Review: Superman #30

Superman #30 came out this week and finished the side story of Superman battling Sinestro and Parallax. It is something of a free-for-all with all of the combatants fighting each other. This had the feel of a rest issue or an inventory story, a nice pause from the underlying plots that have been bubbling in the super-books while showcasing who Superman really is.

Writer Keith Champagne does a very good job of having Superman rise above and inspire. And this is especially powerful given he is surrounded by those who use fear as a weapon and fighting on the dead planet of Qward. If the Man of Steel can be a symbol of hope in those surroundings, he truly is a hero.

Champagne also gives us a great moment where we get to see Superman's fears. Despite his powers, Superman still can be afraid. And that sort of insight humanizes him, makes him the relateable aspirational figure he is. And his fears are fascinating.

The art is done by a trio of pencillers - Ed Benes, Tyler Kirkham, and Philip Tan. The styles are relatively similar so the issue unfolded well. There is a lot of wild, ring-slinging action that is sharp. And the colors by Ribeiro, Morey, and Gho sparkle as they lay out a dazzling array of yellows and gold.

On to the story.

Review: Batman/Superman Annual #1

Batman/Superman Annual #1 came out last week and was a fine issue. I had very high hopes for this book for a number of reasons. It guest starred Supergirl. It also had Red Hood, Batgirl, and Steel! And it was to be a commentary on the recent deaths of Damian Wayne and Superboy. That is a lot of great stuff to cover.

It also had great creative clout with writer Greg Pak and artists Jae Lee, Kenneth Rocafort, and Philip Tan. I knew this was going to be a very beautiful book.

So I have a very rare complaint. I think this story was rushed!! I usually complain that in this current DC market that everything is decompressed and stretched to fit a 6 issue trade compilation. But this story is a whirlwind. In fact, the best parts of the issue is the opening chapter where things proceed at a nice pace allowing the characters to breathe a bit. But the middle chapter is so fast that the plot feels rushed. And the emotional 'oomph', the reflection of Damian's and Kon's deaths, is an afterthought when that should be the driving force of this book.

Now this isn't a bad book by any means. I enjoyed it ... especially the Supergirl parts! But I almost wish that this was a three issue mini-arc in the main book. There is so much untapped story here.

The book opens with Superman and Batman reviewing their recent battle with Mongul. The interstellar tyrant was thrown into the Phantom Zone by Superman. It is a somewhat chilly interaction between the two. Batman is surprised that Superman would have the intestinal fortitude to throw Mongul in that prison without a trial. And Superman thinks that he isn't a boy scout; he is there to protect.

I did love this moment, a sort of softening of Batman. He looks down on a couple of kids playing ball and says the 'little joys' make life bearable. There is a glimmer of hope in him!

This quaint reflection is interrupted by the arrival of a new Warworld and Mongul's son Jochi. On Warworld, grievances are dealt with in the arena. Jochi is upset about his father's defeat and needs familial justice. Batman and Superman will either bring a 'clan' to battle Jochi on his world to fight or Warworld will destroy the Earth.

There isn't much choice. Batman and Superman go to pick their 2 clan members.

As a Supergirl fan, I have had my share of complaints about how she has been characterized in the New 52. One of my biggest complaints has been her utter lack of interaction with Superman. Luckily ... happily ... Pak must not know about this. He has Superman pick Supergirl first ... the easy pick!

Look at how the 2 super-cousins are working together to save a falling bridge from a giant kraken-like thing. Superman and Supergirl collaborating!! Action friendly!! Acting like a family! Thank goodness.

And Jae Lee's art is so beautiful I love his representation of Kara.

I know we are in the Red Lantern phase of things. I can only hope when that story is over that Pak and Bedard smooth over this relationship.

Wonder Woman shows up asking to join the clan but Superman tells her she needs to stay behind to defend Earth should something go awry. Diana gives Kara her sword. It is odd that Wonder Woman doesn't seem to recognize Kara. They brawled in H'El on Earth.

And Clark and Diana share a moment to say goodbye. This is the first time I have read them interact as a couple where it sounded semi-reasonable and natural.

As Diana flies away, Supergirl talks to Superman about her and how much Kara likes her! Look ... two family members talking about their lives to each other!!!! It can be done!!

Along the way Superman picks up Krypto as his second and Steel as a hidden ally.

As for Batman, he approaches Batgirl and Red Hood to join him. They are interesting choices, especially Jason who is something of a wild card. Batman knows he might need someone a bit unhinged for the arena.

Despite my love of Superman, this is my favorite page. Batman knows he has already put these characters through the wringer. We see shots of The Killing Joke and Death in the Family (nice channeling of Mignola by Lee here). And we see a ghostly vision of Damian (looking quite Quitely).

Batman warns the two that they might not come back from this mission.

I love ... LOVE ... Jason's response. They might not come back from any mission. Bruce should realize that. Fantastic! For too long it seems that Batman has been an immutable force in comics. I am glad to see someone call him out a little.

This early chapter flows nicely as we see the main heroes pick their family to fight alongside. After this things get a bit rushed.

First off, Steel and Batgirl slip away before the heroes head to the arena. They are tasked with dismantling Warworld's weapons so Earth will be spared.

In the meantime, Batman sees Jochi alone in combat on Warworld. Jochi needs to fight for his own honor and for a place on Warworld. In an odd twist, Batman claims Jochi as one of his clan since Batman defeated Jochi's father. That right falls to Bruce.

It puts Jochi in an odd place. He either needs to join Batman (the guy he wanted to fight, the guy who banished his father) or get killed immediately.

Okay, I consider myself a decent reader of comments. But the muddled politics of Warworld are a little confusing. I guess I just have to roll with it.

While Steel and Batgirl try to eliminate Warworld's weapons, the 'Clans' on Warworld fight to see who will eventually rule the place. As expected, the last two clans are the Batman Clan and the Superman Clan. Because, after all, we need more of Superman fighting Batman.

But all this noble fighting has made Jochi have something of a change of heart. Maybe he can be more benevolent than his father was. Maybe he can change.

The final battle is a fight to the death. And if the two clans shadow-box, the Warworld elite will kill both teams and destroy Earth. How can this end??

I suppose having Jochi be a reasonable 'villain', someone outgrowing the limited views of his father, is a nice touch.

After toiling to do things his way, Steel finally relents to Batgirl's suggestion throughout the book. The easiest way to dispose of Warworld's weapons is to disassmble them with explosions. It is a funny moment.

But then the ending gets rushed. The two remaining clans fight each other. Batman doesn't kill Superman with a Kryptonite shard. Jochi tries to wrest control of Warworld. The Council sends Warworld on a collision course with Earth. And Superman sends the whole thing into the Phantom Zone. Oh, and in the zone, Mongul kills his son.

It all seems like just a bit too much too fast. There was no time to savor the fights, to give us more of those personal moments within the clans, to see Jochi slowly turning, to grasp the intricacies of Warworld's system.

There was this nice moment at the end. We finally get back to Kon and Damian. Of course, both of them were flawed 'sons' like Jochi. Maybe if time permitted, Superman and Batman could put the two of them on the right track. While Superman wants to mull it over, the pain must be too much for Batman who says they shouldn't dwell on the past.

Now that is a nice moment. It is really the payoff moment of this book. But it was only on the second reading did I realize that Jochi was a reflection of Kon/Damian. Because the fight scenes have to be there, because we need to get to the ending, and because we have to get there fast, everything outside of the Lee pages careens to the ending. I see glimmers of what could be a very good story with an emotional undercurrent. But I am left wanting a bit more.

Still, those glimmers are good glimmers. And the clan interaction when we see it is fantastic. I hope we see more Superman Family and Batman Family crossovers in this book.

Overall grade: B

Review: Action Comics #21 Back-Up

Action Comics #21 came out last week and continued the World of Krypton back-up story that looks back at Jor-El and Lara's early days.

Part of DC's impetus for The New 52 was that it allowed creators to have some freedom with characters, another reboot to try to inject some freshness into some classic characters. It can't be easy. It is tricky to try to reconfigure characters that have decades of steady characterization. An angry disaffected Supergirl doesn't work. An army of Firestorms doesn't work. An aloof Superman doesn't work. That isn't new energy or freshness. It is simply wrong.

But minor characters that can be tweaked? Now that is where new universes can be used to their maximum potential. So I am having a fun time reading this World of Krypton story by writer Frank Hannah and artist Philip Tan and its interesting take on Superman's parents.

I am used to seeing a square-jawed Jor-El who is both stoic and morose. I am used to Lara being a devoted mother, fussing over a cradle. So I don't mind seeing a young Jor-El wide-eyed and exploring ruins. And it is fascinating to see a Lara in military garb throwing backround kicks at Colonel Zod (?). Both of these new characterizations, done in the character's youth, build on the foundation of desperate and intelligent parents willing to buck the system and build a rocket to save their child. It is a refreshing look at these two without shattering what has come before, without erasing who they have been and trying to re-write history.

This is how you can mesh a fresh take on a character as well as maintaining a historical perspective and a respect for what has come before.

Last issue ended with a Colonel from the Kryptonian military barging into the Government council and assassinating the Minister of Science. This opens up with this dramatic shot of Lara, a soldier in the military, attacked her commanding officer for such treachery.

After decades of seeing a brave Lara say that she would rather die with Jor-El than risk getting into Kal's rocket, we get to see just where that courage may have sprung from.

Now I think (and I will reread) that this Colonel has so far been unnamed. It would be easy to think this was Zod but how can you be promoted after this act of treason?

We also got to meet Jax-Ur last month, another cadet in the military who is romantically linked to Lara.

Now in the past, Jax-Ur has been a murderer and rogue scientist, condemned to the Phantom Zone. Here, at least, his villainy remains preserved even if he is, instead of a genius, someone following along with this mutiny.

He does his best to try to convince Lara to fall in line and join the revolution.

Philip Tan's line work is very slick here. I like these sort of retractable, malleable helmets.

Now you can imagine that it might be easy for a low ranking military officer to just be quiet in this sort of situation and try fall in line. But Lara again shows some steeliness here, bashing Jax-Ur and making her escape.

This is a far cry from the Lara of old. This one is strong and pro-active. And yet that doesn't invalidate that picture of the 'desperate parents' trying to save their son in any way possible.

The text here is a little over the top but nicely captures how crazy this decision is by Lara to be the lone voice of reason.

What I did like was this action splash page, so reminiscent of Superman splash pages and iconic pictures. Her fist jutting forward, red cape flapping ... you can almost hear her saying 'up, up, and away!' albeit through grit teeth. Maybe their is some 'nature' to Kal's heroism to go along with the Kent's nurture.

She thinks of the only person who can help her stop this coup ... Jor-El! He is the enemy of her enemy and unfortunately being hunted down himself.

So overall a very nice (if too short) back-up feature again showing us a young Lara and a young Jor-El. I think this look at their early lives when they were flush with young vitality is an interesting time period and one that I don't recall reading too much of in the past. That makes it feel fresh.

But again, these adventures in their youth seem to bolster their main story, that of courage in the steps they took to save Kal.

Kudos to Frank Hannah and Philip Tan for this great little feature.

Overall grade: B+

Review: Action Comics #20 Back-Up Feature

With the end of Grant Morrison's run on Action Comics, so did Sholly Fisch's run on back-up features end.

In Action Comics #20, a new back-up feature started up plotted by Scott Lobdell, written by Frank Hannah, and drawn by Philip Tan. It is a flashback story of The World of Krypton, similar to those old-timers saw in Superman Family and as a back-up in Superman in the early 80's.

Now there are lots of things that weren't covered in Morrison's trippy mega-story and Krypton is one of them. We saw some of it in the Gene Ha section of Action Comics #3. But otherwise, I don't know if I have great idea about the society of Krypton in the New 52. So I think a World of Krypton back-up for a short time is interesting, especially if it concentrates on Jor-El and Lara, as it does here.

I do find it just a bit odd that Scott Lobdell is doing the plotting here though. That means in 2 months, Lobdell will be writing Action Comics, Superman, and the Action back-up feature. Unreal. Frank Hannah's dialogue flows nicely in the story.

And Philip Tan's art is really stunning.

This is a story of a young Jor-El. He seems young and pretty excitable, going on what seems to be an archaelogical exploration underwater instead of being present at an emergency meeting of the Science Council.

I am used to seeing a more staid Jor-El, square-jawed and standing before the Science Council talking of Krypton's doom. So to see this young guy, wide-eyed and smiling at the discovery of the Sunken City of Xan felt fresh.

But there is more than just the city. There also seems to be an ancient and thought-extinct underwater race called Teklons. Odd that you can only see there heads. It is hard to know if they are fish-like or anthropomorphic.

I haven't heard of Teklons, nor did I find them in any entry of my The Essential Superman Encyclopedia, so they must be new.

Meanwhile, at the Science Council meeting, we meet a young a rather fetching Lara Lor-Van, Superman's mother!

I have read a lot of stories about Jor-El. Not too many about Lara. So I like that she seems to have a big role in this story. And I especially like that she appears to be in the Military Guild. (I am assuming the New 52 Krypton will still have Guilds.) It is a different take on her character.

And even more crazy is that she seems to be in a romantic relationship with Jax-Ur! Even Jax-Ur can tell that she feels some attraction to Jor-El.

We have seen lots of versions of Jax-Ur but my go-to image is the bald portly guy from the Silver Age. That guy blew up one of Krypton's moons. This Jax-Ur, in his brief couple of panels, seems like a loveable lummox sort of guy, not a Phantom Zone criminal.

The emergency meeting of the council has been called because of some fears of a coup. And then, it is interrupted by someone from the Military Guild who comes in brandishing energy gauntlets of some sort. Is this the first appearance of the New 52 General Zod? Nice energy signature there by Tan, a sort of smudgy version of Kirby crackle.

This was a nice little story, if only to see the very young Jor-El and Lara, early on in the adult life. I like seeing a giddy Jor and a stern Lara. And how will their 2 stories - underwater adventure and Science Council coup - link up?

So congratulations to Lobdell, Hannah, and Tan. This was a great little story opening up some new characterization and giving us a deeper look at the New 52 Krypton.

Overall grade: A

Review: Outsiders #37

Was it really just 4 months ago that I was collecting The Outsiders? At that time, the Eradicator was added to the team and there was a tangential connection to New Krypton. There were some parts of the book that I liked. Geo-Force was clearly insane as leader. Katana was having a hard time reconciling her Samurai loyalty to the irrational Geo-Force. And Philip Tan's art at times really shined, a bit skewed in perspective and with a thick ink line. But those things weren't enough for me and so I dropped the title.

But every time I think I am out, they pull me back in. The Outsiders #37 came out this week, the second chapter in the Reign of Doomsday storyline working it's way through the super-books.

In many ways, this issue sort of justified my dropping the title when I did. Sure, Doomsday stomps his way through the issue, facing off against the Eradicator. But basically that's all this issue was, a stomp-fest. And Philip Tan has changed his style, one I don't like as much as I did in the earlier issues.

It turns out that Markovia is still somewhat ostracized by the remainder of the world for siding with the Kryptonians during the New Krypton time period. And Geo-Force's continued friendship with the Eradicator isn't helping things. The other Outsider team members Katana, Halo, Looker, and The Olympian all think that Brion should simply rid himself of the Eradicator, an olive branch for the rest of the world.

Tan's new style is evident right from the beginning as it looks like he didn't ink the art at all, instead leaving it as pencils to be colored. As a result, the art looks soft or gauzy.

Geo-Force refuses to turn his back on his friend the Eradicator.

Ironically, the Eradicator comes crashing to the ground after having earlier flown off. The Eradicator isn't a lightweight. For someone to have trashed him like this, they must be extremely powerful.

No big surprise, it's Doomsday.

At first Geo-Force does the right thing, telling his teammates to leave him to fight Doomsday on his own. But they refuse, declaring their allegiance to the Outsiders, and swarm Doomsday. Seems like a suicide mission. I can't imagine Katana, Looker, or Halo scratching Doomsday.

I did think it was weird that Tan has Doomsday glowing yellow with some Kirby dots. Is this a manifestation of some new power?

Oh ... by the way ... the rest of the Outsider team are imprisoned by Amanda Waller for being traitors to the US for having lived in Markovia. She offers Black Lightning, Metamorpho, Freight Train, Owlman, Thunder, and Grace a choice - fight Geo-Force for the US or remain in prison.

At first they decline but the Black Lightning gives in realizing that the US next step against Markovia would be a nuclear exchange. It is implied that it's a bluff by Waller, but it worked.

It was nice to see Waller again, manipulating people as well as ever.

There is a nice blurb where writer Dan Didio talks about the heroism of the Markovian Outsiders, fighting Doomsday knowing they will most likely die. During the fight, Doomsday begins to exhibit blue energy powers.

But look at his spikes. Without ink, as just pencils, don't they look like powder puffs? Or frilly sleeves? Or a big feather boa? It looks like the Outsiders are fighting Liberace!

One thing I did like about this issue was seeing Doomsday kick the tar out of The Olympian. I think Achilles and the 'Manazons' (I can't believe I typed that) completely derailed Gail Simone's Wonder Woman run. So I was happy to see him get crushed.

There are several pages of all the Outsiders getting taken out like yesterday's trash by the rampaging monster.

But Doomsday's real objective is the Eradicator. Just as Doomsday sprouted armor when facing Steel, here the monster has blue energy bolts like the Eradicator. It is as if Doomsday is able to absorb the powers of the Superman stand-ins. Funny, here he did not grow armor ... maybe he can only use one power at a time.

The fight between the Eradicator and Doomsday is extremely brief, Doomsday ending it in dramatic fashion.

Does that look familiar?

I don't know. As soon as I saw it, I thought of Frank Miller's dramatic scene where Bullseye 'kills' Elektra.

I am sure there are countless images like this.

And with the fight over, Doomsday picks up the Eradicator's body and teleports away.

So much like the Steel one-shot, we don't get much in terms of information about Doomsday, why he is doing this, how he has new powers, or who (if anyone) is controlling him. Instead it is a lot of pages of some serious combat. But no real story ...

But now I am starting to think about this whole thing. I wonder if there might be more than one Doomsday ... one for each of Superman's 'replacements' when the Man of Steel was thought dead.

So, one more chapter of Reign of Doomsday is done without much new information. And I miss the old Philip Tan art.

Overall grade: C

Review: Outsiders #33

It's hard for me to believe but Outsiders #33 is the eighth issue of the title I have collected. I had never collected Outsiders before, even way back in the Mike Barr/Jim Aparo days. I started getting the title when Dan Didio and Philip Tan jumped on as creative team because of the addition of the Eradicator, a throwback to the Reign of the Supermen and a character I have always liked. Unfortunately, there was very little of the Eradicator in these issues and very little explanation as to how he has come back.

There were some things that I did like. One was the character of Katana, a samurai struggling between her loyalty for the mad Geo-Force and her common sense to break free from him and go Ronin. Another was the stylized art of Philip Tan. And, for the briefest moment, I liked seeing that Looker's diva exterior is simply a facade for a tortured soul. Despite these things, the title has always been on the verge of being dropped by me. There just wasn't enough Eradicator or Katana to keep me interested ... and frankly Owlman, Freight Train, Black Lightning, and even the Creeper didn't grab me.

The promise of this cover including Katana and Halo (?) gave the title a reprieve until this month. Will it remain on the verge of being cut? Or will I finally pull the plug?

The issue starts with terror in a tiny village in Markovia. Coming out of the mountains, a monster emerges from the darkness, proclaiming herself Queen of the land. Her internal monologue shows a completely disjointed and conflicted thought pattern. Half of her thinks the people love her. The other half screams that she is hated.

When the villagers react with fear, the monster does something monstrous, coldly killing them in their own home.

The early issues concentrated on the mad Geo-Force and his struggles to maintain any semblance if sanity, trying to rule Markovia but doing it erratically. And as I said before, I loved watching Katana and her conflicted thoughts. Should she stay true to her leader as a Samurai should? Or should she leave Geo-Force as the other Outsiders did realizing Geo-Force is walking a path to destruction? Her character really had the most depth, the most potential to tell a compelling story.

But then we had the side trip with Metamorpho and Chemo and we sort of left the Markovian characters behind.

Well at least we see Tatsu again in this issue as she nurses Halo back to health.

Geo-Force arrives and declares his love for Tatsu, saying he can feel she has the same feelings. I guess it proves he's mad since she kissed Owlman a few issues ago. I have to say this is not a plot I want to see. I would rather see Katana pushed to the brink of her loyalty by the deeds Brion wants her to do rather than have it come to a head over his love for her. If he kept ordering her into action she normally would not do, she would have to decide where to draw the line.

She at least rebuffs his advances ... or maybe delays them. She says her only concern now can be for Halo and she cannot think of anything else right now.

This is my first real experience with Katana, and I don't even know if Didio is writing her correctly, but I like her.

Remember the disgruntled fashion designer whose life was ruined by Looker several issues ago, the one given a magic horn to get his revenge? Well he is back again, acting as an agent of someone called Veritas. In Markovia, the designer (aptly named Winer ... like whiner) complains that he hasn't had his revenge yet. But Veritas says that Winer will ruin Looker ... along with the rest of the Outsiders.

With war raging on Markovia's borders (the nation is being attacked because they sided with the Kryptonians), Geo-Force and the Eradicator head into the heart of the country to investigate the village murders.

Brion can sense that Geode, the monster from the beginning was there. We then get a quick recap of her origins, the rejected queen who tried to earn her title by getting Earth-based powers only to have those experiments her warp her. It is a sad story including these panels showing her being locked away. I can understand her conflict. She was betrayed on all fronts.

For an Outsider newbie like me, I appreciated this retelling.

Geode was indeed there ... and is still there. She attacks the heroes with her powers.

Geo-Force doesn't do himself any favors by saying he had no choice but to end their marriage. Ummm ... isn't he King?

Geode doesn't like that answer, declaring she is no longer Denise, the woman she was.

There is some nice art here as Earth is flung all around during this fight.

At last I get to see the Eradicator I came to see. Realizing that Brion's emotional attachment might be interfering with his ability to act, the Eradicator tells Brion to stand down.

Cool and passionless, almost bloodless, the Eradicator fires his heat vision at full strength at Geode and lunges in for some fisticuffs.

This is my Eradicator. Look at how dispassionate he looks, holding the limp form of the defeated Geode by her hair. By not showing his eyes, he looks much more alien, more robotic, less human. In fact, he wanted to end this because he thinks the heroes need to be at the front fighting with the troops. He is one cold and calculating being.

But who is this Eradicator? Is he The Eradicator ... a being formed around Kryptonian knowledge and religious beliefs? Or someone else?

The heroes barely have time to rest on their laurels of this victory. Before they can leave, Winer shows up and blows his horn, incapacitating the heroes.

You know, before this I thought it was simply a magic horn ... like from a bull. Now I know it's a horn like an instrument. Maybe it's a horn made from a horn? Either way it's both powerful and silly.

The issue ends with a scene from that warfront. The Markovian army are being slaughtered by spears. Achilles and his Manazons have arrived. I'm not surprised to see Achilles here. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that Didio loved the character and sort of pushed Gail Simone to do that story in Wonder Woman.

So what of this issue? Well it was nice to see the Eradicator finally act in this book. And I am glad I felt a ripple of his original persona from way back. While I was glad to see Katana again, I feel that this Brion romance angle isn't where I want to see her plot go ... and she was the biggest draw for me on the book. I also don't like the team being so split. It's like buying 2 books ... Outsiders East and West ... when you read about one set you lose track of the other. And that's without knowing where Looker and Halo fit in.

I will again say that I really love Philip Tan's art. He does have a habit of connoting characters' emotions by doing an extreme close-up of their eyes. It feels like I am reading Alan Moore's Swamp Thing #44 each issue. In that issue a serial killer remembers all the eyes of his victims. I know that comparing this book to that book is blasphemy ... but I wonder if Tan loved Bissette and Totleben's work on that book.

But the truth is there isn't enough here to keep me coming back. I think the Brion's declaration of love was the last nail in the coffin. So no more Outsiders reviews here.

Overall grade: C-

Review: Outsiders #32

Is this the end of my first stint collecting The Outsiders? Is this the last issue? Hmmm ...

To be honest, the only impetus to bring me here was the Eradicator, a character not seen for 3 issues. And one thing that was working here was Katana, struggling between the loyalty of a samurai and knowing that the one she follows, Geo-Force, is clearly insane. And we haven't seen enough of her recently.

So purchasing Outsiders #32, I wondered if I heard the bells tolling. I mean, how many times can I say on this blog 'I am giving The Outsiders one more issue'?  Dan Didio's writing just has been all over the map with some attempts that humor that fall flat, overly dramatic prose, and 'bad ass' lines. For me, it sometimes feel like he is trying to hard because the quieter moments of this book have been the best.

At least this issue was going to focus on The Creeper, one of my favorite underused characters.

Having rescued Metamorpho from being consumed by Chemo, Owl-Man, Freight Train, Metamorpho, and The Ray make their way back to the Stagg Industries secret lab where Chemo had been housed. As if Stagg is trying to cover up this debacle, the station is abandoned with no people and almost no equipment around.

The Ray tells the Outsiders that Sapphire Stagg was very sick and that despite some novel attempts by Simon Stagg to save her (including Black Lantern power - should Lex be worried), Sapphire has died. Interesting. But to be honest, I don't believe it. The only debate in my mind is whether Sapphire has been mutated into Element Girl or some sort of monstrous villain.

While Owl-Man realizes that Stagg is on the wrong side of the law and can't be trusted, Freight Train is a bit more naive. He activates a sensor in the abandoned lab, letting Stagg know that the group is there.

If Stagg wanted to erase the existence of the lab, he also would want to eliminate the witnesses. The lab is consumed in a massive explosion. Stagg as an overt villain rather than a conniving business man is intriguing.

As for the Creeper storyline, this part of the issue is pretty titillating. Maybe overly so. This is one of those places where it is so over the top that it almost reads like a parody.

First, Serene tells The Creeper that she needs his seed to repopulate the Creeper demon corps in Hell. So she has captured him in order to copulate. Of course, Serene hopes that this will solidify her place in Blaze's Hell.

Now our Creeper doesn't want to be forced into doing anything he doesn't want to. Nor does he want to be the father to a host of demon soldiers.

But his 'amusing banter' throughout this sequence, including 'death by sex' and penis jokes were more cringe worthy than humorous.

Realizing he needs a way out, the Creeper goads Segura, Serene's werewolf lover and guardian, into a jealous rage by discussing how 'slutty' she is and how prolific their amorous session will be. Angered by this speech, Segura attacks the Creeper, freeing him from his bonds.

Seems sort of like an easy out. A werewolf demon so in love and devoted to his succubus lover that he attacks a man who is threatening their monogamy (even if Serene is the one to initiate it).

The Creeper loses all control, angry not only at the situation but also his own damnation, and nearly kills Segura.

I didn't realize that the Creeper was this powerful ... maybe his abilities are increased in Hell?

As surprising as Segura defending Serene was ... it is more surprising that Serene stops the whole 'mating ritual' to tend to Segura's wound. She lets the Creeper walk out of Hell!

Hmmm ... I don't think Blaze will be too happy with that decision. Wouldn't it be wiser to have the hordes of Hell detain the Creeper so Serene can complete the deal at a later date? Don't you think Blaze is going to kill Serene based on this?

It seems a bit too easy.

In the one part of the Creeper story that worked, Jack Ryder slumps in his chair at home only to hear that he is being sent to Markovia as a reporter. Irony! Finally something that was understated and effective. Look at how exhausted he is ... and he has to head back to where he just came from.

On a whole, this issue just failed on many levels. The whole tenor of the Creeper story was wrong. The turn of events felt wrong ... too simplistic to bring the story to an end.

And Philip Tan's art, which usually is one of the draws for the book, wasn't his usual top notch material. In many places, it smacked more of 1990's Image than his usual hyperstylized way.

So is this the death knell for the title for me? Alas ... no. The next issue promises a plot involving the Eradicator, Katana, and Halo. Those are the reasons I bought this book. So I am still giving this book one more issue.

Overall grade: C-