Boston Comic-Con Is One Week Away

The re-scheduled Boston Comic-Con is happening a week from today and I am so psyched to be able to go. The 'new' show feels even bigger than the one original planned for early April that was derailed by terrorism. Here is the link to the show: http://www.bostoncomiccon.com/

As always, I am interesting in grabbing commissions, meeting and chatting with creators, grabbing some autographs, and attending some panels.

Here are the commission plans:

I have lined up a commission with Aaron Lopresti, an artist whose work I have always loved, especially his run on Wonder Woman with Gail Simone. This was a huge win for me as Lopresti is someone I always hoped to meet and grab a sketch from.

I also lined up a commission with Joe Eisma whose work on Morning Glories has been spectacular. Can't
 wait to see his take on Supergirl.

With those two commissions lined up, it is sort of a crap-shoot as to who I will run into in time to get on their commission list. In the best of all possible worlds I would be able to get any 2 of the above 5 artists who will be attending: Mark Bagley, Phil Jimenez, George Perez, Amy Reeder, and J.K. Woodward. And there are so many others there who I would love to get. As with many things, time and money will be the constraints.

I will be running into Bagley and Woodward at other cons, so I may be able to hold off on them. I figure I will plop myself into George Perez's line first thing on Day Two in hopes of being near the beginning of his line of Sunday.

But outside of commission hopes, there is a lot for me do here. I would love to chat with Scott Snyder about Superman Unchained. I suspect his line will be out the back door. I would loooovvvee to talk to Dan Didio about Supergirl and the DCU in general. I would love to talk to Tony Daniel about his brief run on Action Comics. And one of my favorite creators of all time, Howard Chaykin, is coming back to Boston. On top of that there are some great panels planned and an original art auction too!

I have a bit more tech on my side this year so I may try to do more 'live' posting. We'll see if that is possible.

Hope to see some of you all there!

Boston Comic Con Wish List

We are just two weeks away from the Boston Comic Con and I am starting to pull books for signatures and plan my commission strategy for the con. The good thing about this year is that I will be able to attend both days which allows me a little more wiggle room to accomplish my goals.

This is the 'big one' in my convention season. I moonlight an extra shift to make the money to subsidize the weekend and I try to aim high with who I want to approach.

Here are the key targets and some strategy:

The Big Two:
I usually pick two main targets at this convention, the artist whose table I run to first to try and ensure of getting on their commission list. This year those targets are Mark Bagley and Aaron Lopresti.

I try to contact artists before conventions so I can make sure they are sketching, figure out pricing, and try to pencil myself into a spot on the list (no pun intended). Unfortunately, I have had no success in contacting Bagley. If anyone knows contact info please forward to me.

Bagley is probably most famous for his work with Marvel books. But I really loved his work with James Robinson on Justice League of America. Yes, I know there was Dark Supergirl in that book. But Supergirl was the muscle of the team, a relied on member who kicked the snot out of Ultraman.

I also will add that going into the book, I didn't consider myself a Bagley fan but over his run on JLA I slowly began to appreciate him more and more. I hope he will be doing commissions.

I have been a fan of Lopresti for a while. I really loved his work on Wonder Woman with Gail Simone. In particular, I loved the 'Ends of the Earth' arc which had Wonder Woman teaming up with the 70's DC Sword and Sorcery characters Claw, Beowulf, and Stalker.

I was able to contact Lopresti and have him pencil my name down on his commission list. Still have to get there early to complete the transaction, but at least he knows I am out there!

The Next Two:
It has been a long time since I left a convention with just 2 commissions. So the 'Next Two' are always artists whose work I love and who I want to get a commission from as much as the 'Big Two', it's just they are next on the list of who to run to, hoping they will have spots on their list.. This year Amy Reeder and Marcio Takara are 'the next two'.

Reeder has such a great style and draws such a beautiful and fluid Supergirl how can I not want something from her. I loved her covers during her stay on the book and thought her work on Madame Xanadu and Halloween Eve was slick. While I have a head sketch from her, it was obtained by a pal who went to the NYCC and is loose (not in a sketch book). I, of course, want to meet Reeder and hope to grab a sketch.

Reeder has said she won't be doing formal commissions but will be doing head sketches throughout the con so I hope that I can get to her table relatively early.

Marcio Takara has drawn The Incredibles, Blue Beetle, and this month's issue of The Flash. But it was seeing this Supergirl sketch online that convinced me that I needed to get something from him. I have my name on his convention sketch list and will drop off my sketch book as soon as I can. I think this piece is going to be fantastic.


The Long Shots:
There are always a couple of artists on the list who I would love to get a commission from but realize that there is almost no chance that it will come to fruition. Adam Hughes, J. Scott Campbell, Frank Quitely, and Frank Cho have all been on that list.

This year both George Perez and Amanda Conner are going to be at the convention. The chance of either doing commissions is low. The chance of me being able to get in their lines in time to get on the list if they are sketching is lower. The chance of me being able to afford sketches by them on the odd chance they are sketching and I am in line early enough is even lower. I just don't think it is going to happen, but I'll see.

I know he is most famous for drawing the issue where Supergirl died. But it is that connection that makes a Supergirl commission from Perez so appealing. Heck, I would probably get the headband Supergirl from him, breaking away from the 'Matrix style' costume that dominates my collection. Even a head sketch of the headband Supergirl would be fantastic.

My guess is the line for Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner is going to wrap around the building. I don't think Conner sketches any more at conventions. But I absolutely love her work. I love her Power Girl. I loved her Wednesday Comics Supergirl. I can grovel and show what a big Supergirl fan I am and see what happens. Even a 'quick sketch' would be tremendous.

And those are my main targets for the convention. There are lots of other artists there whose work I love and who knows who I will walk away with come the end of the convention. These things seldom work out as I plan.

Any one else going to be there?

Boston Comic Con 2013

The Boston Comic Con is the con I look forward to the most each year. It has grown exponentially over the last few years. It is in my back yard. And it gets more and better guests each year. I plan a lot of my convention slush funds around Boston knowing I will have to opportunity to get a bunch of great commissions.

Well, the con has released its preliminary guest list and I have to say it looks great. Already I feel like there a a number of 'must haves' when it comes to commissions. Here is the link to the early guests: http://www.bostoncomiccon.com/guests.html

And here are the folks I hope to run into for a commission already!

George Perez - Okay, I know that he drew Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, a book which took Kara Zor-El out of the DCU for 20 years. But how can I not try to get a commission from Perez! He's a legend! I can only hope he is doing sketches and that I can afford it.

I guess he'll be the table I run to first.

Mark Bagley- I really liked his Supergirl during the James Robinson run on Justice League of America. It's funny. JLA was the first I had seen of Bagley's work after having heard how great his work was. And at first I was underwhelmed.

But over the course of the run, I became more and more enamored of his work. I thought he drew a very nice Kara.

Dustin Nguyen - Not much to say here other than I love this guy's art and would think a Supergirl from him would be an unbelievable addition to my collection!

Amy Reeder - I already have a 'quick sketch' commission from Reeder (obtained by a buddy at a past NYCC) but I would love to get a more formal (?) or complete commission from Reeder. I love her style and I loved the recent Halloween Eve.

Amanda Conner - I know ... I know ... she doesn't sketch any more at conventions.

But maybe if I beg and plead?? Say 'pretty please'?
So four commission dreams (and an Amanda Conner pipe dream) already? And this list is probably going to quadruple in size. Hopefully, I'll manage to get a couple of these!

I do hope that the con takes the next step, bringing in writers and maybe getting some attention from comic companies, having them set up a booth.

My calendar's cleared. Hope to see you all there!

Review: Justice League of America #53

Justice League of America #53 also came out this week, another book starring Supergirl and marking the end of the Omega Man story. It also is the last issue that Mark Bagley will be providing art as he is heading back to Ultimate Spiderman. Who says you can't go home again!

This also continued the character exploration of Kara as Dark Supergirl. It seems just when Supergirl was stepping into a prominent role in the Justice League, acting as this team's Superman, she took a step backwards as Dark Supergirl. I have my worries about this direction. I wonder just how long Robinson plans to keep her in the black garb. I wonder how he will explain this manifestation ... and hopefully explain how and why it has gone away.

Lastly, I have said how much I have enjoyed Robinson writing 'big stories' for the League, how I think he is really challenging them with major planetary threats. The problem with big stories is that they need big endings and that can be tough.

On to the story.

The issue opens with Superwoman and Donna Troy slugging it out while a bemused Omega Man, Ultraman, and Supergirl watch.

I have wondered about Donna's character in this book. She has seemed belligerent and blood-thirsty. While I know she has always been a warrior, she has seemed almost unhinged here ... vicious and harsh.

Here, her inner monologue shows that she realizes it as well. She talks about how she is always angry even when she appears calm. She wants to have peace again; she wants to love again. But she can't.

I am glad that Robinson put in this little bit of introspection. This change in Donna's personality needed to be addressed in some way. At least this is a beginning. I like Donna a lot.

After a short time, Supergirl grows bored of watching them beat on each other and ends the fight by bashing them both unconscious.

Then she voices what it means to be Dark Supergirl. She is young, hot, and has the powers of a god. She wants to have fun. Ugh ... it sounds like the early stories from the Supergirl series all over again doesn't it. The Supergirl that didn't want to be a hero, didn't feel compelled to do good, and who wanted to rave dance or hang out at bars.

She isn't necessarily evil. She's just shallow.

I don't like this Supergirl at all, especially not in light of all the progress her character has made in her own title.

The villains scoop up the unconscious bodies of the Amazons and fly to where Batman and the rest of the League are holed up.

Last issue we saw Batman and the League team up with the CSA. It turns out that between issues, Batman has made a deal with the Omega Man. If the Omega Man spares the lives of the League members, Batman will bring down the force bubble surrounding the city.

When Jade pushes Batman on this plan, Dick talks about saving his own skin. It sounds completely wrong for the character, almost forced.

Turns out that Owlman has convinced Dick that the best plan of action is to fix the resurrection machine and drop the dome so that the collected heroes of the planet can bring the fight to the Omega Man.

It is admitting defeat, saying that this League can't win. It is exposing billions of people to extreme danger. It is, as Jade says, an act of cowardice and disgusting.

It also still doesn't sound like something a Batman would say, Bruce or Dick.

With the machine fixed, Batman prepares to dissipate the energy field around the city, when Owlman betrays the League, activating a neural impacter of some sort, paralyzing the heroes.

Even Ultraman and Superwoman are in on the plot. Turns out that Owlman has also wanted to survive and he felt the best way to do that was to team with Omega Man. By helping the Omega Man escape, Earth would be left untouched for the CSA to rule. Omega Man would drain the rest of the universe instead.

Owlman gloats, saying Dick has been outplayed from the beginning. I wonder if this was Owlman underestimating Dick's abilities. Would Owlman think that Bruce would be taken in so easily? I doubt it.

But it seems like it was actually a triple cross. That Batman knew what he was doing all along.

When the machine is turned on, it doesn't drop the force dome. Instead, it opens up a portal which sucks the Omega Man away.

It turns out that Dark Supergirl didn't betray the League at all. During the kiss she had with Batman last issue, Supergirl told him she would help the League for a favor in return.

And with that reveal, Supergirl blasts Ultraman with heat vision and throws him through the portal machine as well. In fact, the whole CSA is defeated by their League versions and removed from the Earth.

While I never get tired of seeing Supergirl pound on Ultraman, I am already getting a little tired of Dark Supergirl.

So how did this all happen?

With the CSA distracted, Batman had the Tangent Green Lantern use her powers to resurrect Alex Luthor, giving him a chance to redeem himself. Back amongst the living, he realizes that his doomsday energy field, the field which has manifested as the Omega Man, was a mistake. He needs to rectify it.

It shows good strategy by Batman, hiding the Green Lantern in plain sight, knowing he needed her abilities.

I also am glad that Alex Luthor, a hero of Crisis on Infinite Earths, was able to do this one last good deed. I was one of those people who wasn't happy that Alex was the villain of Infinite Crisis, sullying his heroism from COIE.

Alex knows how to defeat the energy and redesigned the machine to make the dark energy into a 'good' one, restoring life wherever it was taken from. It will cure all the worlds it has hurt. Only on the League's Earth will it remain a force of death (since here it has not been changed by the portal's energy).

The Tangent Green Lantern enters the portal and returns to her (presumably) reborn world.

It is a little too easy ... sort of a 'reverse the polarity' deus ex machina. That's the problem with near omnipotent villains. It is hard to write how they are defeated.

The energy dome around Washington D.C. is finally dropped and the League accepts the adulation of the super-hero community which is congregated there.

In some ways I think this was the main purpose of this arc for Robinson. This team has defeated a major villain and is now recognized globally as being the Justice League of America. They are worthy of that name.

And everything is all neat and wrapped up with a bow.

Except, despite the Omega Man's influence being gone, we still have Dark Supergirl. As I have said before, I will give Robinson a little bit of time with this concept, hoping it ends the right way. But I want plain old Supergirl acting in this League. I also wonder whether or not he will deal with the response of other heroes to this manifestation. Will we see Superman talk to her about it? You would think he would fly up to her immediately. In fact, given the last time she was dressed that way she almost killed the League on the moon, you think everyone would want to confront her about it. This isn't something that should just be accepted by her friends or family.

So Dark Supergirl's presence and the easy way Omega Man was defeated felt two low points in an otherwise pretty entertaining arc. And it doesn't look like this League will have time to catch their breath. Eclipso arrives next issue.

Mark Bagley's art seemed a notch below his normal work here, appearing rushed and rough in a good portion of the issue.

Overall grade: B

Review: Justice League Of America #52

Justice League #52 came out last week and was the third part of the Omega storyline. It also includes the beginning of Dark Supergirl as a recurring character in the book.

James Robinson continues to make this Justice League be a major player in the DCU. Their first real story together as a team was battling the chaos magic of the Starheart. Here we are dealing with another major universal threat. The Omega Man has been sweeping through universes, slaughtering all living things. And now he has manifested here. Add to that the Crime Syndicate, and you have the makings of a story that sort of feels like the old 'Crisis on Earth (fill in the blank)' stories that were an annual tradition in the old JLA comic.

It is all the more interesting because this isn't the JLA from those stories. This is a 'kinda sorta' Big 7, with versions of the trinity, GL, and the Flash here.

But for me, the thing that I was most interested in seeing here was Dark Supergirl. I had thought we had moved beyond the 'is she evil?' question around Kara, whether it was Jeph Loeb introducing the Dark Supergirl or Joe Kelly questioning Zor-El's motives for sending Supergirl to Earth. It also felt strange to see the black-garbed Supergirl on a cover so shortly after Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle's wonderful finale where Supergirl seemed in a healthier place, embracing her role as here.

All that said, it is a pretty powerful cover by Mark Bagley, showcasing Supergirl (albeit the Dark version) on one of DC's better selling comics.

Robinson continues to show that this Justice League is just as worthy of the moniker as any other version.

Jade has constructed an invulnerable globe of energy around Washington DC, keeping the Omega Man trapped within. It unfortunately means the JLA and CSA are also trapped inside with him. And all the other heroes of the DCU, they are trapped outside and are unable to help.

Within the dome, Donna and Jade are barely able to keep the Omega Man at bay, attacking and withdrawing. He also seems to be biding his time, awaiting for the right moment to attack full out.

And the citizens trapped inside the dome? Well, Jesse Quick is a nonstop dervish, moving people from one place to another so that they can't be found by the Omega Man. Remember, the Omega Man lives to feed, draining life. It is an amazing accomplishment that Jesse is able to do it.

Again, the theme of worthiness of being the Justice League is brought up subtly here. Jesse thinks of a time Wally evacuated a city ... so she should be able to do this. Even this League themselves are wondering if they are worthy. We have seen Dick question his own ability to lead as well. It is such an interesting character wrinkle. A lot of these Leaguers have been sidekicks or proteges. It feels natural that they might question if they can fill these big shoes.

I don't know if I quite grasp whay the Omega Man is.

It seems that the machine built by Dr. Impossible was supposed to resurrect Darkseid's spirit and place it into Impossible's colleague The Hunter. Instead it seems that machine somehow transferred the wave of destructive energy which is destroying Earth Two has somehow manifested inside Hunter. It has somehow gained a human consciousness.

So is the Omega Man's personality Hunter's? Or it's own?

And don't ask me how Bluejay knows all this.

And don't know if I quite know how the presence of the Omega Man's energy has corrupted Kara into Dark Supergirl again.

I like the subtle changes in Supergirl's uniform that Mark Bagley provides here, showing us she is Dark Supergirl again. So we again see the very cropped shirt top and the micro-micro-mini skirt. It is a small thing, but adds to the depth of the change. I am sure this will please some fans of the earliest issues of the Supergirl title.

It seems that James Robinson is using Dark Supergirl as a way to explore how Kara is dealing with the tragedy of New Krypton and War of the Supermen.

I suppose that this is one way that people respond to grief. You can either deal with it, working your way through it ... or you can remove all attachments to everything, become callous, and in that way become invulnerable, impervious to emotional pain.

To be honest I wouldn't mind this so much if Gates and Igle hadn't done such a phenomenal job of exploring how Supergirl was dealing with her personal tragedies in their last issues. This story of Supergirl's response to the sadness in her life has just been done and done well. So where do I stick this in the character's timeline? Before or after the BizarroGirl and Doll maker stories?

I suppose that her saying 'Good riddance' to that Supergirl will again please the fans of the earliest issues of her own title.

I also find it funny that two talented writers are both crafting two very different stories looking at how Supergirl is dealing with the aftershock of New Krypton but no one is doing the same with Superman!

She might seem carefree but Dick reminds her she is going to need to pick sides at some point.

Her response? To kiss him.

Is this just another thing that Dark Supergirl knows will push some buttons? Or does she have some latent romantic feelings for Batman? I hope it isn't the latter. Robinson made such an effort to say that the two have a brother/sister relationship and nothing more. Doesn't adding this undercut Robinson's own character building?

But it is pretty evident that the League cannot defeat the Omega Man by themselves. Luckily, Owlman overhears Batman and BlueJay talking. Owlman decides that the two groups need to team-up. Bad guys teaming up with good guys? Oooh, this does have a little Silver Age feel to it.

The idea of a life-draining energy field possessing a human villain gives Robinson some space to flex his writing muscles. We hear Hunter and the Omega force having a perverse and conflicted rambling dialogue. The Hunter aspect doesn't seem to understand what his purpose is. The Omega side is  filling Hunter's mind with imagery of death and nothingness; it is hungry and craves freedom.

It is a pretty good couple of pages, showing that the Omega Man is of a singular mindset ... he wants to feed on lives and he doesn't care about any wake of destruction he leaves behind him.

But this issue is far from just in-depth character analysis. There is a lot of action. We already saw Donna and Jade fight with the Omega Man earlier in the issue.

Here we see him attack the combined forces of the JLA and the CSA. Without much fuss, the Omega Man kills Power Ring and Johnny Quick. Impressive.

And to make matters worse, Dark Supergirl and Ultraman arrive and appear to be siding with the Omega Man.

I wonder if this is yet another ruse by Dark Supergirl. Not that this is the same personality of the Dark Supergirl we saw in Supergirl #5, but no Supergirl I have read since her return has wanted to serve someone. She always wanted to be on her own, making her own decisions.

So maybe her choosing the wrong side is a way to work her way closer to the Omega Man?

But I really liked Ultraman's reasons for joining the Omega Man. He simply wants to rule. And working for the Omega Man, as powerful an entity as it is, brings him closer to that goal.

I have never quite understood why Ultraman allows himself to be humiliated by Superwoman and Owlman so it was nice to actually see him vocalize his rage about it, how he allows his colleagues to live.

With defeat about to happen, with the Omega Man screaming for the dome to come down, with Supergirl and Ultraman working for the wrong side, Batman doesn't have much of a choice. He kneels before the Omega Man.

Yeah right! I am sure that Dick has something up his sleeve.

So this was one pretty dense issue, a worthy middle chapter in this arc. Robinson clearly wants his League to prove themselves against some pretty big threats. It is nice to see this team gelling, coming together, and battling.

I don't necessarily know if I am happy to see the Dark Supergirl, the evil doppelganger, trope used again here. Supergirl has done so much growing in her own title that this seemed a little off. Of course, the presence of the Omega Man spurred this along. Maybe this is all buried within Kara's subconscious. So I will give Robinson the benefit of the doubt for now. This has the chance to further flesh out the Supergirl character.

But a lot is also happening quickly. I still don't know if I quite grasp what the Omega Man is. It all has to wrap up next month.

Mark Bagley continues to produce solid stuff here. I know it was recently announced he is going back to Ultimate Spiderman. I'll miss his work here.

Overall grade: B+/B

Some Images From The Source: JLA #52 Variant Cover And Steel Vs. Doomsday

There have been a couple of recent images over on the DC Source blog that really grabbed me. So I figured I would post them.

The first is the variant cover for Justice League of America #52. The regular cover is the great 'Dark Supergirl' cover by David Mack in the water color style of his Supergirl/Jade variants from a few months back.

Here Mark Bagley gets the variant nod with this bewitching version of Dark Supergirl. I have said the following things many times here but looks like I will say them again. One, I am usually against variant covers, but I will probably get this one. Two, I have really come to appreciate Mark Bagley's art. This is a very nice cover.

Justice League of America #52 is solicited for 12/22. Here is the issue information.

With Washington, D.C. in the hands of The Omega Man and the full extent of his horrific power revealed, the JLA is forced to make a difficult decision. Is there no choice for the World's Greatest Heroes but to team with the World's Worst Villains – the Crime Syndicate – in order to save both Earths? How will this desperate action be affected by Ultra Man's betrayal of everyone. . . and the reappearance of Dark Supergirl?

I am very interested in seeing just what Robinson has up his sleeves with Dark Supergirl.

The other image was this splash page from Ed Benes from the Steel one-shot solicited for a 1/5 release.

'Reign of Doomsday' is running through a number of books in January including Justice League and Outsiders. So it would seem that Doomsday is running through the members of the Superman Family who took over in 'Reign of the Supermen.'

I can't imagine Steel lasting more than a few minutes against Doomsday, but we'll see. Certainly this splash page from Benes doesn't look good for John Henry Irons.

Review: Justice League Of America #51

Justice League #51 was a great issue, another in a string of very good issues by James Robinson and Mark Bagley. It feels as if, now that the team is established, Robinson can settle in and right spectacular stories. And this arc, and the Starheart on that preceded it, felt like the JLA stories I used to read as a kid. Those stories were big ... the JLA always dealing with some Earth-shattering or universe-destroying threat. Those were the enemies that a team the caliber of the Justice League is supposed to fight.

What's more is that Robinson shows that this JLA, this version of the 'big 7', is worthy of the team name. Yes, they are analogues to the more classic versions of the DC pantheon ... Supergirl instead of Superman, Jade instead of GL, Donna instead of Diana, etc. But these characters aren't as established, aren't as set in stone as the originals. Robinson can explore them a little more, delve into motivations and reactions more. There is some uncertainty of the outcome. As such, it makes for a very interesting read.

And what can I say about Mark Bagley. I have become a big fan.

Last issue ended with the Crime Syndicate's plan to resurrect Alexander Luthor being sabotaged by Dr. Impossible's plan to use the same machine to resurrect Darkseid, which in turn did not work, bringing The Omega Man onto this plane of existence.

This issue starts shortly after that one ends. Whatever has happened in Washington D.C. with the Omega Man, the rest of the world doesn't know. A globe of greenish energy has enclosed the city. And the remaining heavy hitters in the DCU cannot break through. Whether it is brute strength from heroes like Superman, or energy blasts from blasters like Dr. Light, or magic from sorcerers like Zatanna, it is impenetrable.

The scientists amongst the group analyze the energy. It is a composite of 'multiverse energy', Starheart energy, and New Genesis energy. With Jade on the inside, the Starheart part makes sense. But the heroes don't understand the other aspects of it. And what is happening on the inside?

Some of those gathered heroes are worried that the 'small team' on the inside, the five current JLAers, might not be up to the challenge.

Superman stops that train of thought in its tracks. These are the Justice League of America. They are up for the challenge.

I think it was great that Superman has such confidence in this team. The current Leaguers are veterans after all. And I think Robinson probably enjoyed writing this scene, one more way to cement the fact that this team is the JLA moving forward.

That said, I think the more people have to say 'these are the Justice League' the more people will wonder if DC and Robinson are protesting too much. The team is established. They saved the world from the Starheart. The leader of the super-hero community has acknowledged them. This should be it. Let's move forward.

As I said above, this story reminded me of the crazy stories I read in my youth when the JLA was thwarting major threats month in and month out. This title splash page, the villain larger than life spouting his evil plans, the roll call pics on the side ... it brought those feelings back even more. Nice.

Right off the bat, the issue grabbed me. The story shifts back to immediately after the last issue ended. Much of this issue is told via the inner thoughts of Supergirl. And here, on the page, Supergirl says that this is the day she dies. And the Omega Man is the man who kills her.

Hey! Didn't we just have some sort of scare about Supergirl dying again? Do I really need to have that scab picked at again?

I wonder if Robinson has an understanding of how that sort of line effects Supergirl fans. I think it effects us more than if, for example, Jesse Quick said the same thing.

No one really knows who the Omega Man is. Dr. Impossible, the villain who created the resurrection machine in hopes of bringing back Darkseid, seems as befuddled as anyone. He didn't anticipate this and doesn't know how Omega Man arrived.

But this Omega Man sounds creepy. He claims that all the souls of those he has killed live within him. And the resurrection machine begins pouring out destructive energy, the same energy that destroyed the Tangent Green Lantern's world. The Omega Man seems to be responsible for the destruction of multiple worlds which means billions of souls are inside him . And he seems to just wallow in his own power, gloating that all the souls are part of him.

With the building crumbling around him and the world potentially ending, Dr. Impossible opens up a hush tube and takes off.

But the Omega Man is just one threat inside the Hall of Justice. The other leaguers are still skirmishing with the Crime Syndicate. Only Owlman seems to realize that the Omega Man is the bigger threat. He stops fighting Batman giving Dick time to try to formulate a plan.

He calls the JLA to him. If the machine is what is producing the world-destroying energy than the machine needs to be destroyed. Dick tells Jesse to start dismantling it. While she is doing that, Jade shows up to defend Jesse's efforts.

I have to say I love what Robinson is doing with Jade. Robinson keeps hinting about the malevolence inside Jade, how there is something evil within her. That is echoed by the Omega Man who tells Jade they are very much alike, that their powers are similar. It worries Jade enough that she needs to shake off his words to concentrate on the task at hand.

Unfortunately, the machine can self-repair and Jesse can't destroy it fast enough. It is time for Batman to call in the big guns.

He calls in Supergirl from the field. In what is a scene I know I was hoping for, Supergirl simply lays out Ultraman and flies to the rescue.

When she enters the Hall, Dick tells her to smash the machine.

Another good thing about this scene is Supergirl's thoughts. I think Robinson has a nice feel for that Kara is going through. She talks about relishing the chance to let go and fight without limits. She also talks about how that action allows her to forget about all the other stuff in her life, allow her to move without thinking about her grief. And she says she loves being in the Justice League. All of that read true. I wonder if Robinson talks to Sterling Gates about her.

But is there any better recent panel than that right hook to Ultraman's jaw! Awesome.

While we don't learn much about Omega Man's origins ... or even his powers ... he does have some great lines. If his abilities mirror his rhetoric, he sounds like a Darkseid-level threat.

He is the embodiment of decay; he is the god of death and a demon lord. And he is countless souls screaming.

And he won't be contained by Jade's force bubbles. He shatters her constructs.

Supergirl also can't seem to make any headway on destroying the machine either. And she can't get any help from Donna or Jesse because the Crime Syndicate, fueled by rage and hate, continues to fight with them.

The only hope the Earth has is if Jade can contain the machine's death energy. Straining herself to the limit, she encases Washington D.C. in a force bubble, a mixture of all the energy swirling from the Hall of Justice. And that is how the force field from the opening scene came about.

I get the sense that Jade might be Robinson's favorite character on the book. Between the countless splash pages and the big moments, she really shines here.

If the machine can't be stopped, than the Omega Man needs to be. Since Supergirl is the Superman-equivalent on the team, she steps up. She attacks ferociously, spewing heat beams, punching, and using super-breath.

But the Omega Man seems thrilled by it. He says that he can 'use' Supergirl, use the evil and bile within her. Initially, Supergirl doesn't know what he is talking about. But ....

Soon the brutal nature of her attack triggers a transformation. Dark Supergirl manifests!

That is what Supergirl meant when she said she died. The 'good Supergirl' died. Dark Supergirl is reborn. And she seems as snarky and spiteful as she did in her last appearance. She says "K. You did it. I'm back. Happy? Now shut up and let's have some fun!"

I like the subtle differences between Dark Supergirl's costume and Supergirl's. The shorter skirt (more of a napkin), the tinier and tighter shirt, the cape coming from the S-shield ... the image works. Hopefully Robinson will explain all of this. It never was really explained in the Supergirl book.

I thought this was a great issue. It just overflows with action. The threats are both huge (Omega Man) and smaller (the Crime Syndicate). Robinson continues to explore these characters and their motivations, showing how they are the Justice League but they aren't the big 7. I love how Donna is so intent on defeating Superwoman that she can't break away to help Batman. And I like how Jade still doesn't know exactly who she is now that she is back. And I love how he writes Supergirl. I begrudgingly started buying this book only because Kara starred in it. I wasn't a fan of Cry For Justice. And yet, it has become a book I look forward to each month. That is high praise for Robinson and Bagley. They have overcome my preconceived expectations of the book. That isn't easy.

Overall grade: A