solicits did their job, playing up the role Supergirl is going to have in the second half of this miniseries. And it sported Kara on the cover. With now Supergirl solo title on the market, I am looking for content. So why not give it a shot.

This was a pretty fun issue. Tynion and Rosenberg must have known this would be  jumping on point because they give us a quick and efficient recap. We don't need all the details, just the broad strokes. The world is plunged in darkness, overrun by heroes and villains turned into vampires and running the world like their own little blood farm. We also get a solid action piece where we see just how powerful the threat is as a bunch of c-listers get taken out pretty easily. But best of all, we get to see how important Supergirl is ... not only to the physical fight against the vamps but to the morale of the world. Incredible. It is an excellent opening chapter.

Schmidt's art is wonderul. It somehow walks the fine line. It is minimalist but complicated. His line work is fine and his expressive work is fantastic. The Supergirl in the book is haggard and depowered. I look forward to seeing her drawn by him when she is restored.

Good Supergirl stuff!

So it looks like I'm in for this mini-series back end. On to the issue.

Bullet Review: Hell Arisen #4

Hey!!!

New comics!!!

As strange as it seems given the more recent history, my comic story was sort of open this week! I was able to get new comics, including the print versions of Lois Lane #10 and Jimmy Olsen #10 which I purchased digitally during the closure of the stores during the pandemic.

And look at that fat stack! Hooray for me!

Tucked into all this new goodness was Hell Arisen #4, a book I threw in my pull folder prior to the store closing. But I forgot that I had held it aside and didn't purchase it way back in March. As a result, it sat there festering.

But this was the ending of Kara's infection and I felt I need to read it to complete that story in my head.

I did not get the first three issues of this. So I don't know much. I do know that between Justice League and Batman/Superman I knew enough of the concurrent Perpetua and Batman Who Laughs storylines that I was glad reconciling the two competing plots in one book.

Or were they?

Turns out that this mini-series ends as the prologue for the upcoming Death Metal mini-series. Nothing is necessarily ending here.

At the very least, the infections are over. But does the solution make sense? Perhaps someone who did read the beginning of this series can answer that for me.

On to a quick Supergirl-centric bullet review.

Hell Arisen: Lobo Vs. Supergirl

Welcome to day one of a brief tour of negativity.

I knew that at the back of the books was a preview of Amy Reeder's Amethyst book and I was excited to see what that book was going to look like. I have been calling for Reeder to do an Amethyst book since 2015.

Unfortunately, before I got to that preview, I was faced with this.

It turns out that the there is going to be an issue of Hell Arisen at the end of the month where the infected Supergirl will take on Lobo in 'the brawl for it all'. I like what James Tynion has done at Justice League Dark. I like Steve Epting's realistic art so I wonder how that will work here with these two garish characters.

Now I admit I am not enjoying Year of the Villain. I am not enjoying this infected Supergirl. I am not enjoying anything with the Batman Who Laughs. So I know this book isn't being written for me.

But I can't help but be a bit bummed that the only time DC seems to be promoting Supergirl is when she is somehow going down a dark path.

The last full ad was when Marc Andreyko took over. It showed Supergirl wielding Rogol Zaar's axe. Now we have the pro wrestler look of the Infected Kara blazing fire from her eyes.

Will I get this issue to help be follow Kara's story? Probably.

I can only hope that when this infected phase of the story ends that DC does Supergirl a solid and promotes her solo book.

And I can only hope that all this darkness goes away.

Quick Peek At Justice League #30

The current Justice League title has been a rather interesting, almost 'over the top' book where every issue so far has been a world/universe/multiverse crisis in the making. Writer Scott Snyder and sometime co-writer James Tynion IV have really been keeping the gas pedal pressed to the floor with cosmic threats from beyond, artifacts of incredible power, and mind-blowing concepts about the origins of the DCU.

It has been somewhat hard to follow at times. A lot of the ideas are presented with a sort of 'roll with it' laissez-faire attitude. You either let the plots wash over you and buy into it or you get irritated at the lack of cohesive sense and story-telling.

For me, and I might say for once, I am in the former category, not the latter. I don't think I could elegantly tell you who Perpetua is, why a doorknob in a Legionnaire's hall is the most powerful known item in the DCU, what weapons the Legion of Doom has, or what is happening.

All I know is the heroes seem nervous that they might not win this time. And that alone has me invested in the ride.

One page in this week's Justice League #30 stood out though, for a couple of reasons.

With the universe and perhaps the multiverse in jeopardy, the League gathers all the super-heroes they can find and deputize them.

That's right. Everyone is now officially a member of the Justice League. Because when it hits the fan, the heroes will need every strong right arm they can get.

I love these sorts of pages. I love when Superman is looked on as this inspirational leader, able to muster up an army with his words alone. Snyder has really let Superman shine in this book and that makes me happy. That alone might make me showcase this page.

But there were a couple of details worth highlighting.

Review: Year of the Villain

It seems like every other year since Dan Didio took over DC has been labeled (or at the very least feels like) The Year of the Villain. From the overall tone of the DCU to an event like 'Forever Evil' to 'Future's End', we seem to have had a darkening and a coarsening of the heroes of the DC Universe for about a decade. And just when you think things were getting better, just when Rebirth sort of reset things in a brighter and more classic way, the pendulum swings back.

So I wasn't too surprised, given these last years, to find that we literally have a Year of the Villain event in the DC books coming up. Scott Snyder is bring in Perpetua, the Anti-Monitor's mother, to rewrite reality. Brian Michael Bendis is ripping apart the political landscape in Event Leviathan. And the Batman who Laughs is lurking around every corner it seems.

This week a teaser of all those events came out for the small price of two bits. DC's Year of the Villain Special #1 hit the stands with stories from each of those writers whetting our appetite for the major plotlines around the corner. Add luscious art by Jim Cheung, Alex Maleev, and Francis Manapul and you have a great bargain for comic readers. Throw in a few articles and process art in the back and you basically have a steal.

For me, this already feels a little different than those prior peeks into the minds of the bad guys. The Leviathan story feels very fresh and looks like it is going to impact everyone. The Perpetua story is a Crisis-level event which probably will have the grandest of scopes. I just don't think I am going to see a ton of hands being chopped off here, a sort of marker I have for what mess I am in for. This seems better.

Too be honest, the Leviathan arc is the one I am most interested in. I have theories. So I will be covering that mini-story the most here. On to the book and a reiteration of my theory.

Review: Justice League #8

I have been pretty pleased with the recent Justice League comic, written by Scott Snyder with art from Jorge Jimenez and Jim Cheung. It is an often confusing, universe shaking, wildly imaginative story that often leaves me perplexed and breathless.

What has been interesting is the plan to intermittently have an issue be dubbed Legion of Doom, written by James Tynion IV, and focusing on a villain. It is a chance to take a breath, slow down, and see life from the other side of the fence.

Justice League #8 is mostly about Lex Luthor, the leader of the villains and the one most in the spotlight for the earlier arcs and his conversation with The Batman Who Laughs. We get some of the League. We get some of the other LOD. But mostly it is these two talking in half-truths, each trying to be the smartest guy in the room. Thankfully, there is some plot progression at the end.

This was my least favorite issue of the run. It is probably because I didn't read Metal and have no idea who this Batman Who Laughs is. Tynion does a good job of painting the picture that he is exceedingly powerful and dangerous. But he is basically an unknown to me. So his talk with Luthor didn't carry the punch I think it would for others more informed.

That said, Mikel Janin is on art and is wonderful. His art is slick and gratifying. Everything kind of has a sheen to it, detailed and expressive. This title is one of the prettiest on the stands.

And, as I said, more clues get added to the mix.

On to the book.

Review: Justice League #5

Justice League #5 came out last week, a sort of rest issue by writer James Tynion IV and Doug Mahnke delving deep into the formation of the Legion of Doom. I don't know if the change in creative team was to give artists Jim Cheung and Jorge Jimenez some breathing room to get ahead or of it was planned all along. The good news is the change in team didn't interrupt the flow of the book.

One of the things that I have liked about this title so far is how insanely fast things are proceeding. There are a lot of big comic book ideas being thrown about in this book and as readers we haven't had much time to digest them. We certainly haven't been given a ton of exposition to explain them.

This issue, at the very least, gives us a little bit of a pause. While new wrinkles are introduced, this is basically backstory for what is happening now. And, despite my love of the breakneck pace earlier, this felt like a cleansing deep breath. Whew ... now I know some whys and hows behind Luthor's shenanigans.

Tynion rolls out the story in a serious of flashbacks and forwards so keeping track of when we are was as important as where. He seems to have a good grasp of Lex and his motivations. And we do get valuable knowledge.

I've been praising Doug Mahnke for years here. Suffice it to say, he brings his usual excellence to the book. In particular, the future scenes we get are done very well, offbeat and weird.

So sit down and catch your breath Justice League readers!

Justice League: No Justice #4

Justice League No Justice #4 came out this week, wrapping up an extremely fast-paced miniseries where different teams need to fend off universal energies and Omega Titans. It was a fun, quick read showcasing a cross-section of the DC Universe. Interestingly enough, Green Arrow came out as as the biggest hero, holding his own as a force of justice.

It also planted the seeds for future comics including a new Justice League, a cosmic League, and even (it seems) a new Outsiders team. For me, the biggest bang in the book was the return of Vril Dox. If you set the WABAC machine, you will hear my love of the fascist hero back in my R.E.B.E.L.S. reviews. So for a book I barely was able to follow (I didn't read Metal), I have to give this miniseries a thumbs up.

Mostly.

Of course, this is a Supergirl blog, so I kept wondering where Supergirl was. I didn't expect her to have a big part in the book, but the interlude story in  DC Nation #0  made me think she would have some role, perhaps as a last guardian at the gate, trying to hold of the Omegas until the heroes arrived.

Alas, that didn't happen.

DCNation #0: No Justice Bullet Review

DC Nation #0 came out last week, a bargain at a quarter because it sets up three major new storylines in three of DC biggest properties. I knew I was going to review part of it at the very least. My thoughts on the Brian Michael Bendis/Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez story were posted a couple of days ago here.

I wasn't planning on covering any of the other stories because I don't always read Batman and I hadn't read Justice League Metal so I didn't think I had the background to cover the No Justice story by the deep team of talent comprised of writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson with art by Jorge Jimenez. But the appearance of Supergirl made a couple of people reach out to me for coverage. And so here we are.

This will be a bit of a bullet review so don't expect too too much. My plan here is to look at each team and then cover the Kara spot. Onto the story.

Review: Batman #20 Back-Up Feature

Batman #20 came out last week, finishing the two part back-up story featuring Superman and Batman.

Writer James Tynion IV and artist Alex Maleev grabbed me with the first part, showcasing how deep Superman and Batman's friendship is as they battle a demon.

It is one of the conundrums of the New 52. The 'age of heroes' started 5 or 6 years ago. A lot has happened in between those initial adventures and now. As readers, we have no idea just what sort of friend Superman and Batman are. My sense of it is based on older universes and prior relationships. They certainly haven't seemed like chums in their interaction in Justice League.

So in these brief pages, I was impressed with how Tynion is able to convey how close these two are. And I like a DCU where Superman and Batman are allies and friends.

As I said last month, Alex Maleev is the perfect artist for this story with its insane demonic presence and the grimy, slimy pit it lives in. His stuff shines here.

Last month we saw a soul-sucking Will O' The Wisp, squatting in a Gotham apartment, laying waste to any who entered. We also met the ghost of the young girl who helped summon this thing. With her ghost safe in a magic circle drawn on the floor, the Wisp is bound to apartment. And with each soul it drinks, it gets stronger.

I like how Batman seems to be watching this fight like a boxing match and warning Superman not to get killed. You would think Batman would join in somehow! It turns out he decides that information will be more powerful than batarangs and so he talks to the girl.

I do find Tynion's take on Superman and magic interesting. It seems to be like Kryptonite, weakening him just by being nearby. I wonder if this idea will carry forward.

As I said above, the real juice for me in this story wasn't this magic battle but in the exploration of the heroes' friendship. As Batman tries to get information from the ghost, he talks about how great a friend and a man Superman is. Superman is here because he cares about Batman. And Batman counts him among his closest friends. Nice.

It also shows the perseverance of Superman as he continues to fight even as he is dying.

I just this whole part of the story, showcasing all this is great about Superman, showing Batman's deductive skills, telling us about their friendship, it all worked very well.

The girl tells Batman where the summoning spell is so Batman can form some counter-spell. There is some excellent Uber-Bat moments here, like him lighting the candles for the spell with a flaming batarang and his knowing enough Gallic language to say the spell (even if he needs to confirm the Gallic word for expel with Superman).

Only Batman would know Gallic ... just in case.

The spell cast, the Wisp disappears. And with the Wisp gone, the girl's hold on this world, even in ghostly form, also wanes. She fades away.

But not before she tells Superman to take care of Batman. She even calls Batman 'sweet'.

It is true that Batman's dialogue with her was more emotional than I am used to seeing him. But it fits with the context of the story and Damien's death.

And that sort of softening of Batman continues. With the threat gone, Batman lowers his defenses a little. He thanks Superman for coming to check in; he recognizes what Superman was doing and appreciates it. It again shows just how deep the friendship is here, but in a subtle way. And that 'showing' rather than 'telling' is always the sign of a superior story.

This was a great story all the way around - writing and art, a perfect mesh.

With Batman/Superman around the corner, I look forward to more stories of the original World's Finest.

Overall grade: A

Review: Batman #19

It seems like I dropped the ball when the New 52 was announced. I did not pick up Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. So it should come as some surprise that the Batman #19 is the first issue of the run that I have bought and, interestingly enough, it was because of the back-up story.

I had heard via Scott Snyder's twitter that Superman guest-starred in the back-up feature and since classic World's Finest stories haven't been common in the DCnU, I figured I would pick up the book. Sure, Superman and Batman both star in Justice League. But we haven't seen them one on one.

Ghost Lights was written by James Tynion IV with great art by Alex Maleev. I haven't read anything by Tynion before although I have heard good things about his work. I applaud his use of the supernatural in this story as it puts Batman and Superman on a more even playing field. And I love Alex Maleev's art. His dark inks work very well with the story.

But most of all, I liked the interaction between Superman and Batman in this story. They clearly are friends. And their personalities shine.

The story opens with the Gotham police surrounding an apartment building. People are dead in one of the apartments. Those who enter the building to investigate don't come out.

These GCPD officers are drawn to the apartment by a ghostly light which leads them to the door. Only one escapes, shrieking about the horror he has seen.

Batman, of course, have been scoping things out. Superman arrives.

I love the fact that Superman has been calling Batman and comes in person to check on his friend. Damien is dead. Superman is checking on Batman to make sure he is okay, the way good friends would. It is what Superman would do.

And I like how Batman doesn't even let Superman finish the sentence. It feels like Batman doesn't even want to think about it right now, instead burying himself in work. He doesn't even want to hear the word Damien.

This interaction alone made me glad I bought the story.

The two enter the building and are also led to the apartment by the ghost light. I like how Tynion mixes in some Smallville into the conversation, again showcasing just the tiniest bit the differences in the heroes.

He also showcases how the supernatural effects Superman. His vision powers are definitely off, unable to focus or concentrate on the more eerie aspects of this adventure.

Entering the apartment, the two are greeted by a ghost surrounded by dead bodies (including hers). The floor is covered with magic symbols and circles. Again, Superman's vision is worthless here unable to focus on her in any way.

I am somewhat surprised how matter-of-fact all of this is for them. Piles of corpses and a ghost ... no biggie. Let's ask her some questions.

She lets them know what they are up against, pointing to the ceiling.

Now you might think that either Superman or Batman, well-seasoned heroes, would look at the ceiling when they entered the room. Certainly this demon isn't camouflaged in any way. But that would have eliminated the conversation with the girl ghost and the nice 'look up' moment she got the page before. I suppose we can chalk this up to artistic license. Or the supernatural. Or both.

One thing I am glad about? That this demon isn't a Cthulhu knockoff. It seems like every demon these days needs innumerable tentacles. They should take other forms like this  nasty giant mouth with eye-stalks. This looks more like something from John Carpenter's The Thing than H.P. Lovecraft.

Anyways, it was tremendous to see Superman find Batman to talk to him about Damien. And this adventure seems like a nice fun way to show how the two interact outside of JL meetings.

Definitely worth reading.

Overall grade: A